"I'm not really sure you want to talk to me right now."

This is what the automotive repair man, let's call him Brandon 'cause that's his name, said to me on the phone yesterday. I dropped my van off to have the front tires replaced and the oil changed. The front tires were bald, bald, BALD, I tell you. (I have been having nightmares about the car not stopping and crashing into buildings, other cars, people who shouldn't be in the road, and trees. My husband had one where he was following me in his truck, I had the kids in my car, crashed into a tree, car starts on fire, he gets the kids out, goes back for me, car blows up. Time to get new tires.)

Brandon said to me, "Just the tires and oil, right?" I said, "Why don't you take a look at the brakes while you're up there and then call me and tell me what you see. Just look, ok?"

He looked. And he called. Just before he called, I balanced the checkbook. I had sat down at the kitchen table with a stack of bills, picked which ones were getting paid, and pulled out some envelopes. When I picked up the phone and said, "What's up?" he uttered the phrase above (look to title of post).

Apparently the "weird" noise I was hearing was the fact that my calipers were FROZEN - not like cold frozen.....like rusted to the point where they would not move even when he tried to use a pry-bar to get them to budge. Replace?? Yes, unless I want to risk death every time I try to slow down. We all know about the aforementioned nightmares. No need to induce those again.

So along with my tires came a new pair of calipers and brake pads (and maybe rotors, but I'm not so good with car terminology, so I don't remember what he said about those).

Cha-ching. I said to Brandon, while we were still on the phone, "Well. You just saved me a bunch of time. No need to pay those bills, write out checks, and drive them to the post office." :)

Being the nice guy he is, he actually apologized. I pointed out to him that it's not his fault. It isn't as though he called me and said, "The speakers in your car are really kind of on the puny side. You need to spend $600 and get some good sub-woofers in there."

I do have to say, the new tires ROCK!! I am not slipping and sliding everywhere. I can get up my driveway like a regular car can. I can turn while slowing down.

Life is good. Even if I did spend the rent money.