---The Crazy Crap---
2pm - Spare of the moment
Rad: Hey. we're going to L.A. Can you go? Did you talk to Rob?
Mariela: Oh shit! Really? Let's go.
Odd: Rad honey...you should've called her first. Don't assume she talked to Rob.
Joined with my significant other, we finally leave. Made a stop at Gilroy. The girls begin to bond via Redvines. Rad in awe.
4pm - Wobbly Rotors
1 hour into the trip after Gilroy, noise happens. We take a stop near a cliff above a lake that doesn't have any rail protection. Odessi tries to drive the car without driving into the ravine so I can hear the noise. I alleviate the problem with a tennis racquet. Don't ask me how. Mariela keeps her hand on the e-brake in case Odessi "peels out" into the lake.
5pm - Wobbly Wheels
After fixing the rotors, noise starts up gradually again. This time a different noise. It was coming from the front wheel drivers side. I make a stop at Coalinga (approx 250 miles north of L.A.) - a.k.a. 10,000 Cow City and find an actual shop out of nowhere. The mechanic is by himself taking care of numerous cars and big rigs. I help him out changing a big ass tire from a big ass rig. He then promises to work on my car afterwards. I say "cool" then he says "yah...no prob". After an hour, he finally takes a look at the car and says that I can't go anywhere with it unless I want to crash. He tells me that the wheel bearings are shot and so are the axles/spindle. WTF? I asked him how he determined that by just hydrolifting the car and moving the wheels by hand, he said "Trust me...I know". He then proceeded to tell me that he can't finish my car until tomorrow because he needs certain "parts". I told him that I would get back to him. He then gets an emergency call from FRESNO (approx 40 miles away from his shop)! WTF? Out of all the shops people call, some dude on some truck calls a guy all the way in Coalinga? Because he was the only mechanic on site, he tells me and the girls to get the fuck out of his shop and leave my car there until he gets back. He locks up. It was now 9pm. Wanted to call Rob but we screwed ourselves over by not getting our phones from the car (except for Odessi). Problem was...we didn't remember Rob's # and Odd doesn't have it listed. Too damn dependent on cellular speed dial. Solution: Call sister to get rob's number via Rad's calling card. Gay. Talked to Rob and weighed some options.
Option 1: Tow car to a shop in Bakersfield using my friend's AAA and get car rental.
Option 2: Tow car to a shop in L.A. via AAA and get car rental.
Option 3: Get Rob to pick us up and leave car in Coalinga shop.
After consulting with bro, he begins to head north. Fuck it. Go Option 3.
I asked the guys at the gas station (a building connected to the shop) if I can get to our stuff in the car. we then got all our crap out of the car and sulked.
Mechanic dude comes back after an hour. I ask him to take another look at the car and remove the wheel that had the problem. I looked at the spindle. The fucker was loose. I asked him to tighten it. Problem solved. Test drove a bit and sure enough we were ready to go. I called up Rob to go back and he was already @ Grapevine.
Rob: "What kind of mechanic is that? How come he didn't know shit?"
Rad: "It's the norm."
Rob heads back.
9pm - Fried Alternator Wires
I start flying down Interstate 5 @ 100mph for 1 hour and suddenly the charge light turns on in the dash. Great. I know the alternator is fucked. I start to freak out when my lights started dimming and my electronics trip out. I made a rest stop near truckland (before grapevine) and check out my car. My emergency kit's flashlight died. Loose flashlight switch = dying battery. So I resorted to drive near the only flickery street light in the area that turned on and off every 30 seconds.
Opened hood and immense heat came out of hood. Looked at the wires near the alternator which happened to be near the headers. The plastic harness that connected the wires to the alternator was starting to melt. Thank you headers.
We let the headers cool down for about 45 minutes and then I started up again. I never passed 60 mph. The car climbed infamous road of Grapevine and all electronics died at the top of the hill! I litterally cruised the car with minimal alternator charge right into the next gas station...where my car eventually died and never started again.
I call up Rob and tell him my car is totally fucked. He says I'm not that far now. Mari calls up her AAA and the truck comes in ludicrous speed. AAA rocks. They drop off my car @ a recommended shop and Rob drives us to his place. Odd and I look at the sad site of the Celica being towed. End game. 2am.
---Actual Fun---
Saturday. Early morning I dropped by the Toyota dealership (where the car was towed) to drop off the key and get things going. Dejavu for me. I told them it was the alternator. Nothing else.
Spending quality time with family is always worthwhile. Even though you really don't get many chances to do it the time you get is priceless...even if that means watching MTV during the first half of the day while eating breakfast from McDonalds. Back-to-back Punk'd was cool. However, we watched Faking the Video which of course happened to be another retarded show.
My brother recommended that we get a chance to chill @ the outdoor plaza of Santa Monica. Great place. We did a bit of shopping - something I don't do very often but it was cool just being with everyone. If you don't remember, this is same place where an old dude plowed through the farmers market (i think). My bro recommended some cool places to eat as well as chill on Venice Beach and its gym climbing ropes and rings. During our drive around, he pointed out some of the places that were shot on location for some the well known movies. Pretty cool shit. Later on we go the Laugh factory @ Sunset to see some random comedians.
We came across a couple of good comedians but there was this one dude who calls himself Jo Koy - one of the funniest comedians I've seen....who happens to be filipino. After appearing in Apollo and BET I would say that he's even better than Rex Navarette. We were the only filipinos in the room. Everyone else were Latinos, Whites, and Blacks. Great time. I got capped on by him but nothing too bad. =)
Very cool day. Thanks bro for everything.
---Heading Home---
Toyota dealership (TD): "Hi. Mr. Castro? After further diagnosis, I want to let you know that you are also leaking in the oil pan, steering fluid, and radiator."
Rad: "Sir. I just want my car back. Did you fix the alternator harness?"
TD: "Yes we did...but I recommended that you change your alternator and fix your leaks"
Rad: "Well I recommend that you don't."
TD: "Your loss Mr. Castro."
Rad: "Bite me."
After picking up the car, I checked out the changes they made. Not much. I then dropped by Pepboys to put some heat wrap on the headers so that it won't emit so much heat during the long drive. After another small meal, I prayed and we left.
On the way home there were no hiccups or anything from the car. My car was flying @ 100mph following this thing for 3 hours (thanks odd....and no...don't think I'm stupid enough to take the picture while my car's in motion) :
We got to norcal in less than 5 hours. Crazy. I had my girlfriend drive the rest of the way back since my buttcheek was aching. I knew we need some saddles to dampen the upcoming bronco bucking she'll be doing on the car. On the way back to drop off Mariela, Odd takes an exit on a turn while the intersection is yellow. With so much time in between the last time odd shifted a manual car, she peels out, let's the exhaust roar and grabs the attention of a cop at the intersection. The cop follows for several turns until we turned into Mariela's street.
Rad: "Oh man...never again."
Lessons learned:
1. Know your car.
2. Rent a car.
3. Remember 10 very important numbers by heart.
4. Let your girlfriend get used to manual shifting first.