Rusty in the rental

I got Rusty a doggy seatbelt- I don't think he likes it...



I like that he wants to sit in the middle of the front 2 seats even if he has to sit half on two different arm rests...



And here he is back in my car- cowering (kind-of) while we were driving through the car wash (as a side note- this is the first time I have washed my car since I moved here- maybe that's why it hates me!)...

Givin' Utah some love

Utah is a beautiful state. I don't think enough people know this so I thought I share some pictures. Before I moved to Virginia two years ago I shared some pictures I took during a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon, so during this trip I took Angel (my parents dog) and Rusty for a ride up Little Cottonwood Canyon. We didn't get out of the car since no dogs are allowed in that particular canyon but we had a lovely drive- the pictures (most of which I took through the windshield as I was driving- not the recipe for great pictures) do not really do the beauty of the canyon justice- but I will share them anyway....

Summertime....

I'm back in Virginia after spending a month in Utah. I hadn't expected to travel this summer but one of my sisters paid for me to go home as a congratulations gift for passing comps. I guess you could say I had good timing as my maternal grandmother passed away the day after I got there, I am very grateful that I got to see her and was able to be with my family. I am also glad I got to spend time with my cute nieces Mila and Bella and my new niece Sarah.

And now I'm back. It's always a little strange settling back in here in Virginia after being home- it's especially difficult now with the heat here! It's crazy! There is a heat advisory in affect, the special weather statement warns that heat illness is possible and urges everyone to stay in air-conditioning and to check on relatives and neighbors. Nice. I should have stayed in Utah.

But I didn't, I arrived in Richmond on the red-eye and got back to the 'burg around 10. I decided I should run errands before I slept for a few hours (I didn't sleep much on the flights). I've been having car trouble for a while and actually had it in the shop for a couple days about a month before I left but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, we figured it was a problem with the fuel system so they put some fuel injection cleaner in the gas tank and I did too the next couple times I filled it- but it didn't seem to help. I was worried about it sitting so I had a friend start it while I was gone and she was having trouble the last week or so- well more trouble starting it than normal.

Anyway- I went out to run errands but it wouldn't start- the battery was clearly dead (the remote wouldn't unlock it and no lights turned on when I turned the key). So I called AAA and they came out to jump start it (it was the same guy who helped me the last time I had to call them- he is super nice), he couldn't jump it- the battery was so dead it wouldn't even hold a charge- he suggested I change the battery myself because it'd be a lot cheaper- well that's easier said than done. My dad suggested I call my apartment manager and ask if the maintenance guy would help me - I was sure they were going to say no, since it was a car problem not a problem with my apartment- I was wrong- the apartment manager came and helped my himself! He took my old battery out and drove me to the parts store (which was very close by) and put the new battery in- he was so nice, it was disgustingly hot and humid out (as I mentioned) and here he was leaning over my car and hauling heavy batteries around. Seriously, I never expected that they would be so helpful!

Unfortunately the dead battery wasn't the only problem. it still wouldn't start. It was clearly a different problem both the apartment manager and the maintenance guy agreed it sounded like a fuel system problem- which is what we had suspected all along and was what I was trying to deal with before I left. I couldn't get it to start after numerous attempts, so I called AAA again and they sent out a tow truck. After the hauled it away I rented a car and managed to finally run my errands- well half of them anyway.

The shop that had my car said it was the fuel pump, as suspected, and I needed a new one as well as a fuel filter, which would cost almost $700. Considering that my car has over 120,000 miles I figured I was due a major repair so I am trying to take it in stride.

I returned the rental car this afternoon and they (the kind people at Enterprise Rent-a-Car) gave me a ride to the dealership to pick up my car. I paid for it, walked out to get in and was told that it is still not starting, the advisor who pulled it up said she had a very hard time getting it started and then a mechanic tried to start it and it wouldn't start. The advisor (not the one I was working with- he was at lunch) offered to put me in a rental car for the day (after I said I didn't want to pay for another day)- so now I am in a different car- which the dealership is very kindly paying for- a HHR (an HHR, that sounds better). Yesterday I had an Aveo. One thing I've learned from this experience is that when I buy a new car (probably a used car) after my car finally dies I am pretty sure I will not be buying an Aveo or an HHR.

I still don't know what is wrong with my car now but hopefully the dealership will figure it out and will continue to pay for the rental car until they do!

Random Photos

I often take pictures envisioning blog posts and sometimes I forget to follow through- I was going through my camera and found some of those pictures so I thought I'd share them now.

I took this first picture in Yorktown- every once in a while I drive there to sit and read on the riverwalk when I need a change of pace. On this particular day it was cold and foggy out- I think this is a really cool picture of the bridge disappearing into the fog.



I took this next group of photos at the airport in Detroit- way back in September. My grandmother passed away and I had to travel home on very short notice and I ended up having some very long lay-overs in Detroit which actually worked out well since they have a hotel attached to the airport with a separate entrance (and security line) so I was able to take Rusty outside through the hotel which was much more pleasant than taking him out through the main airport lobby- anyway, this first picture was taken in the hotel- which seemed very fancy, I doubt I could afford to stay there...



These two pictures didn't really turn out very well- but if you've been through the Detroit airport you'll know what I was trying to capture- they have a light show (I guess that's what you'd call it) along the tunnel in between terminals. Rusty was not a fan but I thought it was kind of cool. One of my friends said she went to the tunnel heavily medicated because she hates to fly and when she went through the tunnel she thought she was in hell- so not everyone is a fan...





While Rusty and I were sitting by the gate we were suddenly surrounded by birds- first there was only one, then two, eventually there were at least 6. Rusty wanted to check them out but he showed a lot of restraint.



This last picture is of Rusty (I know I've shared a lot of pictures of Rusty lately- but here's one more). I've been trying to get a a picture of him with his ears out forever- he's so cute when he stretches his ears but he always puts them back down before I can snap a picture- well I finally caught it- how cute is Rusty?

2 years with Rusty

It's hard to believe but I have had Rusty for two years now! On one hand it seems like he has always been with me, on the other hand it seems like I just got him. I've been thinking back about my time with him which of course made me think back to the summer I got him and the fact that it was my last summer living in Utah. Rusty made my move across the country much easier to deal with and has helped keep me sane. He was the only thing that stood between me and life as a hermit when I was reading for comps. I've talked to far more people than I would ever have without him- whenever I take him for walks people stop me and ask questions about him or ask to pet him (or they ignore me completely and have a conversation with him- which is always amusing) and he is a great travel companion as well, people in airports aren't usually all that friendly- I think flying is too stressful now- but they are far more friendly when they see Rusty!

This post is all about Rusty but I'll post some other reminiscences about the last 2 years in another post....

My Constant Comps Companion

A Sigh of Relief- I Passed!!!

Well I took my exam last Friday and haven't had time to reflect on it too much because it's been a crazy busy week.

The exam went really well. I was very nervous the morning of but once I got in the room I was fine. There were a couple questions that threw me but overall it wasn't nearly as stressful as I thought. I was worried about one of the professors because he has a bit of a reputation, several people warned me not to work with him- or to at least expect that he would grill me during the exam. I am so glad I decided to work with him anyway. His section of the exam was the most enjoyable- I really did enjoy the conversation. I was also nervous about having War and Society as one of my minor fields because I don't have a strong background in military history- but again, this ended up being the list I enjoyed the most. I've already got a stack of war memoirs I want to read this summer.

In order to celebrate and reward myself for surviving comps and finishing in one semester- I went out and bought a Nook. I haven't actually read a book on it yet since I am still recovering from the comps reading but I really wanted to play with my new toy and it has two games on it chess and sudoku- neither of which I have ever played before- so I learned how to play sudoku. I am not very good at it yet- which is why I cheat.

I am also almost done with the training so I can teach online this summer- I am looking forward to the experience. And it looks like I will be working with NIAHD as well (the National Institute for American History and Democracy) but I am not sure which session or what exactly I'll be doing.... but either way it is going to be a busy summer!