Where did that come from?

I was on my way home from work today, driving along as always. Suddenly, in the lane to my left I heard a loud noise. It sounded like someones engine had just dropped out of their car. As I looked I realized it was something even more odd.

The car was an old green Oldsmobile. Achieva or something equally unremarkable. There were three teenage boys inside. They were all looking at me. And they were revving their engine!

I have to explain. I'm 41 years old. I drive a Volvo. A Volvo! Teenage boys do not dare me to race. And yet, here they were. The passenger even rolled down his window - presumably to lay down the challenge. As much as I wanted to hear his offer I held back. Because not only was I an old man in a staid sedan, but we were stopped at a light. And were, in fact, both stuck behind big SUVs. Where the hell were we going to race to anyway?

Didn't seem to bother them. They kept right on revving away, looking my way, smiling. I smiled back. When the light turned green the two lanes branched off to the left. But I was going straight. So we inched forward in sync. Then the car in front of me veered left, leaving the road clear in front. I hit the gas and disappeared. Because while I do drive a Volvo, it is the high-pressure turbo, with 247hp going through a manual transmission (I think there's a Beach Boys song in there somewhere). I was gone in a flash!

But sure enough, 1/2 mile down the road there's the green Olds behind me again. Still revving his engine as we cruise at 25, stuck behind another car. Finally, I got bored, swung across the yellow, and passed poky. My new friends do me one better, swinging past our roadblock and me! Now it's their turn to show off. I'm guessing they were quite confused about their inability to pull away from me. Heh, heh! After a mile or so of trying to lose me they ended up turning, I'm guessing back to their original route. I honked and waved as they left. They turned a boring commute into some fun for me. Been a long time since that has happened.

Thing I still can't grasp is why on earth they'd try to race me? Think it was the Flying Spaghetti Monster on the back?

They're dead, Jim! [In my best Dr. McCoy voice]

I don't know what it is about new construction. Certainly nothing in the actual building of our house was this well timed. But the self destruct in two of the kitchen appliances have now gone off.

3 weeks ago it was the garbage disposal. No big deal there. All garbage disposals built in the last 50 years have a standard mount. Just pop off the old one, pop on the new, and you're in business. Right? Sure. Unless your cheap-arsed builder used a $10 knock off bought on special in Korea (probably North, where the standard mount hasn't caught on yet). Yeah. 10 minute job turned into two sweating hours under the sink cracking it off section by section praying I wasn't going to chip the sink. But I got it on. It runs great. And it's so silent I wasn't sure it was working at first. (Hint - don't check if it's working by reaching inside it!)

This weekend - it was the dishwasher. It had started to get a little temperamental. It would stop in the middle of a cycle, sit there for a while, then start back up again. Or not. Finally when it gave me a near heart attack by noisily starting back up as I reached for a glass in the cabinet above it I decided it was time. I found a nice Consumer Reports Best Buy at Sears and brought it home. I am pleased to report that there was nothing funky about the install. Electric, water in, and drain tube were all standard pieces. The total job took less than an hour. Not bad for my first time. And no leaks! So life is good.

Or is it? Kind of makes you wonder what's next. I can't imagine the stove or oven are ready to die. But what about the things you never see? The water heater? The furnace? I am not looking forward to either of those going out - though replacing both of them with larger, more efficient units does have an appeal. Something tells me it won't be long!

BTW - I have to give a shout out to the village. I wasn't at all sure they'd take it, but the garbage guys took the old dishwasher from out by the curb. Thanks, guys!