MEDICAL UPDATE: The big toe on my left foot is angry and inflamed. Its toenail looks like I had a one toe paint job done at the salon -- it's a pale blue color. So far, it hasn't fallen off. The good news is that I can comfortably wear shoes and, as you will see, I did a lot of driving and walking around today, always in a state of slight discomfort, limping for sure, but I was never in agony, never thought I should give up on the things I did today. I expect my toe to be pretty much healed fairly soon.
1. I took my crapped out cell phone to the Verizon store. A very helpful solutions expert tried three, four, maybe five different methods to get the phone, with my permission, to perform a factory reset. Not one of them worked. We agreed the cell phone was D.O.A. I had expected this. I'd held out a sliver of hope that the phone might be resuscitated, but -- no. So the very helpful solutions expert escorted me over to the wall of cell phones and started explaining how I could get the new model of this phone, but that one did about the same thing for less, and, somehow, he interrupted his sales pitches and said something like, "unless you've got an old phone at home you haven't been using."
Suddenly a shaft of light descended from the skies. I stopped him. I told him that I had bought my now dead phone on a whim. I didn't go into the details with him, but I bought the now dead phone when Debbie needed to buy a new one after she left her former phone outside over night in a rain storm over a year ago. I told the very helpful solutions expert that the phone I had when I bought the now dead phone must still work. "Great!" said the very helpful solutions expert. "Bring in your other phone, we'll swap the SIM cards, and set you up." I thought for a second. I asked how long the Verizon store was open, found out it didn't close until 7:00, so I told the very helpful solutions expert that I'd be back later, that I was going to drive back to Kellogg, retrieve my former phone (I knew exactly where it was), and I'd bring it back and see if it works.
2. I had also planned on making a trip to Reliable Auto to talk with the guy who works their front desk about the Sube's maintenance schedule. I decided to put that off and as I soared over the Fourth of July Pass, the Sube's check engine light came on. Well, I said to myself, I'll grab the phone, return to CdA, go straight to Reliable Auto and have the car checked, talk about maintenance, and then return to the Verizon store.
That's exactly what I did.
The guy at Reliable scanned the Sube for a code, got it, told me that what the code was and we talked about how the Sube has been idling (just fine). He said that if there wasn't a problem, before long the Sube's sensors would realize there wasn't a problem and the light would go off. He recommended that I come back in a month if the light was still on and the shop would dig into it. This was consistent with what he told me last time I dropped in for a check engine scan. Then I showed him the maintenance records for the Sube over the last 80,000+ miles and he told me the Sube's spark plugs, timing belt, etc. should be fine for another year.
3. I returned to the Verizon store and the very helpful solutions expert was now the check-in guy and he smiled broadly when I entered the store, impressed that I had actually returned. After about a ten or fifteen minute wait, another very helpful solutions expert sat down with me, put some juice in my idle old phone, swapped out the SIM cards, punched a few buttons here and there, and before long announced that I was in luck. My former phone was functional and ready to use.
I returned to the Sube and headed over to Fred Meyer to pick up a few things and PRESTO! the check engine light went off.
I picked up a few things at Fred Meyer, gassed up at Costco, went to Long Ear and bought a live JJ Cale cd and a cd of JJ Cale songs sung by other artists, had a sandwich and a beer at Capone's, picked up a couple of items at Staples, and headed on back to Kellogg. The check engine light stayed off. Once home, I iced my injured toe and put a full charge in my old phone.
Then I went to bed, satisfied that my trips to the Verizon store and Reliable Auto had gone so well and happy to have some more JJ Cale ready to play in the Sube.
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