So, aging cars are signs of the frugality and good sense of their owners, are they? They're also signs that their aging owners look amazingly like targets to money-hungry mechanics. I took the old bastard (my 1997 Avalon) in today to have the mechanics determine why the rough idle and bone-jarring vibration at idle. After a $95 assessment, the verdict: it needs new motor mounts (causing the vibration) and some new valves of some kinds (causing the rough idle), to the tune of $1100.
I opted to live with the shakes and the rough idle, at least temporarily. According to Kelly Blue Book, $1100 is about 1/4 the value of the old bastard (I'm no longer considering a name for the beast...a term of endearment is no longer in order). I'll continue to drive it for a while longer as I decide whether to simply live with the offensive behaviors, replace the beast, or check around until I get a repair price I think is reasonable. Despite the steepness of the repair costs, I have to remind myself that car payments would quickly outstrip the cost of repairs...unless the old bastard keeps at its lightly-veiled attempts to prompt me to euthanize it first.
In other news, my two attempts to hire staff members in as many days have failed miserably. Two job offers were refused; others had beat me to the punch with better offers, I gather. If I offer any more money to these people, I'll be paying them more than I pay myself (which is far too little, I acknowledge). Maybe I'll just have to bring myself to do that. If anyone who reads this blog would like to buy a service business, let me know, right away.
Pentultimately, I've agreed to serve on the board of directors of our homeowners association (if elected...which is likely, since no one else has been willing to be tapped to serve). I have lots of ideas about ways in which we can generate more revenues which, in turn, can be used to improve our little community and, ultimately, protect and possibly even enhance our homes' values. Living in this neighborhood, though, in the midst of deep, deep, republicanism, makes me wonder if my service on the board might result in vigilante justice by those who don't like the yard-signs for liberal candidates. "High profile" people have to be careful, you know...after all, homeowner association board membership is one of the most dangerous avocations.
Finally, today is my Falba-based brother's birthday. Happy Birthday, bro!
1 comment:
Tough call on the car situation. You don't have road salt down there, so your car may actually be in relatively good condition and worth maintaining for awhile yet. Up here, after a certain age, the body of the car is usually getting so rusted from underneath that they become rolling money pits.
Sorry to hear that the search for new employees is not going so well. As mentioned before, my husband has a dreadful time finding and retaining employees. Have you thought about something sort of different such as hiring 2 or 3 part-time workers instead of full-time employees. Sometimes there are very good semi-retired types who are very dedicated and professional, but who don't want to be tied down to a full-time job. I've been reading about the problem with retaining really top notch older employees (management people, and also and especially nurses), and one of the things that is frequently mentioned by them is that they enjoy working, but want less hours and more flexibility in their work week. Ideally, that's the kind of situation my husband would now prefer. He's super at his job, but getting to the point where he'd like to work something like a 3-day week. Anyhow, it might be a way of getting a couple of good people on without having to cover paying them for full work weeks. Just a thought.
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