Category: Outings

I drove Mario to and from work on Monday. I was waiting for my FSA PIN to come in through e-mail but it never came in so I kept the car for nothing. I checked my mail Tuesday morning and it was in my inbox so I kept the car again. Drove him to and from work, went to school and got the rest of my stuff done (now, I just wait till July 26th for orientation), went to Mario’s work and left him some CD’s he forgot, then drove home. I’ve been doing lots of driving and I can honestly say I’m not as terrified as I once was. Traffic over in the Pharr/McAllen area still freaks me out a bit, but I’m getting used to it.

Took John driving for a little while last night in my car since his is still not working. Our luck would have it that there was a soccer game between USA and Monterrey going on in our city so traffic was backed up for miles. We waited at the crossover for a LONG TIME before a guy left space in front of him and waved us over. How very nice of him. John, Mario and I have this inside joke about how I’m just too damn sexy (it all started when we were making up reasons cops would stop us a while back and has turned into this daily thing) and we decided that it was my sexiness that helped us get through traffic. (I’m really not sexy, I’m quite self-concious so don’t think I’m that conceited! .)

The darn a/c went out again yesterday…hopefully it’ll stay “fixed” this time. It was so incredibly hot! It’s supposed to rain today but, ha! That’s what they always say and it doesn’t.

I need to finish painting the rest of the Yu-gi-oh plaster thingys for Eenan’s party. We’re not going to have his party at the usual place this year because they’re moving to another city and they’re closed. Blah. We have no idea what we’re going to do. I also need to buy a few more acrylic paints and I’m broke!

I’m so excited about school starting. Been catching up with Rejeana and she’s also getting things ready to start school in August . It’s awesome that we’re starting together (although we’re not going to the same school) and I’m so relieved I have someone who can relate to what I’m feeling right now.

I need to get my backpack soon (while it’s still on sale!). I thought I was going to have an excuse to go shopping, but then I realized the most I’ll be shopping for is jeans; I have to wear a polo shirt or T-shirt with our logo on it . I hope they have my size though. It always turns out the smallest size they have is Medium and it never fits right. Grr.

I guess that’s all for now. I’m just typing whatever’s on the top of my head so that makes for a very random entry .

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Yesterday evening, after Mary, John and I finished another round of painting at the apartments, John and I went out for a drive. He got the courage to drive on the Expressway, so I got my cup o’ noodles and my lemonade raspa and we left. He drove around the neighborhood first, then went down the back road and was going to come down the main road in Peñitas, then down the Expressway back home.

The car died on us in Peñitas.

Right when we reached the expressway and John saw that it was clear to pass to the crossover, the gas pedal stopped working and then smoke blew out from under the hood. It was overheating big time. I was so scared that if he did try to get the car to “go”, we’d get stuck in the damn traffic and get hit. We turned on the emergency lights, turned off the car and just waited there for a bit. He turned it back on and slammed the gas and we made it across to the crossover. Put the emergency lights on again and we looked around to see if anyone could help us. A man in a green car came up behind us and I was about to wave him to go around us and he parks next to us and asks, “Did the car stop?” I said, “Yes. It’s overheating. Smoke was coming out and everything.” He said he’d help us move the car over to the left shoulder so we wouldn’t be in the way. I got into the driver’s seat and John helped him push. He ran back to his car and I yelled, “Thank you SO much!”

So we sat there and waited. Thankfully, I had the cellphone. I usually forget it. I tried calling to Mary’s, but no one ever answered. So I called Mario at work and of course he starts lecturing me on “Why did you take that car if you know it’s not working right? Why didn’t you take my Mom’s car.” I tell him, “Well, that’s not gonna help me now, is it? I’m calling because I need your help. Bring water please.” He says okay and that he’d be there ASAP.

We tried making light of the situation and kept making jokes. We’d scream out, “Helpo! Helpo!”, whenever we’d see a cop car or constable, which is John’s idea of Spanish LOL. There was one cop car parked at the gas station that was across from where we were stranded. Eventually, he drove over and parked behind us. And then I panicked because I left my permit at home! He gets out of the car and asks if we’re okay. He was funny. I expected any cop to be mean and straight-faced, but this cop wasn’t. He kept cracking jokes and kept assuring us we’d be okay. I told him we were waiting for my husband, so he said he’d wait with us and helped us move the car a little farther away from the shoulder.

Just a few seconds later, a family parks on the opposite shoulder and asks if we need help. The cop says, “It’s overheating. She’s waiting for her husband to bring water.”

The guy yells, “I have water!” So we nod for him to cross over. He explains a few things, adds water to the radiator and we notice the radiator fan’s not moving. After messing with the A/C and then the heater, it started. The car cooled down right away. The guy said he was from our city, and that he’d follow us home just in case. I told him we’d wait for Mario since I couldn’t get a hold of him and he was on his way. I thanked him profusely and he and his family waited in their van for us. The cop guided us while I drove to the right shoulder, since he said it’s safer. Mario gets there, he puts the radiator cap back on and I get in the Sentra while he drives the Honda to Sonia’s. The guy in the van saw that we were okay, so he and his wife waved to us and off we all went.

I didn’t think we’d get that kind of help. I expected to be there, waiting, until Mario got there. John kept saying, “There ARE nice people. I never expected them to be HERE!” God Bless them. I’d of had a panic attack had they not helped us!

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It hurts to type right now. Mary asked John to paint the empty apartment Jose and Elda are going to move into (I thought Elda said she was gonna do it?) and being the wonderful sister that I am, went out there to help him . My hands are killing me. We were trying to paint as fast as possible. It’s about 101° right now, which doesn’t feel good at all. We started at around 10:15. We came back at 12:30. Screw being in THAT heat.

I drove everywhere I needed to go yesterday, and then some. Holy crap, by the end of the day, I seriously had leg spasms. Mario drove to work, I drove back since I needed the car. Drove back at 12:30 to pick up his paycheck. Went to the bank to deposit money. Drove to Mary’s to leave our car payment with her. Got directions from her on how to get to my school from her office (and the ladies that work with her were saying how pretty and long my hair was and congratulating me for getting my license and starting school *beams*). She scribbled them down for me and well, I didn’t understand them. Thank God John was with me…we eventually figured out how to get there .

Things went well at the meeting. Almost had a heart attack because my “sealed” transcript didn’t have my grad year on it. All the ladies kept whispering to eachother and sounding genuinely concerned so I asked, “Am I going to be able to apply for Financial Aide??” She says, “Yes, we’ll do it anyway.” *whew*

Took about an hour to fill everything out (an hour less than the day before when I was enrolling). Like Mario said, it felt like we were buying a house LOL. After figuring everything out with our W2 with the F.A. lady, we’re going to be paying $124.77 out of our pocket each month. Then, 6 months after I graduate, I need to pay back my loans. Scary. I hope we don’t end up knee-deep in debt . We’re still having to pay back Mario’s loan, and it’s pissing me off they keep adding from $50-70 each time they send the bill for “Fees and Costs”. Bastards. We pay $40 for it…they’re charging $50-70…it’s like we’re taking 1 step foward and 2 steps back! We’re never going to pay it off like that! I seriously need to call and dispute those charges.

We’re going to be a little tight financially for the next 9 months. But it’ll be worth it. I made all those calls yesterday that will hopefully help us out a bit. Called CCMS for Mom — I’ll have to fill out an application and IF we qualify, they put us on a waiting list. That’ll help us out a lot with paying mom for babysitting the kids. I also called around to ask about my Scholarship, but I kept getting the run-around and eventually they told me to leave my name and number and they’d call me back, which they haven’t. But I’m .

After driving home from my meeting, we chilled out and then John and I left to pick Mario up from work. The boys insisted on staying with Big Mario, so they did. After waiting an hour for Mario to get out, we went to Denny’s. The food was so good and the three of us had a blast laughing and making jokes. Nice ending to a hectic day .

I feel so much better about myself now. Now when people ask me, “So how’ve you been? What’s new? What are you doing now?”, I happily say, “I finally got my driver’s license and I’m starting college!” Before, I’d say something like, “Oh. Not much. At home, with my kids.”

What I love about my hours are that I’ll get to go to school and still have time to spend with the boys. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time .

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