Another day, another drama

And then there was the story about our vehicles. Jay and I have both been pretty lucky with our cars over time. This is saying a lot when you consider that Jay went through a phase of wanting to have a bio-diesel-consuming rig and set himself up with a 1978 VW Rabbit Pickup - top speed: 55 mph...downhill...in good weather. But for the last 5 years or so Jay has had his blue Subaru wagon, which has travelled the I-5 corridor a few times, braving snow and rain, high waters and a shredded undercarriage thanks to someone's wheel-containing tire falling into the road during a dark and rainy night.  
As for me, I still drive my trusty Sentra, the wonderful 16th birthday gift that has kept on giving, faithfully transporting me from point A to point Z.  Two trips from Corvallis to Salt Lake City.  A trip from Corvallis to San Francisco.  Drives from Davis to Hells Canyon Dam, numerous holiday treks between Oregon and California, and even a trip to British Columbia.  Not to mention my daily commute, which adds 150 miles a week.  
The day after Christmas, as we made our way back to Corvallis from a fun-and family-filled few days in Portland, the Subaru stalled on I-5 about 30 minutes from home.  Thankfully traffic was at a painful crawl due to an earlier accident and we (and by "we" I mean Jay) were easily able to get to the left shoulder and out of traffic.  About 30 minutes into our wait for the tow truck we had a visit from an Incident Response truck wanting to move us across all three lanes of traffic and up the nearest off-ramp.  We proceeded to be bumped and pushed up the next exit with sirens and lights blaring behind us.  We were perched atop the off-ramp in a nice gravel bed to wait out the next 15 minutes.  We had some very nice passersby stop and offer the use of their cell phone, though fortunately we did not need their services.  
We made it home after the Subaru was loaded onto the flat bed truck (All Wheel Drive has some disadvantages if you ever need to be towed) and the next morning made arrangements for a re-tow to the mechanic shop of our choosing.  As I said my goodbyes to Jay and my Mom, who came down to visit for a few days during school break, I hopped in the Sentra to drive to work and was met with a car that wouldn't start.  Seriously?  Is it really possible to have 2 cars that aren't working at the exact same time?  What are the odds!??!  A quick call to AAA and a tow truck was on its way for the Sentra.  My awesome Mom agreed to drive me to work (oh High School days, how I love to relive thee) while my awesome Jay saw to the Sentra's delivery to another mechanic shop in Corvallis.  
By Tuesday we had the Subaru back, a minor issue that was easily repaired at a friendly price...something about a spark plug?  By Wednesday we learned that the Sentra being due for a major service was no joke, so 4 times the sticker price of the Subaru's repairs later and my up-til-now trusty steed was back in business.
  Fast forward to a week and a half later.  On my way to work, NPR filling the Sentra's cabin, my car starts bucking like a pony at the Hermiston Rodeo.  Engine light flashes...more bucking...not sure what to do my only solution is to forge ahead, slowing down, crossing my fingers, and turning off the radio and heater (because of course that will be the difference between continuing and stalling....) Envisioning a frightening scenario of being stuck on the side of highway 34 (I realize this isn't the worst thing to happen, but I have a vivid imagination) I immediately call AAA when I get to work, asking for a tow back to Corvallis because I fear not being able to make it home that night.  
2 days later we learn that all of this drama was caused by a simple issue of an injector connector cap not being seated properly...right.  So again life continues.  UNTIL....dun dun DUNNNNNN:  Last Tuesday, driving home from work, Jay is busy putting in his 10th of 12 hours worked that day (that's a whole other post) and it happens...maybe 7 miles from work all of a sudden the Check Engine light flashes and the tachometer lets go.  From my (unnecessarily high but going with the flow) speed of 65 mph I ride out the momentum until I come to a stop about 100 feet from a meat market.  This time I call the mechanic shop and manage to reach the owner right before closing time.  He sends out a tow truck, which arrives in about 20 minutes.  Now I have to admit that having my car die on the highway was not nearly as theatrical as I had imagined - no dark figures lurking alongside the road or jumping out from behind the meat market sign.   And while I hope it never happens again I now know that I can be a big girl about it.  We get to the mechanic shop in enough time for my stewing to lessen a bit, though I now have exhausted all 4 of my annual allotment of car tows from AAA- all in less than one month's time between both cars.  I greet the shop owner with some sarcasm about how awesome my night is going, thinking to myself, and to borrow a line from the great phrase ruiner G.W. Bush, "Fool me once - shame on me...Fool me twice?  You can't fool me twice!"  This time I better have a good reason for all of this car not working nonsense.  
  Two more days pass and the Sentra has been running fine for the mechanics, of course.  They really earn my admiration for not charging us for the two days of trying to get the car to fail again with no luck.  All they can tell me is that the car will fail again...it's just a matter of when.  Could it really be over?  Have my "Crystal Cruiser" days really come to an end?  If this was a movie we would now cut to a montage of the my life with the Sentra, "Memories" playing as you see me test driving the car two months before my birthday, then the day it shows up in the driveway and we are destined to be together forever, my first drive to college as I cry about leaving the comfort of my hometown, my first major road trip to Canada with friends when I got rear-ended in bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic, then longer journeys to visit Jay in Utah and CA, the Sentra happily packed to the gills for my move to Davis and subsequent move back to Corvallis...then me watching the Sentra sit alone in a dark driveway, cold from not being driven, both of us with a tear in our eye/headlight...oh how I love to anthropomorphize everything.  
My little Sentra buddy sits, for now, in front of the house, relegated to back up vehicle around town until we decide what to do.  Should I become brave enough to drive it and be met with a stalled car the mechanics have given me contact numbers so they can come diagnose the problem as soon as possible.  But compared to the value we can get from the Sentra, any major repairs may just never happen.  Time will tell what happens!  For now I am thankful that we at least have the Subaru, in working condition - knock on wood, for me to get to and from work while Jay happily rides his bike around town, rain or shine.