Human boomerang

I wonder if anyone is even still checking to see if I'm blogging, it's been that long.

I am a human boomerang. After one month minus one day in Texas, I left and moved back to Seattle. Want to hear about the drive? I knew you did.

So, I started out leaving Denton at 5am on Wednesday, May 30. After an uneventful 13 hours, I arrived in Denver where I spent the first night. I left Denver at 6am on Thursday, headed for Twin Falls, Idaho. About 30 minutes north of Denver, my check engine light came on. I started to hyperventilate...here I am, alone in the middle of the country and my engine light is on. Is the engine going to fall out the bottom of my car at any moment? I have no idea.

I made it to Loveland, CO, the next town and stopped at the Hampton Inn. The front desk attendant gave me directions to her car mechanic. It was now 6:30 am, so I had a good hour and a half before the mechanic opened to let panic set in as I wondered how much time & money this would require to fix. Rather than wig alone, I invited Marcy & Jesse into the situation. I am blessed with comforting people in my life, even when I wake them up before dawn.

At 7:30 am, I saw the garage door of a mechanic down the street open and made a run for it. The mechanic hooked a scanner to my car, came up with what he called a minor code, and assured me that the issue was not going to affect my driving. I looked him in the eye and reminded him that I was alone and driving to SEATTLE, about to go into states like Wyoming & Idaho where I might run into 8 other people on a good day. He assured me I could go on my way.

I went on my way.

About 3 hours later, just west of Cheyenne, WY, the engine light came on again. I couldn't NOT check it. I just couldn't. So, I stopped in Laramie, WY at the first hotel I saw. A woman there pointed me to Walmart. Walmart pointed me to a local mechanic. He hooked up the same scanner and got the same minor code. He cleaned an air filter that was the size of a dime and assured me that would solve all my problems. I drove to Twin Falls with no further issues.

On Friday morning, I was rejuvenated. I was going to be in Seattle by that evening, and my engine light had not come on in several hundred miles. Everything was fine.

Until...

About 50 miles east of Baker City, OR, the light came on again. It had been 1000 miles since the light had been on. Something had to have triggered it. As I stared at the mountain range I was about to have to cross, and looked around at the lack of populace, I decided to stop again in Baker City. A third mechanic in a third state got the same minor code. He told me to mentally prepare myself that the light would come on again before I got to Seattle, but I did NOT need to stop and have it checked.

I left Baker City, and sure enough, about 4 hours east of Seattle in Yakima, WA, my engine light came on for the fourth time. I called Marcy & Jesse and told them I wasn't stopping, so if they didn't hear from me in a few hours, send a search party to Yakima. I turned the music up and drove.

And arrived safe & sound in Seattle.

My check engine light stayed on for two days, and then hasn't been on since. Mystery.

Now, I'm back. Registered for summer quarter. Have a job interview next week. Reunited with friends. Seeing how this whole relationship thing is supposed to work. Back to layering my clothing and wearing a hood full-time.

Feeling like my sanity is back.