Space Bug, created by MomMom

“Why do today what you can put off ’til tomorrow?”  Those were the words of wisdom coming from SpongeBob this morning as we slurped coffee on yet another snow day. 

Yesterday I took my beloved car for an alignment–the wobble was becoming problematic.  I could procrastinate no longer and having President’s Day off was a perfect time to do it.  The alignment was no big deal; however, four new tires set me back a bit.  But oh, how happy I am with those new tires!

Space Snail with food sources Space Bug and Space Snake. Snail and snake created by Harper. (Snail comes equipped with traction control, in case you were wondering.)

When I bought my car, I ended up with the lah-dee-dah model because I wanted traction control and the anti-skid features.  To get those features I had to also accept leather seats with butt-warmers, a sunroof, and a nice stereo system–not that I’m complaining.  But the tires!  They gave a wonderfully smooth ride, but they were @#$% in snow.  When I replaced them I wanted something that would really grip the road but found out that lah-dee-dah models like my Camry XLE have to have the smooth ride “touring” tires.  I’m reasonably sure it was the smooth touring tires that slid me off Miller Lane a couple of winters ago to the tune of $15,000 to the insurance company. (So much for traction control and anti-skid!)

So, yesterday, I got the tires I was afraid to spend money on last time.  And just in time.  I had no idea that winter was planning to blast us so hard last night.  As I headed out to my grad class at 5pm, the sleet was already starting in the Hereford Zone, even though the weather warning was from 7pm to 7am with the heavy snow coming after midnight.  At 8pm the instructor called it a night so we could beat the weather.  (Cars downtown were already coated in ice.) The further north I drove the worse it got.  I-83 was snow covered.  I followed a salt truck to Mt. Carmel Road where salt trucks were lumbering into the SHA depot like an elephant parade at the circus.  Mt. Carmel was snow covered which prepared me to face untreated Miller Lane.  It was pouring snow and blowing sideways.  I put the car in low and crept down the why-isn’t-there-a-guardrail-here curve of disaster to the safety of home.

When I got home I wanted to kick my heels and yell “Yee-hah!” like Jesse in Toy Story.  In spite of the nasty weather, I felt pretty secure on the road.  I finally have the tires that I want for this car.

Ok, if I hadn’t procrastinated on getting the alignment fixed, I would not have needed to get new tires just yet, but I am really glad I had them last night. And now I have a snow day…I wonder what other procrastinations I can tackle.  I’ve already made my Space Bug.