The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

WOW... talk about a roller coaster of a day! So, I woke up this morning in a relatively good mood. I started off the day right, talked to some friends on the phone, and continued my never-ending system of packing. I find it amusing that I actually have designated suitcases, bags, and boxes for my stuff - that's how often I move. My green suitcase: always for my clothes. Blue suitcase: leftover clothes that didn't fit in the green one, my hats, sweaters, and towels. Big red bag: all my shoes. Big gray bin #1: my shoeboxes that I use to organize everything (and my old-school caboodles, my card collection, and whatever else I can fit). You may not think that I am an organized person based upon initial entry of my room, but open my closet and you will see otherwise. I've also got my laptop case for fragiles, a small suitcase for odds and ends... suffice it to say: I move too much!

I got probably 1/2-3/4 of the way done packing and decided to take a break. I had to get the oil changed on my car anyway. So I went to this place in Calabasas that my friend recommended, and waited for that to be done. However... about 15 minutes later he came back out and said "ooh your tires are in SAD shape." I had told him earlier that I was driving out to Utah, so they did a complimentary safety check on everything, and my tires were really worrying the guy. He brought me out to where my car was and proceeded to point out the wear and tear on my tires, and how each tire is uniquely 'branded' so-to-speak, with the year and week of that year that the tire was made. My tires? Week 26 of 2001. Tires are supposed to be changed roughly every 3-5 years, and mine were 8 years old. He basically told me that he feared for my life if I drove this car to Utah with those tires.

One of my tires - it's bad quality though, because it was taken on my phone.

So of course, this is when my stress level skyrocketed. He calculated it out and told me that the cheapest he could get me would total to about $385. I definitely do not have that much extra cash just laying around... so I told him I was going to go home, try to figure things out, and possibly be back tomorrow. I called my parents up to ask their advice on what I should do, and if I should risk it or what. My mom started to worry at that point, and she said it would probably be a good idea to get new ones. They however, are very tight on money right now, and couldn't lend me the money.

So, I was back to square one: no money and in desperate need of new tires. I had kept it together pretty well up until this point, but I was on the verge of a meltdown. And remember, I don't cry much. Usually, I can't even remember the last time I cried. But I was supposed to be leaving for Utah on Wednesday, and there was no way I was going to come up with nearly $400 in the next two days. It just wasn't possible.

My grandparents (Kelley) live in Utah, so I called them up to tell them what was going on and as soon as my grandma said "what's wrong?" I fell apart. I was kind of mad at myself for falling apart because for some reason I guess I see crying as a 'sign of weakness' so I suck it up and tough it out most of the time. No one ever sees (or hears) me cry. But this whole tire thing just piqued my stress-level over the top. However, my grandparents are absolutely amazing and came to the rescue - they agreed to lend me the necessary money to get new tires for my car.

The Womacks then heard of my plight and gave me the name of their 'tire friend' and where he works and sent me there so I could get a 100% honest diagnosis as well as a good deal on tires if necessary. His name was Carey and he actually graduated from BYU once upon a time! He went and looked at my tires and said "well... you technically have maybe 20% left on those tires... so you could probably get back to Utah okay, but I would change them pretty soon after you get back." He asked how long I was going to be in Utah and I told him that it was up in the air at the moment - somewhere between 4-8 months. He said, "So you'll be there for the winter. These tires won't survive another winter." So long story short, it was decided that it would be best if I went ahead and got new tires now, just to be safe. I really don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere!

In the end, I got all four tires for $320 --> $65 less than the other place. Thank you Carey, and thank you Womacks. And thank you Grandma and Grandpa Kelley for lending me the money! I am SO glad I decided to get my oil changed today instead of tomorrow, so I still have time to get everything else taken care of before I leave on Wednesday morning! The only problem now is that I am majorly behind on packing! I better get back to it... but at least I have a car fully ready to make the 675-mile trip back to Provo!