Pup on strike

I got up at 6:00 sharp this morning so Jared and I could leave by 6:30. We carpooled home on Friday, so we had to carpool back to work this morning.

First, a little background -- the Pup has been less-than-well-behaved since we arrived in Utah. Now that I think about it, she resisted this move from the very outset, even giving us fits in Las Vegas and requiring a new battery to get her home. Her behavior has gotten worse and worse since then; her defroster is completely dysfunctional and Jared has been alternating between squirting de-icer from a squirt bottle on the inside of the windshield and being forced to roll the windows down in single-digit weather to keep ice from forming on the inside of the windshield.

Today things escalated and the Pup refused to start up. Apparently this has happened here and there, but she wouldn't turn over at all this morning. After much muttered cursing and fiddling in the dark, Jared finally used the Saturn to jump-start her this morning. Yes, we did this without permission -- sorry, John, but we didn't want to rouse you from a sound sleep to deal with the Pup's problems.

At this point, it was after 7:00 a.m. and Jared was pretty well beside himself, but at least we were underway -- or so we thought. We got no more than half a block from the house, and the windshield completely fogged over, even though both cab windows were rolled down. Jared was even using an ear warmer not unlike this one in design as a makeshift muzzle in hope of keeping his breath from condensing on the windshield. Not wanting to be difficult, I was similarly muffled up with a scarf. Like an idiot, I had left the house with slightly damp hair and was experiencing the invigorating sensation of 6-degree wind whipping over a wet head.

A few more minutes of vigorous squirting and rubbing with paper towels and his sweatshirt sleeve, and Jared was able to clear a small area of visibility so we could be on our way. During this time, a couple of would-be Good Samaritans sort of slowed down and looked prepared to help us (we were in the middle of the road, actually) but Jared waved them on. Unfortunately, the kindness of strangers can't really help where many of the Pup's eccentricities are concerned.

By the time we'd been on the road for a few minutes, I couldn't really feel my hands or feet, but my hair was frozen over my ears, which kept them surprisingly warm. By the time I got to work, I was seriously wondering whether we could scrape together some money for a used truck.

I guess Jared had finally had it, too, because he took the Pup in today and replaced her battery with a more suitable all-weather type (more fools we for buying the new one in Las Vegas). He also messed around behind the dash and was able to remedy the issue with the defroster, as far as we can tell. I'm not sure what the Pup's next stunt will be, but I'm definitely waiting for the other shoe to drop.