My brother says fuel pumps are important. Damn. I took my Ranger in to the auto mechanic, because it was taking way too many cranks to get the engine to turn over. They called and said it was the fuel pump and it was going to cost about $500 to fix. Shit. I'm glad I only put half down on the windows, instead of the 75% I was planning. I thought, "I'd better keep the extra cash around for emergencies. Plus, there's the sidewalk and the painting I'm going to have to pay for this summer, too." Forethought! It's great!

So much for my perfect record on repairs. But it is seven years old, so something had to go sooner or later. I could have just wished that it was something a little less labor-intensive. "I'm not surprised [it'll cost that much]," Lew said. "They'll probably have to drop the tank out to get to the pump, since there's no bed access." Who designed this stupid thing? I have to pay extra for oil changes, too, since it's difficult to reach the oil filter.

But I do love my truck. I'll probably end up driving it into the ground, just like Dad does to his cars. Did I ever tell you about the Taurus? The one that's three colors and he carries a portable heater in the passenger seat in the winter because the heat doesn't work and he doesn't want to put the money into it to fix it? He's determined to drive it until it dies. I won't be that bad, but I won't be buying a new vehicle when my loan is paid off (ten more months!). I've got it set up so that my paycheck automatically goes toward paying the loan, and when it's paid off, the money will go into my savings account instead, so it's earmarked for a new vehicle when I do need one. I thought that was pretty clever of me.

But it does pain me to part with money like this.