Shortest version: we’re right in the middle of moving from Utah to Texas, approximately 1,200 miles.

Shorter version: the hotel last night, it was a Days Inn in El Paso, TX on Yarbrough Rd — don’t go there — claimed to have high-speed wireless. It was so slow it was unusable. If it did load a page, it didn’t load the next one. I was dying being cutoff from everything.

Short version: 60 miles out of El Paso our trusty car’s engine started making strange clanking noises. About 30 seconds later smoke started coming from the engine. I thought we had run out of oil (though we had the oil changed right before our trip, had no reason to believe it would be low). I dumped in three more quarts and turned the engine. It sounded very close to starting, but then I noticed oil gushing from the engine.

Long version: We had it towed back to El Paso. A cursory look revealed a large hole in the oil pan, which means we ran over something. Other possibly serious damage may (and probably did) occur. El Paso just experienced flooding, so engine work there is very crowded. They can’t even begin to diagnose (which will probably cost $600) until Thursday. We left our car there and rented something to take us the rest of the way to Dallas. After taking a few wrong turns, we’re finally here in another hotel with actually-functioning internet. A pizza is on the way. Tomorrow we’re actually moving our stuff into our new place. Here’s hoping everything goes smoothly. I am tired. Our plan is to have the car fixed if it’s not a total loss (it’s an inexpensive car) and I’ll probably fly back to El Paso to pick it up in a few weeks. In the meantime, we need to do faster what we were already planning on doing — find a “family” car — so we don’t have to keep paying through the nose for the one we’re renting. There’s nothing I hate worse than being in a bargaining position where I need a car. Luckily the new job doesn’t start for a few weeks yet. And luckily there wasn’t an accident.

My apologies to everyone who hasn’t received YNAB on time. It seemed yesterday was particularly unreliable (that just figures). I won’t be available tomorrow until the evening (if at that). Thanks for your patience with me until then! This is one time where I am certainly not glad I’m a one-man show.

If you enjoyed this post, then make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!