My car has given me a low oil level light off and on for, like, a month now. I kind of forgot about it while I was in Zurich, so it could've gone on and I could've just ignored it the past few days. But either because I was up very early and had stuff I had to do and was frazzeled, or because I decided to be a grown-up and look, that light was on for several seconds, longest it had ever been on, while I was going up a slight incline on 35W. It went off (it had always blinked off after a while previous times), but it came on briefly again later on my trip back home, so I got really freaked out.
I had checked my oil after it went on twice before, but it's the first time I followed the owner's manual and did it shortly after I turned off the car so it would be as close to normal operating temperature as possible. There was nothing on the dipstick. Nothing. So I got some oil and put, like, a quarter-quart in it; the manual said that while running most of the oil is being sucked into the engine, so I didn't want to put in too much. I re-checked; there was still nothing on the dipstick. That's when I recalled a thought that had passed through my mind a couple times before; how many miles ago did I last get my oil changed?
I finally checked the cling on the windshield with the odometer; it's been about 5,300 miles. When I patronized the dealership, they put me on 5,000 intervals. And the manual said that under normal operation you can go as far as 7,500 miles. But that warning light has convinced me not to ever push it beyond five grand ever again.
Other thoughts raced through my head: There is some oil in the engine, and it's not like the warning light's on all the time, so maybe I can wait till August is over, just to make a clean break with the month? And after checking my last invoice, tomorrow would make it four whole months since my last oil change. But I got over myself and sucked it up and went in this afternoon. I now assume everything's OK so I won't see the warning light anymore. But how much damage have I done letting my car go on so long without a change, and especially after dismissing the blinking light as an opportunity to check under my hood?
---
And then tonight my father scared the shit out of me. I went down to the computer room around 11:30 to help him register for some online auction. After I was done, he started talking ... ruminating, actually, about how the city of Minneapolis is making him cut down the fence he just put up for one of his properties because it's too high. I had no interest, but I tried to understand. He then kept going on and on about how his properties were doing, and he talked in a slow, laconic manner. My dad then fell back onto the bed in the room and closed his eyes. Was he taking a nap? No, not really; he kept going on and on about the properties he has and wanted to buy at auction.
Him talking slowly -- and one point I asked him if he was OK -- cemented the tableau for me in the room. It was dirty, clothes were all over the place on the bed he was laying down on, and there were at least a couple flies buzzing around the room, an indication that there may be food lying out, as My Father is wont to eat in the room. I don't think I've ever seen him talk to me as if he were drunk -- or dying. My Mother still isn't talking to me, but is she talking to him? Sleeping there meant that he wouldn't be sleeping with her; was that the point? Finally, I saw a couple hours ago that the door to the backyard was open, wide open. My Father wouldn't forget such a thing, he's usually fanatical about shutting the doors at night. My Grandmother may have forgotten to close it, but I know my dad would at some point go upstairs to make sure that's closed. Did he forget? Did he leave it open? Did he want to leave it open? If so, why? I've never seen that before.
Now that I've typed this, I'm really freaked out. I hope he's OK.
No comments:
Post a Comment