It's Chuckay

It’s Chuckay
Yes, it is Chuckay. Chuckay, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, is the month long celebration of all things Chuck. The event is sometimes hard to understand for those who are outside of the family. I think Doug’s friend Robin Brown said it best when he remarked, “It’s just Doug and his dad.”

Doug and I had a pre-Chucky lunch celebration on April 30th at Albatras; one of Doug’s favorite Mexican American restaurants in the South O. C. This was my first visit to Albatras since before my operation.

I had my usual No. 8 combination of two soft beef tacos, rice, and refried beans. Doug had a large chicken burrito. I surprised myself and was able to finish the entire meal. Previously, I had been uncertain about whether I could finish the meal or not. In any case, I could have always taken the left over portion home and reheated it in the microwave oven.

Doug and I talked about the traditional Chuckay Dinner at Morton’s. We agreed on our usual day; the first Saturday after Mothers’ Day. My birthday is just before Mothers’ Day. Once, we went out for the dinner on Mothers’ Day Weekend. This was a mistake for us; it was crowded and noisy and not much fun.

Me and the Other Doctors
Friday was my day for the semi-annual MRI examination. I can tolerate MRIs because I only have to have them twice a year. I am not that fond of being placed in the narrow tube for the procedure.

The MRI was part of the current treatment plan to monitor my two liver lesions. The lesions were discovered when I had my first operation in October 2007 to remove my colon cancer tumor. Since then, the lesions have remained the same size and are relatively unchanged. The colorectal surgeons want to watch and wait with the lesions. Their thinking is that if the lesions do not change then there is no need for a costly and more risky surgical procedure to address the lesions. Based on the cost of an operation, I think the hospital can get a lot of MRIs for the price of one operation.

This seems reasonable to me.

I also received the results of my semi-annual visit to my family practice doctor. All of the significant tests were well within the desired range. This is all good for me; I don’t have to take any increased amount of medicine or change the prescriptions.

Prelude
I took the Prelude in for service on Saturday. I needed to have the dealership replace one of the headlamps and one of the fog lamps. These parts are now special orders and it will take a week or so for the parts to come into the dealership.

While I was at the dealership, I asked to have one of the mechanics take a look for an oil leak. I had noticed some oil on the car park floor when I pulled out to go to the dealership. As luck would have it, the leak came from the car’s transmission. This meant that I am now looking at putting a rebuilt transmission in the Prelude because the transmission is failing.

The cost of a non-Honda rebuilt transmission is between USD$1,800 and USD$2,500. The maximum warranty is uninspiring at only 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first, is horrible considering the current transmission is over 21 years old and has driven for over 361,000 miles.

Even after replacing the transmission, I will still have a Prelude that is almost 22 years old. Parts will continue to be a problem for me. I am certain that I will be entering a period of expensive component replacements.

I came home from the dealership and had my lunch.

Then, I brooded for a while about what to do with the Prelude.

I made the decision to purchase a new car. This seems like the best alternative for me. While I do so love driving the Prelude, its low flow air supply working with the air conditioner in the Summer is just not what it needs to be for someone who lives on the edge of the desert as I do. This has been a design flaw since I purchased the car new in 1988.

What kind of car did I want to get? That was the question.

Of course, I would love to have a new Porsche 911 convertible. But, price is a factor and, unless I win the Mega Millions Lottery on Tuesday, the Porsche is just so much of a dream.

I was looking for a sporty type of vehicle in a two door body style. The MINI would certainly fit my needs but I was put off by the pricing. It seems that every time I went to select an option, the process would end up adding something that I would never want like electrically heated seats. It doesn’t get that cool in Southern California.

I also considered the Honda Civic Coupe; that seemed so logical for me even though the cars are now made in Ohio and the Prelude came from the Home Islands. Another car that seemed to meet my needs was the Kia Forte Koup from Korea. Both of the cars could be priced out at what I wanted for less than the MINI. Both have better warranties and the Civic is a Honda.

Since school will be closed for the campus move from May 11th to the 15th, I will have some time to go take a closer look at the possible car purchases. I can take a look at the Civic when I take the Prelude in for service. I will be there and will need to kill so why not look at the Civics.

Teaching
Barring a sudden change in the teaching roster at school, it looks like may be teaching four classes in the Paralegal Studies program this next quarter. I may even have a Saturday morning and afternoon class which would be nice since I would have two classes with only one drive out to school. But, Saturday afternoon classes in Summer Quarter are like trying to cross Death Valley without a full load of fresh water. Attendance is poor to start with and get worse as the Summer drags on.

There are compensations with Summer Quarter. We get to wear business casual during the Summer session. We will also be in a newer building with hopefully a much better air conditioning system.


Be well and stay happy.