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At the end of my college senior year Jan Term, I got sick with fever, chills, etc. The multi-day weekend break between Jan Term & Spring Semester allowed me some time to recover, but by late in the weekend, a “now or never” moment came. Still not feeling well, I called some people I knew were already on campus who might help me unload the car upon my arrival. I then loaded up my car, said goodbye to my sister & parents, & took off. My then daily driver had just been repaired a few days prior, so I was filled with apprehension, more than just the tail end of a sickness. I was on edge as I steered the car through Chicago. But, about the time I was on the other side of Chicago in Indiana on I-94, headed towards IN State Route 49, which would take me to US 30 & onto college, the local radio station played Alabama’s “Angels Among Us”. I knew then everything would be fine. I arrived on campus, a bit later than usual (took my time), to smiles from 2 people willing to help me unload the car & get stuff into my room. I started that semester “under the weather” & missed the 1st couple days of classes, but I’d made the right decision.

I had a similar experience, Friday, 03/03/2017. I woke up with a bad headache & sick to my stomach. I spent the bulk of the day between the bed & the bathroom, not even logging into work or social media. But, ~4p, despite having eaten nothing all day, I realized if I didn’t get going, it might be worse for me later. So, I quickly packed up, said goodbye to my childhood friend & OC,SHer GIANH P, & left MI just after 5p local time. The image you see is my attempt to capture the gorgeous sunset I was blessed with as I drove between Battle Creek & Kalamazoo MI on I-94 W:

As for my beloved 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis, as long as I kept it “up to speed”, it was fine, but when I slowed down, it started bogging, bucking & hesitating. When I reached the Chicago area, the car had enough … & the “Check Engine” light went on. I managed to coax it to my mechanic’s, where it now sits, awaiting a diagnosis as to what’s wrong. While I had let it sit from Monday evening to Thursday morning, it ran fine the 15-minute drive from my friend’s home to her dental office (check out their Facebook page via THIS LINK HERE), where she did some dental work for me. [BTW, if you’re in the Okemos MI area, be sure to check out her practice; she is a great dentist & has an awesome staff. The building they currently occupy is an old house!] The car didn’t start to “act up” until after I got gas Thursday afternoon. I’m hoping it’s just bad gas, but my other guesses: fuel injectors or transmission issues … or something else entirely.

I learned a lot from this mini test road trip (see my prior “Road Trips & Working” posts via THIS LINK HERE for other thoughts, info & pics). Based on this experience, I have some adjustments & tweaks to make for future road trips, but I look forward to at least 1 major road trip each month in 2017! I just hope the Mercury issue(s) & my follow-up with my PCP Tuesday (for the cough & ear infection) don’t delay the start of my next road trip, scheduled to begin Wednesday, 03/08/2017.

Meantime, need to log into work yet tonight to wrap up the week.