Grease monkey

o.k. there are things that every woman should know how to with her car. The list includes:

- changing the oil
- changing the cabin air filters
- checking the tire pressure
- replacing headlamps and turn indicator light bulbs
- changing a tire
- topping off coolant
- jump starting a battery
- changing windshield wiper blades

The only problem with this is that every time you go into an auto parts store they talk to you as if you are 5 and don't know what you are talking about.

Growing up, my dad was always fixing our cars and even though he only let me hold the work lamp I've always been interested in how to maintain my car. In high school I was good friends with a guy that taught me how to change the oil and rotate the tires. He also helped me replace a seat belt and cheat my smog test in my 78 ford ranger --- I LOVED that truck!! Later on in life I had a Datsun wagoneer named Ruby. She was a great car but had electrical problems that meant you got a slight shock exiting the vehicle and the ignition switch burnt out every 6 months. This lead to a quick lesson in hot wiring.

Just picture if you can an 8month pregnant woman who stalls her car on a hill in rush hour traffic, has to get out, open the hood, lean in and poke a screwdriver into the engine to complete the circuit - all while wearing a attention-getting kelly green dress!. It was one of my proudest moments, especially since I was in a very well-to-do part of town (Stevenson Ranch) and all the angry SUVs were singing the same disproving song. I have never had more people tell me I was number one!

All this to say when my power window switch broke yesterday - with the window down, I would not accept the idea that I had to wait 3 days to fix it (with the window down in a neighbor hood where there have been regular break-ins). It took me 2 hours on the Internet to track down the part and order it and less than 5 minutes to take the switch apart, locate where the mechanism had failed and find a solution. I wasn't sure it would work but as I plugged the switch in and poked at it with a wooden skewer I was delighted to a.) not get electrocuted (the car had to be running to roll the window up) and b.) hear the rewarding hum of the driver's side window slowly make it's way to the full upright and lock position. Hooray! now if only I could get the dishwasher to work properly ...