Car - 2, Sarah - 0

Did you know that February 7 - 11th is carpool week? No? Me neither, although I did actually carpool today. It was kind of involuntary carpooling - me, desperately seeking transporation from our kindly neighbours, rather than an urge to save the environment or lower my gas bill.

Yes, the woes of the automobile continue. And no, it's thankfully not the mini acting up, but rather the 'on its last legs and kinda dilapidated' 1997 mazda protege. The car has served me well, and I shouldn't begrudge it - it doesn't owe me anything (nevermind the fact that it was free - a gift from Granny when she stopped driving). But, after the great 'brake-failure' debacle of last month, which saw me driving through a slippery snowy east city with no brakes, I kind of take the car's failings personally. Like, maybe, the car is out to get me.

Maybe it's sick of listening to nothing but CBC radio. Maybe it's still mad about the forgotten rotten orange under the seat. Maybe it's horrified that it's full of cheerios, raisins, and mysterious spills from sippy cups.

Regardless of the reason, the car has fought back yet again, and this time, my automobile-idiocy may have killed it for good.

Now firstly, let me say that the term fan-belt sounds pretty innocuous, right? Like, it's a belt that turns your fan. For heating and cooling and the like, right? I mean, you'd think if a car part was crucial and essential and that your car would BLOW UP without it, it might be called something more like the 'holy-crap-I-am-important-belt', or the 'engine-will-die-and-burst-into-flames-without-me-belt'. Just saying, I don't think fan-belt is a good descriptor in this instance.

To make a long story short, there was some screeching yesterday (the car, not me) and then a popping noise (again, the car). And then my heater stopped working (mysterious, but nothing that made me pull over). And I continued on my merry way to work. I did notice the engine teperature was rising, but figured that was because my heat stopped working, so all that miscellaneous hot air was circulating around the engine. So, I got to work, called Rob and told him what happened. Then there was another screeching noise (Rob, not the car) and a popping noise (again, Rob - this time the vein in his forehead). And my beloved husband explained to me (in a voice you might use to speak to a misshapen vegetable) that driving without a fan belt KILLS YOUR CAR.

Fast forward to tow-truck, blah blah blah, garage, blah blah blah, mechanic, blah blah blah, replacement parts, and we still don't know if I actually killed the car (involuntary vehicular slaughter) or whether it's salvageable and will live to torment me in other ways for further days. We find out tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted, though you may figure it out for yourself, depending on where you are on the globe. If you hear a screeching noise (Rob, yet again) and a popping noise (our bank account, imploding) then you will probably have a good idea of the outcome.

In the meantime, be kind to your automobile, or you too may need to join the ranks of the reluctant car-pooler.