Car Trouble and Cabin Fever

I am TheSkankin'Dragon and this be my first blog!
My car is a lemon! It is, just a few weeks ago the alternator went, it spent a few days in the garage that time. This time it has outdone itself, it all started two weeks ago when my car kept stalling on me on the way to band practice, i didn't really think much of it but that evening while parked in a supermarket car park it started smoking and i mean smoking! my friends and i stood around watching it, we aren't exactly boy racers and had no idea what to do plus we were more interested in going back to my mate Stu's place and smoking that twenty we just bought... anyway it drove ok, or seemed to at least, a friend of mine who knows a little about cars said it was the Coolant Fluid that was the problem, I had run out of it. The next day I drove down to my local Tesco petrol station and bought some of this coolant stuff, i filled up the bottle thingy and it seemed fine, for a while. One night my friend Kate gave me a call, she had some weed and was up for a mission, I was well up for a smoke so i drove down to pick her up, on the way I picked up my mate Stu. The three of us ended up walking through the woods for what seemed like forever until Kate led us to this chill spot next to a river, Kate being a total awesome firelighter went to work and soon we were sitting around a roaring fire passing spliff after spliff until we were happily stupid. After we smoked the weed we decided to make a move, being the kind gentleman that I am I gave my friends a lift back to there homes. Pulling out of Kate's street my car stalled twice, my heart sunk. I started driving home feeling very uneasy the weed in my system had completely left me, all that was left was nervousness, I entered the dual carriageway and headed for home, The car started to feel a bit funny, can't really explain it, the clutch and the gas didn't feel right somehow, i got to the big roundabout, the light on the junction was red and i waited, my car seemed to shake, went to drive off and my car really didn't want to, it was shaking and struggling but i managed to get it going, i drove it onto the motorway and pressed my foot down on the gas, i was doing about 70 but for some reason every time i reached an incline in the road it slowed down, i solved this problem by changing gears down to third, it would then pick back up speed. Ok so far so good right? wrong! I'm at the home stretch almost at my turn off and the smoke is back and this time it's pissed! I look behind me and I'm leaving a trail, like the vapour trails plains in the sky make on a clear day, only this is coming from my car. Oh shit, on one hand i could stop but see I don't have any money in my current account so paying for a tow would eat up my overdraft and anyway I'm nearly home, I pushed the thoughts of me exploding out of my head and decided to try and make it back to my house. I turned off the motorway and noticed that if i drove under 40mph my car really didn't like it so i was left with no choice but to speed the 2 miles or so home. Whenever i reached a corner that required me to slow down my steering wheel got heavy as if the battery had ran out and i had to drive in 2nd gear or the car would hop and lurch. I finally got close to my house, I'm two streets away which would have been great if the street i was on wasn't filled with speed bumps, ever done 40mph over a speed bump? It ain't very nice, then I got to the bit i had been dreading, the hill leading to my street, now to call this hill steep would be an understatement this hill is a bastard, the kinda hill you have to stop to catch your breath half way through, the kind of hill you have to walk your bike up, The kinda hill that would kill an elderly dog, anyway I'm rambling.... At this point I'm seriously thinking about parking the car and walking home but I decided to try and drive up it, now you'll remember me saying how my car didn't really like hills in the state it was in? Well this one was a monster, I changed down to first and pressed my foot on the gas, I'm nearly standing on the peddle and the car is crawling up, at this point I'm gripped with the fear that my car will die halfway up the hill, I'm shitting myself, but somehow it makes it to the top. I turn into my street and speed back up, thank god I'm going downhill, I slow down as I reach my house and my car dies directly in front of it in the middle of the road! I look out of my windscreen and notice that I can't actually see anything out of it because the smoke coming out of my engine is so thick, I jump out of my car and run to a safe distance, I turn around and I am confronted with the image of my car, the front is just smoke, it's coming out of the bonnet, its even coming out from under the wheel wells, I cup my hands to my mouth, My body shaking I look on expecting it to explode. I look at my house and my Mother is in the window staring at the car then staring at me with a shocked expression, A second later she's walking towards me in her pink fluffy slippers and polka dot dressing gown looking understandably concerned. We wait for the car to stop smoking, It doesn't stop smoking so we decide to go inside for a cigarette and a cup of very sweet tea. We come back outside about 20 minutes later, i get in the car and try to start it, It's safe to say that it doesn't start but it did make a sound similar to an old cement mixer, I dropped my handbrake and pushed it into a parking position running over my Mothers foot in the process, luckily she moved her foot out of her slipper just in time.
The next morning I called the garage to tell them the good news, they sent two mechanics. They took one look at my engine and started to laugh, the phrase "that's fucked" started getting used frequently, the mechanics were half impressed that I managed to get the car home. To cut a long story short, they towed my little car away, I received a call two hours later from the garage manager, A burly dude that always seems to be holding a glass bottle of milk with his greasy black sausage fingers.... anyway, the news wasn't good, I need a new engine and a new coolant bottle since the one on my car has a big hole in it, they also suggested that i pay for them to replace the clutch while they were at it because it was on its last legs and they might as well kill two birds with one stone, oh yeah I also needed something called A manifold, not sure what that is but it sounds important. So I had a hole in my coolant bottle thingy which caused my car to overheat. The damage in terms of money is frightening we are talking a grand! I could buy another car for that money but my car is very economical with petrol, 20 squid fills the tank! Plus my Mother wouldn't let me buy a banger, she figured it would be more trouble than it's worth.

So know I find myself stuck in the house, I haven't walked anywhere in four years and I'm pretty far out anyway. The first few days i chilled in my living room watching on demand, found a series called Sons Of Anarchy 13 episodes, winner! watched that and a few other things. Friday came around again, Friday is my Godbomber day, don't worry I'm not bombing things in the name of God, it's A band that I'm in, I play Saxophone for them, Its a Metal/Jazz/Experimental band and i love practicing with them, we practice on this secluded farm just outside Swansea and it's a great time, only this time I'm stuck in the house, usually on Friday i go to practice, then me and Stu the singer/guitarist/noise manipulator pick up some weed and go for a smoke... I know I'm over stating this but the Friday practice is the highlight of my week, It's fun, a chance to blow off steam and get creative. Being stuck in the house while my friends are having an awesome practice is bad enough but receiving a text inviting me to a BBQ at my friends Johnathon and Ellie's on Saturday is even worse, the weather this week has been sunny and hot and I'm stuck in my house. Saturday comes and i spend it on the couch, I watch the newest episode of True Blood on demand, I listen to some Ska cd's.... well not any ska cd's these ones are compilations, a series of compilations called Skarmageddon, volumes 1 2 3 and 4, they were released on the now defunct Moon Ska label years ago, very rare, out of print gems from the 90s the bands on the compilation are mostly all split up now but it's still an awesome series of compilations, I listened to every cd, there were 8 in all.... well i say listened I also played along on my tenor saxophone in between gulps of tea and crooked cigarettes. It was a fun day considering but it still sucked knowing i was missing a BBQ, I LOVE BBQ's especially on a hot sunshine filled day! Sunday was a little better, I had practice with my other band Miacca, we are a gritty ska/reggae/dub band and we practice at the same place as Godbomber. I was very lucky, my bandmate and friend Tia picked me up in her shiny new car, well she did eventually, after getting lost a few times thanks to her sat nav, lets just say she earned her petrol money.... Anyway, we had practice, wrote a new song and improved another with a dueling flute/sax solo, it sounded kickass fair play, i was pleased. After practice i got a lift home and i have not left since..... It's been 48 hours and I'm beginning to get cabin fever, the lovely weather wont go away, It's taunting me. I have a gig in Ska-diff on Thursday with Miacca supporting Broken Nose, Tia is once again picking me up.... Until then I'm stuck in the house. Hopefully the car will be ready by the end of the week, if it's not i think i might go insane, I'm not joking.... My boredom has reached new levels, why do you think I'm writing this blog? hahaha speaking of, I think it's about time i ended it now

I shall write a new one soon, i enjoyed the experience, it was cathartic...

Anyway, I'm off to roll a cigarette and brew a cup of tea, until next time, Stay Rude and remember to check your coolant bottle thingy!