Lying down for ten minutes and just breathing really helps head off freak-outs. The little nap that the breathing turned into probably helped too. Things seem much more approachable now.

I finished my book review and am going to start collecting sources for a lit review for a bicycling infrastructure paper for my land use planning class. I don't know if I can get all of this done, but I'll do my best.

Juan was done with my car, so I got to drive out and visit my grandmother. I had a really nice lunch with her and told her all about what I've been working on and the program at Syracuse. I'm glad I made time for that. I was hoping to connect with Posi too, but that didn't quite work out. It may have to wait until after AAG.

I noticed leaking brake fluid in my grandmother's driveway and was, to put it lightly, disheartened. When I saw Juan, he looked at it and determined it was just fluid leaking from the old lines, which he'd left in place. That's a relief! The rusty gasoline filler neck is still an issue, but I'm not going to sweat it.

Hmm. Sweat. I think I'll get a shower too.

I never put my clothes in the dryer. When I got home, I was going to hang my stuff up to dry, but someone else had, thinking they were being helpful, put it in the dryer. I've mentioned this to folks, but there are too many people in this house to keep track of things like that I think. I printed out signs to tape to my laundry baskets saying "Chris' Clothes. Please do not dry." Hopefully people will see my basket there and just put clothes into it and leave them for me to hang.

I *was* going to go see Lisa​ for the first time in three or four weeks. We were going to have dinner and catch up a bit before I drove back to Kenosha. Then I was going to spend tomorrow doing some thrift store shopping with my dad before he leaves to see his very ill sister in Texas.

Then I found that my damned car has essentially non-functional brakes. I'm assuming there's a blown brake line. It's too cold, and I'm too frustrated, to look under there and figure it out. Maybe I'll have some ice cream. I have never owned a car that has had this many serious maintenance problems. Sure, I've had cars with burned out dashboard lights, or with speaker wire spliced from headlights to taillights 'cause the taillights stopped working, or cars that dripped water onto my feet when it rained (actually that was all one car...), but never one that's had this many serious mechanical problems. I miss my Suzuki Swift.

Thrifting is probably still on tomorrow, but it will be a shorter day. My dad and I will leave later and drop my mom off at work, then come back by five to pick her up.

---

My brother had told me he thought the brakes were, I think he said something like, "kind of weird". Maybe he said you had to press them pretty far to get much stopping power. I didn't pay as much attention as I would have to something like "Hey man, your brakes don't work," which would be a much more accurate description of the situation. At the first intersection on my way from the house, I almost had a heart attack when I stepped on the pedal and nothing was happening.

I almost decided not to deal with the cold today and drive to school. I'm glad I didn't do that; I would have been pretty late after freaking out about my brakes and turning back around.