Crack down

I don't know what it is about North Carolina and firsts with my car. Tuesday my windshield cracked.


Must've been a rock that hit it, although I have no idea when it happened. Boggles the mind, because a few weeks ago, a giant rock hit it over on the passenger side--no crack. This time, I don't even hear anything, and it cracks, on the driver's side. Naturally it grew, because I had no choice but to use the defroster yesterday morning (change in temperature=prime crack-lengthening conditions)


even though I had covered up the windshield overnight to avoid getting ice on it. A coworker recommended a mobile windshield replacement guy, so I called him and he came out today to replace it. It was not as expensive as I thought it would be, so that's good, but it was still money out of pocket (my deductible is $500 so I didn't even bother calling the insurance company).

First, it was the deer. Then, I was rear-ended and the car was totaled. Next, I got a speeding ticket. And now this. I drove for 14 years in Southern California, and managed to avoid all of these things. One year of driving here and all of them happened. I suppose that I am driving more, since I travel for work. But still.

I watched the whole replacement process, ever the curious cat. It was pretty involved, but they finished in about 30 minutes. I was wondering how they would handle the inspection sticker, which was stuck on the inside of the windshield. They used a blowtorch on the opposite side of the glass to release the sticker, so it was pliable and still sticky, and just reapplied it to the new one. Voila!

The good news is, my new windshield is lovely. I don't know what it is about the rain out here (and by "here" I mean the East Coast), but windshields do not stay crystal clear. It's as if they get hard water stains or something. The marks are most obvious when it rains--visibility is drastically reduced. And nothing will clean it off, either. It's like it's burned into the glass. But now I'm starting fresh, so at least it will be good for a while.

That is the extent of what I have to report, folks. Quiet week. I'm gearing up for vacation, so this will likely be my last post for a while. I get back from my cruise/roadtrip on January 13, so I'll have lots to report on after that. I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year's and that '07 is off to a great start for you all!