Gabe got a little note on her crackberry this morning from Contimental basically letting her know we could go online and book our seats. I'll find out tonight how she made out.
Those bastards still owe me air miles from October, but I'll wait until I'm back in VOIP land before calling Houston....with my problem.
The reason that I was privy to this particular email this morning was that, up until 9:30 or so this morning, we were still at the municipal headquarters over in Goor (remember, rhymes with "boat") where we had to go and pick up a form for Gabe's Rijbewijs. (driver's license) So happens that the building was open at 8:00, but not much else happens until everyone starts work at 9:00. The coffee was free.
The last time we were there I didn't manage to take a picture, so went outside while Gabe was waiting for the clerk to figure out which form she was to take away. Not sure what took so long, since it's a standard form where you have to check off that you're transferring your license from a foreign country.That was one of my little jobs for today.
Have to say, filling out forms is not one of my favourite things even when presented to me in English, let alone Dutch, but it's done. Now we have to include a photo and send it off. We'll see how that goes.
The other job was to try and remove some tar that I picked up on the car over in Germany a couple weeks back. We sorta went through a construction zone, and I know I wasn't in a place where I was supposed to be, but that's a whole other story.
Initially I was going to try some mineral spirits of some sort, but was told to "take it to the Audi dealer!".
Turns out the dealers for Audi are just as retarded as for anybody else, since the advise given did manage to take off most of it, but also meant that there are now some scratches....(not happy)
So I went back to my original plan, which worked like a charm, and all I did was to make sure I neutralised everything with some soapy water.
Sometimes the "experts" need a good kick in the pants.
Turns out the snow tires are Bridgestone Blizzaks, which is the exact same brand we had for the Volvo. Only difference is these are still low profile tires, which don't really make for the best snow tires, but it's mostly to keep ahead of the cops. Plus, for those who are skeptical about winter tires, they're made differently and have a softer compound that gives better grip in the cold.
As a side note, what I had done (on the advise of my mechanic, who doesn't work at a dealership) with the Volvo was to actually install 15" snows on 15" rims in place of the 16" summer tires.
First of all, 15 inch tires and rims are cheaper. However, in order to end up with the same size wheel, they need to be a 65 series instead of a 55 series. This makes for a higher sidewall and gives a little more flexability, making for a better winter tire.
Get that?
The curious thing is, the garage here keeps our summer tires, and I'll go back in March to have them put back on.
So I didn't have to cart my tires home, nor did I have to sign a thing....
....nothing. Just made sure of when I was to come back.
Crazy system, but I like it.
Sure beats the hell out of muggins here firing up the compressor and changing tires in the driveway. I don't necessarily mind too much, since then I get to have a look at the brakes and such, but most times when I get around to that sort of thing before winter, it's already cold outside, so I end up doing it in the garage, where you can barely swing a cat, let alone change tires.
Don't miss it that much.
Only one more slight milestone before we get to blow on outta here, and that is that Gabe wants me to pick her up from work and then go in to Hengelo where she thinks she needs to buy a couple more things....to cart home with us.
Oy.
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Well, I've been getting too many spam comments showing up. Just a drag, so we'll go another route and hope that helps. So, we won't be hearing anything more from Mr. Nony Moose.
I guess I'll just have to do without that Gucci purse.