I Brake For Exhaustion

I had to work on my car today. It started making a horrible grinding sound in its right rear quarter when braking, a problem that is pretty easy to diagnose as worn-out disk brake pads. Why the rears went first is beyond me, since the majority of braking effort on most cars is on the front pads and they tend to go first, but who know. Maybe Hyundais balance the braking effort differently.

Car work has always been something that's been relatively easy for me. Maybe not efficient, but it's rare that I've ever been physically bested by a car. I pulled the engine out of my old Pinto and had it back in within a single day, which isn't that great a feat in and of itself but it stands as a kind of indication of what I could do when I put my mind to it.

But not any more! Gee whiz, just getting the right rear tire off was almost more than I could do. I don't know if it's the chemo or the cancer that so saps my endurance, but I really don't have the ability to do much physical work these days. I managed to get the tire off, replace the brake pads and get the tire back on, but good heaven, I feel like I've been wrassling bulls all day. It's not a question of wind. I don't get winded, I just run out of whatever it is that makes one's muscles contract. Go-juice, motion-lotion, try, grit, vim, Vin Fizz, push-water, whatever. So I sit and stare and think "This moment of weakness brought to you by Adriamycin."*

It drives me crazy. But I have the answer for next time: take the car to the dang shop like I should have this time!

*Chemo drugs have ominous names. Bleomycin? Vinblastine?? Dacarbazine??? Yikes!