A/C

Two little letters never held so much power as they did this week. So, on Monday, DW went off to work in our newly acquired POS 1999 Toyota Corolla CE. Except for power windows, it has all the basics as is reasonable sized that my fat ass can cram into it without feeling uncomfortable to drive. No leather, no alloy rims, no sunroof, no xoen headlights, and no key fob remote and alarm; just the basics. Power door locks, power steering, power brakes, and cruise control. After listening for two days to the super shitty and tinny standard AM/FM cassette that came with it, I ripped the head unit out and inserted my Kenwood KDC-7009 that DW bought for me as a Christmas gift many moons ago (she treats me so well you know). HUGE improvement in sound and power, though, an amp for the mids and highs, some separates and the subwoofer boz with its own amp would really make it rock. I guess the audio installer in me is always itching. Just wait till I get that iPod ready head unit.

Anyhow, the item of this post would be a large, lit button, marked A/C. Seems that someone (DW) got so used to the modern electronics doing everything for you that she forgot the manual process for internal cooling. So, I was totally confused when she commented on MSN that the car interior was not getting cooled and as hot as outside. She said that she rolled down the windows (literally) while driving and it was better than running the Air Conditioning. Huh? Really? But it was working yesterday. I don't get it. So, I said I would look at it when she got home.

We had an appointment in Oshawa that evening, and we needed to get there toute suite so I drove. Of course, it still registering in the mid 20s externally, I turned on the ventilation system for some cool air. Hmm, it seemed to be blowing warm air at the moment from the outside. Something is not right. What could it be? Ah, there it is. That big round button in the middle marked A/C was not depressed. Heaven. Cool Air. Ahem. C'mon, you know I had to.

"Uhm, dear? Did you try the Air/Conditioning button earlier today when you complained about the heat?"

"A/C button? No."

"Uhm, did you not see that the little light on the button was off?"

"It was really bright out and I cannot see that."

"Okay, but why did you think it would go on by itself?"

"I did not have to push any button in the old one, I don't think."

"I thought there was, but regardless, you are now in a POS manual vehicle and you have to do everything in it. So, push de button."

"Yeah yeah. Drive."

And so ended another great automobile conversation. Please remember to push the button.

Peace. :-)