Stuck in second gear

I had a good day at work today, and I even got off at a normal hour. A full Friday night ahead of me. Dinner with friends, Enter the Dragon at the midnight movie at the Circle Cinema, a full night's sleep. Then the damned truck made sure I'd only get one out of three in good conscience.

I got on the expressway and the truck was having a hard time getting up to the speed limit. The wind was blowing really hard, and that caused me a few problems in my old car(s), but never in this half-ton pickup. I'd press on the gas, and the spedometer barely rose. I turned off the radio and listened to the engine rev when I would floor it. All noise, hardly any speed.

I got off at my exit, and everything was fine again...until I got up to 30 mph. The needle would rise at a snail's pace until I got to about 55 MPH. Then it hit me: I've lost my third gear. This happened in my old Jeep Pickup ten years ago and I was fine. However, that was an easy problem to ignore because I had a standard transmission on the Jeep. I'd rev up in second and go straight to fourth. This time, it's an automatic transmission.

I put myself in denial long enough to make it to the restaurant to have dinner with my friends. We talked about it over dinner, and from their experiences, I'm looking at some pricey repair work.

I called my folks about it, giving them the heads up that I may need some help getting this problem fixed. The thing that sucks worst about this is that it happened on a Friday night. I have to work this weekend, plus this was my last chance to do anything fun before the shitstorm ramps up next week, and I'm stuck with a vehicle that isn't fit to drive at a reasonable speed and can't get into the shop until Monday.

So, my driving is gonna be rationed. To and from work, and that's about it. Good thing I'm caught up on laundry and the fridge is stocked.

This one's gonna cost me a lot. The transmission isn't in the best condition in the first place. The maintenance record is spotty at best. I had hoped to drive this thing until early next year, but I may need to start looking around for a new vehicle. Oh, well...At least I had a few months of being debt-free.

Now I have to ask myself: What do I want in a new car? My needs are simple: Low payments, low insurance, good gas mileage. I could do without power anything, or without a CD player for that matter, if it meant getting around without shit like what I'm going through now.