Last night, my wife broke the chain when she tried to turn off the ceiling fan. We bought a new switch at Lowe’s for about $7. The replacement process takes 10 to 15 minutes. We use these fans in our bedrooms a lot because our second floor is always hot. Our AC unit doesn’t work too well. I am not sure how long we can ride it out before we have to spend about $15k. I just don’t want to think about it. Being a homeowner comes with too many responsibilities and I have very little skills to fix them. Oh well!

As I was debating whether I should spent over $50K to buy a new Toyota Sienna or fixing our 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE, I chose the latter. This time I chose the Auto Team in Manassas. One of the co-owners is a friend’s uncle. Even though it was my first time, I could trust him. He’s an honest mechanic. He replaced the front struts and sway bar links.

Parts

• Struts: $190 (2x)
• Sway bar links: $48 (2x)

Labors: $400

Total with discounts: $850

The AC is still not working. The sliding doors are still not fixed. Nevertheless, I can still use in in the winter to drive to Whitetail for work.

Last night, the second automatic sliding door from our 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE broke. The first one broke about six months ago, but I hadn’t fixed it. One auto shop quoted about $2,000 to replace. That would cost $4,000 for both. Obviously, I am not going to replace them. I have no problem with using the manual sliding doors. My only concern is that the kids my get their fingers jam or their face smashed since the doors would slide very fast with the cables to hold them.

In addition, the back lift gate has no hydraulic. It keeps falling down and hit my head. The interiors are falling apart. The shock front driver side is gone. The steering post makes clicking noise every time I made a turn. The AC is out. The milage is about 210,000 miles. The only thing that still works well is the engine—for now.

Since I will be driving an hour and a half each Saturday and Sunday this winter to work, I will need a reliable car. I am not sure if it is worth it to fix the issues and keep it or buy a brand new Sienna. The price tag for 2025 hybrid Sienna XLE is around $50,000. I don’t want to spend that much money on a car. I want to see how much it will cost to fix the shock and the steering post. If it costs too much then I might need to get a new car.

First world problem, I know. Nevertheless, I still hate owning a car, but I need it.

The front holes in the toilet on the first floor kept leaking water. I decided to replace the old one with Everbilt’s 2 in. Universal Complete Toilet Flush Valve Repair Kit. It was a quick job even though I had to remove the tank. For my future self, unscrew the two nuts from the bottom of the tank first in order to remove the tank.

Even with a brand new flush valve, the holes were still leaking water, not as much as before. I am just going to leave it like that for now. I’ll deal with it later.

Update: no more leaking. Yay!

Sáng nay mở máy rửa chén ra thấy chén bát đã rửa tối hôm qua mà vẫn chưa sạch. Thôi thì chạy lại lần nữa. Khi máy chạy, tôi nghe tiếng nước lẫn tiếng gì đó rất lạ. Để ý nghe kỹ hơn thì ra là tiếng, “Ti… Ti… Tiền…”

After a few days of heavy rain, I needed to climb up to the roof to clean the gutters. I always dreaded going up to the roof and I didn’t go up last summer.

This morning, the weather was cleared; therefore, I decided to go up. Sure enough one of the gutters was clogged. I just had to clear it. I also hammered in the nails and tightened up the screws. The strong wind made them loose.

I wondered if anyone else was doing these. I haven’t seen any of my neighbors up on their roof to hammer in the nails.

At one point the sun hit me hard. I was sweating profusely. I was hoping I was not getting dehydrated.

Earlier today, I flushed our water heater. It was the second time I did the flushing based on the instructions I wrote for myself last year. Everything went well, except when I opened the valve at the bottom of the tank to drain the water. All I had to do was turning the big plastic knob to the left to open up the line, but I couldn’t remember. I tried to force it. Luckily I didn’t break it yet. It would have been a nightmare if that valve broke. I wanted to keep a note here so I can remember next year.

Every time my wife informed me, “The exhaust fan in the bathroom is not working,” I got stressed out a little. Why did the fan stop working again? I changed the new switch. I sealed the cover to keep moisture from getting into the electrical box.

I searched up YouTube and one of the suggestions was checking the loose wires. I removed the fan and checked the house box. Both the ground and the negative wires were completely out of the wire nuts. Nevertheless the fan kept working on and off for months.

I replaced the wire nuts and made sure the wires were tightly and securely connected. It was such a dumb mistake that only someone who had no confidence in fixing things around the house could make.

I am glad I found the issue and fixed it before I called an electrician.

I took our minivan to the dealer for an oil change. The cost was $125. Damn, the oil change alone was super expensive. I think I will do the oil change myself next time. I had been driven this car to work every weekend. From my house to Whitetail is an hour and a half.

I heard the clicking sound every time I made a turn. I asked the dealer to check it out for me. They claimed the A/T intermediate shaft was the cause and it would cost $1,500 to replace. I denied the service.

I am not sure how long I can keep this car before I have to pay so much to get it fixed. I am not looking forward to buying a new car. Cars are too expensive these days. I don’t even want to think about it.

We still have the 2018 Toyota Sienna SE for the long trips. I am going to just drive this car until it breaks down.

We have been couchless for a few months. I didn’t want to replace it. Couches are expensive and they turn you into a potato. We didn’t need one, but my wife insisted on getting one. Of course, she always got what she wanted. She ordered a set of Coddle Aria Fabric Sleeper Sofa with Reversible Chaise and Storage for $1250. I didn’t care much for it. It just took up space along with all the things we accumulated over the years. It is what it is. I just try to do my part to tidy up as much as I can.