Cursed! (Original B&W Photograph)

Howdy!

I'll call this a submission to #monomad, even though it's a mobile phone image and not my usual polished DSLR work. A little post processing into high-contrast monochrome really adds punch to it, though!

^{And it was SNOWING}

So, why cursed? Everything I touch appears to be falling apart, lately! Of course, vehicles always seem to break when I look at them cross-ways, but it's been many other things, too! My best lens needs to be sent in to repair the manual focus switch, my shoelace snapped, my computer headphones crapped out just before an online class, and the list goes on and on!

Then, driving home from class, I heard this strange "Boop!" sound from my Jeep. At first I thought it was the radio. "Boop!" I turned off the radio and it went away... but not for long! "Boop!" This time, I noticed a light, but it disappeared before I could read it.

"Boop!" Door not closed all the way? Nope.

"Boop!" Pulling into my driveway, I saw the light was on again and, this time, didn't disappear when I looked at it. "Check gauges" it said. The battery charge gague was somewhere between "you'll be walking soon" and "RIP." That's when the real fun started. Lights began blinking on and off on the dashboard and my oil pressure gauge was flopping around like a freshly-caught fish! I thought it was the battery. It wasn't!

As you might have guessed, it was the alternator. I've changed about four of these in the last couple years, so I'm pretty much an expert at alternator replacements. Like I say, CURSED!!!

Those of you who have followed my posts may remember the "fun" I had repairing the Ford Ranger or the engine replacement for this Jeep earlier in the spring. I'm hoping things will settle down now, but I've said that before!

Fortunately, the Jeep alternator was much easier to change out than my old Ford Ranger's was. That may have something to do with the belt not being absurdly tight. So, another $300 later, and I'm back on the road. Regardless, three trips to the car part store and about an hour later, the Jeep is back in shape. WIth all the pracctice from previous alternators, the organ replacement surgery only took about 15 minutes. I didn't even draw blood this time!

So, how does one break the dreaded Curse of Everything I Touch Goes Bad? I'm thinking of a ritualistic ceremony involving a chocolate overdose, but I'm open to suggestions. Does anyone know a good shaman that could tell the bad spirits to bugger off?

Well, it's time to try and find some chocolate!

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