Every now and then everybody needs something in life to remind them they're not perfect. As one of my professors says, "It's for your sanctification." Well for me, that was today....

When you're low on income you try to take every shortcut you can. So when the "Oil Change Required" warning came up on my car, rather than spend $25-30 at a Quick Lube place I swung over to Walmart to pick up a filter and enough oil to do the job myself. This warm sunny day I gathered my tools and equipment convinced I could score an easy victory and call it a successful afternoon. After all, I've changed my own oil before so I knew what I was doing, and plus I was being financially responsible. I emptied my oil pan without too much of a mess. The filter was off and the new one back on easy enough. I confidently refilled the tank with my new oil proudly considering the efficiency of my accomplishment. I started the engine and hit the system check button on my dash. That's when I heard the awful sound. It was just a computerized beep tone, but it was a beep that meant something was horribly wrong. The message read "Oil Pressure Low" and a glance to see the pressure gauge bottomed out confirmed it. That could only mean one thing. I quickly turned the car off and went around the passenger side to see, sure enough, 5-quarts of brand new oil streaming down the inclined parking lot. I quickly spent a whole roll of paper towels mopping up as much as I could hoping nobody would drive by.

A humbling hour and another 5-quarts later I finally got my car back in working order. It turned out I didn't notice the old gasket was still stuck on when I screwed the new filter on so it didn't make a solid seal. Fortunately, it was an easy fix. Unfortunately, I didn't end up saving any money after all. At least it's a mistake I won't make again, so maybe it will pay off in the long run.