nagy.

We have a new friend. Nate took his car to a nearby mechanic to see about alignment, and they sent him home with a quote for a few major things that needed fixed so (among other things) his wheels wouldn't fall off. We got a recommendation from friends to take his Honda to a guy in Antioch who works on cars at his house. So on Friday, we met Nagy.

Nagy is an Egyptian guy who grew up in Egypt and taught English for many years and (to his dad's disappointment) couldn't ignore his love for repairing cars. "It's my passion!" he told us. I expected us to drop off the car and be on our way, but Nagy invited us to come inside his garage and check out a couple of engines he rebuilt. Then he looked at Nate's car and showed him specifically what was wrong with it and said, "Bring it back Sunday, and I will have it done maybe Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday … " Nagy asked about what the local mechanic had said, then he concluded, "They are thiefs!" Life in the rest of the world is way more laid back than America. "You just stop by and see how things are going."

We brought it Sunday and he gave us both Cokes (not diet, but it was way past lunch time so I drank my calories) and we sat in his garage and talked to him about his family and Egypt and cars. He showed Nate more about his car and pointed out that his front right tire needed replaced. "I give it to you for free!" he said. So Nate's car was being repaired Sunday, and on Monday he opened at Starbucks. At 4:30 a.m. So I got up at 3:15 to get ready and make it to his house by 4:15 and drive him to the store. I slept a good hour in my backseat and Nate brought me a blueberry scone and caramel apple spice before I headed to work around 6.

Monday afternoon, Nashville was hit with some pretty decent storms. Around 2:15, an announcement came on at work telling everyone to go to "their designated safe spot." Davidson County was in a tornado warning, so after a bit of confusion over where exactly our designated safe spot was, we filed into the stairwells. The rain was still falling when I picked up Nate after work and he drove us out to Mt. Juliet to meet with a florist. When we got there, all the power was out. The cops were controlling the intersections and all the businesses were dark. Fortunately our florist's office had power.

We met with her and discussed what we thought we want, and she was really great and helped us stay in our budget. She also gave us some really great ideas for reception food and now I'm excited about planning that part. I think once you move past the idea that you have to impress all of your guests and decide you're going to have fun with it and who cares what people think because it's your wedding, it takes a bit of the pressure off. We have some fun ideas.

Tuesday after work we went back to Antioch to pick up Nate's car. Nagy showed us a few other things that were wrong that he had fixed. He probably did twice as much work to the car and charged us a lot less than the local mechanic. Nate's car drives great, so I worry less about him driving it long distances. Nagy said that car engines typically last to 350,000 miles, so he said when Nate's engine goes, "Bring it to me, we will rebuild it." Looks like we found ourselves a reliable mechanic. We thanked Nagy and he said, "Send me your friends!" So if you're looking for a guy who fixes cars because he loves it and has been doing it for almost 30 years, I'll give you Nagy's information.

Rob Bell spoke at Belmont last night, but Nate had men's group and I didn't go by myself, so we're interested in hearing how that went. Samne are coming over for dinner tonight. Friday night, Nate and I are going to Rocketown to see Lecrae. Date night. Woot.