What's New

That was supposed to be a question, actually.  The answer:  My transportation situation has improved.  I ditched the malfunctioning 1997 SUV.  It ditched me, if the truth is to be told.  This happened a couple of months ago -- right after I went to court and paid a fine for expired tag.  I poured a lot of money into the Ford, trying to get the Check Engine light to go out so I could pass inspection.  Not four days later, the radiator and the engine both blew.  The repairs would have run me about $1100 and I decided right then and there that it was not worth it, and I was going to have a newer and more fuel-efficient car, no matter what it took.

It took a lot.  But it worked out this past week.  I got very little for the "Exploder" and had to raid a retirement account.  I also have a monthly car payment where there was none before.  But it's all good.  The best part was not panicking or spiraling into depression or hopelessness.  In the end I bought a relatively new domestic model that is known for very little OTHER than its fuel efficiency.  It's fun to drive on the interstate and looks pretty in the driveway.

Next project to tackle:  A part-time evening/weekend job.  I've applied at a number of retailers, but they always want you to apply online...and then your application appears to disappear down a black hole.  What's the remedy?
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No title comes to mind for this post.

Earlier today I was out at "the stores," as we used to call them. Preparing to leave, I started the car, reversed out of my parking spot, put it into Drive and then stopped. Farther down the aisle was an elderly man. From his body language I could see he was waiting for his wife to get out of their car to walk with him. He was standing behind the next car; his feet were pointed straight forward so I figured that once the Mrs. caught up with him, they'd walk directly across my path, so it was better to hang back.

But right about then, the driver of the car he was standing behind began moving backward. Because of the distance, I couldn't tell exactly what I was seeing. It looked like the man was directly behind the car backing up, but I was thinking, no, he must be off to the side a bit.

But no, he was indeed just behind the car, and she backed up and struck him on the hip! He staggered, but didn't fall. Then she stopped, opened her door, and I saw her speaking to him, and smiling. Then they walked on, she closed her door and got ready to back out again. I drove behind her and stopped next to the couple. I rolled down my window and said "I cannot believe she did that!" They just shook their heads; the wife said "Yeah, she did...wasn't looking when she backed up." As I left the parking lot, the woman who had hit him was behind me. Her car was a new red one. I was able to breathe more easily when she turned in a different direction.

The thought of someone getting hit by a car just terrifies me. My classmate Charlene was hit when I was about 9 and I never forgot it. She recovered, but a person is so helpless when faced with a large, moving metal object. That poor man. His life seemed to flash before my eyes more than it did his -- 70-some years, retired, kids grown, just out to pick up a few things on an ordinary Saturday and it could have ended right then and there.

Carl sometimes laughs at my caution behind the wheel. I don't like to drive or park too close to anyone; I hate making left turns when there's no arrow; I swivel my head like Linda Blair in The Exorcist when I'm backing out of a parking spot and can't see. There are times I'll back up an inch and stop suddenly if I even hear voices near the car or see some unidentified motion out the corner of my eye. I'm astonished at how many parents allow their small kids to just bound ahead of them in a parking lot, when people are backing up all over the place. In the case of this man, he was simply standing there. He didn't dart out behind this woman -- she never bothered to check her mirror! At least she stopped. I've heard stories of people who didn't even stop after they'd hit something. Another factor here was how close she had parked to the store, and the crosswalk. She impressed me as the sort of person who will hover like a vulture to grab the closest parking spot she can. If you're that close to the store, you should be doubly cautious, since there's going to be a greater ratio of pedestrians.

I hope she's more careful after today. Click Here to Read More..

$mall Victorie$

Anyone who's perused my tags will see "money" far up toward the top, along with "worries," "religion," "Wally [my son]" and "Carl [my husband]".

Do quotes go on the inside or outside of brackets??

Anyway...

Got my stupid-ass car fixed today, again, and yes, it cost me a barrel of money. But I had enough at the ready not to have to worry about (or apply for) credit.

I need to give substantial credit where it is due -- to a very random act of great kindness from a stranger at the repair shop. As I stood at the counter, being told that if all the shop's wildest dreams came true and I said yeah, go ahead and fix everything, it would cost about $1600 ... to which I replied that I needed to focus on passing my emissions inspection so I wouldn't have to take time off from work to go to court and pay a fine ... to which they said that bit of work would cost me about $500, to which I said, silently to myself, "Shit," the woman at the next register nudged my elbow and handed me a coupon for 10% off any service. Just like that. I said thank you, still thinking all my thoughts of fiscal doom, but when he recalculated, it turned out that with the coupon I would have exactly enough (split between two bank accounts) to afford the job. Once I agreed to the work, I went back to the waiting room, but it occurred to me I ought to say thank you to the woman a second time, which I did. She saved me from having to cry in front of Manny, Moe and Jack.

And the "check engine" light is off, finally. Once back home, I had to go into Microsoft Money and rework all my bills, pushing back anything that allowed late payments for a surcharge, such as the mortgage. I still have to borrow ten bucks from Carl and get the car re-inspected during lunch on Monday, and once again I can forget about new clothes, jewelry or makeup probably until at least next September, but as it stands today, I will most likely not feel the urge to get roaring drunk. Which is good, because there's no alcohol in the budget. Click Here to Read More..

The Continung Saga of Wally's Car

After several months of paralysis, I decided on a course of action regarding Wally's car.

I mentioned this in my long posts about Wally in Feb and March, but there's this car sitting in the parking lot of a gas station many hundreds of miles away from where I live - I think it has a tarp over it but can't recall. All 4 tires are flat, and one of the windows doesn't work.

It's the car I bought for him about a year ago, which has been sitting at that gas station for about 6 or 7 months now. When I say "bought," I mean I signed the agreement to pay for it in installments.

The warranty coverage ends at the close of this month and I don't have the funds to renew it, even for 3 months. I've sent the gas station guy a certified letter informing him that I will pay only the repair charges that I previously agreed to, which come to $250 ($150 of which I've already paid). All he had to do was call the warranty company -- an (800) number, for Pete's sake. But he never did. Why, I have no idea. Perhaps he was holding out for the other $100. The guy who sold me the car thinks he's holding out so he can slap somebody with a mechanic's lien. Frankly my dear, I don't give a shite. The only thing I can afford to do right now is keep making those little bitty weekly payments until I get it done, and that should take less than 4 months. Then I'll get the title, and I don't know what will come next. But at least I'm doing something. If the moron wants to take me to small claims court somewhere down the line, I sez, Bring it On!!!

In other car news, Carl got a mailing from AARP, describing their auto club coverage, which is a lot cheaper than Triple-A. My AAA expires at the end of this month also and I think I'll make the switch. My warehouse club membership expires also. I really have to renew that.
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