The first day of it was good. Tiresome, but good.
Backstory: several days prior, my car (Betty White) decided to not start again, in the work parking lot. We've been through this so often, so many times recently, that when I told mum I just apologized profusely that she had such a cursed daughter, and she was over it frankly. Laid down and let the misfortune wash over her, just as I have done. Came to pick me up late that night, ignoring the fact that she was a zombie who needed to be up by 4am. C'est la vie.
The estimated repair bill was nearly as much as Betty has been appraised, so I knew that when the weekend hit, I needed to find a godamn car, no matter what.
Maybe extreme desperation clears a path, sometimes. I was swiping through all these options I had collected throughout the week, not very confident in any of them, forgetting what their safety and other ratings were, frustrated that one didn't have an armrest, not impressed with the design of another's dashboard. Annoyed that they were all like twenty miles away. This is why I don't have a car yet, I said to myself. The furthest was a maroonish Kia Forte that fit all my expectations, it just wasn't a hatchback which for some reason I wanted, and it was more than I ever wanted to pay, even though mum was willing to loan the money. I threw my clothes on, "mum, here, look at this one. Can we leave and drive 40min to Gresham in like ten minutes?" It was a risk of wasted time and energy that my gut said I should take. We left ten minutes later. It ended up being the one!
While I nursed a headache in the dealership lobby, they brought me coffee and I was able to sit on the floor of a little couch and coffee table set-up they had, which helped a lot. The coffee gave me the brain power to at least attempt to read all the documents I had to sign. And sitting on the floor, especially on a plush, fuzzy rug, feels good on my body and eases the stress of an unusual situation. Everyone there was nice and didn't seem fake or weird, like some other people at dealerships have seemed. It just all fell together.
The other two days of the weekend were complete bullshit. Initially I was relieved and happy, and then it came time to get rid of Betty. So I drove to the work parking lot to take all of my stuff out, and texted the number of someone who had left a note on the windshield a couple years ago. I was hoping it would be some enthusiast who was financially comfortable enough to want to fix up an old Camry, but no, I'm not really sure what the dude's deal was, but I told him the car was a menace, and not very clean, and he still wanted to come check it out. I went home and started to have second thoughts. I wasn't sure if I knew how to handle a private sale, and I was so, so tired. I fell asleep and realized that it had been hours since he said he'd come look at Betty and he hadn't given me an update about whether he was interested. Mum had gotten off of work by then, and called me to say that I should just lie and tell this dude that "my brother in law wanted the car", so I did, and luckily I never heard from him again. Relieving, right? Well, I wish it was, but then I had to spend the next 36 hours negotiating with towing companies who had very inconvenient rules. Few auto yards were even open, not many had great reviews, and the service I found wouldn't tow from business parking lots for some reason. I was like "fuck you, Betty... you couldn't have broken down BEFORE I DROVE TO WORK?!" Then our AAA service wouldn't tow to an auto yard, because that'd just be too easy, right? So we have to schedule AAA to tow Betty home, so that the auto yard towing service can get her here. I have to be the one who sends her off, so they can't get her until my next day off, Thursday.
So yeah, I was a grump yesterday, and too frazzled to think clearly. I went back and forth with customer service putting cogs in my plans, "no we can't do that," "no it has to be this way". Meanwhile, a slew of specials and documentaries about 9/11 were on TV in the background, because I like to make myself sad. A variety of tears were cried.
I'm trying to calm my mind and body down. Mum is overseeing AAA take Betty home today, since I will be at work later. The auto yard tower will come on Thursday, and all I need do is step outside and meet them. It's taken care of... right? Time to imagine this burden lifting. My new car is called the Boysenberry, which is a reference to my own AIW headcanon. Hatter has an old-time phone which he calls his Boysenberry, and I am cosplaying Hatter, and for gods sake I have a vaguely purple car now, so it just seemed... apt! I want to put pillows and a blanket in the back seats, make it comfortable. Hang something pretty from the rear-view mirror. Read the owner's manual, make sure to be timely with my service appointments. Take care of it because it is mine. (I was casual and nonchalant with Betty, because I never wanted her to begin with, and she was old. Past the point of being pampered, as far as I was concerned.)
At the end of the day, yesterday, I stopped angsting and made a keychain, too.
*deep breaths*
Well, I think I will go soak in the bath before work.
-J
Backstory: several days prior, my car (Betty White) decided to not start again, in the work parking lot. We've been through this so often, so many times recently, that when I told mum I just apologized profusely that she had such a cursed daughter, and she was over it frankly. Laid down and let the misfortune wash over her, just as I have done. Came to pick me up late that night, ignoring the fact that she was a zombie who needed to be up by 4am. C'est la vie.
The estimated repair bill was nearly as much as Betty has been appraised, so I knew that when the weekend hit, I needed to find a godamn car, no matter what.
Maybe extreme desperation clears a path, sometimes. I was swiping through all these options I had collected throughout the week, not very confident in any of them, forgetting what their safety and other ratings were, frustrated that one didn't have an armrest, not impressed with the design of another's dashboard. Annoyed that they were all like twenty miles away. This is why I don't have a car yet, I said to myself. The furthest was a maroonish Kia Forte that fit all my expectations, it just wasn't a hatchback which for some reason I wanted, and it was more than I ever wanted to pay, even though mum was willing to loan the money. I threw my clothes on, "mum, here, look at this one. Can we leave and drive 40min to Gresham in like ten minutes?" It was a risk of wasted time and energy that my gut said I should take. We left ten minutes later. It ended up being the one!
While I nursed a headache in the dealership lobby, they brought me coffee and I was able to sit on the floor of a little couch and coffee table set-up they had, which helped a lot. The coffee gave me the brain power to at least attempt to read all the documents I had to sign. And sitting on the floor, especially on a plush, fuzzy rug, feels good on my body and eases the stress of an unusual situation. Everyone there was nice and didn't seem fake or weird, like some other people at dealerships have seemed. It just all fell together.
* * *
The new car feels right. I'll have to get used to how sensitive the breaks are, but otherwise I drove 40+ minutes home feeling very, well, at home, in it. I listened to my Crystal Palace playlist, once my phone was paired. Got off the freeway in West Linn, and took the backroads the rest of the way. Then Mummy agreed to take photos of me with the car, just as the sun was setting. 💜 It's pretty amazing that she helped me in this way, and was there to celebrate with me. I don't think I can even stop to think about it too much, or I'll get emotional, which I've been enough these past few days. >O< Needless to say, if it weren't for my mom, I'd be fucked. I may not have even bothered to live. She keeps me from drifting out to sea, and probably knows it.
* * *
The other two days of the weekend were complete bullshit. Initially I was relieved and happy, and then it came time to get rid of Betty. So I drove to the work parking lot to take all of my stuff out, and texted the number of someone who had left a note on the windshield a couple years ago. I was hoping it would be some enthusiast who was financially comfortable enough to want to fix up an old Camry, but no, I'm not really sure what the dude's deal was, but I told him the car was a menace, and not very clean, and he still wanted to come check it out. I went home and started to have second thoughts. I wasn't sure if I knew how to handle a private sale, and I was so, so tired. I fell asleep and realized that it had been hours since he said he'd come look at Betty and he hadn't given me an update about whether he was interested. Mum had gotten off of work by then, and called me to say that I should just lie and tell this dude that "my brother in law wanted the car", so I did, and luckily I never heard from him again. Relieving, right? Well, I wish it was, but then I had to spend the next 36 hours negotiating with towing companies who had very inconvenient rules. Few auto yards were even open, not many had great reviews, and the service I found wouldn't tow from business parking lots for some reason. I was like "fuck you, Betty... you couldn't have broken down BEFORE I DROVE TO WORK?!" Then our AAA service wouldn't tow to an auto yard, because that'd just be too easy, right? So we have to schedule AAA to tow Betty home, so that the auto yard towing service can get her here. I have to be the one who sends her off, so they can't get her until my next day off, Thursday.
So yeah, I was a grump yesterday, and too frazzled to think clearly. I went back and forth with customer service putting cogs in my plans, "no we can't do that," "no it has to be this way". Meanwhile, a slew of specials and documentaries about 9/11 were on TV in the background, because I like to make myself sad. A variety of tears were cried.
* * *
I'm trying to calm my mind and body down. Mum is overseeing AAA take Betty home today, since I will be at work later. The auto yard tower will come on Thursday, and all I need do is step outside and meet them. It's taken care of... right? Time to imagine this burden lifting. My new car is called the Boysenberry, which is a reference to my own AIW headcanon. Hatter has an old-time phone which he calls his Boysenberry, and I am cosplaying Hatter, and for gods sake I have a vaguely purple car now, so it just seemed... apt! I want to put pillows and a blanket in the back seats, make it comfortable. Hang something pretty from the rear-view mirror. Read the owner's manual, make sure to be timely with my service appointments. Take care of it because it is mine. (I was casual and nonchalant with Betty, because I never wanted her to begin with, and she was old. Past the point of being pampered, as far as I was concerned.)
At the end of the day, yesterday, I stopped angsting and made a keychain, too.
*deep breaths*
Well, I think I will go soak in the bath before work.
-J
Current Mood: 
grateful
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