unfixable

the insurance company called me today and declared that it would be way too expensive to fix my car, so they want to cut me a check. the collision place (which i highly recommend!) had warned me of this the other day, and i'd done some research and decided that there was no way i was letting them give me less than $5,000. which means i thought i would get $4,000. lucky for me, i was seriously wrong, and i actually got more than 5. how much more i won't say (because we all know that's gauche) but DAMN. this is the first time i've dealt with a car insurance company that didn't leave me feeling like i'd assumed the position and they'd picked my pockets. score!

tonight we went to mom's house to pick up my pop's old truck. D had wanted to borrow it anyway to move some stuff around, and we thought if we went tonight we could make sure it was running. it's a good thing we did, too: it needed a new battery. the idea is that we can use the truck while we decide what to do with D's car and the insurance check. we have a few options; i can use the insurance to make both of our cars tip-top and save the rest, use it on just D's car (which needs a new windshield and some suspension work), we can sell D's car and i can buy myself a new (old) honda, or i can actually drive the truck and D's car can just stay like it is. either way, we probably won't end up spending all of the insurance money on cars, and i will be able to use the rest to pay off my bankruptcy early and maybe put some away.

i'm glad everything so far has worked out, and if you can get insurance through USAA i would say, do it. they were crazy nice and awesome, and i am so impressed by how well they handled the situation i'd switch over to them if i could. that being said, i'm sad my car is smooshed and off to auction, it's weird seeing my dad's truck on the road, and i am very tired from running around all night getting things set up. i should have been in bed a while ago, but find myself *up* so i might need some time to read before hitting the hay. what a strange week it's been!

smashed cars, trivia and fish sandwiches

today i worked with my co worker's autistic daughter for a few hours this morning. i do it every saturday and monday, and it's actually been a lot of fun. while walking out of their house, though, i was greeted by a big guy in an even bigger truck, idling behind my car. the first words out of his mouth were "i guess this is your car." i thought he was irritated i was in the driveway, until i realized that my rear passenger-side lights were all over the fucking ground. there's also a great big smooshed part of my car on that side as well. it's ridiculous! it's broken! okay, it drives all right, but it is still crunched and i'm still not thrilled. this is going to be a huge pain in my ass, and to top it all off, i don't understand why this guy had to back into a space that was three spots away, and smash into my car on his way. there was so much room for him! is backing out of a spot later such a terrible ordeal that he had to back in? while he wasn't terribly apologetic, he did already file a claim with his insurance, and tomorrow i'll check in with them and see what i should do. i need to find a body shop, get an estimate, and all that jazz. because i have a car with a one piece bumper, i already know the whole thing will have to be replaced. it's a good thing his insurance pays for a rental!

which is all stuff i should have done today, but instead i took a nice long drive with D. we had a delicious fish sandwich at the trainwreck, took a drive through la conner, played 80's trivia at the corner pub in bow, where i won a free chicken dinner. we'll take them up on that at a later date! then we came home, where we watched it's always sunny in philadelphia, and now i'm getting ready to call this monday done.

civic pride

we all know i love my car; while i miss my old school honda civic, the rocket, all the time, my new little civic is a nice car. (before i missed the rocket i missed my dear abby.) we get along well, she doesn't use a ton of gas, she's zippy when she needs to be, and a lovely shade of deepest plum. unlike civics of old, though, she's got all sorts of niggling little things going all wrong, all at once. my weatherstripping seems to be shot and has actually developed a leak (!), and the condensation on the windows in the morning is hellish. i actually had to buy some of those humidity suckers to hang up to make it bearable! both the passenger and driver's side automatic windows are also starting to get fussy. don't try rolling your window down if it's too cold, because it won't roll back up! they've gotten stuck a few times, and i had to gently wiggle them upward with my hand while trying to flip the switch to start the motor. i'm pretty sure if not this year, then soon, i'm going to need a new timing belt. last year i bought two new tires because of the snow and because they were too worn down, but i still have two tires that also need to be replaced. the upholstery over the rear seats is beginning to pull away from the ceiling. i starting thinking today about all the things that need to be done and felt like hyperventilating. i know i just have to work on things one at a time, and in the order of most importance, but damn! i hate to say it, but i feel like hondas were built sturdier back in the day. this is the first car i've ever had that was born after the year 2000, and it has more stupid little things wrong than all my older, trashy cars. or maybe it's just different stuff and while i'm irritated now by the dampness in my car, i do remember my youth and driving around with a flashlight because my dashboard wouldn't light up or the car whose solenoid i constantly had to tap gently or else it wouldn't start. maybe i'm just too old to find potential hazards funny like i used to. either way, i'm going to need to hunt down some weatherstripping because the rainy season has begun and i'm not so sure Moldy Carpet will go well with the Peachy Peach scent.