Accident Prone

Since totaling my car, I've grieved a bit for my loss. Though I've had no particular attachment to my car like some people, I have shared some interesting times with it, which leads me to...

The Top Ten Moments with My Car
10. My car hit 70,000 miles.
9. I got lost, only to discover I was in the wrong city.
8. I nearly backed over a baby.
7. A rich douche made fun of my car.
6. A different rich douche got comeuppance on the freeway.
5. Nature attacked my car
4. I was erroneously pulled over for drunk driving.
3. I was "attacked" at an In-N-Out drive through.
2. A dirty couch fell out of my trunk at a busy intersection.
1. I accidentally followed a stranger home.

RIP... my car. Though most of my friends have names for their cars, "my car" always sufficed as a label for you. And I thank you for that.

And in heartless fashion: out with the old, in with the new. Last Saturday, I bought a new (used) car. The whole process made me nervous, but I think it went fine. My salesman was friendly, but not without his stereotypical used car salesman charm. He told me stories about how he sneaks into concerts without paying, how he hates Mexican people("Dude, I'm just kidding, I am Mexican, you know?"), and a lengthy account of how he got in a fight with his "fucking bitch" ex-girlfriend and she kicked him out of the car at a gas station and he had to walk several miles home -- it's my regular gas station, by the way, so now each time I fill up, I think about this sordid tale that I'd prefer to have never told. Throughout all our fairly one-sided conversation, he failed to pick up on the fact that I found his conversation obnoxious. Worse yet, he wanted to be my friend, which I thought was a sales technique, but I came to realize even after our transaction was complete, he wanted to "hang out later." He repeatedly thanked me for not being an asshole (which I can kind of understand because I bet a lot of people are unpleasant during the process of buying a car,) and invited me to his friend's art show, a musical festival, and out to eat sometime. He gave me his number and mentioned that he "already had mine" (great), but I have made no attempt to contact him.

I think I made a pretty good purchase, because my car only has 30,000 miles and is still in brand new condition. The downsides are that it has manual locks and a gas tank that holds 2/3 the amount of gas as my previous car, meaning more trips to the gas station. On the plus side, if my car should ever explode, it'll blow with with 1/3 less intensity as my previous car. Thank goodness for small favors.

I insure my new vehicle, drive it to work, and in fewer than two days of driving the car, I am rear-ended. After spending thousands of dollars on a new car, I haven't even had the thing for 48 hours when it gets smashed up from behind. Who needs two car accidents in the span of a week and a half? At least this time it wasn't my fault. The accident was low-speed and felt like a bumper car bump. I was half expecting to not see any damage, but alas, my left rear bumper was dented in. Finally, I had a nice new car, and almost instantaneously, it was marred; just my luck. I exchanged information with the driver. The driver was an auto mechanic, wearing a uniform and everything. In an act of good will, I offered to not report the incident through insurance since it appeared ey could fix it for cheaper. The driver agreed to call me the next day to set up the arrangements. The next day came and ey did not call. So I called em and left a message. Still not hearing from the driver, I had no choice but to report it to insurance just within the 48 hour deadline.

Part of me feels bad for the driver since it will now probably cost more monthly than it would take the mechanic to finish during eir lunch break, but I can't feel too bad since ey was clearly trying to work the run around on me. According to the insurance agent, the phone number the driver provided me was not a correct number. Sigh. I'll still probably have everything covered, it's just going to mean a lot of contact with two insurance companies to sort it all out.

Obviously, these accidents have made me a pretty cautious driver as of late. I am super paranoid, especially since I've received it from both ends ("That's what she said," - Heather), so I'm constantly afraid that I might collide with someone in front of me, or without warning, someone will hit me from behind.

I'm ready for some good fortune any day now.