It was then
as I stepped from the train to begin the 8 mile walk home through the cold and saw that it was beginning to rain that I realized I had reached a new high point in my life. And as the first bead of moisture coalesced along what hair had deigned to remain on my head and dropped, shimmering, before my frigid eye, I finally understood that karma is, in fact, a liberal myth.
So this has been my week. I lost my car to someone's misguided sense of direction. I did finally manage to get my insurance company on the phone, but that by no means gets me any closer to being on the road. After all, it's the other guy's company's responsibility, right? Some customer service.
The other insurance company is sticking by their 70% liability only claim (like I didn't know what 70-80% would mean), so they would gladly pay for 70@ of a rental car. Or I can rent one and submit for reimbursement, which is also what my insurance company suggests.
In the mean time, getting to work has met with mixed success. Apparently buses don't always stop at bus stops. I'm still tryin' to work that one out.
But back to cars. I finally manage to jump through all the hoops to get a car: I get the money wired to me, and I get a friend to let me give him the money so I can use his card, to the tune of another $50 for an additional driver fee, because under no circumstances will they take cash.
Oh, and I'm leaving out getting the money. I walk to the Western Union that's only 4 blocks from my apartment, and their machine's broken. So, again, I walk across Joliet in search of the next WU... that's no longer there. So my friend picks me up and we drive around until we find a Western Union. Great! Even better, as they're counting out the money, I see that they can give it to me on a pre-paid Visa card for only $2.95. Great! Now I can rent the car on my own, skip the $50 fee and be on my way. Things are finally looking up! And then, as I'm checking the activation info (No activation, they do it when they give it to you. Great!) and I see.... "This card not intended to be used for car rentals." F*$%!!!!
Ok, whatever. I'm out $6, but I can still pull it all out of an ATM, give my friend the money, and we're just back to plan A. But..... Now all the rental places are out of cars!!!! This morning, one of those agencies get in touch and say they can rent me a car.... if I can show up in 5 minutes. So we hop in the truck and dash over.... to nothing. They're not so much located at the address in the phone book.
So, here I am. In Joliet. No car, no trip home, merry Christmas. I love this time of year. Really.
So this has been my week. I lost my car to someone's misguided sense of direction. I did finally manage to get my insurance company on the phone, but that by no means gets me any closer to being on the road. After all, it's the other guy's company's responsibility, right? Some customer service.
The other insurance company is sticking by their 70% liability only claim (like I didn't know what 70-80% would mean), so they would gladly pay for 70@ of a rental car. Or I can rent one and submit for reimbursement, which is also what my insurance company suggests.
In the mean time, getting to work has met with mixed success. Apparently buses don't always stop at bus stops. I'm still tryin' to work that one out.
But back to cars. I finally manage to jump through all the hoops to get a car: I get the money wired to me, and I get a friend to let me give him the money so I can use his card, to the tune of another $50 for an additional driver fee, because under no circumstances will they take cash.
Oh, and I'm leaving out getting the money. I walk to the Western Union that's only 4 blocks from my apartment, and their machine's broken. So, again, I walk across Joliet in search of the next WU... that's no longer there. So my friend picks me up and we drive around until we find a Western Union. Great! Even better, as they're counting out the money, I see that they can give it to me on a pre-paid Visa card for only $2.95. Great! Now I can rent the car on my own, skip the $50 fee and be on my way. Things are finally looking up! And then, as I'm checking the activation info (No activation, they do it when they give it to you. Great!) and I see.... "This card not intended to be used for car rentals." F*$%!!!!
Ok, whatever. I'm out $6, but I can still pull it all out of an ATM, give my friend the money, and we're just back to plan A. But..... Now all the rental places are out of cars!!!! This morning, one of those agencies get in touch and say they can rent me a car.... if I can show up in 5 minutes. So we hop in the truck and dash over.... to nothing. They're not so much located at the address in the phone book.
So, here I am. In Joliet. No car, no trip home, merry Christmas. I love this time of year. Really.