(no subject)
I played the ultimate game of chicken with my gas gauge yesterday. I was coming back from work, zipping down the highway, absolutely determined to only stop for gas after I hit my exit. Actually, the original plan was to stop by my brother's place on the way home because I had something to drop off. And I'd stop off at the nearest gas station there. But after I got ON the highway, I got a call from said brother telling me to go straight home because they were coming over to OUR place, which totally shot my plan to hell. To give you an idea of the sheer distance I had to go before hitting the first gas station along my route, I take exit 18 to get to work. To get home, it's exit 44. And from there you have to travel along the bypass for a good distance before you drive by the first gas station. The first time my gas light flickered on was while I was getting onto the highway.
All that matters is that I won. I WON!!! And I love my car. I used to think that when we hit about the five year mark, I'd want to trade up for something newer and better. But now the more time we spend together, the less I want to part with it. It's kind of dumb, but just coming out of work and seeing it parked there waiting for me is like... a source of comfort. It's just so uniquely mine -- a long time ago my younger brother cleared out the corner lights and smoked out the bottom ones, and I've yet to see another that looks quite like it. So it could be sitting right beside ten other Acura EL's from the same model year, and I would know in less than a second which one was mine. It's like recognizing your baby out of all the babies at the maternity ward. Heh, that sounds kinda wrong, comparing your car to the (potential future) extension of your flesh.
My brother had his car broken into the other day in the parking garage of his building. And it was the one time he actually left a bag of belongings inside the car. He always, ALWAYS takes everything out, or at least stashes it in the trunk, out of sight -- except this one time. The bag contained about $1500 worth of company equipment from his work. Not the police work. Since he graduated from the academy, he's been working on contract for his previous employer on his days off. Because with the cop thing his schedule works with four days on and four days off. So rather than sit around like the lazy bum he would otherwise be for all four days, he spends two to three of those days doing his old job and earning a little extra cash on the side. And then there was the $300 deductible from the insurance company to get his window fixed. Plus the fact that he ended up missing work that day to deal with the damage, and altogether he was looking at like a $2000 hit from the whole thing. Fortunately his work people were really cool about it and rather than having him pay for the replacement equipment, they're going to write it off as an upgrade and pay for the new stuff themselves. So much for secured parking. :P
All that matters is that I won. I WON!!! And I love my car. I used to think that when we hit about the five year mark, I'd want to trade up for something newer and better. But now the more time we spend together, the less I want to part with it. It's kind of dumb, but just coming out of work and seeing it parked there waiting for me is like... a source of comfort. It's just so uniquely mine -- a long time ago my younger brother cleared out the corner lights and smoked out the bottom ones, and I've yet to see another that looks quite like it. So it could be sitting right beside ten other Acura EL's from the same model year, and I would know in less than a second which one was mine. It's like recognizing your baby out of all the babies at the maternity ward. Heh, that sounds kinda wrong, comparing your car to the (potential future) extension of your flesh.
My brother had his car broken into the other day in the parking garage of his building. And it was the one time he actually left a bag of belongings inside the car. He always, ALWAYS takes everything out, or at least stashes it in the trunk, out of sight -- except this one time. The bag contained about $1500 worth of company equipment from his work. Not the police work. Since he graduated from the academy, he's been working on contract for his previous employer on his days off. Because with the cop thing his schedule works with four days on and four days off. So rather than sit around like the lazy bum he would otherwise be for all four days, he spends two to three of those days doing his old job and earning a little extra cash on the side. And then there was the $300 deductible from the insurance company to get his window fixed. Plus the fact that he ended up missing work that day to deal with the damage, and altogether he was looking at like a $2000 hit from the whole thing. Fortunately his work people were really cool about it and rather than having him pay for the replacement equipment, they're going to write it off as an upgrade and pay for the new stuff themselves. So much for secured parking. :P