car insurance & distant cousins
Oy.
So, I drop my truck off at the repair shop yesterday, probably for 10-14 days. Manager assures me they won't be using after-market cheap knockoff parts to fix it, no matter what the paying insurance company wants to save money on. I chose this shop because a friend's father has been working there for 20 years, and she gave his work and work ethics a glowing recommendation. Last night I got word thru my friend from her dad that the manager there plans to go with after market parts on my truck, regardless of what he actually told me. So I called MY ins co, who I figured might give me a straighter story, since they're not picking up the price tag for my repairs, the "other guy's" ins co is. Spoke to the owner of my particular agent office; she assured me that on a claim this small (below $5000), after market parts won't diminish the resale value of my truck, they're good quality as long as they fit, she knows this shop and it's one of their approved, etc etc etc. Not only am I tired of wrestling with car ins co's in general, at this point, it occurs to me that I'm likely to have the damn truck long enough that pure use and abuse will diminish the value of it by the time I get rid of it far more than having those parts put on it in the first place. Also, it's not like the fender and bumper are critical aspects of the vehicle's performance and operation, either. After all, I did drive it for 3 weeks after the accident with no problems, other than cosmetic. So fuck it. As long as Geico pays for all the repairs and my interim rental car, I guess it's not a battle worth fighting.
On a different note... I'm not real close with most of my family on either side. Physically or emotionally. But a couple days ago, my mother calls to tell me I have a 3rd cousin living a mere 10 blocks away, who'd really like to meet me. So we're apparently getting together for dinner tonight. This should be interesting. I'm not close with a lot of my family because most of them seem to have a different agenda in life than I do. But this should be interesting. I really have no idea what to expect, so I hope it doesn't go badly, since she lives this close. I guess we'll see. I've also realized I've been thinking about a number of people in the community I haven't seen in a while, and miss. I'm ready for a festival, but since I still don't do Beltaine.....
There's a drum circle tomorrow night. I think I need to go. Really.
So, I drop my truck off at the repair shop yesterday, probably for 10-14 days. Manager assures me they won't be using after-market cheap knockoff parts to fix it, no matter what the paying insurance company wants to save money on. I chose this shop because a friend's father has been working there for 20 years, and she gave his work and work ethics a glowing recommendation. Last night I got word thru my friend from her dad that the manager there plans to go with after market parts on my truck, regardless of what he actually told me. So I called MY ins co, who I figured might give me a straighter story, since they're not picking up the price tag for my repairs, the "other guy's" ins co is. Spoke to the owner of my particular agent office; she assured me that on a claim this small (below $5000), after market parts won't diminish the resale value of my truck, they're good quality as long as they fit, she knows this shop and it's one of their approved, etc etc etc. Not only am I tired of wrestling with car ins co's in general, at this point, it occurs to me that I'm likely to have the damn truck long enough that pure use and abuse will diminish the value of it by the time I get rid of it far more than having those parts put on it in the first place. Also, it's not like the fender and bumper are critical aspects of the vehicle's performance and operation, either. After all, I did drive it for 3 weeks after the accident with no problems, other than cosmetic. So fuck it. As long as Geico pays for all the repairs and my interim rental car, I guess it's not a battle worth fighting.
On a different note... I'm not real close with most of my family on either side. Physically or emotionally. But a couple days ago, my mother calls to tell me I have a 3rd cousin living a mere 10 blocks away, who'd really like to meet me. So we're apparently getting together for dinner tonight. This should be interesting. I'm not close with a lot of my family because most of them seem to have a different agenda in life than I do. But this should be interesting. I really have no idea what to expect, so I hope it doesn't go badly, since she lives this close. I guess we'll see. I've also realized I've been thinking about a number of people in the community I haven't seen in a while, and miss. I'm ready for a festival, but since I still don't do Beltaine.....
There's a drum circle tomorrow night. I think I need to go. Really.