The Vig

Secretly I knew something was wrong.  Trips to the gas station were becoming a little too frequent for a 2001 Honda.  I chalked it up to it needing just routine maintenance.  The car had 180,000 miles on it.  With proper care and feeding, it should go another 180,000 EASY.  Turns out the whine I heard first thing in the morning was the dead give-away.  I was toast.  The pump in the transmission was starved for fluid and yesterday it had finally had enough.

The car performed like a champ through it’s final moments though.  It got all the way back across the bridge (through the rush hour!) and into my garage while in some emergency “limp home” mode.  When I went to take it back to “my guy” this morning, it wouldn’t go.

I had it towed a few blocks down to a transmission place around the corner that was recommended by both my housemate and the tow truck driver.  He called back a few hours later to give me the news.  The transmission needed to be rebuilt.  I was crushed.  I called back down to my guy who referred me to his guy who quoted me 25% less than guy #1.  I’ve only got a few payments left on the dang thing and there’s no way I want another five years of payments.  So it’s really a no-brainer.

It was just a matter of financing it.  Having missed out on both the stock market and the housing boom, I’m WAY behind most of my peers financially.  Thanks to relatives who are way kinder than they should be, the check was quickly written and the car is now down in Oregon City awaiting its new transmission.

A fascinating sidenote, by the way.  It cost $65 to have the car towed from my house to shop #1, which is literally 10 blocks.  The transmission guy in Oregon City had me call his tow truck guy who quoted me $70 from Vancouver to the OC.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I’m not telling you anything new when I say a good mechanic is worth his weight in gold.  My guy saved me close to $750 today.  That ain’t chicken scratch.  Now you know why I drive from The ‘Couv to The OC to have my car worked on.

So now I’m car-less and jobless for the next five days.  I haven’t been shut-in like this since the ice storm in January 2004.  I’ve definitely taken my mobility for granted.  I’ve no idea what to do with myself.  Well, actually I do.  I’m updating the resume and sending them out.  It’s fun and all to be a starving artist, but I’ve figured out I have no more time to dedicate to my craft now than I did six weeks ago.  The difference now is I’m gonna make sure I get paid.  I’ve settled for way less than I’m worth for a while now.  That ends now.

Does it mean I give up on being a writer?  Absolutely not.  That’s still out there.  And when the right opportunity comes I will jump.  But in the meantime, it’s time to play catch-up with my peers.

So that’s what I’ll be doing with my week, plotting world domination.  Wish me luck.