Loose Ends

The last 24 hours can best be described as epic. I think it's possible I've done more in the last 24 hours than in the last month. It all started at about 10 a.m. yesterday, and kicked off a battle with the consulate out of San Francisco. My first phone call came 2 days after my scheduled interview and 17 hours after my re-scheduled interview--I was going to get my visa stamped that day if it took an act of God. (And I'm pretty sure it did. Thanks, God.) After being told it was my fault for scheduling my plane trip too soon (he said he needed 2 weeks, I gave him 2 weeks), I pointed out the nasty little details of 1) having original appointment canceled, 2) having re-scheduled appointment canceled, 3) not receiving a call after 5 as I was promised, and within 20 minutes I had my interview and a confirmation that my visa/passport were in fact dropped in the mail and were on their way to Colorado. Deep sigh of relief! It set the tone for the rest of the day.

Come lunch time, I test drove mom's car with a very nice young man who wanted a car for driving back to the Naval Academy in Maryland. He brought his mom and younger brother, and as we test drove the card, he blew through a stop sign at a 4-way stop (partly nerves, partly wind blowing a tree to cover the sign.) He had a good sense of humor about it as his mom and I teased him while showing very little mercy, and no sign of ever letting him forget it. To be honest, mom's car was the absolutely best buy on Craigslist, but it was a relief to have someone so interested. He and his parents returned later that evening to test drive, and actually purchase the vehicle. I have one little note for anyone who reads this: Ask the buyer if the price is firm before asking who to make the cashier's check payable to. ;) A point of irony, the young man's father works for a belt company that 1) may be able to help my dad trick his drag bike even further, and 2) has a factory IN DAEGU. It's a small world after all...

To celebrate, mom and I went to Cheesecake Factory, where I was sure to take a picture and text it to Tamara. Tamara, if it makes you feel any better, my chicken sandwich had a bit too much pink in it. And to make up for making you feel better, the Godiva chocolate cheesecake was fabulous. I was really glad to get to go there again with my mom to share our favorite place before heading off into the Abyss. After making a cheesecake deposit into our fridge, we braved the rain (yes, rain) to paw laptops at Staples.

Around dinner time, then mom's car was gone. We had a cashier's check, some thorough teasing of the 20-year-old, and four fewer strange faces in our 2 million face city. Thereafter came the final test drive of the day. 7:20 p.m., perfectly 20 minutes late, a man and his girlfriend show up to test drive my baby. We talk about it, and they talked about their finances and their situation with Wells Fargo, and they fretted over getting the money to me. I felt a little uncomfortable when they said they didn't have a copy of their insurance cards on them. I had it drilled into me that one card is always, always in the car, and the other card is always, always on your person. The girl had been with her company for over 5 years, though, and had plenty of other cards to show me, so I consented and we went for a test drive.

I personally wonder if the population of America has begun to increase since the dawn of the Honda Element. Have you ever been in the back seat? Not only does it fold into a bed, but there's a romantic scape of the stars.

All through the test drive, "moneymoneymoneymoneymoney," and "after you're gone." They left and I felt very uneasy about waiting until after I was gone for a year to receive $19k. After a sleep of ill rest, I woke up and realized, mom does actually want my car. I can tell them to piss off! And so, mom is now the proud owner of a 2008 Honda Element in Kiwi Green with Pretty Vomit Mitten license plates, and I own a veeeeery pretty ruby red Dell laptop that does not overheat in the middle of updating my blog.