It rose closer to 7, then 8, and it was another unrelenting sunny I-cannot-believe-it-is-October weather. LA is looking at three-digit temperatures. A hurricane is spinning up in the Gulf. Climate change has been harsh in October so far. Not that I am asking to return to the endless wet darkness of the 1990s and 2000s.
I recalled Monday on Tuesday morning and composed a narrative. As often happens before my trips, the days are mundane, and Tuesday and now Wednesday are almost boring. I read books and write to add something interesting to my day. I might have to bake something!
But dear reader, do not be dismayed. I have a train ride to Seattle on Friday, then back to Portland later on Saturday. I also leave for a long weekend for Deborah’s Birthday the next weekend. We will be offloading the mundane soon.
I wrote and published the blog before I had to rush. I enjoyed a long, hot shower without rushing, then got dressed and all that. I boarded Air VW the Gray and checked that it was unloaded of games and extras. It is headed to the mothership to be inspected and for the dealership to help me cover their expenses with an investment in my vehicle. I learned that every 10K there is an “optional” $660 alignment process, which does not involve only the tires but involves checking all the radar, vision, and other systems that align the car to the road and prevent it from hitting things. And the tires too. Cleaning the AC and wipers finishes the bill.
I decided to wait for the car, and my appointment is at 10:30; I was 15 minutes early. I waited until noon to learn about these extra items, then headed to lunch to spend 90 minutes on them (it turned into two hours). I decided, based on cash flow and having to get another down payment for a new car, that I would just keep the ID.4. I asked the dealership to sell me the car. The service person, Jenna, added that to the paperwork, and I headed out.
I found wings and potatoes at Prime Tap House and Taylor, getting her graduate degree while doing a part-time bartending gig, got me a red Irish-style ale and my food. I read my book and enjoyed my lunch. It was a good walk there and back, and I felt better.
The EV was soon finished, but no word from sales. Hmmm. Jenna from service, frustrated, grabbed me a salesperson and all but made them sell me my car. I waited two more hours, with the time occasionally punctuated by a form to fill out and sign. Yes, I enjoyed a boring two hours as they ignored me and hoped I would go away. Apparently, they would not make a commission to sell me a car I had already leased, and nobody wanted to do the paperwork (there was nobody there in the sales area but me for most of the time). I was at first amused, then bored, and finally threatening to leave. Finally, a sales manager showed up, told me a five-more-minutes lie, and after fifteen minutes, I got to sign a pile of paperwork and turn down an extra $500 warranty on my EV. I left with an envelope full of paper that suggested I now had a car loan somehow lower than before. I got a discount somewhere that nobody bothered to tell me about. And the payment was lower than I expected. It was with a local Credit Union, and I asked no questions, as I always pay the loan off in a year or two.
The dealership did not wash the car, but they did vacuum it. I was sad to see the dune sand gone, but I know how to get more. I drove home, found the mail, and was disappointed that President Trump had sent only one check to discount my Obamacare health insurance. As a liberal, I think I should get some more money to cover the cost of having to listen to the threats to let Iran bomb us on the West Coast, or turning his golf course into a Presidential Retreat, or other stress-inducing comments for us on the left. I think a check a day would make this relationship work better, say $488, the low-end of a day stay at Trump Hotel NYC.
Mariah and I met at BJ’s Brewhouse and blew the President’s previous check on ribs for dinner. We chatted and talked about travel and cars. I could tell she was disappointed I did not buy/lease an EV Mustang during a midlife-crisis move. It was a nice night. We both, spending the check from the President, took ribs home.
With that, I returned home in the newly purchased EV, read for a while, and then went to sleep.
I woke a few times, and finally rose after sunrise to another bright I-cannot-believe-it-is-October day.
