2002-08-26 - 11:03 p.m.
Of course I somehow managed to leave the renewal of my driver's license until the very last day. So on this very busy Monday morning I ran Skootie to work, and was at AAA as soon as they opened. And still somehow I was number two, behind the little old man who carried all his important papers in a grocery bag, holding it carefully by the handles as though it were a briefcase. Anytime I have to intersect with officialdom and find it a web of confusion, I wonder how all the people who don't read or don't speak English are able to accomplish these things. The last time I was there I sat and helped a confused older lady figure out what papers she needed, from the curled and dirty roll of papers she carefully brought out of her handbag. She had saved everything she thought was important and had no idea what any of it was for. So comparatively, (besides the fact that I failed the eye test) my experience was fairly painless: the production of another plastic-coated dorky picture (And why do I always have that same look on my face, that same crooked smile, shiny nose, uneven bangs?) to carry around for three more years and show to clerks in stores, a check for eight-fifty and I'm out the door.
And then, because Skootie needed the car today, I dropped it off at her place of work and started walking to mine. I got halfway there and, just as I breathed a sigh of relief for having survived the most treacherous street crossings, I realized that my lunch was still in the back seat. So back I marched and started all over again.
But today was a big day..... because..... Skootie bought a new car! We looked at cars on Saturday and she had decided on the orange Saturn if everything worked out on the financing. And of course it did. So tonight we went to the dealership after work and she signed all the papers. That is, after a hair-raising dash to get out of work early and make it to the bank and the insurance company before 5:30. We finally made it home, starving (me) and in shock(her), after two hours of paperwork. The actual car is on display in a mall, and and a wall has to be removed at 7:30 am in order to get it out. So we go back tomorrow to pick it up. The new car.
I am just beginning to realize what this will mean in our lives. We have been sharing one car for six years. Neither of us is really into cars as an identity or a statement, and we felt like it was at least ecological and financially practical to share a car. Both of us would love to live someplace where a car wasn't necessary, but here in the midwest, in a city famous for its sprawl, that isn't possible. For about three years Skootie worked at home and didn't always need transportation. But for this last year, the car arrangements have grown increasingly complicated, often resulting in one of us stranded waiting somewhere, or walking in the heat, or having to make excuses for bumming rides from others.
Having one car might seem like a "simplify your life" kind of choice, but it was actually just the opposite. It made our day-to-day schedules difficult and complicated. Oddly enough, another car, even considering another payment and insurance and parking hassles, will make life so much simpler.
I spent the day knowing that the first thing I had to do when I came home was to take the bathroom sink apart. Because this morning in my haste, I dropped a plastic lid into the drain, neatly blocking it, and it is not gettable by any other means. I was in dread of it all day. Because I hate plumbing. But it turned out not to be so bad. I disassembled it and got the lid out without any emotional breakdowns or trips to the hardware store. I went into the basement to fold some laundry and Skootie, fearing the worst about my plumbing venture, came down to see if I was wallowing in despondency. But no.....
Life is getting better. I am legal and Skootie has wheels and our problems are getting easier to solve.
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