Assistance from the unlikliest sources...

I have found that help often comes not from the expected people and places, but from some of the most random sources. In my not-so-very vast lifetime, I have been aided by many strangers. There was one time in Miami, I was taking public transportation to South Beach, but had no clue how to get there, so asked some people who were travelling with me. Everyone around me was hispanic, so I tried to find the most caucasian person, hoping they would speak English. However, they all gave me blank stares of incomprehension. Oddly enough, the one guy who looked to me like he had just stepped off the boat from Cuba, said to me in perfectly clear English, "I am getting off at that stop. Just follow me and I will show you were it is." He did too!

The most recent example of help from strangers came to me on Sunday. My flat-mate, Mom, sisters, and I were trying to push my car off the street because the starter had died and I did not want to get a parking ticket for being there at the wrong time of day. A guy in a large, red, plumbing and heating co. van stopped and asked what we were doing. He proceded to take a look at my car and try to fix it. As it turns out, he had been an auto mechanic for some twenty-odd years and definitely knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, the starter was in worse shape than we had realized. It had managed to get itself fused in place. After two hours of working on it and taking out every tool he owned (including a blow torch!), he realized he was not going to be able to get it off without puttin the car on a lift. And actually, even the shop I brought the car to ended up breaking the piece to get it off after going through the same torture the first guy went through. I felt bad for the guy because he probably expected it to be an easy task when he took it on. I thank him profusely for stopping to help. His response was sweet: "you're like my daughter. People just need to help each other out. WHen I drove by and saw half a dozen women trying to push a car, I thought 'something is wrong with this picture!"" His own daughter is several years older than me (that is what he was talking about when he said I was like his daughter). He may not have been able to fix my car, but it meant a lot to me that he was willing to take so much of his time to try to help me, a perfect stranger.

Being the cynical NYer that I am, it is easy for me to dispair that there are no "good samaritans" left in the world. Thankfully, God sends his messengers of mercy every once in a while to remind us that they still exist.

The promised pictures (thanks to my dear co-worker and the use of her camera!)

Notice the sun-roof (that's why she's smiling).


How cute and sporty does she look from the back?!

I hung my little scented dolphin and flip-flop already (it just wouldn't be my car otherwise).

It's official

Baby is gone. *sniff*
I sold him (I was never quite sure of gender of my Chevy... somehow Baby seemed more masculine than feminine, despite the flower steering wheel cover, dolphin floor mats, and flip-flop scented things) last night. It was a pretty straight-foward transaction, thanks to Craigslist. I brought a girlfriend along because it didn't seem safe to meet some random man in the middle of the night all by myself. He tried to talk me down from the agreed-upon price, and I refused. He paid me cash, I signed over the title to him, and handed him the key. He promised to come and tow it away today, so we'll see what happens...

I kinda miss my baby... =(

The difference a day can make

Looking through this window pane
At the world nearby
I see nothing there but rain
Makes me want to cry
How did this circumstance find me
Hidden so safely here?
What have I done to deserve these tears?

Then again another day
Different point of view
Searching higher than before
This time I see You
How did this miracle find me?
Why do You know my name?
What have I done to deserve this love anyways?
You know I can’t say

Now I’m driving down the road
With great music on the radio
And a great big sun in the sky
It’s good to be alive
It’s good to be alive

Can the joy of life be found in simple gratitude?
And is gratitude as simple as perspective?
~ Twila Paris

This morning was the first time I was able to drive to work in my new car. The sun was rising (not enough to see it, but enough to turn the sky a soft shade of pink), and the world just seemed somehow brighter than it did last week when it everything falling down around me. This song came to mind, so I thought I'd post a couple of the verses. =)

It's a happy day!

I HAVE a car - and it's a cute car

Sushi and Puddle Duck, the title of this post is for you. I figure you're the only ones who would get it anyway. =)

As they say, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." I mean, I liked my Blazer, but I never really thought about how difficult life would be without it. I am so thrilled to have a car again! You'd think I went without for months, instead of 5 days. =P

This time around, I was determined to get a cute, little, sporty car. And that is exactly what I did! It's a white, Honda Accord coupe, with a sun roof and spoiler. The sun roof was a necessity. =P I know it's not a very practical thing, but every once in a while I enjoy being impractical. This is my third car, so each time I get a little closer to my ideal. As I told a number of people, what I would get (if I was willing to spend a lot more than I am willing to lay out for a car) is a royal blue mini Cooper with white racing stripes and a sun roof (talk about impractical!).

If I ever get another camera, or if I can get a friend to take pictures for me, I will post pics of my new baby... In the meantime, I need to name her. Any ideas? My first car was "Rosie. " My second car, I never officially named, but always called it "Baby." This one is definitely a girl, so it needs a feminine name. =P

What's a girl to do?!

Here's the dilemma...
On Monday, I sunk $600+ into my car (the radiator went, and it needed a couple of other things). On Tuesday, I drove 250 miles to work after visiting my family for the weekend, then my car broke down. I had it towed to a nearby shop (for another $105). Wednesday, I found out that it will cost approx. $800 to replace the fuel pump that apparently stopped working. The car is only worth $2,500 (when working). Do I get it fixed and sell it to try and recoup some of the money I put into it, or do I junk it and cut my losses? I'm leaning toward the former (at the moment), but what if something else goes wrong, or it ends up costing more than the estimated $800? I'm at a loss, and I hate making decisions. =(

I started singin’...

"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie."
Drove my Chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
this’ll be the day that I die."

I didn't exactly drive my Chevy to the Levee. I drove it through several states in 4.5 hours. I stopped at a gas station across the street from where I work, but my poor little Chevy wouldn't start again, so I left it there, went to work, and called a tow truck to come get it. =(

Isn't that a sad story?

She started singin' "this’ll be the day that I die..."