Oh, there it is!

So, I called the non-emergency police. Although it was an emergency in my book, I figured 9-1-1 had more important calls to take. I told them my car was missing, that no, I had paid all my previous parking tickets, and no, I wasn't parked illegally. They checked my car make and model against their tow records and my car did not come up. A police officer was on his way.

Like any other nervous, stressed-out, emotionally-charged wife, I called Hubs and left a message on his phone: Hi Babe, it's me. Um, could you call me as soon as you get this? I think my car has been stolen. Bye.

It was 2 minutes later that I would learn my lesson about calling the Hubs before knowing the exact details. The police called me back. Sure enough, my car had been towed. My dear friend was gracious enough to wake up her daughter and drive me to the city impound lot. Not only did I get to pay the $53 to have my car back, but I also found a $20 ticket on my car for "obstructing a private drive."

What? I'm pretty sure if there was a driveway I would have noticed it and I would not have parked in front of it. As I look at the tow receipt I realize that my car was towed at 11:15am, just 20 minutes after I parked. I also remember hearing people inside of the house I parked in front of. Did they seriously call to have my car towed minutes after I parked there instead of just coming outside and politely asking me to move?

So, I went back to the place where I parked to investigate - ignoring the fact that I should be at home packing - and this is what I saw.

Above you see the sidewalk, then some random gravel, leading to a solid wooden fence. The picture doesn't quite give you the perspective, but the area is only about 10-feet long. Not really what I would call a "private drive." I actually thought it was probably once a driveway to a house, then they built a parking lot, put up this fence, and never tore out the old driveway to put in new grass. Like I said, not really the type of neighborhood with pristine lawn care.

My friend actually has a place to park behind her house, accessed by the alley. So, I drove around back to see if that was the case for this house. Sure enough, there were cars parked there.

Hubs and I went to the county attorney's office first thing the next morning to try and contest the ticket and the tow. We were told to file a case against the city and see if we could get our money back. 

Instead, we just paid the ticket. What a great way to say good-bye to the city.

Where did my car go?

It was the day before we were packing up the truck. Hubs and I were out running last-minute errands, separately. I was running to my friend's house to return the books I had borrowed, then to Target, then home to finish packing before supper at our in-laws (they were nice enough to feed us since I had dropped off all our remaining edible food on my college-aged brother).

My friend lives near the college, so a lot of student park in her neighborhood. I happened to find an empty spot big enough for even me to attempt to parallel park, and at 10:55am I was walking up her doorstep, proud that I had gotten in the spot in only one try.

We talked for a while and then I realized it was 12:10pm and must get going. When is time every going to slow down? I thought to myself as I walked back to my car. Then I realized something was very wrong. My car was gone.

Okay Feather, this isn't happening. Are you sure this was where you parked?

Yes, I remember this house, and that silver Grand Am, and that wooden fence.

Panic started to set in. Sweat started to drip. Where is my car? I tried to think. I looked at my empty spot and knew there was no reason for my car to be towed. I walked back to my friend's house and knocked on her door.

My car is gone.

My friend said, Are you sure? Are you sure that is where you parked?

After I assured her that I wasn't going crazy, she said, Feather, this isn't a great neighborhood. I mean there are drug deals and gun shots frequently.

To be continued...

And the saga continues

We were at the gas station Saturday evening. Fillin' up the truck. Hubs starts putting gas in the tank, but instead of going into the gas tank, it just spills right onto the ground. Odd. Hubs tells me and I immediately get mad at Dakota (the truck). I mean, every 3 weeks something new comes up and he needs fixed again. What's the deal? We give him plenty of attention and drive time. This is ridiculous.

Hubs pays for the gas that we pumped on the ground, and takes a look under the truck. It wasn't Dakota's fault. Somebody had cut out a 8-10" piece of the gas line and, most likely, siphoned gas directly from the tank!

What kind of a person does something like that? It's not good enough to suck someone's gas out that they paid for, but you have to actually cause the person to pay over $100 to fix the mess you made.

After talking with the police officer, Hubs found out that we weren't the first victims of this type of vandalism at our apartment complex. Two days earlier, someone else reported the exact same instance. I guess that made us feel a little better.

An ongoing saga

We own our two vehicles: our neon is 9 and our dakota is 8. Somewhere between the ages of 7 and 9, so we have learned, vehicles need extra care. You've heard about neon's life in this post, but as of the past 7 months, we have had an ongoing saga trying to keep them both healthy.

July
Hubs took Dakota in for a check-up. Dakota needed a new transfer case, new brakes, new rotors, and something else. Meanwhile, Neon starts making some serious noises and is leaking oil onto my foot. Neon's battery dies and Dakota needs a new battery.

August
Neon goes in for her check-up. She needs new brakes, a new car-lock motor, and some other things. She gets fixed and also gets 2 new tires.

September
Dakota gets fixed. The cars are running great. Then, Dakota starts smoking a few days later. Apparently the brakes locked up while driving.

October
Neon gets a flat tire on the interstate - tire is unable to be fixed. She gets another new tire. The cars are running great.

November
Dakota won't shift out of 2nd gear. He gets a fix to his transmission. It starts getting cold outside. Neon's heater isn't working.

December
Not only does the heater not work, but Neon's headlight burns out. She gets a new thermostat and a new heater. Dakota gets a crack in his windshield - the fixable kind. The cars are running great. Dakota goes in for an oil change and his battery is about to die - yes, the new battery that was just bought in July. Get a new battery.

January
Dakota's crack spreads horizontally across the entire windshield. Dakota gets a new windshield.

We are frustrated. We are sick of fixing our cars. But, we are thankful that we are having car problems and not health problems. We are holding our breath...hoping that are problems are just about over.

A Rough Road

Friday night I drove to Kansas City to see my family and to attend an Elizabeth George conference (another post).

About 15 minutes from their house, I thought, Wow! I am making great time! I will be there before 9pm. Seconds later, I heard the most horrible sound. I thought, What in the world? and then realizing it was coming from my car, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I pushed the brakes. I was in one of the middle lanes (of 4) going 70mph and the cars around me weren't thrilled with my instintive reaction, so I put my hazards on and safely drove the car to the side of the road and turned her off.

I was pretty sure the horrible noise was a flat tire, but I jumped out to check anyway. I called my mom and soon after, my dad and grandpa were on their way. I described where I was (there were no mile markers or signs ahead of me) and my mom comfortingly says, "You are in one of the worst areas of Kansas City, so I am going to stay on the phone with you."

About 20 minutes later Dad and Gpa arrive ready to change my tire. I became the flashlight holder and only knocked my poor father in the head once! Soon, my donut was on and we were ready to go.

I had noticed that my lights had progressively gotten dimmer while I was waiting for help to arrive. I also thought it strange that I couldn't unlock my doors with my key chain. We get in the car, turn the key and nothing happens. Nobody has ever informed me that I should leave my car running while I have my hazard lights on because they drain the battery! So out come the jumper cables. Soon, we were again back in the car, ready to go, and this time we made it home safely!

Let me sum up the next day for you in a few key points:

As I am leaving for the conference, I can't figure out where the keys are, how to put the garage door down, and forget my Bible...all while trying to call Hubs back and end up being 20 minutes late for my booktable duties. Oh yeah...forgot to eat breakfast in the mad dash to the conference and become shaky and unable to concentrate on anything. Good news: I found Krispy Kreme donuts in an upstairs room.

During the first break, dad decides to take the car to get fixed while I work the booktable. Of course the tire is not fixable as it has a large gash in side of it (see below). He needs to talk to hubs about the road hazard warranty. Meanwhile, mom is calling my name because she needs my help at the booktable. Good news: I teach mom how to use the credit card machine.


What in the world did I hit?

I leave the conference to go with dad out to one of the only stores in town that sells used tires that will get me back home so that I can use the road hazard warranty. Dad gets grease on his new pants, uses my Tide pen to try to clean them, ends up discoloring the pants. We are so happy right now. Good news: The store has a used tire that will work!

We make it back to the conference and I return to my booktable duties. I make it home safely and all is well. Never a dull moment with me!

Rental Car

My car seems to have a magnet in the rear bumper that attracts other cars to it. Because of that, my car is at the body shop for the 3rd time in the last 5 months (1 time = my fault, 2 times = not my fault). It is pretty sad when you call the body shop and they remember exactly who you are.

The fun part about getting your car fixed at anothers expense is that you get a free rental car to drive around. Last time I got a Dodge Caliber - ew (I hope none of you have one). This time, I get to drive a 2008 Silver Pontiac G6. The good things: really quiet ride, love the red interior lights, really easy to go fast in it, it isn't red, and super clean inside. The bad things: the ceiling is lower than I am used to and it is really hard to drive slowly (so I really had to stretch to find some bad things).

I am kind of leery about rental car companies because of a bad first experience, but Hertz was extremely helpful and nice. All I want to do is drive around in my "new" car, yet I also don't want to injure this car. Therefore, I will probably not have as much fun with it as I could. I do think it will be hard to get back into my Neon after this.

Airline ticket update: Still have not bought new tickets for Hawaii, but did purchase 2 tickets to Chicago. In 21 short days we will be off to visit Ryan and Martha and the boys! Really pumped about that.