I think I've finally sold ol' Blue.
Friend and student Brenda was due to come over to play D&D with us yesterday around 1pm. She called around 11 and said she probably wouldn't make it, because her car was being all fucked up and she had to figure a way to get it to the shop. She said she thought she could drive it there; it had been stalling out at lights but the shop was only a few blocks away. I offered to help ferry her, so I went to her place. That way I also was able to give her a ride to D&D (which she didn't want to miss) too, and meet her cats. She has a tiny calico kitten, and 2 huge bruiser toms- one fluffy ginger tabby and a glossy all-black fellow. The toms were attention whores, and the black one let her pick him up and flop him over upside down while she scritched all over his belly, his legs flopping in all directions. It was hysterical to watch.
So, we got the car to the shop and went to play D&D. It went rather slowly... in part because Bob hasn't played D&D before so he's learning which dice to roll when, and also because when we 4 get together we just won't shut up with the weird factoids and personal stories and quotes from obscure old commercials and Simpsons and such. I suppose that makes it like every other D&D group in the world, though.
After about an hour the car shop called and said her radiator is busted, which will cost about $600, and her heater core is also busted, but can be ignored if she doesn't mind having no heat (otherwise $1000). This, after putting a $300 into an alternator last week, and having her car stereo stolen. So I mentioned the Catalina, which for all its cosmetic issues is still running well and has been okayed by the mechanic. I printed out the list of information I have about the car, and she drove it around a bit and decided to buy it. She may not keep it for very long, but this helps her out as well as me.
I have mixed feelings about selling it to a friend- if something were to go horribly wrong with it, or she doesn't like it, or anything like that I would probably hear about it and feel bad. On the other hand, I can also tell her about it's quirks (and there are many, but I'd been driving the car for so long I don't even think of them as quirks) and I also like that she's had old cars before, and can appreciate their benefits. I was not looking forward to the possibility of some parent buying it for their high school kid who would hate it and treat it badly. But hopefully it's found a good home, and when she makes the second payment in 2 weeks I'll hand her the title and all the other paperwork I have for the thing, including a parts list.
So, I'm back down to one car. The money comes at a good time, and I'll probably sock most of it away to help me get through the holidays. I will miss ol' Blue; I've had that car since 1988 or '89 and it will be weird not seeing in my driveway. We've been through a lot together.
Friend and student Brenda was due to come over to play D&D with us yesterday around 1pm. She called around 11 and said she probably wouldn't make it, because her car was being all fucked up and she had to figure a way to get it to the shop. She said she thought she could drive it there; it had been stalling out at lights but the shop was only a few blocks away. I offered to help ferry her, so I went to her place. That way I also was able to give her a ride to D&D (which she didn't want to miss) too, and meet her cats. She has a tiny calico kitten, and 2 huge bruiser toms- one fluffy ginger tabby and a glossy all-black fellow. The toms were attention whores, and the black one let her pick him up and flop him over upside down while she scritched all over his belly, his legs flopping in all directions. It was hysterical to watch.
So, we got the car to the shop and went to play D&D. It went rather slowly... in part because Bob hasn't played D&D before so he's learning which dice to roll when, and also because when we 4 get together we just won't shut up with the weird factoids and personal stories and quotes from obscure old commercials and Simpsons and such. I suppose that makes it like every other D&D group in the world, though.
After about an hour the car shop called and said her radiator is busted, which will cost about $600, and her heater core is also busted, but can be ignored if she doesn't mind having no heat (otherwise $1000). This, after putting a $300 into an alternator last week, and having her car stereo stolen. So I mentioned the Catalina, which for all its cosmetic issues is still running well and has been okayed by the mechanic. I printed out the list of information I have about the car, and she drove it around a bit and decided to buy it. She may not keep it for very long, but this helps her out as well as me.
I have mixed feelings about selling it to a friend- if something were to go horribly wrong with it, or she doesn't like it, or anything like that I would probably hear about it and feel bad. On the other hand, I can also tell her about it's quirks (and there are many, but I'd been driving the car for so long I don't even think of them as quirks) and I also like that she's had old cars before, and can appreciate their benefits. I was not looking forward to the possibility of some parent buying it for their high school kid who would hate it and treat it badly. But hopefully it's found a good home, and when she makes the second payment in 2 weeks I'll hand her the title and all the other paperwork I have for the thing, including a parts list.
So, I'm back down to one car. The money comes at a good time, and I'll probably sock most of it away to help me get through the holidays. I will miss ol' Blue; I've had that car since 1988 or '89 and it will be weird not seeing in my driveway. We've been through a lot together.