The Inspection

So...the funniest part of the story which I have purposely been leaving out is that the car has a salvage title. In Iowa, a salvage title is when a car has had more than $5,000.00 in damage in one instance. In Maryland, a car can earn a salvage title if it has been stolen.

So...the story behind my Volvo is that it was stolen and not recovered in 30 days, so the insurance company paid the owner its value. The car was recovered after the 30 days and so it couldn't be returned. The car was left on the said of the road run completely out of gas and with slight damage to the front right side (the bumper and one headlight had to be replaced). The insurance company took care of the damages and then the title was converted to salvage and it was sent to auction.

So...I had to take it to get inspected by the county to make sure it was safe and legal. Only a small town about 10 minutes north of here handles all salvage inspections. So, I got there and there was a slightly overweight middle-aged woman at a folding table in the back corner of the garage that holds the town's 3 police cars. I waited my turn and then she walked over to my car and asked me pop the hood...On a side note, I take pride in not being a dumb, helpless girl. So I jumped in the car and looked where the hood releaser is in every car and mine was nowhere to be seen. I got on the ground and looked under the steering wheel; and all the while this woman is looking at me with her clipboard judging me and mocking me internally (as I would be if I were in her shoes). So, I did what I had to do, and I called my dad. Problem solved.

So...I passed the "inspection." The inspection consisted of her walking around my car and writing down two locations where she found the VIN number. I was worried about nothing. Good thing she didn't find the drugs and other contraband I was sneaking across state lines...

My Dream Car

When I was about 9 years old, I fell in love with a car. I first laid eyes on it in a country club parking lot. It was not a Porsche or a fancy convertible like most little kids dream about; it was a Volvo 240DL. If you are not Volvo connoisseur, like myself, you might not have any idea what a Volvo 240DL might have looked like in 1988 (when I was 9). Here it is:

You might be thinking, "Is she serious?" or "What a strange little girl she must have been!" or even "What kind of parents let a 9 year old wander around a parking lot alone?" But I assure you (ask any close friend, family member or ex-boyfriend), I have been a Volvo lover (not to be confused with Vulva like someone-who-shall-remain-nameless thought) for the past 19 years.

So...about 6 weeks ago my oldest sister was talking buying a car on eBay and I laughed and said, "Who does that?" I thought it seemed silly to buy something as important and pricey as a car on eBay, but I was curious. So I started to look on eBay for cars, not seriously, but just to see what was on there. Fast forward to last week...Lee and I bought a car on eBay. Don't fret, I talked to the man whose auction it was multiple times via telephone. We thought we had it all figured out. Did I mention the car was in Annapolis, Maryland? We thought that one of Lee's good friends from college who lives in Baltimore could test drive it and then drive it to Iowa. Then we could see him for awhile and fly him back. The Baltimorian friend was way too busy with schoolwork to take any time off.

So now we were stumped and I was stressed ( I got three zits over it). Car in Baltimore...us here...what should we do? So my dad volunteered to fly out test drive the car and drive it back if it was everything eBay said it was. It was. My dad flew out Thursday, after a few wind delays, and started the journey home that evening (after meeting with the seller, whose name is Cevon pronounced Kevin). He drove to Cleveland and slept a few hours in a hotel and then drove the rest of the way home on Friday. So...Thanks to my dad for driving 900 miles and Lee for indulging my strange love of Scandinavian automobiles, I have a shiny Volvo V50 of my own sitting in the garage waiting to be driven (that is a subject for another post...I am not supposed to drive it until it passes the county's inspection).

For the record, I love it. It is everything eBay said and more.

Yo Yo

So...today during my Period 5 Final the Principal's Secretary emailed and asked me to come down to the office. When the final was over, I went down to talk to Dr. Plagman. He gave me the news that I would be staying at Washington and not having to transfer to Jefferson. Another lady in the special ed department wanted to leave. So she applied and interviewed at Jefferson. On Friday they offered her the job, and she accepted it Monday morning. It will be a loss for Washington, because she has 25 years of experience and is the person we all go to with questions. But, she wanted to go and I am not about to beg her to stay!

So I went to talk to her between classes and we were standing in the hallway. In mid sentence she said, "I think something is going to happen." By the time I turned around, there was a full on girl fight. There were some solid punches that made contact as well as hair pulling. One administrator got one girl and the other one kept attacking even while her opponent was being detained and then another administrator pinned the other girl to the lockers.

Ahhhhhhhhh... It feels good to be back. As my Principal says everyday on announcements, "It's a great day to be a Warrior!"