Faith in Humanity

Follow up on my poor car, Martha. I took her in today to get her passenger mirror replaced this morning. I knew the part was X amount, but had no idea on the labor. All in all it was about half of what my deductible would have been. I had called Mr. Tree Man, the guy who cut the limb down that hit my car, and he said he would pay for it to let him know the cost of the part and that I was taking Martha in today. At least the phone number worked AND he answered.

The visit to the dealership is always interesting. The waiting area sucks. I was there so early, I nabbed a newspaper and was working the crossword puzzle when this old man sat down next to me to basically stare at my chest and comment on my puzzle skills (I'm guessing he thought this might relate to my bedroom skills). Annoying. I was there first, totally camped out and then sat there feeling icky as there was no where else to go and sit. Thankfully he left soon after. I always find it fascinating when I go to the dealership to get work done that they assume I'm dropping the car off. Nope, I'm waiting buddy. I'm here first, I want the work done and I want to wait, basically as I have no choice.

So Martha is finally done and looks great. I call Mr. Tree Man and tell him the total. He says he has to get the money and he's going to call me back. I'm like, HA! I'm thinking I'll never hear from him again. I have to go all the way across town to get a drug test for my new job and while I'm there, Mr. Tree Man calls and says he's got the money. We arrange to meet. I show up at his current job and he doesn't even ask to see the receipt for the work! I could have said it was a lot more than it was and he wouldn't have even questioned me. THEN, he proceeds to hand me cash, too much cash in large bills. I don't have change, he doesn't have change, so he says, I should take the cash and get change. SERIOUSLY?!!! I could have just run off with all the money. He only had my cell phone number...so off I go to get change, come back and give him the change. Unbelievable.

I can't believe the accident happened in the first place, then I can't believe he actually paid for the damage. As I was driving to get change, I felt so bad for the guy. He's a hard working, manual labor guy, trying to pick up work wherever and whenever he can, working outside in this heat, I felt bad. Just an honest guy, trying to make an honest living. It was an accident, it could have been a lot worse.

So two out of three ain't bad out of my accidents. I still can't believe the kid who rear-ended me actually showed up to court AND paid me my deductible back. And now I got paid for the limb hitting my car. The sideswipe at Costco...well, hopefully Karma will get that person back.

Update on my house: yesterday, a truck and a car pulled up to the curb of my house. All the people get out and crowd around the truck. Then, an older woman and a young boy walk up to the garage and around the front of the house. I opened the door and asked if I could help her...apparently her son, who I will call the Waffler, is interested in my house. He's seen it twice before, lives in the area, and according to my realtor I was in the top 3 of his home choices. His mother, the old woman, was in town for a day and came by to look at the house. So I showed her around, chatted up the house and all the work I've had done on it. As soon as she left I emailed my realtor to let him know. Waffler wants to see my house tonight for the 3rd time! Apparently the other two homes he was interested in have sold, so it's down to mine. He's a first time home buyer...taking his time. When I was a first time home buyer, I took my time finding the "right" home, but once I did, I moved on it and that was during a "normal" market. When it comes to buying, you really just have to jump. So, anyway, I'm hopeful.

This Saturday I start my next to last MBA class. I can't believe I'm almost done. I can't wait to be done. I'm not sure I will know what to do with my free time. I start my new job on Monday. Fly out for orientation. I'm totally bugging. So much change and trauma drama over the last few months...I'll be happy to settle down and get back to work. It's gonna be weird.