car thing - part 5

Please read car thing - part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 before reading the following part 5.


IX. Neverwhere

Have you read Neil Gaiman’s book or watched the TV show “Neverwhere”?
I felt like being the protagonist when coming back to Kim’s car from the post office.
I had parked her car right in front of my apartment before going to the bank. So of course, I remembered where I parked it. There were three cars on the side of the street. They were all different makes. I would not miss her car.
When coming close, I pushed the open button at the remote key. The car did not beep. The door was not unlocked.
I looked inside the car and was darn sure this was her car.
I looked around and felt someone was playing a trick on me. Was there a camera hiding somewhere?
Inserting the car key to the key hole, the door was unlocked. I sat into the car and, by habit, I pressed the door lock, but the door was not locked. I had to manually lock the door.
Weird, I thought. Was I still in reality? Or did I accidently go to some underworld like what happened to Richard Mayhew in Neverwhere?
I pushed the emergency blinker. Normally, at least in Bungbung, the blinker would blink even when the car was not started. The blinker did not work.
Fine, I thought. Maybe Kim’s car worked differently than mine. So I inserted the key and tried to start the car.
Nothing happened.
Nothing.
Nothing. Tried again. Still nothing. No buttons worked. No sound from the engine.
This is not my car. Kim has been so nice to me. She let me stay with her. She took care of me. She is a great company. She is as cool as Alex and Zabeth. She makes me laugh. She lent her car to me. And her car just died in front of me. I cannot believe this. I cannot believe this.
All I could think of was “I cannot believe this.”

Did the battery just run out? Or something wrong with the engine?
Kristen the research assistant had just got her car back from the body shop a week ago. Her car suddenly stopped on highway at high speed. The diagnosis was a lemon – her engine was a false one. Having driving the car for 5 years, she could not believe it was a lemon. But shit happens.
Shit. This fresh event simply made me feel even more horrified.
I did not dare to mess things around even if I were some automobile expert, which I was not. I needed to call Kim.

I called Kim. Of course she did not pick it up. I knew her duty did not end this morning until noon. I called Millie to page Kim for me. But Millie did not pick it up. I called Kristen. Kristen did not pick it up. We were throwing a farewell party at noon for Siby. Millie and Kristen probably were busy managing the party thing.
What could I do now?
I left the car and went back to my place. I took a pen and post-it notes back to the car, sitting there and waiting.
On the street, a car without a parking permit can only stay for two hours. It had been more than two hours. I could not let a cop give me a ticket.
Soon, Kristen called. My boss called. Siby was on the phone too.
“Please find me Kim.” I said to them.
Siby went up and down stairs to find Kim. Someone paged her for me.
Kim called me back finally.
I told her about the situation. Kim called AAA, a road-side assistant company. But AAA would not come to rescue me and Kim’s car because I am not the owner of the car and because I do not have AAA membership.

Therefore, Kim asked Kristen to drive her to me. I felt bad that not only me would not make it to Siby’s party, but also Kristen and Kim would not make it because of me.
Kristen said Millie would not make it either because Millie took today off for personal emergency.
Kristen also told me that my boss tried to find her husband to help me out. My boss lives in South Orange too, and her husband works at home. However, her husband’s car suddenly got some problem and would not be able to come to me.

What are the odds that all these could happen on the same day?

We waited for AAA until 2pm.
The first thing we could guess was no battery power. So the AAA guy jumped jacked it, and the car was started!
I had no idea why the battery was out of power in less than an hour. I couldn’t believe it.

Even now I am still shaking my head when thinking back. I cannot believe this.


X. Return

“When is Geico going to see my car?” I asked the body shop on Jan 17 after Kim’s car came back to life.
“We hope he will come over tomorrow.” The body shop answered.
“When are you going to see my car?” I called the Geico person.
“Tomorrow.” He said.
“Tomorrow when?”
“Late morning or early afternoon.”
“I will call you tomorrow.” I was not polite on the phone. Politeness had already run out during the 3-week long wait.

On Friday morning, Jan 18, I was on time for my appointment, but the doctor was not. He did not see me until three hours later. No matter how many times I have waited for different purposes in different situations, I can never get used to waiting.
I told the receptionist that I needed to do some errands after 30 minutes of waiting. She took a note of my phone number and let me go.
I went to the South Orange Parking Authority and got my parking permit.
While I was in the examining room, waiting again, I got a call from Geico and another from the body shop. Both of them told me, I could go get Bungbung back!

By train, I went to the body shop, Bungbung’s smile came to my view. It smiled as a beetle could smile, as a new beetle could smile, and as a brand-new new beetle could smile. Oh my bug.
Dennis the technician walked me through what had been repaired and changed. He assured me that he test-drove it, and that it was like new.
He also put on the New Jersey plates on it for me.
Happily I sat into the car. It was a sunny wonderful day. Very wonderful. Sunny and warm. My heart was warm.

Now Bungbung is parked in South Orange legally with a registration card. Things are sorted.

At least, that was what I thought.
15 hours ago (now it's 3pm on Jan 21), I got robbed and lost my driver’s license and other IDs and other important documents and dance shoes and other personal stuff and my cellphone.
Without my driver’s license, I cannot drive. Bungbung is safe and sound now. I am not.
I cannot believe this. I got robbed right before midnight in front of my apartment.
It was cold. Very cold. I am trapped in fear.
Email me your phone number because I don’t have yours anymore. And pray for me.