What this is all about...

A quarter life crisis is a real thing. I know this because myself, and my best girlfriends, are going through it right now. This blog is dedicated to the day to day banalities/craziness of those quarter life crises. For those of you with questions, the qlc is when you realize that you have to be Responsible. It is when the job you accept is the beginning of a Career Path. It is when the guy/girl you date might be The One. It is when you get pushed out of the nest and you have to flap your wings enough to cushion the fall. Perhaps your thirties are when you get to fly?
The question isn't who is going to let me; 
it's who is going to stop me.
-Ayn Rand

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Game of Life, QLC Edition - Kay's Adventures

A few weeks ago Kay ran into an obstacle that terrifies me. She had to buy a new car. Well, a new-to-her car. Her giant 1997 Ford Explorer finally died, spending its final moments limping into the Firestone near her apartment. If we were walking around on the Game of Life, QLC Edition’s game board, this would begin her epic adventure into the Mechanic Mud Pit and Car Salesman Forest.

The square after landing on “Your car dies on the way to a weekend work event, good luck!” would be “You learn how to take the bus to work and it takes 1½  hours, lose a turn.” This is the point where she enters the Mechanic Mud Pit and finds herself in the type of mud that sucks animals in and preserves them for millions of years. She takes decisive action and asks Firestone to run a diagnostic test. The mechanic tells her it is the car battery. Great! She bought a new battery less than a year ago from Meineke and has a warranty. She calls Meineke and tells them her car is at Firestone, could she meet them there to have them look at the battery? They agree – yay!

Except she is in the Mechanic Mud Pit and apparently that translates to, “Please tow my car, park it in the handicapped spot in your parking lot, which is nowhere near where I live or work, and run another diagnostic.” She gets a phone call later in the day explaining that it is not the battery, it’s something else that will be very expensive but do not worry, they can fix it! Not only is she stunned to learn that her car has been moved miles without her consent, but now she has to figure out who is telling the truth. What is wrong with her car?

She calls Meineke and informs them that she decided not to fix it, she will sell it and buy a new-to-her car. Trust me, she has put a lot of money into the Explorer and it was time to send it to the magical place wherever Cash for Clunkers cars go.  “No problem,” says King of Mechanic Mud Pit, “just come get your car before we close tonight.” TRICKY since they towed it miles from where she lives and oh yeah, it doesn’t work. She tells them all this and their reply? “Well, you can’t leave it here. It is in a handicapped spot and we can have it ticketed.” For those of you who were reading closely, Meineke was the one that left it in their handicapped spot, not her.

I’ll speed ahead here to say that she sold it to a guy who has some interest in old vehicles. At that point she had been in tears more than once and just wanted out of the Mechanic Mud Pit. She drew the “Sold Your Clunker! Proceed to Car Salesman Forest” card and advances one weekend. She dives head first into researching possible new-to-her cars. I told her I was proud of her – I don’t even know where to start in terms of looking for cars, but there she was, doing research and deciding which car lots to visit.

For any of those who went to my high school, you will remember a certain young Theology teacher we had who believes in unicorns (she said that, I am not making it up.) The one thing I remember from that class is when she told us to always bring a guy with us when we go to buy a car. Kay would agree to that now too. She was reduced to tears several more times as she dealt with people she was certain were lying to her face, talking above her head on purpose, and basically making her feel like a girl lost in the woods with wolves on the loose. Think the beginning of Beauty and the Beast.

Kay is a tough southern girl though, and she didn’t break down and buy a car from a dealership she didn’t trust. At this point her boyfriend came through and contacted his friend who worked at a Mazda dealership in town. The friend introduced her to a sales guy in his dealership who she finally felt comfortable talking with. He listened when she told him her price range and explained all the ridiculous sales jargon that normal 23 year olds do not know. In the end, she drove off the lot (and out of the forest) in a leased Mazda 6.

Good job Kay! You survived the Mechanic Mud Pit and Car Salesman Forest! Proceed to Happy Hour!

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