Monday, April 03, 2006

Car versus Cat

My car is moving to California tomorrow. Today driving it around the block was very possibly the last time I will ever drive it.

To prepare it for the move, I cleaned out all non-car related items. Things like the jumper cables & the maps are still in there, as are the dashboard bat & Totoro. I considered taking them out, but that depressed me. I won't lie to you. There was some crying. Craig was involved. If the car gets sold (and there's a good chance that it will), I will have the in-laws ship all the decorations back to me. I also want to keep one of the license plates if the person buying the car doesn't like my special plates.

It is exactly this kind of thinking that leads me to having a houseful of crap. Did you know that when we moved across country, there were several truckloads to thrift stores, and several truck-and-trailer-fulls down to the 'no. We still had to leave a lot of things by the dumpster (and in the house - eventually we said "screw it" and just left).
The great thing about Davis is that there is an open policy on dumpster diving. If something is still usable but you just don't want it anymore, like an old dresser, leave it NEXT TO the dumpster. Someone who needs it will come by & get it. If the thing is broken, like a busted fan, then it goes IN the dumpster. There are still a few people that might fish it out, but that's on them. We actually had the honor of seeing the family that took all of our stuff. If those kids are that thrilled about an alarm clock, then they definitely need it more than we do.

Trying to rationalize my desperation of losing my car, I put it in real life terms; what if for some reason I got to keep the car, but had to lose my cat? What if I could drive all day in the mini cooper, but I had to put Mecru to sleep? I would be a lot more distraught over the cat. That helped me put things in perspective.

The car, while awesome, does not love me back. It does not provide companionship. It costs a heck of a lot more to repair than the cat (though I've been fortunate enough to not have to spend a lot on cat repairs). However, if the need did arise, I know I would find a way to pay for the vet bill. If it's not vital to the car's performance, it can wait. Example: there is still a rather large dent / scratch / hole taking up a vast majority of the passenger side from a rampant piece of scrap metal on the Grapevine.

I could get that repaired, but I could also continue paying rent. If it came down to it, I would be homeless to save my cat. Damn cat wouldn't even appreciate it.



So, I think I've come to terms with being a no-car Des. At least for right now. We'll see what the truck driver has to say tomorrow when I'm hugging the car and crying my little eyes out. Then I will come upstairs and hug the cat, still crying. Mecru will wiggle and fight (but not claw me) to be let down. I'll give in, and he'll run up the tower swishing his tail at me. I can't predict how the car will react to all of this. I think it might just sit there complacently while it is driven up on the truck and out of my life.


P.S. That's not my cat. That is my sister's fat cat, Basil. He is large and in charge.

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