This past weekend I went with Ashley to Rochester to see Gogol Bordello and Man Man, which was an amazing concert! We were right up front for whole thing and got some amazing photos! Ashley had a religious experience finally watching her favorite band. She now can empathize with those fainting women who swooned over the Beatles oh so long ago.
The next day we went to the Highfalls area of Rochester to just show Ashley around and show her some of the neat things that are in that area. After we had watched the falls and speculated on how to reach this one seemingly man made cave/entrance in the far side of the gorge we attempted to leave to get to this coffee shop that is on the Art Walk in Rochester. I say attempted because my car just wouldn't start up. She'd try, she'd cough, she'd protest, but she wouldn't catch and turn over. Funny the terminology that we use for vehicles. She, catch, turn over. Ashley tried, and succeeded eventually, to flag down a random passerby while I contacted my family for assistance. The passerby,in a nice Porsche SUV gave us a jump and all was well! For about 5 minutes. Then the car just stopped again.
A call to roadside assistance and a tow truck showed up to take my car away, bound for a car shop I'd never been to in a city I don't live in. It were the mechanic that my mom uses so that calmed me a bit. We all went to the coffee shop anyways, one called Spot. It were relaxing and a welcome reprieve from the recent stress of having my car die like that. It's funny, really. I never considered how dependent upon my car I have become. I used to just walk everywhere. I lived without one for so long it was easy to believe that I really didn't need one. After all, I could always just walk where ever I needed to go. But here I felt abandoned, cast away, and lost. It's not my car's fault. She serves me as faithfully as she ought to. I don't treat her well enough any more. The number of times I have had her fixed only to break in new an more expensive ways lead me to this attitude of wishing to rider her into oblivion, until she gasped her last on the side of the road where I would quietly call some service to take her away and find a new car to take me where ever.
I now realize that this attitude isn't the best. The amount of stress and terror that situation would evoke would be quite hard to handle. So now I have to pursue a slightly less romantic path, one where I slowly build up funds for a down payment to procure a new vehicle, where I can pat my car kindly as I have her taken away to be traded in for a newer model. An image not quite so different from saying goodbye to a family pet at the vet's and then asking where the to adopt a new one with no time to given to grieve at one loss.
Last night I drove to Rochester again. I was beginning to think I didn't abhor driving so much anymore. Like someone who works at a chocolaters' who gorges on delicious sweets I was able to wear myself out. It probably has more to do with the rapid succession of going out, coming back, going out again and coming back again and then straight into work that has me worn down. I require a nap. I require funds to keep my mobility. Some requirements are greater than others, no?