I saw it coming, so I was okay with it, when it happened.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed with maintaining a lifestyle that, when that burden is taken away, you feel very relieved? Yes, I know the feeling too.
The past 6 months, I've been stressing with my vehicle, which wasn't even my vehicle to begin with. Check engine light that would have cost me $1800 to fix, if I was going to pass smog check. Insurance that I could not afford, and a DMV fine that I could not afford to pay in order to lift registration suspension for my son.
So, let me explain...
In June of 2019, I took over my son's vehicle payments as well as upkeep of the vehicle while he was out of the country. He's going to be gone for 2 years(Peace Corps Mission). We were not sure what to do with his vehicle since he was still making payments on it, and since I had just returned to Vegas and wanted to buy a car, he and I agreed to let me assume payments and drive it as if it were mine, this way I wouldn't have to shed out thousands of dollars on a down payment for a new car.
When I inherited the car, brakes and rotor were bad so I paid about $700 to fix those two things. A week later, I had the oil changed for around $70 because the manufacturer recommended specific synthetic oil only for VW Passat. At this time, the check engine light was on and I wasn't really concerning myself with that because registration wasn't going to be due until November. November came very fast. By the time I decided to address the check engine light, it was already November and the cost was going to be $1800. Learning this fact set in a hopelessness that I could not shake off. I knew the car wasn't going to pass smog test, which meant I could not register it, not to mention that I had lapsed in insurance going on 2 whole months, so the registration was suspended and there was over $500 fine at DMV that I had to pay before I could reinstate the registration.
As time went I realize that I will be out of a vehicle very soon, because, at this point, I'd stopped making payments on the vehicle, no insurance coverage, no registration so I was waiting for repossession of the vehicle. Every morning when I would go out at 7 to take my daughter to school, I was surprised to see the vehicle still parked in my assigned parking spot. A week prior, I had explained to my son and daughter that, soon we will not have a vehicle. I explained all the issues with the car to them and they seemed disappointed but understood.
On the morning of November 16, around 7:30, I was going on my usual morning jog, as I reached the exit gate of my residence, I saw a tow truck entering the property. My immediate thought was, "this truck is heading for my car". Deep down I'd hoped I was wrong, because I've seen other tow trucks come on the property for other cars, etc. I put the thought out of my head and continued with my workout. An hour later, I was back at the gate of my property and I remembered the tow truck, and I got nervous. The video below, shows the tow truck that coincidentally appears on my video of my walk. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VJgW5bTw8KLi6Hje7
As I got closer to where my vehicle would be parked, like it's been for the past 6 months,With every step, I would try to peek over the other cars in search of my car's grill but I could not see it. That did not mean my car wasn't there, other cars were just blocking it, I was telling myself. As I continued to walk towards home and my parking spot, I kept my gaze pointed towards where my car would be. Finally, I reach my spot, and my spot was empty...the sky blue familiarity of my VW Passat, was gone... At this point, I felt disappointment and relief. The human brain is very interesting and very resilient under stress. So, at the sight of not having a vehicle, my brain immediately went in overdrive and began to plan how I will get my daughter to school and get myself to work when the week began in 2 days. In a matter of 30 seconds, I was able to plan out our schedules and how I was going to make sure that everyone would get to where they need to be without any disruptions. I made sure that I had cash for my daughter to take the public bus to school as well as having money in her Uber account so she can take Uber/Lyft when she was running late or if she doesn't feel like taking the bus.
As for me, my job was 3 miles away so I planned on walking to work. When Monday morning came, I had my daughter ride her bike to the bus stop, placed her bike on the front of the bus and got on the public bus. Her school is 12 miles away from home, the public bus stops about 1.2 miles from her school, so she would ride her bike for the rest of the way to school. I was happy to walk those 3 miles to and from work as long as my daughter had the means to get to school. See, I was so fearful of losing my means of transportation that, I was stressed unnecessarily. In the end, I lost the car, and life didn't stop for us. It continued and I felt better. Not having a car does not stop my daughter from going to school or me from going to work, so my worries, though warranted, it was not a deal breaker. Yes, I have to put brakes on certain activities like driving to the store for groceries, to the post office, or the swap meet because I don't have money for Lyft/Uber yet, but we're okay.
The moral of the story is that, things happen for a reason and whatever you think you can't handle, know that you can. You're strong enough. I saw it coming, so I was okay with it.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed with maintaining a lifestyle that, when that burden is taken away, you feel very relieved? Yes, I know the feeling too.
The past 6 months, I've been stressing with my vehicle, which wasn't even my vehicle to begin with. Check engine light that would have cost me $1800 to fix, if I was going to pass smog check. Insurance that I could not afford, and a DMV fine that I could not afford to pay in order to lift registration suspension for my son.
So, let me explain...
In June of 2019, I took over my son's vehicle payments as well as upkeep of the vehicle while he was out of the country. He's going to be gone for 2 years(Peace Corps Mission). We were not sure what to do with his vehicle since he was still making payments on it, and since I had just returned to Vegas and wanted to buy a car, he and I agreed to let me assume payments and drive it as if it were mine, this way I wouldn't have to shed out thousands of dollars on a down payment for a new car.
When I inherited the car, brakes and rotor were bad so I paid about $700 to fix those two things. A week later, I had the oil changed for around $70 because the manufacturer recommended specific synthetic oil only for VW Passat. At this time, the check engine light was on and I wasn't really concerning myself with that because registration wasn't going to be due until November. November came very fast. By the time I decided to address the check engine light, it was already November and the cost was going to be $1800. Learning this fact set in a hopelessness that I could not shake off. I knew the car wasn't going to pass smog test, which meant I could not register it, not to mention that I had lapsed in insurance going on 2 whole months, so the registration was suspended and there was over $500 fine at DMV that I had to pay before I could reinstate the registration.
As time went I realize that I will be out of a vehicle very soon, because, at this point, I'd stopped making payments on the vehicle, no insurance coverage, no registration so I was waiting for repossession of the vehicle. Every morning when I would go out at 7 to take my daughter to school, I was surprised to see the vehicle still parked in my assigned parking spot. A week prior, I had explained to my son and daughter that, soon we will not have a vehicle. I explained all the issues with the car to them and they seemed disappointed but understood.
On the morning of November 16, around 7:30, I was going on my usual morning jog, as I reached the exit gate of my residence, I saw a tow truck entering the property. My immediate thought was, "this truck is heading for my car". Deep down I'd hoped I was wrong, because I've seen other tow trucks come on the property for other cars, etc. I put the thought out of my head and continued with my workout. An hour later, I was back at the gate of my property and I remembered the tow truck, and I got nervous. The video below, shows the tow truck that coincidentally appears on my video of my walk. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VJgW5bTw8KLi6Hje7
As I got closer to where my vehicle would be parked, like it's been for the past 6 months,With every step, I would try to peek over the other cars in search of my car's grill but I could not see it. That did not mean my car wasn't there, other cars were just blocking it, I was telling myself. As I continued to walk towards home and my parking spot, I kept my gaze pointed towards where my car would be. Finally, I reach my spot, and my spot was empty...the sky blue familiarity of my VW Passat, was gone... At this point, I felt disappointment and relief. The human brain is very interesting and very resilient under stress. So, at the sight of not having a vehicle, my brain immediately went in overdrive and began to plan how I will get my daughter to school and get myself to work when the week began in 2 days. In a matter of 30 seconds, I was able to plan out our schedules and how I was going to make sure that everyone would get to where they need to be without any disruptions. I made sure that I had cash for my daughter to take the public bus to school as well as having money in her Uber account so she can take Uber/Lyft when she was running late or if she doesn't feel like taking the bus.
As for me, my job was 3 miles away so I planned on walking to work. When Monday morning came, I had my daughter ride her bike to the bus stop, placed her bike on the front of the bus and got on the public bus. Her school is 12 miles away from home, the public bus stops about 1.2 miles from her school, so she would ride her bike for the rest of the way to school. I was happy to walk those 3 miles to and from work as long as my daughter had the means to get to school. See, I was so fearful of losing my means of transportation that, I was stressed unnecessarily. In the end, I lost the car, and life didn't stop for us. It continued and I felt better. Not having a car does not stop my daughter from going to school or me from going to work, so my worries, though warranted, it was not a deal breaker. Yes, I have to put brakes on certain activities like driving to the store for groceries, to the post office, or the swap meet because I don't have money for Lyft/Uber yet, but we're okay.
The moral of the story is that, things happen for a reason and whatever you think you can't handle, know that you can. You're strong enough. I saw it coming, so I was okay with it.
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