Highway robbery

I took Dixie to Portland for service, something I'd meant to do right away after purchasing her. I had an appointment and apparently a misunderstanding on how long said service would take. Two and a half hours, which isn't that bad, except I was then stuck in Portland without a car for that length of time. I should have taken them up on the offer of a loaner, but to be honest, I was worried they'd give me a Mercedes, and driving in a strange city in that kind of car seemed like a recipe for disaster...

I walked around a bit and came back when they said she'd be done. It was another half an hour beyond that.

And also over $600. I tried hard to not fall off the chair at that ... and what could I do, refuse to pay? Jesus. Though it was Mercedes (Smarts are part of the Mercedes family), I still didn't think it would be that much for basic services!

So it's a good thing indeed I didn't have a loaner. I couldn't go find Powell's, buy a shitton of books and also find a Target and Trader Joe's to also spend money thinking I had plenty to spare from my first paycheck.

But they did detail her so well I genuinely didn't recognize her when I wandered into the parking area. I, uh, am really good at avoiding car washes and she was so dusty and sad and dull. That's ... something?

I do want to paint her yellow, but hell if I'm going to ask Mercedes to do it! Wouldn't a little yellow Smarty be so cute?

also, on writing

Why can't I? I have a deadline, damn it, and I cannot get the words to flow for me. It's 10,000 by June 20something. I was at 900 words for about two months. For the last two weeks I've added a whopping 600 to that.

I'm in trouble, folks. Eeeeeeep.