(no subject)

[vr_trakowski]

Well, to start with, my car is broken.  Not seriously, but the door handle on the passenger side front (outside) is broken off and the lock on the driver side front is stuck locked.  Since the back doors have no locks on the outside, this means that I have to leave my car unlocked so I can open the back passenger door, lean in to open the front passenger door, and slide into the driver's seat over the console.  This is irritating but not incapacitating, and affords great amusement to whomever happens to be riding with me.  *rolls eyes*  The trouble is that, according to the dealer, it would cost $250+ to fix just one door, and I simply don't have that kind of money to spare right now. 

This morning, I came out and realized, when I spotted the balled-up dirty socks in my back seat, that someone had spent the night in my car. 

I had to remove the socks, a pen, and three pennies, and roll down the windows to get rid of the smell--not a stench, thank you Lord, just the odor of someone who'd slept in a small enclosed space for several hours.  But now I have a dilemma.  Do I leave the car as it is, with the risk of this, or something worse?  Or do I lock the doors and go in through the trunk?  I can do that--the back seats fold down--but something in me rebels at the loss of dignity implied.   Not to mention the messiness of doing so in a downpour, for instance.

Hmm, now I'm wondering if I can rig some sort of device that will let me open the trunk and yank to open one of the doors.  Well, no, I'd still have to unlock the door from the inside.  *sigh*  And the car does not have those easily yankable stem locks; they're nubby little switches.  Maybe two tools?  One to push open the lock and one to open the door? 

What puzzles me about this is why the...male, to judge from the scent...chose to sleep inside a car anyway.  It was quite warm last night, and it must have gotten stifling inside the car.  He could have curled up behind a bush somewhere and probably been more comfortable. 

Oh well.  My weekend was lovely--I got errands done, I had a nice nap, I spent a terrific evening with laura27md and her Nikko.  Didn't get done what I needed to, but that's nothing unusual. 

Comments

[trialia]

How very odd. *hugs*

I have the flu. In July. Sucks.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Yup, it does! Drink lots of fluids and stay horizontal. *hugs back*

[trialia]

Well, I'm managing the fluids part... and I'm going to go back to bed shortly. *hug* Just hoping I'm fit for work tomorrow because I have to go in even if I'm feeling like death warmed over, I have a deadline to meet.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Good, I hope you feel better tomorrow. Bug, I banish thee!

[trialia]

*weak grin* Thanks, darlin'. I hope it works! I am not feeling good.

Oooh, I meant to tell you, I've been reading Lois McMaster Bujold.. and love her. Aren't you proud of me now? ^_~

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeedy I am! I'd ask you what you're reading, except you're supposed to be resting. *raises brows*

[trialia]

*looks sheepish* Right, right. I finished the two books I managed to get hold of once through already, though-- "The Curse of Chalion" and "Paladin of Souls". I want more! But right now, I want rest a little bit more than that. Heh. *crawls into bed and types from there*

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. There's a third in the series but it has all-new characters. If you like those, you can try the Vorkosigan series, which is space opera rather than fantasy, or "The Spirit Ring", which was her first published fantasy novel. I'll try to whip you up a list one of these days.

"Lips, eh?" :P

a reason I'm currently car-less

[tres_mechante.livejournal.com]

Sympathy on the car situation. I can honestly say I've never known anyone to sleep in any of my vehicles...but the subject of possession did come up once or twice... ;-)

You reminded me (well, not you, but your car) of a Honda I had many years ago. It was old when I got it. Anyway, the left turn signal went out, and it would have cost a fortune to fix since it would have been necessary to take that section of the car apart to get at the bulb/system/whatever.

You know, with a little creativity - and a whole boatload of planning - it is possible to navigate a city making nothing but right-hand turns...

And then there was the loss of dignity trying to get into my car. Foolishly, I'd washed it in the winter. The temperature did a sudden drop and my car was sealed.

Now, at that time, I was a reporter and I'd been covering a veterans for peace thing. Anyway, I get out to the street and the door won't open. None of the doors would open. One of the elderly vets comes over...he tries. Nope. Not happening. The key unlocked the door, but the door was totally welded shut by ice. Huh.

It was a hatchback (you see where this is going, right?) and he wonders if the hatch will open. Surprise. It does. HE climbs in and tries to muscle the door from the inside (this poor old guy climbing over the seat). Nope. He crawls back out. I'm pretty much in tears at this point. We figure warmth is needed. So I climb in, get settled, start the car, and the hatch it closed. I'm effectively sealed into the car.

I drove the streets - it was late and nothing was open - up and down and up and down for about an hour, heat blasting, me still trapped. Eventually the window opens pretty much all the way down, but the door still won't open.

I've had enough by this point. I drove home, pulled into the narrow unheated garage, and crawled out the driver side window (you should know, even then I was NOT petite). The next morning, the door popped open as if there had never been a problem. *whimper*

Anyway, I'm glad you had a good weekend, got to hang with a friend, and really, chores are overrated. *g*

Re: a reason I'm currently car-less

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Um, see entry below. Yeah, I'm awake this morning. *snort*

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Ooh yeah, I can picture that one, having had to pry a door open a few times! And believe me, I've been seriously tempted to try the window route, but my girth and battered dignity just won't let me try it in a public parking lot. I'm just glad I'm flexible enough to go over the console--it requires a few bends.

[jenbachand.livejournal.com]

This might be a really suggestion, but here it goes.

Steve's new truck didn't come with electric locks, but he wanted to get an alarm installed. When we got to one of those stereo & alarm places they told us they had a motor to unlock the manual locks. I think it was like $150 for the motor for the locks & the alarm. Still not cheap, but a possibility, and then you'd know when some bum broke in.

Along the same lines but not the same. I had a Subaru hatchback that had originally been my grandmothers, but I had bought it when it was about 10 years old. I left it with my aunt when we went on vacation. We told her not to let her man drive it (6'3" 350 lbs easy). She let him. The seat broke. We had these huge couch cushions that served to hold the seat up so we could drive it around. Yeah fun. We evenutally sold it to same aunt & he drove it until it died completely & they sold it for scrap.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Huh, thanks for the thought! The locksmith we tried told me that the locks on my car are an enclosed unit, which was why he couldn't pop the thing open. And, presumably, one of the reasons why it would cost so much to replace.

It's amazing the substitutes one can come up with to make things work!

[jenbachand.livejournal.com]

*might be a really bad decision*

Can't write this morning.

[anamin.livejournal.com]

OMG. Someone slept in your car? And left their socks? That is so wrong, and dirty, ew! I'm sorry. Maybe someone you know fam or friends can lend you the dough for a bit. I'd explain the 'homeless sleeping person' situation to them. Maybe someone you know will be sympathetic. Oy, that would just squick me out way to much to having to keep dealing with it. And if they're sleeping what else are they doing? drugs? something else? One never can tell.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Eh, I owe my parents too much as it is, and if I tell my mom, she'll get all worried about my neighborhood again. He might not have been homeless, per se, just drunk--but then I didn't smell alcohol either. I'm really thinking I'll have to rig something up.

[ligaras.livejournal.com]

Hey, maybe you can work a deal with this guy?
He guards your car at night (i.e. locks himself in)and unlocks the doors for you in the morning (and gets out himself. Then in return he has somewhere (hot) to sleep .

-No really, sorry about the whole thing...not a good problem to be stuck with long-term, and definitely not when it rains.

Good Luck :)

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

*snerk* Just ask Millie or Laura, they've seen me get in and out! But thanks. Actually, I'd have to catch him first. With any luck, he's moved on...

[ckofshadows.livejournal.com]

That's horrifying. Oh, man. What an invasion of your personal space.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

I'd-a been more upset if he'd still been in the car when I got there. I'm more irritated than anything else, really. It's just another level of nuisance.

[laura27md.livejournal.com]

Oh that is creeeeeeepy! Glad he wasn't there when you got out there. :/

Fun to see you yesterday too! :D

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

It would probably have resulted in me calling the police--I have my stupidity limits. :P