Selling the Car

If you're ever thinking to yourself, "Man, it takes a while to sell a car," you should think again.

In the near future, I have to do something different with my life. Working in pain with bad knees for 25 hours a week as a waiter and a janitor isn't going to pay the bills for this college graduate. I was supposed to turn myself around in about a month from when I returned from my travels, but that all went badly. This is getting redundant for anyone who's been following along...

When I figured out that my insurance from one of my jobs wasn't going to do an adequate job of covering the repair of my knee, that became the catalyst for change. I guess if I'm not backed into a corner, I'll just roll along with the status quo. If there's anything to fall back on, like staying at my parents' house, I'll fall back on it. There was nothing more I could do with the knee at this time. I quit waiting around and kicked myself into gear.

After the 4th of July debacle, during which I could barely finish my shift, my manager at the restaurant suggested I take a leave of absence. I said okay. A couple of days later I put my car up for sale, figuring it takes a month or two to sell 'em usually. The car was finally to the point where nothing major (just 3 minor things) was wrong with it. I put it on Craigslist. I'd never bought or sold anything on Craigslist before. Apparently this guy Craig knows a lot of people. If you want to sell something slowly, don't try it there. Eight inquiries, three showings, and five days later, the car was gone.

What do I do now? I don't know. I have to look for jobs, I guess. Jobs where I can sit down. During this rough stretch of working on my feet with bad knees, I saw a scene from Rocky II where he told an interviewer, "I'd like to make a living sitting down, like you." That was a bit of an inspiration.

If it looks impossible to work and not own a car, I'll have to get another one. I really like not having a car, though. It's so much less to worry about. I still find myself comparing the feel of that old Subaru to other people's cars that I'm riding in, only to realize moments later that it has become immaterial to me. Disappeared from all points of physical reference. Fortunately, the past doesn't do the same thing. Someone will hire me to do something.