Visualeyes 9

Here it is.... not an extraordinary car, but a good one none the less.
Last Sunday I went out to brunch with my friends, then we came back, signed the papers, took the pictures, and took me to the grocery store for one last ride with "my baby!" Then it was goodbye car, and I watched as it drove out of sight. (Very heavy sigh...) The rest of the day, I didn't quite know what to do with myself. Normally on a weekend, I'd head over to the bookstore and find something calling my name. But, oops!
No  car. Monday morning, as is my habit, I checked outside to see what the weather was like, and there was a space, a parking space, where my car used to sit. No car.   By Tuesday, I HAD to get out of the house and bring some normalcy back into my life. So I made a list of errands I could do in the same general area- mail holiday cards and take small package to mail at UPS Store, pick up RX, drop off jewelry order at gift shop carrying my line. My determination was set and off I trekked, up- and I do mean UP- the street to wait for the bus. After the huffing and puffing and wheezing slowed down (and a hit off the old inhaler), I noticed that the weather was chillier than I thought. Did I have gloves with me? No. Did I have earmuffs or a scarf with me? No. Was my backpack checked for necessary things before I left? No. "The Planner" is going to have to plan better.

Got to the gift shop with jewelry-check- and then an uphill 3 minute walk to get the prescription. Two errands done. Now the steep, uphill "climb" to get to UPS for mailings-huff, puff, check- but I needed a stop to breathe. Saw the bus I needed at the stop about 200 yds. away so I took off at a slow run (remember I have a pack on my back) and made it there before he took off. Of course it turned out he wasn't leaving yet because this bus changes numbers mid route and it sits and waits at this particular stop for 15 minutes before it leaves with the new number on it! (Don't ask me why it changes, I don't get it.) This bus was , of course, going in the opposite direction from where I lived but it was chilly out, I was cold and the bus was warm, and I was tired from uphill walking. (I'm not in shape for all this mandatory exercise!)  I said to myself:  "Gail just go where the bus is going. You've never been to the end of this route; you'll learn where it goes for future reference. It's an adventure!!!" This adventure led me to one of the subway stations where I needed to take the subway to the next stop in order to pick up the bus that doesn't change it's number mid route. Note to self; wear thicker pants if you're going to be waiting for a train in the cold. The marble bench practically gave my bottom freezer burn! At the next stop, I had just missed the bus, so I had another outdoor wait, this time on a wrought iron bench. Hmmm... colder or warmer than the marble one? It's a TIE!!! The wind was whipping around and I was pretending to distract myself from a cold butt, frozen ears, and a runny nose by doing a sudoku puzzle. Might be good for the brain pathways and neurons, but every pathway I had was screaming GET ME ON A WARM BUS NOW!!!! Geez, it's amazing how long 20 minutes take when you're waiting for a bus in chilly weather! Yeah, yeah, I know it wasn't Michigan weather but it was about 39 and I was dressed for 65! I don't know where my internal heat went, but it must have been taking a coffee break someplace else.

Finally the bus arrived; I made it back to my street, walked the downhill (thank goodness) trek home. Still no car there. I guess I was kind of wishing it would magically be there. Up the flight of 14 stairs to my condo. Dumped the pack, threw off the shoes, and collapsed on the couch. Woke up 2 hours later. This no-car-take-bus-and-train routine is going to take some adjustment!

Here are my dear friends with their "new" car.

Visualeyes 7

There are 10 days left. This is a deadline I could live without. In 10 days, my sweet, white Corolla will belong to someone else. Hey! I see you out there rolling your eyes like this is no big deal.  And truthfully, I thought I had "conquered" this and moved past it. Until yesterday....

Yesterday I took the baby in for her last "checkup", commonly called the 70,000 mile checkup. (Well actually they did the 80,000 mile checkup because it checks more things-not to mention costs more.) Since I'm selling my car to friends, I wanted to be sure it was in good shape. Nothing puts a major chasm in a friendship faster than a car that expires suddenly on the highway! I wanted all the belts, fluids,  doodahs and thing-a-ma-bobs checked (as you can see I have a grasp of the technical aspects of cars), and don't forget the tires. Turns out the serpentine belt had cracks (there goes $150) and needed to be replaced. One of the tires- still under warranty- had a nail in it and had to be replaced (of course I had to pay for the labor of putting the new one on, geez), and the windshield wipers were getting floppy and needed to be replaced. With replacement of the oil, balancing and rotating the tires, a suggested, but declined, alignment and $300, I got my baby back. (See it cost just like a checkup at the doctor!) There were also notes to flush the brake fluid line and something else I've blanked out. A call to my friends reassured me that they would take care of the alignment, flushing and the whatever.

So my conscience is clear. I'm handing over a car in good shape. But the reality has finally sunk in that in 10 days I will be using the bus and subway as my  mode of transportation  FOREVER. Sure I have some wonderful friends who offer rides. And there are rides to be had for money as well. It's just the finality in that word forever. Knowing that I will never go from point A to point B on my own again, unless it's by walking, comes with some sadness. Yes, I know the world will be a safer place without me behind the wheel of an automobile, but this is not about knowing, this is about feeling. And it just feels sad. I'm not angry anymore, just melancholy.

I know this will pass and I'll get to a place where I can relish and appreciate the challenge of planning my day around a timetable of buses and trains and walking segments. (Hmmmm, sounds kind of similar to planning a day of teaching around lunch, Music, recess, and bus schedule.) But right now, it just feels sad. It's like having a good friend who's lived in your town for years and suddenly tells you she's moving out of town in a month. Once you get over the shock of it, you try to act as if everything is the same; doing the same things together, spending time together. Until you get to the last week.  Visits become more poignant, a voice in your head says, "this is the last time you'll do blah-blah together" and you never want it to end but know that it must. And you start to feel sad, even though you know you'll see each other again. It's adjusting to a different normal, a new normal. You will because you have to.

I will adjust to being a non-driver because I have to. But for now, it's just sad and I am dealing with that sadness respectfully and with dignity....and kleenex!

Visualeyes 5

To make myself feel better about giving up the car I'm making a list of the positive side of this decision. Many thanks to my creative friends, family, and bloggers who answered my call for help finding the perfect ideas..  :-) I'm so thrilled with these, I have to publish it before Friday!!!

 25  Reasons to be Positive About Being Car-less

1)   I can talk on my cell phone in a moving car without worrying that I might hit someone or something.
2)  I can check out the neighborhood, the  colorful leaves, look at the accident I just passed, check out a magazine, or actually read a complete road sign.
3)  I have unfettered access to someone's car radio. (as the passenger, you see)
4)  I don't have to worry about spilling hot coffee all over my clear shirt or in my lap because the guy in front of me stopped suddenly. (This is because I can see that the guy is stopping and warn the driver which means I'm talking, not drinking!)
5)  I can lean my seat back as far as I want, even take a short nap, since I don't have to worry about looking out the rear view and side mirrors.
6)  OK, the obvious one about saving money on gas and not getting ticked off every time the price goes up.
7)  Also I can reduce my carbon footprint (yeah, yeah, that's me the eco-friendly kid.)
8)  The other obvious one is not having to pay the auto insurance premiums.
9)  Then there's no car maintenance to worry about, or for that matter trying to figure out what the service rep means when he explains why the bill is so costly.
10) How about not having to wait at the DMV or Tax Commissioners office to ask questions that they can't or won't answer only to be told I don't have the correct form and need to come back with it!
11) No more ad valorem tax to pay on the car or emissions test to do.
12) A chance to clean up my language because I won't be swearing at rude, crazy or stupid drivers! (Yeah, this one still needs work.)
13) I am a supporter of the community as I use mass transit. (I sound so wonderful.)
14) Buses and trains will probably provide a wealth of interesting people for blog posts and/or book characters.
15) I won't have to worry about being carjacked.
16) I can learn to appreciate birds because they will no longer be pooping on my hood or windshield!
17) No more concern over assisting European or Middle Eastern economies rather than the US or A.
18) All the walking I am doing will improve my fitness. (I guess I could learn to enjoy being buff, it certainly would be different!)
19) I can indulge in favorite foods without guilt due to an exercise induced higher metabolism. (Okay, so maybe not pizza and chocolate EVERY day.)
20) I will have more "direct face time" with friends since my schedule will now coincide with their schedule for shopping.
21)  No more grumbling over scraping car windows in winter due to snow or ice. (Yeah, I know that's not a huge issue in Atlanta but I won't have to deal with it the once a winter it happens!)
22) Never have to change another flat tire again. Come to think of it, I never HAVE changed a tire in the 40+ years I've been driving cars.
23) I had 3 friends suggest that I can now put on make-up without worrying about an accident. Great idea but since I usually don't wear much make-up, which one of you wants to teach me how to apply it correctly????
24) I will no longer have to worry about cats and dogs peeing on my tires to mark their territory.
25) I will no longer have to listen to that annoying recording at the grocery store gas pumps trying to sell me something.

Hey, maybe being car-less isn't such a bad idea after all! I think I'm starting to feel better about this. :-) If you have any other great reasons it's good to be car-less, send them to me in a comment!

Visualeyes 2

If you had the choice between pouring over a bus schedule for departure times to coordinate your errands for the day or jumping into a car and driving to do the errands, which would you pick? That's a no-brainer, right? I've got to say that even though I know I need to perfect my bus/train skills, I still find myself jumping into the car. There's a voice in my head that says, "Hey what are you doing? You shouldn't be driving!" but another voice, the one that likes to rationalize things and make excuses for why it's okay to do something, says: "But you can't carry this furniture and all this other stuff to Goodwill by going on the bus. So just make this quick trip, using side streets, not the expressway, and it will be alright." It makes sense to me. Yeah, right.

The problem is I could rationalize just about anything as a way to use the car because letting go of it is really hard. Harder than I imagined and I was imagining it to be pretty awful. I realized I wasn't handling this transition well after I bought 2 bags of Halloween candy [no kids in my complex and never had a treater in 15 years living here] and ate it all.  Not in one day of course, but it sure didn't help the blood sugar any.)  Hmmm... sounds like a touch of depression to me. Funny how that can creep up on you.

So what should I do about this? I can't change the fact that the driving needs to stop. But I can change the temptation of having the car calling to me. I have to get rid of my car. Geez, the idea of that makes me shudder yet I know myself well enough that eliminating temptation isn't a gradual thing. I just have to make a complete break. Oh-oh, there goes that voice in my head pleading, "No, you haven't been without a car of your own for over 30 years!" [Now before you start calculating and thinking I can't add correctly you should know that I got my first car at age 21.]  I have a nephew going off to college next year and I thought I could give him my car. My sister and I planned to drive the car up to Massachusetts in June when her kids were out of school. That means the temptation sits in front of me for 8 months. I now know that I can't face it that long. Since my sister can't come get the car now and there is always the possibility of driving through snow once you pass October and head to the North, I started exploring auto carriers. That's worth a blog post of its own! Then to add temptation of a different sort, a friend told me that she and her husband would like to buy my car because it is newerthan hers and has less miles. That would solve the problem of transporting the car and get it out of my sight. But I did offer to family first. A dilemma that I have to mull over. Care to share your thoughts with me on what you would do?