A word on cars

Chatting with a few people, I’ve been thinking about cars lately. Unlike many other major metropolitan areas in the US (and indeed, the world), Los Angeles isn’t organized around a central area, and has no cohesive public transportation. Cars are ubiquitous … no one walks in LA. I’ve heard that way back in the day. tire companies bought out the rail tracks in Los Angeles and let them fall into disrepair, as part of a master plan to make LA into an especially profitable area. Seems rather sinister, doesn’t it?

There are times when I’ve relied on the vastly inconvenient metro system in LA. When I was a junior and high school student, staying after school for basketball practice or drama club (I didn’t even remember being part of the Porter drama club until I rifled through an old year book and saw myself in the picture … bizarre). More recently, when gas prices reached record highs in 2008, I took the bus to work one day a week to be more green. Or the couple of times when my car has been in the shop, or been totaled. For a while, I took the blue line down to Long Beach for work. That was an interesting time. So much to see on the blue line as it snakes through some really rough areas of town. My MO when I travel the metro is to dress as unobtrusively as possible, display no items that look worth stealing, no listening to music so that I’m actively aware of my surroundings, and wearing a grumpy expression. I am not a friendly metro rider.

But this is about to change, partly due to Pool Poser. I met PP at Gadget Boy’s 2008 Rocket Day. She set herself apart by entertaining at the afterparty by striking extreme animal poses while jumping into the pool. Anyway, lately we had a conversation when she told me that she was going to sell her car soon. Turns out that she’s been taking the metro to work everyday, and loving it. I was struck at how she exits at a stop further away from her home in the afternoons, and takes a 1-2 mile walk home to keep active. What a fabulous idea! It made me want to resume taking the bus. I’d stopped taking the bus because, well, gas got really cheap again around the November elections. Money drives us … or me, to be more specific.

However, I won’t sell my car just yet. My car is still vastly useable. Of course, it’s really scaled down. After I totaled my other car (I rear-ended someone, and it wasn’t worth it to the insurance company to fix it), I chose a basic car. So, no auto windows or locks, or even a way to hook up my iPod. It’s entertaining to see new friends’ reactions when I tell them to remember to lock their door, or have to unlock their doors for them. Oh well, it’s fabulous not having a car payment. My car is also easily recognizable from the dent on the passenger side door. One windy day, I was trapped in the Costco lot waiting for a parking spot … a wild shopping cart (wish I had a link to Kevin and Matt’s shopping cart video here) broke loose from the pack and charged me. I had nowhere to go. It was terrifying. My car still bears the scars to this day. I always meant to get it fixed. Then I read Randy Pausch’s book, and I thought, well, if he can live with it (bad pun), so can I. Plus, the car comes in handy when it comes to dancing and getting around in the wee hours of the morning.

A more serious incident occurred in a more mature hour of the evening. I was winding along one of the narrow side streets leading to my apartment. I approached the fourway stop sign intersection nearest my house, and noted, “How crowded it all looks.” I proceeded toward the line, dismissing the large SUV crowding me coming from the other direction .Dismissed it at my peril. I ended up smashing a parked car’s side view mirror. Ugh. I got to my place, parked my car, and went back to survey the damage. Definitely smashed … the plastic casing was lying in pieces on the ground. I left … and returned with my camera, pen and paper. I took some photos, and left a note.

The next day, I got a very civil call from the owner of the vehicle. I took heart that he was so grateful that I had left my contact info. Apparently some scoundrel had done the exact same thing to his wife’s care and just plain left. Anyway, I asked is we could settle this outside of insurance. PG was very accommodating, and said that he would be happy to get some quotes.

A few days later, PG called me with bad and good news. The bad news was that the car repair place wanted $900 to repair the mirror. I suddenly felt a little ill. However, the good news was that the actual part was only $250, and that PG was more than happy (and able) to do the repair himself. What a relief! I met PG on a nearby corner a few days later, and gave him a check for $350. It was a very tidy and civil end to a potential mess. Bless the PG’s of the world.

Anyway … cars. With the passage of some pro-metro measures and propositions on the November ballot, I hope that we will improve access to Angelinos, before Volleyball Historian’s predictions of increased LA population density become too far realized.