:: Beast of burden ::

Wednesday, August 14, 2002

What a pleasant day yesterday was!

I had the pleasure of traveling down to chinatown to wait in line at the city marshal's office so they could collect the $485 (cash) in unpaid parking tickets, taxes, and towing fees I owed them. Then they gave me just what I was hoping for: inscrutable convoluted directions to the impound yard! After several subway and bus transfers, I found myself standing next to a metal trailer at the edge of a decrepit lot rimmed with chain-link fence and barbed wire. A small hole had been cut in the fence, above the plywood dais on which I stood, allowing me to reach through and tap the window to the trailer. The attendant informed me that I owed $479 in storage fees - again in cash (it's always a good idea to carry $1k on you when wandering about the city, especially in the dodgier parts of Brooklyn). After clearing a path by wantonly and recklessly towing the other cars blocking mine (you're in good hands with city labor), the van was free.

I immediately drove it to "Car Cash", where they cut me a check on the spot. They undercut their own previous estimate by 25%, but I had lost my will to fight by then, and capitulated.

That van was essentially my common-law spouse for the past year, considering the time and effort I devoted to it (and also with respect to the many times it prevented me from having fun). I have finally slain the beast that was my obligation. I never thought a divorce would feel so good.

Posted by morland @ 07:04 PM

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