Aggrandizing automobile acquisition...

I have been on the look for a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the last couple days. Not that this was a spur of the moment decision to own one but one that I have had for quite some time. Several years ago I was bitten with the Jeep bug and since then and after the loss of my last Jeep I have been always keeping one eye at each one that passed me. 

Well having spent the last week doing much reading online about the pro's and con's of each model, year, and other relevant information in addition to spending countless hours looking at the ads online I located a 2000 JGC Laredo. Well I contacted the seller who lived about a two hour drive away and after some juggling of schedules figured out a time to meet. 

This morning, after kidnapping a friend who I shanghaied into helping me in return for dinner at Olive Garden we did the two hour trek. During the course of the drive up we had a couple rescheduling events of the location... not a big deal since we were going in that general direction anyway. And after a disappointing discovery that on a day that was sunny and hot Mc Donald's was out of ice-cream we met the bungling seller. He was a nice enough guy, things were not all roses and bunny rabbits for him, but he rolled with the punches. 

Common sense dictates that if you post your vehicle as being for sale then certain protocol is followed when you meet a prospective buyer. To put this in a more readable format let us list the following...

1. Give the vehicle a wash - yes we know that that is not the general state of things that speed down the highway squashing the unsuspecting bug but at least spray the outside off. 

2a. Take your crap out of the back seat and trunk - So you like to go fishing... cool so do I... but I am not here to meet you to go fishing.

2b. Have you heard of a marvelous invention called a vacuum... yeah....

3. Bring the paperwork with you - generally if someone says that they are coming to buy something they don't want to have to follow you back to your house and then stand around for another half an hour till you clean your car.... 

4. Have your papers in order - it is quite acceptable in this day and age to be a co-owner of things that may need a second person to sign off on... but get the other person to sign off on something you are going to sell so that we don't have to track them down where they work and disrupt their day so that we can get a signature that could have been easily taken care of over the dinner table the night before.

5. Once the transaction is finalized and its time to hand over the keys don't do the Oops-by-the-way-I-lost-the-spare-so-here-is-some-money-back-to-take-care-of-it. Thats just ghetto! 

All in all quite a interesting afternoon. But I cant complain. I did get my Jeep. I spent less that the average price which is nice because this might herald the acquisition of a new camera lens... fingers crossed...

5 AM Tuesday Morning

You have been studying all night. Looking out the window you see the first pink and yellow streaks of the dawning day. The birds are starting to call out in melodious notes. In the distance you hear the crow of a rooster, an unusual sound in suburbia but only very slightly. Its 5 AM, you have an exam in about 7 hours. 

This morning as I contemplated the events that were unfolding before me I was left with a single choice. A choice so clear that to not choose it would be unthinkable. What do you do at 5 am once the studying is done. You go fishing. Yes that soothing pastime where your mind and body connect with nature as your sprit is lifted like the rising sun. 

I cant say that I had any luck in the catching department but I did spend a good hour chatting with Sam. A retired gentleman who was also at the lake casting a line. Sam was an interesting chap. A Native American from the montana area who has been living in this area for the last couple decades. He has had an interesting life. Battling the corporate giants for his rights. The proud bearer of multiple scars from operations undergone for various injuries. At times pleading, then cursing and even encouraging the fish to take his offered morsels so that he might reel them in and have them for lunch. 

Its now 7:45 AM on a tuesday morning. The exam is still a few more hours away. What should I do next...