Clunkermobile Adventures

Just another chapter in the ongoing saga of the clunkermobile! But first, if you haven't seen it already, you need to read this post to get somewhat aquainted with my beastmobile (it's a love/hate realtionship! :P )

OK, read it? Good... now we can continue! ;)

The Monday just after the retreat I had "one of those days." Slept in, got caught in a traffic jam, had wingy kids that wouldn't listen to anything, forgot my lunch, knocked over a huge stack of Safeway shopping baskets (which didn't just fall over, but spread out all accros the floor, stopped only by the display stand 8 or 10 feet away), had more wingy kids, sat through a long boring staff meeting, then went off to battle the crowds at Metrotown to buy a wedding shower gift for a friend. Metrotown parking is crazy, so I parked in the surface parking (much easier than in the multi-level parking garage!) and made careful note where my car was (I've lost it before!). I went in, bought my gift, and did a little bit of shopping for me (nothing fit - *sigh*).

Around 8:00, I was tired and hungry, and just wanted to go HOME! I followed my steps back to my car only to see another car pulling in to where my car had been. Ummm.... Oooookaaay. I wandered the lot, second guessing my sanity over and over again, but nope, I had definitely parked my car where I thought I did. And it was definitely not there.

Somebody had stolen my car!!! MY car. MY hunk-o-junk! :O

I called my parents to let them know, and told a mall security guard, who had someone come take all my info and then do a circle of the lot (I guess they have to make sure I just didn't forget where I parked it. Bah!). She circled around, and of course, no car. It IS fairly obvious with that piece of trim hanging off the back bumper! :P

Anyway, my dad was on his way (hip hip hooray for daddies! He came from Deep Cove to Metrowtown to drive me back to my house near Oakridge... for those of you who don't know Vancouver, none of those places are close to eachother), so I went over to the Red Robin to wait for him.

When he got there, we called the police to report is stolen, and then ICBC (insurance) and all that jazz. I hada full tank of gas in it, which got my dad and I thinking... good, they can get as far away as possible then maybe they'll drive it off a cliff and I'll be rid of the thing!!!

Is it bad to honestly pray your car gets totalled? ;)

Well, no such luck. They found it the next day at an Ice Rink in Coquitlam, basically intact. Boo hoo! Of course, then began the rigamaroll with the insurance company. Suffice it to say it was somewhat of a headache (although not as bas as I thought it would be). Though tell me, why have insurance when your car gets stolen and you still have to pay the $300 deductable?!?! ARG!

My one perk for the two weeks before getting it back, though, was the rental car! I got to drive a brand new silver Sunfire, wahoo! It was sure hard to go back to the clunkermobile afterwards, though! It's got me seriously contemplating a new car.

But alas, the beast is back, rumbling and smoking and squeaking and slamming into gear. I don't even want to know what the guys at the dealership thought when my car, after sitting for a week, took half an hour to stop belching out smoke (it leaks oil, and if it sits for a two days or so, there's enough oil burning off that it smokes). Go green or go home, I tell ya. Eek.