Monday

bad week

It's been a long time since I've had such a terrible week.

First of all, I've had to work more than usual, and even though I love my job, I am feeling a bit burned out. Plus, I've had to farm my kids out to the grandparents and Aunt Betsy a lot more than usual to get all my stuff done and I have missed them.

Second of all, I had a very bizarre and unexpected blow-up with someone with whom I have been tentatively developing what I thought was a rather promising romantic relationship and I was left totally shaken up and upset by the incident.

Then, today, my car died on the side of 1-40 in the midst of speeding interstate traffic on the most steamy, hot day of the year - literally. My two youngest children were with me at the time and even though they were real troupers, it was scary to have two kids stuck on the interstate with me in busy traffic until someone arrived to help us. They left with their grandfather, who came to pick them up, and I rode with the tow truck driver and had my dead as a doornail car towed the 30 miles back to my house.

ALl the way back, this guy was very aggressively trying to flirt with me, while I just sort of felt like crying. When we got to my house, he asked for my number. WHen I said no - as politely as I could - he was very churlish and nasty unloading and dumping my car in my driveway. He actually peeled out down my tiny street in his huge towtruck.

Then, a friend whom I see very rarely (he lives in Atlanta) and whom I was looking forward to seeing today - we had plans - called and canceled on me with zero notice and in a way that hurt my feelings and left me feeling really crummy.

I think I officially give up on dating anyone at all for a while. It's just not going so well for me lately. Perhaps I am being punished by the cosmos for my anti-Buffett stance? I don't know. But I'm a bit worn out by it at the moment. You know? The clever, kind, sane, grown up Lloyd Dobler I am holding out for doesn't seem to be ready to make an appearance.

I did happen to see a really terrific Knoxville band play yesterday: Senryu. They are super talented and their songs are pure powerpop fun. I see big things for them.

This week has really taken it out of me. Let's hope next week is better, even though I have to deal with buying a new car, which I have never done before without my father or husband taking the lead (Yes, this is true. Yes, it's ridiculous that I have made it to my 30s without negotatiating a car purchas on my own. On the other hand, I've given birth and husband and father can't say they've managed to negotiate THAT)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Car buying advice: Stay calm, research the car and prices on websites and Consumer Reports first, tell the salesman your highest price (which includes taxes, destination charges etc) and stick with it. Be prepared to leave, really, they will probably call you back on the phone later. Don't feel sorry for them when they tell you "my wife is going to be mad at me because I am not going to make anything on this deal". I know there are some really honest and great car salesmen out there. But there are even more who love to see a woman on the lot!

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

More car buying advice: if you're looking for a used car, spend $25 and get a one-month Carfax membership. It saved me thousands in the long run. I looked at cars that ended up having shady titles or salvage titles and ones where the seller was lying about the mileage or the model year. Every time I looked at a car, I plugged its VIN into Carfax and got the truth! I ended up with a very nice used Honda Civic with a clean title, no history of past wrecks, that runs great. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I agree with D on the Carfax subscription. Also, we've used Carmax for our last three car purchases. You can actually go online and look at all the cars currently on inventory at the Knoxville location (or any other location), there's no pressure from the sales folks (they get the same commission regardless of what they sell), no haggling over the price (prices are set, so do a little blue book research before you go in), they're very "Saturn-esque" in that they want you to tour the dealership and understand everything about their company, and the service plans are as good as those I've received anywhere.

As for the guy situation, don't despair, Katie. You've got to be one of K-town's top bachelorettes right now, so hang in there...Loyd (or a southern equivalent thereof) is out there somewhere...

Kayla said...

I'm sorry you had such a sucky week.

I highly recommend buying a car online and avoiding the whole showroom scene. I've forgotten who we used, but we bought and financed (they offered a much better rate than our bank or CU) our Honda completely online, then picked it up at a local dealership, signed some papers and left. It was the most painless car buying experience ever, and the price was right.

Julie said...

Thanks everyone :-)

Car situation resolved. Bought a 2002 Jetta. I like it a lot and I think I got a pretty fair deal.

The carfax thing was great advice and I made sure to get it. It verified what the dealer was telling me and made me feel much more comfortable signing the sales contract.

As for men, well, :::sigh::: I do think I just need a little breather ;-).

Katie

Anonymous said...

KAG,

You are so cool and so hot. Somebody is going to figure that out and take you off the market relatively soon. Mark my words. I would if I weren't engaged to be married.

Anonymous said...

Oh come on Katie. You have men coming out your ears. I see you with different guys around town all the time. What are you complaining about? Do you know how lucky you are to have anyone interested in you, no matter how it turns out?