Jennifer Plesko

Remember how I mentioned that December had been a tough month? Well, one of the things that made it suck was getting into a car accident the night before Christmas Eve. I had left Dallas to head to my parents’ house, got on the road at 3:30, made good time despite bouts of nasty rain, and arrived in town around 6:30.

I had just exited the highway and was driving along the feeder. Suddenly, a big blue van in the lane next to me violently swerved into me and pushed me off the road. Was I scared? No. Was I hurt? Thankfully, no. But I was mad. I had just gotten my car back from the body shop because some drunk idiot in a parking garage backed into me (on my birthday). Not only that, the reason I even had this beautiful new car was because, just over a year ago, someone ran a red light and totaled my old one. So, yeah. I wasn’t exactly sympathetic when Mr. Big Blue Van lamented that he was still making payments on his wrecked (BUT STILL DRIVABLE) van. Meanwhile, my car’s two front wheels were facing opposite directions.

After dealing with the police and the other drivers and the rain and the tow trucks, my parents came and helped me unload my car, which was completely stuffed with Christmas presents and two weeks worth of clothes.

Of course, as it was the night before Christmas Eve, nothing was really going to move forward until at least the 28th. So we waited it out, and my parents let me borrow their cars for awhile. Finally, the Monday after Christmas, I headed to the police station to get the police report so I could find out which insurance company to contact. Imagine my delight to find that he had no insurance. I have coverage against uninsured drivers, but I get to pay a $250 co-pay. Merry Christmas to you too, Mr. Big Blue Van.

I believe it was Wednesday when I finally secured a rental car. I asked for the cheapest one because I did NOT want to have to pay for that as well. Turns out that even the cheapest one is going to cost me $1.50 a day. Happy New Year to you too, Mr. Big Blue Van.

So what is the cheapest one? I am rolling around the DF Dub in a giant white Mercury Grand Marquis. It’s what you might expect an elderly woman to be driving. It could also be mistaken for an unmarked cop car. Keep in mind that my car is a fun, speedy little Jetta Turbo. This car is about the length of a football field and has the acceleration and handling of an elephant on tranquilizers. It has been an adjustment to say the least. Each and every parking job I do now, turns out something like this.

I’ve been told that my car should be ready in the next ten days. It really can’t come soon enough. I didn’t think I could appreciate my car more, but I guess I stand corrected.