My cheapness creates interesting situations. Some might even call them awkward. I've been at a client site in the South Bay for a few weeks. That means I am able to drive, rather than BART to work. It's nice because I get to listen to KNBR, a sports radio station. However, I only get to listen to it from the front left speakers in my car. You see, I am driving our Brooklynized green 1997 Toyota Corolla and all of the other speakers have blown.
I will post a picture of it one day, but most of you have already seen it. First of all, it's green. Second, there is a large dent on the front left side from the kids playing stickball on the street in our last Brooklyn apartment. Third, there is a large key mark that starts from one side of the car goes around the back of the car and then back up the other side of the car from when Liz and her friend 'stole' an angry white man's parking spot at the Macy's in downtown Brooklyn and he decided that keying our piece of HUD was the appropriate response. Fourth, the right headlight is out. And fifth, on the hood of this car, in large keyed out letters, is the F-word from when we went apple picking in New Jersey. NEW F*%#!+@ JERSEY!!! Anyways, this car is a piece of work. But it is a paid off piece of work that gets almost 30 mpg. Buy a new car? No way. I'm driving this thing into the ground and then Zane is going to drive it to high school.
Well, last night, the team at this client decided to go out to dinner in the city, which is about a 45 minute drive. A principal at my firm (that's the highest level) who is from out of town asked me to pick him up from his hotel and drive him to the restaurant. I swallowed my pride and said sure, I'd be happy to give him a ride in The Green Hornet. He laughed and I said, no, I'm serious, it's The Green Hornet. He then just looked at me funny and I just smiled.
When I was about five minutes away from his hotel, I called him and told him I was close and to look for the green Corolla with one headlight. I'm sure he was very impressed. He mentioned on the way back that he had ridden with an analyst once who did a fantastic job on a project, but who also had a beater of a car. He said that the only feedback he had for this person once the project was complete was to get a new car. I can only hope he has the same feedback for me.
And yes, I've probably written about my car before. Redundancy strikes again.
3 comments:
i laughed (with you) for like 15 minutes when you called to tell me he needed a ride. classic. thanks for posting it. i think it's hilarious and i love you for driving the green machine so zane and I can have the awesome car!
We love our Corolla. Luckily it's white, so we probably wouldn't be able to see it if someone scratched the F-word on our hood. I had no idea. I wish I'd seen it before you moved.
Very funny.
C'mon now... tell the whole story.
You improved the word on the hood. The Green Hornet??? I thought it was Uncle Buck!
I think you are a genius. Not only would a handful of cars actually impress this guy... you would never own any of them. If you had a nice car... he would probably say that and then forget about it. It is all about distinction! What was the actually comment, if any?
Execute your plan. Heck... my 1991 Jeep is following in your footsteps. No A/C in Florida and hopefully soon to be AZ... bah - who cares. It is free and averages 11 mpg! I can't complain - besides where am I driving anyway.
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