29 September 2003 17:43
arrrr. that was exhausting. i just got through spending 45 minutes opening a "free" checking account at a local bank. the exhaustion comes from making sure i didn't get gypped. you gotta stay on your toes with these people. this particualar bank was big on making you feel like part of the family though.. she took me around and introduced me to a few of the people after the account was open, she was quite chipper about it. so anywayze, now i have a free checking account (provided i write my checks only between 12am and 2am by the light of a new moon with my left hand, all while wearing a purple tuxedo and slowly chanting "there is no spoon" --elsewise there's a $12.73 "non-compliant checkwriting fee" in addition to the $6.66 bi-weekly "oh you're one of those" fee. did i mention the $0.73 fee-writing fee? let's hope that one's not recursive..).back to insurance quotes. mom told me to get three of them so i did. the little gecko guy was pushy, not to mention pricy ($80 higher/6mo). so i called up the company my roomate recommended, actually, i did their's online and it gave me a response right away (now we're talking). then i called up the local church aid company, (since for some reason the local church aid company i'm with in virginia doesn't cover insurance in california.. go figure :) ). a nice lady answered the phone and immediately transferred me to the correct nice lady (#2) who took my information graciously (c&c pushy gecko guy). this company only wanted 3 years of driving history, which allows me to omit a very foolish accident i had three months after getting my car. (i abhor that accident, since i was 17 with a new car doing something stupid. lo and behold i find myself part of the statistics regarding white males under 25 in america. my drivers ed teacher told us in delaware that 50% of 16yo males have an accident/ticket with in 2 and a half weeks of getting their license.) anywayze, she told me she'd call back in the afternoon. nice lady #3 (her name is Beth) called mid-morning instead with quote that was fifty cents cheaper than my roomate's company. ha. there we go, there's something to be said for denominational structure after all (by no means may you consider this a capitulation to mennonite church usa).
speaking of "denominational structure" remind me to talk about that sometime
speaking of catchy phrases, i heard this on the radio last night. a female harvard grad wrote this book to women over 35, applying her business world to the dating world. it was the first time i've ever heard "marketing strategy" applied to finding a mate. on top of that, the secular viewpoint was almost painful after just hearing a sermon on "male responsibility in the home" that delt with husbands who were agressive in the business world but wimps at home, slounging in front of the tv instead of being a leader. like the word "slounging"? i just made it up. it's um, it's copywrighted too, see? every time you use the word, send $0.50 check or money order to... hey, i'll even cut you a deal. use the word five times and it'll only cost you $2.50.
my summer in review: a comprehensive yet incomplete account
the big stuff. williamsburg in late august, a road trip with k in mid september, a bible study group, and a move to california. the other stuff, a family reunion or two in early august, some trips to the gw, some job developments, oh yeah, and an airshow in early september too.
so stay tuned, that's all coming up.
btw, today i get to write a lot, kuz i'm not working, i can't really move in, and i've done all my homework. tomorrow i get to work. too bad my tools are still in va eh? i can't win :).
serious subject #1: idiot drivers
namely, me. i'm not the most ah, attentive of drivers. sort of, in a schitzophrenic kind of way. on the one hand, we can look back five years to the accident i don't like to recall.. if i recall right, that one had something to with me paying absolutely no attention to where i was going. on the other hand you can look at the pilot who has precise control of his vehicle and good situational awareness. as you might derive, problems arise when this guy who's used to good sa isn't really paying attention and thinks he has good sa when really he doesn't. last night i (quite unintentionally) jumped from the right lane to the left to avoid a car exiting right. meanwhile the gray bmw zooming down the left lane left some rubber on the pavement avoiding my rear end. he honked, and we drove off into the night. now, he could have been riding in my blindspot, or not paying attention himself (getting too close), but realistically, i cut in front of him. and of course i felt terrible about it. i've had to decrease tread life on my own tires a number of times over the years when people cut in front of me. but you can't very well apologize at 70mph in the dark. what could i do? just keep driving and stay out of his way. but for all he knows i'm the idiot who didn't care at all, just cut him off kuz i wanted my way and knew i could get it. it's enough to make me want to go and do penance somewhere. i think i'll set up an email address/website for people to go to to comment on my driving. i need to figure out an appropriate way to put it on my car too. i'm trying to portray a christian image along with the impression that i'm genuinely trying to improve my driving. believe me, it needs improving.
(and fyi, this all came about before this morning, and doesn't have to do a whole lot with me finding out that my car insurance is going to be $885 a year instead of the $510 i'm used to. all that's made me want to do is find the shortest route to work so i can ride bike instead of drive)
i've been trying to think of a bumper sticker to put on my car for the past couple weeks anwyayze (i'm taking submissions btw). i want something that would stand out immediately to a christian, but not necessarily to a non-believer. however i want it to be intrigueing to a non-believer. essientially, i want the spirit of a parable in one sentance. i've been leaning towards a quote, something that i could just use inch high letter stickers to run across the bumper. so if i get an intruging quote, that might lead them to look up the website. i'd like it to have anabaptist overtones, but that's just me ;)
17:43 email me permalink / commentary (0)
