sab: (long past too far)
sab ([personal profile] sab) wrote2004-04-12 11:48 am
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POTUS and Leo 2000: Get On The Bus

Seems I've reached that point in my financial career where it has become necessary to sell the Jetta. Had you asked me six months ago, I'd've said the scrappy little beast came in second to my crusty old Audi 200 Quattro, which died a coughing, sputtering death on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village in the middle of one balmy spring night seven years ago.

But now, faced with imminent separation, I've got no choice but to acknowledge what a solid little trooper the Jetta was, a good friend, a partner in crime.

I got the Jetta my last year in college, spring 1998. It was four years old then, scarcely 20k miles to its name. Black, no airconditioning, no glove compartment (how's that for a mystery?).

My college roommate and I took it across the country that summer. We took the southern route, all the way down through Austin, TX, did the trip in ten days and then I was an LA girl.

The Jetta took me to San Francisco in '00, with [livejournal.com profile] fialka; we grabbed [livejournal.com profile] runpunkrun and did a whistle-stop POTUS and Leo tour up the Pacific Coast Highway, visiting midnight dinosaurs and driving through trees. We were as clever as a piece of toast. We made it all the way to Portland with only one flat tire. Fi and I drove back singing musicals; we swam in the reservoir when the black car got too hot.

Two years later, the Jetta and I drove back to New York, packed with all the things we'd brought over in '98. [livejournal.com profile] kormantic recorded fanfiction on tape for me to listen to. We took the middle route so we could stop in Kansas City and pick up [livejournal.com profile] wearemany at the airport, and she and I drove the rest of the way together and wrote "Fan Interference is a Stand-Up Double" in the baseball field in the middle of the night.

This past June, the Jetta and I packed up our old kit back and headed back for LA, this time via Chicago, where we met up with [livejournal.com profile] ptpatricia and caravanned the rest of the way, through the Rockies and the Sierras, listening to our books on tape.

The AAA guy came this morning to change the most recent flat tire. I cleaned out the car for the last time, washed it with a dishtowel and dish soap. Breanna and Chris, the nice people who answered my craigslist ad, are coming over at six to give it a test drive, but they need to buy quick and I need to sell quick. I'm trying to call the DMV in NY to get a new copy of the title.

The Jetta's got a slow oil leak and a tendency to pop tires like chewing gum, but aside from that, it's a workhorse, a stallion even. I'm gonna cry to see it go. Damn good car, man, damn good car, and I'm gonna miss it like crazy.

[identity profile] thedorkygirl.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
That, m'dear, is landmark, and rather sad. :-(. Your cars have personality, Sab. Just wait. Like Christine (Kristine?), they'll be back, and want you.

[identity profile] iamsab.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually, when I was washing the Jetta this morning, I had Draco/KITT flashbacks. If you haven't read [livejournal.com profile] slytherinsilver/[livejournal.com profile] ki2k's t_m LJ's, um. You should.

But I coulda sworn when I was washing the Jetta today that it could feel me. I'm somewhere between aroused and frightened, actually. *g*
runpunkrun: Pride flag based on Gilbert Baker's 1978 rainbow flag with hot pink, red, orange, yellow, sage, turquoise, blue, and purple stripes. (Default)

[personal profile] runpunkrun 2004-04-12 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Poor car! I'm a little weepy here myself.

[identity profile] iamsab.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
These new people, they will never know what that car went through for us.

When I was cleaning it out today, I found the little plastic goat that used to be glued to the dashboard, above the lowercase letters that said "go."

*sigh*
runpunkrun: Pride flag based on Gilbert Baker's 1978 rainbow flag with hot pink, red, orange, yellow, sage, turquoise, blue, and purple stripes. (Default)

[personal profile] runpunkrun 2004-04-12 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, the goat! And we gluesticked his little plastic hooves to the dashboard! Good thing we have pictures of all this. I uploaded Mulder in memorandum. HA. You know what I mean.

[identity profile] iamsab.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
You know what I mean.

I do. And he's still fan-fucking-tastic. Which is a fuck sandwich, so DD wouldn't like it.

I, on the other hand, am on hold with the DMV, and don't care much about what DD would like. *g*
runpunkrun: Pride flag based on Gilbert Baker's 1978 rainbow flag with hot pink, red, orange, yellow, sage, turquoise, blue, and purple stripes. (Default)

Watch this space

[personal profile] runpunkrun 2004-04-12 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm revamping the goddamned Superman. Maybe if I overhaul him, he'll be new and exciting again. Come find me when you're done with the DMV and the Borg car-buyers.

[identity profile] sorlklewis.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww, Sab. Hugs to you and your car.

Old Volks

[identity profile] phoenixredux.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
'84 Jettas were great cars. I had an '85 GTI which was great, except for the self-machineing transmission. If your Jetta was an automatic, then you have no idea what I'm talking about. It's ok, I'm used to that.

Give her a nice pat on top of the A-pilar for me, and tell her to be good to the new owners. Finding a good home for your old VW can be hard. I'm sure they'll take good care of her. I've been thinking a lot about selling Cecelia, my '71 VW bus. I've hardly driven her at all in the last 2 or three years. Perhaps it is time.

[identity profile] wearemany.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
oh, your jetta! you and me and hawk and a million degrees and nearly as many cigarettes. but mostly baseball lights off the starboard side and we followed them in the dark, a field of dreams.

how will you get where you need to go?

[identity profile] iamsab.livejournal.com 2004-04-12 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
but mostly baseball lights off the starboard side and we followed them in the dark, a field of dreams.

Yep. And the X-Files game. And the NBA playoffs. *sniff*

how will you get where you need to go?

With some manner of difficulty. And I'm thinking of getting a bicycle. With a basket. And a bell!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, you. I love you madlessly.

[identity profile] pene.livejournal.com 2004-04-13 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
sad! so sad!

but hey, didn't you already sell the Jetta once? ;)

[identity profile] iamsab.livejournal.com 2004-04-13 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh oh. I didn't sell it to you, did I?

This might explain where my copy of the Title is. *nervous*

[identity profile] pene.livejournal.com 2004-04-14 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
!!! laughing! no I think your parents might own it.

[identity profile] fialka.livejournal.com 2004-04-14 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
A warrior's salute to the old Jetta. Ah, yes, I remember it well.

You...ah...might want to tell the new owners where the spare tire is located. Just a thought. {g} And hugs.