Novella Continued: I'm a Big City Kid!

A novella is defined as, "a short novel or a long short story." I thought it applied to this story.

I made it to work via the shuttle but didn't know how to get home. They were going to have my car overnight so if I could just get home, Brandt could take me down to Ford and I could get my rental (they're open until midnight, yay for big cities!). I had to have a rental because Sparrow had an appointment to get her teeth cleaned the next day (another story for another post). Brandt gets off work at 6:15 p.m. and I work an hour away from where we live/he works. I didn't want to stick around work until 7:30 so I went for my next option: asking coworkers for a ride. No one lives close to us so that turned out not to be a viable option. I checked with my friend who had just moved but she had already turned in her key and lives in Vancouver now. She was sweet and offered to come pick me up, take me to my place, then drive home but I couldn't ask her to do that. So I went with public transportation. Only one issue there though, I had no money with me. A generous coworker gave me $3 so I could get a TriMet ticket. It's $5 for all day or $2.50 for 2 hours. The trip should take an hour to an hour and a half so $3 was perfect.

The MAX doesn't go as far south as my office so I found a wonderful coworker who could give me a ride to the southernmost stop of the Portland Street Car. From there, I would transfer to the MAX downtown and then a bus from the station closest to our place. I've taken the MAX several times but I've never been on a public bus. There was no public transport in my hometown and the public transport in college and in Wichita were sparse. I'd never needed to take a bus and had no idea what I was doing. It seemed simple enough to take just one bus. I couldn't really get lost with transfers or anything. I checked and a streetcar ticket can be used on the MAX and bus too. My $3 should be enough.

I began my first real public transportation adventure through Portland and hoped for the best. I took my $3 and tried to buy a ticket for the streetcar/TriMet but the machine didn't take cash. It said I could use cash on the streetcar to get a ticket. I recently downloaded Pokemon Go. Yes, yes. I know. I'm not really a closet nerd so it shouldn't be that surprising but I'm still a little embarrassed. I played to keep myself entertained, plus, with more than an hour to get home, I was going to go by so many Pokestops. When the streetcar arrived, I got on and tried to buy a ticket. The streetcar would only let me by an all day pass for $5 or a streetcar-only pass for $2. Neither of those was going to work. I sat down and hoped no one was checking for tickets that day.

I played my game and tried to keep anyone from looking at the screen because I'm a nerd but I still haven't fully accepted it. I was making the best of my journey when the girl next to me asked what level I was. Damn. Someone saw. We ended up being the same level because we rarely play and had something to chat about. I don't like people I don't know but damn it if Pokemon Go didn't force me to make a new friend against my will. She saw my printed directions (because I'm always prepared!) and mentioned she was going the same way. She mentioned I should get off the streetcar a stop earlier than I'd planned or I'd have to double back to get on the MAX.

We got off at the stop she suggested and walked together to the MAX stop. I tried to purchase a MAX ticket there, because I'm an upstanding citizen, but it didn't take cash either. It's like Portland was really trying to keep me from paying them for my rides! I mentioned my frustration to my new PoGo friend and she said she's done it before and I should be OK. She could see how much of a Goody Two-Shoes I am and offered to buy my ticket. I told her I'd give her my $3 and that would earn her a 50 cent tip. My new PoGo friend was already making my life better. We played our games and rode the MAX into Beaverton. I thought she was getting off where I was so when my stop came, I stepped off the MAX and didn't look back until the doors had closed. Turns out her stop was later and I never got to say goodbye. I felt a little bad but goodbyes are awkward any way.

I just missed my bus so I had to stay at that stop for a while. I walked around to get in my steps (work gave us Fitbits and I need those steps!). I took the bus to what I think is the closest stop to our apartment complex and pulled the cord like I saw another guy do. I got off the bus and walked home without issue. I'm a big city kid now!!

Brandt got home about the same time as I did and we got in the car to drive down to Ford. 30-45 minutes later I was in a rental and I treated us to Red Lobster with a gift certificate I'd received a while back from my brothers and their families (thanks guys!). We were both still in our work clothes and the waitress asked if we were there for a special occasion. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Well... my car broke down." We all laughed and she said she hoped it was at least getting fixed nearby. Brandt and I enjoyed way too much food and drove home in our separate cars.

The guy from Ford called late the next afternoon and said my car was fixed. It turns out that they drove my car to Salem and back (an hour each way) and still couldn't replicate the problem. Reverse only stopped after a long drive so they tried putting the car in reverse in Salem and then again in Portland. Everything worked fine and the technician parked the car and went inside to tell their lead. The guy went to back out of the spot and he just got a revving engine. (Finally!) They looked into it and it wasn't a miscommunication with the clutch. The lead told me they had to call into Ford (maybe corporate?) and found out it was a computer within the transmission that was broken. They fixed it, replaced it, or whatever. At that point, I just wanted a functioning car and I can't remember what he said. He told me they drove it more and it looks like everything was working. Upon looking into it, this is a known issue in Ford Focus model between certain years, including mine. This really shouldn't have been an issue because Ford knows that the transmission in my car has problems. In fact, a coworker of mine bought a Focus knowing this, and kept taking it in until they "found" the problem and fixed it. I don't know why they couldn't figure out what was wrong with mine.

I was already home when the Ford guy called so I took my car in first thing in the morning, turned in my rental (now covered in white dog hair from Sparrow's harrowing trip to the vet) and got into my car to never look back. As I wasn't looking back, I looked down at my dash. Those lovely Ford technicians left my car on E. I'd had half a tank when I dropped it off. I figured, even though it was on E, I had enough gas to get to work and I'd get gas later. But then I remembered I wasn't going to be paid until the next day and I currently had no money for gas. Oh Ford, this predicament causes my thoughts for you at the moment to involve words not meant for this blog. I was quite out of luck again.

I made it to work and looked through my car afterward to fortunately find $5 to get me enough gas to get home. I filled my tank the next day and hope I don't have to go back to Ford until my next oil change. Over the last 5 years or so, I've been working diligently at staying positive as often as possible. I'm thankful I have a working car and still thankful for that warranty. However, I bought a "certified" pre-owned car with the hopes of avoiding these sorts of issues. I'm a worrier, so I got the warranty. I'm still upset I missed my day to reboot and cuddle chunky dogs on the beach. However, my car is functioning and I'm unharmed. I'm also very glad this is all over.

Ford Focus Fiasco

I took my car in for a routine oil change and mentioned some issues with my car switching gears. When I'd accelerate, my car felt a little shaky; like my old stick shift that needed to shift gears. It really scared me when I was accelerating to get onto the highway and it wouldn't shift into (what I thought was 3rd gear). I was stuck with my engine revving at just under 40/mph. I thought, "Well, I guess I'm going 35 for the next mile until I can exit." I took my foot off the gas, let the rpm's go down, and tried accelerating again. This time it kicked into the right gear with no issue. It didn't happen again so I made a mental note and waited until my next oil change to have them look into it.

When I set up my oil change, I mentioned the issue. I left my car at Ford, took their shuttle to work, and went on my way with my day. I got a call late in the day saying that my car needed a new clutch. At that moment I was very grateful I'd gotten the extended warranty. The guy at Ford said they also found a "nasty" oil leak that they'd fix as well. I hadn't seen any oil on the ground under my car but he didn't mention where it was leaking into. I got a free overnight rental and would get my car back the next day.

I got my car back at no cost and was even more grateful for the warranty. It would have cost me $1,888 to fix my car and that's much more than I had. I took my car back to work and was looking forward to my weekend at the coast. I had been eagerly waiting for a fundraiser to benefit the Oregon Human Society at the coast put on my a corgi group in Portland. It was a day full of Corgis. their fat butts, the beach, and dog stuff for auction and raffle. An absolutely perfect day for me. I'd been looking forward to it for more than a month. I decided to go alone because Brandt was working and the friend I invited was moving. I could be an independent woman and go on adventures alone, right?

I woke up early on Saturday and helped my friend move for a few hours then hopped in the Focus for the coast. I wanted to make it before the raffle ended so I was a bit speedy. I made it to the coast in time but could not find parking. Turns out that Cannon Beach  is a horrible place when it comes to parking. I drove and drove all over that town without locating any parking. I figured I'd be walking all day so I'll park far away and add some more walking. Nope. Absolutely nothing in town. I ended up in a parking lot a little out of town and needed to go in reverse to allow another car through. However, my engine just revved. I found it odd but thought I was in a pothole, since it was a gravel lot with tons of holes. I was able to get around the car without reversing and wrote it off to a pothole.

I pulled into another spot that was almost a spot but changed my mind, as I was sure to get a ticket or clipped by another car. I was getting extremely frustrated at the parking situation and about ready to just give up. I tried to put my car in reverse and got nothing but a revving engine. My heart dropped. I turned my car off and back on. Nothing. My car wouldn't work in reverse. Fortunately, two people were leaving their car and I asked for a push. They helped me get out of the spot that wasn't a spot and I drove on.

As I drove, I pondered trying to find parking because I was already there or just drive the hour back to Portland. I thought I'd give parking one last try because I'd been looking forward to this day for so long and really needed time to relax. I went down a one-way street, without knowing that's what it was and when I tried a three-point turn in a driveway, I was stuck for good. My car did nothing but rev so I turned it off and opened the hood. I had no idea what I was looking at, other than the washer fluid hole, oil hole, battery, and engine block. Nothing was on fire or smoking so that was the extent of my ability to diagnose my car.

A guy was in the garage of the house I stopped at and he poked his head out when his dog came to greet me. I told him my car wouldn't go in reverse. He said OK, walked back into his garage, and closed the door. I really missed Kansas politeness at that moment. I had a short breakdown in my car and called for a tow. I was 30 feet from the ocean so I walked out and had a moment of zen with my feet in the water. I could see a large crowd down the beach that was the corgi group. I took the opportunity to look at the situation and was grateful I own a car, that it could (probably) be fixed, and at least I wasn't in a wreck. I was still extremely upset about missing the event but I tried to be as positive as possible.

So close to the chunky corgi love.

I waited in my car so that the people in the house didn't think I'd just parked and left. I couldn't find a front door (it was a weird house) but I found a side door on the garage. It was open and I could hear people talking from up a set of stairs (it was like an apartment/house above the garage). I knocked and got no response. I knocked several more times and then yelled up the stairs. Everyone stopped talking. I yelled hello again and got no response. I gave up and said I'd called for a tow and I'd be out of their driveway soon. I got a "Thanks" back and nothing more. That Midwest kindness would have been nice. Maybe a little, "Would you like a water?" or "Is there anything we can do?" Just the thought of not being completely alone, an hour away from home, and half way across the country from most people I know. It's the first time since we've moved that I truly felt the void left from being so far away from everything I knew.

I sat in my car and waited. And waited. A group of four guys around my age came out of the house, got in the car next to me, and drove away. They barely looked at me and said nothing. People here are cold sometimes. No offer to help or ask if I was OK. I waited some more and finally my tow came. The guy was super nice and got my car hooked up. The guy from the garage came back out of the weird garage/house and watched. We talked a bit and I explained why all of the adorable, fat corgis were walking by. It was especially hard watching all of those corgis leaving. It was like being slapped with a reminder of my ruined day. The guy from the garage/house said he got his dog from the Oregon Humane Society and thought the fundraiser was nice. I thought I wish I could have gone.

I hopped into my tow and we headed to Astoria. Why Astoria? Because technically it's closer to Cannon Beach and you have to be towed to the closest Ford when you use their Roadside Assistance. The guy that towed me talked the whole time and gave me a lot of information about each town we passed through and Oregon in general. I was in a terrible mood but he made things better. We arrived in Astoria at 4:30 p.m. and their Ford location closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday. I thought the Ford person I'd called for the tow would inform the Ford place in Astoria I was coming. Nope. I now had 30 minutes to get my car "fixed" because they were closing, couldn't get me a rental because it closed at noon, and they're closed on Sunday. I remembered why I dislike living in small towns.

I was near tears from frustration at losing my personal day; having a car that didn't work; having to ask Brandt to drive 1.5 hours to come get me; and THEN not having a car because the only Ford that could give me a rental was the Ford my car was at and not one in Portland, where I was going to be (some sort of semantics about the dealership fixing my car has to be the one to give me the rental). I was going to have to ask Brandt to drive me back to Astoria on Monday, when we both have to work by 8:30 a.m. Things were quickly spiraling downward. I called Ford customer service and they were closed, just like the girl at the counter said. I called Roadside Assistance and began to give the woman a piece of my mind about the situation. Then the girl I'd left my key with came in the room. I hung up and she asked if I'd used my car in reverse earlier in the day. I said yes, before I came to the coast I went in reverse to leave my friend's. She said that the technician was looking things over, got in, and my car went in reverse the first time he tried. The damn thing was just fine.

I said a few words I can't repeat and said thanks. I figured my car had cooled down during the wait and the tow so now it worked. The girl gave me my "options" again and I said, no thanks I'm driving back to Portland. Hopefully it was just the reverse that was on the fritz and I could make it home. If my whole car stopped working, hopefully I'd be closer to Portland than Astoria so they had to tow me to a Ford dealership there instead. I texted Brandt that I didn't need a ride, got enough gas to get home, and began the drive.

I made it home without issue and parked my car. I put it in reverse to see what would happen and got the same result I got at the beach: revving and no moving. The next morning, I called Ford, told them I was coming in, and Brandt stuck around in case I needed a push out of my spot (couldn't back into it the night before). My car went in reverse without issue and I drove to Ford. When I got there, I tested reverse and it worked. I was not thrilled because if this was a one-day thing that they couldn't fix, I had wasted my personal day for nothing and compounded the amount of stress I had.

The guy at Ford said he talked with other techs and they thought it might be that the new clutch couldn't communicate with the old transmission. It had happened to other guys there before but not anyone on his "team." I left my car with the guy and went to get a free rental. While waiting, I realized I'd left my driver's licence and all  money at home. In my beach bag. They couldn't rent me a car without a DL so I took their shuttle to work and pondered how I was going to get home.

This epic will be continued in another post...