Mein Deutsches Hausaufgaben

Das deutsche Hausaufgabe macht mich müde. Ich bin jetzt fertig mit meinem deutschen Hausaufgabe für dieses Semester. Ich muss ein Schauspiel am Morgen zu machen und ich habe ein mehr Prüfung in einer Woche.

A Punch of Love

“Oooh—it make’s me want to punch him in the face. Out of love, of course.”

This was the gem that came out of the mouth of one of my German classmates today as we sat doing an in-class exercise together. She is a Christian and doesn’t mind being vocal about her Christianity, but one of our other classmates simply pushes the line with his smart mouth and it is almost more than she can take.

Her small disclaimer after the initial statement was enough to send Kris & I into fits of laughter, for our sentiments are not that far removed from hers.

Frustrated, Disappointed, and Annoyed

Lending one’s car long-term to their sister will certainly increase the need to purchase another car. Since Martin has 6 or 7 times as many vehicles as I do, he became the poor soul that I hit up for a lender vehicle until I actually purchase another car.

My search thus far has certainly been frustrating. I’ve made phone calls, surfed the Internet, stopped in at a few places, and left my name and number with sales people—all with no luck. I certainly have my ideas about what I’m looking for (power locks and windows are not optional this time) and, seemingly, that particular car (in my price range) does not exist.

Martin is my in-resident (well, almost in-resident) consultant for buying a car, so if a car not Martin-approved then it’s just not approved. His philosophy is that if it (any car) isn’t a good deal, there’s no point in buying it. I agree. His track record in getting deals has been pretty good so far so I am relying heavily on him to work a good deal for me as well.

On Tuesday of this week Martin went with me to look at a car. The car is what I’ve been looking for: 2001 Honda Accord with all of the amenities—pretty much every option that I want except that the car is black. Black is not a good color for someone who does not take the time to wash their car every week or so, but I figured that I could live with the color if everything else worked out. The only thing that made the car an affordable option was that it weathered a hailstorm recently. While I’d love to have a perfect car, right now I’m more concerned about the comforts inside and the reliability under the hood than I am about a few dents. After all, it’s what’s inside that counts, right? The Perfect Car will just have to wait until After College.

Martin was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be willing to give the $6200 they were asking for the car. In my heart, I was already brumming down the road in the car. He asked me if I was going to be willing to walk away from the car if they wouldn’t budge on the price. I steeled myself and told him that I would walk away with him if he decided that it wasn’t a good deal.

The dealer had e-mailed some pictures to me and told me that an insurance adjustor told them that it would take approximately $3700 to fix the car. If added to the $6200 they were asking for the car, that would essentially mean that I would pay $9900 for the car. (Not that I was planning to fix the dents, but still, these things must be considered.) If I ever chose to sell the car, the resale value would be forever ruined because of the hail damage and it didn’t seem as though they were allowing anything for that factor.

When we arrived, a grouchy-looking old codger came to meet us. He brought the keys to us so Martin could start the car up. Martin asked if we could take the car for a test-drive, and he said we could. He silently climbed into the back seat, like he was afraid we might run off in the car even though gas gauge was on E. Martin tried occasionally to make small talk with him but all he got was one or two word answers.

We took the car back to the sales lot. The car really appeared to have been heavily used by previous owners—a side airbag light came on, the rearview mirror fell off when Martin tried to adjust it, there were multiple scratches and chips in the paint, the back taillight was holding about a half inch of water, etc. Martin pushed, poked, and prodded with the old guy standing and watching like a hawk the whole time. He finally made him an offer. By this time, after seeing the condition of the car, I wasn’t even sure that I was willing to give what Martin offered. “Nope,” the guy said, “We won’t take any less.”

“Well, we’re not interested in it at that price,” Martin said. We both turned and walked away without a backward glance. And I didn’t even care. Oh, I was disappointed that the trip had been in vain and that I was still car-less, but it hadn’t taken long to detach myself emotionally from the car, given the attitude of the owner and the condition of the car.

After leaving the car lot, we stopped to get a drink and I drowned my sorrows in beer…root beer, that is. (It ended up backfiring on me a few hours later when I desperately wanted a restroom.) We stopped at a number of car lots on our way back home but everyone just wants too much for their cars.

Our last stop was at a lot where we’ve purchased at least 4 vehicles over the last 15 years. They didn’t have anything that fit the criteria either. Martin told him that I’m “looking for an import with around 100,000 miles for under $6k.” I left my name and number with a guy there and he assured me that he’d find something for me by the weekend.

Fast forward to this afternoon…my cell phone rang and I answered it. It was Keith from the car lot and he wasn’t sure that what he had fit exactly what I was looking for but he thought that he’d at least run it by me. He has a ’97 Ford Escort Wagon there. He had taken it for a test drive himself and was pretty sure that it’s a good little car. He thought that they could get it to me for what I’ve got, “maybe a little less.” He couldn’t tell me what the exact mileage was, what model it was, or any other specifics. I told him that I didn’t think I’d be happy with the car but to keep looking.

Just out of curiosity, I looked the value of the car up on the Internet after I got off the phone with him. In the best-case scenario, the retail value (that I’m not willing to pay) is $2600. “Maybe a little less”? Give me a break!! Now I know that I’m not exactly the world’s most knowledgeable person when it comes to cars, but I’m NOT a complete idiot either. He should have said that he should be able to get me into the car for “a little bit of nothing.”

The more I think about his little trick, the more disgusted I get. My trust for that man has flown straight out the window! He has destroyed his credibility with me. That’s the thing that annoys me so much about car salesmen—they can be so patronizing! They seem to think that because (most, including me) women don’t know much about cars they can just rip them off. What he needs about right now is a news flash—“Docile-Looking Mennonite Woman Discovered to Have Brain Activity Under Bonnet.”

And so the search continues.

Study Abroad

Aaah. At this moment, life is good!

When a very dear friend was killed in an accident last fall, we looked at the example of her life and could easily believe that she probably wouldn’t have had many regrets. The beauty of how she lived life led us to the conclusion that more opportunities need to be seized, more chances need to be taken, and life must be enjoyed!

When Kris & I received an invitation from her former German professor to participate in a study abroad program in Germany this summer, it seemed only like a wishful-thinking kind of prospect. We debated, discussed, and dreamed about going. We weighed the pros and cons. We talked about the if-onlys and what-ifs. I was probably more cautious about going than Kris was. If viewed from a purely financial standpoint, it would be sensible to forget about going.

I thought about the quote from Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.” I knew it was true. This study abroad opportunity seemed to be tailor-made for us. Most programs are at least 6 weeks long—this one would only be two weeks. It would focus on history and culture. We would learn the ropes of travel in and around the city of Berlin.

After much debate, Kris & I decided that this simply was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that needed to be seized. After all, sometimes being sensible isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We would probably regret it for the rest of our lives if we turned it down.

We filled out necessary paperwork and enrolled in the study abroad program. We also applied for the study abroad scholarship. A lady that was in the office when we picked the applications up said that her son had applied for it and got $250-300. And she didn’t even think that his letter was very well written. Could we hope that maybe…? She thought that we might qualify for $250-500. It was worth a try. We filled the applications out and sent them in with our best pleas for a scholarship of any size.

Since then we have ordered and received international student IDs. We went to the AAA office after class one day and got free passport photos for our IDs. (AAA memberships do come in handy every once in a while. I’d really rather not use the membership for the more unpleasant aspects anyhow.) I had Mom get my passport out of the lockbox at the bank.

And then Thursday arrived. I arrived home from work shortly before 6. As I approached the door, I saw an envelope at the front of the stack of mail in the mail slot. It had the university’s emblem in the return address area. I knew that there was a possibility it could be news about the scholarships. I grabbed the mail and as I headed down the stairs I asked God to please make it good news.

There were two envelopes in the stack of mail. One was addressed to me and the other was addressed to Kris. I dumped all of my stuff on the bed and grabbed the envelope with my name on it. I opened it and there, in black and white, was a beautiful letter congratulating me and telling me that I had been approved for a $600 scholarship for the study abroad program.

I couldn’t believe it. I had only expected to possibly get $300, if that. A double blessing!! I had actually given up on getting anything at all—had planned to pay for the whole semester myself. It was like being handed $600 extra spending money for the trip.

I grabbed the phone to call Kris and tell her my wonderful news. Her phone was busy. I tried several more times and finally left a message for her to call me. A short time later the phone rang and it was Kris. After a bit of torture, I gave her the news.

She wanted me to open her letter to see if she also had qualified for a scholarship. As I was opening it, I told her that it would really stink if she got more than I did. She made some sarcastic remark just as I laid eyes on her letter. Her letter was identical to mine, except where mine said $600 her letter said $1000. Wow!

As much as I wish my scholarship were as big as hers is, I’m not even bitter about it. I’m so grateful for $600. I haven’t gotten an abundance of scholarships during my college stint so it feels like a gift. A wonderfully generous gift.

Now, I’m rarin’ to go.

Cruising

Tonight was the opening night of mowing season. I have ignored it for a good while, but when Kris’s dog began to nearly disappear into the grass I figured that maybe it was time.

There is something almost therapeutic in getting on the mower with some music and just mowing. Forget that I can’t seem to get “relativpronomen” in German and that Gender & Sexuality (yup, that’s the current topic) will give way to reading about a voodoo priestess in Anthropology (quite frankly, I think I’d rather stick with the Gender & Sexuality)—I’ve got a lawn that needs cruising, some music that needs my accompaniment, and a neighbor to entertain. (He’s an old fella that occasionally stands in his back yard across the road and tries to discretely watch me mow. Except he’s not as discrete as he may think he is. I can see past my sunglasses. So I discretely keep an eye on him to see just what he’ll find to do next so he can keep on watching. It amuses me.)

I told the lady upstairs that the flowerbeds probably won’t get touched much by me this summer. The spring semester will end on May 12th. On May 16th I will be leaving for Germany and will return on May 29th. My summer semester will start on June 5th and last until July 7th. I had wanted to go to the FB College Retreat the first of July but things aren’t looking so good in that realm. And then in August I’m going to have to take a jaunt out to Virginia to have my pictures taken. :)

As much as I enjoy cruising with my music, I think it’s going to get in my way this summer. Maybe tall grass will be in vogue this summer.