Old School Parking

Nance wrote a post the other day about parking and I nearly left a novel in my comment, and it was fun to see what the other commenters said as well. However, I did not even say everything that I wanted to say, so I thought I would make my own post so I could say it all. You should go and read her post (and comments) but if you don't the TLDR is that it was about backing into parking spots/spaces/driveways etc. 

When I first got my license and was able to sometimes drive, I often drove one of the two cars my parents owned. The first was a 5-speed manual Dodge Caravan that I did drive to soccer, even though I was not a Mom. Given that we lived on a windy mountainous road, I don't even think I even got into 5th gear for a while after I started driving. I drove this in all sorts of weather, including snow, and once even hit some ice, spun out, and did a 360 or maybe a 720 before luckily landing in a snowdrift and not careening off the edge of the canyon, which caused the engine to jerkily stutter and then stall. I sat there dazed for a few minutes and then did as you must do, started the car back up and carried on my way in the drifting snow. I don't think we put on snow tires in those days. 

I also got to drive my Dad's work truck, which was a 1980-something 4-speed manual Toyota flatbed stake side (the kind with wood slats on the side) truck that had a backup beeper and did not have power steering. 

It looked like this

So, coming back to Nance's post about backing into parking spots, I tried my hardest to NEVER have to back that truck up. It was so embarrassing to be parking in the school parking lot and have to back up, causing the truck to emit a high beeping noise, and everyone's head to swivel my way (or so I thought). I would do very creative things in order to not have to back into or out of a parking spot when any other humans were in the general vicinity. Plus if you had to "whip into" a spot, the lack of power steering made that incredibly difficult. There really was no whipping in this truck. 

Then I got my own car. It was a 1978 Mercedes 240D, which is a diesel car, very sturdy, accident proof, according to my parents, a tank, according to me. It got the job done but one of my conditions of getting a car was that I had to fix it myself. 

Working on the car (c. 1998)

Luckily a 1978 diesel engine car is actually quite straightforward compared to what is out there now, and I actually COULD fix it myself. However, when something went wrong with the starter, and I didn't get around to fixing it right away, I had to do a workaround to start the car, which was to pop the clutch. 

If you have ever had to pop the clutch you will recall that this generally involves one person driving and several people pushing the car until it goes fast enough that you can pop the clutch and get the car started. If you are alone, this is much more difficult, especially when your car is a tank. I cannot really push the car and pop the clutch at the same time, although I have seen some people with lighter cars or stronger muscles do it! This meant that to be able to start the car in case I was alone, I had to park backwards on a hill so that when I started it up I could roll it down the hill and pop the clutch all on my own (I guess this is how I became independent!) It actually was quite effective, if I could get one of the one or two parking spots that fit this criteria. If I could not, I had to beg people to push my car so I could start it. Let's just say that I did not make a lot of friends during this time of my life. Or maybe I did, since I had to talk to a lot of people whether I wanted to or not. 

I did fix the car on my own, but not before popping the clutch on nearly all of the hills in the town I went to school in. However, as a 17 year old, doing this was highly superior to not having a car at all. 

Also, I lived in San Francisco and other places where I had to parallel park*, and this honed my skills in that aspect. Not only that, but I learned to be aggressive. If you have ever driven around for several (or 40) minutes looking for a parking spot in the evening, only to find one, start parallel parking (backing) into it despite the fact that you are holding up traffic to do it, and then have some jerk try to pull into it while you are taking it, you will know what I mean. I guess I will chalk this up to yet another useless skill for my list: parallel parking and doing it fast, and even being willing to yell at someone in my way if I need to. I can also tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue if it is long enough, and can recite all the words to Freaks of the Industry or Baby Got Back without any backup lyrics. Three gold stars for me. 

*Actually I did not have a car when I lived in San Francisco, but I regularly had friends ask me to help them park their car. 

Good luck parking here

So, the question that Nance posed was, do you reverse into parking spots? I think after having to sneak into the parking lot after everyone else with the truck, then worry about popping the clutch with the car, then back into parallel parking spots, I got pretty good at backing into the spot (mostly so that I would not have to back out of it later). So even today, the answer to her question is yes, but the caveat is that I would do it in my own driveway, or maybe in a spot that has a wall behind it, but I probably would not do it in a pull through spot, like at the grocery store for example. The funny thing is that I used to make fun of my Dad for doing it, and it seems like it was mostly men that did it, but now here we are. (*PS I think my Mom usually pulls in forward and my Dad definitely still backs into spots!) 

So now I ask you: do you reverse into parking spots? What kind of parking mishaps have you had in your life? 

Aye Car-umba!

I don't drive very often. I prefer to live in a place where I can walk or take the bus to where I need to go. However, sometimes it's a necessary evil. When I say evil, I say this because I have not had the best luck with cars. This may be due to the fact that I usually have an older car. Since I don't want to spend money to buy a new car, instead I spend money fixing an old one. I guess you have to choose and this is what I have chosen.

I am talking about this because my car broke down on Monday. I probably use my car once a week, usually to meet up with my friend for a walk (she lives about 45 minutes from me, so we tend to meet somewhere in the middle). I know this is ironic, driving somewhere to get exercise, but sometimes it's fun to try new places where the bus can't go. This time, however, I was on my way back to Oakland to pick up some stuff to take to Santa Cruz. After a stop along the way, I was getting back on the freeway and it just sputtered and died (on the on ramp). So I called AAA. I am getting to be pretty good at dealing with breakdowns, as I have had several over the years, some better than others.

Mid 90s: I get my first car. It's old. The starter stops working, but luckily if I park on a hill, I can pop the clutch. This leads to my profound knowledge of every hill/slant/bump in my hometown. When there is no hill, my friends help me push my very heavy car far enough to pop the clutch. This leads to me not having any more friends. I start leaving the car running when I go into stores (yes, you can do this in my hometown). I finally end up taking out the starter myself THREE times and having it re-lathed three times. This is quite costly, even though I have done the work myself. Finally we find out that the part that was needed was a tiny piece near the starter that costs mere dollars.

Late 90s, same car: I am driving to my friend's house for NYE and I break down on the Sacramento causeway due to overheating. This was when I didn't have a cell phone. Several people call 911 because they think I am on fire. Thank goodness they do, because I have the firemen call me a tow truck.

Mid 2000s: A different car. Still old. I am commuting from Sacramento to San Francisco and the car decides to call it quits on the Bay Bridge right AT the toll booth. People are honking and giving me the finger. On the plus side, the tow truck comes VERY fast. Also I save $5 on bridge tolls.

Present Day: About a month ago, I went to use the car for my once a week jaunt and it wouldn't start. I know a couple of things about cars, mostly that (a) it was not a problem with the battery, (b) it was not a problem with the starter and (c) I was not out of gas. As soon as the AAA guy comes, he asks me if the car is out of gas. I wonder if some people are unsure of the answer, because the guy that came to get me on Monday asked the same question. 

One of my many friends

Basically from 2000 to present day, I have made do with public transportation, my feet and a rental car for work. So I haven't had any problems. Now I am back to having a car and back to having problems. I am on a first name basis with the mechanic, who is actually awesome. I also am very adept at making small talk with tow truck drivers, since I often have to ride with them to the mechanic. Monday's driver was a very nice man and it was a pleasure to spend 45 minutes hanging out with him. However, I have already used 2 out of 3 of my allotted AAA calls, so I am hoping to get the problem resolved quickly and to not have it happen again! Every time I break down, I am trying to get somewhere! (ha)  

Do you often have car trouble? Have you ever tried to fix your own car? Have you ever ridden in the tow truck with the driver?

Car Talk

Car Talk has dual meanings for me. First I am going to talk to you about the radio show on NPR. If you haven’t listened to Car Talk, you should. You can download one free every week as a podcast on iTunes, or listen to it on NPR; I think it is on Saturdays, but I am not positive, as I usually just listen to it as a podcast. Anyway, whether or not you like, or have, cars, you will love the sassy attitude and corny jokes that Click and Clack provide for you each week. Two Italian guys from Boston, they are funny, witty and they actually do know a bit about cars.

This brings me to the second subject:  My car. I have a super old car. It runs great, but there is only one problem. About 10 years ago, a lady hit me in the front drivers side and it dented the fender and smashed out the headlight housing and bent back the hood a little. Right afterward, I moved to San Francisco and didn’t need a car anyway, so I never fixed it. I put it on the front lawn in the driveway at my parent’s house and left it, not knowing if I would need it or not.

So, now I am trying to decide if it is worth fixing OR if I should just scrap it and go and buy another used car somewhere else. I really don’t know. It does run great. However, it is a diesel, which is good for mileage but bad for the environment. The interior is nice; I had just put a rebuilt engine in it right before the accident; all the power windows work. It is not a super crappy old car. The only thing wrong with it is that it has a big dent. Oh, and it’s a 4 cylinder and barely makes it up hills! But I can live with that.

It will probably cost a couple of thousand (hopefully less, but that’s a generous estimate) to get it back on the road again.

What should I do? Also, do you listen to or like Car Talk?

NOTE: This is a post for the A-Z blogfest. C is for Car. You can find others below.

A is for A Day.
B is for Bookmark.