Having a car is a big part of living in the big city. Unless the city you live in is big enough to have a subway system, you pretty much need a car to get anywhere you want to get to quickly. Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of people who have bikes and I do think Austin's bus system is pretty reliable, but ever since I lost my car getting from point A to point B has been a struggle for me.
I lost my car, Coco the Corolla, nearly three years ago. It was a cold and rainy November day and Pisha and I were driving down one of Austin's busiest streets. We were slowing down to a stop at a red light when Coco decided it was a good time for it to hydroplane. This made my car crash to a car in front of us, and even though the car in front of us was fine, Coco wasn't. My hood bent in two and pieces that should have been inside my car flew out of my car making my car useless. After about a week, I took a mechanic to the car lot where my car was being held hostage and he told me that the car would cost more to fix than it was worth so that meant I no longer had a car.
Having no car for this long truly sucks. Not only do I have to depend on other people to get around Austin, but I have to make sure I have a ride from one place to another AND back before I even think of going out. Because of the car issue I've had to cancel plans to go downtown, to go to parties, and even worse, plans to do something meaningful like volunteer work simply because I didn't have a way to get there or back home. Some people I've met have truly been generous by giving me a ride, but I always feel like a nuisance when I ask for a ride.
I could take the bus, but a lot of times a bus route won't take me close to where I need to go. Also, if I'm out volunteering, some of the events I do happen at night and end after the bus stops running for the day. I once went downtown and was left down there by one of my friends after he saw his ex and freaked out so much he forgot about me. Having no other way to get home I decided to walk over 30 blocks to get to a bus stop, and then had to wait in 40 - 50 degree weather for a bus to pick me up shortly before 6 AM to only get a walkable distance from home.
If you live up north 40 - 50 degrees isn't that cold, but to someone who lives in Austin, TX where it's over 90 degrees 6 months out of the year, 40 - 50 degrees is cold. Also, it didn't help that I got followed by what most likely was an insane person who - by what he said - could and has probably read my blog. The walk home wasn't good either since when you walk from where I did you have walk downhill and uphill so much that it wears you out. Basically, what I'm saying is that night sucked, and all because I didn't have a car.
The blunt of not having a car not only hurts me but also my family. My dad ends up being my ride to a lot of places and because he feels responsible to me he can't do a lot of things he probably wants to do and has to put me into consideration before doing anything. Because of my terrible driving skills (might I add I've actually never been driving my car when I actually lost them) there is a 0% chance he'll let me borrow his car if he ever does decide to go do something where his car won't be needed.
This has led to some of my other family members (older siblings) saying that I'm using my parents. Bitches, you guys have cars and I don't. If I need to get to school because the closest bus stop to my campus is an hour away on foot, and I don't know the people in my class well enough yet to ask them for rides, I don't have a choice but to ask my mom and dad. It's not using them if it's necessary. It's either that or miss school entirely.
There are not only these factors but others as well. For example, if I'm going to be going to a week-long event like aGLIFF I need to set up a carpool system to see if I can get a ride to and back home from aGLIFF. If I can't get a ride there I could use the bus to get down there, but if I don't have a ride home I have to go home at the end of my shift rather than getting to stay to see a movie because the movie finishes after the buses stop running.
If I'm going to a day-long event I have to make sure I can get to the first point before I do the other points. I also have to ask someone if I can get a ride home if I'm unfamiliar with the place I'm going to. This, of course, makes me feel like an annoyance and makes me think that I shouldn't have bothered to volunteer in the first place, even if my work was excellent and the small detour they made wasn't a big deal at all.
All these factors, and more make having no car majorly suck. I can only hope that the patron gods of transportation bless me with a car soon, because I guarantee, you never really know how much you appreciate a car until you actually lose it...
SEXDUCTXY!
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