towed to nowhere

for those of you who have heard the rumor, its true. i seem to always be the one with the bad luck....even though i don't believe in luck.

yesterday, march 23, at 9:23 am as i was sitting in geology class trying to stay awake, a police officer was writing me a ticket. the reason? yellow curb. not only was he writing me a ticket, but he decided to have it towed. so, just before i was about to turn in my paper on hamlet's madness yesterday, my civic was being dragged to sit in some lot with abused and unloved cars. i, for one, love my car and i don't abuse it...and i don't break the rules...except for the occasional 10 mph over the speed limit. and if this police officer, who made my stressful week even worse, knew what i'm about to tell you, i'm sure he would be understanding enough to rip up my ticket and excuse me for my sin of parking on a yellow curb.

so, if you read my last post, you'd know that monday night was rather hectic. not only was anna not able to hold down whatever was left in her stomach after throwing up so many times already (and pulling over to allow her to puke), but it was raining...and dark. since i don't usually have a car (and guaranteed never will again after this), i decided that i'd park where all the other people park who don't have a permit. considering its on the edge of campus, i don't go on it too often. i'm not really aware of the do's and don'ts. so, after frantically driving anna around and dropping her off at colette's, i was in a hurry to get back to my room to finish my english paper. this is quite a long road and there were no spots available except for at the very very end. the rain was pouring down. so, when i got to the spot, i pulled right up behind the last car, hopped out, and never looked back. this may sound like another lame excuse, but there was also a sketchy man walking by at the time...which is another reason i was in a hurry. who walks in the rain?

so, overlooking the drama that was going on my life, lets review. why didn't i see the yellow curb? one. there is almost no source of light anywhere near that spot. two. it was raining and when i was parking...i was paying more attention to making sure the car infront would have enough room to get out. three. when i exited the car, i got out on the left side...and the curb is on the right. four. the sign that had the red circle with a slash through it over the "p" with "tow away zone" written below it is on a post about eight feet tall, covered by brush, and about the size of an index card.

and no, its not over yet. i haven't explained how this tragedy was discovered. since we're always in a crunch for a ride to RUF, i volunteered to drive colette and anna. when i went to the car to get it before dinner, it was not there. all i could think to do was hit the panic button...but no annoying honking or screetching sounded from a little green civic. panic panic panic. and then i saw it...that weathered, chipping away, mustard yellow paint on the curb. right where i remembered parking. crappit crappit....crappit. went back to the room, called parking services, who forwarded me to the police, who gave me the number of the towing company they use. called them...and yup, they were holding my civic hostage for a bounty of $85 stinking dollars. cash. thats a little sketch. if i wanted to pick it up then, at 8 pm, it would be an additional $35. heck no, i think $85 is enough, thank you. i was too upset, needless to say, to hold a decent conversation with the woman on the other line. i didn't even have a clue where this place was.

i googled the phone number and got an address, which automatically linked me to mapsquest. i didn't know it then, but i hate mapsquest. i've known they're notorious for giving extra long directions, but never believed it. oh hold up. i forgot to mention what road this place is on...nowhere road. now come on. i thought it was a joke at first. but turned out to actually be on the map. go figure.

since she only accepted cash, i tried to go to the atm. couldn't get my pin number right, so called up my parents, told them the news, and asked if my dad could relay it to me. occupied with other maters, he said i'd have to wait. well, called up the lady again to make sure that it wouldn't be more than what she said it was (since they might charge by day). turns out, they accept credit cards too. thanks for the confusion.

so, today megan and i set off on our venture to find the land of nowhere. the directions pretty much went like this: go from civilization to nowhere road. turn a slight left to nowhere road. follow nowhere road. nowhere road turns into nowhere road. make a right to stay on nowhere road. nowhere road disappears to leave you in the middle of nowhere. you think i'm joking...but only a little. honestly. anyway, the scenery was pretty much the same. a cow field on the right, some trailers on the left, a green field for a few miles, more cows, maybe even some goats. a long lush green field. some run down trailers in the woods. yup, the road pretty much nailed it head on.

since we were lost in the middle of nowhere, we stoped at a gas station. in the gas station were three girls with jackets with this official looking ffa seal and "georgia, stephens county" circling around it. they were on their way to some sort of competition, and the clerk checking them out (i mean literally) was quizzing them "how much is one and a half hogs times a hundred and five per pound worth if..." honestly, i didn't understand the question. but i found it quite humorous. the man didn't help, though. he actually pointed us in the completely wrong direction. so, going the wrong way to nowhere, we ended up at another gas station. we pulled up to these three old men in their overalls and trucker hats pulling about fifteen fish all hooked together like a bunch of banannas out of the bed of an old truck. i went to the clerk in the store, who argued with a man over which way nowhere was. i'd say we were about right in the middle of it. he directed me to one of the big scruffly men outside gazing at them fish. politely, i asked him. he confessed no one really knew where it was they lived out there...and they don't really know the names. but he suggested we go back the other way. so we did. i can now better relate to the israelites and their 40 years of wandering in the desert to get to the promised land. somehow we managed to finally get there after about an hour of searching, we finally pulled into the parking lot of the towing place.

proved that it was my car with all the insurance info, paid the $85 fee, and was on my way. oh, she almost forgot. here is my additional $15 ticket from the police. the cherry on top. the lady told us that we were actually only 7 minutes for campus. you're joking. nope. just follow that road and you'll be out of the middle of nowhere fast. so, we took her advice...about a mile from the towing place we pass our fatal turn that went from civilization to nowhere road. she was right...it was really only a seven minute drive to campus. and to think we went all the way to the middle of nowhere to get there. mapsquest is awful.