Last weekend, I went away from home to stay with a set of family friends leaving B alone. Me and Kids went with another family to NJ, spent the night there and returned back Sunday evening. This is the best gift I could give B - since he I know he would love to have the home in solitude and peace, so he can study for his upcoming test. All went well and here I come back on Sunday evening realizing that the next morning, I have to leave my vehicle for repair and take the rental car.
Little changes like these make me nervous - I worry about what if the rental car does not start up when I try to start it, what if the controls don't behave the way I expect them to, and before that...what if I cannot figure out where each control is etc. I was on my own, since B has to drop the kids off and go to work. I got the rental car and I sat inside - telling myself "it is only 3 days the repair will take, it should fly away"!
The next 20 minutes I took to get accustomed with the vehicle - contemplating on whether I should drive 40 min to work in this new car or not. I drove slowly in my area - the cold air would not stop, my feet were freezing, I pressed some buttons , hmm..no luck. OK, indicators work fine. It was a brand new all white BUICK LUCERNE. There could be nothing wrong with the car, but that itself made me nervous. It was like wearing a costly silk saree and not being able to enjoy it! The worry of harming the silk threads and tearing them off would prevent one from moving around freely!
My Camry is black with a dust coat on it (!), which I felt so comfortable squeezing into the narrow right turn lane even when a huge van stood to my left! I knew mine would squeeze in..but this new car, I can't take any risks with it!! As such, the rental company guy warned about the case when something happens to the car when I am driving it. 'Apashakunama pesathe da' - I felt like telling him ( meaning 'dont jinx it, man'!).
Day 2:
Next day, was my WAH day (work at home!), so I escaped from driving till evening kids-pick-up time.
Evening, I was kind of looking forward to driving it. The drive was smooth and by now, I had a feel for the car's size and I got used to driving it. When I unlocked the car from afar and it was getting dark, I was amused to see the headlights light up. Ithu kollalo! Little things I discovered made me appreciate the car!
Day 3:
Around evening, I got a call from the Auto Body shop that my Camry is ready for pick up.
I started at around 4 hoping to make the whole journey smooth and tension free. I looked for my sun glasses when I entered into the car. I had left it in the compartment to the right of the driver's seat. Where has it gone? I fished for deep into the compartment. I remember leaving it on a flat surface though. Hee..Hee..there was flat portion on the top of this compartment where I left my sunglasses and it had got joined with lid - so now I could hear the glasses move around within it, but could not see it. Oh God, how am I supposed to drive in the sun glare now? After shaking the top of the compartment like a mad girl (I know, you are asking, LIKE?) for 5 minutes, I looked calmly and found a way to open the latch...hurray..got the kannadi..what next now!
Oh, I need to fill gas to make it equal to 3/4 the total capacity - the way it was handed to me.
Of course, what I dreaded most happened. At the gas station, I opened the tiny door to the fueling portion (what do you call it! I don't know now!), but could not figure out how to open the knob. Again after 3 minutes of trying, I sought help from a gentleman who was fuelling his car. I was reminded so much of India where you could always find someone to help you out - where ever you go, you are not alone and it is so normal to approach people for help in public places!
The gentleman was nice and he did find out the way to open it after with it. OK, filled the gas, stopped it, checked the indicator, hmm, not enough..filled more and oops..overfilled it..well,. Whatever! As I drove to the rental place, I was worried about them closing the shop and going. I would be left stranded there coz I wont have a ride to my auto body shop. Thank God, I made it to the shop and returned the car.
The guy at the rental, talked like a recorded rebot. He drove me back to the Auto body shop talking to me about the sunny weather and asking me about how my car landed there etc. For my jokes, he laughed like a robot too. Was reminded of the airport ticketing officer girl who types non stop and smiles/talks like a machine in the movie 'Meet the Family'.
Signed the papers and paid the bill and got back the keys. When I opened the trunk of my Camry, and put my laptop bag in, I felt I was HOME. When I drove back home, I felt like that car is an extension of my body. I dont know if others are like me, I find comfort so much in the things I am used to. Well, there ends the story...thanks for driving with me..TATA!
