So Long Cindy...

I have lived in and around Boston for a year and a half now. For a little less than I year I have been parking my car on the perilous streets of the city. If you have ever owned a car while living in a city, without the convenience of a driveway or the ability to afford to garage your car, then you know what I mean. Actually, you probably know what I mean if you have ever owned a car while living in a city period.

Over the last year my car has collected an outrageous number of bumps and bruises. People just bump your car while paralleling or driving and figure, "Hey, it's a big city, they'll never find me." And we're not talking small un-noticeable things either, im talking dents as big as my head, and cracks in my bumper.

It is so expensive to keep a car in the city! Because not only does the value of your car drop monthly as new dents and scratches are added, but there are also numerous simple ways to rack up tickets. There's street cleaning (can't park during), meters (malfunctions & forgetting to pay), driveways (can't block um), intersections (can't park too close), two hour visitor parking (can't stay too long), resident permits only, overnight restrictions (stupid Brookline) (I have gotten tickets/ towed for each of these), fire hydrants, snow emergencies, and the list of ways to get a ticket goes on and on and on....Not to mention that gas costs soooo much!

For a while I have been contemplating selling my car and investing in zip car and buying a bicycle/ scooter instead. This would be both more economical and more convenient (albeit more dangerous as my mother heatedly pointed out). Well, on Saturday night/ Sunday morning as I lie in bed dreaming of sexy ladies, someone decided to give me a very very forceful push forward in my planning....

Sunday morning, around 9 am, I woke to the doorbell ringing. Despite the fact that I have three roommates I knew I was the only one who would both answering, so I got up and headed downstairs. As I was walking I suddenly thought, "This has something to do with my car" (the section of street right in front of my house is permit parking only M-Sat, so when ever I go out late on a Saturday night I gleefully park right in front of my house and relish in my 24 hours of freedom). Sure enough I spied through our small stained glass window that something did appear to be wrong with my car. I opened the door and a police office was there to greet me.

Here is what I saw next:

I think the pictures speak for themselves, but I do want to point out that the sticker on the right (mangled) side of the bumper reads "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Yes, someone smashed into my car, effectively destroying the bumper sticker and then took off...oh, you read correctly, I was hit and run.

At first I stood there in shock, then I thought, "Hm, there is a good chance my 'liability only' car insurance is not going to cover this", so I called my mom to confirm. My mom's response, "You may just have to be without a car for a while...that is when I started crying. But amidst my tears I noticed a note, neatly preserved in a ziplock bag, sitting on my windshield. I grabbed it and lo-and behold it was the description and license plate of the vehicle. A neighbor had woken up at 4:30 am to the sound of the crash, they wrote down the drivers info. and left it on my car for me. This just occurred to me: my karma may be messed up in some ways, but really these bad experiences have just been forums for others to emerge and come through for me in huge ways.

So now all I can do is wait. Wait to hear back from the police (please please tell me you found the person and they have insurance). Wait to hear back from my insurance company (please tell me you will be there for me if this person's insurance is not. Wait to figure out what the best course of action will be. Scooter here I come?

Speaking of scooters, my scooter loving friend Anastasia made me this to commemorate the occasion (note the bumper sticker changes...AMAZING):

There is always a bright side to look at:

• I wasn't in the car
• The neighbor took their info
• My car was dirty anyway
• I've been dying to drive stick again
• I can seriously consider the zip car & scooter/ bicycle idea
• I got some cool artwork

....end thoughts: That is a lot of pictures for one post....This post may not flow very well because I kept having to leave it and come back, and I don't feel like fixing it.