Monday, December 5, 2011

Virgil Versus the Toyota

Let me tell you a story. This story has been a few months in the making, but the important parts all happened within the past week.

After looking for a Tacoma for months, and getting hosed yet again after driving all the was out to Fallon, I thought to myself,  "Self, I'm looking for a Toyota, so why don't I just go down to the Toyota dealership? Brilliant!" So on Saturday morning, down to Reno Toyota I went. On Saturday afternoon I came home with a 2010 Tacoma... and with very little idea how I was going to come up with the rest of the down payment and still have enough money to get it insured and registered. Well, that's enough in its own right to cause stress, but here comes the good part.

Yesterday while leaving the grocery store (after stocking up on tuna and all the other poor bachelor essentials) I stall my new truck. No big deal. Happens all the time since I am still terrible at driving stick. So I push the clutch in, turn the key and prepare to probably stall it again at least once more before I'm on my embarrassed and merry way. Only this time my sweet new(ish) sound system is accompanied by a strange clicking noise instead of the soothing purr of a soon-to-be-dead-again engine. Shit. I hop out and push my new truck out of the way since I had managed to almost make it out of the parking lot before stalling. Luckily a random stranger, Robert I believe, was there to lend a helping hand and give me a jump start and I was (surprisingly) able to make it home without stalling again.

Fast forward to this moning. I go out to my truck, hop in, say a little prayer to a god I don't believe in, push in the clutch, turn the key, and... SUCCESS!! "Killer," I think to myself. So I go back inside and get ready for work. 15 minutes later and I'm looking as dapper as every other corporate smuck who wears a tie to work, but hey, those fat cats are paying for this awesome truck so who cares, right?! Anyway, I hop in my awesome new corporate sponsored truck and get ready to take off in a whirlwind of masculinity... and then promptly stall. Well, maybe I'll try to be a little less masculine about it this time. Push in the clutch, turn the key, and.... ClickClickClickClickClickClickClick. GOD DAMNIT!!

So my new truck has now been towed down at the Toyota dealership, and I am walking to work for at least another day. You win this round, Toyota.