A few of you may have been wondering where the hell I've been...

[SmileyBoy]

Well, it's kind of a long story altogether. So buckle up tight if you choose to read. It's actually somewhat interesting.

First off, I was supposed to be back in the Twin Cities for Christmas and semester break from college by last Wednesday. On late Tuesday night last week, I was driving home, and my car broke down 20 miles outside Fargo. I couldn't find my AAA card, so I had to dial emergency 911 assistance to get a tow truck to take my car back to a garage in Fargo to get it fixed. I only had 10 dollars on me, and I had to pay the tow truck guy 110 bucks up front, so he had to drive me back to an ATM machine in Fargo to get the cash. Herein lied the problem: It was 2am on Wednesday morning, and my ATM account gave me a limit of 100 dollars to withdrawal every 24 hours. After I gave him all my money, I was basically broke until midnight the next night.

I had to haul all the stuff out of my car and put it in the lobby of my dorm high rise, when the truck left for the garage. I remembered that I had to leave my keys in the car naturally, for the mechanics. But my dorm room key was with those keys, and I had to wake up the residence hall director in the middle of the night so she could let me into my room for the night.

The next morning, on Wednesday, the garage called and said that my car was fine. They did a battery and alternator test on my car and it was working OK.

I then proceeded to pack my things in my car again, and drive down to the Twin Cities. The damn thing BROKE DOWN AGAIN, this time just outside of Fergus Falls, MN. Luckily for me this time, I had obtained my AAA info from my parents the night before when I broke down, and called AAA for assistance. Obviously, the mechanic in Fargo didn't do a damn thing useful with the car, and I was real pissed at myself for letting myself being suckered into that type of job.

The tow truck from Fergus Falls came, and I asked the driver a good mechanic that he trusted. He took me (and my car) to the place, and spent the next four hours listening to right-wing idiot Sean Hannity blather on about crap on the radio. Never mind the fact I was nervous because I had my DU bumper sticker on my car, and some of these mechanic guys at this garage seemed to be real freeptards.

The guy who ran the place eventually told me that it was the alternator, and that a new one would need to be put in. But the part wasn't able to arrive that night.

So, I had racked up a WHOLE SHITLOAD of cell phone minutes this whole time talking with my parents back in Minneapolis about the situation, and I was at low battery, so I called my father up with suggestions on what to do. Keep in mind that I was BROKE, had NO CAR, no money for food, and I was really hungry at the time.

He suggested that he would drive up to Fergus Falls (185 miles away) through the blizzard that was going on along I-94, and that I should wait for him at the Perkins restaurant along the interstate (The guy who ran the shop would get me a cab and put the fare on the bill), and we would go pick up my car on Saturday.

There was basically no other option. I was broke, and couldn't stay at a hotel that night. I got all my stuff out of my car in the garage, loaded it onto the cab, and the people at Perkins were kind enough to let me stow it in the corner of their waiting area of the lobby.

I was REALLY hungry at this time, and I thought I might try going to the gas station next door to see if I couldn't get any money from the ATM. Well lo and behold, I was able to!!! I went back to Perkins, ate dinner by myself, and then waited in concern for my father who was driving through the blizzard. It would take him at least 3 and a half hours.

Thankfully, he arrived at around the time I expected him to on Wednesday night at 9:30 pm. We took his car back home and got to the Twin Cities at around midnight Thursday morning. I then spent all Saturday driving up with my dad to Fergus Falls to pick up my car, and back down to the Cities.

The whole ordeal cost us a LOT of money, and completely emotionally and physically taxed myself in particular. I slept most of the 48 hours I was home in between the time I got back from Fergus and when we went to pick up my car. Luckily, I was able to get back that day right before the Vikings game started.:-)

So anyway, I've been really tired and exhausted, and I'm not just talking about my classic behaviour of staying up at night and sleeping in the daytime. I slept 17 hours yesterday, and I spent most of last evening sleeping, and woke up at 5am after sleeping another four hours. I haven't been on DU at all this past week because I've been very tired and exhausted.

But today I have to help my brother do a bunch of things, so I'll have to be awake today. I probably need to start drinking some caffeine in the morning again.

But it doesn't mean I don't care about you guys.:D:D Just remember that we all have crises in our lifetimes, and this was a HUGE one that I had to go through last week. not to mention the resulting exhaustion from it.

Well, I guess that's my story. I'm back here in Minneapolis, and my car is fine. I hope the story wasn't too long for you.

[Mikimouse]

1. Glad you made it home

one way or the other. Hope the holidays and the return trip are much better.

[caledesi]

2. Wow! What a story. Glad you are back NW. nt

[izzie]

3. I am sure it did not hurt you but look at this.....

Your in college and many people live like this their whole life and no ATM to go to. You have been put into a place to see how a good half the people in the USA live. Almost flat and no place to sleep. I grew up in a very easy life style. In the 30's my mother had her own car and a maid in the house and to get this into our heads, how lucky we were my father and mother had to do some work. It was always a shock to find out every one did not live like that. I recall being really up tight to find out a friend only had heat in the winter in their kitchen.

[SmileyBoy]

4. I'm gonna be like what you described pretty soon...

I'm almost broke. I only have about 200 dollars in my account. My family is in huge debt as well. I don't know what I'm going to do once my money runs out. My family needs money too, and I can't go asking them for some. I have car insurance and gas to pay for. I could get an actual job other than work study, but I'm gonna be hopping around from one residence to another this next year. I'm living in Fargo until late May, then I'm gonna be in Minnepalis for two months, then I resume my seasonal (fall) job as a student assistant for NDSU football. I have about 500 dollars more to earn in work study in January through March. After that, I'm fucked.

[izzie]

5. Well you will make it but always recall the hard years.

My father always did and so did my mother. Since Bush got in, I am poor in cash ,so I am on the front lines.All my saving are paying me nothing to speak of and I am retired and old.

[Skittles]

6. you learn from these things

handling a crisis makes you better equipped to handle future crises. Another thing it teaches me is to try to help when I see someone else in a crisis. Like the guy trying to fix his car with his wife holding their baby nearby - and it's 105 degrees out. I stopped and took his family home (his brother was on the way to help him with the car). Small things like that help.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Well, that was the trip from hell!

But trust me, as the survivor of a traumatic Christmas trip 30 years ago, you'll be telling stories about it for decades.

Glad you made it back safely!