Angel Baby's First Car and Other Fun Things
Despite Angel Baby saying he was good walking to work, which, granted, is just more than a mile from the apartment, I went ahead and bought him a car to drive when the weather gets colder. Walking when it's 35 degrees is one thing. Walking when it's 2 degrees with a wind chill of -7 degrees is quite another. I truly don't believe he realizes just how miserable that would be.
So, I bought him a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. He claims I bought it for me since it's a manual, which he doesn't know how to operate.
If I'm being completely honest, I do have to admit I love this vehicle. It's in really good shape, and driving a stick is just plain fun. The Cherokee is very definitely my kind of car, so if Angel Baby says he doesn't want to drive it, I won't be hurt. I'll drive it and enjoy every single second of doing so.
I have a hunch, though, that Angel Baby won't have any trouble learning how to drive a stick. He learned how to move while playing the saxophone in marching band. He's been playing video games nearly his entire life. I think his ability to work body parts independent of each other is fairly high, making driving a stick shift just another activity he won't give a second thought after some time driving. And really, if I can drive a stick, he surely will be able to drive one. It's not rocket science.
When I called my insurance company to insure the Jeep, I figured the quote for a teenage boy would run nearly $100 a month. Thankfully it was quite a bit less than that. Angel Baby has said he will pay for the insurance, but I think I'll pay it for a while. I want to be sure he is actually the one driving the Jeep. If it ends up that the Jeep is just sitting in the garage, there's no sense in him paying for something he's not using.
Last evening I went into Fallout: New Vegas to see if I could finally get past this really powerful bad guy -- Ulysses -- that I've been trying to take down for some time now. I tried a rocket launcher, a super-cool blade, hand grenades. You name it, I tried it if it was in my weapons inventory. Every single time his eye-bots took me out, or his marauders came in from behind and took me out. I finally grabbed the grenades specifically for robots, thinking I would take out the eye-bots first. I then went into my aid inventory and used all the drugs and items that gave me damage protection, renewed my health, and increased my agility (because Angel Baby will tell anyone who listens how awful I am at moving and fighting at the same time -- I am really terrible at doing both at the same time, so I needed all the help I could get).
Then I set to work. I started throwing the grenades with wild abandon, hoping they did what they were supposed to do. And they did! I took out two eye-bots almost immediately. Then Ulysses came after me, so I went into my weapons inventory and took out my strongest melee weapon. I started whacking away and sent the really powerful bad guy over a guardrail to his death. But I still had marauders coming after me. I switched my weapon to a Gauss rifle and started picking off each one. Angel Baby had come in while I was taking care of the marauders and was duly impressed with my play. When the bullets stopped flying, I was still standing! With nearly 100% health, which completely stunned Angel Baby since my armor was nearly useless. I chalk it up to the right combination of Psycho, MedX, and other aid items.
In defeating Ulysses and his minions, I then had to make a decision: nuke the NCR, Caesar, or both. I chose to nuke both since I was an enemy to both. In making that decision, I failed in the quest. I think I'm going to go back to an earlier save and make a different choice to see what happens. I'm really curious now and I won't rest until I know.
After work Thursday, I took the bus to Uptown then decided to walk home from there. The slight drizzle didn't bother me, and the trail was absolutely beautiful. As I walked I thought about how fortunate I am to live where I do and have all the possibilities for getting around that I do. That morning, as I waited for the bus, a new acquaintance drove by and waved. A few minutes later he was back, asking if I'd like a ride out to work since he was going that way. I declined, but he assured me he really did have to go out that way, so I thought why not? It's just a ride. I did ask him if he's a serial killer before I got in, which made him laugh. I was completely serious. The ride was just fine, and it was very kind of him to offer. I told some friends about hitching a ride with a stranger and one said I need to text them next time just so they know, and if I don't show up to work they'll come looking for me. They're such good friends!
Friday, I biked over to the DMV to get the plates for the Jeep. I went over on Wednesday, but since I didn't have a second proof of current residence or a check (apparently, IDOR does not take cash, debit, or credit), I couldn't get the plates. Friday morning, I had triplicate of everything I needed. I wasn't leaving the DMV without those darn plates. A half hour after getting there, I was out the door with plates in hand, ready to put them on the Jeep and drive it around. I drove out to Menards for a board and three crates to make a TV shelf. Then I drove it to Tuffy Auto to have them check out the exhaust and a couple of other things that I know needed attention. They checked it out, gave me the low down on what needed to be fixed ASAP, and three hours later I walked back to Tuffy to pick it up with all the work done that they suggested. Both men working on the Jeep remarked about what a wonderful vehicle it is, so I feel really good about this Craigslist purchase. I truly hope Angel Baby gets two or three years of use out of it. And what's fun about the license plate is the two letters on it are BB, which made me think of how Funny Delightful Son couldn't pronounce Angel Baby's name when they were toddlers and always called him Baby Beau. I think the plates are perfect for Angel Baby's first car.
So, I bought him a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. He claims I bought it for me since it's a manual, which he doesn't know how to operate.
 |
| Angel Baby's new ride! |
If I'm being completely honest, I do have to admit I love this vehicle. It's in really good shape, and driving a stick is just plain fun. The Cherokee is very definitely my kind of car, so if Angel Baby says he doesn't want to drive it, I won't be hurt. I'll drive it and enjoy every single second of doing so.
I have a hunch, though, that Angel Baby won't have any trouble learning how to drive a stick. He learned how to move while playing the saxophone in marching band. He's been playing video games nearly his entire life. I think his ability to work body parts independent of each other is fairly high, making driving a stick shift just another activity he won't give a second thought after some time driving. And really, if I can drive a stick, he surely will be able to drive one. It's not rocket science.
When I called my insurance company to insure the Jeep, I figured the quote for a teenage boy would run nearly $100 a month. Thankfully it was quite a bit less than that. Angel Baby has said he will pay for the insurance, but I think I'll pay it for a while. I want to be sure he is actually the one driving the Jeep. If it ends up that the Jeep is just sitting in the garage, there's no sense in him paying for something he's not using.
***
Last evening I went into Fallout: New Vegas to see if I could finally get past this really powerful bad guy -- Ulysses -- that I've been trying to take down for some time now. I tried a rocket launcher, a super-cool blade, hand grenades. You name it, I tried it if it was in my weapons inventory. Every single time his eye-bots took me out, or his marauders came in from behind and took me out. I finally grabbed the grenades specifically for robots, thinking I would take out the eye-bots first. I then went into my aid inventory and used all the drugs and items that gave me damage protection, renewed my health, and increased my agility (because Angel Baby will tell anyone who listens how awful I am at moving and fighting at the same time -- I am really terrible at doing both at the same time, so I needed all the help I could get).
Then I set to work. I started throwing the grenades with wild abandon, hoping they did what they were supposed to do. And they did! I took out two eye-bots almost immediately. Then Ulysses came after me, so I went into my weapons inventory and took out my strongest melee weapon. I started whacking away and sent the really powerful bad guy over a guardrail to his death. But I still had marauders coming after me. I switched my weapon to a Gauss rifle and started picking off each one. Angel Baby had come in while I was taking care of the marauders and was duly impressed with my play. When the bullets stopped flying, I was still standing! With nearly 100% health, which completely stunned Angel Baby since my armor was nearly useless. I chalk it up to the right combination of Psycho, MedX, and other aid items.
 |
| The trail on my walk home. |
***
After work Thursday, I took the bus to Uptown then decided to walk home from there. The slight drizzle didn't bother me, and the trail was absolutely beautiful. As I walked I thought about how fortunate I am to live where I do and have all the possibilities for getting around that I do. That morning, as I waited for the bus, a new acquaintance drove by and waved. A few minutes later he was back, asking if I'd like a ride out to work since he was going that way. I declined, but he assured me he really did have to go out that way, so I thought why not? It's just a ride. I did ask him if he's a serial killer before I got in, which made him laugh. I was completely serious. The ride was just fine, and it was very kind of him to offer. I told some friends about hitching a ride with a stranger and one said I need to text them next time just so they know, and if I don't show up to work they'll come looking for me. They're such good friends!
Friday, I biked over to the DMV to get the plates for the Jeep. I went over on Wednesday, but since I didn't have a second proof of current residence or a check (apparently, IDOR does not take cash, debit, or credit), I couldn't get the plates. Friday morning, I had triplicate of everything I needed. I wasn't leaving the DMV without those darn plates. A half hour after getting there, I was out the door with plates in hand, ready to put them on the Jeep and drive it around. I drove out to Menards for a board and three crates to make a TV shelf. Then I drove it to Tuffy Auto to have them check out the exhaust and a couple of other things that I know needed attention. They checked it out, gave me the low down on what needed to be fixed ASAP, and three hours later I walked back to Tuffy to pick it up with all the work done that they suggested. Both men working on the Jeep remarked about what a wonderful vehicle it is, so I feel really good about this Craigslist purchase. I truly hope Angel Baby gets two or three years of use out of it. And what's fun about the license plate is the two letters on it are BB, which made me think of how Funny Delightful Son couldn't pronounce Angel Baby's name when they were toddlers and always called him Baby Beau. I think the plates are perfect for Angel Baby's first car.
 |
| From my walk with Ado this morning. Such a beautiful view! |
Comments