Famous Last Words: Week 14

For my reading of the week, I chose to read Dante’s Inferno. This unit caught my attention from its title. Also, I know a little bit about Dante and Virgil from the game series Devil May Cry. I enjoyed my reading this week, but I am disappointed that I could not finish reading it all in time to post up my other diaries. It is partly due to my own fault for not having to start reading early but also because I have had a string of bad luck very recently.

In this past month of November, I have gone through two cars. My first car that died was a used car that my dad got it for about $1800 and fixed most of it up himself before giving it to me to drive since the middle of last spring. The car still had some issues but it was in working condition or so I thought.

Sometime in the middle of November, I was driving my girlfriend to her anatomy class at OCCC. When I first started my car, I noticed that the engine sounded and felt a bit off since it had a slight rumble. I just brushed it off as a cold morning start and drove off not knowing that it would soon become a very dangerous sign.

After my girlfriend got off, we drove back to Norman and my car was really rumbling and was not accelerating as it should. By this time I was really freaked out and luckily made it back home and switched to her car.

A few days later when I had time, I took my car to get a diagnosis and they told me that all of my car’s engine mounts have been damaged. They told me that the cost of buying and replacing the mounts were going to be over $1400. I spoke with my parents, who are living in Wisconsin since last winter, and they told me that it isn’t worth it and that I should just drive it slowly back to my place.

As I drove back from the car shop my car started smoking through the vents. I knew at this moment that my car will either just die on me in the middle of the road or that there is a chance that it could explode due to the mix of fumes that could possibly leak out. Luckily, I was able to make it to my girlfriend’s place, which is much closer than my place, and had it sitting there for several days. I was able to push my car back to my place with the help of several friends.

A couple weeks after my car trouble my parents sent another car down for me to drive. My second car has been with my family ever since they bought it in 2003-2004. I have drove this car since senior year in high school till I swapped it for the first car. This car was still in very good condition since me and my dad have taken care of it so much. I knew that the car would last me even after I graduate. However, this was not the case.

The very next night after I received my second car I got in a fender-bender. This is where I really think about what I have done in my life to deserve such a string of bad luck. I, and the guy that hit me, go through the whole process of collecting information, getting estimates, and going through our insurances. I get a rental car and have been driving it for over two weeks now.

Then just last Thursday I got in contact with the car shop that is going to repair my car and they tell me that the insurance has not given them the permission to either work on it or call it a loss. So my parents and I contact our insurance and they tell us that the car is a loss and label it as totaled since the cost to repair it exceeds the car’s current value.

At this point I am devastated. I am going through so much bad luck that even my store manager tells me that for the last five months I have not been chosen as employee of the month. Now in order to be employee of the month, there is a random draw of recognition cards that other manager’s write up for their workers. For the last five months they have drawn an employee who had only one recognition card while I had about 5 to 7 cards. Actually, I have been working there since summer of 2014 so I have actually never been employee of the month since then.

Me saying good bye to my second car

Other than that, I’m still thankful to be alive and well. Life really sucks for me right now but hopefully after all this bad luck there will come good luck.