I haven't written much for several days. I've been busy. There has been a birthday party for a friend, I've played a lot of Morrowind instead of writing, and on Sunday, I bought a car. Not a new car by any means, but lower miles and better fuel economy than what I have been driving. I am giving up cargo capacity and all-wheel drive, but I am getting easier parking.
Monday was a complete mess. It would be funny if it weren't all so infuriatingly screwed up. Aside from getting insurance switched to the new car, nothing went to plan, and I wasted hours trying to go do things that didn't work out. Snow delays, bad roads, scheduling conflicts, shortages, a flat tire, and so forth. No one else got hurt, but it was a complete wreck, and I hurt my back again. It was just a day where nothing went right, and I was drained of all energy. The only thing I had no complaints about was the car. I like it.
Today was a bit painful, but I survived. Good news: I don't think I did any permanent damage to my back, or inflamed my old injuries too much. Better news: new tires are installed, an oil change is done, and no surprises were found with a full inspection. The mechanic didn't see a need to sell me new brakes, tie rod ends, radiator hoses, or the like. Best of all: Work was largely unremarkable, with as much routine as one can expect from a job where weird things or encounters with strange people happen almost every day.
Today was also "Super Tuesday," so supporters of Donald Trump and Nikki Haley were squabbling over which disgusting human being was the lesser evil worthy of support. Don't you know this is the most important election of our lifetime? Yuck. And no, I am not saying Sleepy Joe Biden is better. To hell with that whole game.
Tomorrow, I should be able to finalize the title transfer with the state government goons. Why do we really tolerate all this bureaucratic nonsense? It seems like a perverse inertia maintains old government offices long after any real or imagined excuse for their operation is long gone. My insurance company cares about how good a driver I am, what car I own, and how safe it is. Government just wants tax money and leverage to control us. Modern blockchain technology could conceivably treat car ownership like an NFT tied to a physical object. The Vehicle Identification Number is already practically a public key for that purpose. I'm sure auto dealers and auto insurers could easily create a unified registry identifying ownership and tracking exchanges with a high degree of security.
Anyway, despite some hurdles along the way, it still looks like progress toward some of my goals. I am trying to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves to improve my options and open up further opportunities. Some days I only have the energy to just keep treading water, but it's time to swim for a destination.
Image made in Canva. 90s CCM nostalgia found on YouTube.
