Like Butter on a Bald Monkey
Jan. 6th, 2004 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaitouWhen it rains, it pours. Listen to my sad, sad tale. So yesterday everything was going hunky-dory. There were no classes, and school won't start until Thursday actually. So Wasaki-sensei and I chatted and gossiped and generally a good time was had by all.
Then around three, just when I was thinking I could cut out for home early, she remembered about my Car Insurance. See, in Japan they have this thing called Shakken. It makes it so that there are no real lemons on the car like in the states. You won't find the kinds of cars that litter a high school parking lot with windows of saran wrap, or missing floors like my math teacher had. Once every few years, or once every year once a car reaches a certain age, the car has to go in for mandatory maintenance to make sure it's road worthy.
Mine ran out on Christmas. I'd known about it before hand, tried to talk to my bosses at the BoE who's job it is to take care of me. Because I only vaguely know that this shakken thing needs to be paid, but don't have the slightest clue how to handle it. They kindly told the JTE to tell me to handle it myself. She promised to help me because her brother knew a guy who knew a guy.... But then came finals and the trip to Kobe and Hong Kong and break and it slipped everyone's minds.
But now I'm overdue and if the police notice me I'll have a fine to pay. >.< So the Vice Principal, who is a super nice guy, he really takes care of everyone at the school, looks at my car registration, makes some phone calls, and around 4:30 the shakken guys are at the JHS to deal with my car.
They took my car! It's an overnight deal apparently. The flat rate is about $700, not including any repairs that they feel necessary. And of course, I have no say over what repairs they do. I can't say to them, "No, I don't WANT a new muffler." or "I can't afford a new battery." or what have you. They'll just do everything and hand me the bill later.
Ok, I thought. That's fine, I don't need to have a car to get to Osaka. In fact, it'll be perfect. Except that they'll drop the car back off around 4:00 today, so I need to be here to sign for it. So no new computer today. Hopefully they'll decide that they didn't have to make too many repairs and it won't take another day to fix otherwise I will both be very hungry, and I'll have to go computer shopping on the weekend.
My but this has been a long post. I'm sorry. On the bright side, I have managed to save up enough money that I can afford to do this without biting my fingernails too much. Hopefully the next time I post I can do so without whining. (or whinging if you're British)
Then around three, just when I was thinking I could cut out for home early, she remembered about my Car Insurance. See, in Japan they have this thing called Shakken. It makes it so that there are no real lemons on the car like in the states. You won't find the kinds of cars that litter a high school parking lot with windows of saran wrap, or missing floors like my math teacher had. Once every few years, or once every year once a car reaches a certain age, the car has to go in for mandatory maintenance to make sure it's road worthy.
Mine ran out on Christmas. I'd known about it before hand, tried to talk to my bosses at the BoE who's job it is to take care of me. Because I only vaguely know that this shakken thing needs to be paid, but don't have the slightest clue how to handle it. They kindly told the JTE to tell me to handle it myself. She promised to help me because her brother knew a guy who knew a guy.... But then came finals and the trip to Kobe and Hong Kong and break and it slipped everyone's minds.
But now I'm overdue and if the police notice me I'll have a fine to pay. >.< So the Vice Principal, who is a super nice guy, he really takes care of everyone at the school, looks at my car registration, makes some phone calls, and around 4:30 the shakken guys are at the JHS to deal with my car.
They took my car! It's an overnight deal apparently. The flat rate is about $700, not including any repairs that they feel necessary. And of course, I have no say over what repairs they do. I can't say to them, "No, I don't WANT a new muffler." or "I can't afford a new battery." or what have you. They'll just do everything and hand me the bill later.
Ok, I thought. That's fine, I don't need to have a car to get to Osaka. In fact, it'll be perfect. Except that they'll drop the car back off around 4:00 today, so I need to be here to sign for it. So no new computer today. Hopefully they'll decide that they didn't have to make too many repairs and it won't take another day to fix otherwise I will both be very hungry, and I'll have to go computer shopping on the weekend.
My but this has been a long post. I'm sorry. On the bright side, I have managed to save up enough money that I can afford to do this without biting my fingernails too much. Hopefully the next time I post I can do so without whining. (or whinging if you're British)
