You Call This a Day Off?!

I was looking forward to a day off....well at least I was looking forward to part of it. I knew I had ANOTHER dentist appointment at 2:30 but I planned on getting some of this dirty, messy house cleaned this morning. Before I dove into the fun I decided to check out Craig's List---hoping to find a scooter for Gary's birthday tomorrow. They are getting very scarce. I guess no one wants to part with them now and when one does turn up, it is gone in a matter of hours. Imagine my surprise when I saw one---freshly posted in a town only 30 minutes away from Gary's office. He was still enroute to work so I called on his cell and said, "Hey, I found you a scooter for only $350.00." Long story short: He called on it, found out it has never had a title. The guy said we didn't need one. WRONG is he! Gary called DMV to make sure. Indeed, he needs a title but the clerk there said, "No worries, as long as it is older than a 2002 (it was) they can get us a title. We just had to have the seller fill out the bill of sale that DMV provided for us. Sooooo..... I hurry to his work in my pick-up truck, we make the drive to Mineolla, get lost (thanks to mapquest), finally find the house, test drive it---discover a little problem. It carries me just fine but Gary is a wee bit heavier and it doesn't get him up the hill. The old guy (He is our age) says, the carburetor just needs some adjusting. I'll let you have it for $300.00. Well, we are all over that. We tie it in the pick-up and head for Gary's office. I trade cars so I can get back to Apopka for my dentist appointment. (Not fun--another long story. Let me just say that a deep cleaning which requires novacaine is not a pleasant way to spend your day off!) Anyway, when I get home running behind schedule, I check the answering machine. Someone from a FOOD BANK is calling to let us know that somehow the mailman got our new box of checks mixed up with the food he collected on Saturday from the big food drive. I have been wondering since Monday where the heck my checks are! So, even though I don't have time, I stop at the food bank. The lady hands me a box of checks. Already open. There are only 2 books left! I am in a panic! I say to the sweet little old lady behind the counter, in the calmest voice I could muster, "Where the HECK are the rest of my checks?!" She says, That's all there was. I nearly pass out trying to call Gary at the bank to say, "Quick, check our balance and see if our account has been cleaned out!" He says, "It's okay--I'll close out our account" I'm driving to the dentist's office --stop at a red light and for some reason decide to look at the checks. They aren't even ours! What's up with that?! Gary calls the lady back and she says, "I don't know who gave you those checks, I have yours right here in my hand. They have never been opened. " No one seems to know anything about the checks I am holding in my hand. They have no phone number on them and the guy's name isn't in the phone book. Gary refuses to try to find his house and try to explain what he's doing with 2 books of his checks-----we don't even know why we have them! He is going to take them to Bank of America and let them deal with the problem. We are just glad his were the stolen ones and not ours! Makes you feel real confident with the postman when you know that your checks wind up at a food kitchen---special delivery!

Okay, I'm almost finished. When I get out of the torture chair, I call Gary and he catches me up on the check situation. I breathe a sigh of relief. The poor guy has jumped through major hoops trying to undo the closed checking account fiasco at the same time he was trying to license the scooter. Now, with Bill of Sale in his hand, the clerk says, "Oh, I'm sorry sir. I can't find that make and model on our list. I'm afraid we won't be able to get you a title after-all." EXCUSE me? Lady, do you want to write us a check for $300.00 or will that be in cash?! What an idiot. Gary gave up on her. Called another DMV office (not conveniently located by-the-way). They are telling him to come see them tomorrow and they will find the right forms. Can't anything ever be easy! ( I know this is incredibly long. Congratulations if you made it to the end. Remember, this is my journal.)