cce blog

car troubles

yesterday it was raining and i forgot to turn my car's headlights off as i parked at work in the morning; later that evening the car was dead and needed a jump start. fine, a fellow employee helped me out and i was on my way. this morning i went to find my car at its parking spot and it was gone, whisked away by mysterious forces unknown -- that is, until i checked my license plate online and found it'd been towed. and i was so proud of finding a spot close to my apartment last night.

once down at the impound office, pier 76 (they push your car off the pier if you don't come to pick it up), i was informed that they checked with the NJ DMV (they can do that?) and my car wasn't registered. the registration had apparently expired last december -- the renewal notice probably got thrown out with my parents' junk mail or something. so a few phone calls later and the parents were on the case while i got lunch in nearby times square and wondered if i'd ever get to work today.

i didn't. even with my mother waiting in line at the NJ DMV for me (thanks mom!), by the time i had my paperwork in order, paid my $185 impound fee, and taken the subway to the uptown impound lot on 203rd & 9th (where i saw a live rooster walking around nearby, odd), it was already 5pm. argh, just when i'd been planning a long day of hard coding, the catch-up i've been meaning to do since getting back to work.

this car is a major hassle. but what to do? i've been looking at taking the train from the marble hill station (just a short walk over the broadway bridge) to work every morning, but this raises the question of how to get to the office once i've arrived at the croton-harmon station. in the past my office owned several electric cars (seriously!) to perform this task, but the tech bubble burst, remember?

so here's my idea: parking at the croton-harmon station costs $4/day and overnight parking is allowed, so i could leave my car at croton overnight during the week and only bring it back to NYC on the weekends if i need it. basically, westchester would become my new parking spot. so let's analyze.

pro's:

• no driving hassle,
• i get to read the newspaper and relax on the way into work,
• pretty view of the hudson,
• no more searching for a parking space every night in NYC,
• more environmentally-friendly.

cons:

• no car in the evenings if i need it in a pinch,
• possibly slightly longer commute (car is 30-40 mins, express train is 30 mins, local 45 mins, plus walking/driving to/from the station),
• i'd live by the train schedule and (since i'm flaky) surely miss trains.

of course, that last point might also be a pro, as it would force me to be more disciplined in the mornings in getting into work. any opinions?

Posted by cce at June 19, 2003 07:25 PM | TrackBack