Don't Buy A Malibu

Actually more appropriately don't buy a cursed Malibu.  On a whim one day I took Nina dog and we went car shopping.  I bought a shiny new-to-me Chevy Malibu.

I loved that little car the minute I got behind the wheel - it got 26 mpg, it was comfortable in town as well as on the highway, it handled like it was on rails and most importantly - I could fit the Danes in the back seat WAY better than I could in my S-10. 

I stopped at the store on the way home, got a nice bottle of wine and stuff to make a yummy dinner.  **snicker** So maybe I bought the car and THEN thought I should inform the live-in boy friend of my purchase.  **grin**  Needless to say all three years after I bought that car it was brought up that I always did what I wanted and didn't consult him - I merely informed him of my decisions.  RED FLAG #1

Four days later the boyfriend and I were downtown having lunch when a tornado came through - hmmm it produced "Sonic Gusts".  To this day I have no clue what a "Sonic Gust" is, what I do know is that they cause your windows to shatter because of the pressure and forces and blah blah blah.  YEP...that's right kids.  I lost the windows in my new-to-me-still-have-the-temp-tags Malibu. RED FLAG #2. 

September 18, 2009 - I was minding my own business, sitting at a red light about to take a sip of my **perfect** cup of coffee from the Dancing Mule (shameless plug - they are by far the best coffee shop on earth) when a mindless nineteen year old was too busy texting to see my Malibu.  Not only did he crush the rear of my shiny silver car, but he spilled my coffee in my Coach purse (read perfect cup of hot coffee now drowning the contents of and ruining a limited edition signature Coach purse).  There are several rules dedicated to this incident  **NOT HAPPY**  RED FLAG #3

November 23, 2010 - I had just left the lawyers office from settling the September accident and was on my way to Nixa to take two of my most favorite pups for a walk.  Ok...take note, its over a year later and I just signed the papers to settle the Sept. 18 2009 accident.  Duly noted??  I was sitting at the light when **WHAM** mindless sixteen year old was texting and freaking out because her baby brother was choking in the backseat  (There are rules about this too - lets move past asking why she wasn't pulled over trying to help the choking kid) nails me!  Yes thats right, the very day I settle accident #1, I am hit again.  RED FLAG #4

January 25, 2011 - AGAIN sitting at a red light (there are about a dozen red light rules).  A very nice lady pulls out of SAM'S and plows into me and two other cars.  **SIGH**  Yes that is correct...accident #3 in sixteen months.  Uhhuh...I may or may not have had a minor meltdown (read major freak out) when I realized that I had just gotten my happy little Malibu back on New Years Eve from the previous accident. RED FLAG #5.

Well the shiny silver paw print encrusted Malibu was put to rest and promptly replaced by a Scion Xb...also paw print encrusted!  **shakes pom-poms**

Save A Life, or Seven.

 I don't always have a lot of extra time, well actually I rarely have extra time.  Unless of course there is a dog in need of said "extra" time.

I received an email about a transport needing an extra driver on Saturday.  Springfield to Rolla on Saturday morning for "passengers 3-8, 10".  It wasn't the normal Dane Train, but a friend of a dane train friend who does Westie Rescue.  Truth be told, I've never met Kerin, but she thinks the pet mobile is cute and she has some dogs in need of a road trip.  That is good enough for me to take 4 hours out of my Saturday!

Oddly enough overnight pet sitting ends at 7am and I didn't have any breakfast rounds to make so a 7am pick up of seven SWEET, stinky rescue puppies was all sorts of fitting into my agenda.  I met some lovely ladies with big hearts at 7am over at the northside Lowes. They tossed the pups into the pet mobile and off I went towards Rolla.  The pups would then be transferred to Raj and eventually end up someplace in Indiana. 

7am and seven lives saved!  Thank you ladies for letting me be a part of the journey!

You Cannot Pet The Pet Mobile

You can however hang your head out the window to feel the wind in your face.

NO you cannot hug the pet mobile either. Yes, I understand it is "so cute you just want to hug it", but nonetheless it is a Scion - you don't hug vehicles.  Not even pet mobiles. 

Much to my delight the pet mobile has become iconic in this town.  People call, facebook and text at every spotting of the pet mobile.  It is much like "Where's Waldo" only the pet mobile is really really easy to spot...just look for the silver Scion Xb with the yellow, teal and purple paw prints!!  Remind me to have a contest where there are prizes for "spotting" the pet mobile.  (Pun very much intended)

I love what I do for a living...I am truly blessed to wake up each morning and care for furkids all day.  Between the "nose art" on the windows from clients who have been pet taxied to the cards left by furkids thanking me for caring for them, I am continuously reminded how lucky I am to be doing what I have a passion for while providing a niche service.

Rule #473 - How to Handle a Princess

I did not author this rule, but alas it makes me laugh. Rule #473, courtesy of "the old man".

"Ignore the foot tapping and high pitched tone, keep repeating 'sure, sure, there isn't anything money can't buy'.  When that fails send someone after hot coffee or diet coke (depending on what is closest) and call in the designer and full crew (all on overtime by this point)." 

I can neither confirm nor deny that I usually get my way.  **sigh**

Don't Be An Ambulance Chaser

Ready for the princess to lose yet another round with the old man?

I thought it was a brilliant idea to put the website on the nose of my Scion in reverse so people could read it in their mirrors.  I may or may not have been sitting in traffic next to an ambulance.  The old man did not agree: "we are not putting the nose graphics on in reverse......*sigh* it is not an ECNALUBMA......not that you shouldn't go around and take the city ambulance crews some damn cookies miss accident prone"


Score: Princess 0, Old Man 2  **sigh**  **taps foot**  Its my pet mobile!

Blizzards and Old Men Don't Care About Deadlines

In keeping with the insurance company's rental car reservation, I needed my Scion to be street ready by 6pm on Thursday. In an attempt at being timely (read person not wanting to piss off the claims contact right off the bat since medical bills hadn't even been brought up yet) on Monday I reminded the old man that my rental needed to be back by Thursday. The old mans reply: "don't be rushing me...this is more important than the Mona Lisa...Thursday at 6:00pm means nothing to me."  I learned later that remark translated into "rushing anything for the princess just means more work down the road fixing things and making them just right."

I told the old man he could just be my personal chauffeur until the pet mobile was ready - he said he was certain there was a rule to "have people for that". 

Thanks to a blizzard I was on the phone to the insurance company at 8am on Thursday asking (read begging in the nicest voice I could come up with while explaining that we had over a foot of snow and blah blah blah) for my rental car to be extended for another day.


Score: Princess 0, Blizzard 1, Old Man 2  **shakes pom-poms** at least the old man doesn't have 3 points!

Artistic Liberty Is Acceptable

This one is also courtesy of "the old man" who is apparently pretty well versed in his trade.  I refuse to actually admit that to his face because his ego is the only one larger than my own.

"No the scooter looks fine stretched out.....*sigh* really...."

Taking my original design from an ad to vehicle wrap was a bit of a shock to my senses, taking that wrap from a Chevy Malibu to a Scion Xb was even more shocking.

The point of content: a cartooned version of me (read princess pet sitter extraordinaire) on a scooter that is a major part of the marketing and branding (read printed on and in everything and becoming iconic in this town).  The wheel of the scooter and the wheel of the Scion didn't exactly match up, so the scooter had to be extended to accommodate the actual size and shape of the Scion.  I was told the "artistic intent" was still in tact and that noone other than a princess would have a fit over stretching the scooter.  After posting preview pics of the design on Facebook (because where else can you get hundreds of opinions in seconds), apparently everyone but me thought the scooter stretched to fit the Scion was brilliant.

For those keeping score:  Princess 0, Old Man1