My own life is empty and pathetic, so I'm going to return to what I know --
bitching about someone else's. Heh.
My ex-wife (whom I'm stuck living with again now thanks to two more
people ripping me off) used some of the money she got from selling my house
to buy herself a used car. It was an SUV.
Two weeks ago a drunk driver ran a red light and plowed into the back
of her car while it was moving about 30 miles per hour. This caused the
vehicle to slide uncontrolled into a traffic pole, totalling the vehicle. At
least the impact destroyed the guy's car too. He went to jail.
Last Thursday, she got a big fat check from the insurance company. And
that's just to replace the car; her injury lawsuit (hurrah for ambulance
chasers) is still pending.
I am now convinced more than ever that her mind is still as broken as when
I left her in January. This is because she bought a 1979 Corvette. Fire
engine red.
The seller disclosed the vehicle has at least the following problems:
- The air conditioning doesn't work. This is believed to be an
electrical problem in the console and not an issue with the
compressor. We live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- The vehicle is prone to overheating, despite having been fitted
with an oversized radiator, oversized cooling fan, and a
supplemental electric cooling fan. The seller warned her not to
drive the vehicle long distances when it's hot outside. Did I mention
we live in Las Vegas, Nevada?
- The interior is in need of repair -- the upholstry is nearly
destroyed in some sections and the driver side door is missing part of
the handle on the inside.
- It will only start after two attempts -- though it does this
predictably and reliably, it will never start on the first
attempt.
- It leaks oil. The seller claims that as long as the oil is changed
every 3,000 miles (like every good little consumer should do), it
does not leak enough to matter.
- The overflow container (for coolant) has no cap. This makes it
prone to leaking coolant.
- The original t-top tops leak. The aftermarket ones do not.
- The rear differential sometimes makes "noise" on sharp
turns.
Also worth noting is that she doesn't quite make enough money in her current
job to pay her monthly bills -- the deficit is about $200 per month.
An old Corvette is not exactly a no-maintenance car.
Many people told her this before she bought this, including the seller. She
bought it anyway.
Today, at 6:00am, she was afraid to drive it to work because it might
overheat. Before we blame the car for this, let's just look at how stupid
she's being about it -- at 6:00am, it's not hot yet in Vegas. Even in July.
She gets off work at 1:00pm today, and it's less than 4 miles home from there.
That's not enough to overheat the car unless it's drained of coolant
entirely.
In other news, I continue to be amazed at how many distinctly different
snoring sounds she can produce from that same wretched face. This is
particularly entertaining because her snoring never wakes her up, yet
when she goes to bed before I do I must maintain absolute silence,
as she can hear me sit down on a couch or on the floor, hears the refrigerator
open, hears the cats sneeze (blames me for that), hears sniffles and
coughs, hears typing on a quiet keyboard, hears labored breathing, and of
course somehow hears everything else I do no matter what it is. When she wakes
up, she gets up and scolds me for it, even if it was a cat that did it.
Also, she remains unable to learn new things or learn from mistakes -- she
is as bad at Dance Dance Revolution now as she was when she bought the game,
somehow oblivious to the fact that you're meant to step to a beat (she
continues to claim she hears no beat as the game, uh, makes apparently random
sounds come out of the speakers) and misses nearly every step. She also
continues to try to hug and cuddle with me despite our decision not to try
dating anymore and despite the fact that I never reciprocate. I even explain
why. Oh yeah, she still wants the other guy too. She tells me this regularly.
Then expects me to play anyway. Despite all this, she still acts hurt every
time she does exactly the same thing (try to cuddle) and gets exactly the same
result (nothing happens). Every time she tries it, I get the sense that she
honestly thinks it's the first time she's tried it.
I've seen animals do this. My cats are perfect examples -- they will
repeatedly try the same thing over and over to achieve some goal. The effort
turns out fruitless, yielding nothing. But they try the same thing again. They
don't learn. I don't understand how that is possible -- how can you keep
trying the same damned thing again and again when it has never
succeeded in the first place?
She must just be stupid. That can be the only explanation.