My Friday: A New Novel by Amy Roskelley

I haven't been up to Salt Lake at all since this school year started so I was grateful for the opportunity yesterday. My dear friend, Lauren, got in a car accident (she's fine, thanks for asking) and was car shopping. Naturally, all the cars she wanted were in SLC and, newly car-less (I almost said "careless", whoops...) she enlisted my assistance. In payment, she took me to cheesecake factory! yum.

So, we leave early afternoon, 1:30 right after my last class. The first stop is right there in Provo. Finding the location was a treat within itself, but eventually we succeeded and made our way up the front porch steps of a cute little house. This was, not, however a home. It was a loan place? maybe? where they rented carpet cleaners? and sold VCRs? Basically, sketch.

So we tell the girl we're there and she yells in the back for "Jake." (I guess the quotation marks were unnecessary but they just felt right.) A middle aged man comes out and says to follow him, the car is just a couple blocks away. weird.

We follow him and 10 minutes later pull into a gravel lot behind an abandoned building where 5 or 6 run-down cars are lined up against a chain-linked fence. Seriously, if it wasn't 2 in the afternoon, I would have been scared for my life.

Long story short: the car didn't even start. heck no, techno.

Then the drive to Salt Lake. uneventful.

Finding the dealership, a little eventful. when Lauren called guy #2 and told him that we were lost and "by the airport" he laughed. Lauren blames google maps, I blame Lauren.

We made it, test drove three cars, she's thinking.

Third and final place. hilarious.

Rick (guy #3) was the Utah version of a "good ol' boy." He runs a one door garage out of what looks like his trailer. With a huge dog (named Tank) and a small blonde woman who I assumed was his wife but Lauren thought was his niece (maybe both...).

The car wasn't technically allowed to be driven since it was uninsured and without a license plate. So once around the block while Hercules (Sandlot reference anyone?) followed me around and sniffed my crotch. Then Rick proceeded to tell us stories and show us his cars and be weird and funny. And dirty. Physically, not verbally.

Then cheesecake factory where we sat at the bar because it was PACKED and I got carded for the first time in my life!!! It was very exciting.

Yummy food, yummy cheesecake. :)

Got caught in hecka (my mom reads this...) bad traffic and Lauren was late for her date! Sorry. But apparently he wasn't mad.

And I went to bed.

The end.

ps- Lauren's car that she totaled: Explorer. The only car she's looking at: Explorer. Seriously, branch out! That was super boring car shopping.

pps- don't mind the terrible switches from present to past tense. It happens.