Step 1. Check, Step 2. Underway

My process of leaving Philadelphia has been summarized in three steps:

Step 1. Sub-lease my apartment in Philly

Step 2. Move to Duluth

Step 3. Find a Job

I got an email today from the last girl I was waiting to hear from. She wants to sub-lease my apartment and she will be available to sign the lease on thursday. This is a huge answer to prayer! As you can imagine, it would be difficult to find a sub-leaser in Philadelphia when I will be living in Duluth.

I also installed the hitch on my car today. Oddly enough, the mechanic allowed me to help him the whole time. It was a very weird encounter. I arrived and pulled my car into the garage. He drove it onto the lift and started taking out all of the parts for the hitch. It took us a while to figure out how to get the bolts and the washers in the proper places. At first he allowed me to help because he couldn't fit the bolt with the washer through the access hole. I was able to do this by pushing the bolt up further on the washer and wriggling the washer through the access hole.

Then we had a disagreement as to which holes we were supposed to use. As it turns out, I was right. Then we had to call tech support for the hitch to figure out the last two bolts were installed. For this step, he needed to track down something to stick through a small opening to push the threaded end of the bolt through a snug hole. While he was searching, I just used my fingers. By the time he was back, I had already pushed it through enough so we were able to just pull it through.

Then he asked me to hold the hitch in the air while he screwed on the nuts so it could suspend in the air before we tightened them all. This was particularly weird for me. I mean, if I was with Gary, he would have held the hitch in the air for me at the very least. I was already feeling weird about helping him, and then I was doing the "heavy lifting". Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed helping, I just found it so odd as I stood there holding this hitch in the air as the customer. I wondered how other customers might have handled it... I was hoping I handled it graciously.

After finishing the installation, he told me I missed my calling and I should open my own garage. Laugh. Then comes time for the bill. We've been there for an hour and a half at this point. Mechanics usually charge by the hour. I am very curious if he'll charge me at all because of how much I've worked during that hour and a half.

So, he says, "Name your price."

I say, "I don't really know."

He says, "75 too much?"

A look of disbelief crosses my face, "Yea, 75 is too much."

He says, "65?"

I say, "Do I get paid too?" Followed by a look of raw innocence.

He thinks for a minute. I just stand there blinking at him. Then he says, "45?"

And I say, "Alright, 45."

Now I'm off to move boxes to the basement so we'll be able to move my stuff the most efficiently on Friday. Time will really be working against us, so I want to be as ready as possible for Gary to arrive.