Hi All,
I apologize for taking so long to post again. I have been fighting a massive cold since Monday (something I believe I caught from traveling, thank goodness its NOT TB!) After much alka- seltzer, decongestants and some nasty orange stuff called Delsym-I am feeling 90% better without having to go to the doctor!!!! AND the weekend before I flew to Texas to get some Tex Mex, BBQ, see Toby and my family...it was a quick but wonderful trip back. My next planned trip back to College Station is Labor Day weekend-so hopefully I will get to see some of you then.
Things are starting to settle in a little bit...two Thursdays ago I decide to take my car to get the much dreaded smog check because I had made an appointment at the DMV the very next morning to get my license, plates and car registered. In California, you must do this or else they will not let you register your car-so its a pretty big deal. I had a training course that morning that ended around 12:15, so I went straight to my car and drove "through the canyon" to Calabasas to the Xpress smog check station. As I pull up, I realize just one lane over is an oil change place and I thought-this is perfect, I can kill two birds with one stone. I get my oil changed and ended up paying about $50 because my air filter needed replacing. After that was done, I drove around again to get in the smog check line. The owner, very kind gentleman from India who had family in Sugar Land (small world) took my keys and pulled my car up into the metal "car holder" that spins your tires so they can get an emission test.
Well just about that time the check engine light on my car comes on. I freak out. He says that there is no way the car will pass the computerized smog test with the engine light on. So I drive back around to the oil change lane and they do a battery test and everything was fine. They tell me to go drive 10-15 miles to get the light "out of the car's memory" and then go back into the smog lane. To make a long story short, I drive around, come back and it passes the test. Thank goodness!!!! I was really worried there for a second since my car is seven years old. But Toyotas have NEVER let us down and I'm positive they never will. A gray-haired man in a Porche had pulled in front of me, so I had to wait about 10 minutes for his check to finish before my test was complete. I got a free car wash out of the deal and a diet coke-so I was a happy camper. The man's printer was broken, so my certificate stating my car had passed was non existent-I had to trust him that the computer actually sent the confirmation directly to the DMV. I was really worried that since my car didn't have California plates yet, it would not get put into the system.
What was supposed to take about 45 minutes total, took about an hour and a half....at least it was done. I called the DMV immediately when I got back to the office to make sure my smog check was sent into their system. After reading my VIN number over the phone three times "a as in apple, 1, 4, c as in cat...." you get the picture-the man confirmed that the result was indeed in their system. Another answered prayer.
The next morning (Friday) I wake up early and leave the house around 7:15am wanting to make sure I made it not only to Thousand Oaks (the closest DMV) but to the actual office for my 8:30am appointment. I get there around 8, sit in my car eating my yogurt and drinking a slim fast (my typical breakfast on the run) and call my big sis Mindy who is currently living in Georgia and is three hours ahead of me-so I knew she would be awake. We talk for about 15 minutes and the doors finally open with a crowd of about 20 people standing outside the door. I walk in and grab a few forms that I have to fill out and the lady tells me to go back to my car and pull around so they can do a verification inspection (a quick look over) that someone signs off on stating that I am indeed the owner of the car I pulled up in. After that I go back inside and wait until they call my number. My number gets called after about 4 minutes and I walk up with all my documentation-the car title, my TX license, and my passport. They issue me California plates, tags and take about $110 of my hard earned money. I then go over to take my license picture and then they punch a big ugly hole in my TX license and hand me a two-sided 40 question paper driving test. The night before I had printed off the entire California DMV handbook from the website that included a picture and letter from Governor Arnold telling us to drive safely and to NOT speed race. I passed the test with flying colors and was out of there in exactly one hour.
This past Friday night me, and two of my student workers Haley and Michelle went to Duke's (a restaurant right on the beach-picture shown above). They have what is called the Barefoot Bar with 1/2 price entrees from 4-6pm. We ate outside right where the ocean waves crash up to the glass plated wall and seagulls beg for handouts. I got a delicious cheeseburger and walked out of there only paying $7 for dinner including the tip-what a deal! Too bad the valet was $3 and you have no other option unless you are a "lucky" person who gets to park right on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and have a chance of your car being damaged or YOU have a chance of being hit by an oncoming car. Nice thought, right?
Yesterday, I went to Agoura Hills to get my Allstate car insurance policy switched over (meaning pay MUCH more a month-the minute I move out of Malibu, my 6 month premium will go down over $200) and my new agent helped me put on the new plates. It so happened that her husband was a mechanic on the side and she had just the tools to unscrew the caps of the front plates and I did the back ones. When I came home, I found that not only my health insurance card arrived but so did my driver's license! I am sunburned in the picture-but its a decent one. I will post it soon.
After the Allstate appointment I walked around the Thousand Oaks mall and it gave me a feeling of "normalcy". Next weekend I have an appointment to get my hair cut at the JC Penney's salon (Celeste where are you when I need you?) I am debating on whether or not to keep the appointment and go to the Unicuts Plus (hopefully a grade up from TGF's) in Calabasas that I just saw today while we were having lunch at Sharky's (a Mexican grill similar to Chipotle). I will let you know what I decide and how my hair turns out. I'm just getting a trim and maybe partial highlights re-done, they can't mess that up too much, right????
More fun things about California/Malibu:
- McDonald's charges you for extra ketchup
- movie tickets range from $9.50 for students up to $14
- Patricia Arquette was right in front of some friends while they were standing in line to see Shrek III last night
- Parking anywhere (the beach, a restaurant, etc) will cost you anywhere from $3-$7
- every car in the Malibu Colony Plaza/Country Mart is an exotic luxury car....Ferrari, Range Rover, Maserati, Lamborghini
- Spinach Enchiladas are warmed spinach leaves in a corn tortilla-no cheese, sauce, onions, nuthin
I miss my friends and family A LOT but meeting new people here has really been good for me. This week I am planning on walking the track at least four times again (i was too weak this past week to do anything other than sleep the minute I got home from work). I would love to hear from everyone to see how you are doing and how life in Texas is.....
Love to you all,
Malibu McCall ;)
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