Squirrel Thoughts

I know all (six) of you who read this blog have been waiting with bated breath for me to follow up on my car alarm situation, so I apologize for the delay. But I have great news!

Monday morning, I took my car to Aspen Sound in Missoula. They open at 9, but I got there a few minutes early, so I had to wait in my car, anticipating the embarrassment I knew was coming. I could see the employees arriving and going in the store, and I’m sure I looked suspicious from the get-go, since I was just sitting there, like a creeper.

Haha, get it?

So, 9 o’clock rolled around, and I managed to get out of my car rather calmly, considering all the aforementioned hullabaloo it took to complete this simple task. Cars on Broadway whipped by, but not before I could spot the puzzled looks on the drivers’ faces.

When I walked into the store, I double-checked that they install car alarms as well as stereos.

“We sure do.”

“How about dis-installing them? Do you do that too?”

“Yeah, it sounds like that’s what you really need, huh?”

“Wow, how’d you guess…”

(At the time, I sounded much more witty and charming than it seems here. Trust me.)

I explained the situation (and found out that the alarm actually came with the car. I’z get confused somestimez), then I handed over the key.

“Well, we’ll see what we can do.” This did not sound promising.

I left the good ol’ Jetta with them and caught the next bus to my office. When I came back after 5, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were able to disengage the alarm. Yay! No more looking like a spaz when I get out of the car! (Well, maybe I shouldn’t go that far…)

The problem isn’t completely solved — all the doors still lock when I turn the car on — but the damn alarm doesn’t activate anymore. And, the guy who worked on it switched the broken manual lock on the driver’s side door with one from the back — I can actually pull it up now! (So if you’re ever in the back of my car and we get in a fiery crash and you can’t get out because of the broken lock — bummer.)

Anyway, the moral of this story is, in essence: Don’t trust Germans. Ever. (Sorry, Germans.)