Monday, April 23, 2007

As The World Turns ...

... these are the days of our lives, as we prepare for the dad-gum Bar exam. Sounds like a soap opera, eh? Feels like it too. SSDD. Same studying, different day.

More Remedies today. Remedies are generally what people are looking for when they bring a suit against someone else. They consist generally of money damages, injunctions, constructive trusts, rescission, restitution, etc... It applies primarily to three areas of law; Torts, Contracts, and Property, although it may come up in a few others.

On the domestic front, I am going to have to get my truck looked at today. I have a 2000 Toyota Tundra. The truck has been rock solid since I bought it new in 1999 but recently the starter has been reluctant to do its job. In the past, when a starter on one of my vehicles went out, I would run down to the local auto parts store, plunk down $100 for a rebuilt starter (used to be $35 when I was a wee lad), climb under the vehicle, swap it out, and I was good to go. But because I'm in Bar Prep mode now I'm reluctant to waste that time so I called the dealer to see now much he wanted to replace the starter.

Now, how much do you think it should cost for maybe a couple hours of labor and a ~$100 part? Me too. I was guessing maybe $300 max. I would have gladly paid it. I feel that my study time is more valuable right now. However, when he told me that the starter on my truck is buried down in the engine, nestled snugly between the cylinder banks, close to the top of the flywheel instead of the traditional position outside the engine where it engages the bottom, external portion of the flywheel where it's easily accessible. And they were going to have to remove all of the smog, fuel injection, electronic ignition, blah-de-blah, and all the rest of the crap that modern motors have attached to them, I got worried. Then he told me the price. Then I called a local mechanic and got the same price. Then I decided to just see if the problem went away on its own (hey, it could happen). After two months of wishing and hoping, I've finally come to the realization that I'm going to have to whip out my credit card and spend yet more money on something that I currently can't afford. How much, you ask?

$1,000.00

One Thousand dollars.

If you saw the movie Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, visualize the scene in the beginning of the movie when DeVito hears that Beetroot is willing to pay $10 million dollars for the device in DeVito's trunk. That's me except I'm saying One Thousand Dollars in agony instead of ecstasy.

On the other hand, if I mentally slide this expense over to the already bloated ledger column titled "Law School Expenses", it seems insignificantly small and unimportant. It's like holding your eyes shut when they stick the needle in to draw blood. It'll only hurt for a minute.

(sigh)

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