Dazed and Confused in Oregon

I've experienced, recently, a series of unfortunate events.

Some of those events are now partially resolved.

My knee is much better after the doctor injected it with steroids.

However, the title on the new used car I bought is not clear.

Why it is not a clear title is unclear.

Does the fog of Oregon shroud common sense?

Does our rain and mist and chronic depression melt down into the souls of agencies like the DMV?

There was a loan indicated on the title.  The former owner before I bought it assured me the loan was long paid off and the title was signed by the lender.  I believed him.  I had researched what the rules were in Oregon from the DMV website and it stated the lender must sign and date the title when the loan is paid off.  The title of the used Scion I bought, an 11 year old car already, was signed by the lender.

I thought this would be an easy title transfer and went into the DMV to get it done.

But the Oregon rain descended on my sunshine.  I was told the lender should have stamped the title as well as signed it.  Stamped?  What's a stamp?   I still don't know.  I walked out of the DMV in a state of complete confusion.

Nowhere on the DMV website had it said anything about the title must be signed AND stamped by the lender, or it would not be considered a clear title.  NOWHERE!

I angrily texted the former owner.  I like him, however, so that was hard.  I said I was going to call the police, that he'd scammed me for all my savings and then some.  He seemed genuinely shocked that the DMV would not accept that title and that lender signature.  He too asked "what is a stamp".

I called the lender number from my car in the parking lot of the DMV, over and over I called.  No answer.   Well, the bank is in New York, and I was sitting there in Oregon time.  Banks in New York were closed.

I felt like a fool, like I"d suckered into something and now I would pay for my stupidity.

My computer failed last night.  I had tried to print out insurance ID cards on it, so I could drive the newer car.  The old car had failed again, when I stopped for strawberries, after returning the cats fixed Monday.  I was so done with it.  To drive the new old car I needed insurance on it, before I even went to the DMV, where I would be told the title was not right.

My printer was broken.  Three hours later, I got it running long enough to print two pages---two ID cards.  Then the computer failed too.  I'd never switched over to the old tower someone gave me, after I knew the mother board was failing in the other computer.   I had backed up my files at least.

Today I'm on the donated tower.  It's as old as the one that failed but it works.  I worked late into the night trying to get antivirus on it and figure out how to add my router, which I never figured out.  All my favorite old programs gone for good, like Picasa.

A heat wave has suddenly struck Oregon.  Going to be close to 100 this weekend.  It's already climbed to 90 degrees inside the house, on one day this week.  See, the cooling system here quit working, maybe a couple months ago.   There's a slow leak somewhere.  Last year, it was recharged and that was all it took.  But now that type of coolant is banned, because of ozone depletion or something, and since this entire system, that includes the furnace and heat pump, won't take the newer allowed coolant, the entire system must be replaced.   This is a hardship for my brother who owns the place and I was embarrassed that it must be done.

But now with the house becoming intolerably hot, I am scared for myself and my cats.  I don't know when it will be repaired.   So someone north of Salem has offered two  window sill AC units they no longer use.  I am going to get them today.  Do I know how to install them?  No.  I'll have to somehow create a shelf outside the window to hold each, somehow unstick windows that I've never opened, then somehow also make the area above each secure, so neither the cats can break out, nor burglars in.

It does seem impossible to clear the car title, to get some cooling in here, all of it actually.  But one thing at least is working now---the donated computer tower.  I can't do anything more on the title clearing.   The rest of the day I'll work on the cooling fix.

I think Oregon is making it too hard and too complicated to buy an 11 year old car.

Signing off

Dazed and Confused in Oregon