The Contessa is back!

After 141 days of separation, the Contessa is back home and looking great. The shop did a great job and honored the price they quoted even though the work done was worth much more.

                                It's good to have her home.

The Contessa Update!

The Contessa is still in the shop getting fixed. The guy is giving me a HUGE break on the cost of the repair in exchange for my patience. I'm hoping she'll be back next week.
Now, the bad part. The 8 time convicted felon that stole her is out of jail due to over-crowding.He is considered a "non-violent" criminal.  He spent a total of 60 days of his sentence in jail. I called and wrote the Assistant District Attorney, the District Attorney and even wrote to the judge that sentence him seeking an explanation. None of them responded. What am I to do you ask? I'm going to the media.

Fulton County has been under a federal order to reduce over-crowding at it's jail since 2003. They have done nothing. No new facilities built. No arraignments to transfer convicts to less populated prisons. There have been many media stories of millions of tax dollar waste in all parts of the county government. This is the angle I'm going for when sue the county for damages. If they had done their job and kept the thief in jail on his prior conviction, The Contessa would never have been stolen.  The media will help expose the thief's past and the failure on the county's part to protect it citizens. I will use this information when I go to court. If I win, I will take the money and get out of this hell hole of a city. Where to move I don't know. I know one thing for sure though, it will be north of the Mason-Dixie line.

Life's challenges never cease.

The Trial for The Contessa

The trial for the thief that stole The Contessa was June 29 and I'm very happy with the results. It was actually his arraignment to decide if we would proceed to trial. He plead guilty to the charges. After hearing that I was the 8th car theft victim of this guy, my blood began to boil. The thief , age 57, went on to say that he had had a difficult life with his drug addiction and asked for leniency and drug treatment. He said he didn't have any money- he worked in exchange for rent and $100 a week. Tough life? I don't think so buddy!
 Armed with the before and after photos, I presented my side of the case. The judge looked at the pictures and $14K repair estimate and listened. After explaining that after taxes, rent, utilities and $700 a month in medical payments, I live on about $75 a week-25% less than the criminal. That's when the whole case took an interesting twist.
The public defender questioned the amount of damage and the cost being that The Contessa is a 28 tear old car and it wasn't worth that much. The judge snapped "You've destroyed a classic car! Look what you've done (passing the pictures to the public defender and defendant). You've ruined this man's car that he's cared for for years because of your actions. You have cases going back 11 years of car thefts causing your victims great hardship. In each and every case, you were ordered to complete drug treatment provided by the court at no cost to you. Looking at you history, each and every time you were released you went for treatment one time and never returned. Mr Lewis (the defendant)- today you will learn. 20 years with 15 to serve". The public defender countered that the sentence was excessive. The judge shot back with a bit of a snarl "Shall we make it 25? Mr. Lewis' trail of victims ends today. In addition, I'm ordering that Mr. Lewis pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $14,255.86 for that damages he caused".  The gavel fell  and it was over.
Although I will probably never see a dime from this guy, it's a comfort to know that he will spend the next 15 years regretting that I showed up in court and fought back.

The Contessa is home. Even though her body is damaged, she still pops right off and drives wonderfully. The search for parts has begun in earnest to one day bring her back to her former glory.

The Contessa stolen-AGAIN!!

I arrived at work on Thursday at 1;20pm. I clocked in, got my water bottle and headed to the floor. I no more than got to my department when one of the lot men came running through the store screaming "Where's Greg! They're stealing his car!". We have APD officers in the store and he heard Tony screaming. He knew my car -she is unique- and called it in right away. What the idiot that stole my car didn't realize was that the brake lock I use (it's like The Club except it locks the brake pedal to the floor) meant he couldn't stop the car. He nearly hit to pedestrians who also called it in. He didn't get far before crashing through a chain link fence at the Goodyear Service Center (where I've had a lot of work done), jumped out of the still moving car and took off leaving the Contessa to crash into the building. The police were on him immediately and cuffed him. The police brought me to the scene where I was able to read him a very controlled riot act (too many witnesses for me to say what I really wanted to).
I had her battered body towed home and mourned her injuries. She goes into the shop Monday for repairs.

I was able to block the thief's appeal for bond meaning he'll sit in jail for at LEAST 2 weeks before he faces arraignment- where I will be again to block his release. I'll update with more info when available.

Life's challenges never cease.
Full pics at http://s684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/graugorama/Car%20Theft%206%203%202010/

When it rains, it pours...

Last Sunday afternoon I started feeling weird. The left side of my face started tingling like I had had a shot of novocaine. I figured I'd slept funny during my nap and tried to forget about it but it didn't go away. Got up Monday morning for work and while shaving I felt a small bump in my left cheek. Still, I really didn't think anything of it and went to work. The problem really began when I got up Tuesday morning and found the entire left side of my face swollen and red. Off to the ER I went at 4am. It turned out to be Cellulitis- a staph infection running from the top of my ear, down to my jaw and across to the corner of my mouth. They gave me some really strong antibiotics (which make me feel worse) and to me to check with my Dr in 10 days. 
Well, here I am at day 5 and its getting a bit better. I haven't been to work (mostly out of embarrassment but also because of the Rx) and I'm bored out of my mind.  The worst part of this entire situation is the Contessa.  On the way home from the ER she started making an odd sound when idling at a light that disappeared when I accelerated. It got louder the closer I got to the apartment. I made it home ok but upon inspection I found that one of the motor mounts had broken - not something I can easily repair. So she's off to the shop on Monday for repair. 
Here I sit, face bloated, feeling like crap without a car. I'll be fine in time but the trip getting there will not be fun.


When it rains, it pours... 

Update on the Tummy Troubles

Two days after I posted about my tummy troubles, the biopsy results came back. Nothing serious but it was positive for H. Pylori (a nasty little bacteria). It feeds on stomach acid and makes the stomach think it's not producing enough acid which in turns makes it produce more (are you following this?) causing a host of issues.
Well, after a two week treatment (Prevpac) of EIGHT pills a day to kill the thing, its dead. The best part is not having to take antacids all day every day in order to function. I was finally able to have a cup of coffee without doubling over in agony.  I haven't tried alot of the foods I used to eat because, well, I've kinda lost the taste for them which is a good thing. The weight loss throughout all of this is the best part 20+ lbs. Now, if I can just keep it off.

I am hopeful this will bring an end to this saga and I can get back to living a somewhat normal life.
That's all for now.