It was quite humorous finding, going to this car stereo place. I, I got lost getting there and then when I finally got there I drove by it. I drove right past it because I was looking at a picture on Google of the car stereo place and it had this like big neon sign that said like "Car Stereo and Accessories Sold Here," or whatever, on the picture in Google. And so, I saw the building, I'm like, "That looks like the building I saw on Google." But there was no sign. And so, I was like, "I guess this is not that building." So I drove by it and then I'm like, "Wait no, that was the building."    And I had to pull over and like look at a map and everything. And then I'm like, “Okay, that was the building. There just wasn't, the sign wasn't there.” And then I zoomed in on the Google picture, and it was like a totally photoshopped picture. That neon sign was not on the building. It was like somebody just typed it on there, or photoshopped it on there. So I'm like, "Oh, okay this is like back-alley." And I, and I actua- -- literally went into the back-alley and they were, there was like these guys out in the back, and they were like smoking weed. And they were just like staring at me as I pulled up. And I'm like, "Is this the car stereo place?" And they're like, "Yeah? Do you have an appointment?" I’m like, "Yes?" And they’re like, "Oh okay. Well, just pull up front. Park in the front."   So, I pulled up front and like, there's no sign. There's like a banner on the top of the building that just says, "Remote starters sold here." And that's like all it had. And then this guy comes out and he's like, in totally dirty clothes. You know, it's, he's looking like a mechanic. And he smells like smoke and weed. And he's like, "Oh hey!" I'm like, "Are you [name]?" And like yeah, that's the guy I was with texting with.     And it was just a total back-alley operation. Like all the guys had like crazy hair and like dirty clothes and like all kinds of tattoos and it just seemed like, wow. It wasn't like going to, you know, ABC Warehouse or something. It was, it was very back-alley. But, it doesn't -- I looked past all that and I wasn't going to judge them. I was like, “Well, he sounded really professional on the phone and he really wants my business. So I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt.” And he was super sweet, super nice guy. And he talked to me a lot and he was really smil- -- smiling and he just seemed like a really nice person. You know it could be just like a businessman's facade. But, it was fine and you know he kept in contact with me very regularly. He called me like every day and texted me a lot and everything like letting me know everything…

My mom and I, and my sister love a bargain. Like, if something -- and we used to be like I feel like when I was in high school, I was really bad about this. Like, if something was on sale, and you were getting a lot of money off like I wanted to have it, it felt like wow it was like a lucky thing, it was like a once in a lifetime find, of course I have to purchase it. Even if it wasn't something that maybe I was like super interested in, it took me a very long time to break that habit. And the reason I bring this up is I think this is what happened with my sister and my mom.  I was at college they were off shopping and they found this leather jacket, really discounted and it was black and red, and it looked an awful lot like a jacket that Michael Jackson had worn in one of his really famous videos in the 80s. Like, which is cool but that wasn't necessarily my style and I, could see myself, I could maybe push it a little bit, you know, it was like a little bit more, you know, hip hop or punk or maybe kind of like motorcycle, like, whatever kind of jacket thing, I probably could have pulled it off.  But at college, like, where I was in college, and I think I may have -- I talked about this in my last entry, actually people tended to dress like much more conservative. I think if I had put that coat on, I would have felt like I was gonna attract a lot of attention for the wrong reasons. Yeah, so there was no flipping way I was gonna wear that coat but I knew it was a great like deal and I knew it was like a really high quality jacket and my mom and sister seemed really psyched they found it for me so I couldn't get rid of it.  I mean, I don't think I ever wore that thing, but I had it for years. I mean and I would you know, at the end of every college year, I would like pack it up and, you know, keep it. I mean I don't think I ever brought it home to Nebraska because like I wasn’t, I guess, I didn't think I was gonna wear it there either so I would pack it up and put it in storage with the rest of my stuff for the summer and then get it out again when I came or I mean I probably left it in the trunk.  Anyway, I -- I keep thinking about this coat and I don't know, like, what -- I must have finally gotten rid of it. I do not still have it. And I wonder if somebody found it and thought it was great. I mean, I had it for so long I probably could have worn it as a Halloween costume as like, Michael Jackson at some point, but anyway God, that coat. 

Around Christmas, my mom had asked me for a Christmas list, and I'm very grateful that I still get gifts from my mother. This is a couple years ago but all the same. And some weeks go by, and I'm out to breakfast with myself, my mother, and my brother. She reminds my brother to put together an Amazon list of what he wants for Christmas, and I say, “Oh shoot! That reminds me…” She goes, “No, I already got yours. And I bought everything from the list.”   My stomach instantly sinks. And I said, “Were you looking at my Amazon list that said ‘My name only do not buy’?” She's like, “Well I didn’t look at the name of it. It was just all your stuff was in it.” And I distinctly remember what was in it, was that I was trying to like pick between different brown coat designs. So, there was seven brown trench coats. And I was kind of just like it was on the list. So I could kind of like weighing between which ones I wanted, and -- so I look at my mother dead in the eyes. I go, “Did you buy me seven brown coats?” And she looks flustered and annoyed and she's like, “I don't know. I just like, got what was on there I guess.” Like, “You better be grateful.” And I'm like, “True, true.”   And so Christmas comes along and sure enough like with each box, it is a different version of the same-ish design coat, and like, even my granny was there and like after like coat number three, she just kind of starts looking confused. And she's like, “You wanted a lot of coats this Christmas, huh?”