Thank you, Buzzkill Fairy. Thank you for waving your magical wand. I may need to buy a new car. Now’s an okay time to be shopping for one, but needless to say today has been a fun mix of stress, irritation and worry. It’s not the price tag so much as the logistics that stress me out. It’s easy to feel functional and in control when you have a car. All of a sudden, without one, I feel pretty stranded.

I wasted a good half day by taking my car to a mechanic who royally tried to rip me off. Every time I’ve walked into an unfamiliar mechanic’s shop, I’ve generally been suspicious of the price tag I’m quoted. I can admit my limitations on my knowlege and expertise, which is why I readily ask others for advice. That is, when the deal being offered to me doesn’t stink so bad even I know it’s rotten. I don’t know everything about cars but I know enough to know that replacing the entire brake system isn’t common practice and a price tag that is 2/3 the value of the car is unheard of. So now I’m taking the car to a place that comes with a strong personal recommendation and a reputation for honesty.

I’m tired of the assumptions that get made about me. There are several common ones, and they’re mainly all tied to the fact that, I suppose, my physical appearance suggests gullibility. Stupidity, even. The big ones:

1. Men who speak to me out of the blue always assume I’m a skank or someone with low self esteem just dying for their attention. This could have less to do with me on a personal level and more to do with the attitude of that kind of guy toward women. I’ll never know either way though, because it isn’t worth my time to find out.
2. In general, people assume I’m not very smart before they get to know me. If I had a nickel for every time someone has said they thought I looked unintelligent before they actually got the chance to speak to me . . . When people confess this, they tend to look guilty, but I don’t hold it against them. First impressions don’t matter when people wisely reserve judgment.
3. Many native speakers of Spanish assume that I don’t know what they’re saying when they. But just because I’m a guera doesn’t mean I’m not bilingüe. Usually the conversations had in front of me are harmless or irrelevant. But if they start saying things I don’t appreciate, I make it clear that I understand every word, and they are either humiliated or shocked, or both.
4. Mechanics assume I’m a complete idiot when it comes to car repairs. Finding people I can actually trust is a real headache, and I am often quoted a price at least double of what is considered fair. When I call mechanics on this by making it clear that I understand how my vehicle functions, they are either angry or shocked, or both.

These things happen often enough, and in enough of a pattern, that I know they’re true. I’ve changed locations, increased in age, changed my clothes, changed my hair, but the common factor is that a certain number of people will look at me and see someone they believe is a complete dummy. I’ve learned to deal with it, but every now and then I just want to flip the bird to the outside world and just stick to dealing with people I already know. Why bother with meeting more people? I’m sick of hearing things like “oh, wow, you’re different from what I thought.” Because even if they meant well and are good people, it stings to effectively hear “oh, wow, I thought you were a real dummy.”