It's a great story Rob-congratulations. I love it when a plan comes together!

Enjoy the 'Villeneuve'!

Best,
Steve

: The Autavia had been listed in a local classified ad with pretty
: poor pictures, but decent enough to tell that the dial patina
: was in great shape and case was sharp. I pestered the poster for
: three days with no response, and had pretty much written off the
: idea of purchasing it. On Saturday, he sent me an email asking
: to speak on the phone and told me a few people had asked him to
: sell it long-distance but he only wanted to sell locally. He
: also needed the money ASAP, as his girlfriend was due with a
: child at any moment.

: I was a little under the weather and had been planning to just
: nurse my cold on the couch all day, but the seller's desire to
: sell quickly made me adjust my plans on the fly. It was early
: enough that banks were still open and the weather was beautiful,
: ensuring that I wouldn't hit any delays along the way. I steeled
: myself for the discussion with Mrs Bazamu, and after some
: finessing, she rolled her eyes and gave me permission to spend
: the entire afternoon by myself on the open road.

: After getting the requisite cash from my bank, the seller called
: and asked if we could amend our plan. We had initially agreed to
: meet in the middle (he lived 3.5 hours from Chicago), but said
: that he had a buyer in Davenport, Iowa (MUCH closer to him) and
: asked if I could drive farther - also stating that he had agreed
: to sell it to me first, so if I could drive a little farther
: he'd honor that arrangement. Sensing that I'd probably lose my
: line on the Autavia if I pushed back, I conceded to drive an
: extra 45 minutes (now 2.5 hours each way) and we circled a tiny
: town named Stockton, Illinois as the place to meet.

: Would love to say it was a fantastic meeting, but it was extremely
: fast and efficient. He give me the watch, I gave him the
: envelope, and 30 seconds later we were on our way back in
: opposite directions. Regardless, it's healthy to get in touch
: with your inner-Kerouac ever so often, and this journey happened
: to include a nice souvenir!

: Cheers,
: Rob