Will brake for change...?

Slowly but surely I have been learning how to drive my "new," post-totalled-Prizm car, a 1994 Nissan Altima with a manual transmission. I am not good at it. I don't stall too much anymore - I just sound now, as Ruth says, "as if you want to drag-race everyone at every stoplight." I'm working on it.

The hand-brake is my friend, both for parking and on hills. Somewhat disturbingly, however, there have been a number times when I've released the brake when the brake-light has not turned off so that I've had to repeatedly brake and un-brake in an effort to fully release it.

As I cleaned out my car this afternoon, attacking it with a shop-vac, I discovered what appears to be the reason. Upwards of $2.05 in loose change - an assortment of nickles, dimes, and a few quarters (no pennies) - was rattling around in the handbrake casing, lodging itself in various tight spots. $2.05 is all that I have managed to recover so far - I think there's still around a dollar in there, but I can't reach any of it at present. I did get the particular dime that seems to have been causing the problems out of the way, though. I wasn't able to remove it - but I haven't stopped trying.

How did it get there? Visions of someone emptying a change jar into the handbrake well... Doesn't seem possible. Probable, rather.

(That $2.05, plus the $.50-or-so that Kate and I came across when we first cleaned the car, plus the $.37 I found cleaning the rest of the car today means that I really bought the car for only $97.08...and counting...)

In other news, I am one step closer to Rome - I received in the mail today the letter from the Apostolic Nuncio confirming Bishop Mengeling's letter presenting me to the Angelicum. So far, so good...