I was supposed to drive my car back to school today, but I got into trouble with the insurance policy, so I had to work around my plan. Long story short, I got quotes from several insurance companies that offered auto insurance. I found that Geico and Progressive are the best choices. I was weighing these options because Geico has 20k more in covering property damages, while Progressive allowed me to add in Emergency Roadside Assistance Services (ERA). The difference was like 300 dollars ($885 vs. $1,090), but KF said he never had to use ERA, so I should go with GEICO to save some money. Little did I know the quoted and actual prices were drastically different at the end of the checkout. However, I was already too deep in and needed to rush before the Autotag place close, so I bought it anyway. After that, I went through a supper laggy and annoying platform to register for my account. Still, they refused my registration because the policy’s effective date started tomorrow, not today. I specifically chose today to start my insurance before I checked out, but I guess they just changed it. I called Geico Customer Service as my last effort to see if they could resolve this, but they escalated the issue to a PA agent, and it was way over the operating hours of the auto tag place, so I just gave up. We ended up only doing a title transfer only and the owner gave me the car keys. I will have to come back on Friday to get my car.
This whole process made me feel so small and helpless. The company clearly had the monopoly in this transaction and even as the person who expensed the money, I was unable to control any information that I wanted and had to end up accepting whatever the company gave to me.
When we got back to Villanova, I had to rush to the Idea Lab for Villanova in The Valley’s second meeting. I was so frustrated and mad at the whole process that I had trouble focusing for the first few minutes. However, the more I tried to overcome this experience, devoted my attention to the presentation, and got to know people at the meeting, the more relieved I felt. Overall, I think we had a great group of people. They come from diverse backgrounds with open minds and strong opinions on different subjects!
At lunch, I met up with NL and YN at Maido (5 E Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003) and had a matcha latte at Char & Stave (21 Rittenhouse Pl, Ardmore, PA 19003). I have never met NL in person; however, I have received lots of great advice from him during and after the time I worked with VietHarvest. That’s why I was so excited to see him in person and see how he is in real life. They make a cute couple, I think. NL is very knowledgeable in the areas he worked in (finance and tech), has powerful connections, and loves sharing his experiences and positivity with other people. While YN is calm, organized, and supportive, but also strong and determined in everything she does. They seemed to have planned things way further in advance already, so I would like to support them wholeheartedly in every step they take. Hopefully, I can see them both together some days soon!
Trang "Tee" Nguyen 