wednesday bonus blog: "but it's black!"

so today . . . the bonus blog is about the agony i went through when it was time to replace my 1994 honda civic. i loved that car! in fact, when it was new the plan was that rollie would drive it. since we lived right by the church he didn't have to drive every day, while i had to drive about 15 miles each way to work. so it seemed logical that we would continue to let the miles stack up on the older car. it was a reasoned decision, and it was my idea--in fact, i wanted to just leave the new car in the garage where it would be safe and stay pristine. but after a couple of weeks, i found i was cranky. a lot! i wanted to drive that car, but i didn't want to admit it. rollie, being the smart guy that he is, figured it out and said, "for goodness sake, drive the new car!" so i did. and every time i got in that car i felt happy! it was brand new. it was peppy. and it was purple! i loved it!but 14 years and over 200,000 miles later, it was time for a change. it was spending too much time in the shop. i kept thinking, "ok, after we get THIS fixed, my baby will be as good as new." but it wasn't. i need time to process stuff like getting a new car, so i was not really comfortable with having to make this decision so quickly. but the fact is, i could no longer count on my honda to get me where i needed to go and back again safely. the blog i am posting today shows my initial ambivilence about the situation. it was originally written on october 14, 2007 on a cloudy sunday afternoon.

OK, so today after we finally got home from rescuing my honda from the church parking lot where it had stranded me for the third time, rollie said "it's time for a new car!" now this might sound like fun to most of you, but i don't want to have to make car payments again! my precious, but old honda is paid for! and it is comfortable! and it runs just fine most of the time. and it has enough minor dings in it that i don't have to worry about where i park it or if a grocery cart crashes into it. in fact, i was kind of thinking that if someone would just run into me while i was driving THIS car, i could get a new paint job and it would be as good as new! finally i said i would think about maybe looking at another car, just to get him to stop talking about it and let me go watch something on my tivo. but that wasn't good enough for the persistant man. he insisted that we go test drive mazdas TODAY--(he knows how i procrastinate!) my brain was still kind of in shock even thinking about getting another car, and i really didn't want to go drive anything today. besides, i hate going onto a car lot, and i REALLY hate test driving cars. however, saying no apparently wasn't an option, so off we went.

i have to say, that while it wasn't a totally horrible ordeal (the salesman did buy me a diet soda from the machine while he went back to 'run the numbers,') it had it's moments. i do not like driving a strange car, especially with a salesman riding in the passenger seat. every car feels different, and it's nerve-wracking to try to find where the gears are while someone you don't know is watching you . . . and thinking things . . .

rollie wanted me to start out by driving a miata, since his car is so much fun to drive (at least when i am not being rear-ended by a monster truck!) so i drove the only used one on the lot--a black 2006 MX-5 convertible. it is pretty nice, but it is black, and you know how i feel about cars that are black, white or silver . . . so i came home and did some investigating online and found that it is a very good car, mechanically speaking. however, it is still black . . . but it is the only one within a 300 mile radius, according to yahoo cars . . . and it only has 16,000 miles on it . . . and it has the pre-owned certified warranty . . . but it is black. so i don't know . . .

i hate to make car payments again, but it would be fun to drive. i just don't know if i can get over the blackness of it. so i am thinking of maybe going back tomorrow and seeing if they will let me drive it around a bit more. of course, i may go back tomorrow and it will be gone. how would i feel about that? i don't know. it took me months to choose a new camera, and i might still not have this laptop if rollie hadn't made me sit down, go on the internet, and choose one RIGHT NOW. (that is referring to my last laptop--the one that recently died.) i know i need more reliable transportation, but i will have to drive this next car a long time, so i want to be sure it is the right choice. i think my head may explode . . .

next wednesday i will post the follow-up blog.