I Bought a Car!

Let's start this right to the point. As a couple of you know by now, I bought a car! A 2012 Mazda6 if you were really curious.

And yes, its been a while since I've smiled that wide than the night I drove it home (at least without alcohol in my system). I assume its what the birth of your child feels like. No? Are you sure? Well, I guess I could ask someone who's had a kid... like my parents.

They said I was wrong.

Like with most of my purchases (this being the biggest transaction to date that I've ever put my name on), there was some remorse. Obviously, I'm gonna have to start paying this off at the end of the month along with car insurance and gas. Especially since my eyes dragged my wallet just outside the price limit my brain had firmly set. Stupid eyes. Anyways, hopefully I'll also manage to secure a parking pass at work so I can stop hunting for parking on the street every morning. And stop parking under power lines.

Damn birds. Every morning...

And yes, as my co-worker said, black is definitely not looking to be a good color with all the dirt and bird droppings its managed to accumulate from just the roughly three weeks I've owned the car.

After driving the Aerio for almost ten years, I've now reverted back to protective mode with the Mazda6. No eating or drinking inside. Any food or drink is sealed tight. I've yet to successfully parallel park more than a couple times because I want to be sure I have as much space as possible. Remarkably, and possibly unbelievably to anyone who knows me, I've also yet to have more than one or two drinks before getting behind the wheel just because I'm not sure yet how my drunken reflexes will react with the new car. Also, because I don't want to install that breathalyzer ignition lock before I've even changed the oil.

In contrast, nowadays with the Aerio, I'll eat whatever, whenever and worry later about dusting out those chip crumbs or that stringy lettuce that falls out of the taco shell. And I'm not ashamed to admit I've tapped a couple bumpers trying to squeeze the Aerio into a space the size of, well, an Aerio. And regrettably, as some of you know (maybe even by first-hand knowledge), there have been nights/mornings, I've arrived home in the old car without really remembering how I got there... or even how I got in the car.

There is one part of this whole new car process I haven't figured out yet, and that's the whole naming the car thing. Some say its important, some say its stupid. I really don't know, but its always best to keep all your bases covered - which is probably why I read so much mythology books, you know, in case one of their afterlifes (afterlives?) turn out to be real. I do know it's not going to be happy with Whiskey Rider II, mostly because I'm sure the Aerio wasn't even happy being the original. So, I've been just plugging in my iPod, hitting shuffle, and letting the car decide. Obviously, I'm still gonna have the final say, but so far its chosen a couple decent names:

1. Lazaretto: "Lazaretto" by Jack White
2. Funeral Suit: "All those friendly people" by Funeral Suits (obviously the song title was way too long but Funeral Suits matches the color)
3. The Sweetness: "The Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World
4. New Fang: "New Fang" by Them Crooked Vultures

and, oddly, perfect with my indecisiveness and current addiction to K-pop:

5. Mollayo: "Mollayo" by Apink