I've Got a Little Pile of Tin... (soon, I hope)

Haven't bought a car, turns out, in over a decade. The only driving I've really been doing in the past 6-ish years has been enormous box trucks for events, the ERV for the Red Cross, 20 minutes or so of a rental car in London (before the girls made me switch after a particularly harrowing roundabout situation), 3 weeks of nearly sliding backwards off our cliff in Spain, and a very generous 6 months with Gretchen - Josh's 4Runner.

The impending move to Colorado (woo hoo!!) says it's time to get behind the wheel again. Tricksy business, this car shopping. Made all the tricksier by my new (read: teensy) budget. This girl loves a research project though, not to mention the need for some sort of tracking spreadsheet-ness... so off I go. And, with the aforementioned tiny budget -- I'm looking at 10 year old cars anyway so perhaps the lapse in car ownership/purchasing won't be a handicap after all.

I'm trying to be all research-y and hard facts about this purchase. Truth be told though, I've loved - LOVED - every car I've owned. Each offered me the freedom to be where I needed or wanted on my own terms. Powerful stuff if you think about it. Each car was also with me for a distinct window of time in my life and, as such, each is tied up in many memories. Memories of Friday night high school make-out sessions, getting to my first job (life guarding at Coffinger Park), leaving for college, camping in the desert, sneaking into that hot tub in the foothills, cross country (or continental) moves, road trips, road trips, road trips, drive thru daiquiri shops & Mustang Sally's, coming home, Gates Pass & stars in a desert sky, picking Josh up from Pottawattamie County Jail, moving away again, not driving in the Cleveland snow, commuting, Daniela changing the radio station, getting a promotion, falling for a few boys, wine country, Burke's Russian River canoeing, hearing the news of September 11th, looooooooong coastal drives & insanely painful breakups...

I'll still check Consumer Reports and I'll still consult my spreadsheet, but mostly I'll look forward to expanding this list with new memories that you can only get to in your car, with a giant fountain soda and the radio on (preferably Country, sorry Josh).

Betsy - my first love, may she rest in peace. No A/C in AZ, racing stripes, could barely cram people into her tiny backseat, painted her up for homecoming, nearly lost my virginity in her (what?!), bought her for $200 from my mom, sold her for $500 when I left for college.

Harry - (named for my grandfather, a mechanic) being towed on one of his many moves with me. He was with me through college, New Orleans, back to Tucson, Cleveland, San Diego and San Francisco not to mention every side trip and adventure in between. Cried my sad little eyes out the day I sold him, true story.

No good photo of McGruderFish - the delicious VW Jetta with the super cute ass. He was my first real debt and my only "nice" car. Sold him to Josh when I moved to New York. My next car has big (leather-seated, V6, moon roofed, CD changer in the trunk) shoes to fill...
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