We interrupt this message...

The planning of the wedding celebration has been temporarily interrupted (except for affirming that there will be no playing of the Chicken Dance!) with The Great Car Shopping Expedition of 2009. Yes, it is at long last time to let go of the '98 Forester that has done such good service for the last 9.5 years. Here are some highlights:

1. Car shopping is a good test of compatibility. Thus far it has demonstrated that C. is a) willing to tolerate my giant anxiety attacks over this big step, and b) willing to compromise even though she prefers an automatic transmission and a white exterior. She's respected my shifting priorities and made excellent suggestions, even if I occasionally have felt overwhelmed by those suggestions. ("No, I hadn't considered that--how many cars does that make it we're gonna test drive?!") She is not so tolerant of my desire to put stickers on my car. 

2. My fondness for the Honda Fit was done in by the fact that it was very difficult to find a model with electronic stability control and the fact that I drive through three weather zones twice a week all winter long--including the Tug Hill Plateau, known for its massive snowfall. 

3. This fact also, ultimately, led me to lean toward AWD. Since I'm used to it. 

4. This means that my goal of slashing my gas bill in half will not be achieved. 

5. Of course, since I keep cars 'til I drive 'em into the ground, I gotta have something reliable and long-lasting.

6. I don't want another red car. I'm just sayin'. 

7. I test drove the Kia Soul. Just because of the hamsters. No, it's not on the final list, but it was awfully roomy and fun! (Mood lighting--who knew?)

8. Driving a stick is a lot like riding a bicycle. At least in terms of body memory.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga! Hopefully, I'll have photos to post very soon of my new baby. 

entropy

Isn't that one of the laws of the universe? We're all heading entropy-ward? Two cases in point: my car and my laptop.

The car is feeling its age, needing lots of little but expensive things. Like a timing belt. And a bearing here or there. Nothing major--nothing that will leave me by the roadside in the summer heat. Oh, wait...

And speaking of summer heat, the air conditioning died. Dammit. And I just can't cough up $600+ to replace the a/c on a 10-year-old car I plan to sell in the fall, when I don't have any income during the summer months. So, I'll be the one hanging my head out the window like a dog.

The laptop, well, it ain't so portable anymore. See, one of the hinges broke, so now I can't fold it. Now, it's just a skinny little desktop.

I shall, a la The Secret, continue to envision replacements (here and here) for these steadfast but tired parts of my life.

What I'm Up To Today

1. Ate breakfast (two eggs over easy plus two pieces of toast)
2. Played on the computer
3. Went for a nice long power walk
4. Showered and listened to NPR
5. Went to the library and returned to the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel I should* be reading in order to check out a new chick-lit-esque novel by a former classmate.
6. Visited Target, my home-away-from-home, to pick up prescriptions, yard sale signage materials, and buy a new pair of shorts. (Okay, the last one wasn't essential, but I look damn cute in 'em.)
7. Shopped for groceries--stuff to whet my appetite. Like chips and dip. (I had 'em with a salad, so back off!)
8. Ate lunch and began reading said novel.
7. Emailed my fall textbook orders.
9. Spoke to my presumptive future landlord about my presumptive new home up North.
10. Played on the computer
11. Got my ass away from the computer to work on academic writerly crap.

*Note: I have decided to avoid the word "should" as much as possible from now on. I often do what I want to anywho, so why am I wasting time feeling guilty about what I should be doing?