It's been a while since updating, and again, I really don't have any excuse.
Except one.
I bought a new car.
Let me rephrase that: I bought a very fun, cool, the perfect car for a single girl in the city. I bought a Mini Cooper.
About four years ago, I purchased a blue VW Jetta. For many reasons, I was never happy with my choice. From the moment that I left the dealership with my new car, I had pangs of regret. It was a car - I needed it for function, but it wasn't the car for me, it didn't excite me, it didn't seem right.
A few years ago, my roommate Dan mentioned how much he'd liked test driving a Mini. My first thought: what a stupid and impractical car. A few months later, he drug me to see the Italian Job. A fun, twisting little caper starring a very beautiful Marky Mark and Charlize Theron. And at the center - the Mini Cooper. I suddenly took notice of the little car and proceeded to rethink my initial reaction. I test drove a Mini, spent too much time reading online articles, pointing out every Mini that I passed and thought about whether I should make the purchase. For a long time.
At dinner a few months ago, Tony mentioned that he was considering a Mini. In fact, he'd made several trips to the dealership; for some reason, I'd never told him that I was thinking about one. Soon, two great minds decided that now was the time to own.
On April 30, we went to the dealership, printed out our specs for Jason, our Mini Advisor, paid a $500 deposit and went home and waited. I religiously checked the progress of my car on the Mini Owner's site, from "On Order" to "Manufacturing Queue" to "Waiting to Transport" to "En Route" and finally, "At the Distribution Center". It was supposed to stay at the distribution center for a few days, but after languishing for a week and a half, Jason called and discovered that she was missing a visor and the part was on order. Finally, on July 6, I got the call - my Mini was ready.
On July 7, following the requisite two hours of negotiations, financing, and walk through of every feature, the Mini was mine. I promptly christened her Lolita. Jason snapped pictures of me driving out of the showroom (which I e-mailed to friends and family, figuring that since I had looked at more pictures in my life of their kids than I would ever snap of my own [probably zero] they could look at pics of my new car). And I'm now proudly driving the car.
A few years ago, someone once told me that psychologist's have found that while people expect big purchases, such as a new car, to make them happy, the happiness is really only short lived. This makes sense; simply purchasing a new object of affection doesn't provide the means to solve many of our problems. But, sometimes, the new purchase can add a different level of unexpected pleasure and happiness. I find myself grinning when I realize, "hey, I'm driving a cool car, the car of my dreams". I smile and wave at other Mini drivers (especially those that were smart enough to buy a silver Lolita look-a-like). I never thought that a car would make me happy, but it has.
And that's why I haven't been updating the blog. Happy motoring.
