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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

why do we have four cars and I ride a bike?

Hmmm... looks like I've been a bit of a neglectful blogger.  Where'd the weekend go?  When I first started blogging, I did it because I wanted something that was "just mine".  It still fulfills that purpose!  But the other stuff of life still fills the time.

So a few bullets to get caught up:

  • Hung out at the DMV for what felt like forever to get Meego's permit.  And  it was the grimy DMV where the criminals go, not the posh one.  Good times.
  • I shopped and bought a beater clutch-car for Meego to learn how to drive a stick, clearly emphasizing that this is MY beater clutch-car.  He will rent it with the option to buy.
  • Watched The Martian.  Three thumbs up.
  • Took China in for her spring "bikini wax".  I hardly recognize her.
  • Gave Meego his first lesson in clutch mastery.  We both survived.
  • The school saga continues.  Finals coming up.  yay

The car thing is a bit distressing.  On one hand, I was glad to have found this car - a 2005 Honda Civic.  On the other hand, though, I'm a minimalist and bicycle commuter, yet here we are with four cars.  There's the Element that Magnum usually drives to work, the Echo that I inherited from Mom, our van for camping and road trips (and hauling big honking band instruments), and now this Civic.

But I'll get used to it.  They each serve a specific purpose.  I suppose Mom's Echo is the most superfluous, but I have no plans to ever offload it because (1) it was Mom's and (2) who else has a 16-year-old car with 16K miles?

In other news, I got a facebook friend request this week from an old friend I haven't been in touch with since high school.  We weren't necessarily BFFs, but chummy enough.

Some of my old HS friends who are now friends on facebook are quite the same as they were - still kinda living the "glory days" a bit, actually.  Some have changed, but in predictable ways.  And now reconnecting with this latest, it's interesting.  She seems very different.  Not in an unlikable way, but just in a way I wouldn't have expected.  Lives a pretty simple life.  Married, no kids.  Makes beautiful quilts and other crafts.  Still looks almost exactly the same, though.

Anyway, she's not far from me.  We might do lunch sometime.  That might provide something more blogworthy than the DMV and shorn dogs.

11 comments:

Riot Kitty said...

So in other words, 1,000 miles a year? Wow. I walk a lot more than that!

I remember learning to drive a stick shift. Many a curse word from me and from my dad!

Abby said...

Looking back, my mother was surprisingly patient (and quiet) when I learned to drive a stick.
And yup, that car has averaged 1000 miles/year which is just under 20 miles/week!

Tee said...

My dad tried to teach me to drive a stick. I recall getting out of the car and walking home. He drove it back. Have never attempted it since.

And ... wait ... Meego's got his permit? Where has the time gone???

As for your number of cars, I think you're entitled to them. You probably drive all of them collectively a lot less than most. My hub and I have one vehicle each, but they are driven daily to and from work, to and from the Moms' houses, to and from grocery stores and such. I'm sure our carbon footprint is WAY bigger than yours.

The thing I love about FB is keeping up with high school acquaintances. Some of the ones I was really close to are not online. And I've found a lot in common with others who I barely knew back then.

Abby said...

Okay, I'll accept the small carbon footprint. And at least the Echo is a tiny car. Meego is my third clutch student. I often think an automatic would be SO much easier, but I'm invested now!

ShadowRun300 said...

I thought this content was very blog worthy. 'Course what do I know. I haven't come up with anything blog worthy for weeks.
We just bought a new (to us) clutch car for my hubby. He took Amp out for his first lesson. I think it went ok, but they haven't been out since.
And I totally agree with Terri. Your carbon footprint is so much smaller than ours, even with your 4 cars. Sorry if we're negating everything you're trying to do. If it helps, I wanna be like you when I grow up. :)

Abby said...

Clutch cars are tough to find these days, aren't they! Well, cheap ones in great condition anyways... Good luck with Amp.
We're getting big snow today - not helping my little footprint.

lotta joy said...

I learned on a clutch, and a jeep. My most horrifying memory is of my brother backing his jeep down a steep incline to the river: getting out and making ME drive the jeep UP the ramp....then he killed the engine ON PURPOSE and, as we drifted backward to the water, I learned to start the jeep, put it in first gear, pop the clutch, and speed drive while SCREAMING my head off. HORRORS. p.s I'm phobic of water, and he knew it.

Abby said...

Your brother's evil and kinda brilliant.

Sparkling Red said...

I tried to learn to drive a manual shift car, and did not get very far with that project. I had a hard enough time driving automatic... whose idea was it for me to try a manual? Oh yeah, my husband's, because our only car was manual. We have a new car now, which is automatic, but I don't drive that one either because it's so new and I'm afraid of scratching the paint.

Abby said...

I'm thinking it's better to learn on a stick rather than try to learn after driving an automatic. I learned with a manual and that's what I prefer... if I can't ride my bicycle, which come to think of it, is manual.

Unknown said...

In the movies, westerners make the DMV looks like the slowest place on earth (most current, Zootopia).
I renew my license last year (with new face pic), and it takes only 15 minutes. (5 counters were opened and the government is very strict on productivity)