A Big Day for Everyone

Last night my mother got a Prius. Spectra blue . . . not that ugly not-quite-sky-blue . . . the deep blue that's a bit lighter & brighter than navy.

I followed her home in the huge, burgundy, 12-mile-to-the-gallon Pontiac Bonneville that's as old as I am & has a blue book value of $200 - an amount that will probably be matched by having the window fixed (can't roll it down more than 2 inches - which normally, I would leave & forget about, but in today's fast pace world of drive-thru food places, Starbucks, banks, & toll booths, it's actually a genuine hassle)

That trip home was my inaugural trip. That crappy car who's stereo volume is controlled by a bipolar poltergeist is now mine. Here's the idea. My first car is supposed to be a junker . . . because statistically, I'm way overdue for my first accident. Unfortunately, this car - who's never heard of CDs - has been around since before I'd heard of CDs. I'm attached to it. It's so old, the steering wheel is flaking apart in my hands, but it's the first steering wheel I ever used. (By the way, that's my one renovation - I have a Superman steering wheel cover. :) Call me dorky, but there you have it.) As it happens, this car may cost more to maintain over the next x number of years than it would to get a new car, but crashing it is probably the only way I'll let go of it. I love my new car. And I was so happy to have the freedom of having a new car, so here's what I did on my first day with a car.

I drove up to the Crackpot to get a job application. I was going to apply a while ago, but wasn't allowed to. Now I have permission & I have a car, so I can work any awkward set of hours during the summer.

When I got home, I sat down to knit for a while & heard a sound. I looked up & there was Oscar. Now, Oscar came to us from a family that operated a little differently. We can only guess that he's had a rough life, but we'd put a wager on it. Along with 'rough' he was a bit neglected. That's how we met him. He was always outside, trying to get in. And he loved everybody. Since he's moved in with us, we've tried to turn him into an inside cat. So I looked up toward the sound I heard & it was Oscar . . . coming in through the window. Not like we leave windows open & screenless all around the house . . . actually, he had moved aside one of those little screen wings on the air conditioner & gotten out through that hole. And now he was coming in.

Then I went online to enter codes on mycokerewards. I know, I have no life. It seemed dumb & useless, but then it occurred to me just HOW MUCH soda passes through this household. We seriously stock up. And the caps are worth three points. The codes in 12 packs are worth 10 or 12 points, & someone at my mother's work is giving her codes that I don't know what they come from, but they're worth 25 points. While I'm entering my codes from caps, I see a promo that says for June 25th only, the codes on the inside of 12 packs will be worth DOUBLE what they're usually worth. Now, you're only allowed to enter 10 codes in a day. I got 4 codes from 12 packs from a friend when I went over for a visit & I went to Wal-Mart to buy 6 12 packs of soda. Don't judge. It's not like pouring out all the cereal just to get to the toy - we really drink so much soda that this is actually practical. We're probably stocked for a couple weeks.

So as I came home from Wal-Mart, I headed to turn down one road after mine so I could go around the block & be facing the right way to park on the side of the street where my house is - they're actually pretty on top of tickets for parking facing the wrong way in my area - & the road was blocked off my a cop. I wound up having to do one of those big awkward 3 point turns in the middle of the street where you pray no one's coming up either side of the road cause you feel like a jerk who doesn't know where they're going, but I got a bit of a look at things & it looks like there was a fire . . . or a break-in . . . both sides of the road were blocked off, one side by a cop, the other by a fire truck & a group of people were standing out on the sidewalk . . . there wasn't much else to see, but naturally, I'm curious & worried . . .

So, distracted, I parked & got out of the car with a 12 pack in my hand & it started to slip. I turned my attention to the 12 pack as I closed the door & the car door failed to close on account of my thumb being in the way. I slammed it pretty good too. Although I'm so uncomfortable & nervous being outside in the street where I can be seen & wound up making three trips to get all the 12 packs inside before I realized how much it really hurt. It's all swollen & blue now . . . actually looks worse than it feels though . . . but I can't really knit . . . or write . . . or operate buttons. Plus I got blood on my favourite shirt. :(

Quite a day it's been.