Goodbye Sunfire

Yesterday Mom and I took Jody's car back to the dealership. Woah, what a rollercoaster of emotion that was. I was all set to turn over the car, I had accepted that it was going back. However, once in the office I was proposed the offer to buyout the car, it would be over 3 years for $240.00 a month. I didn't think anything of it, but when Mom seemed interested, I started getting excited. Mistake number one. Then I went on to learn that I could lease a brand new 2007 Pursuit for $270.00. That was only $30 more. I started thinking that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Visions of the sunfire vanished and I started wondering what this Pursuit looked like. I was introduced to a salesman who had me sit in the Pursuit. Mistake number two. I immediately fell in love with the interior and the comfort of the car, I started envisioning being the envy of all of my friends. Through my mind ran $270.00. Only $30 more a month for a brand new car. I started thinking about what color I wanted it in. Another mistake. On the way home, Mom talked to me about how I should forget the new car and buy the sunfire. Once home I called Jody and discussed it with her and she too agreed that I shouldn't lease, that I should do the buyout. I decided yes, I was going to sacrifice my trip to see Jody and buy the car. That was the first thing that had me crying. After calling around and working out a budget, I realized I could not live on the approximate $85 I'd be left with every month paying for internet, my cell phone, a car payment, and insurance. That wasn't including bus passes, gas, and a little bit of spending money.

So I decided I wouldn't get the car. I cried some more. Whether it was the loss of the car, or the relief of knowing I could still afford to go to England, I'm not sure. Mom said she'd call to see if they could wait until Dad got home tonight to see what he could figure out about the insurance, but I haven't asked. I've dealt with losing the car.

Or so I thought.

Tonight I drove Mom's car to work again (I drove it last night as well). Going from a very nice, new car to a very old, not so nice car is difficult. After driving Jody's car for almost a year, here are the things I'm currently having trouble with:

• Every time I start the car, I go to put the clutch down. There is no clutch.
• Every time I stop, I reach to put it into first gear. I don't have to.
• The car SQUEALS as soon as I start it.
• There is no power breaking.
• The wiper switch goes in the opposite direction.
• The gas tank is on the other side (tonight I checked before I got to the gas station but still pulled up with the wrong side. I got back in and moved the car but it was STILL the wrong side. This resulted in me crying on the way home with frustration).

I realize that these are all little, insignificant problems that will disappear shortly. It's just making the transition hard. I realize how lucky I was to have been able to drive it at all. I also realize how lucky I am to have any car to drive. This is in no way a complaint about Mom's car. Just a statement at how much harder it's going to be to go back to driving that car than I thought it would be. I'm sure in a week's time I'll be back to normal with my driving. For now it's just really, really frustrating.

In other news...
I'm not sure what's wrong with me, or if there is anything wrong with me at all. However yesterday, I discovered slight bleeding in one of my ears. This morning I woke up with the worst headache I have ever experienced in my life, and I still have it now over 12 hours later. Earlier it was so bad that it nearly made me sick to my stomach. Maybe I'm just getting a cold, but the ear thing has me a tiny bit disturbed. I'm probably just paranoid and the two might be totally unrelated. The headache is most likely due to my lack of sleep. I'm so tired and I have two very long days ahead of me.

With that said, I should probably go to bed. Which is where I'm heading now.

Oh, sidenote:
I was talking to a girl tonight at work about how I was debating dying my hair. I've always been told that I have a really nice natural color. That I have the deep, shiny, rich brown that many people try to achieve via hair coloring. Well when I mentioned to this coworker tonight that I finally have my hair all my natural color, she told me she thought I dyed it because it's such a nice color. It's good to know that I'm not a boring brunette :)