Another first

Today, I traded in my 12-year-old minivan for a 2010 Kia Soul.  Although my ex-wife and I picked out cars several times while we were married, I always felt like she bought it and I just drove it.  So qualifying for a loan and actually picking out the car was a huge experience for me. 

I'm so goddam anal-retentive, I spent the better part of a year test-driving and researching almost every different car within the $10K-$15K price range.  Then I researched insurance rates.  Then I researched lenders. By the time I was done, I was having long conversations with myself that boiled down to "Dude, enough.  Get a friggin' car already."

I'm happy enough with my new car, but I do have to say that driving away and leaving my old purple van in on the car lot felt a little bit like putting down the old family dog.  I almost cried, thinking about all the trips we'd taken in it, and how it was almost like a part of the family.  My daughter had called it "the bigcar" when she was little, and we'd even had vanity plates that said "D BIGCAR."  But life goes on, I guess.

I told my coworker what I was buying and he said "So you're gonna get with this?"  At first I thought he was just being an idiot, but then he asked if I'd seen the commercials. I responded that I don't, technically, watch TV so I didn't know what the hell he was talking about.  Finally, he made me Google the Kia Soul hamster commercial.



This is my ride.  Minus the gangsta hamsters.

 So I'll probably do as my brother Joker says and let my hair down, drop the windows, and blast "Party Rock Anthem" from my new blinky speakers.  I'ma get with this.