Impulse shopping
Hello, my name is Beth and I'm an impulse shopper.
It runs in my veins. Like many mental behaviors (i.e. alcoholism, depression, tendencies to genetic ailments), impulse shopping is something I was destined to inherit from my mother.
Case in point #1:
In 1987, my mom went to just look at cars to see if she wanted to replace her Pinto (yes, I said Pinto). We came home with a Chevrolet Nova. I later inherited this car.
Case in point #2:
This past summer, I went to Best Buy to look at computer equipment. I came home with a new computer system.
Case in point #3:
When I was 20, I went to look at used cars and came home with Foxy.
Jump forward to tonight.
Granted, I know my tendencies towards this habit so I had planned on being prepared, but I did it. I went to look at cars tonight and after looking at 1 car, I came home with a brand spanking new Toyota Corolla.
It's so pretty.
Before going to the dealership, I took Foxy to the convenience store and cleaned him out really well. I gathered my things from him and vacuumed him out. He was shining. I drove him to pick up my dad and then we took the long way to the dealership (mainly to avoid the highway, but a part of me was trying to hold onto Foxy as long as I could).
We paced the lot a little and finally got a salesman to help us out. I did actually test drive a different vehicle than the one I bought, but I got the upgraded model in a different color. That's really the only differences.
They took the car I was ready to purchase into the shop to clean it up for me (remove plastic and such) and I was allowed to grab the remaining items left in Foxy.
My dad and I went outside to the cool Minnesota evening and I said goodbye to the first car I ever purchased on my own. As I took the jumper cables from the trunk and then hopped into the driver's seat to snatch up a mirror I had in the car, I said a private goodbye to Foxy.
It was when I shut the door for the last time that I started to cry. This is so dumb to be saying, but I do love that car. I taught Andriy how to drive a manual transmission on that car. I taught Dana how to drive a manual transmission on that car. I spent hours upon hours in that car, listening to music, singing Janis Joplin at the top of my lungs. I watched as the odometer switched to 100,000 miles in that car. My first love (the high school boy) sang to me in that car. I stood outside Bugs one night with friends having them show me all the car stuff they could on that car. And I'll miss it.
My dad is such a wonderful man. He knew I was excited at the prospect of a new vehicle, but he still acknowledged my sadness at letting go of a car that meant so much to me. I can't believe I am this emotional over a machine, but I am.
I was a little insulted at how quickly the salesman dismissed Foxy's qualities. I understand he wanted to get me into a new car and get the commission, but Foxy was a good car. A great car.
And I replaced him tonight. He's going off to that happy highway in the sky. But life moves on. Let's focus on the positive.
My new car (which I may or may not name Silver Fox aka Foxy II as in Snowball II - but I think it needs a better name than that. Maybe Silver Bullet? I need ideas!), is a 2005 Toyota Corolla something something. It has letters behind it and I know it's not just the base model. They upgraded me pretty well.
Cool stuff:
The car has a six-disc CD player. The discs actually go in the dash and I don't have the change music from the trunk. This is neat.
The car registers if someone is in the passenger seat. If I get into an accident without a passenger, the passenger side air bag doesn't go off. That's pretty sweet.
There are two types of keys for the car. The black keys will open the doors, start the car, and open the trunk. The grey key (the valet key) will only open the doors and start the car. I can lock the trunk with the black key and then give a valet the grey key and they can't get into the trunk at all. Not that I use valet parking or keep valuables in the trunk, but it's still cool.
The back windows go ALL the way down. This is neat.
There are little cubbies everywhere. I like it.
So, with mixed emotions (happiness over the new car, mourning over Foxy), I have a new car!
1 Comments:
At 8:38 AM, CarpeDM said...
I will never forget my first heart-felt comment about your new car. I will miss Foxy as well. So, while I was charmed by the prettiness of your new car, my heart still yearned for the car I secretly loved (well, at least I talked dirty to him. Maybe it wasn't love). But then you rolled down the back window all the way and the only thing I could say was "F*CK YEAH!"
I am so from the 80's.
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