Out with the Old, In with the New

No, we've (finally) moved on from New Year's posts.  This is a tale of 2 cars.  No, scratch that... it's a tale of 3 cars.

Right before the New Year, my not-so-trusty car started being even more not-so-trusty.  While down at Mom and Dad's, I decided not to make a trip back home with a car that smelled strongly of burning rubber, so Mom and Dad graciously offered to let me take their car for a few days while Dad even more graciously offered to go car shopping for me while I was at home working for a few days.  Umm, yes please!!!  Who's going to turn down that offer?  Not me.

Good-bye, Stella.  It's been nice, but this is what happens when you smell bad.  Let that be a lesson to you.

I ended up with a car which I purchased without ever actually driving it first (though I had test driven the same model only a couple of weeks before).  Dad did all of the wheeling and dealing and I went and picked it up.  How's that for awesome? 

But know what's less awesome?  Someone rear ending you less than 3 weeks after you purchase your first-ever brand new car.  (Okay, I promise it was new.  It's just that it takes less than 3 weeks for a car to look like an absolute mess in the middle of an IL winter.)  Poor Molly had someone else's license plate prints embedded in her bumper.

So while Molly was getting touched up, they gave me a rental car.  (No, I don't name my short term cars, only my long term cars.  What do you think I am?  Crazy?)  My rental car was a Chevy Spark, and it felt like driving a toy.  I kept waiting for a policeman to pull me over and tell me to get off the road and back up on the sidewalk where I belonged.  And because I was driving a toy, of course I would be obliged to comply.

Ah, there's Molly.  Good as new again.  Welcome to the family!