Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Enter Scout.

Baloo, valiant survivor of countless road trips all over the Midwest and South, two somewhat maniacal drivers and one pretty damn good one (if I do say so myself), one theft, one dent (Thomas' fault), and a whole lot of bird shit, has passed on to what I hope will be greener pastures. Dad has put him up for sale at home pending the fixing of the latest problem. And I am the proud new owner of a silver 2001 Toyota Corolla CE.

My parents bought the car outright from a dealer in Louisville after having it checked over at a Toyota dealership. They gave it an (almost) clean bill of health, and the deal was so good we couldn't pass it up. One problem, a dirty air filter, I already fixed myself, and the other, a cracked drive belt, will be taken care of tomorrow. The bad news is I have to pay the sales tax, registration/licensing fees, repair fees, and insurance. And I owe my parents several thousand dollars. I'm shooting to pay them back $50 a month now, to be renegotiated later when I'm not broke.

I determined the sex of the car early on. It's a small but determined car with a higher-pitched, less-powerful engine than Baloo, so I figured, it's a girl. The name was chosen by my father with my approval. We were standing out in the yard looking at it and drinking beer when Dad suggested "Scout," as in, the protag from To Kill a Mockingbird. Perfect. Scout is smart, sensitive, and good, but a little competitive and scrappy in a fight. She is a no-frills type of person, but has it where it counts. That describes this car exactly, so Scout it is.

I love this car.

So that takes care of one of my three main problems. With another to fall in the next few weeks, I'm not quite sure what to think. With Mark here and with a car that presumably will not drain my bank account, even the problem of money will be loosened a bit.

Wow. Nothing to worry about? I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

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