Cause for Celebration

My car passed its Virginia State Safety Inspection today. If I believed in God, I'd be thanking her. I swear I scared the woman at the garage by yelling in delight when she called me to come pick up my car and told me that it was good to go.

It truly is a miracle. My car is a 1991 silver Buick Regal, a front-wheel drivin' snowmobile, a canoe transporter, an indestructible tank, a home away from home. I've driven it since I turned sixteen, and it has never left me on the side of the road. The A/C hasn't worked a day, the roof is rusted from my aluminum canoe, it leaks coolant at a very slow rate, the glove box is broken, and the passenger side windows don't roll down. It's such a piece of shit that I didn't even buy collision insurance this year, just liability.

And I love it. It's my baby. I love it even more than I loved the hat that I threw away. But every time it gets inspected, some stupid expensive shit always fails. Motormount, 2002: $500. Driver's side window motor, 2003: $300. Rear struts, 2006: $400. You probably now understand my glee upon learning that my Buick is street-legal one more year.

I love my car! Thank you baby!

In other news...

Today was an amazing day. First, the weather was spectacular, sunny with a high near 80 degrees. Absolutely beautiful for mid-March in Charlottesville. I took this opportunity to bike to work (also I'd dropped my car off at the shop), which reminded me how out of shape I was, but it was somewhat of an achievement, nonetheless.

After work, I picked up my car and drove to Brian's. We sat for a long while drinking beer on his front porch, just watching the sun sink lower and kids shooting hoops on the street, and enjoying the spectacular ambient temperature. I can't imagine a better way to spend the evening.

Early tomorrow I embark on a roadtrip with the rest of my officemates to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to meet everyone in our home office with whom I communicate frequently by phone. Should be a blast!

Going down the road, feelin' bad...