The Newer Model

Ladies and gentlemen of the interwebs, I am now the owner of a 2008 Toyota Yaris.

It's been a difficult week getting by without a car. I've had to bum rides and borrow cars. All in all it's been something of a headache.

Wednesday, my mother was able to come to Wake Forest to drive me around and help me find a replacement car. But we ran into a little snag.

During my time in the Raleigh area, I never made the official move to North Carolina. I never got the NC ID or driver's license. I probably should have, but honestly, I couldn't afford to pass the North Carolina state inspection with the Escort. Pretty much the sole reason why I never officially moved my residency to NC.

And since I had a VA driver's license, I wasn't allowed to buy a car. I really don't understand the reasoning there. Because I personally know people from Virginia who have gone to North Carolina to buy a car and they didn't have a problem. But that was then. This is now.

I will say this: Wednesday, I was so close to buying a 2002 Mustang convertible that I could taste it. It was so nice. But the guy wouldn't go through the process of financing it because I didn't have a North Carolina ID.

But it all worked out in the end. I got a pretty great deal on a 2008 Yaris. So this thing will likely last a lot longer than a 2002 Mustang would have. I'm guessing. I don't really know much about cars. Mom's husband won't be too thrilled to find out about my purchase. His opinion of Toyota is somewhat less than good. But what it comes down to is the fact that it's my car, I'll be the one driving it, I'll be the one making the payments. In the end, it's a car that's in really good shape and I can afford the payments.

So it wasn't my first choice when I started looking at cars a week ago. It's not the end of the world. We can't always get our first choices. Some people would like to go to Harvard, but sometimes they have to settle for a state school. Things generally turn out okay for them, right? And I think things will turn out just fine for me. And I'll enjoy driving a three year old car that gets excellent gas mileage for years to come.

So say hello to my little friend...

If I can get this little beauty to stick with me for the next decade or so, that'd be great. Oh, and I haven't named her yet. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to share.