first gear, it's alright....

This whole ordeal with the car wreck has been a pain in the ass, but I've got a few parts of it resolved.

One, the insurance company from the other driver automatically assumed liability and automatically assumed total loss, so they're going to (eventually) write me a check for what they think my car was worth. I figured as much, but it was still nice to know it for a fact. No word yet on how much I'll get or when I'll get it.

But the thing that's way more exciting than that is that I bought a new (to me) car on Friday. Nothing fancy. An '02 Civic. I love it, though. I wanted to get that chapter of this story closed as quickly as possible, so I decided against waiting around for the insurance check. I put some money out of my own pocket, and I'll use the insurance check as a big payment/restock of my bank account.

One slightly funny thing about my car buying experience. I pretty much knew that I wanted a Honda. I loved the one I had a while back, and I wanted to get something that would last a long time, would be reliable, and cheap, and with inexpensive maintenance. Honda or Toyota is the way to go there, and like I say, I loved that Accord I used to drive. So I took my first large chunk of free time and looked at their used lot. The date was Wednesday December 7. Pearl Harbor Day. A lot of old-timers would gasp at the thought of setting foot on a "Jap car" lot on Pearl Harbor Day, but I needed a car, and I don't take patriotism that far.

I found two that I liked that were essentially the same. Just different transmissions. Although the automatic transmission one had fewer miles, the straight drive has a cd player, and I found the color of it to be more appealing. When I went back on Friday, the automatic was gone, so it made my choice a little easier. So that's the one I went with.

That Pontiac I had been driving was really advanced for its year. Although it was a '94 model, it had keyless entry, power everything, the seats were computer controlled and adjustable in like 8 different ways, photosensitive headlights, etc. etc. etc. I'll have to get used to not having those luxurious things. But I do have a cup holder!