Good Car/Bad Car

Urban Myths...they seem plentiful and many believable. Yet are they ever really true? One can only wonder. Through out the years I've always heard about legendary Honda's. Words coming from soccer moms, dad's in the working world, and the occasional grandparent who always owned American vehicles. "Over 100,000 miles and never had a major repair. It never made us miss our kids' practices. I'll always buy one.” I always believed in these false statements.

Late May in the Spring of 2000 I was to receive such a vehicle. 95 Honda Accord. It had an AC and CD player. I was set. It also had a 5 on the floor, which makes for a more enlightening driving experience now compared to the first month of white knuckle grip on the wheel. Now a 4 door plain Jane car would not be my car of choice. Actually it was a car that never crossed my mind. However I knew of this legend, and realized a reliable useful vehicle would be a good choice. The perk of good gas mileage is nothing to complain about. I decided to keep the family car name Betsy.

Now Betsy and I have gone on some trips, OK quite a few. Montana to Texas. Texas to Florida. Trips to Oklahoma. A trip to Michigan. Michigan to Connecticut. It's ventured farth north as Canada and as far South as a Texas/Mexico border town. It has gone through mountain ranges, endless plains, and even braved the yellow taxis in Time Square. From the sounds of the things it seems to have been a great car. Never judge a book by its cover. NY Times, Washington Post, and other papers famous for having their quotes printed in the forward must have skipped over the index which lists:

Radio broke (not necessarily Honda related, but one can wonder)
Power Antenna replaced
Blower switch replaced in college (AC in Texas is mandatory)
Blower motor just recently replaced (Heater/Defrost in Connecticut is mandatory)
Muffler (twice, one you would think once would be enough)
Timing belt (preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance that costs an arm and both my legs since I'm broke)
Front brakes (and now when it’s really cold they still squeak...yay!!!)
Head Light
Brake Light
Power Windows...they are on the to do list
Defrost Light (not even considering fixing it)

This brings me today. Holiday traffic. It's inevitable. It's also magnified when you live in Hartford County, where it seems like all the shopping is in a 3 mile radius where I reside. What I thought was exhaust from the car in front of me, proved to be smoke coming from underneath my hood. Wonderful. Now usually I would have pulled right over, but alas I was stuck in thick traffic. So thick a cop car was stuck behind me for a good two minutes with sirens blaring. My side view mirror an inch away from scraping the car to the right of me. It would soon proceed and while I should have followed I didn't want to risk a ticket. At the next available exit I pulled in a good 10 minutes later, popped the hood and let the smoke coming billowing out. Radiator can now be added to that list. No cheap fix.

I now believe people who own Hondas have had similar problems. They are comforted by the thought of not being the single person with such problems and misfortunes. This is how the "Hondas make great long term cars" myth came about. Now I would sell this vehicle right now if I could afford to. However that is not an option. The vehicle hasn't hit even 100,000 miles. This car is a piece of shit and I hate it.

211 Emails

There they were waiting ever so patiently after my short Thanksgiving break. 211 pieces of communication. 211 different pages of electronic text. 211 ways of telling me I'm someone else's bitch. 211 reasons for me to shut the computer off and call it a day.

The latter unfortunately is not a choice for me. Nor is it really a choice for many when they enter the real world. It's funny how things change. It's more amusing how time will pass and the world seems very much it was the last time you looked around. It is now December and the weather is cold and skies are filled with gray. Very much the weather that welcomed my arrival to Detroit. There are differences between the two. The one in which I live now has more hills. I've also been at this job longer while in Detroit I arrived as a rookie with no dirt under my nails. Still the climate alone is not the only similarity. While I lived in a house of five in Detroit, I felt alone. Much like I do now. The background noise of roommates was comforting much like the way I sit at this cafe every weekend just to hear the noisy chatter of family and friends conversing.

Restlessness has again started to settle in. This time though a result of scanning classifieds will not occur. This restlessness maybe caused because I understand my job and what is expected of me. Every week I seek something new. While usually a bit more is added to my plate each time, its not fulfilling in the least bit. Maybe it’s because I know this isn't long term for me. Maybe it’s something in my genes that continually pushes me to strive for something better. Something more meaningful. The puzzle as ever it close it looks to be completed is missing a piece. I am willing to give it my all. I am willing to make the sacrifices. I am confident in myself and my abilities. Still the puzzle with the borders (always the easiest place to start) is in place there is a piece in the middle missing. Even I don't know what this piece is supposed to look like. I am still searching in the box, my life for it.

I'm 24, which is young by any means, yet I feel time is outrunning me. I want to be on the fast track. Be a mover or a shaker. Not both or then I'd look like I'm having a seizure. While I want to do these things, I come home from work later than I care for and more tired than awake. My weekends don't consist of me reading through books or picking up the latest marketing periodical. They consist of TV, surfing the web, and all the chores I didn't get done in the daily grind that begins Monday followed by 4 other similar days. I can talk the talk, but it looks like there's more walking needed on my behalf.