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I woke up today to thoughts of using my day off to do boring, potentially very stressful things; calling my credit card, calling my federal student loan to find out how much I still owe and probably doing a bunch of other highly boring stuff. As I dozed in my bed I heard my mom talking to my dad who had taken our van in to our local Toyota dealer about how it would need its wheel bearings changed, so I decided to get up even though I did not have to, hoping that I might come along just for the ride. I had faint thoughts of checking out what they had for used cars but I had strong doubts of actually seeing anything within my price range. (Y’all might recall that I recently got my Novice license and that I’ve been car hunting, though not very seriously since it’s hard to find time for that.) So, I hurriedly dressed, got in the truck with my mom (donning a toque to conceal the fact that I hadn’t bothered to brush my hair yet) and we drove off. As we were pulling in, my mom mentioned that my dad had spoken of a car that was there which my dad had seen – a Yaris. Even though I had been looking for an All Wheel Drive vehicle, my ears pricked up for a moment until my mom told me that it was a manual. Instant loss of interest. INSTANT.
So, I sat in the truck without moving, waiting for my dad to come and as we saw him coming I hopped out, intending to sit in the back. Instead, he grabbed my arm and steered me across the parking lot to where an absolutely beautiful little piece of vehicular goodness was sitting, awaiting my admiration. I stared at it, absolutely stunned for it was a colour that I liked, it had a nice interior and it was NEW. (Well, the same amount of new as our truck, which is plenty new for me!) I have never seen any vehicle so perfect or so awesome. It looked like a bluebell. With a little help, I might even be able to afford it. It was too bad that it was standard – I’d been trained on automatic and knew nothing about driving standard. I got back into the truck and we drove away to drop off my parents’ shoddy desktop computer, myself bemoaning the entire way that it was manual.
An idea began to form!
I asked my parents if either of them knew how to drive stick; both did. My mom hadn’t done it in decades, but she had done it. My dad remembered how to do it, though it had been a while for him too. By the time we exited the parking lot of the computer fixit place, I was vowing to look into whether or not I could make the car work for myself financially. When we got home I glanced at it online as we kept talking about it, then suddenly my dad offered to help me buy it! HE OFFERED!!!! With my mom’s approval, my dad and I jumped back in the truck after I’d transferred the two grand that I’d had saved, then we drove back to the dealership where we were met by a smiley women who proceeded to tell us all about the car. As she informed us how it came with a tonneau cover for stuff in the back, how it came with a full set of winter tires and how easy it was to use, all I could think was ‘shut up, I’m sold already!’ (Though admittedly I was pretty stoked about those free winter tires!) Then she photocopied my dad’s license and we were off on our way, on my very first test drive of a vehicle that I intended to own. MY VEHICLE! My dad did a lap of the north end of the city, talking me over how driving manual worked the whole way and we pulled back into the dealership, both very pleased. After a bit of an adventure running off to my bank so that I could use my money and with financial help from my parents, I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A VEHICLE!!! 😀
Here she is, in all of her blue glory; we get to pick her up tomorrow and I start learning how to drive her this Sunday. 🙂
I can’t believe this. I never expected this to happen today; this morning I was feeling dejected over my car hunt and over how I’d have to walk home tomorrow (four kilometres through the dark not-yet-snowy scariness – YUCK!) and now I will NEVER have to do that walk again unless I want to. (Knock on wood!) I’m just amazed and completely in shock, but it’s happy shock! I’ll have to think of a name for my sweet new ride, because we’re going to be together for a very long time. 🙂 Thank you so much universe! This feels sooo fortuitous!
And here’s me and the beautiful new car with the super helpful Dad! 😀 <3
SO EXCITED! 😀
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
Totally awesome! New wheels is always a cause for celebration!
Love baby kirins, safari poads, mini keepers, and anything BLUE, BLUE, and, oh yes, BLUE.
Congrats! That first car is always very special!
And so sweet of your dad to be spotting cars for you and then to help you buy it!
I know, my dad is so awesome! <3 Thank you guys!!! 😀
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
Congrats on your new wheels!
Seeking Test Paints & GBs ! Please get in touch if you'd trade/sell. I'll remove pieces from list by owner request
ANY Red Eyed Unis
ANY Test Paint Bat
UNIS:
The Purple/Yellow Baby Uni of Awesome
Male- Snow Leopard TP
White Lighting Male, Pony, Colt and Grand - I have Mom, Baby, & Young
Ponycorns: Golden Zebra and/or Spotted Skunk
Mother: Okapi
Gothic - Mahogany
PEGS: Male Midnight Calico, Male Bloodstone, Mother Starlight Rain
DRAGONS: Male CoyoteI hope so! The concept seems pretty simple from what my dad was showing me. 😀 It seems like it’ll be less mindless than automatic and I’ll just avoid some of the routes that require me stopping on hills until I get good at it. 😀 The saleslady said that Yaris are one of the easier vehicles to learn to drive stick on and that the manual ones actually have a bit more pep than the automatics. (Not that I’m in to speeding! No way! I’m that annoying driver that insists on always driving exactly the speed limit or whatever feels safe if the weather is bad. XD)
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
I drove a grand am that was stick for several years through college and then some. Probably around seven years? You’ll pick it up and it will be second nature in no time. It’s a nice skill to have.
Love baby kirins, safari poads, mini keepers, and anything BLUE, BLUE, and, oh yes, BLUE.
MAJOR CONGRATS! 😀
I’m Sooooo Happy for You!
I know I JUST wished you ‘Good Luck’ on DA in the wee hours this morning, Boy what Great Luck!I thought my stick cars were fun and you can do better working them in snow than in an automatic. And you will get it in no time. Now the big question: Where will you be going car camping and when? LOL! 😀
IN SEARCH OF MY NEXT GRAILS:
Black Peacock & Butternut Adult Poads
Kickstarter 'Rainbow Tiger' Bantam Dragon*~*~*~* Ela_Hara: The DragonKeeper *~*~*~*
*** Come visit me on deviantArt at http://ela-hara.deviantart.com-claps- That’s so awesome for you! I hope you get lots of easy years out of your new baby! Good luck on learning manual. I don’t like it myself, but I CAN’T deny the usefulness of knowing how to drive manual. It will be SO USEFUL to you in years to come!
You can check out my work on dA & Redbubble!
https://prezaurian.deviantart.com/
https://www.redbubble.com/people/prezaurian?ref=artist_title_nameHuge Congratulations! And what a super Dad!
I drive stick and don’t regret it; my current car is a sports model Miata. I learned to drive a motorcycle years ago; I remember it took me what seemed FOREVER to not stall it! But one day it started clicking, I couldn’t tell you (even now) what I was hearing/feeling, but I was and it worked. Then one day I was told to stop at the auto dealer on my way into work and pick up a car (worked installing clear car bras). Oh no, a stick and I’d never driven a manual car! But we got to the shop in one piece and without stalling, even if it was rough. Thank you bike! I could still hear/feel the whatever. Now I enjoy it. It puts you in partnership with your car, instead of just along for the ride.
What may be better for you, I taught my daughter driving in my Miata and she has/had no issue starting and shifting. She enjoys it too, wants a stick when she gets a car.
And it drastically reduces the number of people asking to borrow your car! Recently near me, an attempted carjacking was foiled when the thief couldn’t start the car! They actually asked the owner how!
Huge Congratulations! And what a super Dad!
I drive stick and don’t regret it; my current car is a sports model Miata. I learned to drive a motorcycle years ago; I remember it took me what seemed FOREVER to not stall it! But one day it started clicking, I couldn’t tell you (even now) what I was hearing/feeling, but I was and it worked. Then one day I was told to stop at the auto dealer on my way into work and pick up a car (worked installing clear car bras). Oh no, a stick and I’d never driven a manual car! But we got to the shop in one piece and without stalling, even if it was rough. Thank you bike! I could still hear/feel the whatever. Now I enjoy it. It puts you in partnership with your car, instead of just along for the ride.
What may be better for you, I taught my daughter driving in my Miata and she has/had no issue starting and shifting. She enjoys it too, wants a stick when she gets a car.
And it drastically reduces the number of people asking to borrow your car! Recently near me, an attempted carjacking was foiled when the thief couldn’t start the car! They actually asked the owner how!
That’s hilarious! I’m glad to hear that your daughter found learning on stick okay. I’ve had lots of people tell me today that they learned to drive with stick; the dude at the bank actually told me that he considered it to be a right of passage! I’m pretty happy about getting to learn also just because I’ve noticed that manuals cost less, so whenever (in YEARS from now hopefully!) when I need another vehicle I’ll have a much easier time getting one because everyone else will want automatic. I hope I prefer it soon too! I’d like to sort of feel like I have a bond with my car haha. 😀
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
Thank you!!!! It can’t be too much harder than operating a multiple speed bike right? My mountain bike has 21 speeds, four times as many as this car’s five! 😀
Haha, Ela-hara I think my first place to go car camping will be the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper National Park on the way to visit my grandma next summer… however if I can afford it I’m going to totally try to go to Oregon and Washington too! (Or at least just Vancouver and Whistler/Garibaldi.) There’s a BUNCH of things that I want to see in the Pacific Northwest, like the two volcanoes that I saw from the airplane that took me to SEATAC last summer, Crater Lake, Portland and the coast is supposed to be absolutely magical. I’d dip as far down as the redwoods in California before coming back. (I have a theoretical figure eight sort of loop figured out XD.) That might have to wait until 2017 though. 2016 is already so expensive and I haven’t even reached it yet haha! 😀
Mount Rainier, mocking me majestically from my window seat on the awesome-if-jittery special livery Dash-8 that I flew to Seattle on. YOUR CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED, MOUNT RAINIER!Alternatively, I might do a second little weekend warrior road trip into the Kootenays, because I’ve never really explored that area and there’s a hot spring there that has been calling my name since I was a teensy thing. 😀
Check out my finished artwork at http://falcolf.deviantart.com/ and my sketch/studio blog at http://rosannapbrost.tumblr.com/
Excellent!
I have never seen any vehicle so perfect or so awesome. It looked like a bluebell.
And here’s me and the beautiful new car with the super helpful Dad! 😀 <3
SO EXCITED! 😀
I think you have already named her! Bluebell?
CONGRATS on your new car!
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