Keep those Hands of Fate on ten and two!
At this very moment, there is a gold '97 Mazda Protege parked outside my apartment. I did it! I actually bought my first car. Surprisingly, it was relatively painless and...anti-climatic. For some reason, I half expected a bunch of balloons and confetti to fall from the sky as the auto shop owner handed me the keys, and a full orchestra to play "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" as I drove away. But it didn't. So yeah, it was slightly less exciting than I had anticipated, but I'm beyond happy with this new car.
I think I appreciate it more, I respect it and want to take really good care of it because it's mine. It's not something that fell into my lap, like the Geo, I actually earned this car. I feel so accomplished and grown-up.
I'm going to celebrate by driving it to Tucson.