There have been 2 big “things” in our lives over the past few (5 or more?!) years that have been intrinsically intertwined though generally pretty separate.
1). What will Byron do?
2). What will Byron drive?
What I do isn’t tied to what I drive, yet, what I drive IS often tied to what I DO. I have typically driven beater cars with stereos more valuable that the vehicle itself. I drove a little Honda Civic hatchback to work for years. It was a bare bones car. But it got me there. Then a few cars later, I drove a hand-me-down Ford Explorer from a friend. It was a great car that served me very well. Until it didn’t.
I had figured for a while that what I really needed was a Ford Expedition. So, we found one for (supposedly) a good price and I had one. It was in the shop before it even made it to my driveway. It made sense for my (then) job, that changed within a few months and we found ourselves, upside down (in more ways than one) on a vehicle that was no longer useful for us as originally intended. We traded it in at a big loss.
Which (sorta) bring me to today. We purchased a 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan with something like 40K miles on it in 2007. It’s been a great vehicle for us. I was using it and was even thinking about customizing it for my small construction/remodeling business. I has just remarked that it was one of the best vehicle for this. I had planned on it running for another couple of years. Planned on it. Even bought 2 new tires just 2 months ago for it.
The cost to fix today is $800. It’s not worth it.
So, at a point where I am (continually) second guessing and questioning my employment, my relied upon vehicle goes down. Do I replace with with another construction type vehicle? Or do I throw in the towel, get a used ’98 Honda Civic, and go to work at FedEx?
Yeah, I know I shouldn’t necessarily connect the two, but, now all my tools are in a vehicle that no longer runs and my only other choice RIGHT NOW is a 2009 Hyundai Elantra.
Perhaps this is all the catalyst to get me to choose. That’s how I often “choose” anyway. Let fate be the guide. Ugh.
