Farewell Little Thunder

Otherwise entitled Am I REALLY Meant to Drive Because My Wallet's Tellin' Me Otherwise.

This time last week, Little Thunder rolled off the driveway for the last time. My 1990 Grey Nissan Sentra gave up the ghost in November. And despite the fact that with a battery recharge she started no problem in March, it just wasn't worth the money to repair the transmission. AGAIN.

Funnily enough, I had always imagined what it would look like seeing her towed away, whipping round the left corner never to be seen again. I hate to be so dramatic, but I have a tendency to do this. I attach an awful lot of emotion to inanimate objects.

I remember when we first immigrated to Canada we lived in an apartment building the first few years. During the winter I would come home from school with my pockets filled with garbage. I thought it was cold, and if I threw it down the chute in my building, it would be warm. I did this for quite a few weeks until one night I was tired and forgot to dump off the garbage. My mother found my coat full of "stuff" and that was the end of that. She wasn't a bitch about it or anything, but did assure me that the garbage was just fine and I didn't need to worry.

Ahem.

Uh anyway, as I mentioned in my previous post Little Thunder and I shared a lot of miles and years together and I was a little misty seeing her go. But I was nowhere near as upset as I expected to be. In some ways, it was a relief to just move on.

That was until the car repairs rolled in this past week. I have spent over $2000 on, in no particular order:

A new battery.
A new alternator.
A new clutch.
A new bearing for the left back wheel.
A new pair of front brake pads.

I know the car is four years old but C'MON!!!!

I really REALLY seriously considered getting rid of Big Berry last week but it ended up I'd lose more money selling than I'd spend to repair. The reality is that as much as I want to be in love with her, I'm not. It's a great car, very versatile and Lord only knows how much I love that All-Wheel-Drive in the winter. And when you have "flow" there is nothing like driving a standard car. Nothing.

But the car has been somewhat of a disappointment. I did my research, thought I'd love it and I don't dislike it but....maybe there's just nothing like your first.

So we'll see. Maybe next year I'll sell it and get an automatic again. Maybe having a dedicated vehicle will render all these points moot and Big Berry and I will connect on some level.

Then we can go trawling the winter streets for garbage in need.