31 Things- Transportation

The topic 8 in the 31Things class with Ali Edwards was Transportation. I haven't completed topic 4 because I am waiting for a photo. 

I didn't have a photo for this one either, but it gave me an excuse to go out and take photos of my car. Something I wish I would have done for my first two. 

Went out today to take pictures of it and realized it had been forever since I had washed it. The kids and I spend the afternoon washing my car and playing in the water. Great day for it!

Journaling:

After two failed attempts at the drivers test around my 16th birthday, and the death of a good friend’s sister in auto accident, I decided to hold off on getting my drivers license. It wasn’t until I was 20 and got over my anxiety. 

Up until that point I was dependent on others to get me around.

As a child I always enjoyed riding the bus. I even enjoyed it in high school when it was no longer “cool”.

In the ninth and tenth grade Roger, my stepdad, would take me and my friend Jennifer to school. Half way through sophomore year Jennifer and I got to school by a senior, Matt (who had the biggest crush on us). By junior year, most of my friends were driving and would help me get around. 

Then I was off to community college. I had worked out a carpool with some friends. Most mornings Kevin (who also had a major crush on me) agreed to drive me there for a small fee. Most of his classes were earlier than mine with the exception of one and I would spend the extra time in the library until my classes started. For the one class I had earlier, I struggled to count on him to get me there on time. Shelley would offer me a ride home, if she was headed that way after one of the classes we shared. If all else failed my mom would get me to and from school.

It was cumbersome to get rides, and to count on others to get to school, to visit Tom at college and made getting a job impossible. My second year in college, I went a way to school and lived on campus. My transportation problem was solved. I walked to class, I walked to my meals, I walked to Tom’s house. It was easier in college not to have a car. My junior year my dad hooked me up with a bike. I had some classes that were clear across campus, early in the morning. It was nice to get to sleep that little bit more that the bike shaved off.  I have always enjoyed bike riding. 

My junior year in college I got my license and my dad purchased my first car. It was a black, two-door, 1992 Chevy Cavalier. I was grateful for the new found freedom of not relying on others for transportation. 

Getting a car meant I had to get a job. I worked over the summer downtown on the Landing. I didn’t like driving downtown and paying to park, so I opted for the Metrolink. I loved it! I liked being able to read and do my homework while heading home. It was the least stressful way to travel. I just had to be sure to keep track of the stops so I wouldn’t miss mine.

I had that first car until I landed my first job out of college. I was making enough money to handle rent and a car payment and my first car was no longer very reliable. I bought a brand new, blue, 2001 Toyota Celica. I loved that little car! However, that car was cursed. I didn’t have it a month before I was rear-ended. A year later I was rear-ended again. The windshield got cracked, and I was rear-ended once more before trading it in.

When I was 8 months pregnant my little blue car became a problem. There was no way to safely and conveniently put an infant car seat in that car. Tom and I bought our first car together, my red, 2006 Mazda 3. 

This car has seen many places. It took me to the hospital both times I was in labor. It made the trip (piggyback on a semi trailer) to California, to Disneyland multiple times, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and the drive back to Missouri (that Tom and Dave navigated). It continues to get me to where I need to go and I am grateful for that!

Soon it will be time for us to get another car. Tom will gladly take my car. His car is a white, 2000 Mazda Protégé and a stick shift, which I have never taken the time to learn to drive.  We will most likely get me something bigger. One that can hold more people so I have the option to carpool with other parents and the possibility of growing our family. It will be nice to have more room to hold more stuff for things, like sports equipment.