When I want to get away, I drive off in my car....

This, my dear lovies, is how I spent the weekend: purchasing a new (used) car. The decision was a tough one.

No, wait. It wasn't. You know why? Our budget was minuscule and our options were, too (had a small chunk of change from the accident settlement and we didn't want a car payment). We only needed a car with decent highway gas mileage to get me through the next 4-5 years until we can get something new and more custom. So this is what we ended up with.

2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (not my exact car but it's the same thing)

My 17-year old self would be soooo jealous of me right now. Don't get me wrong-- it's a good car. Not many miles and kept up well. Plus a warranty if something goes wrong. But what's a self-respecting almost-26-year old doing with a teenager's dream?

(Sigh.)

When I was a teen living in Peoria, Illinois, there wasn't much to do for fun on the weekends. But the 19-year old boys (ow ow!) would take their "souped" up cars to the AMC down the street and essentially compare their genitals. Inevitably, half the cars in the lot were Spyders... which I thought was the coolest, raddest thing ever. So I can't help but feel a little regressed driving this thing to and from school, an 88-mile daily commute. Hey, the bright side is it's going to be a nice ride once the temps cool down, right? And it's definitely a lot cuter than the 4-door sedan we used to drive. Maybe I can get away with it since I pretty much look the same as I did when I was 17, right?

(Bright side, people. Bright. Side.)