Here is a story about ways technology has enhanced my life.
I got a car. Here is a photo of it. (1) For some reason I like having two cars. Part of this may be that I like having a back-up car. Part of it may be that it costs almost nothing to insure a second car in Vermont. Part of it is that I’ve wanted a wagon for quite some time and the opportunity presented itself. So, this is my new (to me) car. It needs a name.
The way I got it wasn’t really your typical deal. In fact, it’s a neat story. My pal Erica just left her librarian gig at Cornell to start a nifty new job in San Francisco at Second Life. (2) She was selling her car on Facebook. (3) You might know Erica because her blog and my blog are the first and second blogs that show up on Google when you search for “librarian” (4) Yeah, that’s us. I saw the photo and said “oh hey that’s the car I need.” My car is totally fine, but ever since a scary run-in with a guardrail last winter, I’ve been thinking I might want something a bit more AWD-ish. Plus, I’ve wanted a wagon or at least something I could, in a pinch, sleep in. I haven’t slept in a car in a few years now, but I like having the option.
Since these cars are basically Vermont’s State Automobile they’re tough to get good deals on. And I don’t really enjoy driving all over the place looking at cars from Craigslist (5). So, Erica’s seemed decent and when I said the price was maybe a little high for me, she made it not a little high and I emailed (6) and said said “I’ll take it”. I sent her a check through my online bank. (7) It was forwarded to her in CA. She mailed me the title and the bill of sale. I called my insurance company. They emailed me proof of insurance. (8) I got a ride from my very good friend Forrest out to Ithaca (thanks Forrest! I met him on MetaFilter (9)) where we found the car in the Ornothithology lab parking lot with a note to me and the keys under the mat. Erica said “It’s the one with the flying spaghetti monster (10) on the back, to distinguish it from the 45 other green subaru legacies in the parking lot.”
We drove back in tandem keeping a sharp eye out for danger. The trip would have been shorter but Forrest heard on the radio (11) that there was a huge wreck on 87 North and we took a detour through Saratoga Springs to avoid it. I got home and made a few moves in an online Scrabble game (12) to chill out, answered some personal and work email, (13, 14) prepared a book to put in the mail for paperbackswap.com (15) and went right to bed.
Name ideas:
Green Dolphin
Roo
Shirley
When I saw the picture I laughed and said to G, “Look, Jessamyn bought a Vermont Car!” Yes, that certainly is the Vermont State Automobile. Very nice.
Name suggestion: Scooby
His Noodly Vehicular Appendage or, more colloquially, The Spaghetti-mobile.
Two names from the past:
1951 Green Jeepster your Dad and I learned to drive in –” The Green Hornet”
1939 Ford until forever: Grandad
J T West called his cars “Aphrodite”
Aunt T
I love this post very much!
Shucks, m’am… t’weren’t nuthin.
I got to listen to WEQX, my fave radio station, for like 6 hours! Yay Ithaca! Yay, Subaru!
Trip out chatting with Jessamyn was a lot better than trip back just driving. and driving. and driving.
I have had two Subarus– one white wagon (engine died– watch out for in 1997-8 versions of the engine) named Sonia, and the new one (first new car I’ve had since 1983) named Fiona, for the princess in Shrek, because she changes character depending on need. Sonia’s name came to me in a dream. Maybe it will happen for this car, too.
My mom had a green wagon named Hepzibah.
I think it looks like a “Paul”. Don’t know why, though.
What did you name the car?
No decision on a name yet — I figure I won’t get a ton of sense of the car until I start driving it more which will happen in the winter. I promise to keep everyone posted.