Teenage Again?

Well...it's been a very up and down, roller coaster week. But first I must admit that I'm bad at adding to my blog and see it's been a MONTH since my last post. I will try to do better! OK, Back to my week. Last Friday on my way to the Executive Meeting for the Regional Board I had my van break down. That was a huge DOWN. Fortunately, I was able to drive to a service station who delivered the bad news... it's about to throw a rod... new engine or new car. Since a new engine would cost 2-3 times more than the van is currently worth... I was in trouble. Called Enterprise... they really do pick you up! They came in a black HUMMER to get me... assured me (whew) that the hummer was NOT what they were going to rent to me. I have a 2007 silver Saturn Ion I've been tooling around in. Stayed overnight (as planned by the region, thank goodness) in DM and after the regional board meeting I went to my van and unloaded a bunch of stuff out of it into the Saturn to come home with me. The weather hasn't exactly been in my favor this week. Monday I went to a Drs appt in Ames and drove home in freezing rain. Good news... my test results are all NORMAL and no signs of cancer. That was an UP. Then my laptop froze up and I was afraid it was going to break down on me, too... definitely a DOWN. I allowed my battery to completely run down so the computer would shut itself down. After recharging for a short time, I turned on the computer and it came up as if nothing had happened! Whoa. An UP. The service station needed to get my van out of their over-full lot so the Church Regional Center folks said I could park it there for as long as needed...lots of parking spaces. UP. So the service station towed it 5 miles down University Avenue... and charged me $54! DOWN. And still had no car and not exactly in a position to shell out a bunch for something new... so an internet search ensued. Bobby called his best friend from H.S., Shane, who works at a dealer back home and found out that Shane himself was selling his car. So Tuesday I drove in blowing wind to see the car...and we made a deal that I couldn't believe. Thank God for good friends. Shane takes really good care of his cars and I knew he'd tell me everything. Wednesday was spent in the humiliating process of taking care of all the financial stuff ... and by Wednesday afternoon I was driving a new car (OK, not NEW, but new to ME) back to my Mom's house where it is sitting in their garage awaiting new license plates. Today I drove (again in blowing snow and freezing rain) to the county courthouse to get my new title and plates. So why did I name this post "Teenage Again?" I now am once again in the world of car payments... and own a sporty 2003 Dodge Neon SXT...Black with grey interior...with a spoiler on the back, a moonroof, electric windows and locks, and a JVC stereo system that has a small remote control (can you believe that?) and a digital screen that has psychedelic colors that are constantly changing with images of musical instruments, surfers, scuba divers, fish, skateboarders, etc. floating across. Oh...and he loaned the car to his little brother who installed a small blue light that shines from behind the air vents because he said that's the new rage at the college. Ha. I'll post pictures when I have 'em. Definitely an UP. Tomorrow the rental car goes back to DM (pray for good weather) and Bob's meeting me to take me to pick up the Neon. Hoping things stay UP from here.... no more major DOWNS... :-)