I'm a soul man...

So we got back from Chicago last week and had a couple of days to recover from our vacation and catch up on San Francisco home life. What was one of the first things we did (besides to through all our mail)?

We got a new car.

Check out what we've lovingly dubbed The Green Machine:

Now you have to understand--I haven't driven a brand-new car (with the exception of rentals here and there) since I was 17. So...that makes 18 years. We were going to originally buy a used car, but we did that last time and ended up sinking in so much money into regular maintenance and repairs. What's so special about this funny little Kia Soul? Well, for one thing, we're leasing it.

Since a car's value drops the minute you drive it off the lot, we figured leasing might be a way to go. Or at least try. The commitment only lasts three years, and then we can move onto something else. In some ways it suits our lifestyle as renters here in San Francisco, seeing as how we'll never be able to buy a home here. Why not treat our car the same way?

Anyhow, it wasn't funny hamsters on TV or anything like that which made us choose this car. I saw one on the street a little while ago and thought, "That thing is kind of boxy and weird...why am I strangely drawn to it!?" Yes, it is boxy, but it's quirky, which suits us. And it can haul a LOT of stuff, which comes in handy for Ye Olde Dayjobbe as well as Retrograde. My partner is just happy it can make it up our surrounding hills with ease.

So much has changed since our last car: satellite radio, power windows, rear back-up camera...it's like a whole new world. And it's definitely less embarassing now when I drive to different places for Ye Olde Dayjobbe. (It used to really be comical, rolling up to a palatial home or job site in our scratched-up '98 Saturn with the glued-back-on side mirror.) But I'm more careful now, too--I used to face down crazy drivers in our old hoopty knowing I had nothing to lose; I used to park in the tightest spots since I didn't worry about the car getting any more scratched than it already was. All that reckless behavior has changed now...

Like some Retrograde people I meet, I held onto something old for waaaaay too long. Getting a new car helps me understand what it's like for clients who take that big step toward a new sofa or bed. And guess what? After taking that big step to improve your surroundings, you wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

So if you see us tooling around in The Green Machine, wave and say "hey!" And if anyone at Ye Olde Dayjobbe tries to give me hell for driving a weird little green box, all I have to say is I don't get paid enough to drive a luxury car ;)