They took my baby

I had to say goodbye to the old Civic this week. For those who weren't aware, it had been having problems already, like strange noises coming from nowhere in particular and not always telling me how fast I was going. You know, typical old car problems. It's a 1994, I believe I'm the third owner. I bought it from a guy in DC, and it's basically served me really well since the spring of 2002. If I had been able to put more money into it, it certainly could have kept going for a while longer. But in January, as I was driving home from school, I got into an accident. Minor, no injuries. But it was enough to render my car undrivable unless I got some pretty substantial work done on it. So that was pretty much what did it. I decided to donate the car to the Kidney Cars program, so that at least some good could come out of it. And I already knew that I had the Camry from Kia's grandmother, which made the whole decision easier.

So from mid-January until the end of March I rode the bus to school and took the MetroLink (St. Louis's subway) home with Kia. It was a pretty good system. I even enjoyed it. I didn't have to pay for gas, didn't have to park, and I felt good about doing my part to green my little part of the world. And on nice days, it was pretty pleasant to get a walk in before and after school. It sort of clears the head. Unfortunately, this period from mid-January to late March also seemed to coincide with the worst winter weather I've seen here since I arrived in 2003. Maybe I just had a different perspective, since I was car-less. But on more than one occasion I found myself trudging through very deep snow drifts, completely unheard of for St. Louis. Sometimes I'd be doing this with a suitcase in hand, if I were going to be going on a trip. Other times, walking over a bridge over the highway on my way to the bus stop, I was pretty sure my face was going to fall off from the wind. But I survived. All in all, it was a good experience.

So when I was given the Camry at the end of March, I figured that was as good a time as any to let the Civic go. I filled out the paperwork and made the arrangements with the towing company. Then on Friday, sometime during the day, they took her away. I never even named her! I should have taken more pictures! What's something else dramatic I can say?

Goodbye Civic. Thanks for running no matter what, even after I ran you into that snowbank that one time. I'll miss you.