Introducing Ruby

The line that came out of my mouth most often this weekend, besides “I love you,” (No one in my life ever has to wonder. I believe in reminding them constantly.) was “Um, did I mention I have a car??” I’m not sure that there are words to describe my excitement at getting my independence back, at being able to go wherever I want without having to call a friend or family member to pick me up at the train or bus on the other end.

What’s more, I can actually drive her in reverse now! Yes, for the first couple hours, I could only go forward. It seems she has a safety, and you can only go into reverse if you push the gearshift in. It took me a very long time to figure that out, including driving over Mr. Sarah’s freshly planted lawn (love you, mean it!) and only parking in places I could pull out of. Not my finest moment.

But yes, I have a car. One I can now drive in all directions. It has a sun roof. See?

And a radio that... wait for it... ACTUALLY WORKS! She doesn’t leak in the rain like the old car did either. There are a few things that are still giant question marks, but I curled up in bed this weekend with Ella and the owner’s manual, and I think I’ve got most of the gadgets figured out. Oh, and the windows open and the doors lock without having to do it by hand. Evidently there are cars that can do those things by just pressing a button. It’s even got one of those new-fangled air conditioner thingies. Very high-tech and exciting.

Of course, because I am, after all, me, she also had 225 dollars worth of parking tickets within the first 12 hours I had her back in the city. See, it seems in New York you’re only allowed to put the registration sticker in one specific spot on your windshield. No deviation is allowed. Must be that spot. The spot I put mine, alas, was not that spot. Ticket #1. I parked in a school zone, so I had to move her by 8 am. Not a problem, since I was bringing her to get inspected before work. Unfortunately, I lost track of time and got there 10 minutes late. Ticket #2. And for the piece de la resistance, when I got there, my beautiful new car, the one I had owned for all of 4 days by this point, was hooked up to a tow truck. Ticket #3, as a result of #s 1 and 2. Fortunately I got there before they pulled away, so they let me get in the car and wait for an hour for a field supervisor to come release the car to me. If I had gotten there 5 minutes later and she had been gone, the odds of my having a full-on breakdown right there on 82nd Street are better than average, to say the least. It wouldn't have been pretty.