The New Car and It's New Name

I've been extremely grateful for this old van.  When the car died on the way to UT from VA, I figured I'd basically have to buy whatever vehicle I could find close by in my first few days.  When Grandma offered to let me use the van, at first I wasn't excited about the idea; but now I'm so thankful that I changed my mind.  It has allowed me to have some good experiences, like getting to attend David's baptism which I would have otherwise missed.  

I was worried that Old Faithful wouldn't even make it back to Utah, but by-in-large it's been a pretty hassle-free ride.  It may have caused me some embarrassment at times, but I would be in a much worse situation now if I hadn't had it available.  Having the van allowed me freedom to wait long enough to settle in and find the right car for me.

So here's my new car!  It's a 2011 Toyota Corolla and had about 50,000 miles on it.  I bought it as a Toyota Certified Vehicle from Karl Malone Toyota in Draper last Saturday.  I definitely wasn't planning on driving away in anything but the van when I went there, but they offered me a good deal based on what I've seen in the area, so I took it.  They were even nice enough to have someone else drive the van back to the house for me so I didn't have to inconvenience Gerrit and Elisabeth.

I admit, buying a car kind of terrified me.  Making big decisions like this is not my favorite thing overall, especially since I have the tendency to second-guess myself.  My main missgiving in this case was that I didn't get my own mechanic to get a look at it before I purchased, which I hope won't come back to bite me. I figured I was pretty safe in getting a certified vehicle.  It's definitely nice to not have to worry about finding a car anymore, and while what I really wanted was a hatchback, I'm pretty satisfied in getting another Corolla as my family has had several of them which have worked quite well over the years.

One of my co-workers told me that I have to name my car, so I put a bit of thought into it over the week I've owned it.  My first idea was just to go with Goldie, but that seemed far to prosaic.  I was then drawn to naming it Sif, after the Norse goddess renown for her golden hair.  It seemed this would be an appropriate allusion to my Scandinavian heritage, but I figured that was kind of obscure for general consumption.

My co-coworker also said that it's best to name your car after taking time to get to know it's personality.  I never really thought about cars having a personality, but I guess they kind of do.  There's the ones that try hard, but always seem to be breaking down anyway.  Then there's the temperamental ones that will just break down without warning and then start back up again inexplicably as well.  And if you're lucky you get an Old Reliable that sticks with you through thick and thin.

I haven't had long with this car, but I think I've gotten something of a feel for it's personality now.  What has really struck me about it is it's smoothness.  It's so quiet and fluid in it's movements, it doesn't feel like driving exactly.  Rather, it's like seamlessly swimming through the air.  So I've decided to name it the Goldfish.

Soon I will take the van back to Idaho.  While I'll be relieved to do so, I think I'll also miss it a bit.  It's not only served me well now, it's also been good to my immediate and extended family in times of need over a number of years.  It may not be in as good of shape as it was the first time my family used it when I was only 8 or 9, but it's still doing all it can to do right by our family.  I'm so grateful Grandma was kind enough to let me use it with very little prior notice!