Car Karma...

Today... I sold my car!  No big deal, right?  Not quite.  First of all, this means that I don't have a car now.  [Thankfully, due to my incredibly amazing parents, I have a car to drive until we buy something else.]  Secondly, this was MY car.  Not a car my parents bought for me when I got my license, not my best friend's hand-me-down car, or my husband's car.... MY car.  My money bought it, my name was on the title, my memories adding up to thousands of miles on the odometer.

[sappy moment over now, momentarily]

With that said, Kirmy [my former car's name], was a temperamental, attention seeking, bi-polar jerk.  He was used when I got him, so it is expected that there would be some kinks in his performance... but Kirmy did not make life easy.  In the last year alone I can't even count on two hands the number of things we had to repair and replace.  It was also a special talent of his to magically stop making a funny noise, or to not have the check engine light on, or to run perfectly whenever I took him to my dad or uncle for help.

However, my dad has reminded me that over the years I have had incredibly good "Car Karma".  The first car I owned was a little, red, Mitsubishi Mirage that my Uncle picked up [Auction, Swap Meet, or something of the sort] and fixed up for me.  There were dings in the side, a broken radio and no horn because the airbag had been deployed and left a hole in the steering wheel... but I loved it!  I'm not sure if I loved it because of the color, because it was cheap [and I didn't have to pay for it], OR because I knew it was a LOT nicer than what I could have ended up with... my sister, Rachel, drove an old Plymouth Acclaim 'Granny Car' when she first got her license.  Mimi the Mitsubishi served me well all through high school and took me to college, too.  Sadly, she wouldn't make it through my freshman year.

On November 3rd, 2006 [yes, I remember the day] I left early in the morning to head home.  First disclaimer: I am an *excellent* multi-tasker [currently watching tv, writing a blog, listening to Dustin talk, and laughing at Porter], second disclaimer: one should NEVER attempt to multi-task while driving.  Just after passing Walla Walla I was in need of a new CD and went to switch it out.  When I grabbed a new one to put into the CD player I dropped it and it fell onto the floor of the passenger side of the car.  Apparently, thinking that I possessed 'go-go gadget arms' I decided to reach for the lost CD.  Unfortunately, when I leaned over to grab the CD, I pulled the wheel with me, sending me off the right side of the road... which wouldn't have been too bad, except that I over corrected, crossed the oncoming lane of traffic and started to go off the other side of the road/embankment... which also wouldn't have been the end of the world, except that I attempt to correct again, which sent my car flipping [not rolling, flipping, according to an on-looker].

Now this is where the Car Karma comes into play.  My car 'flipped' 4 times.  The contents of my car were strewn about EVERYWHERE [including the dirty laundry I was packing home to wash in a machine that didn't require quarters to operate].  The front, right wheel was bent sideways [the hubcap was flat on the ground], as was one of the rear wheels. There was a hole in the roof directly above the driver's seat.  There was a boulder about the size of a soccer ball that magically appeared inside my car.  And, suffice to say, most of the exterior body was dented in some way or another.

And how did I come out, you ask?  [Are you remembering earlier when I mentioned my car didn't have an airbag anymore?] -- I had a small bruise on the back of my right hip, a small scratch on my right hand, and a small scratch on my forehead.

When my dad came to pick me up, after an officer drove me back into Walla Walla, we went to look at my poor Mimi who had been transported to a local salvage yard.  While we were gathering items out of my dead car, the employee made the comment to my dad that he sincerely hoped the driver would be okay.  When my dad pointed to me, saying that I had been driving the car, the man looked at me in disbelief and said that I had better thank my guardian angel... because he had never seen someone walk away from a wreck like that.

So even though Kirmy had his bad moments, and my hand-me-down car from Keicia didn't last too long, I'm reminded that *overall* I've had amazing Car Karma.  Even though I was in a seemingly bad accident, my car took the whole of the damage, most likely saving my life.  Now, when we start looking for a new car for me, I can only hope that my Car Karma will continue to stay positive.... and that my guardian angel can find me in my new car, too!