Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas Day is here


My best rather unexpected present this year was a Fiat 500 Pop in Verde Azzurro. My beloved Scion, which had more than 149,000 miles, had had the "check engine" light on for a while so my husband took it to a nearby mechanic here in Bexley, after our mechanic in my college town couldn't figure out what was wrong. The second mechanic found several things that needed to be fixed and that would've cost near $1500. Thus, we decided, given the age of the car and the fact that it needed major repairs, that it was time to consider a new car.

Still, I wasn't excited at all about paying $20,000+ for a car of any kind (makes me uncomfortable to spend that much money on a piece of metal, even if it is the piece of metal that makes it possible for me to work an hour away from home), or with the prospect of having a huge monthly payment for three years. Still, last Sunday we went to test drive a Ford Fiesta, which seemed like it had what I wanted (hatch, 5-speed manual transmission, bluetooth, etc.) but the dealer didn't have the right color or a stick-shift model of the hatchback on the lot.  Thus, we moved on to the Scion dealer where I bought my erstwhile car in 2006, even though it was closed that day. There I looked at the Scion iM, which has my initials, as my husband pointed out, but it seemed too large for me and, again, expensive.

My husband wandered over to the Fiat dealer next door and saw this pre-owned, and pre-certified car for $12,900, with about 850 miles on it. That seemed like a good deal so we returned the next morning, test drove the car, and by 1 p.m. I was the proud owner of this cute car for a flat $12,000, including my old car as a trade-in. Gotta say I was impressed with my husband's negotiating skills, and with the Bob Boyd Alpha-Romeo and Fiat dealer. I love my new year-old car and, best of all, we didn't have to get into debt to pay for it.

Thankfully, I've had this week and next off from work, which means I've been able to spend every day and night at home, something that has become a rarity since July, when I started my administrative job (this past semester, I spent 41 nights [or more than a month!] over in my small apartment by the College. I've definitely loved being here in Bexley for a whole week and look forward to the same next week. In this time, I've been able to send off my revised chapter for an edited collection on Atlantic Studies that will be published next year. I've also been working on my book manuscript, which I have promised myself I'm finishing over the next week or so, come hell or high water.

Yesterday, on Christmas Eve, the weather was so mild that we took Lizzy for a walk on nearby trails of Three Creeks Metro Park, one of our favorites.



This morning, I went to the Christmas Day service at the nearby Episcopal Church and the rector, a woman, remembered me from having attended her Easter service a few year's ago. She even remembered I was a college professor. The sermon was lovely, as was the service, and now I'm back home to spend this Christmas Day doing a little bit of book work and enjoying a little bit of R&R.

I hope you all have had a lovely holiday!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

December arrives