Just need to talk to my friends (217)

The Subaru is white with black interior. It is basically a white box and about as sporty looking as my washing machine. I looked at it yesterday and bought it today. I think there is a way to disable the start/stop feature, but I'm still reading the manual and don't know how to do it yet.

I found the car advertised on Cars.com. I first looked at a Honda CRV but found that Hondas (even large models like the Pilot) don't have enough room for me. The gas and brake pedals are so close together that it is very easy for a size 13 extra-wide shoe to press both at once, and the seat is too narrow for comfort. I would be sitting on the seat belt buckle all the time. I know many people who love Hondas, but they aren't made for full grown men.

I heard today that an airport baggage handler was caught in the hail and suffered a broken wrist, a broken ankle, and a knot on his head. He is recovering, but that's a bad day at work. About 1,500 cars were parked at the airport when the storm appeared, and 95% were damaged. Imagine returning from Italy to find your car trashed!

It will be hard to find car window glass for a while around here, and I see cars driving around with plastic tarps on the windows while they wait to be repaired. Roofing company inspectors are working from dawn to dark, and have inspections scheduled weeks in advance. We will be hearing hammers all summer. The storm only affected north Springfield, but it was quite thorough. The man across the street lost shingles, gutters, roof vents, a window, and at least one tomato plant, but his cars were in the garage.

Carl - Congrats on your car! It'll take a bit of adjustment, but I bet you're going to like it.

My friend and I window shop on "bring a trailer". It's kind of like ebay, but for cars. She knows me well and so sent me an auction listing for my dream car. It's here. It was $29k this afternoon, and now it's $43k. No way will I get that car. 😄

Hondas are made for people like me. I'm very short, and so I fit nicely in that car (I drive a CRZ - the little hybrid). With bigger cars I can barely reach the pedals.

Iris - I'm with you. I think my mom-in-law is going to end up liking it. It's smaller than she likes, but I think it's going to work out well for her for the reasons that you say. Plus, I'm confident that she will now get all of her meds.

Tomorrow is San Francisco. I am SO ready for it.

Oh! I almost forgot! Tonight at dinner this little girl (probably around age 7) came up to me and said "I really like your purple hair." She was kind of shy about it, so I thanked her and told her how much I appreciated the compliment. I've never had a child comment on my hair before! It was all kind of cute.