Wednesday I took my car in for a 15,000 mile tuneup. I was at 17,000 and it was running like shit. I arrived at 8:30am and was told they'd call me around 11am. Of course I forgot any reading material. After wandering around the new car section I ran across a really nice salesman ("N") and chatted with him for a bit. I was checking out the 2006 Rav4 Sport and he asked if I wanted to drive it. I figured what the hell and the journey began. I love my Matrix, but it's a tad loud for me. I swore my next car would be quieter. We drove the 4 cylinder first, which had a bit of difference in the sound. Then we went for the V6. Oh my G-d. I was in heaven. It purred. It glided. It went really, really fast. By the time we got back I was almost writing out the check. I called Jake who did some quick research and all sites gave it wonderful reviews. As we pulled into the dealership I got a call from the service area. They found some problems. We're talking over $600 worth of problems. "N" and I started laughing. I asked them to hold that thought and we went in to see what deal they could give. After checking the car they found frame damage from the accident, which I had suspected. I knew those fuckers should have totalled it. "N" still offered me bluebook value and a deal I couldn't pass up. The only hitch? I wanted a different color and there were only two other cars in the whole region. I had two colors to choose from: White or Barcelona Red. I went with the red. Now I had to wait for them to bring it from the dealership over 100 miles away.

Thursday finally arrived and I felt like an expectant father. I got updates at work throughout the day. When the guy finally left I was told he'd be back after 8pm. Jake and I arrived at the dealership and the signing process began. What's funny is that Hasan, who sold me the Matrix, got a promotion and was doing the financing. He was the sweetest guy. He still remembered how I asked if there was a way to wrap something around the engine to make it quieter. I'll never live that baby down. An hour later I hopped into my brand new car and drove home to go to bed.

Friday morning I hopped into the Rav4 and drove to work. I reached the onramp for the 405 South and noticed a semi pacing me as the lanes merged. I stepped on the gas to get in front and hit warp speed. I had to slow down and swerve to miss the cars in front. The truck driver must have thought I was insane. I can't believe how much power this car has. I still need to get used to it. I also need to get used to the fact that it's much larger than my Matrix. I tried parking in one of the usual spots at work and the parking attendant stopped me. He had this "Are you on crack?" look on his face. Nope, just blonde.