movin' on up

chad and i are on a self-congratulatory binge, having bid successfully on a 2002 toyota camry and gotten it for a steal.

when i first got the car i've been driving for the past 9 years, a honda civic, i was living in chicago and working as a waitress. i took trains and busses to get around. when i got the car (in preparation to go to grad school, so i had it for like 3 months in the city), i felt like i had been promoted to a new and higher status of humanity--the kind that don't have to touch other people or sit where other people have sat when they move themselves around the city. i had my own little private room that moved around! and that came and went when i wanted it to!

and now? i've been promoted again! compared to the "new" camry, the honda feels like we're rolling ourselves around in a hamster ball. in the camry you sit up straight and up higher and with a LOT more car around you. it tells you the temperature outside AND you can lock and unlock it from a few feet away!!! most importantly, the acoustics and sound system, again compared to the honda, are mind-blowingy awesome, partly because the car's engine is so quiet, it makes the opposite of noise. it makes everything around you more quiet. except for the stereo. so i can totally rock out to, say, the white stripes on the way to work. with the honda i can only partially rock out.