Update

I strarted to type this entry on my iPhone, but realized the screen was way too small for that.

I spent the entire day in bed. Hibernating. It’s -23 outside right now and I’m not interested in going out there just yet. Actually, I’m not interested in going out there at all, but I do have to go to work eventually.

So two major things have happened since the last time I wrote. Well, maybe three. First, I picked up my car from the dealership on Saturday January 5th. It cost $1500 instead of the original projected $2600, so I guess that was good… considering. I guess the water pump didn’t need to be replaced after all. Then the very next day – Sunday January 6th – Shannon and I were driving along and all of a sudden we hit a patch of black ice and did a giant 180 in the middle of the road and crossed over 3 lanes of traffic. And there was a lot of traffic, so I have no idea how we didn’t hit another vehicle. We kept spinning until we crashed head-first into a snowbank in the ditch at the side of the road. Everything happened in slow motion and I remember looking over at Shannon to see if he was alright.

Well, the car was still running. Two cars stopping immediately to make sure we were okay. We called CAA and the tow truck came and dragged us out of the ditch. A police officer showed up and said it was up to me if I wanted to report the accident – I didn’t. The car was still driveable – so we continued on our way. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We landed about 3 feet from a huge cement pole that would have been on my lap had we been any more to the left. One of my headlights stopped working, both fog lights were missing, and part of the bumper was missing.

So, I took my car back to the dealer. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Then they told me that it now needed a new rad and a new compressor. And obviously body work done. They couldn’t even fix the headlight because it was an electronic issue. Another $3000. 

I’d already spent $3200 on my car in the last 3 months, and it was a 2006 with $189,000 kms on it. It was time to say goodbye. 

I was so upset. I love my little car!!! It was the first major thing that I bought on my own, with nobody co-signing for me. I was 21 and I loved it. A sporty little 2-door – a purple colour. I was not ready to give up my car. I knew I would need to soon, but I wasn’t ready yet.  But it didn’t make sense to spend over $6000 on a car with high kms and with a market value of about $3000-$4000 at this point.

So, I started searching for a new car and we finally ended up with a 2012 Ford Escape Ltd. It’s a massive beast compared to my sporty-little car. But, there is room for a family and our dog. The "Limited" means its loaded… you talk to it and tell it which song you want to listen to, it has heated leather seats, etc. We got the 2012 instead of a 2013 because they completely redesigned the Escape for 2013 and it looks more like a crossover and less of an SUV or truck. It had only 10,000 kms on it and was almost $15,000 off what it would cost to buy a new one right off the lot. The lady that had it before me bought it new in September and then traded it in for an Explorer (slightly bigger model) so it was hardly used at all. I think we did well, although I am not at all looking forward to having car payments again. But, such is life. While the gas is more expensive than my old car – the insurance is actually cheaper. That, I will never understand. I am not looking forward to having car payments again, but such is life I guess.

The third piece of news is that A) I became permanent at my job and B) I got the position I applied for. I start Febuary 3rd. It’s full-time overnights, but its Sun-Thursday so I would have weekends off. I think its the best I can do right now. You have to be fairly strategic to climb this corporate ladder. Basically, it means more time with my husband, guarunteed full-time hours, and guarunteed seniority – which is really what I need to get ahead. It’s pure luck that I even passed my co-worker, Sana, in seniority and was able to pick up this position. We are literally neck and neck.

Well anyway, I had better go. I just heard Shannon come home and I will have to go to work in a couple hours.