MaroonXLR8R update 1

I Drove my car today, the faded maroon one with the corvette engine. Its been sitting for awhile. I expected the battery to be dead, that I would have to buy a new one, but that wasn't the case. I gave it a jump and it fired right up.

It has been sitting for probably a month. I haven't touched it. I walk by it twice everyday and both times it makes me sad. To see the dented hood and fender where an oak tree fell, and the water trapped inside the car condensing on the windshield (meaning it is no longer sealed off from the elements) and the cobwebs around the tires and headlights, it reminds me why it hasn't moved in so long.

Problems.

Some of the gauges don't work. Last time I drove it there was an error code. It doesn't start or run well. I need to take it to anexhaust shop and extend the exhaust pipe. And connect the lock up torque converter so it is legal to drive, and take it to the referee station and get it check off.

So much to do it overwhelmed me, so I didn't do anything to it at all. The idea of selling it crept up. As well as junking it. It just makes me sad, why keep it around?

I decided to get my MFA in writing.

I researched a lot of schools and narrowed the list down to the best 10 in the country. Number two, or tied with number one is the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for good reasons: If you teach undergrads tuition is waived and they give you a stipend of several thousand dollars a year which is the same as I make working at the tire store. The program excites me, the faculty impresses me and my girlfriend is close by. Currently we are 2600 miles apart, not that I am keeping track or anything.

I decided after much thought that I would move to Michigan to be with my girlfriend (hereto referred to as Loo) at the end of March. I would also become a resident of Michigan and not pay out of state fees to attend U of Mi, meaning graduate school could have a positive effect on my bank account, rather than a negative one.

I told my parents, and they didn't like the idea mainly because they love me and my brother is moving out as well. They think we wont come back, or forget them, or something.

Mom told me yesterday I need to do something with my car, the maroon one with the corvette engine. And then she said, "Or sell it."

I must have needed to hear somebody else say it because I instantly hated the idea of someone else having it, after all the time and work and money and memory I have put into it. So the very next day, today, I jumped it, cleared the cobwebs, filled the gas tank, and drove it around.

After it warmed up the oil burning problem went away and the idle problem went away and it ran flawlessly. Minus the temperature gauge, speedometer, and gas gauge. It also did not trip any trouble codes.

And it was a good thing I drove it too. Because in driving it I pressed the gas pedal down 3/4 of the way. The car down shifted, roared forward, and pressed me into the seat as it accelerated out of first gear (around 45 mph; the speedometer doesn't work).

It made me smile. It renewed my excitement. It cured my pessimism and my apathy. My mind sharpened and my resolve increased. My priorities aligned themselves and life made more sense.

I must fix this car. It makes me happy when it works. It makes me more productive, and I like that.