As I was driving home from work, I also wondered what I might have to write about tonight. Friday’s posts are always the toughest. The last post before the weekend, which is always just chock full of blog fodder. By Friday though, I have milked the previous weekend dry. My mind is still full of a week’s worth of work thoughts, but that can sometimes be the third-rail of the blog-o-sphere, so it is best not to handle it too often. So, I’m commuting home, racking my brain for a suitable hook, when it comes to me. I’ll write an ode of love to my new car, my black Prius.
I love my new car, let me count the ways. I love its new car smell, which has all but faded, but fortunately has not been replaced by any other odors. I love its bravery, for having braved a night in downtown Detroit. I love the way it makes my heart stop, when after sitting at a red light, the light turns green, I press on the accelerator pedal, and then the engine cuts out, but the car still glides silently across the intersection. What I love most of all, is playing its mileage game.
The mileage game is a video game. It is interactive. You can play it while you are doing other tasks, like going to work, so it is not a time waster like the others. Most importantly, you play the mileage game for money, gas money. This video game offers electronic displays that detail your instantaneous mileage, perfect for the day-to-day car wars to and from work, but it also allows you to integrate your mileage over longer trips. Most importantly though, you can always check your total score and see how well you are doing. On this tank of gas I am hovering between 48 and 49 miles-per-gallon. I know that I can do better and with practice, I know that I will.
In truth though, it is not about the money or even the mileage. The mileage is just a way to keep score, when you play the Prius game and this game is fun. New cars are never a good investment. They lose money as soon as you drive them off the lot. I could have bought another Corolla and I would have been happy with it for a while, but not near as long as my love affair with my Prius will last. The savings on gas will never justify the purchase of the Prius over another Corolla, but since when do we justify love with dollars and cents?
The ditty at the top of this post is fun. Click on it and it will carry you to a great website, Up to Ten. The picture with this post is an animated GIF. If you click on it, it will begin to animate. I’m trying to imitate a slide show that I saw on the airport shuttle bus this week. Like my Prius driving, I will get better with practice.