Mmmmmm Minivan...

Ok it's waaaaaay past my bedtime but I just had to zip out this little hooray for posterity: I got my van back from the body shop today! What, I didn't mention that I got into a car accident back in early March? In my brand new lovely minivan? Um, well, I did. I was pulling into a tight space in a parking lot in Berkeley and I misjudged how close I was to the big ol' pickup truck to my right. (God did I feel incredibly stupid after that one...) I smashed up my right rear quarter panel and the sliding door pretty damn well (to the tune of $5,000 worth of body work, ouch) and the car has been in the shop for the last two weeks while it's been getting fixed.

So for the last two weeks I've had to drive a big black Jeep Laredo as my rental car (well, I didn't *have* to, but it's what they gave me at the time because they were out of normal sedans…bleah) and let me tell you, I did not like it, Sam-I-Am. I've probably ranted about my dislike for SUVs in general before, but this one was not only irritating in a big clunky gas-guzzling kind of way, it was also generally unimpressive in terms of schlepping capacity and driving experience, especially after having gotten used to driving a delightful creampuff like the Odyssey. And because it was big and black I felt like a mafia wife or something--I kept wanting to make excuses to everyone around me every time I got out of it ("no really, this isn't my car"). Of course if I had done that I would have had to admit why I *was* driving this car…because I'd smashed up my lovely new one. So I kept quiet.

But the point is, I'm thrilled to have my van back. I think I love it more than ever now. Mmmmmm minivan…an unlikely love story perhaps, but there you go.