Still bouncing off the walls

I am more excited about getting a car than I thought possible. I wasn't excited about driving lessons (hated them, for the most part), I wasn't excited that I passed my test (mostly relieved that I wouldn't have to do any more lessons), I just about enjoyed my Pass Plus course (because I had a fab instructor), but for some reason, I am bouncingly, squealingly and probably irritatingly excited by getting an actual car. It seems utterly surreal that there will be a car, and it will be mine, and I will be able to get into it and drive it places whenever I like. I think I'm actually, finally getting the message that all that time, stress and money (listed in decreasing order of importance!) that I invested in this will actually be making a positive difference to my life. I'm delighted with the car I've found. It has five doors, and aircon. It's 18 months old, and has a very reasonable amount of miles on the clock for its age. Its only previous owners are the garage, for whom it has been a demonstrator. That means it hasn't been hooned around the place by some boy racer, and it also comes with a few nifty bonuses that are installed on all demo cars, to stop them getting bashed up in use, namely mudflaps, a boot liner, mats in all 4 foot-wells and clip on headlamp protectors (weird! Never even heard of those before!). I am particularly pleased with it having mudflaps, having compared Badger's car to J's and seen the difference they make. ;) They're putting tax on it for a year for me, too. The fact that the car, plus a year's insurance, is fitting exactly into the budget I set for myself doesn't exactly hurt, either. For the curious: that budget is equal to the amount I got paid as compensation for being knocked off my bike by a careless driver several years ago. I carefully put that money on one side for exactly this purpose. It seems fair that the accident that caused me so much pain and anxiety (and effectively stopped me from learning to drive for 2 years) has at least helped me onto the road in some small way. For the very curious: the pic of the car linked to in my previous entry is my actual car. Well, it will be mine as of Tuesday morning, when I take delivery. Cool, huh?