Last Chance Come and Gone

On Saturday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), I purchased my
latest vehicle, a 2006 Acura RL, from Carmax. The used
car company offers a five-day return policy, and
Thursday--May 10th--was my deadline.

I figured out some flaws with the car. We paid higher
than my original budget (though R. was more than
willing to approve the new price tag). It gets
atrocious gas mileage versus our Accord hybrid (but
heck, virtually any other six-cylinder car will, too).
And there's a slight but persistent creaking from the
sunroof which I'd probably never have noticed except
for the car's quietness. (Solution: close the shade.)

Then, yesterday, I realized I didn't perform the most
basic task when buying a used car: get its history.
R., thankfully, was willing to do so and, after $20,
got a clean bill of health from the DMV. Whew!

I had until 9PM yesterday to return my car to Carmax
for a full refund. When I looked at my cellphone and
saw it was 945PM, I knew that my mind was made up.

The Wall of Love

R. will nearly discuss anything. Note the "anything",
though. One topic which is gently avoided is our prior
sex lives.

It's not that we're embarrassed by them. It's just,
for various reasons, R. does not want to talk about
that aspect of our histories.

Trust me, I've tried. But trying to go beyond "What
did you do before you met me?" is met with, "I dated."
That's it. No names, details, or emotion beyond
playful dismissal.

And R.'s lack of interest about our sexual histories
extends to any interest in MY prior proclivities. It's
as though our "real" lives--as Joel & R.--started when
we first met those near-fourteen years ago. Everything
else before that, from my prior relationships,
children, bathhouses, dates, answering ads, Thailand,
etc., belonged to other people, folks whom R.,
bluntly, wouldn't care less.

Sometimes I think R.'s blind about not querying about
my past. I later realize, though, it's not so much as
"blindness" as faith and love that we're right for
each other.

Excuse me. I think I'm going to cry.

Weekend Words

Plans can change in an instance.

Take Saturday, for example. Our original goal was to
hit Renfaire. R. wanted to exchange a pewter mug and
have a ring custom-made. Instead, after a quick
breakfast, we visited--again--the local Carmax to
check out another Acura RL. I also wanted to
test-drive a Cadillac STS and an Infiniti G35.

The RL has an interesting history. I was already aware
of it, showing up on Carmax's website. But not only
was it priced above my price range, but it was out of
state.

But fate interviewed. Someone wanted a closer look at
the luxury sedan and paid to have it transferred to
the Irvine store. You would think, then, they'd bother
to show up.

Nope. When we were checking out the car, I found
"hold" paperwork in the passenger row, showing the
time had come and gone. R. later speculated that they
had purchased another car in the interim.

Thus, unlike the last RL I test-drove (which was being
transferred to another store whose requestors did buy
it), I did not feel restrained when I test-drove the
new one.

I purchased the 2006 Acura RL shortly afterwards*.

We grabbed an early dinner since it was too late to
make Renfaire. Since it had been a while--and I wanted
to continue driving the RL--we heading to Huntington
Beach to visit DVD Planet and Barnes & Noble. We took
a scenic route, though: instead of hopping on the
freeway, we took Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).

The rest of the evening was spent reading.

Sunday R. was on-call. I ran errands, including
dipping into a local Acura dealership to get some
aftermarket information. Unfortunately, the service
department was closed. Rest of the night was spent on
housework. I did, though, take the car out for a spin
around midnight.

Overall, a...productive weekend.

*NOTE: Still have mixed feelings on my decision.
That's subject to another post, though.

"Carpe Diem"
(Seize the Day),

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