Okay, first off, I’m not a huge Bob Dylan fan. I just like the name of the song.
Secondly, I’m in a quandry. Most of you know I’ve been commuting to work on my bike (pedal powered, not a motorcycle, it always irritates me when people call their motorcycles “bikes”). In a word, it’s fantastic. I’ve lost weight, gotten healthier, and I actually enjoy the trip to work and back (being at work is a different story entirely). Most of you also know I’m a huge car nut… I love fast cars. I own a sports compact car, which I love to bring to the track and abuse. It’s somewhat of a drama queen, as nothing on it is cheap to fix, and it is rather fickle. And did I mention it’s ridiculously fun to drive? However, it’s paid for, and I’m not really tempted to sell it.
Except that I am really tempted to sell it. Less than a year ago, I was at the point of almost having to sell it, because we just couldn’t afford the cost of owning it for very long… however, we managed to pay it off, and our monthly bills dropped more than $300. I was ecstatic. I didn’t have to sell my fast car. My dream didn’t die.
But the real problem lies in this: I don’t have time to enjoy the poor thing anymore. Most days it sits dejected and lonely in my driveway, collecting dust, cat footprints, and scrapes from my kids’ bike handlebars. The few days I do take it out, the car runs like a scalded cat- which is to say, very fast- but I never get to open it up like it was meant to be driven. It has become a grocery-getter, kid taxi, lawn furniture, and a few other stationary things. I have a new supercharger pulley sitting in the trunk, along with a (rather expensive) ECU tuning setup, which I haven’t used in over a year. I can’t take my kids racing with me, as they’re too young to really participate. Debbie’s not really into it, either.
On one hand, I could save up some money, finish upgrading and tuning the car, and go race it. On the other hand, I could get rid of it, and buy a lot of things I could really use, like a good microphone, some musical equipment, a new bike (one good enough that I could use to replace my car), a new laptop for Debbie, and quite a few other things.
I guess the thing holding me back is that I’d probably still have to have a second car, and that means buying a junker… and I’d rather keep my Saturn. Maybe I could get a motorcycle? Hmmm… probably not the best answer, but getting closer.