back from the dead

Tim, your car nearly died this week. [I drive Tim's old car]

I was backing out of my parking spot on Tuesday, put it into first gear, then went to second, and I wasn't able to shift from there. It was permanently stuck in second - couldn't even get it to neutral. I figured that was it, the transmission was blown, it would cost untold thousands to fix, and that would be the end. Tuesday night I drove it for three miles in second gear through Brentwood to the mechanic - Steph drove behind me in her boss's truck, we both had our flashers on - I said to her, "It's like we're in a parade... a parade of losers."

Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The shifter cable had frayed and broken, resulting in my inability to remove it from gear. And while it hurt financially to fix it, it wasn't as bad as a new transmission, and certainly not as bad as having to buy a new car on the spot.

I'm determined to get this car to 200,000 miles... then I'll feel like I accomplished something. We're extremely close. At the same time, it was a reminder that we probably ought to start shopping for a second car, so we're going to do that.