Kismet/Fate/Destiny...

It has certainly been a while, hasn't it?

I am really not sure where this past month has gone. The days seemed long while I was living them, but now that I am looking at my last post it doesn't really seem like any time has passed.

I went to a concert with my little brother, my sister and her husband last night. We saw Incubus, thanks to $10.00 tickets. I only recognized a few of their songs -- apparently they were really big when these younger "kids" were in high school. I was out of college by that time, and according to comments made by my little brother and my nephew I am in a time warp so that music didn't really appeal at the time. I was too busy buying CD's of Harry Connick, Jr. and Journey by then, anyway.

The crowd was more fascinating to me last night than usual. My type of concert involves a lot of people my age or older. So, needless to say, I saw a lot more tattoos than I normally expect. I'm not putting tattoos down, of course, but I am afraid that I would have a very low tolerance for that type of pain so I couldn't help but "shudder" quite a few times at some of the strategically placed tattoos that were there. I also couldn't help but think how a lot of those people are really going to dread caving in to peer pressure and fads a few years down the road when they realize that employers don't really like tattooed bodies and when their bodies start to sag and the tattoos start to sag with them.

Another thing that I am grateful for: the fact that I don't drink. One drunk girl kept walking around -- apparently looking for her "peeps" -- but she couldn't seem to find her way. Personally, I felt bad for her and wanted to walk around with her looking but she was so wasted that she probably didn't even remember who she came with. I have had visions of her walking around after all the people left the arena -- *sigh*. My brother and I had to witness the aftereffects of another drunk girl puking her guts out, then watch a lot of nut-heads step in it because they were walking around in the dark without shoes on. Yuck!

The best part of the concert? The band left the stage and the lights came on and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" started blasting on the sound system. It was kismet.

Speaking of fate, last Friday we went to the "big city" to have the Clear Bra installed on our Honda. The paint has finally cured enough (from my husband's crash) that I decided to make the appointment. We had time to kill and no real place to go, so we went to the Toyota dealership to "test drive" new cars. As we were driving out of the parking lot, my husband saw a black, used 4Runner. He immediately stopped the "loaner car" that we were borrowing for the day, got out and I am almost certain that I could see drool running down his chin. We took it on a test drive and he fell in love with it. We talked with the salesperson and decided that we didn't want to pay what the dealership was asking, so I took the key back after our "afternoon with the car" and told the guy that we weren't interested. He offered us a really good deal at that point, but I thanked him and walked away.

We felt good about our decision until the morning when I called the previous owner (who left some of his information in the jockey box). He had really good things to say about the SUV and the only reason he traded the leased vehicle was to downgrade. So, we called the dealership, cleaned out our old 4Runner, and went "Up North" to make a deal. My step-dad would be so proud of my negotiating skills with this car; I just wish he were here to share the story with.

So, we have a new-to-us 4Runner that has a working 4-wheel drive mechanism instead of an old, untrustworthy car. And, I won't have to replace the brakes before the next inspection. Woo hoo!!! The part of our car-shopping experience that made me "know" the 4Runner was meant to be: Journey's "Send Her My Love" played on the radio just as we were ready to turn the engine off from our test drive... :)

Farewell old friend and hello new: