Minneapolis Woman Attempts to Remain Good Natured as Sun Sets on Kia's Life

My Kia is special to me. I paid $7000 for her at a used car dealership in Deer Creek, Minnesota one cold day in December 1999. There were 5000 miles on her. She had just been turned in after a one-year lease so was practically brand new. My dad gave me some cash, and I took out a loan for the rest, and drove her home. It was my first time driving a stick shift.

She has no power steering, no air conditioning, no power locks or power windows, or any other of your fancy and superfluous "features."

We have come a long way. Shad and I have driven Kia across the whole country, to Boston, Louisiana, San Diego, Tahoe, Montana, etc. We have slept in her many times during these road trips. And, she has taken a few beatings over the years. Driving up the Pacific Hwy 1 in California, a wind gust blew off the Yakima and bikes we had strapped on top, destroying the bikes and leaving dents all over the car. I ran into a barricade in a parking ramp one day when I was returning from a massage and was just a little too relaxed, which left a huge dent in the rear passenger-side door. The stereo was stolen, the windshield is cracked, the dashboard lights stopped working, the dome light no longer works, the fan and heater are now broken, and one of the wheel rims is missing. Notably, due to the broken heater/fan situation, the windshield doesn't defrost. The limits on the battery have been tested due to my little "leaving-the-lights-on" phase. She doesn't always start in the cold winters, but she usually does. There was a phase when the gas tank was messed up, and I could only put 5 gallons in at a time and then the gas would squirt back out at me. There have been some serious brake issues and occasional klunking noises. But all-in-all, she's been a decent and loyal car. I will certainly miss her the day after I totally lose it and place a brick on the gas and send her off a cliff.

Oh, yes. I have missed driving the Kia so much these past few days. Shad had to run some errands today, so he took the Subaru, and I drove the Kia. Ah, my dear friend.

Did I mention the driver's side door doesn't close any more? Driving to school is like a damn video game. The door swings open at every turn. This wouldn't be *such* a problem were it not for the fact that turns are precisely the time I need both hands to turn the wheel (which takes effort because I have no power steering and my front wheels are total crap), and work the stick-shift. But the most fun was driving up six levels in the parking ramp while simultaneously working the door, stick, and steering situations. Whee! God, what a dork. Luckily, it's only a 10-minute drive to school. Hopefully the car warmed up in the ramp during the day, so the latch will work again. If not, I guess we'll have to just get some rope.

I think it is Kia's last winter. But I might experience amnesia again come March.

Anyhoo...I'm done with all classes now, and am back to hanging out in the library. I didn't get my Crim Pro reading done, but am working my way through the exam with the help of "Crunch Time: Life-Saving Help in the Final Days Before Your Exams."

I just got a great assignment in Clinic. I'll be working on an appellate brief that is due mid-December. Would have been nice to have received the assignment prior to exams, but I'm psyched to have the opportunity to write it. The brief is an appeal of a denial of an order for protection before the MN Court of Appeals.