At A Price

I have to admit, I wasn't too excited about having a Toyota Altis instead of another Honda Civic to replace the car that I wrecked a few months ago. At first glance, it's not as eye catching as the Civic. The Civic screams innovation and youth, while the Altis--- because of the very few changes made through the years, it looks a bit dated...truth be told, it looks like a family car, a car your dad would drive. The fact that Orlando Bloom is endorsing it--- the epitome of uncool and everything BLAH these days, definitely isn't helping (what the hell was Toyota thinking, getting him as an endorser?!). But when the car was delivered two days ago... WHOA. It didn't look too bad at all. It looked great actually. I just had to bring it out for a test drive ASAP. LOL. Although I miss the futuristic design of the Civic, with its digital odometer and all, the Altis actually packs a lot more features underneath its conservative design.

Yesterday, my grandmother said that we should bring the car to church and ask the parish priest to have it blessed... to make the car "accident proof". O---kay... as if dousing the car with holy water can make it accident proof. So we brought the car to church, because saying NO would only lead to a string of never ending arguments. As expected, we had to pay a HEFTY sum first, before the priest would bless the car... because nothing is FREE these days, not even religious services. So much for the virtue of charity. I managed to keep a straight face as various religious quotes were spoken, even as the priest turned to me and included me in his prayer and blessing... but my eyes nearly popped when even the interiors were doused with holy water. Never mind if the water was probably unclean and it would most probably stain the seat covers... apparently holy water couldn't damage the electronic components in the dashboard simply because it was miraculous and therefore defied the laws of matter.

Contrasting religious beliefs aside (or lack thereof), at least I have a new car. I can pretend to be a devout catholic for a new car. No big deal. Going to work wouldn't be such a chore again. Say goodbye to the hassles of public transport--- Overcrowded buses and trains, taxi drivers who refuse to take you to your desired destination because it's out of their way. Every good thing has several strings attached, we just have to determine whether or not the benefits outweigh all the undesirable things that come with it.Having a car of my own is great... but at what price? The very moment my dad gave me the car keys, he reminded me that application for residency WHERE I USED TO WORK starts in July. I was a fool to believe that the issue has been settled. My new car wasn't just a gift. It was a BRIBE.

Looking back at my entries this time last year, I begin to wonder... Am I ready to go through all that all over again? Do I even want to? Is having a new car worth giving up the contentment and relative happiness that I seem to have now?