Keep your friends close...

For the last month or so, a friend of mine has been crashing on my couch and now that she's packed up her stuff and moved back home, I feel... lost.

When I first offered her the option of staying with me (due to circumstances I won't discuss here), I felt apprehensive because I've never been the type of person who liked having a roommate. Just the thought of having someone invade my personal space was enough to give me heart palpitations, but I figured she was in a bind and I was in a position where I could help, so I did. During the period of time that she spent with me, I learned a lot about myself and I can honestly say I'm a better person for having had her around.

I think there's something to be said for friendships that are built on similarities. What I didn't know prior to this experience is that she and I are a lot alike. We're both writers who work tirelessly to put out the best quality of news possible, despite the usual hardships full-time writers face. Outside of work, we both enjoy reading (she brought a huge pile of books with her to my house, for which I was thankful because I found a few interesting novels to read) and we both seem to be unlucky in love. It's refreshing to talk to someone who understands exactly how that can negatively affect my overall outlook on life. Plus just having someone around to talk to and laugh with was nice, I won't lie.

Now that she's "moved out," I find myself bored with my same old routine. Quality alone time is important, but I crave company. I want more than anything to go out and do something, anything... but what?

What's a girl to do?

I sat in the waiting room of the service station wondering what, exactly, was taking so long with my car. I had been waiting for over and hour and a half and all I asked for was an oil change. Did an oil change really take that long?

When the service representative finally called me over to tell me that my car was all set, she broke the bad news. The mechanic had performed the oil change I requested as well as a tire rotation, but while conducting an overall inspection of my 4-year-old SUV, found that I had a few “problem areas” that needed to be addressed — $1,600 worth of problems, in fact. The good news was, at least half of the items listed on the estimate sheet the service representative handed me were covered under my extended warranty. The bad news was that half of the items listed on the estimate sheet would need to come out of my pocket. 

I smiled and nodded politely as she outlined my options, and I tried in vain to work out the math in my head without outwardly showing her that she was giving me a migraine. 

By the time I scheduled a follow-up appointment to fix those problems, she handed over my keys and I made my way back to my car. I decided I had one of two options: I could trade it in and buy the shiny, new SUV I’d had my eye on for the last few months, or I could suck it up and fork over the money for the repairs. Given that the former option was about a likely as my getting hired as a television news anchor for a national news organization, I decided to plan on the latter. 

This was exactly the reason why I went out and purchased a new car four years ago: I didn’t want to have to worry about exorbitant repair bills. And while it seemed like a good idea at the time to pay up front for a problem-free new vehicle and accompanying warranty (I thought ahead and bought the best warranty the dealership had to offer, which is, admittedly, coming in handy now), the fact that I’m now faced with huge “routine” maintenance/repair bills with only 57,000 miles under my (serpentine) belt is slightly… irksome. If not for my excellent warranty, I would have been in trouble; even with my warranty, I’m struggling.

When I called my dad to lament my misfortune, he informed me that I am just one of many car owners who feel this way during this economic climate. Evidently, he was right. 

A study recently released by AAA indicates that at least one quarter of American drivers neglect car repairs or maintenance due to the economy. One in four people could not afford to pay for a vehicle repair of $2,000 if faced with one today, and one in eight would be unable to pay for a $1,000 repair, the study indicated. 

Well then, at least I’m in good company. 

Despite the financial burden, AAA encourages drivers to keep their vehicles up-to-date on routine maintenance in order to prevent more expensive problems in the future, but therein lies the rub. Do you come up with the money now in an attempt to stave off the inevitable, or do you tempt fate and hold off on spending money you don’t have in the hopes of winning the lottery? And if you win the lottery, do you pay for repairs or do you buy a new car outright? 

I’d go for the latter, but that’s just me. A girl can dream, can’t she?