The Smart Move?

Strange-ass day, all told. If nothing else, I think today could be seen as an example of evolution in action.


Get this: for seven years, d and I lived in London, and for at least six of those, neither of us missed having a car. d missed it badly when she first arrived in the UK, but with the unutterable madness of drivers in London, coupled with an inability to park, the likelihood of theft or damage, and the extra charges on top that came with the idea of owning a car in the city, she pretty soon decided that figuring out the bus network was her best option, and pretty much never looked back.

We've been in Merthyr three months. Something like a week ago, we acquired a garage.

I'm not entirely sure why - mainly, if I'm honest, I think it was Ma settling scores - there used to be a garage linked to this flat, but because Ma filled it with things that were conspicuously Not-Car, the Council frowned and wagged its finger and took it away from her. So when a notice was seen stuck to the door of our block last week that read "There's a garage going begging - How bad do you want it, Bitches?", Ma went into battle and secured it for us.
So, for the last few days, we've been the proud tenants of a lot of empty space behind a garage door.

"Wonder if we could both fit into a Smart car..." mused d apparently idly three nights ago.
For those who don't know, a Smart car is pretty much to the automobile industry what a sawn-off shotgun is to firearms. It's small, and yet not entirely laughable, being Mercedes-engineered. It's what they call a City Car, meaning you can park it even in cities, get reasonable fuel economy, and can probably, in an emergency, be stopped by a big man with a shovel. In essence, it's little more than a vaguely metal tracksuit on wheels.

It's also been a standing joke as long as we've been together - Smart cars are adorable and cute and gutsy, and we've always liked them, but we've always joked that if you put the two of us in into one of them, a) you couldn't close the door, and b) it wouldn't be able to go anywhere, because, bless 'em, they're ever so cute, but muscle cars, they are not.

I chuckled when d said it this time. I shrugged.
"Let's find out," she said. The Springtime sunshine was warm, and anything was possible, so
"OK," I said.
We wandered to a local used car dealership. As if by magic (or perhaps having seen it was what had inspired d in the first place), the first car we came across was a beautiful little shiny black Smart car. We opened it, got in and discovered it was semi-automatic (important, as d only drives automatics), and from the instant we got in it, we didn't particularly want to get out of it. 

I spoke to the bank today. And then we went back. We're test driving it tomorrow, because, as it turns out, several stone down, Hell yeah, we both fit in a Smart car.

That's what I mean by evolution in action, really - the change in the environment drove change in our 'selves' that will see us explore new territory and new opportunities. Note to self...don't drive everyfreakin'where. Must...still...walk. Just...MUST!