Guess what we got this week??
A Volkswagen GTI! Unfortunately, the sun has not come out even once since we brought it home (there's a thunderstorm blowing through at this exact moment)- so you get a stock photo instead of Leo's actual new baby. But you get the idea.
And yes- we both absolutely love the car, but there's a lot more to it than that. SO much compromise and discussion and research went into this purchase, and frankly, I'm proud of us! Our first major purchase as a married twosome... and first major COMPROMISE. We seriously could not be on more different pages when it comes to car preference. I want the most affordable, least expensive to maintain, HIGHEST GAS MILEAGE available. And Leo wants sporty and turbo-charged and Volkswagen. (Those are his exact criteria.) So clearly there was some head-butting on this one. But after much deliberation, we finally agreed on the oh-so-awesome GTI. Leo's happy. I'm happy. Our bank account is happy.
Of course, during the test drive, my husband did manage to get up to 60mph in a residential, but he promises he'll be good from now on.
And talk about a learning experience! All of our past car buying endeavors have involved a big check and no future payments. But this time around, there was a bank, a dealer and some serious negotiation. Surprisingly, Leo played bad cop and I was the good cop... but we ended up getting exactly what we wanted. New tires, a full tank of gas, new brakes, new wiper blades, a year of maintenance free, a couple years of full coverage warranty, AND no annoying stickers on the back with the dealer's name... We are a force to be reckoned with.
There was a minor incident that involved me walking into a very large planter there in the showroom, but luckily, the negotiation had ended by that point... and there were no injuries sustained. And then Leo had another incident in the parking lot of Panera the night we brought it home. It turns out the alarm works GREAT. We still have no idea how to turn it off with the remote, but putting the key in the ignition does
do the trick. Should be smooth sailing from here.
And since we got such a great deal on the car, we decided to go ahead and take another big leap we'd been considering.
Back in January, when we were in the midst of all the social security drama and had just sent off the applications for Leo's green card and work permit and all that, I hatched an idea. As soon as everything came through and Leo was official and we could breathe again, I wanted to go to Las Vegas to celebrate! And while he thought I was kidding at first, it definitely morphed into a bona fide plan. So the tickets are booked and we fly out on June 1st!
Not only will we be properly celebrating the enormous immigration progress we've made this year, but we'll also be in Sin City for the 1 year anniversary of my leaving Botswana. ONE YEAR, people. That's just insane.
A Volkswagen GTI! Unfortunately, the sun has not come out even once since we brought it home (there's a thunderstorm blowing through at this exact moment)- so you get a stock photo instead of Leo's actual new baby. But you get the idea.
And yes- we both absolutely love the car, but there's a lot more to it than that. SO much compromise and discussion and research went into this purchase, and frankly, I'm proud of us! Our first major purchase as a married twosome... and first major COMPROMISE. We seriously could not be on more different pages when it comes to car preference. I want the most affordable, least expensive to maintain, HIGHEST GAS MILEAGE available. And Leo wants sporty and turbo-charged and Volkswagen. (Those are his exact criteria.) So clearly there was some head-butting on this one. But after much deliberation, we finally agreed on the oh-so-awesome GTI. Leo's happy. I'm happy. Our bank account is happy.
Of course, during the test drive, my husband did manage to get up to 60mph in a residential, but he promises he'll be good from now on.
And talk about a learning experience! All of our past car buying endeavors have involved a big check and no future payments. But this time around, there was a bank, a dealer and some serious negotiation. Surprisingly, Leo played bad cop and I was the good cop... but we ended up getting exactly what we wanted. New tires, a full tank of gas, new brakes, new wiper blades, a year of maintenance free, a couple years of full coverage warranty, AND no annoying stickers on the back with the dealer's name... We are a force to be reckoned with.
There was a minor incident that involved me walking into a very large planter there in the showroom, but luckily, the negotiation had ended by that point... and there were no injuries sustained. And then Leo had another incident in the parking lot of Panera the night we brought it home. It turns out the alarm works GREAT. We still have no idea how to turn it off with the remote, but putting the key in the ignition does
do the trick. Should be smooth sailing from here.
And since we got such a great deal on the car, we decided to go ahead and take another big leap we'd been considering.
Back in January, when we were in the midst of all the social security drama and had just sent off the applications for Leo's green card and work permit and all that, I hatched an idea. As soon as everything came through and Leo was official and we could breathe again, I wanted to go to Las Vegas to celebrate! And while he thought I was kidding at first, it definitely morphed into a bona fide plan. So the tickets are booked and we fly out on June 1st!
Not only will we be properly celebrating the enormous immigration progress we've made this year, but we'll also be in Sin City for the 1 year anniversary of my leaving Botswana. ONE YEAR, people. That's just insane.
Our schedules worked out perfectly, the price was right and you only live once!
1 comment:
And of course remember,,,,, What happens in Las Vegas, Stays in Las Vegas (along with a chunk of your money) . Have fun :)
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