posted
Okay, I am already having the best Christmas ever. Tonight, I found out that my dad and stepmom are buying me a BRAND-NEW CAR for Christmas!!
I'm about to unleash a long ramble on you all, but it's to explain how incredible and unexpected and needed this gift is!
See, I lived with my mom when I was a kid--my dad left my mom when I was only one year old. Dad and Kathy (stepmom) have always been the stereotypical "stern and cold stepfamily" to me. Mom raised me agnostic and liberal, they were evangelical Christian and conservative. At home, Mom and I were a team, but with Kathy and Dad, they were my PARENTS and I was their CHILD. It was very hard, especially because my mom and my stepmom HATED each other, and my Mom and Dad were only on speaking terms when I was the subject, and speaking was absolutely necessary. They both fought their wars with each other through me, and it was like a twenty-year pressure cooker. When I went to college, I escaped, and I think it really troubled them to see how little time I chose to spend with them. They've been really nice to me lately, but their early domineering and disapproving behavior has led me to hide a large part of myself from them. They have no idea that I'm a pot-smoking left-wing atheistic cynical slacker--and if they knew, they'd probably disown me. As a result, I've been pretty distant to my stepfamily (and, unfortunately, that includes my three AWESOME half-siblings who I LOVE!) lately. We see each other every few months or so nowadays . . . pretty sad.
Anyway, I've been living on my own, trying to survive, and my ancient Honda finally gave out on me about four months ago. I survived on carpooling to a landscaping job (it's snow removal, now). Ironically, the landscaping crew had a deal with the contractor who did Dad's house and subdivision . . . Dad's $1M+ house in an incredible subidivison.
See, this is the interesting part--Dad's rich. He climbed the corporate ladder and now has a TON of cash and stocks and stuff. Back in the day, he never helped me with college, never really helped me with anything. And here I was, working for a landscape crew in the fall and winter, cutting the grass in the entranceway to their rich-assed subidivision? How pathetic is that? The manual labor, keeping the grounds in front of his own father's near-palatial dwelling? Man, that was a tough pill to swallow.
So anyway, I was getting paid in cash, and I was blowing most of that cash trying to fix my Honda. I had just bought a new engine for it, and my friend and I just finished yanking the old engine yesterday. But tonight, Dad called me over for a "chat" . . . turns out they were able to get an incredible deal on a brand-new Pontiac Sunfire, and they'd decided to buy one for me. They're even covering the first three month's insurance! Kathy will be here tomorrow at 9:30 to pick me up and drive me to Flint, where I'll sign the papers and drive the car back up here!!
It's so incredible. Now, I can get a REAL JOB where I don't have to CARPOOL and do physical labor, just to survive! This, like, seriously changes my life. To have a brand-new, under-warranty car? With insurance and roadside assistance and a sunroof and a CD/mp3 player? CRAZY! It's seriously the biggest break I've ever gotten in life, and like the second-best thing ever to happen to me (next to meeting my girlfriend, hee hee! ).
posted
That's awesome! I'm glad your parents have decided to come through for you, and I hope this changes your life and relationship with them for the better... Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
First: thanks for all the nice replies! I'm just zinging around the room happy right now!
Second: yeah, there's some value left in the Honda. Now, the front end is a little crunched, and some jerk stole the stereo out (and took the entire center of the dash with it ). However, with the new engine, and the turbo kit my friend is donating me, we should be able to make it QUITE fast. At that point, I'll sell it to somebody in my car club. It'll be a track car for the rest of its days, I'm sure.
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That's so cool, policy! Congratulations! That's great that your dad decided to do that for you. It'll be nice to get a real job, I'm sure. Manual labor is great exercise but the pay sucks. Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I am actually remarkably conflicted about this -- but while I'll be grinchy enough to MENTION that I'm conflicted, I'm not so grinchy as to explain why at any length.
I'm glad this gift makes you happy.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Tom - I'm interested to hear what you have to say; it's not actually Christmas anymore, so it wouldn't be too grinchy. I promise I won't flip out on you or anything.
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). However, with the new engine, and the turbo kit my friend is donating me, we should be able to make it QUITE fast. At that point, I'll sell it to somebody in my car club. It'll be a track car for the rest of its days, I'm sure.
