Lola the Corolla

This is a post dedicated to a very important aspect of my life: my car.

My dad bought Lola for me when I was 16.  After driving his Acura around for a few months, I wasn’t totally psyched about the ‘99 Toyota Corolla, but it was ALL mine.  Which to any 16-year-old is pretty awesome.

Over the last 9 years, this car has been everything for me.  More than a mode of transportation, it’s been witness to many firsts in my young adult life.  It took me to college (and home and back to college and home and back to college MANY times).  It drove from Pennsylvania (where I lived) to Rhode Island to visit my best friend multiple times.  In college, while visiting my roommate’s parents, her dad backed into it, not being used to having the extra car in the driveway.  I saw no point in fixing it, because it still drove, and I didn’t want to be without it for the time I would need to have it fixed.  A few years later, another roommate borrowed it and was hit in the same place.  I think that was God’s way of telling me I made the right decision.  My first break from school, I learned the valuable lesson of how important it is to put oil in your car, after a sordid evening of breaking down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and spending several hours in a car shop with a mechanic named Pierre watching Will and Grace and eating sandwiches.

In September of ‘09, Lola made the biggest trip of her life and drove all the way from Philadelphia to New Orleans.  I thought for sure this would be her last hurrah.  But, given that I take jobs that are always at least 45 minutes from my house, I still counted on her a lot.  I entered a long distance relationship and met my boyfriend “in the middle” about 5 and a half hours from home.  Lola made that trip back and forth 3 separate times.

Now that she’s getting older, her age is showing.  My driver’s side interior door handle no longer works.  Yes, I’m that girl in the parking lot rolling down her window to open her car from the outside handle.  She now has this funny thing of not wanting me to use my air conditioner while driving her and threatens to overheat (in July in Louisiana…awesome.)  She runs through oil like it's her job and I'm constantly pouring more in.

I am facing my next big move in October to Oklahoma City.  11 hours from my home.  The words “one-car family” keep popping into my head when I think about living with my fiance.  I am very frugal and refuse to go into debt for a car note (If you’re curious, check out Dave Ramsey, he’s my financial guru).  Because I’m fairly certain Lola will not survive to the time it will take me to save up for a car, I am incredibly thankful to be marrying someone who just bought a new car.  Although, he is not so big on the one-car family thing, even for a little while.

So, here’s to you, Lola.  I never thought I’d be 25 and still driving you to work every day, but you have made me very proud.  While I curse you every time your temperature gauge spikes or I pour more oil into you, you are truly a good friend.  Here’s hoping you last until next year so that I can at least say I had a decade with you.