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One lazy school night (I think it was Tuesday) I sat down to watch a great little indie-comedy, The Dog Problem, starring Giovani Ribisi.  I was drawn to it because I connected with title (my dog problems are a whole other post), but I stayed because it got me thinking about my car.  Weird right?  Well, in the movie Ribisi becomes a reluctant dog owner - that is not a spoiler, it's in the title - and thus his dog remains nameless for a good portion of the film.  As I was watching, it occurred to me that I am pretty attached to my car because even though he isn't some restored or sporty deal, I decided to name him.

I will not sugar coat this - my car, like many others, is a piece of (mad-lib time).  He has broken down on me a few times, stinks a little, and is generally tragic.  He pays takes the punches well though - I have driven over a number of curbs which have resulted in rust spots, I haven't washed him in a year and a half, and there is more dog hair on his upholstery than there is on my dog.  But he still gets me where I am going and, unlike a new car, I am not worried about my weekly habit of dumping coffee all over the car.  He takes it in stride.... he is a cool cat and I call him Disco Stu.

Disco Stu and I are inseparable.  I use inseparable loosely (but use it all the same) because not only do I not have another car, but because as I am nearing my final payment the inevitable is approaching - he is probably going to make me replace him.  That's the way it always happens, isn't it?

It is bittersweet.  Disco Stu doesn't have power windows or locks, the vents only blow air at one setting (full on wind tunnel), and he tends to die mid-turn when I have the ac running and make a right.  A different car may be nice, but since I named him it would be hard to replace him.