Time and Transportation

Tonight, as I am gearing up for classes starting next week and needing a way to get to them on time from work, I went up to Brigham City to check out a car I was thinking of purchasing. It was an '87 Honda Accord with 253,000 miles on it going for the bargain price of $500. Ever since my friend Gina bought a car (that she still uses) for $500 dollars as a way of not going into debt, I have made it my goal since returning to Utah to buy a car for the same amount. Tonight's option looked promising, but in the end I just didn't feel right about it. Not that the car wasn't a good deal for it's price, but because I need to wait (my ever-going life lesson to learn patience) until I'm more secure in my job and could spend a few extra hundred dollars on a car. So instead my money will go towards books for the coming semester (which surprisingly and sadly isn't much less than the price of the car). I mean, I've been getting around pretty good without a car for awhile now, and figure that one more month can't be that bad.

Ten years ago, as I turned sixteen and was in need of a car for my important activities, my dad bought me an '87 Toyota Camry with 217,000 miles on it for $3000. I got to thinking that ten years later I was trying to buy a similar type car and was only going to pay $500. Wow, how ten years changes things.

As I boarded FrontRunner in Ogden and said goodbye to my dad, I still felt good about my decision to not take the car. Did I still feel that way as it took me two hours, to the minute, as I boarded the 7:16-leaving train and walked in my front door at 9:16, to get home when if I had bought the car I could've been home at 8? Well, yes. For the most part. When you take public transportation to get around the most valuable things it costs is time. So even though I could've been home much sooner, I felt good knowing I was using UTA (because the buses are going to run regardless of whether I'm on them or not) and saving the planet. And I was able to finish my book, The Age of Innocence, which I loved, and was grateful to have the time on the train to finish. Reading and public transportation are two things I love.