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canyonwalkerI wrote the other day that when we sold our old car, "Hawkgirl", on Friday the feeling was bittersweet. It was more than just bittersweet, though. It also capped off feelings of misgivings. Was buying a newer car the right thing to do? And were we buying the right newer car? These misgivings all melted away once we finalized our purchase of a newer car and drove it home.
There's an old saying among car dealers, "The feel of the wheel will seal the deal." It's true because it's true for car buyers, too. There's only so much of the purchase decision you can make by looking at numbers: specs, reviews, prices, etc. Those are the objective, quantifiable, "left brain" aspects. A big purchase has to satisfy the right brain, too: emotional, subjective, even visceral. Driving the new car home and feeling such satisfaction in its comfort, fit-and-finish, and modernness (compared to the 2008 vehicle it replaced) melted away all our misgivings.
So, what else that happened this weekend is clearer now with an additional day or two of hindsight? Sunburn.
Haha, no, it's not from driving a convertible through sunny Southern California or the sweltering, 100°+ heat of the Central Valley. BMW used to market its convertibles as "The Ultimate Tanning Machine." IDK when they stopped that. I loved it. Maybe because of shifting societal attitudes toward the wisdom of getting a suntan? Anyway, I wore a hat and used sunscreen lotion while we had the top down. So no sunburn there.
No, I got the sunburn from hanging out at the pool with friends on Sunday. There, too, I wore a hat and used sunscreen lotion... but I didn't wear the sunscreen everywhere I needed it. I've got burn in strange seeming places like the tops of my feet (burned a little while I was sitting out in the sun after swimming) and my upper arms and upper chest below the shoulders (I stayed in shallower water than I expected when I put lotion on my face, neck, and shoulders). Thankfully it's minor burn, though it seems like it's going to stick around for several days even as I treat it with lotion.
There's an old saying among car dealers, "The feel of the wheel will seal the deal." It's true because it's true for car buyers, too. There's only so much of the purchase decision you can make by looking at numbers: specs, reviews, prices, etc. Those are the objective, quantifiable, "left brain" aspects. A big purchase has to satisfy the right brain, too: emotional, subjective, even visceral. Driving the new car home and feeling such satisfaction in its comfort, fit-and-finish, and modernness (compared to the 2008 vehicle it replaced) melted away all our misgivings.
So, what else that happened this weekend is clearer now with an additional day or two of hindsight? Sunburn.
Haha, no, it's not from driving a convertible through sunny Southern California or the sweltering, 100°+ heat of the Central Valley. BMW used to market its convertibles as "The Ultimate Tanning Machine." IDK when they stopped that. I loved it. Maybe because of shifting societal attitudes toward the wisdom of getting a suntan? Anyway, I wore a hat and used sunscreen lotion while we had the top down. So no sunburn there.
No, I got the sunburn from hanging out at the pool with friends on Sunday. There, too, I wore a hat and used sunscreen lotion... but I didn't wear the sunscreen everywhere I needed it. I've got burn in strange seeming places like the tops of my feet (burned a little while I was sitting out in the sun after swimming) and my upper arms and upper chest below the shoulders (I stayed in shallower water than I expected when I put lotion on my face, neck, and shoulders). Thankfully it's minor burn, though it seems like it's going to stick around for several days even as I treat it with lotion.
