Sick Leave is a Dangerous Thing...

My surgery went well. The problem seems to have been correctly diagnosed, and my calcium levels are back down to where they should be. The worst part of it all was the week I had to stay home from work... I'm limited in lifting nothing over 10 pounds or doing anything to stress the sutured area in my neck, so life has come to a screaming halt. I couldn't even sneak off and finally start getting a little bike riding in, because of the constant strain that would be on that general part of my neck.

So what do you do when there's nothing to do except pace? Start browsing the Internet to see who has gas efficient cars these days, that's what. We don't think with the distance we drive that a hybrid is really a good choice, and some of the mechanics we've talked with seem to agree. There's one thing I DO know for certain; the truck we have isn't being used, and it seems silly to have it just sitting there gathering dust.

I made the mistake of going to the Toyota dealer to look at a model that was supposed to get 36 miles per gallon with just a standard engine (not a hybrid). Too bad for me, but my head scraped the roof liner -- not a good fit at all. Then the rat-bastard salesman (whom we actually like and have dealt with previously) suggested I look at a Corolla instead. (The last time we went there, we were seriously thinking about a hybrid SUV. The same salesguy suggested the newly redesigned RAV-4 instead, which got roughly the same mileage and cost less. We like our RAV-4!)

So when he suggested I look at the Corolla, I figured I might as well listen. I tried it out, found out that the Sport level has a five speed stick (Valerie really misses having a stick, an option not available in the RAV-4), and after wasting all of the day down in Boise we no longer have a truck, but there IS a new Corolla in the garage. We bought it outright with the trade and cash; no payments to come in a month's time and suck the joy out of life!

The downside is that I used money in an account I had been saving up to get a new tandem with... a top of the line model that breaks down and fits into a couple of suitcases, thus making travel with the bike a snap. I figure I've got three and a half more years before I'm eligible for retirement, and we haven't been able to get out and do any riding since the ride in Stanley. It's either been too cold, too windy, and then there's the medical part once again.

The upside is that, with gas prices the way they are, we'll be able to afford to make the daily drive to work. And I can start saving up, once again, for that dream retirement tandem.