So she planned to go there Saturday to get a free camera. I told my sister that it was a good thing my mom has lousy credit -- there's no way any car dealer in his or her right mind would finance a car for her. She's more or less on a fixed income, living off my dad's retirement, her social security and working as a substitute teacher a few times a week.
Well, she got the camera; a Largan Chameleon XP, which sells for about $40 online. No digital display, no expandable memory and no zoom capabilities. It's not much of a camera -- 350,000 pixel resolution, while my cell phone has a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. But I did use it to take a picture of the other thing she brought home:
A 2003 Lexus ES 300 with 54,000 miles, leather interior with wood trim, moon roof, power everything and probably plenty of other features I don't even know exist. And she paid more than twice as much for it than she did for her '98 Honda Civic, which she even admits is the most dependable car she has ever had. But she says she was embarrassed to be seen in it -- it was too small and too cheap. So now she'll be paying more for insurance, gas and maintenance to go along with the big car payment.I asked her whether they had anything more practical there; an Accord or a Camry. But it's her dream to have a Lexus. I admit, I think she should have a Lexus. At her age she's earned it, even though she doesn't need it. But she does need to pay her mortgage, her insurance and everything else.
Though my half-sister who lives in Austin, Texas, (and retired early off her tech stocks) did offer a solution for her: dip into my savings account with what little money I was able to squirrel away while in Tulsa -- which of course is what is paying for nursing school. At least my mom understood that it's not a possibility.
She says she'll wait a few years before I get to take over the payments for her.
I haven't earned any salary as a nurse and already my first paycheck has been spent, and not by me. But I guess I do get something out of the deal.
My mom let me keep the digital camera.
15 comments:
Oh my God, that is something.
I really don't understand the fascination of being SEEN in a fancy car. People might see you and think you're well-to-do, or just as likely — with the prevalence of people living beyond their means — think you're in debt up to your ASS, just like every other bumblebutt driving a $40,000+ car.
I have a friend here who's a Realtor who traded in her practical, great-gas-mileage car for a new luxury car, because she was convinced that it would project SUCCESS and give her more business clout. Hehe. Yeah.
Why does your mom have a mortgage at her age? Good grief. Has she been borrowing against her equity?
I liked my Lexus because it was really comfortable. I hated it because of what people might think about me for driving it.
Now I hate it because it's falling apart.
Were I a rich man wanting to spend money on an expensive car, I'd probably go exotic. If I could afford it, Maserati would probably be my first choice. If not, then maybe a high-end Jaguar.
Yeah, and even if I somehow get just oodles of cash, the only luxury car I would buy would be an Acura -- I'm staying in the Honda family. My mom did say that when she gets too old to drive I can have the car. Whoopee.
For her and Vietnamese in general it's all about status -- same deal with the doctor/editor thing.
She had a second mortgage from the convenience store she bought 15 years ago. She racked up a lot of debts in that deal, but did refinance a few years back. She'll be out of debt in 2018.
Ben, when others see you driving around in it they probably think you're a damn laywer.
Comfort is a good thing; I have to admit it's why I drive an SUV -- I'm too damn big for a smaller car.
My mom did give me the option of trading in my car instead of hers and I'd get her Civic, and I might've if I still had a two-hour commute. But I drive 15 minutes to school now, work will be on the way home, and gas is now under $2 a gallon. And to be honest, I love my CR-V. It hit 150,000 miles on my last visit to Lawrence, and it drives just as well as it did when I first got it 125,000 miles ago.
I've been driving Ben's Lexus in attempt to keep it from falling apart too quickly, and I've already been embarrassed by it. The biggest A-hole in my office -- probably the only guy at the City of Newton who would be impressed by a Lexus -- noticed it. I told him I had switched cars with my husband, and he said, "Looks like you made out pretty well in that deal." I wanted to crawl under a rock.
George, if I come visit you in my Honda Civic, won't your mom look down on me? Will she say, "George, you need a better class of friends"?
I'm sure she will. But then I'll tell her you're an editor, putting you at "doctor" status.
Isn't a copychief even better?
Not as far as my mom is concerned. It didn't matter that a copy editor is at the bottom of the newsroom heirarchy: it had the word "editor" in the title, which impressed all her friends.
Mary and I got our Acura six and a half years ago primarily because it had tons of airbags (we were only getting a new car because of a stupid bitch who had killed my Honda and tried to kill me), but it was also very comfortable and is essentially a luxury car built around a Honda. We have 118,000 miles on it and plan to drive it until it keels over. We love it. And it gets great gas mileage, etc., but you're right, George, about higher maintenance costs. Every type of routine maintenance costs more for the Acura than the Honda ever did, and there are times when I'm certain that it's not worth it. Like you, though, I'm never leaving the Honda family. Even if we become a two-car family again someday, at least one of the two will have to be a Honda.
Sorry about your Mom. I thought of your heritage yesterday when Mary and I tried out a vegetarian restaurant that's mostly Asian, including a lot of Vietnamese food. If you ever come to Tulsa again, we can take you there. I had the soy chicken sesame, which was surprisingly good. It was my first foray into fake meat, so I should add that it was a plesant surprise.
The Asian veggie place sounds good -- I'll definitely have to try it next time I'm up there.
The fake meats are surprisingly good. I remember having veggie dogs at OU with Wendy, and I used to keep my dorm fridge stocked with Gardenburgers because they were super easy to fix in the microwave (and suitably unhealthy after I topped them with chili and cheese).
You put chili and cheese on your veggie burgers? I love that.
We recently tried our first fake meat. I made a coconut curry with Chik'n. It was damn good.
I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I couldn't bring myself to eat the fake shrimp because I'm allergic to shrimp. It's a mental thing, I know, but I just couldn't do it. Mind over stomach.
Oh, Sharon! No shrimp?! That's like my all-time favorite food. I feel for ya.
The funniest (as in ironic, not as in knee-slapping funny) thing in my whole existence about my food allergies (it's not just shrimp; it's ANY kind of fish or seafood) is how many people try to get me to take a bite of something anyway. It's like, "Please? Just try one bite?" Uh, OK. When my throat closes over and my lips turn blue, could you please call 911? And these are people who (say they) love me!!!
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