We Bought The Farm

We Bought the Car...

After several weeks of back-and-forth, I finally signed on the line today and bought a Renault Scenic. We opted for the 1.9 dCi diesel 6-speed. With two kids now, this looks like being a good choice for a family car. I've still got my Escort cabriolet (1992) as "daddy's car".

I've never owned a diesel before, but I reckon with the fuel economy being about 25% better than gasoline for the same (high) price in the UK, and with diesel significantly cheaper in some continental countries, this makes a lot of sense. I'm a bit undecided on the "green-ness" of the diesel, especially as Europe cleans up its diesel specifications.

I've also never owned a new car before, but I decided that the discounting available and the timing issues about our return to the UK made this an attractive option. I started by shopping on-line at Virgin Cars, which was a useful exercise in seeing what kind of a price I could get, and then I went to a local dealer.

The dealer wanted more money, but gave us 0% financing. When I put my MBA to work to figure out the overall impact, the dealer was only slightly more expensive in the long run and this way I get to keep my cash in the bank longer. If interest rates rise in the UK, as they are forecast to do, we'll be quids-in.

So, the day after we get back to the UK, we'll be picking up the new family truckster. Can "soccer mom", or "football mum" be far behind?

...and a whole lot of other stuff, too!

May has been a shopping month for me. In addition to finalising the car, I've gone ahead and ordered all of the toys I had placed on my wish list a while back. It's been an expensive shopping month.

It's kind of surreal - I've bought all of this stuff (D70, iPod, headphones, colossal hard drive), and yet I don't actually have any of it, and won't for some time yet, since I'm not ordering it for delivery to Brazil. I just want to have it to hand without waiting when I get back. Waiting...that's what these two years in Brazil have been for. I think of this as pent-up demand. I am "such a consumer". But I really do think that'll do me for a while.

I still have my idea of being able to seamlessly wander - images, music - compact, and accessible to the Internet. So, yes, I expect to increase my photo capabilities on the blog over the months to come - one thing to look forward to. [another is more frequent posting!].

Pilgrimage Journal

Paul Rohde has a blog!

Since most of my influences over there (===>) on the right sidebar are dead, and since Wendell Berry is unlikely to start a blog, I'm really thrilled to have the chance to hear Paul's thoughts as he carries on (or not) his wanderings. With life as a pilgrimage, it's not really necessary or disappointing that he's not heading out on the road this summer.

More on England's Housing Crisis

This article from Saturday's Guardian about proposals to build new housing in Southeast England provides a lot of useful background and hits many of the same notes I touched on in my posting of April 27th.