The difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys.

And Wes has an expensive new one, though he's generously sharing it with me and Ollie. After almost four years without a car, Wes and I are once again car owners. Yesterday we bought a 2009 Honda Civic LX. We've been looking at cars online, at dealerships, even at the auto show. We've waffled and wavered (though for Wes, this was pretty fast in terms of making a decision and then acting on it). We consulted my father, the king of car negotiations (he once browbeat a timid NC salesman over the phone from California to negotiate my first car), for tips. We looked into parking -- which we currently don't have (though something is in the works for Monday), so Wes is driving to Midway Airport to park the thing cheaply in an econo-lot for a few days before we get something -- or at least a city sticker so we can park it on the street without fear of a ticket. And then just did the thing. He called me once or twice to run numbers and make sure it was okay with me to go ahead. And then several hours later, he came home with a car. Since it was late (gosh, like 8:30pm or something) and Ollie was asleep, I hadn't seen it yet, so Wes took us out for a spin after work today. We now have the base for the car seat installed in the back -- something most new parents sweat over in the final weeks before the baby is born!

There's still lots to play with -- playing with power locks and windows, pre-setting radio stations and trying out the MP3 jack, and the like. We won't really use it much until next month, when Wes does his final rotation in Evanston -- a painful 90-minute+ El ride away or oh, say, a 20-minute car ride. We're also driving down to Nashville in April to find a place to live -- and hopefully test drive the other cars we're looking out for purchase #2, not to be made until June when we're down in TN.

And after four years of no driving, I'm happy to say that Wes still seems okay on it. A little tough on the breaks and well, he did try to turn down the wrong way on a divided road -- but hey, somebody honked and alerted us! It's amazing how much more you notice the potholes when you own a car and are trying to avoid them.