because when push comes to shove, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

 car trouble is theworst.

car troubles confound me.  as in - i lose all ability to complete my sentences or form whole thoughts or verbalize my half of a constructive conversation.

there's nothing more maddening than paying thousands and thousands of dollars for a 4,000 pound lug of a machine... with thousands and thousands of working parts... and HAVING NO CLUE HOW ANY OF IT WORKS.

throw in there a strictly regimented weekend schedule - road trip included - and even the smallest tweak is enough to put me over the edge. 

see, i'm not a freak-er out-er.

i'm the essence of "keep calm and carry on"

until my car makes a noise or decides it won't turn on at all.

threehoursbeforearoadtrip

then i freak out.

and, i mean, i'm pretty resourceful... i've got people...

but the first saturday in spring with half decent weather?

those people are busy on that day.

bestie jen's not too busy, though.  she's got my back. 

if only she knew how to install a car battery....

enter the road trip portion of my weekend.
after the supposed car fix

aubry + mom... driving 300 miles in one direction.... on a saturday night...

and the repeated loud thud noise that kicks on when i go over 79 mph

this is what you get:

in a skirt.

without a clue.

but a mom who's making "the horizontal stripes on your butt aren't doing you any favors in these pictures" comments.

makes me think:

i'm adding another bullet point of criteria to my list...

you know, the one where i describe the non-negotiable qualities of my future spouse.

must have a functional knowledge of cars

because while it's great to be the guy who can afford car repairs - to what will surely be our verrrry expensive, maintenance diva, german made vehicles of our future fantasy dream life - his wallet will do us no good on idaho's bare section of  i15 on a saturday night. with a tight schedule to keep, no less. 

interviews begin next week.