Vroom vroom

We bought a car! It's not exactly cherry red, more like wine-made-from-cherries red. I looked at the engine (saw that it was still pretty shiny) and tried to make my face look like the face of a real auto expert. Poke, pause, peer. Hmmm. Yes, I am a force to be reckoned with, I know how to use a dip stick.

The seller, an older gentleman called Brett, talked a mile a minute and offered all sorts of tips and advice, from when to replace the tires to where to find cheap camping gear. He took us out for a test drive, during which he'd point out the passenger-side window (on the left hand side of the car) and emphasise that to stay safe you just have to keep a good distance from the curb. This is obvious advice, I'm sure that when you drive (whoever you are) you keep yourself towards the center line, and avoid breaking off parked cars' side mirrors. But when Chris got behind the wheel, and I got into that passenger seat, we realised how difficult it is to keep away from the curb. Instinctively, Chris pulled away from the screaming tide of oncoming traffic, and drifted closer and closer to parked cars and cyclists. I'd say, "keep to the left", " but watch out for that biker", "you actually are kind of close to the curb" and my body would tighten and lean towards the middle of the car, away from the inevitable disaster that was gonna happen right outside my window.

In the end we were fine, and after frantically searching--frantically is how we did everything--for a parking lot that wouldn't cost more than the car, we frantically pulled down into a parking garage beneath Sky City. This Sky City houses a big fancy casino, hotel, restaurant and the sky tower (think Seattle's Sky Needle or whatever it's called). I was sure we'd be stuck, paying a million dollars just to exit back out. But I was so wonderfully wrong and for two days parking we'll only pay 10$ (NZ) and know that our cute little stationwagon is safe and sound.