to driving this:
Actually, it's not so much growing up, it's blanding down. Until we can get byrd to do something tasteful to it in muted metallics (think of a subtle Japanese woodcut print). Until then, it just murmurs Welcome to the Burbs, Ms Duck as it swooshes around corners.
I'm ashamed of how much I enjoy driving this car. It's an 8-year old Holden Commodore Acclaim (VTII, if you care), and it has pretty much every mod-con -- except that it has manual windows, which makes me very happy. Electric windows give me the willies. How hard is it to wind a window down, bejeezus? And it's an automatic. I lost the quest to find a manual car. Manual stationwagons under ten years old just don't exist anymore.
We do a lot of long-distance driving, which is why we've gone for the big car. It will be the first car we've owned that tall Best Beloved can sit straight up in, whilst stretching his lovely long legs comfortably. And the fact that it's a petrol guzzler has strengthened our resolve to ride our bikes as much as possible, even when it gets crazy cold.
In my family we name our vehicles. It's a bonding kinda thing. My first car was Hilda the VW Type 3, then came Poppy the red Laser, then SubyRuby the wonder car and now... Dolly.
We had a debate about the name on the way to picking up the car. Bumblebee wanted to name it after his latest girlyfriend, which I vetoed (after living with at least three animals called Monica at the same time when he had a thing for Monica Trapaga); I suggested Gracie (Grey-cie? geddit?) but Best Beloved said that he quite liked Gracie as a name and didn't want to waste it on a car. 'What', I quipped naughtily, 'saving it for your first-born? Let me know when you find the right woman for that one'. BB replied 'If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.' Do you know which 'philosopher' said that? Dolly Parton. And people think she's just a big pair of tits!, which is a reading from the gospel of David Brent, of course.
We all cracked up, and whilst laughing, agreed that Dolly was an excellent name for a car. A few more quotes, a bit of singing to educate Bumblebee on the wonders of Dolly, and a car was born.
Meanwhile, Subyruby has gone to live with a friend who hopes to do her up (and strip her back to bare metal! cool! It'll be like a bionicle!). She can presently be spotted lurking near the Sydney Writers' Festival. If you see her, give her a wave for me. I had a lump in my throat as she drove off, I must confess.