The Filipina and her car

It took me four tries to pass the behind-the-wheel test. That's three tries after which I cried really hard and doubted myself. Failure is not my cup of tea. Never was.

One of the things that got me really motivated to pass the driving exam was that we decided that I get to pick out the car that I want, subject to hubby's approval of course (in case I decided to buy something like an overpriced yellow beetle, which I was infatuated with for a while). We set a budget and I set out to do my research. I went on Yahoo autos, Consumer Reports, manufacturer's websites, product reviews. I was determined to get the best car we can for our budget.

One day, out of the blue, D came home all excited. He just bought a car! From his friend. It was just $400. Of course, I should have been happy and understood, but when I saw the car, I wasn't very impressed. It was an '89 Toyota Celica. Now, back in the Philippines that car would have been considered 'nice'. Having a car in the Philippines is nice.

I should have been happy about it. But I was all hung up on the idea of getting to pick out my own car. D is nice enough to pass his Honda Accord to me and he gets his little $400 Celica. I should have understood.

I asked why he didn't ask me before deciding to buy the car. Isn't that what couples are supposed to do?

"I thought I'd surprise you. We're saving so much money. And I figured you are not driving this car anyway, so I didn't really need to ask you," D reasoned.

"Well, if I decided to buy ten pairs of shoes, then I don't need to ask you about it because you're not gonna wear any of them," I countered.

Fast forward a year later. The little $400 Celica was almost ready to die. But not before we spent a few hundreds on maintenance. It was time for a new car. I was looking forward to getting a reasonable, reliable, average car. This time, D surprised me - with a car that I didn't even dare dream of having.