Me and Purple Fury

This is my car, Purple Fury (also known as Purple Thunder)

Me and this car have been through some THANGS. It's my 2nd car since I started driving. My mother had it painted purple for me for my birthday in 2004 (belated graduation gift + birthday gift). Unfortunately, after-market paint jobs can be a bit tricky so it's long since lost it's luster. I <3 it, but I've known for some time that I needed to lay it on down -- however life just hasn't put me in a position yet to be able to afford a car note. Despite having had to replace most major parts of the "under the hood" stuff, sans the entire engine, Purple Fury and I have been rolling together these last 150,000 miles or so. From random road trips to my move to DC and back to TN, we've been getting it. Then in December, I was in a small accident. No one was injured but the PF took the brunt of the accident. The passenger door was all caved in and through some unfortunate luck, the window also down about midway and won't come back up. So for the last few months, we've been riding with a bit of a hood look to us -- but the 4 wheels go and babygirl is back in school so paying for major car repairs (a la a new door) just ain't in the budget. Then last night, PF let me know she's feeling a bit unloved. She ran hot, she smoked her engine and she refused, during the night and all the rain, to defrost the windows so I could see adequately. Needless to say it was a steering wheel gripping situation over the course of several hours. I just replaced her radiator, feels like not too long ago, but my memory's bad and I may or may not have the paperwork to prove when I did it. And so now I'm looking down the barrel of any number of too expensive options. Replace at least the radiator to get it back "home" to my preferred mechanic to work out the other issues; have everything done (which... Lord, let's don't talk about that), get it running well enough to take it back to my mama's house where I take her 2nd car -- a van that get's terrible city mileage and also is in need of repair: I'd have to at least go half on that...

There's just not a good answer because at the root of it all is a lack of funds.

::sigh::

I really don't want to be rich, I Just want to be un-poor, ya dig?