Wednesday, August 11, 2010

New Car, New Job


Meet Florence, my new baby!

Florence is a 2010 Honda Fit Sport. I bought her yesterday after Dave and I took her for a test spin at our local Honda dealership. I'd seen Fits on the road and I liked their look, and I've long been a devotee of Hondas, so I didn't have too much trouble making a decision.

When I was car shopping, the only other serious contender was the Toyota Prius. The Prius got better gas mileage -- about 50 mpg to the Fit's 30 or so -- but it was considerably more expensive. Plus, it wasn't a Honda.

So here I am, the owner of a new car! I paid cash for her, too, so I've avoided having a car loan, which is always a plus. Florence is mine outright.

Which brings me to my next big news -- I have a job! And I mean a REAL job, a full-time staff reporting position with benefits. Woo hoo! As I hoped, my freelance gig at the local news blog led to a job offer as a reporter with one of the nearby newspapers. We have a verbal agreement and I'm going in to meet with the HR folks tomorrow.

It pays less than I made at my previous employer, but I don't have Manhattan expenses anymore, so I'm not worried about that. And it will be terrific to get back to writing and reporting and covering a beat -- all the things I missed as an editor. I'm very excited.

I'm also hugely relieved. I was more worried about being jobless than I even admitted to myself. Now that this offer has come, I feel like I've been able to exhale for the first time in months. I can plan trips and buy clothes without angsting over the expense. And having benefits is a huge plus that will keep me in much better financial shape.

A car and a job, all in one day! Wow!

9 comments:

  1. Woo hoo! I love the car. I might have to look at it for when it's time to trade the Saturn. My dad has a Prius - I keep trying to get him to give it to me. No dice, so far :)

    But the best part is the job - I'm very excited for you!

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  3. Congrats on the job, Steve ... wonderful news! And yeah -- being a beat reporter has got to be way more fun than being a cubicle-dweller. I'm always a little envious of the ones who work for my local paper, despite the fact that they continually misquote me. :)

    And that's a very shiny car, indeed! As a long-time Toyota partisan, though, I think you should have gotten the Prius. :-p

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  4. Congrats! I'm still thrilled with my new Subaru (altho it is a year old now) Been enjoying road trips.

    Congrats on the new job also!

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  5. Ps Glad to hear you paid in full for beautiful blue Flo.
    paying cash is the ONLY way I'd buy a car--those payments are not for me!

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  6. Omg, Steve, what a summer you've had. Leaving the city for realz, getting hitched, traveling, buying a car, and a new job! Life at full tilt! Congrats, congrats!

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  7. Steve, concrats all around. We have owned a bunch of Hondas and they have all been wonderful.

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  8. shiny! I hope you two are very happy together.

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