Just when I thought I was out...

The car enthusiasts blood never leaves. It even grows stronger when you don't have a car at all. 

Last week I sold the Miata and I've been doing the San Francisco public-transportation thing, quite happily, mind you. In this crowded metropolis it's so freeing to not have to worry about parking, street cleaning, tickets, and the audacious traffic. Riding the train I can relax and listen to podcasts until arrival at destination.

However, the fact is I am without a car, and as a petrol-head (it says so on my landing page) the yearning, the withdrawal symptoms, are ever present, more so than I realized because indeed selling the car was the correct decision and I'm immensely happy. On my daily commute I can't help to analyze the cars passing by and if it's a nice one I think about what it would be like to own it. 

Paradoxical, isn't it. 

Since selling the MX-5 I've also had renewed interest in automotive content on Youtube. I would go as far to say I'm actually enjoying the content more now that I don't own a vehicle. I think my subconscious reckons the abolishment of driving as a system malfunction and is therefore not so subtly pushing me to correct the situation. 

It makes sense: I've got leftover money from the sale and can easily afford to buy another car.

My subconscious won't win though because I am quite determined to be car-less for at least the next few years. In the meantime I'll enjoy the reenergized amusement I get from Youtube car shows and watching awesome cars drive by on the bus home. 

The transit life. 

I've got travel withdrawals

Due to various circumstances and scheduling issues, I've yet to do any traveling since the end of May - first world problem, I know. The next trip isn't until Thanksgiving break, so the wanderlust pangs are going to be insufferable. I think in the future it'd be wise to split vacation time to bookend the summer instead of taking it all in the beginning. That said, spending the solid two weeks in Seoul this early June was absolutely worth the travel withdrawals I'm experiencing now.

To abate the wanderlust in the interim, I shall do a bit of exploring here in my own backyard of California. Autumn is officially upon us and the foliage colors will no doubt be amazing. it'll simply take a few hours worth of driving to get to such places, since San Francisco distinctly lacks any seasonal visual difference. That tree with amber-colored leaves you encounter in San Francisco is the exact tone year round. 

Driving to destinations is just as well, since I've been meaning to put more miles on the Miata. In two months time the car will be two years old, but the odometer has barely rolled past 12,500 miles. That's roughly 7,000 miles per year, compared to 9,000 per during my time with the Subaru WRX STI, which is already few by average standards. A stark perspective on how little I'm taking the car out to drive - the whole point of why I bought the car in the first place. Sports cars like the Miata are meant to be driven and enjoyed on the open road, and I must do more on to that end.

Otherwise, might as well trade it in for a typical commuter car.