Grocery shopping, cart return, and car compliment

On Saturday, I went grocery shopping. Every couple of week, I drive into Toronto to hit one particular grocery store that has specific items that I can't get in my neighbourhood. I like this store a lot.

I had a small cart. After I had paid for my groceries, I rolled a small cart with my items over to my car, unloaded them into my car's trunk, and proceeded to put my cart away. There was a nice man who spotted me returning my cart.

"I can take that," he said cheerfully.
"Thanks," I said, leaving the cart a few feet from him so he could sanitize it.
"That's a beautiful car," he said, looking at my blue Corolla hatchback.
"Oh, thanks so much!"

I have to agree with him. It i a good-looking car.

Nearly sideswiped by a woman who did not check her blindspot

One of my biggest fears is driving next to someone who does not check her blindspot. It happened to me last night.

I was driving home and a car moved into my lane, almost hitting me. I moved into the middle turn lane and honked at her for a long time. My car has a decent whiny, annoyed tone that she finally moved over. It was scary. It made me angry.

I finally got to take a look at the person as I managed to pass her several minutes later. She was an older woman with silver hair. She looked embarrassed and didn't look at me.

I do wish that folks would take the time to do a shoulder check. It can save lives. It can also make them better drivers.

When I got my car, one of the features that I wanted was as much of a clear view around me while driving. I didn't get that when I tested the C-HR. I love that I do with my Corolla hatchback.

I am a bit rattled, but I'll be okay.

My car turns heads and starts conversations, even with the windows up

My car is a conversation starter. Even when I'm stopped at a traffic light, the flame blue colour turns heads.

I was driving home from work on Monday night. I was stopped at a light. A Jeep was next to me. The guy had three car lengths ahead of him.

I looked over. He was looking at my car. Our eyes met. I had my windows up, but we could clearly read each other's lips.

"Do you love my car?" I asked him.
"Yes, the colour is beautiful," he said.
"I love it, too," I said.

He had a huge smile on his face. I gave him a thumbs up. The light turned green and we drove straight ahead before he turned right at the next light.

It's interesting how humans interact. It's also fascinating how much guys admire a nice car.

New car!

I am a proud owner of a new Corolla hatchback! I love it.

Naturally, there were a few odd hiccups to get it on Friday. First, I had to call my insurance to get confirmation that I have this new car insured. The insurance company failed to send it to the dealership.

Second, the vehicle registration wasn't ready in time for my appointment. I went in to take care of my paperwork and settle the bill. I then came back four hours later to get the registration and my car.

Third, while my sales person installed my licence plates on the new car, the hole were larger than the bolts. Odd! He got a couple of mechanics to looking into the issue. Both hadn't seen it before!

Fourth, my last name was spelled incorrectly on a couple of forms. Thank goodness I caught them. We had to get them corrected, reprinted, and resigned.

After all of that, I drove my car around for an hour, stopping at a couple of places before heading home. I love how quiet it is. It's like driving my Prius, but a lot more fun. I am also loving the push-button technology. My previous car was the old key method.

I'll be testing it out all weekend. Yay!

New car lease

I have a new leased car. Thanks to everyone who provided details on switching to a new lease early and pointing out details that I needed to investigate. I appreciate it!

Last week, I had a talk with my manager. He loves cars and recommended getting the C-HR. I test-drove it on Wednesday and it handles well. The problem is that it has huge blindspots on the sides. The rear passenger windows are tiny and it's dark back there. I didn't feel comfortable doing shoulder checks. Down the road, if this car model is redesigned and changes are made to the passenger side windows, I'll reconsider it.

I currently have a Scion iM. It was rebranded as a Toyota iM. It is now the Corolla hatchback. It felt comfortable when I drove it. I like having a push-button start like my Priuses in the past. I like going into drive mode and giving my foot a break by pressing the Stop button. I like going into parking mode and having the emergency brake automatically engage.

It felt fun to drive, just like my current car. I didn't experience that with the C-HR.

The crazy thing is that I put less money down and my payments are much lower. I have been with Toyota for nine years, so it's nice that my track record with them has been good.

I get my car in a couple of Fridays. I need to start clearing my stuff out of my car. My glove compartment is atrocious. I will work on not doing that with my new car.