Ode to a Mazda

For those of you who know me, you have inevitably known me while I have owned my Mazda 626.  I have owned this car since December 2001.  We purchased this car out of necessity.  My previous car "blew up" while at home for Christmas break (who knew cars needed oil?) and I needed a car to get back to school.  It's now 2012 and I am finally getting a new car.

The infamous Mazda 626

This past week, as I cleaned out the car, I found little tokens of a previous life.  I decided to share my walk down memory lane with you all.  Here are some of my favorite (or perhaps just most memorable) moments from my 11 years(!!!!) in my Mazda 626.

12- This is a reoccurring memory of driving for my sorority.  I drove pledges to new-member events.  I drove sisters to sister-retreats.  I drove as a DD once a semester every year while at UNCW.  If I were to recount every memory I have related to this car and driving around my sisters, I would need much more blog space.  But suffice to say, I cherish those moments--it seems like a lifetime ago.

Phi Mu's at Graduation, 2003

11- I drove this car to many-a-Panther's game in Charlotte, NC.  I remember one time in particular with my mom and two girlfriends, Bridget and Kat.  We had a reserved parking space, but our space was already surrounded by other cars and tailgaters, making it virtually impossible to park the car.  After several failed attempts, and on the verge of tears, a nice tailgating gentleman offered to park my car for me.  He parked the car and, literally, had to crawl out of the sunroof to get out of the car because the space was so tight.  Yes, that actually happened.

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10- I drove this car to pick up my new Yorkie puppy, Sarge with my good friend Marisa.  We drove about an hour from Charlotte to pick up my new puppy.  He slept in Marisa's lap on the way home.  He was so tiny I was afraid I would lose him in my apartment, so I purchased a cat collar for him (with a bell).

Sarge asleep as a puppy in the cup holder of my car

9- I drove this car to Top Sail Island, NC to meet some of Jeremy's college friends for the first time.  When we arrived to the house in Top Sail I was greeted by a balcony full of rambunctious bachelor's launching water balloons into my car through the open sun roof.  I almost didn't get out of the car!  Luckily I did, because now one of these "bachelor's" is marrying my cousin.

This is where the water balloon assault began

8- I drove this car up to Virginia Beach to visit my dearest friend, Kristin.  It was late and I was tired and I got pulled over for speeding.  The friendly officer let me off with a warning since it was my BIRTHDAY!  I never once got a speeding ticket in that car.

Visiting Petri in VB

7- I drove this car to uptown Charlotte for the Gravedigger's Ball, Halloween 2005.  I had to work closing shift, so I would be the last to get uptown.  I went with some of my besties from high school, Erin, Laura and Marisa.  At the end of the evening Erin drove my car while I navigated from the passenger seat while the two who knew there way around Charlotte (Laura and Marisa) fell asleep in the backseat. 

6-  I remember test driving this car with my dad.  I drove it around Salisbury and remember thinking the most impressive thing about the car was the oscillating vents.  Years later my friend, Brittany would call them collating vents, but she is clearly incorrect.

5-  I drove this car on Halloween of 2002, when on the way home from downtown Wilmington we (Kristin, Laura and others) could not identify the source of a horrible stench in my car.  We realized that one of the passengers in our car had a Halloween costume of which part was a toilet seat.  It was his own, used toilet seat, and after a night of sweating and dancing, smelled like that for which is is named--a toilet seat.  We stopped, put the toilet seat in the trunk of the car and proceeded home sans toilet smell.

4- I drove this car from Charlotte, NC to Wilmington NC with my good friend, Leigh-Ann to go to an NSYNC concert.  I wasn't even a fan, but she was!  She was convinced the first (however many) people in line when the doors opened got to meet the band, so we arrived RIDICULOUSLY early  to the Charlotte coliseum.  We never did get to meet the band, but for awhile after the concert we told everyone we did!

3-  I drove this car on my 21st birthday when my crazy and passionate roommate, Katherine, planned a day-long scavenger hunt for me.  Every stop had a clue to my next destination and to the theme and location of my 21st birthday party.  I went all over Wilmington finding gifts and clues that led me to my surprise birthday party at Grasshopper's, downtown Wilmington.  I did not, however, drive that car home that night!

2- I drove this car from Charlotte, NC to Jonesboro, AR with my mom in September 2006.  I had previously moved all of my belongings, so it was just my mom and I driving to Arkansas for me to begin a new chapter of my life.  Jeremy was in Europe competing and I was scheduled to begin training for my new job.  We followed MapQuest through the backwoods of Arkansas (prior to Garmin and GPS days) and as the theme song to Deliverance played in my head, I was convinced my mom was not going to leave me in Arkansas.  Luckily the next day I took her around Jonesboro and showed her that not all of Arkansas looked like the Deliverance country we experienced the day prior.

Our home in Arkansas, 2005

And I have two #1's because they are both really memorable, but for very different reasons.

1- I drove this car the night Jeremy said goodbye to me for the first time.  We met in June of 2002 and spent several days together in Wilmington, NC that weekend.  I drove my car to the beach that weekend to watch Jeremy compete in the beach vault--my first (but definitely not my last) pole vault competition.  The night we said goodbye I was optimistic but unsure if I would ever see this man again.  Luckily--I did!

The weekend Jeremy and I met in Wilmington, NC 2002

1- One of my top memories in this car, however, is one of panic!  I was sitting at a stop light in southern Charlotte with one of my best girlfriends, Brittany.  We were on our way to orientation for graduate school at UNCC on a Saturday morning.  It all happened very fast but we heard someone screaming in a language we did not know.  Looking to our right we saw a man running toward our car screaming.  Then he began screaming, "gun, gun."  He grabbed the passenger door (which was unlocked) and tried to get in my car!  Brittany was, literally, playing tug of war with this guy trying to shut the door and lock this guy out!  After successfully shutting this guy out of the car we realized he was running from an armed robbery happening inside the gas station on the corner.  We called 911 and luckily a police officer pulled up to the stop light opposite us as the whole thing was going down.  The light then turned green and traffic began moving.  Everyone continued on like nothing had happened.  Welcome to Charlotte! 

Delta's Done it Again

I am disappointed today because as my husband is being honored in a parade in his hometown and receiving a key to the city (Norfolk, Nebraska) I am sitting at home, wishing I could be there.

(Link to the Norfolk Daily News article about Jeremy being honored in his hometown)

Jeremy and Cam drove up to Neb. yesterday and I was scheduled to fly into Omaha last night so I would not have to miss any work.  My flight was scheduled to leave Memphis at 5:30pm.  We boarded normally and pulled away from the gate on-time.  We then sat on the tarmac, in the airplane, until 7:10pm (CT) because of a mechanical issue with one of the gauges on the plane.  I was scheduled to fly through Atlanta because the only direct flights to Omaha were earlier in the day.

My flight from Atlanta to Omaha left at 8:40pm (ET) while I was in the air on the way to Atlanta.  I called Delta service while were still on the ground in Memphis to rebook my flight, but there were no more flights to Omaha nor Lincoln that evening.

By the time I arrived in Atlanta my flight was already gone.  I asked about rebooking and the next available flight to Omaha or Lincoln would not arrive into Nebraska until after the parade and key ceremony.  Since I was scheduled to come home Sunday morning anyhow, going to Nebraska for a few hours did not make much sense.

I saw as I got off the plane in Atlanta that there was one last flight back to Memphis that was currently boarding in another terminal. It was my last chance to get on a flight that night without spending the night in the Atlanta airport hotel.  Jeremy called customer service while I sprinted to the next terminal.  I arrived at the gate while the last 5 or 6 people were boarding and got a seat on the plane.  I was in the Atlanta airport for less than 45 minutes.

The plane home was scheduled to leave Atlanta at 10:02pm (ET) and yet we sat, at the gate, on the plane until 10:45pm due to the flight crew looking for a animal that was supposed to be on our flight that was "missing."  About 10:45pm they announced that the missing dog was actually already in Memphis and we were going to push back.  After pushing back from the gate we had another delay to get approval for position in take-off.

I am not even sure what time I got into Memphis because I was so tired and disoriented.  I got back home to Jonesboro about 1:30am (CT).

I was a little angry, but mostly just disappointed and sad.  Many times when Jeremy travels for "work" I don't get to go for a variety of reasons.  This time I was going and I was so excited to share in this experience and honor with him.

Jeremy with Cam on the Norfolk Daily News truck

I hate to say it, but Delta has let me down again.  They are refunding us the SkyMiles used to purchase the ticket and giving us 5,000 extra miles for the inconvenience, however, this wasn't just an inconvenience, it was missed experiences and missed opportunities to create family memories.