I've been missing my long hair lately, so I dragged out my black wig to satiate my desire for longer locks. I bought it back when my hair was red and I was missing my darker hair, but now it's nice to have longer hair when my short hair just isn't cutting it. My hair is slowly growing, but it's actually not that much shorter than the wig now. My hair grows relatively quickly, but since it's curly it seems to take longer to actually gain length. I like my shorter hair, but for some reason I feel more myself with longer hair.
Speaking of feeling "myself," damn does it feel good to drive this car again! I'd been putting off getting it registered because I had to go through the whole process of transferring the title from AK to WA and getting new plates, etc, etc. Every time I have to forfeit another piece of my Alaskan roots my heart hurts a little bit... getting a Washinton drivers license, losing my Alaska license plates, getting a Washington voter's card... little pieces of my Alaskan identity slowly being taken away. I suppose an identity is internal, but it's hard to give up those symbols. I always felt a little cool and "other" driving around with AK plates. I love seeing the occasional AK license plates driving around here in Washington. It seems like I'm near a kindred spirit or something.
It's crazy that I've had this little car for a whole decade! She's my girl. I love all her quirks and oddities, like how to wiggle the key just right to unlock the door, and how you have to turn the key back to get her to start, how I know which bumps to avoid so her undercarriage doesn't scrape on the pavement, and how the transmission is wonky and doesn't want to shift into 3rd after she warms up. Granted, most of these "quirks" are things I should and could fix. To some extent, though, it feels like she's a person with these flaws. I have a tendency to give human attributes to my vehicles... but she does feel like an old friend. Someone I've cried with and who's been with me through break-ups and major life events. She's my girl.
