The New Old Days
Not having a car has given me some intense deja vu experiences. How it takes me back to when I didn't have a car when I first moved here.
But it's different. Back then I was car-less because I had fucked up. I felt like shit for months. Getting by without a car was just part of my punishment.
There were little plateaus on the climb up out of that pit when things weren't so bad. I remember for some reason a period back in my old, tiny apartment when I would get up at 6:30 am to catch "The Odd Couple." Getting that little apartment all to myself was an important self-esteem booster.
I don't know why I thought of that - it doens't have anything to do with a car. But I didn't have one then.
Walking all over my neighborhood to get beer in the evenings is something I didn't miss.
There are other ways, too, that make this carless period different than before. I'm more secure in my job, and I'm halfway through a master's program.
I generally don't feel like the confirmed loser I felt like five years ago.
And it seems like longer ago than five years.