Unencumbering

Today I sold my car, my beloved VW Jetta. I've had it for 8 years now. Last week, I sold my motorcycle. I am now totally vehicle-less.

I feel odd about it all. I have become emotionally attached to my vehicles. Seeing them go was painful and also...liberating. I feel loyal to them, because I anthropomorphize them: they've been loyal to me, too. And they've changed over the years (thanks to the few thousand dollars in modifications I've put into each). We're none of us the same as we were when we first met.

This move is so weird. Giving things up, selling them, letting them go. It's a little painful, but each one also engenders this growing sense of freedom. There's that line from Fight Club, which I'll paraphrase: "After a while, the things you own own you."

And much as I liked them, it is nice to not worry about them. No more risk of breakdowns or thefts or door dings and paint chipping that comes from living in a city filled with millions of people who do not know the first thing about driving.