The Things We Can Do Without

Let's remember last summer. You might have seen me driving shirtless in my Montero (on my way to work). Or you may have caught me changing shirts in the parking garage because I always kept a spare in the back seat. Why? Because I didn't have air conditioning in my car all last summer. And rolling the windows down only brings in so much cool air. So even if I sweated through a shirt on my way to work/grocery store/dentist office/other, I had a backup plan.

I sweat. In cars with no air conditioning, I sweat a lot. I think it was July last summer when I went on a blind date and she asked what time I'd pick her up. "7 or so?" she offered. "Um, what about 8 or 8:30?" I replied, knowing that temperatures were cooler an hour or two later (and also knowing that I shouldn't change shirts mid-date). Don't worry: I timed the date perfectly and we were both as comfortable with the car temperature as we were awkward with the conversation.

So a year and a half later, my air conditioning is fixed and it set me back $39.99. Thinking back now, I'm embarassed for not having it fixed before. But at the time, it seemed easier to roll the windows down than to get it fixed. Plus, I thought it was going to be a lot more money.