Random late night notes

Another few days of pain. Things are better today. Last Sunday whenever I stood, or did some walking on crutches, I felt knives of pain radiating up my legs from the bottom of my feet to my thighs. Monday and Tuesday the pain progressively got better. Today I was almost feeling normal. I have no idea what triggered this. I thank whoever invented painkillers.

A friend texted me a day ago asking if I am able to go on a motorcycle ride. Months ago I thought I would be able to hop on the bike in May of this year. Wishful thinking. I am convinced I will be back on the motorcycle, it will just take longer. 

Elevator Friday - Shonts, Alberta

Thank you to Dale Redekopp.

Apparently I made a sales guy happy

I put a deposit on a new 2025 Mazda CX-30 GX. I wanted red because I want to stand out on the road. My last vehicle was a 2013 KIA Soul that I got from my mother when she was no longer able to drive which was in near mint condition. That car was a dark gray. The excuse that the guy gave the RCMP when he hit me - and turned my car into scrap metal - was that he did not see me. A few weeks after the accident when I was in the hospital, and no longer had a mouth full of tubes, and I was able to make phone calls, I phoned mom and said “About your former car that you so dearly loved . . .”

I cannot get a red one for about two to two and one half weeks. Red is just not readily available. No matter, I am in no severe rush. My sales guy is somewhere around my age and I am pushing sixty. He is doing a career change and is new at car sales. I happened to be his first sale so I made someone happy. I have mixed feelings. My ancestors were Scots and I hate spending money. My wallet screams when I open it like any good Scot. With luck this one will last me for years without someone trying again to prematurely end my existence.

Testing it out

Today I took a car for a test drive. It has been a few days short of fifteen months since I last drove a car. My local Mazda dealer picked me up at my residence and let me try out a 2025 Mazda CX-30 GX. I like it. There are a number of features that I will likely never use and not bother learning them. I do not feel the need to instal an app on my phone to start my car. Unfortunately extra things are all standard these days.

I do not want to buy a car just yet. I might have to buy one. I still get around with crutches for walking and I wanted to have better mobility before getting a car. The problem is my mother fell on Saturday and fractured her hip. It was a minor fracture and she will be in the hospital for a few days. What makes this worse is that she is deteriorating. She needs more care than what she can get in her current place and they are starting the process to find another place for her. She no longer remembers things like how old she is or her birthday. To get to see her I have had to rely on other people, now I feel I have to speed things up and get a car so I can spend more time visiting her. I would have preferred more time before getting a car.

The salesman wanted to negotiate right after the test drive. That is understandable since they are in the business of selling cars. I never buy anything right away. I also dislike the process of buying a car and wading through the markups and garbage fees they try to tack on. For what the used market is like I might as well buy new. I told them all I am interested in is the base model but they still try to upsell you. That is how the game is played. If I buy it, it would only be the second new car I have ever owned. I always saved money before by buying used.

To hell with it. After all I have been through I am buying a new car. 

Bales in the Hills

A shot from this past fall in the Cypress Hills.

Bales...gotta love 'em!

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website