Ke$ha is NOT a good soundtrack to grown-up life.

Europe, Journey, and BTO, however, all are.

If I was complaining about feeling old before, that feeling was increased exponentially today. Stella (my dear car-yes, she has a name. Also a personality. We are great friends.) has been shaking when reaching over 65 mph of late, as well as hydroplaning in water. This led me to believe that perhaps it could be beneficial to a) get the balance and/or alignment checked, and b) investigate as to whether or not I need new tires.

Turns out, all three were/still are necessary. When I finally got around to seeing if the groove on my tire tread was deep enough, I discovered that on three of the four tires...it was almost non-existent. And I'm not even being sarcastic here. When the repair man at Sears looked at one of them, he said, "Oooh, that's slick. I'll bet you've been having fun when it rained." Ha. Ha. ...Ha.

Before I got to Sears, however, I went to two other tire places to get quotes on tires. Which means I learned a whole bunch of information about tires. And talked on the phone a lot with my dad. And got very sweaty. And dirt smudges on my face. (Don't ask, I don't even KNOW how that one happened.)

I have also now asked for and been given my Christmas present: two new tires. ...happy Christmas, to me. (Thank you Dad.) ...As is clear, I didn't have the best attitude about it. Ke$ha on the radio singing about love being her drug was not exactly helpful, either. I don't care if some boy wants to have a slumber party in your basement, to be honest. Unless that slumber party would result in my being given $300. Then I am ALL FOR IT.

However, upon heading to Sears for what turned out to be my final stop in the enTIRE saga (YAK YAK YAK) (Yes I am actually laughing out loud as I type because I think I can be really funny sometimes. Also, I have been making tire jokes to myself all day. And quoting Dane Cook.), BTO's "Takin' Care of Business" came on the radio. It was beautiful. It was inspiring. It helped me take joy in getting new tires. All by myself. (sort of...) And then I listened to Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and Europe's "Final Countdown" on my ipod. ...I may or may not have sung to my future tires. ("Someday, [I] will find you. Break [through, and I'll buy] you..." etc.)

My parting words of wisdom: First and foremost, keep on eye on those tires. Second, listen to old school classic rock and not Ke$ha. Unless you're under the age of 5.

...On second thought, if you are under the age of 5, you probably shouldn't be listening to Ke$ha either.