I sold the Alfa today. I had been talking about it for a year, but it finally happened. I’m a little more depressed than I thought I would be, and the garage looks a little too empty, but it was the right decision and she’s found a good home.

A little over a year ago I started a campaign to simplify my life. I cleaned out the attic of old computers and either sold them on eBay or took them to the Habitat for Humanity Store. I scanned and then dumped a lot of paper (my stellar report cards and ITR notices from numerous colleges, for example). But these are really minor efforts, like the SUV driver who leaves the car running to keep it cool while going into the supermarket to insist on paper bags.

Get rid of a vehicle – that will simplify your life. No maintenance, no insurance, no “taking up space”.

We have two Ford trucks and (had) the Alfa. As you probably know, I want another car, probably a Mini Cooper, but I also live down two miles of dirt road. I refuse to get another car until the road gets paved (Spring 2006 at last check), because even though I treated the Alfa with exceptional care, it still got real dusty. That was reason number two to sell the Alfa.

The third reason is that I’m just a little too tall for the car. It’s fine for motoring around town, but after an hour or so it could get uncomfortable.

The final reason, which I’ll play up for sympathy reasons but it was really minor, is that Andrea didn’t like the car. We used to ride motorcycles and I thought that we could get a similar feeling in a convertible, but I forgot that Andrea wore a helmet on her bike – the wind whips her hair around too much.

So, while I was thinking about selling the Alfa, I did little more than mention it to people I knew. Well, this weekend, an old friend from high school took me up on it.

Phil Marsosudiro is another one of my amazing and unique friends – and my life is at a minimum more interesting knowing him. He’s single and not as tall as I am, and I think the car fits him well.

Plus, since he lives nearby, I get visitation rights. The only worry I have is that he’s never owned an Italian car before. While all cars are female, Italian cars are like the women you wouldn’t take home to meet your momma. They’re beautiful but temperamental, although I think Omega J is a great car that Phil will enjoy driving.

I never named the car, but Phil calls her “Omega J”. It’s quite clever, once explained – think opposites. The derivation of the name is left as an exercise to the reader.

As for me, I plan to go ahead and get an Apple Mini. I thought about a G5 iMac, but since I don’t have broadband at the house, the processor would be overkill, and I already have a keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, external drives, etc. It will leave a little left over to do something like put a concrete floor in the workshop, get a Mini Cooper, or even a pony.

Oh, and it made Andrea happy.