Good Bye Tercie, Hello Corolla

Well, it has been a really busy few weeks. On my way home from school 2 weeks ago my car decided that it was time to quit. (and don't worry, it was 1:oo so it was super hot, lunch time, and I really had to go to the bathroom!) It had been making really weird noises for a little bit so I wasn't that surprised. I was on the 44, which is a freeway that they expanded this year so it does not have a shoulder. I luckily made it off onto the itty bitty emergency lane. I swear I was almost smashed multiple times by big trucks. I had no idea what to do, should I call a tow truck? Should I leave my car and walk home? (I was only about 1/2 mile from our exit). I couldn't get a hold of Chris, so what do I do, I call my dad. Yes, even though he is thousands of miles away, I somehow think he can help me!
I decided to call a tow truck and called my neighbor for the number. I soon found that there was only one certain company that would tow on that road due to the no shoulder thing. I finally found the emergency highway phone number to call and got a tow truck coming. I must mention that even police cars drove by without stopping to help me, they apparently have more important matters like drug busts and shootings.
About an hour after I had broken down, I decided to try to start the car one more time, and it started. What a blessing! I mean, it was topping out at 30mph, but I made it to the service station in our neighborhood. The diagnosis was not good, the head gasket was blown, fluids were leaking into the emissions, the water pump had fallen off, the belt was slipping, and it won't even start. It was going to cost at least 3x what's it worth so we decided it was time to invest in a new car.
After much stalking of Auto Trader, we found this '05 Toyota Corolla. Thanks to Judd and Dave for carpooling my husband around so I could use his car for the week!