Meet Tom.

Since I've graduated and returned home I've had only 3 things on my agenda: Find a job, find an apartment, find a car.

As of last week, I'm happy to say I've officially checked one item off my list.

Allow me to introduce you to Tom(ato).

 
Before I continue, let me just say that Tony is alive and kicking.  But I wanted to procure a car of my own that would be able to move me around southern California without guzzling gas and roasting me to death.

Tom wasn't an easy find.  In fact, my dad and I have been looking nonstop since I graduated last month.  We scoured Craigslist only to be repeatedly disappointed with piece of crap after piece of crap.

Even after I would warn the owner that my father was a mechanic they would still assure me that the car had never been in an accident.  But one look at the vehicle in person would tell us otherwise.

My experience with these people has only further strengthened my theory that if I assume everyone I meet is an untrustworthy douche, I can only ever be pleasantly surprised.

So how did we come by Tom, you ask?

My parent's Honda van needed a repair, and while at the dealership my dad was told a Honda Civic owner was looking to sell his car.

The dealers didn't have the owner's number, let alone his name.  All they could give my dad were some vague directions to get to the house.

So, the very next day, my dad and I used the Force and we were guided to a nice little house in Victorville.  The owner was surprised and a little confused, but thankfully gracious.  (He hadn't advertised it anywhere yet.)

The next morning, Tom was mine.

I'm still amazed at how it worked out.  What are the odds that the van needed a repair, that my dad spoke to the same dealer that had dealt with the Civic owner, and that my future car had been nestled safely in a garage in Victorville all along when we had spent countless hours trekking fruitlessly across the rest of southern California?  Not very high.

After some minor repairs and maintenance Tom is running great and I couldn't be happier with him.

So how/why did I choose the name Tom?

I had been bouncing around a few different names such as Queen Anne's Revenge or Thor but none seemed to stick.  The car's off-red color kind of threw me for a loop (including my dad, who seems to think it's pink).  In addition, I was hesitant to immediately give it a name since I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be a lemon or not.

I considered naming him Loki since I wasn't sure how he would behave, but there isn't a spec of red in Loki's outfit.

And naming something as crucial as a car after the Norse god of mischief didn't seem a wise thing to do.

Tony got his name because his grey clunky exterior reminded me of Tony Stark's first suit he builds in the cave to escape.  Plus, Tony the Toyota truck sounded too cheesy to pass up.

But Loki the reddish Honda Civic didn't make much sense.

Alas, it was my mom who suggested Tom.  "You know, short for tomato.  And it's that Loki guy's name, right?"

...Yes!  Actor Tom Hiddleston played Loki and my car's off-red exterior looked just like a tomato.

And from that moment forward, my car became Tom.

Once I've checked off the remaining two items on my agenda, I'll turn to other goals such as solving world hunger (but tell no one), becoming the CEO of Disneyland, and making Starfleet a reality.