# flooring

A few days ago we passed the two-years-in-the-same-flat milestone - only the third time I've passed such a milestone since 2009^[1] - and the day itself sailed by without fanfare. This week, however, we have had the old carpets^[2] lifted, chucked and replaced with some laminate. Not the fanciest stuff, nor the brand that currently keeps Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa comfortable. It looks good. And it's flat^[3].

Is it perfect? No. The beading is a bit wiggly and gappy in places^[4]. And I'd hoped to have it laid as one contiguous surface, but for reasons, there are threshold strips separating the bedroom, and the living room. The office and hallway are contiguous however. Good.

# car

I am now the legal owner of a car^[5] - my first^[6]. I have resisted, and opposed, car ownership for a very long time

Motonormativity says that this acquisition is unremarkable. And it is. But for me (us), it does open up a wealth of opportunities. Scotland is deceptively large; weekend train timetables aren't great; bus timetables are even worse^[7], and now, that is less of an issue. Being able to take the wheels off the bike, throw it in the back, whilst not having to worry about the insanity of bike reservations on trains is great. Granted, those worries are replaced by the automotive equivalent: is the car going to be ok in this rural carpark for the next 48 hours. Or whatever.

I am looking forward to seeing more of Scotland. Just yesterday, we headed to woods around Yester Castle, for a walk with the dog^[8]. A little over half an hour in the car, or, two buses and a hour and a quarter. We left whenever we wanted. The trip made sense. Without the car, we would have walked from the front door and done a few laps of the same park we usually go to. In this light I can see the why there is a relationship between distance driven and pet ownership.

I am trying to articulate a few too many things at the same time, and failing. Instead of eloquently and delicatley stitching my thoughts together, I am going to throw some bullets.

• i don't want the car to make me lazy
  • or scared of the rain
• i don't want using it to become so routine that i take it for granted
• driving isn't fun
  • and it can have high consequences
• owning a car / driving more generally feels very against my values
  • not owning a car makes carrying out some of my hobbies^[9] a lot harder less convenient / a lot more effort
  • being held hostage by your own values is annoying
  • being some sort of car-free martyr is silly
• i drove the car for an hour yesterday. that's 23 hours where it wasn't getting used, but was taking up public space
  • that's a bad thing
• resident's permits are coming to our street soon
  • that's a good thing
  • i already gave feedback on the consultation that the cost of a household's second permit should be more punitive^[10]
• my concerns over car ownership are less about my carbon footprint^[11], and more about how nice a place is to live
• i deeply enjoy the satisfaction derived from arriving somewhere under my own steam
  • something that dog ownership complicates
• hiring a car for outings like yesterday's is expensive. ~40 miles over 5 hours. Would have been just over £40
  • a cost i am never willing to incur, directly, in the moment

i'm sure i have more to say on this. But that'll do for now.

~car noises~

# footnotes