junk in my trunk?

we got a new car. our civic was kind of getting old, making some disconcerting noises and overall a bit banged up.

our new car, stella is wonderful. she is pretty and she has lots of gadgets that make me happy - rearview camera, push button start, proximity sensor on the key fob so all i have to do is push a button to unlock, xm radio...and she drives like a dream.

cue kris' business trip to montreal. i am always more paranoid and hypersensitive when he's not here, even in situations where he wouldn't be with me anyway...but i was walking to my car after work, past 9:30pm in a dark, deserted parking lot and i noticed that the interior lights were on. strange. i checked the backseat, saw it was empty, so i got in and drove away.

as i was driving, i started worrying more about why the lights were on since i hadn't unlocked the car yet. i wondered if perhaps i didn't lock it that afternoon. i tried to reassure myself that it was fine since i checked the backseat, but then i remembered that stella has a bigger, more accessible trunk space where someone could easily hide. by this time, i was already on the highway, so instead of pulling off and parking somewhere so i could check the trunk, i just checked my rearview mirror every 5 seconds to see if there was a head popping out from behind the seat. why am i so crazy? i can now rationalize that if there was a dangerous predator man in the trunk, he likely wouldn't waste time waiting for me to drive for several minutes before revealing himself. if he was going to kill me, surely he would have already done it?

so onward i drove. checking the mirror constantly. i got home, drove in the garage, purposely left the garage door open in the event someone was in the trunk so i could scream a warning, and opened it with a racing heart. it was empty.

this is why i need to go with kris on all of his business trips!!!! because apparently i drive myself crazy when i'm left to my own devices (namely, my overactive imagination).

it turns out that the perimeter/approach lights are one of stella's safety features. who knew?
she senses when the key is approaching the car, and lights up in welcome at night so you can make sure there aren't any serial killers in your backseat. smart, huh? i wish i could say the same for myself...