April 8, 2025: 'Departure Day'

If I look up what April 8th is...

1. Tire Day
Because if you line up two tires vertically, they look like the number 8.

2. Hachiko the Faithful Dog Day

3. Buddha's Birthday
This is the birth anniversary of Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who is known for taking seven steps immediately after birth, pointing to the sky with his right hand and the earth with his left, and declaring, 'I alone am honored in heaven and on earth.' Events are held on this day under the names Kanbutsu-e and Bussho-e. In Buddhism, it is also called the Flower Festival because lotus flowers often appear in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

4. Departure Day
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. established this as a commemorative day based on a pun.

Now, the reason I looked up April 8th like this is because while I was feeling burnt out, I ended up making an impulse purchase.

It was a car (lol).

I was chatting with my boss at work when the topic of cars came up.

When I mentioned that the Nissan Clipper runs well but I gave up on it because there were few color options, they told me that the Suzuki Every Wagon is the same on the inside, but maybe it has more color choices than the Clipper?

The Every Wagon was one of the cars I wanted when I was in my 30s, so I looked it up immediately and found a color I liked.

I wanted to see the real thing right away, so I made an appointment at a local car dealership and went to see it.

Unfortunately, the one I was looking at was a used car and had already been sold to someone else.

Even so, I was able to see the actual vehicle, so while I was disappointed, I was also satisfied.

Then, they told me that if I didn't mind waiting for delivery, they had a new car scheduled to arrive.

And so, even though I had only intended to look, I ended up signing the contract.

My mother was surprised by this (lol).

Then, late last month, the dealership contacted me to say that it could be delivered anytime after April 7th.

And while I was looking for a good day in April, I thought April 8th would be good.

I considered a Taian (lucky day), but I thought a day that was easier to remember would be better. The 8th, Buddha's birthday, is the earliest date, easy to remember, and 'Departure Day' is the perfect day for a car delivery, isn't it!

So, today, I went to pick up my new car.

It's sad to say goodbye to my old clunker, but it had an oil leak and made a loud noise when I turned on the air conditioner, so I would have had to say goodbye sooner or later anyway.

By the time I finished cleaning out the inside, took some photos, went to the dealership, and learned how to use the new car, it had already been taken somewhere.

My first long trip with my old clunker was to Tamaki Shrine.

After that, I only used it for work and trips around the neighborhood.

My first outing with Every-chan was a drive with my mother to see the nearby cherry blossom trees.

From now on, all my long-distance trips will be in Every-chan, so I'm sure we'll be making lots of memories together.

The passenger seat will probably be for my mother, though (lol).