Pimp my ride

This morning, I did about the most pimpin' thing I've ever done. I took my Kia Rondo to Tint Specialists and had the windows darkened.

I did this for a couple of reasons. Reason #1 is that the interior gets very hot when I'm parked in the sun. It almost feels cruel sometimes to strap The Boy into his car seat, even after opening the windows or running the A/C for a few minutes. The car has a lot of glass -- good for visibility, bad in that it acts like a greenhouse.

Speaking of visibility, that's Reason #2 for the tint-job. When I bought the car, they didn't offer a cargo cover for the stuff in the back. (Nor did they offer tinted windows.) Now there's a cargo cover available from Kia, but it retails for $250. And it's really only cosmetic, to keep your stuff out of sight. It isn't structural, meaning that anything stowed in the back could still become a projectile in an accident. So the tinted windows also serve a purpose of privacy. Whatever is stowed in the back is realatively out-of-sight unless you press your face against the glass.

Reason #3? Well, it looks cooler this way.

I located Tint Specialists, a local place in the back of an office/industrial park that offers multiple ways to pimp your ride. They don't have a flashy website or glossy brochures. In fact, the sparse seating in their office includes a rear bench seat extracted from some minivan. And to top it off, they offered me a significant discount if I had the work done today and paid in cash. But they do good work, and they're not a fly-by-night operation. They've been in the same spot for years and they aren't going anywhere if I need to bring it back with any problems.

How did I celebrate getting the ride pimped out? I did some of the most un-pimpin' things imaginable: Walked to Panera Bread, had a salmon salad*, and spoke to my mom on the cell phone. Bet I'm the first customer they've ever had who did exactly that series of activities while they were working on the car.

*As some of you know, salmon/fish on top of a salad is one of my favorite meals. I'm happy to report that Panera recently added this item to their menu. It comes with way too much syrupy-sweet dressing, which can easily be remedied by ordering the salad with a different dressing. I recommend Greek or Asian Vinaigrette.