Fleeting moment captured

This happened back on June 20 but I never got around to posting it until now. I had ridiculous amounts of glee over catching the event on film...er, on card? Behold:



I would have kicked myself for missing it, like I missed 23,456 shortly after I bought the car. My obsession with my odometer is a tad on the excessive side, but others have confessed here that they take photos at pivotal odometrical moments as well. (So I made a word up, wanna make somethin' of it?) And any search on the web will locate many similar photos. You have to admit, you feel a little sorry that this person was a little late to the party.

Cleveland

I'm writing from my hotel room in Cleveland, and this trip has gotten off to a wonderful start. My flight was on time and pleasant, although the plane was teeny tiny!


I sat next to a nice gentleman with my father's name (George) and we chatted now and again about the weather, Raleigh, etc. My luggage came off the plane about a minute after I walked up to the baggage carousel, and the car rental shuttle was waiting at the curb when I stepped outside. There was no line at the Enterprise counter, and I got one of those nice clerks who, even though for some reason my reservation did not include the price I'd locked in, gave me the cheap rate anyway, and even upgraded me to boot! Check out my sleek ride:


The hotel was less than 10 minutes away, and my Garmin got me there without a hitch. This place (Ramada Cleveland Airport South) actually has drive-thru check in--have you ever heard of such a thing?! Could not be more convenient. And to top it all off, not only did I get a coupon for the Olive Garden across the street (hello, convenient!) but I also got a "goodie bag" with free candy bars, gum, and a pretty big trial size of toothpaste. My room is typical, one of the nicer rooms I've stayed in while on business. My standards are pretty basic: clean, decent smelling, and in good repair. Check, check, and check!

The weather is so delightful, I've had the door open all afternoon while I catch up on my blogs using the very-easy-to-access wireless internet. I don't want to jinx myself, but man, if only every trip was this awesomely smooth! In half an hour I'll catch some Desperate Housewives, and then it's off to lullabye land so I'll be rearin' to go for my training tomorrow morning. I have never spoken to the contact person at this district because he was being very difficult in the planning stages (e.g., complaining to his sales rep that the training dept. never contacted him when we actually left him tons of voicemails and emails), so I hope he's nicer in person and the sessions go okay. I should be done by noon, so I'll have some time for an excursion or two. Gotta make my way to the lobby to check out the brochure rack for anything interesting. The main attraction here, of course, is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but....eh. The zoo might be more up my alley.

Checking in

Life lately has been pretty much same-old, same-old. Not much blogworthy going on. I'm in the middle of packing. Every night this week I successfully procrastinated. Go me! So yesterday I hunkered down and got busy. Since I saved all the boxes and packing materials from the last time I moved (and the time before that, and the time before that), it's a pretty straightforward process. The boxes are already labeled, so I just have to fill them with the right contents. I'm hoping that this will be the last move for at least five years. With the exception of my childhood home, I've never lived somewhere longer than three years. So it will be nice to really feel settled.

I haven't traveled much for work lately. My first trip since January was Tuesday. I flew into Philadelphia and did a training in Delaware. It was a one-dayer (fly up and back in the same day) so there wasn't any time to sightsee. But the weather was lovely. Oh, and I got to rent a Ford Fusion. It had 7.5 miles on it! That's the newest car I've ever driven. I requested the Fusion because I'd been hearing about how it is so great to drive--from the commercials, from my brother, etc. It does indeed corner well (yee-haw!), but I found the acceleration a little sluggish. And I didn't much care for the layout of the stereo and climate control panel. It might be simply because I'm used to it, but I think the Accord has the best layout available. It's always a pleasure to return to my own car and be reminded of how much I love it.

One thing that has taken up a lot of my time lately is shopping for furniture on Craigslist. Every evening I go through all the new postings and bookmark the things I'm interested in. Of course, I shouldn't go buy anything until after I move in, so it's basically just for fun. There's a ton of crap out there, and it's funny to see the postings over and over again with the price going lower and lower. I think this guy would be lucky if he could GIVE his couch away:


It's hideous!!

But there is also a lot of good stuff, and since I only have furniture for one bedroom, a family room, and a kitchen, and my new house has two more bedrooms, a formal living room, a dining room, and a patio, I am in need of furnishings!

You could totally furnish a whole house for pennies on the dollar! Check it out:







I hope some of these things are still available in two weeks. If not, my theory will be that I didn't want it anyway....

My favorite post today: A red and gold pinstripe couch and matching plaid chair, with no price listed. The ad reads: "Make an offer, or willing to trade for long haired Chihuahua puppy." What the?

Crack down

I don't know what it is about North Carolina and firsts with my car. Tuesday my windshield cracked.


Must've been a rock that hit it, although I have no idea when it happened. Boggles the mind, because a few weeks ago, a giant rock hit it over on the passenger side--no crack. This time, I don't even hear anything, and it cracks, on the driver's side. Naturally it grew, because I had no choice but to use the defroster yesterday morning (change in temperature=prime crack-lengthening conditions)


even though I had covered up the windshield overnight to avoid getting ice on it. A coworker recommended a mobile windshield replacement guy, so I called him and he came out today to replace it. It was not as expensive as I thought it would be, so that's good, but it was still money out of pocket (my deductible is $500 so I didn't even bother calling the insurance company).

First, it was the deer. Then, I was rear-ended and the car was totaled. Next, I got a speeding ticket. And now this. I drove for 14 years in Southern California, and managed to avoid all of these things. One year of driving here and all of them happened. I suppose that I am driving more, since I travel for work. But still.

I watched the whole replacement process, ever the curious cat. It was pretty involved, but they finished in about 30 minutes. I was wondering how they would handle the inspection sticker, which was stuck on the inside of the windshield. They used a blowtorch on the opposite side of the glass to release the sticker, so it was pliable and still sticky, and just reapplied it to the new one. Voila!

The good news is, my new windshield is lovely. I don't know what it is about the rain out here (and by "here" I mean the East Coast), but windshields do not stay crystal clear. It's as if they get hard water stains or something. The marks are most obvious when it rains--visibility is drastically reduced. And nothing will clean it off, either. It's like it's burned into the glass. But now I'm starting fresh, so at least it will be good for a while.

That is the extent of what I have to report, folks. Quiet week. I'm gearing up for vacation, so this will likely be my last post for a while. I get back from my cruise/roadtrip on January 13, so I'll have lots to report on after that. I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year's and that '07 is off to a great start for you all!

November 27 - Mark Your Calendars!!

Thanks to some detective work courtesy of my mom, we now know that the Cary location of Trader Joe's will open on Monday, November 27! I could just scream with delight!! Woo hoo! Come to mama! Can't wait to sink my teeth into TJ-exclusive Alaskan halibut rolls, gnocchi sorrentino, chicken lasagna, turkey meatloaf, couscous salad, black bean taquitos, and so much more. Not to mention the items that they have at half the price of other stores...Thai noodle soup bowls for 99 cents, risotto for two bucks, trail mix out the wazoo, oh, and how could I forget-----decent and affordable avocados!!!!!

Okay, so I started with the good news. The bad news for today is a two-fer. First, I got a speeding ticket. My first EVER. Granted, I've been driving for 15 years and I've always had a lead foot, so I totally had this coming, but it still sucks. (In case you're curious--81 in a 65.) Second, and completely unrelated, I took my car to get the tire patched (I'm a magnet for sharp metal objects) and they told me the nail's location made the tire irreparable, so I had to buy two new tires (lest I be struck with the dreaded "treadus unevenus"). And of course my car can't get by with the $50 kind, no, Ginny's a snob, and she requires special tires, something about a V91 rating, and the cheapest ones were $115 each! Boo hoo. So I spent a LOT of money on car-related things today. I don't know how much the ticket will cost because apparently I have to go to court in January, but I've heard you can pay a lawyer an obscene amount of money to take care of it for you and make it "go away." Which ends up being cheaper in the long run, because otherwise, on top of the fine, your insurance goes up. Poo.

But did I mention that Trader Joe's is opening a mere 5 miles from where I live in a mere 13 days? :-)

Oh, I drove seven hours today by the way, about 463 miles round trip. Did a one-hour training in a town called Mineral, VA. Nice setup with plasma screens and such. But everyone was so shy! They didn't want to record practice messages, or even receive a practice call. It was weird. But the system works fantastically now, the calls go through in a heartbeat...it's quite impressive. However we have been getting complaints nonetheless. The answering machine detection technology was updated and it behaves slightly differently...I won't bore you with further explanation...just suffice it to say that we have first-hand experience with the old adage, "You cannot please everyone all of the time."

So I still keep thinking about that ticket and it's just weighing on me. So we need some more happy stuff to push it away. I don't believe I've mentioned here my plans for the second week of January. I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas!!! Given the time of year, it was tres cheap, but it is going to be so much fun because my dear friend (hi, Nicole!!) is flying out, and we are road tripping down to Miami and back. Our stops will be Savannah and Hilton Head Island. And of course, there are our ports of call:


I can't wait!!

So let's recap:
Speeding ticket - bad
Trader Joe's opening 11/27 - good
Expensive tires - bad
Road trip and cruise to the Bahamas - good

Looks like the universe is in balance. Carry on.

Meet Ginny

Friday afternoon, if you had asked me while I was standing on the beach what my plans were for the weekend, I would have said, "Nothing." Who knew that I'd end up right outside of Washington, D.C. less than 24 hours later on a spur-of-the-moment trip?

My parents and I made the five-hour trek not to gaze upon the seat of our nation's government, but rather to gaze upon a 2005 Honda Accord coupe.


I'd been searching for a new car, as you may know, and after considering everything from car auctions to Honda dealerships for certified pre-owned vehicles, I ended up back at Carmax. But not the Carmax in Raleigh, because they didn't have what I wanted. They offer a transfer service, but who wants to pay $200 and wait seven days? So off we went to Sterling, VA, to pick up Ginny (so named because of her state of origin--thanks for the idea, Mom!). Ginny is dark gray, as you can see, and has 13,000 fewer miles than my previous car, is a whole year newer, has all the same options, and yet was only $500 more. What a deal!



Of course, there were some logistical details that needed to be worked out since I was buying a car outside my state of residence. But it's really not a big deal. I was not charged VA sales tax, because I will pay NC sales tax when I go to the DMV here to register the car. One Virginia feature that I only noticed after I got home: the license plate holder attached to the front bumper (VA requires two plates, like CA, whereas NC only requires one). I don't think I want to remove it, because I think it would leave holes. But that's okay. I can find something cute to put there.

It was definitely a very long day of driving, but the trip home was in my fab new car, so it's all good. Oh, and she rolled over to 20k on the way, so of course I had to snap a photo.

And I have to give an Ellen-style "HOLLA" to my parents who are so generous to drive me all the way up there on a whim to pick up a car. And I will also give credit to Carmax, who, unlike last time, got us out of there in about an hour and 15 minutes. Pretty quick, no?

P.S. Holy cow, people! It's October already. What happened to September?!

RIP Fiona

Whelp, Geico is going to total my car. Poor Fiona. I went to get all my personal effects and take my license plate. It was a sad sight to see her sitting out by herself, topless.


The body shop had "stripped" her to make it easier for the adjustor to ascertain all the damage. It was a pretty gnarled mess, with the bent frame


and so much crumpled metal.


The body shop guy said I'm lucky to have walked away uninjured. Although I will admit there has been a bit of lower back soreness today, complete with radiation into the lower extremities--I know enough from my stint in the orthopedic department of a disability insurance company that those symptoms are not good, but I'm getting a massage tomorrow so we'll see how I feel after that. If symptoms remain on Monday, it's back to the doctor with me.)

So apparently when an insurance company totals a car, they don't give you Blue Book value. The Geico guy said he would have to get a market survey done to determine the true value of the car. Considering I bought it used less than three months ago, and I bought it for well under Blue Book, I assumed he'd come back with a figure close to what I paid for it, perhaps even a tad higher. He called today with a figure $1200 less than what I paid! I indicated my dismay and he said he would review the survey to make sure it was done properly, and although he had a super full day of appointments, he would try to get back to me ASAP. He did not return my call by close of business today, so I assume I will not hear from him until Monday.

Which means I have the rental for the weekend, and can go around to test drive some new cars. My first instinct was to go back to Carmax since the process was relatively hassle-free, as far as car buying goes. But then I remembered that after I bought Fiona, my coworker said I should have talked to Jason, our director of sales, first, because he has car auction connections and could probably save me a ton of money. Ever the skeptic, I assumed buying through an auction would mean I'd have limited choices and would risk getting damaged goods. Not so. Jason said he has a couple buddies who own car dealerships, and they travel around the country weekly to acquire inventory. Yes, there is crap available, but Jason has bought many cars through them and can attest to their high standards. Many of the vehicles are coming out of leases or were dealership demo cars. Jason's friends only bid on the best for him, and would do so for me as well. I can specify make, model, year, mileage, and features. Of course, availability varies so I may have to wait if I'm picky, but I could end up saving about $3000 going this route. Or, I could upgrade to an even nicer car. Suddenly an Acura or a Lexus is not out of reach for me. I see myself in an Acura more than a Lexus. To me, this looks like a rich person's car:


But this is right up my alley:


I'm also considering a Nissan Maxima, because they are so nice looking. The only bummer about these nicer rides is that nine times out of ten they come with leather interiors. What is it with expensive cars and dead animal skins? I have always had cloth, not only due to cost, but also by choice. I may end up having to let go of that criterion, although I really hope not to.

. . .

Meanwhile, a new development in the construction zone of US1 in Cary. Holy streetlights, Batman! Two whole miles of lighted highway. Be still my beating heart.

. . .

Today at work we got new phone systems, which necessitated the running of cables and cords and such up in the ceiling. This is how it's done in small corporate America, folks:

(That's Jason on the right, and my boss Jace on the left.)

. . .

And lastly, a license plate I saw while sitting at a stoplight today. Aww.


Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Oh, and happy belated first day of Fall. We're supposed to be in the upper 80's this weekend. Hopefully the last hurrah of summer. Back to the 70's next week. Aaahhh, just the way I like it.

Thanks

Thanks for all your support, everyone! I am so lucky to have friends like you! One comment that particularly made me laugh because it was so clever came courtesy of my lil' bro:

Anyways, remember, Fiona was originally an OGRE!! Looks like she changed back from a pricess to an Ogre for about the next month.

Thanks for the chuckle!

The latest news is that the Geico adjuster called me this evening to let me know he would be looking at my car tomorrow and would call me with his verdict. As for my physical health, I seem to be fine. The only soreness is in my left shoulder where the seatbelt hit, but it's not even bruised, so I definitely was very fortunate.

Driving the minivan is kinda cool. It's interesting how what you drive can make you feel different. I'm the same person as always, of course, but I feel like people probably assume I'm a mom based on the type of car I'm driving. We all make assumptions based on things like that. There was an interesting 20/20 covering this topic last Friday, about how stereotyping is wired into our brain as a survival mechanism. We size people up--friend or foe--to determine how we should react to their presence. So a guy in a Porsche, probably cocky and definitely rich. A young lady in a VW bug, probably funloving and sweet. A kid practically laying down in a lowered and tricked out Civic hatchback, probably a gang banger wannabe. A guy driving an SUV, most likely a dad. A guy in a suit and driving a BMW or Mercedes, a successful businessman. And I'm sure that not all businessmen actually want to drive BMW's, but they feel like they need to live up to the image of a businessman, and businessmen just don't drive VW bugs. So people perpetuate the stereotype by participating in it, as well as assuming that others participate as well and thus are judgable based on stereotypes.

I'm sure many grad students have done dissertations on the topic of identity and cars, so my little ramblings are superficial. It was just a thought I was having this afternoon while driving home in the pouring rain. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear and 75, perfect fall weather. Yippee!

Fiona ails

I was in a car accident this morning on the way to work. No one was hurt. I was stopped in traffic and a small SUV rear-ended me while trying to pass me on the right. The impact caused me to hit the person in front of me as well, so a total of three cars were involved. There was already another set of vehicles pulled on the side of the road from a previous accident, so we just added to the mess. I was very shaken up, of course, but quickly came to just accept what had happened. I think the fact that it was not my fault allowed me to avoid replaying the incident over and over again in my head. I had seen the guy approaching in my rear-view mirror and when he hit, my first thought was, "This has to be a bad dream!" I immediately called my office to let them know I'd be in late or perhaps not at all, and my boss was very concerned and supportive. (Have I mentioned that I love where I work?) My next call was to my mom, who suggested I should call my insurance company.

The guy in front of me had called 911. An officer was on the scene relatively quickly, from the Cary Police Department. He started at the back and worked his way up. We were there for probably 45 minutes to an hour waiting for him to complete all his paperwork. Of course I killed some of the time by taking pictures. Aren't they lovely??



I also chatted with the victim in front of me. He was a pediatrician, very nice fellow. Luckily the carseat in his Jeep Cherokee was unoccupied. Eventually we went back to visit the culprit. We obtained his info, even though I'm sure it'll all be in the police report. The guy was from Virginia, based on his plates and insurance. He said he'd driven in DC-metro traffic for eight years and had never had an accident. Not like that matters to me, buster!

The doctor had very little damage to his car, just a mark on his bumper from where I hit, so he drove off after the cop released us. I had called AAA to get towed, because I wasn't sure the car was driveable. The lady told me the truck would be there by 9:58, an hour and 15 minutes away, but probably much sooner because she was marking my case priority due to it being the result of a motor vehicle accident. So you can imagine I was more than a little peeved when the tow truck that pulled up half an hour later was for the other guy! I ended up sitting there another hour waiting for mine. The police officer was so nice. He said their policy is not to wait for AAA, but rather than leave me alone he suggested that I leave my car there and he would give me a ride to where I needed to go. I opted to stay with my car, but he was very concerned that I feel safe. That felt nice.

When the tow truck finally did arrive, I had him tow me to Cary Collision, the same place I took my previous car to repair the deer damage.


The guy who hit me has Geico insurance (thank heavens he is insured!) and the auto body guy said as far as getting cars repaired goes, Geico is the best. He said it's no hassle, and they allow factory parts from the start. (As opposed to Allstate (which I have), who makes you look for used parts first, then after-market, and then only if those are unavailable are you allowed to resort to factory parts. That's kinda crummy!) I was told it probably would not be totaled, but would take at least 30 days to repair. Holy canoli!

I've already got my rental car that Geico is paying for. Enterprise put me in a minivan. Kinda big, but it's nice to be a little higher up off the road, and man is there a lot of room in there.

So I finally made it work around 11:45, only three hours late! Ha ha. When I walked in my boss asked, "What are you doing here?" in a "go home and take care of yourself" kind of way. Apparently he had assumed I would not be coming in. But I felt fine and I had a lot to do. Everyone was so caring and I got to show off my gnarly looking photos. When the president of the company came in, he also expressed concern, and urged me to go to the doctor even though I wasn't feeling any effects. So I made an appointment for this afternoon. She said I'll probably be fine, but there's always the possibility that I'll wake up tomorrow stiff as a board. She gave me some scrips for heavy-duty meds but I'm holding off on filling them, in the hopes that I won't need them. Of course now I'm like a hypochondriac, looking for any sign of pain attributable to the accident. I did have a slight headache this afternoon, my lower back twinges now and again, and my left knee is making itself known, but those are all things that could happen on any given day even without an accident. Time will tell, I guess.

Speeding

I hope this never makes it to America (description courtesy of David Pogue):

[There are] hidden overhead cameras that (according to our Italian guide) take pictures of your license plate, relay the time of your passing to the next set of cameras, calculate your speed, and automatically issue you a ticket if you’re speeding. The cameras can't see who's driving, though, so paying the ticket requires that you specify who was at the wheel; if you don't, you get slapped with a fine ten times as high.

Man, I would so get tons of speeding tickets! I have a lead foot. It's the one law I break every day. And I have to say that my new car makes it way too easy to speed. Not only does Fiona have quite a bit of pep, so she's quick off the line, but also the speedometer is laid out such that the needle is straight up at 80 mph...whereas in my old car the needle was practically horizontal at 80 mph. Such a tiny thing, you'd think, but I can't tell you how many times I've caught myself doing 90. Yikes!

While we're on the topic of speeding, what's up with those signs that say "Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft"? Do they really have some guy in a helicopter or something with a radar gun aiming it at the freeways? And how do they hold you responsible? Do they have some sort of satellite taking pictures of the cars they catch? How low do these aircraft fly? Could I see them from the driver's seat? I've always wondered.

Speaking of road signs, there was a unique one in Pennsylvania that I saw a couple times.


It's not often that you see hyperbole in govermental signage, now is it?

BTW, not my photo; I was never quick enough to catch it as I sped by; courtesy of Stop and Go.

O glorious chariot, I christen thee...

I should be packing but instead I'm glued to my 'puter as usual. I leave for L.A. tomorrow...my flight's at 7 pm so I'm going to the airport straight from work. That means I have to have everything ready to go by tomorrow morning. Somehow it always takes me as long to pack as I have time. If I have three hours, it takes three hours. If I have one hour, it takes one hour. Hmm.

I think I thought of a name for my car. I was referring to her as a princess in my last post, but didn't feel that was quite right because she's got an edge. So how about this: Fiona. As in, the princess from Shrek who is pretty and graceful yet spunky and can kick some butt.


The only part that doesn't quite fit is the fact that Fiona turns out to actually be an ogre...

We will try Fiona for a while, but I'm not above changing it if I think of something that fits better. I got a kitten the summer I moved into my condo, and my first name for him was Jupiter (the song Drops of Jupiter by Train was playing nonstop on the radio at the time). It never felt right though. About 4-6 weeks later the perfect name just popped into my head: Simba, of course! The Lion King is one of my favorite movies, and my cat was orange, so it felt perfect!

So today I drove out to Troy, NC to do a training. It's about 90 minutes from where I live. I think the training went very well. The first session completed on schedule, but the second session started an hour late because everyone was in a budget meeting. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though, because while I was waiting for everyone, I got a call from work and they alerted me that the system was experiencing 20-minute delays...which means if we had been sending a test call it wouldn't have gone through quickly and I would have had egg on my face again, a la Georgia. I was so grateful for the heads-up. They even gave me a good alibi to explain the situation. But fortunately the training was so delayed, by then the system was back to normal, and everything worked perfectly! The only frustrating part was that everyone was using laptop computers that had touchpads for the mouse...and they had never used one before! So they were all verrrrry slow. I did my best Patient though so if my boss calls them they should say good things about me.

I had to get a rental car to drive to Troy because mine was in the shop getting some cosmetic work done. I got a Chevy Malibu. Pretty nice. I liked the stereo. When you selected a radio station, it displayed the call letters, genre, and the name and artist of the song currently playing. And, the volume was speed-sensitive, so when you came to a stop light the music would get quieter, and when you sped up it would get louder. Also, it had automatic headlights so you didn't have to worry about turning them off. Even with all that, though, I still like my car better. It has a more comfortable seat and a smoother ride.

Returning the car to Enterprise was quite an enterprise, ha ha. There were like 7 or 8 people in line and only two guys behind the desk. Then one of them vanished for like 20 minutes because he had to clean a car for the customer who was going to rent it. To top that off, they ran out of invoice forms so everyone had to hand-write their info down. With all this activity, I felt bad asking for a ride back to Carmax but eventually (i.e., 45 minutes later) I did get a ride. As for whether I can tell they did anything to my car or not...I can see that the paint overspray was removed, but is the paint uniformly shiny all around the car? Since the car was dirty from today's rain, it's hard to say.

Okay, I should get to that packing now. I probably won't post until I get back on Tuesday (and maybe not even then because I fly in at 6 am and go straight to work from the airport Tuesday morning...I will be beat by the end of the day!). Have a lovely weekend everybody!

One more thing: I drove a total of 200 miles in the rental car. I forgot to fill it up with gas before I returned it, but the Enterprise office was so crazy that the guy didn't charge me. I pointed it out but he just waved his hand and said forget it. Score!

Grrrrrrrr

Look at what I found today:


I did not see it when I got into my car to leave work. I think it came from the parking garage at the gym--I didn't see it when I was leaving but it's kind of dark in there. I'm hoping this can be buffed out so that it's less noticeable. Note the scratch directly underneath the ding, too. Not a good day for my still-nameless coche. I found out (from my mom) that October 2 is Name Your Car Day. I hope to have a name for her way before then, but that is my absolute deadline. In a completely unrelated coincidence, she's going in on Wednesday to have her heinie shined up and some paint overspray removed. She's like a princess going for a spa day. And I kind of feel like a princess in her, but she's too sporty and peppy to be named Princess.

Meanwhile I'm getting a rental to go do a training in Montgomery County, NC. Today I got some feedback from my boss. Apparently he calls up random accounts we've trained to ask them how it went. One of mine was complimentary, while the other one said I was "assertive." This could be a good thing, but I know why they said that. I was lobbying their superintendent to get better use out of our service (i.e., send more calls), because their tech guy wanted me to. I guess I pushed it a little too hard. Live and learn. My co-trainer got one glowing feedback and one that said he's Speedy Gonzales. He does talk fast, even for me, and I'm a mile a minute myself!

I can't believe that I'm going to L.A. in three days! Woo hoo! I'm so excited!

Marathon post

Holy cannoli do I have a lot to write about! If I think about it too long I will be overwhelmed and not want to write at all, so let me just dive in.

I got a new car! Saturday I went to Carmax in Raleigh with my parents with the intention of test driving a few different models to get a better sense of what I really wanted. My plan was to look now, buy next week. I purposely had not prepared to actually purchase a vehicle (I didn't even have my trade-in with me!), so naturally, I found one that I could not pass up.


I got a Silver 2004 Honda Accord Coupe, 4 cylinder, with all the bells and whistles. I have finally joined the 21st century with those new-fangled "power door locks and windows," not to mention remote entry, a sunroof, a CD changer, and stereo controls on the steering wheel. Oh, and did I mention how much I love the sleek and sporty styling? :-) (More pix here.) It drives like a dream and I absolutely love it. It is surprisingly clean and new-looking for being two years old (with about 30k miles). The other cars I test drove (a Nissan Altima and a Honda Civic) couldn't hold a candle to my Accord. (I didn't test drive a Camry because they didn't have any on the lot with fewer than 50,000 miles.) One of my geeky favorite things right now is how the door sounds when it closes. It is such a satisfying swoosh, you know?

So I'm trying to think of a name for my new car. My last car went its whole life nameless, so I would like to call my current car something uniquely suited to her. Any suggestions?

The whole car-buying process was pretty simple and easy at Carmax. I had a female salesperson who I felt comfortable with, and there was no pressure because there's no negotiating. Due to my being unprepared, the process took a little longer, and of course Saturday is their busiest day, but overall I was pleased with how it worked out. They also gave me a decent price for my trade-in, which they are going to auction off, so I feel better that some unsuspecting customer will not get stuck with its problems. I was kind of sad to see her go...she served me well over the years, and was the first car I bought. The hardest part, though, was giving up the stereo and speakers that I had just installed a year and a half ago. They were kick-butt!

I saw Superman Returns at the IMAX. Wow, what an incredible movie! Four scenes were in 3D, and I wish so many more of them were. The music gives you goosebumps, and the throwbacks to the original movie are very clever. I'd originally wanted to catch the 1:45 showing but it was sold out so I had to go with the 4:45. To kill time, I got a combo ticket for the Exploris museum and looked around there. It's a really neat place! So much interactive stuff for kids but it's fun for adults too. I wasn't really sure what kind of museum Exploris is, because it's not art, it's not history, it's not science. It's kind of a combination of all three, with culture and economics thrown in for good measure. The teacher in me was thinking, "What a great place for a field trip!"

Even though the museum is cool, it still did not take up three hours of my time so I ended up wandering into the presentation room where they usually have a short film about the museum's mission, but yesterday it was showing the World Cup final game. I have never in my life watched soccer, or cared about it in the least, but I totally got into the game! I had to go get in line for the movie at 4, and was bummed when the game went into overtime. But guess what they had playing on a plasma screen for those queued up? So I got to see the 30 min of overtime...which was pointless...and we were entering the theater right after the third penalty kick. Minutes later, from my seat inside, I text messaged Google to find out who won. I heart technology!

I'm writing this from Pittsburgh, PA. Well, technically Belle Vernon, right outside of Pittsburgh. I have trainings in this area all week and apparently, who knew, the baseball All-Star game is here this week. My flight was on time (in the smallest plane I've ever flown in--a two/aisle/one configuration with overhead bins on one side only) but Enterprise did not have the level of car I reserved. They tried to talk me down for a few bucks less a day, but I know how the car rental industry works...if they don't have what you reserved, you get something higher for the same price. So I ended up in a Jeep Liberty. Sweet! It drives quite well, and doesn't feel too big. But I don't like the quality of the interior. It screams "posh utilitarian," if that makes any sense. And get this: it's 4WD! As if I'll take advantage. You're more likely to see Paris Hilton get a PhD in rocket science.

My first opinion of the Pittsburgh area is wouldn't wanna live here. I drove through some gnarly areas. I'm not talking ghettoes, because I haven't been into the city proper, but just really downtrodden, forsaken areas, where you would not want to pull off the road to get a CD from your suitcase even though you can't find a decent radio station. My hotel is about 45 min from the airport, although it took me an hour to get here due to tons of construction and traffic, and it's an okay area. The hotel appears as if it hasn't been renovated since Reagan was president, but it's decent enough. I watched a Dolly Parton special on CMT while reading my blogs and found out lots of interesting things about her. I really like her. She seems so genuine and humble and positive and just a nice person. I would love to go to Dollywood someday. I'll just add it to my ever-growing list!

Car drama

I've commented before that I seem to blog a lot about car-related issues. For some reason, there is just a lot of car drama in my life. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, car drama is not so bad. But like any other drama, it is stressful. And blogging helps diffuse some of the stress. Although I wasn't supposed to be posting tonight; right now I should be in a hotel in Whiteville, NC, in preparation for a training tomorrow morning. But no. My car apparently wasn't in the mood to transport.

I left around 12:30, and made it as far as Benson (where I-40 and I-95 intersect). The transmission was having a nervous breakdown or something. It couldn't decide what gear be in. I would be going a steady 65, and it would downshift for like three seconds, then go back to normal. This was easy enough to overlook one or two times, but it kept getting worse. Soon the car was jolting and shuddering really badly, kind of like when a kid learns to drive stick shift. There was nothing I could do. Letting up on the gas didn't help; neither did giving it more gas.

Eventually I had to get off the freeway and decide what to do. Renting a car isn't really an option on a Sunday, since no one is open. I could risk driving the remaining 80 miles to get to my destination, but what about driving back? Clearly the car is in need of repairs, and with my Georgia trip coming up, I wouldn't be able to take it in until July. So I called my co-trainer and he said it was okay to miss the Whiteville training and just go back to Raleigh.

Once I got back on the freeway, the car was behaving a little better, but soon it started acting up again. I got off the freeway to give it another rest, which helped, but less this time. Finally, two hours after departing, I made it home. The drive back was nowhere near as stressful as the drive out, because it was a comfort knowing that I was headed to familiar territory where I could take care of the situation and not feel helpless.

Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm clueless when it comes to auto repair, but my car has over 104,000 miles on it and I'm guessing the transmission's shot. I suppose it could be something relatively easy like a fluid issue or a belt or something, but I'm not feeling it. There's no way I'm paying for a new transmission, so I did a little car shopping online. I'm looking into a Honda Civic or Accord. I considered a hybrid, but they are considerably more expensive, and from what I've read, don't actually get all that much better mileage than, say, a regular Civic. The new '06 Civics are really nice inside and out, and the EX has some sweet options. If I go with an Accord, it would most likely have to be used; but I've been told that buying a used car makes more sense. I've also been told that the best time to buy a car is the end of the month (sales people deal more in an effort to meet their quotas) but I'll be out of town until Friday night, and Saturday is July 1. I doubt my car will last another month, although if I end up traveling a lot for work, maybe it will. I'm taking it to the dealership tomorrow, and hopefully they'll have a quick diagnosis. Thankfully I'm renting a car for my Georgia trip. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there's no car drama involved!

P.S. Probably the biggest bummer of this whole thing: on my way, I had planned to take a detour to Wilmington, to dip my toe the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Oh well--there was crappy weather today anyway. I'll just have to go some other time.

Life goes on

On the way to a late lunch/early dinner (lunner?) Sunday at Carrabba's, it was a caravan of three: my parents in the lead, me in the middle, and my brother and his family bringing up the rear. We were driving in the outer lane of highway 64 east, and in a heartbeat a deer ran out from the median onto the road. It was not aiming for me, but rather my parents' car. Which means that a) I did not hit it, but b) I got a front-row seat for the unfortunate action. The deer followed what I assume to be a similar path to the one that hit me six months ago. Ran into the driver's side front quarter panel, then ricocheted off the rear door. Perhaps due to the speed, the poor doe went flying pretty high in the air, doing some awful flips, eventually landing at the left edge of the inside lane. I was expecting my dad to pull over right away, but he didn't. I assume he was stunned into proceeding. You know--when something terrible happens, and you don't quite know how to react, so you just keep on. I did it too--didn't pull over until I regained my wits. We did eventually pull over, the entire caravan on the side of the road. I was rather shaken up, having witnessed from afar what I'd only imagined happened that night back in November. But you don't expect this kind of thing on a bright, beautiful spring day. The script calls for darkness, or at least ominous clouds. But the thunderstorms of the previous evening had cleared, and the rain made everything smell clean, and the sun was shining on the bright green grass and trees. An innocent creature wandered where it shouldn't have, and it was a fatal mistake. I am grateful the only casualty was the deer, but at the same time I am uncomfortable dismissing the deer's life as expendable. My brother was my hero for the day, running back to where the deer lied motionless, and pulling it off the road so that it would not continue to be hit by more speeding vehicles. What's so bizarre is that after the police report, we went on with our day as planned. Continued on to the restaurant, waited for an hour, got booster seats and a high chair, dipped bread in olive oil, cut into chicken, spooned potatoes, guzzled caffeine, shopped for digital cameras. It never ceases to amaze me that life goes on. But it always does. Certain events feel like they should make the world stop turning, or at least change things, even if it's just a little, but no.

100k!

Considering I'm female and drive a relatively nondescript domestic sedan, I talk an awful lot about my car. I mean, there was the whole deer incident, with the subsequent repairs. Then there was the license and registration saga. And today I'm going to write about my car yet again. First of all, my personalized plate arrived and I must admit that since I put it on the car, every time I see it, I do a double-take, and I get a little rush of excitement.


You gotta love the sun glistening on the chrome. I swear I did not stage that!

And the even bigger news--my car has reached a rather significant milestone (ha ha, no pun intended): 100,000 miles!


If you know me, you know that I'm freakishly obsessed with my odometer reading. I've been looking forward to this momentous event for months now. Pathetic, I know. It is not a recent affliction. I've taken pictures of it at 10,000 miles (I remember it clearly: I had just driven up to my friend Marcy's house in Valencia, California, during some sort of break from college. I think it was Christmas. I took the photo with a disposable camera. This was back in 1999 and digital photography was still budding technology and very expensive.) I also have a picture from when it read 77,777, just because.


I mean, how cool is that? (You can even see the Check Engine light in the lower right-hand corner...that blasted thing mocked me for over a year. No one could figure out what problem was causing it to go on. I finally got it taken care of last June. Had to leave the car with the mechanic for a week...luckily, I timed it so it was the week I was here in NC visiting my new niece!) But I digress...

So clearly you can see I take my odometer reading way too seriously. In addition to the 100k shot, I actually took a pic at 99,999 as well. And a video of it turning over to 100,000. It happened just as I was pulling up to my apartment after having gone out shopping. I could not believe my luck, because I had seriously fretted that I would be speeding down the highway when it rolled over and I wouldn't be able to take a picture. Even worse, I was afraid I'd get lost in thought and miss it altogether (shudder at the horror!). I even contemplated--if it read 99,999 when I got home today--driving around the complex until it turned over. I am not kidding! Seeing the odometer at an even 100,000 makes me not want to drive the car and "mess it up." Yes, I am aware that all this makes me very weird. So be it. I'm letting my freak flag fly, as they say!

So what was I shopping for, you ask? Why, some sweet new speakers for my 'puter! I've been wanting a set with a subwoofer for quite some time, and it was one of those things I told myself I could buy when I got a job. Well, now's that time! They sound awesome!!

It kind of feels like my birthday or something, because I also treated myself yesterday to some new cookware. I was still using the same set I got when I moved into my first apartment in 1998. They were a'ight, as Randy from American Idol would say, but the lids were starting to look scuzzy and the teflon was scratching a little. So I got some new pots and pans from Sears. They're not chef quality or anything, but they're nice. My theory is, you either buy one top-of-the-line set and forget about it for 20 years, or you buy bargain sets every five or six years. I don't cook that much, so I've never been able to justify getting the expensive stuff.

So last night I ate with my parents at the Cheesecake Factory in Raleigh. I adore that restaurant. This was our first visit to one in NC, but I'd eaten at California CF's in Pasadena, Woodland Hills, Redondo Beach, and Marina del Rey. I've also been to the one at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. I would eat at CF all the time except that the wait is always ridiculously long. But the food is sooo delicious. At the risk of reavealing all my lunacy in this single post, I will confess that I'd actually had a dream about their Avocado Egg Rolls the night before. Nothing absurd, just that I was at CF and I ordered them. So when my parents called and suggested I meet them at the restaurant for dinner, I jumped at the chance. And you bet I ordered the eggrolls. Yummo, as Rachael Ray would say.

So tonight I'm looking forward to my ABC block: Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy. At some point I need to finish my postcards for the swap. I can't wait to see what everyone sends!

P.S. What is UP with the birds here? Lately they've been chirping and singing full-bore at like midnight! I'm not talking about a tweet-tweet here and a tweet-tweet there. It's a veritable birdsong master chorale, and it's wacky. They're supposed to shut up at sundown and not peep until sunrise! Or at least that's how it was in CA. I suppose and extra helping of chirps is not all that whine-worthy in the grand scheme of things, but it's just a little odd to hear it so loud so late. But really, who am I to be critical of weirdness? I just rambled for 350 words about my car's odometer!

I'm official!

Today I officially became a North Carolina resident! I got my driver's license, registered to vote, and got my license plate. I had been putting this off for months; you're supposed to do it within 60 days but I became excellent at hemming and hawing. The DMV has never been my favorite place, for more than the average person's complaints about long wait times. Suffice it to say, I didn't do so well on my first (or second!) behind-the-wheel exams back when I was 16. It's a memory that haunts me to this day; I was an excellent student, accustomed to things coming easy to me, and then to fail this twice, it was like a slap in the face. I've had anxiety about the DMV ever since.

I knew it was not likely that I would have to take a behind-the-wheel exam here in NC. According to the DMV, the three things required of new residents licensed in another state are 1) a knowledge test, 2) a vision test, and 3) a traffic sign test. The behind-the-wheel exam is "at the discretion of the tester," and no one I knew who'd relocated had ever had to take it. But I also was afraid I'd screw up the knowledge test. I knew this was an irrational fear. Thousands of people who haven't even graduated high school take this exam and pass it every year; I'm college educated and have always been a good tester.

Well, thankfully, all my fears were for naught. The knowledge test was super easy. It was administered on a touch-screen computer and each question only had three choices. So right there, you've got a 33% chance of guessing the right one. As long as you read the handbook, you'd have to be retarded not to know most of the answers. For example: "When driving in snow, it is best to A) hit the brakes a lot, b) drive slowly, c) speed up." Come on, people! One made me laugh. "Studies have shown that a large number of accidents are caused by which of the following: A) Middle aged drivers, B) Women drivers, C) Slow drivers." I wonder how many people put B.

One awesome thing about taking the exam electronically is that you get immediate feedback as to whether you got each question right. You have to get 20 out of 25 questions right to pass. Once you hit 20 correct, though, the test ends...I only answered 21 questions. I got one wrong: "When approaching a right turn, the best thing to do is: A) Honk your horn (or some such ridiculous answer), B) Move slightly to the left in your lane to avoid hitting the curb when turning, C) slow down and stay to the right." I chose B, because that is what I do. But the answer was C. Oh well. No matter.

First thing when you walk in the office, you have to pick a line. It wasn't terribly crowded when I arrived, but while I stood there the line grew to almost out the door. I was later informed that Mondays and Fridays are their busiest days. There were only three windows open, and each one was for different types of transactions. When I got to the window, I sat down and handed over my documents. Social Security card, CA driver's license, proof of insurance, and proof of residency (water bill). The guy spent five minutes typing in all my info. He asked if I wanted to register to vote. I went ahead and did it, hoping I wouldn't get called for jury duty any time soon. He had me look into this little binocular-type thing for the vision test, which apparently I passed (I was nervous about that too, since I've been squinting a lot lately). I also had to identify all the types of traffic signs. They were all really easy, because I had reviewed them in the handbook. Then he had me go take the test. When I was done, I waited for a different window to be open. One neat thing in this state is you get to pick the background of your license. You have four choices: silhouette of North Carolina, a lighthouse, the Great Seal of North Carolina, or the ubiquitous airplane. Shouldn't be a monumental decision, but I did have to think about it for a while (luckily I overheard another customer being presented the options ahead of time). I ultimately chose the lighthouse. I wrote out a check for a whopping $16 and was told my license would expire in 2010. Sounds like the distant future!! Surely we'll have flying vehicles by then... Next I walked over to the photo lady, and waited (yet again) to be called. I got my picture taken (turned out pretty good) and then a few minutes later my card was printed. The whole process took about an hour.

Then I drove over to the license plate office a few miles away. Why this can't all be done in the same place is beyond me. The line at the second office seemed quite long but it moved pretty quickly. I forked over my newly acquired license, and the title to my car. I'd gone online ahead of time and printed and filled out the necessary form, so she just entered my info from that. I decided to splurge on a personalized plate: M CUBED. (My initials are MMM.) It's only an extra $30 per year and I've never had one before. I got a temporary plate for now (although it is just like a permanent one) and the other one should arrive in the mail in about 3 weeks. I had to pay $5 in cash for a notary fee, and the rest I paid via check. I now have 10 days to get my car inspected, which should be a simple process. They check your headlights, windshield wipers, etc. Just another way for the state to collect a fee, I suppose.

The rest of my day was equally busy. Stopped at the library to provide proof of residency since I had it now. Went to Target for six things, two of which they didn't have (4" x 6" unruled index cards and flavored bubbly water). Browsed in the dollar section, which always has fun little stuff. Got these adorable little candle holders:


They are solid metal and I could totally see them at Pier 1 for $9.99 each. Also got a bunch of magnets. Have I shared my magnet addiction with you? Used to be just a few magnets from places I traveled. But now I've got magnets of all shapes and sizes. They cover my fridge. Finding a bunch of neat-o ones for a buck at Target does not help the situation...

Finally!

I got my car back! I got the call a little after 11:30 am yesterday...yippee!! She's beautiful. She's now fully functional, thanks to a whole new door panel for the rear driver's-side. That means the whole inside part of the door was replaced. Apparently the difficulty in procuring it is somewhat warranted...seems that most LX Contours have cloth door panels...mine is plastic. The guy at the body shop said this interior trim package is so unique, it must have been special-ordered by someone. (Not me! I ended up with her because I wanted anti-lock brakes, and she was the only one left in CA with that option.) He also said that I got the absolute last non-cloth Contour door panel available on earth, so this better not happen again! As we parted ways, he said, "I hope you don't need our services for a long time!" Amen to that!

Of course, as soon as I drove off, I realized that I'd forgotten to fill up the rental car's gas tank. Nauseous at the though of paying $5 a gallon or some ungodly rate, I turned around and had to walk back into that office yet again. They were very nice, and let me take the car real quick an fill 'er up. Tiny tank. Three quarters empty and it took like six gallons. Anyway, when I finally drove off in my car for good, I had to get used to her layout. After a couple weeks in a different car, things felt a little off. The steering wheel is much thicker, and also tighter to turn. Also, it was very obvious that my car is SO much heavier than that little Rio. One thing I missed sorely was my stereo. The Rio did have a CD player, thank goodness, and pretty good bass, but virtually no treble. Compared to mine, which has separate tweeters...makes such a difference.

So last night, I went to game night at Larry and Carlee's. I didn't count how many showed, but it was at least 15 again, if not more. I had tons of fun. But when I parked, I left the window down a few inches to let the car air out (she reeked of paint). Well, when it came time to depart, I was surprised to discover it had been raining...which means the inside of my car got soaked! Must have been windy, because I found raindrops as far as the center console, and I'm sure the passenger seat got a few too. My car was still basically empty, so I didn't have any towels to mop things up. The steering wheel was wet, as well as the entire door panel, but that was nothing compared to the seat...the cold water quickly soaked through my pants, which as I'm sure you can imagine, was oh-so-snuggly. I hope everything dries out okay. I guess it was a baptism of sorts...for the next 7 years of her life!

Still no coche

I still don't have my car back! It was supposed to be done last week, but with the holidays cutting the work week short, they didn't have time to finish it before their four-day weekend. Finally they called on Tuesday and said I could pick her up at 4:00. I was in and out in less than five minutes...I should have known it could never be that easy! I never realized how attached I am to my car, but I drove off with a huge grin on my face. I was so happy to be driving her again! I stopped to get gas because I had dropped her off empty, and while at the station I decided to inspect the repair work. I reached back to the rear door that had been replaced, but couldn't get it unlocked no matter how hard I tried. Nor could I open the door from the inside. And of course, since it wouldn't unlock, I couldn't open it from the outside either. So I took it back to the shop and they were puzzled. They claimed it had worked fine when they tested it a couple hours previously. But they agreed it was not right now. They gave me the rental back (it was sitting where I had parked it mere minutes prior) and are now trying to fix the problem. I talked to the guy yesterday and he said they're trying to get another door panel and hopefully it will come in today. I really want my car back before the weekend. I do not want to ring in 2006 without her!

***

The other day I saw Flightplan with Jodie Foster at the dollar theater. It is a great movie! It's billed as a thriller, but there's no gore or anything. It's more psychological with some action scenes. I definitely recommend it.

Then last night I re-watched National Treasure, with Nicholas Cage. That is a first-rate movie! It's like James Bond meets Indiana Jones meets Da Vinci Code! I'm an American history geek as it is, so this film is right up my alley. Plus, now that I've been to Philadelphia, the scenes shot there were more exciting. Add it to your Netflix queue if you haven't seen it yet...you won't be sorry!

***

I learned a couple new board games recently. Bohnanza is from Germany. Basically you have a lot of bean cards and you have to plant and harvest them strategically so you can sell them for gold coins. It was hard to get the hang of at first, but when we did, it was fun! The other game is called Carcassonne...it's named after a region in France I think. In that game, there are a bunch of tiles with grassland, mountains, water, and cities, and you have to lay them out like dominoes and also claim the largest amounts of land, water, etc., to get points. I lost both games but wouldn't mind playing them again to get better.

***

I had a funny dream last night. Yesterday I discovered that a fellow blogger linked to my blog. I was so honored! So last night, I dreamt that James Lileks, my current hero, was also a regular reader, and that he also linked to my blog in his Bleat. Right, as if! But I was thrilled in the dream, as you can imagine!

The glories of 8 a.m. and rental cars

Up early again, to take my car to the body shop. She's finally getting fixed! No better way to start the day than with some online humor courtesy of my favorite columnist, James Lileks. (Sorry, Dave Barry--you take a sabbatical, you get replaced.) His 12 Catastrophes of Christmas are high-frickin-larious! Maybe someday I'll be able to write half as well as he. From today's Bleat:

It is stupid cold outside. Five when I got up, Five at noon, Five at sunset. I think it’s Two now. Yesterday I drove to Target...and there was no place to park except the outer realms of the lot; the wind was blowing me-by-north-me, and seemed intent on keeping me from the warm red womb of Mother Target. I pressed on. Once inside I...got a cart for shopping. They’d just brought in a herd from the pens outside, and the handles of the cart were too cold to touch. I used my coat sleeves. I looked around and saw everyone else in the area pushing carts with coat sleeves. One of those things you just accept, I guess; I suppose in Arizona the cart handles burn your flesh off. It’s all a trade-off.

Later. I was late to the body shop. There was a ton of ice on my car, and it was not joking this time.

So I couldn't use the squeegee backwards, like I'd done before. I had to come back upstairs and get a spatula. Pathetic. I seriously need an ice scraper. When I finally got to the body shop, the lady from Enterprise was waiting to pick me up. She was driving a Dodge Magnum, one of those fierce looking not-quite-a-station-wagon-not-quite-a-minivan-not-quite-an-SUV cars. Huge inside. Power everything. She said it was the car I would be getting. I thought to myself, "Geez, this is only $25.99 a day?!" Turns out she was mistaken, of course. I got a Kia Rio.


Tiny, tiny, tiny, but at least it's not a Geo Metro! At least it has a CD player. Besides, it will be easier to park and will get better mileage than the Magnum. Luckily my insurance pays for a rental while my car is being repaired, but I'm paying for the additional insurance. I could never bring myself to call Allstate and tell them that I'd managed to wreck the rental I was driving while my regular car was being repaired from the last wreck. I love irony, but not that much.