And on that note of the post below, I am very curious about what to do with my life. There are a few options.
I was looking at jobs today, and trying to find something in Vancouver so I can be closer to home. Everything pays like crap, though. Probably because it is in Vancouver :) Though if I could make ends meet I would welcome being something menial for a while and making it home in time to help with homework and maybe get a little exercise.
I could ride out this current work situation for the next 3 months and see if the Portland office becomes available. I've already been told that if I just start producing again, I would be given a shot at something. Hence the fact that my phone call was listened to... I think I am beginning to be valued again. However, do I really want to get almost a 70% raise and a slightly more fulfilling job at the expense of my brother, who already has to wait for me to get home until 6:30pm (thanks to the new sadistic hours we are required to work).
Houston holds some appeal, mostly because of the weather, and the really awesome interview I had out there a few months ago. That job has most likely come and gone... but it opened my eyes to the opportunities that exist in bigger cities and I kind of want to go interview my butt off and see what I can find. However there is moving, Quinn finally starting to do ok in school again, and blah blah blah I won't bore you with it.
Interesting tid bit of the day. All of my college classes suck... except History. Go figure. History is damned interesting. Furthermore, this fact has helped to solidified my perspective on schooling, which is that it exists only to make one far more delightful and interesting during small social gatherings.
As all of the intellectuals say... cheers.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Confessions
Do you just ever need someone to talk to who can be completely impartial so that you do not get upset by their advice? It's probably called a therapist, lol. Had a great one in Houston. She was like a best girlfriend/paid professional all in one. Oh, and she called me "Girl" and "Miss Tavia." Very one of a kind in my experience. Oh how I miss her.
My mom was extremely opinionated but she was good at listening... and pretty much knew that even though she gave her opinion openly, I would tell her to shove off and just go do my own thing. I just wanted to bounce ideas off of her and hear what she would do or what she would have to say. Other people might not know that about me, so when I ask advice and they give it, and then I openly do not follow it, they are probably frustrated. So be it.
My latest desire is to add about 2-3 middle names to my current name and move to Virginia. I will take Jeff, and we can be alone, and I will give him a big long hug, and smell fresh mountain air, and then we will cook something wonderful, and all of you can come visit. I think it sounds fabulous.
I also have some confessions. I like coffee. Every morning. And I like beer. Once in a while. And I got my new manager "talked to" today for being a jackass. Nobody from work reads this, so I can say that. I can also say that it is kind of nice to have that power, of being able to pick up a phone, say "so and so has some great ideas but is being a jackass" and then hear the phone ring 5 minutes later, only for so and so to emerge a much nicer person after the call. It is not completely about power, though. It is also about the fact that so and so really could be good, but really needed a jackass intervention. And it was nice to be listened to and have my opinion valued instead of laughed at.
Sometimes I want to be sweet, but other times I want to be trouble. And maybe that's just normal.
Anyway...
My mom was extremely opinionated but she was good at listening... and pretty much knew that even though she gave her opinion openly, I would tell her to shove off and just go do my own thing. I just wanted to bounce ideas off of her and hear what she would do or what she would have to say. Other people might not know that about me, so when I ask advice and they give it, and then I openly do not follow it, they are probably frustrated. So be it.
My latest desire is to add about 2-3 middle names to my current name and move to Virginia. I will take Jeff, and we can be alone, and I will give him a big long hug, and smell fresh mountain air, and then we will cook something wonderful, and all of you can come visit. I think it sounds fabulous.
I also have some confessions. I like coffee. Every morning. And I like beer. Once in a while. And I got my new manager "talked to" today for being a jackass. Nobody from work reads this, so I can say that. I can also say that it is kind of nice to have that power, of being able to pick up a phone, say "so and so has some great ideas but is being a jackass" and then hear the phone ring 5 minutes later, only for so and so to emerge a much nicer person after the call. It is not completely about power, though. It is also about the fact that so and so really could be good, but really needed a jackass intervention. And it was nice to be listened to and have my opinion valued instead of laughed at.
Sometimes I want to be sweet, but other times I want to be trouble. And maybe that's just normal.
Anyway...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
More Home Improvement
I am a total dork, but I am having such a good time making the house look pretty. I totally understand my mom now. I used to laugh at her when something like a new light would make her really happy. Now I wish I had done a bit more to help make her life full of pretty. I am using a lot of the materials she had picked out for our house, and it is coming together really nicely.
Our new outside lights...
Another view, with the new black house numbers...
Our new outside lights...
Another view, with the new black house numbers...
A random shot of Lily, with Quinn's hand. He always tries to do the movie star thing and put his hand in front of the camera, but this time I got my picture perfectly anyway. Ha!
Finally, our beautiful new bathroom sinks and faucets!
We put a new toilet in yesterday, too, but I won't put pictures of the toilet up until we have our floors done. Otherwise it looks like a brand new shiny toilet next to a nasty old floor that needs replacing. I am really debating between tile and vinyl for the bathroom and kitchen floors. Tile would be a major chore, and I am not sure how much it would up the house value in the little part of town we live in. Our area is nice, but it is the more basic part of La Center... not ritzy like up on the hill. I love tile, but I am pretty sure we would be the only home that has it. Still, that could be a good thing. Vinyl is easier in terms of prep work, and I picked out a couple really nice samples that I could order. I am open to suggestions. In fact, I am going to put up a poll.
Next weekend we get our leaky kitchen sink and dishwasher fixed. What my cousin discovered when he took pictures of my kitchen plumbing to work is that the old kitchen sink, that came with the house, was not put in correctly. Shocker. That would make sense as to why we always had problems with it clogging and not working quite right. So when we bought a new sink and things were in the wrong spot, I though I had gotten the wrong sink. Now I am being assured that sinks are pretty standard, and the builders just did a whacked out job on the little aluminum nasty sink that was originally there.
Next weekend I will also finish painting the house. I have to borrow Aunty Gail's pressure washer, and then I can get the top of the house painted before the bad weather sets in. I tried to crawl up there a few months ago and clean, but the angles are so weird, and scrubbing by hand requires so much elbow grease, that I almost busted my butt up there. Hopefully when I pressure wash it won't be so powerful that I go flying off the house!
Friday, September 26, 2008
mORE rANDOM tHOUGHTS bEFORE i fEED cOSMO
Cosmo hates me now. I have more blogging to do before Quinn's computer time, though.
First, let's talk about the yard. Each year I lose more and more of the yard to the poor drainage job that the La Center Library did when they erected their annoying building right behind me, and to the 20 beloved dog feet that go sailing through the yard each day.
I was out assessing the "damage" yesterday, trying to decide what to do before rainy season sets in. I've determined that the bare spot, seen in the top picture, will soon have barkdust and maybe a few green bushes to soak up the water. The barkdust will, of course, be between the gravel from a few years before and the gravel path I made last year to cover up the muddy slip and slide that became our yard.
Below, we see the lucious piece of lawn that keeps on growing and is very lovely. I think a little weed and seed might be in order to keep its strength up, as the dogs will be walking through it soon. You can see the part closest to the gravel trail. It starts with a dirty dog path and is kind of bare between the dog path and the gravel path. Not sure what to do to preserve this. any suggestions before it is too far gone?
First, let's talk about the yard. Each year I lose more and more of the yard to the poor drainage job that the La Center Library did when they erected their annoying building right behind me, and to the 20 beloved dog feet that go sailing through the yard each day.
I was out assessing the "damage" yesterday, trying to decide what to do before rainy season sets in. I've determined that the bare spot, seen in the top picture, will soon have barkdust and maybe a few green bushes to soak up the water. The barkdust will, of course, be between the gravel from a few years before and the gravel path I made last year to cover up the muddy slip and slide that became our yard.
Below, we see the lucious piece of lawn that keeps on growing and is very lovely. I think a little weed and seed might be in order to keep its strength up, as the dogs will be walking through it soon. You can see the part closest to the gravel trail. It starts with a dirty dog path and is kind of bare between the dog path and the gravel path. Not sure what to do to preserve this. any suggestions before it is too far gone?
Below, Bud... the kind soul that he is, waters my tree. With his pee. So we have a brown spot now. Thanks Bud!
Lily sleeping peacfully and calmly in the chair. She was sitting there in my lap while I did homework (she makes a great table) but then I moved and she decided to stay.
And finally... my favorite snack. Blue gummy sharks. Not just any gummy sharks. The BLUE ones. The other colors are artificially flavored, and I am allergic to artificial flavorings. I feel a little guilty biting their heads off, but they are just so good!
Find Your Top Spot..... .com!
This site is one of my favorites, and recent conversations prompted me to visit it again, mostly for blog kicks. The site is www.findyourspot.com and it's a lot of fun. I will try to keep this short, because the look on Cosmo's face tells me that he is going to die soon if I don't feed him breakfast.
Just to clarify to everyone who saw my recent poll that had a "poor Tavia" slant to it, Jeff is not evil. Most of you already know him and know that! I am actually really proud of Jeff for all the branching out he's done this past year and a half that I've been away (we had become such a "couple" socially that I was a bit worried). He has some new friends, some new interests, and even teaches a class that he's really enthusiastic about. Most Saturday afternoons I find myself text messaging with no reply, only to call and find that he is off doing something cool and living life very easily as an independent man ;) It's actually really nice to hear about! The downside is, that he is even more rooted in Houston than he was before!
I, on the other hand, am turning into a big Washington person... at least for now. I enjoy Houston (mostly because being young, single and in Houston is a blast) but I also really like it out here. Fresh air, small suburbs, family relatively close by, my house is looking AWESOME, and I have totally enjoyed reconnecting with all of my old friends who I have known for years. Plus my brother is in a school program that, while it is not what I want, is allowing him to catch up from what he missed freshman year. The only thing really missing is, well, stinky rotten Jeff.
People reading this are probably thinking we need to just go our seperate ways and live our lives... however we are totally unwilling to do that. I tried to picture myself dating or married to someone else and got all teary eyed... sigh, that is so pathetic. So, we WILL get it resolved. The point of the Find Your Spot website, however, is this... we decided that once one of us gives in and lives somewhere they don't neccessarily want to live for a few years, we will then find a spot where we BOTH want to be and finally settle down there. So I took this quiz, trying to keep both of us in mind when answering, and found our "best places." Drumroll please...
1. Hickory, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This makes perfect sense to me, because I lived in Roanoke Virginia for college and absolutely LOVED it (SW Virgina... not northern, where Jeff has lived before and hated it). It's the perfect climate (all the seasons but never dreary like it gets in the northwest) with just enough to do but somewhat small town-ish. Plus beaches for Jeff and his crabbing.
2.Whidbey Island, WA
3. Morganton, North Carolina
4. Hopkinsville, Kentucky
I might read about this, but Kentucky????????
5. Mount Vernon, Washington
6. Paris, Tennessee
7. Page, Arizona
8. Gainesville, Georgia
9. Branson, Missouri
10. Greenville, South Carolina
Other places (I came up with 4 pages of possibilities) of note, either because they were funny or we might actually like them are: St. George, Utah (hilarious... though I am convinced we will end up in Utah one day just because we are both so passionately against it), Grand Junction, Colorado, Fredricksburg, Texas (a place I have always wanted to go and check out because I am convinced I would love it), a couple more small towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Kerrville, TX (also in the hill country, but a small town), Guntersville Alabama (PLEASE SAY THAT WITH A TWANG!), Marble Falls, Texas, Port Townsend, Washington, Sequim, Washington, and yet a few more places in the Texas Hill Country and Blue Ridge Mountains.
As silly as some people think these quizzes are, this is actually quite funny. I am noticing a trend leaning towards the Texas Hill Country, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and all the sunnier parts of Washington state. With a few redneck towns mixed in, of course... and sadly, thinking about me and Jeff that doesn't completely surprise me, though I would never live in some of them. Looks like some vacations may be in order!
Just to clarify to everyone who saw my recent poll that had a "poor Tavia" slant to it, Jeff is not evil. Most of you already know him and know that! I am actually really proud of Jeff for all the branching out he's done this past year and a half that I've been away (we had become such a "couple" socially that I was a bit worried). He has some new friends, some new interests, and even teaches a class that he's really enthusiastic about. Most Saturday afternoons I find myself text messaging with no reply, only to call and find that he is off doing something cool and living life very easily as an independent man ;) It's actually really nice to hear about! The downside is, that he is even more rooted in Houston than he was before!
I, on the other hand, am turning into a big Washington person... at least for now. I enjoy Houston (mostly because being young, single and in Houston is a blast) but I also really like it out here. Fresh air, small suburbs, family relatively close by, my house is looking AWESOME, and I have totally enjoyed reconnecting with all of my old friends who I have known for years. Plus my brother is in a school program that, while it is not what I want, is allowing him to catch up from what he missed freshman year. The only thing really missing is, well, stinky rotten Jeff.
People reading this are probably thinking we need to just go our seperate ways and live our lives... however we are totally unwilling to do that. I tried to picture myself dating or married to someone else and got all teary eyed... sigh, that is so pathetic. So, we WILL get it resolved. The point of the Find Your Spot website, however, is this... we decided that once one of us gives in and lives somewhere they don't neccessarily want to live for a few years, we will then find a spot where we BOTH want to be and finally settle down there. So I took this quiz, trying to keep both of us in mind when answering, and found our "best places." Drumroll please...
1. Hickory, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This makes perfect sense to me, because I lived in Roanoke Virginia for college and absolutely LOVED it (SW Virgina... not northern, where Jeff has lived before and hated it). It's the perfect climate (all the seasons but never dreary like it gets in the northwest) with just enough to do but somewhat small town-ish. Plus beaches for Jeff and his crabbing.
2.Whidbey Island, WA
3. Morganton, North Carolina
4. Hopkinsville, Kentucky
I might read about this, but Kentucky????????
5. Mount Vernon, Washington
6. Paris, Tennessee
7. Page, Arizona
8. Gainesville, Georgia
9. Branson, Missouri
10. Greenville, South Carolina
Other places (I came up with 4 pages of possibilities) of note, either because they were funny or we might actually like them are: St. George, Utah (hilarious... though I am convinced we will end up in Utah one day just because we are both so passionately against it), Grand Junction, Colorado, Fredricksburg, Texas (a place I have always wanted to go and check out because I am convinced I would love it), a couple more small towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Kerrville, TX (also in the hill country, but a small town), Guntersville Alabama (PLEASE SAY THAT WITH A TWANG!), Marble Falls, Texas, Port Townsend, Washington, Sequim, Washington, and yet a few more places in the Texas Hill Country and Blue Ridge Mountains.
As silly as some people think these quizzes are, this is actually quite funny. I am noticing a trend leaning towards the Texas Hill Country, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and all the sunnier parts of Washington state. With a few redneck towns mixed in, of course... and sadly, thinking about me and Jeff that doesn't completely surprise me, though I would never live in some of them. Looks like some vacations may be in order!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Family Plumbing, Part II
Yesterday started phase 2 of the family plumbing series. In need of a new kitchen sink/faucet, new dishwasher, 2 new bathroom sinks/faucets, and 2 new toilets (yes, my house is a mess) I called my cousin, the almost master plumber. Ok, well, he finished plumbing school and is working at one of the Rooters around town, but by the time I am done with him he will have the experience of a master plumber!
Family plumbing is, of course, not without its challenges. There are the good parts, which surprisingly include the fact that family is not afraid of yelling, swearing, and telling each other exactly how they feel. The reason I say this is the good part is because I was delighted when we girls did not have the arm strength to hold the sink while my cousin Chris was hammering away at something underneath, and we started hollering for Quinn, who was at the computer. His response was "Uuuuuuuuh..." to which Chris screamed "Don't uuuuuuuuuh me, get your butt in here!" and Quinn emerged from his room and had to help. Yep. That was good.
The challenges are, of course, that we are a bunch of rookies. We had to run across the cul de sac for tools, the new sink did not fit the old pipes and we sprung a leak, so we had to go to the store and get new fittings. The new fittings didn't fit. We were missing a bolt. At the end of the day we had a leaky sink and dishwasher, which should be fixed in about 30 minutes next weekend after we shop for the right parts. They look nice, though!
We had a really good time, though, and it is a lot of fun to be with family. We had dinner, Quinn and Chris played Guitar Hero, and Chris and I got to chat over coffee at Shari's while we waited for his wife to pick him up. All in all a good day.
The new kitchen sink and faucet
Bunny, waiting somewhat patiently at the baby gate. She really wanted into the kitchen to be part of the action, but we tried to explain to her that she should be content being the only dog actually allowed loose in the house on plumbing day.
Our cousin Chris, underneath the sink. He's grown up a lot. I remember him being little kid when I was a tweenager, and he once bit my stomach and would not let go because I took Aunty Gail's stackable boxes away from him.
Family plumbing is, of course, not without its challenges. There are the good parts, which surprisingly include the fact that family is not afraid of yelling, swearing, and telling each other exactly how they feel. The reason I say this is the good part is because I was delighted when we girls did not have the arm strength to hold the sink while my cousin Chris was hammering away at something underneath, and we started hollering for Quinn, who was at the computer. His response was "Uuuuuuuuh..." to which Chris screamed "Don't uuuuuuuuuh me, get your butt in here!" and Quinn emerged from his room and had to help. Yep. That was good.
The challenges are, of course, that we are a bunch of rookies. We had to run across the cul de sac for tools, the new sink did not fit the old pipes and we sprung a leak, so we had to go to the store and get new fittings. The new fittings didn't fit. We were missing a bolt. At the end of the day we had a leaky sink and dishwasher, which should be fixed in about 30 minutes next weekend after we shop for the right parts. They look nice, though!
We had a really good time, though, and it is a lot of fun to be with family. We had dinner, Quinn and Chris played Guitar Hero, and Chris and I got to chat over coffee at Shari's while we waited for his wife to pick him up. All in all a good day.
The new dishwasher
The new kitchen sink and faucet
Bunny, waiting somewhat patiently at the baby gate. She really wanted into the kitchen to be part of the action, but we tried to explain to her that she should be content being the only dog actually allowed loose in the house on plumbing day. 
Our cousin Chris, underneath the sink. He's grown up a lot. I remember him being little kid when I was a tweenager, and he once bit my stomach and would not let go because I took Aunty Gail's stackable boxes away from him.
Happy Birthday Jeff!
Today, September 21st, is Jeff's birthday! He finally gets to enter his late 20s today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Hate Blog
The hate blog is what you write when you Windows based cell phone will not stop freezing. Or when you wake up to find a river of dog pee next to the patio door AND in the dog bed. The hate blog is also what you write when you have vicious cramps and just finished making payment arrangements on a $3000 surgery that doesn't seem to have helped at all.
Yes, today I am in hate with life. I wish the world would come to an end... or perhaps stand still just for today so that I can have a reprieve. I should be happy. Half of my problematic house will be done tomorrow. New dishwasher, new sinks, new faucets (which cost more than the actual sinks, mind you... another source of grumpiness), new toilets and I am pretty sure that is it. This is all good. Somehow today just sucks, though.
My phone just rebooted. It told me I had a text message. I check the message, and it was dated 1/1/2003. WTF?!?!?!? It was from Jeff. Of all the interesting text messages I probably could have gotten from 2003, it said "Sup?" I was thinking how cute this was, that Jeff has not stopped saying "Sup" since 2003. Of course then I remembered that this is 2008 and that Jeff and I did not even know each other in 2003. WTF?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! Furthermore, I did not even have Sprint in 2003. This is too much time spent on Sprint's issues, though.
I have a History test to take soon and I have not read the chapter for it. I don't want to read the chapter for it. I have no interest in the chapter for it. Actually, I may have interest in the chapter for it, but I wouldn't know because I have not even investigated far enough to know what the chapter title is.
Bud is incontinent. Poor old man. There are some pills in the dog book that are supposed to help with this. Has anyone used them? Do they work? Bud is only 9, and I assume will be around another few years, and he is too sweet to be really mad at for peeing. Yet I cannot see myself with mop in hand for several more years of his life. Laundry alone this week has been a nightmare. 5 loads, all sheets. I actually forgot to wash the real clothes, because I FELT like I had done all the laundry and then some for the week.
We are getting a new manager at work. Everyone knows I am not a big fan of my job, but I really did like the manager of our office. He is taking a medical leave, however... he really does have medical issues, but he probably would not have had to take a leave if the powers that be had not hounded him to within an inch of his life over production, thus causing stress, thus causing him to have a difficult time healthwise. This is just an assumption, however it is based on him not being the only one in our company to take a medical leave due to having poor health and then getting houned about it. Um.... before you hound the guy, maybe show up in town once or twice to train him on his job? If he is having health issues... like, ohmygosh, maybe someone could come step in for him for a week while he recovers? Just a thought.
The job leads me to another gripe, which is that nobody on this earth can work and have children. This is just a truth. If you do work and have children, and you put work first, your children are going to be neglected and hate you. This might not be entirely accurate- there are always those super amazing people who can make it work. Seriously, though, right now even a nasty ex-husband would be worth putting up with in order to have some scheduling backup. Of course I have no nasty ex-husband because I do not even have my own kid. Just my brother. I would gladly quit work, tote him around, and make sure he eats properly and gets his homework done. Of course if I quit work we will be living in our car which is the only major posession we own outright now. So this is a dilemma. I try to explain to him that someone in the universe hates us. We have no grandparents. Our aunt lives an hour away in good traffic. Nobody exists to help us. I also try to exlpain that if we were to move to Houston things would be a little better. Yeah, it is not as nice as living out here. I would rather stay, too. We'd have a lot more support out there, though, and I could live closer to wherever I work. And if Quinn would ever get back to real school we would be on a similar schedule. Ok, I am boring myself now.
Let's move on to cramps and general bitchiness. I hope I don't have any guy readers. If you are male, and reading this, get out. I hate cramps. They piss me off. I used to mock PMS. Now, I embrace it. I live it. I want to kill someone over it. I am in PAIN. I want to kick the dog. Instead I put her in her crate. It was Lily. She was eating fuzz off the floor. That is just annoying. I had this stupid surgery, which was horrible. I was out of work for a week and a half over it (even though they say it is a 2 day recovery), and they cut my belly button. Ok, I could punch someone over the fact that they cut my belly button. I have a belly button thing. Kind of like a phobia. Nobody touches my belly button. So you trust someone to put you under anesthesia, and they cut a hole right through it. Bastards. They wake you up, show you pictures, tell you they saved the day and then 2 months later you are still doubled over with pain and paying 3 grand in surgery bills. How is that cool? Give me back my pretty, white endometriosis growths. Another note on cutting. I will never have children. Ever since one of my friends had her you-know-what cut... oh heck no. Like some little whipper snapper baby deserves the grand entrance. Let's make sure the door is wide open for your entrance to the world. No way. If I do go crazy and decide to have kids, this will not happen to me. If it does, or if I am passed out and anyone lets this happen to me, there will be payback. I would rather have a c-section.
Of course now I am ranting over things that have never even happened to me, so it might possibly be time to go take my history test. Goodbye.
Yes, today I am in hate with life. I wish the world would come to an end... or perhaps stand still just for today so that I can have a reprieve. I should be happy. Half of my problematic house will be done tomorrow. New dishwasher, new sinks, new faucets (which cost more than the actual sinks, mind you... another source of grumpiness), new toilets and I am pretty sure that is it. This is all good. Somehow today just sucks, though.
My phone just rebooted. It told me I had a text message. I check the message, and it was dated 1/1/2003. WTF?!?!?!? It was from Jeff. Of all the interesting text messages I probably could have gotten from 2003, it said "Sup?" I was thinking how cute this was, that Jeff has not stopped saying "Sup" since 2003. Of course then I remembered that this is 2008 and that Jeff and I did not even know each other in 2003. WTF?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! Furthermore, I did not even have Sprint in 2003. This is too much time spent on Sprint's issues, though.
I have a History test to take soon and I have not read the chapter for it. I don't want to read the chapter for it. I have no interest in the chapter for it. Actually, I may have interest in the chapter for it, but I wouldn't know because I have not even investigated far enough to know what the chapter title is.
Bud is incontinent. Poor old man. There are some pills in the dog book that are supposed to help with this. Has anyone used them? Do they work? Bud is only 9, and I assume will be around another few years, and he is too sweet to be really mad at for peeing. Yet I cannot see myself with mop in hand for several more years of his life. Laundry alone this week has been a nightmare. 5 loads, all sheets. I actually forgot to wash the real clothes, because I FELT like I had done all the laundry and then some for the week.
We are getting a new manager at work. Everyone knows I am not a big fan of my job, but I really did like the manager of our office. He is taking a medical leave, however... he really does have medical issues, but he probably would not have had to take a leave if the powers that be had not hounded him to within an inch of his life over production, thus causing stress, thus causing him to have a difficult time healthwise. This is just an assumption, however it is based on him not being the only one in our company to take a medical leave due to having poor health and then getting houned about it. Um.... before you hound the guy, maybe show up in town once or twice to train him on his job? If he is having health issues... like, ohmygosh, maybe someone could come step in for him for a week while he recovers? Just a thought.
The job leads me to another gripe, which is that nobody on this earth can work and have children. This is just a truth. If you do work and have children, and you put work first, your children are going to be neglected and hate you. This might not be entirely accurate- there are always those super amazing people who can make it work. Seriously, though, right now even a nasty ex-husband would be worth putting up with in order to have some scheduling backup. Of course I have no nasty ex-husband because I do not even have my own kid. Just my brother. I would gladly quit work, tote him around, and make sure he eats properly and gets his homework done. Of course if I quit work we will be living in our car which is the only major posession we own outright now. So this is a dilemma. I try to explain to him that someone in the universe hates us. We have no grandparents. Our aunt lives an hour away in good traffic. Nobody exists to help us. I also try to exlpain that if we were to move to Houston things would be a little better. Yeah, it is not as nice as living out here. I would rather stay, too. We'd have a lot more support out there, though, and I could live closer to wherever I work. And if Quinn would ever get back to real school we would be on a similar schedule. Ok, I am boring myself now.
Let's move on to cramps and general bitchiness. I hope I don't have any guy readers. If you are male, and reading this, get out. I hate cramps. They piss me off. I used to mock PMS. Now, I embrace it. I live it. I want to kill someone over it. I am in PAIN. I want to kick the dog. Instead I put her in her crate. It was Lily. She was eating fuzz off the floor. That is just annoying. I had this stupid surgery, which was horrible. I was out of work for a week and a half over it (even though they say it is a 2 day recovery), and they cut my belly button. Ok, I could punch someone over the fact that they cut my belly button. I have a belly button thing. Kind of like a phobia. Nobody touches my belly button. So you trust someone to put you under anesthesia, and they cut a hole right through it. Bastards. They wake you up, show you pictures, tell you they saved the day and then 2 months later you are still doubled over with pain and paying 3 grand in surgery bills. How is that cool? Give me back my pretty, white endometriosis growths. Another note on cutting. I will never have children. Ever since one of my friends had her you-know-what cut... oh heck no. Like some little whipper snapper baby deserves the grand entrance. Let's make sure the door is wide open for your entrance to the world. No way. If I do go crazy and decide to have kids, this will not happen to me. If it does, or if I am passed out and anyone lets this happen to me, there will be payback. I would rather have a c-section.
Of course now I am ranting over things that have never even happened to me, so it might possibly be time to go take my history test. Goodbye.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Nothing in particular...
I woke up this morning to Cosmo being precious. Lily's butt makes a great pillow, apparently.
It's definitely getting to be FALL. I was taking a walk tonight and noticed that my beautiful tree in the front yard (one of the reasons I bought this house, in fact, because I loved this tree!) is turning red on top. I love it when it does that. In a couple months it will be bald.
My new vase! I went to Ikea for a bed platform. Came out with all sorts of other stuff. Me, extra money, and Ikea are not a good combo. Or maybe they are. I've been eyeing this vase for about a year now. I should have bought it a long time ago, but it was $50 and I always passed it by because I usually spend too much at Ikea, and it is always there for "next time." Well, I went the other day and it had a big sign over it that said "Last Chance" and $20! Hello... into my cart it went. It's really heavy, probably about 50 pounds, a steal at that price (even at $50 it was) and I think it is perfect for this spot by the dining room table.
Here is is from a distance...
Other than that, I cleaned out the garage yesterday. We rented a Uhaul and took a much needed trip to the dump to get rid of all the carpet we ripped up and replaced with Pergo. The garage is clean, organized, and could actually fit 2 cars now. Very exciting.
Also been following this hurricane news. Everyone I know seems to have fared okay, minus some power and water issues, and trees down. One of my friend's moms is missing her shed. I thought that was a bit crazy. Everyone is ok, though, and I thought I'd throw that on here because a lot of you have been asking (which is really sweet, thank you).
On more hurricane news, I really have to give Jeff's family mention here. I'm sure they will love me for that, lol. Not only were they totally prepared with a generator and enough food stored up to feed an army... but they actually did feed 80 missionaries sheltered nearby 2 meals in a row off of their own food storage. Amazing. This is who I want to be with should disaster strike! They are definitely the most generous family I know, but are apparently extraordinarily prepared as well. I always wondered about that freezer in the garage...
It's definitely getting to be FALL. I was taking a walk tonight and noticed that my beautiful tree in the front yard (one of the reasons I bought this house, in fact, because I loved this tree!) is turning red on top. I love it when it does that. In a couple months it will be bald.
My new vase! I went to Ikea for a bed platform. Came out with all sorts of other stuff. Me, extra money, and Ikea are not a good combo. Or maybe they are. I've been eyeing this vase for about a year now. I should have bought it a long time ago, but it was $50 and I always passed it by because I usually spend too much at Ikea, and it is always there for "next time." Well, I went the other day and it had a big sign over it that said "Last Chance" and $20! Hello... into my cart it went. It's really heavy, probably about 50 pounds, a steal at that price (even at $50 it was) and I think it is perfect for this spot by the dining room table.
Here is is from a distance...
Other than that, I cleaned out the garage yesterday. We rented a Uhaul and took a much needed trip to the dump to get rid of all the carpet we ripped up and replaced with Pergo. The garage is clean, organized, and could actually fit 2 cars now. Very exciting.Also been following this hurricane news. Everyone I know seems to have fared okay, minus some power and water issues, and trees down. One of my friend's moms is missing her shed. I thought that was a bit crazy. Everyone is ok, though, and I thought I'd throw that on here because a lot of you have been asking (which is really sweet, thank you).
On more hurricane news, I really have to give Jeff's family mention here. I'm sure they will love me for that, lol. Not only were they totally prepared with a generator and enough food stored up to feed an army... but they actually did feed 80 missionaries sheltered nearby 2 meals in a row off of their own food storage. Amazing. This is who I want to be with should disaster strike! They are definitely the most generous family I know, but are apparently extraordinarily prepared as well. I always wondered about that freezer in the garage...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Unraveling the Mystery
Bunny is feeling MUCH better, which is wonderful. She is out and about with the other dogs, with the exception of Lucy. Lucy is no longer trusted, and has to stay in the other part of the house. We are in the other part of the house frequently, though, she it's not like she is neglected. She mostly spends her life sleeping on the dog couch anyway, so she is fine. She gets crated when we leave, for extra assurance that nobody gets into the wrong room. The only frustrating part is shuffling outside time. Lucy has to go by herself.
What has been baffling me for the past couple months is how this all happened. Maybe I am thinking too much into it, and it just is what it is, but I am really desperate to figure this out. The reason I did not put Lucy to sleep straight away after the Bunny attack is because Lucy has never, EVER done anything like that. Lucy has always been a bit touchy. Like, if you try to touch her butt or back she seems really uncomfortable and strains. Sometimes she growls about it. She was a single dog, though, and I am an airhead a lot of the time so I never really thought any further about it other than being gentle when I touched her there. Other than those touchy areas on her body she was just fine. We dog sat for friends in Houston and she always made great friends with the other dogs, my roommate had an annoying lab puppy for a while, and she has even been around toddlers and has always been completely trustworthy. So this has been bugging me. Obviously Lucy went way too far with what she did to Bunny, though. She was going for a kill.
What started my thinking on this track is what happened yesterday, which leads me back to Bunny feeling much better. Bunny is a MAJOR instigator. Yesterday when Lily came out of her crate, Bunny jumped at her, and bit her in the neck. She is a really saucy Corgi. Lily is a BIG puppy so it was kind of a funny visual, but it freaked her out and she screamed. I would never, EVER blame Bunny for what Lucy did to her, because it is not normal to take things as far as Lucy did. I have had my suspicions all along that Bunny may have taken a good nip at Lucy to get things started, though. It's not out of character for her to run through everyone's legs barking, or to nip, or to jump up and hang from a neck or two by her teeth. Nothing vicious. This is Bunny. I sometimes get the sense that she thinks it is really funny, because she does it kind of playfully, and sometimes you can tell she does it to put someone in line... but the other dogs get SO MAD.
Our variables are Bunny, Lucy, the weedwacker... Quinn says Lily because she jumps into the middle of things with her big bounding puppy antics and pisses everyone off... and, well, I guess that is it. I will probably never know what happened. We've definitely been asking some questions around here. Does Lucy have something wrong with her, like is she sick or does she have pain in her back region for some reason, and that made her overly aggressive? Or is it just that she has a bad background, and finally snapped? This is something we need to figure out because I really don't want to be irresponsible by keeping her around. Maybe she has pain that could be managed or maybe she has a tumor or something and is really sick. Second, bad on us for letting Bunny get away with crap because she is so damned cute. Our mom had no problem popping her with a rolled up newspaper to keep her in line once in a while (plus she did not do it as often because our mom was a strong pack leader and there was no question of who was in charge). We have just never done it. She's too cute to pop! And after all, she is so small she's not going to cause anyone damage. Now, of course, she pissed someone bigger off and SHE is damaged. Never thought of that. So we've done her a great disservice by not correcting her behavior.
Anyway, just my rambling thoughts. Like I said, it's still bugging me. It probably comes down to the fact that I have too many dogs and suck at discipline. All the dog people reading this probably think I sound stupid as I go through round 10 million of "What the heck happened?" All I have ever had to do with the dogs is love on them and feed them. My mom was always into their interactions, and discipline, and knowing their behavior. It's not a "poor me" situation, though. I should have learned. I just wasn't interested. I tend to prefer dogs like Cosmo and Bud (boy dogs are easier, maybe?) who just want love and food and companionship. I love my girls, too, but I have only ever lived with them seperately (Bunny was my apartment dog, and when she got sick and my mom wouldn't let me take her to Houston I ended up rescuing Lucy and living alone with her). Put the girls together, though, and they all go crazy. Maybe they are like people. The guys are cool, but too many bitches in one place turns into a cat fight.
What has been baffling me for the past couple months is how this all happened. Maybe I am thinking too much into it, and it just is what it is, but I am really desperate to figure this out. The reason I did not put Lucy to sleep straight away after the Bunny attack is because Lucy has never, EVER done anything like that. Lucy has always been a bit touchy. Like, if you try to touch her butt or back she seems really uncomfortable and strains. Sometimes she growls about it. She was a single dog, though, and I am an airhead a lot of the time so I never really thought any further about it other than being gentle when I touched her there. Other than those touchy areas on her body she was just fine. We dog sat for friends in Houston and she always made great friends with the other dogs, my roommate had an annoying lab puppy for a while, and she has even been around toddlers and has always been completely trustworthy. So this has been bugging me. Obviously Lucy went way too far with what she did to Bunny, though. She was going for a kill.
What started my thinking on this track is what happened yesterday, which leads me back to Bunny feeling much better. Bunny is a MAJOR instigator. Yesterday when Lily came out of her crate, Bunny jumped at her, and bit her in the neck. She is a really saucy Corgi. Lily is a BIG puppy so it was kind of a funny visual, but it freaked her out and she screamed. I would never, EVER blame Bunny for what Lucy did to her, because it is not normal to take things as far as Lucy did. I have had my suspicions all along that Bunny may have taken a good nip at Lucy to get things started, though. It's not out of character for her to run through everyone's legs barking, or to nip, or to jump up and hang from a neck or two by her teeth. Nothing vicious. This is Bunny. I sometimes get the sense that she thinks it is really funny, because she does it kind of playfully, and sometimes you can tell she does it to put someone in line... but the other dogs get SO MAD.
Our variables are Bunny, Lucy, the weedwacker... Quinn says Lily because she jumps into the middle of things with her big bounding puppy antics and pisses everyone off... and, well, I guess that is it. I will probably never know what happened. We've definitely been asking some questions around here. Does Lucy have something wrong with her, like is she sick or does she have pain in her back region for some reason, and that made her overly aggressive? Or is it just that she has a bad background, and finally snapped? This is something we need to figure out because I really don't want to be irresponsible by keeping her around. Maybe she has pain that could be managed or maybe she has a tumor or something and is really sick. Second, bad on us for letting Bunny get away with crap because she is so damned cute. Our mom had no problem popping her with a rolled up newspaper to keep her in line once in a while (plus she did not do it as often because our mom was a strong pack leader and there was no question of who was in charge). We have just never done it. She's too cute to pop! And after all, she is so small she's not going to cause anyone damage. Now, of course, she pissed someone bigger off and SHE is damaged. Never thought of that. So we've done her a great disservice by not correcting her behavior.
Anyway, just my rambling thoughts. Like I said, it's still bugging me. It probably comes down to the fact that I have too many dogs and suck at discipline. All the dog people reading this probably think I sound stupid as I go through round 10 million of "What the heck happened?" All I have ever had to do with the dogs is love on them and feed them. My mom was always into their interactions, and discipline, and knowing their behavior. It's not a "poor me" situation, though. I should have learned. I just wasn't interested. I tend to prefer dogs like Cosmo and Bud (boy dogs are easier, maybe?) who just want love and food and companionship. I love my girls, too, but I have only ever lived with them seperately (Bunny was my apartment dog, and when she got sick and my mom wouldn't let me take her to Houston I ended up rescuing Lucy and living alone with her). Put the girls together, though, and they all go crazy. Maybe they are like people. The guys are cool, but too many bitches in one place turns into a cat fight.
Hurricane Madness
Oh, how I miss Houston. I actually do miss Houston quite often, but not so much during hurricane season. The first year I was there, when we had a huge evacuation and everyone left town, was quite fun. I wanted to come home to mass natural destruction, knowing that all of my real things were back in Washington, and I had packed my valuables and Lucy into the car and would be well on my way to Dallas by the time it hit. Which it never did. After that, it just gets old. Jeff called me this morning, though, and has me a bit worried.
First, I am worried that he doesn't know better than to call me at 7am and wake me up. Well, he actually DOES know better, he just feels I should be up and therefore calls anyway. Good point, it is a work day. He then tells me he has a generator and a chain saw (for down trees) and a dog crate (which I didn't even know he owned) and they are hunkering down. I don't really feel this is entirely stupid, because hurricanes never actually hit the part of Houston he is in. They just get some strong winds and maybe some water. However, I would kind of prefer if he took the dog and himself and had a nice hotel weekend a few hundred miles away. If he wanted to drive west about 2000 miles I know of a REALLY great place.
So we'll see how this hurricane thing goes. It should be interesting to watch from afar. If it desimates Houston I will thank the fates for putting obstacles in the way of me moving all year, and I will plan to see Jeff and Lucky in... oh... about 3 days. Jeff, if you come, please run by storage and grab my bed. You can strap it to the top of your car, but it is too nice to end up in Kansas.
And yes, y'all read that right. Jeff has Lucky and I have Lucy. Sick, really. If you want to get even worse, they are the exact same breed of mutt, white with red spots, your generic Texas stray... and we both had them before we met.
First, I am worried that he doesn't know better than to call me at 7am and wake me up. Well, he actually DOES know better, he just feels I should be up and therefore calls anyway. Good point, it is a work day. He then tells me he has a generator and a chain saw (for down trees) and a dog crate (which I didn't even know he owned) and they are hunkering down. I don't really feel this is entirely stupid, because hurricanes never actually hit the part of Houston he is in. They just get some strong winds and maybe some water. However, I would kind of prefer if he took the dog and himself and had a nice hotel weekend a few hundred miles away. If he wanted to drive west about 2000 miles I know of a REALLY great place.
So we'll see how this hurricane thing goes. It should be interesting to watch from afar. If it desimates Houston I will thank the fates for putting obstacles in the way of me moving all year, and I will plan to see Jeff and Lucky in... oh... about 3 days. Jeff, if you come, please run by storage and grab my bed. You can strap it to the top of your car, but it is too nice to end up in Kansas.
And yes, y'all read that right. Jeff has Lucky and I have Lucy. Sick, really. If you want to get even worse, they are the exact same breed of mutt, white with red spots, your generic Texas stray... and we both had them before we met.
Handicapped Access
In an attempt to make our girl more self sufficient, Quinn and I made some ramps last night so that Bunny could start going outside like a normal dog.
Up until now, I have been carrying Bunny out to the front yard, which means a few things. Day to day it means that I am late for work because I have to actually WATCH her out in the front yard (after what happened to Mandy's dogs in their fenced in back yard you can't be too careful). It also means she has to wait the entire work day to go outside because Quinn won't take her out. Finally, and one of the reasons Quinn won't take her out, is because she wiggles, and one day we both came crashing to the ground which was not great for either one of us.
Making the ramp was great fun. Quinn used to be a lot like our mom and he is really embracing it over the last few days. Because he obviously knows the best way to do everything, and kept telling me that my design was stupid and wrong, I ended up making one ramp and he ended up taking the next ramp away from me and making me hold things while he barked orders and finished it. Hello mama. In the end, my ramp looked better, but I will give credit because Quinn helped finish off my ends with nails because my double layer of carpet was too thick for staples. What I learned during the ramp making process is that I should not ask Quinn for help on projects because it does nothing for our bonding... just disrupts the peace that is becoming more of our norm. At the peak of ramp making I think I regressed to about 13 years old and blurted out "Don't tell me what to do!! This is why I moved to Houston!!" Wow.
This is a lot of blog devoted to the handicapped ramp, but we don't get much excitement out here. We were out at midnight last night trying to get Bunny to use her ramp, which she would not go near. Knowing who in our household is always up for adventure, Quinn told me to go get Cosmo. He called Cosmo, who ran down the hall... flew down the ramp... got a big doggy smile and flew back up the ramp... and... well yeah... rinse, repeat. Bunny watched this whole action, and then we put her on the ramp. Her first thought was to jump off the edge. However, knowing Bunny's suicidal tendencies, we were standing by to catch her. Then we sent Cosmo down for another run. Then tried Bunny again. I must say, this is the dog who ran full speed into the patio door a couple years ago after we cleaned the glass. We love her, but she's not the brightest girl.
You can see the end result picures below. The first pic shows Bunny sniffing her ramp, trying to decide if she should go down it. In the end, she has settled on going down about 3 quarters of the way and the gingerly hopping onto the ground. On her way up, she goes to the same spot she departed from and gingerly hops back up. I wonder when it is going to click that if she uses the bottom she has instant ground access. The next 2 pictures show Cosmo, in a blur, still flying down the cool new Corgi ramp in glee this morning. You can see Lily bypasses it entirely and jumps off to the side, but Cosmo just enjoys the ramp. I think I am going to buy him a slip n' slide for Christmas. I bet he'd dig it.
Up until now, I have been carrying Bunny out to the front yard, which means a few things. Day to day it means that I am late for work because I have to actually WATCH her out in the front yard (after what happened to Mandy's dogs in their fenced in back yard you can't be too careful). It also means she has to wait the entire work day to go outside because Quinn won't take her out. Finally, and one of the reasons Quinn won't take her out, is because she wiggles, and one day we both came crashing to the ground which was not great for either one of us.
Making the ramp was great fun. Quinn used to be a lot like our mom and he is really embracing it over the last few days. Because he obviously knows the best way to do everything, and kept telling me that my design was stupid and wrong, I ended up making one ramp and he ended up taking the next ramp away from me and making me hold things while he barked orders and finished it. Hello mama. In the end, my ramp looked better, but I will give credit because Quinn helped finish off my ends with nails because my double layer of carpet was too thick for staples. What I learned during the ramp making process is that I should not ask Quinn for help on projects because it does nothing for our bonding... just disrupts the peace that is becoming more of our norm. At the peak of ramp making I think I regressed to about 13 years old and blurted out "Don't tell me what to do!! This is why I moved to Houston!!" Wow.
This is a lot of blog devoted to the handicapped ramp, but we don't get much excitement out here. We were out at midnight last night trying to get Bunny to use her ramp, which she would not go near. Knowing who in our household is always up for adventure, Quinn told me to go get Cosmo. He called Cosmo, who ran down the hall... flew down the ramp... got a big doggy smile and flew back up the ramp... and... well yeah... rinse, repeat. Bunny watched this whole action, and then we put her on the ramp. Her first thought was to jump off the edge. However, knowing Bunny's suicidal tendencies, we were standing by to catch her. Then we sent Cosmo down for another run. Then tried Bunny again. I must say, this is the dog who ran full speed into the patio door a couple years ago after we cleaned the glass. We love her, but she's not the brightest girl.
You can see the end result picures below. The first pic shows Bunny sniffing her ramp, trying to decide if she should go down it. In the end, she has settled on going down about 3 quarters of the way and the gingerly hopping onto the ground. On her way up, she goes to the same spot she departed from and gingerly hops back up. I wonder when it is going to click that if she uses the bottom she has instant ground access. The next 2 pictures show Cosmo, in a blur, still flying down the cool new Corgi ramp in glee this morning. You can see Lily bypasses it entirely and jumps off to the side, but Cosmo just enjoys the ramp. I think I am going to buy him a slip n' slide for Christmas. I bet he'd dig it.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
School Update
Well, we're 2 weeks into school and here are the results so far:
Organization Behavior=A
History from 1865=A
Training and Development= No grade yet because we haven't turned anything in.
Presenation Skills= C because I jacked up the first assignment by looking under the "Assignment" tab for the assignment description, only to be told later by the professor that I was actually supposed to look under the second and less obvious assignment LINK for the rest of the description. She realized this might be confusing so she let me turn in the rest of the assignment for partial credit, hence the C. Otherwise it was an F!
History to 1865=F and I am so dropping it. I thought the books were the same for both history classes, but when I went to read the day before the test and assignment was due, discovered that this class actually uses volume 1 while the other class uses volume 2. Woops... I only bought volume 2. Since both history classes require 2 chapters of reading per week, plus 2 essays per week, I think I may skip this one until next semester since I don't have the book anyway. I hate to admit defeat, but there are only so many hours in one's life.
School is easier, and harder, than I thought it would be. It's easier because the subject matter is not way over my head like I was afraid it might be. I haven't been to school in 9 years so I was afraid jumping into these senior level classes (especially the presentation classes, since I am so not a computer person) might be hard. It's not. The hard part is budgeting my time and remembering due dates. Quinn is being awesome about giving me time to get my school work done, though, so that helps a lot.
Organization Behavior=A
History from 1865=A
Training and Development= No grade yet because we haven't turned anything in.
Presenation Skills= C because I jacked up the first assignment by looking under the "Assignment" tab for the assignment description, only to be told later by the professor that I was actually supposed to look under the second and less obvious assignment LINK for the rest of the description. She realized this might be confusing so she let me turn in the rest of the assignment for partial credit, hence the C. Otherwise it was an F!
History to 1865=F and I am so dropping it. I thought the books were the same for both history classes, but when I went to read the day before the test and assignment was due, discovered that this class actually uses volume 1 while the other class uses volume 2. Woops... I only bought volume 2. Since both history classes require 2 chapters of reading per week, plus 2 essays per week, I think I may skip this one until next semester since I don't have the book anyway. I hate to admit defeat, but there are only so many hours in one's life.
School is easier, and harder, than I thought it would be. It's easier because the subject matter is not way over my head like I was afraid it might be. I haven't been to school in 9 years so I was afraid jumping into these senior level classes (especially the presentation classes, since I am so not a computer person) might be hard. It's not. The hard part is budgeting my time and remembering due dates. Quinn is being awesome about giving me time to get my school work done, though, so that helps a lot.
Bunny the Painter
Today Bunny and I have been out painting the house. She's pretty sick of being cooped in the ex-pen while I work in the yard, she tells me, so I unhooked her and let her follow me around. She had a great time. I fully realize that when I blog about the dog this much, and have conversations with her while I paint, I probably need some form of life. I don't have one, though, so this will have to do for now. Besides, she's awfully cute.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Introducing Luis
Today we got our new car. Quinn calls him Luis. I call him Lewis, for Lewis Leaky, because our new car has quite a few leaks, which will be repaired next week at the mechanic. Before you think I am stupid, we got a sweet deal on the car from people moving out of the country, so since we didn't spend as much, repairing the leaks will not be so bad. Quinn is joining me on the blog tonight so that we can describe our (his future) car:
Luis/Lewis is a 2000 Toyota Corolla. Yes, Jeff... we got a Toyota. Luis is silver, with a SCUBA (sex crazed underwater bad ass, for those of us who are not hip to teen lingo) stereo. The stereo actually lights up blue and red when you turn the car on. Sweet! Luis is an automatic. This will make it an easy car for learning to drive, and an easy car for me to give up once Quinn gets his license. Quinn likes Luis because he is low to the ground, has a bad ass stereo, and "just feels right." I like Lius because he has a 4 star front and side impact safety rating (3 star for the back seat passengers in a side impact, but we don't carry a lot of back seat passengers) and is a Toyota so he will go another hundred and fifty thousand miles or so. I also like the fact that Luis' stereo has a removeable face, so that if it is turned up too loud while driving it can be removed for a week or two as a reminder to pay attention to the road. I also think that Luis feels "just right" and handles really well around corners. All in all a very good purchase. Thank you Jeff for houding us to look at Toyotas.
My car is yet to come. Since my poor little Focus was almost paid off, I decided to pay cash for Luis, enjoy no car payments for several months, and then hand him off to Quinn as a solid, safe first time driver car. I also don't know exactly what I want yet... though I am leaning towards a newer Corolla. We'll see, though. I still have my Forester dreams. The newer ones seem to be a little more reliable from the research I have done, so I may go for one of those.
Pictures of Luis to come. It is dark out tonight. I'm really enjoying watching Quinn do the first time car thing, though. You know... the cleaning, the sitting, the enjoying, and the making it your own.
Luis/Lewis is a 2000 Toyota Corolla. Yes, Jeff... we got a Toyota. Luis is silver, with a SCUBA (sex crazed underwater bad ass, for those of us who are not hip to teen lingo) stereo. The stereo actually lights up blue and red when you turn the car on. Sweet! Luis is an automatic. This will make it an easy car for learning to drive, and an easy car for me to give up once Quinn gets his license. Quinn likes Luis because he is low to the ground, has a bad ass stereo, and "just feels right." I like Lius because he has a 4 star front and side impact safety rating (3 star for the back seat passengers in a side impact, but we don't carry a lot of back seat passengers) and is a Toyota so he will go another hundred and fifty thousand miles or so. I also like the fact that Luis' stereo has a removeable face, so that if it is turned up too loud while driving it can be removed for a week or two as a reminder to pay attention to the road. I also think that Luis feels "just right" and handles really well around corners. All in all a very good purchase. Thank you Jeff for houding us to look at Toyotas.
My car is yet to come. Since my poor little Focus was almost paid off, I decided to pay cash for Luis, enjoy no car payments for several months, and then hand him off to Quinn as a solid, safe first time driver car. I also don't know exactly what I want yet... though I am leaning towards a newer Corolla. We'll see, though. I still have my Forester dreams. The newer ones seem to be a little more reliable from the research I have done, so I may go for one of those.
Pictures of Luis to come. It is dark out tonight. I'm really enjoying watching Quinn do the first time car thing, though. You know... the cleaning, the sitting, the enjoying, and the making it your own.
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