Adnauseum post about cars

You guys know I keep talking about buying a car... or wanting a car... its a dead horse with me

I have a former coworker who wants to buy my car - he will give me KBB or greater for it. I could get about $5,500-6,500 for my car. It is a 2008 with 103,000 miles.

I like my car - I get about 30mpg, its a compact, it has bluetooth, no-key ignition, and more. It has a few problems - some paint is chipping and missing from an unfortunate tire incident.

But sometimes I see car deals and am tempted.

I like the idea of a lot of leases right now - $129 a month, $900 down for 24 or 36 months, $169 a month and $0 drive off. Lots of deals. I dislike the idea of not owning something, a little higher insurance because of a lease, and the chance of any damage that may occur that I may have to pay for.

My partner is encouraging me to sell my car if I can get that much for it. He has 3 cars, and says I can drive any 1 of those. My everyday car would become an older model SUV. I like the idea - I would save money - unless gas prices go up anymore ($3.00 costs $50.00 to fill the SUV up). The thing is my car is my freedom, and I have a hard time giving that up, though there is no reason not to...

I'm unsure if I want to lease or buy. I know if I want to buy I want to wait...

Cars - the 2015s

So I have been thinking about cars lately, and how there are so many new models coming that I want to wait for... 

A few months back, this is what I said:

want a luxury car at that - even cpo - certified pre owned - it is not like i'm driving a lot now, and i don't plan to hold onto it after it hits 100k. sure it costs a little more, but its about the thrill of driving as far as I'm concerned. my partner thinks otherwise. we have his old luxury suv deal, his convertible, and my fuel efficient car. we have talked about going more fuel efficient - prius like - but part of me wants a luxury car - i feel like i should be moving up - not staying the same and also not compartmentalizing myself into something
my car could get about $6-7k right now. its nearly at 100k, so needs about $300 for the tune up and then about $450 in other work. so i would be putting $750 in a car that i'm going to keep for another year. i don't like that idea. dang cars being expensive.

Here's the cars I'm liking, and eyeing...

2015 Volkswagen Tiguan

2015 Honda VHR

2015 Lincoln MKC

There are of course luxury models I'm looking at, and a few others (Hyundai Veloster, BMW/Audi Certified), but I think I want to wait at least until the end of 2015. Maybe a Scion? They're coming out with new models including a sedan, a hatchback, and a few more. Maybe a BMW? I also like the new Jeep Cherokee, the new Prius is coming out, as well as Prius C, and so there are many choices.  I will have some money saved up by then. 

I am setting money aside right now for a rental house, building up my emergency fund, and toward our amazing patio. 

So right now my goal is this - save $100 a month toward a car.

Twerking it...

Nope... I don't have any competition on Miley, but speaking of working your ass, I am giving P90X a whirl. I cannot complete the full hour of some of those crazy CDs, but I did do the 20 minute ab buster yesterday and 20 minutes of plyometrics today. Hey, I was sweating and tired by then, and 20 minutes is better than none, right? So I figure I'll do a little different bit of the workout each day, try a new CD, see what happens.

So I found a really good deal on a Prius C- $4,000 off on a 2013. Debating about buying... could get $8500 for my car leaving about $12 to finance, which isn't terrible. Its the top of the line with those funky vinyl seats, navigation, HD radio, and touch key ignition. Could also wait and see what my partner does when his lease is up, and we could go for 1 car, or get something more fancy smancy.

Shaved my chest and pec area last night since it seems to bother my BF. Did it laying in the bathtub... haha

Went to dinner with The Guy and his BF last weekend at the steakhouse, was fun, enjoyed it, lots of good talk and wine and food.

Saw Kesha in concert Saturday night. She's one crazy girl, she was fun, we had a lot to drink, and it was good. Lots of wine.

Car Goal

We know I'm a goal oriented person, so I'm always breaking things down, thinking about things in term of what I can do to accomplish them.

So my new goal is a car.

We know that a couple months back I was thinking about a car, and have sort of actively been pursuing one. I was thinking of giving up on the thought of a lease recently and just getting a car and having a few thousand dollar loan on it.

I debated about one of the most popular hybrids on the road, the Pre-us, or a sexy luxury car.

I explored recent graduate incentives for luxury models, and found 1 car company with several great different offers whether I went for a new or used car.

So here's what I discovered. The Preus' hybrid acceleration was whacko. I got over that you just sort of gun the engine, but I guess what drove me crazy even more were the brakes. I did not like the brakes.  The brakes felt super spongy and I could just picture myself sliding into someone.

So I explored other models and came to a realization I want a sweet luxury car that is Honduh's high end car maker. I explored new/used prices. I discovered that as much as I like the thought of a new car, it is much more sensible if I want one to buy used, plus it'll come with a 6yr/100k warranty, plus they're about $8k cheaper.

So after talking with my BF and his anti-Honduh stance, he said he knows I will do it if I have a goal in mind. So I'm officially saving a small portion of my check a month for that to be able to go buy a used one in a year or so. And I'll rub it in his face how sexy it is, and he'll tell me how wrong I am.

So my goal is $100 a month for the next 12 months in addition to what I've already been putting aside, which is about $5,000, plus my current car.

I am having a newfound love affair with my current car at the moment.

To lease or not to lease?

I found an incredible lease deal on a car the other day and discussed it with Mike. We got the terms, the offer details, and found several cars that match that lease.

My current car is paid off, is 4 years old, has 66,000 miles as of yesterday on it, and is in ok-good condition. The new model just came out of my car.

Mike had some math that got me thinking:

Trade my car in - ~$13k

Cash out of pocket - $3k

Lease - $3,600 over 2 years (keep the money aside and hold onto it for each monthly payment)

= $6,400 in my pocket for my car 

The lease terms are 24 months at 22,000 miles. This year with Mike so close to work I have only driven about 8-10,000 miles, so the math checks out. 

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Then my dad came back with this:

- Leases are dangerous because you get into a spiral of leasing

- Leases make your insurance go up

- Leases are dangerous especially if you get into an accident, then you are responsible for your lease

- You will most likely damage the car in some way and have to pay tons of money to have that repaired

- Your car is fine and the car you are moving into has worse gas mileage

- What will you do after the end of the lease? What if you are driving more and there are no cars you can lease within that mileage range? Are you ready to pipe up the money for a new a car?
- You do not drive less than 11,000 miles per year.
- What if you want to go on a weekend trip - with so few miles you can no longer do that.
- What if you get a new job and are driving a lot more?
- Insurance will go up because of the type of vehicle you are moving into
- Insurance companies don't like to insure leases

So... um... to lease or not to lease?

Any mechanic inclined readers?

Hey guys!

Anyone have an idea what a transmission fluid replacement might cost? This was the other service my service man at my usual repair shop recommended.

What do you think about having the fuel injectors cleaned?

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I have a coupon from a dealer who has a special running- of course I don't know how much of a special it is, but it sounds good considering it is their 60k service and that's what my car just passed.

For $299.95 you get the following:
- 1 day complementary rental car
- drain and refill transmission fluid
- drain and refill coolant

- lubricate hinges etc.
Inspect, adjust, or top off the following:
- brakes, rotors,
- road test
- power steering fluid
- brake fluid
- engine coolant
- wiper blades
- windshield washer fluid
- belts and hoses
- all lights
- tire wear
- tire air pressure
- battery cables and terminals
= exhaust system
- shock absorber system
- spark plug wires
REPLACE
- oil, oil filter, air filter
- spark plugs

New car time?

I think so, as does someone else, but at this time when I'm almost guaranteed to be laid off next year it is a no go. Who wants a car payment anyway?

Me.

65,000 on my car and I'd like to get 100,000 out of it, which shouldn't be a big deal considering it is well on its way to that.

I love my car, don't get me wrong, but dropping $800 for 2 new struts, an alignment, and brake fluid flushed was a bit much. It was $500 for tires a few months back, $300 for brakes a few months back. Oh, and it needs to have the transmission fluid flushed soon.

Someone tells me I should just lease my cars so I don't have to pay for anything other than that - and yes - I am driving less since living close to him, but a car payment every month?

I could get something sporty and sexy; something luxurious; something big and boxy; or a blah blah sedan.

And most of this stuff is routine - minus struts - but it is a lot!

Skidmarks on the pavement

My neighbors annoy me. See that car at the bottom of the hill? It is always parked there. The wheel is missing on it. See how it looks like I'm driving in the middle of the road on a windy road? I am. See, there was a car parked next to me. I live off of an extremely windy road and the neighbors see no problem parking on this street, parking around corners, making it extremely dangerous. All of these skid marks are from near misses and accidents on this street. You'd think someone would learn to park in their driveway with all of this... I'm always afraid I'll get hit from a car going too fast that is on the wrong side of the road because they tried to avoid a car parked on one side of the street.

Weekend car

I decided when I'm older I need a weekend roadtrip car. I need a little hatchback that I can throw some gear in, a suitcase, and take weekend roadtrips. This would definitely be a purchase far down the road when I am established and have my feet in the door, but a little Ford Focus/Fiesta hatchback would be fun. I can have a daily driving car like a sexy little SUV or sedan too.

Made her work

My mom was out with Linda last night and my dad had graduation supervising duties. I had a pleasant evening. I told my sister I was going to cook dinner and she didn't say "no," like usual. I saw chicken in the fridge, so the plan was barbecue chicken and cheesy rice orzo. The barbecue chicken was delish. Jack Daniels BBQ sauce can do no wrong. My sister ate 2 pieces. I was impressed as she will only usually eat 1. I think that was a complement to me ;-).

After dinner I went in her bedroom- earlier in the day I told her to wash her car. She didn't, even though the weather was perfect. I went in her room as I said after dinner and told her to "WASH THE DAMN CAR." I left the room and went out to vacuum mine. Soon she came out to her damn car. She hosed it down and started washing. I told her it had to be waxed also because it needed it. I told her what to do and put her to work. I worked at buffing out the scratches from her accident and did a pretty good job I think. After, I got back to work on my car, washed, and then dried it. I told her that her car was a mess on the inside and that she had to vacuum it. She said she didn't know how. NO JOKE. I pulled the car in the garage and told her this was a vacuum, this was the hose, use that on your seats and the floor. Then I told her that she needed to use Windex to clean the interior windows. And you know what? She did everything I asked and didn't complain. And now I'm content.

10 Essentials

Ty in SD inspired me to create this list of 10 essentials in my everyday life.

1. My iPhone.
I use my phone for everything- to call, text, restaurant reviews, surf the web, email, translate random Spanish, stay connected to the latest news and entertainment, listen to the music, and watch videos on Netflix. My iPhone just makes everything so easy!

2. My keys
I love to drive and travel. I love to explore new places. My car keys allow me the freedom to go where I want, when I want, and see what I want.


3. Shoes
With over 30+ pair one can say that shoes are a big part of my life. I have lots of colors and a pair to match everything I wear. If I don't have a match to clothes that is permission for me to buy a new pair. I like shoes that are a little whimsical and ones many wouldn't wear because they're unusual looking.

Shoes I purchased at Nordstrom Rack this weekend for $24

4. The Mikebook Pro
My laptop. I do schoolwork and homework from it, manage my finances, pay bills, stay up to date on friends with the internet and email. It is with me everywhere I go, in the car, at work, on my bed, on my couch.

5. My calendar
I have to be organized. I like knowing I have a purpose or task to complete each day. I don't like to miss events. I excel at time management- who else has time to go out as much as I do?

6. A job
It gives me joy and a little money to buy things. It challenges me at times and frustrates me too.

7. Music
Country, oldies, pop, rock and roll- I like it all. I have 2,549 songs on my iPod this morning and easily know of 100 or so more I could use on my Ipod.
7 songs to celebrate music being my #7















8. Pullovers and sweater pullovers are my new essential... preppy and classy. I have a red and black pullover. I would like a nicer black one than the one I have. I have beige and blue pullover sweaters from Banana Republic similar to these. These match so much of my clothes and help me to switch up what I wear. Layering is definitely in. I would love to have a brown one...

So tempted to get the Nordstrom Debit Card.

9. Ole Henriksen Nurture Me
I have EXTREMELY dry skin that is susceptible to flaking, itching, and burning. This stuff applied twice a day works miracles. It is the best thing I have discovered to date, and should be at $40 a pop.

10. NPR and other news websites
NPR often has stories typically not heard elsewhere, which gives me something to talk about with friends and colleagues. And it makes me sound smarter... lol. I like to talk about events, entertainment news, music, current events, and more.

My sister can't drive... or lie... as if we didn't know that

My sister left for school at 8:10 this morning. Her class that she supposedly teaches is from 9-10. She got home at 10:47am. My sister goes to school at least 45 minutes away, so piece together this story and tell me how it is possible. If she left at 8:10 she could have arrived at school at 8:55 and had 5 minutes to walk to her 9am class. If she let her kids out at 10am like she should have she could get home at 10:47 if she ran to her car and flew down the 91.

I was taking a load of laundry out to the garage when I saw my sister's car sitting in the driveway. I see a big black scuff on the car that is pretty deep and would take some body shop to remove. I take the laundry in the garage, then come out to the car and notice there is a scuff along the door like she was driving up against a divider on the freeway. I see one at the top and lower part of the door. Then on the back quarter panel I see another.



I go in and question my sister and get the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. She said, "I was in an accident. There was a guy next to me not paying attention and did something that you would call sideswiping and ran into me and I spun out and did a 360 across all the lanes of the 91."

I asked how she didn't get hit when she did a 360 across the 6+ lanes of the 91 freeway. She said that she "made sure she was driving when there were no cars out". Her words.

I asked what time the accident happened and she claimed as she was driving to school. I asked what time she got into her class and she said right at 9am. I asked her how the traffic was on the 91 and I had been watching channel 7 before she left to know that the traffic loaded up around Green River out to the 55 and that was probably an additional 20 minute trip right there. I asked her what street she got hit at and she said "one of the big streets." Again. Her words.

I asked if she called the police. Her response was yes.

I asked if the man stopped and she said it was a hit and run.

I asked her for the police report number since supposedly the police came. She didn't have it. I told her that was a load of baloney because it is pretty standard to get a police report number if you were involved in an accident. She claimed she was dealing with the "special police." I shit you not - the special police were her words. I asked if that was the CHP, the Anaheim Police Department, the Corona Police, the Santa Ana, the Fullerton, and she said none of those.

I told my sister I knew she couldn't drive and that I remembered mySister's accident where she sat on the freeway for 4 or so hours incapacitated after she rearended someone crying her eyes out because she was so ashamed. Wouldn't she have done the same this time?

When did she have time to call the police?

I am again pissed off that my mom gave her this car. The car was in PERFECT condition prior. Thank god my mom won't let her drive her new SUV.

My dad doesn't want to fix it because her insurance will go up higher than it already is. Her insurance is more than double mine. Poor car.

No going out, but still have lots going on

I didn't go out really this week. Here's a look at what has gone on that is noteworthy:

Work/Student teaching:
I'm student teaching at my old high school. I taught my first couple lessons last week on Poe. It went alright. The kids really had a hard time understanding Poe, so my master teacher and I created an assignment to help them navigate the text. I actually have 2 master teachers (not supposed to be that way, but my college was insistent on it). Both teachers have totally different styles and so I'm getting the best of both worlds? So far so good. First observation Tuesday. I feel prepared. I am enjoying my experience so far. YAY! I wonder how my other friends are doing...

School:
I'm currently working on week 3's assignments. I just need to complete my journal and discussion board for that week and I can call it done. I am not writing anything yet because I really want to see how she grades the first week before going any further. A lot of my anxiety is gone by doing that. I still am apprehensive about the masters program.

Car:
We got a car finally this weekend. This is only my mom's 2nd new car ever. This took up a good majority of the week. My mom decided what she wanted last weekend, but by that time the color she wanted was all sold out. I knew in the back of my mind she wanted this color. We contacted dealer after dealer. I looked online at the carmakers website each day and there were still none in stock. Dealt with lots of idiotic internet sales people leaving me voicemails.

Finally on Friday afternoon I went dealer by dealer website like I had earlier in the week. I found a dealer 40 miles away that had 1 in stock. We called and they said they actually had 3. One was an upgraded model, one had the wrong interior color, and one had just what we planned. After talking to the salesman about price he would give us the upgraded one for only $500 more (a $1500 savings). We weren't planning on spending that much, but after all the extras we're getting we decided it was alright. We called my dad. Called the dealer back and told him to hold the car until Saturday morning.

We get to the dealer Saturday morning about 10:30. The salesman I spoke to handed me off to another guy while he sat in the main office. Original salesman sent a technician out to get the car. After about an hour of being there and them slowly running our credit, getting all of our information, going over price, he said the car was in Oxnard. Oxnard is in Ventura County 100+ miles away. We were a little annoyed. It doesn't seem that new if it will have 100+ miles on it when we get it. Hahaha. Alas, we need the car right now, it was exactly what we wanted, it was a good price, and so we made sacrifices. We left the dealer about 3:30. Ick. The dealer still didn't have the car and said they would by 5p.m. They asked if we wanted it delivered to our house. We said sure rather than spend our time waiting around. The more we thought about it we thought it would be dark by the time the car gets to us. We really wanted to see it in the daylight, so we asked for them to bring the car today. We got a call about 9a.m. and they still didn't have the car. They promised and swore up and down we would have it by 3. We got it by 4. We had them bring it to my old elementary school because my mom wanted to test out all the cool high tech features in a parking lot without a lot of people around. Salesman showed her the car. This evening I've scotch guarded the car and played around the cool accessories like a navigation system, backup camera, and other little nifty things. My mom seems happy.

Sister hasn't thanked my parents for her new car. Um. Ok.

Ry:
I haven't seen him since last week. He has had a bad week- didn't really elaborate to me, but a lot of drama that won't be resolved until Tuesday or so. We have texted back and forth, although less frequent than before. We have spent the evening together watching the new AMC show "The Living Dead." It is ok. He loves it. We've chatted back and forth on IM about it.

Halloween:
I was alone since Ry changed his plans about us going to a bar with his friends. Many friends went to WEHO. I was ok with that as I had a lot going on with the car and wanted to get ahead in school to put my mind at ease. Went grocery shopping today, ran errands, got the car, did homework. Not bad. I did not see any trick or treaters tonight. We usually have quite a few. None tonight.

Computer problem:
I did something the other night I'm trying to figure out. I don't remember the exact details right now. I was just kind of surprised. I let my computer battery run completely down. I tried to turn the computer back on and realized it wouldn't turn on. I grab the power cord and plug it in. I notice that when everything is back up and running that my computer is now not saving my passwords to everything from email to everyday generic sites that require password information. Any ideas what happened or how I can remedy this? I've cleared out my history and reentered the passwords to no avail. I'm thinking I tripped the battery or the internal battery may be going. This seems really weird. Remember I'm on a Mac. Any ideas, guys?

My weekly update

Since I'm always out and about...

Monday:
Work- the kids were difficult and getting kind of crazy. I think it was the rain that continued all week.

Tuesday:
Work- I got paid since Linda had a literacy conference to attend, so I subbed for her, and the day went fine with the exception of 2 periods
Dinner- went out to dinner with Linda and my parents

Wednesday:
Work- it went better- the kids were still crazy
I met Ry for a dinner out after his class at El Torito. We shared the appetizer platter, which was delicious, and the flautas were the best part. I drove down there doing my dad a favor of getting everything out of my sister's car so the insurance company could total it.

Thursday:
Work- It went ok- very busy finishing grades
Dinner with Linda, my sis, and mom

Friday:
Work- it was such a crazy day with grades being due, writing prompt testing, an assembly, and my last day. I was at school until 4:15.
Halloween Party- I was supposed to be at a family Halloween party in the next city over at 5:30, but when it was 5:10 before I got home and 5:40 before everyone was ready we didn't make it on time. My aunt was throwing a party con carnitas, hot dogs, chili, nachos, and tons of cookies/desserts. It was fun to talk, catch up, dance to 80s music, bounce on the tall inflatable slide, and all sorts of things. Oh, and I was a doctor.

Saturday:
Car shopping- we test drove 5 cars and narrowed it down to 1. I've been bombarded by calls all weekend from dealers, just dealing with dealers in person was annoying enough.
Movie- I went to a movie with Keith and a friend of his who is his regular fuck buddy apparently. We went to El Torito where I got my flautas otra vez y era muy delicioso. We saw the facebook movie "Social Network." That was an excellent movie. I was skeptical of it. I have to say that it was one of the few movies that I become engrossed in. Oh, and Armie Hammer, and Andrew Garfield, who played the Winklevoss boys and Eduardo were SOOOOOOOOOOOOO fine. Seeing how Mark Zuckerberg just totally stepped on the privacy of all the Harvard students in the different houses made me skeptical/feel vulnerable about what I put out online like on my facebook, so it was a good movie.

Sunday:
Car shopping- we may be getting a car today. We know the color, the options, and now it is waiting on 2 dealers. One will match any price we receive, and this is the dealer where we got my car. He has the car my mom wants, but not the interior color. He is trying to track down a car with the right interior color. The other dealer is where we got my mom's old car from and we really liked the service, but they have been slow to respond.

Vacation:
I bought my ticket last night to Orlando for the week of Thanksgiving. I'm going to Disney World!!! I'm also going to get to hang out with a certain someone down there :-).

No sympathy

I got a call from my dad about 3:45 today as I was driving home from school. My sister had been in a car accident. I asked what he wanted me to do. He told me that he wanted me to drive down to her college with him to pick her up. That told me the car was probably totaled.

I know how my dad doesn't handle stress well, so I gently eased the details out of him. I asked where she was, what was going on, etc. He told me she ran into someone and she was too distraught to drive.

My sister was at fault. She was near her college, trying to get on the freeway, she hit the gas instead of the brake, and barreled into the lady. The lady was injured and taken away in an ambulance.

My sister was too distraught to do anything. I guess the injured lady called 9-1-1 because my sister was too distraught. She didn't get any of the lady's information.

I was not shocked when she told me this. She didn't even know where she was. She told my dad she was on the 91, then she said she was on the 57, then she said the 241. We drove past the 241 and did not see her. We drove down the 91 and did not see her. We used the traffic maps from sigalert.com on my iphone to see where an accident was and maybe find her. My sister just did not know. I was getting frustrated because I was driving and I was getting information from my dad. I finally told my sister to go, walk, and tell me what she was near. She broke out in tears. I told her to go look and got really upset at her. She said she was in a parking lot, and told us which one. She wasn't. I was so mad when she wasn't. We parked in the parking lot she claimed, got out, walked around the restaurant, and saw her on the onramp. She was on the onramp to the street her college is on. So I was frustrated after driving 45 minutes home, then another hour only to play goose chase with dumbo.

We found my sister finally on the onramp like I said. She didn't know if the car was drivable- she was just pulled over onto the shoulder. We figured since she is in a big Crown Vic that there wasn't a ton of damage. My sister's front grill was pushed in, her light was broken, and she had some major paint chips on the bumper. The lady she hit was probably totaled from what I hear. Dumbo hadn't bothered to try to call a tow truck and just sat there crying as everyone left.

We started to drive my sister's car and got about a mile. We stopped at Burger King and saw antifreeze all over below. We called AAA, the Automobile Club of Southern California. We only have 7 miles towing, but I called and offered to upgrade our Automobile Club membership to have the car towed 40 miles home. The gal helping me spoke to her supervisor who said that they would not allow us to upgrade our membership so we could avoid paying an absorbinant fee to tow the car. They just lost $60.00 or so- their hard luck. I'm so sick of AAA by the way- the last time I had a flat tire they didn't even come- I'm about to file a complaint. Anyways, we spent about 20 minutes on the phone trying to find a local repair shop. They gave a bunch of names and we finally asked for a Ford dealer for the car. Got that, then it took about 20 minutes for the tow to come. The car will be delivered there tomorrow.

I was sad when I saw the car. Sad that it looked so bad. I felt even worse for the lady. My sister made a big mistake and this lady had to go to the hospital because of it. I have been debating the entire evening should I have sympathy for my sister? She is a SCARY driver. I am a fast driver- I know- but she is a SCARY driver. She is very fast, always doing something like playing on the phone I suspect, and I'm scared to be in the car with her. My sister is so irresponsible it is stupid. She was told what to do in an accident and told what to do. I don't buy that she was so distraught she didn't know what to do or forgot. She's just stupid. She was warned to not drive so irresponsibly. She was told to not wear the shoes she was wearing while driving. She was told to keep her phone in her purse on the floor- I don't know if the phone was involved. I know my parent's insurance will probably go waaaaaaaaaaaaay up because Sis was responsible for an accident. I feel bad for the lady. Not my sister.

And my final reason why I don't feel sorry for my sister? I get so scared often- as soon as yesterday morning when I was driving, had just merged on the freeway to go to work, and some gal made a lane change into the collector lane where I was. She wasn't paying attention to the slow traffic, and I watched her scramble as she nearly plowed into me. I recall when I was rearended last November by a distracted driver- I had no damage to my car, but that still sticks in my mind as I watched the car come into me in my rearview mirror.

It took 87 minutes to get home at 5p.m. via the 91.

If anything I give her credit for admitting she admitted the accident was her fault- and that took a lot.

Reason #124 on why I like my car

35.4mpg at fill up

I usually average between 28 and 31.5. I usually do about 80% freeway driving.

I also will never use Arco/BP gas, which I believe is heavily watered down.

Honda Crosstour

This car is just so ugly. I like the new Civic, the new Accord is so-so, but this, this is ugly.

At least she's honest!

My sister is applying for scholarships to have her winter tuition covered next year because she wants to graduate early and it isn't covered by the group that is currently paying for her tuition. She had to write an essay about why she needed the money and get this- here is her response:

"My studies have proved critically important to me throughout this passage of time with aspirations to graduate early. My parents are nearing retirement with the completion of many years of work, but can't afford to retire because they are constantly doling out money to fund my brother's college education and my brother is also very high maintenance. I will be ensuing a degree postgraduate in speech communications to be able to look at and help those of minority backgrounds with speech."

Wordy and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, no? So she is ensuing a degree and she's going to help minorities or something. And I'm high maintenance. Normally I'd be offended by that because I don't think I am, but for her to foolishly write that in her essay is fine and dandy with me. Only reason I saw it was it was on my parent's bed and it was there while we were both brushing our teeth. I peeked when she was turned away, then brought my computer in and blogged.

- In another note I hit a big pothole on the freeway today on the way to a college admission interview for a teaching credential program. I was doing about 65 and the pothole was probably 3x5' and no avoiding it and 4-5'' deep. Caused me to get a flat tire, broken hubcap, broken tire rim, and need for a major alignment (and possibly suspension problems). My car is only 6 months old and has 10,000 miles. I was able to pull to the side of the freeway safely and the tire was replaced. I was only 1/2 mile from the dealer when it happened- the dealer is a good 20 miles from my house. Made it to the interview (25 minutes LATE- but I would have been 25 minutes early) and was admitted to the school. I am driving my sister's car tomorrow.

Sickening fact

I have long said the school I tutor for is an upper middle class, new rich school- it is well known throughout the city for that and it is often mocked because of it. Gonzo and I were talking with Mrs. C today and we decided to do a car count/tally on what the kids drive. The parking lot holds 300 cars and here are some of the noteables. We walked through the parking lot and this is what we found to bring you this report:

Count/Car
- 6 Mercedes Benz C, D, or E Class cars (all 2004 or newer) ($35,000+)
- 4 Chevy Silverados (all but 1 are raised) ($20,000+)
- 2 Lexus IS ($30,000)
- 2 Lexus GS450 ($53,000+)
- 2 Hummer H2 ($50,000+)
- 4 2007 or newer Toyota Camry
- 2 2007 Nissan Altima's (1 Hybrid)
- 1 2004 or so Honda Accord Hybrid
- 1 2007 or 2008 Toyota Tundra full size double cab
- 6 Toyota Sequoia SUV's (and 2 of them were new) ($40,000+)
- 13 Ford F-150s (all raised), Excursions, and Expeditions ($20,000-40,000+)
- 1 96 or so Volvo 960
- 1 Infiniti G-35 ($35,000)
- 7 Chrysler PT Cruisers ($12-20,000ish)
- 4 2007 and newer Chrysler Sebrings (with the George Foreman grill hood) ($18,000)
- 7 Hyundai Accents (all new within the past year or 2) ($12-13,000ish)
- 1 Mercedes G Class ($101,000+)
- 1 Lotus Elise ($45,000+)
-11 Mazda 3's ($15,000+)
- 9 VW Jettas ($20,000+)
- 4 Ford Focuses ($15,000ish)
- 4 Jeep Wranglers ($15,000+ and 3 have 4WD because that's so important in So Cal)
= NEARLY 100 NICE CARS
*** All of these are no more than 2-3 years old, and I know cars pretty well to be able to confirm this
*** Most of the cars in the parking lot (80% or better are 2002 or newer)



The oldest cars in the parking lot:
- Late 80s Toyota Corolla
- Late 80s Jeep Wrangler
- 94 Honda Accord
- mid 90s Ford Explorer
- mid 90s Chevy Astro Van



What do us tutors drive?
- Up until this year I drove a 9 year old full size sedan, but now I drive a compact car that I paid for myself (which 90% of the students at this school would never fathom... haha... very few have jobs outside of school)
- Scion (that she pays for)/ prior to the Scion the girl drove a Kia Sephia/Chevy Astro
- 2006 Honda Accord her parents bought after her 92 Altima was in an accident
- 2007 Camry SE
- 92 Acura Integra
- 2002 Acura RSX
- 2000 Toyota Tacoma
- 2000 Honda Accord
*** For most of us these cars are hand me downs, which is definitely not the trend at the school I work at where most get brand new cars and the expensive cars I mentioned in most cases are brand new.

Now you might be wondering what the teachers drive (110 teachers)...
- Nicest teacher cars: 2 Ford Expeditions (counselor and 1 teacher), 1 Nissan Armada, 1 Dodge Ram, 1 Ford F-150
- Most of their cars are 4-5 year old Oldsmobiles, Accords, Camrys, Malibus, Corollas, Civics
- A few Toyota Highlanders/4 Runners that are 4-5 years old

As far as racial statistics it looks like this:
58% White
22% Hispanic
10% Black
9% Asian
1% Indian
10% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, but honestly, they hide it well (everyone has their iPods, nice cars, parents shell out $$$$$ for nice clothes to help them fit in... just today I heard 4-5 people talking about their new TRUE RELIGION JEANS AND I SAW THEM WEARING THEM... NO JOKE...)

But on the other hand there are THOUSANDS of foreclosures and I can name at least a dozen students in the program I tutor for whose parents are in foreclosure. This is in Riverside County where the foreclosure rate is the highest in the nation. Driving around the school nearly every other house is in foreclosure. All of the backyard home resorts the people put in, the money spent on cars, and things like that would have been better spent elsewhere.

I'm getting a bit preachy, but my main intent was to show how spoiled some of the kids are in my area.

This is hard to read

I am going to be buying a car sometime over the next couple weeks, so I am shopping around and getting quotes on the OUT THE DOOR PRICE on the vehicle.

There is 1 dealer in particular where a woman in the internet department speaks with a heavy Spanish has called me several times asking if I'm going to buy the car. I have always let the phone go to voicemail and here is what she says: "Heyyo, this message is finding itself to Mike, it is Treesa from Ignorant car dealer and I be looking forward to hearing from you. Be ready to call me back at (626)___-_____."

Here is an e-mail she sent to me today after I said I found a better offer at another dealer.

"Hello i got the price you are asking i see we have a deal dealer the only thing i need from you is to came down and show it to the manager i see a deal all day long please call me at soon as possible thank you have a good day. day to day come to visit me."

Is that not sad and painful to read? People whose English is this bad bother me. I do try to be sympathetic because I'm a language minor and learning a language is difficult. I do think however, if you are going to work with people, you should be able to communicate effectively.