FOUND

Today was a rollercoaster day. It started out good because I found my W2 this morning. Then at work someone starting mouthing off to me about buying a *Japanese* car. I don't deal well with ignorance in the morning so that made work get off to a bad start. The rest of the day at work was just boring and dull. Not a fun day.

But tonight was a special game night. Alex picked out "Wealth of Nations" which is a game of Economics. One must choose an area of a market to specialize in, try to obtain a monopoly in that market, and keep prices of things like food, power, etc. high. It's VERY strategic and involves no luck at all (not even a dice roll). So Paul, you probably wouldn't be good at it.

Overall he made us read the directions before we came tonight so we could get right to playing. The game lasted about 4.5 hours but it went by SO fast. I have NEVER felt such intense nervousness while playing a game in my life. My hand was visibly shaking at one point. Halfway through the game I mis-calculated a production phase and earned no money, and was barely keeping my head above water. I actually came out tied for 2nd which I was REALLY happy with. Alex only won by 4 points (He was at 111 and Dan and I tied at 107). I'm just happy I didn't hear any dumb comments about my strategy and scared them a little.

LOST

I absolutely hate it when you can't find something you know you have. I'm looking for my 2007 W2 for the home loan application. I know where I put it, in this big manila envelope marked "taxes". I put that big tax envelope with other important things, in a box. I moved. I go down into the basement to find the big tax envelope and *poof* it disappeared. All the other important things where there, but no tax envelope.

That kind of stuff drives me up the wall, literally.

What You've Been Waiting For

The Pokemon of The Week is a good one this week, if you ask me. While finding this Pokemon of The Week I learned that this particular PT Cruiser was given away in some sort of contest. What is important to know, is that someone from OHIO of all places won this car. If you've read this blog or know me at all, you know what I think of people from OHIO. They all have a few screws loose in one way or another, for good or bad. It's fitting, that this car goes to someone from OHIO though. It doesn't belong in any other state.

This weekend was LOT of fun, mainly because of Saturday. I spent the day with a few other people from work at Ford's Proving Grounds for an SAE conference. The morning was a panel discussion about Engineering for a Sustainable Future. Speakers were there from Ford, GM, Tesla, and Toyota. The afternoon is where the real fun happened. We spend about 4 hours on their test track doing anything imaginable in cars WE got to drive. There were 9 events, and they shuttled groups all around the proving grounds to different drive events. We started driving Ford Fusions on a wet track to test the car's stability under wet roads. Then we drove Ford Taurus's through a slalom course. I LOVED getting in the car and being told to get the car to 60 MPH as fast as I could, and take it around a hairpin turn, with the rear end sliding around. Next, we took Ford Edges/Lincoln MKX's through a slalom course. This time I was driving it much more agressively and this event was REALLY fun because of the high center of gravity. The rear end of the MKX I was driving started to slide around in one turn which was so much fun.

The next set of events had the best one of all. It was titled "Giddy Up Mustang". They had drivers for us, and 4 Bullet Mustangs - with V8's and manual transmissions. We had to wear helmets and the drivers asked "How comfortable do you feel being more aggressive?" I told him to be as aggressive as he could, that I wouldn't be scared. It was AMAZING. The car was powersliding around turns and we got air as we went over hills. So much fun. They also had Ford Escapes/Mercury Mariner/Mazda Tribute Hybrid SUV's for us to take around slalom courses. I actually got to drive one with just me and the instructor, and he said he didn't care what I did as long as I didn't hit cones so I drove that one very hard through the course.

The last set of events was made up of high speed driving on a banked track and rough road testing (potholes, cobblestones, etc.). I got to drive the new Ford Flex (the crossover my stabi-link will be on). The high speed driving was made up of a Ford F-150, Flex, Lincoln MKS, and 2 Ford Focuses. There were no instructors present in the cars for the high speed course, you just filled the car with kids and drove the track following a pace car. I got in one of the Ford Focuses with 3 other guys. I was in the backseat and noticed a loud roar from the tires. I learned why. The guy driving got on the backside of the track, and slowed the car way down to get space ahead of him. He was in a spot where the control tower couldn't see him. He punched the gas and got the car up to 90 MPH then yanked up on the emergency brake. The rear tires locked and the car started fishtailing down the course. That was a little scary and definately not allowed. I can imagine the tires on that Focus had a bunch of flat spots in them. Apparantly, those 3 guys had been taking turns driving and doing that to the car the whole time.

It was an AMAZING opportunity though to be at the proving grounds and see how cars are tested. The best part was it was free.

Today I did much of nothing, except for grocery shopping, car washing, and laundry. It was a nice "me" day.

The *maybe* house seems to be more "it will happen" now. The price has been agreed upon by the bank and I (although a little higher than I originally thought). The closing is supposedly supposed to be at the end of this month which is WAY sooner than I thought. I'm nervous, excited, and I guess some other things I'm not sure of yet. The emotions come and go. Sometimes I think it's scary and I shouldn't do it, but mostly that goes away when I know living in an apartment is an absolute waste of time and money (in my opinion). It will be an adventure, for sure.

One thing I do know is that I love one of Dan's cats: Harley. She is not like any other cat I've met. She comes when you call her, she's extremely affectionate, and she doesn't act ungrateful or hateful like most cats. She's gotten so close with me that I let her sleep up on my bed. This was her today, taking a nap. I'm going to miss her.

Looney Tunes

I wanted to laugh when I got back from Subaru at 9:00 tonight, so I watched this to get a good laugh in. It always does it. "Hmmm mmmm!"

Until Tomorrow

I had this long post typed out, then got an error message when I went to post it. On top of that my cell phone randomly decides when it wants to let me talk. So I'm done with technology tonight. Goodnight.

Haiti and Pikmin

This is a Pikmin. A red Pikmin. Remember that, I'll come back to it.

At church today we talked about guarding your heart. The pastor talked about being in Haiti on a mission trip. I've never been to Haiti, but I've heard it's a disgusting and filthy with no order, and that they've destroyed all their natural resources. It's a Francophone country, if that gives you a clue...

Anyway the pastor was dicussing when in Haiti he felt overwhelmed because of the large number of non-Christians there. He told us he had NEVER in his life witnessed a "hard heart" when someone said "We should just leave these people alone - this is a lost cause". Ouch.

Ouch to me! This is where that little red Pikmin comes in. When he said that it reminded me of Pikmin. Basically in this game, you are a space captain who crash lands on a planet, and Pikmin are little creatures who help you collect pieces of your ship (or treasures). They are essentially migrant workers. I sometimes called them little Mexicans. Well for the MOST part they were well behaved and listened to my orders. There would however be that ONE ignorant one who would wander astray and try to attack a predator all by himself. By doing that, he would make other Pikmin join in. Why would something only a few millimeters tall try to attack something 20 times its size? Dumb that's why. So when that would happen, I'd walk off and let the 10 Pikmin or so who decided not to obey die for punishment. They should have listened to me. By the end of the game I had lost 1,098 Pikmin. I like to think of that 1,098 as the number of Pikmin who decided to be dumb and kill themselves.

So, is this the same as the Haiti/hard heart reference? Of course not, it's a video game. It just reminded me is all.

I got some news on my *maybe* house last Friday. The case has been assigned to someone at the seller's bank so the process is moving along. Juanita said this normally takes 30 days to do so I guess the process is moving along a little faster than originally planned.

Crysta my car is doing well. I LOVE this car so far. Driving it is a dream and I wish I had enough money to buy another one to keep pristine so in 10 years I can swap over to that one. I think this is the best Honda to date because of looks, gas mileage, and the way it drives. The size is just perfect. It's also denoted as a "ULEV" vehicle which stands for Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle. That's probably just a marketing gimmick because all new cars probably pollute the same but the sticker looks cool and makes me look good with the environmentalists.

Look at the Pokemon of the week. That is probably the MOST unique name I've ever seen for a Pokmeon.

I Like Ike, I Mean Work

I like where I work. A lot. We have an activities comittee that plans events once a month. This month was the Pinewood Derby. Today was the Pinewood Derby Race. I worked on 2 cars. One car (the engineering car) I worked on didn't do so hot, despite the fact that we spent hours working on it. Sanding, painting, applying lube, putting on tungsten powder for weights, complex woodwork etc. The other car I worked on was with two people who aren't engineers. We just took the block of wood out of the box, painted it black, put wheels on, put teflon lube on the axles, added the maximum weight allowed, and sent it out to the heat. That car took 5th, believe it or not.

Work is fun though. I also found out today my design for Subaru passed it's final testing which is very good. I'll be making a trip to Indiana sometime soon to present my results.

I'm moved into the new place in Plymouth. I have to go to inspection tomorrow at my old apartment. I would like all of that security deposit back. I don't have too many plans for this weekend. Saturday I'm taking someone from our Japan office to the Henry Ford Museum.

I think I'm going to give Crysta a bath tomorrow.

iFoundIt

I love how we put "i" in front of things. iPod, iPhone, iTunes, iHate It, and the best "i" ever that I discovered today? iGoogle. I bet you've already seen it, or heard of it but I haven't before today. iGoogle makes the perfect homepage. I modded mine out to have a really great skin, along with my local weather, calendar, movie schedules, GMail inbox, and Youtube videos. I don't know how long this has been around, and why I haven't heard of it until now, but I like it.

Speaking of things I like, I REALLY like my new car. I borrowed a Chevrolet Trailblazer this afternoon to move boxes into my new crib, and yuck. Not only was that thing a gas hog, but it felt really sloppy and worn out with only 43,000 miles on it. After I was finished and got back into Crysta I felt where I belonged, in the tight seat of a zippy little Atomic Blue Civic with a warm blue glow of LED's behind the instrument panel. She sips gas too, unlike that Trailblazer that ate $20.00 and only gained 1/4 tank.

Oh Hi, I'm Back

I made it back to Michigan. A week off from posting was more than called for, if you're asking. I had such a good time with family and friends. On Thursday I got my first brand new car, a 2008 Atomic Blue Honda Civic LX. Her name is Crysta. Thursday night Paul paid for me to take a REALLY good nap during Indiana Jones. The movie was good (from what I rememeber) but what I remember most was being full from dinner, and warm, and I was out! It was a good nap though, and I don't take them often. On Friday I went with dad to do all the DMV/tax stuff that goes along with buying a new car. Friday night I spent the night with Paul and Kiki, along with Saturday night. Saturday I went to Highlands, NC with the family. It was nice spending the day with them. Sunday I went to NewSpring. Besides family and friends, that church is the 3rd biggest thing I miss about South Carolina.

My new car is fantastic. I have no complaints at all. The buying experience wasn't so great, but I got what I wanted it just took being rude and forceful which I don't like to do, but WILL do when people act stupid and don't do what they're supposed to. On the way back to Michigan I filled up with gas twice. The first time I filled up was in Kentucky (I only used 1/2 tank) and I got 41 MPG. I then filled up in Toledo, OH and got 42 MPG. That is amazing for the car. It's larger than my Saturn, more powerful, has more safety features and gets the same/slightly better gas mileage. I'm very happy with it so far. What's ironic is that my Saturn broke down 2 days after my parents got it. The starter went bad. I told them it was sold as-is...no warranty.

The next few days are going to be pretty busy with unpacking and moving boxes since I have moved out of my apartment and to Plymouth.

Random Musak

There is something about driving in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. The radio is actually music, with no talking. I picture some DJ walking out at 1:00 AM and putting on a continuous track with the most random music possible, and then at 6:00 AM (maybe 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning) it goes back to normal when the morning crew comes in. There are a few instances where I remember random songs that stuck out:

1) Cake - Never There
2) Shawn Colvin - Sonny Came Home

I remember these from waking up in the middle of the night while riding in a car, probably to Florida. I had another instance this past Saturday while taking Alex and his brother to the airport. They had to be there at 8:30 so we left at 7:45 AM. That's not TOO early, but it is for Saturday which explains why this song came on:



It is a very catchy song to drive to on I-275 though!

Fair Warning

My posting this week is more than likely going to be slim and sporadic for a few reasons: 1) I'm in the process of moving - I am standing up typing this at my kitchen counter because I have no chair 2) I'm going to South Carolina Wednesday 3) I'm buying my new car Thursday My party Friday went very well and I couldn't have asked for better. I had a really good turnout and everyone was good about bringing things so I didn't have to worry about taking care of everyone else. I'm uploading a video here that I took at the party of someone doing an impression of Rihanna and Ms. Swan. She's talented. My legs are tired now. Bye.

Magic Party

I wish I could find these magic plates for my party tomorrow, since May is the month of magic. The party will surely be magical. I was a little skeptical at first getting mixed confirmations from people, but this week the party has just blossomed. People at work have been talking about it and today my head count was at 22 confirmed. I'm not sure how we're all going to fit in 800 square feet, so we might extend the party to the bedroom too.

I'm really looking forward to it!

Potential Good News (60 Days Age Time)

I have some good news. It's good news so far, and in 60 days it could still be good or maybe not. The news is that my real estate agent showed me a really great house in Plymouth 2 Saturdays ago - the best house I've seen so far (I think I've looked at 15 or so). The house was priced well, and was a "short sale" which basically means the sellers are going to have to foreclose if they don't sell soon. The catch is they owe more on the house than what they can sell it for, so it goes something like this (in my own paraphrasing method).

Seller: OMG: I have to sell this house for (x) reason, and I can't sell it for what I owe on it...I might have to foreclose.

Bank: We can forgive the debt you owe if you can sell the house, because we don't want to foreclose - maybe - but you're going to have to prove it to us by filling out lots and lots of paperwork - but it's still better than us taking your house.

Seller: I will sell it for the best I can and tell you what I sold it for.

Bank: OK, then we will decide if we want you to sell it for that much and forgive (x) amount of debt.

So that's how it is. Basically Juanita (she's my realtor) threw out the idea of placing a REALLY lowball offer ($50,000 less than asking). She asked for 6% seller concessions too (another $10,000). She plays hardball, but she's justified while doing it - that's why I like her. So I talked to Mom and Dad, and decided to go ahead with the offer having the attitude of "I'll see what happens, I'm 90% sure they won't go for it". The day I signed the offer letter she presented it, and had an answer for me that night. The sellers countered, which I was sure they were going to do, but they countered NOWHERE near what I thought they would. I'll save the actual numbers for later (if it actually works) but feel free to ask me, because I don't care.

So I ran numbers, found out that a mortgage for this house (with taxes and insurance) would be about $350 more per month than my current apartment. I would have a garage, a yard, a piece of property, a nice house, 2 more bedrooms, a basement, and a Plymouth address. Worth it? For me it is. I'm tired of this renting garbage. I haven't had a "home" since I left for college and I'm ready for something more permanent.

At this point the seller accepted my acceptance of the counter offer and the paperwork is going to the bank. I've been told short sales take about 60 days to process (which puts me into July for an answer) then another 30 days to actually close and move in (which puts me into August). That fits in with my original plan and I would get the house for about $15,000 less than the average home price in Plymouth. Here's a picture of the house. It's cookie cutter yes, but the neighborhood is wonderful, the school district is probably one of the best in Metro Detroit, and Plymouth made the 37th best place to live in the U.S. this year.

So we shall see what happens. If it's meant to be it will happen. If not, then no. I'm not excited yet because a LOT can happen. I'm sure I'll give updates (but I have 2 months to wait - so that's not so exciting to post about).

About This Party

I'm having a party this Friday for being in Michigan for one year. A lot of friends from work are coming and some others too. I went shopping tonight for that party. And it was expensive. Who knew it would be so much, but it's worth it to say thanks and have people over for fun.

If you're not going to make it, you're missing out. I already started preparing tonight. Jello shots.

Mama Day

I realized when I woked up today that it was Mother's Day, and this song popped in my head for some reason:



It's a good song, even if it is by the Spice Girls. I also realized my mother is MIA. I know she's somewhere between Puerto Rico and the United States. Maybe going through customs, or on an airplane. Her exact location cannot be located at this time. There are 3 flights between San Juan and Charlotte today according to USAirways.com but I have no clue which one she's on. So I will have to tell her Happy Mother's Day when I find her, or she finds me by phone.

I also picked the Pokemon of the week based on a motherly instinct. Cleffa, to me looks very wholesome, like Kathy Bates: warm and welcoming. Paul, correct me, but I think Pokemon "evolve" or something like that so I'm guessing Cleffa is in relation to Clefairy, but I have no clue which came first (the chicken or the egg) so for now Cleffa is a mama.

Also! Paul told me a really interesting story about how he used to HATE the Honda Civic and how retarded it looked. Yesterday though Paul got lost in the mall parking lot (Paul, lost, nooooo) and 3, yes 3, ATOMIC BLUE Honda Civic's helped him find his car. It was magical. So I decided my Civic will be named Christa, Christa Smith since it's a magical name (from Fern Gully). I'm just glad Paul had his epiphany NOW rather than later (I knew he'd come to his senses sooner or later).

Walter if fine now by the way, but I did read a wonderful story last night from "Things I Learned About My Dad (in therapy)". This is a collection of short stories written by dad's about fatherhood, edited by Heather Armstrong.

It goes:
"When my son was four months old, he developed a bright red rash that started at the top of his head and began moving down his body like a flame on an oil-soaked rope. I rushed him to the doctor, who walked into the exam room and said "What's the problem?" I said, "My son has a rash!" He put on his glasses and said "Yep". Three hundred dollars".

That's how I feel. They never found out what was wrong with Walter, and wanted me to take him BACK to the vet Friday for a check up. Riiiiight. Pay more money for them to say they don't know what was wrong, but he seems fine now, and to take it easy. No thank you.

Happy Mother's Day!

Oh Wait, There's More

Do you know what it's like to get a paycheck and have EVERY bit of it GONE...GONE...dedicated to bills? This sucks.

Gas ALONE was $300 this month - and I drive a fuel efficient car! ARGH.

Hmm mmmmm the Civic fund did NOT grow...I'm a little, uh, short to say the least.

It's just money though.

Poor Walt

What a night...

I got home from work today to find poop splattered on the wall behind Walter's crate. That's odd because he was fine at lunch and has NEVER gone to the bathroom in this apartment. I let him out of his crate and he acted odd, so I took him outside. Sure enough he pretty much exploded all over the place. He just stayed crouched down for a good 2 minutes but there was nothing more to come out. I thought maybe it was a one time thing. I then came back inside to clean up the mess and he threw up 5 times inside. It wasn't normal throw up either, it was brown and smelled like bile.

Now I was getting a little worried. I put him in the bathroom until I could get the apartment cleaned up. The smell...my GOSH the smell was awful. Like a mixture of stomach acid and rotten eggs. I gave him a little water to clean his mouth out, and he threw that up too. This was not normal. This didn't even seem like a bug, but a pretty serious illness. I decided I had to take him to the animal hospital. If he died on my hands, atleast I knew I put forth the effort to save him and it gave me piece of mind.

We waited and waited (like you would in an ER). To sum it up they don't know what's wrong with him. They did know they wanted to do extensive medical work which summed up to be $1400. I said a big "No" to that. I decided it was important for him to get a) fluids and b) something to calm his stomach. They ended up giving him 3 shots for his stomach and 600 mL of a water/electrolyte solution which made a huge hump on his shoulder where they injected it. Dogs apparantly can absorb water through their skin. About an hour later the hump was gone, so he was obviously dehyrdrated. So I dropped $200 tonight. I also got my insurance bill the other day, and I have a credit card bill coming that's going to be very unfriendly as well (even though it's only used for gas and groceries). So the Civic fund is not growing like it's supposed to, and that's a shame.

I'm supposed to take Walter back to the vet tomorrow. He seems to be stable, but obviously sick and tired. I'll keep an eye on him and hope he feels better by tomorrow, because I don't want to go back to the vet.

I'll keep his status updated...

Groceries and Dumb

I can't believe I missed Sunday. And Monday. Sunday I took a good 4 hours out of the day to finish my book for book club: Monsters of Templeton. It was an amazing book so it was well worth it, and the Pokemon of The Week being delayed was worth it too.

What kind of grocery shopper are you? More importantly, how do you bad your groceries? Now that I'm living on my own, I really think I'd fare well in a place like New York City. When it boils down to it, I'm pretty much a "get it done fast" with no frills kind of person. I run in the store, go directly for what I want, and get annoyed at the person strolling along leaning on their buggy for support. The lines are too long as well. I'm like this with any place really. I want to get in, and get out. I don't want to make a big event out of it. Unless it's something like car shopping, I can take my time then (for a little bit).

Back to bagging. I think how I bag my groceries goes along the lines of the "get it done" attitude. Tonight I bought my usual: apples, 2 1/2 gallons of OJ, 1 gallon of milk, 3 frozen dinners, 5 Lunchables, granola bars, 2 greeting cards (not so usual), and 2 bottles of green tea. Do you know how many bags I used? 3. Yes, just 3. Mind you I was limping from my car to my door, the bag handles became sharp from the weight and were digging into my hands, and by the time I got upstairs my arms were shaking. But you know what, I only had to make 1 trip, and that's wonderful.

A person at work got wind that I was going to buy a "foreign" *GASP* car! She lectured me (or tried to) on how I'm putting Americans out of work, how Japanese car companies pay their workers less so American car companies can't compete, and how what I'm going to do is unpatriotic. She also got another person to huddle in and hackle me more.

I don't even argue with these people anymore because they are downright ignorant and proof of why I don't feel bad buying a Honda (which is American by the way).

Case in point: 2008 Honda Civic vs. 2008 Ford Fusion

Honda Civic
Engine Origin: USA
Transmission Origin: Japan
Assembly: USA
The Civic's VIN# begins with "1" which means the car is produced in America
The Civic's part content is > 70% American

Ford Fusion
Engine Origin: Mexico
Transmission Origin: Japan
Assembly: Mexico
The Fusion's VIN# begins with "3" which means the car is produced in Mexico
The Fusion's part content is 35% American

And I don't even want to hear whining about "well American car companies have to go to 3rd world countries now because nobody supported them". Bull. I'm sure their executives are still making plenty. Maybe you say "well David, where does the money go back to"? Good question. For Honda, the profit will go back to Japan. For Ford it will go back to the US. You know what, profit doesn't stimulate the economy as much as the smaller people will. Who do you think stimulates the economy more, 1 executive who has country club memberships and shops at high end places, or 2,000 assembly line workers who are out everyday shopping and supporting their communities.

I'm so sick of the domestic vs. foreign argument. I'm going to be proud to drive my Honda Civic. The argument is dumb, for lack of a better term.

Bicentennial

This is my 200th post! I didn't even PLAN for the 200th post to happen in the month of May, but it did. You know why? Because May is the month of magic!

This weekend is very relaxing. The weather outside is breezy and the sky is a dark charcoal grey which adds to the feeling. I love days that have a really dark, black sky with sunlight peering through. The effect looks amazing. It's even better after the ground is wet from rain.

I'm watching Dan's cats (again) this weekend because he went away for the weekend. I got really scared today when I went to feed them. Normally when I walk in, they come running down the stairs to greet me. Harley, the nice one, lets me pet her and Bobo, the little deamon, smacks me with his paw. Today just Harley came down, no Bobo. I thought he'd come out later so I fed them and changed their water, re-filled the humidifier, and started to leave. Still no Bobo. I walked down into the basement to see if he was down there - nope. I walked upstairs to see if he was in the bedrooms - nope. Did he slip out the door yesterday when I was there and I didn't see him? Did I mention Bobo is a Russian Blue, which is apparantly a really rare and expensive breed of a cat? I called Dan and asked if Bobo was actually there this weekend - and not staying with someone else. He asked me if it had rained. It did rain today, pretty hard. He said when it rains Bobo hides under the couch for the whole day, and will not come out. That's good for me. I'd be horrible to loose another person's pet while they're gone!

May: The Month of Magic

I've determined May is going to be the month of magic (mayick). May is the month of magic because it's when I get my first brand new car. And it's spring, and the weather is nice. And people are happy. I have proof. This is who I'm greeted by when I walk into work. How could you NOT have a good day when you see a face like that?