Car Chronicles: Part Seven: Our Day Comes

We got the car! I’d have to say that my hubby is pretty excited. I got to take it for a bit of a spin. The clutch sure is funny. I guess because it is new. It will just take a bit to get used to its engagement point. Anyway, have the car. La, la, la. And the insurance is insane! The fact that it is new and that hubby is commuting a lot next year, the insurance is DOUBLE of what it was on the Golf. Maybe it is time to take collision off the Dodge. (Considering it costs us an extra $200 per year and they’d probably only give us about $1500 for it.) I’m not sure why we even had collision on in the first place. Or was that comprehensive? Man, insurance is getting expensive. Maybe if we all learned to be courteous and realized that it is expensive to bang into each other, we’d stop doing it.

A story I am working on seems to be set on being a short one. I even added a second character perspective and it is still acting like a small story. Although, it is just the first draft. Yet, the one I finished before this was twice the size. A friend read it and liked it. (Whew. She’s going to give me some feedback this weekend. Since she is an English teacher as well as the market for the book, I am glad she didn’t say it stunk. Then again, maybe it does but she worries about remaining friends. Har, har.)

I pre-plotted the story I am working on now and it is sitting around 50,000 words with maybe another 10,000 to come. The one I finished before this was a whopping 110,000 and is acting like it wants a sequel. That one I wrote by the seat of my pants and was so much FUN to write. I loved writing that one. So what is my preferred method? Good question. I think it is writing it as it comes.

New Books!

Finally remembered to cancel the insurance on the Golf. We are getting lots of calls on the Golf from Auto Trader. They said they could mark it as sold–which obviously they haven’t. They even called last night to ask if we wanted to continue the ad. Crazy. At least it isn’t on their website.

We went to Chapters yesterday to buy a book for a friend for his birthday and we bought a ton of books. No wonder we are broke all the time! We spend! We did save a lot of money. I got four novels for the price I would pay for used ones. (And they are new. It was a buy three, get the fourth free. (And they averaged the prices of all four to give you money off instead of you getting the cheapest one for free.) Plus we got to use our Chapters coupon for $5 off, plus our irewards! So, basically, I paid about $6 a book instead of $10. I like that!

Here’s what I got:

The Nanny Diaries ~ Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Everyone Worth Knowing ~ Lauren Weisberger
Careful What You Wish For ~ Lucy Finn
Swapping Lives ~ Jane Green (I love her! I’m saving this one for the cottage!)

Let’s hope that today is Yaris pick up day! Cross your fingers for me!

Car Chronicles: Part Six: Someday Our Yaris Will Come

So we thought we were picking up the Yaris on Friday, after Wednesday’s cancellation when they discovered that they were missing air conditioning parts. We had our fingers crossed, but alas. Still no Yaris. Hubby is getting a bit antsy in the pantsy.

So we wait, and wait. We are moving into week three now. On Friday, my hubby was like, “Hey, let’s go to Mazda!” I was a bit tired from laying cement sidewalk blocks and was like, “Groan.”

So, we went to Mazda. And we drooled over the sexy Mazda 3 sedan. Sexy, baby! And then we test drove it. Humuna, humuna. Very cool car! I LOVE the way it drives. We seriously contemplated dropping the Yaris (they haven’t even taken our deposit over at Toyota). But, it comes down to money. Do we want to spend $21,000 (plus 6% GST) on a new car? No. That’s why we went with the Yaris, because you got a new car for a used price. So, to spend an extra 5-6 grand for a nicer car is tempting, but then you think, well, this is actually a third of another Yaris and the Yaris is more economical and the government will give us a grand back when we buy it because of its ‘greenness’. And well, we are cheap buggers.

So, life lesson: don’t go test a nicer car when you’ve already decided on a basic, economical one. Especially when the little things that we weren’t thrilled about in the Yaris, the Mazda had.

Oh well. Maybe next week we’ll get the Yaris. (Hope so, dad takes his car back so we’ll be back down to one.) And did I mention that irony of ironies…the Shadow seems to have a gasket leak? (The Golf had one too.) Argh! It never ends! (And dad’s car seems to have developed a tire leak.) I think I am cursed.

Side note: Dad is at Grandma’s cottage and just set up his webcam (and high speed Internet) on his laptop down at the dock. That’s not all. He called us on our computer so we could see him go jump in the river. Just to rub in the fact that he is there and we are here. :)

Ultimate Frisbee and Six Foot Fences

Happy summer!

Ooo. A little sore today from playing Ultimate Frisbee last night. As I arrived at the field, so too did a group of teenaged boys. At first, I thought we might have to fight them for the field, but I soon realized that they were here to play. As they tossed their cleats on the ground and began stretching, I must admit, I cringed internally. I mean, I’m not bad at Ultimate Frisbee. I’m actually pretty decent. But, stretching? Cleats? Oh boy. I bet they can jump like Golden Retrievers too.

Besides, I thought this was a bunch of teachers (and me) hanging out, playing casually, for fun. And even when I am not working on fighting down a sinus infection, I’m not much of a runner. I just never have been. I’ve tried, but it is the whole lung thing. Asthma just makes it hard to go all out with running. But anyway, faced with these young pups who undoubtedly could run the field like it was a small living room, I was wondering if I really should have stayed home with my penicillin.

And then they chose teams. Young vs. Old. I was on the old team. Great, this should be humiliating. The age cut off was 25 (!!!!!), leaving ten youngsters and eight oldies. So, we did some swapping to make it nine versus nine. For defense, I tried to choose the guy who looked less likely to be able to run. And of course, I picked the runner. Once he figured out that I would go long to the end zone when we were on offense, he’d take off to pick cherries at his end zone, which left me nicely open. Unfortunately, when they would get possession again, my guy would be down at the other end of the field and where was I? Pretty much as far away from him as possible.

I did manage to do a cool, sliding, hat flying off catch the Frisbee just before it hits the ground for a touchdown.

We won ten to eight. In your face you young pups!

I was reading my husband’s Discover Magazine today and I found an interesting article by Douglas Rushkoff (Driving Used to be About Taking on the World, Now it’s About Being Tucked in for a Nap). You know how the other day I was complaining about how we seem to be separating ourselves from our neighbours? Well, he was discussing things along a similar vein. He was talking about fancy cars with GPS navigation systems (no need to ask others for directions), DVD systems (kids don’t realize they have left the house), parking assist and how all those fancy features are taking the joy of doing the task of driving somewhere. (Car companies would no doubt argue that they are putting the fun into the task of driving somewhere.) Rushkoff argues that by simplifying or removing all these sorts of tasks is similar to saying that the task has no value. The newest features of vehicles (like parking assist, cruise control, cars monitoring eyelids for fatigue and cars that can call for help) have turned drivers into a “pampered child” and our driving activities are being “hovered over by a vigilant electronic mother, scanning the road ahead for danger” (Discover: April 2007, p. 73).

He does have a point.

The quote I like best from his article is: “Increasingly detached from the tasks and surroundings of our daily lives, we are also less connected to the civic, social, and physical reality on which we depend” (Discover: April 2007, p. 73).

I hear you brother! I totally, whole-heartedly agree. In some ways technology and the wealth we are enjoying is separating us from each other and making poor behaviour more and more acceptable. It is a scary idea. Where are we heading? Will something stop us? Will we reconnect with others again? What can we do? I know that big, new, cozy vehicles are a problem–look at how we treat each other on the road. We bully, we break rules and we don’t care, because we are safe in our vehicular cocoon.

Onto the more personal, Rushkoff talks about listening to ipods or talking on a cell phone in public spaces. By doing this we are removing ourselves from the spaces we are in (sidewalks, buses, etc) and therefore, making “these spaces even less interactive or friendly than they were before.”

He really put his finger on it for me. What do you think?

Another thought…

I got an email today from a friend. One of those chain letter ones and I passed it on to some of my friends, even though I don’t usually do that. You see, it had a theory about why a friend comes into your life. Friends come in to serve a purpose (to fulfill a need or help learn a life lesson). To fulfill that purpose, the friend might come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When put that way, it makes sense to let some long-time friends go, even though it is hard. There is a feeling of obligation to keep in touch and keep in contact and to remain good friends, even though it is obvious that neither party has anything to offer the other any longer. And thus, friends drift apart. I suppose this email appeased the guilt I have in letting some of my old friends and acquaintances go.

Car Chronicles: Part Five: Advertising the Golf

God, I wish I could sing. If I could croon like Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux. Oh honey!

So the car chronicles continue. And have I talked about that little voice you hear in your head from time to time? No, not the one that tells you to run that road bully off the road or to throw yourself off a bridge, but the little one that says, “Wait until Wednesday to put the ad in Auto Trader.” Yeah, that one. I knew I should have listened to it.

Not a biggy, but still. Listen to the VOICE!

I would have saved myself $37 if I had. Oh well. It’s like that time I went to Calgary when the voice was saying not to. That cost me a lot more money and time than this did. So, if you want to save money, listen to the voice. (We listened to the voice when it told us to move two years ago. We did and everything fell right into place. And now look our crazy house is now almost twice the price we paid! Insane. So, folks, listen to the voice!)

Anyway, we sold the Golf. Sniff, sniff. Such a good car. All Amour-Alled and clean. Such a good car. Anyway, it’s gone. The lady who’s car we were going to buy–her son–bought the Golf. And it totally suits him. He is going to love it! My hubby says that he is going to totally get chicks in that car. It was sort of sad to see it go. We bought that car right after we got married eight years ago. Lots of memories in that little car.

Today we were supposed to pick up the Yaris. But, of course, problems. It is not ready. So we exercise patience. Hubby is going to blow a gasket! (He just called and he is not impressed. He’s like, ‘it’s been two weeks! This service sucks, what are they doing?’ And I get that, but it has actually worked out well for us so far, so whatever.) Anyway, apparently one of the air conditioning pieces didn’t come in, so there it is, all apart in their shop. Poor dejected little thing. They offered a loaner, but we still have the trusty Shadow and Big Mama (Dad’s Grand Marquis). The Grand Marquis is also known as the Mighty Hunter and Daniel Boone. (My dad hit a deer driving it to Ontario one summer, picked us up at the airport and ran over a raccoon.) So, maybe Friday we will get the car. Hubby is eager to road trip. Either for pie or for sandals. (My vote is pie–costs less.)

So anyway, when you buy an ad in Auto Trader, the ad doesn’t go in for a week and then several days after it has been in the magazine, then they put it online (unless you pay $7.50 for them to put it online right away). I felt a bit ripped off. I have canceled the ad, and even though it hasn’t been put in the magazine or online, they are still charging me $37. Even though they didn’t actually provide me with a service. That seems like a bit of a rip off to me. And the Red Deer Advocate, they just put ‘sold’ on the ad and keep running it for the whole week that they made me pay for. I always wondered why idiots advertised their vehicles as ‘sold’. I always thought, ‘really, was there that much demand that you had to pay money so people would stop calling?’ No, it is just them milking you so they don’t have to give you a part refund for the ads in the week that you didn’t use. Rip Off!

I sort of understand that once things are set up for publishing, you don’t want to start pulling ads and rearranging, but some of this is just them yanking my money out of my pocket.

So, there you have it.

Random Bits and Ends

My daughter is trying to make our old cat learn tricks. You see once upon a time, an 11-year-old girl by the name of Jean decided that she would teach her cat, Andy, how to do tricks. He was quite the performer and began a legacy of cats that do tricks in her childhood home. Alas, our cats are not so interested. Much to the disappointment of my four-year-old.

We pick up the new car tomorrow! Yipeee! And with the Golf, we’ve had more calls and another no show. Tonight we have someone who is considering buying it coming over to take a look–a friend. Cross your fingers for us.

What is it about today’s society that we don’t care much about others and are hesitant to extend common courtesies? Is it the commonness of six foot fences? We don’t need our neighbours and they don’t need us? I mean, not ten years ago if I had a breakdown on the road, cars would stop to make sure you were okay–heck, even if you weren’t broken down they would check. Now you can hang out at the side of the road with the hood up and nobody will stop. They assume you have a cell phone and will call and pay a stranger (tow truck) to help you and that you don’t need them. Maybe we are too rich. Maybe we are removed from others and their realities. We have big fences, distant emails where we feel we can say anything (we didn’t say it to their face, so the meanness doesn’t count), cell phones, fancy everything. Why borrow the neighbour’s drill when we can go buy our own? Why call on the neighbour to feed your cat when you leave when you can pay someone? You wouldn’t want to be indebted to someone. God forbid. Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I see change coming…and this time, I’m not sure if I like it. (Or maybe I’m just getting old.)

Found another friend on Facebook. Or rather, she found me.

Still researching agents. Considering joining Backspace. Looking for contests. Seems like winter is the season, not spring-summer for entering.

I was listening to Coffeehouse on Sirius radio and there was good ol’ John Lennon and that got me thinking. It must be hard for Yoko Ono and pretty much anyone with a famous significant other who lives in the spotlight and then suddenly dies. Like John Ritter’s wife–so much hubbub around his death. And I was thinking, it must be hard for Yoko to get over John. (Lennon, not Ritter.) I mean, he was suddenly taken from her, just right there on the street. All is good and then literally, BANG, he’s gone. And here, years later there are reminders of him popping up where ever she goes. She must never know when to expect his voice or face to pop up. It’s gotta be hard.

What is it about Kraft Dinner that is so appealing to little kids?

Car Chronicles: Part Four: Selling the Beloved Golf

Alas, the time has come. The Golf is back and all clean and happy with its little for sale sign. What to ask for it? Playing the selling game. Don’t like this part so much.

So far, three queries and one broken viewing appointment. A no show. So nice of him to call and cancel. Not like I had anything better to do with my time.

But what do you do with a great little, economical car that is ready to go thousands of kms more if you fix the head gasket? Problem is, that costs about a grand to fix. (I found a great shop who will do that plus some more work for that price.) Who wants to buy a car that needs to go in the shop for a bit, even if it means you will have a great car in the end? Do we fix it ourselves? Then what do we charge?

So, we’ll see what the next week or so brings. I’m just feeling impatient. I know what I want and I want to get to it. Same with my career.

More on Facebook

So, pretty much everyone is on Facebook. Apparently even Jack Layton is on Facebook. (NDP leader up here in Canada.)

Interesting tidbit though. I was listening to DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) on CBC this morning and they were yakking about Facebook. Interesting thing is that Facebook (aka Crackbook and Fbook) holds the status of being the worst for its privacy policy on the worldwide web. Not exactly something that you strive to achieve. How exactly they came up with that ‘fact’ I am unsure.

If you do a search on the Internet, you find lots of rants and accusations against Facebook. And that makes me wonder, is it simply because Facebook has gotten incredibly popular and is growing exponentially every day? Or is it for real? When I signed up, I was very hesitant. There are very few ads on the site and there are lots of places to put in piles of personal information. Some of it is theoretically only accessible to your ‘friends’, but still. People can print your photos that you put up there (again only your ‘friends’). But, still. There is a part of me that doesn’t trust the whole thing. How are they making their money? Everything is for sale on the Internet these days and nothing is truly for free.

And Facebook prompts you all the time to scan through your email for friends. Basically, you let Facebook into your email account–you give them the password (for a one-time shot)–and they index your address book and pester all your contacts to join Facebook.

So what is the truth about Facebook? Maybe I’ll go see if Jack will be my friend. Maybe he has some answers.
Facebook Update:

This is weird. I went looking for Jack Layton on Facebook and who the heck knows? There are a bunch of global groups that you can pop into that are about Jack Layton, but I don’t know if any of them are really Jack’s. Do you know what I mean? Like is he on there himself? Or is he just pretending to be hip and cool? I looked on his website and the youth area doesn’t scream out, ‘hey I’m on Facebook, look me up’. So what is the deal? I don’t know. I thought it would be cool to be ‘friends’ with Jack Layton. I thought maybe he’d do a little blog thing on his wall and so I could get to know a bit more about him and his political platform. So, I guess I am a little disappointed. Maybe I missed something. I’m still new to this Facebook thing and all its little nuances.