Archives February 2004

I remember walking the boardwalk as a kid and seeing those tshirts in the stores. Remember the cartoon images of a muscled up vette? I think I may have even owned such a shirt. Well last night I actually got the chance to stop and drive the Vette I have been eyeing up. The car needs a lot of TLC. It has some big warts. It was left out in the deluge of rain that we got on Wednesday. The weatherstripping along the removeable top is deteriorated and as a result leaks badly. As a result, the floor was a wet mess. I asked to drive it and the guy warned me about the soppy conditions, I didn’t really care. I hopped in and fired it up. It came to life with a grumbly roar and then shuts off. I repeat the cycle a few times, the guy tells me how it is rough until it warms up. I quickly got the hang of working the brake and gas to keep it going while it went through the warm up phase.

Driving a vette is different. You are nestled in like the cockpit of a plane. These model years have the digital dash and a couple dozen switch’s and buttons everywhere. (which I love) Out on the road I took it easy, only stepping on the throttle mildly, but even so it was impressive. It has power to boot and just sounds grumpy and mean. At the stop light I could detect another wart, the front brakes pulsate badly, going to probably take front discs. I had it out maybe 10 minutes total. It did run better once it heated up a little. During the drive the owner was talking pretty much non-stop. Some things related to the car but mostly not. I pretty much tuned him out while I tried to get a feel for the car.

I pulled back into his driveway and did more inspections. The car is going to take the weather stripping, brakes, new rugs, new center console cover as well as many miscellaneous parts, mostly small. The motor runs ok but the rough behavior when cold probably is a result of other things that could use maintenance. I had him remove the glass top which turns the car into an open roofed cruiser. Again I was I was doing my walk around, the guy was chattering incessantly. If I didn’t know better I would peg him as a car salesman. He reminds me of some of the guys I worked with when I was in the profession. I showed the owner some information I printed off the internet that pegged the value of the car significantly lower than what he was trying to sell the car for. It sobered him up a bit and slowed down the flow of words.

I left it that I wanted to do some more research and I would get back to him. Today I got some more answers I was looking for and called and left a message with his wife with an official offer. It is a lowball offer, some 2500 bucks lower than what he was asking when I first talked to him. However, all things considered it more than fair offer, whether he realizes it or not. So, maybe I’ll join the Vette club this weekend, maybe I won’t. But if he balks at the offer, at least I think can finally put it to rest in my mind. If he accepts, cool, I got a car that is rough now, but could be a sweet ride with a little sweat work.

I just called into domestic animal services. Evidently the puppy’s owner claimed her yesterday. That is somewhat bittersweet for me. I’m glad she is back home but I question what kind of home it is. If she manages to escape again and find her way to our place there will be no round two of this. It is a relief to have one less thing to think about. Now I can debate more about the vette. 🙂 The price on the one I have been eyeing has dropped, the owner or more specifically the owner’s wife really wants it sold, so it may parlay into a decent deal.

This saturday at 6am, I will be at the county fairgrounds setting up a stand at the flea market. Flea markets are always a mixed bag for me. It’s exciting to snag a bargain on something that a seller just wants to unload but the overwhelming majority of flea market attendees are not exactly the type of crowd I fancy hanging with. So I am preparing for a day of haggling with Haitians, trying to speak broken spanish with mexicans and having a more or less frustrating day. Ali hates the environment. So much so that she will probably help me set up and then head home to do stuff. I don’t mind really because having her be there, frustrated isn’t a good thing anyway. What drives me nuts are the hagglers that no matter what the price is, want it for less. A 5 cent item they will ask for 2 cents and a stick of gum. However, we have a bunch of stuff to get rid of as part of our simplify and get rid of junk campaign so it is a necessary evil. I always price stuff real cheap at such events because I am there to get rid of stuff first, make money second. I find having EVERYTHING labeled with a price and having it all out in plain view is key to a successful flea market stand. Most people don’t want to rummage through a box or ask you what the price is for something (at least I know I don’t for sure) My fortune awaits…..

I am an avid Stern show listener. This morning I read that clear channel has taken him off of 6 markets because of inappropriate content. This ridiculous witchhunt has gone too far. Evidently the exposure of JJ’s boob was the final straw as far as the conservative right was concerned. They are now over reacting to anything that is deemed inappropriate outside the viewpoint of bible thumping conservatives. More Bush led BS.

If someone is offended by Stern’s show or by any program that is on radio or tv the answer is blatantly obvious, CHANGE THE STATION! I don’t need government dictating what is appropriate for me to view or listen to. It’s really getting out of control.

THEN I follow up reading the story about Greenspan recommending that social security benefits be cut to address the deficit that is largely in part to the decisions made by the Bush administration. Instead of correcting the reasons the deficit is huge, why not cut benefits to retiring people that have paid into the system their entire working lives? It’s like fighting a fire by throwing gas on it. Like paying one credit card with another. It doesn’t address the real problem. Those tax rebates were ridiculous. The couple hundred bucks we got back meant nothing to me, but they helped push us into the current financial blackhole that exists.

I can’t imagine where this country will be if Bush gets propped up for another 4 years. He must go.

I had another one of those bite your toungue when you shouldn’t have moments. My wife’s watch had a dead battery. It has one of those press seal backs so I couldn’t replace it myself. In the past I have taken our watches to this place at the mall run by some immigrant that always did it for us quick and cheap. Unfortunately it appeared that his store was no longer there. As I wandered around I saw one of those stands in the middle of the hall that sold watches and advertised battery replacements.

Running this booth was a balding, short, middle aged man. I politely asked him “Can you replace the battery in this watch for me?” The reason I worded it that way was because it was fossil watch which wasn’t something they sold there, I just wanted to verify they could do it. He responded (paraphrasing) about how they spent hundreds of dollars on the signs advertising battery replacement for nothing. Of course he can replace it. He said this while smiling. In that split second I had to instantly analyze if this guy was just making a joke or being a genuine smart ass. By the time I decided he was being a smart ass he was already into the watch. Now the choice was to just shut up or expose his remark. I decided it wasn’t worth it. The guy was probably bitter about having a career as a mall watch stand tender. However, it is sticking in my craw. Even as I walked out of the mall I was debating if I should call him out. Even if he thought my question was ignorant, I am presenting him business as a customer, therefore it becomes a mute point. This sort of stuff drives me crazy. I should have asked for the watch back immediately and made a scene. Instead I did the “logical” thing. Damn it is a hard habit to break…

A constituitional amendment to ban gay marriage? You have to be joking. What role does government have in individual relationships? If 2 gay guys or women get married, how does it adversely affect society? I could care less. To attempt to mandate such a thing from a federal level is outrageous to me. So many other things to worry about that actaully affect our citizens and GW decides this is his focus between trips to the ranch. I can only hope this fuels the momentum behind getting him out of there.

Today we are getting absolutely dumped on. It may be some of the hardest rain I have ever seen. It wouldn’t be that noteable except that it is February which is normally very much a dry time of year. A look out the window and you would think everything was under a waterfall.

Being permanently sleepy is starting to become a state of being for me. I have had a very hard time getting a solid night’s rest recently. Last night I was awakened at 4am by the sound of the cat throwing up by our bedroom door. I certainly wasn’t going to get up at that moment and clean it up. Just as I managed to fall back asleep, the cat jumps on the bed and wakes me up again. In one instinctive move I grab the cat and fling it off the bed. I then jump out of bed and chase the damn thing out of the room. The quick adrenalin burst keeps me from falling back asleep until just before the alarm sounds at 5:45. Yawn……

Here are the 3 pictures I took of the puppy. 1 2 3

I went back to volleyball after a 3 week hiatus due to my shoulder killing me after the last experience. Overall I played subpar to average at best. My shoulder hurt but not as severely as before. I had one hit that was in rhythm that made the night worth it to me. I hit it in stride, in front of me, hard, with full extension. It was one of those bang bang hits that gives me the most satisfaction. It was good to be able to still do it. But if a set is off or I try to hit a ball that is behind me the slightest bit, I can’t do shit with it but tap it over. I never have been a great sixes player. It doesn’t make much sense, you would think playing with 6 on a side would be much easier than just 2 on a side but it doesn’t work out that way for me.

I never thought I would hear this combonation of words used in a commercial jingle but the good folks at Pepto Bismal have proven me wrong. It goes something like this “Nausea, heart burn, upset stomach, diarhea, indigestion HEY PEPTO BISMAL” Catchy, huh?

I loved this bit on last year’s MTV music awards!

I really don’t enjoy having to do prolonged thought on things. It wears on me. For the past week I have been back and forth about the ideas of a vette purchase. I could make strong arguments for either choice and the mental deadlock was really frustrating. Then Friday night a diversion strolled into our front yard. Just after we got home, I was walking Nicki and we both saw a dark shadow going up our property line and then make a beeline towards us. I knew it was some sort of small animal but couldn’t tell much more than that. I held ground, even though Nicki wanted to bolt. It was a small lab mix puppy. Instantly it was sniffing and licking Nicki, when I went to pet it I got tons of licks too. I told Ali we had yet another stray dog. Not again. This one had a green collar that was way too big and a flea collar that looks like it was sloppily applied. Noone uses flea collars anymore, normally people will use those chemicals that you apply to a dog once a month instead.

We escorted the puppy back to the lanai so we could have a better look. It was mostly black with a little brown on it’s head. It looked all lab in the face but had shorter legs and big huge feet. We were guessing that some mexicans owned the dog and that they left it outside tied up. Of course the idea of a puppy being tied up outside appalled Ali. I wasn’t thrilled with that idea myself. The poor thing has some ticks on it and it’s fur was filled with burrs. We gave it some food and water which it consumed like it hadn’t eaten in days. As hungry as it was, it didn’t affect it’s personality, it was all over us. Nicki is normally terrified of all dogs. For some reason she hit it off with the puppy. Within the first 10 minutes they were playing, chasing each other around and having a grand time. Soon the initial joy we had from watching them play together turned to dismay as the reality hit that we had to come up with a plan. Ali of course wanted to adopt it, throwing all logic to the wind. I immediaitely have to point out that logistically, it is a near impossibility unless she can figure out a way to commute TWO dogs to work every day or if we can magically have Ali stay home from work permanently starting Monday. So as the night wore on we ran scenarios. We had a couple options as I saw it. Try to find the original owner with signs or just take her to domestic animals to see if she is claimed and if not be adopted out.

We spent the rest of the night untill 11 pm or so, outside with the puppy and Nicki, watching them play, watching them hang out together, thinking how fun it would be to have the puppy as well, but saddened by the reality that it is next to impossible to manage. We didn’t want to keep the puppy inside because we had no idea about her health, cleanliness, bugs, potty training, that sort of stuff. I took her out on the leash a few times and she went to the bathroom for me on cue, a good thing. We covered the outside table to shield it from the wind and then setup a puppy bed under it. She laid down on it like a good dog and slept there all night.

I slept like shit. The puppy was the last thing on my mind when I went to sleep and first thing on it when I awoke. I looked outside and she was still spread out on the pillow, sleeping. I was surprised she made no mess on the lanai and instead waited for me to take her out to do her business. Again her and Nicki played a bunch. When Ali awoke we had to decide on a gameplan. We agreed that the best option was to take her to the shelter. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of her going back to her original owner since it seemed apparent that she would be nothing more than a tie out mutt to them. It really was tough taking her to the shelter. She sat on Ali’s lap the entire time like an angel, looking about as innocent as you can imagine. At the shelter I had to do all the talking because Ali was crying the entire time. Once the paperwork was done, I asked for detail about the process. They said they hold them for 5 days to see if owners claim them, then they get evaluated and if everything checks out ok they go up for adoption. I told them that if for some reason she wouldn’t be adopted we wanted to be notified because we wouldn’t let her be put to sleep. They couldn’t give any guarantee but they thought there would be no problem with her adoption. When it was time to go, Ali was borderline hysterical, I was upset too. I didn’t even look at the puppy as we left because I wanted to maintain composure.

The rest of the weekend, I thought about the puppy all the time. Very odd that I got so attached so quickly but it had just about the perfect personality to go along with it’s cute appearance. I was very sad on Saturday, on Sunday I tried to keep busy with work and other stuff to keep my mind off it. Today, I already called the shelter to see if the owners claimed her and to get a clarification on the process. Adopting her is still on my mind but I have not been able to come up with a feasible plan for doing so..

The puppy situation was that slap in the face I needed to divert my attention from a vette. I am sort of half hearted pursuing it at this point. I am not sure why though because I think I already have determined that right now, that money would be better utilized otherwise.

I just extracted a long gray hair that was curling out of my left nostril. How pleasant growing old is. I have some stuff on my ears that has to go as well…

I have to thank Keener for this classic link. It looks like almost every one of those covers were from the 70’s. What a god awful decade for fashion.

We just had to evacuate our building because some old lady pulled a fire alarm handle, thinking it was a way to open a door. This woman drove here.

I have seen these around for sometime. I’d love to have one in my office so the geeks that watch my cam page could do things like pan around the office, zoom in on stuff, all that junk. However, it would be next to an impossible sell for the wife, unless I raised the funds from the sale of something else or other non-salary sources. I will be scouring my house for potential sale candidates.

The other week, on the drive home I noticed a house with a nice looking vette outside of it with a for sale sign on it. A Vette has always been my dream car, the top of the food chain in GM muscle cars. However the sky high pricing has always been a deterrent. Well a week or so later, we were driving by and again the vette was out there but this time it had a piece of plywood in front of it with 7,000 spray painted on it. Hmmm ok, that drew a double take from me. That is within the realm where I could actually think about it. Then, last saturday, on my way back from a rock pick up run, I stopped and actually looked at it. The owner came out and told me it was an 88. It has over 100k miles, 109k to be exact. On the outside it looks pristine, bright red with hardly a scratch on it. However as with most vettes of this time period, the weather stripping was shit. The owner said he got a quote of 800 odd bucks to replace it all. The interior was not in great shape, it needs new rugs, a new console, a good cleaning and some minor odds and ends. All stuff that I am able to do. All in all not bad for a 16 year old vehicle. He started it for me. It sounded a bit rough, he said it had one of those performance chips in it and it was a little rough until it warmed up. I asked him why was he selling it and how long he has owned it. He lost his job 3 months ago and he only has owned it for a couple months. He said originally he was thinking of asking 10k for it but said he needed to sell it asap and was willing to sell it for around 7k. Sounded reasonable. I told him I’d give him a ring if I had further interest.

Ever since then I have been thinking about it often. Surprisingly, Ali gave me her total blessing on it. She said I deserve it and she wants me to get one. You would think that would be all it takes right? Well my commitment to getting Ali to be able to quit her job this year is weighing on my mind heavily. Purchasing the car would retard the timeline for her retirement from full time work. It feels like a selfish act on my part to get it. The other part of me is saying that once she isn’t working full-time, the opportunity to do something like this may not come for a long time. I’m torn.

In the meantime I did some research and found that actually 7k is an inflated asking price for a vehicle like this. Two different used car guides came back with respective numbers of 4700 and 5200 as reasonable pricing for a private party sale of a car in good condition with that amount of mileage, surprising. I did some snooping on autotrader.com and found some examples of vette’s selling in the 6k range with 20-30,000 less miles on them. I am debating if I want to contact the seller again and pursue haggling the price based on my findings. I even picked up the phone and dialed last night but it was busy 3 times. So here I sit, still debating the path to take. I know what the fiscally responsible thing is to do. I think I will continue on this holding pattern for a bit until something smacks me in the face to definitively steer me one way or the other.