3404 Sadness

Friday, November 25, 2011

What happens in Vegas stays …
on the internet, forever.

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Daughter is sad today.

In, I believe, 1997, when she was working at a high-paid engineering job in Philadelphia, she bought a new silver 2-door Honda. It's still healthy, with 197,000+ miles on it.

Now the Honda's two doors make it difficult to get the 20-pound Nugget in and out of the infant seat in the back. So I gave her my 2003, 53,000 mile, 4-door Suzuki, a.k.a. Suzie.

Today, Daughter sold the Honda to George-the-neighbor's granddaughter. (I think she got $5,000 for it!)

Sadness.

We do tend to get attached to a car. We remember how dependable it was, how many wonderful places it took us, how sometimes it seemed like our best and only true friend. Selling a car is almost like finding a new home for kittens. You hope the new owners will love and care for it, and appreciate its unique qualities as much as we did.

(Yeah, I wish Suzie were a Hummer. Or a tank.)
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3365 A Long Week

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

An absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

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Back in February, March, April, when the revolution in Egypt was in full swing, I mentioned in several blog posts that it looked to me like the "friendly, supportive" Egyptian army was just using the populace to achieve their own ends. Mubarak had gained control via a military coup. I figured that as soon as Mubarak was gone, all the dirty work done by the revolutionaries, the army brass would take control, and delay anything resembling an election for, oh, a few decades.

Five points to me.

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Daughter and I and the Nugget went upriver on Sunday, the third, and then Daughter and Nugget brought Suzy the Suzuki back down here on Monday. Suzy has four doors, easier to get the Nugget in and out than her two-door Honda, so I'm giving Suzy to Daughter.

We stayed Sunday night at a hotel in Kingston, NY, and on Monday morning, Nugget and I checked out the hotel pool. I copied these photos from Daughter's Facebook page, and I don't know why they came out different sizes.




This one cracks me up every time I look at it.

She absolutely loved the pool. "Look at me, Mommy! I'm swimming!"

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We returned on Monday, and I intended to go back up on Wednesday, the 5th, with the minivan and return with a load on Friday. But Wednesday something I ate didn't agree with me, and a long drive was not advisable, so I drove up early Thursday, and then spent most of Thursday afternoon on some business in Kingston. On Friday I finally got to do some sorting and packing, and I was accomplishing so much and it felt so good, I decided to stay another night and return Saturday evening.

Luckily, I packed the van on Friday night, mainly to give me more sorting space in the house.

I say "luckily" because early Saturday morning I got a tearful call from Daughter. She had thrown her back out the evening before, could barely walk, and couldn't pick the Nugget up. A neighbor was helping her out, but couldn't stay (holiday weekend, you know). So I rushed back downriver.

Saturday and Sunday I camped at Daughter's house (across the street). She's more mobile now, and Nugget, believe it or not, has learned to stand up (with help with balance) when her Mommy wants her on the lap to feed her, which makes it easier. So I go over when I get a call that Nugget needs high lifting, like to the changing table, in or out of the crib, and especially out of her truck-walker or bouncy swing. I've also been taking Daughter to her chiropractor and acupuncturist.

The van is still loaded.

Sigh.
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3239 Situational Summary

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Divorce is tortious, tortuous, and torturous.
-- Silk --

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I had the blood draw last week. As usual, I told the phlebotomist about my problem with sticks in the arm, that the hand works better, as usual she blew me off and went for the arm, "Oh, this won't hurt at all", as usual it felt like a branding iron and the nails on my other hand gripped the armrest so hard I punctured the fabric-backed vinyl upholstery. She seemed surprised. That's absolutely the last time I will be ignored. It will never happen again. That is a vow. I'll refuse and walk out if they don't listen to me.

The next day, Friday, I went in for the CT scan and x-rays. The X-ray technician took a several shots, then came out of his little room and asked if I was in pain. I was perfectly relaxed, lying on the machine bed, eyes closed, silent, almost asleep. I said, "No, should I be?" He didn't answer, went back behind his partition and took several more, moving me a little now and then. So now I'm worried. What might he have seen that would prompt him to ask if I was in pain? Why did he take so many more pictures than were necessary?

I hope I'll find out tomorrow at the urologist's appointment. I've had no calls, so I suppose there's nothing too very exciting. Probably just another stone on the right side.

I've got a few things bothering me right now (not the health stuff, that's just annoying) and I have no one I can talk with about it. It's big, family-type things that have been growing for thirty years and coming to a head now. It's a little depressing, because I don't know what to do about it.

I'd really like to talk with The Man, but he's being a bit distant right now. He's got his reasons, but it's still another bothersome thing, but not the biggest.

Another bothersome thing is a cash flow problem. I sold stock from portfolios in my own name, not the investment portfolio Piper manages, to buy this house, and what Piper doesn't seem to realize is that much of my income was dividend checks from that stock. So my income is down by 25%, but I'm paying utilities and taxes on two houses now. I'm not going to starve, but I'm scrambling to pay the bills without selling more stock and cutting my income even more.

I canceled the house phone at the old house. The monthly bill for that phone was less than $30, but I don't need it anymore. So I freaked when I got the final bill, and it was $280! They charged me $250 for "Tier 1 Auto Renewal Termination Fee"! What!? What the hell is that!?

So I called. They said I had agreed to some special low-cost plan that had an early termination fee. I asked when this plan was supposed to end. The guy said "In five weeks." I said, that makes it the first week in May? He said yes. I freaked. "That means I signed up for it last May? Last May I was aware I would be moving. At that time I thought I'd be moving in the fall. There's no way on this God's earth a) that I would sign up for ANY plan with an early termination fee if there's any other option, b) that I would agree to that when I knew I'd be moving. There's something very wrong here."

So he checked. Turns out that I'd agreed to the plan several years ago (and I'm positive no "termination fee" had been mentioned), and the plan is automatically renewed every year. I pointed out that after the first contract term, you can no longer charge a termination fee without active renewal of the agreement. Automatic renewal changes the terms to monthly. Plus, even if the fee still existed, when I called to terminate service, the rep should have mentioned it. She didn't. There's no way I am going to pay $250 for 5 weeks of non-service when I could have just paid the $40 five more weeks would have cost!

So he forgave the $250.

I wonder how many people would go ahead and pay it? That's a complete ripoff.

[Update: Wow! I found this article dated October 2009, that says the NY Attorney General went after Frontier and told them they couldn't charge the termination fee without telling customers it existed, and they couldn't charge it on auto-renewals, and they had to refund all those fees they had collected! Wow! And they're STILL DOING IT!!! I think maybe I'll write a letter to the NY Attorney General.]

The Hairless Hunk is taking a class about 25 minutes north of here this week, and Monday of next week. We got together for dinner on Monday. That was kind of a mess. We went to a Thai place near his hotel. I like Thai, and they had some really interesting things on the menu, but the table was very wide, and the place was very crowded and noisy, and I couldn't hear him, and I wasn't there for interesting food, I was there to talk, so we left and went looking for someplace else, and since neither of us knew anyplace we ended up at a truly yucky diner-but-not-a-diner with blah food. But at least the place was empty, and quiet.

I didn't mention any of the stuff that's been depressing me, but simply being able to be with someone who does care and would and could sympathize and offer advice if I asked for it, was enough. I feel a little better, although I still don't know what to do.

We had originally sort of planned that some evening he'd come down here and see the house. I figured it might be difficult because he'd probably have classwork in the evenings. Yesterday he called and said, yeah, stuff to read and memorize. Sad. I was looking forward to showing him the vehicle buried in the backyard (his comment was that I may have found Jimmy Hoffa).

Suzy the Suzuki is still at the old house. On a visit in February, I think, the first time all winter that she wasn't buried in snow, The Hunk and I started her. I was pleased that she started right up with no hesitation, but then she started blowing gray smoke out of the vents, something was burning, so I turned her off. We checked for beasty nests in the engine compartment, but didn't find anything obvious. I need to get her down here. My cars still all have NY plates. I've got to get them inspected and registered here, but I don't want to do that until they're all here, because otherwise it will complicate the insurance. BUT, Hal is due for inspection this month! Ack.

The Hunk and I had discussed my going back with him on Friday evening, then I can spend two days working at the old house and get Suzy into the shop on Monday, and then bring her back. BUT, that doesn't work because that leaves me stranded at the old house with no car until Suzy is fixed, and there's no guarantee on that. Plus, Hercules goes back to work on Monday, and I had promised Daughter I'd be here to help when she's suddenly alone with the baby.

It would be best if I could drive myself up there this week and arrange for Suzy's fixing now, and then, assuming she's ready to go by Tuesday, I could go back with The Hunk after his class on Monday, and drive Suzy back here Tuesday. BUT I have the urologist's appointment tomorrow, and I don't know what will happen then.

If I don't go back with The Hunk on Monday, I won't be able to bring Suzy down until Piper and his daughter visit and I can go back up with them.

I've got a feeling that somehow this is going to end up involving either a rental car or an insurance mess.

Seems like nothing is going smoothly these days. All these nit-pickin' minnow nibbles --- and I still have the big "unmentioned" problem that's going nowhere.
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3168 Life is what happens when you're not looking

Saturday, February 19, 2011

The philosophy of the school room in one generation
will be the philosophy of government in the next.
-- Abraham Lincoln --

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Got this one from my sister - Homemade Implants:


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I haven't been here in a few days. Haven't really been keeping up with others' blogs, either. I guess I've been busy.

Thursday evening I drove northwest to have dinner with the Southern Orange Mensa sub-group. It was supposed to be a 1.5 hour drive, but it took two because I followed the GPS, and he took me down tiny roads, through areas with traffic lights every quarter mile, during rush hour, finishing up with a narrow winding road through the mountains, in the dark. It took two harrowing hours, which, given the route and time of day, was pretty good time. I don't think I'll use the GPS for that trip any more. I'll go north on the highways, then ask his opinion just for the cut over to the west.

After leaving there, I drove northeast another 1.25 hours to the old house.

On Friday I filled more bags and boxes to throw out, recycle, sell, and bring back here. It's still pretty overwhelming. I visited Piper and his daughter at their office before heading back here. Piper was pretty low. His favorite sister had gone into the hospital for surgery in early January, and picked up a MRSA infection that rapidly shut down organs, starting with her kidneys. It's been touch and go since then.

He'd gotten the call Thursday afternoon that she had maybe 48 hours, so he and his niece were wait-listed on a flight to Florida early Saturday morning. Holiday weekend. Bad for travel. Piper's elderly mother is in poor health, and the family had not told her that her daughter was so ill, hoping for a miracle to make it unnecessary, so now Piper is worried about what this will do to his mother.

And, as if all that isn't enough, it looks like his housemate may be having a recurrence of breast cancer.

Not a good week for Piper.

We went to the diner for coffee, and ended up eating an early dinner.

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Just before meeting with Piper, as I was putting the last things into the car, The Hunk came barreling up the driveway. (It's funny, but whenever I see him driving up, he looks like a Mountie.) We talked for a while. It might have been longer, but I had to head down to Peter's office.

Anyway, the Suzy the Suzuki is still there, and he suggested that I start her. I haven't started her on the last few visits because she's been pretty much buried in snow. So, we stomped down the snow on the passenger side so we could get the door open, and I crawled across and started her. Good Girl! She started right up!

Then she started blowing smoke into the passenger cabin. Nothing coming out from under the hood, but definite smoke inside. Turned her off, checked under the hood, nothing burning. Gave it up for now. Next trip north we'll have to figure it out. Maybe a mouse nest in the heater? A belt rubbing? Whatever....

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Today I've been sorting and laundering and distributing what I brought back last night. Went out for lunch with Daughter. Trying to catch up with email, news, and blogs. The online Mensa groups have been buzzing all week with the Watson/Jeopardy thing. And having missed the first of this season's Survivor I had to watch it online.

Life goes on. I play catch up.
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2911 The car has been ordered.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

"Actions lie louder than words."
-- Carolyn Wells --

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I've ordered my car.

I went to the dealership yesterday. I wanted a 2010 model, I'd like to have it in mid-April and I asked what's the procedure for getting the colors and options I want. The salesman said it would be a bit difficult to get exactly what I want in a 2010, because March is the last production month for the 2010, the last 2010 custom orders were placed in February, as of April they're building the 2011s, so they'd have to find my 2010 on a lot somewhere, and they may or may not be able to find exactly what I want.

I want exactly what I want.

So I'm getting a 2011. Arrival before mid-May.

Which is not exactly what I want, but at least that's more acceptable than the wrong colors or wrong options.

(Gee, remember when the model years started in January of that year? I was surprised when the next year's cars started showing up in November.)

Then we started talking price. Unfortunately, he didn't have the MSRP or invoice numbers for the 2011 models yet. (Neither did Edmonds.com.)

Terms:
MSRP - what the manufacturer thinks the car should sell for, but only naifs actually pay.
Invoice - what the dealer pays the manufacturer for the car. The difference between what you pay and invoice is the dealer's profit.
TMV - "True Market Value", what Edmonds calls the average price actually paid for the car in your zip code. Usually significantly below MSRP, a little above invoice.

So then we started talking price. I told him I'd gotten the TMV from Edmonds, and expected to pay that much for the 2010, and in that general ballpark for the 2011. He freaked. He started talking about 7% profit "built in", and was running numbers rapidly, very confusingly. I wasn't sure what that 7% was on, derived from, it didn't make any sense. It especially didn't make sense because 7% of the invoice price, added to the invoice price, was WAY over the MSRP.

Finally I said, "Look, it doesn't much matter, because we're using the wrong numbers for this car anyway. We really ought to just agree on how much I will pay over invoice. Period. Simple." The Edmonds numbers showed X dollars over invoice as the average, so I said, "I'll pay Y dollars over invoice, assuming you can show me the invoice". He didn't like that at all. It was too close to TMV. His face got red. He continued trying for closer to MSRP.

At that point, a woman who had made an appointment to pick up a car arrived (I'd hadn't called before coming in), and he went off to help her. When he came back, he said, "Ok. Y dollars over invoice." I guess he realized he couldn't write a contract without the actual numbers. I said I wanted it in writing, so after a visit to the financial office, he came back and said the contract could be written that way. It would actually say "Y dollars over invoice" as the total price for the car (plus tax, and registration).

And a few minutes later, that's what came out of the financial office, and I signed it, and made a $500 security payment.

There may be another small battle when I see the invoice numbers. I expect to see the wholesale price of the car and my chosen options, and a destination charge, and nothing else. No prep charges, no advertising charges, no other padding. Edmonds says some dealers try to pad with stuff like that, and you don't have to pay it.

I'm a little disappointed that I won't get it before May, but April is buggy and rainy anyway, so ok.

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Suzy has some booboos on her front bumper (I think someone must have backed into her in a parking space) and the gas cap door hinge is broken. Her bumper is plastic or rubber or something, and it's cracked and broken. If I want to sell her (haven't decided yet) I'll need to get that fixed. So I stopped by at a body shop and got an estimate. It came out to $1,090. I paid $9000 for her four years ago, when she was already three years old with 32,000 miles on her, and her blue book value now is only $3,400.

It doesn't seem worth fixing her.

She has 81,000 miles now, and other than her broken nose she's in terrific health, inside and out.

Maybe I'll just keep her. Maybe a duct tape girdle inside the bumper will make her feel better.
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1104 Got the Sheets!

Saturday February 03, 2007

The Aerio started just fine on Friday morning, and more importantly, on the drive to the dealer's the horrible grating sound in the wheel well, the cause of her having been parked for the past three months, was gone. She ran just fine. They looked her all over anyway, and found nothing wrong. The tech suggested that maybe a stone or something had gotten up in there, and finally got worn down enough to fall out. So I had a regular 5,000/20,000 mile service done. Three hours. No charge for diagnosis. Oil change free. $160 of other stuff done.

Then I went looking for sheets - two king flats and two queen flats, at least 360 thread count, to make envelope covers (duvets) for the featherbed and the comforter.

Every store had sets, but no packages of single sheets in 300 or higher thread count at a reasonable price. Three stores later I ended up in Marshalls, where they had no queens, but they did have king flats. I bought four 400 count king flats for a total (including tax) of $66. That's $33 plus a little time on the sewing machine per custom-fitted duvet. I think that was pretty durn good.
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786 I Bought a Car

Monday, July 10, 2006

Busy day today. I got up early, drove to Mr. T.'s, picked up the minivan and drove it to the Chrysler-Dodge dealer's, talked to the service folks there, and then read my book for an hour until one of their people could give me a ride back to Mr. T.'s.

Then I stopped in at Piper's office to get some advice about what I could afford to pay for another car, but he wasn't in yet, so I went to the cafe down the block and had a late breakfast. Saw Piper's car arrive, called him, he said come on in, so I did. We ended up back at the same cafe for coffee (& tea).

He: "You can afford any new car you want. Why are you looking at used cars?"
Me: "Because I fully intend to buy a new car in a year or two, but when I do, I want to really research it. Test drive a lot. Talk to people. That takes more time than I have now."
He: "You don't have the time now? What's the rush?"
Me: "I don't want to keep paying rental car prices, and there's no guarantee when the minivan will be fixed. And I'm going to Orlando in early August, and I want something reliable to drive to the airport in Newark. I need something NOW. I'm essentially BUYING this flippin' rental car, and they STILL want me to give it back someday! I may as well buy a car I can resell later."

So he's cutting a check for me.

He asked exactly when my flight is, and it so happens he has meetings scheduled that afternoon near the airport, so he offered me a ride down. I said thank you, but I still have to get back home, and the long term parking isn't expensive, I don't mind driving. So when he went back to his office this afternoon, he rescheduled some other meetings so he can pick me up after the return flight, too. Very nice of him. It's only now, sitting here alone, that I remember that the last few times we've had lunch someplace we had to drive to, I drove, because his driving scares me. And I don't scare that easily!

Daughter, don't scold me, "You're leading him on!" He offered as a friend, and I accepted as a friend. He knows the score. I've often been told that I don't accept gifts or offers of help gracefully. I'm trying.

After leaving Piper, I went across the river to the Subaru/Suzuki dealer, and looked again at the used Suzuki Aerio sedan. I test drove it. It's a good thing I had read the reviews yesterday, so I was prepared for the strange steering (hard to describe - tight, and it doesn't feel connected to the wheels) and the way it revs very high before shifting. From what I'd read, I know that's normal for this model. The steering takes some getting used to, and it revs high until it's well warmed up. The speedometer is a digital readout instead of a needle on a dial, and it took me about 30 seconds to decide I really really do like that. You don't have to visually/mentally process it when you look at it.

I asked if the car was local (thinking "no Katrina car, thank you") and if the service records were available. The salesman wasn't sure where the car came from, but then he found the folder, and the car was originally purchased new from them, all the major service was done by them, and the previous owner is well known - he buys a new car every three years (when the "everything else" warranty runs out). I believe him. It still has the drivetrain warranty, so if there are major problems he's not mentioning, it's their problem. So far so good.

I bought it.

It's a bit funny looking - like a cross between a sedan, an SUV, and a tank. Here's a picture of a 2003 Suzuki Aerio sedan. Mine's white, with barely visible sparkles in the paint. Four door. CD player. A/C. Power everything. About 36,480 miles on it. Four years remaining on the drivetrain warranty, and I also bought a one-year extension on the "everything else" warranty. Back seats (split) fold down if you want to put long stuff in the trunk. Nice clean gray suede-like upholstery. No evidence of any bodywork or replaced glass. Less than $9,000.

I asked the sales manager why they were selling it for less than the Blue Book value, and he looked stunned for a moment, then waved his arm at the used car lot, and said "We're mainly a new car dealer. We get a LOT of trade-ins. We gotta sell 'em. We're not losing money on the sale...." (Note to self - If I ever buy a new car there, drive a hard deal on the trade-in value they'll allow me. There's apparently some negotiating room.)

They'll handle financing (I plan to pay it off as soon as Piper's check arrives, so I don't care what rate they get, and NYS doesn't allow penalties for early payment), registration, plates, insurance, etc. I get to pick it up Wednesday, at noon, all legal and ready to go.

When I got home, there was a message on the phone from the Chrysler/Dodge shop regarding the minivan. It will be finished and ready to go tomorrow. Duh? I called them back "right quick I tell ya what!"

He: "The front brake rotors are pitted and it needs new spark plugs."
Me: "Ok. No problem. I did feel a pull in the brakes. And the hesitation-stalling-check engine light problem?"
He: "That's the O2 sensor. The connections were bent."
Me: "The O2 sensor? Which one?"
He: "The same one that's been replaced twice already. It looks like when somebody put one in, they forced it, jammed it in, and it bent the connections. So the computer was getting intermittent bad data, and was feeding the engine based on bad data, and that's what was causing the hesitation and stalling, and the check engine lights. We just straightened out the connections. No charge."
Me: "And this is going to fix everything?"
He: "Yup. 'Course you'll have to drive it a bit to make sure, but those bent connections were definitely a problem."

The latest O2 sensor was installed by the second-choice service station, remember? The guys I forced to honor the warranty and do it free. If this DOES fix the problem, you can bet they're going to hear about it. I guess that's the automotive equivalent of spitting in my food.