Current Mood: Happy

On Saturday Lara and I went looking for an HHR to test drive, or a Vibe.  The GM salesperson told us that they didn’t have any HHRs and we wouldn’t find a Vibe anywhere in BC since the next year’s model is coming out.

We went across the street and took a Dodge Caliber out for a drive.  Nice, but bulky.  Lots of room, and a beverage cooler just above the glove compartment! The salesperson asked if we could meet his manager otherwise he’d “get in trouble”, so we went in.  He then started to price us out on one, but I was curious to see how much it would come to since the Caliber was the least expensive on my list.  After a half-hour of him quoting too-high numbers regarding the overstock of Calibers he had on hand with too many options I stood up, pointed at the Caliber for $277/month sticker that was on his window and said, “that, plus air conditioning and automatic.”  Another 15 minutes and we had $325/month after taxes (I wanted no more than $300).  Tired and hungry, we thanked them and left.

The next day we went to another Pontiac dealer closer to Lara’s place on a lark and found that they had a couple Vibes on hand.  We took one out, liked it (sporty and easy to park), and within 2 minutes of returning he had a quote in front of me that was $50 less per month than the Caliber, which is the less expensive vehicle, especially when you consider the Caliber quote was for $2,000 down and the Vibe just $1,000! Dodge, you have been completely outclassed…for shame!

I’ll be picking up my new Vibe tomorrow after work! Vroom!

Current Mood: Confused

I went and test drove a Mazda 5. It has all the amenities of a minivan but drives like a large car. Very roomy and peppy.

The only drawbacks are that it’s the most expensive of the remaining vehicles on my list, the mileage is worst for highway and second-worst for city, and the engine is a bit loud…the latter two things part of the whole “zoom zoom” image Mazda is trying to project. It is a peppy vehicle, and I liked the rain-sensing wipers, but…not enough.

I also dropped by Saturn in Langley on Sunday and…found it closed. No sale for you! I still want to test drive the Astra so I’ll be going to the Richmond Saturn, which is open on Sundays.

Current Mood: Confused

So after a bit of investigation, here’s where we stand (sorry for the formatting problem, but Wordpress doesn’t have many HTML options for font size):

I can’t find any information on the Impreza’s gas consumption, but with the highest monthly cost there’s no point. The Matrix and PT Cruiser are the next highest. I’m surprised about the PT Cruiser’s poor mileage. All 3 go.

Style-wise, I was dithering between the PT Cruiser and HHR; I like those classic lines. Notice that the HHR is now the second-highest priced vehicle remaining on the list and the mileage also isn’t that great? I’ll reserve judgement on it until after a test drive.

Current Mood: Borg-like

I was able to swap out the jack and switch without too much difficulty.  The lock switch was the hardest part, as you have to unscrew the inner switch from a tiny piece that connects to the metal switch on the outside and try to line it all up…very minute parts!

After I was done I found that the lock switch wasn’t working after I got most of it back together, so instead of unscrewing all that again I did a little jiggery-pokery and it’s all working!

It’s alive! ALIVE!

Current Mood: Alarmed

So I replaced the damaged screen on my iPod, all by myself! When I hooked it back together it worked great. Then I tried to listen to it…only one earbud worked. So, I pulled it apart again, reset the headphone ribbon back on the mainboard and tried again…no sound. I tried a half-dozen resets, but nothing. Looks like the ribbon got pinched as I closed the iPod back up.

Back to eBay I go, to find a $6 replacement part (+$16 shipping of course)…

Addendum:   And what should arrive in my e-mailbox just now?  An ad for the new 32 GB iPod Touch.  (drool)

Current Mood: Playful

I’ll be bowling for Big Brothers/Big Sisters on Feb. 29 after work. I would appreciate it if any of my friends could donate a little to help.

Thanks!

Current Mood: Alarmed

So I was getting into Lara’s car the other day.  I was in a bit of a hurry due to the wind and snow so when I got in I wasn’t taking the normal amount of care.  When I closed the door there was something in the way:  the pocket of my jacket…with my iPod Video 30GB in it!

With a sick feeling in my stomach I switched it on.  Sure enough, the screen was cracked, creating a black slash down the left-hand side and blurring the rest of the screen.  It looks like every second horizontal line is missing:

The Future Shop extended warranty (I made sure to get it after my last iPod died just after the basic warranty expired) doesn’t cover accidental damage.  I’ll call Apple, but I get the feeling they’re not going to fix it.

The iPod still works and the case itself is undamaged; it’s just the screen inside.  I won’t be using it for video but it’ll still play audio files fine.  Guess that’ll have to do for now.

Current Mood: Borg-like

I started up my ICQ account waaaay back in the days of dial-up and have used it until a few days ago.  Now I’m getting Russian spam every day, and I’m tired of it.  All my friends are on MSN so I’ll be using just that from now on.

End of an era…

Mood:

Tonight when I got to my ex’s place to take care of the kids Geoffrey asked me to take him to a park. Because they generally eat around 6pm we normally don’t have enough time to do that beforehand, and after dinner it gets dark, we normally can’t.

Dinner was going to be late so I said we could go for a half hour. Because of the limited amount of time I asked if I could leave Emily behind so that Geoffrey could ride his bike there and back. Both Grandpa and Uncle said okay, they would keep an eye on her.

When Geoffrey and I got back almost 45 minutes later, Emily was nowhere to be found. I rushed about the house to see if she perhaps went to have a nap or out to the swings in the back but she was GONE.

I was just starting to freak out when Uncle Steve flagged down a police car. Over a half hour earlier they had picked up a little girl IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET wanting her grandma, but nobody knew who she was. They took her to the police station and had patrolled until they found some frantic parental-looking people. Emily was soon back home, and probably not understanding how absolutely freaked out we all were.

HOLY FUCK. She’s two, and is already showing this level of independence! She was found with her hat, pink rubber boots and a backpack on, about a half block down the street, on the way to the park.

They’re definitely going to set the chain on the door from now on. Good thing they live in such a good neighbourhood!

Mood:
The company I work for is having a fundraising pub night at the Jolly Miller on Friday, Sep. 14 from 6-10pm. It’s $10 to attend and the money is going to help a family at Christmastime. If anyone would like to come please let me know and I’ll get you a ticket (just get me $10 at some point). The ticket includes a burger, salad, fries and a drink, which would cost about that much anyway (if not more), so it’s win-win.