Did you know that we've had Josh's new car for 3 weeks now and we still don't know how to work the radio presets? Sad. But true.
Did you know that 3 days camping = 4 days recovering?
Did you know that Tommy crawls everywhere and feels the need to "walk" at least 10 miles per day? All 10 miles happening just up and down the hall while he holds my two fingers. It might be the cutest thing ever.
Did you know that our tomato plants survived our vacation? Lucky plants.
Did you know that having a missionary means a totally different thing now than it did 5 years ago? The e-mails to Josh's two younger brothers are NOTHING like my e-mails to "my" missionary when I was 19.
Did you know that Bubba is Tommy's new nickname? Josh is still clinging to "Smurf" but I've solidly moved on to Bubba.
Did you know that every episode of Seinfeld has a Superman in it somewhere? That might be a lie, I haven't personally verified it. Have you?
Did you know that Josh starts the full-time hard-core nursing program at SLCC this week? I predict that 1 of us will have an emotional breakdown before the end of the semester.
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
I used to drive a station wagon
I learned how to drive in an '85 station wagon which we affectionately called "Big Brown". Because it was big. And brown. The wood paneling on the outside was.....stunning? no. beautiful? no. Trendy? no. (certainly not in 2001 and probably not even in 1985.) Unique? yes.
The seat belts were so old they didn't adjust...they were stiff and crusty and it took my dad's strength to move them.
The "hump" in the middle was mostly useless, but I do remember a time in my life that "sitting on the hump" was cool. Was that even legal? Probably not, but my parents were the essence of rebellious.
The "way back" was only cool to ride in until I was about 12. By the time I was driving Big Brown the way back was just cool to talk about. "Yeah? Well the back of my car folds down to a bed...what does yours do?"
Big Brown was no competition for Kolbein's convertible Rabbit like this (ever seen a couch fit in a Rabbit? I have.), or Ashley's Miata. But it did have 4 wheels, and it never got lost in the mall parking lot.
Plus it served as great training for driving a Costco cart with a carseat on top.
Yesterday Thomas & I went to Costco - all by ourselves! Thank you thank you.
Did you know that going to Costco doesn't always require waiting in line for 20 minutes? Sometimes there is a checkstand with an open conveyer belt, just waiting for you to haul all 50 pounds of your laundry detergent on it.
Sometimes there's a parking spot close to the building.
Sometimes you can stop in the middle of an aisle to get something off a shelf without getting run over!
Sometimes the free sample ladies are waiting for people to take their stuff instead of people crowding around waiting for them to make their stuff.
It's just that none of these time are on Saturday. The things my mother never taught me..... tsk. tsk.
We did pretty good considering the situation. "Pretty good" meaning I didn't run over any little kids, and only ran into 1 old lady and "the situation" meaning I couldn't see anything over the carseat which (when mounted on top of the tank sized "cart") was taller than I am.
I'm afraid that the new and improved Costco (with parking spaces, room in the aisles and plenty of free samples) might be my new hangout....now if only I can get out for under $100.
The seat belts were so old they didn't adjust...they were stiff and crusty and it took my dad's strength to move them.
The "hump" in the middle was mostly useless, but I do remember a time in my life that "sitting on the hump" was cool. Was that even legal? Probably not, but my parents were the essence of rebellious.
The "way back" was only cool to ride in until I was about 12. By the time I was driving Big Brown the way back was just cool to talk about. "Yeah? Well the back of my car folds down to a bed...what does yours do?"
Big Brown was no competition for Kolbein's convertible Rabbit like this (ever seen a couch fit in a Rabbit? I have.), or Ashley's Miata. But it did have 4 wheels, and it never got lost in the mall parking lot.
Plus it served as great training for driving a Costco cart with a carseat on top.
Yesterday Thomas & I went to Costco - all by ourselves! Thank you thank you.
Did you know that going to Costco doesn't always require waiting in line for 20 minutes? Sometimes there is a checkstand with an open conveyer belt, just waiting for you to haul all 50 pounds of your laundry detergent on it.
Sometimes there's a parking spot close to the building.
Sometimes you can stop in the middle of an aisle to get something off a shelf without getting run over!
Sometimes the free sample ladies are waiting for people to take their stuff instead of people crowding around waiting for them to make their stuff.
It's just that none of these time are on Saturday. The things my mother never taught me..... tsk. tsk.
We did pretty good considering the situation. "Pretty good" meaning I didn't run over any little kids, and only ran into 1 old lady and "the situation" meaning I couldn't see anything over the carseat which (when mounted on top of the tank sized "cart") was taller than I am.
I'm afraid that the new and improved Costco (with parking spaces, room in the aisles and plenty of free samples) might be my new hangout....now if only I can get out for under $100.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Long Weekend
You know the crazies who go shopping on Black Friday? How they swarm to every big store on the planet, and they swear they getting deals making it totally worth waking up at 2am and camping out on the sidewalk?
You know how they don't stop for anything no matter how tired, grouchy, or hungry they are?
You know how the rest of us look at those people with pity and we don't even wanna hear about the great deals they got because we think that no price it too high for NOT having to fight those crowds?
Well, I think we might be the camping equivalent of hardcore-black-friday-shoppers because we (along with 99% of the state of Utah) went camping for Memorial Day.
The 1% of you who slept in your normal beds, plan to see a movie on Monday, and don't currently smell like smoke are really missing out. I mean really.
Wanna know what made this particular camping trip so great?
Nate & Wendy went up early on Friday to get us a great spot. Trees for shade, fire pit, close to the road so we could carry in all of our heavy gear, far from the road so you don't feel like everybody can see you, a place over the hill for the boys to shoot stuff and throw sharp things. It was beautiful. Seriously beautiful.
After spending Friday night there, and most of Saturday, we migrated down the canyon to the world's most beautiful picnic site.
The picnic table and firre pit were RIGHT by the river, I mean RIGHT by the river. There were trees growing out of the middle of the river and a picnic table in the middle too. We chose not to use that one because when Wendy and I stuck our feet in, they ached because the water was so cold.
We at our yummy dutch oven food, built more fires, played more cards (ever played Rodrigo? you should) and more Yahtzee. Good times. We finished our picnic in the rain, and packed up to come home at about 8:00.
Things that made it slightly less than perfect?
Nate & Wendy's car got broken into. Window smashed in, but nothing missing. The nice man from the Sherriff's station came to take pictures & write up a report. Bummer for them. But, in Nate's words "of all the times/ways for our car to be broken into, this was great!" he has the week off work, so he doens't have to worry about when he'll get it fixed. And nothing was missing, so really it's just a matter of getting the insurance to cover it. I would've been much more peeved than he was...he's cool like that.
If you were the person who smashed in the car window, I gotta say, you really missed on this one. You forgot to steal stuff. Not the 80 GB iPod, none of the 50+ movies, not the pair of Oakley sunglasses, or even 1 cent of the $3.00 in change. You really should work on your thieving skills.
Since it rained on Saturday night, we packed up, went home and had a sleepover at their house. Where the games & good times continued.
We had a fabulous weekend, came home on Sunday night, have already put away the camping stuff, done most of the laundry AND taken naps. I've been swimming twice (so far) today and we're going to finally plant our tomato and squash buckets today. Thank goodness we had the day off today because I'm beat!
You know how they don't stop for anything no matter how tired, grouchy, or hungry they are?
You know how the rest of us look at those people with pity and we don't even wanna hear about the great deals they got because we think that no price it too high for NOT having to fight those crowds?
Well, I think we might be the camping equivalent of hardcore-black-friday-shoppers because we (along with 99% of the state of Utah) went camping for Memorial Day.
The 1% of you who slept in your normal beds, plan to see a movie on Monday, and don't currently smell like smoke are really missing out. I mean really.
Wanna know what made this particular camping trip so great?
Nate & Wendy went up early on Friday to get us a great spot. Trees for shade, fire pit, close to the road so we could carry in all of our heavy gear, far from the road so you don't feel like everybody can see you, a place over the hill for the boys to shoot stuff and throw sharp things. It was beautiful. Seriously beautiful.
That's Josh, also our "gear" yes, we could have lived there for days. Thanks for asking.
Do-rag courtesy of Nate. You should all thank him so you don't have to see my hair...yikes.
Nothin' like a good card game on the cooler.
After spending Friday night there, and most of Saturday, we migrated down the canyon to the world's most beautiful picnic site.
The picnic table and firre pit were RIGHT by the river, I mean RIGHT by the river. There were trees growing out of the middle of the river and a picnic table in the middle too. We chose not to use that one because when Wendy and I stuck our feet in, they ached because the water was so cold.
We at our yummy dutch oven food, built more fires, played more cards (ever played Rodrigo? you should) and more Yahtzee. Good times. We finished our picnic in the rain, and packed up to come home at about 8:00.
Things that made it slightly less than perfect?
Nate & Wendy's car got broken into. Window smashed in, but nothing missing. The nice man from the Sherriff's station came to take pictures & write up a report. Bummer for them. But, in Nate's words "of all the times/ways for our car to be broken into, this was great!" he has the week off work, so he doens't have to worry about when he'll get it fixed. And nothing was missing, so really it's just a matter of getting the insurance to cover it. I would've been much more peeved than he was...he's cool like that.
If you were the person who smashed in the car window, I gotta say, you really missed on this one. You forgot to steal stuff. Not the 80 GB iPod, none of the 50+ movies, not the pair of Oakley sunglasses, or even 1 cent of the $3.00 in change. You really should work on your thieving skills.
Since it rained on Saturday night, we packed up, went home and had a sleepover at their house. Where the games & good times continued.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Debt Free
There aren’t very many things my handsome handsome husband isn’t good at. There just aren’t. He’s good at talking to people. He’s good at throwing a football. He’s good at building stuff. He’s good at breaking stuff. He’s good at learning things. He’s good at listening. He’s good at listening. He’s good at being serious and being funny. He’s good at reaching things up high (not because he’s tall, but because he’s not scared of climbing on the cupboards). And of course, he’s good at opening pickle jars. He’s not afraid of things, and he has zero “too shy to try” in him.
However, there’s one thing he’s REALLY bad at….and it’s starting to rub off on me. It’s debt. And anything involving monthly payments. He can't handle it. At all.
When we were dating he had saved up money to buy a truck. Since he was raised in a home that preached zero-tolerance for debt, he had zero credit. Since he was dating me, and I was working at Fair Credit Foundation, I told him that even though it was good to be debt-free, it was not good to be 30-years old and unable to get a home loan because he’d never built up any credit.
He accepted my advice, but couldn’t quite go all the way with the “get a loan” principle. He talked to his credit union (where’s he’s banked since he was 10) and told them his dilemma. He had no credit, and he needed some. He asked if he could pretty please have an unnecessary loan for his car so he could build his credit. He promised he’d pay it back.
The loan officer suggested that he take out a loan for the vehicle, but instead of using the car as collateral (which they wouldn’t give him a loan for…..BECAUSE he had zero debt) they’d use his money as collateral. So, he took out a loan for $5,000 against the $5,000 sitting in his savings account. The interest on the loan was less than the interest they paid him on his money, so it wasn’t as stupid as it sounds. They set him up with a payment book and he had a due date for his payments and everything. The best part of it all is that he was building credit by making a monthly payment.
He probably only made 3 or 4 payments before calling the bank and telling them he just wanted to pay it off. He was done building credit. He was done writing checks to himself, and he was done living “in debt”. He really couldn’t handle it, he hated it.
Fortunately that was enough to get his credit built up enough for a small credit card, which he used only for gas and paid in full every 4 or 5 days (he couldn’t let it go a whole week…he hates debt).
When he decided to go to massage school, he almost died when he signed the papers for the student loan (which didn’t have any interest for another 2 years).
We'd been married for 3 months when he informed me that "doubling my car payment was taking too long" and that we would be quadrupling it for the next year so we wouldn't owe any money on it. Seriously.
When we bought our house I had to put a wet washcloth on his head in the office of our Title Lady so he wouldn’t pass out. (OK, that’s a lie, but he really was freaking out. And I did have to get him a bottle of water….)
Anyway, the point is that he hates debt. He hates monthly payments. He hates owing people money. And he hates feeling like the money he’s making is already spent. It’s not such a bad quality really. In fact, given the other extreme, I’d pick his brand of insanity any day of the week.
The best part about it, is that this week we were looking at his student loan statement, and our bank statement, and decided we were done making payments on student loans. I’m tired of watching the balance shrink by such a miniscule amount every month. I’m tired of remembering to pay it every month. We’re both “sooo over” the whole loan. So, this month we took our CD which just came due and paid off the loans. We are (once again) debt free with the exception of our house.
This might be a bigger day than yesterday …..nah, not quite.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sing like a girl....
I used to have this friend, we’ll call her Carly, because that was her name. She and I were inseparable, and did everything together. That meant that I also got to know her parents pretty well – because I practically lived at their house. They were so good to me….it’s a wonder they didn’t boot me out on my ear or make me pay them rent.
Carly’s dad, we’ll call him Joe, because that was his name, had this fantastic habit of making up new lyrics to songs. And he’d sing along with the radio pretty much all the time. He was the cool dad. In fact, he was so cool that when he’d flip through the stations on the radio, if he didn’t find anything he liked, he’d tear the face off the radio (I’m pretty sure they were rich because they had a fancy enough car that the radio face would tear off….I don’t think this was common at the time, but maybe it was common in minivans but not in 1985 station wagons…I didn’t really have anything else to compare with.) and he’d throw it in the backseat. I thought that was cool.
A couple of my favorite that he’d sing were
“Walk Like A Man” by Frankie Vallie, which was now “Walk like a man, sing like a girl…..” and oh! could Joe ‘sing like a girl’. He was so cool.
“Fly” by Sugar Ray changed from “all around the world, statues crumble for me…who knows how long I’ve loved you….I just wanna fly…” to “all around the world, statues crumble ‘neath me…who knows how much I weigh…..I just want some pie…”
“Walk Like A Man” by Frankie Vallie, which was now “Walk like a man, sing like a girl…..” and oh! could Joe ‘sing like a girl’. He was so cool.
“Fly” by Sugar Ray changed from “all around the world, statues crumble for me…who knows how long I’ve loved you….I just wanna fly…” to “all around the world, statues crumble ‘neath me…who knows how much I weigh…..I just want some pie…”
This story really has no relevance except that Pandora just played Walk Like a Man, and now I can’t stop singing like a girl in my head.
Friday, July 4, 2008
That horrible face of regret
This morning I had to fill up my gas tank on the way to work. It's something I really hate doing, but I guess I can't really complain since I only do it like once a month (yes really. I only ever drive to work and Josh drives us everywhere else). When I pulled up to the pump at the Maverik on the corner, I took the only available spot.
Through the pump from me was a nice happy girl who drove an older little Mazda. She stood next to her car watching the pump with a small smile on her face. She was kinda shaking her head to what looked like the beat of the song she was singing to herself. Completely at ease and ready for a good day.
Across the aisle from me was a man who drove some ridiculously large truck. He looked like he was one of those people who looks a lot older than he really is. He had his arms folded up on the bed of his truck, with his chin resting on them. He wore no size of a smile and his head DID NOT beat to any song. He definitely did not look ready for his day. In fact he looked like he was on his way to his own funeral.
This was the poster man for a "gas prices got you down?" commercial. I'm not sure what exactly to advertise with that line - a car, a vacation, a money saving venture. But it certainly needs to be done. And Mr. F-350 will be the star of that commercial. You could see the look in his eyes "I should've listened to my wife when she said I didn't need one THAT big".....yes, maybe it's a commercial for listening to your wife - there aren't enough of those.
So, to Mr. F-350, while I don't fully understand how much it hurts you to fork over $150 just to drive that beast around, I certainly can feel bad for you. But, next time, listen to your wife and spring for the Mazda.
Through the pump from me was a nice happy girl who drove an older little Mazda. She stood next to her car watching the pump with a small smile on her face. She was kinda shaking her head to what looked like the beat of the song she was singing to herself. Completely at ease and ready for a good day.
Across the aisle from me was a man who drove some ridiculously large truck. He looked like he was one of those people who looks a lot older than he really is. He had his arms folded up on the bed of his truck, with his chin resting on them. He wore no size of a smile and his head DID NOT beat to any song. He definitely did not look ready for his day. In fact he looked like he was on his way to his own funeral.
This was the poster man for a "gas prices got you down?" commercial. I'm not sure what exactly to advertise with that line - a car, a vacation, a money saving venture. But it certainly needs to be done. And Mr. F-350 will be the star of that commercial. You could see the look in his eyes "I should've listened to my wife when she said I didn't need one THAT big".....yes, maybe it's a commercial for listening to your wife - there aren't enough of those.
So, to Mr. F-350, while I don't fully understand how much it hurts you to fork over $150 just to drive that beast around, I certainly can feel bad for you. But, next time, listen to your wife and spring for the Mazda.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
My first ticket...
About an hour ago, Josh and were driving on the road that goes from Lake Pointe to Tooele. It's kindof a stupid road. And a long road. And a boring road. And apparently I wasn't paying attention to the driving part of it. That is until I saw the red and blue lights.
Josh and I have different opinions of police men - I like them, Josh.....not so much. So, when I saw the flashing lights, oddly my stomach didn't drop, I didn't get nervous, I didn't "KNOW I was busted", and I didn't even worry about being pulled over.
I quickly pulled my leg off the dashboard (yes, I put my left leg up on the dashboard when I'm driving an automatic....it's comfortable) and moved to the right lane. I just wanted to get out of the way of the guy behind me, so I pulled over into the right lane, and then off the side of the road. THEN I noticed that he was following me. He stopped right behind me. And then for some strange reason - the man got out of his car! It seriously took me a minute to figure out what he was doing.
I looked down at the speedometer (it said 0, which didn't help me at all in my quest to figure out why I was being pulled over). I looked at Josh - who was looking at his computer. I looked at the dashboard to see if there would be any hint there (wouldn't it be cool if there was a little screen that gave you hints. Like "your brake light is out" or "that cop saw your leg up on the dashboard and that's not safe" or "Josh isn't buckled" or "you're going 20 over the speed limit duh"?). Then maybe when he came up I wouldn't have looked so stunned.
"Do you have your license on you tonight?"
"Yep."
"Registration and insurance?"
"Yeah."
I handed over the goods - one at a time. Josh has never been asked for insurance before so he didn't know to grab it with the registration. Weird.
"Where you headed tonight?"
"umm...to visit some friends." I couldn't look at his face when I talked....his face was too close to my car and it kindof freaked me out.
"Any reason you're in such a hurry?"
"I'm actually not in a hurry at all."
"Then why were you speeding?"
"I didn't know I was."
"The speed limit on this road is 60. I clocked you at 78."
"I had no idea I was going that fast, I'm REAL sorry" I did my best attempt at "sad, pathetic, I'm harmless" eyes. Only I couldn't look at him cuz his face was right behind my ear and it freaked me out. It didn't work.
"I'll be right back with you." He lied. He wasn't RIGHT back anywhere.
I think cops intentionally sit in their cars about 20 times longer than necessary. It gives the offending driver longer to figure out why they weren't paying attention. Also, longer to speculate as to whether they get a warning or a ticket. Longer to panic and try to figure out how much exactly 18 mph over the speed limit is going to cost. Longer to apologize and freak out with their passenger. Longer to decide if they really were going that fast.
While he was gone, I kept looking in the rear view mirror - I couldn't have been going that fast, I just came out of a red light! PLUS all the cars around me were going at least as fast as I was. Why did he pull me over? Is that thing they say about red cars true? It must be, because I NEVER get pulled over. Ew. 60 mph? What kind of speed limit is that? This road is like the freeway? There's NOTHING on that road anyway! Geez. 60 mph. That's ridiculous.
This is clearly not my fault for the following reasons. 1) the car is red. I blame Redbox. 2) the road is long - I blame the people in Tooele. 3) the road is boring, I blame the stores that aren't there yet. 4) Josh didn't tell me I was speeding, so technically, HE was the one speeding. 5) I blame Holmes Homes or whoever built Ashley and Jake's house, because if they didn't find such a great house, they wouldn't have moved here anyway. Stupid Holmes homes. 6) The dirty rotten government just changed the speed limit here just to catch me. It's their fault too.
After a LONG time of thinking all of those things - the officer came back with my ticket.When he finally returned, Josh asked him when/where he clocked me, because I had just slowed down at that light. He let us know that it was before the light, it took him a while to get turned around and catch up.
"Slow down and be more careful" he advised me before heading on his way.
"Okay, thanks." I waved when we drove away. Seriously? He should have arrested me right then and there. Who in their right mind thanks an officer for a ticket?
I say stuff like that all the time. Just the wrong canned response at the wrong time.
I'm passing someone I don't know on the sidewalk.
"Hey." the do the little parakeet nod.
"Fine thanks, how are you?" I respond. They don't really care how I am - if they did, they'd ask. Actually even if they didn't they'd ask anyway, so the fact that they didn't ask, clearly means they REALLY don't care.
The lady at the drive through window.
"Thanks for choosing Arby's."
"See ya later!" I bounce back. Am I really going to see them later? I hope not, and if I do I hope I don't recognize them....how often do I go to Arby's anyway? Not that often.
After talking to someone on the phone
"I'd better get going I have to ______."
"Yeah, it's good to see you too." I respond
And probably the worst.
"Here's your ticket, don't forget to show up in court, you have to pay between 5 and 14 days later, otherwise they'll issue a warrant for your arrest. Also you probably have to come back to Tooele to go to traffic school. Enjoy the drive, and don't speed again. Good luck paying the 10 million dollars, and I hope the extra 25 minutes I just took from your evening didn't disrupt your plans too much."
"Okay. Thanks." Like I really appreciate that. Oh please!
Anyway, I'm no longer in the "I've been pulled over tons, and never gotten a ticket" club. And I blame Redbox....and the government.
Josh and I have different opinions of police men - I like them, Josh.....not so much. So, when I saw the flashing lights, oddly my stomach didn't drop, I didn't get nervous, I didn't "KNOW I was busted", and I didn't even worry about being pulled over.
I quickly pulled my leg off the dashboard (yes, I put my left leg up on the dashboard when I'm driving an automatic....it's comfortable) and moved to the right lane. I just wanted to get out of the way of the guy behind me, so I pulled over into the right lane, and then off the side of the road. THEN I noticed that he was following me. He stopped right behind me. And then for some strange reason - the man got out of his car! It seriously took me a minute to figure out what he was doing.
I looked down at the speedometer (it said 0, which didn't help me at all in my quest to figure out why I was being pulled over). I looked at Josh - who was looking at his computer. I looked at the dashboard to see if there would be any hint there (wouldn't it be cool if there was a little screen that gave you hints. Like "your brake light is out" or "that cop saw your leg up on the dashboard and that's not safe" or "Josh isn't buckled" or "you're going 20 over the speed limit duh"?). Then maybe when he came up I wouldn't have looked so stunned.
"Do you have your license on you tonight?"
"Yep."
"Registration and insurance?"
"Yeah."
I handed over the goods - one at a time. Josh has never been asked for insurance before so he didn't know to grab it with the registration. Weird.
"Where you headed tonight?"
"umm...to visit some friends." I couldn't look at his face when I talked....his face was too close to my car and it kindof freaked me out.
"Any reason you're in such a hurry?"
"I'm actually not in a hurry at all."
"Then why were you speeding?"
"I didn't know I was."
"The speed limit on this road is 60. I clocked you at 78."
"I had no idea I was going that fast, I'm REAL sorry" I did my best attempt at "sad, pathetic, I'm harmless" eyes. Only I couldn't look at him cuz his face was right behind my ear and it freaked me out. It didn't work.
"I'll be right back with you." He lied. He wasn't RIGHT back anywhere.
I think cops intentionally sit in their cars about 20 times longer than necessary. It gives the offending driver longer to figure out why they weren't paying attention. Also, longer to speculate as to whether they get a warning or a ticket. Longer to panic and try to figure out how much exactly 18 mph over the speed limit is going to cost. Longer to apologize and freak out with their passenger. Longer to decide if they really were going that fast.
While he was gone, I kept looking in the rear view mirror - I couldn't have been going that fast, I just came out of a red light! PLUS all the cars around me were going at least as fast as I was. Why did he pull me over? Is that thing they say about red cars true? It must be, because I NEVER get pulled over. Ew. 60 mph? What kind of speed limit is that? This road is like the freeway? There's NOTHING on that road anyway! Geez. 60 mph. That's ridiculous.
This is clearly not my fault for the following reasons. 1) the car is red. I blame Redbox. 2) the road is long - I blame the people in Tooele. 3) the road is boring, I blame the stores that aren't there yet. 4) Josh didn't tell me I was speeding, so technically, HE was the one speeding. 5) I blame Holmes Homes or whoever built Ashley and Jake's house, because if they didn't find such a great house, they wouldn't have moved here anyway. Stupid Holmes homes. 6) The dirty rotten government just changed the speed limit here just to catch me. It's their fault too.
After a LONG time of thinking all of those things - the officer came back with my ticket.When he finally returned, Josh asked him when/where he clocked me, because I had just slowed down at that light. He let us know that it was before the light, it took him a while to get turned around and catch up.
"Slow down and be more careful" he advised me before heading on his way.
"Okay, thanks." I waved when we drove away. Seriously? He should have arrested me right then and there. Who in their right mind thanks an officer for a ticket?
I say stuff like that all the time. Just the wrong canned response at the wrong time.
I'm passing someone I don't know on the sidewalk.
"Hey." the do the little parakeet nod.
"Fine thanks, how are you?" I respond. They don't really care how I am - if they did, they'd ask. Actually even if they didn't they'd ask anyway, so the fact that they didn't ask, clearly means they REALLY don't care.
The lady at the drive through window.
"Thanks for choosing Arby's."
"See ya later!" I bounce back. Am I really going to see them later? I hope not, and if I do I hope I don't recognize them....how often do I go to Arby's anyway? Not that often.
After talking to someone on the phone
"I'd better get going I have to ______."
"Yeah, it's good to see you too." I respond
And probably the worst.
"Here's your ticket, don't forget to show up in court, you have to pay between 5 and 14 days later, otherwise they'll issue a warrant for your arrest. Also you probably have to come back to Tooele to go to traffic school. Enjoy the drive, and don't speed again. Good luck paying the 10 million dollars, and I hope the extra 25 minutes I just took from your evening didn't disrupt your plans too much."
"Okay. Thanks." Like I really appreciate that. Oh please!
Anyway, I'm no longer in the "I've been pulled over tons, and never gotten a ticket" club. And I blame Redbox....and the government.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
1 more reason I love Redbox
No, that's not us, it's not our table, and that's probably not in Salt Lake City; but the fact that Josh got a call on Friday from the Dodge dealership asking him when he could come in to pick up his 2008 Dodge Nitro and we picked it up first thing Monday morning is the latest reason that I love Redbox. I have never in my life driven a car with only 280 miles on it (yes, that's 280, not 280,000 or even 28,000. Just 280. That's all. Anyway, we've been sharing a car for almost a full year now, and we're both ready for the freedom and independence that comes with having your own car. So, THANK YOU REDBOX!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Railroad Crossing - look out for the cars!
This morning I had the scariest driving experience of my entire life. I've done some stupid things while driving, more than I'd care to admit actually, but this was BY FAR the stupidest.
To get to our house we have to cross like 10 gajillion sets of train tracks. OK, maybe it's only 4, but it feels closer to 10 gajillion. The first 3 sets all have arms that come down when a train is coming (which is surprisingly often). The set farthest West (and thereby closest to our house) has no arm - just a measly "Railroad Crossing" sign.
For the first few weeks we did the drive, we whined about the trains – I swear they ONLY came when we were trying to get through. Now I kindof count on them, so I can finish putting on my makeup in the car while I wait for them to come (bad I know…) A couple of weeks ago, I realized that there is 1 set of tracks that has no arms, no lights, no warnings if there is a train coming. Thinking that was odd – I asked Josh what the law is in that situation.
“Well, you should probably look both ways before you cross.”
“Is that the law though?” I asked.
“I don’t know, school buses stop.” As if that answered my question – just because a school bus does it, doesn’t mean it’s the law. Seriously, if I stopped on every residential corner and put a bunch of kids in my vehicle, I’d be charged with kidnapping. If we all did things just because the school bus does, we’d be in a lot of trouble. But, being the kind, generous, forgiving, non-condemning person that I am, I accepted that as an answer. For 2 whole trips we both stopped (or at least slowed) before crossing the tracks. That got old – fast. Now we both just drive right through them.
This morning as we approached the tracks, we were listening to the Book of Mormon and I was enthralled by the story of the Brother of Jared (what a fantastic story! Sometimes I forget that reading is different than telling yourself the story you’ve heard since primary). I also happened to be the one driving. I heard a loud horn, looked in my rearview mirror to see who was honking at me and saw no-one - until I was almost on top of the train tracks. There was a train, RIGHT THERE! And it was moving! Fast!
My foot hesitated over the break, before I quickly changed my mind knowing I couldn’t stop in time. We sailed across the tracks and crossed safely by a fraction of a second.
How on earth we weren’t both killed is beyond me. When I looked up, the train couldn’t have been more than 2 yards away, honking like crazy (duh!) and that was before I had crossed! Josh hadn’t seen the train, I hadn’t seen the train, there was no possible way I could have stopped, and had I gotten there just a second later, we would have been hit. Hard.
I’m sure the people behind me thought I was a complete idiot (“didn’t her mama tell her not to race the trains?” “Being late for work is no excuse for driving like an idiot!”) and they were right, but I truly didn’t see it! I was shaking the rest of the drive in to work. I have to say I got un-enthralled with the Brother of Jared, and re-enthralled with driving.
I’d love to petition the train people to put arms on every intersection. In our situation they could just move the arm out 20 feet and it would include this other track. It seems insane to me that there was literally nothing, absolutely nothing to warn me of the oncoming train. Well, with the exception of the horn – but I couldn’t hear that until I was too close, and couldn’t tell where it was coming from until too late! And why do people even move stuff by train anymore – haven’t they heard of airplanes? Trains are not efficient, and I’m sure it’s bad for the environment, so trains shouldn’t be allowed to run on “red days” in this state anyway. I blame the inventor of the train! And the inventor of stupid Railroad signs that don’t do anything! And the inventor of red days! Until something changes though, I’m going to strive to be more like a school bus – lock up your children.
To get to our house we have to cross like 10 gajillion sets of train tracks. OK, maybe it's only 4, but it feels closer to 10 gajillion. The first 3 sets all have arms that come down when a train is coming (which is surprisingly often). The set farthest West (and thereby closest to our house) has no arm - just a measly "Railroad Crossing" sign.
For the first few weeks we did the drive, we whined about the trains – I swear they ONLY came when we were trying to get through. Now I kindof count on them, so I can finish putting on my makeup in the car while I wait for them to come (bad I know…) A couple of weeks ago, I realized that there is 1 set of tracks that has no arms, no lights, no warnings if there is a train coming. Thinking that was odd – I asked Josh what the law is in that situation.
“Well, you should probably look both ways before you cross.”
“Is that the law though?” I asked.
“I don’t know, school buses stop.” As if that answered my question – just because a school bus does it, doesn’t mean it’s the law. Seriously, if I stopped on every residential corner and put a bunch of kids in my vehicle, I’d be charged with kidnapping. If we all did things just because the school bus does, we’d be in a lot of trouble. But, being the kind, generous, forgiving, non-condemning person that I am, I accepted that as an answer. For 2 whole trips we both stopped (or at least slowed) before crossing the tracks. That got old – fast. Now we both just drive right through them.
This morning as we approached the tracks, we were listening to the Book of Mormon and I was enthralled by the story of the Brother of Jared (what a fantastic story! Sometimes I forget that reading is different than telling yourself the story you’ve heard since primary). I also happened to be the one driving. I heard a loud horn, looked in my rearview mirror to see who was honking at me and saw no-one - until I was almost on top of the train tracks. There was a train, RIGHT THERE! And it was moving! Fast!
My foot hesitated over the break, before I quickly changed my mind knowing I couldn’t stop in time. We sailed across the tracks and crossed safely by a fraction of a second.
How on earth we weren’t both killed is beyond me. When I looked up, the train couldn’t have been more than 2 yards away, honking like crazy (duh!) and that was before I had crossed! Josh hadn’t seen the train, I hadn’t seen the train, there was no possible way I could have stopped, and had I gotten there just a second later, we would have been hit. Hard.
I’m sure the people behind me thought I was a complete idiot (“didn’t her mama tell her not to race the trains?” “Being late for work is no excuse for driving like an idiot!”) and they were right, but I truly didn’t see it! I was shaking the rest of the drive in to work. I have to say I got un-enthralled with the Brother of Jared, and re-enthralled with driving.
I’d love to petition the train people to put arms on every intersection. In our situation they could just move the arm out 20 feet and it would include this other track. It seems insane to me that there was literally nothing, absolutely nothing to warn me of the oncoming train. Well, with the exception of the horn – but I couldn’t hear that until I was too close, and couldn’t tell where it was coming from until too late! And why do people even move stuff by train anymore – haven’t they heard of airplanes? Trains are not efficient, and I’m sure it’s bad for the environment, so trains shouldn’t be allowed to run on “red days” in this state anyway. I blame the inventor of the train! And the inventor of stupid Railroad signs that don’t do anything! And the inventor of red days! Until something changes though, I’m going to strive to be more like a school bus – lock up your children.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
New Car
Josh called and Redbox finally told him that they're going to give him a car. They've been dangling it for a long time and we've been holding off buying a new car because of it. They let him know they were thinking about it - then Josh killed Steve (his old truck). Then they told him that they would make a decision by December 1st. Then they didn't. Then 2 weeks ago they said they'd decide by the first of February. So we've been patiently waiting and sharing a car (which isn't so bad most of the time...) until we know what, if anything, they are going to give him.
Today he called me and told me that they decided to give him one. This is seriously a huge blessing because we've been doing the 1 car thing and trying really hard not to go into debt to buy another car, but really feeling like we need to just do it. I'm tired of sharing rides everywhere, I wish he could go to school and I could go grocery shopping at the same time. I have days that I really feel the need to get out of the office, but I can't because I'm stranded. It's been good for a lot of reasons (not having a car payment being the primary good reason) but it's also been making me crazy. So I'm truly very thankful that they're doing this. Who wouldn't be thankful to get a company car?
He told me it would either be a Dodge Caliber (see below)
Or an HHR. When Josh and I talk I always am in front of my comptuer and often look up things we're talking about as we discus them, so as soon as he said "HHR" I googled it and here is the first picture that popped up.
I laughed. Really hard. I couldn't stop laughing. He laughed at my laugh, then said "they told me that was the sucky car and I should hope for the caliber. What does it look like?" "you have to drive a hurse!" I blurted out as I wiped the tears from my eyes. Oh man, I think it would be HILLARIOUS if he got that car. I will tease him until the day he dies. He laughed too - even thought of opening a hurse business on the side....
Today he called me and told me that they decided to give him one. This is seriously a huge blessing because we've been doing the 1 car thing and trying really hard not to go into debt to buy another car, but really feeling like we need to just do it. I'm tired of sharing rides everywhere, I wish he could go to school and I could go grocery shopping at the same time. I have days that I really feel the need to get out of the office, but I can't because I'm stranded. It's been good for a lot of reasons (not having a car payment being the primary good reason) but it's also been making me crazy. So I'm truly very thankful that they're doing this. Who wouldn't be thankful to get a company car?
He told me it would either be a Dodge Caliber (see below)
Or an HHR. When Josh and I talk I always am in front of my comptuer and often look up things we're talking about as we discus them, so as soon as he said "HHR" I googled it and here is the first picture that popped up.
I laughed. Really hard. I couldn't stop laughing. He laughed at my laugh, then said "they told me that was the sucky car and I should hope for the caliber. What does it look like?" "you have to drive a hurse!" I blurted out as I wiped the tears from my eyes. Oh man, I think it would be HILLARIOUS if he got that car. I will tease him until the day he dies. He laughed too - even thought of opening a hurse business on the side....
Monday, December 31, 2007
The $700 wrong turn
I hate driving in places I'm not familiar with. I also really like having a specific route to every place that I go regularly. To get to work I drive on the exact same roads every day. I like the familiarity of it. I like knowing where I'm going and what the road will do. I like knowing when the right lane is going to go away. I'm just one of those people. I sometimes think that's stupid because what's the worst that can happen? A wrong turn? And who does that hurt? Well, here's my justification.
Josh called today.
"That's it, we're getting a new car. I hate this car, I'm not driving it anymore. We need a truck or an SUV. Something with 4 Wheel Drive. I'm not doing this anymore."
"Calm down. What happened?" I ask, starting to worry. Josh never loses his temper like this.
"I just slid into the curb and the alignment is WAY off and it's shaking like crazy." He says. As calmly as possible, trying not to yell at me.
"Are you OK? Physically OK?" I ask.
"Yes. Just (*&#$^!@%) mad." He refrains from swearing, but I can hear it anyway.
"Take it to the shop and see how much damage we're talking about before we call it quits. Worst case scenario we buy a new car today. I bet we can get a good deal because it's the last day of the month and the last day of the year. We probably need an SUV anyway. So maybe we'll just go buy one. But let's see how much damage first. Can you take it to a shop?"
"mutter mutter grumble grumble. I'll call you when I know something." He grudgingly replies.
Later I found out the whole story. Instead of taking victory road down to Beck street to go North, he took a wrong turn and headed down the neighborhood of death and destruction. The roads hadn't been plowed and they were ice. He was going SLOW (like not even 5 miles an hour) but the roads are SOO steep and slick that he couldn't stop and slammed into the curb.
Fortunately his co-worker rescued him, took him to his meeting, and to the Egbert's house where he was allowed to pick up a car to borrow for a couple of days.
One might say that wrecking 2 cars a year is a lot more than your average person's quota. But I think that it's only fair. Josh drives probably 10-15 times more than the average person. If you figure the Average Number of Hitting Stuff In Cars Incidents (ANHSICI) per hours driven, that means he should have 10-15 times more accidents than your average person per year. So, by this simple formula, 2 wrecks in 1 year is really like 2 wrecks in 10-15 years for your normal person. Not bad. I'd be willing to bed that all of you have done something destructive to your car at least once every 7 years. And that's OK.
For now we're glad to have a car to borrow, and we'll think about replacing my car later. It's all paid for, so we might just buy a new one. But, I HATE to go into more debt than we already have for our house. Plus knowing that we wreck a car twice a year, pretty much means that I don't wanna buy anything too nice. It's just going to get wrecked anyway.
Josh called today.
"That's it, we're getting a new car. I hate this car, I'm not driving it anymore. We need a truck or an SUV. Something with 4 Wheel Drive. I'm not doing this anymore."
"Calm down. What happened?" I ask, starting to worry. Josh never loses his temper like this.
"I just slid into the curb and the alignment is WAY off and it's shaking like crazy." He says. As calmly as possible, trying not to yell at me.
"Are you OK? Physically OK?" I ask.
"Yes. Just (*&#$^!@%) mad." He refrains from swearing, but I can hear it anyway.
"Take it to the shop and see how much damage we're talking about before we call it quits. Worst case scenario we buy a new car today. I bet we can get a good deal because it's the last day of the month and the last day of the year. We probably need an SUV anyway. So maybe we'll just go buy one. But let's see how much damage first. Can you take it to a shop?"
"mutter mutter grumble grumble. I'll call you when I know something." He grudgingly replies.
Later I found out the whole story. Instead of taking victory road down to Beck street to go North, he took a wrong turn and headed down the neighborhood of death and destruction. The roads hadn't been plowed and they were ice. He was going SLOW (like not even 5 miles an hour) but the roads are SOO steep and slick that he couldn't stop and slammed into the curb.
Fortunately his co-worker rescued him, took him to his meeting, and to the Egbert's house where he was allowed to pick up a car to borrow for a couple of days.
One might say that wrecking 2 cars a year is a lot more than your average person's quota. But I think that it's only fair. Josh drives probably 10-15 times more than the average person. If you figure the Average Number of Hitting Stuff In Cars Incidents (ANHSICI) per hours driven, that means he should have 10-15 times more accidents than your average person per year. So, by this simple formula, 2 wrecks in 1 year is really like 2 wrecks in 10-15 years for your normal person. Not bad. I'd be willing to bed that all of you have done something destructive to your car at least once every 7 years. And that's OK.
For now we're glad to have a car to borrow, and we'll think about replacing my car later. It's all paid for, so we might just buy a new one. But, I HATE to go into more debt than we already have for our house. Plus knowing that we wreck a car twice a year, pretty much means that I don't wanna buy anything too nice. It's just going to get wrecked anyway.
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