when i'm driving in the car with you, i hope for all the red lights

my horoscope for yesterday: Transportation issues are a fairly big deal for you today, though they aren't anywhere near catastrophic. In fact, you may get a deal on a car or find some way to cut time off of your commute.

seriously, how does it know? how does it know about my car? and that i went car shopping? i test drove two cars: a ford focus and a toyota yaris. i liked both of them. i'm looking to lease a reliable vehicle... one that won't break down every couple of months for no apparent reason. you know. not a lot to ask. i'd rather know that i'm paying a set amount every month for a nice, new working car than not having a car payment but every once in awhile, with no warning, a car that will break down and i'll have to pay an undetermined amount that may or may not fix the problem and then continue driving a ten year old vehicle with dents and scratches, and that could break down at any moment. so yes.

the focus was cool because it had SYNC which is Jetsons style magic where it hooks up with your cell and you can talk and text hands free. it also does directions and music controls and telling you about your car (like running car diagnostics). seriously, i was amazed by that magic but i don't really NEED that so i probably wouldn't pay for it. it was ridiculously cool though and if they offered me a deal i could work with, i'd go for it just because of the magic. but i don't think they will.

the yaris was cute and small and simple. it was nice driving a smaller car - it was easier for me to get a sense of where i was on the road and in terms of parking. i have a hard time with perception in the tank that is the buick and in the vans i've been borrowing. the yaris hasn't gotten amazing reviews but not really bad either. it has awesome fuel economy - like 35 mpg highway. the only thing i didn't really like was well, it didn't have the magic (even though i know i don't need it) and i didn't really like the dashboard. the speedometer and the gas gauge and everything is in the middle of the dash, not right in front of the steering wheel, so i don't notice it as much and i'd like to be able to keep an eye on it while driving... it makes it more difficult to do that.

i still want to check out a few more dealerships and see what they have to offer. it seems like not as many places are leasing any more but that's what i want to do. i'd rather lease a brand new car that i know is reliable for a few years and give it back then worry about financing and buying a car right now. i don't drive that many miles (usually 12,000/yr is the leasing standard and that sounds about right for how i drive) and you can put down less and have smaller monthly payments with a lease then you do when you buy. whatever.

oh, my poor buick. this time they think it's a fuel pump that's causing all the problems. that's an expensive project. i'm not taking it on. i've already thrown more money into that car than it's worth - i'm not spending another dime on it. i'm pretty sure it was purchased for $2500 or so. i've spent over $2000 on repairs and maintenance, and that doesn't include registration, license, insurance, or gas. the kelley blue book trade in value of the car (which i'd say is in "fair" condition) is $663. even if it were in good condition, which it's honestly not with the body damage, rust, and mechanical problems, it would only be at $1150. whatever. in memorium of the car, which is now in the hands of my parents at a repair shop, while i drive my grandparents minivan around town, an ode to my poor buick - a really bad poem:

it was a sunny day in may
parked in my parents driveway
washed and waxed until it shined
a '99 lesabre... and it was all mine.

the side mirror held together by glue
every dent and scratch hard earned
the sound of the door popping a siren
recalling the memories and lessons learned

spilled ice cream from my sisters in the backseat
stones and dirt from a camping trip by the drivers feet
receipts from fast food and gas stations on the turnpike
many miles driven, many roads so alike

all throughout the midwest
down south and through canada, too
florida, maine, new york, PA
the buick has been faithful and true

okay... maybe not so reliable or great.
every few months, a new bad circuit, filter, or brakes
$200 here, $400 there
you never know when it would break down or where

let's remember the good times....
the road trips and laughter
that lasted for 3 and a half years.
now the repairs will be on someone else's dime.

fin.

anyway... enough about cars. i had a dream recently that i went to visit my cousin Lauren in Austin and went to the south by southwest festival. random. it would definitely be something i would like to experience eventually. first of all, i want to check out the whole music festival scene. plus, SXSW is more than just music - it's this huge event. i haven't seen Lauren in forever. i really can't remember the last time i saw her. high school? anyway, it would be good to see her and i've never been to texas - it would be a cool trip. all good reasons to think about checking it out. hmmmm. definitely not a 2010 trip but maybe by 2011 i could swing it.

flight of the conchords on south by southwest...hilarious, as always.


not related but worth noting: there is a fine line between harmless and douchebag. seriously, there are so many types of d-bag but the guys who don't realize that they're douching it up... sometimes i feel kind of bad and want to educate them, like, listen. you're being a dick. you went from nice, good person doing a kind hearted thing to tool. like, i know you aren't wearing an ed hardy/affliction shirt and a cz earring but enough with the jon gosslein act, buddy. i'm thinking of one person in particular who i won't specify because that's rude but i just need to vent. the worst part is the sense of superiority, i think, and the underhanded digs. the more i think about it, it's not that he doesn't realize what he's doing... instead, he thinks he's so cool and so much more smart and smooth that he thinks he's masking his backhanded remarks. and he doesn't see anything wrong with it. he thinks that the person he's talking to needs to hear his hidden message. his lessons of how much working out has kept him young and made him feel better and kept him healthy is such a thin veil for the judgment about whoever he's speaking to own body and workout habits. when he says, "man, when i don't work out, i just start feeling awful and i can tell when i look in the mirror", he means "you should work out. i think you are chubby and you don't fit into my idea of what i find attractive so you should hit the gym. that way, i'll find you sexually attractive and i can have yet another person to inappropriately hit on." yeahhhh. it's just douchey and gross.

on a happier note, taylor swift on SNL this weekend was pretty entertaining. i don't think acting is her calling but she was a good sidekick in terms of helping to compliment the cast. she tweeted tonight about a cool cover of her song "you belong with me" by butch walker - ignore the first 2 minutes and 50 seconds, which is useless. the actual cover starts at 2:50:



speaking of covers, here are 32 songs covered and mashed up in 8 minutes:



dude, mad men's finale tonight was CRAZY. i hope that next season they decide to bring Sal back in to join Sterling, Cooper, Draper, and Price. (and Campbell? If Pete has his way, it'll be a five person named company...) i freaked out about Joan and Harry Crane and i'm glad that Pete and Peggy came, even though Duck is still going to try and lead them away. i'm definitely hooked, wondering what will happen next season. of course, next season isn't until next summer. ! that's forever and a day away. oh man.

the swell season is coming to ann arbor december 2nd and i'd really like to go because they put on an amazing live show but i don't know who would want to go with me... if it weren't a wednesday, i could see if anyone would want to come in from out of town but i can't ask people to miss work or school so i think i'm missing them this time around. too bad they aren't in town around the holidays when people would be around who might want to join me. :/

i also found out that this guy kevin lehman who i saw put on a show at EMU my freshman year and really liked is playing in cleveland 11/20. my friends and i all bought his CD and we listened to it all the time. i still listen to his songs and know all the words - they remind me of college so much... ladybug, motorbike, redlights and greenlights. it's just one of those things that i know other people don't know who he is but that was our soundtrack. i don't know. it'd be cool to go see him. however, without a working vehicle of my own at the moment that's not really an option right now. plus, i'll be "grandma sitting" while my grandpa goes deer hunting at that time. a week and a half straight of staying at my grandma's house and making sure she's ok - cooking, cleaning, taking care of things around the house and running errands for her (shopping, appointments, etc...) we'll see how that goes. i love my grandma but i'm a little nervous about going crazy.

back to work in the morning. a new week, new beginnings. hopefully this week will be an improvement over last week, in which i literally took off my shoes and threw them on the floor in frustration, screamed bloody murder in the car on the way home one day out of anger, and cried in the office, due to my stupid broken vehicle. this week has got to be better than last week. here's hoping.