Kevin's Watch

Tired, frazzled, and frustrated.

I have also seen three different people with tails this week. Normal-looking clothes, big fluffy tails. Either they are advance scouts for an invasion force, or I have crossed over into a parallel universe. Either one might be an improvement. I could use a change of pace.

Also found this:



...which seems to point to the parallel universe theory. I'm pretty sure my home universe didn't have Harry Potter sodas.

Watch out, there may be a furry convention in the area.

Couldn't find anything on Google, so I'm going with Fox People from Planet X. The dimensional barriers are weak right now; I lost a sock last time I did laundry.

null wrote:

lorin wrote:: At the next Fest I am going to buy you a drink for that one and we can both laugh. .

deal

and I can give you that pin I have been holding forever.

Sorus, it could be anything. Remember when we watched to hordes of zombies go by the front of the store? Be very careful.

No winners on the car hunt today. Bleagh. Then come to find out that dealerships are closed on Sundays in Omaha. FOR REALS?? That's just stupid.

Good luck with your car hunt.

Cameraman Jenn wrote:...dealerships are closed on Sundays in Omaha. FOR REALS?? That's just stupid.

Stupid is just the beginning. Welcome to the Midwest, especially to the oddity that is Nebraska. Beware...you are at Hazard.

Well, Sorus, I kinda blew them away today with pulling out my high end automotive technician flashlight and pointing out stuff and rattling off suspension packages that they obviously knew nothing about and the crowning glory was saying, "Oh, they tried to hide the rust with undercoating." and having the guy say, "Really?" and me saying, "Ok look here and promise you won't get mad." He promised and I tapped a fat part of the frame and a chunk of undercoating and rust came off. On bad notes, no vehicles I really wanted except one that had a bad axle leak. On good notes, I think I'll be able to talk them down 3-4K from what they are asking quite easily based on the fact that my knowledge seems to be way beyond any of theirs and it confuses them.

Now to just find a vehicle I like.....yeesh...

The next time I need a car, Jenn, I am flying you out here.

Ditto. The 3-4k saved will cover the airfare AND Jenn gets to see Oz. Win-win!

Actually, both my brother and father were in the car trade but Dad's retired and my brother changed careers. Both also live in different States, so you're it Jenn

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Sorus, it could be anything. Remember when we watched to hordes of zombies go by the front of the store? Be very careful.

No winners on the car hunt today. Bleagh. Then come to find out that dealerships are closed on Sundays in Omaha. FOR REALS?? That's just stupid.

Car dealers are closed in Illinois as well on Sunday. My understanding is that the big dealerships wanted to have a day off without fear of competition from the little guys. That doesn't mean that you can't walk the car lots. An advantage on Sunday is that the salespeople don't bother you.

Fourth day on weight watchers. I am so hungry for carbs and fat!!! All I keep thinking about is pizza!!!!


So anyway, had a strange day yesterday. I called up my dog sitter and asked her if she could watchy Helldog for a few days. She says "sorry, Camp Iris (name of her sitting service) is closed. I asked her why and she says, all casual like, I should be dead in a few months. Then she proceeds to tell me she has late stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized. She goes on to tell me she is absolutely fine with it, that she has felt her life has been on hold since she became disabled 10 years ago and she is ready to go. I really didn't know how to react to all this. Then she said something interesting. She said that yesterday she was so worried that her car wouldn't last until she collected her ssi, that her dog chewed up her favorite sandals and didn't know how she would afford a new pair, that the house needed a new roof. And today all her worries are gone. poooffff. I figured she was going to get very religious as she was talking but it was just the opposite. She told me she doesn't believe in a deity and had no expectation of an afterlife. She said her brother told her she was going to hell because she didn't believe in a god. She said that she had led a good life, took care of hundreds of homeless animals and she was a good person. If she was wrong and there is an afterlife and if she wasn't allowed into heaven because she didn't 'believe' then she wanted no part of heaven anyway.

So it is all strange. To be so close to an impending death and be so accepting is very weird for me.

lorin wrote:So it is all strange. To be so close to an impending death and be so accepting is very weird for me.

I understand...

...until I read Stephen's thread and Furl's thread.

If you choose to read them, start with Stephen's and then go on to Furl's.

In either case, have a stack of tissues at hand.

One huge difference, IMHO. Stephen and Tracie both approached their mortality with an entirely different set of assumptions about what was "next" compared to what lorin says Iris has...yet the serene acceptance sounds quite similar.

Sorry to hear about Helldog's sitter, lorin. Please do not let this pull your mood down. You seem to be getting back on a positive track, and that needs to persist!

lorin, wow... yeah, all I can put to that is that it would sound strange.

lorin wrote:

Linna Heartlistener wrote: "So you paid a high price for your wisdom, you say?"

Haven't we all? If I knew then what I know now.............

I don't know if we all have!
I often think I got off ridiculously easy... so many others around me to bear costs it's like I got a bunch of stuff "practically free"... though I rather fear for what's ahead for me. (so conflicted.)

deer of the dawn wrote:The old, not knowing what to do but doing what you know thing...

I love it!
I'm afraid it made me think, "Well, one thing I really know is how to be a jerk; I can always fall back upon that." (but in a light-hearted way, understand.)
How did your working-in-the-classroom-on-a-Saturday go?

Then come to find out that dealerships are closed on Sundays in Omaha. FOR REALS?? That's just stupid.

Why?

Cameraman Jenn wrote:"Oh, they tried to hide the rust with undercoating." and having the guy say, "Really?" and me saying, "Ok look here and promise you won't get mad." He promised and I tapped a fat part of the frame and a chunk of undercoating and rust came off. On bad notes, no vehicles I really wanted except one that had a bad axle leak. On good notes, I think I'll be able to talk them down 3-4K from what they are asking quite easily based on the fact that my knowledge seems to be way beyond any of theirs and it confuses them.

Now to just find a vehicle I like.....yeesh...

..How did you learn all this?

Also, it will be ironic if they're not competent enough to acquire any cars that you would deem worth buying...
(that dancing banana is meant to be mischievous - not chiefly happy - this time.)

Linna Heartlistener wrote:

deer of the dawn wrote:The old, not knowing what to do but doing what you know thing...

I love it!
I'm afraid it made me think, "Well, one thing I really know is how to be a jerk; I can always fall back upon that." (but in a light-hearted way, understand.)

Cameraman Jenn wrote:"Oh, they tried to hide the rust with undercoating." and having the guy say, "Really?" and me saying, "Ok look here and promise you won't get mad." He promised and I tapped a fat part of the frame and a chunk of undercoating and rust came off. On bad notes, no vehicles I really wanted except one that had a bad axle leak. On good notes, I think I'll be able to talk them down 3-4K from what they are asking quite easily based on the fact that my knowledge seems to be way beyond any of theirs and it confuses them.

Now to just find a vehicle I like.....yeesh...

Rawk on, Jenn!!!

I realized during one of my 1:30 am meditations that I really like this time in my life. I am doing something I believe in for a job and I get to share my musical abilities more than most times in my life. There are a lot of challenges and problems too, but altogether I am so blessed in ways that mean a lot to me.

Working in my classroom on Saturday went great, but I wasn't expecting to be there till 2pm. The SATs my daughter was taking started very late. They re-started the instructions for some latecomers. Then the proctor was not very attentive and digital watches kept beeping, people were eating, etc. Sheesh. Sunday was great. I played with the band in church, went out for lunch with Stag and Fawn, I took a nap, and did some sewing. My kinda Sunday.

Feeling productive. If I can keep the book club and Heart of God (and its follow up, if someone wins that game) going full steam all year, I will feel very accomplished indeed.

And I just went ahead and bought membership for Loncon3 (the 2014 Worldcon). Guess I'm committed, now. Should also have gotten in in time to be eligible to nominate in the 2013 Hugo Awards, though I'm not sure what I would nominate.

lorin wrote:

null wrote:

lorin wrote:: At the next Fest I am going to buy you a drink for that one and we can both laugh. .

deal

and I can give you that pin I have been holding forever.

i had forgotten.

Thanks for the support guys! I learned all this from being in the automotive trade all my life up until a few years ago. Also, I made a list of vehicles I am considering and did a crash course bone up on all the latest and pertinent information on the models/makes/years I am looking at. That way I am in the know about recalls, common failure issues, option packages etc. I don't like to get caught off guard when I'm putting used car salesmen in their place. I had posted a brief on my blog but I guess I could post the details of the conversation I had with the sales manager from the lot that had the leaky axle jeep. He called me today to do a follow up and I think I scared him a bit. At first it seemed like he had a checklist to ask and I totally threw him off his game in a big way.

Sorry to hear about your dog sitter Lorin but it does seem that she has a point.