Comfy Slippers

The last pair of slippers I wore were very comfortable. Had them for what seems like forever. Since they fit so well and felt so good, I was apprehensive of ever getting rid of them. Eventually they wore out and fell apart.

I had been purchasing other slippers when good deals came up. I have a couple pairs of new slippers. Tried them all on. None of them were as comfy as the old ones. However there was a pair that did have the advantage of having some gel soles. So while the overall fit is not as good, when I walk on them, it feels nice.

Luckily I seem to have bought two pairs of these gel soled slippers. So I think I am going to be set for a really long time in terms of slippers.

Red Hot Chevy Spark

Little Kat and I sat in a lot of cars while we waited for the car place to give us an estimate on our current cars. In the end, he liked the Nissan Versa sedan. I liked the Jeep Renegade. Then I got down to business using an online car aggregator to research deals.

Must have called up 7 car dealerships. I am starting to get good at finding out what the actual costs are. Some dealerships have weak salesmen. They tell me I have to come in so I can see what kind of deals they will offer. I just tell them I already see the deal online, and want to find out if I qualify for that deal.

The first 6 dealerships told me I did not qualify for all the deals. That resulted in upwards of a couple thousand more in price than the one they listed online. Apparently it is a game that a lot of dealers play. It just means I have to do a lot more work to find out who is actually selling a car for a great deal.

Today I found a dealer with a low price that actually would sell me a Chevy Spark for the advertised price. They were upfront that their freight charges were high ($1200 versus the standard $875 listed on the invoice). That was actually fine by me as their discounted price was so low.

Momoko and I drove to the dealership. I took a short test drive. Then I bought the car. I signed all the documents on a big desktop that had a computer screen on it. Momoko drove the new car off the lot. I drove my old Fiat 500 to the car shop to sell it. Now I have a new car with a color called Red Hot. No lie.

End of the Monte Carlo

My Chevy Monte Carlo has been out of commission for over a month. The could would not start. I thought it was because the trunk kept popping open turning on the interior lights. Little Kat thought he could jump the car given sufficient time (30 minutes or so).

I scheduled to take the car to sell it Friday morning. Little Kat tried to jump the car. No luck. We ate some McDonald's breakfast. Then I called the car company. They said they would buy the car even if it did not start. I called a tow truck.

The tow guy came an hour later. He pulled the car up onto a flat bed pickup truck. Then he peeled a wheel out of here as I tried desperately to keep up. Had the car place give me an estimate on the Monte Carlo as well as my Fiat 500.

I ended up selling the Monte Carlo. Then Little Kat and I went to lunch. I had to take a work call on the road. We ate at an Italian joint. I finally got to work late in the afternoon. One car down. Not I need to find my next car so I can offload the Fiat 500 as well.

Stories of a Barber Shop

I was scheduled to attend a morning meeting at our customer's site. The parking there is terrible. So I got up early and was the first one out of the house. Traffic was not bad. I headed directly to the cafeteria upon arrival. The worker just filled up a new cheesy scrambled egg container at the buffer. Helped myself.

The meeting was held in a large auditorium. The ice breaker was to get into a group of about 15 people. Everybody shared some short idea. The next person needed to build off the idea. By the end, we would have a collective story to tell. This is our STORY:

Went to get a hair cut. The barber took off too much hair. Still gave the guy a tip. To console myself from the bad hair cut, I went to get lunch. At a bunch of pasta. Paid the server with a gift card for the tip. Stood in line at a another barber shop, only to find that it was closed. Cut my own hair. Injured myself in the process, causing a scar. Recalled that I got a scar on my leg when I was 3 years old can fell down.

Bird House Pole

So I got Momoko a bird house. Now I need to mount it. Found a kit that has a base you put in the ground, and a pole that connects to it. I want to install this thing on the hill directly behind our house. I worry that other animals like squirrels will jump onto the bird house and harass the bird. So I need to get rid of any nearby branches.

Started by chopping down some vines and small bushes where I want the birdhouse. That was only a start. It filled up a few trash cans worth of sticks and vines. Next I raked up all the leaves on the hill. They were not previously raked because it is hard to get to. Then I figured I would get a ladder in there to chop of big branches that hang over the area I want to mount the bird house at.

I had to clear a way to bring in the ladder. Chopped some more small bushes down. Then I brought the long ladder by the tree. Oops. I could not stand the ladder upright. The branches prevented it. Therefore I went and got a smaller ladder. Climbed up and chopped down a big branch. Let it dangle and went to the ground to pull it down.

The branch was connected to some healthy vines. I pulled on those until another branch fell down. I had a huge piled of branches and vines. That filled another couple trash cans. Luckily the county will come and haul away these branches and vines next week for free. There is still a whole lot more chopping to do.

Registering a Car out of State

When I got my new car, I received 30 day temporary tags. Unfortunately I left the state the next day. The car remained parked in Momoko's dad's carport. Was not sure how I was going to register the car. Worst case, I would have to fly back to do the paperwork in person.

Luckily I called up the Department of Motor Vehicles there. They said I could have a relative register the car for me. I just had to get the original title from the dealership. Could even pay by credit card. But that would invoke a number of surcharges. Fine by me.

The jokers at the dealership misspelled my name on the title. They caught it, but did not generate a new title for me. Instead they just provided an addendum (an affidavit) indicating the correct spelling of my name.

Today I gathered all original documents from the dealership, added proof of insurance, and sent it all to Momoko's dad via US postal mail. I hope he gets it soon and takes care of the car registration for me. Hopefully all future DMV work will be done by me in person while on vacation out there.