Case of the Missing Gift

Little Kat is away visiting his grandfather for Christmas. Kit Kat's boyfriend came over to eat Christmas dinner with us. My brother went to church in the morning. When he came home, Momoko thought we should proceed to gift opening.

We went round robin. Kit Kat had the most gifts. Finally my brother opened all his gifts. But he had not opened the one I gave him. I went over to the Christmas tree and tore it up. No gift for my brother. I went downstairs to my study. No gift.

I figured maybe I gave his gift to another friend by mistake. Later my brother stood up to take his gifts to his room. There on his chair was my gift. Somebody must have placed it on his chair and he sat on it.

Thank goodness. I thought I was going crazy there for a second. I knew I wrapped my brother's gift. It was a keychain with a heartfelt message inscribed on it. I doubled wrapped it in an envelope and then some wrapping paper because it was small.

The Passing of Latte

Latte was the last of the trio of gerbils we bought. She has been getting old. I noticed she had a bit of spunk left in her. She would climb up to the top of the couch and try to get to the front window. Kit Kat said she has been weak recently.

Today at lunch, I saw Latte moving about in her cage. She was walking funny. It was if she had a bad hip or something. She moved from one side of the cage to the other. Then she stopped. She seemed like she was still alive. But there was something definitely wrong with her.

Little Kat said he saw her laying on her side, and was hardly breathing. Kit Kat stopped by from work before going out to happy hour today. She said Latte was not doing very well this morning. And she confirmed that Latte had died this afternoon.

The kids will probably bury her outside tomorrow. The only consolation is that Kit Kat inherited two younger gerbils from a friend of hers. Those two are Morgan and Baily. Not sure how old they are. Maybe one year old. They have a lot of life left in them.

Lunch at Burger King

I normally eat Chinese food for lunch. However today I wanted some burgers. I like the double cheeseburger from Burger King. They sometimes have coupons for $3 double cheeseburger meals. I used the coupons up already.

Instead I opted for a $4 two bacon cheeseburger meal. I dined in to eat the food hot. The guy at the counter told me the onion ring sauce cost 20 cents apiece. I had him ring me up for two of them. Brought one home for future use.

Even with the sauce upcharge, you can't beat the deal. Lunch for under $5. Pretty tasty too.

The iPhone SE

My current iPhone is started to have some problems. When I am making calls, random digits are inserted into the phone numbers I dial. This is problematic as I make business calls daily. My solution is to get a new phone.

I am not going to be like Little Kat and get the latest phone from Apple. I want a phone that still has a home button. And I want one that has the old style plugs for old headphones. I found the perfect fit - the iPhone SE.

The iPhone SE seems to be a rebranded older phone. It is either an iPhone 5 or an iPhone 6. But the form factor is smaller. I like that because it can fit in my pocket easier. I really only use my phone for phone calls and texting. I take an occasional picture. Hardly ever browse the web with it.

Momoko controls our cell phone plan. I asked her to upgrade my current phone to an iPhone SE. At first, our provider only listed assorted newer iPhone models as possible options. Drat. But Momoko somehow did a search that uncovered the iPhone SE as an option. Let's hope it is everything I dream it to be.

Getting Momoko's Car Serviced

Momoko is off on vacation visiting her dad for the holidays. She left Little Kat and I in charge of getting her car serviced. She said we should take it to the dealership to ensure the warranty remains in effect. I scheduled a time with Little Kat to drop the car off.

We got to the dealership. You are supposed to pull into the service bays. There were cars parked in front of each bay. I parked on the side and walked in. A single service guy was there. He diagnosed the car and said we needed an oil change and tire rotation. Cost would be $200++.

Service guy said the car would be ready in an hour or so. He said he would call me. I asked him what should I do if I don't get that call within an hour. He gave me his direct line to call. After 2 hours, I did not receive a call. I tried calling the service guy a few times. He never picked up the phone.

The next day, Little Kat and I returned to the dealership. Momoko's car was out front. I paid the cashier. The service guy went running to find our car. After a while, he realized it was in the front. This dealership advertises that it washes your car with every service. On my receipt it said, "Car not washed".

Essentially this dealership is a service fail. Normally I don't take Momoko's car in for service. But if I ever do again, I will chose another dealership. Even better, I hope she can go to our local mechanic.

Nissan Versa Acquired

Little Kat and I called a couple Nissan dealers that had 2019 Nissan Versa sedans for sale. We targeted those that had the SV trim with Apple Car Play. The first few dealers seemed disorganized. They could not tell me the full costs to buy their car. They needed to get back to me.

Then we called a guy who I thought was named Rick. He knew the costs down to the penny. Initially, the sale price of his vehicle listed online was highest. But he had the best walk out pricing. Little Kat and I drove towards the Bay to visit the dealership. There I found out the sales guy's name was actually Ray.

Took the car out for a spin. It had a keyless start. Acceleration was weak. The seat seemed narrow to me. The Apple Car Play screen was smaller than our Chevy Spark's one. One the test drive return to the dealership, I took a wrong turn and got on the highway. Next exit was 5 miles away.

We decided to buy the car. Seemed strange that they did not ask for payment until just before we drove away. The sales guy thought it would take an hour to finalize the sale. Then he found that a mandatory recall service needed to be performed. A few hours later, Little Kat missed out on happy hour. But he drove home in our new Nissan Versa.

Bonus Drinks

This weekend, Momoko and I went to breakfast. I had a coupon ready to give us a big discount. Normally the coupon entitles you to drink coffee. We prefer soft drinks. So Momoko told them to substitute Coke for coffee. The usually add a $1 surcharge to each of us for the drink "upgrade". For some reason, they did not charge us extra this time.

At the drive through window, the girl tried to give us 2 large orange juices. I was excited, because I consider that a premium drink. Momoko refused them and told the girl we needed Coke. We got some medium sized Coke soft drinks. I would have preferred the delicious orange juice.

Today I was really hungry in the morning. Unfortunately I had a lunch time conference call. No problem. I took the call from a restaurant. I got there early to place my order. The soda machine was out of order. My meal is supposed to come with a fountain drink. So instead I was allowed to choose a bottled drink from the fridge. Aha. Now I get the premium drink I deserve. I opted for a Fanta grape drink.