I noticed on the way out of the office, thanks to the location I parked today, that the underside of the front bumper is cracked on my new-to-me but still used car. I am going to assume that it was this way when I bought it as I’ve put 70 miles on the car and haven’t driven anywhere or in any conditions that would have caused this. I am going to email the dealer and see what they can do for me. My hopes are not high but this is when the dealer can either stand up or lose a customer for life. I’m not all that excited about it, honestly. It’s just a car and it’s going to get used. I keep my cars very clean and take good care of them but really they’re necessary evils that are a part of this modern life.
Other than that, today was a day that flew by and I did not quite get everything done that I had hoped. I finished up some things that I wanted to do yesterday (called an old friend, ordered all the Christmas pictures from Shutterfly) but I feel like I’m behind a lot. I got home and while playing with my son installed Windows 7 beta on my laptop. It’s pretty but it’s buggy. It’s a beta, I expected nothing more. People are raving that it’s so much better than Vista. Really? Have you ever actually used Vista? I like Vista and this seems a lot more like Vista than anything else. They tweaked the UI and fixed UAC but so what? You could do that on Vista easily enough. I seem to think people dislike a lot “based on what they hear” and don’t try things or even think for themselves.
Speaking of which, does anybody get the vague feeling that Obama is in way over his head? His complete silence on Gaza is striking. He has been busy appointing cabinet members (big oops on Bill Richardson). I can understand his need for a final decompression before entering the fish bowl 24/7 so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. His secretary of state made her position clear, so I am not sure what the hold up is. Waiting for inauguration?
I got to watch some football this past weekend and it is simply hard to believe the playoffs are already here. Mabye because the Packers were eliminated so early that the season seemed to end mercifully quick but it seems like this was the fastest season I can remember. For a guy who watches and enjoys football I can honestly say I have no idea who is going to be in the Super Bowl much less who is going to win it. I do know that our fantasy league is over … just waiting on one last player to pay up.
We spent the weekend with lots of family and company over celebrating my wife’s family’s Christmas. For a lot of reasons it works out well for us to get together the weekend after Christmas. This year, with Christmas so close to a weekend we waited an extra week. On one hand it really stretches out the holiday season for me but on the other it is nice to have a day where we know absolutely everyone can make it and they don’t have to leave right away to get to another Christmas dinner / celebration/ whatever.
Preparation started on Thursday with my mother in law and niece showing up to help start the baking and the cooking. I worked on Friday but they spent the day doing more of the same. Our au pair also got in on the act learning how to make traditional American treats such as chocolate chip cookies.
Saturday was probably our best Christmas ever as a family. We all have a lot to be thankful for. What was really nice was that not only were there a lot of kids there this year, but there were also a good number of friends. In what was probably my favorite part of the day, all of us sat around the table playing a very simple card game called “Poop On Your Neighbor”. The kids and everyone were able to play. The day turned quickly into night and we ended up having to make more punch and heating up some turkey for sandwiches — I can’t remember so much family stayed so late. The teenagers that didn’t want to play or didn’t want to be by their parents played Rock Band 2 on the 360 in the basement. Everyone was happy.
A picture of the family mid-gift-opening:
With the ice a few family members stayed the night and we worked on cleaning up and relaxing today. The house is in great shape and once again a party acts for us as a forcing function to get some work done around the house and really have things put into place.
While I did not take much time off at work these past two weeks, the significantly reduced staff allowed me to be much more effective (less meetings, etc.) and I feel fairly recharged going into this week.
The bad news is that I leave next week for a two week work trip to Arizona …
I finished Call of Duty World at War last night (aka Call of Duty 5). Thanks to some modified server configurations I got my multiplayer character up to Level 65 in no time and I wanted to go back and try the single player game.
I found the game to be only of average quality and a bit of a step back from CoD4. The level design was all right but the artificial intelligence of the characters left a tremendous amount to be desired. The number of times one of my “comrades” would push me out from cover was innumerable. I could not move them an inch but they could push me all over the map. On at least three occasions I had to shoot the guy so I could have cover. There were also several points in the game where I had to die a whole lot of times in order to figure out what the game designer intended. This got worse and worse as the game went on and near the end it reached a frustrating zenith which of course puts a bad taste in your mouth for the overall impression of the game.
This game, much like Left 4 Dead, are not bad games but I also do not think they are worth the high cost of entry. CoD5 felt a lot like a very well executed user created mod for CoD4. That is not a complement, especially at $50.
I’m glad to have finished it and now believe I am ready to play some Fallout. I wanted to give the game some time and let the hype die off. I also needed to be in the right frame of mind — one with more patience. Shooters are my first love and while I love them dearly sometimes change is good.
You’ll also notice that I updated the movies watched. It took us six weeks but we got through Casino Royale. I enjoyed the movie a great deal. I think the actor playing Bond did a pretty good job although he was a bit too wooden for the “love” interest. I recognize that this is the first Bond novel and such there was some discovery going on. It is out of this movie that the detached womanizer evolves and you can understand why. The movie is well cast with the exception of Bond’s love interest. It seems like they wanted her to be glamorous a la 1940’s style hair and dresses. It didn’t work on her and if anything was oddly distracting. Other than that, the action scenes were well done and there were a number of twists that you could and could not see coming. While none were as surprising as The Departed it still was an enjoyable movie.
So when I wrote this article what feels like a lifetime ago, I was in a different frame of mind. I was still in DINC mode.
With that in mind, no one is more surprised than me that I just bought a 2007 Toyota Camry. That’s right Smitty, a used vehicle. I test drove an Altima and a number of other similar vehicles. It turns out that despite the funky dashboard the Camry is still the best value. And as I get older and I learn to look at life through the lens of a father (i.e., my kids long term happiness is way more important than my own), I’ve learned the importance of some compromises. Here I’m compromising my “need” for a fancy new car with every single option on it with my legitimate need to provide for my family and manage our budget as well as I can.
The vehicle I got has a smaller engine — better gas mileage. The vehicle is used, in itself a major change for me. I looked at leasing a new one and for the cost of a lease on a new one versus buying a lightly used one … I am going to spend less on the used vehicle and I can keep it. Ten years ago the scales were tipped differently for me. It was a lot more important to me to have a new car. Now? It is more important the car my son is in is 100% reliable (thus my wife has a new vehicle) while mine is merely very good.
Now the strange reality here is that a 2007 car of most any model is a pretty good vehicle. That we have two cars that together are both new and hardly used is a very good thing. We are fortunate souls.
While I liked the Xterra and the fact that it was paid for, I have to say that I’m excited to drive a car again (as opposed to an SUV). I’ll miss the four wheel drive in the snow but on the other days of the year, the quiet smooth ride and better handling will be a joy.
It was not much of a surprise to find out the Xterra was a total loss. I spent the afternoon on Saturday test driving and vehicle shopping. While new car sales are plummeting I can report from my small sample size that used car sales are booming.
I test drove a Camry and an Altima yesterday and looked at about 20 different cars. On balance there are deals to be had. My experience is that some dealerships have done a good job of cutting the crap. The one that impressed me the most went to kbb.com, carfax.com, and all the very same web sites that I would use to appraise the vehicle. They then quoted a price that was lower than anywhere we looked online. Talk about taking the fight out of the negotiating phase.
I still walked away because I don’t need the car today and my feeling is that on December 31st they’ll be willing to drop the price even lower if they still have something I want in stock. They keep asking me what features I want and I reply with “the best value I can get at my price point”. While this confounds them some what it is also how I feel.
I would not say I was in love with the Xterra but I was satisfied with it. It met my needs, got me to work, was reliable, and was long since paid for. Owning that vehicle cost me next to nothing. With the responsibility of fatherhood I’ve come to look at many things very differently. I need a vehicle that is dependable and I can count on, I don’t need another car payment.
My strategy of buying a car on December 31st may back fire but for now that is what I intend to go with.
On my way home from work last night I hit a deer on the highway. The speed limit changes from 55 mph to 45 mph and I was in the act of lightly decelerating but other than that I was not braking hard when the impact occurred. The deer sprang out of the median and I never saw it. The first time I forcefully applied the brakes I had already hit the poor thing. The air bags never deployed which in retrospect is somewhat surprising.
After the impact I watched the deer careen at a 45 degree angle down the road an into the ditch. I pulled over and called the police. It took only about five minutes for the sheriff to arrive and another five minutes for him to file the report. While I waited I left the engine running. It was zero degrees outside and I figured the thing would not over heat. A gentle white smoke lightly rolled out from under the hood. Just in case my thoughts were wrong I put on the gloves and hat I keep in the car “just in case”. With the paperwork filed, I headed home. I never took the vehicle over 45 mph and over the course of the next six miles the machine continued to sound worse and worse. By the time I got home I think I could hear the lifters inside the engine ticking which would imply I was leaking oil. With the lights on I could see the damage.
It is and is not horrible. For hitting an animal, it’s a lot of damage. As car accidents go, it’s not too bad, I suppose.
Here’s a picture of the slain vehicle:
So the first relatively decent snow has blanketed the area and as such everyone I work with is working from home today, myself included. This turns out to be a huge productivity boost for everyone as we each focus on catching up on email and minor tasks that need a little of our time — but that time is very hard to get while in the office.
Speaking of snow, I’ve noticed two types of drivers. The We Have To Slow Down Jackass and the Get Out Of My Way Jackass. Everyone is one of them to somebody else. Very few people drive at speeds everyone else considers sane for various reasons. I think I am more conservative when I drive so I’m probably most of the time in the former category as opposed to the latter.
While I’m not entirely over last winter’s record snow fall total, I have to say I’m not really that upset that snow is already here. It was a great summer and we spent quite a bit of time outside. I also have to pick up a sled to pull my son around our backyard now that he’s sitting up and would probably be interested in the project. He’s already got a full snowmobile suit so I think we’re ready to go on that as well.
Think spring!
This weekend we’re headed to my parents’ house for the first time since they remodeled their front living room and bathroom. They’ve also had some carpeting replaced and converted the doors from old hollow core doors to solid wood six panel doors. Overall I’m happy for my mom as I know how much she likes having things like this done. I am also excited to see it myself. While I never lived there other than one summer in college, I do consider it a part of my “home” in the general sense.
I’m also excited to more or less show off my son to my parents and their friends. It makes me happy to see them more often. I look forward to going to breakfast on Sunday with my step-dad who, for all intents and purposes, is the man that I refer to as my dad. As a father, watching my son grow so quickly, it really drives home how short our lives really are and the importance of enjoying the relationships we have in the world. The importance of friends and family only grows with time.
Speaking of friends, I’ve played a bit of Left 4 Dead which is a co-operative game, a gametype of which there are not many offerings. I tremendously enjoy playing the game but sadly there is not a whole lot of content in the game. In one good gaming session, you can play through the entire game. I guess that’s not that different from other multiplayer games like Call of Duty World at War but for some reason it doesn’t seem to have the same level of replayability. I guess the jury is out on how long this game will last — and the fact that the jury is out is in and of itself a bit of a disappointment.
We spent the Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family which is just how it should be. I got to see a lot of family members that I have not seen for months and it was a good opportunity to catch up. In particular there are a few family members that are hard to reach out to and to see them in person feels great.
For the first time since 1994 we did not do any shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. The economy doesn’t feel right, the kids are getting older, and it seemed appropriate to let this tradition go away for at least this year. We’ll still get gifts and on balance spend about the same on the nieces and nephews as we always do but it can wait a few weeks until we know what to get them.
After Thanksgiving we came home and met friends who are back in state for a long weekend. They have a little boy who is just a bit younger than Frank and it was great to see them as well. It was very exciting to see how Frank observed and interacted with this other little boy. I think both of them learned a few things from each other. I think it was surprising to them how much of a difference just a few weeks can make to the development of a child at this age. Frank is teething right now and that has definitely changed his demeanor.
I’m getting over a cold right now and need to get to bed. Lack of updates are not for lack of activity, just have not found as much free time as I’ve hoped to have recently. That’s fatherhood, I suppose.
On Friday, I headed home from work and ran a ton of errands. Best Buy, Home Depot, Copps. All items completed with lists successfully utilized and all items required in stock. Success. We then proceeded to rearrange the house. My wife has a burning desire to rearrange on a regular basis. Anyhow we moved the large screen television into the basement as well as a large chair from the living room. We brought up the smaller television and a recliner. The reasons were multiple. We wanted to de-emphasize the television in our growing boy’s life. We were preparing for company to come over. I wanted to be able to play the 360 more.
On Saturday we got up and both of our parents came into town for family pictures. We headed to the mall to one of those kind of crummy “kid photo” stores where they churn you through a bunch of poses in short order. I did not have high expectations but they did manage to capture a few great images that we’re now going to get ordered.
After lunch and photos we headed home to prepare for friends to come in for the Lesnar/Coture UFC fight. At 3 PM the first of our friend arrived and he hit a deer on the way here. People slowly started trickling in throughout the afternoon. We watched some college football, played some Rock Band 2, and then watched a great fight. A few friends stayed over night as the fights ended around 12:30 AM.
Sunday we had even more family and friends over to watch the Packer game. What a great game it was, too. The Packers looked like it was 2007 instead of the inconsistent team they’ve shown to be in 2008.
Of course, the primary reason for all of this was so everyone could see Frank and we could see our friends. It has gotten very hard to get out and do things since he was born so we make it a point to make sure everyone gets to see him.
Latest photo:
