So, I recently bought a new car. I should say I FINALLY bought a new car. This time around we opted for somewhere in between our last purchase methodology.

Two purchases back, we decided to get “awesome” cars, but get them used so we could get them cheap. We’d fix them up and bring them back to life we thought. I bought a ’85 Chevy Corvette. Heidi got a ’89 Jaguar Vanden Plas. Both of these vehicles were our “dream cars”. In reality, these cars SUCKED ass since they were so old. I know, it’s a shocker. We dumped so much money into these things it wasn’t even funny.

The last purchase we made, we opted to go the economical, responsible, and reliable route. We both purchased ’01 Hyundai Elantra GTs. They were reliable. They had 10 year warranties. They were brand spanking new! They were paid off! We paid cash on the barrel for those bad boys. It was fun! We felt like we were the smartest people on the planet. In reality this wasn’t a terrible choice, but it wasn’t the best either. At least for me, I didn’t “like” my car. I just knew it was “smart”. Anyway, I beat the shit out of my car. In it’s defense it handled it pretty well. But, we learned that warranties are only as valuable as the company that backs them. Jim Click here in Tucson SUCKS. Take that to the bank, Jimmy!

Paying cash spoiled us. No car payments for 8 years, and the only way out of those cars was to take on a car payment. When repairs for those cars started amounting to $8,000 a year, we thought it would be a good idea to look at new vehicles. In fact, our mechanics sat us down and said, “Dude… Get rid of those cars. We feel bad taking all this money from you.” That was a pretty good red flag for us to go check it out.

We took our beaters down to Car Max. Heidi drove off with an ’08 Ford Focus, and I drove off in an ’05 Mazda RX-8. Slightly used, but in great shape. We both LOVE our cars for different reasons now. And the car payments are cheaper than the repairs on the older cars we had. Win Win, baby!

My father’s surgery went fine, and he is nearly fully recovered from it. However, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma, a type of cancer of the lymphnodes. Fortunately, this cancer does not seem to be as aggressive as the last cancer. He will begin radiation treatment very soon for 5 weeks in order to halt the cancers in his body and keep them from returning.
My mother recently had an operation to remove her gall bladder. This was performed via lapriscope and was not very intrusive. She is nearly recovered now, although she is not yet up for company. :)
Washington DC

Heidi and I went to the nation’s capital to see some good friends of ours over Memorial Day weekend. It was a friggin blast! Even though it rained some of the time, we managed to get some sightseeing in. We both wish we could have seen more, however, we were quite happy hopping the bar scene a bit, and spending time with Jason and Molly at their beautiful house. Hopefully, I will have time to get the pictures up soon.
I recently got my Corvette back with her new engine! Damn it feels good to be back in that car. Unfortunately, the aesthetics of the interior still need much work. But, it is nice to know that the new engine should be trouble-free for at least another 3 years (warranty). The last thing left to go is the transmission, but hopefully I will have some time yet before this happens.

Heidi and I are doing fine. We are taking a new angle on the whole retirement/relocation thing, and we both feel the future is very bright. I just wish it were closer. :)

The pups are doing great. They just turned two years old! They spend a lot of time indoors now, especially since Tucson has seen triple digit temperatures. The cats are fine as well, and there really isn’t much to mention about them. They just do their thang.

That’s the news, and I’m outa here…

The Corvette is in the shop once again. Seems the engine is in bad shape. They have quoted me at $1300 to fix it. Instead, I opted for a new engine. :) So, hopefully soon I will have a brand spanking new, zeroed out engine. I figure a week or two and I should have the car back. It will be nice to actually see what this car is capable of doing.

Well, it appears our retirement plans are going to have to take an alternative route. We have spent so much of our stock, that retiring solely on that is highly unlikely. I am now looking at other options, like Real Estate Investments. Wish me luck on this one.

Mom is sick with what looks like bronchitis. She’s on meds now and hopefully will be feeling better soon. If you want to wish her well, click here.

Heidi’s Jag is doing great. We think it needs a new fan belt, but other than that it is in great shape. She got new tires, and got the cracked windshield fixed.

This morning we were surprised to find a burst pipe on our water heater. Ugh. So, today’s project is to get that fixed. Joy.

The Jag is doing fine. The bill at the mechanic shop was OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE, but well worth the money. It’s a Jag afterall. Those of you out there who are interested in these semi-exotic cars should get used to mechanics prefacing their interactions with, “Well…. You understand it’s a Jag, right?” That should be your first warning sign of impending financial disruption. Which brings me to….

The Corvette. Well, you understand it’s a Corvette, right? I tried to install a radio in my Vette awhile back and discovered that Vettes are NOT AT ALL close to standard. At least at my level of experience. So, after I realized there was smoke emanating from my dashboard I turned the radio off. Yet, the rancid smell of melting electrical wire, and the nice steady plume of smoke continued to be present. After the smell, and smoke cleared I did a system test only to find my tail lights, dash dimmer, dash lights, and AC/Heat fan was wonky.

Since I don’t employ the services of an Endorian Wooky, I am stuck with plain ol human mechanics… Ugh.. I wasn’t about to go back to O’Rape Me Chevrolet, so I am testing out a new shop called Saguaro Automotive. So far, I have found they charge as much as the dealer did, but at least I feel like they have my best interests at heart. It’s not the money, it’s the service. I’ll keep ya posted.

I recently applied for a job in Virginia and got turned down. Likely this was a blessing in disguise. Our life right now is pretty mucked up. But, we are slowly making progress towards simplifying our over-complicated life.

Heidi is still enjoying her job. Though she is going through the trials of office diplomacy, she still says she enjoys her job as much as anyone could enjoy a job. She still has plans on the horizon regarding a craft store of sorts, but like me, has no time to pursue these things. She should be thankful she has the smarts to realize this (unlike her dumb husband who grabs the brass ring just because it looks fun).

My job is going fine. I enjoy the heck out of it — as much as anyone could. My side ventures are doing very nicely, and show much promise for the future.

That’s the news, and I’m outa here!

Dad Back in the Hospital

Sunday morning found my father back in the hospital after have some slight breathing difficulties. He had just recently started a new medicine for his Myasthenia Gravis, and suspects this may have caused the problems. The doctor requested he stay in the hospital overnight for observation, rather than radically changing his treatment. More to come as news develops…

Jaguar XJ6 Vander Plas

Heidi finally may have her dream car. It’s a bit older than she originally dreamed, but hey, we aren’t made of money! :) It’s a 1989 Jag Vander Plas, and is very nice. We checked it against blue book to find the price is $500 above, but a subsequent check with the bank’s blue book puts it at $600 under blue book price… So, who knows.. Close enough for us. We are waiting on the check from the bank to pay for the car, but other than that it is as good as her’s. The only problems it has right now are an ABS failure (brakes work fine however), and headlamp bulb failure. So, needless to say, it goes into the shop right when she gets it. Ugh… The good thing though, is my brother in law, David, works on BMWs and Jags for a living, so that ought to save us some grief/money.

In Other News

We are finally taking some initiative to get our life on track. Too many months spent whining about how difficult things are in our life, and too little time spent actually fixing things. We just had our carpets cleaned, and the difference is NIGHT AND DAY! We thought the trials of puppy-potty-training would be forever stained on our floors, but Stanley Steamer managed to get it out. Next on the list, is to tame that rainforest of a front yard we have. That will cost a pretty penny, but will be well worth it in the long run.

The Corvette is actually doing real nice since the last time I had it worked on, however, my fan switch is acting kinda funny, so the horizon looks grim. :) Let’s hope I don’t find myself in the garage again. Ugh.. At least this time I think I have found a good mechanic to work on the car.