Green is Good

Friday, March 31, 2006

My LAST Major purchase: FINALLY!!


Well, i bought a Pacifica last nite. I really like it, altho i haven't driven my exact car that is in my driveway yet, i really like thee cars. Now, dealing with these car guys is a whole different story.

I actually liked my sales guy...Dan taylor, a 20 year old college student from emu that is also a car salesman. VERY polite, very helpful..and most of all the kid was honest. Wasn't full of crap trying to lead me down paths i had no interest in going..well, he tried somewhat..i swear carsalesman are told to feature dump on customers instead of really digging for what they may want. But he was cool when i told him i wasn't interested in things..here's how the negotiating went.

Me: I can get a basic model pacifica from Naylor for 244/mos...nothing down..so that's our starting point. Cueter was CONFIDENT they could beat that..well, of course, they couldn't. So, they came back with a model that was 900 bucks more and had some extra features on it..radio controls on the steering wheel..luggage rack, nicer tires..etc..basically things i didn't care about. So, they asked if i'd buy that car for 260. i said "why would i pay more for a car with things on that i don't want?" They agreed..and asked.."what would you want to buy this car?" I told em' to throw in a dvd player. They asked if they did that would i buy the car right then? i said "no, tomorrow".

So, the manager comes out..this is where it FINALLY gets serious as the poor salesguys have zero negotiating power..they just angle deals toward the mgrs to try and close...i hadn't seen the mgrs come out all nite for anyone, so i knew i was onto something here...Steve, the mgr goes "josh, i really want you to buy this car" i said "good, cause i've been here 3 hours and want to buy one (smiling)". He said..listen....is there anyway you can do 260 on that car? i said no. he said if we put the dvd player in that's a 950 dollar upgrade..i can't eat that much ..we have you at cost right now (my eyes were rolling)...can you do $280 if we throw in the dvd player? normally you'd be at 295? I said "no" i'd get a trailblazer then. he said "alright, alright...what if we met you half way..the nicer model pacifica, the dvd player..for 272..would you do that?" finally, i said yes.

The DVD player pushed me over the edge. it was something i'd thought about before in the past for the girls..but they ain't cheap. And my "mental budget" coming in was 300 bills or less a month...and i was still well under...but bottom line is i *knew* this would make the girls LOVE the car and i need to score all the points i can with them right now to help them thru this transition still. So it made it worth it.

however, the negotiating still wasn't done! I was ready to sign everythign but the final agreement ( i wanted to get a solid insurance quote..i only had a ruff number) when the owner delivered a message to me..john cueter himself..apparently from Dexter..wanted me to buy the car right then and said if they knocked off another $3/month from each payment would i buy it right then? i did the math..figured it would be a free $108 and said you bet.

So, i'm payin'..$269 for 39 months on a car i really like with nothing out of my pocket AND a dvd player for the girls they will absolutely LOVE. I'm really happy with it. Plus, i have some things i can take with me next time i buy a car for negotiating...go to the end of the month...put it off for one more day...and they'll cave in for you.

Other good news: I got my rens security deposit back today...all 900 bones..PLUS an extra 173 bucks for the 9 days early that i left. So not only did the landlord let me break my lease early..but he PAID ME TO DO IT! Good guy. Really happy with that.

Second, i signed up my insurance today with Terry at Palmer insurance and it came in $268 a year cheaper then she estimated initiatlly..so i'm up like almost 4 bills today!! Great start!!

Bad start is my furnace is broken already..they are coming out to fix it this afternoon tho...these builders are VERY prmopt. They called and gave me a phone survey last nite and i gave em' all "10's". Great company Centex....

That's 10 paragraphs of text above this one...i'm leaving work early today since we hit our goals and cleaning up the pad a bit while they work on the furnace..oh, and probably take a nap

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Movie Review: Hostel


This movie can be summed up rather easily. Too much build up, very gory in the middle, but great twist at the end and excellent payoff.

it's about 2 buddies on a hiking trip in Europe and a 3rd buddy from iceland they meet along the way. They do the typical college type stuff, gettin' bombed..casual sex, drugs, etc...until things start to happen. I won't spoil the movie, cause again, this is the kind of movie that the less you know about it coming in, the better it will be. It's a good rental IF you can take the excessive brutality in some of the scenes..and trust me..brutality is the best word to describe it. The end tho had me pumpin my fist in satisfaction of a good story line...not in the dirty way...you know what i mean.

Overall grade B-

Monday, March 27, 2006

Scot: The great friend

Can't say enuff good things about this fella'. He was over Sunday from 11-11 hangin' blinds and towel racks for me...putting together chairs...makin' trips to lowes and the grocery store. Didnt' complain once either. couldn't have done ALL the crap without him..in fact i'd have barely dented. He's a great guy and a great friend and wanted to make sure he got his just props.

The bad news is for the ladies: Scot is engaged to be married next May 7...filmakers are already buying the rights up for the wedding..in hopes of 5/7 becoming the next 9/11....and in past cases that may be true...but not this year. This one is gonna stick.

So thanx again, and Scot..sorry for teasing you and having bad gas with you in tight places all day. You are the man.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Todd is off the hook


I do have some GREAT photo's of him...but i wouldn't do that to him....i'll wait till fantasy football season starts and make my avatar a picture of him...like last year.

So, here's the glitches so far in the new phase of my life 1) Best Buy: It pains me to say this as i've loved that store for so long..but the sales people there are full of shit. I got nervous when after i bought my washer/dryer/fridge/tv/dvd player there and the salesman said in a cheesy tone while taking a BOW "The pleasure Sir, was all on this side of the table". I audibly gulped upon hearing that. Sure enuff...after the salesturd said they would hook up the water line to the fridge upon delivery, they wouldn't...and the dryer came banged up and the venting didn't match the venting on my house and they wouldn't hook that up, which didn't matter cause the dryer was bent up and they had to take it back of course. There's a new one coming today that they should hook up...however, Carly deuced in her bed last nite and i need a dryer asap...if it doesn't work, i'm gonna be hot. Qwon at bestbuy has been working with me..so we'll so how that goes...

2) the entertainment center for the girls...it didn't look like that big a project when i bought it..but it took me 6 hours to put the dang thing together...looks pretty good...i'm proud of that.

3) My IPOD: When i got a new computer, and re-installed itunes...it won't load up what you have on your ipod..but it will replace it with what is in the new library..which is nothing..so of course, first try, i erased my ipod. I had to go back to Shan's and re-sync my old library again. CAme back home..and again, couldn't figure out how to load up songs from my ipod to my new itunes library. So, after some digging, I had to go BACK to shan's to re-synch and de-authorize and consolidate my old songs..however, shan had erased my itunes thinking i was done with em'...which i thought i was....sigh.
SO..came back home and withe some OUTSTANDING help and the good ole sight engadget...i downloaded a program called epoph which allowed me to transfer my ipod songs to a new folder on my desktop where i could them import them into my new itunes library and then de-authorize my purchased songs so i could play those too....it feels GREAT to have that done!


Here's an older not quite finished pic of the pad...

Friday, March 24, 2006

McCalla In China

My buddy Jeff travels to Asia a lot for his job. He always has good stories about the culture..i've shared em' before..here comes another...by the way. as you can tell by my last post i figured out how to get personal photo's on to my blog. TODD THIS IS YOUR WARNING....Todd has till next friday to mention my blog to me..if he doesn't...i'm posting an absolutely wonderful picture of him....7 days todd..7 days....

Here's jeff's latest story from china..note he can't access my blog there..government has strict no blogging rules except for ceratin members of the government..

So the Chinese government must see the Schwantz as a threat or that you will have a negative influence on the Chinese people, which is probably true.

So here's kind of a funny thing that happened to me the other day. I'm with our distributor and we are heading to our hotel from the airport. We driving along and go through the projects of Shenyang, we get out of the taxi and I look at this place and think, what in the hell am I doing here, this place was an absolute shithole, but it did have some glitzy -Las Vegas style lights and was somewhat OK on the inside. Well, we get in and I'm looking around and they ask us to take our shoes off. I'm thinking I don't know a word of Chinese, but the people I'm with seemed to think this was the right place, so they start taking their shoes off. I'm thinking this is kind of weird, they want us to take our shoes off, what the hell kind of place is this. It turns out it was a massage parlor, our distributor had made a mistake. Idiots....

Anyway, so tonight we're out with potential clients and I'm the distinguished guest. This lady who was on my right was the host (potential client) and she puts a crab shell on my plate. This isn't crab meat, there was no meat on it, but the brown shit that's between the eyes. This is the most prized piece of "meat" on the crab, guess who had to eat it...na-ass-tay. So she also proceeds later to put more food in my small bowl after I politely refuse...it was an entire fishead...it was also like guts and kind of other gross shit...again, guess who's stuck eating it? What is it about this stuff that they like? I nearly hurled a few times...anyway, next, I'm eating a soup that is made from fish eggs...I wondered what all the little dots were. Then we have these little burrito shells and I'm thinking Chipotle, nope, guess again, duck skin with some weird mushroom thing rolled up in a nice neat package. Then there was the cartilage, I'm not sure from what animal, but as you can imagine it was not pleasant.

What really pissed me off about the whole thing tonight is that I had planned to ditch my distributor after I got back to the hotel and head down the street to Pizza Hut. It was the only thing that kept me going all day. I haven't had a decent meal or even a chance to have a normal meal, since I've been here, which is almost two weeks now. So after the last stop with the potential customer tonight, they started loading into the cars and I was trying to play dumb American like I don't know what was going on (because I knew we would be going out to dinner with them). I lost.

I hate having to go out with these customers for shit meals all the damn time...it absolutely sucks. All I can say is my bonus had better be sweeter than tits this year.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Accomplished


That's the best word I can use to describe how i feel right now. The move is over (besides some more unpacking and settling), the girls are in their beds..and that is an ENORMOUS accomplishment in it's own right. They've been bunkin' with me for their whole lives..but thanx to some well played mind games..they are sleeping in their own custom dora the explorer and princess respective bedrooms. So, I'm enjoying a Fat Jack and coke. I love Jack Daniels..almost as much as i love bacon. Why isn't there a jack daniels bacon flavored drink? That may have been the jack talking right there..but i'd buy it.

I've come to this decision: I really like my new house. The lot is awesome..so quiet it's eerie..that will change I know..but right now i'm loving it. The house is great. PLENTY of room...more then i need probably..but i love it. I finally, completely feel like the next chapter in my life has started...in every aspect of it. Great feeling.

Now, I would be remiss if i didn't thank some people tho..my dad, scot and especially my brother were HUGE helps with my move. I couldn't have done it without them. All three of them i owe more then the domino's pizza and arby's I bought to repay them. They all busted their asses to help me out and i'm very lucky to have the three of em' to call on if i need assistance.

The girls have ajusted great. They love the new place...everything about it. It took me 6 hours to put thier f'n entertainment center together, but i got it to complete their play room. THey are happy and that makes me happy. I was nervous for tonight as i wanted this place perfect for them....when after 5 minutes here shelly just wanted cartoons on..so i knew we'd be cool.

I've had an ongoing saga with my ipod. New computer means new itunes, which means i have to "consolidate and de-authorize" my old itunes into my ipod and transfer them to my new computer. Easier said then done. Freakin' copyright. It's become a pain in the ass. I want to play with my music and i can't...there's worse things...but i miss it!! Esp now that i was tipped off to to http://www.torrentspy.com/default.asp and have the ability to download music, movies, porn, whatever!! it's great.....sigh...

I still have TONS going on..gotta get a new car asap. I'm thinkin' pacifica, Todd has one and i like it..sleek, large for kids, mobile..i'm pretty sure i can make driving a station wagon cool again..wait,...was it ever cool? probably not, but i still like it...plus the chrylser dealers are jumping out of thier pants to serve me...

Okay..i know this is long, but it's been a few days...some other random catch up stuff...

Random Run-in: Maris. For those that don't know her, she was best friends with my ex-wife shan..got pregnant....moved to florida with her new husband, got divorced and now is in colorado with her new boyfriend. Hadn't seen her in years..saw her at Katies Mon night..talked for like 30 minutes..kinda weird..she's still exactly the same..which i'm not sure is good or bad...

And finally, an addendum to my "funny things that shelly says posting" from a week ago or so...not sure how i forgot this one..but my brother reminded me of it.

While watching the Pistons together:

Dad?
yes honey?
why are all the basketball guys black?
....
huh dad?
well, honey, there's a white guy right there!!
Yeah, but there's just one..are all black guys good at basketball?
.....

good convo.

I'll have more soon...tons of crap going on...thanks again to jeff, dad and scot...scot, when you read this..i can't get my computer desk chair together and i'm it's really pissin' me the F off...if you get a second stop by.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Moving Time Baby


WELP,

Tomorrow i'm outta the apartment. It's been a fast 2.5 months really. I can't believe i'm already done with that phase of my life. When i moved into there back in early january today felt like it would be a year away. It almost was unfathomable that i'm actually there.

Last night i was going to sleep on the couch (where i always sleep when the girls are with me so they can have the bed) and was thinking of all the different emotions i had when i moved in and where they are now that i'm moving out. The biggest one that sticks with me is walking the girls around the apt for the first time as the tentatively checked out each room and the feeling of disappointment i had in myself for making them go through this transition. They didn't like it naturally and it's been a rough ride for them in there being much smaller then what they were accustomed too. Those feelings are over tho now...

The things that i'm taking away from this is i really feel living in the apt has made me closer to them. We were on top of each other every second they were there and we grew tighter i think as a family which makes it all worth while. Watching them sleep together in my bed when I would go in late at nite to check on them is the other biggest thing i'll always remember. They would always find each other in the bed and snuggle up to next to the other one. Very Cute and it made me very proud how they have begun to look and appreciate the other one for their sister.

So, Tomorrow, jeff and scot are coming over..possibly my dad...and we are gonna get a uhaul at 1ish..then back to the apt to load up...then over to shan's house to drop off and load up..then over to my new house to load out for the final time.

I'm excited. This will FINALLY give me a sense of closure to the turbulent year i've had. I'm very ready and very curious to see how things go from here....

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Well..this is the last freakin' thing i needed...

So, i took the girls to McDonalds and Dairy Queen last nite cause i hadn't been givin' em' as much attention as i have wanted to lately with the divorce final, and moving into the new house..i've been doing something or been preoccupied with somethiing with those two things a lot.

Well, my mistake is I ate at mcdonalds..i figured, it had been over a year since i'd bitten into a cheeseburger and fries. However, i started feeling like crap about 5 minutes after being done. My stomach was gurgling all nite and sure enuff this morning...i ain't doin' sweet. I think it will pass..i'm gonna do what i always do when i get sick..drink vernor's and pretend i'm not. I am starting to feel better already..but man..didn't sleep a wink last nite...then of course shelly comes onto the sofa with me....Freakin' Mcdonald's.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Funny things a 4 year old says

Where as my youngest daughter Carly is talking, she hasnt' developed enuff skills where she can be as concise as Shelly. So, she's out of this blog..Shelly, however has really become an absolute chatter box and almost on a daily basis says something amusing..here's some examples:

While watching some hispanic men work on my house and listening to them talk in spanish: "Daddy, are those guys talking in Spanish? Cause they sound just like Dora the explorer."

Me: honey, did you have any dreams last nighte?
Shelly: yes
Me: what were they about?
Shelly: That i was cutting really bad stinky's and everyone thought they smelled really bad.

Me: Honey, i'll get your chocolate milk in one second sweetheart
Shelly: Dad! If you don't get it right now i'm gonna flip out on you!!

Shelly: (seeing a little person) Hey Dad! Look at that little guy! He's really little huh!! That's funny isn't it!!!
Me: avoiding eye contact with the guy cause he's right next to us...
Shelly: Hey! Look dad!! That little guy drives a little car too!! See it dad? See the little car that little guy drives!? It's right next to your big car!! That's funny huh daddy?!

She's a riot.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Random Run-In's

Well, these happen to me A LOT. Basically it's when you bump into someone you know, but not always really well and it can be either really cool...kinda weird..or really uncomfortable. I've been meaning to incorporate this into a regular part of my blogging but have been too busy..so, since i've thought about this in the past week i've had 3. It's what happens to you when you could attend a class reunion and win the award for "shortest drive to get here". I haven't gone far since high school...sigh.

1) At Artvan last Sunday. There was a skinny, cute red head in the clearance section. Didn't think anything of it. I saw her looking at me again and again...but again....i was messing with the girls and didn't think of it. So finally, she walks over and goes "hey, the wedding right?" And it clicked..i hung out with her for most of my buddy Jeff's wedding last year. Actually she was a really cool girl, kinda excited to talk to her again and catch up on what she'd been up too since we were buddies at her cousin jeff's wedding. So it took me a second till i came up with the name and was like "kirstin...?" and she goes yeah! and you are...?? i'm sorry, i have no idea". Obviously another strong first impression laid down by me. She was shopping for a sofa and i wished her luck and saw her on her way...

2)At breakfast saturday..nothing too unusual here, but one of my attorney's was in there...not quite what i wanted to see first thign in the am. But he's cool.

3) Last nite at my house i was walkin' thru it and the realtor walks in with a lady and her husband carrying a newborn. She asked if these perspective buyers could walkthru my home and i said sure. Again, this woman began looking at me..i looked right at her and made direct eye contact and smiled..small talked and kept goin thru the home..when she grabbed me and said "Josh...Josh Judit?" Still didn't click who she was tho..then after dodging the topic for what seemed like an eternity while pretending i knew i her i said "Sherry Sobbry!" She graduated a year after me in highschool...i didn't come close to recognizing her..altho really she looks about the same..

Maybe the moral of this story is how poor i am with people's names and the impressions i make on them and in return allow them to impress on me...either way...i'll have more of these sure i'm soon.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Art Van


What a bunch of monkeys. I go there last nite wanting to get a bedroom set for me and the girls..and maybe a kitchen table. i had been there earlier, talked with a sales rep..who's first words out of his mouth were.."hey, since you aren't gonna finance this i can knock more off the price and at LEAST pick up the sales tax" so i was like GREAT!

I go there last nite and not only was the original bedroom set i had picked out that THEY QUOTED ME ON not only NOT available as a king set which i wanted..but wasn't in stock anywhere in any size!! and NO DISC on it! So that threw my whole plan off....of course i'm dealing with a new sales guy who had no idea on anything the other TWO guys had told me..even the tho the other two guys from my first trip just said "come on back and if we aren't here someone else will take care of you..." Bullshit. This guy put together a price on the stuff i wanted..which took 40 minutes by the way and gave me ZERO discounts. So, i got mad.

I now have to go back tomorrow and try to find the original guys..what a pain in the ass..seriously...Big Dick Josh is going to come out and he's not the most fun guy...Art Van is gonna pay..and pay big. Freakin' monkeys.

Now, the positive side to all this is that this has made me re-evaluate my purchaes...after thinking of this bedroom set i was going to need..i *really* only need a dresser and a bed...that's it. I have like 12 shirts..my closet is a 5th bedroom...i may just get a bed and dresser...the girls don't have much more room in theirs either for anything more besides a bed and dresser too...so, i'm going back to square one..AND i can take the kitchen table and hutch with me from the old house...which i don't want...they are really kid used...but may for awhile....

just blows cause i was looking forward to shopping for some of this stuff and now i'm just pissed.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

$1


That's what i netted for Jury Duty. I made a bigger deal of this then what it was. Basically....you go into a waiting room of about 300 people...then you read. that's it. i read 150 pages in Journey to the Center of the Earth...when they finally called me in to potentially be seated for a trial. OF which i wasn't called and got to back to the waiting room...i was done by 11:30...they give you an atm card to use in the downstairs atm machine..you get $17 and you hit the bricks. Parking was $3 and lunch at TGIF was $13 which left me with $1.

I spent the rest of the day at artvan where i was ready to buy some furniture for the marked down price they had listed when the sales man approaches me and says ..out of the blue.."hey, i can do better then that for ya..come with me". Worst opening stament ever. i was ready to pay what was listed. I'm going back tonight to but a king set for my bedroom..some beds/dressers for the girls...and maybe a kitchen table..some linens and some wall hangings for the girls...hot nite for JJ

The Divorce

Well, it's done. Yesterday. REally, it was anti-climatic. All the buildup to the day and it just kinda came and went. Shan came over the nite before for me to sign everything..and the next day she went to the judge ( i didn't have to go) and she approved it all and it was done. I have to be honest, i had lots of mixed emotions. Relief..to be done with that awful process..sadness in that i know the girls have some struggles with all the transition..anger that there's lots of BS associated with it and joy and excitement to start a new chapter in my life. it's been a very hard year for me..and i'm really looking forward to the next phase of it.

Daddy's Back

Well, I've got more topics to blog about then you can shake a stick at...i was overflowing and even tho i am really behind at work..i had to get these off my chest.

First of all...Great Wolf Lodge was great. Shelly had an absolute blast down there....what made it better this year compared to past years was 1) It was just her and I and 2) She's big enough where can she do the big water slides with me or on her own..which means, i can do them finally! WE rode waterslides for freakin' hours. We chased each other thru the huge water fort..where, incidentally we went threw these tunnels which meant i had to bend over and crouch in weird positions a lot..and my back, today..a week later is FINALLY back to normal..almost. I could barely sit down in my car to go home the last day..my back was that bad. Great time tho..some random observations from the park:

1) The people down there are not attractive. i saw *maybe* one or two attractive women down there..out of HUNDREDS. and by attractive i mean they weren't Slack jawed. The guys down there all look like Brad Benedict and the women look like someone he'd date. Many of you don't know him, but trust me, it's a good joke if you do.

2) The state bird of Ohio is the pancake. Seriously, the average weight down there for the people i saw was at or near 3 bills. Not kidding. Most folks wore t-shirts in the pools and those that didn't I wish would have. I felt bad for the kids cause so many of em' are WAY over weight and poorly watched down there by their parents. That was VERY clear as well too. Me walking in there i compare to someone like Mia Sorvino walking into co-star on the golden girls. Mia is average in beauty standards for hollywood..but you put her on the golden girls next to bea arthur and rue mclanahan and she gets real freakin' hot. That was me in that place. (really, i just wanted a way to work that analogy in somewhere...).

3)The food is excellent. Greasy, good, over priced, and fattening.

4) i saw my idol: You really have to go to the park to appreciate this..but in the middle is this huge water fort..kids running evrywhere..sprinklers, water guns, fountains, slides..you name it..you go on it and you are getting soaked. Anywho, when i was chasing shelly i looked up and saw this hispanic guy holding the hands of his daughter and holding a 36 oz plastic cup of beer while water was pouring all over him, into his cup...he never was phased. He drank the whole chlorine based alcoholic beverage right down there in the middle of the fort. Slammed it...That moment sticks out in my mind like it was yesterday.

Here's a link...the only think i have to say about it is "yeah, No shit"..but anyways, i have WAY more to write coming up...my jury duty...my weekend..my final divorce day was yesterday, my new ongoing topic of "random encounters" and a lot more...


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_he_me/spring_break_risks