Just a random thought vomit type post

Just a few things to say, no order, no rhyme, no reason, just stuff, and some straight to the point. I say ‘you’ in here often, meaning someone I know IRL or online needs a swift kick, and that someone may or may not read my blog *snort*.

• Ok, will you please stop dwelling so much on what you don’t have and how much more your friend *has* in life than you. So what if she’s got a wedding and a kid to look forward to, concentrate on what you have done in your life up until now and be happy and content with who you are NOW, not what you don’t have or what you haven’t done yet, shit you’re only 31, you’ve got time. You are a wonderful, caring, charismatic, daring, beautiful woman, and dammit, live life for NOW, not for ‘when’, or ‘ifs’ or ‘what ifs’, they’re all are useless. If you are completely unhappy, only you can change that.
• Will someone please explain to God that I could use some assistance with my brain function, even guidance would be nice. His silence isn’t helping me any.
• You cannot seriously think that it’s okay to not send out the school information before school starts tomorrow and hope for a non-chaotic day. No notice means a bazillion people asking your dumb ass where to go.
• I know I’ve said before that I suck as a friend, and I don’t believe that is true anymore, but I gotta say something is off with my life, as well as dh’s. We’ve come to the realization that we have always felt like outsiders where ever we go. We are not capable of making deep, close relationships with people, nor can we sustain the more shallow friendships we do have. We’ve both come to the sad insight that we each have 2 close friends, 1 of which is the other (did you get that?). I know a lot of people, dh knows a lot of people, but our phones remain quiet, our Christmas cards are from family mostly, and the friends we supposedly have don’t let us know when something is happening (like moving, visiting our town, etc). Just a firm confirmation of our suspicions that’s all.
• Is there some way to instill into people automatically about email/phone etiquette? When someone emails you, you email back, even if it’s a quick reply to say ‘no’, ‘piss off’ or ‘not right now’. If someone phones you, same shit applies, phone back. I’d say within 48 hours. I’m still waiting for my AW to call me back. I’ll be calling her this aft. anyway as I can only wait so long.
• Scrapbooking is easily addictive, but is it cheaper/easier to print pictures myself or send them in to be done? I need to get some pictures done but to sit here for hours trying to print them out 1 at a time is a PITA and time I don’t really have (actually, don’t choose to have as I’m more interesting in Blogging ). Man, I think I’ve just answered my question.
• I’ve said this before too, please, please remember to back up all pictures, and to check and make sure those pictures are viable so as to retrieve them later. A friend’s computer crashed, as I knew it would with how many pictures she has on there, and it could only be 1 year of pictures IF her backups are viable, or it could be 8 freakin years worth of grandchildren pictures gone if they are not worth the disc they are burnt upon. BACK-UP! BACK-UP! BACK-UP!! (oh and could that be the longest run-on sentence?)
• Isn’t it amazing the human uniqueness of every individual in this world? To me, it’s natural to balance a cheque-book, turn the screw to the right and be able to add math in my head quickly, but to others those are a mystery. It got me thinking that there are so many thing other people do naturally, take for granted, and mock others who cannot do them, just like I have done. How often have I sighed aloud because dh’s mind couldn’t keep up with my own, shook my head at a person with a bounced cheque, or gasped as a person said they forgot to eat (who DOES that?! *snort*). I have to remind myself that it’s not all about me and no one else in the world is just like me, thank freakin God Almighty for *that* little miracle.
• Why do I feel the need to put some sort of closing statement or paragraph on each blog. This isn’t an essay or term paper I have to close off.

Test-driving woman

I didn’t realize how odd it was for a woman to be test-driving vehicles on her own until my mother mentioned that I was being a ‘rebel’. Okay, what?! How is taking the initiative to seek out vehicles I’d like being a rebel? And then it dawned on me that not only did women of her generation not do that kind of stuff, but they didn’t even think of doing that kind of stuff. They got to try it out after their dh’s had already purchased the vehicle. That is so not me.

I test drove 5 vehicles basically and am pretty disappointed with the vehicle brand we’ve always gone with. I drove a:

1. Ford F350 truck, turbo diesel Supercab (actually drove 2, but they were 2 different years)
2. GMC Yukon, XL (which basically means it’s as long as a truck).
3. Pontiac Montana Ext (longer wheel base so you have storage behind the third row).
4. Nissan Quest
5. Nissan Armada (dh was actually with me, but I drove it).

The ‘07 Ford of course drove like a dream. There’s one thing about Ford and it’s that they certainly know how to make a ride nice. It’s smooth, comfortable and everything is easy to figure out. They are also more generous with their standard vehicles in what it includes, and the options are hilariously optional (tailgate step?!). I liked it so much that I liked driving it more than my own truck, which is a GMC. Don’t get me wrong, my trucks rocks, but the ride itself isn’t as smooth or comfortable. Although climbing into the stinkin Ford was funny, plus I’m used to jumping out w/o running boards (don’t use mine) and it was like jumping off the back of a tailgate, it was a long way down!LOL! The GVWR is impressive too at a huge 16,000 lbs, way more than we’d ever need, plus the torque is insane at 650 ft/lbs! But, here’s the kicker, these are brand new that I test drove for a mere $60,000 …

The salesman was very nice, considerate and didn’t treat me like a woman. In fact he was a little surprised at what I do know about vehicles (horsepower, torque, etc), and I wasn’t stating what I know to impress but to ask about comparison, etc. I didn’t get any inkling that he was trying to pull anything over on me or impress me with his macho-ism, he was just nice.

The ‘06 GMC Yukon was a pile of shit. I can’t see how people would want to buy these pieces of junk when there are other options out there for a lesser price. The one I drove had no guts whatsoever and it felt really clunky. Besides the fact that it had moisture in the dash, which made me feel for sure that I’d never buy a vehicle from that particular dealership. What dealer puts that on the lot? That’s a bad problem if it’s persistent, but it could also mean simply that the dash was taken off on a severely humid day, but why was the dash taken off? That’s not a simple gesture either, but an overhaul (it’s a bitch to get the new dashes off), why was it necessary to do that? Definitely not the vehicle for us as we’d be buying an SUV in order to pile a bunch of kids in and most likely pull a trailer and I wouldn’t trust that vehicle to pull anything. Besides which, the salesman had a helluva time getting the second seat to roll forward to let me in the 3rd, and this is only possible on one side, the other seat doesn’t move! This was a vehicle with only 30,000 km on it and it was only $40,000 – I say only because the Yukon/Tahoe/Suburban group are expensive vehicles and the resale is usually much higher, so it seemed off, but right on the money for what a pile of shit it was.

This salesman was a little more fishy. I don’t feel he was trying something because I’m a woman, but because he’s trying to get that piece of shit off the lot. He kept talking about how it’s such a loved vehicle and how once someone buys one they never change to anything else, and other kinds of bull. When I questioned him on the lack of power that is much less than a minivan he tried to tell me it was because I was feeling the instant power of a front wheel drive on the minivan and the rear wheel drive of the SUV is less instant, and you can’t feel it right away. I didn’t want to hear anymore bullshit so I didn’t want to argue the idiocy of his claim. But, dh and I had a good laugh over that one.

The next vehicle was at the same dealership and it was an 04 Pontiac Montana. Sad to say it had way more power than that ‘06 Yukon, but it did. It’s another reason I will not buy another GMC unless it’s a truck. It was an okay vehicle, but so bloody basic and uncomfortable that I wouldn’t ever even considerate it as an option. Again, you couldn’t get into the third row without trouble, or having to climb over and mess around. It did have an automatic door opener for the passenger side, which was neat, but that was the only ‘option’ it had. I’m surprised it had air! It also had 130,000 km on it, for $11,000. I can get a newer van, with a lot less mileage for the same price. So not only is this van model out for sure, so is this dealership. It’s too bad really as it’s local, and I prefer to shop local instead of driving to the big city.

After that day, I took a rest and went to different dealerships the next day. I guess the one day I did North American, and the next was Foreign cars. I went to a local Nissan dealership and test drove the Nissan Quest. It’s an ‘04 with 60,000 km on it, really not bad mileage, for $22,000. A good price, and a really nice vehicle to drive. The air wasn’t real great, I think it needed a recharge as it would not put out. It was cooler air coming in the vent and windows than the a/c.

The van itself was really great. I am seriously impressed with the features it had, yet it still was a simple vehicle. Every knob, button and feature was on a central console, making it very easy to find. The only issue I had with that is the odometer and driver options were also there, making the driver take their eyes off the road in a strange direction to get how fast they’re going. It also had the automatic door opener, with a rear hatch one too. Very handy. A lot more room behind the seats than the Montana in all ways – leg room and cargo room. Plus, the 3rd seat folded down into the floor very easily. I was just overall really impressed with the vehicle.

But, here’s my apprehension. I swore I’d never buy a Mitsubishi because they suck as a vehicle and the company does not stand behind it’s warranty. Guess what parent company is shared with Nissan … good guess, Mitsubishi and Nissan, Saturn, Isuzu, Saab, Acura, Hyundai, Infiniti, Volkswagon, Mercedes, Suzuki and Smart are all sub-companies of the Hyatt Automotive group. Now is it just the Mitsubishi locally that sucks so bad with warranty or is a policy of the entire group?

I think the thing that worries me the most is it also parents the vehicle I love the most out of all, and that is the Nissan Armada. I test drove an ‘07 Armada and fell in love with it’s handling, it’s power, it’s towing capacity, and it’s seating capacity (8). And it’s purty .

The only thing that is keeping me from making an offer on that Armada is dh.  He’s still not on my side, and I’m still not on his.  He still wants a truck, and I’m firmly on the side of SUV.  I’m sick of driving a truck, we don’t *need* a truck as much as he says we do, and I’m sick of trying to pile groceries and kids into a truck when I could be doing it into a more sensible vehicle.

So that’s where I’m at.  It may have been completely useless for me to test-drive, but I had fun at it.  In fact, I may do it every once in a while just for fun!

How are we going to haul?

That is the ultimate question in our household, how are we going to haul stuff? That is the reasoning behind a SAHM driving a truck full of kids instead of a van or SUV is ‘how are we going to haul things?’. Well let’s take a look shall we at how often we really ‘haul’ things besides a trailer….. twice we’ve been to the dump since we started renovations. . . twice in a year and a half. Good reason to drive a truck? No. And his other reasoning? His best buddy said, ‘you have to have a truck’. No reason why he HAS to have one, but he does. Does it affect his penis size I wonder if we don’t buy a truck?

A little bit of sarcasm you read, I get that way when stupidity stands in the way of reasoning. I guess the better question than the title asks is what the hell would we be hauling? I can understand the hunting concern as he does hunt, but really, come on, what are we going to be hauling ALL the time that it warrants us buying a truck?

I can tell it’s got my back up with this last ‘conversation’. Well, not really a convo, but more of a pissing match. And you know what the bugger is waiting for? For me to give in and give up. I’m stubborn, but am usually the first to give in as I’m more inclined to work around things, be more reasonable and less controlling. But not this time. This is a vehicle I will be driving, not him, and it doesn’t seem reasonable to expect to have an opinion rejected because I don’t make the money of the house (still a hot topic here too).

I’m going to try again, and try to be calmer about it.

What to do, what to do?

With adopting, we have come to terms with the fact that we’ll have to do something about a vehicle. Our currently modes of transportation consist of a 4 seater beater, and a beauty of a 5 seater truck that tows our trailer. We are in a bit of a pickle right now, not because we’ve got the kids already, but because we don’t know what type of vehicle we NEED not WANT.

What’s the difference between the two, right? Really, all we need is something reliable that will get our entire clan of 6 from one destination to the next, right? I’m hoping for decent comfort and something that will last us years. With me being the primary driver of this vehicle, and with previous yearly mileage taken into account, we should only put on about 10,000 kms/year (6,200 miles/year for the American readers). So any vehicle we buy that is gas powered motor should last 20 years for us, and diesel can last 30 to 40 years ….yeah right.

Our dilemma comes in the fact that I’m willing to look everywhere and dh is not. He’s what I consider a ‘brand snob’, meaning he only likes to buy one particular brand of vehicle, and that’s it, whereas I am completely not, as long as I have researched it’s reliability completely, I could buy almost any brand (with some exceptions of course).

Now, I’m about to break my normal ban on brand naming on my blog because I’m at a loss for what to do. I have friends that have made suggestions, but it requires a lot of change to go that route. I’ll lay it out for you (and for my currently feeble brain).

We could buy another truck. Dh is partial to diesels and has a certain brand in mind. I do understand his logic as it’s the brand he’s worked with and he knows the transmission well as it’s the famous one that has been used in big rigs and oil rigs forever (extremely reliable). Ok, the brand is GM with the Duramax diesel and Allison transmission (there, I said it ). It has many benefits for us as we are truck people and camp like crazy and we could have the option of keeping our current trailer until we find the one that fits us well.

The downside to this is the cost. Buying one that isn’t mile’d out is pricey, upwards of $40,000 + and the comfort factor is huge as 6 people don’t fit comfortably in a truck (trust me). Plus, dh is right, I do want the option of continuing to expand our family, and 8 people do not fit into a truck. I don’t want to go that route, buy a new trailer and have to do this all over again.

We could buy an SUV that fits 6-8. Our options aren’t huge, but the varying price is. Anything from the Expedition at around $50,000 used (WAY out of our league) to the Saturn Outlook at around $20,000 (or less). There’s Suburbans, Durangos, Armadas (my personal fave), etc. and all of them have decent towing capacities/GVWRs and could tow a normal trailer or hybrid w/o issue. All of them fit our family very comfortably and driving them are very similar to driving my truck, so it’d be very little change that way.

The downside to this isn’t much really but the cost, but that also includes the mileage they get with gas prices as they are (anywhere from 16mpg to 25 depending on make & model). That and with us being hunters, we’d have to get some sort of flat-deck for transporting deer/elk/etc.

We could go the minivan route. Buy a minivan, sell the trailer and tent it for a while until we find a trailer that the minivan can pull (which isn’t much at all btw – they are not made to pull trailers, and it scares the crap out of me to watch people not pay attention to their towing capacity and GVWR and make the road unsafe since they can no longer brake properly because they had to have a trailer … uh-oh, got off topic), and have plenty of room for all family members. Our options range from Pontiac Montana to Honda Odyssey, price range from $10,000 to $30,000 used (the Odyssey and Sienna both run really expensive here for resale).

The downside is really that we love camping, but camping in the mountains where it’s cold at night all summer long in a tent is brutal. Without a trailer it isn’t impossible, but I’m afraid we’d lose the desire to go as it’s a helluva lot more work with a tent and 4+ kids. Another downside is power and drive, in our area we get a lot of snow in winter and are in mini-mountains so having a vehicle that can tackle the hills is a must.

I’m really leaning toward the Armada side, but also toward minivan, but am so damn confused. I know a minivan will not afford us to buy a trailer down the road as they aren’t made to pull trailers, but is a trailer necessary?

It doesn’t help that we live in an area that is very much a ‘keep-up-with-the-Joneses’ type area where everyone has new vehicles, houses, ATVs, boats, etc, in other words, a very rich community. We are not rich, we do fine, but we can’t afford those frills. We’ve saved for a vehicle (that and trade-in value for our truck), so we won’t be stuck, but how do we decide? Any of the vehicles we’ve researched are reliable, any of them ‘fit’ (although not all of them comfy, like trucks), and any of them are in our price range. How the hell do we decide? Although, I did find that GM has the best warranty in the business (Basic 3 years/60,000 kms, Powertrain 5 years/160,000 kms as compared to Basic 3 years/60,000 kms, Powertrain 5 years/100,000 kms for others), but is that enough to make a decision by?

And here I thought that blogging would help my decision. Pfftt, didn’t help at all!