Getting So Much Better…All The Time
Today is a much better day than yesterday, or any of the days earlier in the week. It seems that once I resigned myself to the need to spend the weekend working and stopped trying to complete everything by today, suddenly I could relax again. So even working on the weekend is better than killing yourself trying to meet unrealistic deadlines. Hmm. Mentally filed for note later.
I brought my minidisc player to work today, largely so I could listen to my wacky ramblings from days long past that I have recorded on that thing. Luckily I also brought the battery charger, because the battery was completely dead when I tried to fire it up. Once it charges up some, I can hear stuff like me making fun of the Fox News theme music, playing games with an Infiniti G35 in the T/A, and throwing a ten-minute spaz in the car when I turned on the HVAC fan and heard a leaf was caught in it. (It finally came dislodged.) All of this crap was recorded about two years ago and for some reason I find it hilarious to play back. But then I’ve always been a tape recorder junkie. The more pointless the recording, the more fun it is to listen to.
Despite all the work I have to get done this weekend, I’m taking tonight off and just enjoying Battlestar and a good meal. I figure I can get up early tomorrow and spend all day working on this stuff, then by tomorrow night I can afford to chill out again. It really is a crummy project but at least it’s not too large of one. It’s just that here in the office I can’t find even the tiniest iota of time to do it. Well, the good news is that I got approval for the two days I wanted to take off in a couple of weeks to go to Disney World with the family, so that’ll be a good time!
This morning on the way to work I saw an unusual sight: a car I didn’t recognize the make or model of. It looked sorta like a Suzuki, but the rear end was like a smaller Camry with more sophisticated-looking taillights. It totally baffled me, and the closer I got, the more confused I was. Especially when I saw the Chevrolet nameplate on it! The last thing I figured that car for was a GM marque. Turns out it was a Chevy Epica, a Canada-only model that’s based on—I guessed correctly—a Suzuki Verona. Weird stuff. What’s with all the GM/Korean crossovers lately? It didn’t look bad, though…just cheap. Which I guess it is. It’s funny, though, because I thought the absolute last thing GM cars needed to look more like was “cheap.” But then Chevy is the “discount marque” of GM, unabashedly (and increasingly) so.
Speaking of cars, the Chicago Auto Show is going on this week, and while there weren’t too many new model debuts, the “Hot Mustang Alley” was really awesome. There were a ton of tricked-out ‘05 Stangs down there that really show what you can do with one of those cars to make it look even meaner and more unique. I’m really not that impressed with what any of the big tuner shops (Saleen, Shinoda, Roush) have done with the ‘05; the Roush is the only one I really like, and there are some parts of it which are icky—the entire interior is ugly as hell, and you can’t even get it with the IUP option with the voltmeter and oil press gauge! I’m definitely glad I’m not buying a car this year, because the Mustang is having its problems (did’ja hear the one about the hood that threatens to fly open when you go faster than 90 MPH?) and the GTO just isn’t right yet. When I look at my T/A, I can’t imagine giving it up for a GTO, despite the hefty increase in power and the nice independent rear suspension.
Sure is quiet in the office right now. That’s a good thing. The president of a big-name business magazine visited us today so we’re all dressed up in fancy duds so as to give the appearance that we’re all professionals here. (Well, we are, aren’t we? Some of us, anyway…) The day’s been zipping along pretty fast. It’s almost 1:00 already, unbelievably enough.
Hey, this is a major bonus. My boss just informed me that one of our data entry employees has a boyfriend whose dad is an auto mechanic, and a damn good one. He has a shop in a little industrial park near my house and he really knows American cars too, from the sound of it. He helped troubleshoot a bad throttle body on the boss’ GMC Yukon when everyone else was telling him it was fuel injectors. Maybe the problem with my ‘89 Formula is similar? I can’t wait to take my Trans Am to this guy for some maintenance work when I get my tax refund. Apparently two other employees have used his services as well and they’re raving about him. At last! A recommendation on a good mechanic! I’m stoked.
Okay, lunch time—I’m off!
Categorized as Life