We're into the daily grind and it's going ok so far!
Todd loves his school and his students, and the new wheels. I'm staying super busy in prep for the student returning to the University campus. Early mornings and later nights to pull off the rebranding of the dining program!
Last week was a long week of driving but for a good cause. Friday and Saturday revolved around trips to Lafayette to mourn and celebrate the life of a dear friend, Carolyn Gephart. Moving services but a large void exists where her spirit was here on Earth. She is with her Lord now, rejoicing in Him.
Looking forward to seeing family in a few weeks and taking care of our apartment as schedules eliminate free time.
More soon!
Cait
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Veni Vidi Jeepie
We came.
We test drove.
We clunkered.
After 4 years driving a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Eddie Bauer Edition that was purchased from a family friend with 60K on it, we said our goodbyes to it yesterday. "Jeepie", as it was lovingly named by the children in the family who owned it before us, was hardly a clunker.
It ran great, had comfy seats, rocked out with the best of the sound systems of the late '90s and was a really distinguished shade of metallic maroon/eggplant. But it's age and mpg rating (15 city/20 highway) justified the move to a new vehicle as we commute more and tow less. The hiccup of uncertain time for dealerships between the initial $1 Bil being released for CARS and its replenishing funds from the government was still present as we negotiated. To our relief, the news media is chattering today about how the prospect of a new $2 Bil pledge to the program will likely occur. If the Cash for Clunkers program had not been available, we would have happily driven Jeepie many more miles. It's a major factor in our decision to swap out.
As Jeepie was Todd's car, the 2010 Mazda 3 manual car that we purchased is now his new baby. As an homage to Jeepie, I've nicknamed his new car, Majide. It blends "Jeepie" a stupidly close cognate of Jeep (ok, kids named it that) with sounds from the word Mazda that happens to be the name of the American gameshow-within-a-gameshow that mimics games played in Japan and kidnaps its players. We enjoy the show as a light diversion and I think the name fits. When you turn the car on, the LED display where the clock usually appears shows "Hello". In essence- Hi Majide, the phrase that the goofy host exits with, including the flash of a hand sign that looks like a peace sign with a thumb included, turned upside down.
Love it.
Memoirs from Cait:
I surprisingly mourned Jeepie's departure more than I could have imagined. Maybe it was the suddenness of the hand off. We decided to drive some vehicles after finding out I was let off work early due to power outages from a storm, never realizing we might buy that night. Personification of inanimate objects is a horrible byproduct of my Disney upbringing and my sensitive soul. I used to care which stuffed animals slept on the floor when I was a child and swapped them out the next night so they all felt loved. (GAG factor = 10.) As horribly stinky and environmentally irresponsible as Jeepie was, I pictured the mechanics loading her works up with water and sand and running her till the engine seized. A kind of car euthanasia. Thanks, lot worker who told me that. It deeply disturbed and saddened me to the point of crying on the ride home. Visions of spray painted letters spelling out "clunker" on her beautiful hood tore at me. Don't even get me to the point of where they'll destroy her.
Maybe the movie A.I. and the scenes of the Flesh Fair were the biggest influence in this horrifically traumatizing experience. If only we'd traded her in instead of having to clunk her. She was an awesome car. Sigh, sniffle.
Getting over it will take a few.... days. The Mazda 3 is a blast to drive, it's way better for commuting and saves more gas. Plus, Todd looks good behind the wheel. Excited for our first road trip in it, probably to a Purdue football game this fall.
Hi, Majide!
Cait
It ran great, had comfy seats, rocked out with the best of the sound systems of the late '90s and was a really distinguished shade of metallic maroon/eggplant. But it's age and mpg rating (15 city/20 highway) justified the move to a new vehicle as we commute more and tow less. The hiccup of uncertain time for dealerships between the initial $1 Bil being released for CARS and its replenishing funds from the government was still present as we negotiated. To our relief, the news media is chattering today about how the prospect of a new $2 Bil pledge to the program will likely occur. If the Cash for Clunkers program had not been available, we would have happily driven Jeepie many more miles. It's a major factor in our decision to swap out.
As Jeepie was Todd's car, the 2010 Mazda 3 manual car that we purchased is now his new baby. As an homage to Jeepie, I've nicknamed his new car, Majide. It blends "Jeepie" a stupidly close cognate of Jeep (ok, kids named it that) with sounds from the word Mazda that happens to be the name of the American gameshow-within-a-gameshow that mimics games played in Japan and kidnaps its players. We enjoy the show as a light diversion and I think the name fits. When you turn the car on, the LED display where the clock usually appears shows "Hello". In essence- Hi Majide, the phrase that the goofy host exits with, including the flash of a hand sign that looks like a peace sign with a thumb included, turned upside down.
Love it.
Memoirs from Cait:
I surprisingly mourned Jeepie's departure more than I could have imagined. Maybe it was the suddenness of the hand off. We decided to drive some vehicles after finding out I was let off work early due to power outages from a storm, never realizing we might buy that night. Personification of inanimate objects is a horrible byproduct of my Disney upbringing and my sensitive soul. I used to care which stuffed animals slept on the floor when I was a child and swapped them out the next night so they all felt loved. (GAG factor = 10.) As horribly stinky and environmentally irresponsible as Jeepie was, I pictured the mechanics loading her works up with water and sand and running her till the engine seized. A kind of car euthanasia. Thanks, lot worker who told me that. It deeply disturbed and saddened me to the point of crying on the ride home. Visions of spray painted letters spelling out "clunker" on her beautiful hood tore at me. Don't even get me to the point of where they'll destroy her.
Maybe the movie A.I. and the scenes of the Flesh Fair were the biggest influence in this horrifically traumatizing experience. If only we'd traded her in instead of having to clunk her. She was an awesome car. Sigh, sniffle.
Getting over it will take a few.... days. The Mazda 3 is a blast to drive, it's way better for commuting and saves more gas. Plus, Todd looks good behind the wheel. Excited for our first road trip in it, probably to a Purdue football game this fall.
Hi, Majide!
Cait
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