So we’re not quite moved in… but we are functional at the new place. We got my office painted last night (we’ve given up on painting, but found Kathi’s brother-in-law is good at it and doesn’t mind doing it, so he did our bedroom and office). I still have to unpack my office, which has way too much crap in it. I need to reduce that. We have to put stuff on our walls. We also have to figure out our kitchen a little better. In the old place, our kitchen was not big, but had a lot more cabinet space as well as a large (about 9’x1.5′) pantry. Here, we have two windows in the kitchen, which is nice, but takes up a lot of potential cabinet space. We also have a pantry of sorts, but it is from the 1930’s, so it’s about 8’x1′ and about 6″ deep. We’re having a hard time finding places to put both food and appliances and even dishes. A little creativity and we’ll figure it out though. We do have some nice built-in china hutch things in the dining room that will help.
We’re also entertaining the idea of car shopping. Not for me, for the lady. Her current car averages in the low 20’s for mpg. At $4.19/gallon – that’s not good. She’s also facing a relocation of her job that will put her weekly fuel cost well over $100. I’m already at about $60/week, but we generally carpool to work. That’s just absurd to go through that much gas if we both are putting on that kind of mileage. We’re looking first at hybrids, second at fuel efficient cars that are still safe (so a Smart is out, Yaris is a tough call). The hybrid market is still poor in my eyes. There are several vehicles that call themselves hybrids, but really offer little benefit (the GM line for example). There are also a few that are just too expensive or the wrong type of vehicle (the Lexus models or the hybrid SUVs). So we’re left with Honda (which I will never allow in my driveway again after owning a Civic), Toyota Prius or Camry, Nissan Altima and that’s it. The Camry is priced higher than we want to pay right now. The Altima is similar, but at least comes with a great fuel credit from the government. The Prius is still the best bet overall. The problem is buying one. Used it out of the question, as they are still listing higher than new ones based on the “limited availability” of new models. As for new ones, the supply has caught up, but dealerships are still playing on the incredible demand and inflating the prices artificially (even though hybrid sales are great – auto sales are still poor to the point where you’d be silly to pay MSRP or above for a Prius – but a lot of dealers won’t budge). So not only do you have to be a jerk to talk them down on price, but you generally have to try and talk them down on price for a vehicle that isn’t even on their lot; which dealerships hate to do. Which leaves us likely paying a lot more than we care to do for a Prius. Probably the next best bet is a Corolla.
In other news, I think I am sick. My throat is sore and my head is congested and my nose is running. It’s pissing me off. The next person who tells me there is a flu going around is going to get my foot broken off in their ass. I don’t care what’s going around, I just care that I’m sick and the world should immediately stop what they are doing to help me. Well, probably not, but I could use some daytime cold/flu drugs.