9:19

"It's a match made in heaven... by a retarded angel."

~Woody Allen

Okay, I know, I know..."retarded" is no longer a politically correct term, and as a matter of fact, I don't used that term, but it was socially acceptable at the time Woody Allen used it, and I saw no reason to change it. So if that is all cleared up, let's get to today's blog post.


( Click The Photo To See A Larger Version )

See my car, well my former car, Lilith, well I knew there was a possibility that she had made it into Woody Allen's film Blue Jasmine, and here is the maybe, could-be, possible, confirmation. Look at the picture at the top. See the car silhouette in the window, just to the left of Cate Blanchette? Well, I think that might be Alan and I, inside Lilith, as we drove down Lexington avenue, on the day Woody filmed there. Now of course there is no way to know for sure, but that sure looks like my girl, and the sun seems to be in just the right place, plus the two young boys who played Ginger's sons were there that day, we saw them when the film crew broke for lunch! 

"What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream?"

~Woody Allen

Okay, I am going to admit it, it would be the thrill of a lifetime to have accidentally made it into a Woody Allen movie, so yeah, I kinda really want it to be true. But at the same time, the car does look an awful lot like my car, so I am not completely delusional... maybe just partly so. LOL. At least as delusions and mistaken identities go, its harmless. You know the more I look at that photo, the more I am sure of it. It's Lilith. It was her last great hurrah. Less than a month later she died, and we traded her in for a new car. Our Denim Blue, 2013 Chevy Spark, that we named Carl.

It's strange to think that someone may be driving around in my movie star car. My Lilith, an uncredited extra in Woody Allen's amazing film, Blue Jasmine. And they don't even know it.

 
( Click The Photo To See A Larger Version )


Life is odd.

But seriously, it could be her... right?

"Eighty percent of success in life is showing up."

~Woody Allen

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

A Week Of Pink Day Two: Pink Butterfly Car Magnets...

"Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the down."

~C. JoyBell C.

Isn't She Lovely... 



My new car is silver. And I love silver, but I thought my car could use a tiny bit of color... just a splash! So, last week I decided to order some butterfly car magnets. They came in a package of 4. One Yellow. One Green. One Blue. And one Pink. They pink one is my favorite. In 2013, when we went car shopping for our first Chevy Spark, we narrowed it down to two colors... Denim Blue, and Techno Pink. There was NO WAY I was going to make Alan drive around in a pink car, but boy was I ever in love with that color! Alan means more to me, so off into the sunset we went in the Denim colored 2013 Chevy Spark! It was okay, I liked blue.

When we went shopping for a Spark this time around, there was NO 2013 Chevy Spark in Techno Pink to be found. Sigh. Bye, Bye girlie colored car... HELLO pretty, shiny, Silver Ice! One of my favorite cars from years gone by was a silver car that I affectionately nicknamed TINFOIL. It was a 1996 KIA. Terrible car as far as the brakes went, honestly, we replaced the brakes, pads and drums 3 times in 2 years, but it was a comfortable ride, and got amazing gas mileage. Her name was Sophie. 

A person makes a lot of memories in a car. The places you drive a car comes to mean a lot to you. Work. The hospital. Your parents funeral. One HELL of a Girl's Day. Dates with your husband. Simple chores. Sometimes when you just need to close the windows and turn the music up as high as you can, so you can sing without scaring the cats... THAT is what your car is there for! So why not give it a little personality above and beyond it's initial first impression?

Now I just hope no one steals them, but I know there is a good chance they will. Sigh. But maybe they won't. Fingers crossed. 

SHRUG!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

ART FOR YOUR CAR (Amazon.com)

Driving Is The Only Way To Fly

"Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft are written by men."

~Terry Pratchett, Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch

There are times when I dearly wish I was a witch! Not a mean, green witch with a wort on my nose, who dines on children, but a witch in the tradition of Samantha Stephens. A good witch! A witch who used her powers for the good of humanity, but who also wasn't above showing a man or two a few things about how a woman should be respected! She knew the perfect balance of things, Samantha understood that human's weren't a lower life form, merely a different life form than she was, funny how some "human" men, even in 2014, can't wrap their consciousness around that concept!

You see...

A couple weeks ago, after years of staunch debate in our house, Alan and I finally came to an understanding that we needed to unload the 2007 Saturn ION Deathtrap that we owned. We had sold our other one a 1 1/2 ago after that car came to a sudden and devastating vehicle death by stroke... or maybe it was automotive Alzheimer's... I am not quite sure what to say, but I am pretty sure it was all due to the fact that it pretty much stopped working properly 3 days after the warranty ended! Hand to God... no joke! 3 days after the warranty expired, the car stopped working and it was repair bill, after repair bill after that!

Anyway, because Alan thought it would be nice to not have 2 car payments to make for a while, he decided he didn't want to replace both cars at the same time. A decision I have been vehemently against, because of all the reading I had done about problems with the 2007 Saturn ION's. But it was his decision to make. We traded the one car in, and he gave me the new car to drive. He continued to drive his car, which made me completely insane with worry, but we don't railroad each other. I learned to live with his decision.

Fast Forward to... ahem... April's Fool's Day of this year, and the quick decision was made to get rid of the Saturn, pretty much with the third or fourth word out of the mouth of the new C.E.O. of General Motors, Mary Berra. Finally, Alan got it... the cars are dangerous! They had been lemons since we bought them. So, with the new enlightenment, came the decision to purchase another Chevrolet Spark. We have been quite happy... so far... with our Spark, it's in our price range, it gets great gas mileage, and has plenty of room for us and our daily needs. So, it was off to the dealership.


R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

When we walked onto the dealership lot, and were greeted by a car salesman named "Karl." Not his real name. We conveyed our needs in a new car and asked to see a 2013 model. They had one. It had what I wanted, and it was a 2LT. Check. It was "Priced to move" because it was a 2013 model. Tip: You get a good price for buying a model from the previous year. Yes, it's last year's model, but it is still a new car, plus you have a whole year to see what the car is like once it has been broken in! Always check cars out through Edmond's, or Car and Driver... HELL any car rating site, but don't stop there, read the forums and see what problems are being reported by current drivers of the model you want! Another plus... when you go to sell it, it will have a year less in mileage than might be expected!

Anyway, I did the deal, and got what I wanted. I was offered $3,000.00 I said NO! I wanted $3,700.00 or $3,500 at the very least. DEAL. The dealership said I could only count on a $500.00 Chevy incentive, I said, "Oh really?" One hour later, it was a $1,000 incentive! The Saturn ION was listed in Kelly Blue Book with a value of $4,000 top value... the car was not in top value... so I was expecting $1,500.00 especially given the fact that the congressional hearings were airing, which pretty much told the world the cars were a dangerous pain in the ass, if driven with the key on a FOB.

SHIT.

Anyway, I did the deal. Alan and I were happy with how things went. I looked the dealer in the eye and told him I was going to be the driver. I am the one the car's name is in as the primary driver and it is registered as such. I am the one who found the scratch on the dashboard, and endured the skeezy salesman asking me if ..."a free tank of gas would make things right?" A free tank of GAS? "How fucking much do you charge for gas?" I asked the skeezy salesman! I was then offered free "Butler Service" for one year? Or maybe I would like some nice, clean oil changes? NO... skeezy salesman... "you are going to replace the dashboard. It's a brand new car. I deserve to have a brand new car without a scratch on the dashboard... make it right."

And they did... eventually. It took 10 days for the new dashboard to come in. And come in it did... with 4 scratches on it, deeper and longer than the scratch that was on mine! I was told it would be another 3-5 days, and that they would request the order be expedited. 5 days turned into 9 days... and finally my car was finished, and ready for pick-up. It looked great. Good! Now I never had to see that dealership again. Fine. Good. Whatever. But yesterday, I got, or rather Alan got, a card in the mail, addressed to him, THANKING HIM FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH THE GOOD FOLKS AT CHEVY!

It was like I was never there.

I didn't do the deal.

I didn't demand that the dashboard be made right.

I didn't sign the loan or registration papers.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. The salesman did, after all, make his very first question to me "Which color are you interested in?"

I had to nearly bite my lip in two not to respond... the red... I hear they get better gas mileage! Or maybe the blue... I hear they are especially chill!

Sexism is a theme at that particular dealership, if you read YELP you will see it's true. What a shame in 2014 some men still woefully underestimate women on a daily basis, and how embarrassing for the male sex as a whole! The whole sexist attitude is just embarrassing and sad. Yes, that's it. I wasn't sad for me yesterday, I was sad for the salesman who sent the Thank You card, because clearly he is lacking in SELF RESPECT.

The Mad Men Effect: What's The Deal With Other-Era Sexism?
 (Forbes) 3/24/2012

Mood: Disappointed

~Me :(

Samantha's Driving Lesson 
Bewitched 
Season 1. Episode 26.
1965

Paper, Plastic, Or The Bags I Always Forget?

"Life is never boring when everyday I weird, sill conversations with my husband that only us understand."

~IKA Natassa Twivortiare

Look at that! Does my husband rock or what? He fit the purchases from both Walmart, and Safeway in the back of our 2013 Chevrolet Spark, with no problem at all. I couldn't have done it in a million years.

The List Included...

2 37lb Boxes Of Fresh Step Cat Litter
1 40lb Bag Of Purina Indoor Formula Cat Food
6 12pk Coke Products
3 pkgs (Female Doo-Dads)
1 12pk Grade AA Eggs
2 pkgs Kraft Processed Sliced Cheese
4 Lean Cusine Frozen Meals
2 Boxes Family Sized Sundried Tomato Crackers
1 Gallon Fat Free Milk
1 Special K Cinnamon Pecan Cereal
2 pkgs Sargento Shredded Cheese


 He is my hero!

I have NO IDEA what the mental block is with both experience when it comes to remembering that we need to bring our earth friendly reusable bags, as mandated by Alameda County. Sheesh... the law went into effect last January. We bought tons of them for shopping, but we almost NEVER remember them when we leave for the store! The worst part... they are all there, clean and ready to go, on the very door we use to go out of the house! We literally have to look at the bags, in order to leave the house, and we almost always forget them! And the thing is... I have NO idea why we habitually forget them.

We like the earth.
We voted YES on the plastic bag ban. I think.
We like that the reusable ones never break like the plastic ones do.
We always remember to throw them in the laundry after we remember to use them.

It's nothing short of a mystery.

Of course some might say Alan and I are experiencing "senior moments." We are both over 50.

Personally, I scoff at that. To me, a senior moment is when you bend over to pick up a cat toy and suddenly you expel a fart you didn't know was lurking around. Of which I know nothing of, personally speaking.

No, I think our absentmindedness is a matter of that... absentmindedness! I mean after all, it's not as if we both forget to put our pants on before heading off to Safeway. Now THAT is a senor moment. And while I turn 51 at the end of the month, I don't even qualify for a discount at restaurants and theaters yet. Well... most restaurants and theaters anyway!

WINK.

But really, isn't Alan awesome?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)



 He was clearly a genius at puzzles. Me, not so much!