So, Tree of Life, huh. I just, well, huh. Best Picture, huh. so yeah.

To be fair, it was pretty. And I didn't hate Brad Pitt in it. But...yeah.

Bleecker Bob's is closing. So sad. I bought a hell of a lot of records there in high school and college.

So I hear crunching and there's Oz chewing on a string of Xmas lights! And the lightbulb in particular, totally smashed. There's definitely shards missing that may be in his belly. Any other cat I would be freaking out, but it's so par for the course with Oz. Sigh.

Whumph. Had to run out after my swim. Have a baby shower followed immediately (actually overlapping) housewarming tomorrow. And have to get in market and swim in before that.

And I didn't eat dinner until 8:30. But watching the final Chuck. Watched it on and off, found it charming, but not appointment, want to see how it ends.

I buy used cars for fun. Drive 'em a while, sell 'em again. (Or I used to; now that I have a shiny NEW car I must be loyal.) I know what car I want before I go physically car shopping. I have a mental list of what I want, what I'll compromise on, and what's firm. I ask the salesguy to show me a *specific* car. The Internet helps immensely because I can see what's on their lot before I go. (Supposedly on the lot. If I get bait-and-switched, I just get up and walk out. They can't be trusted.)

I tend to just take charge of the transaction. I'm not sure how, really. I just don't let them talk. Salesmen are there to hand me car keys and papers. Let me test drive THAT car. Okay, I like it, I'll buy it. -or- It's crap, show me something else. No, that's crap too, I'm not even getting in that one, give me something like THIS. Okay, that's good, I'll buy it. I get the feeling not too many people do this.

Car buying is a mystery to me. My last few cars have been hand me downs from a friend who doesn't know how to take care of cars. We get them, do a bit of fixing, and drive them for years while our friend is shaking his head and going "That piece of crap is still running?"

I'm sorta like your second paragraph. (I drive my cars until they die.) I go in and tell them what I want (specs and range, really,) and do they have it? Do not sell to me. You can make suggestions, but if I say no once, I mean it. Once I get as much info on the car as they can possibly give me, it goes to my mechanic (I've only bought used) and they give me a comprehensive rundown. I counter and either they come back with a reasonable compromise or I walk.

I hate being sold to. Hell, I hate shopping. I decide what I want, and if it isn't there, I am thwarted.

We are where good cars go to die. They will have hundreds of thousands of miles on them when their (relatively short) time is up, but we will, in all likelihood, be their last driver. Usually they end up donated to our buddy's program that uses them to teach repair skills as part of a drug & alcohol rehab program. By the time they get there, there are plenty of things to repair.

The Pilot was the first time we spent any significant amount of money on a car since my first car (the Impala). And we did the internet thing too. We basically went to the lot once, said, we want this one, let us see it. Test drove it, negotiated the cash price and went home. Didn't physically have the money on us at that point, so no way for us to be hurried. Raised the balance of the money, came back with a cashier's check for the negotiated amount. It took forever to actually get the car because they were so surprised we were buying at that point.

There was a funny awkward moment when they mentioned the aforementioned price and then waited for us to dicker. But we had done our homework, gotten them to drop the price already, and knew it was a good price we were getting. It was even cheaper than the org that buys cars for missionaries that we usually go through. Our board treasurer, who owns his own accounting firm, told us we didn't need to bargain any more, and that they should walk away from the deal feeling happy and we should walk away feeling happy. So we both sat there across the table from each other, nodding, waiting for the other person to say something.

I love it. It's an amazing car. It's already saved us three workdays during which I would not normally have tried to leave the house. And heated seats. I feel so pampered.

so it's been over an hour and I am still just all... the hell?

so it's been over an hour and I am still just all... the hell?

What? About the Tree of Life? Malick doesn't make sense on TV. You have to see it in a theater. And even then it's not about making sense but it looks so amazing that you don't give a shit.