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.

I wanted to see it, but I didn’t because I’m pretty sure it would be a trigger for me.

Wuh oh? I don't even know the plotline to be of help.

Brian's beemer has heated seats. He's kind enough to warn me he's warmed the seats ahead of time so I don't worry I've wet myself... I am still unnerved by them, but I get it more with leather seats. And days when it is 15 and even through my coat in my car, I get the full body shudders after sitting in the seat the mere sub 10 minutes to work.

But when he drove me to and from the clinic and I felt awful, I really loved them. When you're sick, a ride with heated seats is just divine. I think I threatened to sleep in his car.

I don't have to see it in a theater. it wasn't the size of the screen.

and clearly it was not about making linear sense or a plot sense. gorgeous yes. points, yes. evocative, yes. pretentious, yes.

but who was who and when and what I was seeing. It would help me more to be all loopy dopy music swelling image swirling, or a story, even a disjointed jumbled barely dialogued story. mush them together? I am just dizzy and wondering if my body is actually big enough to express the amount of WTF I am feeling.