CafeChatNoir

The car doesn’t act up on the way home. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Still taking it in tomorrow, suspect this may be the beginning of clutch issues and would just as soon have it taken care of now. I think it’s due for a tune up, too…

OK, so February WAS a good month on the finance side of things…

Got the tax refund last week, bonus this week, emergency fund set, debt disappearing.

This morning on the way to work, I discover that something is very wrong with my car…

It would have been nice to keep the emergency fund UNUSED for a while…

Why replacing the little car isn’t such a bad idea…

The Ford Explorer that almost took me out in the middle of the garage this morning…

Less than 13,000 miles to go…

Occurs to me that I’ve been a touch negligent in keeping this sucker somewhat current.

Still working at the same place.

Introduced what would have been an infinite loop into the accounting system today, had it not been for the fact that the system just gets real tired after a while and totally craps out. Boss said that “killer loops are against the rules at ‘MegaTelecomYouDefinitelyKnow’” and if I did it again, it would either be “grounds for termination, or a cross country trip in a small car going 15 mph below the speed limit with Fire Marshall Bill” (Fire Marshall Bill being an, um, well, interesting coworker) It quickly disintegrated into name calling and making of faces and generally juvenile behavior. We get on exceptionally well. (Still can’t figure out how I broke the system)

Cool music via ISP…

Dishwasher died this evening. Off to Betty’s Maytag this weekend to find a new one. Paper plates until installation.

Went to a gun show this past weekend. Bought office furniture.

Found a place that will be having obedience and agility classes - good for the little loopy black dog. http://oldetownepetresort.com They claim they can teach her the “no chasing cats” command.

Made decision to start seriously looking for another car when mine hits 100K. It’s at ~86K now. Knowing that the end is in sight, I can put up with the one window that doesn’t work real well and the fact that as fun as the car is, it’s just too dang small.

The folks over at First USA Visa are apparently doing crack on the job - logged into that account this morning to find another credit limit increase. 236% increase since March of 2001. I could buy a car with that one card. I won’t, but I could.

Mailwasher - excellent anti-spam program, and free to boot.

Still staying up too late and getting to work late. (Not bad late, just not early late)

Other than that, all quiet on the western front.

On To Do list item #3, which is to end the weekend with the same car that I started with.

Have you ever had the car bug SO BAD that you just KNEW that if you set foot on the lot of a car dealer, it was all over but the shouting?

It’s not even the *new* car bug, it’s the *bigger* car bug.

Carmax has a couple of CRV’s I want. They’re starting to get in the 2002 models, even, which are a touch bigger than the previous ones.

ACK.

The clutch on my car is completely gone.

So, tomorrow I pick up a rental and start making arrangements to get the car towed to the shop to see how much it is going to cost to fix it.

Hate that car right now.

There is absolutely nothing “mini” about them. We’ve rented one to get ourselves and our bikes down to Norfolk for the Aids Ride. It is like driving a hearse.

I am the temporary owner of a Dodge Caravan “Sport” - again, nothing sporty about it.

This has at least confirmed what I have thought all along:

I will never own a minivan.