Note: There's nowhere to eat in Bedford, PA

The adventure is semi-over! My new Beetle Convertible is in my driveway (I have to clear out some space to make room for it in the garage!) after 8+ hours of being on the road. It's been a long day, so I'll leave the stories for another post and simply provide pictures:


Look at Ray drive away in my car!


Ahhh... home at last.


Out with the old and in with the new

The adventure begins!

So... in about 20 minutes DH and I are leaving for our 4 hour drive to Pittsburgh to either pick up the New Beetle or run away at the smell of a scam. It's going to be very interesting, to say the least. No money has changed hands yet - and frankly, I'll leave that part to the very end when I am sure I am about to drive away with the car. I'm totally freaking out... I don't have the impending feeling of doom or anything that would make me just shut the deal down, but I'm nervous. I called VW Credit last night and they confirmed that he did have an account (more than I have ever gotten out of them before) that he had requested a payoff package and that he was selling the car to a third party. They noted my name for record too - so that seems like it's on the up and up.

If you don't hear from me by 10pm tonight (by which I mean if I haven't posted the results of this boondoggle on my blog) call the authorities!

Times they are a changin'

I didn't realize it before, but it seems the majority of my minor and major life changing events happen between May and August. Graduations, birthday, marriage, job changes... today is one of those days. Sadly it is my last day on rotation in my dream office. Happily, the dream office is still my dream office; the work is incredible, the people are an absolute trip to work with, and there is a lot of potential in the work of the office itself for personal career growth. Unfortunately there are no spots open, but hopefully I've made myself an invaluable enough that that will change at the first opportunity.

So the next few weeks will be full of changes: new car (new to me, anyway, and hopefully), new responsibilities at my old job, vacation. July is going to be over in a flash! And June isn't even over yet.

Of all the crazy things I've done, this might be the craziest

Which, if you know me, means a whole lot.

I've just bought a car off eBay.

Seriously.

I bought an $18,500 car sight unseen. Off eBay.

There are more details that I'll share later about the sale (I don't want to disclose them yet, because I don't want to jinx things, but believe me when I say they are juicy!). I think it's a good deal. It's going to be an interesting weekend.

You can see the listing here.

Manic Saturday

So close, yet so far away

It feels great to get so much accomplished so early in the weekend. I had my car reinspected this morning for emissions - and I PASSED! Woot! That's a relief. So the car is good for another 2 years - emissions-wise that is.

I bought the paint for the living room and have one wall done. It looks wonderful - I am so pleased and it's only the first coat (it'll need two). Just three more walls (and one is barely a wall) and I've got 1/2 my painting requirement done!.

DH got both the front and back lawns mowed, and I got an out-of-control weed situation back under control. I've been emailing back and forth with a VW dealer for a Salsa Red convertible that he says he's selling me for $100 over invoice - but I can see plainly via Google and like 100 million websites that he's overstating his invoice by about $450. And he's padding the back end (taxes and all that) pretty well too. It amazes me that an "internet manager" would think that someone using the "internet" to buy a car couldn't instantly check out such statements. I mean, if he simply told me he could sell me the car at X price, with Y being the total for taxes, tags, etc, then I could respect him. But trying to tell me that he's giving me a "deal" by selling $100 over invoice. What. ever. Not only that, but I told him that I didn't need the car - I just wanted it, but only if the price was right.

This guy was no Bob Barker.

Two more weeks!

Until we go on vacation that is. To pass the interim time, I'm:

- dreaming about my New Beetle Convertible, trying to decide if I should maybe try and find a used Turbo to satisfy my need for speed or take the safer road and buy new (since VW's long term reliability is less than stellar).

- trying to get through a project at work that I am totally burnt out on.

- working on the deck; progress on which has been stymied by rain on the last two/four nights.

I still have to get my car to pass emissions inspection, paint the kitchen and living room, and hang curtains in the den. But it's so hard to wait for my new bug - I want it to look like this:

When's that vacation again?

Oh. my. gosh. I am so tired. Today was non-stop action. Haircut, more paint quarts to test in the kitchen and the living room, DECK CONSTRUCTION, finally approval of the paint color (after 7 test quarts!), then primer on the walls in the living room in preparation for the new yellow!

Everything hurts, we've just started making significant progress on the deck and in the living room, and tomorrow we've got to go to DH's parents' house for Father's Day and the MIL's B-day. And to hear all about the bay-bay. Ugh.

I'd rather be working on the deck/painting the kitchen/anything.

... but the saga continues

This postsecret postcard is a scene from one of my favorite commercials of all time (is it weird to have favorite commercials?). Matter of fact, VW has one of the best ad companies out there, because I love and remember a lot of their commercials. I must fit their target demo completely.

Case in point - before I went to test drive a VW Bug - they gave me a DVD for the New Beetle convertible. Yesterday morning, over chocolate-chip muffins and coffee, DH and I watched the DVD for shits and giggles.

It was like watching a snapshot of our own lives.

Well, maybe not exactly, but way close. It featured this couple on a road trip in a gorgeous red New Beetle convertible (tan interior, black ragtop, I'm totally in love with it) from somewhere near Boston to Washington Square, NYC with a stop in Woodstock along the way. They love diners, small harbor towns, and love coffee from small independent coffee shops. There were half a dozen moments when I looked at DH and laughed, because whatever was going on onscreen was totally something we a)have done or b) would do. The magnetic big daisy decals she puts on the car when they get to Woodstock - I COVET them.

It was frightening how exactly we appear to fit into the NBC's target demo.

Now it may be the case that they have an assortment of these DVDs - one for teen girls, one for recently divorced forty-year-old women, etc so that you feel like you fit the "target demo" or something, but regardless, it was funny. Actually, it really was quite entertaining, despite being a naked marketing tool.

Here's a quick snippet of the DVD movie.

And the results are in...

So I dropped by my local VW dealership tonight, DH in tow, to finally test drive a New Beetle Convertible. I drove an automatic, triple white convertible; sticker was 26k as I recall.

I knew I wanted to drive my daily route to work, because one of the roads I take is a twisty, windy backroad that in my little Saturn is an awful lot of fun to speed along. The Bug was a slug, no body roll or sporty feel to it. The pick-up was terrible too. DH's Jetta has no pick-up either, so I don't know why I was expecting anything different. Once I was up to speed the Bug was pretty responsive, and we went from 30-65 at a very peppy pace.

Eh... it wasn't a dream ride. I've had my car for 9+ years. so I know I have become habituated to its peculiarities. I was pretty disappointed my dream car was such a slug.

I'll have to test drive a Mini, I guess.

Notes and tidbits

Just a number of little things I've come across lately:

- My FIL just announced last night that my BIL and his wife are having a baby! Yeah! I'm free from the pressure from my MIL! Hooray!

- Wondering if any of the 2008 Presidental candidates actually have views similar to your own? Check out On the Issues and their 2008 Presidential Match Quiz to see. I can't believe it, but on my most recent quiz... my best match was Hilary Clinton. Un-freakin-believable. It wasn't a good match (and more for my "personal/social" beliefs rather than the economic policy) but it was the best out of the pack of what - 20 current candidates. They didn't include any third-party folk though, who I bet I'd have a better match with.

- DH and I finally solidified the last bit of our plans for our vacation in July. We're going to Captiva, Florida, for a sailing class, then to Grand Cayman for a week of relaxation and diving with the folks who did our open water certification. Flights are booked, deposits are paid, and we've got exactly one month to go!

More to come...

My babies

For the past week or so I've been enjoying my babies... my chickadee babies that is. A pair of chickadees nested in one of the boxes in our backyard, and I've loved hearing their little 'peep peep peep peep's when the parents are in the nearby trees chirp chirp chirping away. The nest is huge, and I discovered tonight that there are four babies in the nest.



We almost had a tragedy tonight, though, when I went to take these pictures. I lifted the door to snap a photo, and one of the little babies must have been leaning against it, and he fell about 6 feet to the ground. I gently picked him up and put him back in the nest - but I was scared to death that the parents would smell me on him and abandon the nest. I guess that's all an old wives tale, though, because shortly thereafter (and after I got the pics) we saw the two parents flitting in and out of the house again.



Phew.

These little guys have had it rough - between the black cat who sits on the fence above the house (and who I have thrown my shoe at twice to get him to back off!) to my infrequent intrusions to see their progress. I'm just glad they seem to be such resilient little guys.

Best. Internet Meme. Evar!

So I've posted this internet meme before, unknowingly, when I posted this pic of a cat strokin' his harbl. I've just discovered that there is a whole community of these pictures, called LOLcats (as defined here in its own Wikipedia article).

This website is apparently the home of the original lolcat and there are other galleries here and here. Best of all, Fark.com had a "Caturday" link on Saturday... where people made new and exciting lolcats!

Some of my favorites are:





Enjoy the lolcatz!

Well, that sucked

I've been looking forward to the season finale of "Heroes" ever since I started watching late last fall. The attention to detail, the storytelling, the characters, all were very, very strong. Tonights episode was supposed to be the big culmination of everything.

And it fizzled like stale Pop Rocks. I'm so disappointed.

I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't seen the series and whatnot, but man - they should have ended the season with "Five Years Gone."

Boo.

Hippie chick, part deux; why ignorance is bliss

So, I took George the Saturn in to the shop today to get checked out.. and he received an estimate of about $800 worth of work that should be done in order to get him to pass the emissions inspection he failed. Which I am totally stressing out about. I mean, it was okay when I felt like I had the time to wait around for my perfect dream car to appear, but now I feel like I need to get my car either a) fixed so it can pass inspection AND pay the late fee I owe for not having it inspected on time or b) sell it ASAP as is for whatever I can get for it and find another car right quick.

I wasn't prepared to have to make a decision RIGHT NOW (I know that I don't have to make my decision RIGHT NOW, I just feel like I have to).

Of course, I should never have taken the car in, but there were some weird things going on that were better to have checked out. Frick! Ignorance was delightful bliss.

Hippie chick!

So, my reliable (car) friend George is getting on in age. He's 182k miles old, 12 years old, and, well, he's starting to make me nervous. We don't drive him on long trips, there's lots of lost oil and check engine lights and failed emissions inspections... and it just might be time for a new (to me) car.

For years... ever since they started making them again, I have coveted the new Beetle. I love them, I desperately want the convertible (really not practical for this climate) and it's a passion that hasn't gone away, despite my having said "if George can just last one more year, then I'll get a new car."

I know exactly what I want: Sunflower Yellow with the Black ragtop. Or I'll take the Salsa Red, black ragtop. I prefer the Sunflower Yellow, but both of those colors came out in 2005 I think... so getting one off a 3 year lease means I'll have to wait a little longer.

So, I'll probably wait a little bit longer. Maybe if my car can make it one more year...

Operation Kitten Calendar

So DH and I discovered "Operation Kitten Calendar" on Acceptable TV - a show on VH1 where they show 2 minute clips of shows and viewers vote on whether they should be brought back the following week.

It's definitely a must-see show... check out the episodes here:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3 - the best one!
Episode 4
Episode 5 - The Reunion Special

Sadly, I don't think that they are making any more episodes, which is really a shame. But check out the ones they did make... they're only 2-3 minutes each!

DH's new ring tone is the hilarious "Kiss my A$$" at the beginning of episode 4. Don't forget to visit www.kittencalendar.tv


P.S. This series is made by the same crew that did "Yacht Rock," which is another hilariously funny bunch of webshorts that predate YouTube, I think.

What did I do this weekend?

As you can see... not much

Damning with loud praise

Okay, this is going to sound weird, but I am having a problem with getting too much praise at work.

Perhaps I should put this into context...

I am currently on rotation in my dream office. For the first few weeks, I was pretty bored, partly because there wasn't really anything for my to sink my teeth into, partly because I hadn't built up credibility and trust in the group for them to hand me work, and partly because there was a great deal of uncertainty with how best to use me. I took on a project that I have worked on in my previous life in my home office - one that is vitally important to the credibility of the organization in the planning and budgeting process that no one else wants to do, but really, at the end of the day, doesn't represent what the office does primarily and what I want to do.

In any case, just to have something to do.. I took this project to it's logical end, with respectable results. They've never had anyone do this kind of work/analysis at this level, so it borders on the second coming of God from there perspective or something. At least, that's how they praise me.

As nice as it is, and as much good as it is doing for my reputation within several very important areas, I think it actually might be hurting me in the long run. I've not gotten too much of an opportunity to explore other projects in the office, both because I've been completely buried in the work that I have been doing, and because people know I'm doing this project, and are likely not to think of me in handing over additional work. I'm getting praise for skills that frankly I know are my strengths, and I'm not learning what types of skills they are looking for when they have an open FTE slot, and I'm not really getting the chance to develop those skills. I'm not learning about what weaknesses or deficiencies I have with respect to the needs that they have.

I've always fervently believed that praise is nice, but constructive criticism is better. It takes more time to deliver, more thought to form, and does more for me in the long run. I feel like a comet that only passes by Earth once every 100 million years - I saw this rotation as the opportunity of a lifetime, and I worry that it might become a glancing blow as I then am stuck in a different trajectory.

I know... oh woe is me, to have such petty problems. But when you get so close to something that you've been aiming for for 2 years, putting up with immense amounts of BS for just the opportunity to make an entree, knowing that you might not be getting what you need out of it is frustrating.

Frick.

Why I hate being alone in the house...

This morning I had the scare of my life...

As you may recall, DH and I had our house broken into (through the basement) earlier this year. This led to us activating the house alarm system, among other things, and probably made me more wary of every unfamiliar noise in the house.

I was in the kitchen making my morning coffee this morning when I thought I heard steps on the basement stairs (they're wooden and creaky). Since DH's father (who stays with us during the week) had already left for work, I totally freaked out... watching the doorknob to see if someone tried to turn it, thinking that someone had broken into the basement again and was trying to get upstairs. Then I realized that the alarm was on, and there are motion sensors in the basement that set it off. Since the alarm didn't go off, I tried to reason with myself that it must have been the cat on the stairs (Eliza - the cat - ran upstairs as soon as I came down, and she usually makes a tremendous amount of noise when she goes up/down the stairs.) But I was still freaking out... so I got all the stuff that I needed for work together very noisely and ran into the garage and drove away.

My heart was totally racing, I was so scared. There was no way in heck I was going to open the basement door to check it out... no way.

I did see Eliza on a dining room chair right before I left, so it was very likely her... but jeebus was I scared to death. I had to yoga breath on the train ride to get my heart rate down from heart attack speed.

Update! I got home first this evening, and the first thing that I did was go out into the backyard to see if any windows had been broken (they hadn't). Then I checked around the living room to see if any obvious stuff (the Wii) had been moved/stolen (nothing was), then I went to the basement to look around (all was the same as I left it). So I was afraid of a whole lotta nothing. Which is fine.

Name change and other things

So, I've decided to reinvent myself once again. When I started this blog, I had just finished re-reading "The Sun Also Rises" and fell back in love with the character of Lady Brett Ashley. I fancied my life as mirroring hers in some ways, which if you've read the book and know about my past, you could understand (I'm married now, so if you don't know me or know what I'm talking about I'm not going to go into it).

I've not been like Lady Brett for many, many years now (I'd say about just about 9 years), so maybe it's time to drop that alter ego in favor of something more reflective of who I am now. I'm just a girl working for NOAA, so I'm now "NOAAgirl." Nothing too radical, too allegorical, just me. And what I do.

Of course, I realize that being defined by who I work for is a little scary, but I actually really believe in most of the work that the agency is doing, and I'm quite proud to work here. There are problems, there is bureaucracy and ridiculous pet projects and all the ills that exist in the federal government, but at the end of the day, I can still feel pretty good about what I've done.

Plus, NOAA actually encompasses all of the things that I geek out about... nautical charts, fish, coral reefs, weather and hurricanes, severe storms and tornados, deep ocean research, etc. When I worked at NASA, it was cool and all, I mean, but I couldn't really love it. I mean, I was never going to visit the moon or Mars in my lifetime (probably not, anyway). But I love boating (nautical charts) and snorkling and diving and fishing (coral reefs and fish), and I totally geek out over hurricanes and love seeing footage of tornadoes (true fact: one of my dream vacations is two weeks storm chasing!). It's a good fit.

So, with that long winded explanation for absolutely no reason completed, I've changed alter egos. Not that it makes one whit of difference in the world, but whatever.