DEAD Pt. 2

I came home from work a few short hours after writing the previous post and my computer was dead. Again. Eff.

It's Alive!

After two long months, I am finally in possession of a working computer. It feels great. Sort of. I took my computer to the Mac store at the Gateway last week (if you are wondering why it took two months for me to take the computer there, don't ask. It is a very long story) where I was told the hard drive was not partitioned (?) correctly when I had the new hard drive installed. Shawn, by far the most helpful Genius I have met there, fixed that problem and had me rolling out of there in twenty minutes, which beat my previous Mac store time by about an hour and a half. So, I have a computer that turns on, which is an improvement. I can download music again, which is glorious. But, my computer has a tendency to freeze and think about stuff for looooong periods of time. This is why I bought a Mac so this wouldn't happen. Am I surprised by this? No. But '07 Cody would be. Would I be surprised if my computer is dead when I get home from work today? No. Would I be surprised if I got a call from "The Ring" guy giving me a creepy "seven days" threat? A little. My response would be something along the lines of "Wait, is that for me? Oh. OK. My computer? Yeah, that sounds about right. Mmhmm. Actually, it may be a little generous. OK. Thanks. Buh-Bye." Am I going to drop 300 bones so I can send the thing out to MacLand and have the hard drive, CD-Rom, et all. taken care of? Undecided. Unde-flippin-cided.

Let's Stay Together

(Insert picture of me hugging the front of my car, resting my head on its' dirty, dented hood here.)



One day, when I own a working camera, I am going to make things like that happen for real.



So after all the excitement, chaos, and hubbub associated with Cash for Clunkers and me getting a new car, I finally decided to keep the Monte Carlo a little bit longer. Let me explain.



Thursday was my first day-off work since I came home from Chicago, and I set it aside specifically for car shopping (Also, for sleeping, but that is no real surprise). I met my dad at Murdock Chevrolet in Bountiful, which received the honor as first dealership due to years of family business there. We test-drove the Cobalt (ahem? No power locks or windows? Wha?) and the Malibu (Really nice car for the price. My main problem is two of my friends drive Malibus. I need to be a original. I can honestly tell you that my food tastes worse at a restaurant if anyone at my table orders the same thing. Is this a disease or is everyone else like that?). They were nice cars. I liked them. I love my car. I had hoped for some time to think it over until the salesmen alerted us that CfC would be ending in four days. I told him we would hurry. Moving on.



Next, I picked up my sister and we went to the Honda dealership where I was told my clunker was not clunky enough. Hmmm. OK. We then went to Toyota. Same story. I didn't really feel like being told no by anyone else. With only two real options and only a handful of hours left to decide, I backed out. My great visions of driving a new car with new tires, new windows, new paint, and a new smell were gone.



As I drove home that night I played REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" as a caressed the dashboard of my old friend. OK, I didn't really do that. (Or did I?) I didn't. (?) I remembered all the good times the Monte Carlo and I have enjoyed together. Moving up to college and all the subsequent apartments. Impromptu dance parties. Road trips. Getting pulled over a dozen times. I look forward to my butt sticking to the leather seats on hot days. Or getting off work at eleven and finding my door froze shut in January. I'm glad that I can still smell the mixture of blueberry gum, gasoline, and air freshener and my friends can still complain about the passenger door not opening. I may use some of the money I had planned on using for a new car toward fixing up my old friend. But, then again, maybe I won't. I might keep things just the way they are.

Ugh.

Why are you doing this to us? Please just go away and leave us all alone, Brett. I hate being an NFL fan today.

New Car?

With the Cash for Clunkers program plus a CD rolling over next week, it seems like now might be a good time for the Codester to get an upgrade in the vehicle department. I am pretty excited about this prospect, but also a little sad. The Monte Carlo and I have been together since I was 16, and I am not sure I want to think about life without her. But, she is getting old and I am probably (definitely) not going to get this kind of trade on her ever. (Just as a fair warning if I clunk the Carlo, there will be a minimum 12-paragraph, 6-photo farewell post on this blog.) So, what do you guys think? Should I go for it? Any suggestions? Or should I just flip off the window of opportunity and drive the Mount Carl until the wheels fall off?