I have to ask, does this add make sense? I went to an MMA bout a month or so ago and we sat at a table with a bunch of sponsor cards on the table. This one for a local bar made me wonder if I'm missing something or if this is just stupid.
"Thirsty Thursday, $10 All you can drink, free"
Am I missing something? Is there a new definition of "free" that I'm not aware of? How is $10, free? Inflation is a bitch.
I'm not sure how it works in you area, but here in Des Moines, there are a few convenience stores that have air for your car tires. Near my house, there are 3, 2 are free and the other costs $1.00. I'm a cheap ass, so I go to the free ones, but 95% of the time, they are broken. What is up with things that they are so fragile? Are they made by Fisher Price? Why can't they get these things up and running, and keep them running. This wouldn't be such a big deal, if I could find a different one that worked, like by my office. There is one free air pump by my office, which is broken as well. I don't have an issue with paying a dollar, but I never have a dollar in change in the car and I'm too damn lazy to go inside, just for change. I did find one that worked in MN, but I didn't have my tire gauge, so I couldn't use it to its full potential. Why is the air such a big deal? Well my car has a warning that comes on when a tire is low, but it doesn't tell you which one. You can't shut that light off until you get the air right, but I can't do that, so I have to look at that light every time I get in the car and it's starting to drive me nuts.
On my trip to MN a little while back, two things stuck out to me. First, in a stretch of 6 miles, I know it was six miles because it was in a construction zone and the sign said 6 miles, I passed 3 state troopers. That might not be a big deal in a lot of places, but in the middle of know where Iowa, it seems a bit extreme. I passed one 20 minutes before the zone and I passed 2 more after the zone, before the IA/MN border. That is 6 cops on an interstate cutting through some of the least populated areas of Iowa. Second, I have a very embarrassing thing happen to me on the drive up. I watched in the mirror as I was approached from behind by a disturbing sight. Then, in a flash, it whizzed passed me and I snapped this photo, if you can see it through the vapors.
Yes, that is a Smart car, and I think being passed by this type of car basically makes you an old man, so that's not good for me.
Also, while in MN, we went to a lake that Marcy visits regularly when she is up there. I have to say that the people of MN really know how to get the use of their 10,000 lakes (That is what there nickname is, if you didn't know) The lake we walked around had 2 paved paths, one for walkers and one for bikers/roller bladers. That is an awesome idea and the lake was packed with people getting use of both lanes. There was a ton of stuff to do, swimming, boating along with the previously mentioned walking, biking and roller blading. We walked around to a path that led you to another lake that had this:
A really cool place to listen to music just off the late. We sat for a short time and listened to a dog with a high pitched bark try to drown out the symphony that was trying to interrupt his repeated barking. If your dog won't shut the hell up when in public, why would you take it to a concert? Just because you can? Seemed a bit rude to me.
I mentioned in an earlier post that we are now playing slug bug. I wanted to say that MN has a crap load of Bugs and PT Cruisers. Marcy and I spent the weekend beating the crap out of each other and I noticed something on one of my sightings. I turned and punched Marcy in the arm and pointed to the Volkswagen. When I looked in the car, I saw that they were watching us and laughing. I realized that the people who were in the car must actually like watching people punch each other, just because they are near with their car. Kind of makes you want to get one, doesn't it?
We took Makiah to Toys-R-Us the other day to pick out his birthday present. While we were there, Marcy spotted this sign:
OK, why would you even print a sign that brags about saving "over a dollar" on a nearly $100 item? If you can't see it, the original price is $99.99, so while the savings IS over a dollar, its over a dollar by $.01. Hardly seems worth the paper it's printed on. Are they f'ing with us, or are they seriously promoting a $1.01 sale on a $100 item?
We have a 2001 Dodge Caravan. It has been a good car, but is starting to fall apart. One thing that broke a few years back, is the passenger side window no longer rolls down. It hasn't really been an issue, until recently, when the air conditioner went out. Now, we only had one window that goes down and the back of the van on a 100 degree day gets a bit steamy. We went down to Mt. Pleasant to pick up the boys, who had spent a week at Uncle Rob and Aunt Stacy's house (which they loved) On the way home, with one window down and the wind blowing in air that felt like it was coming out of an oven, Makiah informed us that he was going to throw up. I don't know if it was all because of the heat, but it certainly didn't help the situation. We pulled off the highway in Oskaloosa to get the boys something to eat and to cool off a bit. As we were approaching the turn into Mcdonalds, the van died. This is never a good thing, but at this time in our lives, a big car repair bill was not something I wanted to think about. Marcy got it started, but the van coughed and sputtered and wanted to die again. I told Marcy not to turn in front of the on coming traffic, seeing as how it might die and we would get t-boned. We drove a little further at a blistering pace of a few miles an hour, where it died again, right on the railroad tracks. I've heard about cars getting hit by trains and I could never figure out how. Now I know one possibility. Marcy got it going again and I shut off the "air conditioner" that was currently blow warm air. The van stopped sputtering and we were able to get it out of the road. Long story just slightly shorter, we were able to get the car home without an further incident. It was starting to get dark, so it was much cooler. I was terrified to take it to a mechanic so they could tell me I could pay $800 to fix the window or $1000 to fix the AC. I have no idea what it would have been, but I didn't want to hear it. We had been talking to Marcy's dad, while in Mt Pleasant and on the drive home, and he said he would help us get a new safe van for, really, Marcy and the boys to ride around in. I rarely drive the van, except for the last 6 months, so I was glad that they would soon have a safe reliable vehicle to get to MN and school. Marcy's parents picked out a van and kept it a secret from us until they showed up with it. It is fantastic, lots of cool features including dual dvd players to keep the boys occupied on trips. I got to drive it for a few days while Marcy was out of town, but she has it now and I'm guessing I'll never drive it again. But that's ok, the best features are aimed at the passengers, and that is what I will be soon.
OK, I'm tired, that is enough for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment