Sarge's Day

Yesterday was memorial day.  And today we remember Sarge's Day.  Everyone say happy birthday Sarge!

A few weekends ago I went to Kansas to visit my favorite people, a few old friends from my undergraduate days, the Italian nuns.  Only one knew I was actually coming.  The way it worked is that they were hosting a weekend long celebration (when they party they tend to go all out), and I thought then would be as good a time as any to visit.  Since graduation, I've only seen two of them, and haven't really spoken to any of them.  Which I realize is rather lame considering that I just said these are my favorite people, but it was still a big deal for me to go see them.  Like I have dreams about seeing them.  In my undergraduate years, I was friends with the lot of them, but I also met one-on-one for spiritual direction with their mother superior.

So I showed up in Kansas, about an hour late, and merged into the large group of people unbeknownst to them.  Eventually I went up to Sr. Susan (the only non-Italian at the time), my old director, and said hi and gave her a big hug.  Having her hands full and rushing off to the next stage of the party, she didn't know who I was at first, and just said hi, thanks for the hug.  But then she recognized me and basically erupted with joy.  She then pulled me into a room full of strangers and said, "everyone this is my friend I haven't seen in 8 years."  Then she looked at me and simply said "share".  So I had to talk in front of a room of strangers what I had been up to the past 8 years.  It was a bit embarrassing, and I rambled a lot, but Sr. Susan had a hard time putting sentences together at first, so I think all in all it went okay  A little later I went and said hi to Sr. Clara, who I taught English to when she came to America many years ago.  She is a little more animated than Sr. Susan, and she too didn't recognize me at first.  But when she did, if Sr. Susan erupted, she exploded.

On Saturday, they invited me over to dinner at their place with the other nuns and the girls who are thinking about joining.  I can't get anyone to respond to me on the dating sites, but I can get dinner with 9 unavailable girls no problem.  Before dinner we had to get their house ready for the final party on Sunday, and I was asked to help with some yard work.  I started whistling that tune to Lilies of the Field, and they started singing.  But only Sr. Susan, the American, got the joke.  The others knew the song, but hadn't seen the movie.  Sr. Susan was displeased by this, so hopefully she'll lay down the law and force them to watch it.  Anyway, once I finished what I had to do, I noticed they had a lot of wild onions growing in their flower garden, and I set to picking them.  During this time, Sr. Clara walked by.  Think of a young women, maybe late 30s early 40s, whose short with dark hair, and speaks very good but Italian-accented English.

Sr. Clara you've got too many weeds growing in your flower garden.

Really?

Yes, you see these?  These are weeds.  They are called wild onions.

No, these aren't weeds.  They are food.

No, sister you don't want to eat these, these are no good.

No, you see the bottom, that's the onion.

Yes, but you don't eat that.

No?

No, they are weeds, these aren't onions to eat.

Oh, but they have a pretty blue flower.

No, no, they aren't flowers either.  They're weeds.

But the flower is pretty.

Sister dandelions have pretty yellow flowers but they are weeds.

Haha, that is true!  But, mmmm (smelling sound), they smell good.

Sister, they do not smell good!

No, look here at the bottom, they smell.

Yes, they smell, but they are not good smelling.  These are weeds, you're supposed to pick these.

Oh, I see.  Okay, I'll help you pick them.

Okay good.  Now look here, you see how I removed a bunch of them?

Yes?

Well it looks really good now.  It took a little amount of effort and the result looks really good.

Uh-huh.

Well let's learn some more English.  We say, "I got a bang for my buck."

"Bang for your buck."

No, no.  You want to say, "I got a bang for my buck."

Ah, okay.

Do you understand it?

No.

Think of when you wash a dirty or dusty white surface.  It looks so much better when it's clean.

Uh-huh.

And now think of a brown surface that you wash.  It doesn't look any better.

Ahh, yes, I understand.

Later that night.

Sisters this new house of yours is amazing.  I still can't get over it.

Sr. Lory:  I liked our old house.

Everyone else:  Ahhh! (the place could only charitably be called hovelish)

Sr. Lory:  No really, the only part I didn't like was the kitchen floor tile.  No matter how many times I washed it, it never looked clean.

Sr. Clara:  Yes, you didn't get a good bang for your buck.

Wheeling and Dealing

Jaguars have always grabbed my attention. The cats are awesome, but in this case I mean the cars. There’s something about Xj6/8 models that just scream British class. The outside model looks beautiful and it has that wonderful “leaper” emblem that jumps off the hood. The insides are also stunning, and have a ton of leg room in the back and even picnic tables. The picnic tables are like the trays that are on the seat in front of you in airplanes, except these are too small to be of any use. But it’s still cool to see them there. Another neat feature is that they had only one wiper blade. It was these sorts of subtle details that made the car a standout amongst the others in its class. The others tend to do 1 or 2 of 3 things right. The three being, exterior, interior and engine. And generally only the jaguar gets the exterior right in my book.

I had always wanted one, and a few years ago for fun I decided to look on Craigslist and see if any were for sale. At this point I had no knowledge of Jaguars other than that I thought they looked very nice. I didn’t even know there were multiple models. There are three if you’re curious. And I was looking for fun, because I thought they were going to be very expensive. At the time this was my first time of ever looking to purchase a car. So I had really no idea about prices, and all the other things that go into a purchase.

So I was rather surprised when not only did I find one going for what seemed a very reasonable price but also really close to where I live. The listed price was for something like $8000. When I went to look at the car the sale sign on it said $7000. But I was sold at $8000. The car was beautiful. I had never seen one up close and it was amazing. Then I got to drive it and I was astounded at how wonderful it felt and handled. I had been in other “luxury” cars and they weren’t even close to this experience. To me the car felt like an old man who is confident in his abilities but doesn’t feel a need to show them off. If necessary he will display all his might and muscle, but otherwise he is happy to just remain at peace. The other models I was in were more like teenagers, who have their flavor of the week music always on loud, and want to instantly go from 0 to 100 back to 0 again. They were a jerky mess, with the exterior and sometimes interior stylings associated with the fads of the youth.

Clearly I wanted to purchase the car. But I already had a mini-van. But this was no ordinary mini-van. This was the 1998 Honda Odyssey. That model came out in 95, and it was, in my mind, revolutionary. The van had 4 doors, which in 95 was unheard of. And they opened like car doors, not those sliders that we still find today. It had power windows, not the push out ones found in vans back then. It had a 6-CD changer, and sun roof. Sure it wasn’t masculine but it was still awesome, and it handled great. But it was time to say bye to it. I had put on a ton of miles and it was starting to experience some mechanical problems.

The man who sold me the Jaguar wanted to purchase the van from me as a mother’s day gift for his Mom. He drove it for a short while and made me an offer. The conversation went like this:

Him: What would you like for this van?

Me: I haven’t given it much thought yet, so how about you make me an offer?

$500

No way. This van is worth more than that.

$800.

No, I haven’t gotten a price in mind yet, but that is much too low.

Make me an offer then after you’ve thought about it.

…sometime later …

Okay, I would like $1800 for it.

I will give you $1500.

Okay. I will think on it, tonight and let you know tomorrow.

…after much thought that night…

Hi, I will sell you the car for $2000.

Wait, I thought you had said $1800 yesterday.

Well, I thought about it and decided it really is worth $3000, and I’m going to put it on Craigslist. But to if you save me the hassle of having to deal with all that, I’ll give it to you for $2000.

What about that $1800 price?

No, it’s $2000.

So you won’t sell it to me for $1800?

No. That was the price yesterday. Today is a brand new day. The car is worth $3000, I will sell it to you for $2000. It’s a great deal you should take it.

Okay, I’ll take it.

….

Later that night we both had misgivings. In my blinded by love moment, I quickly learned that this Jaguar was going to cost me in terms of necessary upkeep. And when I called him up to ask about one issue in particular I was seeing, he said he felt hustled by me. Apparently he found out that the transmission was about shot in the van. Well we both played the fool, and were both taken. Still despite all the problems I had with the Jaguar over the years, I would still love to have another. But not this recent bunch. Shame on them. They took that beautiful-classy design and it turned it into another run of the mill looking sport car.

Hopefully From Ill to Oh Much Better

What a wreck. I'm gone for just a little while and I see that the dialogs used to write these posts have completely changed. They were working just fine before and now I have to learn how all of this works. Fortunately the blog itself still looks great. Although sadly one of my links to a wonderful website no longer works because that website no longer exists.

Repetition tends to be the way for me. Sunday after Sunday, bead after bead on the Rosary, and Frosted Mini-wheats Monday through Sunday. Change can be fine, I just like being informed well in advance, in writing and in person, with a demonstration and justification. Unless of course I initiate the change. Then it can be spontaneous. For example, maybe on Wednesday (hey that's today!) I decide to have Frosted Flakes instead of Frosted Mini-wheats. As for when others implement a change that affects (did I get that right, affect vs effect?) me then I want those guidelines followed. For example, in early Feburary I learned that the office I work in will be closing at the end of June. That was a nice 4 month advance notice which was given in person and later in writing. The justification was totally lame, but one was given. And the demonstration is the fiasco currently being played out by the company in the city where I will be moving.

So yes, work gave me the choice, I can relocate or I can find new work. I took the relocation option. There is work available where I currently live but after some thought, moving seemed like the best choice. And so right around July I am heading off to be much closer to home. Just last Wednesday I sold the Jaguar and signed a lease with the new apartment. Leaving where I currently live will likely be the hardest part of the move. Where I live is best described as a country club, and nothing where I will be moving comes close. But I believe I was given a sign from above in finding the new apartment. The complex allows pets, and during my first trip out there, while in the leasing office I looked out the window and saw a Basset Hound being walked. I sort of made a small scene when I saw this. Additionally I will now be able to easily walk to work, and I will be the first tenent in the particular apartment I have selected.