This is my new baby.



This is what Pastrami from The Hat looks like.



I can feel my arteries hardening in a good way. Yum.

The Saga continues.

I was at a ward party in my old ward and ate tons of meat. Praises to the Carnivore God, at whose fiery altars barbecueing worshippers must sacrifice tasty beasts.



So, my little sister has me drive home with her. She took the oportunity to hit Wendy's for frosties and have a chat. Guess what it was about. She took her turn trying to convince me to move to Cali.

Drove to UT. Sad. Stopped in Vegas to visit my Aunt and Grandma. Take a wild guess what that talk was about. I've got to hand it to my Mother. The woman is thourough. If anyone ever wonders why I have such a strong personality, they just have to take a peek at her. Early on, I learned I could either arm myself or submit. Bring on the guns.

I have a new car.

My dad was thinking of having me look at PT Cruisers because there is a dealership trying to get rid of their 06 models to make room for the 07 models. I get here and tons and tons of people have Cruisers. I had a little birdie chirp in my ear that they may fall apart in 4 years, so we looked at alternatives.

The high-pressure sales day for dealers is Saturday. They put specials in the paper on fri to get people to come in on sat. Fri's LA Times had an ad for Sentras that looked really nice. Our sales person was this 19 year old kid. Good guy. We set up the sale and there must have been a miscommunication or something (diplomatic language) because some numbers got fudged between the manager and the guy that actually finishes filling out the paperwork and gets signatures. My Dad had to correct their math twice. Thank Goodness he was there. I was already in the "automatic yes" mode I get in when I read an EULA. I was ready to just get my car and get out the door.

I went from a maroon 94 Sentra to a black 06 Sentra with 10 miles on it.

yay

Wednesday

I made it the 625 miles to my house in 9 hours. I went 5 over the limit the whole time and was worrying that my little Sentra wouldn't make it. The longest I'd driven her in one go for the past couple of years is maybe 2hrs straight. She did me proud.

I went out to lunch with my mom and we chatted amicably. We then went home and the fun began. I entered Beach Boy Hell. She spent an hour and a half extolling the virtues of California Girls. **I wish they all could be California Girls...** I think she might have been saving that one up for a special occasion, because I'd never heard it before. The novelty of a new lecture wore off in a second. It is rather disturbing to have my mother try to convince me how hot local girls are. Up to now, she's been fine as long as I tell her I'm dating when she calls in to check up on me.


Thursday

Either my mom and sister have been talking about me or they both had the same idea. I hung out with her and her kids today. They are beyond cute and intelligent, but have so much natural energy that I can understand how my sister gets skinnier every time I see her. It's all that child-related cardio. So she starts giving me a different but related lecture on the benefits of a California Girl and recommendation to move to Cali, where I can make much more money with my current skill set. Dang it people, I came to Cali to shop for a car. I left my 8 cows in Utah. I didn't think I'd need them for a week-long trip.

On the plus side, I do get to spend time with the fam. I needed it bad. Whether or not I agree with their opinions as to where to live, I get a lot of strength from them. These last two days with them has done alot to help me regain the focus I'd lost recently.

Before I forget, My little niece's first name is Belle. Middle name Miriam. Well, this little girl is 4 and a force of nature. She was born naturally friendly and flirty. She refuses to wear anything that she considers will make her look like a boy in any way. She tosses her hair instinctually and has a shoe fetish. Age 4. She did not get any of this from her parents or people around her. She was literally born like this. When she asked, her mom jokingly told her she couldn't wear lipstick until she's married. I recommended they be armed by her 14th birthday. There's a little girl that's going to be hard to keep icky boys away from.

I'm going down to Cali
To Cali,
To Cali,
I'm going down to Cali.

Hell Yeah!!!

I need to take some paid time off before the end of the month or I lose it. This state does not force companies to allow people to cash out PTO.

On the plus side, I have a week where I get paid to disappear.

So, the universe is converging on me. I have to take time off. I have been planning on getting a new car, and my car decides to reinforce the decision.

Saturday, the lock wouldn't catch on the driver's side door. I was on my way to Megan's BDay party, so Luke hooked me up with a lift. Something funny about that, Megan was a little concerned that my gift might be inappropriate for her younger siblings to see. I can't imagine what would possibly give her that suspicion. I'm so innocent it hurts. ;-p When I went home, I had to hold my door closed as I drove. Centripetal force is alive and well, let me tell you. I had some daylight left, so I dropped some WD 40 on the latch and I got it to close finally. The problem now is that the door won't open now. There is something internal. I've been getting around by climbing in through the passanger door. Lame.

I love my baby Sentra, but it's time to replace her. I'm taking my vacation time to go to Cali and look for a car.

In N Out

The Hat (pastrami)

Fry's Electronics (imagine the bastard child of Best Buy and CompUSA double the size of a COSTCO) --drool--

Weekend.

Friday.
I showed up late to help my x pack her friend's truck. There were already a bunch of people there, so it was practically done by the time I arrived. We all went out to eat and scattered. I was busy on thur, so she wanted to hang out before she left. It was maybe 10 before she had time, so we watched a movie. She was tired, so she passed out and I woke her up when the movie ended and drove her home. We said goodbye. She's a good person and I wish her luck in her new state.

Sat.
Ran errands and went to a work party. It took me a while to get into it because I was so weirded out about being at work on a Sat. It was good to kick it with people from work in a social setting.

Sun.
Finished crunching numbers and it looks like I've spent more than 1K on car repairs since Jan. Not cool. I've been getting all my financial info in order to get ready to buy a car. I can stretch to afford payments, but it would mean going on a budget and being responsible in my spending habits. Poo.

One more reason Utah doesn't make sense: The cars in dealer lots don't have prices on the windshields. They make you walk up to the car to look at the sticker. They probably think they are being sneaky and making people interact with the sales people. What they don't realize is that Utahns are cheap bastards (ask any waiter/waitress). If you don't mark prices, only people that have already decided to buy will show up. The people that are deciding will go where they can get info.

Looks like I'm going to Cali, where they really want to sell.

So, last night was interesting. I went on a date with a chick I knew a year ago. She's been in another state and randomly moved back. We actually click pretty well. There are only a couple of things that are a little off-putting. God has already told her whom she is going to marry, but he doesn't know it yet. That, and she's into Wican "meditation" techniques, whatever the hell that means. Am I being too picky? I actually haven't decided if I want to pursue anything. She is interesting and there is no danger of it going too far, since I'm not supposed to be her husband. Am I not being picky enough? I hereby dub her *Parris.

*Explanation: I don't feel right using the actual names of girls when telling stories. Ever since I started dating, I've been using code names for each girl. I've even been in situations where I tell a girl her own story under her unknown code name.

I guess it's time I joined the world and started posting. Up to now, it's been a point of personal rebellion being the only person I know without a blog. I'm a rebel.