All Questions: the Mars edition

So this single lady has had a few questions regarding the fellas.....

Just going to throw these all out there so they're out of my head. If you should feel so inclined to play along (be you from Mars or Venus), go for it in the comments! More questions or answers are all accepted.

In no particular order:

*If, after three years you realized that your ex took something when he left that you thought you've had all along, would you let it go? Or find a way to get it back? You might really want the thing he took.

*Why would a gentleman NEVER mention the fact that he has a live-in girlfriend (not even casually like, "oh, yeah, my girlfriend helped me out with that" or "my girlfriend and I went to that..."), but then mention it to your friend whom he's met all of two times.

*Why would a gentleman when given a perfect opening to tell you he's in a band, not tell you he's in a band? Don't all gentlemen in bands want everyone to know they're in a band?

*What's with a gentleman (or really anyone for that matter) who doesn't return a friendly smile?

That's all I've got for now. Maybe I'll be able to sleep better tonight with all that out of my head and out in the universe.

Groovy. Fun. Fashion.

For anyone in fashion, this video is already old - it's for Prada spring/summer 2011, but for me it's timeless! I LOVE all the clothes. The stripes and the colors, oh my! And they chose wisely for the music - it's Mirando by Ratatat. Such a fun campaign. I need to be working in fashion. Or food! Ha!

Fun Money!

My good gal pal TwoAdults blogged yesterday about she'd do with an extra $1,000. Rules being that it had to be spent on fun stuff, no bill paying, or the like. Reading her post with glee, I heard the cash register in my head happily ringing up her "purchases" and decided it would be fun to do a similar post! So with "$1,000" in hand, let's get to it!

Monthly massage appointments booked through the end of December. I'm already going to one on the regular for relaxation and running-related muscle work, so it would be nice to know I'm paid up through the end of the year. $450

Remaining balance: $550

I had a horribly frustrating home improvement project experience over the weekend involving a drill, freshly painted walls and anchor screws that would not anchor. What should have been a very simple project had me snarling at the world. I'd hire someone to hang the mirror I was attempting to hang. I'm guessing any hand-andy person worth their salt would be able to do the job in an hour or so. Gonna guess the hourly rate of $100/hour.

Remaining balance: $450

I rarely buy cheese for my house anymore. As a vegetarian I was overly-dependent on it as a protein source, so when I do purchase cheese, it's a super treat or it's for a particular recipe. I'd use my next $100 to go buy about 20 lbs of cheese, call a few gal pals over (byob) and have an impromptu cheese party. I'm guesstimating my average price per pound would be in the $5-6 neighborhood. Maybe I wouldn't actually buy 20 lbs, because, gosh, that sounds like a LOT of cheese. I would buy enough to have a substantial cheese party and spend any extra on extra snackins.

Does that look like 20 lbs. of cheese to you?

Remaining balance: $350

I've been looking for a quality handbag for a while, and can never bring myself to drop serious coin on a bag, even though it's something I'd use every day. For this exercise, I'd try to find one for $200 or under. Okay, so here's what I just found, it's the right size, color and shape:

This Cole Haan from Zappos is actually on sale right now in my budget! Score!

Remaining Balance: $100

I liked TwoAdults' nod to a charity with her donation to Heifer International (a family favorite over here too!) So for my last $100, I'd make a donation to Kids Food Basket here in town that provides evening meals to school-age children who would otherwise go without dinner.

Remaining Balance: $0

What would you spend your $1,000 of fun money on?

Not that kind of Golf

Oh, honey, can I tell you about my week with the car?! First of all, I take meticulous care of my car - a 2002 Volkswagen Passat Wagon. 100,000 mile check up for a million dollars, sure, sign me up! Oil changed at the dealer on the regular - usually on the date rather than the mileage, since I don't drive a ton of miles in three months, but the oil does get gunky. I love my car, so I take care of it, so it takes care of me.

I drove to Detroit and back on Saturday with some friends to see Robyn! The show was actually in Royal Oak at the Royal Oak Music Theatre for you Michigan folks who know where that is. The car was a champ. We made several stops - Trader Joe's before the show, McDonald's for fries and cold beverages after the show and Portland for gas to get us the rest of the way home. Not a single problem. Like I said, it's a champ!

Robyn, end of show.

Sunday morning. I made a coffee date with a friend I haven't seen in awhile. Earlier in the morning worked for her, rather than later. I was dead tired, but I rallied and got ready. I was running a few minutes late already when I hopped in the car. Turned the key and nothing happened. Zero. Zip. Nada. I thought something battery-related, but it's unusual for not a single sound to emit from the engine. There I was with my VW stuck in the garage.

Monday morning. Tow company guy (I'll call him Tow Joe. Picture Chris Farley, because that's who he reminded me of.) arrives with this on the agenda: to give the car a jump and/or tow it to the dealer. The jump did nothing. So Tow Joe, the car and I are headed to the dealer. On the way, I heard a bit of gossip from Tow Joe about one of my neighbors. So very interesting. You never know who's going to be out there telling your stories, people, so behave!

Dealer said they probably couldn't get a look at it before Tuesday. At 8:00 a.m. they did not have a loaner car for me to drive. I spent most of Monday in a state of mild anxiety trying to figure out my work/life schedule sans auto. Lovely friends came through and were willing to help out. Then the dealer called, "It's the brain - the part of the computer that controls all the car's functions. It's shorting out, causing the car not to start. You need a replacement." The part was on order. It would be Wednesday before the part was expected to arrive. Mild heart attack, but I asked again about a loaner car, "Any chance you have a car for me now?" "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do!"

If you take anything from this blog post, here's your gold, ask for what you want. If you get told no, ask again at a later time. The situation may have changed and you may get a yes.

Here's the cutie 2011 VW Golf that I drove all week while my beloved Passat was getting a brain transplant.

2011 Volkswagen Golf

Also, when I picked up my car tonight after work - a whole week had gone by - neither of my regular VW guys helped me out - seemed one was gone for the night and the other was helping someone else. After paying, I was walking to my car and my regular guy walked over to make sure I was all set. He asked if I had any questions and thanked me for being patient this week as it took a bit longer than they had anticipated. Then he said something that went like this "I also want to thank you for always being so nice when you come in here. You spend a lot of money with us and you always smile and are nice. We get cussed out on the regular by people, so I just wanted to thank you for always being pleasant."

What a genuine moment!

Sure, it's not cool to spend big coin I wasn't planning to spend this week, but because of the way the guys at the dealer treat me (I know a thing or two about cars and I never feel like they're talking down to me because I'm a girl or like they're being dishonest about what the car needs.), the fact that they loaned me the Golf for the week, that the car is paid off so I don't have a car payment AND this repair bill and that I don't have to buy a new car, I can shrug it off and just say, "could be worse." It's all about perspective. I choose to see all the good. Fore! Good things are all around if you're looking out for them!

Rockin' Out

Shiner was one of my favorite bands circa 1997-98ish. I saw them live in NYC when I lived there. It was an amazing show in a small club. They, of course, have a giant sound and they blew me away. It had been a long time since I listened to them, but I got this email from my older brother today:

Subject line: Shiner.

Message: Listen to them. ;-)

I got home and started digging through my CDs. I had only one The Egg, which my brother gave me for Christmas, I think. I totally thought I owned Lula Divinia and Splay, as well. Apparently not or not anymore. Neither were anywhere to be found. You know what it's like when you HAVE to listen to something right. now? I buzzed over to Vertigo. He had Splay and is checking on Lula for me.

Such a good sound! You can bet some of that is going on my running mix. Hearing it makes me feel tough and super cool for even knowing who they are. It's the kind of music, and they're the kind of musicians who make me want to be in a band!

What are you listening to? What ever it is, turn it up and rock on!