More fun Chicago weather this evening…..passing storms, tornado warnings/watches…..and the sirens went off again. And, I didn’t wake the kids up and shuttle them into the basement…..again. I guess I’ll have to see a big funnel over the house to do that……
Memorial day weekend……(nice long weekend as I also took Tuesday off).
Today, I decided to swing by the local Acura dealership to check out some of the TSXs on the lot (refer to my 5/24 post below). To my surprise, the dealership was open (I had hoped to wander through the lot unmolested….). I went in to see if I could grab a brochure - it seemed like a pretty slow sales day (lots of salesmen standing around), so I pushed my luck and asked for a test-drive in a 6-speed.
In minutes, I was out in a silver, 6-speed TSX.
Very nice………quiet, smooth, refined….plenty powerful. (I guess this has something to do with perspective…….had I driven to the dealership in the 540, I might have felt otherwise…….but it seemed like a definite step up from the Element).
No rash decisions for now…….but I’ve added it to my list.
It’s amazing how quickly time has flown by. Five years ago, Emily was born. A week later, we moved into our new home (…..nothing like bundling two major life change events in the span of a week!).
We had a nice, simple, family dinner on her birthday…..and she had her party yesterday. (We try to keep things low-key, but a party for the fifth birthday has become sort of a tradition - Allison had one…..now Emily…..and I’m sure we’ll have one for Annie as well).
Emily’s party choice was bowling. A good time was had by all……….the girls want to know when we can go bowling again.
Allison learned to ride her two-wheeler this weekend. I thought it would be a rough ride - but she decided she wanted to try it out on her own - and didn’t need much prompting to have the training wheels taken off. She dwarfs the small bicycle she’s riding - so, a ’surprise’ visit to Toys ‘R Us is probably going to happen soon. Allie will get a new bike - and the hand-me-down process continues - Emily will inherit Al’s old bike, and Annie will get Em’s.
Uh-oh.
Late last year, in preparation for turning in the 540 at the end of its lease, I compiled a short, diverse list of various replacement cars: Infiniti G35 6-speed, Ford Focus SVT, Mazda Protege 5, Acura RSX, Honda Element, Subaru WRX - and, I also considered purchasing the 540 outright.
I agonized for some time - but an urge to ’simplify’ dictated my choice. That, and some lucky timing landed me in the Element. I’ve had it for a bit over 5 months now and it’s been reliable and efficent - it’s been ‘fun’ - but not in the way the 540 was. Also, it’s been nice not having a car payment and paying considerably less in insurance has its benefits.
But…..this nagging little feeling has been growing inside of me - I still read through all my car mags with the same relish - Automobile, Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend, and AutoWeek - and every time I see something new, I feel like I’m “missing out”. The Element is great - but it’s no “driver’s car” - it’s just a good way of getting from point A to point B. And, I long for “something more” - it was always great to spend the half hour or so, to/from work, cradled in the 540. I miss that. No matter how bad the day was - it was nice to hop in the 540 and decompress.
The recently released Acura TSX has caught my eye. It’s not blindingly fast - there are many other cars that are faster, have more horsepower, more torque, are better handling, are cheaper, etc.. - but it seems like it would be a heck of a lot of fun and I love the styling. I’m inching ever closer to taking a test drive - and I’m afraid of what may happen next.
Intense.
That’s my response after seeing The Matrix Reloaded. I went on a ‘team outing’ with my team today to see it…….. I guess I’ll have to see it another few times to get all the subtle details and meanings and try to ‘understand’ it more. It was all great fun and entertaining - the effects are amazing and the story moves along pretty well. It’s a bit darker and more somber than the first one……
Technology is a wonderful thing.
I just finished going through traffic school - online. (Traffic school? Yes, I was caught speeding recently - I find it humorous that I spent 3 years with a 290+ horsepower beast capable of 0-60 MPH runs in the high 5s, a top speed of 155 MPH, etc…. and not once did I run afoul of the law. I now have a 160 HP, gawky-looking SUV thing……..and I get caught for speeding very close to home, on a road that I use each day to/from work (that I’ve travelled on in the 290+ HP beast on a zillion occasions……but, I guess that’s another story….)
In any event, when I got the ticket, I opted for the ‘guilty’ verdict (I was speeding, after all) with the traffic school option. To my surprise, in addition to the various time and ‘physical’ location options on the traffic school enrollment form, there was an ‘online’ option !!!!
I spent about three hours today going through a very basic set of ‘online learning’ modules - did a ‘pre-test’ and a ‘post-test’ - and passed. All very nice and done from the comfort of my own home - and without having to spend a Saturday morning in a large room filled with people who would rather be someplace else…….
Getting ready for bed last night - kids tucked in…..and all hell breaking loose outside. Heavy winds, torrential downpours……..and then, the sirens.
We’ve been at this house for nearly five years, and not once have I heard the emergency sirens go off (…except for the typical “first Tuesday of each month @ 10 AM test…..). I didn’t know whether or not to wake the kids up and scramble to the basement for cover - or, just keep the TV on and see what warnings flash across the screen. Just as I was about to ‘act’ - the sirens turned off a quickly as they came on…… A few minutes later, they came on again - but from a different direction. I ran downstairs and checked the Web for any up-to-the-minute reports and saw that there was a funnel cloud sighted a few miles to the Southeast of us……. then, everything got silent and calm.
Things pretty much settled down for the rest of the night (…although it did take a while to get to sleep…). Happy mothers day, by the way!
Did my usual routine tonight after coming home from work: walk in from the garage, pick Annie (our youngest) up, and take her upstairs so we can ‘talk’ as I get changed.
As a ~22 month old, she’s in the midst of her verbal explosion - some incredible words and pseudo-sentences are making their way out. So we have some fun ‘conversations’ night to night. As I was pulling my change out of my pockets and putting it on the dresser - she blurts out “Daddy….money” and stretches out her hand. Sheeesh. I give her a quarter and walk with her to deposit it in her piggy bank.
Wonder how soon she’ll start asking for the credit card and car keys.
T-minus one week (roughly) and counting…….the Matrix Reloaded is premiering next Thursday (15-May) and I can’t wait. I’ve prepped myself by picking up the original Matrix DVD as well as the Matrix Revisited (…the making of…) companion DVD.
Great stuff…..looks like we’ll turn this into a ‘team outing’ for my team.