Fantasy Garage: Challenger SRT8

Car: Dodge Challenger SRT8

Options: 6-Speed Manual Transmission

Price after options: $41, 940

I wanted this to be my first car, to own.  I had it all planned out: how much it would cost, how I would make it work, when I would buy it.  And then the starting price was a few grand higher than I had expected and reality set in.  So I had to scrap the dreams of owning one.  That plus the less than stellar reviews made me hold back even more...until now!

This is Steve's Fantasy Garage!  And here, fantasy is reality!  So what if the interior is made of Chrysler crap-tastic-plastc?  It's got the looks, the big HEMI V8, and can run from 0-60 in under five seconds!

The Corvette had Americana written all over it, but you cannot deny the very retro American muscle car styling and attitude that the Challenger just exudes from every angle.  This car is all about straight roads, tire smoke, and American Muscle!

Money left in the "Fantasy Garage Account": $211, 999

Monday-Friday, when did I get THIS bad

Wow, I'm sure glad it isn't my job to blog, otherwise I would have been fired by now.  Things have been a little laxed and yet busy at the same time.  Nothing particularly exciting except that this weekend should be a lot of fun/work.  Midterms are next week and the time to start studying is now...and by now I of course mean tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow I am going to do a hospital visit as party of my EMT class tomorrow at 8AM.  When i signed up I thought it would be fun in the "oh look I haven't seen 8AM in months" sort of way.  I also planned on getting sleep this week.  But I'm going to stay in tonight and try to get to bed early since 8Am is really REALLY early these days.  Having 10AM classes being one's earliest leads one to stay up later cause they can get more sleep from 8 to 9.  Unlike last semester where I had a 9AM class twice a week, which prevented me from saying things that I say now, like "Wow, I got to bed so early last night....before 3!"  Yeah, I need to get on that.

On a positive note, my plans to eat different foods all week has been a success!  Breakfast was not as easy to mix and match, but the rest of the meals fell nicely into line.

Also, one advantage of staying in tonight: I get to finally watch Aliens!  At least that is the plan until one of my housemates convinces me otherwise.

Didn't forget the title this time

When did hairy start to be used instead of difficult?  We have all heard the saying "This is a hairy situation."  But where did it come from?  More importantly how is it really acceptable?  How is something "getting hairy" mean it is getting difficult?  Does it come from the fact we grow more hair on our bodies in different places as we grow older and life is difficult?  And problems being hairy?  "Now here is a problem that's a little hairier than the last."  What does that mean?

Today I had a PB&J and it was a little fantastic.  I haven't had one in so long.  If you aren't allergic to peanut butter: get on that.

I was able to catch up on all my blogs and webcomics today.  This is the joy of having class not end at 4PM on Mondays.  However, I do now have to get on that.

Oh I forgot to give the damn thing a title

So while I was at dinner tonight, I queried a friend about a problem set I had glanced over, but not started.  "Oh god Steve, it's so hard.  You should leave right now and work on it if you want to get any sleep tonight!"  Now when I heard this I was sceptical, mainly because it was a 4 question set and we had done the last one in class.  Well, I returned a phone call to a friend and it turns out she was having some difficulty with the homework and was wondering if I could help.  Having not done it I figured this was the perfect opportunity to complete it and help a friend.  Turns out we nailed the sucker down in like 3 hours, which as far as problem sets go ain't half bad!

Also, the more and more I think about what I eat the more and more I realize I pretty much eat the same things all the time.  They still taste good, and when there is something else I am interested in I do order it, but I just seem to be having the same foods all the time.  So this week I am going to try to expand my culinary tastes and eat something different every day.  One of these days I will have a salad...so I better hope there is a good one on the menu this week!

I realize I have been spotty lately with the blogging, but I was really busy and things should clear up and get a bit lighter this week.  Until we all ramp up for midterms of course!  The fun never stops here at university.

Oh and before I forget to mention it, my date on Saturday with The Old Friend went very well and we're now going out.  Needless to say this was a very awesome weekend.

Awesome except for one thing: Saturday morning.  Someone who came over to the apartment (The Caow) decided it would be a good idea to turn up our thermostat to above 80.  So Saturday morning I wake up to find my room a sauna and it was very uncomfortable.  Very uncomfortable indeed, but I never considered that the thermostat had been turned up.  I pretty much blamed everything from the time of day to global warming to the blinds.  Turns out when you hear hooves, it isn't zebras.

Fantasy Garage: G8 GXP

Car: Pontiac G8 GXP

Options: None (even though I should pony up the cash for the manual, I won't)

Price After Options: $35, 295 (this includes a $3, 000 discount that is stated on GM's website)

This week has been an epic fail for GM.  They have shut down their performance division, they have decided to end Saturn, Saab is filing for bankruptcy in Sweden, Pontiac is being shrunk to a niche brand, and they still need more money from the government.

In light of all this I have been trying to decide what car I should add to the Garage this week.  My thoughts have run from Subaru to Cadillac to BMW, but what I really wanted was the BMW M5 without the iDrive or the Cadillac CTS-V without the "look at me" grill.  And then I remembered the bargain G8 GXP or the poor man's M5.

Now, before I decided on the G8 GXP I did consider the last generation Pontiac GTO, which was not a huge success, but was fast.  And in considering this I thought about what the garage was: was it a collection of awesome cars that can be purchased or a collection of new cars.  I think we all know which one I chose (new).

So here we have the best Pontiac turned out since the GTO and it comes just as the brand and the platform it is based on is discontinued.  But let us for a second pretend this isn't happening.

The car corners like the best German sports cars and is blisteringly fast.  Plus it doesn't break the bank, and in this economy they can be had for real cheap.

The interior is upscale for GM, which isn't saying much, but is a step up and almost par for the price range.  This car is the one I would drive to have fun when the time called for 4 doors and the mini-van was just too big.

If you are in the market for a large sports sedan on a budget, the G8 should be on your list.  If it is not, test drive it to humor me and then reconsider your short list.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Mine would be in red, cause grey/silver is just too damn boring.

Money left in "Fantasy Garage Account": $253, 939

SUPER FRIDAY MEGA BLOG

Wow, did you see that?!  All CAPS!

This is going to be an awesome collection of really sweet things that have happened to me today, starting with the fact that I have a date for dinner Saturday night!  I know, I'm excited to.  It should be a good time and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

I sent an email to my thesis advisor asking her to review my rant proposal forms today at around 11:30AM.  I then went to lunch with The Old Friend, went to class, and went to pick up The Scrum from the train station with The Brewmiester.  So at 4:30PM I check my email and she says that everything looks good and to bring the forms by her office so she can sign them.  The email was time stamped 12:09PM.  After freaking out for 1.29 seconds, I dash out of my apartment, hoping against all hope that she would still be in her office...at 4:30PM...on a Friday.  Luckily god was smiling down on me (oh colloquialisms referring to a higher power) and she was there and everything was taken care of.

The Brewmiester, The Caow, The Bamboo and I made a music video covering "I'm on a Boat" by Lonely Island.  If you haven't already seen it, go to YouTube and watch it now.  It is a little hilarious.

And now time for a bonus list: Awesome things I've learned from reading webcomics.

1. Asking a girl out to dinner works.
2. Baristas are awesome.
3. There are people nerdier than me.
4. There are people who are obsessed with gaming as much as I would hope to be if I had free time.
5. Sometimes fiction can be more over the top than life, but not most of the time.

Ok folks, now it is time for bed for little Stevie.

Making the bed with lots of sheets

So, yeah.  Might be a little stressed about how much stuff I have to do over the next 10 days.

Turns out my advisor DOES want me to apply for the grant whose application is due Friday.  That's not so bad, except I'm hosting a party tomorrow night so I have to do all my work for Friday tonight, AND I need to start filling out forms since they are all due next week, AND I have to eat and sleep, AND THE WORST OF ALL: I will have to start actively managing my time...more...again.

Rant over.

I was in the elevator with someone today who talked to me about how he met someone who knew me.  I don't know who the person is who he met, nor do I know who this guy was.

A minute goes by really fast, but anything longer than a minute can take a while.  This I learned while waiting for my food to heat up for lunch today.  Also, I want a PB&J and some Cheerios.  I should work on this.

Yeah, now I need to go get my dinner and start my work.  So much to do and so little time!