No Whammies, no Whammies, no Whammies
Today’s my mom’s birthday. If you see her around Iowa City wish her a happy birthday. My dad’s taking her to the casino in Riverside because she likes to play slots. She doesn’t win, like most people, but she still likes to press her luck (no Whammies, no Whammies…). I won’t be home for her birthday for the first time in my life. The last time I wasn’t there to see her blow out candles was in 1982, six months before I was born. That’s the downside of moving across the country.
(Here’s a strange thought: Since women are born with their ovaries developed and full of eggs, this is, on a very limited biological level, the first time I haven’t been with my mom on her birthday ever. Yowza. I hope her present gets there today.)
(Hold on. Since I’ve gone that far, there’s no sense in not writing about this. A Wikipedia editor, who has a lot of time on his hands, has listed and categorized every Whammy quote from “Press Your Luck.” I can’t believe someone could be that lame. What’s even better is this. That guy had too much time to waste. Okay, I guess he was an unemployed ice cream truck driver, but still.)
After browsing Wikipedia to find the correct spelling of “Whammy” and also to confirm my knowledge of the female anatomy, I’ve forgotten what I wanted to write. Oh yeah. I’m looking for a new car.
It’ll be a while before I go out and get one, though. I’m waiting until July when my parents fly out to visit. Since I’m new to the whole leasing and financing experience, I’ll take my dad along. But that doesn’t mean I can’t shop around and do research.
Here’s the criteria for Casey’s new car:
1) It has to be reliable
2) It can’t be ugly
3) It has to get great gas mileage (I’m a poor, twentysomething environmentalist living in California — what do you expect?)
4) It has to be fun to drive
That’s not so much to ask, is it? My current car, which used to be my sister’s, doesn’t meet any of those conditions. It’s ugly, it’s unreliable, it doesn’t like California, and the gas mileage isn’t great (it’s pretty good, though). Plus, driving it isn’t fun. Half of the time I have the radio off to listen to the full orchestra of noises the car makes.
I loved my Jetta. It’s true it was a piece of shit until we finally found a mechanic who specialized in Volkswagens (“Did you know all your fuel pumps are installed wrong?”), but it was fun to drive. It was sexy, had a ton of pep, and had a sun roof. Ah, to be 17 and have a car with a sun roof. Those were the days. But it died two years ago. Ever since I’ve been planning on buying another VW, maybe a Golf (the model was rebranded this year as Rabbit, yet another ‘80s flashback for this post).
I like the VW look, but not the track record. They’re not reliable, and they develop more major problems as they age than any other brand (there’s a reason why, but I’ll spare you the details). Yes, they’re fun to drive, but the gas mileage is sub-par, much less than you’d expect. So a VW is out. Sorry, Herbie.
I like the look of the Mazda3, especially the basic four door model. I checked out the specs on the Mazda site and it gets good mileage. But do I need a four door car? My Jetta was a four door, but now I’m more independent and free (plus, I’m not in IC anymore, so none of the regular bums can ask me for rides any longer). I still want to stay mobile though; I still want to be able to pack up all my belongings and hit the road if I have to.
Today, while browsing edmunds.com, I think I found what I’m looking for: A two door Honda Civic, especially the 2005 HX model. It’s snazzy and sips gas. Plus, the trunk space isn’t much less than my current car. The owners say it’s very reliable and fun to drive. It sounds like a 10 (at least a 4/4 in my case). A friend of mine has something similar, so I’m going to ask his opinion.
I hope I can find one with automatic transmission. It’s been a long time since I drove a stick.
(Here’s a strange thought: Since women are born with their ovaries developed and full of eggs, this is, on a very limited biological level, the first time I haven’t been with my mom on her birthday ever. Yowza. I hope her present gets there today.)
(Hold on. Since I’ve gone that far, there’s no sense in not writing about this. A Wikipedia editor, who has a lot of time on his hands, has listed and categorized every Whammy quote from “Press Your Luck.” I can’t believe someone could be that lame. What’s even better is this. That guy had too much time to waste. Okay, I guess he was an unemployed ice cream truck driver, but still.)
After browsing Wikipedia to find the correct spelling of “Whammy” and also to confirm my knowledge of the female anatomy, I’ve forgotten what I wanted to write. Oh yeah. I’m looking for a new car.
It’ll be a while before I go out and get one, though. I’m waiting until July when my parents fly out to visit. Since I’m new to the whole leasing and financing experience, I’ll take my dad along. But that doesn’t mean I can’t shop around and do research.
Here’s the criteria for Casey’s new car:
1) It has to be reliable
2) It can’t be ugly
3) It has to get great gas mileage (I’m a poor, twentysomething environmentalist living in California — what do you expect?)
4) It has to be fun to drive
That’s not so much to ask, is it? My current car, which used to be my sister’s, doesn’t meet any of those conditions. It’s ugly, it’s unreliable, it doesn’t like California, and the gas mileage isn’t great (it’s pretty good, though). Plus, driving it isn’t fun. Half of the time I have the radio off to listen to the full orchestra of noises the car makes.
I loved my Jetta. It’s true it was a piece of shit until we finally found a mechanic who specialized in Volkswagens (“Did you know all your fuel pumps are installed wrong?”), but it was fun to drive. It was sexy, had a ton of pep, and had a sun roof. Ah, to be 17 and have a car with a sun roof. Those were the days. But it died two years ago. Ever since I’ve been planning on buying another VW, maybe a Golf (the model was rebranded this year as Rabbit, yet another ‘80s flashback for this post).
I like the VW look, but not the track record. They’re not reliable, and they develop more major problems as they age than any other brand (there’s a reason why, but I’ll spare you the details). Yes, they’re fun to drive, but the gas mileage is sub-par, much less than you’d expect. So a VW is out. Sorry, Herbie.
I like the look of the Mazda3, especially the basic four door model. I checked out the specs on the Mazda site and it gets good mileage. But do I need a four door car? My Jetta was a four door, but now I’m more independent and free (plus, I’m not in IC anymore, so none of the regular bums can ask me for rides any longer). I still want to stay mobile though; I still want to be able to pack up all my belongings and hit the road if I have to.
Today, while browsing edmunds.com, I think I found what I’m looking for: A two door Honda Civic, especially the 2005 HX model. It’s snazzy and sips gas. Plus, the trunk space isn’t much less than my current car. The owners say it’s very reliable and fun to drive. It sounds like a 10 (at least a 4/4 in my case). A friend of mine has something similar, so I’m going to ask his opinion.
I hope I can find one with automatic transmission. It’s been a long time since I drove a stick.
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