Posts with mood relieved (11)

Hello new Prius! (2013-)
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2013-07-06 15:07:00
Tags: pictures car
Words: 383

We bought a new Prius this morning! It is blue. See?


Yesterday we learned that the car was totaled. I had been doing some research, and I was pretty much down to either a Chevy Volt or another Prius. So we test-drove both yesterday afternoon. The Volt, while being technologically awesome and all, had a few big problems:
- The front seats were just not comfortable. It felt like there was zero padding between you and a board or something. This sounds trivial, but considering how much I drive my car it was a big minus.
- The back seats were extremely small and tight. I understand there have to be compromises given the huge battery in the car, but I felt squished at my average size. (David, being taller, had even less kind things to say about it)
- The trunk room was OK but not great.

Anyway, I just felt that we'd be spending substantially more for a car that would be less comfortable. I was hoping my next car would be a Volt, and I'm still hoping that :-)

Grades:
- Service King - A+ We had our car towed to a towing company lot, and then USAA recommended we have it towed to the Service King in Round Rock. They were extremely responsive, and both emailed and texted me to get in touch with me. They determined that it was totaled very quickly and let me know that, and we were able to come in that day and pick up our stuff.

- USAA - Incomplete, but probably A USAA, as always, has taken good care of us, and explained very clearly what was covered and what wasn't. We'll hear on Monday or Tuesday how the car-totaling process works.

- Charles Maund Toyota - B They were running a pretty good Fourth of July promotions, so I think we got an OK deal. Negotiation is not my strong suit, but at least they didn't try to hard sell us the warranty/rustproofing/all that other stuff. (we said "no" and the guy moved on) Interestingly, the woman who sold us the car said she had just moved in with her girlfriend! So we sort of bonded over that. But it's hard (impossible?) to buy a car without feeling like you're getting screwed at least a little, and today was no exception.

2 comments

Taxes done! (and best IRS instruction ever)
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2012-02-18 14:08:00
Tags: taxes
Words: 144

We just finished our taxes! This year's vital stats:

Hours taken: around 5 (basically 8-midnight last night, plus an hour for copying/getting ready to mail)
Number of pieces of paper in my return: 13 (including Schedules A, C, D, and SE)
Best line seen in the IRS instructions: As I was looking for the rules on charitable deductions, I discovered this gem:

Certain whaling captains may be able to deduct expenses paid in 2011 for Native Alaskan subsistence bowhead whale hunting activities.

0 comments

a sigh of relief
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2011-06-22 10:24:00
Tags: palmpre work
Words: 75

Yesterday two awesome things happened:
- a bunch of work stress magically disappeared
- I finished and submitted most of the webOS apps that will be ready at the TouchPad launch (July 1)

Both of these had been causing me a lot of stress, to the point of not sleeping well. So I'm really excited about putting these behind me.

(also, I submitted 4 apps last night, and when I woke up 3 were accepted already. Yay!)

1 comment

my dentist = awesome
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2011-03-07 11:43:00
Tags: health reviews
Words: 62

I got a filling in the tooth, didn't hurt at all, and I was out within 30 minutes. Teeth stuff doesn't usually stress me out, but this whole tooth-breaking really had me on edge, and now I feel much better!

Anyway, if you're looking for a dentist, check out Dr. Harger at Shoal Creek Dental. The staff is all very friendly, too!

1 comment

neat things
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2009-04-16 13:36:00
Tags: links
Words: 39

This giant poster of the 2009 budget is pretty darn awesome. (here's the full image)

Also good: This guide of things to invent if you travel back in time shirt and poster, courtesy of Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics!

0 comments

finally, FINALLY, McCain scales back the ugliness
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2008-10-11 10:48:00
Tags: politics
Words: 60

See here - he corrected some of his reporters at a rally. Video here along with an analysis that seems a little unfair. I don't care why he's doing it, but the tone of his and Palin's rallies over the last week has gotten a bit frightening and dangerous.

(also, I didn't post about politics yesterday! Anyone else proud of me? :-) )

3 comments

family is OK
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2008-09-13 12:11:00
Tags: hurricane
Words: 45

My family and David's family are OK, although all of them are without power. My dad says the water got closeish to the house but not in. My mom's doing her public health thing, as I see they're telling people to boil water before drinking...

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the more you know
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2008-07-09 19:05:00
Words: 32

PSA: If you order furniture from the JCPenney catalog you only have 7 days from the date of delivery to return it as defective. Very glad I called today and not tomorrow!

0 comments

Can I go home yet?
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2008-05-21 18:27:00
Words: 4

...oh, yes I can.

0 comments

A brief moment of panic...
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2008-01-01 12:18:00
Tags: house
Words: 66

when I saw this listing for the house we're interested in - notice the big Sold! at the top. Luckily I'm pretty sure the listing is old, as the backyard doesn't have the deck in it and the asking price is quite a bit lower than the one we saw.

On the plus side - it's a David Weekly home, which I've been told is a good thing!

3 comments

unexpected goodness
Mood: relieved
Posted on 2006-09-30 16:02:00
Tags: music car
Words: 485

So as djedi and I were pulling up to our complex yesterday and all of a sudden my Prius freaks out a little and puts up a warning light. No smoke pouring out of the engine, but I pull in to a parking space and djedi checks the manual. Some sort of brake problem, but it's not so serious that the car can't be driven. But it does say to take it in to get checked ASAP. "Crap" is the general thought, since we only have one car right now, so it being out of commission means no easy way to get to work. (and we're not sure what the hard way would be)

We get in and I call the nearest Toyota dealer, who says that they can maybe fit me in on Saturday, but Jeannie isn't in and this guy doesn't want to mess with her appointment book or something. Ooohkay. He tells me to call when they open tomorrow (8 AM).

Ugh...was looking forward to sleeping in, but we need a car! So I get up and call them. Nope, no way they can see it today. Great. So I go down the list of dealerships close to us. Get all kinds of "no"s and the occasional "we can't promise we can see it today but you can leave it here", which is just as bad for our purposes. I'm starting to get annoyed and a bit concerned when I make it down to the tenth one on the list (which by now is really not that close, but I figure it's OK to drive...). The guy is friendly and says I can bring it in, and to hurry. So I throw on some clothes, get directions and head out there.

40 minutes or so later I find the place, and again they're friendly and the guy at the desk says they'll diagnose it within an hour(!). I sit down to read (having planned to be there most of the day in the worst case) and start the David Sedaris book Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, which is absolutely brilliant. Slightly more than an hour later I hear my name being called, and I rush out to see what the verdict is. Turned out they didn't find anything wrong: brake pads were fine, brake fluid was sufficiently present, and the code that set off the master alarm (that sounds like Apollo 13!) was nothing in particular, or something. The best part is that they didn't charge me anything!

So if you're in Maryland and need a Toyota dealer, I recommend Fitzgerald Lakeforest.

Some sort of crab-related product for dinner and then I'm going to another game nightish thing, all in the vain hopes of replacing the one we had in Austin!

Also, I have the theme song (track 3) to House irrevocably stuck in my head. I should buy that.

3 comments

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