Where a Kid can be a Kid

Bas and I are still without a vehicle. We've definitely been looking though. Or should I say, swimming through the tanks of sharks (aka-used car salesmen) looking for a suitable meal?

Those sharks be standing in front of the place waiting for you to pull up and waving you towards them. They look like vultures circling above, waiting for a sick coyote to finally die.

So, we almost got screwed hard-and boy do I mean HARD by this one shark. Carl.His ass tried to sell us a car for more than what it was worth. I actually shoudn't say tried becuase he did. And our ignorant asses actually fell for it. Two fools we were. Thank God our finance company pulled the plug on that shit. They saved us. They refused to finance a car that wasn't worth the money we would pay for it. Thank you Capital One Auto Finance.

And after that, I was all over the internet, with its wealth of information on any subject, learning about the process of buying a used car. A step I should have taken pre-Carl.
Speaking of the internet and all its glorious info, I don't know how I would have gone through college without it. I am old enough to say to you with a straight face that I once knew all about the Dewey Decimal system. For my younger readers (like I have any readers other than Anthony) that deals with reserch in the library. Completely antiquated at this point in life. What a great era to be alive in. Everything you need is right at your fingertips. And don't get me started on the times before computers, faxes and copy machines. Eh hem....typewriters, mail, carbon copies?

Anyway so back to the car lot debacle........

So Carl calls Bas to ask him to come back and pick out another car and possibily use that dealership for financing instead. Um, sorry Carl, our assholes are still sore from the first time.

So the search continues. I think I have aged about ten years from this experience. It is really stressful and retarded. But I have also gained some useful wisdom too. Bas and I will always understand the process of buying a car from now on. And I am sure there will be the need for many more car purchases in our future together.
I love Bas.

So onto some more pleasant news:

I am crazy about our new fish tank and the fish in it. Especially since I can just stare at it and Bas holds the responsibility of cleaning it, keeping the water at the proper Ph level and temperature, fishing out the poor dead bastards and all that jazz.

Aside from car shopping this weekend, we got some new fish. And we named them all.
Grace and Beauty are two ballet slipper pink fish with really georgeous fins. They look graceful and beautiful, hence their names.
Wasabi and Sushi are the tiger-stripped duo, with a hint of green.
We had three orange ones, which I think I mentioned Sunny and Goldie before. The third just got a name last night...Halo. Those three fish are the most boring fish. They don't really seem to have personalities at all. They just swim and eat. Nothing exciting.
Then there is the blue and black striped one named Radar. He and his brotherLighning, are total pricks. We have three of this variety and the two pricks pick on the third one, without a name. And now she just sadly hangs in the back of the tank, barely swimming. She kinda hangs in one spot. And when any fish come near her, she hides behind one of the pumps thingys. I think she's gonna die from loneliness. Really. It is so sad to watch. She doesn't even come out to eat. She's the outcast. I think I just thought of a name for her...Columbine. Is that tasteless?

Pretty Boy is getting so fat (the hog that he is) and he is soooo aggressive towards all the other fish. He has a section in the tank he has claimed as his own and chases any fish come close to it away. It's actually pretty funny.
I know it seems crazy, me talking about these fish like I do. But Bas and I watch them a lot. And really they DO have personalities. Before getting my own, I too would have been skeptical but I assure you it's true.

So, this weekend we will have Ean. Tonight we are going to take him to Chuck E. Cheese's. Now we all know how much we loved Chuck's when we were younger and we would beg our parents to take us. And if one of our friends was throwing a birthday party there, oh boy. Life was good. It was the equivalent of a Hamptons summer party thrown by P.Diddy himself. Oh, I mean Diddy. He dropped the P. remember?

I don't know if Ean has ever been, but I know he'll love the pizza, the games, and Chuck's band playing the Chuck E. Cheese anthem and talking to the audience every half hour, like clockwork. Oh, Chuck.
And every now and then...if you're lucky..the real live, walking, talking, dancing Chuck comes out from the back of the parlor and shakes hands with you. And takes a picture with which he'll charge ten bucks to buy. And of course the parents are all, "What a freakin' rip off!" But becausekids beg for the picture, you have to breakdown and buy it. Unless you were Ron and Yvonne. My parents. And they'll calmly sit you down and explain why that is such a rip. Taking all the magic outta the Chuck E. moment. and meanwhile saving themselves thirty bucks. They had three children, so I completely understand the unwillingness to spend that kind of money. Shoot, that's breafast lunch and dinner money for the whole family.

So, on that note...I'm gonna go. Lunch time.

Lozer out!