Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

[AHTOXA]

In other news, my job search has stagnated and its really due to my inactivity. I’ve found that I have mostly slid back into a certain comfort zone that is interfering. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, but definitely lost my focus while concentrating on other things going on. I need to refocus on it this week.

[Rope-Pusher]

I wonder if my parents will be bummed when I never have kids. Its probably in my sister's best interests to not reproduce either.

My mom keeps asking me when the kids are gonna come. I don’t know. I’m 35 but I don’t feel like I’m ready for a kid and luckily neither is my GF. We both feel like there are more things to be done in life with our own selfing interests in mind before we focus on a child. Eventually we will, but not just yet. It just seems too early at this time. But my mother certainly doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind me that she wants grandkid(s).

My parents had a granddog long before they had grandchildren.....and they practiced spoiling it rotten. Mom would go thru the McDonald's drive-thru and special-order a burger without condiments for the dog....and then pull over to a special parking spot to wait for someone to eventually bring that burger out to her car. When I found out, I had to tell her that the dog would eat a pickle slice if it had touched a hamburger patty.

[potownrob]

I wonder if my parents will be bummed when I never have kids. Its probably in my sister's best interests to not reproduce either.

My mom keeps asking me when the kids are gonna come. I don’t know. I’m 35 but I don’t feel like I’m ready for a kid and luckily neither is my GF. We both feel like there are more things to be done in life with our own selfing interests in mind before we focus on a child. Eventually we will, but not just yet. It just seems too early at this time. But my mother certainly doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind me that she wants grandkid(s).

Thank heavens my mom is not like this. both my sister and eye are destined to be old maids and bachelors, respectively. my sister has 6 cats and is always busy, so there's that.

[potownrob]

In other news, my job search has stagnated and its really due to my inactivity. I’ve found that I have mostly slid back into a certain comfort zone that is interfering. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, but definitely lost my focus while concentrating on other things going on. I need to refocus on it this week.

sounds vaguely familiar, bro. the railroad and DMV apparently didn't want me, and now i'm too busy/tired/demotivated to do anything.

[Rope-Pusher]

In other news, my job search has stagnated and its really due to my inactivity. I’ve found that I have mostly slid back into a certain comfort zone that is interfering. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, but definitely lost my focus while concentrating on other things going on. I need to refocus on it this week.

sounds vaguely familiar, bro. the railroad and DMV apparently didn't want me, and now i'm too busy/tired/demotivated to do anything.

Shouldn't that Burger be replaced by a Pizza?

[potownrob]

In other news, my job search has stagnated and its really due to my inactivity. I’ve found that I have mostly slid back into a certain comfort zone that is interfering. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, but definitely lost my focus while concentrating on other things going on. I need to refocus on it this week.

sounds vaguely familiar, bro. the railroad and DMV apparently didn't want me, and now i'm too busy/tired/demotivated to do anything.

Shouldn't that Burger be replaced by a Pizza?

Ewe no me two well

[watkins]

I wonder if my parents will be bummed when I never have kids. Its probably in my sister's best interests to not reproduce either.

My mom keeps asking me when the kids are gonna come. I don’t know. I’m 35 but I don’t feel like I’m ready for a kid and luckily neither is my GF. We both feel like there are more things to be done in life with our own selfing interests in mind before we focus on a child. Eventually we will, but not just yet. It just seems too early at this time. But my mother certainly doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind me that she wants grandkid(s).

My mother hasn't ever outright said anything, but she did move 12 minutes away from us and put in a pool. It's actually Amanda who is really bad about it. Biological clock or something; 31 isn't old though.

Most of our friend group is 28-35. Only a few have kids and I don't envy them in the least. Most are barely financially stable - at least I have that part pretty well nailed down. The older I get, the less interested I am in people in general, never mind the concept of an 18ish year investment that could quite possibly end up poorly. Pets are enough work and - dark as it may sound - at least you know they're only around for so long. It hurts like hell every time, but there is a defined beginning and end.

[Rope-Pusher]

I wonder if my parents will be bummed when I never have kids. Its probably in my sister's best interests to not reproduce either.

My mom keeps asking me when the kids are gonna come. I don’t know. I’m 35 but I don’t feel like I’m ready for a kid and luckily neither is my GF. We both feel like there are more things to be done in life with our own selfing interests in mind before we focus on a child. Eventually we will, but not just yet. It just seems too early at this time. But my mother certainly doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind me that she wants grandkid(s).

My mother hasn't ever outright said anything, but she did move 12 minutes away from us and put in a pool. It's actually Amanda who is really bad about it. Biological clock or something; 31 isn't old though.

Most of our friend group is 28-35. Only a few have kids and I don't envy them in the least. Most are barely financially stable - at least I have that part pretty well nailed down. The older I get, the less interested I am in people in general, never mind the concept of an 18ish year investment that could quite possibly end up poorly. Pets are enough work and - dark as it may sound - at least you know they're only around for so long. It hurts like hell every time, but there is a defined beginning and end.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

We haven't replaced our last dog yet........we've thought about how nice of a pet both our dogs had been,...... but it's nice to come and go as we please. The bird can be left with more food than he can eat in a week, but he's quite social and I usually try to have someone come by daily to say "Hi" and give him fresh water when they bring in our mail. If he were a dog, the timing of these visits would have to be more regular and more frequent.

[AHTOXA]

When I travelled for work at times I caught myself appreciating the total freedom I had over my spare time. I didn’t have a dog to take care of as he was at home taken care of by a friend or GF. But at the same time, there are things in life that I can’t imagine doing without the pupper. We have done so, so many trips and hikes and adventures together. In fact, I’ve never gone hiking or camping without him outside of when I travelled for work.

He is getting old now at almost 9 but he’s still got the heart even though he is a little slower now than he used to be. That said, he’s in better shape than most 9 year old labs I have ver seen so there is that.

[Rope-Pusher]

That said, he’s in better shape than most 9 year old labs I have ever seen so there is that.

Fickset!

[Teamwork]

3) I'm going to the NY auto show a week from today and going to look over with a fine tooth comb:

SUBCOMPACTS:
Honda Fit
Toyota Yaris (Mazda 2 ver)
Kia Rio / Hyundai Accent

COMPACTS:
Mazda 3
Kia Forte
Kia Soul
Toyota Corolla

SUBCOMPACT SUV:
Hyundai Kona
Buick Encore
Nissan Kicks

So reporting back here to the above:

Honda Fit - Do like this, like it more then the Honda HRV but don't really like the orange paint. Honda used to do burnt orange so well but this kind of just looked like bad macaroni and cheese. Trunk floor that is removable above the spare was totally mangled though but felt incredibly flimsy. They refreshed the dash board quite a bit and it looks pretty good, switch gear still feels pretty good for a cheap car-- still has a physical toggle that opens/closes the vent.

Toyota Yaris - N/A... I'm not kidding. They had a platform for the "Mazda 2 hatch" prototype (confirming) but no one but me probably cared. From what I could see it looked like the front seats were reclined into the rear seat area and cargo with the seats up is probably pretty minimal.

KIA Rio / Hyundai Accent - Wouldn't really be able to tell these are on the same platform because the interiors and exteriors are so different. I like different things about each car but kind of would lean towards the KIA variant as I like the materials inside used better. The Rio they had was a hatchback with a white stripe down the center which looked terrible and the quality of the stripe was terrible. Looked like something someone personally did...

Compacts - Going to kind of summarize thoughts here. The Mazda 3 is one of the best interiors in this class I have ever seen... the problem is the car literally is sticker at 28k which is very high even for compacts these days. This would be an even more impressive package if it could literally be 24-25k. Really dislike how claustophobic this car feels though from any seat but the driver one. Very small windows and high sills- like they were going for a Chrysler 300 like look. The blindspots in the hatch are pretty serious-- I'm completely sold on this car minus the price and the visibility. Kia Forte I would be happy to return back too-- so many features and content in an attractive package. Not much else to say it drew a lot of attention at the show which is a positive. Kia soul -- I don't think this one is for me. The interior is kind of deceiving... looks nice but doesn't feel nice. I feel like this one and the Forte kind of runs the same course; I'd take the Soul knowing I need practicality and the Forte for not wanting to be embarassed being seen in. Toyota Corolla, finally left rental car realm and honestly was very surprised how big it was on the inside. No frills, but looks like it would be simple to own and maintain.


Subcompact SUVs - I liked them all but I don't really think I need any of these. The price tags are fairly bloated for what they are. I really liked the Nissan Kick's package and space. Also, as a dark horse pick sat in the CX3 and it weirdly enough had a center arm rest with storage... Sat in the back seat and it wasn't that bad either. It was def better visibility then the modern gen 3 and still an attractive package- might get up on the consideration.

That's all I got here would be happy to answer any questions-- show was pretty solid this year. The absence of BMW and Volvo was noticeable though.

[potownrob]

I assume they had high end Mazda trees there and that’s the price you’re talking about. The lower trims I remember being priced much lower. After driving a cr-v this weekend (sister’s loaner car), I couldn’t imagine going for the hr-v. What about the cx-30 or 4 or
Whatever was going to be slotted between the cx-3 and cx-5??

[tankinbeans]

$28k sounds like mid-level AWD trim for the Mazda3. IIRC the base price starts at $21k with FWD. They've dropped the 2.0 Sky-G and the 2.0 Sky-X is delayed for the USDM, leaving the 2.5 as the sole engine option. If the Mazda3 is still on your list, ambiguous based on your post, go in again and look at the options lists. Make sure there are no fripperies you don't need.

[Rope-Pusher]

$28k sounds like mid-level AWD trim for the Mazda3. IIRC the base price starts at $21k with FWD. They've dropped the 2.0 Sky-G and the 2.0 Sky-X is delayed for the USDM, leaving the 2.5 as the sole engine option. If the Mazda3 is still on your list, ambiguous based on your post, go in again and look at the options lists. Make sure there are no fripperies you don't need.

Le dépôt-vente n'est pas une friperie ou un capharnaüm.
To jest "Fripperies"?

[tankinbeans]

Lots of frog and phlegm

Uh...spaghetti?