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Saturday, September 06, 2003

I just ordered a NEW car! 

Yep, you read it right.

I just ordered a new MINI Cooper!!! WOW!!!

About a year and a half ago, Dick walked into the room and proclaimed, "I know what your next car is going to be." He showed me a little brochure that was in the New Yorker Magazine for the new MINI Coopers. I was fairly familiar with the car - not that I had seen any in person yet, but I recognized it from our Xbox game "Project Gotham". Of course, Dick was right. The more I looked at the MINIs, and learned more about them, I realized that it would be the perfect choice for me: they're small (perfect for parking in the city), good gas mileage, economical, sporty, and most of all, they're CUTE!

In all honesty, the whole "cute" factor worried me a bit. I was afraid that I was completely enamored with the car based scrictly on the cute factor, and that I was overlooking all other practical matters. We test drove one earlier last year (yes, almost 1 1/2 years ago - I'm not an impulse buyer). I LOVED everything about it except that it didn't handle hills terribly well. Here's the problem: I live in San Francisco. There are lots of hills. I prefer to drive an automatic in the city, so I don't have to worry about the hills/parking. MINI only makes an automatic option on the base model, not the Cooper S model that has a larger engine.

Last weekend, I thought I'd better check the rest of my options. I looked online, and decided to check out the Acuras and Hondas. I liked the Acura RSX a lot - it's the replacement for the Integras, and we all know how much I love my Integra (see posting below). I liked it, it's a good car, it is in the same price range as the MINI,..... but I didn't LOVE it. I also didn't find anything that I liked at Honda.

So then, I did my homework on the MINI Coopers again. I had only been to the San Francisco dealership so far, and didn't have any great experiences to speak of. They were always busy, and quite frankly, weren't very helpful at all. Even when we test drove through them, they really didn't take the time to go over any features/specifications. not impressed. When I expressed my concern about the automatic/small engine to one of the sales guys, he had the gaul to tell me, "Then you should learn how to drive a stick." Grrrrr. It turns out that most MINI dealerships charge a dealer mark-up fee of $1,000 for the base model, and $2,500 for the Cooper S.... because they can! I realize they're popular cars, but that's a lot of $$! I found out that East Bay MINI in Pleasanton is the only MINI dealership in this area that does not charge any mark up at all. (good to know)

Dick and I had such a great experience at East Bay MINI today! Our sales guy, Matt, couldn't have been better. He told us more information in the first 5 minutes than any of the sales people in San Francisco had told me in the dozen or more times I've been in the last 1 1/2 years. Matt was full of information, and gave great suggestions. Dick and I were able to test drive both models: the Cooper, and the Cooper S. That was great fun! I seriously considered the Cooper S for a while, figuring I could deal with the stick thing in the City with time. However, Matt suggested that the automatic would be better for city driving - something about how the Cooper S engine wouldn't be able to reach it's full potential in city driving, and the clutch would burn out quicker. PLUS, the order time for a base model Cooper is 4 to 5 months, whereas the order time for the Cooper S is 12-15 months!!!! Granted, I'm not really in a rush, but I think I'd like my car within a year! :)

I gave them a $1,000 (fully-refundable) deposit, and ordered my new car today!!! Here's the scoop:
MINI Cooper: chili red with white roof and mirrors, Combo #1 (premium) (includes Automatic AC, Dual-Pane Sunroof, Leather Cruise/Multi wheel, on-board computer) CVT (automatic transmission), Sports Seats in Panther Black Leather :), auxillary Input (for MP3 players, etc.,) and an outdoor cover. Phew!

My MINI will be ready in 4-5 months. What's that - sometime around January?

Friday, September 05, 2003

The Amazing 15 1/2 year old car 

I love my car. It's an amazing car. My car and I have been through so much together.

Yes, I've had my car for more than 15 1/2 years. How many people can say that? I've had it since I was 17 years old, and now I'm 33! I love telling people that I've had my car "My entire adult life". I can also say that I've had it for (almost) half of my life. Wow.

For those of you who don't know, my wondercar is a 1988 Acura Integra. I got it in January, 1988, during my first year in college. It was also with me throughout my entire "professional" color guard career: In September 1989, I drove it across the country to Dayton, OH. "We" lived there 9 months before driving back to Milpitas, CA in April 1990. In Fall 1990, I moved down to Southern Cal (Garden Grove) for a few months, and drove back and forth with it several times. In Fall 1991, Mykail and I packed it up our lives and drove to Boston, MA! Wow! We didn't stay long. November, 1991 we drove from Boston to Madison, WI (via Dayton, OH to celebrate Thanksgiving). My car and I lived in Madison until May 1993 before driving back to the Bay Area. While I lived in Madison, there were several side trips made to Chicago, Dayton, and even the Raggedy Ann & Andy festival in Arcola, IL.

I moved back to the Bay Area in May 1993. I started teaching the color guard at Logan HS in Union City, CA. I also started to take my first art classes at De Anza College in Cupertino. I commuted almost everyday from Milpitas, to Cupertino over to Union City, then back to Milpitas. My poor little car was really racking up the miles.

My car was able to take a bit of a break in the Fall of 1995 when I moved to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. I lived about a mile from school, so I left my car at my parent's house for a few months. When I started to work for Abbe Don in February 1996, I brought my car up to The City. Now it was a City Car! Street parking, steep hills, parking tickets, towing.... I was living in Nob Hill at the time - my car and I would circle the neighborhood countless times looking for a parking spot. We moved to Eureka Street in the Castro in August 1998. My car was pretty happy there. We had street parking, but I was usually able to find a spot on my block, or even in front of my house. Last year, I moved in with my wonder-boyfriend, Dick. Dick's house has a driveway! Happy car.

My friend, Andrew, and I used to joke that we were the last two people in the "my car has nothing automatic in it" club. That is to say, no power locks, no power windows. Andrew forfeited his membership to the club last year when he bought his new red Ford, "Betty". ...and then there was one...

I'm constantly amazed at how long I've had my car, and how well it continues to run. The only major things I've ever had to had replaced were the radiator, and the muffler. (both in Madison - I blame it on the weather) However, a friend recently pointed out that my car is showing it's age: the speedometer shakes continuously, the trunk doesn't stay open, the rear-defroster no longer works.... all these things that I keep forgetting about, or just choose to ignore. Even my mechanic, who has been servicing my car for 15 years. has been throwing me hints every time I see him. "Trina, it's time to start looking for a new car..."

Alas, I realize that the time has come to start looking for a new car. It makes me very sad to think of "giving up" my little red Integra.

I've started to look for a new car, and I think I've decided on what I want. But, more on that later. This post belongs to my 1988 Integra. I salute you, my faithful friend. Thanks for all the memories.

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Happy Anniversary Noe!! 

3 years ago today, we found our little Noe abandoned in our backyard. Dick calls her our "Lucky Dragon Cat". She was born in the (Chinese) Year of the Dragon, and we always think of how lucky she was to survive her first few days/weeks. Look how tiny she was!

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Mmmmmmm......Donut. 

Wow - talk about a guilty pleasure. Here I am, eating a old-fashioned glazed donut, and drinking Sleepy Time Tea. Mmmmmmmm. I can't remember the last time I had a donut, but for some reason, I've had a craving lately.

I had the hardest time deciding between the old-fashioned glazed, and (my real favorite) an apple fritter. I think I made the right decision. Truth be told, I'm not even hungry - just felt like munching on a donut. The old-fashioned is much smaller. If I had actually bought the apple fritter, I'm certain that I would have felt obligated to eat the entire thing in one sitting.

My friend, Sheri, emailed me last week telling me how many Weight Watchers points my carrots/hummus lunch was. Better not ask her about the donut! ;)

Monday, September 01, 2003

DCI on PBS 

How crazy is this? Our local PBS station isn't going to televise DCI until OCTOBER 5th. October! DCI finals were August 9th. Considering that two of of the top 5 corps, including the one that WON is here in the Bay Area, that seems ridiculous.

In truth, I haven't even been to a live show in ages - perhaps 10 years or so. I still have several friends who instruct though, and I'd really like to see their programs.

I think I'll have some sort of gathering to watch it in October. It'll be fun to have some of the old guard friends over. (old in the "how long I've known them" sense, not in the "how old we're getting" way) Plus, you know, take advantage of the new HDTV Plasma! :) Will keep you posted...


Apparantly, I've become "mainstream" 

does it mean anything that I started my blog a week before this article came out?

Sunday, August 31, 2003

a la Oakland 

We have a Labor Day "Tradition" of going to a la carte, a la park at Golden Gate Park every year. It's usually a terrific time, and the weather is almost always perfect. Unfortunately, we woke up to overcast skys today. Alice called - she lives a couple of blocks from the park, and reported fog. We all decided it wouldn't be as fun in colder weather, so we opted out.

Dick, Pete, Richard I and found our way to Downtown Oakland's "Art & Soul" Festival instead. It was a great time, plus the weather was perfect. We heard a great band, who I'm just not becoming more familiar with: "Guster". I don't know if this makes sense or not, but they reminded me of a "Toad the Wet Sproket" mixed with a hair of "Greenday". Great music. I may have to buy their CD now. Pete & Blane are already big fans. I'm always one step behind....

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