Breaking news: Carrie likes whitewater rafting

So Eileen, Mads, Jeff and I (there they are, minus me, above) met up in West Virginia to go whitewater rafting on the New River this weekend. I was fairly freaked out before going, as I thought it was going to be like riding a bucking bronco for five straight hours, and I was going to keep getting thrown from the raft and at some point I would hit my head on rocks and probably lose some teeth.

None of that happened. We did some pretty substantial rapids (some of them were rated class five, although the river was low so it was not as bad it as it could have been) but nobody, including me, fell out. At one point in one of the bigger rapids it was like, "whoa, why is the other side of the raft suddenly on this side?" The other side including our guide, who nearly knocked Mads out. Hee. But somehow they all stayed in.

And once I got the hang of it I had a ton of fun. Riding the rapids was fun, but so was the calm parts, where we could get out of the raft and float along.

Also fun, drinking Natural Light on the bus ride to the lodge and finally changing into dry clothes afterwards. Heh.

After we left the lodge we went to the overlook over the New River Gorge, where I took the picture below:


Sadly, none of us brought one of those water cameras (I considered it but figured I'd lose it in the river in one of the 16 times I got thrown off the raft...lesson learned), so that's the closest photo to the action I've got. But you can kinda sorta see the rapids there in the back. Also, my arms. There was a window there...

Smithsonian and memorial pictures

The Route 66 portion of the transportation exhibit.

Big shiny train.

Model of an ocean liner.

Piece of the Berlin Wall.

And a bunch from the World War II and Lincoln Memorials:

The national mall

So it had occurred to me that now that I live here, I could just randomly pop off to go to things like the Smithsonian (which is free, who knew?).

And it also occurred to me, after I learned that the Smithsonian is in fact open on Sundays, that today would be a good day to do so. The Museum of American History is closing after Labor Day for a long time for renovations, so I was running out of time to go see that one.

So I did. I took the metro in, which pops you right out in the midst of all the Smithsonian buildings (why do they call it the Smithsonian when there are many different buildings?), and took the short walk over to the museum. I stopped for a pretzel before I went in and was bugged by the World's Bravest Squirrel for a bite. I totally caved...I'm used to the skittish black squirrels at Kent State and this guy was all ready to eat out of my hand.

So, anyway, back to the actual museum. You just walk in and go through security bag check and then you're there. Awesome.

Many of the exhibits were closed in preparation for the renovation but there was still plenty to keep me occupied for an afternoon. I particularly liked the transportation exhibit — everything from ocean liners to Route 66 to the L in Chicago. The conservation of the star-spangled banner was interesting, too, as was what happened to polio. I found parts of the America at war exhibit really moving, like things that had been left at the Vietnam memorial, and wasn't really prepared for that. Shortly after that was 9/11, and a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. Really wasn't prepared for that one.

I wasn't planning to make this entry a downer, really...

After the Smithsonian, I went to the World War II memorial to take some pictures to show my grandfather, and then, because I am an idiot, kept walking to the Lincoln Memorial. Which probably put my walking total on the day at at least three miles, since my apartment's half a mile from the metro to begin with.

So I am very tired. But....pictures in the next post!

You gotta fight for your right to.....Interweb?

Well, I had mentioned to Eileen that I was going to post updates in my blog about my move to D.C.

But, see, the problem with that is that I really needed home Internet access to do so properly. Which I have not had. Until today. Yes, I was experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. Yes, I probably could have blogged from Panera or whatever, but I like blogging from home. Yes, I know I'm a freak.

So I suppose I should actually note for the record that I have in fact moved to D.C. to take a job out here as an information architect. I believe my last post was about my car being a lemon and my new rocking Mazda 3 (as a side note, you don't realize how much you love a Mazda 3 hatchback until you cram as many of your possessions as you can in it and live off of them for three weeks).

So, the Internet situation. Which stems from the apartment situation. Which is this:

My apartment wasn't ready when they originally said it was going to be. Long story short, the people who were in there before me trashed it and it needed to be renovated. The good news is that the apartment does look great, including a brand-new kitchen. Bad news is that I had to have the movers hold my stuff in storage for awhile and stay with a friend.

So that delayed me moving in, and when I finally moved in I had already been working for awhile and could only get cable installed on a Saturday. Guess which Saturday that was? Heh.

So the cable guy comes today and starts doing the installation thing, and the TV signal is really fuzzy, and when he plugs in the modem, he says it isn't going to work. The line coming in is losing signal like crazy and they'll need to send somebody out to replace the line. So that means NEXT Saturday morning, before I head off white-water rafting.

The cable guy leaves, and I was about to make a depressing trip to Panera for the wifi, when I decided I had GONE LONG ENOUGH WITHOUT INTERNET AND WAS NOT GIVING UP WITHOUT A FIGHT IEEEEEEE. Ahem.

After much jiggling and twisting of the connection to the wire coming in, suddenly the BBC was looking a LOT clearer. So I went for it, and plugged the modem back in, and the Internet light lit up. There was much InCompetentCastic software and crap left to go through, but yes, I hacked my way onto the Internet. Hahahahahaha.

So that is update number one. I'm sure there will be more later. Now that I can update easily. Yay!

And the lemon tale draws to a close...

...with an epilogue I'm sure I'll laugh about someday. Maybe.

I had my appointment to turn in my Elantra on Friday morning, to complete the buyback. Everything with that went well – even better than I expected. They did an inspection to make sure it didn't have anything beyond normal wear and tear (it didn't) and I had to sign about a zillion forms and then I was done.

So phase I went pretty well. Phase II was to buy a new Mazda 3. I had that all arranged with the dealer – they had the one I wanted (titanium silver, five-speed, hatchback) located at another dealer, and they went to get it Thursday night.

I found out, though, that the car they had gone to get had damage when they arrived at the other dealer, and they told the other dealer they didn't want it. Fortunately, the dealer did have one with the same specs in lighter silver (the other color I said I liked...obviously I like it since my last two cars have been that color). It also had a pinstripe, which was ugly. It seriously looked like somebody had taken a Sharpie and run it down the side of the car. Why mar that pretty little car like that? Fortunately pinstripe removal is easy enough (peel and rip, in case anyone was wondering).

The dealer suggested I take it for a quick drive, just to make sure everything was okay with the car. Turns out, everything wasn't okay. The check engine light was on, and I thought maybe it was just the gas cap. So I pulled into a parking lot and it was indeed loose, so I tightened it. Check engine light was still on.

I drove back from the dealer and refrained from screaming, "I JUST TURNED IN A LEMON AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON OMG CAN I JUST CATCH A BREAK ON THE FREAKING CARS ALREADY!!!!"

Turns out the old gas-cap-check-engine thing is pretty common and the light needs to be reset by service. So we drop the car off there and go do all the paperwork.

I sign a zillion more forms. It's a wonder I didn't have a hand cramp. Also, I discovered in all of this that my signature scrawl doesn't really account for needing to sign my middle initial.

Back to service, and turns out that the gas cap code wasn't the only one that the computer (oh, I know SO MUCH about these computers now) stored. There is an air leak somewhere that is affecting the mix of air and gasoline, which the car can't run at its optimum self without. They found the source of the leak pretty quick, but getting the part to replace it was another issue.

I needed to get to work, but they got me a rental car (there is a rental car place right in the service bay, which makes so many oodles of sense I wonder why I haven't seen that before), so I drove that in to work. Didn't hear anything on the car that night, and I needed to drive up to Akron for Mother's Day on Saturday, so I stopped in first thing Saturday morning.

No luck on getting that most important combo of the part and somebody who could install it. So I was going to have to wait until Monday. But they said it was no problem to take the rental to Akron, so I made it home for Mother's Day, which was really my main concern. It's important to note that the dealer was absolutely stellar throughout all of this, which was....refreshing, to say the least.

They called Monday, and had the new part in, but they wanted to keep it overnight for tests. Like, they had a nurse check on it every hour or something. Hee. But the idea was that I should never have to bring it back in again. WHICH I AM ALL FOR.

So Tuesday afternoon, I finally went to go pick up my little 3.

SO WORTH THE WAIT. Even when I test drove it, this car really amazed me in that I got in and instantly felt comfortable. With everything — the pickup, the handling, the seat, the interior. There was absolutely no adjustment period. I thought I'd drive awhile without the radio just to concentrate, but within a couple minutes I was busting out new Red Hot Chili Peppers (how I managed to love-love-love the first two tracks and not give a crap about the rest of a double album is probably for another blog post that probably won't ever get posted) and rocking out, flipping lanes, cruising right along. The pickup is great, but it's the suspension that really gets me with this car. It handles amazingly well. That and the Mazda seats. Oh, how I missed Mazda seats.

So, yeah, it took a little while, but I finally got my awesome little car. And while yes, you ordinarily want to drive the car off the lot the day you buy it, the whole lemon thing has given me some perspective:

The car never put me in danger. I never had to sit on the side of the interstate while semis blew past and made the whole thing shake. I never had to beg anyone for a ride to work. No one ever said, "Well, unless we can recreate the problem..." They told me exactly what the problem was, and I didn't have to dig to find out what had been done to the car. The writeup was extremely detailed. They even had the exact error codes.

My old Mazda Protege had a problem within the first 30 days, too. Granted, it was the power window getting stuck, and I drove it off the lot the day it arrived. But I know that these things happen. The difference between the Protege and the Elantra is that the Protege was nearly perfect after that. To the point where in the midst of all the problems with the Hyundai, I was kicking myself for ever giving that Protege up.

And that's why I'm glad to be back with Mazda. There's something to be said for brand loyalty.
And/or Japanese car companies whose names end with "a".

I'm really amazed that this all happened, and worked out the way it did. The people at the dealership got a big kick out of doing the paperwork and informing they have to do for Lemon Law. Like when you have to sign a form saying you're aware of it. Uh, yeah, I'm aware of it. Heh. But while I'm sure I signed that when I bought the Elantra, I never thought that it (buying a lemon) was something that would happen to me. Even now, I think of the Hyundai and go, "did that really happen?"

But now it's finally over. And yes, when I drove that 3 in to work, I used whatever damn lane I wanted. I'm thinking about maybe driving it over the Brent Spence Bridge, just for kicks.

Maybe not. Nobody drives the Brent Spence for kicks.

public sushi announcement

After sampling the spicy tuna rolls from four area grocery stores, I would like to declare the Hyde Park biggs the winner of my highly unofficial Spicy Tuna Contest. It broke down like this:

1. Hyde Park biggs: The clear winner because, while it was no AOI spicy tuna roll, it had the required smoky tang. The sesame seeds were fairly light, but the flavor still came through. I am not normally a fan of cucumber but in this roll it gave things a nice crunch. There was also avocado involved. And the pieces were small enough to really catch all of the flavors at the same time, which is a major plus in my book. They also sell the spicy mayo in containers, which I'm trying not to think about too much, because I'd be tempted to buy a tuna steak and just slather it with the stuff and eat it raw, perhaps with sesame seeds on top, and there's a few too many bad ideas right there.

2. Hyde Park Kroger: Oh, Hyde Park Kroger, clearly things are not going well if you let biggs get you here. I'm sure you would say it is just a spicy tuna roll, but in reality, we both know it starts with the spicy tuna roll, and then it's the whole seafood department, and then the produce, and the wine section, and the organic department and then THE WHOLE DAMN STORE WILL BE FLATTENED BY BIGGS. AND YOUR GAS STATION, TOO (But biggs doesn't have a gas station, you say. Yes, but just wait until they reveal their SPICY SAUCE STATION and that they've been in cahoots with Toyota to produce the new Prius Tuna Edition). Everything in this roll just seemed a little limper, although the ingredients were the same. Not as flavorful as the biggs roll, either.

3. Oakley Meijer. I really wish Meijer would get its sushi act together, because it is right next to Target, and we all know of my love for all things Target. But alas, this was a typical Meijer roll. A little too big. They only had a combined spicy roll (tuna and shrimp), and I actually preferred the shrimp ones better. Things seemed a little...dry....oddly enough. Not sure what was going on there. Meijer gets a few bonus points simply for me making it through the checkout unscathed, instead of vowing never to return, which is usually what happens every time I go to Meijer. Unless I get so pissed off I abandon my groceries and never make it through the checkout, which also has happened. Freaking Meijer. You'd think Target would have started to rub off by now, but NO.

4. Rookwood Wild Oats. Wild Oats, you have fallen so far. You used to have the most beautiful sushi. And while this was actually fairly pretty in the container, it is clear something went horribly wrong. This thing didn't taste spicy at all, although the wasabi was overwhelming. I used the same amount as normal (a lot), which leads me to believe one of two things happened: 1. Wild Oats wasabi is four times as spicy as anyone else's wasabi or 2. Wild Oats sushi makers think spicy tuna rolls are made with copious amounts of wasabi instead of spicy sauce. As there was no spicy sauce either visible or tastable in the roll, I am leaning towards number two. Add to that the fact that these pieces were so freaking huge they were the only ones I couldn't handle with chopsticks, and it just gets worse. When sushi gets that big I find myself dissecting pieces in my mouth...."That was cucumber. Oh, think that was fish. Avocado?" Think 12 pieces instead of 8, people!

So why the sudden spicy tuna analysis? Well, sometimes Carrie just craves sushi. A lot. For days.

(No, I did not eat them all in one day. Or two.)

Score one for the little guy. Err, woman.

I won my arbitration hearing with Hyundai!!!

They have to repurchase my car. I am still learning about how all of the details with that work out, but the important thing is that I'll be free to go to another car company.

After my experience with this car, I'm not going to be looking very much for the new one. I've narrowed my choices down to Japanese car companies whose last names end in "a". A for reliAbility. Or something.

I am going to do some more test driving this weekend, but right now I've got this little cutie in mind. In part because I traded in a perfectly good Protege for my Elantra, and while I've obviously not kept tabs on my old Protege, I'm going to venture a guess that since we parted ways it's been in the shop less than the Elantra.

I do have to say that I come out of all of this with a lot of confidence in Ohio and its lemon law. I expected to go into the hearing and get steamrolled by a team of attorneys, but while Hyundai did send a lawyer, it was very informal and not at all like that. And while I had a hard time dealing with Hyundai over everything, once it went to the BBB, everything was very structured. And, bottom line, I had a car that did a very dangerous thing, multiple times, and now I have the opportunity to get out of it.

So yeah, if you buy a new car in Ohio, you really are protected.

After trying on numerous pairs of sunglasses...

...I have come to the conclusion that my face is crooked.

random product placement

I do not know this for a fact, but I think that Trader Joe's Italian Blood Orange Soda would make the BEST Mimosas.

Also, every year, without fail, Neutrogena comes out with some craaaazy new suncare product that I just have to buy. Damn them.

In all seriousness, though, if it delivers as promised this new Helioplex stuff is huge. It's supposed to do what Meroxyl, which isn't available in the U.S. because the FDA says it's a drug and has to be approved, does. And that is to provide UVA protection that isn't photosensitive (i.e. breaks down in the sun, which is, of course, bad in a SUNSCREEN).

I, sunscreen nerd, will be testing this out on vacation. Neutrogena also makes an SPF 55 (55! holy cow!) of their amazing Dry Touch stuff with the Helioplex, which I also picked up at Target today.

Yes, I know, vacation isn't until June. But as fast as March has gone by it'll be here before I know it. At least that's the theory...

arbitration

Realized I should post an arbitration update.

There isn't much to update at this point. I think it went okay but they have to have an independent technical type person take the car for a test drive, and then after that I will get the ruling in writing.

So I won't know how it turned out for at least a little while.

Dear Bed, Bath and Beyond

I know you must read this blog since the furniture in a box I purchased yesterday (yes, I know I promised to quit but it was just a little tiny table!) was actually really well-wrapped and showed no evidence of having been punted across your store at some point. Given my past experiences with futniture in a box I have to say I was amazed to pull out piece after piece and not find a giant gash in one of the legs, or that the tabletop had split in half, or the little middle piece was missing.

However, I must correct you on one point. Nothing that involves GLUE should ever be labeled easy to assemble. I don't care if the instructions are: "Glue part A to part B. Congratulations, you are done!"

Glue automatically negates ease of assembly. It just does.

But, really, congratulations on getting that whole wrapping-the-furniture-so-that-half-doesn't-get-bought-damaged thing. If I have any other issues I'll just post them here and you can get right on them.

Thx,
Carrie

Well...

...that just took all the fun out of it.

Oh, by the way, it's ON

I keep forgetting to post that my arbitration hearing with Hyundai is scheduled for this Thursday. Apparently I won't find out until later what the arbitrator decides, but whether I know or not I'm sure I'll be ready for plenty 'o Guinness Friday. Heh.

you knew the Apple rant was coming

It was just a matter of time.

For the first time ever, I actually bought something on iTunes because of collaborative filtering (for the record, it was "Emerge," by Fischerspooner).

In my brief time using iTunes, it has frustrated me on many different levels. I am a frequent Amazon.com user, and I've gotten used to their level of personalization and collaborative filtering. They say "We thought you might be interested in..." and they might as well have said "Put this in your shopping cart, now!" I'm used to them reminding me that I looked at Grey's Anatomy on DVD the other day and saying, "oh, crap, I was going to buy Grey's Anatomy on DVD!" That sort of thing.

iTunes is not nearly so helpful. If you were, say, listening to previews of some of the songs on the 97x Top 97 list one day, and came back the next deciding you were going to buy some, well, you're on your own finding that list again, sucker. Because search won't work and iTunes isn't going to HELP YOU SPEND MONEY by indicating what you looked at recently. They do provide other top downloads and related artists and other such stuff, but I still feel lost half the time on iTunes. And they don't have that uncanny knack for constantly knowing what you want even before you do.

And don't even get me started on the usability issues. The search text box with no button! Argh! Sure, it's all Appley streamlined and sleek, but there's plenty of space for a search button that would keep bunches of users from getting tripped up (myself included).

I've got similar bones with the iPod, although I like mine. Such as having to reformat the damn thing to get songs off. They call it synching your iPod, when you hook it up to the computer so it can have its little mind meld with iTunes. But it's not SYNCHING if it doesn't remove from the iPod the songs you've removed from iTunes. What it's doing would be better termed DUMPING. It's a good thing PDAs don't synch with Outlook this way or executives around the world would be showing up for cancelled meetings all the time.

And then there's the scroll wheel, which I use daily to blow right past whatever artist or song I'm trying to find. I thought that I would get used to it, but I think operating something primarily with your thumb might just be inherently bad ergonomics. Someone posted this critique of the iPod on a mailing list I'm on, and I found myself nodding my head to the whole thing.

But I'm going to keep the iPod for quite awhile, because it is still a hell of a lot better than my ginormous MP3/CD player, my previous mobile music solution. And I'm stuck with iTunes until somebody else comes along with something better. Come on, Amazon, you know you want to!

Best sport ever!

Why did no one think of this Snowboardcross before?

It's got jumping, bumping and crashing, and when it's calm, it's oddly mesmerizing.

Why the Olympics are bad

Already, today, I've had a conversation with myself that went something like this:

Carrie: Come on, you have to get up off of the couch and do something productive.

Carrie: But, the Olympics are on!

Carrie: You don't need to watch the WHOLE Olympics. Your apartment is a mess. You need to go to Target.

Carrie: Rarely in my life do I actually NEED to go to Target. Think of the money I will save.

Carrie: Nordic combined just came on. If you watch Nordic combined now, in a week you will be slumped in the middle of your living room in a couch potato stupor, enthralled with curling.

Carrie: OK, damn it, you're right. What do you think is on tonight?

carma

Thursday night on my way home from the Crazy Fox, I almost got broadsided by a guy running a red light on Fifth Street downtown. Luckily, something felt wrong, and I checked the intersection before I went, because BAM, there goes little likely drunk red car through the intersection.

And I found myself thinking, wouldn't that be ironic and anticlimactic, if my lemon Hyundai was totaled after all the crap I've been through?

However, I've seen enough of the crash test results on my size car to know that, side air bags aside, I would not have fared well in that crash, so it's probably all for the best.

Unless next week I get in a stall-caused crash or something...

best hair day ever!

That isn't actually today, it was yesterday.

I went to the Aveda Institute to get my hair cut, and got the best haircut of my life. Now, granted, I average about one haircut a year, where I take off the six-eight inches that have grown since my last haircut, so it's not like I've actually had a huge number of haircuts before.

But anyway, my hair's now shoulder-length, and layered, and THINNED (They can thin it? Who knew? And why did no one suggest this before?). Now the trick will be to actually style it the way it's supposed to be occasionally.

Ode to my five-year-old Timex

Oh, Timex, I thought this afternoon it was over.

When I turned that corner too tight and knocked my wrist (and you) against the doorframe, and noticed an hour later that you were covered in streaks of white paint, I thought, this is it — I am going to have to put poor old Timex in a forgotten drawer of my jewelry box and go to Target to plunk down $24.99 for a replacement. I think this is how much a replacement you costs at Target. Obviously it has been awhile since I bought a new watch.

I tried to wipe off the streaks with my shirt and then a tissue, but they wouldn't budge. Poor little Timex, I thought you'd be felled in your prime. You're only five (or maybe six, or seven) years old, and only on your third battery!

I've had you so long I can't remember when I got you. I know there was another watch sometime around my freshman or sophomore year of college — I can remember the strap breaking and a futile search in the steps and lawn of Harbourt Hall. Clearly, that watch was not as durable as you.

Because when I tried eyeglass cleaner spray, the streaks came off, and your face was as good as new. How resilient you are!

I have to admit I was relieved. Sure, you're, like, the greatest watch of all time, so Target still carries your model. But it wouldn't be the same. We've got a lot of history, Timex. You let me know when I was strolling into my undergrad classes 15 minutes late. You lit up your little Indiglo face in countless dark clubs and movie theaters. You got me to job interviews on time. We've been swimming in my grungy apartment pool and the beautiful blue Caribbean together (because you're waterproof, not water resistant!).

I know you've seen the new watch I got for Christmas, the pretty beaded one. I know you might be jealous, but you don't need to worry. Sure, it's pretty, and I'll wear it sometimes when I want to dress up, but, really, you need a break occasionally. You don't need to worry about your place in the watch hierarchy — you're still the functional little master of time around this apartment.

About that ramming you into doorframes every once and awhile...you know I don't mean to do it, right? You know I'm just not very careful with my appendages when I turn corners sometimes. After all, it's not always you getting hit. Sometimes it's my elbow, or my thumb, or my knee, or my toe. I'll try to be more careful in the future, though.

Here's to five (or maybe six, or seven) more years together.

lemony...fresh?

For anyone who hasn't been following my Hyundai Lemon Saga, and I'm not sure if there actually IS anyone, as I think I've whined to nearly the whole free world about it...

Tuesday two weeks ago, the car stalled on the interstate again. I pulled over to the side of the road and was able to start after 10-15 minutes, and took it in to Hyundai the next day, where they replaced the crankshaft sensor AGAIN.

I sent a lemon letter in to Hyundai on Monday.

Then this Friday, yep, you guessed it, stalled out again. The plus side of this, if there is a plus side, is I am getting very good at coasting on the interstate. This time I had to cross three lanes of traffic while stalled. I took it in to the dealer and they puttered around with it all day and called Hyundai's central tech people. And did nothing. I also called Hyundai's consumer center to tell them they might want to hurry along that lemon stuff since my car is a DEATH TRAP.

I'll find out more about this lemon stuff early next week, hopefully.

In happier news, my new Sony Psyc over-ear headphones that I got from Target are working out quite nicely. The iPod also is working out nicely. I watched an episode of Prison Break while I was waiting for them to fix the crankshaft sensor and I felt like I was too cool for the Superior Hyundai waiting room. Hee.

I have some issues with iTunes, though. I have always thought that the idea behind syncing a device with your computer is so that all of the settings and files match up. iTunes, though, thinks that syncing means you dump all the new shit on the device, without clearing out anything that's been deleted from iTunes. As a result, my iPod is already starting to get bloated. I know you can delete songs manually, but that would take eons.

Also, I have realized that my My Music folder has become bloated itself, with crappy songs, and crappily labeled songs, and duplicates of both crappy songs and crappily labeled songs. I'm not quite sure how that happened. So now I'm trying to go through and clean it out, which sucks on about five different levels. But then once everything is nice and clean, I'll reformat the iPod and start again, with all the crap gone.