Deep in the heart of Lexus
Posted by Dubbayoo | Filed under Automobiles
I’m now driving a ’92 Lexus LS400. It’s in very good condition, low mileage, some small interior mechanical issue to take care of. Black Jade Pearl, 4.0-liter DOHC 32-valve 90° V8 250HP, Leather package, Memory seat system, Power tilt and slide moonroof, Nakamichi Premium 280 watt sound system, Trunk mounted 6-disk CD changer, Built in Hands-free cell phone system in the arm rest. It’s useless but it makes a nice conversation piece.
I’ve already nicknamed it “The Equalizer”, after the ’80′s tv show with Edward Woodward. He drove a Jaguar XJ6 Series III with a car phone back when you had to be a BOSS to have a car phone.
I’ve joined some Lexus forums and realized this car can look very cool indeed. If I take care of this car I could put another 100,000 miles on it, so $3,000-5,000 in upgrades over the long term isn’t a bad deal. I’m looking at new rims, tires, lowering shocks, paint. This car could be a real elegant ride.
Just my freakin luck
Posted by swingate | Filed under General, Uncategorized
The transmission on my ’99 Mazda 626 went out. It was going to cost over $3,000 to fix which is more than the blue book value. The mechanic offered me $600 on the spot since his son totaled his car the week before. I took his offer. I was going to replace it within 12-18 months anyway, but I planned on giving it to Belle (the SO). She has a Ford Escort that’s on it’s last legs.
I’m going to drive my mother’s spare Lexus LS400 while I save for a new one. Not sure what I want; can’t decide between a sports car, small SUV or sedan. I’m tired under powered 4 cylinders for sure. I need something with enough space to put my bike in the trunk. That would eliminate a true sports car like the Hyundai Genesis Coupe which I like a lot. I know there are trunk racks but I don’t like them. This is the time I buy the car I want, not just the car I can afford.
A European sports sedan would be ideal but many are still more than I want to spend. I’m trying to stay under $30,000 although I should be able to put close to $7,500-10K down. I have a long list of options – Lexus IS 250, Ford Taurus Limited, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, GMC Terrain SUV, Nissan Maxima, Chrysler 300, etc.
Still standing
Posted by swingate | Filed under Work
I’m still here. Not much to say…well, actually lots to say. I just don’t feel like saying it. I got laid off three months ago. I’m okay money-wise so no worries for a while. I’m using the time off to brush up on IT certifications and get in shape.
I’ve been bustin butt in the gym and I’m down about 10lbs since. Hoping to lose another 10 by the time I go back to work. I’m not gettin in as much cycling as I hoped but I’m about to fix that.
Stay tuned!
Adele
Posted by swingate | Filed under General
Okay, I just can’t get back into the long blog thing right now. For the time being my posts will be quite Twitter-esque, i.e. 140 characters or less.
Right now I’m listening to Adele, a young British singer. She really has quite a sultry voice. You should check her out…like soon. Her first album is titled “19″.
Is this thing on?
Posted by swingate | Filed under General
Just testing blogging from my iPod Touch. I love this thing! It’s on, baby!
Time to get back on track
Posted by Dubbayoo | Filed under General
I have a few posts I need to jot down. It’s just hard to get motivated to bang out a long post, which is the way I prefer to do it. I might start doing shorter Twitter’ish posts in the future but I’ll try to put up real stories at least a couple time per month.
Last May I had a big trip back to Atlanta scheduled. I planned to see the folks, spend some quality time with Belle, attend a cousin’s wedding and meet up with a bunch of high school friends that I’ve reconnected with on Facebook. I was originally planning to get there on a Saturday. I decided to bump it to Friday in case Mom needed me to work in the yard Saturday morning. Good thing I did.
I got in around 9pm on Friday. My dad had been on the family farm in South Carolina. He was not feeling well so his brother drove him and they arrived around midnight. Dad had a host of old man issues – emphysema, diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it.
The next morning I helped (carried actually) him downstairs so we could take him to see his doctor. I got him downstairs and sat him in his easy chair to rest. My dad is a pretty big guy and I was flat out exhausted from carrying him. He stopped breathing and died right there in front of me, mom and my uncle.
He had been ill for a long while so I was mentally prepared and things were going to be much easier on Mom now. Needless to say the activity schedule was turned on it’s head. I still went to the wedding and a couple of my high school boys stopped by to check on us, which I really appreciated. I didn’t get to see Belle which was very disappointing.
Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that.
Start the presses!
Posted by Dubbayoo | Filed under General
Okay, all three of my remaining readers have been pestering me for updates. I guess I better appease them before they abandon ship too. I have restocked the frig with cheese so here comes the whine to go with it.
Check back soon!
