New Car, Basement Update

Trahsmaster Deluxe
So I bought a new car. The Buick Rendezvous, as wonderful as a car as it is, has been having some problems lately. I just barely put $900 into fixing a coolant leak down in the engine. Now the transmission is starting to have issues and some other misc things. So after contemplating how much I hate my life, I decided to just buy another car. That'll show that Rendezvous!

So I called Cordell Finlinson, who is the Supreme Ruler of cheap reliable cars, and I bought a 2000 Chevrolet Prism with 90k miles for $3100. Its the trashmaster deluxe. Daniel says I should get a license plate that says TRSHDLX. Hilarious. No power locks, no power windows, no CD player, no cruise control, no rear defrost, no power mirrors, nothing. But it runs like a champ. It has 4 doors, but its a little cramped in the back. Maybe if you remove all your clothing and remove all the air from your lungs, you can fit back there. And, for whatever reason, the stereo sounds really good. So at least I have FM stereo on a decent system. Totally worth $3100 just for that... right?.....Shut up.

BUT HEY, it gets 10 miles MORE per gallon than the Buick, and that means, with my 60 mile commute to work, it will only take 2 years before the gas money I save will meet the price of the car. So March 2010, I will be laughing at all yall and your expensive cars. Thats right, IN YOUR FACE!

So if anyone is TRULY serious about fixing the Rendezvous, you can have it. Its got a 3rd row of seats that folds right up out of the floor. I think you are looking at about $2500 in repairs. It has 130k miles on it. I already have some waning interest in it from some potentials, so better let me know soon.

Basement
Our basement is freakin sweet. They finished all the wiring, plumbing and framing. I wasnt gonna do any wiring for a sound system, because frankly I dont care for any of that.... well, until I went to Eddies. I sat in his bedroom, on his bed, and he started playing Jurassic park on his 5.1 system. Holy Carp. It was so cool. So instead of cursing my existence later on, I went ahead and ran cables for a 5.1 system. It costs me about $40 total to do it. I wont buy the system at this point, but now at least Im cabled for it if I decide to go ahead with it later on.

We had them build a mousehole door under the stairs for a kids play room. Its so cute, has a little window and its own lightswitch in there. I will love it... I mean THEY will love it. We also had them build an entertainment center into the wall for a TV and stuff.

BUT the best part so far, is we had them remove a large portion of wall at the bottom of the stairs. WOW, the difference that made is amazing. So when you hit the bottom of the stairs, it opens right up into the main room. Really made the place feel alot larger and more accessible. And it will make it easier to yell from upstairs "TURN OFF THE FREAKIN TV AND COME SAY THE FREAKIN BLESSING ON DINNER!". Oh jeez, as if YOU have a perfect family!

Anyway, they start insulating on Monday, and then Tuesday they start sheetrock, then Friday they paint, then cabinets, then carpet/tile, then holy awesome.

If Ive learned anything from all of this, its that pretty much, all it takes is about $30,000 to $40,000 to be truly happy. At least for a month or two anyway.