Sally Test Drives a Smart Car

As some of you know I want a Smart Car. It is a car that is made by Mercedes and designed by Swatch. Cool huh? Oh, and it is really really small. There are a couple of styles. They have been all over Europe for years now, and finally Smart Cars are coming to the U.S.

Mercedes is bringing the Smart Car For Two to the U.S. They have a four-door version called the For Four, but that is not coming for a few more years.

A few other details about the Smart Car; it is 8.8 feet long, about 5 feet wide and about 5 feet high, gets 40 miles per gallon, is a semi-automatic (plus an minus shifters on the steering wheel to bump up or down the gears), cute little trunk that will hold four or five bags of groceries, and a hidden compartment in the tail gate that will hide papers or a laptop nicely, and it is roomy. Ross and I sat in it and we were fine.

I signed up on the Smart Car U.S. web site for updates about the car arriving. I received an e-mail about being able to “reserve” a car for $99. I thought and thought about “reserving” one. I finally reserved one, mainly because the $99 is refundable if I change my mind at any time. (I am registered for a yellow one with black trim.)

Then I received an e-mail saying they Smart Car was going on tour throughout the states so people could see them and test derive them. YAY! And because I was a “reserved” buyer I was invited to a special event a day before the rest of the public to test-drive a Smart Car. I signed up to arrive between 12:00 and 12:30pm. We left home and were about a block away when I noticed my rear view mirror was shaking like crazy. It fell off!

Can you believe it?!? Just feel off. I guess the glue had it with this heat and let go. Well, Ross and I went to Ford to see about getting it fixed. The guy at Ford said I could pay them lots and have them fix it or buy the kit and fix it myself. He was nice and said her would help if I needed it. So, Ross and I drove back home and got in his truck. It was going to take at least 20 minutes to fix the mirror and we were now running late.

We get to the Mercedes dealership and there is a nice long line of people already (by 12:40pm) to test-drive the Smart Car. There are a lot of people here that have “reserved” a car. We decide to check out the two Smart Cars parked so people can get in them and push all the buttons and stuff. We get in line by 1pm and stand and stand and stand. We were in line for just over and hour. It didn’t seem that long though. Ross was great to stand in line with me when he didn’t even test-drive one.

The Smart Car people had it all figured out though. There were about six cars, some convertible, that they would have us drive around a couple blocks then come back and let the next people in. They also had a photographer there to take your picture in the car.

It was so fun to drive! You sit up higher than I thought, and the seats are nice and upright (reminded me of a Volvo). I asked the woman who was in the car with me if the cars really got 40 miles per gallon and she said they did. They are so fun to drive. It was weird how fast they decelerated when I took my foot off the gas. My car takes a while for that to happen.

They do not have the same get up and go as my Mustang either. Of course the Smart Car tops out about 90 mph so… Honestly, that is more than fast enough for the freeways around here and I don’t have to take the freeway to get to work anyway.

It will be January 2008 before they arrive and I will probably have to wait for one. Phoenix has been busier than other cities they had been to so far, according to the woman in the car with me. Only one person at a time could go in the Smart Car because they had a Smart Car rep in each car while you were test-driving.

I am even more excited for the Smart Car since test-driving one. I just love this little car, and I think it is appropriate that my car would start to fall apart they day I go to test-drive a new car. And you can’t beat the price. The one I reserved starts at under $14,000, and when I added the stuff I wanted it was still under $15,000.

And don’t worry they are extremely safe. We didn’t take any pictures of the car they had without the shell on, but the structure is basically a cage like race cars have and there are four air bags.

If you want to check them out for yourselves visit http://www.smartusa.com/index.html

Goodbye Moab, hello Flagstaff

Day 4 we went for a quick breakfast, then took Jim to the UPS store so he could mail back all his camping gear and lighten his bike up a bit. After a week of camping he was ready for some motels and a real bed, shower and some TV in the evenings! Then we packed up our stuff and started the long drive home. Originally we were going to spend the night at the Grand Canyon but Sally & I were so exhausted from all the hiking around in the sun (110º on average) and at elevation (topped out around 7000 ft according to my GPS) that we decided to just head home and do the Grand Canyon in a couple of weeks. We did stop at Flagstaff though for an hour just to have a look around the downtown area. Flagstaff is beautiful and totally reminded us of being back in eastern Oregon. It’s at elevation too so it’s a lot cooler and greener (i.e. trees instead of cacti) then Phoenix. It’s also a lot hippier too and the smell of patchouli wafting from many of the stores was intense :-)

When we finally got home, we basically slept for a day. I don’t envy Jim having to ride off again on his bike for another week. It was great seeing him though. A year ago when Sally & I left Portland we wouldn’t have imagined the next time we’d see him would be in Utah. That’s what makes life so great though, isn’t it?

Canyonlands

Day 3 we toured Canyonlands National Park (which was amazing) in the morning and then headed back into Moab for a great dinner at Eddie McStiffs. It was Sally’s birthday the following day and Jim’s a few days after that, so we thought a good meal and a few drinks were in order to celebrate.

Arches

The second day we did Arches National Park, which was amazing & eerie at the same time, almost like being on an alien world it looked so different.

That evening we took a cool boat trip down the Colorado River. On the way down the river, our guide told us all kinds of facts & legends about the canyons, and pointed out some of the weird spots in the canyon walls that looked like faces or creatures, or had the beginnings of arches forming in them. On the way back up river (by which time it had got dark), they had a monster truck at the side of the river shining 40,000 watts of light on the canyon walls. The shadows were eerie and cool, and there was a tape playing which alternated between religious God stuff, millions of years of evolution & dinosaurs, pioneer stories with cheesy kid actors (“Awww pa, ‘dem indians shot ma brotha!” - hmmm?), the mormon tabernacle choir ranting on about how America is the best country ever (to a load of foreign tourists - nice! The lyrics went something like “All other countries suck, but America is great” or maybe is was just a choir version of the theme from Team America World Police!). Anyway it was awesome :-) It all ended with all the lights off and an amazing view of the night sky, endless stars twinkling away in the heavenly firmament with only a shooting star or two and the International Space Station & Space Shuttle flying by. All accompanied by “Happy Trails” yodeled by old TV cowboy Roy Rogers. American cheese doesn’t get any tastier then that.

Moab

We're spending the next several days up in Moab, Utah with my buddy Jim. Jim’s been doing a 2 week motorbike ride through Oregon, Nevada & Utah (and possibly some other states, who knows where he headed to after we saw him!). You can read more about Jim’s travels on his blog (http://beemer.hastyfilms.com/)

It took us about 7 hours to drive up from Phoenix, AZ to Moab, UT but it is totally worth the drive. First we passed through Monument Valley National Park where many of the John Ford / John Wayne cowboy movies were shot.

Moab is a very cool town, it’s small and in the middle of a bunch of national parks, and is perfect for outdoor exploring or sports. Just about every shop in town is either a restaurant or bike store or water sports store - it’s cool.

The first night there we headed to Deadhorse Point State Park, although we were running out of light as we got there.

Botanical Garden Visit with Lisa

Sally here. So, as I stated earlier Lisa came to visit as a surprise and we hung out for a couple of days. One of the things we did was visit the Botanical Gardens. We went early-ish in the morning so the heat wouldn't be too bad. I think Lisa got over heated the day before.

Anyway, the morning is a great time to go. Not only is it cooler but also there are all kinds of animals out and about. A few cacti had bloom still on them as well. Lisa was amazed at how big the cacti can get, and there was one aloe that looked liked something out of a sci-fi movie.

Back to the animals, not only were the birds out and about making all kinds of noise, we saw ground squirrels that look like little meerkats, a rabbit, a couple lizards which totally freaked Lisa out, heard the big frogs but didn't see them and then we rounded a bend and there it was….a bobcat. I couldn't believe it. I tried to get a picture but it didn't work.

It was walking along a path that said employees only that headed to the café area. We stood there and thought about where it was going, we were wondering if it was a dead end and would be back. I could hear workers back there talking and was waiting for someone to scream. No scream came so Lisa decided to go look for it.

She slowly walks up the path and I'm thinking if it is a dead end that thing is coming back and she is going to scream and run. I'm gonna laugh and out run her. Needless to say it was not a dead end and cut through to the outside eating area near the bottom of one of the mountains around the gardens.

Again, we did try to take a picture and show Ross but he couldn't see it. He is going to try to zoom in but……

All I know is, I need to go back and try to get there even earlier in the day. They open at 7am! I bet there is a lot going on that early.

Summer Reading

I don’t normally recommend books on this website, but if you‘re anything like me and you’ve been wondering what happened to the world over the last 6 years or so, here’s a couple of books by Greg Palast that might help.

Greg is an American jounalist currently working for the BBC’s highly respected Newsnight show. Both books are highly recommended...

Moving & Moab

So I know a few of you want to see some pics of the new place, and we should have some up in a week or so, it’s just been so hectic here we haven’t had the time yet!

• First, as Sally already mentioned in a previous blog, she was finishing up her school year. Congrats on surviving that first year Sally!
• Secondly, I was single handedly moving all of our furniture to the new condo in the lovely 110º heat. On the plus side though I now have arms like Arnie Schwarzenegger after carrying couches etc down multiple flights of stairs all by my self. A welcome physical break from my normal sedentary geek life.
• Thirdly, just as we were finishing moving, Lisa came on her surprise visit for the weekend. I picked her up from the airport and instantly got a lecture that it was time to propose, get married, raise rug-rats, etc. WTF? The more cynical side of me suspects that it was driven by the fact that she flower-arranges weddings for a living and is thus surrounded by normal people - baaaa, damn sheep! Maybe it’s the 50%+ divorce rate (i.e. marriage actually sucks) or a dislike of organized religion (if the meek shall inherit the earth, why does the pope dress like an über rich drag queen?) or maybe I’m just a cantankerous old git. All possibilities :-)
• Fourthly, we’re about to head to Moab, Utah to meet up with our friend Jim for a few days.
  

We still haven’t even got our cable TV sorted out yet, that has to wait till we get back from Moab! God job I got that AppleTV a few months ago ;-)

Anyway, if you weren’t already aware, Jim has taken 2 weeks off and is riding his BMW motorbike from Portland, Oregon to Moab, Utah and back. You can follow his adventures on this web page: http://beemer.hastyfilms.com/

Jim booked a few nights in a Kamping Kabin (possibly at Kamp Krusty?) in Moab (see picture above), and as we were so busy with other stuff we decided to crash his party rather then sort out anything for ourselves - sorry Jim! We’ll have lots of photos and a blog entry up when we get back next week. At least it’s only 100º-ish there which will be mercifully cool break from Phoenix right now.

Moving And Surprises

Sally here. So, we bought a condo, as many of you know. It is way cute! We really like it, and we have a pool view. I love our pool--it’s round. How cool is that? We closed on Thursday May 31st and my last day of school was Friday June 8th (a week and a day later). Ross wanted to get started right away. I was stressed trying to get state testing done, get my final test together, pack up my room at school (they change rooms around sometimes), and stuff like that.

I wanted to wait till I was done for the year before we started moving. Ross figured since he wasn’t working he would move us. I was happy to hear that but I was too stressed to care about his moving schedule and him wanting me to get things packed to move. I would come home and things would be gone, like the ottoman and half the couch. I finally lost it on the Wednesday of my last week of school. He was not home when I got home; he was at the condo hanging out and said he would come home if I wanted. I didn’t want. I didn’t really know what I wanted so I went shopping. And it wasn’t the shopping that made me feel better it was driving with the top down singing along to my songs.

I did figure out I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I didn’t live in the apartment or condo really and at school I was packing up everything so the room didn’t feel like mine either. On Thursday I took the cat to get her nails clipped and brought her over to the condo (now the whole couch was moved along with other stuff). I talk to Ross about getting the mattress moved over that night and staying there. I wanted to live somewhere and the condo was the place.

Since Friday was a half-day for me I was home about 11:30am. I had a party to go to so I was not home long. I was back about 3pm and we moved a few small things. Ross was all let’s move this and that and set this up and that and where are we going to hang the pictures let’s get a ladder and get stuff up on the shelf. To tell the truth he was driving me a bit batty. I mean we were in our other place a few months before we hung pictures.

Well, we were out and about running errands when I brought up getting my hair done Friday or Saturday (the 15h or 16th) and he said that was not a good idea. I asked why and he said it was just not a good idea. I probed a little more and he said drop it. I did. I knew something was up—I thought massages after all that moving.

On Friday I got up, had some coffee and was reading a book. Ross showered and said he had to run and errand. I wanted to know when I should be showered and dressed for whatever was going on. He said he would be back in about half and hour and I should be ready by then.

So, I can kinda see out the front drapes but not really. I saw Ross and another set of feet, at first I thought it might be Brian (maintenance guy) then saw they were girls feet so I thought they might be Shelly (sales rep to check out something) but NOOOOOOOO it was Lisa Martin. What the hell?!?

They had been planning for months for her to surprise me for a birthday visit (early of course but who cares). Totally was not expecting that. So she was here thru Sunday early am. We went shopping, to the Botanical Gardens, had margaritas, swam and just hung out. It was great to see her. I still am very impressed they kept it a secret, and I now I know why Ross so pushy about getting everything moved and set up. He wanted it done before she got here.

That has been the excitement around here. Next we are off to Moab Utah for more...

I Made It!

Sally here. I made it through my first year of teaching. Those last two weeks were rough. I was ready to pull my hair out. Grades were due on Wednesday June 6th and the last day of school was Friday June 8th, and all the kids knew this. My students were trying to tell me that their grades were in and there was nothing I could do to them anymore. Oh they were so wrong, first they were off a week about then grades were due, and second I could and did threaten to pull a report card before they were mailed change and grade and mail it myself with a letter to their parent(s) explaining the change in the grade.

The best, or worst, was a student who came in with his mom on the last day of school to see if he had to go to summer school. It all depended on his final. Well, he did great on his final but his 3rd and 4th quarter grades were so low he still had to go to summer school. And I told him I knew he could pass the class but chose to do nothing because of how well he did on his final. He was not happy.

I really should not complain too much, we played video games and I took the good kids to a movie on the last Thursday and the very last day was a half day so I had my planning period first then an assembly for second and third, they ate lunch outside then went home. It was actually pretty easy those two days. It was leading up to those two days that were hard, especially since we were moving (more of that on the moving entry).

I am not sure if I am teaching seventh grade next year or not. I had a couple students who asked me to teach eighth grade next year so they could have me again. I thought that was really nice and if I could pick and chose my student I might ask for eighth grade, as it is I asked to teach seventh grade advanced math next year.

I am very happy it is summer but I know I will be ready to go back at the end of July. Yes, the end of July. Teachers go back Monday July 30th and the first day of school is Monday August 6th. We get a lot more days of during the year than Portland does, like two weeks in October, and out last day is the Friday after Memorial Day. (May 30th I think)