Idiot Car Salesman pt 2

So he calls back yesterday to tell me he had my car for me... except it was the wrong color and was missing most of the options. I reminded him of EXACTLY what I wanted. Oh yeah he forgot but looky here he happened to have that exact car on his lot. And he would sell it to me for a "good price" which I informed him was about $5,000 OVER the MSRP. He tried to reason with me why that was a great deal but I cut him short and then hung up. He called back later and I ignored him so he quickly learned to use email to tell me that he would now let me have it for the MSRP. I replied with one word: "NO". He replied with a question of how close would I come to his price and I replied with the original price I had given him. Havent heard from him since. I am this close to putting up the name of the dealer here.

Car Buying

I am looking to buy a new car. I am buying just like I did the last one by using Edmunds. With Edmunds you can price out a car with options and see the sticker price, the invoice price, and what the average cost people are paying for that car in your area. You can then have area dealers call or email you their best price. Today I filled out the info and sent it to all of the Atlanta area dealers for this particular maker.

I ALWAYS put that I only want to deal with them via email and today I even included that in the comments section in bold and all caps. After getting the prices, I email the dealers that respond that dealer X is offering that car at a price of $Y. You get them to lower their prices usually and after doing this a couple of times you end up with the best price.

So the emails are starting to come in. One dealer sent me an email asking what it would take to get me to come in and just talk out a deal. I responded that if his EMAILED price was the lowest in the Atlanta area that I would come in, write him a check and leave with the vehicle. What does he do? He calls me to tell me that if I just come in he'll show me why he has the best prices blah blah blah blah. I politely tell him that I dont work that way and if he wants my business to just email his best price and if it is the lowest I will come buy the car from him. He asked me what price I was looking for and I replied the best that I can get it for. He kept questioning me and instead of verbally assaulting the sales guy for not following directions (I must not be feeling well today... HA!) I tell him here is the price I am looking for and quoted him a price LESS than the invoice and inform him that I expect that to include tax, tag, and title. He said he would see what he could do.

Here's where the story gets mildly amusing. The last time I bought a car, I had contacted via Edmunds all of the area dealers of this particular vehicle. The same owners of this dealership referenced above also own a dealership for the vehicle I currently own (different manufacturers). They contacted me to just come on down and talk instead of using the internet like I wanted to do. They had the exact model with options I was looking for but they wouldnt play by my rules. I agreed to buy the car from a different dealership that would play by my rules. Where I was going to buy the car didnt have the exact one in stock so they transferred one in from the dealership that wouldnt play by my rules. I have a funny feeling that this may happen again.

I'll let you know what happens.

The Week in Review

Let's see, I started the week off in jury duty. That was so not fun. Lots of sitting and waiting. I really want to serve on a jury sometime but I am enough of a realist to realize that what I do for work and other things will probably be an automatic disqualifier. At least I got most of the baby announcements addressed and put in envelopes.

I took Bryson to the Capitol yesterday for his first time and our first father-son outing. His presence helped me get primo parking right next to the Capitol where the Governor usually parks (actually it would be his driver) and for free. Everybody loved that I had brought him along. Sorry I didnt take any photos of this trip but the next Capitol trip will probably include photos with the Gov &/or Lt. Gov.

I have watched more Olympics this week than I think I have from any other Olympics. Michael Phelps is a machine. I do question how some events are included in the competition. Badminton, trampoline, ping pong, and synchronized swimming and diving to name a few that shouldnt be there.

The second week of boot camp this month has been completed. I missed one day because of jury duty (I did show up for my last day of jury duty after doing camp in the morning) but I did all of the other days. I have lost almost 3.5 pounds this week for a grand total of a little over 18 pounds since the first of June. I still have a way to go.

Tomorrow is the 2nd Anniversary of my kidney transplant. Tonight we're having dinner with my donor and her family.

Dear Bryson

Dear Bryson,

I am so glad that you are finally here. The last two weeks have been some of the happiest, most wonderful days of my life. One of my favorite things to do now is to just stare at your face. It doesnt matter if you are awake or asleep, I can just stare at you and enjoy your being you.

When we learned we were pregnant, your mother and I would wonder what you would look like, what your personality would be, and what you would become. At 16 days old, we dont have all of the answers to our questions but we are both committed to making sure you have the environment to become the best you can be, whatever that may be.

I like to watch people and the last couple of years I have watched the interaction between parents and kids (and am still doing so) so that I can figure out things I want to do or avoid doing as your father. I hope to teach you that variety is a good thing when it comes to life in general, and music and food in particular. I want to teach you about "manly things" but I also hope that you appreciate the arts, too.

I know I wont be a perfect dad and I hope that you will forgive me for my shortcomings. Please know that I love you and want the best for you.

I love you son,


Dad

Back in the Saddle

After taking a month off to get ready for our baby (more on him in another blog later) and his birth, I signed up for another boot camp. Last month (without doing much exercising) I lost around 5 pounds for a total of 14 pounds since the start of June.

"How?" you may ask. Eating. What? I'm not doing that idiotic eat only cookies diet that you may have seen on tv. I eat smaller portions 3 meals a day and another 2 or 3 snacks which actually keeps your metabolism rate up. You may not believe it but it worked for me last month (of course by not working out you lose muscle weight, too).

Back to this month and boot camp. Tuesday was the first day this week. The first day is always a PT test so that you can see results easier at the end of the month. I did the run in about 20 seconds LESS than I finished it at the end of June's camp. I was (and am) shocked. The only thing that makes sense to me on how this happened is that I finished camp wearing a knee brace for the last week and now my knee is healed.

Speaking of injuries, spending a lot of time taking prednisone makes it easier to get injuries, particularly in your joints and muscles. One of the fun things you live with as a transplant recipient... Anyway, I tweaked my knee last boot camp and Thursday I pulled a muscle in my upper, inner thigh. I took Friday off from camp to let it heal and felt great today until I was running my 3rd 400 meter run as part of the day's boot camp workout at the gym. Doesnt hurt as bad as Thursday but I'm hoping it gets back to 100% soon.

One of the things I have noticed over the last couple of months is that a lot of the side effects from my transplant meds have been lessened. You gotta like that!

This week I have lost a little over a pound. Besides a long term goal of getting ready for next year's Peachtree Roadrace, I want to get down to the weight listed on my Drivers' License. I should be close to that by the end of the month.