I wanted to die. I've never sweat so much in my life (this was Bikram yoga--so the it was a closed room heated to about 90 degrees, with 15+ people in there breathing heavily). Halfway through I finally realized my shirt should be off and I just about ripped it off it was sticking to me so much. The gum I foolishly didn't spit out before class started dissolving in my mouth, and I had to swallow it. I half-assed most the moves, and I still felt like jelly afterwards. I just about fainted afterward--I was so hungry (and probably dehydrated). I just finished off a huge protein shake, and I think I'll go eat another snack before going to bed.
Can't wait to go back.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
New car!
So I'd been thinking about getting a new car lately. I always just figured I'd drive my civic around until it literally died on me. But then in February I had some issues with it and ended up putting another $600-700 into it to get it up and running. Lately it's been making some more weird noises, so I decided to start looking for a new car.
Let me tell you a little bit about my old civic. I got it in 2002 after I got home off my mission. It was cheap and in good condition; I got it from a bank auction (it had been repossessed). Things were great until about eight months down the road, when I got in a little fender-bender (my fault). The front passenger side fender, light, and bumper needed to be replaced. At this time, I had a friend from Seal Beach who was really into souping up cars (he drove around a souped-up truck), so he convinced me to buy my replacement parts off E-BAY of all places (stupidest car-related decision I've ever made). Never buy car parts off e-bay (in case you're as stupid as I was back then). The "cool" fenders with these "fancy" little grooves in them were fine. They're just chunks of metal, after all. The bargain bumper fit fine, but the screws that attach it to the fender fell off and were lost shortly after installation, so for a while I tried to secure it with wires or makeshift screws. Eventually I just left it alone and it kind of hung off on the sides, attached to the car only up in the center under the hood. The lights were just a nightmare. They were these "hot" projector lights with these "halos" that lit up separately around the lights. They were like Infinity/BMW rip-offs, and it showed. Two of the halos never lit up. The bulbs for the normal beams constantly burned out. To make it worse, in order to change the bulbs, I couldn't just reach in there and swap them out. I had to take off the ENTIRE bumper and unscrew each headlight assembly just to have enough room to get the new bulbs in and out. In the last year and a half or so I just stopped trying and started running on my high-beams all the time. This makes people hate me, but hey at least I wasn't having to change my lights all the time. My parents were right about those lights. I will give them that much. Oh and he also convinced me to get this ridiculous spoiler while I was at it. The screws on it needed to be constantly tightened (a couple of them fell out while driving) and ultimately I just got sick of it, took it off, and threw it away. The holes for the screws are still back on the trunk exterior--I just didn't care. Oh and we can't forget the "stylish" altezza tail lights! Gosh I was so stupid. Ah well, lessons learned, right?
I've always wanted a Passat. Not sure why--they just always seemed like solid cars. Not too flashy, but also not ghetto. So yesterday I finally got one. I looked at a lot of used Passats for sale online and found one that looked good.
It had just come off lease, 2004, 45k miles, clean carfax--for only $12k list price. I went down to the dealership, took it for a little test drive, it felt good and looked good. So we get back to the dealership and the sales guy puts an invoice in front of me with it listed as $12.9k. "Actually, this was advertised online for $11.9k." He didn't believe me. He looked it up. Sure enough, 11.9k. So he calls to someone upstairs about it and it sounds like they're yelling at him and he's saying "I don't know! I don't touch this stuff!" Was it an act? I don't know. I doubt it--this burly Hawaiian guy really didn't strike me as the "acting" type. To tell you the truth I felt like the 11.9k pricetag was unusually low--other comparable cars were significantly more expensive. KBB value for the car was like 16k. He gets off the phone and says "Well you better buy this car now. $12k is a full thousand dollars below wholesale value." I bought it. I got some extra warranty/repair packages and so all in all it came out to $15k. I'm feeling good about it. No buyer's remorse...yet.
Perhaps as confirmation of my choice to get a new car, after I drove my civic home (I initially had to leave the Passat at the dealership because I went alone), I turned off the engine and could hear this bubbling/popping sound coming from the engine--almost as if something was boiling. Now I'm no expert, but I'm gonna go with that NOT being a good thing. Perfect timing, in my opinion.
I'll give the civic to my sister (the dealership didn't even want it as a trade-in--it was that bad) for her to drive until it's dead. Now until then...anyone know a place where I can park it for a few weeks until she comes to get it? Thanks!
Let me tell you a little bit about my old civic. I got it in 2002 after I got home off my mission. It was cheap and in good condition; I got it from a bank auction (it had been repossessed). Things were great until about eight months down the road, when I got in a little fender-bender (my fault). The front passenger side fender, light, and bumper needed to be replaced. At this time, I had a friend from Seal Beach who was really into souping up cars (he drove around a souped-up truck), so he convinced me to buy my replacement parts off E-BAY of all places (stupidest car-related decision I've ever made). Never buy car parts off e-bay (in case you're as stupid as I was back then). The "cool" fenders with these "fancy" little grooves in them were fine. They're just chunks of metal, after all. The bargain bumper fit fine, but the screws that attach it to the fender fell off and were lost shortly after installation, so for a while I tried to secure it with wires or makeshift screws. Eventually I just left it alone and it kind of hung off on the sides, attached to the car only up in the center under the hood. The lights were just a nightmare. They were these "hot" projector lights with these "halos" that lit up separately around the lights. They were like Infinity/BMW rip-offs, and it showed. Two of the halos never lit up. The bulbs for the normal beams constantly burned out. To make it worse, in order to change the bulbs, I couldn't just reach in there and swap them out. I had to take off the ENTIRE bumper and unscrew each headlight assembly just to have enough room to get the new bulbs in and out. In the last year and a half or so I just stopped trying and started running on my high-beams all the time. This makes people hate me, but hey at least I wasn't having to change my lights all the time. My parents were right about those lights. I will give them that much. Oh and he also convinced me to get this ridiculous spoiler while I was at it. The screws on it needed to be constantly tightened (a couple of them fell out while driving) and ultimately I just got sick of it, took it off, and threw it away. The holes for the screws are still back on the trunk exterior--I just didn't care. Oh and we can't forget the "stylish" altezza tail lights! Gosh I was so stupid. Ah well, lessons learned, right?
I've always wanted a Passat. Not sure why--they just always seemed like solid cars. Not too flashy, but also not ghetto. So yesterday I finally got one. I looked at a lot of used Passats for sale online and found one that looked good.
It had just come off lease, 2004, 45k miles, clean carfax--for only $12k list price. I went down to the dealership, took it for a little test drive, it felt good and looked good. So we get back to the dealership and the sales guy puts an invoice in front of me with it listed as $12.9k. "Actually, this was advertised online for $11.9k." He didn't believe me. He looked it up. Sure enough, 11.9k. So he calls to someone upstairs about it and it sounds like they're yelling at him and he's saying "I don't know! I don't touch this stuff!" Was it an act? I don't know. I doubt it--this burly Hawaiian guy really didn't strike me as the "acting" type. To tell you the truth I felt like the 11.9k pricetag was unusually low--other comparable cars were significantly more expensive. KBB value for the car was like 16k. He gets off the phone and says "Well you better buy this car now. $12k is a full thousand dollars below wholesale value." I bought it. I got some extra warranty/repair packages and so all in all it came out to $15k. I'm feeling good about it. No buyer's remorse...yet.
Perhaps as confirmation of my choice to get a new car, after I drove my civic home (I initially had to leave the Passat at the dealership because I went alone), I turned off the engine and could hear this bubbling/popping sound coming from the engine--almost as if something was boiling. Now I'm no expert, but I'm gonna go with that NOT being a good thing. Perfect timing, in my opinion.
I'll give the civic to my sister (the dealership didn't even want it as a trade-in--it was that bad) for her to drive until it's dead. Now until then...anyone know a place where I can park it for a few weeks until she comes to get it? Thanks!
Friday, April 4, 2008
My new style
I've gone through something of a transformation lately. I seem to have discovered a sense of style. I think I am now solidly on the path of metrosexuality.
First, let me give you a brief history of my style. I apologize in advance for not having any pictures to illustrate this story. When I was a wee lad, I had no style. I think I liked wearing those zip-up pajamas (you know, the ones with the "slippered" feet) as much as possible. I wore whatever my mom bought for me at thrift stores. This continued through high school and until I went on an LDS mission to Brazil. Yes, I said THROUGH high school. I had no idea what to wear in high school. I'd wear XL shirts (I now wear L, which fit me comfortably, and I am 50 lbs heavier than what I was in high school--and the same height). They literally hung off me. I'd wear pants that would taper at my ankles, and were often too short. I must have been one awkward looking kid. I wonder how I ever got a date. My mission style wasn't too wild. White shirts, ties, suits. You know the drill.
Then I came home off my mission. My new mission was to find a girlfriend/wife, and to do that I needed some style. I started going to the gym. I discovered stores like Old Navy and Ross. I bought some "stylish" and gently used clothes off ebay. Slowly, my personal wardrobe grew. After a couple years of no girlfriend/wife, I decided I needed to up my game a bit. So I forged ahead into new stores like Pac-Sun and American Eagle. I thought I could pull off some kind of punk/skater/preppy style (while maintaining a conservative haircut) even though the longest I ever stayed upright on a skateboard was 30 seconds or so. Still no girlfriend/wife after a year or so of that, so then I decided it was time for stores like the Buckle and Eddie Bauer. The Buckle typically had jeans that fit me, so that was a big plus, and to this day I still like some of their shirts. Around this time I think I finally got a girlfriend. So something must have worked.
The last couple years I haven't done much clothes shopping. My wardrobe had become dull and stagnant. I was tired of wearing the same stuff over and over each week. So recently, I have taken the plunge into metrosexuality (I considered myself an amateur, previously) by becoming a patron of stores like Banana Republic and.....wait for it.....NORDSTROM'S. At BR I found quite possibly my favorite jeans of all time, and a nice horizontal-stripe polo (optical illusion to make skinny guys look broader...haha). At Nordsrom's, I bought my first pair of jeans priced over $200, and probably my first pair of shoes priced over $100. I was told there's no turning back now. Once you get the good stuff, you can never settle for anything less than the best. So basically, I'm doomed. Hopefully all the money I save by buying all my food in bulk from Costco will offset the inevitable black hole I am bound to create in clothes purchases.
And check it out, after buying those jeans from BR (they are a tighter, slimmer fit than any other jeans I've ever had), I read the following from the fashion section of my Men's Health magazine: "The great thing about a lanky guy is that he can wear slim-cut jeans without it seeming too skinny or punk-rockish. . . . Stay away from baggy jeans: Relaxed fits will devour you alive."
That very day I had worn some relaxed fit jeans (that, incidentally, I had recently purchased at the Buckle) and noticed how they didn't look nearly as nice as my BR jeans. I wondered what the deal was. And this was the answer. So now I have entered a new era of "slim-cut" jeans. I never thought I would be able to wear them without looking like I belonged in an emo band. But already I've gotten complements on how much nicer they look than my regulars. I guess being skinny isn't all that bad? (oh, update: I'm up to 202 lbs now)
One last thing: I've also rediscovered the faux-hawk. I experimented with this a few years back but never really stuck with it. But I'm actually digging it and think I just needed to style it right, which I didn't do in the past.
Say hello to Orange County's newest metrosexual! (minus the tan)
p.s. No, I am not gay.
First, let me give you a brief history of my style. I apologize in advance for not having any pictures to illustrate this story. When I was a wee lad, I had no style. I think I liked wearing those zip-up pajamas (you know, the ones with the "slippered" feet) as much as possible. I wore whatever my mom bought for me at thrift stores. This continued through high school and until I went on an LDS mission to Brazil. Yes, I said THROUGH high school. I had no idea what to wear in high school. I'd wear XL shirts (I now wear L, which fit me comfortably, and I am 50 lbs heavier than what I was in high school--and the same height). They literally hung off me. I'd wear pants that would taper at my ankles, and were often too short. I must have been one awkward looking kid. I wonder how I ever got a date. My mission style wasn't too wild. White shirts, ties, suits. You know the drill.
Then I came home off my mission. My new mission was to find a girlfriend/wife, and to do that I needed some style. I started going to the gym. I discovered stores like Old Navy and Ross. I bought some "stylish" and gently used clothes off ebay. Slowly, my personal wardrobe grew. After a couple years of no girlfriend/wife, I decided I needed to up my game a bit. So I forged ahead into new stores like Pac-Sun and American Eagle. I thought I could pull off some kind of punk/skater/preppy style (while maintaining a conservative haircut) even though the longest I ever stayed upright on a skateboard was 30 seconds or so. Still no girlfriend/wife after a year or so of that, so then I decided it was time for stores like the Buckle and Eddie Bauer. The Buckle typically had jeans that fit me, so that was a big plus, and to this day I still like some of their shirts. Around this time I think I finally got a girlfriend. So something must have worked.
The last couple years I haven't done much clothes shopping. My wardrobe had become dull and stagnant. I was tired of wearing the same stuff over and over each week. So recently, I have taken the plunge into metrosexuality (I considered myself an amateur, previously) by becoming a patron of stores like Banana Republic and.....wait for it.....NORDSTROM'S. At BR I found quite possibly my favorite jeans of all time, and a nice horizontal-stripe polo (optical illusion to make skinny guys look broader...haha). At Nordsrom's, I bought my first pair of jeans priced over $200, and probably my first pair of shoes priced over $100. I was told there's no turning back now. Once you get the good stuff, you can never settle for anything less than the best. So basically, I'm doomed. Hopefully all the money I save by buying all my food in bulk from Costco will offset the inevitable black hole I am bound to create in clothes purchases.
And check it out, after buying those jeans from BR (they are a tighter, slimmer fit than any other jeans I've ever had), I read the following from the fashion section of my Men's Health magazine: "The great thing about a lanky guy is that he can wear slim-cut jeans without it seeming too skinny or punk-rockish. . . . Stay away from baggy jeans: Relaxed fits will devour you alive."
That very day I had worn some relaxed fit jeans (that, incidentally, I had recently purchased at the Buckle) and noticed how they didn't look nearly as nice as my BR jeans. I wondered what the deal was. And this was the answer. So now I have entered a new era of "slim-cut" jeans. I never thought I would be able to wear them without looking like I belonged in an emo band. But already I've gotten complements on how much nicer they look than my regulars. I guess being skinny isn't all that bad? (oh, update: I'm up to 202 lbs now)
One last thing: I've also rediscovered the faux-hawk. I experimented with this a few years back but never really stuck with it. But I'm actually digging it and think I just needed to style it right, which I didn't do in the past.
Say hello to Orange County's newest metrosexual! (minus the tan)
p.s. No, I am not gay.
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