gmoney

Most of you who read this already know about the early difficulty I had with my 2001 Dodge Intrepid.  Despite the early troubles, that car lasted me nearly seven years and over 148,000 miles.  Although I wanted the car to last until I hit the 200,000 mile mark (and I’m fairly convinced the engine would have run forever), big blue and I had to part ways.  Apparently my car was leaking every fluid except antifreeze (debatable) and gas.  My parking spot at my townhouse looks like a service bay at a repair shop with the amalgamation of fluids that have gathered on the ground beneath the engine.  The worst of the leaks came from the transmission fluid.  That leak caused the car to be completely unsafe.  I could barely merge into traffic without wondering whether the car was going to shift into gear.  Sometimes on the highway, the car wouldn’t shift out of third gear, causing me to run the engine at over 5,000 RPMs!  I had to pull over, turn the car off and restart the car, hoping that this would somehow “reset” the transmission.  Fortunately that worked.  Despite the quick fixes, it was time for a new car.  My mechanic told me that to fix everything that was wrong with the car would have cost me over $2,000.  I thought about that for at least 15 seconds, maybe less, and decided that I would use that money toward a purchase of a new car.

I decided that I would look at three different “crossover” vehicles: the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano and Mitsubishi Outlander.  Given my penchant for American cars, this was a real stretch to even start looking at foreign cars.  I looked closely at used Murano’s but couldn’t find the right mix of age, miles and features that I wanted.  So I turned my attention to the Ford Edge.  I went to four different Ford dealerships and ended up purchasing the vehicle from Quirk Ford in Quincy.  I think I got a good deal on it, I paid over $4,000 less than the sticker with 0% financing.  I ended up getting the base model, recognizing that all wheel drive was out of my price range.  The car is a 3.5 liter V6 with over 250 horsepower, so it has some pickup behind it.  It’s black, with a black interior, roofrack, but no moonroof (way out of my price range).  It even has a few bells and whistles, like the keyless entry and Microsoft Sync, which allows me to make and receive phone calls hands free.  I can also control my iPod via my voice.  Really cool feature.

The feature I like most is the spaciousness of the car.  Too many times, I have tried to buy something for the house and end up trying to stuff a round peg in a square hole.  You should have seen me trying to fit a glass tabletop from Ikea in my Intrepid.  I thought it would fit without any problems.  I strenuously tried to get that thing to fit every way possible.  I was sweating like Kevin Youkilis on a muggy July evening and nobody stopped to offer help.  I finally asked one of the employees to help and we managed to squeeze it into the car.  However, I too had to squeeze into the car.  My seat was all the way forward.  If I got into an accident and the accident didn’t maim me, the air bag would have.  So yes, having the space to transport stuff is my favorite feature of the car.  I find it befitting of the transporter.

I am one lucky bustard.  Yesterday I played golf in a charity golf tournament at Pine Hills Country Club in Plymouth, MA.  Pine Hills is a first class golf facility.  They have two 18′s, the Jack Nicklaus designed course and the Rees Jones designed course.  I was on the Jones course.  In fact, of the four times that I’ve played at Pine Hills, I have yet to play the Nicklaus course, which most people say is more forgiving than the Jones course.  Anyway, it was cool and breezy down there, but the rain held off until we finished.  Our foursome played well, we came in at four under par (five birdies and one bogey).  Although I enjoy playing in these “scramble” tournaments, they can really mess up your game, because it takes you out of your normal rhythm.  Regardless, I was pleased with my and my team’s performance.

Anyway, after the tournament, I had to hustle back to the WB because I had my guitar lesson (I’m currently working on Led Zeppelin’s Gallows Pole, which is just a kick ass song to play).  However, on my way home, I checked my messages and my friend Traci had called me and I couldn’t hear her message too clearly because a) I was driving and b) it was now pouring rain.  She said something about the Celtics and I thought I heard her say that she had an extra ticket to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.  I initially brushed it off thinking there is no way she got those tickets.  I called her back and asked if what I thought she said was correct.  Sure enough, she had an extra ticket to the game!

Because of the 8:30 start, I was able to go to my guitar lesson, pick her up at the South Shore Plaza, drive into Boston, park and get into the Garden in time for the start of the game (we missed about a minute).  The garden was loud and the fandom was drunk.  Two cool moments, whenever Ray Allen got the ball, everyone wanted him to shoot a three.  Had he actually made one of them, I believe that the roof would have been blown off with the roar of the crowd.  Unfortunately, he didn’t hit any threes (at least I don’t remember seeing one, haven’t checked the box score yet).  The second cool moment was when they put the fans on the big screen scoreboard, they showed Bill Belichick sitting courtside with his smoking hot cougar girlfriend.  The crowd went nuts, gave him a standing ovation and then went into a chant of “Bel-i-chick.”  Pretty neat.

So that was my day of fun: golf on a first class course, guitar, learning a rocking song and my first ever Celtics playoff game, which they won (by the way, can someone please explain to me how the Pistons are good as they are, I just don’t get it).

Before I begin, I just need to clarify / address a couple of the comments that were left:

 1 – Glen, it was actually an 82 and not an 83.  It was also a score I may never see again!

2 – Jon, no the date was entirely separate from meeting up with Erin a couple of Saturdays ago.  I met up with Erin through my MySpace page.  I’d give you the link, but I’m taking it down.  The girl I went out with on Sunday is from a terrible on-line dating site that I am currently using.  I guess it can’t be too terrible as I met someone who I had a nice time with, but I think if you asked her, she’d say it’s awful too.  Regardless, before I met her, I had already decided to take my profile down at the end of this month.

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Nothing too exciting today.  I had my first hour long guitar lesson.  What a difference a half hour makes.  I had begun taking lessons when I moved back into my parents house.  I think I started in the late summer 2006.  I was only taking half hour lessons at this place called White’s Music Education Center in North Attleboro, MA.  I was paired up with a great guitarist, talented musician, but not the best teacher.  Whenever I went to the lesson, I would bring a song in and he would figure out the chords and then I’d be on my way.  Well, I decided that I need to spend $20 a half hour to do that.  There’s an infinite number of websites out there that have guitar chords and tabs that can help you learn a song (www.chordie.com is one of my favorites).  So I stopped taking lessons for awhile.  Oh yeah, and then I bought my townhouse and realized that I should probably see what the expenses are like before I sign up for lessons again.

Anyway, my playing became stale, so I decided to look into lessons again.  I found this guy right here in the WB.  He’s a Berklee grad, unbelievable guitarist, but most important, a great teacher.  I started taking half hour lessons from him in January.  He started with the basics, notes on the neck, strumming, movable chords.  We started learning some easy songs: Take It Easy -  The Eagles, Proud Mary – CCR or Ike and Tina, I forget who actually did it first.  Anyway, I always found that working with this teacher, a half hour was never enough.  Learning music is like learning a foreign language.  I always found that I had more questions with each piece of information that he fed me.  Then I’d leave the lesson and I’d forget everything that he just told me!  So, I decided to take hour long lessons with him, with tonight being the first one.  That extra half hour makes all the difference.  I’m not looking at the clock wondering if I’m going to be able to get all of my questions in before I have to leave.  It’s just a better pace.

Tonight we began working on Clapton’s Crossroads (Cream / Derek & the Dominoes, again, don’t know which came first), which for a Clapton song, is remarkably easy to play.  Time to practice.

Thanks to a kick in the ass by Glen.

Nothing major happening.  I had today off.  Patriots Day in Massachusetts.  It’s been a nice three day weekend, especially considering I’ve been in a bit of a work slump lately.  I don’t think the slump has been caused by dissatifcation with my job, rather from burnout.  I have two new hires and I’ve completely underestimated the amout of training required to bring them up to speed.

Anyway, as I said, the weekend has been perfect.  Here’s what transpired:

Friday night I went to the Sox game and had great seats, row 1 of the State Street Pavilion section.  It was a perfect night to watch a game.  The weather was great and the Sox bats were hot.  The end result was an 11 – 3 win over the Rangers.

Saturday I helped a colleague of mine move from Needham to Needham.  She and her husband are getting divorced.  I never saw this one coming.  I was shocked when she told me about it a few months ago.  They seemed happy, appeared to have a nice life.  But as you know, appearances are deceiving.  It was a strange day because as we were moving her, her husband and two daughters were there.  Just a strange vibe throughout the day.  Still, it wasn’t a bad move, mainly boxes and little heavy furniture.  One note about Needham: I think my friend paid in excess of $525,000 for her new house and I don’t think it was more than 1,300 square feet.  Ridiculous.

Sunday I played golf with Glen and Bill at Wentworth Hills in Plainville.  I played completely out of my mind.  I think I must have sold my soul somewhere along the way to the course that morning.  It’s going to be tough to replicate that round.  For anyone who may be reading this, we’re setting up another tee time for this Sunday (4/27).  Not sure where we’re going to play, but I just want to put it out there for anyone who may be interested.

Sunday night I went on a date and had a really, really, great time.  We’ll see where this goes…

Today was a day of rest and for getting my shit together.  Mission accomplished.

Special thanks to Jay for setting this up for me.  I’m happy to be part of the blogging world.  I always knew my degree in English would come in handy someday.