Test Drive

Today Sean was kind enough to offer to come with me as company/backup for some car shopping adventures. It was quite the experience. I got to test drive a brand-new Prius (I think it had 27 miles on it when we started) and was very happy. I'm now comfortable that I'll enjoy owning one so it's pretty much settled that I'm getting one. Let me tell you though, coming from the Cherokee it is just a whole new world. For starters, the key isn't a real key. It's just an RFID thing that has to be within a few feet of the car and you turn it on with a power button like a computer. And there's no true shift lever. Park is literally a button that you just toggle, and the drive/reverse/engine brake thing is a little slide-knob deal up on the console that goes back to its original position after you make your selection. Very weird to get used to but also so awesome.

Driving it was nice, although it will take a little getting used to after the Jeep, since it brakes faster, accelerates more smoothly, doesn't shift (it's CVT) and is quite a bit lower. It feels wider but I think that's just because it's not as tall so it's got a larger width/height ratio. It also has a backup camera that displays on the nav system which is totally cool (and nice since the rear window is a little small). I'm so excited to get this thing.

Fortunately Sean was there to curb my enthusiasm to make sure I actually get the car I want, because they had in stock literally the exact car I wanted except in Silver, not Gray. To someone who's used to buying used cars where the color is just a side note that you don't even get to pick, this was a minor hurdle, but while the salesman was away Sean calmed me down and reminded me I'm not buying the car for a few weeks anyway. So we left it at "we'll try to get what you want, come back after New Year's and we'll see how it's going." I'm also calling the Kingston dealership tomorrow to see if they have it in stock. Honestly if it comes time to actually buy the car and the closest I can come is still perfect except it's Silver, I think I'll try to use it as a haggling tool. The silver looks really sharp anyway (it's basically the BMW silver) and if I can get them to drop four or five hundred off of it then it would be fine by me. But let's hope they can come up with exactly what I want.

Question For The Chefs Out There

Why the hell is Cream of Tartar a powder? It took me ten minutes to find the damn stuff in the grocery store today because I figured it would be in with the various little bottles of extracts, but it was actually over with the paprika! This makes no sense to me. If you're going to call it a Cream of Something, shouldn't it have a texture similiar to, I don't know, cream?

A Change In Policy

More or less since we moved into the apartment here on Washington Street, Nina and I have had an agreement that the toilet seat should be left down. Statistically speaking, it is most likely to be needed that way anyway. We have disagreed on whether or not the toilet lid should be left up or down. She says up for convenience, I say down for classiness. Today that argument was solved when I discovered that Zipper decided that she was bored playing in the bathtub and that the toilet would be a lot more fun. Fortunately this was not as catastrophic as it could have been, but I thought it was hilarious. Zipper seemed very pleased with herself until she got tossed into the bathtub with the water running for a quick cleanup.