Scattershooting Sunday

Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's time for another whirlwind edition of "Scattershooting Sunday".

Last night we gathered with the Paslay clan at the Islamorada Fish Company in Mesquite to celebrate Dad's 66th Birthday. We had a nice meal and visit at a very leisurely pace. We were in a side room at one end of the giant fish tank, and we dined at our own pace allowing the conversation to drive the pace.

My Elbow CD from Vine came in last Tuesday, and my review is hot off the press. This won't be a CD for everyone, but I liked it for the most part. It's yet another one to add to the list of CDs that I never would have found on my own, but that's the thing I like the most about Vine. I love music, and I'm always game for giving a new artist a spin in the CD player (and moving them over to my MP3 player if they pass muster).

Speaking of music I discovered on Vine, William Wisely is gentleman and a scholar (or maybe it should be artist in this case). After finishing my review of his CD, I dropped him a note on his web page thinking him for participating in the Vine program and letting him know that I had enjoyed his CD. I also offered to put up a poster in my office to promote his CD. He agreed and asked for my address. I checked the mail when I got home Friday, and I found an envelope from him in the mailbox. Much to my surprise, he set two posters, a couple of stickers, and a copy of his EP "Between the X's and the O's" that he recorded on the side while recording his major release. It is a stripped down, mostly acoustic CD that has four songs from his CD and, according to his web site, "some brand new songs destined for future albums". It was refreshing to come across a very down-to-earth person in the entertainment industry. If he ever makes it big, I hope that it doesn't change him.

Is the price of gas giving anyone else the blues? We have started looking for a replacement for the Altima, and this has proved an interesting experience. I started with research through Consumer Reports and Vehix. I narrowed it down to three candidates: the Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic. This was the first time that I have gone into it with more than one car under serious consideration. Friday afternoon I hit a couple of dealers on the way home, and I drove a Sentra and a Corolla. The Corolla had plenty of legroom, but the center console sticks out to far into the driver's side, and it cut right across my right leg in an uncomfortable way. I was undecided on the Sentra.

Yesterday Christy and I went to a Honda dealership and a different Nissan location to drive the Civic and to revisit the Sentra. We went to Huggins Honda, and that was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had at a dealership when I wasn't buying. The salesman was very thorough, and he was understanding that we were comparing cars and not ready to make a decision yesterday. He never put on the classic "hard sell" that you expect. Don't worry. The two Nissan dealerships and Toyota dealership more than made up for his share. Even after telling the Toyota salesman that the Corolla was a nonstarter, he still made a hard sell including financing options. He also called and left a message on our answering machine later that same evening! Both Nissan places had similar unknowledgeable salesmen. The one on Saturday didn't even know that the Sentra came in an SL model, but that didn't stop him from making the hardest sales pitch in the history of ever. Two minutes into the test drive, he asked me if I was ready to buy it. It went downhill from there.

Since I had no intention of actually buying this weekend, the salesmen didn't impact my decision. I have to tell you that the Civic is a nice car. Honda seems to be where Nissan was about six or seven years ago, and they are actually trying to make their cars more visually appealing. Combine that with the best gas mileage, best maintenance schedule, and the best driving car of the three, it made for a pretty easy decision. Now it's just a matter of when the right time will be. Stay tuned for a future blog entry with an update after purchase.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to print along with some that probably isn't.

Until next time...
PH