2/28/19 Football Has Made Javalina Very Confidant?

    Maybe this is because we live in Texas and this is football central, but I believe all boys should play football, at least in junior high.  There is more to participating than the game itself, it is hard to describe and maybe it sounds lame, but I remember up until 7th grade, I used to be what nice people would say a sensitive boy, a-holes would just call me a big ole puss.  I used to get intimidated by the fear of confrontation, that I would get beat up, that I would find myself in a situation where I pissed a classmate off and he (or even she) would kick my ass.  As a result, I would cry all the time, now that I look back at it, it was silly, but it really didn't stop until I played football.  I learned that because I was a husky kid, someone weighing 100 pounds could come at me and I could stop them in their tracks and usually they would end up hurting.  I also found out a lot of the "tough" guys were all talk and they didn't like getting hit.  All of a sudden, I felt like I didn't have to fear life, and because you're playing with all these other guys, you become part of the group, not that we were a gang, but teammates don't tend to mess with each other and they tend to have your back.
    I am glad I made both boys play.  Boy was never into it and honestly, they were not very good.  It didn't matter, he became part of that squad and those boys were his friends.  All the Del Valle boys that used to come to the house played football in 7th and 8th grade so I credit football for giving Boy a social life back then.
    Javalina, is into it.  He was ok in 7th grade, but starting in 8th grade, it is all he has obsessed over.  He was playing both sides of the ball, starting as a guard and then playing nose guard and defensive tackle.  He is a beefy boy and he doesn't even care about the football.  He loves going 1 on one against other big boys to see who wins the shoving match, and according to him, he rarely lost.  The main reason I bring this up is because he thinks he saw an old nemesis yesterday.  There was a kid who kind of tried to bully him in 6th grade, which he took to call "No Neck".  I think the kid was special ed (but still two years older), looking at him once from behind, he had that slow look about him.
    When I picked him up, he had stayed late for band practice and supposedly there was supposed to be a meeting for the Track and Field kids which he has already been training for the shot put as it is his goal to be the best in the city, he was pissed and talking all sorts of shit.  He says he was pretty sure it was that (many curse words), but he looked different, like he lost weight.  He wanted to confront him but decided to just leave it alone unless he came towards him.  I like his intensity, but I did remind him that if he got in a fight, he could get suspended and then all that training for the shot put would be wasted.  Still, it kept him hyped up through our workout, so that was good.

2/27/19 Truck Meat?

    I know we should know better, but dammit, we are idiots sometimes.  Wife and I were driving around Sunday afternoon and decided to stop at the mall to buy Boy some new shoes.  We actually saw the shoes at the RV Expo, the shoe company is called Penny Luck, and they have a couple of things going for them.  First, their shoes are color coded for the different branches of the military, like olive green for the Army, grey for the Navy and Air Force, and then tan/brown for the Marines or something like that.  I really liked the green boots, in honor of both our fathers who both serves in the Army, but I just don't dress up.  In comes Boy, he had just told Wife he would like some new boots, his daily ones were getting a bit ragged looking.
    The boys had both stayed home while we went and looked at that Thunderbird on Sunday, so we called them to meet us at the mall, and while we were coasting in, we saw a big refrigerated truck with a huge banner and a tent selling steaks and other cuts of meat.  The big sign said 20 filets for $59.  "Hmm", we both thought.  "Let's check it out."  There was a person in front of us, so we stood there maybe 5 minutes before being shown what was up, but the steaks were packaged very well.  The 20 filets came in two boxes and 5 per row each vacuum sealed for freshness.  The guy said that the real special was this other box which he was almost out of, it being Sunday.  They had been there all weekend, with KVET, the country station playing from there on Saturday.  The big box had like five or six boxes.  Another one with another 10 filets, one with 8 peppered sirloins, 2 with hamburger patties, again, like ten per box, and a box of 2 huge T-bones.  He sold it with 60 pieces of meat for $189.  Of course, he focused on the T-bones and sirloins as he is selling us this, saying the original price is $389, they were cutting $100 for the KVET promotion, now he just wanted to finish the stuff in the truck, so he took off an additional $100.  Some quick math got me to about $3.00 and change per hunk of meat and that didn't sound too bad.
    We got them home and they looked good and all, but then I told Wife to cook a few of each to see what was up.  We would eat the leftovers the next day.  I am not sure if it was because they were frozen, but those filets got awful small, they started out normal size, but by the time they were cooked, they were down to needing 2 of them in a tortilla.  The flavor was also just so-so, which makes me think the meat came from some low quality dopey looking cows.
    They did seem to get a little bigger when I cooked them yesterday.  The burgers are huge in the packet, I squished them down to make it twice as big around and by the time they were done cooking, they were still big enough to fit in a normal sized bun.  Maybe it did have to do with them being frozen.
    I figured we spend about $200 a week on food and this was supposed to benefit some Feed The Homeless program, not that I am a fan, but if it helps me and them at the same time, well cool.  We still have a bunch of meat in the freezer, so I am not ready to say it was a total scam, but we really need to learn to back away and not get caught up just because we see something different.  We should be smarter by now.

2/26/19 2nd Round, Should I?

    I am still mucking around with the idea of a back-up car.  I thought we had talked ourselves out of it, but the guy from the original place called me back Monday afternoon to tell me that the other family that had shown interest in the Mini Countryman did not qualify for a loan.  I can honestly say that car looked like a good buy.  I didn't see any scratches on it, the color of blue just shown vibrantly on it, the leather inside was new looking, like the car had been used by a single gal who didn't party.  Other than the leather inside and sun roof in front and back, it also had low profile tires with what looked like oversized rims.  I looked in Autotrader and for all the 2014s I saw, this one was the cheapest.  The only concern I had was that it has 61,000 miles, but then the dealership has a lifetime warranty on the power train for as long as you own the car.
    Some of the problems I have are that Wife is stepping out of it.  I cannot involve her, she doesn't want to do anything affecting her credit until we are done with our fiasco.  I don't have a problem attempting to get the car under my name, but I already have two cars under my name and the law only allows the two.  In order for me to attempt to get the car, I am going to need a cosigner.  I asked them if I could use my son, they asked how old he was (24), then they said yes.  So now I have to decide if I want him to join us in our credit games.
    Another problem is simply logistics, because they are so far up north I dread taking the drive up there just to test drive a car.  Saturday, we were dragging ass (and staying up north) on the hopes he would call back, but he didn't.  To top it off, Javalina says he needs a car to start learning how to drive.  I think the Mini would be a perfect car for him to learn to drive on, as it is not too big and not too small.  It is lifted up a bit off the ground, so it has a sporty cool stance.
    Ultimately, I don't think the $220 a month is going to kill us and having a back up car is just a good idea, especially right now with Wife working out of town and me left alone to care for Javalina and run him back and forth to places.  On the other hand, an extra $300 a month, once you add insurance, would also be fun to have.  I think I am going to sleep on it and make my decision later.

2014 Mini Countryman:

2/25/19 Finally Test Drove A Tiny Two Seater?

    Wife got the car bug in me on Saturday with her idea of us getting a cheap car in the $200 a month payment for a "just in case" situation.  After being mildly disappointed with the dealership advertising the low prices on TV, which got us all excited in the first place, we discussed what the price range would be and what kind of car.  This got me spending a couple hours Sunday morning looking at Autotrader.com and a couple other sites.  Since the car would be mostly for me and taking care of Javalina getting to school.  This got me thinking of the two-seaters I have always liked and before long, I found myself first looking at the BMW Z4 which I put as my total dream car if I wasn't a big ole fat ass.  The Z4 reminds me of an MG Midget which my Dad's friend kept in his gas station so I would always glance at it and thought it was the coolest thing as it was small enough for me to drive when I first started thinking of driving.  I never did see that car move around and I have no idea what happened to it, but it left me with a taste for those miniature sized 2 seaters.
    The reality is I tried to seat in one, it was actually the Pontiac Solstice, and after getting a leg in and my butt touching the seat, it was checkmate to the car.  I would have had to bend my neck down another 4-5 inches to get in and I was not that limber.  After giving up on the truly small cars, for now, I thought of my other options and after looking at the Jaguar convertibles (too expensive), the Chevy Corvette (too Chevy), and I do like the Ford Mustangs, but Wife has never.  They are type of cars Bros drive to look cool.  I then remembered the Ford Thunderbird which has not been made in a couple of years, but many exist.
    I even found two at the same dealership on Research at Covert Ford.  We went out there and I was 80% sure I was going to bring one of them home.  Shoot, at $9500, why not?  Then problems.  First of all, the 2004, which I liked more with the white leather seats would not start.  I figured the 2002 could work if the test drive went well.  But I still haven't figured out how to get in and not look like you're making fun of yourself.  The car seat is about a foot off the ground, so the first thing is to almost squat and throw your butt to hopefully catch part of the seat.  With the door open completely, pretzel the right leg in towards you until the shoe passes the door frame and then stretch the leg once inside.  at this point I slid almost onto my lower back and bent my neck back and to the left as far as it would go, it felt like putting on a helmet where your ear gets almost rubbed off, but only on the right side.  Once my head was in, it did get kind of comfortable, although the top of my head was touching the ceiling.  I folded my other leg in and closed the door.  The feeling was what I think it'll feel like when Wife gets her way and we are both buried in the same coffin.  It was a little claustrophobic and the thud (good seals) made it feel like we were alone.
    At this point, I might as well turn it on and when I did it felt like we were sitting on top of that V8, with a very manly roar and a dum dum dum dum dum of a car that is more confidant than me.  The one thing I did not like/trust was how it got into gear, like it fell into reverse with a loud clunk, but other wise it was like the car dared me to take my foot off the brake so it could take me for a ride.  We gently got up to the entrance and once it was clear, it took off like the car had been waiting to make its getaway.  It drove very nice and confidently, but the whole procedure of getting in and out was just too much.  Before we took off for the test drive, for example, I drove to the front to get my license, the salesman took it to make a copy, I told Wife to run in and get it.  I had just climbed in, I was not going to get out and risk further neck trauma before I even experience the car on the open road.  Wife complained that her back hurt when she squeezed her head in and she is like 8 inches shorter than me.  I was trying to save face and told her not to be a weenie while I was scared to get off for fear of not being able to duplicate the procedure to get in.
    The car drove very well, but we did not feel good inside of it.  I think we will need a bigger 2-seater before I ever decide to get a toy of this variety.  For now, let's just hope the Excursion keeps running like a champ.

2002 Ford Thunderbird Convertible: (example of what we test drove, at $9500)



What I really need though
Jaguar F-Type S Convertible: (a tad too expensive, at $66,000, for a 2017)

2/24/19 Saturday Was A Great Day?

    My posse finally let me have a day my way, it was great from start to finish.  I got up at 6:30am on my own and came downstairs to write yesterday's blog and drink a cup of coffee.  I was done within an hour or so and did what I normally do, watch YouTube videos, paid some bills and ate a piece of cake while everyone slept.  About 10:00am, I got bored and went upstairs, Wife had told me we could go to the RV show if we went early.  I wasn't 100% that I wanted to go, but we didn't have anything better, so I woke her.  She will normally sleep until noon or 1:00pm if left alone and I try to understand as during the week she is a beast, traveling back and forth from Austin and La Pryor, sometimes both ways in one day.  She agreed to get up but I remembered I had bought Boy a work table with drawers and peg board, pretty nice but needed assembly.
    I went to work while Wife showered and it took me maybe an hour and a half, but now Boy has a pretty good working area in one of the guest rooms for his printers and whatever else is required.  While Wife was in the bathroom, she plays the TV in there, it doesn't have cable, so she is forced to watch the local channels which works in the mornings to watch the news and weather, but they were giving one of those long commercials from Nyle Maxwell Used cars in North Austin that they had a bunch of cars for sale between 100 and 200 a month, no cash down and with lifetime warranties.  This sounded pretty good, so I agreed we should go check it out, some of the cars looked pretty good, like a Ford Escape and a Mini Countryman.
    We got out there and the lot was smaller than I figured and there were maybe 2-3 cars I would have chosen but we got a dud of a salesman.  He didn't seem aware of the commercial as his first response to my "what cars are for $200, like in the commercial?"  He says "I don't know but you'll need a good 20% down to get that."  I said "no, the commercial said no money down."  He seemed confused and then said well, it'll depend on your credit, which the commercial also said "no credit?  Bad credit?  No problem."  They still had the Mini Countryman, which I really liked, but he said another family was doing their credit to try and get it.  He took my phone number and said he would call if they didn't qualify, but so far, no call.  It's ok, we want a back-up vehicle in case one day my car doesn't start and I need to go get Javalina from school or something like that.  We don't Need Need another car right this minute, and maybe I have finally matured as we didn't run to another dealership and got stupid.  We just stepped back and said "oh well, a better deal will come to us."
    We did wait up north a bit, hoping the guy would text me, while we ate at a nearby McDonald's, but after we were done, we headed back, but I told Wife to cut through Anderson Lane and stop at a store where they sell Murphy beds.  I've had this idea for a long time, murphy beds stand up on their ends and thus give you most of the room's floor space.  Boy wants this for the guest room as we have agreed to let him use the room as his work space for his printers.  He does have another printer in the garage, but this is a giant paper printer like one would use to make CAD layouts or poster size prints which he got at one of the local Goodwills.
    Usually, this is a good day for us, but we also walked into the Camera store there in the same block and then the Sprint store.  They were out of phones as I was pretty willing to get a new phone right then and there.  After this I told Wife, let's do it, let's go to the RV show downtown.  It is kind of a pain in the ass with parking, but Wife has so many conferences downtown that she already knows where to go.  We walked around for a couple hours, we got to the thing at 6:00pm and were there until almost 8:00pm when they closed.  We were then looking for a place for dinner and although we said how about this and that, we couldn't decide until we all settled for Rosa's Tortilla Factory, not the greatest, but we had pizza Friday, and burgers earlier that day.  I like Don Dario's, but I hate the freaking loud live music on the weekends.
    We walked in the house at 9:40pm and I was asleep by 9:42pm.  I slept for an hour and then I got up as Wife was just getting comfortable in the bedroom to watch TV.  I got up and saw like three shows with her until I fell asleep again.

2/23/19 Ignoring Teeth Is Expensive?

    If I can pass on any good information, it would be to take your kids to the freaking dentist.  We have always been lax about this, not because we don't have dental insurance, we have always had some.  It just seems to slide past the usual things we worry about until they complain.  Well, Javalina complained, so we made it a priority and now we are going to pay out the old keister.
    He has been complaining of a problem on the left backside and at first we thought it was a cavity, but the pain would come and go and a cavity would not do that.  It turns out he had a pocket or something we were told in January when we took him the first time as an emergency.  We went in again for his first appointment and the dentist said his crown has gotten old and needs a replacement to a more permanent one.  That is going to cost almost $600.  He has a second crown which he suggested needs replacing, but because the insurance Wife has is shitty, it only covers 50% up to the first $1000 and then it leaves the rest up to us, the second crown would cost us over $900, so we will be waiting until the new year to do that one, which he isn't complaining about, yet.  He also needs his wisdom teeth removed and that is going to be another $1000.  That is the cheaper of the two kids.
    Boy, who is older and less caring of his teeth was not even touched by the dental hygienist.  He is going to need a scaling procedure which is going to attack the tartar buildup below the gum-line.  I did not understand why he (the hygienist) wouldn't scrub on the parts he could see, he just said it would be a waste of time to do that, considering how bad it is below the gum-line, it needs the scaling procedure.  Cleaning the parts you can see would be a waste of time.  This cleaning procedure is quickly going to get us over the $1000 limit for the year, and the process itself is going to be around $960.  Then he needs his wisdom teeth removed more urgently than Javalina because he has pockets where the bottom teeth are coming in sideways and this contributes to the funky smells apart from him having a hatred of toothbrushes.  If the scaling procedure works which we will have to be doing it every 3-4 months, then his bones below the gum-line might improve and strengthen to attempt to drill in the permanent tooth he lost back in high school.  This all will possibly only work if he commits to start spending time on his mouth, but we will have to spend within the next month or two almost $1200 on Javalina and over $2300 on Boy.  He tells us very calmly "if I was a full time employee, I would have 100% dental coverage."  This only makes me look at him and whisper "hurry your ass up and graduate, Fool."

2/22/19 Why Are We Still At War?

    I know we aren't supposed to think about the war machine in full effect killing the bad guys in a far away land we have never seen and probably will never get a chance to visit.  Given that though, the next question has to be why are we still there?  Yes the official fighting may have ended, but we still have about 20,000 troops there along with another 4,500 private military contractors.  I mean back in the early 2000's when I kept arguing with my coworkers who supported the war, they insisted it wasn't about the oil.  I still think that is the only reason to be there.
    I am not a supporter of ISIS or whatever they are calling themselves these days, I love that if we have to be at war, my army is bigger than yours, for sure.  We know this, but those poor naïve souls that insist on fighting our guys, do they realize it is a fool hardy mission to stand against what America brings?  I am basically writing this because I saw a couple videos on YouTube that compare and contrast the US military Vs the locals over there.  It seems they found a GoPro on a dead ISIS Jihadi and the way they operate is like children playing Army compared to what the US does.
    In their video from the GoPro, we see a group of 4-5 Jihadists hiding on a hill and shooting at some American forces over in the next hill or something.  It is essentially one guy yelling to not dishearten, that they will overcome.  All they have to do is keep fighting and show courage.  Something about do not let the heart leave your chest and keep holding your gun up and pointed at the enemy.  Eventually, they decide it is time to get out of there and he is yelling at them to head to the truck a few feet away.  Before he makes it there, he gets shot and that causes his unit to scamper faster and leave him to die.
    Contrast that with the US side and there are a maybe twenty guys taking shots from a hilltop but they just wait patiently while they open fire from a machine gun on top of a Humvee which is only a diversion while a Hornet flies by and about blows up the mountain to take care of a few bad guys.  There was another video where a group of about 7 jihadis were loading up an SUV and the whole time they are being monitored by US troops on a helicopter with various types of Infrared and other optical effects to see in the dark.  Technology these poor desert dwellers can't even begin to understand.  When it is time and they have communicated everything to their superiors, only then do they eliminate all the bad guys on the screen with a couple of blasts from their 30mm cannons.
    There is just a huge discrepancy between the two sides in technology.  The US brings in the latest weapons that exist while the Jihadists are fighting in shoes missing laces with machine guns they must pick up off other dead bodies.  There is nothing fair about this war.  While the US has killed as many as 600,000 Iraqis and something like 70,000 Afghani rebels, not to mention the civilian casualties.  The US has lost about 4500 troops since 2002.  I am not sure what my point was when I started writing this, obviously, we have no intention of leaving either country.  Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, where 19 of the 21 hijackers came from, walked away free of any retribution.