Following up a hockey post with a hockey post. Like that? I do.
This particular post is more supplementary. A while back, I posted a hockey song list of music I burned onto a CD to play on hockey gamedays. I actually give one such album props for helping me focus before games during a championship-winning season at Bridgeville.
Not saying the current roster is going to do that, but here we go, with a few 'esplanations' along the way.
1) Action - Powerman 5000 : This song has been a staple on my hockey albums. Upbeat, fast, and all about bringing the action.
2) Fuel - Metallica : Look above. And it always follows Action.
3) Indestructible - Disturbed : Again, look above. And yes, this always follows Fuel. After this song, the roster gets shaken up like a Magic 8-Ball.
4) Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
5) Doomsday - Nero : There's something about this dubstep song that gets thoughts of spectacularly stonewalling opposing shooters, especially when a game is on the line. Of course it never really works out that way in real life, but still.
6) Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC : Iron Man has always been my favorite superhero. So if this song works for one man with a suit for kicking butt, why not me?
7) Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO : I don't care if it's overplayed on the radio - very few songs get my feet moving on their own accord than this.
8) What We're All About - Sum 41
9) Fever - Bullet for My Valentine
10) My Best Theory - Jimmy Eat World : Rush out, out from the center / Not like one side is any better
/ Stand up as they've been preaching / My best theory is already in me / (already in me)
11) Make It Stop (September's Children) - Rise Against : I swear I heard this song on the X on the radio before the Penguins took to the ice. Guilty by association, I guess.
12) The Sound (John M. Perkin's Blues) - Switchfoot
13) Guilty By Design - Rev Theory
14) Won't Back Down (Bring You Hell Remix) - Fuel : The title says it all.
15) Fade to Black - Apoptygma Berzerk
16) My Favourite Game - The Cardigans
17) Praise You - Fatboy Slim : Heard the Consol blaring this over the speakers during a Pens game this past year, and it just stuck.
18) Blow Me Away - Breaking Benjamin ft. Valora
So there you have it. My hockey song list. If some of these seem embarrassing, that's okay. I've had such on the previous renditions. It usually hits me after a few listen-throughs when I go "Ew, dumb choice. Take it off for the next version."
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Jerk Hockey
As most of you know, I play roller hockey at a local rink. Likewise, as most of you know, I'm the goalie. Additionally likewise, most of you know that we won the championship last session. A lot of that awesomeness has to do with the team, Jerky Boys, hadn't even won a playoff game until last session; so to go from winning no playoff games to winning it all in one go was pretty cool! Part of that was due to my play in net, and I'm not saying that boastingly. I managed to play better than I had previously, making some really good saves and helping to preserve the small leads we had or giving the team a fighting chance to take the game back from the opposition.
Now it all feels somewhat hollow. Four games into the new season, (new?! it's practically half the season!), we've lost all games and have allowed 31 goals - correction, I've lost all games and allowed 31 goals - and I just can't quite explain it.
When you listen to NHL analysts dissect a struggling goalie, they use terms like "lacking confidence", "soft goals", and "hung out to dry". I don't exactly think it's a confidence issue. I mean - c'mon - I know I can make the saves that I need to; I don't feel like when a shooter gets a breakaway or a really hard shot on net that I'm going to let it in. I know I can stop it. It's just that stopping it is the issue. "Hung out to dry" could maybe apply on a few goals I let in, but it's only 4 goals so far, or an average of one goal per game.
"Soft goals" is what's getting my goat, has me frustrated, banging my head against a wall, my panties in a bunch - what have you. When I look at this season and the goals I've let up, I'm seeing at least 3 soft goals per game. That's huge! That's huge, because our offense is doing good. We're keeping within a few goals of the opponents for most of the game, if we're not either tied or ahead. If I was to eliminate the 3 soft goals from each game, we're 4-0 and almost outscoring the opponents 2-1. Throw out those "hung out to dry" goals, and instead of having a 7.75 gaa, I have a 3.75 gaa. And the difference between those two stats is one thing: me.
Every game I try to prepare myself mentally. I get my focus together and keep an aspect of my game in the forefront of my mind. It could be "keep the stick down" or "square to the puck, not the shooter" or "anything to keep the puck in front of you" or "eyes on the puck at all times", etc. Generally it's a little something of all of those mentioned, but one will be the primary focus. And I don't feel like I'm losing focus, because I don't let myself get rattled by goals, even when they come in short time frames. I'm keeping my composure, only letting myself let loose with frustration once the game is up. I think it's two things, and they're related: execution and reflexive speed. The one I know I should be able to improve: execution. If focus was all there was to it, then I wouldn't have to worry, but when the action is thick, I'm not thinking directly about what I'm focusing on, I'm trying to act out what I'm focusing on. Failure to do so is failure to execute. Reflexive speed is another matter. On one hand, I need it to execute for when a deflected puck goes from heading into my glove to bouncing between my pads: I need to stop leading with my glove hand and start closing the pads to keep the puck from going past them. But reflexive speed is about conditioning, too, and, obviously, flexibility.
I'm not the most flexible guy. You know when Fleury goes post to post along the ice? Not me. If I tried, I'd be pulling my groin and hamstrings. Plus, as the game goes on, I slow down. I could probably help my conditioning by doing more daily physical activity - librarians aren't known for their high physical peakness! More aerobic activity, more exercises, more stretches. It seems weird that I would put that much effort worrying about it for a "fun" league, as all those non-hockey playing people would put it. But I'm getting tired of letting down the Jerky Boys and myself.
I can only hope that I turn it around soon. Sure, the playoffs are all that matter, and everyone makes the playoffs in this league, but if we go into it with nothing to show for it, it will be hard for us to play like we can win.
Now it all feels somewhat hollow. Four games into the new season, (new?! it's practically half the season!), we've lost all games and have allowed 31 goals - correction, I've lost all games and allowed 31 goals - and I just can't quite explain it.
When you listen to NHL analysts dissect a struggling goalie, they use terms like "lacking confidence", "soft goals", and "hung out to dry". I don't exactly think it's a confidence issue. I mean - c'mon - I know I can make the saves that I need to; I don't feel like when a shooter gets a breakaway or a really hard shot on net that I'm going to let it in. I know I can stop it. It's just that stopping it is the issue. "Hung out to dry" could maybe apply on a few goals I let in, but it's only 4 goals so far, or an average of one goal per game.
"Soft goals" is what's getting my goat, has me frustrated, banging my head against a wall, my panties in a bunch - what have you. When I look at this season and the goals I've let up, I'm seeing at least 3 soft goals per game. That's huge! That's huge, because our offense is doing good. We're keeping within a few goals of the opponents for most of the game, if we're not either tied or ahead. If I was to eliminate the 3 soft goals from each game, we're 4-0 and almost outscoring the opponents 2-1. Throw out those "hung out to dry" goals, and instead of having a 7.75 gaa, I have a 3.75 gaa. And the difference between those two stats is one thing: me.
Every game I try to prepare myself mentally. I get my focus together and keep an aspect of my game in the forefront of my mind. It could be "keep the stick down" or "square to the puck, not the shooter" or "anything to keep the puck in front of you" or "eyes on the puck at all times", etc. Generally it's a little something of all of those mentioned, but one will be the primary focus. And I don't feel like I'm losing focus, because I don't let myself get rattled by goals, even when they come in short time frames. I'm keeping my composure, only letting myself let loose with frustration once the game is up. I think it's two things, and they're related: execution and reflexive speed. The one I know I should be able to improve: execution. If focus was all there was to it, then I wouldn't have to worry, but when the action is thick, I'm not thinking directly about what I'm focusing on, I'm trying to act out what I'm focusing on. Failure to do so is failure to execute. Reflexive speed is another matter. On one hand, I need it to execute for when a deflected puck goes from heading into my glove to bouncing between my pads: I need to stop leading with my glove hand and start closing the pads to keep the puck from going past them. But reflexive speed is about conditioning, too, and, obviously, flexibility.
I'm not the most flexible guy. You know when Fleury goes post to post along the ice? Not me. If I tried, I'd be pulling my groin and hamstrings. Plus, as the game goes on, I slow down. I could probably help my conditioning by doing more daily physical activity - librarians aren't known for their high physical peakness! More aerobic activity, more exercises, more stretches. It seems weird that I would put that much effort worrying about it for a "fun" league, as all those non-hockey playing people would put it. But I'm getting tired of letting down the Jerky Boys and myself.
I can only hope that I turn it around soon. Sure, the playoffs are all that matter, and everyone makes the playoffs in this league, but if we go into it with nothing to show for it, it will be hard for us to play like we can win.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Flightless Birds
It's been months since I last added a post. And the topic that breaks the hiatus is one that I've been thinking about since the NHL playoffs began a couple weeks ago: Penguins vs. Flyers.
Of course, the series is over, so this is going to be more of a what I expect (and what I want) from the Penguins this summer as well as what I want to happen to the Flyers until the end of their playoff run. As a Pens fan, of course.
Puck Daddy of Yahoo! Sports put it good today: "Fleury and this group will never see another one (Stanley Cup) unless Shero can make some serious adjustments on the goal prevention side, because the blueprint for beating the Penguins has now been written." Italics are mine. In fact, the series against the Flyers makes this statement probably the most apt, despite Malkin and Crosby not being able to make offensive waves or the insane number of bad, bad shots that the Flyers' D-corp blocked throughout the 6 games.
Thus, what Shero should do is:
1) New back-up goaltender - Johnny was good last year, but that's last year. This year, he was shaky and failed to fill in the gap when the Pens d-men faltered, which is what a goalie is supposed to do. And he doesn't even have the benefit of saying he was playing injured: the mystery illness at the end of the regular season shouldn't have spanned the 7 months of games. You can also say Johnny's vulnerabilities this year forced the Flower to play almost 70 games, contributing to what had to be fatigue against a relentless Flyers' offensive barrage.
2) Throw Martin under the bus - if we can't get a bag of pucks for him, then maybe using him as a speed bump will save some lives in a parking lot somewhere. Not sure what happened between last year and this year (it doesn't seem like Bylsma changed the system), but it definitely wasn't an improvement. And he dragged Michalek down as a result. Not saying Z had the best season, either, but doing the work of two d-men can't be conducive to playing well.
3) Get Despres NHL-ready for next season - he showed some offensive and puck-handling skills against the Flyers, even if he wasn't perfect, either. But when you're going against the likes of Giroux, Jagr, and Briere during the playoffs as a rookie and don't have a mental breakdown, that has to be a recommendation. And he's better than Martin, so that's a plus, right?
4) Find an asst coach who knows power plays - I agree with Mark Madden that if you can't get a unit with both Malkin and Crosby to score consistently on the power play, then you need a new coach. Both players are capable of doing what they need to during even strength, so why can't they score with the opposition at an obvious disadvantage? Granted, they try too many passes. Anyone else notice that awful opportunity when a d-man didn't have a stick? No shots. They made it look like they were trying to wear out the Flyers' necks; instead, Bryzgalov managed to get some lateral movement practice. The Pens need - NEED - a new asst coach to focus on improving the power play.
What I expect to happen? Johnny will stick around, since he'll only have one more year on his contract. Martin will be given another chance to redeem himself (and will likely blow it) proving to be a disadvantage during the free agency when Shero will have a good opportunity to get a decent defenseman for a better price than during the season. Despres will get a good shot during training camp and will probably get at least 5 games in to start the 12-13 season, but Martin's continual presence will wreck his chances at a serious stab unless a d-man goes down with an injury. And we won't get another coach.
For the Flyers, I want to first give credit where credit is due: they jumped on their opportunities early and often, they knew how to take advantage of the Pens' system from the second period of game 1, their defense in game 6 was an amazing balance of confidence inspired by already having 3 wins and the urgency to not give the Pens any chances up the middle against the man afraid of bears in the forest - Bryzgalov.
What I wish for them before the playoffs are over:
Schenn gets crushed with a legal bodycheck, preferably an open-ice hit much like Vitale put on Briere during the regular season. He's a big body that hits good, but he's given me too much of a taste for what other fans felt when they were watching Orpik knock over their teams all over the ice.
Talbot gets into a fight and loses some teeth. He's a back-stabbing greedy jagoff. First he made those awful awful A&L commercials that made our ears bleed. Playing for Philthy was rubbing salt in the wounds by making our eyes bleed. It sickens me when big-money sports is able to entice a fan-favorite into a two-faced athlete. The only consolation I have is that he genuinely looks unhappy when he's sitting on the Flyers' bench during games. May he never win another Cup for as long he plays.
For Couturier I only wish more missing teeth. I want him drinking his meals through a straw.
And if the Flyers should make it all the way to the finals, then I want the L.A. Kings on the other side. It would be a temporary suspension of not being allowed to cheer on Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in hoping they poke Bryzgalov full of so many holes that he becomes afraid of pucks. Quick proved himself able to stifle the Vancouver offense, so stopping Giroux and Co. shouldn't be that much more tasking, and who better to wreak havoc through the Flyers' lines than Dustin Brown? And maybe the Scud Missile could get a second Cup ring?
I'd drink to that.
Of course, the series is over, so this is going to be more of a what I expect (and what I want) from the Penguins this summer as well as what I want to happen to the Flyers until the end of their playoff run. As a Pens fan, of course.
Puck Daddy of Yahoo! Sports put it good today: "Fleury and this group will never see another one (Stanley Cup) unless Shero can make some serious adjustments on the goal prevention side, because the blueprint for beating the Penguins has now been written." Italics are mine. In fact, the series against the Flyers makes this statement probably the most apt, despite Malkin and Crosby not being able to make offensive waves or the insane number of bad, bad shots that the Flyers' D-corp blocked throughout the 6 games.
Thus, what Shero should do is:
1) New back-up goaltender - Johnny was good last year, but that's last year. This year, he was shaky and failed to fill in the gap when the Pens d-men faltered, which is what a goalie is supposed to do. And he doesn't even have the benefit of saying he was playing injured: the mystery illness at the end of the regular season shouldn't have spanned the 7 months of games. You can also say Johnny's vulnerabilities this year forced the Flower to play almost 70 games, contributing to what had to be fatigue against a relentless Flyers' offensive barrage.
2) Throw Martin under the bus - if we can't get a bag of pucks for him, then maybe using him as a speed bump will save some lives in a parking lot somewhere. Not sure what happened between last year and this year (it doesn't seem like Bylsma changed the system), but it definitely wasn't an improvement. And he dragged Michalek down as a result. Not saying Z had the best season, either, but doing the work of two d-men can't be conducive to playing well.
3) Get Despres NHL-ready for next season - he showed some offensive and puck-handling skills against the Flyers, even if he wasn't perfect, either. But when you're going against the likes of Giroux, Jagr, and Briere during the playoffs as a rookie and don't have a mental breakdown, that has to be a recommendation. And he's better than Martin, so that's a plus, right?
4) Find an asst coach who knows power plays - I agree with Mark Madden that if you can't get a unit with both Malkin and Crosby to score consistently on the power play, then you need a new coach. Both players are capable of doing what they need to during even strength, so why can't they score with the opposition at an obvious disadvantage? Granted, they try too many passes. Anyone else notice that awful opportunity when a d-man didn't have a stick? No shots. They made it look like they were trying to wear out the Flyers' necks; instead, Bryzgalov managed to get some lateral movement practice. The Pens need - NEED - a new asst coach to focus on improving the power play.
What I expect to happen? Johnny will stick around, since he'll only have one more year on his contract. Martin will be given another chance to redeem himself (and will likely blow it) proving to be a disadvantage during the free agency when Shero will have a good opportunity to get a decent defenseman for a better price than during the season. Despres will get a good shot during training camp and will probably get at least 5 games in to start the 12-13 season, but Martin's continual presence will wreck his chances at a serious stab unless a d-man goes down with an injury. And we won't get another coach.
For the Flyers, I want to first give credit where credit is due: they jumped on their opportunities early and often, they knew how to take advantage of the Pens' system from the second period of game 1, their defense in game 6 was an amazing balance of confidence inspired by already having 3 wins and the urgency to not give the Pens any chances up the middle against the man afraid of bears in the forest - Bryzgalov.
What I wish for them before the playoffs are over:
Schenn gets crushed with a legal bodycheck, preferably an open-ice hit much like Vitale put on Briere during the regular season. He's a big body that hits good, but he's given me too much of a taste for what other fans felt when they were watching Orpik knock over their teams all over the ice.
Talbot gets into a fight and loses some teeth. He's a back-stabbing greedy jagoff. First he made those awful awful A&L commercials that made our ears bleed. Playing for Philthy was rubbing salt in the wounds by making our eyes bleed. It sickens me when big-money sports is able to entice a fan-favorite into a two-faced athlete. The only consolation I have is that he genuinely looks unhappy when he's sitting on the Flyers' bench during games. May he never win another Cup for as long he plays.
For Couturier I only wish more missing teeth. I want him drinking his meals through a straw.
And if the Flyers should make it all the way to the finals, then I want the L.A. Kings on the other side. It would be a temporary suspension of not being allowed to cheer on Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in hoping they poke Bryzgalov full of so many holes that he becomes afraid of pucks. Quick proved himself able to stifle the Vancouver offense, so stopping Giroux and Co. shouldn't be that much more tasking, and who better to wreak havoc through the Flyers' lines than Dustin Brown? And maybe the Scud Missile could get a second Cup ring?
I'd drink to that.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Our House Part 1: Trial by Exhaustion
So. In less than 4 weeks, I will be getting married. For that part to have a start that goes swimmingly well, there needs to be a place to reside. Less than 6 days ago, Jill and I closed on our new home. This is what this post is all about.
Last Tuesday, we met with the seller and the closing company to sign a forest's worth of papers (and people are concerned about the Amazon?) to get the keys to the kingdom, as I liked to phrase it, and become the proud new owners of a flipped 60-year-old house. A house to call home. Knowing that we were closing that evening, we filled our two vehicles full of boxes and items that were to be the initial wave of incoming goods to turn the empty house into a place to feel warm and welcome, if not wealthy (most defintely not that!). These things included non-perishable foodstuffs, cleaning supplies, bathroom supplies, and one lamp. The closing took place in the evening, and after it was done, we went to dinner with my folks in the form of a celebration.
Once we got to the house (after 9pm), Jill got to work on the bathroom and floors. I forgot what I was doing. I remember attempting to work on cleaning out the pantry, but the wooden slat boards had flaking paint and were starting to bow from age. I decided we would have to buy some wood to make new shelves for the pantry. We set aside one of the bedrooms as the initial storage of moved-in boxes. I unpacked the boxes I had brought, since I was going to refill them the next day for the next wave. We got done around 1am and headed to her house to put a dining room table and four chairs in my car for the next day.
The next 4 days go by following a variation of the theme: pack, unpack, clean, shop for things we need. All days start early (due to work, with the exception of Friday, which is early due to applying for the marriage license) and end after midnight at the new house. There are a few events that are smattered here and there; a wedding shower, an engagement photo session. Each passing early morning, I get less and less sleep.
Saturday morning, my body and brain had had enough. The alarm goes off, I hop right out of bed, and it's just nothing but muttering and forgetting hard-to-forget details whilst getting ready for work and yet another evening unpacking and cleaning. I already knew that I would have to drive back to my parents' house to get some more stuff, possibly twice in one evening. My mother, being my mother and thus attuned to my moods and their variating severities, stopped me on the way out the door to pray with me, asking God to encourage and strengthen me and to give me endurance and patience with the things I was dealing with.
And it worked. Instead of falling asleep at the wheel or nodding off in the middle of work or seeing my dreams come visit me in the waking world, I actually had an amount of energy that kept me alert and on my feet but was still low enough that I wasn't going to full anyone into thinking I wasn't tired. When I got back to Freedom that evening to pack the dresser and some items that would make my first night (and following morning) seem somewhat normal, such as deodorant, shaving implements, shoes, clothes hangers, clocks, etc., my parents pretty much decided to use their Expedition to bring my bookshelves and other objects that very same night.
It was on the spur of the moment, but I knew I was in no position to turn them down, despite Jill and I wanting our parents to see the place after it had been cleaned up and properly organized. Once at the house, dad got to work on some maintenance issues and mom got to work cleaning. It was after their bedtime, but they were eagerly into the swing of things! They get a kick out of helping out around the house, and this house was a new house (to them) and I think gave them a bit of energy at doing some basic maintenance to a place that was new to them instead of doing renovation work to a place (their house) that was old to them.
And we're grateful to them for it! Their help enabled us to be able to take a more leisurely pace on Sunday before her family came over for a Mother's Day brunch of belgian waffles, bacon, and strawberries. The linen closet and kitchen cabinets finally got wiped down properly; kitchen utensils, tableware, and pots and pans started finding their homes. For dinner, my parents came over for a Mother's Day dinner of salad, fresh-baked bread, and a shrimp liguine meal capped with chocolate cupcakes.
And that's where we stand. The new house is slowly turning into home, which, to me, won't happen properly until Jill and I are married; then all the aspects of home will be in the house.
I suspect I'll be posting a few more (maybe shorter) entries about the progress from house to home. With the moving having taken a more leisurely pace, there will probably be more time for just that!
Last Tuesday, we met with the seller and the closing company to sign a forest's worth of papers (and people are concerned about the Amazon?) to get the keys to the kingdom, as I liked to phrase it, and become the proud new owners of a flipped 60-year-old house. A house to call home. Knowing that we were closing that evening, we filled our two vehicles full of boxes and items that were to be the initial wave of incoming goods to turn the empty house into a place to feel warm and welcome, if not wealthy (most defintely not that!). These things included non-perishable foodstuffs, cleaning supplies, bathroom supplies, and one lamp. The closing took place in the evening, and after it was done, we went to dinner with my folks in the form of a celebration.
Once we got to the house (after 9pm), Jill got to work on the bathroom and floors. I forgot what I was doing. I remember attempting to work on cleaning out the pantry, but the wooden slat boards had flaking paint and were starting to bow from age. I decided we would have to buy some wood to make new shelves for the pantry. We set aside one of the bedrooms as the initial storage of moved-in boxes. I unpacked the boxes I had brought, since I was going to refill them the next day for the next wave. We got done around 1am and headed to her house to put a dining room table and four chairs in my car for the next day.
The next 4 days go by following a variation of the theme: pack, unpack, clean, shop for things we need. All days start early (due to work, with the exception of Friday, which is early due to applying for the marriage license) and end after midnight at the new house. There are a few events that are smattered here and there; a wedding shower, an engagement photo session. Each passing early morning, I get less and less sleep.
Saturday morning, my body and brain had had enough. The alarm goes off, I hop right out of bed, and it's just nothing but muttering and forgetting hard-to-forget details whilst getting ready for work and yet another evening unpacking and cleaning. I already knew that I would have to drive back to my parents' house to get some more stuff, possibly twice in one evening. My mother, being my mother and thus attuned to my moods and their variating severities, stopped me on the way out the door to pray with me, asking God to encourage and strengthen me and to give me endurance and patience with the things I was dealing with.
And it worked. Instead of falling asleep at the wheel or nodding off in the middle of work or seeing my dreams come visit me in the waking world, I actually had an amount of energy that kept me alert and on my feet but was still low enough that I wasn't going to full anyone into thinking I wasn't tired. When I got back to Freedom that evening to pack the dresser and some items that would make my first night (and following morning) seem somewhat normal, such as deodorant, shaving implements, shoes, clothes hangers, clocks, etc., my parents pretty much decided to use their Expedition to bring my bookshelves and other objects that very same night.
It was on the spur of the moment, but I knew I was in no position to turn them down, despite Jill and I wanting our parents to see the place after it had been cleaned up and properly organized. Once at the house, dad got to work on some maintenance issues and mom got to work cleaning. It was after their bedtime, but they were eagerly into the swing of things! They get a kick out of helping out around the house, and this house was a new house (to them) and I think gave them a bit of energy at doing some basic maintenance to a place that was new to them instead of doing renovation work to a place (their house) that was old to them.
And we're grateful to them for it! Their help enabled us to be able to take a more leisurely pace on Sunday before her family came over for a Mother's Day brunch of belgian waffles, bacon, and strawberries. The linen closet and kitchen cabinets finally got wiped down properly; kitchen utensils, tableware, and pots and pans started finding their homes. For dinner, my parents came over for a Mother's Day dinner of salad, fresh-baked bread, and a shrimp liguine meal capped with chocolate cupcakes.
And that's where we stand. The new house is slowly turning into home, which, to me, won't happen properly until Jill and I are married; then all the aspects of home will be in the house.
I suspect I'll be posting a few more (maybe shorter) entries about the progress from house to home. With the moving having taken a more leisurely pace, there will probably be more time for just that!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Must Be A Blue Moon Tonight...
It must be a blue moon tonight. I'm updating this thing. Or rather, I'm posting a new post to the blog.
I said I was going to reveal photos of the much-maligned (and always maligned, for that matter) Cobalt. But alas, I'm too lazy. Instead, I'll simply tell you about what I replaced said much-maligned Cobalt with, as well as some other side notes.
The replacement vehicle is the 2008 Subaru Forester with a shade between steel and silver. It has everything I could want in a car: cruise control, sunroof, 6-disc changer, auxilary port for additional audio devices (very nice!), power locks, power windows, enough space in the 'trunk' (is a hatchback a proper trunk, anyway?) for the hockey gear, all-wheel drive (and very timely at that), and more cup holders than one can shake a stick at. The fiancee, however, never skips a moment to remind me that the heated seats aren't hooked up, and that I should call the dealership and get that taken care of. It doesn't help that every time she says her seat is cold, I hear "my feet are cold". I can't be blamed, either, because her feet are always cold. That's literally, of course, and not in the least bit figurative.
The Cobalt, meanwhile, became a $3000 downpayment for the Subaru, after the remainder of that loan was paid off with the compensation money. It was the opposite of when I obtained the Cobalt, since I added $3000 to that loan due to an awful, awful, horrendous trade-in of a real lemon of an Audi. I will never buy an Audi again. If I was to somehow become an owner by way of a gift, I would turn around and sell it as fast as humanly possible. I might even take just a dollar for it.
So that's cars. The fiancee and I have been house-hunting lately. We've been doing so for at least a month, and the whole realtor business, being like the heart of Africa on 19th century British maps, has been slowly revealed to us for what it is - a ridiculous amount of time being reliant on an agent who sometimes doesn't always seem to have his/her clients' best interests at heart. Some of it is misunderstanding. Some of it is miscommunication. And some of it may turn out to be a difference of opinion. Thus, we are still looking. The problem isn't so much availability. It's availability of living space that we are able to move into and then proceed to afford after financing. Some people have remarked to me that we will know the house once we walk into it and suddenly think: "we're home". Sounds much like the idea that a bride-to-be will know her wedding dress the moment she puts it on and has 'that moment'. If you're a woman and have been through that process, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, then consider yourself my ally, because I frankly don't know what kind of feeling I'm waiting for.
Anyway, there's something of a vague deadline rushing up on us, as we may have to go the way of renting for a year if we cannot locate a living space for purchase soon enough. We have at least acknowledge rental as a viable options, given our situation. But we'll see what happens with that.
In the meantime, I work my work, play my play, and rest my rest. I wish I could read my read, but I've been quite streaky lately, going two and half months reading like I can't live any other way, and then spend the two and half months following having nothing to do with reading other than for the daily websites I visit. I get the feeling that consitent reading will come once the new habitation is found and the wedding is over. That's just a heck of a lot of planning going on for reading to get involved.
Anyway, that's that. End of post. Goodbye.
I said I was going to reveal photos of the much-maligned (and always maligned, for that matter) Cobalt. But alas, I'm too lazy. Instead, I'll simply tell you about what I replaced said much-maligned Cobalt with, as well as some other side notes.
The replacement vehicle is the 2008 Subaru Forester with a shade between steel and silver. It has everything I could want in a car: cruise control, sunroof, 6-disc changer, auxilary port for additional audio devices (very nice!), power locks, power windows, enough space in the 'trunk' (is a hatchback a proper trunk, anyway?) for the hockey gear, all-wheel drive (and very timely at that), and more cup holders than one can shake a stick at. The fiancee, however, never skips a moment to remind me that the heated seats aren't hooked up, and that I should call the dealership and get that taken care of. It doesn't help that every time she says her seat is cold, I hear "my feet are cold". I can't be blamed, either, because her feet are always cold. That's literally, of course, and not in the least bit figurative.
The Cobalt, meanwhile, became a $3000 downpayment for the Subaru, after the remainder of that loan was paid off with the compensation money. It was the opposite of when I obtained the Cobalt, since I added $3000 to that loan due to an awful, awful, horrendous trade-in of a real lemon of an Audi. I will never buy an Audi again. If I was to somehow become an owner by way of a gift, I would turn around and sell it as fast as humanly possible. I might even take just a dollar for it.
So that's cars. The fiancee and I have been house-hunting lately. We've been doing so for at least a month, and the whole realtor business, being like the heart of Africa on 19th century British maps, has been slowly revealed to us for what it is - a ridiculous amount of time being reliant on an agent who sometimes doesn't always seem to have his/her clients' best interests at heart. Some of it is misunderstanding. Some of it is miscommunication. And some of it may turn out to be a difference of opinion. Thus, we are still looking. The problem isn't so much availability. It's availability of living space that we are able to move into and then proceed to afford after financing. Some people have remarked to me that we will know the house once we walk into it and suddenly think: "we're home". Sounds much like the idea that a bride-to-be will know her wedding dress the moment she puts it on and has 'that moment'. If you're a woman and have been through that process, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, then consider yourself my ally, because I frankly don't know what kind of feeling I'm waiting for.
Anyway, there's something of a vague deadline rushing up on us, as we may have to go the way of renting for a year if we cannot locate a living space for purchase soon enough. We have at least acknowledge rental as a viable options, given our situation. But we'll see what happens with that.
In the meantime, I work my work, play my play, and rest my rest. I wish I could read my read, but I've been quite streaky lately, going two and half months reading like I can't live any other way, and then spend the two and half months following having nothing to do with reading other than for the daily websites I visit. I get the feeling that consitent reading will come once the new habitation is found and the wedding is over. That's just a heck of a lot of planning going on for reading to get involved.
Anyway, that's that. End of post. Goodbye.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Things With Keys And Doors
An update on the car is forthcoming, I do believe. Don't have available photos of the Cobalt's rearranged face, but it's rearranged face has been deemed a total loss by the insurance folks. Thus, the end of a era has come upon us. I've finally managed to total a vehicle. Granted, it took five cars with at least eleven incidents combined that either involved unintentional off-roading or some kind of contact with another vehicle. All in 13+ years.
Now that we have the relevant statistics out of the way...
So the fiancee and I are in the midst of car shopping, which is always fun. Of course, I'm still waiting for my settlement check from the insurance people, so I can't quite just go out and buy a car, yet. I can put down a deposit on a vehicle that I like, which will hopefully happen tonight. I say 'hopefully', because the vehicle we're looking for is the 2008 Subaru Forester with less than 35k miles, the factory warranty still intact, and a low enough price that, even after the down payment (the aforementioned check), won't break the bank on a monthly basis. What's nice about that last part is the first dealership we looked at claimed they could get us car we want within our budget range. That means I can tell that to other dealerships and not be lying in order to get a smaller monthly payment for similarly priced Foresters. I don't lie so convincingly. That's usually a good thing.
Let me finish up on that 'hopefully' emphasis. The first one we test-drove sold later that same day, before I felt comfortable putting a deposit down (still hadn't known what the check was going to be cut for, at that point). The next Forester, at a sister dealership across town, sold before the agent could have it delivered to the first location. I was starting to think we were on to something, finding a car that apparently was so good pre-owned that it couldn't stay on the lot short of boosting it's wheels.
At the moment, we're slated to visit another dealership (in yet another 'across town' direction) that has what we believe we're looking for. I'm praying that when I call them after work, it will still be there and will remain there until we get there. If that doesn't pan out, then we still have leads on several other Foresters, one of them an '08, several of them are '07 models, and yet another, an LL Bean edition, an '05 - but that one has over 90k miles, so it'd have to be vomiting rainbows and pooping gold to be a serious consideration for purchase.
So that's the car situation.
The house-hunting situation is a bit more complicated. Probably because you can't just drive a house to a more desirable location. There are also infinitely more characteristics to consider with a house compared to a car. The most prominent consideration being the loan duration, amount, and the yearly taxes. Add in the few requirements that we have and the limited budget (we are first-time buyers, after all), and you have a bunch of little factors that make it nigh impossible to quickly find a suitable location. Of course, after finding a suitable location, there's the seller and bank to deal with, so location isn't necessarily everything.
We've looked at 6 houses thus far. Planning on seeing another bunch this upcoming Saturday. We'll repeat that little phenomenon the following weekend depending on what we see. Personally, it won't surprise me if we need to adjust our 'required' characteristics in order to find something. We aren't exactly on a relaxing time frame, what with June running up to meet us.
Pretty much the only thing I can say for sure is that our house will have a roof, walls, windows, at least one door (hopefully more!), and we will have a lot more time for fun things when the search is over.
Now that we have the relevant statistics out of the way...
So the fiancee and I are in the midst of car shopping, which is always fun. Of course, I'm still waiting for my settlement check from the insurance people, so I can't quite just go out and buy a car, yet. I can put down a deposit on a vehicle that I like, which will hopefully happen tonight. I say 'hopefully', because the vehicle we're looking for is the 2008 Subaru Forester with less than 35k miles, the factory warranty still intact, and a low enough price that, even after the down payment (the aforementioned check), won't break the bank on a monthly basis. What's nice about that last part is the first dealership we looked at claimed they could get us car we want within our budget range. That means I can tell that to other dealerships and not be lying in order to get a smaller monthly payment for similarly priced Foresters. I don't lie so convincingly. That's usually a good thing.
Let me finish up on that 'hopefully' emphasis. The first one we test-drove sold later that same day, before I felt comfortable putting a deposit down (still hadn't known what the check was going to be cut for, at that point). The next Forester, at a sister dealership across town, sold before the agent could have it delivered to the first location. I was starting to think we were on to something, finding a car that apparently was so good pre-owned that it couldn't stay on the lot short of boosting it's wheels.
At the moment, we're slated to visit another dealership (in yet another 'across town' direction) that has what we believe we're looking for. I'm praying that when I call them after work, it will still be there and will remain there until we get there. If that doesn't pan out, then we still have leads on several other Foresters, one of them an '08, several of them are '07 models, and yet another, an LL Bean edition, an '05 - but that one has over 90k miles, so it'd have to be vomiting rainbows and pooping gold to be a serious consideration for purchase.
So that's the car situation.
The house-hunting situation is a bit more complicated. Probably because you can't just drive a house to a more desirable location. There are also infinitely more characteristics to consider with a house compared to a car. The most prominent consideration being the loan duration, amount, and the yearly taxes. Add in the few requirements that we have and the limited budget (we are first-time buyers, after all), and you have a bunch of little factors that make it nigh impossible to quickly find a suitable location. Of course, after finding a suitable location, there's the seller and bank to deal with, so location isn't necessarily everything.
We've looked at 6 houses thus far. Planning on seeing another bunch this upcoming Saturday. We'll repeat that little phenomenon the following weekend depending on what we see. Personally, it won't surprise me if we need to adjust our 'required' characteristics in order to find something. We aren't exactly on a relaxing time frame, what with June running up to meet us.
Pretty much the only thing I can say for sure is that our house will have a roof, walls, windows, at least one door (hopefully more!), and we will have a lot more time for fun things when the search is over.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Investments Upon Investments
In my previous post, I went on a bit about my impending wedding and following marriage.
Since that point, the fiancee and I have started looking at some of the more important beginning decisions that face us as we start our life together. The first being buying a house. We've looked at one house so far, but we just started looking (seriously looking, anyway) this past Friday. Sure, we fooled around with realty websites, hitting searches that fit our parameters. We've already been pre-approved and have a solid lock on what our target price range is. We've narrowed the ideal location to within so many miles - a perk of only working about 10 minutes apart!
On Friday, we went to see the first house on our list. A nice house, even if the location is near one of the lower-income areas of Pittsburgh. We got a chance to see the neighborhood, spot several other property sales along the way, had our first experience with a realtor agent, and came away with a good impression of the place. Today, however, we shared the sentiment that it probably wouldn't work out, long-term, if we bought it. It has no yard, really. Maybe 8' on all sides, max.
In the meantime, we're planning on seeing another house, in quite a different neighborhood (think rural-ish!). The property is cheaper but in more need of repairs and renovations, just from looking at the property disclosure that the agent emailed me. But it has yard! After this one, we're hoping to visit another house or two before Valentine's Day (Saturday, methinks).
All of this is keeping us busy. Especially when...
I wrecked my car! Yeah, really. Neither the fiancee nor I were seriously hurt, although she is still sore. Got looked at, but the doc says 'tis just a muscle strain that needs time to work itself out. The car, on the other hand, is another matter. What happened is, we hit an slippy spot on a downgrade in the middle of a bend. Instead of going to the right with the road, the Cobalt decided it would just go straight to give that big ol' telephone pole a nice kiss.
It got towed (from my house - it was declared to be "drivable", but that's really not a story to be shared online) to a bodyshop that's attached to a dealership and will hopefully be assessed no later than Thursday, if not Wednesday. My father put forth the thought that maybe the car will be declared totalled, given that the front grill, hood, right fender, and at least the radiator (couldn't get an accurate body count of all the engine parts, since the hood was jammed shut) are in need of replacement. It's possible the front passenger door needs replaced due to the way the right fender got pushed back, as well as the left fender, but I can't tell if that's just the way the front grill got messed up. The engine was starting to overheat on the way back home from the accident, so that's why I know the radiator is busted. It goes without saying that the engine didn't sound all that pleased about being rammed into a solid piece of roadside decorum, either. For all that, it didnt' have problems steering, stopping, or going. I was concerned the battery was going to run itself dead when the fan kept going after turning off the car in an attempt to cool off the overheated engine.
When the fiancee's father saw the photos of the destruction, he wasn't so sure it would be declared totalled from the pictures and our description of the way it drove immediately after the accident. Hence, the assessment is eagerly anticipated! And this is why:
If totalled - hopefully that gap insurance I bought upon obtaining the Cobalt is still in effect - that would absolve me of paying off the final $2k, and then the amount I receive from insurance for the value can become down payment for a newer and, logically, better quality all-wheel drive vehicle, which would be better suited to the local weather patterns and my 'active' lifestyle (read: a more convenient way to transport my stinky goalie equipment without wedging hockey sticks between opposing doors). This would also be convenient in assisting the fiancee and I to start meshing our financial records and responsibilities jointly in terms of ownership and any relevant insurance coverages from such ownerships.
If fixable (according to the insurer, of course) - that means new body panels and a free fix (once past the deductable, of course, and it is that), fresh paint on front end of the car, new tires (with balancing and realignment), hopefully a fixing of that annoying shimmy at highway speeds: it now becomes a possible decent sell to some teenager looking for his first ride before he gets a serious job. Or maybe the working man who just needs a car to get from point A to B without breaking the bank. In either case, according to Kelly Blue Book, the retail value of the Cobalt would be around $5k. Remember the amount that I owe? Yeah, that would be a $3k profit if I was able to sell it around that $5k mark. Hell, even if it sold at $3.5k, it would still give me a higher downpayment than most car ads state for their advertised financing deals. Once again, enter a new vehicle. It just comes a little later down the road.
The longer I think about this decision, the more and more I think that having it fixable and then waiting until after the fiancee and I find a new home would be ideal. This is due to our wanting to get an SUV as the next vehicle. This would give us a good option during the winter, not to say her Neon is bad in this weather. At least it has snow tires. But the cheaper used SUVs that are newer than 4 years tend to be on the guzzling side of the gas tank. If we end up living quite close to our jobs, then it would be a viable solution, especially if we were to adopt a schedule of carpooling 2 or 3 days of the week yearlong. But if we were to live a bit further away from work (say 20 minutes or so), then finding an SUV with a better gas efficiency would pay off in the long-run, despite their average higher asking price to buy.
And then, of course, the fiancee (this was before the accident, so we'll see if this gets put on the back-burner or not) started sending me emails of pets looking for their forever homes, so I guess there's always more than just houses and cars, right?
In any event, I will probably post photos of the car after I hear what the assessment is. It should be fun times!
Since that point, the fiancee and I have started looking at some of the more important beginning decisions that face us as we start our life together. The first being buying a house. We've looked at one house so far, but we just started looking (seriously looking, anyway) this past Friday. Sure, we fooled around with realty websites, hitting searches that fit our parameters. We've already been pre-approved and have a solid lock on what our target price range is. We've narrowed the ideal location to within so many miles - a perk of only working about 10 minutes apart!
On Friday, we went to see the first house on our list. A nice house, even if the location is near one of the lower-income areas of Pittsburgh. We got a chance to see the neighborhood, spot several other property sales along the way, had our first experience with a realtor agent, and came away with a good impression of the place. Today, however, we shared the sentiment that it probably wouldn't work out, long-term, if we bought it. It has no yard, really. Maybe 8' on all sides, max.
In the meantime, we're planning on seeing another house, in quite a different neighborhood (think rural-ish!). The property is cheaper but in more need of repairs and renovations, just from looking at the property disclosure that the agent emailed me. But it has yard! After this one, we're hoping to visit another house or two before Valentine's Day (Saturday, methinks).
All of this is keeping us busy. Especially when...
I wrecked my car! Yeah, really. Neither the fiancee nor I were seriously hurt, although she is still sore. Got looked at, but the doc says 'tis just a muscle strain that needs time to work itself out. The car, on the other hand, is another matter. What happened is, we hit an slippy spot on a downgrade in the middle of a bend. Instead of going to the right with the road, the Cobalt decided it would just go straight to give that big ol' telephone pole a nice kiss.
It got towed (from my house - it was declared to be "drivable", but that's really not a story to be shared online) to a bodyshop that's attached to a dealership and will hopefully be assessed no later than Thursday, if not Wednesday. My father put forth the thought that maybe the car will be declared totalled, given that the front grill, hood, right fender, and at least the radiator (couldn't get an accurate body count of all the engine parts, since the hood was jammed shut) are in need of replacement. It's possible the front passenger door needs replaced due to the way the right fender got pushed back, as well as the left fender, but I can't tell if that's just the way the front grill got messed up. The engine was starting to overheat on the way back home from the accident, so that's why I know the radiator is busted. It goes without saying that the engine didn't sound all that pleased about being rammed into a solid piece of roadside decorum, either. For all that, it didnt' have problems steering, stopping, or going. I was concerned the battery was going to run itself dead when the fan kept going after turning off the car in an attempt to cool off the overheated engine.
When the fiancee's father saw the photos of the destruction, he wasn't so sure it would be declared totalled from the pictures and our description of the way it drove immediately after the accident. Hence, the assessment is eagerly anticipated! And this is why:
If totalled - hopefully that gap insurance I bought upon obtaining the Cobalt is still in effect - that would absolve me of paying off the final $2k, and then the amount I receive from insurance for the value can become down payment for a newer and, logically, better quality all-wheel drive vehicle, which would be better suited to the local weather patterns and my 'active' lifestyle (read: a more convenient way to transport my stinky goalie equipment without wedging hockey sticks between opposing doors). This would also be convenient in assisting the fiancee and I to start meshing our financial records and responsibilities jointly in terms of ownership and any relevant insurance coverages from such ownerships.
If fixable (according to the insurer, of course) - that means new body panels and a free fix (once past the deductable, of course, and it is that), fresh paint on front end of the car, new tires (with balancing and realignment), hopefully a fixing of that annoying shimmy at highway speeds: it now becomes a possible decent sell to some teenager looking for his first ride before he gets a serious job. Or maybe the working man who just needs a car to get from point A to B without breaking the bank. In either case, according to Kelly Blue Book, the retail value of the Cobalt would be around $5k. Remember the amount that I owe? Yeah, that would be a $3k profit if I was able to sell it around that $5k mark. Hell, even if it sold at $3.5k, it would still give me a higher downpayment than most car ads state for their advertised financing deals. Once again, enter a new vehicle. It just comes a little later down the road.
The longer I think about this decision, the more and more I think that having it fixable and then waiting until after the fiancee and I find a new home would be ideal. This is due to our wanting to get an SUV as the next vehicle. This would give us a good option during the winter, not to say her Neon is bad in this weather. At least it has snow tires. But the cheaper used SUVs that are newer than 4 years tend to be on the guzzling side of the gas tank. If we end up living quite close to our jobs, then it would be a viable solution, especially if we were to adopt a schedule of carpooling 2 or 3 days of the week yearlong. But if we were to live a bit further away from work (say 20 minutes or so), then finding an SUV with a better gas efficiency would pay off in the long-run, despite their average higher asking price to buy.
And then, of course, the fiancee (this was before the accident, so we'll see if this gets put on the back-burner or not) started sending me emails of pets looking for their forever homes, so I guess there's always more than just houses and cars, right?
In any event, I will probably post photos of the car after I hear what the assessment is. It should be fun times!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)