The O.C.

I get frustrated because it seems more and more the general populace has little-to-no problem with gay people. Most of my friends, co-workers, family, and peers are straight....and not a single friggin' one of them has even the slightest problem with it. It seems the vast minority, religious hacks, or ultra-conservative types are bringing a level of attention to this matter that it simply doesn't deserve. There are times when I wish I WAS an activist.....wish that I could just get out there, stand up in their faces, and really let them know how I feel about their ignorance......but that's not really in my personality..... I just get pissed when someone says that they don't want to allow ME to get married.....because THEIR religious beliefs are against it.....

Interesting thing.....yesterday, on my day off, I was perusing through old Car & Driver magazines from 1987. What struck me was the road test of the then new Pontiac Bonneville SE. The article was overwhelmingly positive, as were the "CounterPoints" at the end of the article. All the editors were praising Pontiac for building a car that Honda and Audi customers would truly "feel comfortable in." More than one of the editors made the comment that out of all five GM divisions, Pontiac was the one truly in line to be the most successful GM division in the long-term based upon their superb product portfolio (at the time.) How ironic we find Pontiac today, 22 years later, in the position it is now........????

OMG....what ARE they thinking? When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the original Lagonda......still like it today. But dammit.....wasn't the Lagona a super-low, super-sleek sedan? What's with this bloated abortion?

A friend of mine gave me a couple of Zanex's to try.......does anyone know how those work? Aside from over-the-counter sleeping pills, I've never taken any kind of drugs, or anti-anxiety medicine, or anything. I guess I'm afraid if I took a Zanex at like 4am or so, I wouldn't wake up at 6:30-7am when I need to.....

A nice tequila or wine buzz always works for me......I have NO problem falling asleep (and am not hung over in the morning.) My problem is waking up in the middle of the night, say 4-5am, and tossing and turning not able to fully fall back asleep....worrying about work and money and stuff. I think I'll try the "leaving the bedroom" thing next time. Maybe lay on the couch for 1/2 hour or something.....

I remember a few years ago, Nissan had this program to where they would buy old Z-cars, 240s, 260s, 280s.....and do a complete restoration, and then sell them to the public! If I remember correctly, you could buy a fully-restored 240Z for something like $25K - $30K...? Now that would be cool if the car manufacturers would do something like that.....but realistically it's probably not something that would pay off in the long-term.

This whole situation is disgusting. What a truly messed up freak.....it seems every day a new revelation about this woman gets revealed.....also, I heard that she got $400,000 for the People magazine/tabloid interviews that she has done...... So....if she truly got $400,000, then why is her house still in foreclosure?

Hmmmm....that's a tough one. There are so many different cities that offer so many different things......but here are MY favorite cities (metropolitan areas:) My absolute favorite place I've ever lived is southern California, Los Angeles. Most for the reasons mentioned above. There is so much to offer, that for me, it overcomes the negatives (high cost of housing, congestion.) I call Atlanta and Philadelphia as close runner-ups. I've travelled to Atlanta alot for work and find it a truly charming city. I lived in Philadelphia for two years and it was the biggest surprise ever. I never thought I would enjoy Philly (cold, gritty, bastard step-child to NYC...these were all my impressions before-hand) but I found a beautiful city with amazing culture, nightlife, dining.....all at a fraction of the housing costs of New York. Miami/Fort Lauderdale is my only pick in Florida. To me, cities like Tampa and Orlando are too bland, too catered to seniors (my folks even retired in Tampa....lol), so forth and so on. But I like Miami for some of the same reasons other people hate it....it's edgy....and I kinda like that. There's a unique culture there. Unfortunately, nothing in the midwest comes close. Maybe Chicago....but if I was going to do Chicago, I'd just go ahead and do NYC. Speaking of The Big Apple.....NYC misses out on my list......not because it's not a great city, and it certainly has a world-wide impact. Been to NYC many, many times....and it IS an experience.....and it has an amazing energy. BUT, I find it ugly in a physical sense....compared to, say, San Francisco which is one of the most beautiful cities in my mind with it's hilly topography, the bay, and an amazing blend of modern and victorian architecture. Then there is the weather in NY.....cold in the winter, humid in the summer. Finally, it's tough to access if you choose to live in the area, but out in a suburb. Seattle hits my favorite list....even with the rain. What a GREAT city.....and a great city to live IN. Love the modernity of it and the high-tech energy. Nothing in Texas or Oklahoma does it for me anymore. But I would probably live there before anywhere in the midwest. Finally, I'd have to say that I'll always like Las Vegas and Phoenix.....because I find the desert absolutely BEAUTIFUL, in a minimalist sort of way. I love the desert topography, desert mountains, the cactus and palm trees, the tile-roofed houses, all that kind of southwestern architecture and feel.

Alot of it has to do with feel.....what is simply more fun to drive aggressively. FWD cars typically excel, relatively-speaking, in the slalom, numbers-wise. A FWD car's tendancy to understeer aggressively can make it easier to thread through the slalom cones versus a RWD car that might be overly tail-happy.

Also interesting.....a base 3.6L CTS blows away that generation V8 Aurora (6.4sec to 60mph according to C&D.)

I have always personally considered Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc., as part of the "southwest" like Texas as you state.

To me, places like Kansas City, Oklahoma City, etc., are considered "midwest" (in a southernly point of view I guess) but I've always seen them as midwestern, but lacking alot of the "blue collar" feel of the "true" midwest. Of course, OKC has had the oil and aviation industries as big influences (the FAA is headquarted at Will Rogers World Airport), and they've always had weather that was not quite as harsh, and the cities have always seemed to be a bit more modern, if sometimes not as progressive culturally (hello all ye southern Baptists out there....)

That's what I've always liked about Boise, Idaho. What a great little city! I've been there probably, oh, maybe 8-10 times for work....and it's easily one of the smallest cities that I could really enjoy living in (200,000K population or so I think.) Summers are warm, there are lots of outdoor activities (it's in the foothills to the mountains), it's a college town, and there's lots of high-tech there that brings a younger feel to the city. Downtown Boise is nice, active, with restaurants, shops, bars, and even a few highrises (!).....plus it's the state capitol....for all that might bring to the area.

:AH-HA_wink: He knows I'm only kidding.....but Croc is so non-homophobic, I figured he'd get a good laugh out of this.....

Hmmm....I just saw the title to this thread..... "Cooking with Croc?" :gay: It's like a dream come true! You know what they say....."Don't tempt my tummy with the taste o' nuts n' honey!"

Danville/San Ramon/Walnut Creek was pretty much a more conservative enclave for the Bay Area......closest thing San Francisco had to an Irvine/Mission Viejo kind-of-area. So it wasn't that bad.....but yeah, you scoot over to Bezerkly, Oaktown, and The City, and boy watch out....the activists will get you! It didn't really bother me all that much....it was more entertaining than anything......but the constant "Southern California" or "L.A." bashing did get VERY old.....

California too expensive to live and do business for a company coming from the midwest. But Arizona or Nevada would both be pretty good.....maybe a bit warm in the summer, but overall GREAT weather.....relatively low cost-of-living......pro-business climates......usually attractive places for people to live or visit.....hence attractive places to help recruit new employees. I remember from my GM days, the districts/territories that were ALWAYS the most highly-sought after by District Managers and zone staffs were Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida.....basically good weather, low cost-of-living locales with newer infractructures, suburbs, etc. On the flipside, the inside joke is.....we used to have the toughest time getting people to transfer to CA for obvious reaons (#1 being cost of housing, of course) but the joke was, after you forced them to move there, a few years later when you wanted to transfer them again, you couldn't pry their cold, dead, fingers off of the keys to their CA residence.

It's 70 and sunny here...... (Ya know, Las Vegas is just a far inland suburb of coastal southern California......LOL)

Yup....actually Danville....but it's all pretty much the same......Walnut Creek/Danville/San Ramon. Yeah, I TOTALLY enjoy life in Orange County alot more. Perhaps it's the proximity to the Coast (the East Bay is quite a ways inland) or having San Diego an hour south and L.A. 45 minutes north..... The East Bay is pretty damn sleepy. It seems if you want any sort of meaningful nightlife or fine dining, you always had to go into San Francisco. Now don't get me wrong....I loved going into San Francisco. But the nice thing about O.C. is there is so much to do there....you don't HAVE to go to L.A. or San Diego. You CAN go if you want....but there's plenty to do right outside your front door. That being said, Danville was a very beautiful place to live.....and had MUCH better weather than The City.....(no fog, sunny skies, warm temps) but even then, the weather in coastal O.C. is better still.....none of the extremes that can be felt in the inland East Bay (100's in the summer, dipping into the 30's in the winter.) Plus, there is simply an energy in southern California/Los Angeles that's missing, even up in San Francisco. It's a "crowded-freeways-at-3am" kind of energy.....or a "New York City" kind of energy......I guess just alot sprouts up from all the stuff that goes on in southern California. I always thought the northern Californians were always kindof jealous of that.....

Have you considered... <gasp> ...looking for tech/website jobs out West? It might not be close to her family, but it seems like web stuff is still really big out here....and income potential might be greater as well..... The one thing I've always appreciated about CA is that, yes, rents and housing are expensive.....but if you can find a small little apartment you can afford, the rest of your cost-of-living is downright cheap! Think about it....find a place relatively close to the coast.....and forget about any sort of meaningful electric bill in the summer (very limited need for A/C).....or any sort of meaningful gas bill in the winter (limited need for massive heat bills as well.) I'm not sure how CA compares to other parts of the country......but I know just comparing to Las Vegas.....car insurance and car registration is a fraction in CA what it is in NV. Sure Nevada has cheap housing and no state income tax.....but they damn well make it up in many other areas. I haven't noticed food prices and other things being any more expensive than anywhere else I've lived....and I've been told that, relatively speaking, things like fruits and vegetables are less expensive here. Finally, you want to save money in recreation and entertainment? Think about all the outdoor activities you can do, almost year-round, for free. I'm sure it's a stretch for you guys to consider.....given what your priorities seem to be.....I guess I just offer another perspective on another alternative. I have quite a few connections out here and would never mind helping you out......

Well, I'm all for trying new things.....for a good opportunity. But in the end, I have a serious financial challenge to live up to....and if the potential is there to make more money right now, I have almost no other choice than to give it a shot. There's no guarantee that staying here will allow me to see a good enough uptick in business either......but the opportunity I have there is a part of the industry that is seemingly much less cyclical..... In no way will I be returning to CA with my tail-between-my-legs......I'm glad to have had this opportunity.

I was in Orange County for 10 years......before that, the Bay Area for 2 years.....10 years anywhere makes it pretty much home....

I think you mean welfare checks......

Thanks man. You know.....it didn't need to be a "pit-stop"......I was happy here.....when I was making money and supporting myself. But I never imagined October and November would happen (the auto industry crash) like it did......now I am in recovery mode....and that is first-and-foremost. (Being home around my 10-year long support network doesn't hurt either....)

To Croc's point.....I don't know this woman.....or why she wanted a 7th child..... But just from what I've seen, if she indeed filed bankruptcy.....obviously finances are a concern of hers. I would think it highly irresponsible, given all the circumstances I've been made privy to in the news, etc., to even attempt to have another child. I don't have a problem with a single mother......as long as she is self-supporting and can take care of herself and her children. It just seems that someone in her position having so many children, much less attempting a seventh child, does smack of irresponsibility in today's times. Perhaps there are other factors and/or rationale that we don't know about......