nc211

By the way, the mountains of WVA / VA are beautiful right now with the trees turning. There were motorcycles and sports cars weaving on and off of the freeway from the Blueridge Parkway all day. I had several "Clark Griswald" moments with me in the family truckster loaded down with two kids, a sleeping wife, 5 plants, and a cat who was stinking up the joint, being passed by dudes in German convertibles with the tops down and some serious "eye candy" riding shotgun with them. They looked at me like I was an Iranian prisoner, eating my Wendy's chicken nuggets while Toy Story 3 on the DVD screens in the back entertained the kids, and their little Grey Pupon eating grins on their faces as they smoked my a$$ up those hills in their little BMW's and the like.... Pretty funny actually!

Made it, last 920 mile haul we ever have to do from ChiTcago to NC. 16 hours straight! Tires are so cupped from ChiTcago roads, the Michelins sound like Micky-Thompson mudders now! By the time this 4Runner pulls onto the Buick lot for trade, the most valuable component will be those new calipers from a month ago. Got a bad ticking noise coming from the engine now too. Can't tell if it's an injector or a valve. Drives fine, great actually, but you can just tell that trouble is lurking now. Had to downshift pretty hard earlier today, wasn't nearly as smooth as it once was. Has that "never needs to be changed" transmission fluid in it's "sealed" housing. Never needs to be changed, translates into a $400 bill to just have it changed. No way, Jose'! I think a kid with more time on his hands and a desire to learn about fixing a car, would be a perfect candidate for this 4Runner. Someone like...me! Just, 6 years ago. Last thing I want to do anymore is crawl under a car! Stage one of the NC211 exodus from the great white north, is complete. Kids are at PaPa & Nana's house. Stage two starts Wednesday, with a flight back to ChiTcago to meet the movers. Stage three is me, the wife, and the other two little "Jaws on Paws" pile into the GTI and head to VA on Saturday. We will be waving to the great state of Ill&Annoyed as we cross into Indiana. Can't say it'll be with all ten fingers in the air though. I have a feeling we'll be needing an ambulance to unfold us out of the VW in VA. That drive will be around 720 miles, 13 hours or so. I hear Cleveland is nice this time of hear. Our route will take us just south of it...we don't plan to stop! Going to be a jittery ride! Stage four...is the fun stuff, when we get those keys, baby!

Good lord, Lenore, you're certainly passionate about this, I'll give you that. I can see trying to change your mind that the Commies died with Rambo (part 3) is real, is going to be like trying to teach the cat to bark. So, I'll respectfully pass on this one! What I think has happened is that Obama kind of got taken to the cleaners by some in his own party, some far more experienced and influential than him in those DC circles. We elected a man with very little experience in general, to oversee one if the greatest shifts of wealth in this nation's history. I think he got in over is head, and only a few key players saw it coming in 2008. Who were these players? Couldn't see them back then, but I think you can see them now.... Who's got the wealth? Find that answer, and you'll find the puppet master. That being said, I kind if like where "he is at" now. I think he sees what has happened at his expense, is getting angry about it, and hopes to get four more years to fix it. I don't think he's an unfair President. I do think he was too green for the job at this crucial moment in our history. Two wars and an economic collapse would be a struggle for even the most experienced and wise President on earth. I know I couldnt do it. Well, I could, but I doubt I'd live to see the sunset... I know Boston Properties quite well. Have done business with them in the past. They're one of the top five REITS in the game. Theyre smart, they're focused, and they're careful. But, they're also first in line to complain when it doesnt go their way. I know first hand. Tried to do two deals in DC that had big government leases awarded to the properties. Both times, BP was first to file a complaint about favoritism. Not because they had a better property to offer up for lease, but to basically block the potential success of someone else. It's viewed as dirty pool.

No worries on the new car! We're in WVA right now, heading to NC! Fancy brake job on the 4Runner is holding up to a fully loaded barfin famy buggy ride, even got a cat with us!

I like what this guy has to say, and I think some of it can't be denied by anyone for being pretty accurate, especially the part about "just another speech". The true gridlock of this continuing economic recession is strictly on the confidence level of us consumers, and without a clear path in front of us to follow, it's like we're all still standing at the same fork in the road, waiting for our "leaders" to pick a path to take. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204002304576628673446417268.html

Well, I had my first out-of-pocket expense repair this week on the VW. Those out of control Germans! $140 for new rear brake pads, installed. Now, I'd have to say, for genuine oem pads, that ain't bad! Also had to have the a/c motor replaced. I never knew the car had an interior air filter. Motor was making a noise, mechanic reached down and pulled the filter out. Tons of junk came falling out onto the floor. A small stick got sucked into the system and damaged one of the internal fan blades. Totally my fault for not realizing it had a filter that needed to be changed, even said it in the manual. Not a mechanical failure, but user error instead. However, they replaced the motor for free anyway under the CPO warranty! Got another bent wheel though... Damn ChiTcago crumbling infrastructure!!! Only one more week!! Car now has about 50k miles. Drives great, not a single rattle anywhere. Still love it, and will be replacing it with another when the time comes. Although the 4 door GTI is about the only car they have now that I like the looks of. They really dulled down the line this year in terms of looks. Might be heading over to Audi instead. Our new home is in the burbs of DC in Virginia. Nice smooth roads, some fun back-country roads nearby as well. I give myself two weeks before I get nailed for speeding!!

Not until it's eventual replacement won't throw the whole global economical balance out of whack to the point of causing war(s). I'm willing to bet it's replacement is already known, identified and easy to bring up to mass production speed. But, it's introduction to the system would probably destroy the global economic balance, which even in good times, is fragile at best. Finding it, making it, and using it, probably isn't the challenge. Implementing it, is the challenge. 50 years, is my best guess. Next generations issues and prosperity potential. Honestly, I hope I'm long gone, and left my kids enough financial support and skills to make sure they're on the safe side of the transition!

My wife has found your Christmas gift, SW0. Given this logic of the Jeep, we've decided nothing would enhance the appearance of the Lexus better than.....a pair of snow chains!! Looks like I'll be telling the movers to leave the North Face gear in the box!

Well, Army, after seeing what you did to that Ford several years ago, we kinda knew you were a little off balance! You didn't need to go blow yourself up a dozen times for us to tell you that!! Just kidding!!! Come home, soldier. Last time I checked, you didn't have a tail "not that I checked" and I think that many IED encounters would make cat with 9 lives be lucky as is! You could make a killing with your mechanical experience here in Chicago, because if it has a motor around here, it breaks down after suffering through these winters! Be safe man!

...and the BEST part of this deal? Accuweather is now predicting the worst of the worst of the pending winter season, will be in ChiTcago! They're saying it will be worse than last year, which was the 4th worst winter on record! They're saying it'll be colder, wetter, more blizzards, tons more snow, and start much earlier! NC211 and family are outta' here like a southern !Removed! in the wind during hurricane season!! Oh, and let me not forget the out of control tax increases going on here now too. I paid an additional $2k in state income tax to Illinois already this year, and real estate taxes are spiking dramatically, even though housing values keep falling at a pace that is the second worst in the country. Just to give you an example, our house we rent here. Maybe 2,500 sf in livable space, maybe a 6,000 sf lot. Trains about 3 blocks away "loud 24/7". Owners bought it in 2006 for $690k. Today, they'd be lucky to get $450k for it, and it's a NICE house! Tax bill accidentally showed up here instead of to their house in CA yesterday... Care to wager a guess how much it is now? Over $15,000!!!

to last another 5,000 miles without seeing the repair shop again! 3 years of ChiTcago road salt winters have done some damage to the brake components. While we were house hunting with SW0, our front brake calipers seized up onto the rotors, $800 repair. Tires are now all cupped due to the rough roads up here, with about 40% of their tread left. Got a loud ticking noise from one of the valves now too "or a sticky injector". Rear brakes are starting to squeak a bit, but the pads are good...more road salt damage to the calipers I suspect. 102k miles... Of all the people to suffer a Toyota malfunction around, especially given my track record of personal car repair, it had to be with SW0! Murphy's Law!

In 337 hours, I get to put ChiTcago in our rearview mirror FOREVER!!! But...who's counting... One more grinding 920 mile drive to NC with the kids, one more flight back to Ohare to meet the movers, and one fun drive in the VW across Northern Indiana, Ohio "Cleveland Rocks!" and down through PA to our new home state of VA! Get the keys to the new digs on the 26th, unload the movers on the 27th, get drunk and do my best Tom Cruise Risky Business impersonation while unpacking that night, bring up the family from NC on the 28th, and get my first speeding ticket on the 29th on those sweet and smooth VA roads! These next two weeks are going to be like the last 100'miles of a 1000 mile road trip! Just need the 4Runner

Well my friends, I have the distinct honor of saying that I know SW03ES personally! I have seen his ES, even rode in it yesterday. If any of you think you've got a pristine car...you'd be hard pressed to top SW! Steve was instrumental in every fashion in securing our new home in DC! We had just two days to search, and Steve led us right to the exactly perfect property yesterday! We got it, and now we're just down to the mechanicals of a half cross country move! Hello Virginia!! AND HUGE THANKS TO STEVE!!!

OHH!!! I see how it is! I sign that agreement and 48 hours later, there's a new ride in the garage! Yep...you'll be needing that bumper sticker, W! Joking aside, nice set of wheels!! My wife will thank you for the lack of snow this year. But me? Well, I've got a $800 snow blower to pay off by suckering in some new neighbors in the VA burbs soon to $50 a driveway!

I'm not sure which one is better, as I have never driven a supercharged car. The VW is a 2.0 liter 4 with a turbo though, my first ever turbo. I'm friggin' hooked on the turbo theory from here on out! How can you not? How can you not be a fan of some tiny little impeller that turns that little mouse under the hood into a steriod infested monster! The air here in chicago has cooled quite a bit. Mid 60's, no humidity...perfect condition for a turbo. It's like a little sledgehammer device that makes a grown man giggle like a little school girl at a Justin Bieber concert! I say slap a turbo on every car out there! If I could figure out how to do it, I'd put one on my lawn mover, and it's a push mower at that! Mileage seems quite good as well, considering the power returned from having a turbo. I also think a turbo allows the torque band to show up at lower rpm's, but not sure. Disclaimer: probably gonna want a warranty though, and the really expensive synthetic oil. Oh, and the premium gas hurts a little.

Thanks Steve, I'm in good hands! For me? A single-wide with a 7 car garage behind a Lexus dealer would be perfect! But, my "boss" will see right past the PVC white picket fence from Lowes and skin my hide!

For a 24 mile round trip drive? 58 lights and stop signs. An that's befor the 5 miles of highway congestion! I know DC has bad traffic, but I won't miss this drive here! There, I'll be on a toll road in/out everyday. None of my cars have had a pair of brakes that have made it 8 months up here before they warp and wear out. The 4runner shakes badly, the Lexus shaked badly (after I put new rotors and pads on) and my VW shakes badly now (new rotors and pads installed when i bought it, a year ago and 8k miles). After we buy a house and get settled, the 4runner is going to become that Buick Enclave, and the GTI might become a newer model. Rates this low, I can't justify the $1,500 to have the rims fixed again (all bent) and a brake job. Cheaper to trade it for another one for the same monthly payment. 4runner will have over 100k on the clock, facing $2,500 of maintenance and (de-Chicago) it. The rims are showing signs of rust now, and under the hood looks pretty rusty too. It's held up great though! Of that 100k miles, only about 10k were in NC. The rest have been in NJ and IL.

Thanks fellas, we are extremely excited! Resigned my post yesterday with a 2 week notice. We're wanting to live in the Ashburn or Leesburg area of the VA burbs, with my new office to be located in the Tysons Corner area of VA. We want some peace and quiet back, and some elbow room. While our house here is quite nice, it's packed in with other houses, have the busiest train line 3 blocks behind us, and right on the street in the front. Too tight and too loud! Oh...and way too friggin cold 5 months out of the year. I counted how many stop signs and stop lights I go through each day during my round trip commute to the office...

Now, if you'll excuse me....I'm going to get drunk and smooch with my wife!

Well my friends, it has finally happened, I scored the ticket out of here today! My signature is going to read ChiTcago to ChiTcagone! We're heading your way Steve, and in much better condition than I had though the first time, much better! This offer I received, which took me nearly 6 months, 2 secret trips to DC, and one secret trip to NY, has my head spinning! Steve, I need a house!! I'll contact Mike in the morning to get that ball rolling. This is a done deal, FINALLY!!!! GOOD BYE CHITCAGO!!!! HELLO VIRGINIA!!!

Yes...the police radar gun ;-) But, my car comes with a trunk monkey, called Mr Quick-Draw-McGraw Lawyer.. I drive a VW GTI. So I'm sure I have problems, just haven't driven it enough to find them yet (7k miles in a year).

I've been zapped twice from the same red light camera, both bogus reasons. It wasn't that I was running the light, it's that I was in the right turn lane. I stopped just fine, sat there for a few seconds for the cars to clear, when both times the car sitting next to me made it impossible for me to see around them. I inched forward to see, while still inching forward saw I was clear and went, and FLASH in my mirror...$250 bucks later, I found a different route to take...aka...the CVS parking lot ;-) I think the red ligh cameras are fine, but my problem is you can't fight them for legit reasons. They're "still" photos. If they had a video component, then I could've said "check the video. I stopped as legally instructed." it wasn't illegal to turn right on red at that light either.

Oops, I'm preparing to go to OHare, not there yet..

Try this one on for size: I have a construction project going on right now in downtown DC. Two weeks ago they installed the boom crane, 20 stories in the air. I hear the boom crane operator, who climbs to the top every morning, had himself a panic attack! Better than what I would've done, which would've involved a new diaper and wanting my mommy! Yikes!!! How about this one too: In March I was contacted about the possibility of joining a major Bank's commercial real estate division in DC. In April, while home in NC for a week, I drove up for our first meeting. I nearly got hit by a tornado on the way back! It gets better.... In May I flew out to DC for a second meeting, and got hit by a hail storm at OHare, which destroyed my plane. Wait...it gets even better... As I type this, I'm sitting at OHare to fly to NY for the final meeting with their top brass, to join that DC office, which just had an earthquake and is preparing for a hurricane strike this weekend!! Good thing I'm not superstitious otherwise I might take this as a sign! Although, I did toss some salt over my shoulder at breakfast a few moments ago!!

Oil dump option out the back, so I could tick off a few Prius owners!