Don’t quote me on this…
But I was talking to Andrea today, and I think we’ve nailed down a date for the wedding. September 6th, 2008! Mark your calenders…but you’d better mark them with pencil until you hear the official conformation from Andrea.
Goodbye old friend.
This is all that remains of my old 1990 Pontiac 6000, which later came to be affectionately referred to as “Lil’ Brudder” (inspired by this Strongbad e-mail.) Lil’ Brudder finally was laid to rest at the local salvage yard, sold for the grand sum of $50.
The poor car, really did have the heart of a champion. After all it had been through, it still ran like a champ clear up until I took my last drive the other day down to the junk yard. It didn’t all happen at once, the car has had a long history, or wrap sheet, which ever you prefer.
I have to admit, before I got the 6000 I considered them among the ugliest cars ever made, while that opinion has waned a bit over the years, I still think the A-Body offerings from Oldsmobile and Buick are far more appealing. Below are (from left to right) the 1990 Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Pontiac 6000.
Since I already didn’t care much for the styling of the car, I decided that I’d go ahead and have some fun with it. And three rolls of 1″ white electrical tape later, the car had racing stripes, effectively adding 300 horsepower. I always hated the front grille and headlight design more than anything. And sticking with the electrical tape trend, I blacked out the fog lights on the inside to make the grill seem less puny and to take some of the focus off the gawdy headlights. This is probably the best Lil’ Brudder ever looked.
It didn’t last long though. As most everyone knows, the car has a long history of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the accidents weren’t my fault though. Let’s see if I can remember all of them…
The Accidents:
#1 – Within the first month of moving to Manhattan a hail storm blew through and pelted the car. Good thing I had insisted on that full coverage insurance at the time. (Not my fault)
#2 – Rearended by some guy with a suspended lisence while at a stop sign in Manhattan. Busted out the rear tail light covers and pushed the trunk in. (Not my fault)
#3 – Pushed into a gaurdrail by a big moving truck that didn’t stay in the inside lane when turning left through an intersection. I was in the right lane, he started moving in, and there was no where to go. (Not my fault)
#4 – Hit in the left front fender while at my sister Jamie’s apartment. Never found the cluprit. (Not my fault)
#5 – Car spun while hitting a patch of ice going to work. Spun the car 180 degrees and slid into the curb blowing out the left rear tire and bending the rim. (Okay, that was my fault.)
#6 – The deer. (Not much you can do when they jump right infront of you.)
So after all this is added up…you get…
Ouch! I almost forgot how that car looked the morning after the wreck. Still running like a champ though and I couldn’t exactly afford a new car, so I had to drive this thing. But first I had to make it legal and get two working headlights.
Thanks to a $5 Wal-Mart bolt on flood light, I did.
And this is how she looked until just the other day when she drove off into the sunset. It was certianly an ugly car to begin with, and even uglier in the end. I really think the car would have drove forever. But in the end, it needed a lot of work, a lot of attention, and a lot of money to make presentable on a car that I wasn’t too crazy about in the first place. After all we’ve been through together though, I must admit it earned a special place in my heart. For a little car that got no love, and went though it all, it never would give up. Heart of a champion…*sniffle*.
10.6.06In the Hospital
I thought I’d get on here and post a blog about how I was in the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday.
For all of you that didn’t know that I was in the hospital, I went there because I woke up with a quick heartrate and it didn’t go away. So, I had Matt take me to the emergency room. After about an hour of trying to slow it back down, they decided that I should do a Synchronized Electrical Cardioversion. You can check it out at: http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2968.htm
I’m doing a lot better now. I had to go to work about 3 hours after I was released from the hospital, but luckily it was training and I didn’t have to do much.
Now the plan is to see an Electrophisiologist to talk about doing a procedure called an Electrophisiology Study. You can check that out here: http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHealth/hub_heart/preps01.cfm
Hope all of this clues you in on what’s going on in my life right now! Love you all!
well its live….
welp Biebs’ World is now live so update your bookmarks and rss feeds!
however after doing research its im possible to import comments from wordpress =(
08.14.06The happy and the sad.
Well if anyone doesn’t know. Andrea got a new job. Hooray! She’s going to be a customer service rep. for Cingular Wireless (I think that’s the company). So she’ll be working the phones and stuff. She’s pretty excited about it, and I’m happy for her. But maybe she can tell you a little more about that job. I don’t know much about it.
But I do know that she’s going to be working nights. And since I’m working days, we’re going to see a lot less of each other. I’m not too crazy about that, but it’s a good opportunity for her. I think everyone can attest to working nights and weekends at somepoint, because you just have to. Just too bad I’m not working nights too. So if I seem bummed out at times these next few weeks, it’s probably just me going through Andrea withdrawls. =)
But wish her the best! I know it’s going to be hard juggling 30ish hours a week and go to school full time. So say a prayer for her too! I’m going to try to help out around the house and running errands so she can at least have some free time, but the prayers couldn’t hurt!
07.6.06New Blog Service!
Alright, I have complained about how much Blogger has sucked for a long time. Well, no more! I’ve moved my site to a new host called WordPress. It’s completely seperate from Blogger, so you’ll have to set up a new account before you can post comments, etc. If you need any help, e-mail, IM, or call me. It’s a little work for now, but I think it will be much better than Blogger in the long run.
finally moved…
finally ive gotten completly moved and i have internet once again …YAY!!!!!!
The Toronado Caliente
The “upgrade” from Lil Brudder. Here it is. A 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado Caliente.
It was the top of the line Oldsmobile in late 1984-1985. In the class of “Personal Luxury” cars including the Buick Riviera, Ford Thunderbird, and Cadillac Eldorado. Infact when I first drove it to work, everyone thought it was a Cadillac.
What does a 21 year old car of this calibur cost? $625.
First, the drawbacks. (The reason it was $625).
-It has 196,000 miles. Yikes! Though from what I’ve heard of the Toronados, the transmissions are nearly industructible, and lots of them last over 300,000 miles. Plus for me! And it looks like it doesn’t leak a drop of transmission fluid.
-It’s in bad need of a paint job. The paint is wearing thin and there a little bit of surface rust in places, and some significant rust behind the rear wheels. Though nothing that isn’t repairable. I’m hoping to actually get it fixed sometime soon. I can fix most of the rust myself except the rust in the rear.
-It’s 21 years old.
Outside of that, there’s not a whole lot wrong with the car. The engine runs solid, shifts smooth. It needs new front tires in a few thousand miles. The tires in the rear look almost new.
The AC doesn’t work, but it’s been updated to the new R134a standard instead of the old Freon which you can’t get anymore. So the AC is certianly fixable at a reasonable cost.
This really was a luxury car for it’s day. It’s got power doors, windows, seats, locks, and an auto dimming rearview mirror for driving at night. Leather seats, a digital dashboard, and a Bose sound system. The speakers sound really good, but it needs a new stereo in the dash.
All in all, yeah, it’s got a lot of miles, but the thing is running solid. No major leaks, and I think I got a great deal for $625.
Take a look at the pictures. It’s not the sexiest car ever, but with a little TLC, it’s gonna be a sweet ride.
EDIT: 07/10/09
Well this post has been getting a lot of traffic lately, so I though I would update with a few more recent pictures. Lots of work since that day!
Traveled back to the now defunct dealership where the car was originally sold in Quinter, KS.
04.20.06
I bought a car!
Pictures forthcoming.
It’s a 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado. It’s certianly a boat. =) More on this and other stories at noon.
04.9.06returning to the old…
well after three years im returning to the business of radio i had an interview with Eagle Radio Inc. here in hays and they offered me the job right on the spot. so in may i start parttime on the weekends board oping the royals games and also doing some voice tracking . hopfully ultimatly leading into a live air spot.
now i just need to come up with an alias…..?