jay | (no subject)

Amidst the illnesses, refinances, home visits, and car purchase this week... I've had to scramble to keep up at work. The air traffic project is OK -- we met today and selected the winning research proposals for this year. But my new drilling automation project is concerning me. I'm hosting our first meeting... here, next Monday, all day. I don't have a room, no agenda, and I'm not sure what I'm going to present for three hours, let alone have finished my slides. And I'm running the meeting... I know I'm good, I can pull this off... but it is still stressful to contemplate, currently.

At least I won't have to worry about van repairs for the next few years... not only is it new, but I also bought an extended warranty (7 years) covering everything but tires. And a four-year service contract covering routine maintenance, like brakes and oil changes and wiper blades. So I can budget...

The car itself is an iridescent blue-silver with slightly purple tones... grey leather inside. Not a luxury, that, given what my three messy kids do to cloth upholstery. Built in Canada, at Oakville, Ontario. A handling-stabilization system with 10 sensors and a tiny gyro, with software monitoring handling and applying dynamic compensation to keep the car stable and in firm contact with the road. A proximity-sensor set on the rear bumper -- it beeps faster as it approaches an object (like a kid on the sidewalk). And full-curtain side airbags, along the sides all the way back to the 3rd row of seats. A built-in break-in alarm, too. And the rear bench seat folds flat into the floor, leaving a large rear carpeted space, large enough for sleeping bags... or sheets of plywood.

Sigh. New toy syndrome, just before Christmas. Problem is, it *is* bright-and-shiny... (wry grin).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

the suspense is still killing me...what kind of a car is it?
i now know everything about it except how many cup holders it has and it's make and model!!!!!!

never mind...
i went to pat's journal and read it there...somehow i missed that post yesterday!

I could bring it over and give you a ride, sometime... ;-)

just try and wrestle that brand new car away from pat.....
i'd love to see it sometime!

Oops... it's a 2004 Ford Freestar SEL (heh... ;) minivan, replacing our rickety red Windstar. Seven passenger, with two rows of bucket seats and a 3-person bench across the back. 4.2L overhead-valved V-6 with a 4-speed automatic. Separate headphone jacks and audio controls for the rear seats, so James can listen to his CDs while we have the radio on in front. And... (chuckle) nine cupholders (four in the front, two in the middle, and three in the back row).

What's the floor? Can you toss in wet & dirty kayaks, then hose it all down later? :>

s/kayaks/hockey sticks

Carpeted. So wet is okay, to a point, but not muddy... (grin) Now a kayak would fit OK on the roof rack...

I used to drive by that plant all the time, and did so again last month when visiting Jamie. Rows and rows of very shiny vans lined up outside waiting to get loaded on trains.