Trouble is I hate buying foreign. Other trouble is I hate stuffing thousands of dollars into my car's cake hole to make it happy.

Trouble #2 > Trouble #1. Ergo, yo quiero Japanese.

We almost got a magnificent 25k 2005 Corolla the other day. The sales guy was talking up how he had 14.5 sales already, it was the end of the month, and he really wanted to get our business/make us a good deal/blah blah. Leaving aside my wondering what a .5 sale is, he seemed desperate, said he'd give me 3,000 to 3,500 for my 1995 Buick with 114,000 miles on it, and "make us happy."

We spent two hours at that car lot test driving 3 cars. He stayed in the back seat. Zimbrick people don't do that shit.

When it came time to financing, I figured he wouldn't reverse-engineer reality. Oh how I was wrong. See, we weren't getting a 3,500 trade in. 3,500 had already been deducted from some magical price, 17k, and brought it down to the sticker price. Being such a nice guy, Buck then said we could get the blue book price for my car in excellent condition (which is really is not).

So already this asshole is lying to me.

It got ugly. Like a light-switch, he went from being rather affable to a completely aggressive asshole. Emily and I insisted that we came in looking for a car with certain specs, that he'd made this and this offer, etc. I decided to play it that I'd misunderstood him. I damn well knew he was trying to screw us. I knew this when, as his second push, he decided to write down:

1) What he SAID he was going to give the car over for (10.9k)

2) What the actual reduced price would be (12.9k)

That's a year's worth of payments. Granted I'll be making more money later on with a second fellowship, but this douche had lied to me. And kept lying to me.

I should have just walked out instead of expecting him to go down lower on the price. We were emphatic. But according to a likely false sheet of his, 12.9k was what the dealership had paid for the car.

The funny thing is, that too must be bullshit. He'd cited the original price as 16.9k. He gave Emily the blue book printout for the car "just to show us", and the thing said it was 15.1!

So somehow they bought the car for 1.8k more than the standard blue book price? Are they fucking morons?

Yes, he was an asshole and the recipient of a fine letter stating that not only will I never buy a car from them, I will go out of my way to tell everyone I know to NEVER buy a car from them. If I had the time, I'd file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Anyway, Emily and I are going to Milwaukee on Saturday to look at some Corollas and a Honda Accord there. We've made it firm that we buy a car in Milwaukee. Frankly I don't think my Buick would survive the trip back.

* * *

Lab news: same old shit, different day.

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Other news: some old friends have been adding me on facebook. I haven't tried to look up anyone. Socializing with people other than my girlfriend, our mutual friends who are couples, and her friends isn't happening. I don't have a 'net connection or really the free time any place to do physical world shit.

* * *

I'm moderately less woeful than I was. Slightly more stressed out.

* * *

So I've been going to the gym recently on a trial membership. It's Cap Fitness, the same one Emily goes to. I discovered I enjoy running on treadmills. Over the last two weeks I've gradually increased how much I've run and how fast.

I'm not the bragging sort unless it'll land me a job. Just for the sake of posterity, though, I never would have thought I could run 9 miles in one go. I stopped last night at 9 because I was bored and wanted to write. No headphones makes a treadmill very hamster-like.

I'll be switching to the student gym right near work because: 1) it's free; 2) it's right near work. I'm not so keen on working out with undergrads, but it's free.

* * *

Back to work.

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