Good on you for bailing and taking care of yourself. Kitties are awfully good for hurty hearts.

We got a 2005, but it's new, so Saturn had about $5K in rebates to get it off the lot. Their sales tactics are so much more pleasant than the other dealers that it may have been worth the money

Wait til you have to deal with the service center. They are really good about explaining things. Honestly, they are the reason we own a third Saturn. We really like thier cars, but the garages are just really good. ( we had some major stupidity with the finace people - but we gave it to the customer service people and never spoke to the finace people again)

Daniel, I really think you should protest your firing, in writing, with your former employer, too.

I'll consider this. I'm sure a copy of my statement will be forwarded to my employer, as part of the inquiry to determine my eligibility for unemployment. Benefits do not come to those who are adjudged to be fired "for cause."

If it gets approved, I'll be getting a grand total of $212/week gross wages before taxes. Not even enough for my mortgage.

Whee.

It does come with the Muppet Show, right?

No. But it came with the DVD player. We asked for one without it, because we feel the kids watch enough TV (and since we got them PS2 for Christmas, there's already a new reason to be tied to the box), but they didn't have one available. To get the rebates we got, we had to take an on-the-lot 2005, so there are a lot of extras we never would have dreamed of ordering. It also comes with a year of On-Star (can't not get the On-Star) and there's a built in, voice activated phone in the car, with thirty free minutes, that wasn't optional.

We did a new minivan configuration for last weekend's trip. Middle seats removed and rear seat slid forward a bit. It was sort of like having a little living room behind the front seats, which is where the dog hung out.

We considered just getting a sedan, but with three kids, if we'd gotten a five seater, then we could never take an extra person with us, like for instance, my mother. Also, most five seaters are not going to be that comfortable as the kids get bigger. They're already crammed in any regular backseat. Ben is 5' and 100lbs at age 10 (in Jan. he'll turn 10). Julia's also tall for her age. Chris is between average and tall. The SUVs that fit us are too expensive, too gas-hoggy, and too big. The medium-to-small SUVs are all five seaters.

The Relay is configured with two bucket seats in the middle row, and the bench seat in the third row. The bench seat folds flat (but isn't stow-n-go) or it splits, for easier removal. The middle row seats can fold in half and be pushed forward 'til they're right behind the front seats, or can be removed entirely. I think the back bench does some tail-gatey thing too, but we looked at so many cars over the last two weeks, while Christmas shopping, that I can't even remember.

Ouch, Daniel. I hope you find something new fast.

Fay, she says you're Minty Pony. Lest you feel slighted, I should say that's her favorite pony, and has her own movie, "A Very Minty Christmas" wherein she gives away her socks, of which she has at least 3 dozen multi-colored and patterned pairs.

Don't ask Kara on my behalf, ok? If the intuitive little thing calls me a "Porny Pony" she's just going to be scarred for life.

Hee! I won't, Trudy. I'd hate for her to ask me what it means.

We considered just getting a sedan, but with three kids, if we'd gotten a five seater, then we could never take an extra person with us, like for instance, my mother.

It's hard to get around the minivan once you want to carry more than four people and want decent gas mileage.

In my little world it's all about me, but {{{juliana}} for her pain and hurting. Also for those who are suffering from snot monsters. Also {Daniel} for catching a bad break. Hopefully you'll find something better.

I was supposed to have a whole lot of work today, and everyone but the very first and very last bailed on me. Since I'm not exactly Miss Happy Camper today, I bailed on the last one. Would have been 5.5 hours of sitting around waiting for him, and, no. Instead I've got a kitty on my chest and am trying to distract myself here. Of course I should be cleaning, but fie on that, at least for the moment.

I think what you're going through qualifies you for guilt-free kitty time. Screw the cleaning. It's only going to get dirty again. You can catch the dirt the next time around.

Wait til you have to deal with the service center. They are really good about explaining things. Honestly, they are the reason we own a third Saturn. We really like thier cars, but the garages are just really good. ( we had some major stupidity with the finace people - but we gave it to the customer service people and never spoke to the finace people again)

Our salesman took us to the service center, and the parts department, today. I have never seen a cleaner dealership service center in my life. I would cook and eat in the service department.

We didn't have to deal with finance people, thank goodness. We used the (sad) settlement from the ins. company; Scott's bonus; a small cash gift from my mother (in lieu of Christmas presents); what savings we had, and put the rest on our home equity line of credit. The amount financed isn't actually that big. It changes a lot of plans, like how we're going to get the drain fixed on our bathtub (we have a shower in the other bathroom, so we're not being all dirty or anything, but still) and painting the kids' rooms and our room is now out. I'm not sure how we're going to meet the extra payment on the equity loan, but Scott said it's not a problem, so I'm playing 1950s wife willingly, and not bothering my pretty head about it. Fa la la la la la la la la.

We were going to have to buy a new car in a year or two, anyhow. We were hoping for the year or two more, and hoping that it would be the other car ('91 Corolla that has developed a weird leak) we'd get rid of, but we'll survive.

My f-i-l owns a Saturn and loves it, and the service. My cousin did own a Saturn (from the dealer we went through), and would buy another (but she fell in love with a Toyota Rav-4, I think before Saturn came out with its Vue). My aunt owned a Saturn and loved it.