I'm in the midst of road trip planning. This is totally beyond my capabilities. I have to be in LA on June 12. I have to be in the Bay Area on June 14. We are going to Portland. Then on to Seattle. Then to Boise. And we have to be back hom on June 29th, pretty much.

Next up. Hotels. Any recs?

Just do it out of my way. I almost went off on a group at the movie theater tonight because they were taking too long to gather themselves too close to the butter/napkin/straw area. MOOOOOOOOVE.

I feel this way about people at Coffee Bean. And I get even ragier when they bring strollers in, because the space is so small.

That's pretty much how a former co worker of mine bought her car. I think she went to a couple of dealerships and walked away because she didn't like how they treated her or had what she wanted at the price she was willing to pay.

Then at the end of the month she got an email from a dealer and she got the car she wanted.

The last time I bought a car was in 1990.

I went on my own...major mistake...and ended up walking out 'on a $50 deal' because I didn't like the way I was being treated.

Do you know, that salesman called me THREE TIMES A DAY for two weeks...including weekends...before I threatened to call the police and have him arrested for harassment.

In the end, I copied the deal sheet from a male coworker who bought the identical car and demanded the same deal. The sales guy (different dealership obvs) was apoplectic. They STILL insisted on giving me a higher interest rate and explained that it was because "he had a family to support" (which included a fully employed wife)

I wish I was me now, then. If I knew then, what I know now, a ruckus would have ensued, I kid you not.

I walked out of a dealership before buying my second car because the salesman tried to pressure me with a deal that would go away if I took some time to think it over/comparison shop. What's your commision on $0, dude?

I fucking can't stand that shit.

Are you going to have any time to see people, Kat?

I'm a freak, I love buying cars.

I also tend to research the crap out of them and walk in knowing more about the car and the pricing that most of the sales managers.

The work truck that I leased least year was a bunch of research and then a ton of online work and when I contacted the dealership via email I gave them the price I wanted and even their inventory code for the precise truck I wanted.

It ended with about 15 minutes on the phone setting the deal and then drove down tot he dealership and signed the papers.

Which is probably a huge difference in walking into a dealership as a man and a woman. I've walked out of a lot of dealerships. Actually bought my car from a non-preferred dealership because the preferred place salesperson was a jerk and wouldn't consider my offer saying they didn't have that car. And then I drove over and watched my car get loaded and moved to the dealership that did listen to me. I jusy followed the car for 15 miles and bought it there.

I hate buying a car. I like planning but wrangling with dealerships bites with breasts. People ae rude and dismissive.

In other news, FUCK. We have fleas. How do we have fleas? Our cats are both strictly indoor-only. Guess I know what we're doing this weekend. Except that I also have a big freelance project to finish this weekend, that is already going to take up most of my time. Argh.

Borax. 20 Mule Team Borax on all floors. And most surfaces.

It is much worse being a woman buying a car, I've seen that too many times.

I've also had dealerships just be jerks and crazy. I have no patience for it and will do one of two things. Usually I just walk out.

However, if I have nothing better to do that day, I'll see how much time I can waste. I'll let the deal get all the way to contract, then "change" my mind and walk out of the finance office. If a dealership is going to jerk me around, then I can certainly pay that back by wasting their time. The worst thing I did was with a particularly bad dealership that was trying to pull a bait and switch on me. I went back about a week later to "buy" the car. I made sure i walked in about 1 hour before closing, let the deal go far enough along that they were keeping finance open late to get the contract put together, then I excused myself to use the bathroom, and walked out of the dealership.

Yes, I know. I'm a bit of an ass.