First world problems! Share them here!

[apl68]

Because I've felt so limited this summer (due to illness and domestic construction projects), I've found myself looking at a lot of vacation YT pages. Particularly cruises lately. I wish that I were retired (or independently wealthy) and had more flexibility in traveling somewhere. Obviously, there are still plenty of good places to travel during the breaks, but it'd be nice to be able to go somewhere in September! Or April!

Mr Y'all loves to watch first class airplane and train videos. He's all about the journey, not the destination.

Yes! I watched an Orient Express video that was so nice!!!

I saw one of those.  It featured Albert Finney as Poirot.

[secundem_artem]

Everyone will be relieved to know that I figured out how to sync the receiver to just my toothbrush, and then I got the app, and it kept only my toothbrushing sessions.  I have a perfect record again.  However, the toothbrush now has access to my phone, so if my posts start sounding strange or to heavily promote dental hygiene and a particular brand of relevant products, a Turing test may be in order.

The internet of things sounds wonderful until Al Qaeda re-programs your toilet to flow in reverse.

[ergative]

I saw this article about Skittles being toxic and realized that I'll need to replenish my stock of office snacks, now that I'm working on campus more regularly. Somehow I don't think that was the intended takeaway.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Of course, the Blackboard system we use is down! Today is the last day of my online exam and I wanted to finish my grades.

[dismalist]

Because I've felt so limited this summer (due to illness and domestic construction projects), I've found myself looking at a lot of vacation YT pages. Particularly cruises lately. I wish that I were retired (or independently wealthy) and had more flexibility in traveling somewhere. Obviously, there are still plenty of good places to travel during the breaks, but it'd be nice to be able to go somewhere in September! Or April!

Mr Y'all loves to watch first class airplane and train videos. He's all about the journey, not the destination.

Yes! I watched an Orient Express video that was so nice!!!

I saw one of those.  It featured Albert Finney as Poirot.

Greetings to Mr. Y'all! I too love train videos, probably to the point of mental illness. We're called railfans.

Murder on the  Orient Express [1974] is the best.

The most fabulous real life train ride I ever had was from Bologna in Italy to Vienna in Austria. There had been flooding with tracks washed away. The train was diverted along a circuitous route, taking approximately double the scheduled time. Of course, and this is a personal piffle, after traveling in the sleeper the first night, I rode in the dining car much of the rest of the way, ordering small bottles of wine, and lots of them!:-)

To sum up the feeling, nothing better than to refer to Edna St. Vincent Millay's

Travel [1921]

The railroad track is miles away,
    And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
    But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
    Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
    And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
    And better friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
    No matter where it's going.

[mamselle]

Thank you. Yes.

She wrote those last lines for me!!!!!!

Especially after a visit to Europe, where I've done nearly all my gallivanting by rail.

I'd get home, walk past my local train station, and feel this magnetic p-u-l-l-l-llllllll to go in and get on a train, any train, I didn't care where it was going or for how long, just wantedtobeona train.....

Nothing else like it.

M.

[ergative]

Thank you. Yes.

She wrote those last lines for me!!!!!!

Especially after a visit to Europe, where I've done nearly all my gallivanting by rail.

I'd get home, walk past my local train station, and feel this magnetic p-u-l-l-l-llllllll to go in and get on a train, any train, I didn't care where it was going or for how long, just wantedtobeona train.....

Nothing else like it.

M.

I love Millay so, so much. Her sonnet about Bluebeard is superb. But I don't share the sentiment of that poem, especially if it's updated for the modern era. For me, it's more

   There's no plane in hell I'd ever take
   No matter where it's going.

For trains, I'm a little more

    There's occasionally a train I'd take
    If I really liked where it's going

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I need to buy a car and I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

[Langue_doc]

I need to buy a car and I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

It sounds more intimidating than it really is. As long as you know what you want, and how much you want to spend, you can find all the information online, including Carfax reports on used cars. I bought my current car, used, three years ago from a dealer after looking up Edmonds (I think) and also checking the inventory and the carfax reports of the cars listed by the dealers of the make I wanted.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

All of the new cars I've been looking in to are 'in transit.' It could take a month for them to show up at a dealership and I've already talked to three. So, now I'm looking into used cars. It's a real shitshow.

[ergative]

I'm moving in two weeks and my new address doesn't get the same fiber internet service as my current address. I'm not a gamer or anything so I don't know if dropping from 30mps to 18 mps will really matter, but my new place is farther from campus so I'd like to work from home more, and I use zoom kind of a lot.

[statsgeek]

I've been doing the same online daily crossword for 10+ years and suddenly the site wants to charge me for a subscription to continue?  Really?  I didn't complain when the ads got more and more impossible to avoid...

[Langue_doc]

All of the new cars I've been looking in to are 'in transit.' It could take a month for them to show up at a dealership and I've already talked to three. So, now I'm looking into used cars. It's a real shitshow.

That sounds depressing. Good luck with your search.

[apl68]

New motorcycles are impossible to find as well.  You can't even get a decent scooter right now.  I guess I'll just be riding a bicycle from this time on.

[paultuttle]

All of the new cars I've been looking in to are 'in transit.' It could take a month for them to show up at a dealership and I've already talked to three. So, now I'm looking into used cars. It's a real shitshow.

My process, for what it's worth:

(1) Determine what body style you need (minivan, wagon, hatchback, sedan with trunk, whatever).

(2) Identify (via edmunds.com or other similar websites) the most reliable/safest/best value for $ in that particular body style. (If you're not sure what other websites offer that information, look up "2012 Chevrolet Impala reviews" or similar using a search engine like Google.)

(3) Make a list of "must-have" attributes. Make another list of "good to have" attributes. Make a third list of "OK if it has it." If necessary, make a list of "Don't want it/don't need it." (You'll need those lists to search for likely prospects and narrow down the field.)

(4) Use autotrader.com, cars.com, cargurus.com, and/or similar sites to search for the make/model/year range/mileage range/price range/nearness to your location you want along with the attributes from the "must-have" list. (Remember that 100K+ miles these days is much better condition, usually, than 100K+ miles were just a decade ago. That said, look for fewer owners, lower or highway miles, no or very minor accidents, pictures of vehicles with few or no obvious flaws, etc.) Try to narrow the field to 10-15 vehicles in a comfortably driveable radius around your location.

(5) After narrowing down the field, start making calls/appointments, visiting dealerships, and making test drives. (Don't be surprised if a vehicle that many other people might find desirable is unavailable the afternoon after you see it on the dealer's website that morning; yes, that happened to me two weeks ago.) N.B.: Some dealerships may allow you to take the vehicle to a reputable mechanic nearby (your choice of mechanic, not theirs) for a preliminary inspection before buying; ask if there's a process for doing this with any vehicle(s) you've decided on after a test drive.

Hoping this is helpful.....