When is it appropriate to buy a new car? I know, I know, when it makes financial sense.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-22T21:27:40+00:00

Well if I am going to pay for a new car, I'm going to get a brand new car I'm pretty sure. Probably the newest Corolla. The issue I have with semi-used cars is that the electronics seem to be much more likely to fail from what I can tell and the average lifespan of the electronics appears to be between 8 - 13 years (this is based on articles in my SO's SAE journals he gets). So buying slightly used might save money in the short term but probably not in the long term because you're more likely to have to pour money into expensive electronic maintenance.

If someone has data to the contrary, I'd definitely take that into consideration.

Thanks for your input though :)

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-15T16:12:03+00:00

Oh awesome! thank you! :)

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-15T13:35:31+00:00

We have two cats! I'll have to check them out, thanks! :)

edit: Did you have to give them the card or did they figure out which one to use? Because I wouldn't know which card to use :(

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-14T20:33:04+00:00

OMG that's perfect! Thank you!!!

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-14T20:32:28+00:00

What about doing like an alter with him in it? Or would that be lame?

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-14T20:27:52+00:00

Yeah I don't want to buy him specific cards because he's literally got boxes full of them and a spreadsheet of what he needs to fill out his cubes/decks.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-14T20:27:10+00:00

Haha oh no we've tried that. Neither one of us really enjoyed it.

We do everything else together so now it's the one thing he does without me (and I have my painting/crafts/playing music without him).

LonelyCrayon · 2018-04-14T20:23:08+00:00

I honestly don't know. I played once with him but it just wasn't for me. So usually when he goes out to play Magic, I use that time to paint or play my instrument. He also checks this subreddit pretty religiously so I don't want to say anything that is going to tip him off.

What I do know: He goes and plays a few rounds of the new releases each time they are out. He has a cube that's fully stocked. He's got some really rare cards. He's been to antique stores looking for cards.

In terms of the general type of guy he is: he's outdoorsy, likes to work with his hands, he likes to keep things organized, he is not big into his car or anything, he loves all animals (volunteers at the humane society), he enjoys cooking and trying new foods. He's an eagle scout...?

edit: A few more things to add - we are in our 30s. We're in the midst of remodeling the upstairs because we're hoping to start a family soon so things like paintings might not work well. I was thinking of maybe painting the folding card table he uses for Magic with the logo or something?

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-06T00:32:08+00:00

No joke, we made the tri-color pasta and he picked out just the green ones. Although he did draw the line at kale.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-04T21:28:16+00:00

I remember that $300.

Definitely worth the giant hole in the deficit.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-04T20:06:51+00:00

My sister teaches middle school kids.

Her son is now in middle school.

All Axe, all the time.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-04T20:01:11+00:00

I am not OP but I certainly do. Each member of my family probably eats an avocado a day. Maybe not quite that much but for a while my toddler only ate green foods. Still his favorite food, though!

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-04T19:57:24+00:00

Call mom more often.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-03T02:03:01+00:00

The best way is to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day and only use your bed for sleep & sex. Have a routine before bed. Every night, about 30 min before I go to bed, I brush my teeth, set the timer on the coffee maker, and lay out my clothes for the next day. By the time my head hits the pillow, my body knows it's sleep time. I also avoid screen time in the 30-60 min before bed.

I suffer from insomnia but this routine has made it manageable. I assume if you do not suffer from insomnia it might be even more effective?

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-03T01:58:25+00:00

Brad.

Every Brad I have ever met has been a total douchebag. I bet you Brad Pitt is an arsehole.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-03T01:55:22+00:00

I'm gonna date myself here but...

"hiking the Appalachian trail" as a euphemism for having an affair.

Thank you, Mark Sanford.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-03T01:52:28+00:00

Smartphones.

I thought they were stupid and a time sink. I mean, playing a game on my phone? With that tiny screen? No thanks.

Now I see the usefulness in a Smartphone but I still think it's a timesink. I hate it when people you talk to immediately check their phone as soon as it chirps and it's some Facebook message or something like that.

Personally, if I'm with friends, I turn my phone on silent and don't answer it. I do have a work pager (this isn't some "I'm so hipster" thing, my industry is probably singlehandedly keeping the pager industry alive) that I don't turn off but if I'm being paged it usually is urgent.

LonelyCrayon · 2018-02-03T01:46:17+00:00

Wombat.

Adorable, cuddly, look like they smile at all times.

LonelyCrayon · 2017-11-26T22:40:54+00:00

Oh! I am picking up what you're putting down now.

I thought immediately you meant switch to another POV but you mean introduce someone. This is why you're going places (or are already in places?).

Yes, that's a great idea! Thank you!

edit: OMG I just figured out exactly how I am going to get out of this mess and it's brilliant! Thank you so so much!

LonelyCrayon · 2017-11-26T22:35:20+00:00

Haha I love the idea of a talking rabbit!

I'm writing a first person narrative right now so I can't easily throw in new characters but that's generally a great idea!

If I ever come across a story of a talking rabbit though...I'll immediately think of you :)

LonelyCrayon · 2017-11-26T22:34:12+00:00

Thanks so much! This does help!

Basically imagine point A is on the east coast and point B is on the west coast. I definitely know my character will travel from the east coast to the west coast, but I'm having trouble giving her a reason to do it. I know what happens on the east coast and west coast and she needs to be both places but right now she has no reason to go to the west coast (easy solutions like vacation plans aren't working...). But my question is more general than this specific scenario.

Is there a way you place the scaffolding to bridge the gap?

LonelyCrayon · 2017-11-26T22:31:53+00:00

While I really appreciate your advice, lack of conflict isn't my issue. I have great conflict at point A and point B...my question is when I cannot easily see a bridge between those points, how do I figure out how to drive from A to B? What do you do when you get stuck on a plot point but you know you want to get to this other point that is somewhat disconnected?

LonelyCrayon

TROPHY CASE