Okay. Apparently I Can Still Do This
Oct. 24th, 2019 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddy_radiatorGot my final beta review back from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stgulik last night for my ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sshg_giftfest fic. I was biting a few nails I can tell ya. To my unbounded relief and delight, she enjoyed it and said it was good (I mean, she was a bit more demonstrative than that, but some of her remarks might give the game away a bit), and I went to sleep last night incredibly happy.
There is a cloud in this silver lining; I am already getting paranoid about turning it in. What if my formatting screws up again? I think the mods allow .doc files, but after the last debacle a few years back, I am worried that I'll mess up again. Fortunately I think the mods are much more forgiving at giftfest Central.
This fic is important to me, because it has really helped boost my confidence. I was convinced I had ran out of words. And I'm happy with it myself, so it has accomplished all I hoped it would. I am just hoping I can get it to the mods in one readable piece.
I suppose our biggest news is that TheHubs™ and I purchased a brand new car last Friday. We've been talking for awhile about trading in our Mazda6. To be honest, it was a pretty reliable car, but when we got it nearly 6 years ago, we felt railroaded into getting it because we were desperate for a car and they would only finance this one, and between you and me, we weren't sure that old van of ours would even make it home. Bargaining power had we none.
This time we were a lot more confident, and I had seen an ad about this big sale our local KIA was having last weekend, so we traipsed over there, paperwork in hand, to test drive some 2019s they said they were desperate to get rid of before the 2020's came in. Turns out, 2020's were really all they had. We had gone with no expectation of buying a brand new car. But there they were, showing us a blinding array of KIA Souls in a variety of colours (well, six colours to be exact). I looked at the strange orange/burgundy/burnt umber coloured ones, and said, "Let's drive this one!"
They actually had two - one with black interior and one with beige, which I have to say, looked yummy, but the thought of trying to keep a light interior clean made me break out in hives, so dark interior it was.
We really liked it, but sitting in the showroom during hour 4 (you know how they keep you in there for days), we discussed that there was no way they could stay in our budget. I wanted to go a little lower, but in the end, we decided we would stick to what we are paying now. They told us that they 'got the price down to the bone', and it was still $15 a month over our budget. I asked if we could at least look at the 2019s, as that's what the ad used to entice us to the dealership, and the salesman said, "Let me just check on what we have."
I know he actually went out of the office, counted to ten, then rushed back in, saying, "Congratulations! We were able to get the new car down to your budget!"
I thanked him for working so hard on our behalf.
Anyway, it's a lovely KIA Soul, with 20 whole miles on it when we drove out of the dealership that night (It now has over 600 - we drive a LOT), and our monthly payments are no higher than what we were already paying for our 2012 Mazda (emphasising all the more just how much we overpayed for it). Our insurance isn't even going up that much - about $10 per month more than our current premium.
I wanted to call it Hazel, but TheHubs™ vetoed that right off (doesn't she look all homey and sweet like a Hazel?) We had a Facebook contest asking folks to help us pick a name, and we eventually settled on Cinammon, or Cinna, or Sin for short. We did have some great suggestions:
It's pretty loaded, though not the super equipped model, but still with enough goodies and gadgets to keep me occupied. I'm still trying to get the hang of the media system, which is still a bit baffling to me.
stgulik last night for my sshg_giftfest fic. I was biting a few nails I can tell ya. To my unbounded relief and delight, she enjoyed it and said it was good (I mean, she was a bit more demonstrative than that, but some of her remarks might give the game away a bit), and I went to sleep last night incredibly happy. There is a cloud in this silver lining; I am already getting paranoid about turning it in. What if my formatting screws up again? I think the mods allow .doc files, but after the last debacle a few years back, I am worried that I'll mess up again. Fortunately I think the mods are much more forgiving at giftfest Central.
This fic is important to me, because it has really helped boost my confidence. I was convinced I had ran out of words. And I'm happy with it myself, so it has accomplished all I hoped it would. I am just hoping I can get it to the mods in one readable piece.
I suppose our biggest news is that TheHubs™ and I purchased a brand new car last Friday. We've been talking for awhile about trading in our Mazda6. To be honest, it was a pretty reliable car, but when we got it nearly 6 years ago, we felt railroaded into getting it because we were desperate for a car and they would only finance this one, and between you and me, we weren't sure that old van of ours would even make it home. Bargaining power had we none.
This time we were a lot more confident, and I had seen an ad about this big sale our local KIA was having last weekend, so we traipsed over there, paperwork in hand, to test drive some 2019s they said they were desperate to get rid of before the 2020's came in. Turns out, 2020's were really all they had. We had gone with no expectation of buying a brand new car. But there they were, showing us a blinding array of KIA Souls in a variety of colours (well, six colours to be exact). I looked at the strange orange/burgundy/burnt umber coloured ones, and said, "Let's drive this one!"
They actually had two - one with black interior and one with beige, which I have to say, looked yummy, but the thought of trying to keep a light interior clean made me break out in hives, so dark interior it was.
We really liked it, but sitting in the showroom during hour 4 (you know how they keep you in there for days), we discussed that there was no way they could stay in our budget. I wanted to go a little lower, but in the end, we decided we would stick to what we are paying now. They told us that they 'got the price down to the bone', and it was still $15 a month over our budget. I asked if we could at least look at the 2019s, as that's what the ad used to entice us to the dealership, and the salesman said, "Let me just check on what we have."
I know he actually went out of the office, counted to ten, then rushed back in, saying, "Congratulations! We were able to get the new car down to your budget!"
I thanked him for working so hard on our behalf.
Anyway, it's a lovely KIA Soul, with 20 whole miles on it when we drove out of the dealership that night (It now has over 600 - we drive a LOT), and our monthly payments are no higher than what we were already paying for our 2012 Mazda (emphasising all the more just how much we overpayed for it). Our insurance isn't even going up that much - about $10 per month more than our current premium.
I wanted to call it Hazel, but TheHubs™ vetoed that right off (doesn't she look all homey and sweet like a Hazel?) We had a Facebook contest asking folks to help us pick a name, and we eventually settled on Cinammon, or Cinna, or Sin for short. We did have some great suggestions:
It's pretty loaded, though not the super equipped model, but still with enough goodies and gadgets to keep me occupied. I'm still trying to get the hang of the media system, which is still a bit baffling to me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2019-10-25 02:29 am (UTC)Yay for new cars! But my goodness, the games they play with you are ridiculous. I need a new car, but I just keep putting it off for that very reason.
So glad you’re happy with your fic. Because happy, confident authors continue to write long after the fest is over. Right? 😀
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:45 pm (UTC)The fic is as good as I can make it. It had a pretty specific prompt list, and I hope I've given the recipient what they want. It does help to prime the pump as well for Book 3 of my original stuff.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-25 04:53 am (UTC)and I am so happy you are content with your fic! i am on the edge of my seat in anticipation!!
so lovely to see you posting, i need to do that myself. i've been quite remiss :P
xoxoxox
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:46 pm (UTC)I cannot WAIT to see your gift. It is a very lucky recipient whose name is given to you.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-25 06:57 pm (UTC)I'm tickled your
This fic is important to me, because it has really helped boost my confidence. I was convinced I had ran out of words. And I'm happy with it myself, so it has accomplished all I hoped it would. I am just hoping I can get it to the mods in one readable piece. It's music to my ears!
XOXOXO
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:48 pm (UTC)I was ecstatic at
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 03:43 pm (UTC)Lovely piece of Sin you've got there. :D You can't beat a brand new car. New tires, new brakes, new battery, new fluids... it really is an economy overall. Congrats!
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:50 pm (UTC)We are so enjoying our new car! The old one was very reliable, but it was starting to need work. It needed new brake pads, and had this wheel wobble that we couldn't quite get fixed. I don't miss that at all!
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:29 pm (UTC)(PS. Have no worries about formatting for gift_fest - we will be happy to work with you to make sure it looks the way you want!)
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 06:51 pm (UTC)Just to clarify, I have broken it up into four parts. I just mail you each part by name (Part one, Part two, etc). in the same email?
no subject
Date: 2019-10-27 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-03 03:19 am (UTC)