Dear Car Dealership

Dear Dealership,

Let me tell you a few things about your customers.

First, not all customers that come to you will let you push them around.  Some of us really do want to do research about a vehicle before we drop a large sum of money to purchase it.  Some of us may like your options as well as options somewhere else.  Don't hate us for that.  Again, we are just trying to research our options to make sure we get the best vehicle for a great price.  When we say we are just getting a starting point,  believe us.  When we tell you that our goal for the day is to decide which SUV drives the best and which SUV is within our budget,  believe us.  Don't try to push us into either one.  It's our future car!  Let us make that decision on our own!

Second, we know that your sales guys are going to be a bit pushy.  That's their job.  That's ok.  What is not ok is that I left your lot 5 hours ago and I've already had three phone calls from you.  That's right, three!  This does not make me feel good about my experience.  What it does is creep me out, annoy me and make me wonder why you have to call your customers three times in 5 hours?  I have been nice all three times.  I have given you the same information all three times.  I have explained to you that we want to purchase sometime this summer and that when we are ready we will return.  Trust me!  I promise that calling me over and over will not make me want to return but rather push me to another dealership to purchase the same vehicle I could have purchase from you.  If you call again today I can't promise that I will be very nice.  I will probably be snippy with you.  Sorry! 

Third, don't tell me that a particular model coast xxxxx amount of money when I have a quote on the SAME SUV at another dealership for 8,000 dollars less.  You also shouldn't gawk at me when I tell you this and tell me I must be wrong.  I promise you I'm not.  I also promise you that I won't buy the vehicle if you aren't willing to come down on your ridiculous price.  I know you have to make money, but I'm not allowing you to get away with robbery!  You'll come down or I won't buy!  It's that easy!

Fourth, if I tell you I'm looking for a practical level vehicle in the terms of "perks" don't put me in a luxury model.  I don't need to pay 5,000 extra dollars to talk to my car and have it do stuff.  I am capable of pushing a button if I want more/less air!  Putting me in this car just makes me mad because you aren't listening to what I told you about my spending budget!  I already explained to you that my husband and I are both teachers and that we don't have 40 grand to spend on a car that will not be worth that the second we drive it off the lot.  Listen to your customer!  Find a vehicle that fits their needs/budget.  Don't force them to join the American dream of being very in debt just to have fancy gadgets that they don't need.  My husband and I don't operate that way!  We would prefer not being in debt for the rest of our lives.

Finally, I can promise you that if I do buy one of your SUV's I will get it from a different lot.  Probably the one that quoted me the vehicle of my dreams for 8,000 dollars less than what you said was the lowest option.  Maybe they will treat me better than you did today. 

Your very annoyed customer,
    Carissa

Flat Tire

On Friday I was planning to walk out the door as close to 3:05 as possible.  We were planning to head out of town to spend the weekend at Tim's parents house and we wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible.  Well, I walked out the door around 3:30 (I can never get out of that place on time) and hopped in the car.  I put Ellie in reverse and hmmm?  What was that odd sound?  Oh well!  I have places to be. . .

Then, I got out to the "circle" and ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. . .

Yeah, that's a flat tire. 

Here's the deal.  The "circle" is NOT a good part of town.  I teach in a very hostile neighborhood.  There are a lot of not so go things that happen in the neighborhood.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my school.  I love teaching in this type of area.  I have found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my life.  That said, I don't want to be broken down in this area, alone!  My solution, keep driving and pray I make it to the gas station an eighth of a mile down the road.  ba-dum, ba-dump, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I pull in and by the time I park my car near the air pump I'm just happy to be off the road.  My tire is gone.  Fully shredded.  I don't think the air will help! 

I call Tim who is still at school teaching.  Like all good teachers his phone is on silent and he isn't answering.  So I call again, and again, and again, and again thinking that eventually he'll realize that it's a real emergency and I'm stranded at a gas station in a not so great part of town. 

In a panic I call the girls I work with who were conveniently at a goodbye party across the street.  So there we are.  Three women changing a tire at a gas station.  Did I mention it was pouring the rain? 

I felt so bad!  The girls were soaked and they still had to go back to the party!

While we were changing the tire nearly 20 men walked past.  None of which asked if we needed help or if they could call someone for us.  2 did ask me what time it was though.  I guess they heard me calling my husband in a panic and knew that in my crisis I had a phone which also had the time.  *sigh*  What has the world come to that a MAN doesn't offer to help a woman in distress? 

Needless to say we didn't need any men!  We got the tire changed and my wonderful husband who was 40 minutes away located a new tire and had it paid for and waiting for me when I made it to him nearly an hour later. 

He's a winner! 

I've mentioned that my car is falling apart before my very eyes.  We are currently on the hunt for a new car.  Actually, a new SUV, so if you have any advice we are all ears! 

Freedom

For the last 3 weeks I have been grad school free.

I can't even begin to explain the feeling that surrounds not having homework, papers, projects, readings or observation forms to complete.  It is freeing, but that doesn't even begin to describe the past few weeks. 

The last two weekends have been a blur.  Last weekend we left early Friday afternoon to head to my parents house to celebrate my graduation.  We arrived home late Sunday.  This week was testing at school and I've had a massive case of allergy issues.  Friday we left after school (that is after replacing my flat tire) to head to Tim's parents house for the annual Wix shoot.  We just arrived home an hour or so ago.  Shew!  Tired!

With that said, none of this would have been possible if I were still in grad school.  I think I keep waiting for the "next" class to begin.  It's slowly starting to sink in that this chapter is over.  Like so many others it has come and gone with only a few (many) tears.  :-)

I am so thankful that I can enjoy my weekends again.  I have a million diy projects that I can't wait to start.  New decor for our home that we've almost lived in a year (holy cow) and I have only partially enjoyed.  A hunt for a new car since mine is falling apart.  Oh, and spending time with my hubs doing things we both enjoy and haven't had time to do for the past 4 years.

Ahhh, life without grad school is going to be great! 

Oh Baby!

Today a child asked my friend a very funny question about her baby belly.  Here is the conversation.  I hope you smile as much as I did. 

boy: How did that baby get in there?

friend: You should ask you mom that question!

boy: I already know and it is GROSS!

friend: (laughing) Well if you already knew why did you ask?

boy: (Looks at friend like "eww!  I know what what you did!"  Shrugs his shoulders and walks away.) 


I laughed till I fell over!!! 

I Made It!

The day finally arrived.  You are looking at a young teacher who has received her Masters of Arts Education as a Reading and Writing Specialist!  It took two full years, 10 courses, 1 research proposal, countless papers and projects, hundreds of hours, 80 chat sessions, 200 hours of observation/teaching and mounds of tears to arrive at this point...but I am here!

And it feels good!

When I started this journey I had one major goal.  Sure, I wanted a degree and a pay raise, but that wasn't the main goal.  My main goal was to graduate with a 4.0.  For some that may seem crazy.  Some may say that a 3.95 is JUST as good as a 4.0.  To those who think that, I agree.  You see, I'm not the greatest student in the world.  I struggled through school.  I have a hard time.  Hence the reason I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.  So I set out on a journey to maintain a 4.0 in graduate school.  This was not an easy task considering the fact that I was teaching full time at a very challenging school. 

I walked across the stage on Saturday with my 4.0 in hand.  I was also 1 of 12 graduate students who were inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi honor society.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to sound like I'm boasting or that I think I'm all that, but I am proud of my hard work and dedication to my program.

So, what does the future hold?  A VACATION!  More to come on that later!  For now...enjoy this little pretty from Saturday!

Ellie and I after we received our diploma on Saturday!