No Relief

So I almost got on Monday night and blogged that it appeared my fears had been unmerited and New Orleans had been spared Hurricane Katrina's wrath. I decided not to because I didn't want to jinx the situation. Alas, one of the worst-case scenarios with the levy breach has come to pass and the pictures coming out New Orleans are devastating. Not to mention the basic leveling and devastation that the Gulfport Mississippi area seems to have suffered.

I've been trying to reconcile the horror stories with my simple, fortunate day-to-day existence at the moment -- in all its 9 hours of work with a lovely house to go home to, a yard to putter around in, and Felicity reruns to watch -- and it's just hard to really grasp the devastation down there. My prayers go out to all those who are stranded, awaiting rescue, without a home, or have lost someone in the last three days. I can't even grasp what it must be like. Watch enough news right now, and it will remind you that high gas prices are nothing in comparison to what these people are facing.

There are some interesting questions about if and when New Orleans will rebuild. I have a friend who used to be in the military who said tonight that rebuilding the city on top after it has been flooded with the "toxic soup" of lake water, refinery offshoots, sewage, and decay would be against every EPA regulation in the book. Granted there's a good argument to be made that a city that could potentially suffer hurricanes should never be built in a bowl below sea-level. I have such fond memories of the city though that it's going to be difficult to imagine it not being rebuilt. My husband and I left on our honeymoon cruise from that port after a whirlwind two-night tour of the French Quarter, Pat O'Brien's, and Cafe DuMonde. I spent a week at a conference there last year during which we sampled all sorts of wonderful local cuisine - from the Redfish Grille to Mr B's Bistro to Emeril's NOLA to K-Pauls. Sure it was smelly and sweaty and had its share of problems...but it was a charming place to visit nonetheless. I wish all its residents, past and present, some relief this evening.

Prayers for the Big Easy

Major prayers tonight going out to the City of New Orleans and its inhabitants. I happenned to be in the Big Easy last year after the near miss with Hurricane Ivan. Just around that time I toured the hurricane preparedness center down there and viewed a variety of simulations of what would happen if a weak Category 3 storm hit the city dead-on. I believe they'd predicted 19 feet of standing water on Poydras Street in that scenario.

For those who aren't familiar with the city, New Orleans is basically a giant hollow bowl below sea level. There are approximately 19-feet levies surrounding most of the city to block storm surge...but right now Katrina's is predicted to be 28-feet. A direct hit would leave incredible structural damage and the city would be submerged in several feet of toxic sludge for weeks. I'm not sure where a preferable alternative strike location would be, but my prayers are definitely with anyone hunkering down there this evening...especially those with no way to evacuate the city.

Personal update

So I just realized that the blog has been dormant for almost 3 weeks. If it's not one thing, it's another at the moment. I finished up finals for a killer summer session class and at about the same time Illinihubby took an injury to his right foot during a rec league flag football game. After an initial doctor visit and two weeks of crutches with little improvement, we found out that he really has stress fractures in two metatarsals...so we're in for a few more weeks of this.

You don't realize how much your spouse does around the house until they're laid up. Suddenly I'm the chauffeur, gardener, and runner of all errands in the household. Couple this with the fact that I've lived a wussy-girl existence and never mowed a lawn before last week and we hosted two parties the past three weeks, and it's a bit overwhelming. All part of that for better or worse bit though, so I'm happy to oblige.

That being said, my class schedule has settled down a bit and his foot is improving. I'm hoping to be online a bit more in the next few weeks. I've just got to figure out what I'd like to cover. I'm leaning towards a more local, economic, and pop culture focus at the moment. As much as I'd like to, I don't have the time required to do the thoughtful analysis that would be required for intelligent posts on the war and political issues. We'll see though, as the Roberts confirmation business should provide some interesting fodder in weeks to come. And of course the Illinigirl household is waiting with baited breath to see what happens with Illinois's appeal to the NCAA. If the university has to change its nickname, does the state have to change its name as well? Because that's the only way that ruling makes much sense. Coverage (and perhaps a guest column by Illinihubby on the matter) soon to come here at Illinigirl, stay tuned!

Comic relief

I received this article about Kim Jong-il from a coworker a couple days ago, and on first glance I thought it was from The Onion. Did you know that Kim hit 11 holes-in-one during his first round of golf? And he memorizes computer programs and cemetaries full of tombstones in one fell swoop!

For those who are interested in more satire and irony, Team America: World Police does a fabulous send-up of our favorite Korean dictator. Aside from sending Hans Blix down a chute to meet some sharks, Kim is loveable little furball whose rendition of "I'm so wonwey" steals the show. North Korea attempted to ban the film several months back in the Czech Republic of all places, because it harms their image. Well, it doesn't call Kim Jong-il a superhuman like their local squawk box, so we'll just assume it's not up to snuff.

Just a little random humor from a sleepy woman trapped deep in the throes of final exam writing and needing a little levity at the moment.

Really...

Other than buying cars, I do things with my life at the moment. Really! Right now they involve 40 hours of work each week and way too much time with my nose stuck in Harvard Business Review and Business Week. The class I've been taking since early July is a bear, and it's been eating up most of my time and desire to...well basically to think.

It seems this is a pattern in the blog world. A lot of the bloggers that I "came in" with have either closed up shop, combined to a group blog, or are taking hiatuses because their lives demand it. Some are child related, some work, some health, some other. I really enjoy having this little blog as my soapbox and way of communicating with many friends and family, but I don't have the time I'd like to devote to it at the moment. Things should improve a bit in a few weeks, but I'll post sporadically as I'm able in the meantime. Hope all is well with you readers!

P.S. We are still enjoying the new "baby" and got 26.4 mpg on our trip down to Central Missouri this weekend...so hooray for Honda and our new little CR-V!

Finally

A decision has been reached, and a purchase has been made.

From this...











To this...













2005 Honda CR-V SE in Pewter Pearl. The deciding factor over the Mitsubishi Outlander ended up being the lack of a center console, blue-grey color that I really liked, and better resale. We haven't had it long yet, but we're happy so far! It's the first car with "fun" features that I've ever had -- sunroof, leather, CD changer, and heated seats -- not to mention air conditioning...so I doubt the novelty will wear off anytime in the near future.

Now that the car drama is over, I hope to find some time for real postings in the near future. The summer class drama continues though, so posting still may be a bit light for a few weeks. See ya!

A Not-So Difficult Choice

There's an interesting article up over at NRO by Alykhan Velshi, a student at the London School of Economics. Velshi has some experience with radical Islamist groups at his university in London. He writes intelligently about the choice facing young Muslims today -- the need for moderate Muslims to "openly repudiate Islamist extremism" in light of the recent attacks on Spain, London, and the United States. It's a good read IMHO, and I recommend checking it out.

Vehicle Run-Down

For those who actually have an interest in such things, Illinifam still hasn't purchased the new vehicle yet. Instead of blogging, I've been spending my few free moments between work and school running around town to dealerships...a few outside of town even. After almost a month of test-driving, it appears we may have narrowed down the field to one car. Or three. It depends on when you ask me. I'm really not good with decisions sometimes, as I like to overanalyze things on occasion.

I think some of my issues are that I see this as my one fun vehicle where I can get some of the features I want before being practical. My parents swear I will want a minivan someday, but I can't see it happening soon. We're hoping to start a family within three years or so though, so I still have to keep safety ratings and carseats and the like in mind. I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money, but this is the one vehicle I kind of get to choose for me...so I should like it right? Also, I like boxy cars and wanted something that sits higher off the ground, so that eliminated a few well-recommended choices like the Santa Fe and Malibu Maxx. All that being said, here are my thoughts on some of the vehicles we've driven.

Pontiac Vibe -- I have always liked the design of this vehicle, and it's what I thought I was going to buy. It drove fairly nicely and had a decent amount of pep, but it just ended up being way too small for my husband.

Mazda 6 wagon -- Nice little wagon but the hubby kept hitting his head at every bump. I kind of liked it though. Definitely had that Mazda zoom zoom factor. I think I'm more a station wagon person than a minivan somehow.

Mazda Tribute -- Solid smallish utility vehicle with a peppy engine. I really liked it on first drive, but Illinihubby wasn't comfortable in the back and thought the road noise was pretty loud.

Chevy Equinox -- I like how these look from the outside (and I like GM's employee pricing approach), so we drove one. It handles pretty nicely, kind of felt like a minivan ride, but the inside fit and finish seemed subpar.

Subaru Forester -- This handled the best of perhaps everything we drove, but we just didn't love the styling/design and the price for the options (such as several thousand extra for leather with LLBean stamped all over it).

Toyota Highlander-- Second runner-up? Honestly, we would have bought one of these by now if it wasn't quite so pricey. You could almost buy its Lexus RX330 sibling for what they are asking for a sunroof or leather. Really nice vehicle, good handling, good gas mileage for a 6-cylinder, but they seemed to be asking a terrible lot even a two-year old used model. Sharp Bluestone Metallic color though.

Mitsubishi Outlander LTD -- A strong second. I really like the exterior styling, and the engine and ride were impressive for a four-cylinder. My dad was riding with and couldn't tell it wasn't a six. Between this and the smart new Eclipse design, Mitsubishi seems like it may be turning things around. Alas, the cargo hold is a bit smaller, and while we'd be paying significantly less the resale value is still a bit disheartening.

Honda CR-V SE -- It wasn't even on our original list, but we stopped by the dealership two weekends ago just to check out all our options...and it's now the leader. Nice storage and ergonomics and a thoughtful design; no center console so one of us can someday reach the backseat if necessary to take care of (presently theoretical) kids. It has the leather and sunroof I wanted, decent price, great resale value if we need to trade soon, and a nice blue/grey color.

So that's where we stand right now. A vehicle that wasn't even on my original list of choices may prove to be the best fit for us. Now it's just down to making a definitive choice and the nitty gritty negotiations. Internet quotes are already proving to be quite helpful. I'd highly recommend them if you have to embark on this task anytime soon. I appreciate all the thoughts and discussion on the topic lately and hope to talk about something different soon!

Waiting for Dennis's Leftovers

You know you must be in the middle of a drought when you go to work on Monday and main source of excitement is that it's going to rain all week! We're awaiting the remnants of Hurricane Dennis here as I speak. The sky is a steely gray and looks quite promising, but no rain has started to fall from it yet. There are flood warnings out in Southern Illinois this evening, and my parents said there was quite a downpour as they drove through the Mt. Vernon area this afternoon.

My heart goes out to the people on the Gulf Coast who had to face this again just nine months after Hurricane Ivan...but every cloud has a silver lining, especially for the farmers here in Central Illinois this evening. Other than the Fourth of July, it's been an incredibly dry few weeks here in the heartland of Central Illinois. I know of more than one farmer that will be mighty glad to see this rain.

Happy Independence Day

Just touching base after a nice relaxing Fourth of July weekend here in Central Illinois. One of my classes for this summer finished at the end of last week, so I had a nice relaxing 4-day break to take care of everything I've been neglecting the past month or so: serious cleaning of the house, visiting with the family, spending time with Illinihubby when he came home from a business trip.

Anyways, things that did not get done: e-mail, blogging, buying a car. All of which really need to have action taken on them soon. For the Fourth though, spending time with family and friends and reflecting on what freedom and independence really mean to me...it made for a good weekend. Hope your holiday was lovely as well.

Hope to be around in the next couple weeks though. O'Connor's resignation and the replacement process should make for some interesting analysis in weeks to come.

Still Alive, Still no AC

Well vehicle searching, class work, and a project implementation at work have prevented me from doing much of significance this week. I appreciate all the hints and tips on the vehicles. We almost bought a couple used Highlanders, but to no avail. At this point, the leaders are the Toyota Highlander, Mitsubishi Outlander, or Mazda Tribute. However, I did stop and look at a bunch of Subaru and VW wagons today, and there's still a chance a standard car or 4-cylinder "cute ute" will come back in the running. Overall, I've determined that I really hate all the uncertainty, haggling and badmouthing that comes along with the entire process.

This purchase is an interesting conflict between my heart and my head. In my heart, I really want the profits from any vehicle I purchase to benefit an American corporation. In my head, I keep finding all the features I want on the foreign cars (ie high reliability/resale, good gas mileage and roomy interior). Of course, you can also look at all those employeed by foreign automakers here in the US, such as the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, and make a case for buying those products and supporting those workers as well.

I supposed I can attribute all the car-buying confusion to living in such a high-tech age and having perhaps TOO much information at my fingertips. It's either that or extreme caution about a purchasing decision after spending 8 years with a Dodge Intrepid with a sound engine/tranny but constant disappointment with almost everything else on the vehicle. :)

Auto Advice?

Sadly Illinigirl's vehicle is nearing its final days. The AC/air circulation system has kicked the bucket, and the repair is worth about 70% of Edmunds True Market Value of the car. I'm looking for something in the compact wagon to smallish SUV range - Vibe, Matrix, RAV4, Highlander, Equinox, Freestyle, Escape, Tribute, Mazda 3/6 wagons, Outlander, and Magnum are all contenders. We need cargo room.

Haven't done this whole purchasing a new vehicle thing before, and the thought of shopping on top of work/school is stressing me out a bit. I've got the newest Consumer Reports Auto issue, but otherwise no direction on the matter.

Central Illinois readers -- any dealerships to avoid in the Decatur, Peoria, Springfield, Bloomington, Champaign area? Any you recommend? Any dealerships worth driving up to Chicago for? All tips appreciated.