<p>Washdad, I almost missed your post! Thank you! I am basically a practical person, so the really irresponsible cars are out for me. I am loving this car. I like the pick up next to the pick up of big SUV. I can get around easier in tight spaces. I checked out the Camry and I found the dash too boring. The dashboard on my G6 looks nice. Some people have commented that it looks a bit cheap on message boards, but I did not find that to be true. I can easily get info like gas milage by hitting my info button. At night all of the info on the dash lights up in red. I went for leather heated seats, and remote start (nice feature on a cold day). I can preset the temp. to 75/80 and start the car from inside my home, and get into a warm car! I never had that feature before. It will give me a head start on the defrosting as well. The trunk is roomy for a small car.H said that he was getting 32 miles/gallon on the highway. I did go for satellite radio (a new thing for me too, but H has had it for a couple of years in his car). We have decided to keep one SUV and one smaller car in the family. My car payments are cheaper on this car than my SUV, and I hope to save additionally on my gas bills. Also, I can only cart around son and 3 friends max now 
This is another welcomed change b/c I am tired of being the local taxi.
Actually, the only negative that I have is that when I electronically open the trunk, it does not pop open all the way (it only unlocks, but you still have to manually open the trunk). I did not have that with my SUV. It does mean putting down packages to open it, and that is not convenient on a day with inclement weather. Oh well. It is all what you are used to, I guess. BTW, I still am really enjoying my new car! Oh, and leg room in the back is pretty decent for a small car (I don’t want family to complain that they have no leg room).</p>
<p>Great description SB. </p>
<p>mommusic, careful what you wish for on the multiple gf scene. I’ve got one in a bona fide Romeo and Juliet tragedy and another with a trail of broken hearts behind him. Ah…young love.</p>
<p>Romeo and Juliet? You can’t be at war with the local leading family…</p>
<p>But I assume you mean young, beautiful and wildly in love rather than internecine strife, yeah?</p>
<p>Pour me a big ole’ drink with an umbrella and some fruit in it!</p>
<p>We survived Class Day (awards); Graduation; the stuff I had to do for graduation since I’m the head of the hs Parent Council; our party with 50 people (I didn’t make ANY of the food - got it all from the local grocery store catering dept - and got tons of compliments), the All Night Party, the weekend with the relatives visiting… now I can just spend the next few weekends going to everyone else’s parties and enjoying myself! YEEHAW!</p>
<p>No, not at war, but they are struggling–or past struggling-- with ideologies which are in deep conflict.</p>
<p>cheers–
Sounds stressful. Do you need a little good ol’ chicken soup (Jewish penicillin)? ;)</p>
<p>Not stressful at all. Just a little sad really. A true, great, soulful love…lost to ideology.</p>
<p>I do need chicken soup though. It’s chilly here.</p>
<p>Many relationships do not survive differences in religious iedology… Hope the boys are doing ok.</p>
<p>My S’s Juliet is a vegetarian-- and he is drifting towards that, due to her influence. Politically, they’re identical. It is a BIG HUGE love too.</p>
<p>Meanwhile I stress over what someone on here so aptly termed “the mate seekers.” No BIG HUGE loves that I can see anyway.</p>
<p>We drove out to Oberlin for D’s graduation, rounding up my 80-year-old mom who flew into Cleveland from New Hampshire. The airport shuttle bus dropped her at the Oberlin Inn, our planned meeting place, and we brought over the wheelchair rented for her use that weekend.
She greets us, absolutely HAMMERED. Seems she walked into the Inn where the reunions were happening. Someone asked her, “What’s your graduating year?” She answered, 1947. “Aha, so you’re a 60th!!” which is true, but not from that college. They ushered her over to a big table and they handed her a big ol’ glass of wine, which she accepted. She’s polite that way.<br>
She says she will spend the rest of this year crashing alumni parties for the free wine.</p>
<p>That was a LOL for me, paying3tuitions!!</p>
<p>Yes I too discovered that top shelf booze was being served a few tents over… older alumni = smaller crowd = better drink. The older alumni enjoyed us crashing their party, too.</p>
<p>Alumni party crashing is a very good business. We got a huge, fancy, FREE brunch at Notre Dame when we went to a footbal game a few years ago. Now, my father is an alum, but it certainly wasn’t any reuinion that had to do with him! They’re always so friendly and enthusiastic, and they’ll just usher anyone into their parties. :D</p>
<p>Okay, so now there is the making of sequel to “Wedding Crashers”…</p>
<p>I will take credit for that term weenie…boys are great, jymmie…exploring and researching the far corners of the world. Neither wants to come home–and both are tempted to stay where they are rather than show up for college, ahem.</p>
<p>Further R and J heartache will arrive with September, says the sage…</p>
<p>Cheers - Yes! And I’ve been worried about it ever since!!! :(</p>
<p>(What’s R and J heartache?)</p>
<p>Mate seekers = girls?</p>
<p>And - the older relative got hammered on one glass of wine? Or was that the first of the series? </p>
<p>Here’s to reunions, of alumni, of lovers, of moms and kids. D is off to China Thursday, having only just returned.</p>
<p>She and I will have our reunion in Shanghai. Ah the world is a-changin’…</p>
<p>Let’s all raise our glasses and be maudlin for a moment. Then return to raucus laughter.</p>
<p>Romeo and Juliet heartache…will blossom full throttle once the two are reunited in the same city in September…after more than a year apart…</p>
<p>As for early mate-seekers–they are a good thing if they happen to be happy-go-lucky, highly capable types. It’s only a bad thing if they are super-needy. Unfortunately, there are more of the latter as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to see S2 in beijing later this summer–with a trip to Shanghai for business. CC meeting in Shanghai?</p>
<p>Ideology, huh? That’s kind of impressive that they feel so strongly about beliefs as to even cause a ping in the flood of hormones.</p>
<p>My S’s Juliet is QUITE needy. But we like her anyway, because she has had an incredible chilling-out/increase the peace/joy effect on my formerly cranky S. Truly, incredible. She is prozac in a push-up bra. </p>
<p>His music…? Love songs written for her. At his gigs, he intros every song explaining to the crowd that he wrote it for his GF… and she sitting there in the front row with the goofiest, happiest grin-- adoring him. </p>
<p>Sweet. </p>
<p>I’d be up for Shanghai CC roundtable. Never been to Shanghai. I understand it is being “flipped” at the speed of light, so a visit is probably in order before the whole city looks like the Jetsons.</p>