Review: Over 3 Months with the Mazda3 5-door/Skyactive

I'll never be in a functioning relationship with any sort of woman, but I do have a car. And this car is now three months old, if you've been following my blog, as I know everyone does in a devout serious manner. Three months is a decent time period, I think, to give an honest critique of the situation, from a non car expert.

Driving this car is a pretty pleasant, but it's not perfect, and there are minor things that bug me, if I'm to give an honest assessment.

Let's start with the good.
First, the gearbox is great - not that I have much experience with a manual, but it does shift quite easily. It handles fine, like any Mazda should, and that was a main selling point for me. I enjoyed driving the last one I had, and felt good control of the road Unfortunately with this base model, it doesn't come with the more sporty tires and you can feel the difference. If I decide to pimp this thing out, wheels will be the first change. I do enjoy the looks of the newer models, but not sure if I prefer it to the older one that I had. Some people have a big problem with the huge Mazda smile but I'd say it has more of a badass look whereas the first Mazda3's were a little softer looking though with slight strong tank vibe.

It's super excellent on gas mileage, I'm spending much less/week than I did with the '04 model. It's a lighter car and has less power and this thing they call SkyActive which is supposed to help with all that. And it does.

((32-40mpg))

Now some negatives.
The interior is comfortable, and maybe a bit better ergonomically designed, at least for my body, but the radio is cheap. This is because I got the low end model. I'm okay with cheapness though, and I've never really cared for the touch screen displays they have going on in many other cars - I like real buttons, even if they are cheap and plasticky.

I don't care for the slightly spaceship vibe it has going on in the interior, the previous models were more square-ish, though it does look lovely cruising around at night. It also displays your current MPG, which can be fun to look at if you're not eating food or sexting on your droid. The speedometer and tackometer are nice to look at, with a blue-ish feel. They're more calming than the old bright red lights thing they had going on, which slightly reminded me of the streets and alleyways of Amsterdam at night. Which isn't bad either.

The biggest problem I have with this car is that it appears to be sort of weak/sluggish when you pull out from a stop. Maybe that's related to the fuel economy thing, I do not know. The '04 model had more power and you can feel that difference - but that was also an automatic. Once it gets goin' it's great and fun, even for a lame pussy driver like me. I can pretend I'm a racecar driver, though this thing isn't gonna win any drag races - you'll enjoy throwing it around the bends.

((I think 0-60 is 8.5 seconds.))

Happy Ending.
Even before considering the rebates I did get with this car, it was/is ranked pretty high in it's class and I understand why. Other cars I were considering were the Scion xD, Ford Focus (hatch) and the Volkswagen Golf, but due to time, and the models they had in the lot, I wasn't able to try them out, and I'm okay with that. The Mazda came out cheaper after trade-in and rebates than the others. I'm pretty confident I made the correct choice considering all the variables involved.

Anyone looking for something with cargo space, good fuel economy, decent styling and great handling should at least test drive this thing. You might be moved by it in a special way.

Nike Air Trainer 1

I was in the mall, as I sometimes am during my afternoon and I always go into shoe stores and look at the various styles of tennis shoes, or sneakers as they call 'em out here. To my surprise, I spotted the old Nike Air Trainer 1. Not the first shoe I fell in love with, but one of the first, I waited literally 7 months, calling shoe stores in the greater Pittsburgh area to see if they had a kid's size (this was in the late 1980s). Then one dreary afternoon, in a Pittsburgh mall, I spotted them in kid's sizes at a foot locker, just when I was about to give up.

They were the coolest looking shoe at the time. So cool my one buddy went out and bought a pair for himself immediately, of course his were red, not as cool as the green I chose. I used these shoes for everything, and I felt more complete with them on. At the time, it was a pretty new style and approach to shoes. I think John McEnroe wore them as well.

Through the years, I've changed brands here and there, and sometime in mid to late 90s I told myself I'd never wear Nikes again, but these throwbacks have me thinking twice, however the price is outrageous, as is expected.

http://www.champssports.com/product/model:185323/sku:17553100&SID=7391&inceptor=1&cm_mmc=SEM-_-Engine-_-Google-_-Plusbox

Are these ugly or cool?

Office Emotion

There's many characters in the workplace. You got your thespians, authoritarians, team players, slackers, and jackasses that remain annoyingly positive, uttering every meaningless word or phrase for the most disgusting kind of enthusiasm. These people make my skin crawl.

I've wondered a lot about these folks (the extremely positive ones), and I'm sure these people pass me off as a sloppy creep who is miserable most of the time. I have theories. I think a lot of them, and I'm generalizing (cause I enjoy generalizing) were through something really rough or tragic, and to keep moving and living life in a functional way, they've forced themselves into this happy face. Most people are oblivious to these masks that they wear, but I'm not. I sensitive to it. I see it and try to avoid it at mostly all costs. I don't understand it. I come from a long line of angry depressed miserable Germans with bone pain and problems. Don't bring that shit around me.

When I encounter these people, they can sense that I sense what's going on. There's an unspoken understanding between me and them. I leave them alone and they leave me alone. It's completely written on my face and how I carry myself that I shit on everything positive and that I have no time for your cliches. You ask me how I'm doing. I say, "One day at a time," and get on with it.

Their positivity is almost insulting to a chap like me. It doesn't come across as genuine. The only people I'm really interested in talking to ever, are those I can discuss my sordid past with, or make poop jokes with, otherwise, don't waste my energy. I understand that there is workplace protocol and I follow it to a "T" by mumbling my brief cliches and moving forward, limping ahead, most likely with my head down.

Fortunately for me, there are only a couple people around here that I can apply this too. Most people keep to themselves and don't degrade me with their "created" perpetual bliss.

((please feel free to comment if you've encountered such people in your own environs))

Election Night with Dainty Bones.

I worked until 8pm lastnight, which was election night. Fortunately, I was already suffering from a serious cold and had no energy to go out and follow this year's coverage. I really had nobody in the race and cared little for who won. Instead of being  a positive soul and supportive of most of my friends who were quite happy with the Obama victory I decided to keep quiet and partially shit on their enthusiasm. If it weren't for my sickness, I probably would've been worse. But I wasn't at all disappointed that Romney lost, the guy is a creep. Sadly, his opponent is a creep too.

Lastnight and today even people were rejoicing. Some were even still posting things like pro-choice memes as if Romney was going to reverse Roe vs. Wade and that Obama was the ultimate protector of women's bodies and rights (God forbid you're an Afghan woman in the way bombing attack though - but that doesn't matter - lesser of 2 evils, right?). I'd probably better understand this if it were the 80s or 90s but these things have been well decided and any hyperfocusing/obsession over this topic is irrational and a distraction from far greater crimes and injustices going on around the world in the name of the this president and the one before him. Whatever makes people feel good I guess. Somehow other liberties get pushed to the wayside.

The lesser of two evils seems to be the thinking behind everything political these days. Turn out was lower, I believe, and I'd like to think it was because of Ron Paul's people sitting it out. That's what I did. It will be interesting to see what happens if things really get worse, as they have been, which is what I'm fully expecting barring a miracle of some sort. I'm curious to see if the approach will be more QE's and intervention, which will equal inflation. Look at your food prices already.

As we continue to go on this same path of irresponsibilty we might ask. Who will be the successor to the Peace/Anti-Fed/Free Market movement that Dr. Paul started, and will the GOP finally scrap the Wall Street/Neo-con/Religious Right coalition that is largely responsible for our current problems and their last two crushing defeats to a poor opponent with a lame agenda.

For now, the ACLU and the anti-war left will take another four year break (I stole that from a friends FB status).

F### the idealists.

Jazz Guitarists

The few jazz guitarists that I know tend to be arrogant f###s with sociopathic problems. There are exceptions, yes, but my general experience hasn't been good. Don't get me wrong, you could hand them a guitar and they could do quite wonderful, almost mind blowing things with it, musically, but as human beings they struggle, and as dressers, they're mediocre at best.

I'm not quite sure what it is that makes them this way. Maybe it's the shelling out of large amounts of money for a music education. Though I have friends who aren't jazz guitarists who went to school for music who aren't like this. Maybe they're just wired this way. Maybe it's part of the vibe. Understand, they'll get paid far more than our entire band gets for a gig, but most of time it's just soft background music for wanna-be elitist f###s eating at a restaurant or winery. Honestly, no jealousy here, I'm an attention whore, money means little to me. I don't even consider myself a musician, or anything for that matter.

I don't write this in a spiteful way of any sort, I'm rather saddened. I wish they could come down to our level and realize that their waste smells like everybody else's waste.

Haven't Posted in a While.

I haven't posted in a while. Not sure why. Probably because of lack of interest and nothing seems to be inspiring me to rant in a meaningless whiny way. I could talk about the silliness of our current election, but most, wouldn't want to hear that, and I'm not very good at articulating political subjects in an effective manner. I could write about the new car, but I already put up like two or three blogs on that already. I guess I'll stick to what I'm good at. Blogging about myself.

Since my last post I had a couple medical situations. In early September I got food stuck down my esauphagus. For like eight hours. I had to drive myself to the emergency room at 12 midnight. I didn't leave until 7am. I forgot to bring my cell phone so I had to call a taxi cause they had to knock me out for fifteen minutes and push the food down. Turns out I have a hiatal hernia. My insides were sore a couple days after though the procedure was quick and routine. I have had no repeat occurrences since then.

Two weeks ago I saw an orthopedic doctor about getting the screws removed from my hip. Prior to that, I saw another orthopedic doctor, at the same establishment, that said I should probably get them out. I was planning on getting them out. However, since they really weren't bothering this other doctor said he'd probably keep them in. This is good news, for now, I guess. I wasn't looking forward to the recovery process and was hoping to do something more than just lay around on my long vacation.

I've got two gigs lined up on October 20th, and the 26th. The one on the 20th is at the Funhouse (on 4th st) in Bethlehem, with Brother JT, and the 26th gig is at the Kutztown Fire Company, with Remarkable Stims and Dawnchasers. Both should be fun and fulfill my need for attention getting. We plan to play at least two new songs. One of the songs is called "Canada," based on the trips I used to make up there with my friend from Rochester. It's turning into a great upbeat song with a lovely breakdown. We're very happy with it.

Other than that, there isn't much to report. I'm doin fine, doin okay. I just thought I'd post this in case anyone thought I was dead.

Losing it.

I'm not sure where this one will go, or if it'll even be published, but this is I'm thinking about this morning. Obviously there are varying degrees of losing it and I would contend that I've never lost it in the most serious way. Though I will say I've had some pretty interesting experiences where I felt like I would snap. And, maybe I have snapped. I think much of the pressure comes from keeping things inside and maybe it's the reason I say so much either in here or at the bar. I've always felt relieved and much better letting things out. And you probably thought I did such things because I was still a child looking for attention. The truth is, there is a therapeutic and freeing feeling when you just come out with everything.

Losing it is always an anxiety issue. There's pressure, real or imagined. Could be work or school, I've had them both, and have responded differently and drastically in both situations. You'll probably have a crippling obsession about something you did wrong, or ignored to do. It's so paralyzing that you can't bring yourself to confront or correct the mistake. All that your brain can do is focus on the negative and how f#cked everything will be when it comes to light. It's a pretty ugly cycle.

Drinking and drugs will temporarily ease that pain for a short while. Completely putting it in the back of your mind might work for awhile too. But these things never cure anything and it will get worse and build up when you get back to it. You'll either decide to confront the issue or do exactly the opposite and take a "who the fuck cares" attitude. This can be liberating but it can also lead to problems, if that pressure you're under is real and will have very serious consequences.

In my situations, I'd say most of the time, and this probably goes for a lot of people, that the pressure that I was under was built up in my head far greater than reality. Sometimes stresses and worries about one thing can spill over to another aspect. For instance blowing something off at work can lead to stress about unpaid bills which may have you worrying about the cops showing up at your door or that you have cancer. It all builds and I've been there.

I guess can you can remain fucked up (which sick people can't help) or you can see life for what it is, a short meaningless endeavor, where few things really matter. You can work to eliminate as much responsible in your life as is possible and that's what I've chosen to do.