BeamerBikes

Armed with the 2.5 years of EV experience, I went hunting for the next car. The plan was to trade the Mercedes B-250, and buy new for the tax credit $7500. I had my eye on the Ford Mustang Mach-E. There were some notable drawbacks though. In the Summer 2021, it took forever to find one to test drive. It took even longer to order one, and I wasn't going to pay over sticker for any car. The Mach-E colors and overall design didn't really call out to me. No door handles what so ever spooked me. At least with Tesla, there's flush door handles, but since not 100% dependent on the car's battery staying charged. After test driving, I was even less impressed with the standard Mach-E. The range numbers seemed impressive compared to the B-250, but quickly discovered the best range numbers came with performance limiters. So yeah - definitely would want to upgrade to the extended range battery - I don't want to be forced to drive like a grandma. Nonetheless, I asked about delivery timelines - if I ordered in July, I could expect it maybe in November. My warranty was up in July so that's a no go. On a lark, I went to the Volvo dealer down the way. I befriended a bunch of Nordics so while I didn't consider the Volvo brand, I figured what the hell. Volvo went big into EVs in 2021 in the US market, but didn't market them until the Fall 2021. The dealership had chargers up front. This shows a commitment that they are serious about sticking with EVs. I test drove the XC40 and HOLY SHIT THIS WASHING MACHINE/ARMORED CAR IS FAST. Range unsurprisingly is only around 220 miles at best, but that's double what my Mercedes got me and it worked for most of my drives. Plus it included DC fast charging. DC fast charging will give me 100+ miles plus in 20 minutes. I routinely do trips of 200+ miles in a single day these days. I could go longer, but I don't like sitting in the car that much. I'll bullet-point this experience in the next post.

Resurrecting an existing thread. My experience - I switched from a BMW 323i -> 335d to a Mercedes B-250 EV (1st gen Tesla tech powered) when my commute drastically shrunk. I was going from 60 miles all highway to 6 miles standard city driving. I would have killed the 335d with carbonization. The Mercedes B-250 only gets 100 miles at best during the summer. 65 miles at at best during the winter. Good enough for 95% of my driving. I'd rent a car for the longer road trips. When an out of state friend got sick, this REALLY sucked. Combine that with a fatal flaw for Tesla 1st gen motors causing a motor replacement AND Mercedes turning its back on this EV compliance car. I traded it last year before the warranty was up. All of these comments were true for the i3 and my Mercedes experience - The B-250 had NO fast charging option. To get another 65-100 miles range it was going to take at best 3.5 hours. This car was definitely city/close suburban use ONLY. Not bad for a 2nd car daily driver, or if you had an in- at Hertz/National for the times you needed to rent one. THIS IS DEFINITELY THE EARLY EARLY ADOPTER EXPERIENCE FOR EVs. NOT EVs COMING OUT NOW.

Still paying roughly the same for my EV "fill ups". Not gloating just paid it in advance when I bought the car. Tho I did get $7500 back in taxes.

Crypto Bros are the worst... Some could be just pushy assholes who don't know proper manner. Others might be working a referral angle. Do they suggest a specific app? Either way, discussing money management especially unsolicited is a red flag for dating apps. Relationships are a different story, but even that, it should be only talked about way way way down the road.

He might even work at Uranus! (Route66 joke)

For what's it worth... glad to see you're alright. I was hoping for a happily ever after, but sometimes it's for the best when it doesn't.

It's St. Patrick's day official in Chicago. (Amateur hour) Right before a full moon... (lunatics) What other superstitions would get you to decide staying at home is the safer choice for the evening? I've had some nights when parking was absolute impossible to find on top of traffic being crazy... too many things lined up for me to think this is the universe trying to tell me something.

Probably, I developed a stripper habit during the caregiving years. Too old to hold many secrets that could only hurt my pride.

Just be aware the closest Grand Canyon experience is not run by the National Park service. It's definitely a day long affair from Vegas, and prepare to dig deep in your wallet to see the canyon. Check prices, look for coupons. I was a bit taken back how commercial/pricey Grand Canyon West experience was. Hoover Dam was a nice experience and reasonably priced, can be done in a half day.

I just hope they don't slam the hospitals again. I have another hernia surgery coming up and don't wanna get bumped. Nor have a bunch of burned out hospital staff. Med Surg floor in 2019 there was a good attitude/vibe. The hallways were a walking track with pts encouraging others to get up and keep moving. Med Surg floor in 2020 was a serious downer. No one wanted to leave their room. Staff was tired. All the nice pick me up events were canceled.

Okie, whoopee, you got me... brass tacks - did anyone call me cheap or an asshole? That'd hurt. I get it'd work for some folks, but at this point in my life, go run tell that.

Mid 40s and I got it. So I guess I'm not that much of a youngin anymore

Aye- as they should... US education seems to be bent on trying to get children to adjust to Adult's schedules rather than the other way around. Other countries start school later since it's supposedly proven that children's natural sleep habits have them waking later than adults. 1st period 8am classes always suck. Ditch the time change and start school later!

Probably thinks that DST is some liberal golden idea when I think EVERYONE is universally annoyed by it.

On balance, I also complained about Key West lodging prices being outrageous. As a result, I opted for New Orleans pre-MardiGras. Nonetheless, if money was no object, I'd rather have been in Key West.

I don't go shopping at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, and expect Aldi prices. He may have a few whale(as in Casino terms) hooked on him in the NYC gogo market. Lust and exclusivity can get some men to crack open the wallet deep. Only real difference between him and porn stars... its not obvious how much he has been filmed professionally. Looks wise, he's on par with most twink->twunk porn stars. Not going to fault the guy for naming his price just because it's out of my reach. As others mentioned, it's on the high end, but someone will pay those rates. And if he ends up being the sweetest BFE, he'll snag a regular. Meanwhile there's other options. Just as there's always a richer daddy's up the hill, there's cheaper guys down the street.

Let the market decide. As for being too expensive or thinking he's entitled... Come on, some of us say "Everyone has a price" and it's collary - "we all pay for it one way or another" This guy named his price, don't get butt hurt if it's out of your budget. More power to him if that price works out for him.

How many of these could be answers to Password Change questions?

I omitted this bit... After the initial surgery and subsequent complications, my mom whom I was her primary long term caregiver passed. After 12 years on caregiving duty, she didn't die on my watch. I was hoping to make the funeral at least. The day before I was due to be released, one of my surgical drains turned cloudy with a bit of food residue present. My heart dropped. I knew what it meant. I was headed back for emergency surgery to get an ostomy which may or may not end up reversible. I'll admit the diverting loop ileostomy news was rough to hear. I knew the stakes though. My digestive system was leaking bacteria into my abdomen and if not fixed, it will kill me. I'd miss my mom's funeral, but that's the breaks. She's dead, I'm still alive. I did the heavy lifting when it counted the most. Just gotta pick up the pieces and get on with it. Long story short, always seek out the best specialist if time permits.

I'm not you're buddy, guy! I'm not you're guy, buddy!

So fishing for feedback... Anyone find the content/discussion helpful? I can write up another thread on the abdominal wall reconstruction/advanced hernia repair that's hopefully the last part of this journey.

So related to my diverticulitis thread... I had blood in semen after one procedure. It helped to know that coloration mattered. The color was a reddish brown (old blood) When I contacted the doc about it afterwards, he said as long as it cleared up there was nothing to be concerned about. The procedure used a balloon expansion to stretch out a surgical reconnection site of my colon, which healed too narrow for stool to be expected to pass through it. The procedure likely bruised my prostate and hence the blood. Worst ass play ever!

Oof. I don't miss reviewing/viewing my insides and the pathology with the docs. Forgot how comfortable I was with it at one time. I adjusted to the ostomy life for 6 months while things healed up. Even traveled internationally with it. Amazing how you can adjust to new realities. The sex life definitely dried up though because that was one area I wasn't ready to have conversations about.

I felt I only held off the inevitable surgery. I still had flare-ups, and during those flare-ups, I'd go back to safe foods and gut rest. It seemed to work for me to keep me out of the hospital most of the time. Essentially, I wasn't going to poke the bear when he was already angry. Either way, the point is hopefully moot for me for several more decades maybe rest of my life. The 1st part of the journey was lapro partial colonectomy, then open surgery for a diverting loop ileostomy, a balloon expansion for a constriction at the reconnection site(worst butt play ever), followed by the ostomy takedown. 2nd part of the journey has been incisional hernia repair, redo of the hernia repair thanks to infection from Toradol bleeding, and now waiting for another hernia repair. Oy... 6 surgeries and still don't have a GD 6 pack out of the deal. 0 stars.

Yeah, I should have been more clear. Plenty of advice (which may or may not be accurate). I've gotten tired of trying to correct folks with their advice based on the data. What is clear? When you're feeling crummy, it's definitely time to stick with foods you know don't cause you issues. I managed to put off the surgery for several years by managing it with diet. Finally called it after the last hospitalization in 2017.