Natal day wishes

[gwyn]

A happy date of birth anniversary to movies_michelle and destina! Who knew it was such a fannishly auspicious day?

I got my new car this weekend, at long last. To say that everything has been totally fubar about this thing would be putting it mildly -- including the fact that it was halfway to Vancouver, Wash. before the driver realized it had been sold to someone through the dealership he'd just taken it from to deliver to another dealership down there. I was pissed beyond words, lemme tell you. To me, this is a used car, not a new car that I paid an exhorbitant sum for to get the exact features I wanted. But I have it now, and if I can figure out how to put a photo up here (it's been a long time since I did that, and I don't remember how), I will add the photo (though I'm planning to make an icon, anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter). I like how it drives -- it's kind of freaky, in that it adjusts for you depending on the conditions -- and it's very smooth for the most part. I adore the sunroof, though considering the heinous winter weather we're having, there are few chances to use it. Mostly I love the color -- the platinum gray has a touch of blue in it, so the interior paint that runs along the top of the door really sparkles in the rare burst of sunshine. Leather upholstery is just beyond wonderful -- nothing sticks, you just slide right in and out. I am having a little trouble figuring out the MP3 jack (which I think is the bumpy thing under the stereo) but I'll have to go to Radio Shack and find something to test it out with. The stereo is *awesome*. The storage space is limited, and the cupholders are annoying as most of the online reports I saw said, but it's a small price to pay for the roominess for my body. Heated seats? I tell ya, on a 54 degree F morning, they are loverly. Now if I could just get the actual ashtray cup, I would be happy so I could stash some quarters and tokens in there.

I spent the morning experimenting with different LJ layouts, since I was really tired of things as they were and I haven't been able to sleep much, so am getting up abysmally early. I kept trying different bright or sturated colors because I was sick of the muted shit, but the brighter or deeper the hue, the more difficult making comments appears to be -- they don't seem to allow you to change the input boxes in the comments-making controls. I didn't like most of the layouts, really -- there are only about three I like -- but I discovered the flexible squares by reading others' journals. It's so annoying when LJ offers you the choice, but they don't give you a preview of how it looks, so I just started randomly choosing the non-previewed ones, and that had the types of sidebars and boxes that I liked. It's not perfect, but it's different. I liked their color schemes much, much better too -- I went back to the pastelly crap again, but when I feel like brighter colors, they have more reasonable sets than component did, so I can change to suit my mood more easily. Though, as always, I don't understand how they tag things, so I think I'm changing this thing, but I end up changing that thing instead... gah. LJ could make a person certifiably insane, I think.

Comments

[rainkatt.livejournal.com]

I like the way your LJ looks, and I usually hate the pretty ones, because they're so damned hard for me to see. I have a little trouble with the links on the sidebar, but they're not impossible... and it's nicely soothing. I may play with that one myself, but I just got happy with the more toned down colors on mine, so I'm not going there any time soon.

Re: Measure of a Man - I may wait for you to post a bit more before I go and read, but I haven't given up on it at all. It's sitting back there, like a late pressy, just waiting to be opened and enjoyed, and I'll love it all the more when I do read.

Cool that you finally got your car, too! I'd love to see a picture of it.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

The text is too small for me in the body -- I have a lot of trouble reading it, but I think most folks don't read the journals as is -- they see them on their flists, so it probably doesn't matter. My eyes are old and tired, though.

Next time you're around here, let me know -- I'm looking for excuses to drive the Beetle! Because, you know, as they say: drivers wanted. And these days I don't go out that much!

[rainkatt.livejournal.com]

It's funny, usually the text on these layouts is way too small, but it may be because it's black, that I can see it without any problem. I have trouble with the greenish links, though...

I'd love to go tooling around in your Beetle. That would be wonderful fun!

[destina.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the birthday wishes! :D And yay, new car!

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you finally got it! I'd love for you to come up and visit, or we could meet somewhere due south and ditch my car. I've been wanting to go up the North Cascades Highway again for ages.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the birthday wishes. It actually ended up being a pretty nice (if slightly breezy) day.

And, yay, on the Bug! Can't wait to take a spin in her. (Friday, perhaps?)

[mystic-savage.livejournal.com]

I'm glad there are other people who can spend time futzing about with LJ layouts. I'm never married to what I have. But I like yours.

[spasticat.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the car finally arriving. Man, heated seats are the best auto invention ever. A friend had a car with those and when we tested them out we actually danced joyfully in the seats. So, well, warm! :)