Update: there may be a cure.

Last weekend, Sarah and I took the car to get its oil changed, and the technician said that it was leaking transmission fluid. I wasn't terribly alarmed. After all, we drive a Corolla, the Supreme Emperor of Reliability. At 113,000 miles, I was counting on 5-10 more years of smooth sailing. I was so un-alarmed that I almost didn't even bother to see how much fluid we'd lost. Almost.

Over the next 24 hours, I came to the conclusion that the technician was quite mistaken. We weren't "leaking" fluid, we were "hemorrhaging" fluid. See the difference? As it turns out, the cost for repairs would likely exceed the value of the car (see "totaled"); thus, the Corolla appears to be headed for early retirement with a whimper. And by "headed for early retirement," I mean, "headed for dismemberment."

Unfortunately, this leaves us in a lurch. We'll have to buy another car, but those with good fuel economy and reliability (see "foreign make and model") aren't exactly easy to come by right now (due to the stagnant economy, rising fuel costs, ). Not to mention, this is Michigan (see "Home of the Gas-Guzzling Crap Heap"--no offense intended for local auto workers...).

So, we're faced with a no-win situation: do we buy a (used/cheap) gas-guzzling crap heap that will cost us an additional $1,500-$2,500 per year in fuel costs alone, or do we spend the vast majority of our savings on a nice and/or new car (with the money that I earmarked for paying off my student loans or putting down a small payment on a house)?

I considered a third option, but Sarah's 50-mile (one way) commute would probably seem a lot longer if she had to walk.

Alright, it's been a few days. I've been hanging out and enjoying my break. I haven't really done anything, which is exactly how I plan on continuing to enjoy my break. On that note...

I just finished turning in my last assignment of the semester. It's nice, and I really hope to enjoy my 'summer' break (over the next 10 days), but I'm not getting that excited because 'spring' semester starts next Monday...

When I was a senior in high school, my varsity baseball coach let two 8th graders practice with our team. One of the kids played first base, one of my positions, so I got to know him a little bit. He was nice kid, albeit a little goofy, and he was pretty big at the time, maybe 5'10" 200 lbs. (with about 30 pounds of baby fat), but he obviously hadn't yet grown into his body. Jake Long is now 6'7" and weighs 313 lbs. He runs the 40-yard dash in 5 seconds, has a 28 inch vertical leap, and can bench press 380 pounds. Today, ESPN.com announced that he just signed a 5-year contract with the Miami Dolphins worth $57 million dollars and thus will become the number 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft.

Eight years ago, I could have squashed him like a bug. In the meantime, I've turned into the typical 'ex-jock', and Jake has become one of the best athletes in the world. Today, Jake was awarded approximately 40 times more money (in one day) than I will make in my lifetime (while, oddly, I was awarded no monies). How the worm turns.