Car Debate

Last weekend we were in the suburbs of Dallas with a few hours to kill while waiting to meet some friends for a dinner and movie. With not enough time to warrant a trip back home, only to leave shortly thereafter, we decided...what the heck...lets go to a dealership and look at cars.

Now normally this is not something that would just pop into either one of our heads as something that is an enjoyable way to kill 2-3 hours, but you have to understand two factors that currently change this equation:

1) There's really not that much one can do in Dallas for a few hours that doesn't include eating, or buying things at a mall (i.e. no forest preserves to go for a leisurely stroll)

2) Chris' car is now reaching the ripe age of 18, and according to some, may reach "classic" status at the ripe age of 20. While once a beacon for obsessive washing, waxing, and the like, the 1990 3 series has recently seen its share of mini disasters...starting with the infamous 2006 tornado that came through Iowa City and decided to pummel Chris' hood with softball-size hail, and more recently with some careless parking by Chris that resulted in some "minor" crumpling of the right quarter panel on a parking cement support beam.

So are we ready to write off Chris' first car? The car that got him through 3 years of undergrad, 4 years of dental school, and now a year of post-grad residency? The car that forced him to learn stick (by some a requirement to be a man). The car that got him so many women (actually just Emily...she couldn't resist it)...well, we'd like to think not. But the reality is that gas prices don't seem to be abating any time in the near future, and while the car has been running masterfully down in the warm Dallas climate, there is the all-to-likely chance that the car won't react kindly to a return to the harsh midwest winter. If that weren't enough, the car unfortunately sucks up only 91 grade premium fuel, now at $3.99 in Dallas, and likely higher in Chicago and Iowa City.

So all of this has gotten us to thinking that it might not be a bad idea to start thinking about the prospect of adding a new member to our family...a car that is. But what car to purchase you ask? We have been completely satisfied with Emily's '04 Corolla thus far, it offers a nice ride, pretty darn good gas mileage (as high as the upper 30's on the highway), and has plenty of room for what we need. This all begs the question...do we be completely boring and buy another Carolla, or do we spend the extra 5G's and get a more fuel-efficient, perhaps less stylish Prius?

This is what drove us (no pun intended) to the local Plano Toyota dealership. 10 milliseconds upon pulling into the lot we had a salesman at our windshield offering to help us. So we told him we wanted to take a look and test drive the '09 Corolla and the '09 Prius. Thinking that a large dealership like this one (it's one of the largest Toyota dealerships in DFW) would certainly have a Prius in stock, we were shocked to hear that the last one on the lot had just been sold within the last hour, and that we would be unable to test drive it as it was being prepped for its new owners. Hmmm...there must be something to this hybrid thing...according to the salesperson, they've been selling like hot cakes lately. We were about to ask if we were still in Texas, because we couldn't believe that hybrids and Texas and sold out could possibly occur in the same continuous sentance...but indeed it did. So we ended up driving the '09 Corolla, which essentially felt just like Emily's Corolla, plus the new car scent...and for good reason, not much has been added or changed since '04, except exterior styling and a power stearing mechanism that is fluid-free.

So here's what we'd like to hear from our readers...some of whom hopefully know more about cars than we do...should it become necessary to replace Chris' car in the near future (a sad day for all), should we go with a Corolla and save 5G's, or spend the 5G's and save the environment and buy the Prius?

Any and all comments are welcomed...

(vs)

Song of the day:

Pennsylvania Sucks

We may have expressed over the course of this year our difficulty in deciding on a place to settle, but after the primary results of this evening, we can honestly say that we are one state closer to knowing where we'll settle, and you can be sure that state will not have the word Pennsylvania in it. Enough on that though...

The past week has found us beginning to pack up our life here in Dallas. With Emily only having a little over 2 weeks left here before heading back to Iowa City to restart her job at UIHC, we have felt the need to start consolidating and packing things in preparation for the inevitable move back to Iowa. Chris unfortunately will remain in Dallas until mid/late June to finish up his residency, reliving his bachelor dormesque lifestyle (one pan, a few cooking utensils, a TV, and a couch, oh yea...a bed too). So if you happen to have any pity on Chris' state of affairs, give him a call after mid-May, we're sure he'd appreciate the company.

Otherwise, while not busy retaping boxes and packing things up, we've started to become real Blockbuster addicts again (there's one ~2 blocks from us). In the last week we've seen the following flicks:

• Juno
• Kite Runner
• Gone Baby Gone
• Death at a Funeral

We would pretty much recommend any of these movies for a host of different reasons...but if you happen to be in the mood for a good British slapstick (maybe with a drink or two), then you'll really enjoy Death at a Funeral.

One interesting trivia note is that the screenplay for Juno was written by Diablo Cody, a more interesting note is that Diablo Cody was a media studies major, at none other than the University of Iowa...we digress.

Anyways, that's what's going on here for now...we'll let you know if anything else earthshattering happens, lets just hope Indiana and North Carolina are kinder to Obama than was Pennsylvania, a state that we will never consider living in (along with California, Ohio, Texas, New Jersey, New York for that matter).

The last wedding trip...

It's hard to believe, but this past weekend we found ourselves making our final wedding trip of the year over to Raleigh, NC to see Johnette and Brooks get married. For those of you who may not remember Johnette, she was Emily’s maid of honor at our wedding, and has been friends with Emily since grade school.

For Emily, it was a return trip to Raleigh, while for Chris, his first time to the area.

Upon arriving unscathed and without cancellation on Thursday afternoon (luckily we flew with US Air, aka “US dare” instead of American), we figured we’d drive around and see what we could of downtown Raleigh and Chapel Hill until Emily’s friend Sara (also a previous bridesmaid of Emily’s and friend from undergrad) got off work. Upon leaving the airport, the first thing that you notice is how many trees there are along the highways and local roads. In transit between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, you feel like you’re in a forest preserve, unable to see the developments and civilization that resides beyond the dense foliage. Of course this was the perfect time of year to visit (unless you have seasonal allergies) as all of the flowering trees and bushes were in full bloom. Not only did the air seem cleaner (not a big accomplishment coming from Dallas), but there was also the smell of Lilac in the air, also adding to the spring ambience. It was immediately apparent to Chris why this area of the country is one of the fastest growing.

After touring Chapel Hill and Raleigh, we met up with Sara, who was nice enough to put us up (or put up with us) for two days during our stay. That night we headed out for some food and drink(s?) at a local microbrewery in downtown Raleigh with some of her friends that she’s met since moving down to area.

1) Sara & Emily 2) Chris, at ease with his microbrew

Friday morning found Chris fulfilling his unspoken duty as chauffeur as he took Emily to meet up with the rest of the bridal party at a local nail salon and took care of minor shopping necessities such as candles and bubble bath mix at Target. After a mid-afternoon siesta, we headed over to the wedding rehearsal and “Pig-Pickin” dinner that followed in the nearby suburb of Clayton. The wedding was to take place at an old historic mansion in downtown Clayton called The Wagner House. There, Emily met up with her other friends Melissa and Nikki, who had flown in from Iowa and Colorado, respectively.

Before we knew it, our stay was half over, and Saturday found Emily heading over to Clayton in the morning to get her hair and makeup done, and take care of all of her bridesmaid duties. This afforded Chris the opportunity to grab some sandwiches and go for a hike with Sara for a few hours at Eno River State Park, just outside of Durham. While the forecast had called for rain for the past few days on Saturday, and the clouds were definitely starting to roll in as the day progressed, Sara and Chris decided to chance it and head out onto the trail. This was a mistake… 30 minutes into the hike, and 25 minutes after crossing the only bridge in the park, the sound of thunder loomed ever closer, and then…a sheer downpour began. At this point…soaked to the core, Chris and Sara decided to just cross the river by foot rather than retrace the trail back to the bridge to the car; it really didn’t matter at that point.

The Eno River

1) Eno Park Footbridge 2) Chris cleaning up before the wedding 3) Sara, showing her guns

Luckily for Johnette and Brooks, their ceremony didn’t suffer the same fate as Chris and Sara did on their hike. The ceremony went off without a hitch, both in the weather department and logistically. The ceremony was held in the backyard of the mansion, and the reception was divided between the first floor of the house and the large rap-around porch. We of course got our groove on the dance floor, including a rare appearance of the highly anticipated Elaine (from Seinfeld)-esque dance by Chris for Melissa’s entertainment. The reception was capped with some after-partying at the hotel in Johnette and Brooks’ room (of all places).

Before flying back to Dallas on Sunday, our time was divided between the gift-opening reception in the morning at the hotel, and a brief get together one last time with Sara and a few of her friends. The trip was a great break from Dallas, and we wished that we didn’t have to leave so soon after arriving, but such was the reality. We enjoyed seeing everyone, and definitely wouldn't mind visiting Raleigh again.

Note: All of the wedding photos can be viewed and downloaded in their entirety by clicking on the picassa web album slideshow below. Donations are also welcomed…

Intimidation

I must say that I've been slightly disappointed at the lack of excitement that we've receiving regarding our coming back to Iowa post. I can only assume it is related to 1 of 4 things.

1. You truly don't care what we do with our lives, just as long as we leave you alone.
2. You're not reading our blog.
3. You're unhappy that we're returning to Iowa and wish we were living some place much cooler so you could come visit...oh wait...you don't visit us...
4. You just don't ever comment on our blog.

So, what gives? Is this getting old and you're tired of hearing about our lives? Should we pack up our blogging as we pack up our apartment? (Which I've already started, not that you care or anything...I'm just saying.)

In case this post itself isn't enough to get you excited about us coming back to Iowa, let me add a little intimidation to the mix.

GRRRR!!!

Looking Ahead

A bit of an announcement to those of you we haven't yet spoken with...but it is now official that we will be returning to Iowa City next year. Emily will be working back at UIHC, while Chris returns to the College of Dentistry to complete a one year implant fellowship. We're excited about this, and look forward to reacquainting ourselves again with such small pleasures as hikes, recycling, catching the Hawkeyes play, and of course Chris with his photography. We'll be happy to be joined in town for the year with the likes of Trent (one of Chris' friends from undergrad) who will be completing a one year Doris Duke research fellowship with the university, and Nathan (one of Chris' good friends from dental school) who will be returning from Denver. Emily also looks forward to joining back up with all of her nursing staff friends at the hospital.

As time progresses and we transition from Dallas back to Iowa City, there will presumably be some changes to our blog, as we'll no longer be “Doing Dallas”. This may include a more permanent URL address, as it would be nice to not have to change it every time we relocate. Chris would also like to eventually add more photography content to the blog, something that has been difficult while living in the concrete jungle of Dallas. We’re pretty sure our wide readership won’t be too distressed with such changes. For now though, please pass your attention to the right side of the page, where you can find available a Chris & Emily – specific Google search engine (in case there really is too much content to sift through for you ADHD types), and a nifty chronologically updated Blog link to other blogs we regularly visit.

And if you, our reader (yes, all three of you), would like to see anything else regarding content on our blog, please let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

April Fools Birthdays!

A Happy Birthday shoutout is in order to three people who happen to share the same April Fool's birthday:

• Emily (28)
  
• Sarah (25)
• Jeff (58)

The ironic part of this is that last year Jeff Kessler (our family's adopted uncle) bought Emily a flowering bush of some sort. At the time it was in full bloom, but then quickly decided it didn't want to maintain these beautiful blooms. Alas, after a year of being drenched in 100+ degree direct sunlight, and then exposed to a truly harsh Dallas winter (riiight), this plant has decided to make an amazing recovery in time for, you guessed it, Emily's birthday. So I figured I'd snap a photo of the plant just to let everyone see this amazing feat of photosynthesis.