The Sad Saga of Winnifred the Saturn

Oh, what a sad story.  I am having to say farewell to the car that has been so good to me for the past 7 years.  Winnifred the Saturn has been a great car...until now.

But first, here is a picture of Fred when I first got her:

So she really has been great all this time.  A few minor repairs here and there.  Last year was a little bad, what with the new radiator and timing belt.  But she kept running, so I didn't replace her.  Well, last week she almost overheated as I was driving from the theater to my parents' house.  She almost overheated again while driving to my house.  So I took her into the mechanic and got the bad news a few days later.  She needs a new head gasket.  It's a very expensive repair, and one that I don't want to pay for.  Especially, because the transmission will probably be the next thing to go.

So I needed to find a new car.  But I am INSANELY busy at the moment with "Scrooge".  Not to mention that I don't have the money for a new car.  So I borrowed my parents' car for a few days, but they needed it back on Friday.  So I got to borrow Craig's car for a few days, but he needed it back on Wednesday.  I just needed to find the time...make the time...to go car shopping.

I took the day off on Tuesday so that Dad and I could go out looking for cars.  I had looked online, but nothing had really jumped out at me.  I drive by a few car dealerships occasionally, so there were a few I wanted to go to, just because I thought I had seen some cars that might work.  I had some parameters set.....4 doors, smaller, lesser miles and newer than my current car.  Those were all negotiable.  My price range was not negotiable.  I knew I'd really like another Saturn, but I was open to other makes and models.

So we set out around noon.  We started out at Keck Auto Sales on N. Garfield, across from Runza.  They had several Saturns on their lot.  The first car I saw was a 2005 Saturn Ion.  The price was just under my price cap.  They also had a 1999 Saturn SL2.  (Fred is a 99 Saturn SL1.)  We didn't talk to anybody, just looked around.  But I really liked the Ion.  So we wrote down the information and then left.

Next we went to The Car Guys on the corner of Lincoln and 12th St.  They didn't have a lot, but they did have a 3 door Saturn that they had just gotten in and was going to be fixed up.  The guy we talked to there was really nice.  I knew that car wasn't going to work, so we moved on.

We went to Warner's Auto, but they didn't have anything that would work.  Then we went back up to Finish Line Auto, on the corner of Monroe and Eisenhower.  They didn't have anything that would work, but we did see a gold Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that was in my price range.  We joked that I should buy it so that Shauna and Neal and I would all have the same cars, just different colors.  As much as I would like 4 wheel drive, I know I couldn't afford that gas for that car.

Next we went up the street to Auto Integrity.  The guy there was really nice.  I test drove a 1999 Dodge Stratus.  It was a nice car, with actually really low mileage for a car that old.  And the price was right, but it just didn't feel right.  I couldn't stop thinking about the Saturn Ion back at Keck.  We told the guy we'd call if we were coming back.

We stopped by the dealership at the corner of Washington and Eisenhower.  They had some Volkswagons.  I drooled over the black Jetta and laughed at the '98 Beetle that was red with some weird yellow stripe.  I joked that if I got that car, I would name it "Ronald".  As in...Ronald McDonald.

We headed back to Keck and the note on the door said he would be back at 2:30.  It was 2:25, so we walked around and waited.  At 2:35, he wasn't back yet, so we went back to the car and were going to head up north.  But I made a phone call first, following up on a lead (which didn't pan out) and while I was on the phone, the guy came back.  So we talked about the Saturns with him.  I found out that the '99 had a practically new engine and 89K miles on.  (Another car with surprisingly low mileage for a 12 year old car!  Crazy!)  The Ion had 78K miles on it and was about $1000 more than the Dodge Stratus I'd driven earlier.  Similar mileage, $1000 more, 6 years newer.  And with the SL2, sure everything was pretty much new under the hood, but the rest of the car is still 12 years old.  I voted in favor of the Ion.  I took it for a test drive.  It's really quite nice!  Similar to Fred.

The only thing now was what to do with Fred.  With the need of a new engine, I wasn't expecting a lot for the trade.  But the tires are practically brand new!  I just bought them in August!  But he needed to see it before he could tell me how much he could give me for it.  (Oh, and I couldn't switch the tires.  Wrong size.)  We don't want to drive it too much, because it overheats, so he came over to take a look.  She really is a great looking car.  No body damage, since I've never been in an accident.  He thought the engine sounded okay.  So I am going to get $500 for the trade, which is about what I expected.

I decided that I definitely wanted the Ion, but I really needed my mechanic to check it out for me first.  But he couldn't get it in until Wednesday morning.  The dealership gave me the key on Tuesday and said I could come pick it up early and take it over.  So I did and got it Mark by 9 am.  But he couldn't look at it right away, so I called Dad and had him come pick me up.  I didn't know how long it was going to be, so I just stayed at their house for awhile.  After awhile, it was getting really close to when I needed to go to work.  So we got it all worked out so I could go get Craig's car and then come back over when the car was ready, but then Mark called just as we were about to leave.  So Shauna took me to get the Ion and Dad drove Fred over to the dealership.

It didn't take long to fill out the paperwork and what not, so I am now the proud owner of a 2005 Saturn Ion.  Here's a picture:

I'm still debating on a name.  I like to name my cars after iconic musical or movie characters.  Rosebud...Winnifred.  I have a couple of ideas for this car, but I'll have to wait and see.  The name needs to be earned.  Emily said that should name it Fred.  I told her I wasn't giving this car the same name as the old car!!

I'm a lot poorer now, much more in debt than I would like.  But I have wheels.  I don't have to walk to work.  I still think it's funny that I bought the first car that I saw.  Literally, the first car I looked at.  But I looked at so many other cars before I came back to that one!  That way I was sure!

Merry Christmas to me!

Follow up:  I named the car Adelaide.  I couldn't decide between Adelaide and Penelope, so her full name is Adelaide Penelope.

To Wish or Not to Wish...

It's annoying, but it's true.  It has virtually becoming completely politically incorrect to wish someone a Merry Christmas.  You never know anymore who celebrates it or not.  People get soooooooo offended these days.  I don't know if you celebrate Christmas or not.  Wear a sign or something if you don't want me to say it.  Sheesh!

However, I have discovered that I have no problem at all wishing patrons leaving our production of "Scrooge: The Musical" a Merry Christmas.  It's a fairly safe assumption that if they have paid to come see a musical based on Dicken's A Christmas Carol, then they probably celebrate Christmas.  I'm guessing that if someone has season tickets and they didn't want to see it, they gave their tickets away to someone else who wants to see it.  So I say "Merry Christmas!" not "Happy Holidays!"

So.....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You Know You're from Colorado if...

• You eat ice cream in the winter.
• It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be cancelled.
• You live above 5,000 feet.
• You'll wear flip flops every day of the year-regardless of temperature.
• You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's. And then you make fun of them.
• "Humid" is over 25%.
• Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.
• You say "the interstate" and everybody knows which one.
• You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.
• You buy your flowers to set out on Mother's day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father's day.
• You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
• You know what the Continental Divide is.
• You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, AND as an adult.
• You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.
• You always know the elevation of where you are.
• You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's gonna snow later.
• You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High Stadium!!!
• Every movie theater has military and student discounts.
• You actually know that South Park is a real place, not just a show on TV.
• You know what a 'trust fund hippy' is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder, Aspen, Crested Butte, Paonia, and Telluride.
• You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradan when they call it "Elitches," not "Six Flags.
• A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.
• Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.
• When people back East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.
• You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels "sticky" and you notice the sky is no longer blue.

Repost if you're PROUD of being a Coloradan.

First "Scrooge" Picture!

Here is one of the first pictures that I've gotten from "Scrooge"!!  This is the scene where the Dilbers are trying to negotiate with Scrooge for more time to pay.  I'm in the middle.  Michelle Sergeeff (Miss Dilber) is on the left and Brian Burron (Ebeneezer Scrooge) is on the right!

Johnson Candlelight Family Tree

It's kind of fun to let people guess & wonder, but I will finally clear this up for everyone.  The following are the members of the Johnson Family (and extended family) who have worked or currently work (as in, on the payroll) at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse....and how we are related:

Murell Johnson (Dad) - Props Master
Angela Johnson (oldest child) - Box Office & in the cast of Scrooge
Shauna Johnson (3rd child) - Technical Director & Stage Manager
Neal Johnson (youngest child) - Sound Designer, Sound Engineer, Master Carpenter, & Server
Amanda Johnson (Neal's wife) - Has worked a few tear downs
Brian Spotts (husband of our cousin Stephanie) - Has worked a few tear downs
Tiffany Sabec (Amanda's sister) - Has worked a few tear downs

Also...
Judy Johnson (Mom) - Doesn't get paid, but does pretty much whatever is needed.  (Like, today I called her at home with a message from Dad to "please make more of the brown play-dough.")
Craig Johnson (2nd child) - Has helped out moving sets on occasion.

It should also be noted that our parents, grandparents, aunt & uncle, and brother & sister-in-law all have season tickets.

So there you have it.  The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse is crawling with Johnsons.  And Johnson relatives.  (But any other Johnsons are of no relation, and there have been a couple.)

The Fezziwig's Family Tree

We decided last night at rehearsal for Scrooge the Musical that the Fezziwigs had 26 daughters.  Only one is named in the show...Isabel.  We decided that each daughter had a "Bell" name, and there was one for each letter of the alphabet:

Annabelle
Bellatrix
Clarabelle
Dorabella
Ellabelle
Florabelle
Gisbelle
Hannabelle
Isabel
Jessabelle (not be be confused with Jezabel)
Katiebelle
Lizabel
Mirabelle
Norabelle
Orabella
Pollybella
Qiyrabell
Rubybell
Sabella
Tarabella
Urabel
Vannabel
Willabella
Xiomarabella
Yettabelle
Zarabelle

Oh, and they had one son.  His name was Bello.

Tongue Ulcer Update

I got a call back from my doctor this morning.  My phone was off, so she left me a message.  The culture came back negative for a virus.  She thinks is might be an allergy that causes the ulcers.  Either a nut allergy (which I find unlikely) or an antibiotic allergy (which is pretty likely, but doesn't explain why I got the ulcers in July.)  I think they are caused by a combination of hormones and stress.  I wish I could nail it down so that I never get them again, but I can't deal with it this week.  It's Tech Week!  Scrooge opens on Saturday!!!!!!!

Losing a week of my life.

I have been so sick the past week and a half.  (What horrible timing!!!)  I developed the canker sores on my tongue again for the THIRD time this year.  Sometime during the night/early morning on the 3rd, I got really sick.  I remember trying to throw up and it not happening.  I was lying on the bathroom floor for awhile and then made it back to bed.  I then proceeded to sleep until noon.  I missed my doctor's appointment and my chiropractor's appointment.  I vaguely remember talking to Shauna on the phone so that I could get out of rehearsal that afternoon.  She came and took me to Urgent Care.  The doctor prescribed an anti-viral drug and I went back to using the Lidocane.  She swabbed the back of my throat, because there was a huge canker sore back there, but nothing showed up.

The next few days are a blur.  I was sleeping at least 10 hours a night.  I made it to rehearsal and to church.  I went to the doctor again on Tuesday.  That doctor took a chunk out of my tongue to test the canker sores.  I still haven't gotten the results from that test yet.  She thinks it could be an allergy that is causing it.  Great....that's all I need.  Another allergy.  I think it's stress-related.  I really just wish they would GO AWAY AND NOT COME BACK!!!!  I can't eat when I have them because it hurts so dang bad.

The timing with this has been horrible.  I am amazed at how quickly I forget the choreography that I'm learning for Scrooge.  We open in a week and I'm not comfortable with any of the dances except for maybe one.  Uuuuuuuugh............

Murphy's Law Day

The following is the timeline of our Murphy's Law Day:

1. Shauna and I left for the temple around 9:15 am
2. As we were turning off C470 onto University, suddenly the Jeep wouldn't shift.  Wouldn't go over 20 mph.  We made it to the temple parking lot, though.
3. Once we were in the temple and dressed, we found Mom and told her not to leave until we got done so we could figure out what to do about the car.
4. We were supposed to be on the 11:00 am session, but they had mechanical difficulties in that Ordinance Room, so we got bumped to the 11:30 am session.  (No biggie.)
5. We met up with Mom and Dad and then foyer and headed out to look at the car.
6. The car still wouldn't shift, so we decided to go to CiCi's for lunch while we decided what to do.
7. We decided that Neal and Amanda would come down and tow the Jeep back to Loveland.  We would start heading north and we'd meet in the middle.
8. We drove north on University, west on Belleview, and north on Federal...all at about 20 mph.  (35 mph when we coasted down hills!)
9. We made it to the Safeway at Federal and 102nd Ave.  We waited for Neal and Amanda (who had been on Wadsworth, not Federal).  Once the cars were hooked up with an interesting rig that consisted of a tow chain, ratchet straps, and duct tape, we headed out.  (I had a lovely hot chocolate from Starbucks!)
10. But BEFORE we headed out, we got a call that the power was out at the Candlelight.  Great.
11. We made quite the caravan, what with Neal's Jeep and Shauna's Jeep almost bumper to bumper with Mom & Dad following close behind with their hazards on .  (Shauna's Jeep had a signal light out.)
12. We left Safeway at about 4:30 pm.
13. Not too long after that, we got word that the power was back on at the Candlelight.
14. We went north on Federal, west on 104th, and north on Wadsworth/287.
15. Somewhere along the way, Shauna realized that there would be a problem with microphone batteries because of the power outage, so a series of phone calls followed to get that situation covered.  (As of press time, I haven't heard how that all ended up.)
16. As we were turning into the King Soopers parking lot (near our mechanic's), the wheel caught the towing rig and we were stuck halfway.  Neal got it fixed quickly, so we didn't block traffic for too long.
17. We arrived at our mechanic's about 5:45 pm.  We left the Jeep there and we took Shauna back to her house so that she could get ready to head to work.  I took Mom & Dad home.

WHAT A LONG DAY!!!!  STUPID MURPHY'S LAW.  I've had enough adventure for one day.  I'm beat!  But it really was quite interesting to see what's along Federal when you're going 20 mph.  We counted 9 Dollar Stores and 20 "Pot Shops" as I call them.  Crazy!!

Wal-Mart Real Estate

On my way to work this morning, I saw one of those manufactured houses being pulled down the interstate.  There was a Wal-Mart semi truck next to it.  For a brief moment, it looked like the Wal-Mart truck was pulling the house.  I thought "Wow!  You really CAN buy anything at Wal-Mart!!"

I wish I could have taken a picture.  But I was driving.  Oh, well!