Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Well now Colin it's nice to think I was a good influence on you. Silvus does look great, the colour is what Mazda calls Liquid Silver, has a bluey tinge to the paint, and lots of metal flake in the paint. It does look superb when freshly waxed.

    Cheers Pat.
  • lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    I flew up to Philadelphia last week and it was wonderful, the main purpose being my nephew's wedding. Arrived Wednesday evening, got to Michael's house, and then we went to see North Mississippi Allstars at a small club there. Got to talk to the band (my 4th time seeing them), some photos, some autographs, and a great concert. Thursday, went LP shopping at Repo Records and Philadelphia Record Exchange; got some albums in both places. Friday was dinner at my brother's temple in Princeton Junction for the family and friends of the bride(she is also the assistant rabbi there) and my nephew. Saturday, a dinner in Philadelphia at a restaurant named Supper, on South St. Sunday was the wedding, absolutely beautiful, held at the Inn on the Lake in Perkasie, PA. It was great to see my nephew get married, and his wife is incredible. I also did a little shopping on Friday and Saturday and bought this
    image
    It's a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 with 52,000 miles. It only took me 49 years to buy one; it's been one of my dreams since i was 12.

    Some photos of Michael and I
    image
    With his friend Rachel
    image
    Ready to take on Don Draper!
    image
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Very nice, Serge; sounds like quite a week! Congratulations all around! :shades:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    It does sound like a great weekend! Wedding, shopping, Porsche...

    We were down in VA for Beth's sister's 25th anniversary party. Drove down Friday evening, came back Monday. It was a good time, and the weather was very nice, but no Porsche came home with me.

    I did, however, get to try out the AirLift 1000 spring bags I installed on the Sienna the prior weekend. They really helped tighten up the rear and kept the tail off the ground on the rough dirt roads around the Spotsylvania Courthouse battlefield.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Wow Serge, that was quite a productive weekend! Mike and the new ride look great! :)

    Bob
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Yeah, I've been sort of MIA lately ... (not that you've noticed, I'm sure - and that's OK!)

    The 'woes' at work go on and on ....

    School #1 - the new para has settled in nicely even though I'm only at the school 2 hours a week for instruction with the 5 students on my caseload there. It's going "ok" although I never have enough time there to "take care of things".

    School #2 - the full-time special ed teacher is still on maternity leave. The sub who had a full month with us before she left is ... well .... uh .... that's all I'm going to say about that .... so I have my 8 students there and "help" with others. Still never enough time to "take care of things".

    School #3 - the full-time special ed teacher was new this year and then went on medical leave about a week after the other teacher left on maternity leave. We went through several subs over a 2 week period and then they hired a more "permanent sub" who has been there for 3 weeks. She just finished her degree last May and got dropped into the middle of chaos. We have 33 students on the caseload there (14 of which are officially mine). About 2 weeks ago we had to totally restructure the schedule for special education services - the full time teacher, me as 1/2 time, and the full-time instructional para schedule. This is just before the end of the first quarter and teachers are getting ready for report cards/parent conferences, so ... uh ... let's just say ... it didn't go over really well .. even though it was necessary and at least THAT is finally about "settled". The "permanent sub" is doing OK and managing but I'm really doing the paperwork, meetings, etc for the 33 students there. In the past week, I have completed progress reports on the IEPs of almost 50 students. I'm working at least one day every weekend, and most evenings I come home and try to rest for about a hour or so, eat something and then have things that have to be done before the next day. I start early, and finish late, and then some ... There is no hope of "catching up" -merely taking care of the most pressing crises from day to day - and that's exhausting ...

    We have a schedule that "slid" today for parent conferences. I'll be going in by noon (actually 11) and staying until about 8 tonight - but at least we have a 3 day weekend .... (HALLELUJAH!)

    See ya sometime down the road
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    AirLift 1000 spring bags I installed on the Sienna

    Sounds sweet. What did those set you back? Did you DIY on the install?

    Spotsylvania

    VA? Dad used to own a house on Lake of the Woods. I used to water ski there a lot. Fun times.
  • lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    As a History teacher, I've always wanted to do a tour of some battlefields and small museums...We once did the one at Lexington and Concord and it was beautiful there. Maybe this summer...
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Hang in there, Brenda! The situation is obviously dragging you down, so keep in mind that it will pass; regardless of how tough it is now, it is temporary.

    I know how you feel with regard to being able to only take care of the most pressing crises. It truly is exhausting (and probably much more so when students are involved).

    Best wishes; you'll make it through!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Terrible situation. And of course YOU are to blame for all of it, right? I'm sure in someone's mind you must be culpable of some kind of negligence! My sister is a special ed aid in New Hampshire, so I speak from experience, sad to say.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Pretty inexpensive mod for the van - under $90 for the kit from Amazon. It took me a few hours of work to clean the springs and install them, in part because I ignored the instructions and did it my way.... The fill valves are in the rear valance panel under the bumper.

    The actual party was at my niece's house, a few miles down the road from Lake Anna (made famous as the epicenter of this summer's earthquake).
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited October 2011
    I've been to Lake Anna. On a SeaDoo. Fun!

    What I can't believe is that Fredericksburg has officially become a DC suburb. People take the train and/or carpool. My assistant/backup lives out there, takes an hour plus every day, each way. Crazy!

    When I was a kid it was a different world. Spotsylvania Mall, and that's about it. It felt so rural back then. Now, no way...
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Gah! That sounded like the perfect application for my Forester, but it doesn't look like they make something compatible with it! Lame. When it is time for me to replace struts, I might just have to come up with something on my own. I could even market it: The Subaru Air Suspension Kit by Hobo -Wes-. Think it would sell? :P
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Fredricksburg has changed a lot! Beth's family moved there in '94, and in 17 years the place has literally exploded with growth, all the way down to and past Lee's Hills (Massaponax).

    On previous visits I joined the morning commuters on VRE from Fredricksburg to Union Station. It's always full!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I remember when they had one traffic light.

    Now it can be congested like any other big suburb.
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    It's been a while and I have a lot of catching up to do. Things are almost back to normal here.

    First of all, Mikey is doing well after his last surgery in August. His health is very good and prognosis is excellent. The latest ultrasound on his kidney shows that everything went the way it should, it is draining and shrinking, so we don't have to go back to Boston for another followup until next April! Woo-hoo!

    Second, my beloved 1983 Mustang GT finally came home. After being wrapped up in plastic for 4 months and at the body shop for 15 months after the "tree incident", we picked it up 3 weeks ago. Simply stated, it is absolutely beautiful! Basically, the entire exterior and most of the interior was stripped down, rebuilt using all the correct parts and repainted with the utmost attention to detail. What was a very clean, almost mint-condition daily driver is now a show-quality car. But that hasn't stopped me from driving it around to run errands, although it does get a lot of attention! I will try to host some pictures soon.

    And, for today's fun ... I was planning on washing and waxing the car and maybe raking leaves, and getting ready for Trick-or-Treat. We are now under a winter weather advisory with chance of significant snow tonight - like 6 to 12 inches!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited October 2011
    That's all great to hear Rob!

    (Yeah, even the snow - it'll encourage you to prep the ski bottoms. :shades: )
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    I am not popular. Last night was my daughter's Secondary School Graduation Dinner; a major event at a nearby racecourse. She is a musician and had decided to write a song which she performed. All of her songs seem to have the melancholy angst of the average eighteen year old; nothing about duckies or rainbows!

    In some sort of preparation for attending the performance, I decided to have the car detailed, particularly having the leather seats cleaned. The Kluger is approaching seven years old and I have not lavishe attention on the interior. Pat would be appalled, but I figure that it is a work tool and has honesty through wear! The cleaning left a dreadful stench so I left the doors open all afternoon to air the odour out.

    Came time to go and I realised that I had flattened the battery; Fortunately a neighbour was around so could jump start the car.

    I felt a total idiot. Of course, my daughter had posted the details of her father's idiocy on Facebook within seconds so every kid at the function knew that I was responsible.

    At least the performance went well.

    Cheers

    Graham
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Hi Rob, I am glad to hear Mikey is doing so well. Tell him I said hi. Good to see you got your beloved Mustang up and running again. Would be nice to see some Photos. I know it was heavily damaged in the tree incident.

    cheers Pat.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Graham - someday she'll realize that her father has gotten more intelligent.

    Just a question for some cocktail party fodder. Here in North America, schools generally run August/September to May/June with summers off. How does is work there?
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    And, for today's fun ... I was planning on washing and waxing the car and maybe raking leaves, and getting ready for Trick-or-Treat. We are now under a winter weather advisory with chance of significant snow tonight - like 6 to 12 inches!

    I picked up leaves and mowed the lawn. Then I prepped the snow blower and put the snow tires on the cars. My widdle head is so confused!!
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Who is in the middle of the nor'easter? We usually get it HERE before you guys get hit! Early afternoon looked to be weird here when a big thunderstorm blew up and it HAILED on the Notre Dame field a couple hours before kickoff .... it was ... um .... just weird ... lol
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    edited October 2011
    After I posted the last message, I was checking news ... here's the way they defined what we had here today and I've never heard of it before!

    "The National Weather Service had reports of "graupel" as well as hail in the brief storms that slid through the area Saturday. Here's graupel defined: Ice crystals fall through a cloud of super-cooled droplets-minute cloud droplets that have fallen below freezing tempature but have not frozen. The ice crystal plows into the super-cooled droplets and they immediately freeze to it. This process forms graupel, or snow pellets, as the droplet continues to accumulate on the crystal. The pellets bounce when they hit the ground. Graupel is softer than hail and doesn't do damage." - from wsbt.com weather page
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    In the Northern Hemisphere, the school year runs summer to summer, from about August to June. The same applies in the Southern Hemisphere, so our year runs February to December with a 5-6 week break from the week before Christmas to end of January. IN most Australian states, the year is broken into two semesters each of two terms, giving the kids a six week break over summer and then three breaks of two weeks each through the year. It gives 40 teaching weeks.

    The issues that the teachers in this group have written about are common throughout the world; it is not particularly financially rewarding although professionally rewarding. You are unlikely to get rich teaching and you have to deal with the weirdness of bureaucracy. However, we have noting like the disclosure of personal details that is suffered in the USA. Recently, I was searching the net for some details of a distant relative. I was very surprised to find the details of his pay from a local school district in Washington State, carefully set out for the last five years. The Australian public would just not come at that!

    Cheers

    Graham
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Mikey & the car - Great news all around.

    Snow? What snow? (taking a break from shoveling and attempting to same most of my flattened bushes, cutting down trashed trees, etc.)
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    edited October 2011
    That's merely a near-miss. I doubt that my daughter would make much of a fuss over that. Now if you missed the performance - then the court of public opinion would come down hard on you!
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    So, you all probably remember my comments about Emily's broken leg and getting booted from the marching band. The season is coming to a close, and the band is doing well (placed 6th in BoA Eastern States competition down in Towsen, MD last week, but the pressure on the kids has been described by some as brutal. This week is the NYS competition finals in Syracuse ("Dome"), and the director calls. Seems some members have quit (I wonder why....), and he now needs her. He did some reshuffling, and she has a minor part. After some discussion, we say OK. She wants to be there with her friends.

    Then comes the storm! Yesterday's final practice and parents show gets cancelled, and it's a mad panic this morning to get the drive cleared of snow (a little over a foot of heavy wet stuff), clear a few down trees (leaves and snow make for a bad combo). Power is out throughout the county. But there on the road. Late, and without some that could not get thru, but they're going to dome!
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    They did good! 51 of the best in NY showed up, and despite 24 hours of drama leading up to the show, Arlington HS takes #2! Lots of happy text messages & web site postings last night.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Anyone wearing a costume?
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Congrats Serge- looks like a nice car! I'm pretty sure by 87 they galvanized the steel body panels- does it have the G50 tranny?

    Just find yourself a reputable P-Car mechanic who hopefully won't charge you an arm and a leg (and another arm!).

    Here's to more dreams come true!

    tom
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Hey Rob

    Glad Mikey is ok- kids bounce back from this stuff much better than adults!

    Glad the GT is ok too! Where are you going to park it so it's safe?

    Wow, snow! I miss New England. . .

    tom
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    I am. I dressed up like a person; I think I have everyone fooled. :D
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Wow, that's kinda harsh of her Graham. If I had a dime for every stupid thing teenagers do I'd solve the deficit problem!

    Hmm, maybe we need a facebook for parents of teens. . . ;)
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    edited October 2011
    I think Rob's timing for bringing the car home is about perfect. Now, if only he can avoid any falling branches over the next few days.... :surprise:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    I like that break schedule; I think it would be far more beneficial for the children. I have often suggested similar schedules here, but the general response from teachers is that they need that three-month break in order to get another job. If there were smaller (but more) breaks, they would just have to take the time off. :sick:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Let's see if Picasa will let me embed this photo:

    From Halloween

    If not here's a link:

    https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tCQbx4IvNgXbJCUGYrFD2g?feat=directlink
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Thank you for the information Graham. Our town starts the last week of August/first week of September and goes until the 3 week of June or so. 10 days off at Christmas (yeah I said it) and another week off in February and April. The plan is for 180 days of instruction.

    Today though is the first "snow day" I can recall in October. We had about 6" but about 50% of town is still without power. The high school though is still able to assign work. Our town assigned iPads to all students at the high school. Most teachers have blogs and can ensure the kids get their work. The hope is that within 2 years a so, students and teachers will be able to Skype or Netmeet on school days.

    As for posting teachers salaries, yes that is a common thing here in the states. All public employees have their salaries noted as public record. Typically, police officers earn the most but here in Massachusetts that is from working details. Road works, utility projects, et al that are done on the streets/highways require the use of an off-duty police officer to direct traffic. It pays about $38 and hour and is a minimum of 4 hours. It is paid by the entity doing the project.
  • hammerheadhammerhead Member Posts: 907
    edited October 2011
    Some Northwest marching band success in the MTM2 thread too! Patrick plays in the Central Valley HS Marching Band & Color Guard, Grand Champions of the Pride of the Northwest NWAPA Championships!

    Parents of members of great bands drive Subarus!
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Hahaha; that's a rather stretched association (reminds me of Space Balls)!

    Congrats on your son's success nonetheless!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • hammerheadhammerhead Member Posts: 907
    And he played (tenor sax) almost the whole season with a broken arm. Put an oversize uniform on him so the sleeve would fit over the cast, and they wear gloves anyway, and you would have been hard pressed to tell he was in a cast at all! He persevered & adapted through the inconvenience & discomfort. I'm very proud of him.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited October 2011
    I'm going to wear my Anaktuvuk Pass mask (mine's leather), my beaded Athabascan mocs, and the corduroy trapper's hat my wife made for me 25 years ago. Wish I could borrow a Malamute for a couple of hours.

    My wife and I met at a Halloween party 31 years ago. We just remembered that. :D

    (My sister has the family saxophone, but that's okay. She has a Forester. :shades: )
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Cool. Just say "mush" a lot and see who doesn't look confused. Those are the ones who get it.

    I love Halloween. I guess that's because I moved away from the US for a while (ages 11-16) and sort of missed my prime Trick-or-Treating years.

    Any advice from the peanut gallery? I'm thinking take the kids to the townhouses since they're closer together. More candy in less time. :shades:
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    What, no rollerblading with the crazies in Georgetown?
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Congrats, Paul. I guess you can hide a broken arm. Faking it with a broken leg and crutches was beyond my daughter's ability!

    I just looked at my earlier post, and it looks like 21st (2!). They placed #2 in the state, up from #4 last year. That #1 spot is so damn elusive.... If it hadn't been a week of rain and snow, well, who knows.... Maybe next year.

    Hey, I like the Subaru connection.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Georgetown used to be amazing. Haven't been there in a long time, though. I don't think they close the street like they used to. Too dangerous, probably.

    There's a street near where I used to live that is wonderfully themed, every house decorated, and kid-safe. We may go there later tonight.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Nice Steve! UA Museum of the North; hey, that's just across the street! :P
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • hammerheadhammerhead Member Posts: 907
    One of the girls on the vibes (in the pit) wounded a knee in a judo accident - she walked in on crutches, and we assigned a parent to swap crutches for a stool so she could sit & play. The (pardon the pun) stool pigeon.

    Amazing the amount of support that is needed to make the marching band machine work. Worth every minute!
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Many municipalities in this region simply cancelled it by decree. Even where they didn't, it simply wasn't safe. Between down trees, wires on the ground, large swaths of the county without power, and an unusually cold day it just wasn't advisable. My wife took our youngest to the mall, which she described as looking like Black Friday on steroids. Most of the county residents were there (kids in costume) seeking shelter from icy homes.

    We were quite lucky in that power held reasonably firm during the storm itself, but damaged trees continue to fall, foiling the work of crews working around the clock. Estimated uptime is now tomorrow night (maybe...) if they can get ahead of the curve. I just called for an LP refill as we burn our way thru it. Finally, that monster standby unit is pulling it's weight!
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Amazing the amount of support that is needed to make the marching band machine work. Worth every minute!

    As the parent of a freshman who is doing marching band for the first time, I agree. The booster group does an amazing job coordinating it all.

    The band particpated in an exhibition recently in New Hampshire. Our band numbers about 105 members. The Londonderry, NH High School band arrived in 10 buses and a 26' moving truck. They are 375 members strong. I was flabergasted.

    The one thing I've noticed about marching band is the comraderie amongst the bands. They cheer for each other and really watch the performances.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I remember doing the malls when the kids were really small, much easier. Too bad it was so crowded.

    When we went it was empty, and the stores were offering us to take entire boxes of candy home, LOL.
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