November is Many Things

Hello everyone. Joe here. November is many things. The first thing that happens in November for me is my birthday. I turned 25 on Friday, November 2. I've made it. I'm half-way to 50 and only need to work another 45 years before I can retire. Actually, I'll probably never retire.

Being 25 has given me mixed feelings about growing up. I feel like there were so many things I missed out on while growing up and while in college. Those that know what I'm talking about, well, you just know - and those that don't, don't worry about it.....'cause I'm over it.

I've started paying my own car insurance (I know...a little late jumping on this train; thanks Mom and Dad for helping out way longer than you should have). I've also started paying more attention to the world around me and am starting to become more aware of how my actions today could affect how I may be living in the future. Before this turns into a rant on carbon footprints and whether or not global warming is blah blah, so on and so forth, just know that I've started to open my eyes a little more regarding the decisions I make about how I live. Ok, when you boil it down I just try to keep the lights off at home except in the room I'm in. The bottom line, I have a ways to go in becoming globally conscious, but it's a start.

November also brings colder weather. And colder weather in Utah usually means snow. Last year this wasn't the case, as our winter was, well, what winter...? We're due for a good amount of snow this year. I can feel it. The winter crew is assembling and we're all starting to get excited for the season ahead of us.

Until next time....

Subaru-a-Boo-Ba-Ru

It seems like every car company out there has a good thing going at one time or another - they have their eggs in a bunch of different baskets and their cars look great. Let's take Subaru, for example. Their 1987 GL Wagon is a timeless classic - those that know this are very well aware of the weight those words bear. Outback wagons in general have always had a decent, clean yet crisp look and feel to them.

Then in the early 90's when Subaru introduced to us the Outback Sport, our stomaches churned a little in the uneasy direction. The car looked more like a bubble waiting to be popped than it did an all-wheel-drive, gas-efficient mini-wagon. A couple years ago Subaru took the Outback Sport back to the drawing board and came out with something I think all of our paletts enjoyed. The car was good looking, had awesome looking head lamps, had a decent shape that said, "drive me" and left you with an overall impression of "man, I want one of those," if you didn't already have one.

Don't get me wrong. A Subaru will always and forever be on my wishlist. But I have to ask the people at Subaru what they were thinking when they let this design make it off the production line and skid into driveway's across America:

I have to ask, WTF, guys at Subaru? WTF??!! This has got to be the ugliest, most unoriginal design I have seen for a car yet. I was driving around town this afternoon and saw a blue guy just like it. I thought, hmmmm, maybe a Kia?? Hell no sirs and madams. It was a brand-spankin' new Subaru Outback Sport. Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) would have pooped his pants if he saw this car.

If this is a testament of what is to come from Subaru, I am truly afraid. I don't like how this car looks, end of story. I'd rather be stuck driving a Toyota FJ cruiser, or better yet, a Camry wagon; do they even make those anymore? Hopefully this is just an in-between design and the guys at Subaru are cooking up something great that's going to make everyone that buys one of these 2008 Outback Sports look like a fool. Congratulations guys, this is the worst-looking hatchback I've seen yet.