Black Friday Shopping

Last Sunday Reia and I went car shopping. I had finally decided that it was too expensive to rent cars and it would be more cost effective for me to just buy a car.

I didn't want to spend too much and so was looking at a used car. Since I spend just around 6 months and am not local, I wanted to buy a fairly recent one that would not give me the heartache of breaking down every few months or weeks or days.

I spoke to a few experts, aka Americans. And this was 1 subject on which there were myriad opinions. Al felt that a car is an investment and I should get a new, all wheel drive, fully loaded. The rationale being the comfort while owning and the value when selling. Bob was of the opinion that if I wanted to get a used car, I should get one from a dealer and not an individual or a used car outlet. His rationale was that although you could expect to pay significantly more, you could rely on what you were getting and the probability of landing a lemon very low. And the final authority. Reia. She had just 1 question, "Can I take it to college ?".

After running all of the zillion opinions and options through an extremely complex algorithm, processed at super-speed by the world's faster computer, aka the brain, we decided to go check out Car Max. The primary reason was that it seemed to be a single place we could check out several cars at one time.

Reia and I had kinda narrowed down to a Nissan Rogue Sports. It was neither a SUV nor a sedan, but had the features of both and was what some called a Crossover. The primary reason was it seemed to be the cheapest car that had an all wheel drive, a nice thing to have in the snow in Connecticut.

At Car Max, the experience was exactly what they claimed in their ads. No pressure sales. In fact, there was no real sales. All questions I had were answered by going to the Car Max website that I had already visited. And the sales person did not seem to know or be able to help us in making a decision. He wasn't even able to explain why a used car was almost as expensive as a new car. A 2014 car was priced at $17,000 and I remember seeing a new car ad for under $20,000. He checked it online, saw i was there and advised me to go buy the new car. I agreed and so Reia and I decided to check that out.

The time was already 3.30 and dealerships closed at 4 on Sundays. We decided to drive to the nearest dealership which happened to be "George Harte Nissan" in West Haven. They were all set to close down when we got there, but were attended to by Tim Roy. He was good. He was a professional. Knew when to push. And when to stop. He gave us a price. What seemed to me to be an obviously larger number, so he could negotiate. I told him I wanted his best price and I would make a decision. He came back with a number that was not Amazing but quite good. The comparable price to the $17,000 was $18,000. And this included a 3 year warranty and all the good stuff that comes with a new car.

It seemed like a great deal. Since it was the end of the year, the dealerships wanted to sell their 2017 model year inventory before the year ended. And Nissan was willing to help them, by giving a few manufacturer discounts as well. And 0% financing. And the dealer was willing to forfeit most if not all of their margins. And Black Friday, the greatest sale event in the US was an opportunity to move cars. Motivated Buyers. Even more Motivated Sellers.

We were sold. And promised to get back the next day. After checking out at least 1 more dealership. Just to make sure we weren't missing anything. I checked out 2 other dealerships. One of them had a similar price. Unfortunately I had a very poor experience. And the other I had a great experience. But a price that was $3,000 more. There was no decision to be made. It made itself.

And then I made a mistake. I spoke again to Al and Bob. And they convinced me that the entry level model is never a good idea. I needed to at the very least get the next model, and the winter package and ... My cheap car just got a whole lot more expensive. And I was sucked in to going with it, because of the "What if they are right?" syndrome.

Yesterday, Reia and I went picked up our new Nissan Rogue. 1 day old and we already love it.

A new life comes forth

 Happy Birthday Simran.

Last Sunday was my niece Simran's birthday. And we were blessed to have another niece on the same day. She was a healthy child at 3.649 kg and 53 cm.

It seems like none of us will be able to see her for the next 60 - 90 days. Don't know what will determine when we will be able to visit her, but I am sure the parents have figured out what, when and why.

I've been brought up in India where all of us visited the happy parents in the hospital, hours after the child is born. Not only of the near and dear ones, but also the not so near yet dear ones. There seemed to be no clear reasons for this decision to keep visitors away that was shared by the parents. Except for that's how we do it. And like all things in life, people choose what's right for them. And everybody else respects those wishes. Especially when there is no other choice.

I was curious to find if this was followed due to medical, cultural, religious or some other reasons. And I started a research project on the subject aka Ask Friends and Google.

I started with the medical professionals. We have 2 doctors in our immediate family. And I checked with them. They said that from a medical standpoint, its not only okay but good to have visitors after the baby is in the room with the mother. And when the hospital allows it. They laughed at the stupidity of the question, since the very fact that the doctors and hospitals were allowing it, not only was it safe and perfectly okay, it was a joyful time to be shared with the near and dear.

Next stop was the church. The priests too shared the same opinion as the doctors. And felt that you could get the child to church as soon as a few days or as some parents prefer, wait a month. And it all depended on the mother. And her comfort level. I guess they didn't want to miss a potential long term parishioner.

Next stop was my American friends. The Americans were vocal on the subject. A colleague, Ruppert had a baby born after 27 weeks. And to call her premature would be an understatement.

Natalie

He said that while they had visitors as soon as the baby was in the room with the mother, they had been advised to be careful with handling of the baby. And so would request visitors not to hold the baby and the close ones like his Mom to wash their hands using hand wash foam they had ready.

Dad Ruppert with Natalie

The Europeans seemed to follow a similar pattern. I tried to find some culture that had such strict routines but wasn't able to. Most articles on the subject talked about etiquette for visitors, but I wasn't able to find an article on not having visitors for 2 - 3 months.

All of the above does not mean that there isn't a good reason for the parents behaving in what many of us consider strange. There's a possibility that we just don't know and what we don't know appears strange. Or as life has taught me, it could just as well be plain and simple arrogance or stupidity or both. I guess its one more of those life's mysteries that I'll never know.

And while I look forward to seeing my niece in 3 months or so, its possible as a doctor suggested that I avoid seeing her for a year. Since there's no significant drop in probability of infection between Day 1 and Day 60, but there's a statistically significant drop between Day 60 and Day 365. Or as my daughter thought aloud, "I think I'll wait till she's 16, so she can decide whether or not she wants to meet me."

But really, I cant wait to see the Rose. And am sure that when I do get to meet her, it will be an occasion well worth waiting for.

Veterans Day

Yesterday was celebrated in the US as Veteran's Day. It's a public holiday observed annually on November 11. This day is also celebrated in other parts of the world and is meant to mark the end of World War 1. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of, no not the 11th year but the 18th year, 1918.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

Its always fascinating to show the respect and thankfulness shown here to those who served. Richly deserved, but not always shown in many parts of the world.

Here are my 10 favorite Veteran Day signs.

And since usually the good outnumbers the bad, here are my 5 least favorite signs.

Happy veterans day and Thank You to all who served. Your motherland. Not only in the US but all over the world.

Modern Catholic Church

On Thursday I met my friend Tony for dinner. Tony is getting married in May. And I'm invited. My very first invite to a wedding in the US. Unlike in India where weddings are large affairs with hundreds and many times even thousands of guests, US weddings tend to be intimate affairs with only close family and friends and almost always guests in 2 digits.

And we were discussing the plans and preparations for the wedding. He was having his wedding ceremony in a castle. And the nuptials were being solemnized by a priest. A Catholic priest. Being a Catholic myself, I was intrigued. One of the areas of the Catholic church that I don't like and disagree with is its non-acceptance of the modern realities of divorce, LGBT, ...

Tony being a divorcee, I was puzzled as to how the Catholic Church had agreed to marry him. And that was a revelation moment. There was a part of the Catholic Church which was modern in its outlook. And was accepting of all people. And did not really care about the past. Or preferences for a spouse. This seemed to be exactly what a church should be. Not discriminate, but be all welcoming.

Ironically this Modern Thought Church is ""The Old Catholic Church".

This paragraph from the church's website says it all:
"
The ecclesiology of TOCCUSA is modeled after that of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches. What this means is that TOCCUSA is both episcopal and synodal in structure. The local church gathers around its bishop whose authority flows from election by the diocesan synod which is composed of clergy and laity. Clergy and laity have equal voice and vote on all matters of local and national church life. As Catholics, we celebrate the seven sacraments. Recognizing that the sacraments are a means to God’s mysterious, inclusive, and abundant grace and that God withholds that grace from no one, we bar no one from any sacrament: all baptized Christians are welcome at Eucharist, same-gender couples are welcome to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony, LGBT persons and women are welcome and encouraged to the holy orders of deacon, priest, and bishop.
"

You can learn more about the church at its website
http://www.toccusa.org/
or on Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Catholic_Church