Just wanted to let y'all know that my home computer is hosed, so my entries might be pretty short and/or sporadic for a little while. :( Feh. The quick update is this (my apologies to Ann, Kim, and Peter, who've heard all of this already!): 1. I applied for a credit card with a low APR. Unfortunately, when I talked to a rep today, the credit limit is $1000 and therefore useless. 2. I talked to the Meriwest folk, who want me to mail them signed paperwork and then fax them the purchase order from the dealership. They'll then mail a check to the dealer. 3. I talked to the dealer, who won't tell me their financing rates until I come into the dealership (I'd be surprised if they don't match Meriwest's rates, though). They also won't tell me how much it'll cost to ship the bike home, though "John" guarantees that they'll "take care of [me]." So, that's where I'm at. I'm planning on dragging Peter out of bed on Saturday morning (sorry, babe) and going down to Salinas. I'll give them Meriwest's rate and see if they'll beat it; if so, I'll go with that and, well, not send Meriwest the signed papers. If Meriwest's rates are still lower, I'll fax the stuff in right from the dealership. I'm still a little up in the air as far as shipping the bike -- I was planning on calling U-Haul and seeing what the rate is for a one-way rental from Salinas to Sunnyvale, and also what the cancellation fee is. I feel like I should just go with the dealer's offer (whatever the cost) just to keep my blood pressure down, but then I feel guilty for not seeking out the absolute best possible cost. Damn midwestern cheapskate tendencies. No real Nighthawk news. I'm going over there right now to pound out the old races and degrease the steering stem; later in the week I'll degrease the new bearings, grease up the whole assembly with my stuff, and start putting it all back together. Rrrarr. So that's what's going on. If I do an entry later, it'll just be a cut-n-paste of this email. Stoopid computer. :) So we must now give Ann support in her continual struggle with the evil bike mechanic, and we must congratulate Kim on her first freeway ride! Huzzah!
So yeah. That's the haps. The only updates for today is that I think I've decided to just go with the dealer shipment and stop stressing about this whole UHaul/dealer thing. I don't know what the hell my brain's problem is. The other update is that the races are now out of the steering stem, so now I just need to degrease the new bearings. I might try to do that tonight; it depends if my asthma's still acting up like it has been this week. Respiratory problems + Brakleen fumes == bad.