Panda dwellings

So, we pandas are picky about where we live. For the entire "living together" portion of our relationship, M and I have lived in high rises with door people, maintenance people, in building gyms, etc. We've grown a bit accustomed to the lifestyle and the general lack of things to worry about. Something's broken? Put in a service ticket and someone comes to fix it. Need a workout? Walk downstairs and use our gym. Getting packages delivered? No problem, our door people sign for them and store them for our return. Not only that, but the areas that we have lived in have been spectacular. Walking distance to work, walking distance to entertainment, walking distance to great food, walking distance to pretty much everything!

Now, however, M and I are in a bit of a conundrum. At some point in our lives we're going to want little panda cubs to raise and mold into our own images. However, the tiny dwelling we currently reside in would not suit that. Thus, we are on the hunt for bigger, better dwellings within to call our home. Our biggest question right now is whether to rent longer or buy.

The case for buying is quite simple. Interest rates are lower than they've ever been in our lifetimes, and there's really nowhere for them to go but up. However, we're running into so many dilemmas and questions that the process itself has become quite frustrating.

Do we go for a condo? That would allow us to keep our accustomed luxuries like a door person, gym, etc, but it would also mean that, on top of the mortgage, we'd be paying common charges for building upkeep that in many cases are equal to rent. Not only that, but we can't afford those glitzy condos in the super swank areas that would allow us to continue being able to walk to work, entertainment, or tons of awesome restaurants. Plus, if we want to have multiple children, and they're not the same gender, we'd need a 3 bedroom unit at a minimum, and we REALLY don't have the kind of money that any nice area would require for one of those.

If we don't get a condo, do we go for a house? A house would most likely cost less than a condo to buy, and it would offer us a lot more space and rooms with which to spread our junk. But houses are really only common in the outer boroughs, and even then they tend to be older. Most things I've looked at on the market within NYC were built some time before the Great Depression. Sure, people have remodeled and fixed things up, but come on, those houses are older than any of our relatives...

So then the question of where to buy comes up. Aside from cost and size, we need to make sure our new home is in a safe area and one with good schools. We really don't want to move with children so finding an area with excellent schools is very important to us. After all, what good are kids if they end up dumber than rocks? Of course, some of that will fall on us, but we can only do so much. Anyway, where are all of the good schools? Well, Battery Park City, but that's really expensive. Parts of Brooklyn and Queens are good too, but they're also expensive and also don't have too many places up for sale. So then we started looking at places just outside the city. Lower Westchester has very good schools, and the houses there are enormous compared to what we could get here in the city. However, are we really ready to move to the suburbs? We both grew up in suburban locales so it's not like we've never been through that before, but neither of us really feels ready to "settle in" to that type of lifestyle just yet. But with all things considered, that might end up being the best option.

So in the end, we're faced with some major questions. I would think that, based upon how little time we have to really look, do research, and pool resources, we may just rent for another year. With the way the economy is going, the interest rates don't look to be going up any time soon, and that would also allow us to save up a little more so we can maybe buy a nicer place than we'd be able to afford now. But no matter what we decide, I can almost guarantee that none of these headaches will be anywhere near as bad as when we actually have to move. That's something I'm definitely not looking forward to...

Names

Looking back at my last two posts, maybe the blog should have been called "Ranting Pandas." I really don't want to complain this much and I have plenty of things to talk about that don't involve complaining. But it seems like my limited time has made it so that I post only when upset. I need to change that...

Too Generous

I gave this afternoon's taxi driver way too generous of a tip.

 

I'm a pretty good tipper when it comes to taxi drivers.  20%, usually.  And with credit card payment, it makes it even easier.

 

So I took a bus back in from my asylum hearing and got dropped off at Port Authority.  It was bitterly cold (much colder than in Jersey) and I grabbed a cab.  The guy was not a great driver at all, stopping short all the time, which did wonders for my motion sickness from the bus.

 

We get to the office and he pulls over.  I pay by credit card.  I wait for receipt.  He starts yelling at me to get out of the car because the van behind him is beeping him.  I say I want the receipt.  (I want to be reimbursed and he is obligated to give me the receipt!)  He says he'll give it to me out the window but just to get out because of the van.

 

I open the door.

 

Some lady was trying to bike between the parked car and the taxi.  There are no bike lanes on 6th Avenue.  This apparently became MY fault.

 

Lady to me: "Watch it! You're trying to kill someone!"

I... opened... the... car... door....

 

I cannot see out the door!  I have no mirror.  STFU.  I am not TRYING to kill anyone.  The taxi driver yelled at me to open the door and I obliged.  You saw a stopped taxi.  What possessed YOU to try to ride between them?  Stopped taxi usually means someone's getting out, right?  And why would I get out on the other side with moving traffic?  Common sense, do you have any?

 

(And blah blah blah, she kept going... and then...)

 

Lady to taxi driver: "Why did you let her do that?"

 

What am I, 4?  Why are you talking about me in such a condescending tone of voice as I'm standing right there glaring at you?  It doesn't sound as bad written but the smug superiority dripping from her tone of voice because she was riding a bike.  Spare me.  I have sympathy for bikers in that it's not a very bike-friendly city but don't accuse me of attempted murder because of your choice (when common sense clearly could have dictated another choice) and because I opened the door because my taxi driver was repeatedly yelling at me to get out of the damn cab.  And then to assert that he could control my actions and would "let" me out of the cab? What a patronizing assumption.

 

Not to mention that he DID end up dictating my actions as he WAS the one berating me to get OUT of the cab.

 

So pissed off.  It's bad enough that I was arriving at the office today at 4:30 pm.  I didn't need that crap from her... especially since she's likely on her way HOME from work.  STFU.

 

And to the taxi driver who was yelling?  I'm avoiding your medallion number from now on.  I didn't need to be yelled at AFTER I gave you a pretty damn good tip.  I wish I didn't.  And guess what? You completely suck as a driver too. 

 

Ridiculous.  Now to try to work...

Jingle Cash Hassle

Walgreens has always been my pharmacy of choice.  It was cleaner, better laid out and just plain nicer than the dingy Duane Reade and CVS stores of the city (prior to all the recent renovations - now our local Duane Reade looks quite spiffy).  And not only that, they had the awesome Easy Saver Rebates. (RIP Easy Saver Rebates.)   I picked up so many toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and shampoos from the free rebates.

 

I know what you're thinking - what incentive did they have to continue that program if it's basically giving the store away for free?  Well, in my opinion, the manufacturers had an incentive.  There were some products like Crest Pro-Health Rinse that I tried from the rebate and then bought (with REAL money and in BULK) after trying it.  And for the store, it created loyalty.  I loved it.  I always went to Walgreens unless I had no choice (i.e., before the Walgreens opened up in Times Square).

 

I was really missing the Easy Saver Rebates and the ability to try new things without risk when I saw the Black Friday ad mentioning Jingle Cash.  Sounded like the gift card option from the old rebates.  I was all over that.  I picked up lots of stuff and was excited to try them out.

 

I never noticed the expiration dates on the Jingle Cash coupons until I looked this morning.  And I don't remember them talking about the short expiration dates (a mere 2 weeks from purchase) or all the restrictions on the coupons in the ad.  It probably said some vague BS like "some restrictions may apply" but you wouldn't know what the restrictions were until you already purchased the product and got the coupon.  At least I don't remember seeing anything (and if it was all there, then my mistake for not noticing during the Thanksgiving frenzy or the bleary eyed Black Friday morning.

 

Knowing the expiration dates now, I took Jingle Cash coupons to work with me intending to stop by the store to pick up cough drops, coldeeze and maybe some candy.  I had $6 to work with.  And then I started reading the fine print.  And then I went to the store and had hassle after hassle (I feel bad for the poor worker constantly voiding the items every time I had to go back to change something).

 

Here's what happened.  I found that Walgreens brand cough drops were 2 for $3.  Halls were $3.19.  The Walgreens ones would give me a whopping 80 cough drops to the Halls 25.  Well, easy choice, right?

 

Not really.  Here's what I learned about Jingle Cash:

 

(1) It expires quickly.  See above.  2 weeks at a very busy time of year for many people?

 

(2) Your total number of coupons (Jingle Cash + manufacturers coupons, not that I had any) must be equal to or less than the number of products you are buying.  Therefore, you can't use 2 coupons to buy one bag of Coldeeze.  Annoying since I really thought Jingle Cash was just that... cash, but it's not.

 

(3)  Individual coupons have different restrictions so you have to read the fine print on every single one.  For example, paraphrased, "Thanks for buying a P&G product!  This Jingle Cash coupon can't be used on P&G products."  WTF?  You reward me for wanting your product by telling me if I want to buy another one I can't use the coupon, but if I buy your competitor's brand, I can?  How is that helping you P&G?

 

(4) Coupon must be less than the amount purchased, NOT less than or equal to the amount purchased,.  For example, my cough drops, nope, can't use the coupon, because they're not $3.01. 

 

I've already ranted on Twitter but you can only say so much in 140 characters.

 

So, no Walgreens brand cough drops.

 

And on top of the entire debacle, the cough drops which were $3.19 per the tag rang up at $3.49.  I know it's 30 cents but after everything that happened, 30 cents annoyed me.  For 30 cents I could almost buy that pack of tissues downstairs (I think she said it's 32 cents).  I'm not just giving the store 30 cents for nothing when I'm frustrated.  Especially when I knew FOR SURE after examining the tags for an extended period of time and comparing prices that it was not $3.49 and that it was $3.19.  I went back to take a picture of it to prove it and ended up getting my cough drops for 19 cents.  I bet next time the tags will be updated and it will cost $3.49.

 

All I wanted was a stupid bag of cough drops.  So much hassle and wasted time over a bag of cough drops.

 

I'm never going through this again if I can help it.  I'm going to use up the rest of my Jingle Cash coupons.  Then I'm going to very critically look at every other promotion from Walgreens before doing it even if it looks like a good deal.  Maybe I will stick to Rite Aid and their rebates instead since that's a check, except unfortunately people descend on our local Rite Aid like vultures for rebate items.

 

And as for regular shopping, I think I'll take advantage of my many scanner apps and figure out who has the best price.  There's a million Duane Reade stores around here, some CVS, some Rite Aid.  Instead of just blindly going to Walgreens because I love(d) Walgreens, I'm going to get the best deal instead.

 

I debated on posting this now or waiting until I used up my Jingle Cash, in case they ban me from the store because of it.  But I decided to post it because I think it's a legitimate complaint and something people need to be aware of, since among people I know, I'm usually the one reading the fine print.  A lot of people don't read the fine print.  I think they need to know how the coupons work before they get to the store and try to use 3 coupons on something expensive and find out they can't.  What a disappointment.  But let that be the lesson: read the fine print... immediately.  Caveat emptor.