Western Arab

2009 White Honda Accord LX

It looks like I am going with a Honda Accord lease option. After much consideration of buying new, buying used, or leasing, I decided I will be going with another lease. It is the cheapest upfront, in this crappy economy while I am looking for more work as the current project is not enough to cover the bills. I also may consider buying it after the lease is up, but I do like the idea of a new car so I don’t know if I will do that and I hear Honda is releasing a bio-diesel accord in 2010 that is supposed to do almost 63 mpg on highway. And who knows what else they may have in the next 3 years. I was considering keeping the Passat when I first leased it, but the last year, I had decided for sure I wasn’t.

I considered the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Fusion and many others. I always ended back with the Japanese cars. They hold their value much better than the rest. The Accord and Camry are very popular and reliable. And other than feeling that the Camry is a geezer car, the Accord is also cheaper on the lease. So I am looking at paying first month payment down only so least upfront, maybe even sign and drive. It will be an Accord LX basic as much I can be basic on that, I know I will want various options but I am looking for best price right now, which means lowest if you didn’t know. And the color should be white as this is Florida and the heat is killer.

In another money spending news, I had to replace the AC unit at the other property after I had spend that $290 replacing the capacitor. Yeah I know, total rip off to start but I was hoping it would get me by through the summer without a problem. It didn’t last 1 month. Not even going to say how much the new AC unit cost, I don’t want to think about it. The old AC unit was 14 years old anyway so it did need replacing. Now if I can find a rental for this property, at least that can pay back the cost of the AC unit and help pay for the property’s mortgage. And yes I did use an Arab to buy and install the AC from, but surprisingly he was good. He was on time, was informative on what he was selling and simply knew his stuff. So THUMBS UP for an Arab providing service.

2006 VW Passat

Well it is official. The VW passat is going back tomorrow to the dealer. I am returning the lease. The car was nice to have for three years. It is a nice looking car, but really had some annoyances. The car battery had to be changed during the three years as the car stopped starting on me at some point. VW made some “soft touch” material on the pull handles, radio buttons and door lock buttons. This was nice and all, except they had air bubbles on some of the buttons and all of it started peeling away at some point. I had the radio and door pull handles replaced because of the peeling. Car also had some vibration issues at some point, had manifest manifold valve replaced or something like that to correct it.

I had the inspection done on it yesterday for the return and the front left tire was too worn as I expected. They will be charging me $120 for that, which is ok since I didn’t get any charges for scratches on the car. It had a few of them around. So I will need to pay $120 for the tire and there is a turn in fee of $350. Yeah more money goes, so easily. Which now leaves me with getting another car. I have been looking at various cars, but have not found something that works yet. That is, something that is a great deal, I am not rushing, there is time to get another car. It isn’t just which car maker and which model. I am trying to decide between buying used, certified, new or just leasing another car. Too many choices plus a bad economy make the choice harder. Take away the bad economy, give me a good paying job, and the choice would be MUCH EASIER. Guess the BMW will have to wait… for now.

The hole just ripped open again. My money fell all out. The van needed brake pads, they started squeaking, it was just that time. I had replaced them almost 3 years ago. So go to tire kingdom whom I pretty much always have a fight with them and probably sworn to never go back there again. As I expected, they list a whole grocery list of problems to fix in addition to what I need done, which was to replace front brake pads and do an oil change. I drop the car off and get the call. The list is as follows: front brake pads, front rotors, and rear brake cylinders. Front pads were $89 cause I had a coupon, oil change was $19.99 with coupon plus $3 disposal fee, rotors were $94 each!!!, cylinders were $39 each plus $69.99 labor to install rear cylinders. Crooks as usual.

Tire Kingdom Sucks

I tell the guy, let me think about it and I will call you back. I get in my car and drive over so I can see the car while they have it lifted. I agree to replace rear cylinders with their horrible price for the parts and labor and I refuse to have the rotors replaced. They said they were paper thin. The rotors were still fine. They just wanted to steal money from me because I used a coupon, and the manager moron wasn’t happy that I got the brake pads for $89.99. HELLO. YOU mailed me this coupon. He was trying to make it seem like they installed those free, no labor charges. Bite me. A pair of rotors and brake pads together cost $89 online. Their grand total with rotors was over $500, I paid $293 for the front brake pads, rear cylinders plus labor and the oil change. Still totally ripped off. I hate you tire kingdom. Need to patch up this hole in my pocket again!!!

Tire kingdom always steals so much for parts and then adds horrible labor charges for the work they do and that is one of the main reasons I fight with them, in addition to them doing horrible service that I have to go back to fight with them to correct and they try to charge me again for. I already went thru corporate with them once before and the manager that is no longer there had called me and apologized only after corporate got on his ass to do so. Tire kingdom sucks. Economy sucks.

Well it happened again. Power flashed, internet stopped working. This time it was too frustrating. I hooked up the macbook directly and got it to work, put the linksys router back and could not get it to work. Was too stressful and I think maybe the router being a little old may have something wrong with it. This was around 8:30 pm which meant I went to the 24 hour walmart to pick up a new router.

LinkSys WRT160N Router

I picked up the linksys Wireless-N Broadband Router (WRT160N). Besides looking cooler than the old square linksys router, it is smaller and has a larger light up display which is easier to read. It is black and shiny so dust is going to show on it a lot. But I like the black and silver look I have going on my desktop with my aluminum macbook, my black and silver 24″ gateway monitor, my 19″ black and silver monitor, my logitech black and silver usb speakers and now the all black linksys router with blue lights like the gateway monitor has. And I also have a black and gray logitech headset and a dynex black usb keyboard. Only thing that stands out is this blue usps mail meter. And so I did plug in the new linksys router and disconnected comcast’s cable modem line and let it cycle up and it did connect. So perhaps the router was a problem, a problem that cost me $76 to fix.

More money to waste, I need to spend less and things keep coming out of no where. I already spent $295 to get an AC unit running about two weeks ago. Working hard to make money and it is flying out faster and so easily. I really need to fix this hole in my pocket! Other than that, I think the woman on line in front of me was flirting with at walmart.

UPDATE: This linksys router has problems and drops connections constantly, after looking it up online, many have same complaints, it seems linksys released new firmware to fix a vulnerability which in turn broke it and they haven’t released a fix for the fix! I am returning it to walmart as I bought a certified refurbished linksys wireless-g broadband router (WRT54G2) from compusa aka tigerdirect for $30. Maybe I am patching up this hole in my pocket after all!

LinkSys WRT54G2 Router

So far so good in the busy two weeks. But there is more to come, this is just the beginning. I currently still have time to watch LOST and play Left 4 Dead, go to the gym even though I missed one day this week but I went today, and I just shaved. Woo hoo, it feels nice after a shave.

So what is currently going on. I am looking for new work. I have a lot of family coming over and staying with me. We have an engagment party to tend to. That is really the reason for the busy two weeks. But it will fun, interesting, exciting, crazy and I am sure some drama.

Other than that my VW lease is coming to an end, this is my last month. I am returning the car, not getting another VW or buying it. I will be looking at what car to get next in the next few months. I have time on it since I have the van to use in the mean time plus I need money right now. I shouldn’t be spending it.

Oh right I am supposed to be working on a project during these 2 weeks as well, in addition to the other project I am doing. All while finding a new job and when I do find a new job I will probably keep the project as side work. In addition to my side business that isn’t doing so great either. Eh responsibilties … who needs them? Where is my free ticket?

When are Arabs going to step down from their high chairs? When will we get past the arrogance? Why is it when an Arab tells me he will call me in two days with the work I requested completed, he never does, in fact days go by and I have to call and ask? Why do Arabs in business treat Arabs as second class citizens? When they promise an Non-Arab American a call in two days, they deliver, but with Arabs, they feel like they are doing you a favor, even though you are paying them like anyone else to do the work you asked for.

This isn’t a one time incident, it is everywhere I go, with all Arabs, Christians and Muslims alike. I made the mistake of going to an Egyptian dentist once. I was going to an Indian prior. So what was wrong with the Egyptian? The same arrogance. I don’t want you doing me any favors, just do your job like with anyone else and I will pay you like I pay anyone else. Instead after the work is done, I get the typical Arab statement. Khalieyah 3alyeena. Translates to leave it on us. Bite me. You know very well I am not walking out without paying you. And you are not letting me leave without paying you. So just tell me to pay X and I will. Then to add insult, after I tell him no, he says ok just pay $xxx for the x-rays. UGH. I am not stupid, you are not doing me any favors, and I do NOT want you to. All this ever does is make me leave with no intention of returning to this dentist or whatever profession it may have been. And the dumb Arab loses another customer.

So why can’t we work together as Arabs? My cousin once needed a paper signed to let him in a class in college. He made the mistake of going to the Arab. Thinking hey, he is an Arab, I am an Arab. He will gladly do it. WRONG. “I am busy now”. “Come back later”. Busy doing what? It is your damn job to sign shit like this. Sign it. So what happens, some blonde American girl walks in. All of a sudden the Arab is not busy, ahlan wa sahlan, welcome welcome, how are you? What can I do for you? So what does my cousin do? Walk to the next room to an American, who signs the sheet without even looking at it. He does his fucking job. Yes I am angry. I am angry with Arabs.

If we look at our “cousins”, we see them work together. They fight with each other as much as we do, but they would drive 15 extra miles to buy from their own than one of ours or anyone else for that matter. Why? Because they want each other to succeed, not for the individual, but for their own as a whole. They think long term. We think right now.

Arabs goes something like this:

Firas: hey did you hear, Abu Fulan opened a grocery store on Main Street, I hear it is doing great. Al hamdillah.

Hashim: Al hamdillah, Al hamdillah. This is great news.

Next day Hashim opens a grocery store across the street from Abu Fulan on Main Street. Spends the next 6 months with his top priority of putting Abu Fulan out of business. Why? Simple, why should Abu Fulan make all the money? Is he better than Hashim??? NO. Hashim can’t let this happen, he must put an end to this. Not only does he end up putting Abu Fulan out of business, but himself as well because he soon realizes he is a complete moron who doesn’t know how to run such a business, and now that he lowered his prices so much to get rid of Abu Fulan, his customers have a fit when he starts to raise his prices again. The mentality is the same, why should he get this or that? He isn’t better than me, I can do this too. It is all about image and prestige. Screw your image. Screw your prestige.

So Arabs. When I come to your work place to use your services. Treat me like anyone else. I don’t want “special” treatment. I do not want a discount. I want to be treated like any other customer, I want service. And if someone opens a business and does good, be happy for them, support them, use their services, buy their products. It is sickening that this kind of competition not only happens just against other Arabs, but against family members. So many Arab families are split because of business.

Today is day three. Weekend will go by. Monday I will call and ask if the work I requestesd is done. Tuesday I will call again. And I will probably have it by Thursday. This way, I am supposed to feel like it took him so much time to do, that he is giving me a great price considering all the time he spent on it. When I know it doesn’t take two hours to do it and his price sucks. Serves me right for using an Arab for service, so why do it? I always hope that there will be some change. That maybe I will find some Arab who is different, someone whom doesn’t treat me as less, someone whom I am pleased to use his service, because he did his job and because I am helping him succeed by using his services and I can recommend his services to others. Maybe too much to ask.

ugh ugh ugh. it is that time again. time to get the taxes done.

The dreadful time of taxes is here. If you are among the people who get money back, you ususally run and do your taxes to get your refund. I have not had a refund in a long time, granted I will likely pay less this year, everyone is feeling it from this economy. Regardless, it has to be done. I have to waste time to go see my accountant and pay him to tell me how much I have to pay our uncle. Uncle Sam is collecting, and he is in debt more than us.

Crappy economy. I hear the same stories over and over, someone got laid off, a company is closing down, a company is about to fall, a company laid of x people, a company cut holidays, and a company got rid of bonuses. Many are scared because they don’t know when their company will lay them off. With so many unemployed, companies are getting an influx of applications. Few openings, many applicants. Disaster. Let us all hope that things can change for the better in the next 6-10 months. I think that is the time frame that is left to recover.