iamshack

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:44 PM) Where do you guys for auto loans? I'd like to be able to go to a dealer with at least a different financing option in hand, but I don't have much of a credit history since I am fresh out of college but I figured this would be a good time to start that credit history anyways. I do know that my credit score is >750. Yeah, that isn't a bad idea, Russ. If you can get a nice rate from a bank, it isn't bad to at least bring it with you. A lot of dealerships are offering special incentives if you use their particular bank or lending institution as well, so you may just have them run your credit and give you their offer and then use the one in-hand to negotiate. I've used Audi Financial the last two times, which is owned by VW credit, and I've been happy with them.

QUOTE (kapzk @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:48 PM) So apparently people are freaking out about a rookie who has a 86.67 SV%. I will admit it bothers me that he can't seem to put people away, and he seems to walking more guys than I would like.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 10:49 AM) I wouldn't say there's a huge difference between any of those guys. Danks might have the slight advantage, but Escobar's far from a burner. When AJ hit that ground rule double, Hudson was flying around the bases. Have no idea why he got such a bad jump on the AJ grounder that he got thrown out at home by Francouer on...it was a fairly slow grounder and he would have been out by miles with a decent and typical Frenchie throw. We'll probably bring up Mitchell in September just for his speed and pinch-running ability. We miss Lillibridge here the most. I think what got Hudson was he took a bad angle coming around third and was coming to the plate really wide...might have cost him a couple steps...

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 12:43 AM) Just saying....... Except we hit Chen quite well...

And we go to the 13th on Friday the 13th!

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 10:33 AM) Ah, I remember someone here posting a pic of an Optima. I could get a really sweet deal on a 2012 Sonata right now (around $2500 in rebates) but I think I want something sportier. The Optima is a nice-looking car...lots of them out here in Vegas. Kia definitely hit a home run with that one.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 10:33 AM) Ah, I remember someone here posting a pic of an Optima. I could get a really sweet deal on a 2012 Sonata right now (around $2500 in rebates) but I think I want something sportier. Have you driven the Velo yet, Russ? It looks like a neat little car. I was driving in to work the other morning and saw a totaled one getting hauled away...thought to myself THAT didn't take long...

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 10:21 AM) Maybe. But you might think differently if you saw the car. It was a rocket ship disguised as a car. 5-speed manual. Loaded with extras. Jet black. Looked dangerous. Bought it with 40k miles on it from a doctor who was buying another one. When I went to see it and asked questions he just handed me the keys and said... 'I'll see you in an hour. Have fun.' I wrote him a check no questions asked when I got back. lol. True story. My wife never liked it. She referred to it as my 'play' car. Btw... I currently drive a Volvo S80. A more 'responsible' car... but very nice ride. Yeah, I remember that car well...a friend of mine had one and we used to refer to it simply as "The SHO." How do you like the Volvo?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 10:01 AM) You bought an Optima right? That's a great looking car. I think it was a Hyundai Sonata

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 09:58 AM) Agree with both posts. Low interest rate, 10 year/100,000 mile warranty and only 72 miles on the odometer when I drove it home where the reasons I went with a brand new car. You still enjoying it?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 08:57 AM) Maybe I am confusing you with someone else... didn't you just, like a few months ago, go through a huge, painful death march of a car buying experience before finally getting what you wanted? Now you want to replace it already? Yeah, I did...not looking to replace my Q5. And yes, it was a huge, painful death march

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. This would be a pretty irresponsible, yet fun toy for me...not even going to try and justify it as anything other than that. I currently have an Audi Q5 which I use as my daily driver/dog hauler. Love, love, love it, but really miss driving a manual transmission and a bit of spirited driving. Have looked into the possibility of getting a vintage sports car, such as a late 60's or 70's camaro, a mid 60's Ford Mustang Fastback, but honestly, I don't know anything about fixing cars and so that would probably be unwise for me, as I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do if something went wrong (and the chances of that are much greater with a car of that age). So I keep coming back to a new or slightly used vehicle. Don't love American cars, I'll be honest. While the exterior styling of the recent muscle remakes are pretty sweet, I dislike the interiors. Not the biggest fan of Japanese brands for mostly the same reason. Which brings me back to the German brands. Porsche, BMW, Audi (I refuse to buy a Mercedes sports car). Owned an Audi TT previously, and loved it. Open to getting a used second generation model, but they are all automatic tiptronic transmissions, which I am really not sure I am comfortable with. The only model they make that is a 6-speed manual is the RS model, which was new for 2012. And runs $60k. Ouch. I'm going to the dealership sometime today to test drive a 2008 white coupe, and then potentially the 2012 RS they have on the showroom floor. The difference in performance is massive, however, the price tag is as well.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 10:09 PM) Favorite car I ever owned... a Taurus SHO. Shed a tear when I sold that one. You're a nerd, Patrick

I miss my sports car and I want a new one....now I can afford one... Anyone get any nice sports coupes recently? Opinions? I'm dreaming of an Audi TT RS right now....gulp...

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 10:27 AM) Lots of places do this. I applied for a job where I was overqualified, but I really wanted to move to that location and the top of the published salary range coincided with the bottom of my salary range. I met every required qualification as well as every preferred qualification, had double the experience required, and a degree higher than required. I was initially offered the 25th percentile of the salary range, and was only able to negotiate them up to the midpoint of the range. All the HR lady kept saying was that I did not qualify for anything higher. I asked her if in the last 5 years she had ever seen any candidate that was qualified for anything higher than the midpoint of the range and she wouldn't answer the question. Yeah, the key question is to ask "what qualifications would the ideal candidate possess?"

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 08:44 AM) It means either the upper management isn't strong enough, or they want HR dragging their feet on purpose. I was told it was because in the past, people were given raises too easily and we have no real mechanism for reducing salaries...so HR was given more firm control in approving/disapproving salaries. I don't really mind this...what I did mind was that they would publish ranges where they never really intended on going past the midpoint of the range, regardless of qualifications.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 09:24 AM) I actually work in the IT department, but our HR department is terrible yet they have been ranked very high. From what I have seen and heard here, the HR department does not only not help most people, but actually hinders them in their work. For example, 95% of the teams in the IT department have some sort of level system for job titles, so you see something like Business Systems Analyst II. The number system fluctuates a bit, but the principal is the same. On my team, we have 1 title, and it's a Senior Engineer title, so even though I am fresh out of school I have the same title as someone with 20 years of experience. My manager and his manager have requested HR to fix this, and proposed multiple fixes yet HR either won't do it, or forgets to do it. I just see problems from them everyday, and really wonder what they are thinking when they make the choices they do. Ahh, I got ya now...yes, ours is the same way...our HR department has an incredible amount of influence over what goes on in our company. Dunno if you guys remember, but a year and a half ago or so I was embroiled in this negotiation over the salary for a new position I was offered here. I asked for more money than they were offering, not a substantial sum by any means, maybe 6% over what they offered me. My manager was committed to giving it to me, but HR would not authorize it. The manager was forced to select the next candidate on the list because of the impasse with me. Almost every experience I have had with our HR department has been negative. This most recent promotion I negotiated took some 2 months to process through HR because it was a new position that was to be created and I was jumping up several levels in authority and salary.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 09:13 AM) How so? My point is that it just seems like HR departments everywhere drop the ball in terms of recruiting and organizational support. I lost you at the part where you said you work for an HR department in or near the top 10 and it is because they don't do anything...

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 09:06 AM) Serious question: Why does it seem that every HR department is just terrible? I mean, I work at a company were we consistently rank in/near the top 10 to work in HR at and Im really believing that's because they actually don't do anything. I'm confused...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 08:34 AM) It makes the decision much easier... Yes, and it made my decision to say no easier when they contacted me again this year wanting to interview me for a different position...

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 07:13 AM) So have I. As have I...a few years ago, I had been involved in the interview process for some 4 months from the time I received an email requesting a phone interview until waiting for their decision. My lease was coming up soon and this job would have required me to move out of state. I prefaced my request for an update with the notion that I had a housing decision coming up, and merely asked if they knew when they would be reaching a decision. She sent me back that s***ty response.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 06:50 AM) I'm sick of the All-Star break. I want some White Sox baseball. Only one more day....every year I dread the ASB.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 07:55 AM) I always try to ask what type of time frame they are looking at during the interview process. If that much time passes, then I follow up again to see where they are at in the process. Yeah, this is where I have gotten myself in trouble in the past Their time frames are usually not realistic, and you following up at these checkpoints are sort of a reminder that they suck and are behind schedule...I had one woman actually say something such as "I'm sorry our hiring process is not proceeding quickly enough for you..."

QUOTE (G&T @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 03:23 PM) I did that. I guess a different way of asking the question is, what if 2 or 3 weeks go by? Do I follow up again? Depends what you have to lose by being a pain in the ass. Is there anything you need or want from her now other than a potential position? Assuming the answer is you really don't have much to lose, all you want to make sure of is that nothing you do would do anything to negatively impact the possibility of you getting this position. If that is the case, sending an email just gently asking if she ever managed to find the right candidate would probably do no harm. The key is just to try and be the least of a pain in her ass as you could possibly be, while at the same time being assertive enough that she knows you have serious interest. I've found from experience that just asking if she managed to find the right candidate for the position seems to be non-threatening enough, where as if you make the request more formal as ask for a "status update," that tends to make people think you are annoying.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:02 AM) Any Jalapeno flavored chip... back when I was eating chips... sigh. Yeah, get out of the thread Reddy! Ahhhhhhh!