New Car

Back in Mid-June, I decided it was time to trade in my 120,000 mile car for a new one with low mileage. My old car was starting to slip a little, and wanted to trade it while it still had value on it.

I liked my old car, but was due to get a new one. I always took an interest in Honda's and was strongly considering one. After visiting three dealerships and test driving five different cars, I kept moving closer towards a Honda.

After test driving a Honda Accord, a Honda CR-V and a Honda Civic, I wasn't impressed. At that point, I almost gave up on finding a Honda and planned to hit up the Subaru dealership. The car sales man caught me as I was about to leave and told me about a new model that Honda just released. "If the CR-V and Civic had a child, it would be the HR-V."

We walked to the backlot and he introduced me to the Honda HR-V. I saw it and knew it had everything I was looking for.  It was in my price range and it was also an SUV. Score! I took it for a test drive and kept on my pokerface as I was admiring it. Once we got back to the dealership, I decided the HR-V was "the one."

I ended up having to negotiate the price down quite a bit, and ultimately got it for the price I wanted. I'm very pleased with my car and enjoy the extra features it has to offer including a backup camera, bluetooth/usb/aux connect and break hold.

After owning this car for two months, I can say I really love my car. Even though there are some cons, I focus on the pros. Like any car, you will have pros and cons.

Here are some pros:
-For $25 a week, I can get a full tank of gas.
-Gas mileage ranges from 28 to 35 mpg. I've been getting around 33 mpg while driving this car. That is impressive for an SUV!
-Handling for this car is great, as the ride is smooth and somewhat quiet.
-This car feels very safe, as it is an SUV. This car sits higher than my older car.
-The hatchback trunk allows me to fold down (and up) the seats and allows plenty of room for a surfboard. (Note, I cannot drive on the sand with this car, as it is a 2WD. However the HR-V has an AWD option available.)
-Automatic door locks and power windows are included in the car.
-The paint job on my HR-V has a premium paint metallic finish, which makes the appearance of my car that much better.
-This car contains many great features considering it is the base model.
-There are plenty of cupholders in this car. The driver's cupholders adjust in size and can be adjusted lower or higher.

And now the cons:
-Since I own the most basic model, there are many great features I don't have, including an electric driver's seat, side view cameras, a step on door platform rail, sunroof, customized temperature control, (I have basic AC with four dials.) and a built navigation system with touch screen features.
- The radio reception is fair to poor.
-It's hard to fit three people in the back comfortably. Back seat room provides enough length for legs, but width for sitting side by side seating is tight.
-The sound speakers are good but not great.
-When you beep the horn, it sounds non-aggressive and somewhat weenie. I don't think people would take me seriously if I'm trying to tell them to "move."
-The door handles built on the drivers and passengers side on the outside of the car feel cheap. I have pinched my finger twice trying to open the door on the handle. Maybe Honda should consider a recall on the doorhandles?
-Steering is a bit tight. I have to turn the wheel a little bit more than I did in my other car.
-The base model does not have a power seat. I have to manually push the seat back and forward.

Overall, I love the Honda HR-V and am very happy with my purchase. I appreciate this car so much more than my previous car, and would recommend the HR-V to a friend who is in the market to buy a new car.

Summer Vacation in Orlando

Last Sunday, I headed down to Orlando with my friend and her daughter to Disney's Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. I don't have any pictures from the water parks because I didn't want to get my phone wet. 

We went to Typhoon Lagoon the afternoon we arrived. The park was not as big as I thought, but is a decent size. It has a massive wave pool that shoots out a huge 8 ft wave every two minutes. I had so much fun in the deep end of the wave pool by swimming up the wave before the wave brakes and flying over the back of it. (You should only try this if you are good swimmer and know wave currents. I was taught how to swim in large waves and rough currents growing up.) They have some slides there that are fun, but the wave pool was my favorite.

That evening, we went to Downtown Disney and ate at Wolfgang Puck Express. It was one of the best restaurants ever, and not to mention inexpensive. I had the shaved chicken with mash potatoes and string beans. The presentation was lovely and the food was delectable. Did I mention I ordered the kids meal? 

We headed to our resort that evening and stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club next to the Premium Orlando Outlets off of Vineland. It was very nice to have a suite with a kitchen, living and dinning room. We had a beautiful view of the pool, which was a short stroll across the pond. 

The next day, we headed back to Downtown Disney to eat at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. We enjoyed the experience but the food was somewhat of a disappointment. The food was bland and expensive and I felt I could have prepared it better myself. Hopefully the Rainforest Cafe will be able to improve their food. 

It was pouring down rain while we ate at the Rainforest Cafe, but luckily we came prepared with an umbrella and ponchos.

After lunch, we headed to Blizzard Beach. Our waterpark season passes are only valid after 2pm, so it was nice to have the mornings to shop and spend the evenings at the waterpark. There was a thunderstorm before we arrived, but it cleared out a decent amount of people at Blizzard Beach and allowed us to go down the slides with no wait. The slides at Blizzard Beach are better than the ones at Typhoon Lagoon, but the wave pool at TL is better.  We left the waterpark that evening and grabbed some quick food at a fast food chain known as "Freddy's." I had a grilled cheese with a frozen vanilla custard. It was so good. My friend and her daughter had a cheeseburger and loved it. Best fast food I've had in a long time. 

On our next to last day, we hit up the outlets next to the resort. My friend found some shoes and I left the outlets with only a Subway sandwich. No luck! We headed back to Typhoon Lagoon that afternoon and I headed to Shark Reef to with the sharks. It was an very interesting experience but also very short. The Shark Reef was included in the park admission and did not cost extra. (Unless you wanted to scuba.) We went back to the resort that evening and chilled in the hot tub.

We checked out of the resort and headed to Ikea on our way out of Orlando. I love Ikea and bought a fish shower curtain for my bathroom. Overall it was a great trip and I enjoyed it with my friend and her daughter. 

Job Hunting + Outfit

It's been six months since I've started my journey of searching for a full-time career. While getting a job isn't the problem, finding one on the other side of the country has.

As nice as it is to be considered locally by so many potential employers, I'm not interested in locking in a career locally. The overdose of Florida heat and humidity and lack of seasons has sold me on my decision to move. It's time to break-away from the same life I've always had and start a new journey. I've lived in the same place my whole life. While I am still young and free to see the world, It's time to move on.

Here's my current problem: It's hard to show potential employers I'm serious about relocating to the other side of the country. A potential employer in Texas will most likely pick a local with the same qualifications over me, mainly because I live 1,500 miles away. That's totally understandable but also very frustrating. I've stated in my cover letter that I'm willing to move at my own expense and asap if needed.

I was told a while back by a career coach to apply for less jobs, but put more focus and energy into each job instead of applying quickly for many jobs. I've had to step up my game and include a personalized cover letter with each company and produce captivating videos for my portfolio. I will spend one to two hours customizing my resume and cover letter for each individual job.

I will sometimes hear back from a company, but not always. Although the advice given to me has helped significantly, once a company finds out that I live in Florida, they no longer want to proceed with an interview. Even if I express that I could move within a couple of weeks, I  would get a letter saying I was denied, or I would get an email saying they would love to set up an interview, but then never respond back. It's definitely frustrating.

My next step is to look for a headhunter and to look into some temp agencies. I've heard those have worked out well for many people.

As for right now, I am continuing to nanny through the summer and get the occasional task from the awesome marketing company that I freelance for. I will continue to apply until I find my career. I'm praying for God's will to be done and am trying to have patience in the process.

This is the struggle I deal with on a day-to-day basis as a post college student. Have any of you have similar experiences?

Dress - Gap (Love this one.) / Shoes - Target (Similar)