My 31 Day Song Challenge

I have seen a few people doing a 30 or 31 day song challenge.  Now, I don't really have the patience or effort to do this for an entire month, but I do have the effort to do this now.  Basically, the challenge is picking songs you know of that fit each day best.  You can see the post here.  

As you will see, I'm a big fan of oldies and classic rock, but there will be some newer stuff on here.  If there were any other songs that came to mind, I will mention them.

Day 1 - A song you like with a color in the title: Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are one of the most underrated oldies bands of all time.  I love this song.  My runner up song would be "Red Rubber Ball" by the Cyrkle.

Day 2 - A song you like with a number in the title: Eight Days a Week by the Beatles
It's the first one that came to mind.  This song always confused me as a kid because there are only seven days a week, but now I realize it's meant to show just the extremes to which the singer professes their love, as they would love someone eight days a week if they could.

Day 3 - A song that reminds you of summertime: Summer in the City by the Lovin' Spoonful
It was either this or "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry.  But Summer in the City just makes me think of hot weather and the summer.  Also, really any Beach Boys song would have worked here as well.

Day 4 - A song that reminds you of someone you'd rather forget: Counting Stars by One Republic
I'm lucky that I don't have many people in my life I'd rather forget.  I'm not going to say who, but I remember listening to this song with someone from my past.  I think about them when I hear this song.  This was the hardest one to think of so far.

Day 5 - A song that needs to be played loud: I Love Rock N Roll by Joan Jett
This song has to be played loudly when it comes on.  Otherwise, it doesn't have the same effect.  One of the best rock anthems of all time.

Day 6 - A song that makes you want to dance: Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader
This is one of my favorite songs of all time.  I literally could put this song under half of these days, but I chose this one.  It's just a casual dance song.  I never get tired of listening to it.  Now King Harvest did this song first, but the Toploader version is honestly easier to dance to.

Day 7 - A song to drive to: Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
I could swear there's a movie where this song plays while someone is driving.  Anyway, it just is such a great song to listen to out on the open road.  

Day 8 - A song about drugs or alcohol: Cocaine by Eric Clapton
Uh, could it be more obvious? 

Day 9 - A song that makes you happy: Happy by Pharrell
I know a lot of songs make me happy when I listen to them, but this was the first one that came to mind.  I remember it was such a huge hit when it came out.  The parody of it by Weird Al, "Tacky", is also fun to listen to.

Day 10 - A song that makes you sad: I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever by Cyndi Lauper
This was for the Rugrats in Paris movie when Chuckie was on the plane, wishing he had a mom.  It breaks my heart every time.  I feel so bad for the kid.  It's not a song I'll listen to outside of the movie, but it's a sad one nonetheless.

Day 11 - A song you never tired of: Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder or the Red Hot Chili Peppers
There's never a time when I hear this song that I grow tired of it, whether it be the Stevie Wonder or RHCP version.  Heck, Chris Daughtry covered it on American Idol and his version is awesome, too.  

Day 12 - A song from your preteen years: Bye Bye Bye by N*Sync
I remember watching the music video for this song as a preteen when it first came out.  It's a memory that's stuck with me all this time.  

Day 13 - A song you like from the 70s: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
This song has one of the best guitar solos ever.  It's got two halves, the slow build-up and the rockin' guitar solo.  My love for this song was renewed when I heard it in the movie "Kingsman", background to one of the greatest solo action scenes of all time, in my opinion.

Day 14 - A song you'd loved to be played at your wedding: You're Still the One by Shania Twain
My girlfriend introduced me to this song and it kind of became our song in the early stages of our relationship.  I would definitely want this played at our wedding, so long as she does too.

Day 15 - A song you like that's a cover by another artist: American Woman by Lenny Kravitz
Lenny took Roy Orbison's song and made it even cooler.  I think this is one of the rare instances where the cover is better than the original.  

Day 16 - A song that's a classic favorite: September by Earth Wind and Fire
Is there anyone that doesn't like this song?  I think the only people that don't like it only dislike it because it might be a tad overplayed.  And best of all, it's liked by all ages and races.

Day 17 - A song you'd sing a duet with someone on karaoke: Stop Draggin' My Heart Around by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty
This is another classic I don't get tired of listening to.  What made me really discover my love for this song again was Elaine Testone and Phillip Phillip's cover of it on American Idol.  They killed it.  Would love to sing this with someone at karaoke.  My runner up song would be "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Day 18 - A song from the year you were born: Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx
The year 1989 doesn't have too many classic hits, but I really like this one.  It was either this or "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown.

Day 19 - A song that makes you think about life: Ob La Di Ob La Da by the Beatles
I grew up listening to this song, and now that I'm old enough to understand the meaning, I see it's about life.  It makes me think about growing up, meeting someone, having kids, working, and just... living the life.  

Day 20 - A song that has many meanings to you: American Pie by Don McLean
This is a song whose true meaning is about the plane crash in 1959 that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, but to me, it also is about life in the '70s and how short it is.

Day 21 - A song you like with a person's name in the title: Maggie May by Rod Stewart
This has always been my favorite Rod Stewart song.  I could have gone with "Michelle" by the Beatles, but I have enough Beatles songs on here.  

Day 22 - A song that moves you forward: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
This song just sounds like people marching forward.  If I need some motivation to get something done, this song works wonders.  This song was used as the Seahawks entrance song for a while for good reason.

Day 23 - A song you think everybody should listen to: Imagine by John Lennon
I'm sure everyone has heard this, but on the very off chance someone hasn't, I would say this one.  It certainly is a song that inspires hope and wonder and tries to get people to just be peaceful to one another.

Day 24 - A song by a band you wish were still together: It's Gonna Be Me by N*SYNC
I can't think of another band that's not "together" other than ones that have had members pass away, like the Beatles.  Anyway, I wasn't a huge fan of N*SYNC, but if they got back together, I think they could recreate some magic from the late '90s/early 2000s.  The Backstreet Boys are still together, after all.

Day 25 - A song you like by an artist no longer living: Travelin Man by Ricky Nelson
This is like the really old-time version of International Love by Chris Brown.  It's about a guy that travels around the world and... you know, gets around.  Unfortunately, Ricky was taken from us in the 1980s, but I have one of his records and I still listen to it on occasion.

Day 26 - A song that makes you want to fall in love: L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole
I really came to like this song after hearing it in the movie "The Parent Trap".  I watched that many times as a kid, and I always loved the opening scene which included this song.  Makes me want to re-fall in love.

Day 27 - A song that breaks your heart: Happier by Marshmello ft. Bastille
Whether I listen to the song or watch the music video, both can break my heart.  In the music video, a girl grows up with a dog she gets on her birthday and mourns his passing on another of her birthdays.  Just heartbreaking.

Day 28 - A song by an artist whose voice you love: Close to You by the Carpenters
Karen Carpenter had one of the most beautiful voices of all time.  The fact that next to nothing was done to make her voice sound better is amazing.  Her voice is downright angelic.  It's such a shame she was taken from us so soon.

Day 29 - A song you remember from your childhood: Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger
My parents listened to an oldies radio station whenever we went anywhere, and I remember hearing this song quite often and always jamming out to it.  

Day 30 - A song that reminds you of yourself: Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top
Now I don't always dress that nicely, but when I do, I think of this song.  Alternatively, when I hear this song I think of all the times I've dressed nicely (put on a suit, tie, tuxedo).  It's the only song I could think of for this.

Day 31 - A song that comforts your soul: Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
How can this song not comfort your soul?  As a kid, I had a cassette tape with a lot of 70s songs on it, and this was one of them, so I listened to it a lot.  It's such a classic.

My Experience Buying a Car Online

I recently purchased a car for myself, and I desperately needed a new one. My old car, a 2000 Honda Civic LX, was nearing 150k miles and was developing some engine issues that were not worth fixing. I wanted to document my experience buying a car online and what that entailed.

First off, I decided to purchase online because:

• Better options

• No pushy salesmen

• I can look as much as I want at my convenience.

• I wanted to experience it.

I kept my search to mainly Vroom, Shift, and CarMax. After a month and a half of searching, I finally found a car that met all of my requirements. The car I chose was a 2019 Nissan Kicks, and I found it on Shift's website. It's a newer make of Nissan's, and it got some reasonably decent ratings. I wanted a crossover/compact SUV with decent mileage, and the Kicks sure gets that at 31 miles per gallon in the city.  My particular vehicle also only had 10,000 miles on it, much less than almost every vehicle that I looked at.

I decided to purchase my particular car on Saturday the 18th through Shift. I had already gotten pre-approved for a loan, and earlier that day, I had talked with a loan advisor to get the terms of my loan altered. After I got the terms I wanted, I went through with the purchase. I uploaded my driver's license and proof of insurance. I then paid for the delivery charge. Finally, I scheduled a time to talk with a purchase advisor the following day.  

Sunday I got a call promptly at the time I chose (10 AM), and the purchase advisor I talked to was helpful and friendly.  She answered all of my questions and gave me the assurance I needed for this process.  I was having the car shipped to me from San Francisco.  

The next day, Monday, I got a call from Shift to let me know they were scheduling delivery for my car.  They also confirmed a few other details, which I felt I had already established the previous day, but I understood they were trying to be thorough.  On Tuesday, I got a call that the delivery company had picked up my car and started taking it to Seattle.  They told me it would arrive no later than Thursday.  Cool.

Wednesday, I got a call that they had already not only delivered my car to the Seattle hub, but they had also completed the post-delivery inspection.  I scheduled my car to be delivered to my home on Saturday, my next day off.  I was eager to see my car, but unfortunately, with work, I did not have a good time to receive it until Saturday.

Nothing happened Thursday, but Friday, I got a call from Shift saying that one of the guys who was cleaning the car noticed that the volume knob on the stereo wasn't functioning properly.  He said the volume control on the steering wheel works just fine, as if that made it any better.  He also said Shift would be willing to give me a $50 credit and that I would simply have to take it to a Nissan dealership to get it fixed.  Knowing my experience with dealerships, I knew it would either cost more than $50, or they'd try to upsell me on something else for the car.

I told him I wanted it fixed.  I also said I'd be willing to push my delivery date back if need be.  He said he'd have his team look at it; and explained the reason he offered what he did was that most people are firm on the delivery date and cannot push it back.  But I told him again I'd be willing to wait.

Saturday comes, the original day of delivery, and I decide to just call them.  My delivery still looked like it was scheduled for 2:30, and when I called that was less than four hours away.  So I called, and the guy I talked to told me the same thing as the guy yesterday did, which is that he'd have his team look at it and get back to me.  I told him it was already the same thing I heard.  But I did get the impression from him that he would definitely get back to me later that day.

I did end up getting a text that evening from Zach who I spoke with earlier.  He said his team would do a diagnostics check on Monday to see what is needed for it to be fixed.  So I decided to be patient and wait until at least Tuesday to do anything.  

Tuesday afternoon comes, and I have not heard back from them yet.  I decided to try texting them back at the number they texted me at, and I did get a response saying my car was at a Nissan dealership.  I definitely would have appreciated an update saying they were taking it there, but seeing as it's not technically my car yet, I can't blame them too much.  They also said that the Seattle office would reach out to me.  

They did so on Wednesday, saying the volume knob was fixed.  Thank goodness.  They scheduled delivery for me on Saturday with an open window of 11-1:30.  

I receive no further contact until Saturday morning when I get a call from a (206) number I didn't recognize.  Seeing as I was expecting a delivery later that day, I answered.  It was an Asian man who was the courier tasked with delivering my car.  He asked if he could drop by earlier.  I said that would be ok.  

He only ended up being about ten minutes early, but I appreciate the phone call heads-up nonetheless.  He asked what unit I was at, and I asked him where he was.  He was at the leasing office, so I told him I'd meet him there.  I met him there, checked out the car for a bit, and then we went to some outdoor tables to do the paperwork, most of which was on a tablet.  

There was a bunch of waiting around on my end.  He filled out a lot of information I had already provided Shift, such as my driver's license.  I felt like this stuff could have been filled out ahead of time to save some time.  But I was patient.  As part of the process, I got a call from a loan specialist who informed me of a lender with a better rate.  I wasn't particularly keen on switching lenders, but I did see a better interest rate and lower payment, so I agreed.  

We ultimately finished and I bid the courier farewell.  He had driven my car to our complex, so I wondered how he was getting back to his place of work.  I didn't ask, however.  I checked out my car again--I instantly fell in love.  I put the temporary "plate" on the rear window.  

I did receive a call from the lender, which is Capital One, on the following Monday.  They had me answer a 7-10 minute questionnaire.  It concluded with questions about features on my car and if I was aware of them being on the car.  I was definitely unsure about a few of them.  On Wednesday, I got a call from Shift saying that Capital One had "sent" my loan back to them saying I was unhappy with a feature not on my car.  I definitely did not give any indication that I was unhappy--just that I was not sure.  They then sent the loan "back" to Capital One.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the process.  But it was not without its share of hiccups and complications.  Although, to be fair, to expect an absolutely seamless process would be a bit too much.  There are certain things Shift could improve upon, namely offering to fix issues themselves and having some paperwork pre-filled out when it came to completing the purchase.  But there was nothing that occurred that made me want to back out of the deal.  I have to say I am pretty happy with my new car, and I would definitely purchase online again, especially since I now have the experience for it.