On saturdays, bonuses, and the oil change paradigm shift

I love me a saturday. I love sleeping in as long as I want, getting groceries for the next week, cleaning my house with the country video countdown on in the background, and most of all I love not having to dress up. No slacks, no heels, no makeup. I just pull on a jacket, jeans, boots, and a hat before I leave the house. It takes like 30 seconds. Which is so glorious. Although I apologize to anyone who has to be seen with me on saturdays. What's particularly glorious about this saturday is that it's sunny and 45 degrees. Which here in Cleveland is what we refer to as tropical. I'm not going to break out the shorts yet...but we're getting there.

We've been waiting at work for the official 2009 numbers to come in so that our bonus payouts would be announced. Yesterday was the big day. And I'm speechless. There was an amount in my head that I had set as the bar. The amount I would be really happy to get. It turns out I'll be getting three times that amount. This is sort of shocking. Because 2009 was a tough year in business. So it felt a little like I was hallucinating when the GM announced the payout as the biggest he's seen in his 20 years with the company. And so while there are days I hate corporate america and being a part of it--days I feel like a slave, a victim, a fool, a scapegoat, a sellout, an idiot--there are also days where I just have to thank corporate america for being so good to me.

I was raised with the concept of getting your oil changed every 3000 miles or 3 months. This always made sense in the grand scheme of keeping your car in the best possible shape, and I've always followed it closely. As my new car reached 3000 miles, I waited for the little light that would surely tell me it was time. Nothing. I've now passed 4000 miles. Still nothing. So I scheduled an appointment. The Honda guy asked if the light had come on. I said no. He said the 2010 models will tell you when they need it and that while I was welcome to make the appointment, I might as well save my money until the car really needed it. He told me which button to push to view how much oil life I had left (these features seriously blow my mind) and it turns out I still have 50% left. This will put me around 8000 miles. Which goes against everything that seems normal. So this is me throwing normal out the window. Or, more accurately, dropping it carefully and looking worriedly back at it after.
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