Car Zero Five, Where Are You?

    A few weeks ago, I started noticing a sound coming from my car.  It wasn't constant. It would come and go, get louder and softer, and sometimes blend in with the normal car noises. It would sometimes come with a vibration. I finally had the car taken in for the day at the dealership. While they could hear the noise, they couldn't pinpoint what exactly was causing it, which must have been difficult since I only heard the noise while the car was running and moving while giving it the gas. The best they could do was suggest that a part was slowly deteriorating and would need to be replaced at a certain time. Well, I got into contact with a mechanic friend of my mom's. Turns out, we didn't give them all of the correct information when the car was taken in. The mechanic suggested that something happened when the tires were last rotated, just before I started noticing the sound. We took the car into a tire shop and had the tires rotated back. The sound was still there, only more towards the front of the vehicle instead of the rear. We contacted the dealership again, and they had a slightly different suggestion of what was wrong. Something a little more serious that would be more expensive, almost up to the point where it might be easier to just buy a new car and let someone else deal with my old one. Well, we ultimately called the dealer who initially sold us the car, and he felt that that might not be the problem. We scheduled yet another appointment to check the car a yet another dealership, as we heard some bad things about the tire shop whenever they dealt with non-tire issues. After that appointment next week, we'll see what's up and maybe take it back to the dealership where I first got the car and get a final assessment.

    In the interim, I'm starting to look for a new car in a worst-case scenario.  I have three primary criteria in a new car.  First, it can't be an EV. Now, I'm all for supporting the environment, but electric vehicles just don't have the same output as traditional ones. They are also blocky, bulky, and usually ugly. Also, I really don't have any accessible outdoor electrical outlets at the place I'm renting. Even if I did, I park in a lot across the street.  While there are outlets at the center where my store is, the place is older than me. I would have major compatibility issues. Besides, I might not be staying at either place much longer, but those are topics for future posts.

    Second, no SUVs or trucks. I don't have to transport large numbers of people or heavy loads. The heaviest thing I usually take is myself at around 170 pounds. I don't need all that space or power. Furthermore, my mother is not only a frequent passenger, but she also drives my car at times. I'm over eight inches taller than she is. (I can't tell you how many times that I have bumped my head or knees all because she forgot to move the seat back.) She would have a hard time getting into most SUVs, and an even harder time trying to drive one.  Forget about trucks; they would be even worse on her.

    Finally, I want an American automaker. While foreign models are well-made, they just aren't for me. My mom had ones for well over fifteen years, and I hated it. While it didn't have too many problems in that time, most notably the mouse incident, I never felt right in it either as a passenger or driver. In fact, all four of my previous cars have been a GM. Three Chevrolets and one Oldsmobile. I would love to keep the streak going. Only after these three criteria are met will I start narrowing down the details of what I really want.

    Unfortunately, the only car that any of the GM brands make that fits is the Chevy Corvette. Even if I cold afford one, my mom would never let me have one. The only one that Ford makes is the Mustang, and my mom doesn't like that one either. While I haven't checked too much into the other domestic automakers, things aren't looking that good. Sure, GM has some 'small SUVs' that almost could work, but they are really just redesigned station wagons. I will not compromise in getting a new car, but it looks like that is what I might have to do. I noticed this six years ago when I first started searching for my current car, my second Impala in a row. Trends were moving away from the styles I liked, and into styles that I would never get. I would almost prefer fixing my car, even without the guarantees and warranties that the repairs would last, just so I wouldn't have to get something I hate. It's not fair that the only cars being made for the majority market are from foreign brands or an EV that is practically useless for my lifestyle. These trends might change, but not soon enough for my benefit.

Further Obstacles in My Comic Book Crisis

    Time for another update in my ongoing attempts to find all of the comic book issues I've been missing out on since February, due to my regular comic book store being closed due to the flooding. After cutting my number of missing books in half after ordering from on online store based in Lexington, I began searching for another store to look into. [Note:  If I had had my way, I probably would've gotten all of my books, if not for someone's interference.] The easiest solution was to check out to only store that didn't get affected by the floods.  It wasn't the type of place I wanted to go to, but it was nearby. While they had a lot of comic books, they were mostly very, very old.  The few newer books they had were all from publishers I don't collect. The place was a bust.

    Since previous stores I have gone to wouldn't have gotten the older material back and taking the day off to travel hours to a new store just in case they had what I was looking for wouldn't be feasible, I began searching for online stores to shop from. I limited my search to those in state to make it easier to calculate things like sales tax and shipping costs. I quickly found one in Louisville that looked promising. It had been around for a long time, a large online store, and a secondary location. Between their two locations, I was able to find every issue I was missing, in some form. Some were available in both places, but in different variants. Some were only found at one location, and not in the least expensive form. One issue was only available in a variant over twice as expensive as the regular cover. Still, I went over each store's selection and made out a list. Whenever possible, I would get the cheaper version. While this would mean two separate orders, it would make my total costs slightly lower than just getting almost everything at one spot, with only one or two from the other.

    After double checking my lists, I started the order with the secondary location in Florence. As soon as I clicked the first issue, I was instructed to start an account. No big deal. It took a few tries getting, as my computer kept messing up the password memorization process, but I persevered. I continued my order and went to checkout. Typed in my address and card information, no big deal. I was finishing up when I came to shipping options. I was given the choice of pickup in store, and nothing else. Now, in my research, I confirmed that they did ship throughout the country, but even after I went further into checkout, I wasn't given the option. I logged out, without continuing or even closing out my cart. 

    When reading the welcoming email a little later, I found out the bad news. The stores were moving their inventory to a new online sales portal, so shipping would be halted for the moment. I have the worse timing. Fortunately, the email mentioned the possibility of shipping. I replied to them about my situation and some questions about how to order. They responded somewhat quickly. It turns out that the Louisville location was actually the satellite store, with Florence being the primary one, and that Louisville doesn't really handle shipping. The Florence store does pick up product every few weeks, though.  Since one of my titles was only found there, this was encouraging. All I had to do was send in my list. Easy enough, I just had to include which variants I would find acceptable. Next, my shipping address.  Sure thing, my store as I have to delivery to my place and PO Boxes were a hassle to pick up from, if even acceptable. Finally, I would need the email address associated with my PayPal account.

    Now, I do have a PayPal account. I had to set one up to place some order years ago. However, I never set it up with my bank accounts, just my rechargeable debit card. Part of it is safety reasons, another is laziness. Since my card has only a limited amount of money on it, I would need to now the total costs before giving them that information. I emailed them this, along with my list of comics, with a note about how one was only found at Louisville.  I emailed them again when I realized I forgot my address. The next day, I sent them a final email, with my notes, a final list with one extra title, and my store's address. They haven't responded to my emails yet. Now, they are closed on Sundays and Mondays, (I've found that many comic books stores, and even book stores, are closed on Mondays. Never felt like this was a thing, as none of the places I've been to were ever closed on Mondays. Definitely nothing around here, including my own book store.) so they might need some more time, but I'm getting restless.

    As of right now, I'm prepared to give up on Florence, but I would be unsure of what to do next.  The only other online comic book store I've found in Kentucky so far is in Owensboro. That's a little further away than I was planning on going. I can always try the Lexington store again, but they would only have the most recent books, as I've already gotten the older ones there. I'm thinking about going back to Wise on morning, but that might be another week or two away. Page 3 GameZone is getting closer to opening.  They've already started getting in product, but not comics yet. I can't be sure if they will get back the comics they previously ordered for February and March. (They hadn't had time to order anything for April or beyond before the flood.) They might be able to get those comics back; they might not. The odds are higher for more recent comics that just came out though, so I might have a shot at those. The first trade paperback collections start coming out next month. I hate having to pay so much for just one or two comics I hadn't read yet, plus a bunch I already had, even at the wholesale rates I get for having a store.  I've done it before, though, whenever I missed a comic. I just hope nothing happens to the store before I can get them all. (More on that in the coming weeks.)

    I just wish I knew something. I've got other things I want to buy, and I can't until I can just get one simple email. [An online store has been pestering me that I haven't bought anything lately, and they are running a massive sale this week. Other possible purchases as well.] The waiting is the worst part.

Mapping the Malls, Mapping the Malls

    As I mentioned in my recently completed series, most of my 'trips' having been for shopping.  As such, I am quite familiar with the layouts of every place I go to. This is not just about going to them so often, but also about what to do in case something goes wrong.  Fortunately for me, I've only had one instance where I had to vacate a mall, and that was in an anchor store. (False alarm, but I did have to travel down three escalators and wait outside over ten minutes in late November to make sure nothing was wrong before we were allowed back in.) While I am sure I have been to many such malls in my day, there are only three that I've been to often enough to have this level of familiarity. There have been others, of course, but I either never went to them that often or I was so young that I didn't make a mental map of them.

    The first one is the Southside Mall at South Williamson, KY.  Of its original three anchors, two were regional favorites (Watson's and Dawahare's) and the third being Kmart, which dominated the north end of the mall. There were also a mega-drug store and a Kroger connected to the Mall, but not actually a part of it. Even at its late 80s height, only the Kmart could have considered crowded at any one time. The two corridors were way wider than necessary, especially with only two main entrances. (One being at the rear next to the theatre, and almost nothing else down that way-- a Sears appliance store and a Christian gift shop.) Once the anchors, including the outside two, started closing, the Mall lost its touch.  Although some stores have come in as replacements, I haven't been back there in over fifteen years.

    Now, the Huntington Mall at Barboursville West Virginia is something else entirely.  I've been there dozens of times, the Mall I've been to the most. Basic north-south layout, with an east-west crossing corridor and two additional smaller corridors on the west side between the ends. While the Mall itself hasn't had too many changes, the anchors have. Sears, the original largest anchor at the south end, would close, and the space is being taken over by a community college. A number of smaller units were combined to create a quasi-anchor in Borders, only to be taken over by BAM after it went out of business. Macy's is still the same, although it was Lazarus at opening.  Phar-Mor was built as a fifth anchor on the west end of the horizontal corridor, only to be replaced by Dick's after it closed. Dick's would go on to take over a bunch of smaller units in expanding. Stone and Thomas was the only single story of the original anchors, only to be rebranded as Elder Beerman. The space would be chopped up upon closing, with most of the space taken by TJ Maxx and Homegoods, with a shared checkout and expanded doors. JC Penny's is the north anchor. It tried to expand in the early 90s, adding an entire furniture section. This section would be closed off in a later remodel, but the ghost can still be seen from the outside. I will probably commit an entire post later this year to the Mall, after my annual late summer/early fall trip.

    The Fayette Mall in Lexington, Ky is the largest one in the state, and the largest one mall I've ever been to. The original mall has an unusual design, where the four main corridors don't combine to form a central courtyard, but are instead the sides of it. The north corridor is about a unit east of the south corridor, while the west one is about a unit north of the east one. Macy's is the largest anchor, with three stories. (Yes, this is the one with the fire alarm mishap.) JC Penny's is the mid-anchor, and the smallest of the original spots, although it only took over the space in the early 90s. Sears was the original south anchor, as well as the largest one. That all changed when the southern expansion came about. Then they went out of business, causing major problems getting from one part of the mall to the other for a while.

    That is until the remodel. The entire Sears spot became a number of smaller stores, but only H + M even had the tiniest part of a second floor. There are two halls around some of the stores to get to the restrooms for the area, as well as secondary mall offices and the fire exit. There are even two units outside of the east entrance to the area that didn't even want to be a part of the main mall, built as part of the reconstruction. At least the way to the southern expansion is still the same. It was built higher up, so there are steps and ramps to get to it. While the main corridor is mostly straight, the crossing corridors are not, with the entrance ends being further south than the inner ends. MacAlpin's was the original anchor, but it became Dillard's a year later.  It kept the staircase to the mezzanine salon though. Dick's became the 'fifth' anchor, but much later after the rest of the expansion was opened. This causes problems reaching The Plaza, a mini-shopping center behind and south of the main mall. Again, this deserves an entire post, probably this fall after the pre-holiday shopping trip.

    An honorable mention goes to the Mall at Lexington Green. Originally, it had two anchors at the west and east ends, with most of the stores between them and the central hub. I only into the hub once, when we got there before the stores opened, and my mom had to go to the restroom. We found out that the stores inside the hub were being forced to move out, after Joseph-Beth Booksellers wanted to move to the hub. After that, it meant that every unit had their own outside entrance, making the mall more like an upscale shopping center than a mall.  They still call it a mall though.

Giving the Cold Shoulder to a Hot Pocket

    I never had a microwave oven growing up. Our house was just too hot to have multiple electrical sockets in the kitchen. We barely hade one, and it was right by the main kitchen counter. There just wouldn't have been enough room for both an oven and kitchen prep. We did have a great conventional oven, though. Anyway, I didn't have a microwave until I opened my store in 2000. I didn't someway to cook meals there, usually frozen. The second thing I ever heated up there was a 'Three-Cheese Pizza' "Hot Pocket." Two actually, as I was still in my 20s and had high enough of a metabolism that it didn't matter that I ate that much. I was still trying to lift weights at least three times a week back then, so I had an extra benefit.  Anyway, I was kind of hooked on them. At first, my picky eating habits limited the types of food I ate, but having them in 'pocket' form helped me to expand my options, slowly increasing the types of foods I had at the store.  Particularly when it came to meats. I quickly began to expand the varieties I rotated on a weekly basis. I particularly liked the "Lean Pockets" line, while I mostly passed on the "Croissant Pockets." Those were just too fatty for me. 

    While I would try to not repeat a single flavor too often, I just kept going back to ones. I had favorites such as the aforementioned pizza, but also 'Chicken Parmesan,' 'Cheeseburger,' 'Cheddar Broccoli Chicken,' and 'Chicken Quesadilla.' One thing I didn't eat were the pork-based ones. I try not to eat pork for various reasons I won't go into. This meant that I had to skip anything with ham, bacon, pepperoni, and sausage. This included the 'Italian Meatball' variety.  I would have loved to try it, but had to skip it because of the inclusion of pork. It pays to read the labels. This is how I found out the some of the 'chicken' in the pockets back then was actually turkey. That changed over the years, but it blew my mind when I first read it on the label. Such facts made me finally understand the infamous Jim Gaffigan sketch about "Pockets." (It was a few years after I started eating them before I saw the sketch.)

    "Hot Pockets" would go on to introduce many other products, that I mostly ignored. There were the "Pot Pie Pockets," which didn't seem appetizing. There were "Fruit Pie Pockets," but they only came in apple and cherry, which aren't my favorites.  Besides, I would more likely eat that such a thing at home, rather than at the store. (Yes, back then the packaging had instructions on how to fix them in an oven, but that took way too long comparatively speaking to warrant use at home.) Of course, there were the "Breakfast Pockets," which I couldn't have because of the pork and eggs. (I have a slight egg sensitivity at times.) That product would go on, when others didn't. "Hot Pockets" also experimented with other things. One was introducing pretzel bread for the pockets in some varieties.  I tried some of them, and they did work at times. Even better was the introduction of 'Limited Edition' flavors. The best one, and best flavor ever, was the 'Steakhouse Mushroom,' which had Angus steak slices, portobello mushrooms, and a mozzarella cheese sauce. I would squeeze this one in as many times as I could when it was available.

    Things changed around 2020 and the pandemic.  Due to lockouts, I didn't get to eat at the store for months, and I still didn't have a microwave at my current place. (Plenty of outlets, very little counter space.) Once the store was reopened, and I needed lunches again, I began to notice something wrong. It didn't happen immediately, but the 'pockets' were missing.  The entire "Lean Pocket" line was discontinued. So was the "Croissant Pocket" line, although some of those would re-emerge in the main line. Instead of having between twelve and fifteen varieties to rotate through with the rest of my frozen lunches from other brands, I was down to about five or six, and even that number began to shrink.  A year or two ago, the final shoe dropped. Certain varieties were going exclusive it seemed, such as 'Beef Taco' and 'Barbecue Beef,' in boxes too big to fit in the store's mini-fridge.  This left me with three:  'Four Cheese Pizza' (They somehow added another one over the years.),  'Philly Steak and Cheese' (My least favorite, by far.), and 'Steak and Cheddar.'  That last one is weird, as I don't ever remember having it until quite recently. Maybe I had it a few times in the early years of my store, but I don't think it was anywhere around me for a time. Maybe it really did just debut in the last decade or so. Who knows?

    Things got worse.  They decided to remove the paper crisping sleeves, as a means to reduce waste.  They said it would still taste the same.  It doesn't.  The pockets just don't get as crisp. They were offering a reusable plastic sleeve to eat it without burning your hands, but that just felt silly. Then, 'Steak and Cheddar' got exclusive as well, with new "bold" and "spicy" flavors that I didn't like taking over. I was starting to skip having pockets for a week, just so that I wouldn't have to take the same two flavors again and again.  Next thing I knew, quite recently, "Hot Pockets" were disappearing from the shelves, with one store putting them on clearance. Somehow, I found a 'Steak and Cheddar' among them, for the first time in months. Of course, I bought it. Soon after, I discovered the reason why. Not only were the bolder, spicier flavors being phased out, so were the two-pack boxes. Now, they are only in four-packs, but none of my flavors are exclusive.  In fact, the exclusive flavors are even being sold anymore, that I can tell. Now, I can barely eat my one-a-half pockets at times, (the other half goes to someone else, now) having to eat one flavor twice in a row is difficult. Worse, while the boxes fit in my mini-fridge freezer, there's barely room for other frozen meals. I sometimes have to take the pockets home and then bring them back to eat. Or even take them out of the box, just leaving them in the freezer. It has gotten very confusing. If it wasn't for my need for a wider variety of lunch options, I would stop getting them. Did I mention that some stores carry one packs of certain flavors? Only ones I don't like though. Like I said, confusing.

The Great Comic Book Quest of 2025

    I have been reading comic books for almost all my life. They are one of the reasons why I was able to read on the day my mom signed me up for kindergarten.  (I was five though, so I was technically a little older than some of the other students.) For thirty years now, I have been getting most of my comic books from Page-3 Game Zone. Sure, I lost most of those books in the 2003 flood, but I have made up a lot of ground since then. This tragedy was reflected this past February when Page-3 got hit bad in the 2025 flood. At first, I had the naive thought that they would be storing the new comic books off-site until they could get the store in order. I mean, they were posting pictures of new trading cards they were getting in. Well, I could never coordinate my schedule to go in at the irregular times they were open until late April. (They were also having problems with their phones and Messenger service, so I didn't know of a good way to contact them sooner.) I was able to meet with the owner and found out they stopped getting books until they could fully open back, either in late June or July. At that time, that meant I was now over two-and-a-half months behind on my books, and getting further behind by the week. I immediately began to come up with ways to get my missing books.

    I would have started that weekend, but a relative had just died, so I waited until after that weekend to start planning. I was going to start out at a shop just over the state line in Virginia, when I heard about a store closing at the Huntington Mall complex. We had only started to go to the Drug Emporium a few years ago, it quickly became a favorite destination. Unfortunately, it ran into some deep financial trouble and was going out of business.  Since it had some unique products that were hard to find, we decided to go there first, and I would check out the new comic book shop/ice cream parlor Super Hero Creamery, that recently opened up. The bad news was that the very products we were looking for had already sold out, including one just a day or two earlier. The good news was that I got about seventeen of my missing books that day, and I could've gotten more. I turned down two books as they were only in the more expensive variant covers, and I wanted to save some money. I turned down four issues of a new series, thinking it would be easier to collect them when they came out in trade if I had further problems finding comics. That is also why I turned down a new first issue as well. Finally, I skipped one last book because they didn't have the previous issue, and I didn't want gaps at that time. At least I got the last issues of three titles that ended in the time. That was just about the only things that weren't food we got that day.

    A little over a week later, we made that trip out to Norton to check out what Cavalier Comics had.  We went through Knott and Letcher counties, and some roads were still in need of repair from the '22 and '25 floods. At least I got to see some animals, such as a deer and a bunch of buzzards.  Cavalier had a fairly decent amount of comics, and I was about to buy nine titles I was missing, including getting fully up to date with three of them. I would have gotten twice that amount if it wasn't for my "no gaps" rule. What surprised me was that they had some titles missing from the much larger store at the Mall, but some titles were still missing, either by being sold out or never there.

    After that, I stared making plans for my big annual summer shopping trip to Lexington. I began to study the various comic book stores in town. I quickly eliminated some that were closer to my regular shopping route, but weren't as likely to have the newer issues I needed. That basically narrowed things down to the big three. Well, four, as one of them has two locations. I decided on Comic Interlude because it wasn't that far off my route, had a large amount of titles, and have an online shop. I also planned my other shopping, to save as much time as possible so that I could search for comics after my main shopping.

    Well, we wound up being late all day. At least I got two new Murano shirts, in Magenta Berry and Ocean Green. (The second one being foisted on me by my mom. I would have much preferred the Midnight Blue.) Anyway, as we left the mall, I made the mistake of saying we could forego my comics if she was feeling too bad, this after she dawdled almost fifteen minutes talking with cosmetics and fragrances salespeople. Well, she took me up on my offer, saying that she thought that my plan was to shop online all along. WRONG! Still, I was stuck. Worse, she had talked me into waiting to money onto my online only reloadable credit card, thinking I might need more money for other things besides my comics. This meant I had to wait another day to place my order.  Still, Comic Interlude had all but eleven of the comics I was missing. Ten if I ignored some gaps. I realized at the last second that I didn't have enough money on my card, due to a mistake on my part involving "free shipping." I had to put more money on the card before I could complete the order. In the interim, five comics had sold out, including the last minute title I ordered that had put me over the total I planned on, although I could get an alternative cover for one of them. It took two days for them to process the order. They contacted me on Saturday saying more comics had sold out, leaving me with twenty-three of the original thirty-six. I emailed them back saying to continue the order, even though it left me with a lot of gaps. 

    The order came in earlier today. It is a big reason why I'm late with this week's blogcast. This is only about the fifth time I've gotten over twenty comics in one day. Now, I started making new plans over the weekend about how to get the missing nineteen titles. Make that twenty-one as of this Wednesday. The best bet is to try another online comic store, this one with physical shops in Louisville and Florence, Kentucky. Between the two, I might be able to get all of the ones I'm missing, if they will still be in stock when I place the order after the holiday weekend. Otherwise, I have to go with one of my other alternatives, some of which aren't as lucky sounding.