2002 lexus is300 manual transmission

I've always loved mechanical things like manual transmission cars and mechanical watches. I have decently low med school loans from "before times" but also worked in IB for a couple of years before med school and have those savings as well.
I've pretty much always wanted to get a really nice sport watch like an AP RO or Odysseuss. I've been working the shitposting charm at the AP boutique pestering them constantly and building a rapport with a single salesperson. I've assured them I'm not a flipper and showed them documents about where I'll be working and with AP increasing production they've said I should have a high likelihood of getting one towards the end of the year.
Now I do need attending references as I want to keep it open to doing an IR or nuclear fellowship (or even if not I'll need my chief's letter for jobs). My question is should I just not do it because it will undermine what the majority of attenings are wearing? Or the asshole route of flipping is always there, I'd feel pretty bad about it but the boutique is going to have someone's money either way so I can't feel that guilty about it.
I'm doing residency in an extremely safe part of the country.

I cannot compete with the F.E.M. I know I’d struggle a bit with a slower car, manual transmission, and hard difficulty, but GODDAMN they go hard.

So I got a prelude as my first car in hopes of rejuvenating it to Oem. The misfire has been there since I got the car however it has never been so consistent. I will take it for a drive and drive around for about 30 minutes then I will park and shut off the ignition. If I crank it right back up within 5 minutes it will start up no problem. However if I wait about 15-30 minutes after I shut it off and start it back up it will misfire. It’s not just one cylinder it has 3 misfires. I have tried swapping the dizzy that did nothing. I cleaned the EGR and I have gotten 0 codes on anything. Every code I have fixed the right way. Compression checks out and the external coil pack I have replaced along with spark plugs and wires. Just recently got a valve adjustment and still she misfires. I have replaced gaskets all over the engine and the only leaks I have are power steering (which is a very small leak) and transmission (now it’s a small leak better than what it was). I have tried taking it to multiple shops and dealerships I got the ecu replaced pretty recently too. Timing is good and all parts seem to be functioning the way they should. I’m at 160k miles on a manual and it’s most likely had this problem since before I even got it. Might have been the reason the dude sold it to me in the first place. I feel lost as I have no direction to go in. Fuel filter and fuel pump have both been replaced and all injectors seem to be performing the right way. If anyone has any suggestions on what it could be I’m all ears.

I just replaced my radiator on my 2015 Lexus GX460. I had to remove the transmission cooler like that was connected to the radiator. I would say about 1/4 quarts of fluid came out. Lexus parts says I can’t top it off. Should I be okay to leave it as is or what should I do? Any help appreciated.

Hello everyone!
I am looking to buy in the upcoming months a 407 (Prefferably SW) with a 2.0 gasoline engine and a manual transmission, however based on internet search results I have not seen too many feedback regarding its reliability.
Do you have any insights regarding its reliability? Do you have any specific recommendations regarding what I should look for when buying one? (I am aware of the screens getting issues and the cables in the trunk getting clipped, as well as the bushings) Thanks!

Hey guys! Huge list of games for sale here. Everything is in Canadian dollar and open for offers :) Also will be posting a list of boxed N64 games, boxed NES and Boxed SNES. Also have about over 100 SNES games to sell and 300+ NES games to sell. Here is a peak into my GAMEYE with prices so maybe something will catch your eyes.
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/349299326_254232103859663_8929733025346908515_n.csv/6_2_2023_ge_collection.csv?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=0cab14&_nc_ohc=K6bCAJXfb6AAX8F0sqL&_nc_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&oh=03_AdT4u4W-pH7KXgtmMKf2yjXiPOJ0c7CEy0hkErvB2Kc32A&oe=64865377&dl=1
PS1:
The Legend of Dragoon (greatest hits) $56
Final Fantasy VIII $27
Final Fantasy VII $64
Final Fantasy Tactics $58
Gran Turismo $16
Looney Tunes racing $24
007 Tomorrow never dies $9
007 the world is not enough $12
Saltwater sport fishing $7
Monopoly $7
Planet of the apes $11
Cool boarders 2 (greatest hits) $7
Crash bandicoot (greatest hits) $20
Crash bandicoot Warped $18
Crash bandicoot 2 cortex strikes back $18
Riven the sequel to myst $20
Ninja shadow of darkness $30
Tomb raider collectors edition $92
Pitfall 3D beyond the jungle $12
Family card games fun pack $5
Strategy guides:
Official Riven the sequel to Myst tips and secrets $18
Official Pitfall 3D beyond the jungle strategy guide $6
PSM 1999 NO.20 $12
Official Final Fantasy VIII strategy guide $34
Primas official Final Fantasy Tactics strategy guide (small tear on the side) $29
Final Fantasy X-2 strategy guide $14
Primas Crash Bandicoot Warped official strategy guide $12
DS/3DS:
Pokémon soulsilver Big Box $350
Pokémon heartgold big box $425
Pokémon sun $30 (no manual)
Pokémon moon $30 (no manual)
Pokémon Y $55
Pokémon soul silver $200
Final fantasy IV $45
Final fantasy tactics A2 $35 (just case and manual only)
Monster racer $120
Pokémon mystery dungeon explore of time $40
Pokémon white version 2 $90 (manual and box)
Pokémon pearl $85
Pokémon Diamond $40 (manual and box)
Pokémon black $120
Pokémon black $55 (manual and box)
Pokémon ranger $25 (manual and box)
Pokémon heart gold $90 (manual and box)
Fire emblem fates birthright $80 (no manual)
Metroid Samus returns $50 (no manual)
Resident evil the mercenaries 3D $34
Fire emblem awakening $75
Lord of the rings Lego $10
Dragon quest IX $76
Super Mario 64 $30
New super Mario bros $30
Mario kart DS $25
Final fantasy IV $45
Legendary starfry $30
Harvest moon Cute $50
Super Mario 3D land $20
Mario kart 7 $15
Tom Clancy Shadow war $20
Beyblade evolution $10
Sega Dreamcast
Soul calibur $50
Shenmue limited edition $75(missing one of the special disks and some cracks on the case. All 3 disks to play the game are still there)
Resident evil code Veronica $56
Grandia II $73
Tony hawk pro skater $21
Spider-Man $104
Timestalkers $43
Skies of Arcadia $170
Sonic adventures $63
Sonic adventures 2 $148
Virtua Tennis $15
Gamecube
Mega man network transmission $50
The legend of Zelda collectors edition $95
Final fantasy Crystal chronicles $15
Mario kart double dash $105
The legend of Zelda four swords $40 (case and manual only)
Luigi’s mansion $60 (loose disk)
Super smash bros Melee $85
Resident evil 4 $45

2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse with 130k miles. Timing belt was replaced at 100k miles. Has a crack down the windshield and the AC is not blowing cold air. The vin number is : 4A3AK24F46E042785 Seller messaged me saying they’d accept $3100 but Im thinking about going lower because of the crack in the windshield that might or might not pass inspection. Anyone have experience with these kinds of cars?

Hey all, just have a question. When I do a hard pull the check engine light often comes on and stays on till I turn it off as long as its been more than 30 minutes since doing it. Does anyone know what could cause this?
I don't have a code reader to check what it is or I would. For reference I drive a 2107 hatchback with a manual transmission. Not sure if it makes any difference but I do have a dual clutch setup as well.

Hello! First time poster here. Pls help!
Are either of these worth going to test drive? Is one a clear winner over the other? Should I hold off for something else to come along?
This would be my first car. I’m a student on a budget so I’m mainly looking at used cars from private sellers. I’m having a hard time knowing what to look for / what to watch out for / what is considered reasonable / etc.
Any input would be appreciated! Thanks

Memory transcript subject: Tal, Venlil Space Corps
Date [standardized human time]: December 31, 2136
This was it. Since the incident at Sillis, humanity had gathered as many allies as they could and prepared to confront the federation, and in a few moments, I would be exiting subspace in orbit around Aafa.
By all rights, flying solo into this conflict should have terrified me. Instead, it just felt surreal. Really, I should have been vaporized by an antimatter bomb on the surface of Sillis, but a twist of fate— an unprecedented intervention led me here instead. Now, I was given a chance to scratch one more item off my bucket list, though not quite in the way I had hoped.
I dropped out of FTL, and the rest of Venlil Prime’s contribution to the fleet was close behind. As the Venlil ships joined the attack, I took in the situation before me. Most of our fleet consisted of human ships, however, they were interspersed with vessels from several other species including Mazics, Zerulians, Harchen, and even a few Thafki.
Already, the Kolshians were preparing to meet our advance; I didn’t have much time.
Quickly, I switched FTL configurations and began preparing to travel into subspace once again. Now, I just had to wait.
Up ahead, the two fleets were about to meet when suddenly, the humans’ allies panicked. A large portion of the non-human ships had broken formation, though luckily, they seemed to be recovering quickly. Several UN vessels followed the diverging ships and our fleet was divided into two. In response, the Kolshians split their fleet as well.
At first, I wasn’t sure what all the commotion was about, but it quickly became obvious: the ships that remained on their original course were fighting the Arxur.
There was no mistaking it, the space between us and the Kolshians was filled with Arxur vessels. They were scared, disoriented, and shooting at anything that moved.
As they began taking fire from UN ships, the Arxur sent out a hail.
“You! Humans! What trickery is this!?”
I recognized the huntress’ voice. In the aftermath of Sillis, I had listened to her transmission threatening to make cattle out of humans.
Looks like we found the rest of Shaza’s fleet.
Immediately, this led to more questions.
Was her fleet sent into the future, or had they just been in subspace this entire time?
Were the humans really sure that what I was about to do was safe?
We opted not to send a response, and the only reply offered by the Kolshians was a barrage of rail gun fire. Shaza and her army were getting sandwiched between the opposing fleets.
Stars, I really was spending too much time around Nick.
It wasn’t long before the human alliance and the Kolshians were fighting directly, and it quickly became apparent that the federation had been holding back all this time. Many of their ships were designs that had never been seen before, and they remained unusually composed despite the stress of battle. To top it all off, the Kolshians had us outnumbered significantly. If this worked, however, none of that would matter.
The FTL drive was ready. Immediately, I laid in my course and entered subspace.
Almost instantly, I felt a sickening jolt. The sound that resonated through my ship reminded me of the time Nick accidentally left a spoon in the microwave, and then everything went white.
When Q made Shaza’s fleet disappear, they were thrown into subspace despite the presence of FTL disruptors. Not only that, but there was no indication as to where they had gone. If such an event could be duplicated, the strategic advantage would be obvious, and so the UN’s scientists immediately got to work.
Having sensor readings from when the incident occurred certainly sped things along, but it seemed to me that all the humans really needed was to know that it was possible.
Slowly, I regained my senses. My ears were ringing and my head still hurt, but at least the vertigo had started to clear up. As the dizziness subsided, I suddenly understood what I was seeing out of the viewport:
Clouds!
The humans’ modifications to my drive had worked! Though it certainly wasn’t pleasant, I had passed through the Kolshians’ FTL disruptor field and appeared in Aafa’s lower atmosphere.
As I reduced my altitude, the capital city became visible. Even though the weather was partially overcast, the buildings, all made of glass and metal and constructed in unique, artistic shapes, glittered in the sunlight. The urban landscape below was dotted with patches of green giving credence to the planet’s name Aafa, meaning ‘Garden.’
I made sure the payload was ready and then dived down even lower. I made a pass directly over the city and, when I was in clear view of the School of Flora, I activated the release mechanism and triggered the remote ignition.
Dozens of projectiles flew out from underneath my ship. They spireled around chaotically before detonating and spewing a shower of bright red sparks.
There was no way I had not been seen, so now I just had to wait and hope the Kolshian fleet would get the message.
I began to climb in altitude, and as I did so, I kept an eye on the status of the unfolding battle using my ship’s sensors. It took a while, but eventually, something happened.
The Kolshian fleet doubled back. They turned away from their attackers and began making their way in my direction, rushing to defend Aafa.
As soon as this happened, the humans began broadcasting on an open channel:
“This is commander Fortin of the United Nations fleet, please respond.”
He was met with silence.
“You are no doubt aware that we have breached your defenses, however, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire, please. respond.”
Again, there was no reply.
As the Kolshian fleet neared the planet, a portion of its ships suddenly changed course. It was the ships that were believed to be autonomous, they all suddenly stopped in place, anchoring their position relative to Aafa. The allied fleet simply flew past them with neither firing on each other.
“I repeat, we are willing to negotiate for a peaceful—”
Commander Fortin was cut of by the voice of Nikonous:
“What did you drop on us?!”
“Chief Nikonous, as I said, we are requesting—”
“Spare the pleasantries predator, tell me what you did!”
“They were fireworks, sir,” Fortin said. “Completely harmless, however they could just as easily have been antimatter warheads, next time they will be. We have the ability to circumvent your FTL disruptors and therefore you cannot defend yourself from such an attack, however, as I told you before, we are willing to discuss the terms of a ceasefire.”
Chief Nikonous did not respond, and after an awkward silence, the commander continued.
“We request that you end all hostility with Earth as well as its allies. Assuming that the federation takes no military action against us, we will do the same.”
“This is unacceptable,” Nikonous replied. “I cannot simply allow more federation worlds to fall into your corruption. Your ‘allies’ fall within our purview.”
“Frankly, you aren’t in a position to demand something like that. Our terms are more than reasonable, and we will not be making concessions.”
“And what of the Arxur? Aren’t they your allies too now? Am I supposed to do nothing about the ones who would see us all dead?”
Like you’ve done anything at all before! I thought to myself.
Commander Fortin, however, gave a very simple response:
“The dominion no longer exists,” he said flatly.
After another long pause, Chief Nikonous huffed.
“Very well, I will consider your request.”
With that, the channel went silent. By this point, I had reached the upper atmosphere of the planet. It was surreal. The battle had stopped completely and the UN fleet was preparing to leave.
I was just about to begin charging my own FTL drive when I noticed something odd. One of the Harchen ships that fought alongside the UN was now barreling forward. Commander Fortin’s voice sounded over the comms channel once again:
“Harchen vessel, please return to formation. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage!”
The ship continued on its path directly towards Aafa, and even stranger, the Kolshian fleet did nothing to stop it.
Something was off…
As I realized that the Harchen ship was headed in my direction, I moved to intercept.
I was just about to hail them when they opened fire. I was hit before I could react.
Quickly, I tried to shake their target lock, however, my ship’s engines had taken damage limiting my maneuverability.
After managing to establish a target lock of my own, I returned fire. The shots were intended only to disable the vessel, however upon connecting, the ship exploded violently.
It was carrying antimatter bombs. That was the only reason I could think of for the explosion I just saw. Unfortunately, I was beginning to lose altitude and didn’t have time to worry about why the Harchen ship was carrying warheads nor the amount of radiation I had just been exposed to.
The engines were not doing well, however, as I fell down to the surface, I managed to flip my ship around and regain some amount of control.
The landing was not nearly as gentle as I would have hoped, however the hull stayed together and the inertial dampers absorbed the brunt of the impact.
I did a quick survey of the situation. Looking out of the viewport, it appeared I had crashed somewhere outside of any of the Kolshian cities, however I could also see that civilization was not far away.
Turning myself in to the Kolshians seemed like a very risky idea, and I also very much doubted that anyone sided with the humans would be allowed to come rescue me, so I figured my best bet was to try and repair my ship as best I could.
I made my way to the back of the ship and opened the doors to the outside world.
As the ramp extended down to the ground, I spotted a Venlil waiting for me at the bottom; or rather, something that looked like a Venlil.
“Q?” I said nervously.
“Don’t worry, I just want to talk. I promise I won’t bite. ^{unless you ask nicely.} ”
Apparently, Q had ditched his extermination officer attire and, for some reason, gotten his fur dyed. The fur on top of his head now had an odd purple streak running through it.
Cautiously, I walked down to the bottom of the ramp.
“Do you uh… do you know what just happened?” I asked.
“With the Harchen ship? Yeah, the federation managed to find some supporters among the Harchen fleet. They were going to sabotage the ceasefire by bombing Aafa on behalf of the UN. ‘Better the civilians die than fall to the predators’ and all.”
I took a moment to absorb this. I had thought that the federation couldn’t disappoint me anymore than they had already, and yet once again, they somehow found a way.
“You know, it’s funny,” I said. “I always wanted to visit Aafa. I mean, this place is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“For me, personally?” Q replied, “Not a huge fan. It’s too… artificial, reminds me of home. Actually, are you by any chance feeling adventurous?”
“I mean, I did just crash land after fighting in a space battle, so I would say so.”
“In that case,” he said, “my offer from before still stands.”
Q turned to face me and extended his paw.
I hesitated briefly, but then I took it and
Error 409: Unresolved sequence, consult user manual for more details
Transcript generation aborted

Here is the previous post where I asked if it was okay to tell NK13 I was quitting before telling NPs because I wanted her to hear it from me. Mixed responses, but ultimately it didn't matter because I got fired! Hooray. Honestly, I'm not too upset about it, her parents are dreadful.
Sorry in advance, this is a LONG one. TL;DR: NF paid me a salary instead of GHs, didn't reimburse mileage, and started asking me to work more and more hours than originally agreed. Tensions built up over time, it all came to a head in the past month and things became pretty hostile. My car broke down 2 weeks ago, it's been in the shop ever since. I'd been borrowing my sister's car up until Tuesday, but she needed it back. I had no problem getting to and from work, my husband could drop me off/pick me up, but I had absolutely no option for a car yesterday for driving NK to her activities. I told NPs that I didn't have any realistic options and they asked me to rent a car. I stood up for myself, said not unless they were reimbursing me for the rental, and MB got pissed off and told me to just stay home. This is when I decided I needed to quit. DB got home today after work and fired me. He claimed it had nothing to do with my car breaking down or about the car rental thing (yeah right) but that it was just time for NK13 to no longer have a nanny. I think it's true that she doesn't really need a nanny anymore anyway, but you really can't deny that timing. They asked me to finish out the month, so at least I'll have some cushion until I can find a job.
Now let me tell you everything that led up to this moment... It's better if I give you some background info first. I have been a nanny for only a short while; I babysat and did some part-time nannying in the past, but I only became an actual full-time nanny in Dec. 2021. I started working for this NF in May 2022, so a little over a year now. I also have a young son - he's 3.5 now but was barely 2 when I started.
I found this family by looking on a local childcare Facebook group. NF's previous nanny was helping them look for a new nanny because she had to leave. She actually also had a young child, so it was a very similar situation. She was very specific in her post (I still have the screenshot, so I'm certain) that they were looking for a nanny willing to work long hours in the summer and shorter hours in the school year for G12, and since she is an older child, it's more of a house managefamily assistant type job. Summer hours start at 7:30am and can last as late as 7:30pm - schedule was very variable because they are both physicians and never really know when they were able to leave - but often she'd be relieved before then, sometimes as early as 3 or 4 pm. School year hours were much more flexible, Old Nanny (ON) said she'd get there around noon since G12 was in school. She did her house management tasks, picked her up from school, cooked her dinner, and would be relieved soon after.
When I reached out to Old Nanny to apply for this position, I was already a little desperate. My previous NF had just told me they were putting G2 in daycare and wouldn't need me, I had been looking for families that would be okay with me bringing my son and no one was interested in that. So I was getting very worried about paying bills and needed something ASAP.
After I interviewed, they said they wanted to pay me a salary. This should've been my first big red flag, but again, desperate. They explained they thought that was better than hourly because they would often come home much earlier than they planned and didn't want me to lose out on money. I essentially thought that it was basically just guaranteed hours, and since they got home early most of the time, there was no way they'd take advantage of me! (spoiler: they did)
The next should've-been-red flag was that they didn't want a contract because they're so easy and flexible and that they would always work with me if I was sick or needed time off. (spoiler: they didn't)
The thing is, I *knew* all of this wasn't okay and were huge red flags. But I was naive and thought that wouldn't be an issue for me and this new family that seems soooo amazing. (lol)
Anyway, moving on... The first several months seemed really great! I was getting along amazingly with NK, we were still getting to know each other, and I was still getting acquainted with the job, but MB just seemed...disappointed with everything. Most of the house management type stuff was really closer to personal assistant stuff for her and she is very nit-picky and micromanage-y. She'd tell me pretty much daily that I missed a hanger or two when organizing her closet. She wanted all her laundry to be done at all times (this woman goes through more laundry than anyone I know). She repeatedly told me I needed to tri-fold the towels (I was tri-folding!). She also had these insanely long to-do lists for the both of us. Since NK was only 12, I had to pretty much supervise her to make sure it got done. MB would even remind me to make sure I am helping her. So now I had my to-do list and also NK's to-do list to complete. Of course, this is all while caring for 2 kids, taking the 2 big dogs for long walks around the block several times a day (because I wasn't allowed to let them in the backyard to pee), feeding all of us breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and chauffeuring NK to all of her activities. Even in my 10-12 hour shifts, I wouldn't always get everything done because there was just so much to do. But if I even left something to finish the next day, MB would passive-aggressively point it out and ask for it to get finished (of course I'm going to finish it, there's no need to remind me ugh).
Oh and the best part!!!!! I never got reimbursed for mileage. I asked for it once the first month that I worked there and DB has the freaking audacity to be like "you mean from your house??" Bruh NO for all the driving you make me do to cart your child around! He ended up giving me like 5 bucks because I took her to the airport once and I never heard a word about it again. I know I should've insisted....but again, naive and desperate.
Moving on, MB started to truly show her helicopter parenting side. Some of you may or may not remember my post from last year asking if I was wrong to refuse to monitor G12's bathroom time. The consensus was that I was not wrong and it was super weird of her mom to ask that.
Later, I found out from some things NK said that led me to believe that they were homophobic. You can really see the denial in this one. Ugh.
As time went on, things seemed pretty normal for a while. There were a couple of times I needed time off. The biggest was when my husband had a mental health crisis and I ended up in the ER twice with him - which I only took like 2 days off for btw. MB sent me this really kind and heartfelt email saying she's thinking of us and hope everything is okay. I (stupidly) decided to be honest and tell her that it was mental health-related thinking that she'd have some empathy. After I replied, I heard absolutely nothing from them about it. Not a single question as to his well-being or anything. The others were just for regular illness. I had covid once, adenovirus another time, and hand-foot-mouth the most recent. My son started preschool, so I was sick often, but only took time off for the big ones.
Sometimes I had time off because they went on vacation, but would just they never tell me when they were going on vacation. Definitely strange, but speaks more to their disregard for other people than to the actual job itself.
During the school year, I stopped coming in at 7:30am like planned. It varied depending on what was on the schedule for the day, but I'd get in between 10am-noon most days. Again, just like the job was described to me. They never told me any differently either - keep in mind this was still earlier than Old Nanny used to arrive for the day, so I was really working more hours than she used to.
At Christmastime, I thought I'd get a bonus. That was something Old Nanny had mentioned, she said they gave pretty generous Christmas bonuses, so I was looking forward to that. I didn't get a bonus at all, not even a single mention of one. But I didn't say anything because I felt weird about asking for one. This is when I started thinking maybe I wasn't doing something right or that they didn't like me. I asked them several times if they thought I was doing a good job, if they had any feedback, etc, but always said no that I was doing a great job. I could tell MB probably didn't particularly like me but that seemed more just personality differences. She even stopped nit-picking the hangers and towels thing.
Last month, they forgot my birthday. This one really hurt, ngl. My birthday is right before NK's and we've all talked about it several times before.
Finally, the major conflict... This is when I really felt like things were tense and I should start putting feelers out there for a new job. MB asked me to clean and organize the playroom. Now that sounds pretty normal for a house manager, but this playroom was completely destroyed. They had just had NK's bedroom remodeled for her 13th birthday and there were boxes upon boxes piled high (most filled with styrofoam and packing peanuts). Plus they had some of her old furniture in there as well. Plus TONS of toys that she clearly hadn't played with in many many years. Boxes and boxes of half-used crafts, puzzles, barbies, legos, crayons & markers, a whole sewing kit, and tons of baby books on the bookshelf. The part that really killed me was that she wanted me to have the whole thing completed by Friday - so I only had 4 full days to complete the entire playroom (I have every Wednesday off). She even said that I could pack all the books and old toys up to take to Goodwill... She wanted me to carry them down 2 flights of stairs BY MYSELF and pack them in the car BY MYSELF and take them to Goodwill or to a used bookstore to sell. After going through all the initial boxes the first day, I almost broke down in tears when DB came home and told him I just couldn't do it all by Friday. It was too much. I'm just one person and I almost slipped and fell down the stairs when I tried lugging the vacuum cleaner upstairs by myself, there's no way I could do boxes of heavy-ass books. He seemed understanding and said it was okay, but I'm sure it was all fake.
Then my 1-year work anniversary was also last month. I thought this would be a great opportunity to discuss how things are going. I asked NPs if they had any feedback for me or if I could be doing anything different. I tried everything to get them to say ANYTHING, but all MB said was "Well, NK loves you!!" Not a single useful bit of feedback. I ended up bringing up the playroom and said that I felt like her expectations were sometimes a bit too high. I tried to say this as nicely as possible, but it did not go over well. She basically just said, "Well that's what I hired you for." I ended the conversation by asking for a raise because it's been a year now and my job description has really been changing and they've been adding more and more hours on. I asked for an additional $300/month, and they countered with $150.
That night, MB texted me and asked what time I planned on coming in the following Monday. NK was still in school, so I responded with "around 10 am." She called me at 7:30 am (!!!) the next morning and asked why I was going in so late... I said well NK is still in school and that's my normal time. She ended up laying into me claiming that's never what they agreed to, she thought this whole time that I was coming in at 8 am every day (lies), and that no wonder I couldn't get anything done because I came in so late. I was taken aback, to say the least. I don't do well on the spot like that and I started crying (I'm a crier, I hate it) and was like well that's not what I was originally told when I was hired and that they never told me any differently. Also, this is the first time I've heard about not getting anything done. She started telling me that she hired me because she wants the house to look perfect by the time she gets home and it never looks perfect. There's always something left undone and it's unacceptable that I'm not coming in earlier to make sure it gets done on time. I told her that this was all news to me and that she never told me that she was unhappy, even after I asked them specifically to give me feedback. She said she doesn't like confrontation or having hard conversations so that's why she never told me. Which is definitely not my problem, that's on her. But I was too emotional at this point to say that and I ended up apologizing even though I know I didn't do anything wrong. She ended the conversation by saying I am expected to put in a full 40 hrs year round (but really she wants me to be available 12 hrs a day in case they get stuck at the hospital) and that she'll try to be a better communicator.
OH one thing that really stood out to me was that she actually said to me that they pay me a lot of money and they want to make sure they're getting their "money's worth." As if I'm a product. I've never felt so inhuman. For the record, they do NOT pay me a lot of money. They paid me $3700/month before my raise, which equates to $28/hr for 30 hrs a week. Seems reasonable. But she wanted me to start coming in for a full 40 hrs even during the school year, which would effectively lower my hourly equivalent to $22/hr. Even lower if you're counting needing to be "on-call" 48 hrs a week. NOT enough for the job I was doing, and especially not for a HCOL area.
Now the straw that broke the camel's back. My car. My poor car broke down more than 2 weeks ago. It's been at the dealership this whole time (I still don't have it back, hopefully today) and I've been getting away with borrowing my sister's and BIL's cars to drive NK around. I would have loved to borrow my husband's car, but his car is a manual transmission and I can't drive stick. My sister needed her car back this week, so I was able to borrow it up until Wednesday, meaning I'd be without a car Thursday and Friday this week. Just 2 days out of the two weeks my car was getting repaired. Wednesday night I texted NPs asking if I could use DB's truck to drive NK, but he had taken it because he went out of town. MB needs her car each day. I ran out of options and told them I didn't have any other realistic options and wasn't sure what else to do. I reiterated that I could still get to and from work each day with no issue, just couldn't drive NK to her theater practice. Which honestly is such a minimal part of my day anyway. Well, I suppose that was unacceptable and MB asked me to rent a car. The audacity of this request really threw me off... I replied "Will this be reimbursed since it's a work-related expense? If not, then no, I do not have the funds to rent a car." She said "No, I'm not paying for a rental car. Just stay home and I'll figure it out." These people make $100s of thousands of dollars each year..... $120 for a rental car is practically an entire day's worth of pay to me, but just a drop in the bucket to them. Why she thought it was acceptable for me to spend my own money to rent a car, but ridiculous for them to, is beyond me. I sent a thumbs-up and never heard anything back from them.
The next day (yesterday) I knew I had to quit, which is what led me to my most recent post. I still haven't found a replacement job so I wasn't just about to quit then and there. But it ended up not mattering because DB asked to pull me aside before I left yesterday to fire me. I told him that I thought it was really unfair to ask me to spend my own money to rent a car but he said that it was part of the job and if you're unable to do the job, then it's my responsibility to fix the situation. I replied saying that they don't even pay me mileage so I'm already paying out of pocket to drive THEIR kid around. He said that if they'd known it was such a big deal beforehand that they would've let me use his truck more often (I did mention it, but probably should've pressed the issue). I told him that it was not like I wanted my car to break down... He said this ultimately had nothing to do with the car thing (yeah right lmao) and that it's just time for NK to no longer have a nanny. Which I completely agree with, but the timing dude. Also, I was hardly a nanny at that point anyway, just a housekeeper and chauffeur.
In the end, I think the real reason they decided to fire me is because I had the audacity to stand up for myself and ask for a raise. The car thing just accelerated it. There were definitely some personality differences and I don't think MB really liked me to begin with, but she put up with me because NK loved me. But as soon as I started realizing my worth, I became too much to deal with.
SO ANYWAY... Here we are today and I am absolutely kicking myself for putting up with this for so long. Luckily, my son is in preschool full-time now, so I will have a much easier time finding a new job. I've been looking into agencies as well. I'm kind of relieved but also really sad that I won't see NK every day anymore. She is a very special kid.

Just brought home an IS 300 F Sport!
2020 Model
20k miles
$36,900
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I have driven the car a total of only 45 miles but I wanted to share my initial thoughts and hear some thoughts and observations from the community that has some experience with this car or similar models.
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First of all, I chose Lexus because I wanted that Toyota reputation for reliability. My previous car, an Impreza, was decently fun to drive but constantly needed repairs. It was from the first year of a new generation so I feel like there were a lot of kinks and that resulted in me having to get a lot of repairs. It his 146k miles and I decided it wasn't worth it to get another $2k necessary worth of repairs. So my question is - for IS300 drivers or other similar models, how are your maintenance and reliability costs? I am hoping that my new whip will rarely be in the shop. I love driving but I'm not really a "car guy" that can do my own maintenance.
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Secondly, this car is very fast (at least to my perspective). I've never owned a V6 car. I had a long highway ride home from the dealership on somewhat empty roads and I found myself flying without noticing my speed. Do you all have any tips regarding paddle shifters and sport mode vs. eco mode? I just kept the car in eco mode on my first ride, but I'd like to know under what circumstances you use sport mode.
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Third, I am in love with the aesthetics of the car. Personally I have black exterior with the Rioja Red interior. It looks fantastic. I think it's a nice blend of the luxury and sport aesthetics. The red leather is pretty sexy I have to say. Lexus was never really on my radar as far as a potential purchase. I have always had my eyes on a Mercedes C300 from an aesthetic point of view, but I didn't want to deal with the maintenance of a German luxury car. I think I made the right choice here (obviously, given my purchase) but I'm curious if anyone has any insight on comparisons to competing car brands such as Mercedes.
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And finally, I'm just curious if anyone has any information to share with me as far as:

• random things I should know about Lexi (that's my plural for Lexus)
• random fun observations you've had driving this vehicle (or similar ones)
• tips and tricks that are not obvious to a regular driver
• experiences with this vehicle (or similar models) with regard to maintenance and repairs
• does your wallet hurt?

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Just want to say I appreciate this community as I have been able to lurk around here and it helped inform my purchase. Drive safe, all!