Four-Oh-Seven!

Check it out, check it out! My new wheels… damn sporty-looking if you ask me! Engineered for perfection it may be, but I gotta admit, it’s not the ultimate driving machine.

Nevertheless, I'm over the moon now that it’s actually sitting in my driveway. Took a flipping long time, but it’s here. Had to take the whole day off just to sort it out. And let me tell you, sitting around at the government offices ain’t the best way to spend the day, especially if you’re having things in your mind! So much frustration…

Anyway, in the end, I decided to settle for whatever number I could get my hands on. So, no three digits, no preferred number, but one that I’m not unhappy with. Whatever it is… IT’S HERE!

Splat!

What does it take to pick oneself up and move on? The Torino winter Olympics are about to begin in less than a month and the tv’s been showing ads for it… there’s this skier that takes a tumble whilst flying downhill at breakneck speed, landing in the barriers in what seemed like a horrific fall. Then the words flash… it’s easy to fall and so much harder to pick oneself up and we’re told that the fella taking the tumble not only picked himself up but won 2 gold medals after. I guess that’s why people keep at it no matter the fall. Sort of flows along with my credo of everything will work itself out, rite?

So what happens when you’re not hurtling down at breakneck pace, but know you’re at the precipice and the fall’s gonna be a heckuva bad one? You take steps to protect yourself, rite? Some I guess press the matter and get someone to push you over and some even don’t think… just jump. So when the fall comes, it’ll be easier to pick up and move on? Or hope that your angels swoop down and grab you before you go splat? Or just let the fall come, cos everything will work out in the end anyway?

The thing is, why be at the precipice at all in the first place rite? So what if it’s a beautiful mountain? One doesn’t have to climb it just cos it’s there rite? When you go up… u’re just gonna come back down in one way or other… sounds silly to keep at it… I think I’ll stick to diving… it’s safer I think.

Speaking of diving… off to Sipadan on Sunday… woohoo!

How is the economy?

Last Friday turned out to be a minor challenge… the old man was back in town and his car was still at the workshop. So flyboy’s TX3 was with him. That posed a small problem for me then, as I needed to be at the flipping car showroom again to sign more documents to finance the 407.

What else to do but call for a taxi, rite? After all, having lived on my own for so long now, I basically choose to rely on my own devices and that meant I don’t call on too many favours. Besides, not everyone is a slacker like me and were all at work somewhere.

Anyway, the cabbie that picked me up turned out to be quite a chatterbox. I’d barely settled into the cab and informed him where I’d needed to be when he asked “How is the economy in this new year?” Yeah, so my 10min journey to the showroom was all about:

• The price hike of vegetables – uh, ok it costs almost an arm and a leg for chillies now? Yuh-huh.
• A conspiracy to kill the brilliant minds in the country – rite, the 2-ton mould was pushed off intentionally? Must have involved a brawny, yet brilliant mathematician, huh?
• Priorities of the younger generation – there is simply no loyalty now… huh? 5-year long service award? Pension fund… what’s that?
• Profitability of a certain car importer – Oh c’mon, I’m buying a new car, let’s not talk about how they are over pricing cars in this country…
• Puppet masters that really rule and govern countries – I ain’t saying a word more about this… *shhhh*… the walls have ears…

Rite… all these from a cabbie… It’s no wonder that they have TV series about cabbies from all around the world! But then again, I could have just kept quiet and killed the conversation, but I’m always a sucker for a conversation anyway …

That done, I’ve also paid out the remaining balance for the 407. So, nothing holding them back from delivering it to me soon… alas, it’s now well past 10 days… and still no sign of the four-oh-seven… damn car importers!

What did I buy?

Since I posted “The ultimate driving machine’s days are numbered”, some of you have been asking me, besides the 407, what the other major purchase was. Well, late last year, after coming back from Langkawi, I found my 25” TV wouldn’t display at all… As many of you know, I’m a TV geek… the TV is on whenever I’m home, regardless whether I’m watching or not.

Well, that’s it… I bought a TV on New Year’s day. Yuh-huh, after 2 days of watching TV on the 14” I have upstairs, I bought a 26” TV as a replacement. Nothing major rite? It’s just a simple 26” Sony Bravia LCD TV. Yeah, yeah…

• Unnecessary purchase - gotcha.
• Could have sent it in for repairs - you’re right…
• Pay a fourth of what I paid, for an even larger screen CRT TV - yup.

But it’s a HighDefinition ready LCD TV… flat screen… wide screen… So what if there are no service providers broadcasting in HD yet in Malaysia. At least I’m ready when they do? Besides, I can plug my laptop or digital camera to it and have a 26” screen… now get off my back.

I'm on a roll!

OK, another one down. It was brought to my attention that I’ve been busy completing many projects recently. When I think about it, it’s quite right. Amazing what I can accomplish when I have too much free time and actually get off my lazy butt to focus on some of them. Normally I’d start on many projects at the same time and don’t quite get around to finishing them within a year or so… still on the workbench include old man’s BF109 & F/A18 (Horny Mae), my many jets, the many house repairs… so the fact that I finished several paint jobs over the past couple of weeks is quite an accomplishment…

What did I finish? Well, I’ve already mentioned the 1.8m sail boat (The Annabelle) I sprayed for the old man. I’ve also managed to finish several books (The Godfather returns, What we believe but cannot prove, None Braver), another painting, car project, tv project… definitely on a roll!

Anyways… latest oil project with some artistic (untrained) freedom applied…

The original picture...

& the copy in oil...

No more wheels...

Bye Bye Beemer! Rite, after 12 years in the family, the ultimate driving machine has been sold… to some poor sod modifier who’s gonna rip out the auto and replace it with a manual transmission. So for the first time since getting my driver’s license ages ago… I actually do not have a car to my name. Not only that, I don’t have a car at all. The 407 better come soon!

So how am I getting around? Fortunately, flyboy’s back in Brunei, so I’ve got my hands on a manual 1.8 Laser TX3 for a few days. If you folks recall, when I first drove it one night, I was raving about how good it felt to be driving a manual car, downshifting and powering round a bend and all… well, I have to admit, I think it was another alcohol fueled delusion… the traffic might have influenced it a bit. I took the car for a spin and well… with the traffic and all those traffic lights… let’s just say I’m glad the 407 is another automatic. Maybe the morning’s drive to work won’t be too bad.

Anyways, it’s been a week now since putting in the booking for the 407… c’mon Nasim… where’s my car! Iron grey 407 with skirtings all round, xenon lights, tinted windows, butterfly wipers, Porsche Tiptronic gearbox system... I can’t wait… I want it now, now, now!!!

Happy Birthday?

Whom God loves die young...

Leen

10 Jan 1970 - 11 June 2004

The ultimate driving machine's days are numbered!!!

It's already 2006!!! Happy new year everyone... amazing ain't it? Another year has come and gone. Can't say I'm sorry to see 2005 go. Other than financially, it's not been a year that I'd look back fondly on... well, there might have been some exceptions, but generally, it's not been that crash hot a year... especially the last 2 weeks or so of it... I regret doing something as well as surprised and disappointed myself, but I'm not gonna go into that... for now.

So… I’ve made the leap and have made a major purchase. Come to think of it, it's the 2nd major purchase within 4 days of the new year! gosh... hope it's not a sign of things to come in 2006. Anyways, I'm now simply waiting for the 407 to be delivered… apparently in about 5-7 working days… I can’t wait…

So, by the middle of the month, i’m no longer gonna be a beemer driver… *hmmm* i gotta admit that i’ve got mixed feelings about it, but it’s a new year… so what better time to change rite? What will I be driving, you ask? It's a Peugeot people.. specifically, the Peugeot 2.0L SR in Iron grey. Coming to a road near you very soon... (well, for those of you around KL anyway)

Oh, mind you... driving style's not changed, so if you see an Iron grey 407 trying to achieve take off speeds on the highway or coming up behind you... think of it as the ultimate driving machine wanna-be and move over, aight?

Sporty, no? of cos it is!