24 November 2008

ennui

i am experiencing major boredom. my job transfer to Phoenix went through, my last day in the office is 12/9, and consequently, nobody wants to give me billable work. or any work, for that matter. so i sit here and study my leed reference guide with great hopes that i will actually take the test before i leave california...and in the meantime charge the hell out of my company's overhead account. pitiful. but i cannot emotionally afford to care at this point.

i did, however, have a great weekend. i drove the mini w/ bike down to los gatos very early saturday morning and rode demo forest with the south bay-ers for the first time in a long time. highland road washed out, but was recently rebuilt. don't think i've accessed those trails for at least two years, and wow, i forgot how fun they are! we rode braille trail. i think i've stepped up my riding this past year because the trail, although fun, seemed very easy and short. that makes me feel good because i have a 24-hour race in february, and i don't want to ride much more than i already do. afterwards i met up with karen, benjamin, carolyn, foster, amalia, julia, sophia, and cyrus for lunch at a pizza joint. super fun! and then i drove home and literally fell onto the sofa and passed out by 9pm. i love those saturday nights when i'm drained...i sleep so well.

so the mini is doing well. despite her tail light being punched in a couple weeks ago, the electrical tape is holding very well (no moisture seepage) and most people don't even notice anything is wrong with the light, so i decided to save my cash and wait for someone to rear-end me. that way insurance will pay for the tail light. either than or i'll wait until the cost of parts goes down to something reasonable. i bought the mini protective film for her headlights, front bumper, and hood...a temporary clear bra, whatever you want to call it, for her roadtrip to AZ. i don't want to risk paint chips so early. she also has a new sunshade. i filled her tank for the first time today. first time i EVER had fun filling up a gas tank...and it was premium!

oh, and i was just driving along the freeway this weekend and looked down at the speedometer and...holy crap...was nearly at 90mph. my jetta would have been coughing up a lung at that point so i didn't notice i was going so fast. the mini is a speed demon!

09 November 2008

consolation prize

prop 8 passed. unreal. i felt so bad that i went out and bought myself a new car. yes, here it is, folks!!! my little turbo chili pepper, a 2009 mini cooper s...


the thing has a radio, windshield wipers, tires with tread, and a gas cap that closes...super fancy! even comes with a hunky car payment financed by BMW, which i actually like (???). my next car will be a beemer, so i think of these payments as "establishing credit." hey, anything helps me deal. notice how pale i am after signing all those signatures on pieces of paper that kept being thrown at me. (i actually had to sign something stating i would not put chains on the car when going into the snow or my warranty would be voided. i have to use cables instead! how unfortunate.) notice also how long my hair is getting...already! (i'm getting it cut even SHORTER on friday. pixie, perhaps?)

so what happened to the jetta, you ask? i traded her in for a measly $1043. but she really was a wreck considering all she's been through over the past ten years. scraped wheels and a dinged-up body. no radio. manual windows. stick shift. side mirror duct-taped onto the body. i noticed something hanging from her underbelly as i drove into the lot, scraping the ground. it really was a sad site, so i should feel fortunate i got anything for her. can you imagine, i bought her right when i moved to cali, right before i started AMD. what a great car, though. she was truly the only stability i had during those ten years. all the moving i did, she moved me. all the traveling i did, she was there when i got back, battery juiced up and all. all my drives to the snow and trailheads, she made that fun happen. hell, she lasted WAY longer than any man in my life! much less maintenance, too. hehe. :)