I had this small talk at work with someone while waiting for her to sign all the papers–dreaded documents–I’ve been submitting almost regularly lately. Looking at the pale pink dawn sky outside their office window I said, “Nice to see the sun again.” She replied, “I’m a rainy day fan so I really don’t like the sun even back when I don’t have a car.” Well, I had the same sentiments. Had.
It’s been raining for almost two weeks already and it’s effect has become more of a nuisance than a benefit to me. I like driving in the rain but the heavy downpour has taken its toll on the roads where I drive daily. It has exposed once more the substandard asphalt that our dear public contractors have tried to pass as acceptable. Happens every rainy season and this time the potholes are bigger and deeper. Corruption was never gone. Shame.
Then there’s this annoying leak in our car. And it’s now in two places. It used to be only in the driver’s foot well but it’s now also in the trunk. Best excuse to keep me considering a mortgaged brand new compact sedan. Snap, snap. While my trunk now looks like nothing happened to it after a bad rear-ender months back, I realized Servex’s workmanship wasn’t as good as they promised. Servex is Kia Sto. Tomas delearship’s multi-brand shop. No thanks, not returning it for a back job.
Now I’m waiting for clear skies before I go back checking where these leaks are coming from. I was able to find cracks in the trunk and have sealed it but I think I missed a couple more. For now, I’m not wearing flip-flops while driving, else soggy feet.
On a different perspective, all this inconvenience seem trivial. Would I rather take public transportation again than drive a car that has obviously seen better days? And put myself under the mercy of reckless jeepney drivers? Ok, leaky car, I’m still yours, you’re still mine.
Come to think of it, it’s all in the mind. It’s also about influence of the environment. Few months ago Marcus, who by the way is a big fan of fast cars, and I watched on Netflix Paul Hollywood’s Big Continental Road Trip. It’s rated 13+ although there are mature humor in some scenes. The show features cars and culture of different countries and it was the France episode that struck me the most. Despite stature, those who live in castles and play golf on weekends, these French people do not drive luxurious cars. They don’t mind a simple fender bender and nudging a car to get a parallel parking space seems very common. I think I should live in France.
Still on cars, I’ve been trying to get back on writing so I read lengthy posts of James Deakin on Facebook and other pages that talk about cars. I’m a frustrated car magazine writer and almost landed as contributor of a car forum several years ago but the topic they assigned as test piece wasn’t my forte so I didn’t pursue it. This week I read two articles of this automotive Facebook page and it made me wonder if they have an editor because the articles ended abruptly, definitely were half-baked, rushed pieces just to hit the required number of words. I miss writing all of a sudden. Should I start about cars again then? Well, as soon as I’m done writing these papers at work.
***
Here’s a video showing my close encounter with what Marcus identified to be a Mercedes-Benz AMG GTR which he said he owned before in his XBox Forza game. Google shows that this car is 2018 model worth $167,000 or Php8M. I’m sure this car doesn’t leak.
***
Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Was able to hit 5K despite gloomy skies.)
Marcus Can Blog 