Saying Goodbye
I had to say goodbye to a friend recently. It was a little sad saying goodbye to her. We'd known each other for only a few short years. But its amazing how regular time spent together can increase one's affection.
You could say we travelled the world together. You could say we were close companions. She guided my life over the past few years, through rain or shine. When dark, she'd never hesistate to light up my life for me. When down, she'd always be there, with a listening ear and never hesitating to lend a shoulder.
She saved my life. Twice.
I feel horribly indebted to her. And I feel equally horrible that I was the decision in having her leave. The only upside to this sending off is that she's unemotional enough not to shed any tears.
Actually, she can't shed tears.
Ever.
She was my car.
My first ride.
Its funny how people get so thoroughly attached to their automobiles. Heck, first cars will probably leave a lasting impression on even the most clueless of drivers - those who see vehicles as just a tool to get from point A to B.
Being the gearhead that I am, seeing my first car leave for parts unknown was definitely quite the painful experience. I won't say I shed any tears on giving up my keys, but I did have that horribly stuck feeling in my throat. All throughout my last drive with her on 27th June, 2007. At approximately 1530-1600hrs.
When i handed over my friend, the odometer read 96,352km. Yes, for 5 years, it would seem like a very short distance travelled on a per year basis. Some people can easily clock twice that amount in the same timeframe.
I'll put it in my own perspective though. I had actually driven her around the equator of our planet.
Twice.
And then some.
More than two whole times round Earth. In a straight line from East to West. Thats an effing lot of history. And not just of the distance travelled too.
The number of people I'd spent time together with her. The number of highly enjoyable, highly enlightening conversations I'd had in her. Be it just on my way home back from work (or initially, from college). Or just sitting in her at some deserted locale, with the A/C running and another friend to converse with. Those were good times. Very good times.
And then there was the fun. The occasional weekends spent along a certain stretch of twisties i mentioned a few posts down. The Japanese have a word - touge (峠). "Mountain pass" would be a suitable translation. But me and my fellow gearhead friends coined the term for that stretch of road mainly 'coz whilst it doesn't have much of a gradient, it has many technical and fun corners as befitting a mountain pass. Besides, there aren't any mountains near home anyways.
And when I pushed her along, trying to get closer to perfect heel-and-toe downshifts, she would sing. Boy, could she sing. It was a voice that would always put a smile on my face. Which is what I can say for only too few women out there. *cough* =P =P
I admit, I wasn't always the bestest of friends with her. I'd take it out on her when depressed or stressed. But she never wavered, steadfastly being loyal to me. And regretfully, I betrayed that loyalty once. Sending her into a spin and flipping into a drain. Still, she protected my life, at great cost to her own personal body. That particular incident happened just 3 days after my last post, which i may elaborate further on, if i ever decide to update this blog again.
The first time she ever protected my life was when some numbnuck in a big-arse truck decided to rear-end us for no particular reason on my way to college. Still, a week later, she was back, smiling and singing like before. Talk about a fast recovery.
Alas, various reasons eventually led to my decision to let her go. Financially, due to our twisted tax structure, I was losing too much money on her. Secondly, newer models were available for much less now due to a recent downswing in car prices.
I'm sorry I had to let you go, my dear Civic. I know I'll never see you in the flesh again. But one thing's for sure. You'll definitely occupy a portion of my heart and memory for as long as they can both function. =)
All the best. And I hope your new owner in whichever country takes good (or better) care of you.
Bon Voyage!~
And here's me collecting the keys to my new ride at the showroom!~ ^_^
Sidenote: The reason why I'm suddenly updating my blog (after a hiatus of around one and a half years too) is that aside from losing the abovementioned friend in the month of June, the month of July will also see the leaving of 3 of my closer friends. And I'm feeling more than a li'l lonely, not to mention, slightly abandoned (though, I do admit there's no logical reason to feel the latter). >_<
Yes, two of 'em will be gone only temporarily, but they'll be away for a timeframe that's counted by years instead of months.
You ladies know who you are. So if you ever get round to reading this regularly-not-updated blog, give me a call or send me a virtual hug or something. I miss you all. T_T
And oh, thats really not my Ferrari F430 Spyder (big news there). It is me sitting in one though, despite the 笑い男/Laughing Man coverup. But thats yet another story.
You could say we travelled the world together. You could say we were close companions. She guided my life over the past few years, through rain or shine. When dark, she'd never hesistate to light up my life for me. When down, she'd always be there, with a listening ear and never hesitating to lend a shoulder.
She saved my life. Twice.
I feel horribly indebted to her. And I feel equally horrible that I was the decision in having her leave. The only upside to this sending off is that she's unemotional enough not to shed any tears.
Actually, she can't shed tears.
Ever.
She was my car.
My first ride.
Its funny how people get so thoroughly attached to their automobiles. Heck, first cars will probably leave a lasting impression on even the most clueless of drivers - those who see vehicles as just a tool to get from point A to B.
Being the gearhead that I am, seeing my first car leave for parts unknown was definitely quite the painful experience. I won't say I shed any tears on giving up my keys, but I did have that horribly stuck feeling in my throat. All throughout my last drive with her on 27th June, 2007. At approximately 1530-1600hrs.
When i handed over my friend, the odometer read 96,352km. Yes, for 5 years, it would seem like a very short distance travelled on a per year basis. Some people can easily clock twice that amount in the same timeframe.
I'll put it in my own perspective though. I had actually driven her around the equator of our planet.
Twice.
And then some.
More than two whole times round Earth. In a straight line from East to West. Thats an effing lot of history. And not just of the distance travelled too.
The number of people I'd spent time together with her. The number of highly enjoyable, highly enlightening conversations I'd had in her. Be it just on my way home back from work (or initially, from college). Or just sitting in her at some deserted locale, with the A/C running and another friend to converse with. Those were good times. Very good times.
And then there was the fun. The occasional weekends spent along a certain stretch of twisties i mentioned a few posts down. The Japanese have a word - touge (峠). "Mountain pass" would be a suitable translation. But me and my fellow gearhead friends coined the term for that stretch of road mainly 'coz whilst it doesn't have much of a gradient, it has many technical and fun corners as befitting a mountain pass. Besides, there aren't any mountains near home anyways.
And when I pushed her along, trying to get closer to perfect heel-and-toe downshifts, she would sing. Boy, could she sing. It was a voice that would always put a smile on my face. Which is what I can say for only too few women out there. *cough* =P =P
I admit, I wasn't always the bestest of friends with her. I'd take it out on her when depressed or stressed. But she never wavered, steadfastly being loyal to me. And regretfully, I betrayed that loyalty once. Sending her into a spin and flipping into a drain. Still, she protected my life, at great cost to her own personal body. That particular incident happened just 3 days after my last post, which i may elaborate further on, if i ever decide to update this blog again.
The first time she ever protected my life was when some numbnuck in a big-arse truck decided to rear-end us for no particular reason on my way to college. Still, a week later, she was back, smiling and singing like before. Talk about a fast recovery.
Alas, various reasons eventually led to my decision to let her go. Financially, due to our twisted tax structure, I was losing too much money on her. Secondly, newer models were available for much less now due to a recent downswing in car prices.
I'm sorry I had to let you go, my dear Civic. I know I'll never see you in the flesh again. But one thing's for sure. You'll definitely occupy a portion of my heart and memory for as long as they can both function. =)
All the best. And I hope your new owner in whichever country takes good (or better) care of you.
Bon Voyage!~
And here's me collecting the keys to my new ride at the showroom!~ ^_^
Sidenote: The reason why I'm suddenly updating my blog (after a hiatus of around one and a half years too) is that aside from losing the abovementioned friend in the month of June, the month of July will also see the leaving of 3 of my closer friends. And I'm feeling more than a li'l lonely, not to mention, slightly abandoned (though, I do admit there's no logical reason to feel the latter). >_<
Yes, two of 'em will be gone only temporarily, but they'll be away for a timeframe that's counted by years instead of months.
You ladies know who you are. So if you ever get round to reading this regularly-not-updated blog, give me a call or send me a virtual hug or something. I miss you all. T_T
And oh, thats really not my Ferrari F430 Spyder (big news there). It is me sitting in one though, despite the 笑い男/Laughing Man coverup. But thats yet another story.
posted by degenerated_sapient @ 12:12 AM
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