A New Ride

I got my driver's license the day I turned 19. That was about 6 years ago yesterday. OK. That's a lie. Add another 7 years to that. What? You're confused? Oh well. Never mind. Age is just a number and I hate numbers and this post isn't going to be about numbers.

So anyway. Back to the story. On the day I earned my driver's license, everything just fell into place. I passed the theoretical test, I nailed the slopes test and I excelled in the parking test. Everything was a breeze except for the road test. What happened? Well, the car stalled twice during the test cos I was sloppy with the clutch and the accelerator. But because it was my birthday, I got really lucky and was given this super nice tester. He said "Jangan panic Alice...Palan palan". And surprise surprise, my final score for the road test was 19/20! Even with mati enjin :) 

Although I had a license, I was not allowed to drive cos my dad said I wasn't ready. It was only safe for me to drive on kampung roads. Period. That was so frustrating. Three years later, I graduated and was posted to a suburban school in Papar. My dad realized that I couldn't possibly walk from KK to Papar so he bought me a pre-loved Suzuki Jeep. It was ancient alright but I so adored it, simply because it was mine. All mine.

After two months, the Suzuki broke down. The journey from KK to Papar was too much for the old engine so my dad had no choice but to sell the car. I was a bit annoyed when he did cos I was back to being chauffered-driven to school. Suddenly I was 12 again.

Shortly after this bleak period, my dad bought me a more reliable car. It was a metallic-blue, Proton Saga sedan. I was extremely ecstatic when I got it cos it was way newer than the Suzuki and much easier to drive. The Proton served me well for a few years but after sometime, it started giving me heaps of problems. I'd like to tell you the problems I had with it, but I can't come up with the right term. The only thing I could remember is the timing belt. So anyway, I sold the car and moved on.

My next car was an Atos - small and economical. This Atos was special because a month after I had it, the registration number 2650 came out in the lottery - first prize! We bought two tickets, so that was equivalent to RM5000. A sweet win, wouldn't you say? Anyway,  a month after winning the 4D, llittle Alden was born. The date? 26 May 2006 (26/5). His weight? 2.65 kg. Big coincidence eh? I thought it was cool.

In September 2008, I had to sell the Atos cos I was leaving for NZ. It wasn't easy getting rid of it but I managed to sort it out just in the nick of time. When we got to Christchurch, we bought this red Toyota Camry station wagon for $1800.00. That's right. A thousand eight hundred ONLY.

This car has been problem-free since the day we bought it but it does have a couple of minus points. It doesn't have an air-conditioner, it's absorbers are all worn out and something in the engine needs to be fixed. 

You know where this is going right? Yep. That's right. We sold the car. 

And then we went car hunting. There were so many nice, cheap ones in the market and  we went to more than 10 car dealers along Moorhouse Avenue itself.

BMW anyone?

 I like this one but it's a two-seater

 Nissan Maxima 2004 - $8000 plus only

 If I were single, I would have bought this - $5990 only!

 and this one's $6990!

 A classic - The Jaguar is only $6999

It was hard choosing one that you really like cos there were so many to choose from. But in the end, I finally decided on something more practical for the family and one that is affordable.

I chose this. Another Camry but a newer one.

And that's my biggest birthday present ever :)

Yes, I'm in denial

 Happy Weekend everyone :)