of Cars and Choices ...

I started out so well, maintaining my two ‘blogs everyday … and then life got in the way … and I’ve been on the go non-stop with a dozen different things … but, alas I have a breather, enough time to scribe a little something …

So, what’s been happening? I’ve been doing the whole domestic thing – you know, building a retaining wall, cleaning, cooking, etc … pretty boring, mundane, yet time consuming tasks.

Oh, I’ve been looking at new cars! After spending a small fortune on fixing a broken gear on my current sporty number, I decided I need to look at new options. So, a few weeks back, I started researching vehicles, and taking lots of test drives.

I’ve discovered quite a fair bit in this time … the most important lesson is what you think you want may not be what you actually want – nor need in fact.

Having almost always had sporty cars (short of my original Humber Super Snipe, or the company/lease vehicles) I started looking at the Mazda RX8, Nissan 350Z and Honda S2000 almost without thinking … So off I went down the comparison path.

On paper, the RX8 comes out on top, good balance of sporty and comfort features, reasonably priced, etc … but when I went out and test drove it, I was so disappointed! Earlier in the year, I had test-driven the RX8 Special Edition, and that was pretty good … but the standard model was clunkier, not as responsive, etc …

It was seriously a case of great body … and that’s it … Now, I’ve driven and run a number of old RX3’s and RX7’s … and I’d happily replace this even with the issue bound RX7 SII! Heck, my current MX6 performed better in almost all arenas!

This caused a pause in my search as I stepped back and re-evaluated my requirements and my desires. I’ve enjoyed my sports cars, loved the feel, the rush, the cornering, etc … but a new element has come into my thinking – no, not petrol pricing, although it is now a higher priority factor – but comfort. I spend a minimum of two hours going to and fro work. Sports seats are great when you’re zooming around a 75-degree bend at 80+ clicks an hour … but have you ever had to spend an hour and half in one in stop start traffic?

For that matter, have you ever been stuck in a “drivers car” during peak hour traffic? All of a sudden, you get bored, uncomfortable, irritated – and all your muscles ache as all of this mounts up and you’re changing up and down between 1st and 3rd while moving less than 20-clicks an hour!

So, for the first time in my life, I’ve put comfort above performance. With this new direction in mind, I started looking at anything labelled “luxury”.

So, off I went, and drove, and looked, and drove some more … and finally was taken in by the new Lexus IS250 (or colloquially named the baby-GS). Even put down a deposit!

So, happy with my new choice, I go off to my Novated Lease provider and tell them the news, only for a couple of realities to be thrown back quite hard.

1. Based on my 40,000 clicks a year Odometer, a five year lease is BAD
2. In their opinion (and, coincidentally, that of my accountant) anyone who needs a five-year lease can’t afford the car and shouldn’t be looking at it …
3. Based on a three-year lease, I’d have 120,000 clicks on the clock – most cars won’t support a resale anywhere near equal to the residual value …
4. The Lexus loses the most value of almost any other car in it’s range.

Well, damn!

So, I went off and did some more research – this time on cars that were three years old with over 100,000 on the clock. And you know what? There were only two car types that consistently maintained a reasonable value in comparison to others in the same range.

The two? Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Quite honestly, I never thought I’d ever be the owner or driver of either type.

So, I looked harder at the lower-end offerings from both, the Mercedes-Benz C180 Avantgarde and the BMW 320i Execuitive.

In the end, I liked the Beemer more, althought the Merc will probably hold it’s value better.

So, I’m in the process of getting quotes, messing around with figures, driving my lease company rep mad (sorry Luke!) and going a little nuts myself.

Anyhow, I’ll let you know how I go in the end.

Ciao!

Of art, food and weddings ...

Well, it has been another interesting weekend.

I apologise for not updating my blog lately, but I’ve been suffering from tiredness … I just can’t seem to shake it either.

Anyhow, this weekend I had two interesting experiences.

On Saturday night, I went to an art exhibition. An “Art Provocateur” exhibition, to be exact. There were some interesting exhibitions, from photos from a BDSM ball, to drawings of BDSM scenes, some interesting pencil drawings of Xena and Gabrielle getting it on, a Latex curtain, dolls in birdcages, and some paintings that to describe will have my blog banned in 23 different countries.

There were also live performances held at this exhibition. A lovely lady performed a suspension. Her partner had carefully tied her up in a lovely red-silk rope and then suspended her from a large winch hook. Now, regardless if you’re into that sort of thing or not, the style, theatrics and overall effect were spectacular. You also have to admire a woman who is willing to place herself in a vulnerable public position and especially in light of the fact that she was afraid of heights … major Kudo’s to her!

The other exhibition, well, lets just say I have no idea what the point was. Perhaps I’m a BDSM Luddite and therefore could not understand the little intricacies of the performance, or maybe it was just plain boring.

This exhibition involved a all-but-naked woman donning a WWII gas mask and a black strap-on, being taped (yes, taped, as in gaffa) by a man in leather chaps, a leather mask and a cage around his member.

So, he taped, alternating between gaffa, plastic strips, masking, “fragile” packing tape and “wet paint” tape. First her arms, then her legs … and so on and so forth for hours … no, I mean it, I don’t mean it felt like hours, it was … starting at about 7-ish by 11, he had just finished the arms … I later heard that when they kicked everyone out at just past midnight, they went to a hotel room and kept taping (yes that’s all – taping) till 6 AM!

The only thing that sort-of kept my interest before I fell into a coma was the woman (slave) kneeling on the ground next to this couple who would bark (almost naturally) and try to bite the donger that the taping girl would wave in her face occasionally.

The dog-girls master was languished across a table above her slave, in a lovely revealing slinky black dress. Would have been interesting to see her do something – anything – rather than languish there and pout, looking for all the world like a smile would kill her. She was rather tasty though.

Anyhow, after my friends used the cattle-prod woke me from my stupor, we drove down to Fitzroy and enjoyed a phenomenal meal at Madame SouSou. Good food, good booze and good company … the way a meal should be.

Sunday morning was hectic. Being father’s day, and having a wedding to go to, as well as needing to get my usual tasks done (you know – dry cleaning, basic shopping, return faulty goods, etc) was too much. We rushed around like maniacs, missed the church event, had the car get stuck in fifth gear (broken cog), organised a spare from my brother-in-laws dad, had a fathers day lunch, got changed, drive to the reception (not before getting lost!) and finally made it in a little late, but before the bridal party came in.

It was a good Italian wedding reception too, the food was divine (and even though I come from an Italian background, still too many courses!) and did I mention plentiful? The company on the table was friendly, jovial and extremely light-hearted.

The bride and groom were stunning and so happy, that at one point I was sure that the only reason they were still smiling was that they had smiling-muscle-cramps.

So, after a pleasant night of dancing, eating, drinking, joking and general festivities, I finally made it home at about a tad before two am.

This morning I had to drive back up to Tullamarine (which, for those that don’t know, is clear across town – approx 70-odd kilometres along the interconnecting freeways) to where my car had broken down and was left overnight. After waiting for the tow truck (for damn near two-hours!) I organised for it to be towed to the Mazda dealership … and it will probably be a week (two?) before I get it back.

So, that’s been my weekend. It can only get better from here, right?