I haven't had a chance to "enjoy" the car as much as I am still babying the car through its first 1000 kilometers. It has been quiet painful actually not going over 3000 rpms (max I've gone is 4000 rpms); but the one good thing about it is that the fuel economy is awesome!
For example; as you have gathered already, I just recently purchased a new car. The "mighty" Suzuki Swift Sport. Now alot of people have asked me why, and informed me "it's just a Suzuki". Well that's their opinion and at the end of the day it was my choice and something I have to live with, so really their opinion doesn't really matter; well shouldn't really matter, especially now that I have purchased it already. The opinions that I accepted the most from my parents and Ci, for various reasons, but still as they said to me as well, that in the end it is my car so it's my choice.
That's why I decided to drive the Del Sol, which was left outside and covered in dust, so that I'd keep my "BLB 83Z" dust free. In the morning it seemed like a brilliant idea, but arriving home after work this evening I'd noticed that even though it was kept in the garage, the dust was able to make its way inside and "cover" it in dust. It's not as Thick if it went out today, but it was still covered in dust. Oh well, time to clean the car already.
The second car I test drove was the Holden Cruze. I looked at the CDX model, but they only had that car in auto, so I test drove the CD model. Engine wise it was the same, but just doesn't have the same creature comfort as the CDX. To tell you the truth I did like the Cruze quiet alot, you were getting alot of "bang for bucks" well alot of "gadgets for buck" (I'll explain why in a bit). I liked the interior of the Cruze alot. The feel of the steering wheel was very nice and firm, and it did feel quiet complete in the interior. But when it comes to performance, well lets just say I struggled to keep up with a bus from a standing start. Yes it was that disappointing! The ride though was smooth and very comfortable but because of the lack in performance, the Cruze was a thumbs down from here on out. The Cruze really are for people who want a Commodore but cannot afford one; but also is focused on fuel efficiency rather then performance.
So from there we moved to the Mitsubishi section of dealership. Note that I was only in one dealership this whole time, Heartland Holden, but different sections of the dealership. The only reason why we went to the Mitsubishi section was to see the car Ci purchased, the Lancer RX. But they didn't have any in stock, so we ended up test driving the vrx instead. In my opinion, I personally don't think that it justified spending an extra $10,000, compared to the RX Lancer, which we did end up seeing when we went to Parramatta. Whilst at Parramatta, we had a look at the Honda Civic and Jazz. Wasn't overly impressed with the interior of the car, so we didn't end up test driving the car.
First it was a victory to Urawa; we defeated Kawasaki 2-0 (goals to Ponte & Suzuki). Yes Kawasaki is Ci's team, but there was no bickering about the game, which is a good thing. I honestly wasn't expecting too much from this game and we really didn't play too well, but at the end of the day winning is winning. So now with two wins on the trot, hopefully we're building up some momentum to finish off the season strong.
Second victory was to the Brisbane Broncos, we defeated the Dragons 24-10. The now puts us one win away from a place in the grand final. About 8 weeks ago we were not certainty to make it to the finals. The win did come at a cost though, with Peter Wallace picking up an ankle injury, which appears to be a broken ankle, in the last moments of the game. The Broncos face the Storms down in Melbourne next week for a place in the grand final. This should be a cracker of a game.
The third victory went to Barca, who defeated Atletico Madrid 5-2. This was the only victory I would have predicted coming into this weekend, but by saying that, I did not expect the scoreline. Now lets see if we can make it 4/4 this weekend; the Houston Texans play the Tennessee Titans later today. I will update you on that possibly tomorrow.
I'm actually planning on taking that advantage on Monday (which would be my Saturday). Planning on taking my car shopping up a notch and try to organise a test drive. There are several cars I'm interested in trying and at the moment I've narrowed my choices down to three. The Honda Jazz, Holden Cruze or the Suzuki Swift Sport.
Don't know which one I prefer; so for a test drive I go.
For me personally, being a compulsive buyer, saving money hasn't always been the easiest of tasks for me, but I have been on my best behavior of late. I've manage to only "splurge" out during holidays, which unfortunately for this year at least is something I've been doing alot of. During these times I wish that money does grow on trees. 
So a few days ago when I found the entire 75 episodes of MASK in a DVD set, it was too hard to resist really. There were other factors as well, mainly issues with exchanging/refund items @ JB HiFi, which also contributed, but this is for me to go back to relive some of my childhood. I also remember having plenty of the MASK toys as well. I'm fairly sure they are somewhere, I'm oh so tempted to dig them out and "play" with them again.
For now I can watch the entire 75 episodes of MASK over and over again and go back to the little boy within that is busting to come out. 
Tatsuya Tanaka also made his return from injury today, coming on in the 85th minute. Tanaka's return bolsters our attacking options up front. Lets hope we can continue this form and string together some victory towards the end of the season.
Next week we're away to Kawasaki, so it wont be an easy task, but after today's victory I know we're heading in the right direction. GO REDS GO!
Anyways, I've been working overnights for the past few nights, nights which have been quiet, so therefore I've been able to research and discover the car market. I think I've have a bit too much time to think about this. At one stage I was even considering the Toyota Camry Sportivo; I need a more sensible car yes, but not a Camry. Besides for what I'd be paying for a Camry Sportivo, I could be getting a Ford Focus XR5 Turbo; which I think is more suited for me yes?
I think the flavour of of the day has got to be the Holden Cruze. Firstly it's a car that meets all of the criteria that has been set, it's reasonably priced and it looks alright. I was actually doubting if the rear end of the car, but after seeing it in person this morning in traffic, it isn't all that bad. Another thing I'm iffy about the Cruze is that basically it's a Daewoo, but badged as a Holden. I am considering it though, but I'd like to see it first hand before I make my final judgement. The biggest question is; can an asian drive a Holden?
So making the most of my time I started to take "browse" around, seeing what cars were around me and to see if any actually tickled my fancy. To be honest with you not many did; there was one though, the Mini Cooper S in British Racing Green. See this doesn't really fit the "criteria" that has been laid out as in it's small and only has two doors, but I'm sure exceptions can be made right?
So just going from that I knew that it wasn't going to be easy. Firstly, most cars that I like are from the 90's, all the cars I've owned has always been 2-door cars which would be considered a small car. Now add on to what I want from my next car; I would want either a sporty car or a luxurious car, but at the same time I don't really want to spend an excessive amount on a car. Originally I didn't want to spend over $20,000, but now since my "target" has to be a new car, I've doubled my spending limit to $40,000. But from just browsing around, I think the cars that have interested me are going to be more then $40,000.
Another factor is that I'm not too keen on going with a European car as the maintenance would be somewhat more expensive, but by saying that there really isn't any Japanese cars in that price range that has "wooed" me. When I mean Japanese cars I'm only referring to Honda and Mitsubishi, that's because other car makes have backings to other J-League clubs (Urawa is backed by Mitsubishi and Honda FC is down in the JFL).
Ideally, I would love to have a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V has my next car, but unless I time warp back to the 1990's, that would not be a new car. I could get the current Lancer Evolution; the X (ten), but that would blow my $40,000 limit that I have set myself. So far the closest thing that I've come up with is the Ford Focus XR5. It's a new car, which can be under $40,000, it has 4 doors, its a "sporty" car and it is somewhat not a European car, though it is German made.
So the final result was a 1-0 victory for Urawa Red Diamonds against Shonan Bellmare; who are currently 3rd in the J2. The match, as mentioned above, was a training match played behind closed doors. To other people winning a game like this would normally be an expected win, but the way Urawa has been playing lately, this is actually quiet an accomplishment. One thing that I was pleased with was the 4-5-1 formation we played in the first half, which hopefully would mean a fresh approach for us for the remainder of the season. Now bring on Yamagata. Go Reds Go!
So my highlight, but at the same time a let down, this week has been driving a Ferrari F430 F1 Spider. By the sounds of that it should have been an exhilarating experience right? That could be as far from the truth as south is from north. For me driving the F430 was more nerve-wrecking then it was exhilarating. Why you ask? For one thing I wasn't driving the car on the open road like the above picture; rather I was taking the car down from the driveway of my workplace to the basement carpark. Going down a ramp that appeared narrower then usual, going over several speed humps and then parking the car hoping that during this process I don't scratch the car; exhilarating? I think not! Not doing what the Ferrari was made to do but aye, on the bright side I guess I can at least say now that I've driven a Ferrari F430 F1 Spider - which is a good thing isn't it?
First up, over the weekend Barca kicked off their title defence with a 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon. The goal scorers for Barca were Bojan, Keita and Ibra, who has scored a goal on debut. Now here's some useless facts, all of Barca's goals came from headers; see told you useless facts! Barca's win did come at a cost though. Bojan and Maxwell came of during the game with injuries; Bojan is sidelined for 2-3 weeks, whilst Maxwell is expected to be ready for this weekend's game.
On to other Barca news, we've signed Ukrainian defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy from Shakhtar Donetsk just before the transfer window closed. Now for useless fact number 2; Chygrynskiy is the first Ukrainian player to play for Barca. Going in the other direction is Eidur Gudjohnsen who is joining AS Monaco after three years with Barca.
FC Barcelona - Mes que en club
On the topic of spring, I've noticed many many people being excited that winter has passed and spring is in season; which only means that summer is around the corner. See I don't mind summer, the heat and all that, but when you drive a car with no air con, then summer isn't really a good thing. Yes my car has a targa top so therefore the roof can be removed; but it's still damn hot! Maybe that's a sign I should get a new car aye? I wish I can get the cars I saw in Christchurch. The cars over there are more "interesting" for me.
Japan is always an option, but if I do head over there again in October that would be 3 times in the space of a year. Yes I do like it over there in Japan, but I think going there again might be a bit excessive. Then again there are other places in Japan that I would want to go to. I've mainly only been to Tokyo & Osaka. Other places I want to go to include Hiroshima, Fukuoka (& the island of Kyushu) and of cause up north to Hokkaido. But the thing is if I do head to Hokkaido, I would prefer to go boarding and I'm fairly sure there isn't much snow there at the end of October. Of cause if I do go to Japan, I would love to catch a J-League game or two. So that means the most ideal time to go to Japan would be end of Feb-March. That would be the beginning of the J-League season.
Well the closest I get to that feeling again is when I go on a holiday. Discovering something new somewhere new. A place where my regular routine is broken; a place where I can break free. Having been back less then a week from my last holiday; am I planning my next holiday already? Where to go and what to do? Actually I already have a rough idea of what's next. I so can't wait.