I cleaned our cars' engines with my mom and dad today. I never thought cleaning engines would be such hard work...and then I suddenly realized that all that was needed was to let the detergent do its job for a few minutes. Just hose the grease afterwards, and repeat when the grime's still there...thank God for Joy detergent...

We bought a second-hand 1999 Honda City just this weekend. It was bought to replace our aging 1992 Toyota Corolla, which has been through a lot of things. The Corolla's the car I drive most often, since it's only recently that I got my driver's license (but I've been driving long before that).

It's rather hard to think of saying farewell to this neat car. It's old and it shows it. The suspension's gone low because of tired coil springs; sometimes the chassis scrapes through the pavement going over humps. The clutch's beginning to slip through the gears---sometimes power doesn't go to the wheels ASAP. The air conditioner's been temperamental sometimes. But overall, my mom and I still love the car and hate the thought of letting it go. It's a great car with gobs of power when you need it...and it drives really well...hmmm...

We supposedly cleaned and washed the Corolla to make a good impression on potential buyers. I didn't expect, however, that the car would be making an impression on me. Sigh...