This afternoon I collected what was due me from the old guy who crashed into my bumper. Trouble was, though, he paid just PhP2,000, which wasn't the amount I had in mind (PhP4,000 was more like it). Good thing Papa knew of a repair shop that was willing to charge PhP1,500 for the damage.

I'm still green with these things. I still have zero street smarts.
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This term, we have this subject called PETWODA. It's supposed to stand for Physical Education 2: (Ballroom) Dancing, but somehow we got something so weird that we wonder how it managed to fit into the PE program in the first place. We got "Social Recreation." In short, we were going to plan parties. Uh-huh. Strange things happen in college, indeed.
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There's this guy on television whom Bianca claims to have seen on almost every major game show. I wonder how much money this crazy guy's won already. "Why don't you join in game shows yourselves?" Papa told us. "With the money they offer you could buy a car...and you wouldn't have to run after a PhP2,000 debtor!" It seems like a good idea, since I know a lot of trivia, but maybe there's truth to the adage "easy come, easy go."
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I've been dreaming of owning a garage full of the best Japanese cars, the inevitable result of being immersed with car magazines these past five months and a healthy chunk of my summer spent on Gran Turismo 2. I lust after rally machines (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Subaru Impreza WRX), hot hatches (Honda EP3 Civic Type R), supercars (Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R, Toyota Supra RZ, Nissan S15 Silvia) and the ridiculously small k-cars (Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Turbo, Subaru Vivio RX-R and the cute Honda Beat convertible). It's a shame most of these cars are unavailable here in the Philippines, save for the PhP2.1 million Impreza WRX and the gray-market Lancer Evo VII (I was lucky enough to see a red one parked along a Buendia car seller).

Then again, I'm not really stuck with the worst car on the planet. When I think about it, my little runabout -- a second-hand blue 1999 Honda City 1.5 -- is actually a go-kart with four short doors, seating for four and a trunk, which is pretty practical. That little steering wheel makes cornering the car a joy. The tricky spring-loaded clutch takes getting used to, though, and so does that stick shift, which sometimes refuses to go into reverse. The low hood gives the best visibility of any car I've tried; you can even see the dust on the road with it. The non-VTEC engine doesn't accelerate the quickest but has good grunt (Autocar Asean Edition claims 103 horsepower), and it's brought me to a top speed of 145 km/h along the Skyway, which I am ill-advised to surpass since cops might flag me down this time. Economy's great too, since it's kept a consistent 9 km/L in city traffic (it really is a CITY car).

Not minding the dents and the scratches from the crash, I think my City's a good car for a bargain price -- PhP325,000. I could drool for the performance and practicality mix of the 215 hp EP3 Civic Type R, but I'm just happy I have my blue car.