Subic + Aibo = success

At last, our Internet access has returned after three weeks. It's funny how we've all become dependent on the Internet here at home, even my mom.

In the intervening days, a lot has happened. The highlight concerned me finally breaking the duck with trackdays. I finally got to participate in a proper trackday in Subic, after six years of being part of car clubs! Mav and her brother Paolo tagged along for the ride.

Aibo did pretty well on his first forays into the Subic International Raceway's short track. The tricks I've been doing on the streets and in video games, like heel-and-toe downshifts, proper steering and seat positions and balancing the car on the throttle, worked much better in real life than I ever expected. I daresay it was much easier to heel-and-toe on the track than on public roads, where I rarely enter corners at high RPM. That tricky turn 5 hairpin showed me what understeer was all about, though.

In the scorching, humid heat of Subic, we had several practice runs, the first few ones queued behind more experienced drivers Mikko David and Patrick Chua, then free running until the timed lap sessions later in the afternoon. I asked Pat to ride shotgun with me for pointers, when he pulled out his Nokia N93 and took a video of me hooning around the track for two laps.



We got two timed laps per heat, where I ran consistently in the 1:04 range - not too shabby for a novice in a stock car.

Here are more photos of the event, many thanks to Mikko and his skills with his DSLR.

Keeping a leash on my inner boyracer, part deux

Ever since the run-in with the tailgating XJJ 548, I've taken a little time to step back and think my driving style through.

I've been driving for eight years already and I've had my share of thrills and spills while at it. While I don't deny that I like driving fast, the undue attention that it attracts from idiotic boyracers on the road just isn't worth it.

When I posted my story on a few forum websites I frequent, I got a number of responses. Some applauded me for just moving out of the way; others smote the speeding ES and let karma work its magic on it and its driver; still others criticized me and my driving.

One of the best responses I saw read: "The other guy was wasting his gas and you'd be wasting yours if you went along with his game. Pride is cheaper than gasoline these days." How true, I thought. If I can't police or control the idiots that just so happen to share the road with me, I might as well just change what I can.

I've pulled the driver's seat on the Jazz a little farther away from the wheel than before, to help support my right thigh and knee on longer journeys (as the Jazz doesn't have lumbar support, nor an adjustable seat squab angle). I've forced myself to learn to be a more considerate driver and travel at lower speeds. Best of all, I've focused my attention more to the great music playing on my speakers than the idiots and their equally idiotic driving I see on the road.

My newfound "relaxed" driving mode still needs some work, but I feel the benefits already.

You've been gone a while

For some reason my blog hasn't been displaying on my computer for a while. I figured I should hold off on updates until I can actually see the thing again.

Summer is now upon us and it's taking its toll on me and my general health. The heat just saps away whatever energy I have left after hitting the gym at noontime. It's funny that now matter how hard I target my abs, doing crunches on the exercise ball, my gut just seems to grow and grow. Talk about a slowing metabolism.

The last week I've had horrid driving. Locked up my brakes, chirped my worn tires and guzzled a lot of gas. 10.8 km/L might not seem like guzzling to you, but in a Jazz that's ludicrous. The even more ridiculous thing is, just when I tried to take it easy tonight, I get this steel-blue B13 Sentra almost sideswiping me twice along SLEX. What's a guy to do?

Listen to Queen, I guess. I've been on a glam-rock trip the whole weekend and my spirits are kept raised high, despite the inevitable pull of gloom I get in the office and at SVMM. There are people I just do not want to get along with, despite seeing them on a daily or weekly basis...and a heady dose of Queen through in-ear headphones are just what the doctor ordered.

Friday night barhopping

The past couple of Fridays, I've been going out drinking with work friends Mao, Anne, Candice, Tri, Beng, Adrian, PJ and Robert. I guess that's nothing special to most of you guys, but these are my first drinking sessions where I've had to actively monitor my state of inebriation. We all know we shouldn't be driving when we're tipsy or drunk.

So far, so good. I admit to a low tolerance for alcohol compared to many people my age, but I've managed to piss most of it out without the remainder affecting my driving. I had my first mojito last night and it was actually pretty good, although a little heavy on the head due to the gin content.

Worrying aside though, hanging out with these guys was fun. It was nice seeing Tri again after her resignation last year, and she had most of the stories last night. Last week we were arguably more animated, vocally laughing our guts out when Adrian and Beng cracked jokes.

This is an expensive habit, but it's great if done once in a while I guess.

Stuck in Christmas gridlock

When your usual 45-minute drive home extends to nigh-on 3 hours, you know it's definitely Christmas season.

The long train of cars had its tail end at the C5 off-ramp and never let up until I was past SM Bicutan. Bicutan Interchange was actually the meat and potatoes of the whole queue. Last night it served as a textbook example of traffic mismanagement. Everyone tied up the overloaded intersection trying to cross all at the same time. It was bonkers, and it ate a lot of my fuel.

For the rest of the month, I am taking the Skyway going home to skip all this gridlocked insanity.

Battle Gear 4 for me, thanks

I tried Initial D 4 again. Sure enough, my suspicions of "invisible walls" are confirmed, at least on Akagi and Shin-Myogi. Colliding against these things slows me down to an inexplicably sluggish pace that I have so much trouble recovering from.

This isn't stopping the game from gaining relative popularity though. Well, the players can have it. At this point I can say I'm through with Initial D 4.

As far as I'm concerned, if I wanted a satisfying driving game I'd play Battle Gear 4. No invisible walls of frustration, no sluggish response from the wheel and a much more realistic driving experience make this my arcade racer of choice for realism.

Besides, I already have my own car and I've slain more than my share of giants in real life. People can harp about realism and my sucking in arcade driving games all they want. However, I've already humiliated a fair number of hotshot drivers on the streets---I have nothing else to prove.

Modified cars, stupid drivers

When visibility is poor, the roads are wet and the rain is pouring in buckets, I don't understand why there are idiots on the road who still insist on doing everything wrong---passing from the right, not turning on headlights, tailgating at high speed, and getting to within inches of a collision.

All in my Wednesday morning commute, folks.

I kept the pressure from this C5-charging white ES Civic at bay today, and narrowly avoided the low, low bonnet of an overeager S2000 while trying to change lanes in a crawling EDSA. Both had a collection of parts fitted, including stickers, badges and larger-than-stock wheels and tires.

So is this to say the more aftermarket parts you buy and fit on your car, the stupider a driver you get?

A chilling thought. Which is why I opt to keep my car stock and modify my driving skills instead.

Something to be happy about

Despite all the moping, depression and heartache I endure, today certainly gave me a little something to smile about.

As usual, after singing at the mass I zipped to Power Play for badminton with Paolo, Randolph and Karlo. Before going there, though, I picked up Gracey along the way. Little did I know I would be acting out the same part as that British tour driver we met from Orange County back from our 2005 California vacation. Since Gracey told me about her knack for getting lost in Manila, I began spouting off street names and landmarks just in case she had to commute to somewhere.

My right ankle and left knee were in some pain and fouling up my game, but I managed to enjoy myself at the courts, despite not moving around as well as I wanted to. It was fun losing myself in the game, with friends to laugh our asses off with.

With Randolph and his girlfriend splitting early, the rest of us decided to head on to Robinsons Place Manila to have dinner and watch "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." To my peepers at least, this is a lot better than the first Fantastic Four movie because it's very well-balanced. The Silver Surfer a.k.a. Norrin Radd kicks major ass, too.

Paolo and Karlo split from us when the movie ended. I brought Gracey back to Guadalupe, where I served as tour guide once again because I drove back via a different route.

I certainly had fun. This seemingly negated all of the loneliness and depression I was feeling the whole week. It's only a pity it had to end, but man, what a day.

Someone told me I could never be friends with people from work. Today was proof to the contrary. Thanks, guys.

Farewell, WHH-687.

Farewell, WHH-687.

The whole time my folks were in Bohol for vacation, my mom had left her new FD1 Civic wedged in our garage and the old SX8 City at her office parking lot. She had to because she fetched her new ride. Now that they're back and my mom's found a potential buyer for my old car, she decided we should bring it back home.

When we got there, it was in need of a wash, with water stains smeared all over the windows and bodywork. My mom dropped me off at the lot and I slipped the key into the ignition. The instant I shifted into reverse and let go of the clutch, I realized I had forgotten how short the travel on the City's clutch was, as it bucked, hungry for more revs.

Initial idle awkwardness with the clutch aside, my final drive of the City reminded me of the good old days. Next to all of our current cars it looks and feels decidedly old-school, save for perhaps my dad's Trooper. The steering is still at the right weight, the car's still at its pointy best, and the rorty D15B7 engine still reminds me that my Jazz lacks 30 HP to be truly fun. The Jazz's infinitely better stock sound system reclaims a lot of brownie points though.

Surprisingly enough, now that I've grown accustomed to economy-mode driving, the old City's perfectly amenable to an early-shifting life below 2500 RPM. I decided I'd have none of that though and gave the City an Italian tune-up---a trip to redline in second gear along EDSA.

Wonky clutch, loose rear-view mirror, dents, rust and surplus aircon aside, my old SX8 is still a pretty damn good car.

I will miss WHH-687 terribly.

Birth of an audiophile

Birth of an audiophile

It's been a couple of nights now that I've stayed in my Jazz a little longer after getting home from work.

Perched on my seat, I fiddle with the settings on the Pioneer DEH-P7950UB head unit and marvel at just how adjustable it is. It's not the ultimate car audiophile's head unit---there are other, more obsessive-compulsive Pioneer HUs for that---but I don't know of many that have bass boost, subwoofer control, three-level loudness and a full 7-band graphic equalizer with 2 custom presets. It's also got 3 pre-outs so it's got a lot of room for future expansion.

Leafing through the owner's manual, I'm gobsmacked at how this thing is such a great piece of convergence technology. Out of the box, it's ready to accept a lot of add-on stuff, such as a Bluetooth adaptor, a multi-CD changer, a DVD player/monitor, and even a TV tuner. That's in addition to its support for auxiliary audio inputs, USB devices and iPods (with the appropriate cable). Most of this add-on gadgetry will make me broke, and personally I'm already happy with the USB connectivity alone.

Speaking of USBs, I hooked up my 256MB USB flash drive loaded with WMAs and MP3s and I was slightly disappointed with the sonic quality. Compressed audio files have their limitations, it seems, and playing them at higher volumes shows just how many "holes" they have sonically. Raising the recording bitrate helps preserve the quality, but to these ears they're ultimately no match for a proper CD. Still, there's something to be said about hooking up a large external hard disk with more space than an iPod for a lot less money...

Paolo, who accompanied me to Autoline for the installation, says he's jealous of my new toy. Wisely, though, he says he's sticking with his tried-and-true Pioneer HU until it breaks down. He's now tempting me with replacing my stock speakers for better ones, but that will come in due time. I don't have problems with the "cheap" stuff that's on my front doors' kick panels, apart from slight rattling under bass.

I also begin to see his point about spending good money on car audio. Too often I've lost my cool behind the wheel when I could have easily cranked up the volume and listened to good music instead.

Too many wrong turns!

Too many wrong turns!

The other day I missed my turn going to the Power Plant Mall. I ended up going to the unfamiliar side of the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge, and had to take a U-turn at a narrow side street to get myself back to familiar territory.

Today, while searching for Paolo Cruz's badminton place, I wandered even farther off. I misread the map and motored toward Lerma St. and Quiapo Church before realizing I was at the wrong side of Espana Avenue. Attempts to get back on line had me lost again in Manila's side streets.

I have a knack for getting lost, it seems. Unfortunately it's an expensive affliction...not one I can afford to do now that I have to get back to saving money.

When I did get to Power Plant, though, I played four games each of Battle Gear 3 and Dance Maniax 2nd Mix. I've gotten a lot better with BG3; I can finally perform drifts and not crash too often in the tight Akina mountain pass now that I know where to brake, turn and control my slides with the throttle. As for DM2M, it's been ages since I played it, or gotten any decent exercise at all, but I'm still the flamboyant player using both my arms and legs.

That "workout" was a preparation for today's badminton game. I met Ran and Carlo, Paolo's friends from college, and had a good time playing them. Unfortunately I ran out of steam so early, due to the heat and fatigue from the other day, and so I lost to Carlo on both our singles games. Better to peter out now and build it up later than do it any closer to our coming all-men's badminton tournament in June.

Even so I'm planning to do this as a weekly thing. It'd be miles better and cheaper compared to wandering aimlessly around malls like I've been doing the past few weeks.

I might even make 500 km on my current tank after all, too.

We've come...and gone.

We've come...and gone.

We never got lost while traveling the 175 kilometers going to Subic, Zambales. It's all thanks to Jerry and Donald who proved themselves to be very good navigators. Thanks guys.

If anything, were it not for the distance, the drive was actually pretty relaxing. Off the NLEX and all the way to Subic, the roads were generally smooth and well-maintained. Driving was an easier affair than it is in Manila, despite the challenge of the winding mountain roads we took instead of the Tipo Expressway through Subic Bay. We ran into crawling traffic at Lubao, Pampanga, but nothing else troubled us on the four-and-a-half-hour trip to the venue.

On the three-hour return trip, I had a blast driving with a full load of people and cargo through uphill stretches and overtaking slower traffic at 120 km/h. The whole trip had us returning 16.8 km/L---nowhere close to 28 km/L, but impressive considering the effort my little Jazz had to endure.

Enough about the drive. How was Club Morocco?

Personally I didn't quite enjoy this year's summer outing as much as last year's. Sure, Club Morocco has vastly improved facilities, but the activities and beach were both a little disappointing. There was no battle of the bands this year, and we were unlucky enough to arrive when it was low tide. Ergo, all attempts at trying to swim in the beach were spent wading in thigh-deep seawater and sinking in muddy sand. The ridiculously warm pool water didn't help things much either.

Still, it wasn't all that bad. Food was a little nondescript, but you could never say it was lacking. The outdoor games went a lot more smoothly this time around, and we had a live band performing onstage at beachfront dinner. There was even an open-mic session where a few brave souls sang their hearts out (Gracey, Paolo C. and I not included). PJ and the others drank to their hearts' content, but I called it quits after three bottles of San Mig Light at 11 p.m.

The big attraction though was waking up at 6 a.m. and walking along the beach. It was pretty damn beautiful. I'm going to shut up now and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Check out my Multiply site for more photos. Enjoy!

Nervousness before the road trip.

Nervousness before the road trip.

Tomorrow's the big day.

It's the company summer outing and I'm one of the idiots who decided not to join the bus and bring my own transportation going there instead. It's my first time driving to Subic and I am feeling pretty damn nervous.

After buying a couple of road maps and asking friends for directions going to Club Morocco I am still quite unsure of myself. No doubt I have the stamina to stay in the saddle that long, and I've made sure my Jazz will get us there and back (to the tune of a new battery worth PhP2900---there goes my budget for the new head unit). But I'm still pretty scared of losing my way. Even more than having a steady supply of music on the journey, getting lost is my foremost worry.

At any rate it's going to be a real adventure either way. Donald's riding shotgun with me and he's my navigator, and I'm supposed to pick up Jerry at Dinalupihan, Bataan, somewhere along the way to Subic. I'm also dying to know if I can get that phenomenal fuel economy once again, especially after my last fillup today returned a frustrating 10.056 km/L.

Watch this space for photos. Until then, pray for me, my friends, my colleagues, and our safety.

"I'm in the coolest driver's high..."

"I'm in the coolest driver's high..."

The Barclays summer outing is less than a week away, but I guess I got too excited about the prospect of a long drive to Subic and testing my Jazz's ultimate fuel economy. I also wanted to see if I had it in me to drive for an extended period of time.

So, purely on a whim, this sweltering Sunday afternoon I decided to leave Market! Market! and drive headlong to my dad's hometown of Baliwag, Bulacan...as a dress rehearsal for Subic.

I filled up my gas tank at Petron C5 where I learned my city driving the past week returned a rather pathetic 11.2 km/L. No matter, I thought. I will better this today.

Off I went, overtaking cars on C5 and EDSA on the way to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). This was my first time to use this road after its rehabilitation a few years ago. I paid a rather hefty PhP70 on one-way toll, but it was obvious where your money went. The NLEX is now a smooth, wide traffic-free ribbon of tarmac that's reminiscent of the better US freeways. As not too many people were on the northbound NLEX I cruised at a steady 100 km/h, with a few overtaking spurts.

I got off at the Sta. Rita exit, then navigated the long roads going to Plaridel, Bustos and finally Baliwag town proper. Along the way I overtook a lot of slower traffic and motorcycles, making sure that I kept the L13A3 engine spinning close to its 2800 RPM torque peak---uncharacteristically low-stressed for a Honda.

When I got to the Baliwag glorietta, I turned back and did the same thing going southbound. This time, however, I piled on more pressure on the throttle as I went down NLEX at 120 km/h with more aggressive overtaking at 5000 RPM. I did the same thing on EDSA and C5, leaving other cars in my dust.

I felt good during the four-hour drive. Despite the oppressive heat which my aircon struggled to banish, it felt really good just letting the kilometers roll by with me all by myself. This was me driving just for the fun of it, searching for what L'Arc~en~Ciel call the "driver's high." I was literally just driving my recent problems away.

Pulling up at the Petron station along Dona Soledad Ave., I noticed the fuel needle had barely moved from the "F" position despite my hard driving over 141.8 kilometers. I had a fillup of 93-octane fuel again. Barely a minute after putting the nozzle in, the pump had stopped after 5.06 liters.

Do the math and you'll see my Jazz returned a truly phenomenal 28.024 km/L.

This was better than my wildest dreams. It's easily more than double my city driving figure, and proved that despite my driving style, the Jazz is a supreme champion of fuel economy. It also pointed to the realization that maybe my pathetic city driving economy isn't just a function of my driving: it's also due to the heavy traffic on weeknights and the relative brevity of my daily commute.

While I thoroughly enjoyed today's endeavor, I also realize getting that driver's high is quite expensive. Notwithstanding the PhP140 I plunked down on toll fees, I also spent PhP1100 on the two fillups today---although the last one worth 5.06 liters cost just PhP190.

Let's ride!

Let's ride!

Paolo rode shotgun with me today to seek out the Pioneer DEH-P7950UB head unit as he was more knowledgeable with car audio than I was. We were out on a limb going out on Black Saturday, as it's a neither-here-nor-there kind of day: some shops will be open and some won't be.

9:30 a.m. We rolled out of Paolo's house and into the highway. The Holy Week emptiness of Metro Manila's streets beckoned at my Jazz, and proved once and for all that it really is just a small city we're living in.

Our first stop was Makati, where we tried visiting a row of shops Paolo was familiar with. Unfortunately most of them were closed. I did get a PhP12,000 quote and a calling card from one of them, who agreed to send me a text message when they'd have one in stock. Afterward we proceeded to literally get lost while looking for two of the more popular shops we had in mind. When we finally did find the first one, it was closed, and we decided to just call up the other one in Pasig to determine if it was closed also (which it was).

We decided to go to Glorietta, buy my present for my dad, have lunch and look for a pair of retro Jordan sneakers Paolo wanted. It was surreal seeing Glorietta at 10:45 a.m. with 1/8 its normal load of people. We tried another car audio shop at the Fort, but it was also closed and we figured it was pointless going to its sister shop in Alabang, so we retreated to Paolo's house at 1 p.m.

It was then that Paolo's dad Tito Alex chimed in with a suggestion: why not go to Banawe? I had my reservations going to this mecca of surplus car parts. I've heard horror stories of people parking their cars there, only to return to them missing their side mirrors. I figure it would be worth the trip, though, seeing how free-flowing the roads were.

To prep for the trip we swung by the gas station for a fillup, where I garnered a disappointing 11.18 km/L. No matter. We were going to Quezon City this time, and the normally traffic-stricken roads of Sta. Mesa were cooperating very well!

We were amazed when we finally got to Banawe at around 2:30 p.m. None of the shops were closed! People were waving at us with pieces of car window tint. We didn't know which shops to stop at so we ended up making several U-turns along the length of Banawe St. Finally we decided to pull up at a nice place with a security guard watching over the parked cars. I was wary about the less-than-scrupulous hawkers Banawe was fabled for, but the shop we went to had friendly staff. I got a quote for PhP11,500 with free installation, but unfortunately the Pioneer HU wasn't in stock until next week either. I feel I'll be coming back here with Paolo next week though.

After that little adventure we drove serenely along E. Rodriguez Ave., Aurora Blvd., Katipunan Ave. and C5---all normally clogged arteries on weekends---to go back to the Fort by 3:30 p.m. and check out the Nike store there for Paolo's Jordans. He ended up buying them at a cool PhP7,500. It was nice seeing Bonifacio High Street being modeled after the open-air malls of Santa Monica in the US. Weakened by the heat and drowsiness, we were back home by 5 p.m.

Today I drove the most relaxing 98.5 km I've ever driven in city streets. If only everyday traffic was this free-flowing...but that may be asking for too much.

I'm getting excited about the 7950 finally making a home in my dashboard, but when we do make the return trip next week we'll have to contend with the crawl going to Makati or Quezon City once more. Oh well.

It's a "Good" Friday after all.

It's a "Good" Friday after all.

Closed shops and malls.

No local TV.

Fasting and abstinence.

Unbearable summer heat.

Sunburn.

Boredom.

For all the inconveniences of Holy Week, there's one good reason to stay in Manila: the near-total absence of traffic. For a few magic days, driving through the city streets can be a relaxing, calming, dare I say religious experience.

That's good enough for me.

Let's ride!

Thbbbbbt.

Thbbbbbt.

Monday morning. I was honking along the street linking the Fort to EDSA, listening to "Clubber's Guide to...Trance" when all of a sudden the electronic beat stopped pouring out of my speakers. The silence that ensued was accompanied by odd mechanical clicks and whirrs.

Argh!

That's it. No more excuses.

I am buying the Sony CDX-GT460US head unit as soon as possible, preferably before April 21 comes around.

I am not wasting any more fuel on the ridiculously long trip to the Kenwood center, at least not in the near future. Sure, there's a three-month warranty on the repair, but it's a drag not having any driving music for a week while it's being repaired yet again. And do I even mention the gas wasted on Saturday morning EDSA traffic?

I have reservations on spending this much over the past three months (the DVD player, the Puma sneakers, the Jazz's tuneup), but I haven't exactly exhausted my 14th-month bonus yet so I think this might be the last major extravagance I'm treating myself to for a while. Besides, with the exception of the Pumas, they've all been necessary purchases.

Now if I can only find a buyer for a cheap, plain-jane CD-playing head unit...

Preparing for April

Preparing for April

I made the 32.5-kilometer drive to Frisco once again this morning. My Kenwood head unit is back, after a week and PhP1,100 of repairs, and its CD player finally works like a charm. I was rocking along to The Darkness, Feeder, David Bowie and Garbage along the horrendous traffic of EDSA southbound.

Tita Vik invited me to lunch at their place, as my dad, Tito Kiko and my grandma were going to Baliwag on their usual weekend jaunt. Around the time I got her text message I was crawling just a few minutes away from White Plains, so that was a nifty bit of perfect timing. Grandma's kare-kare is deelish.

Off I went braving the traffic yet again, this time on C5 southbound. My next stop was Glorietta to buy gifts for my folks. While I scouted for and bought them, I eventually ended up buying myself a little gift for myself: a pair of white and red Puma Fluxion sneakers. They're similar to the Speed Cats I have from a couple years ago, in that they're motorsport-inspired. This time I made sure I'd fit these babies properly before buying, and accordingly I got them in the 9.5 size to fit my larger left foot.

By the way, did I mention the Jazz returned 13 km/L on its last fillup? Despite the traffic and the aggravations of slow drivers I'm slowly recouping my fuel economy.

Chasing the sun once again!

Chasing the sun once again!

Our summer outing is almost at hand. Currently the date is set for April 21-22, this time up north at Club Morocco in Subic.

It's still a month off, but I'm pretty excited already.

Instead of going with the bus as I did last year, my colleague Donald and I will be riding the Jazz to its first long drive with me at the helm. By then I hope to either have the Kenwood head unit fixed and spinning CDs, or the Sony Xplod USB head unit I like installed in its stead. It'd be nice to see just how efficient the Jazz is on an extended cruise, too. Besides, it's been four years since the last time I drove solo for the long haul.

There's just one sore spot about this year's outing and it's the lack of a "battle of the bands" competition. That was what I looked forward to last year, and while I probably humiliated myself trying to ape Bamboo's stage presence while singing Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning," there's nothing like performing for an audience. Unfortunately even if there was a battle of the bands, our best guitarist Mark has already resigned, so we don't really have anyone to take up the lead guitar.

This summer outing also officially marks my first year at work, give or take four days. It's had its ups and downs, but my colleagues at the Internet Channels team have been a big part of my life so far, both in and out of the office. Although I don't plan on spending my life in the IT industry, I don't mind staying a couple more years as long as it's with my teammates.

Large barge

Large barge

I had to get behind the wheel of my dad’s Trooper before leaving home this morning to put it back in the garage. The drive was less than two minutes long, but it told me enough to realize I am never going to enjoy driving SUVs.

Just turning the tiller was a big effort in itself. Twirling the steering wheel doesn’t offer the same tactile feeling and response as doing the same in any car. You will be stymied, I’m sure, by how much muscle you have to exert in applying lock, only to realize that steering at full lock means you rotate at the same rate as an iceberg.

I was glad I just had to slot it into the straight garage below, not up the tricky curved ramp to our doorway. I would have put in some serious dents if I did.

The appeal of big hulking SUVs is completely lost on me. They’re too heavy, too thirsty and too unwieldy. If I had to have one, I’d pick a three-door RAV4 around the city, or a Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Turbo VR-II or Suzuki Jimny if I wanted a real rock-crawler.

But nothing will persuade me out of my love for pocket rockets.