Bon Voyage Mr. Mini!
So come this time tomorrow, despite all my valiant attempts to retain his inimitable presence in our home, my beloved MINI will be on a boat to Indonesia. They come tomorrow, the representatives from the evil Car Reseller's Company, to drive him away as innocent collateral, and in his place will stand my brother's new car.In the best case scenario, he'll be resold (the MINI, not my brother) to a wealthy Tycoon looking for his next vintage investment, who will treasure him and keep him in a lush, air-conditioned gallery, for all to view and admire.
In the worst case... I'm not even going to begin considering the options.
But anyway, having just taken him for a final spin around the block, down to the empty roundabouts of Changi Business Park and tearing down the straights on the way to the airport, I suddenly thought of the best way to forever immortalise him in our hearts: I'd do a list, where anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute their fondest memories of Mr. Mini. To remember him as he is now: a strong and remarkably long-lasting 2003 MINI Cooper Mk I, with that characteristically whiny Brazilian-engine and stiff suspension (apologies to the rear passengers as always).
Mr. Yellow MINI Cooper, we salute you for having been such a reliable carfriend for so long, and may you always be awesome, for many years to come.
So without further ado, loyal and patient readers, here's the list I've got so far. Some are personal, others are shared experiences. How many of those can you identify with?
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1) Parking in the middle of the Parade Square next to all the 3 tonners. Noone minded, not even the RSM, simply because it looked cute.
2) Freaking out my easily-startled OC into a white-knuckle frenzy when my officer asked me to demo the MINI's lack of body roll while taking sudden stupidly tight turns, with the OC in the passenger seat.
3) At Rovers Camp, packing 3 trolleys full of groceries in the boot and in the rear seat and on my rear passengers
4) Packing 4 (5?) fully-grown men into the back of the car on the way to my house party.
5) Having my first ever accident, being rear-ended by a cab on the ECP ("xiao di, wo de brakes huai lah", he said.)
6) Having my first real bust-up in a relationship in the Holland V carpark.
7) To all who have ever sat in the front seat, NO YOU CANNOT PULL OPEN THE COMPARTMENT LABELLED 'AIRBAG'.
8) Every U-turn ever.
9) Parking in one try, everytime.
10) Turning into the Zouk carpark, past the snaking queues going into Phuture, me trying to look cool.
11) Breaking down outside SCGS, leaving a burning smell in the car and my fan belt... behind the car (never quite figured out why.)
12) Revving too hard and getting that funny burning rubber smell from the aircon vents (oh hang on...)
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Alright, that's all I've got right now... feel free to suggest anything you may recall!
posted by crapshoot @ 7:36:00 PM
3 comments
