Month: March 2003

3000GT = Toast

Had the Mitsu picked up from the gas station it was sitting in, and towed to the back lot of where I work. Sad thing, that poor little car. Have a lot of good memories with it, from driving to and from San Jose, when my girlfriend still lived down there, and all the places it’s taken me. It worked hard, was great fun to drive, and unfortunately, now it’s dead. Hopefully, the car will still give some people benefit – it’s going to be donated to the California Council for the Blind, and whether they rebuild it, or take the parts that are working, and find them new homes, hopefully, my first car will keep providing people with utility and happiness for some time to come.

I think what I’ll do about getting another car is save up a bit, and get a classic Mini, and spend some time rebuilding it. Went and test drove one this weekend, and it was a blast to drive. Probably will cost about $5K to get one in decent shape, then more, but spread over a longer term, to fix it up so that it looks and works really sharp. Hopefully, this will be a car to learn on, since mechanically, it’s much simpler than the GT, which was always a bit daunting. But, I can’t afford it right now – too many house expenses to worry about and such, and so, it’ll have to wait a few months.

RIP 3000GT

So, earlier this week, my car kicked the bucket. Apparently, a broken valve, and a possibly bent crankshaft means that it’d cost more than it’s worth to have it completely inspected and then repaired. As a result, I’ll most likely be donating my car to one of the vehicle-pickup charities, like the California Council for the Blind (no, they don’t drive the car away, and yes, that joke has been made). What next? Hard to say. Fortunately, I have a car accessible to me pretty much whenever, so immediate replacement hasn’t been a huge necessity. However, I would like to have a car, and though I can’t afford one of the newer Mini Cooper’s, an old one might do the trick. Hard to say, though, whether I’ll a.) be able to afford it, and b.) be able to fix up one I could afford properly. We’ll see, though, I suppose. 😀 The 3000GT is dead – long live the 3000GT. I really liked that car, and though it gave me a lot of mechanical difficulty, was always fun to drive. I hope that the CCftB gets good use out of it, and is either able to fix it up, or find its still-working parts (of which there are many) a good home.

Congress

As if to drive the point home, congress has now officially shown that they’re nothing more than a bunch of whiny, petulent brats. Shut up, kids. Please – don’t say another word – every goddamn second you fucking speak, you embarrass the entire goddamn country. Dammit.

Ashamed to Be an American

It’s kinda weird, I was watching TV the other night, and someone on the tube was talking about how “wrong” it was that people were talking like “they were ashamed to be an American.” Got me to thinking, because I *am* ashamed to be an American right now, and I don’t think that it’s wrong. Sure, I’m proud to have a voice in my government, I’m glad that I have the freedom to say stuff like “the President is a moron,” and all in all, I’m really happy to live in a relatively free state, with relatively few restrictions on my personal freedoms, in an innovative and creative society. However, *right now*, can I really say that I’m *proud* to be an American? No.

Why? Blame it on Bush & the Administration. Can I feel proud I’m a member of a society that thinks that the UN is “irrelevant” when it doesn’t suit their whims? Can I feel proud that my country is pushing for war in a country on the other side of the globe for reasons they can’t even decide on themselves, much less convince anyone else of? Am I proud that the best evidence we can come up with is vague, or plagiarized, or easily contradicted, yet we still push headlong for war, despite the protests of our own people? Am I proud that our President wasn’t elected? Am I proud that our freedoms are being squashed, the public manipulated like a herd of sheep, and the class divisions in this country getting larger by the minute? Of course not.

Is that wrong? I think that you’d find a lot of Americans would spit something like, “Love it or leave it,” or, “If you don’t like it, get the hell out.” I would think that there’s nothing less American than not voicing your opinion, and staying put in the hopes that one can make a difference. That’s one of the great benefits of American society – the freedom to dissent, and the freedom to express your utter disgust with the leaders in charge. You are responsible for them, because (at least most of the time) you put them there. Sure, Bush is a pitiful, brain-dead pretender to the “throne,” but it’s the American thing to do to tell him that we think he’s a failure, and that he makes us ashamed. Ashamed to be an American, and proud of it.