I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to watch the 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix with my father. It was one of those times that I will always remember and cherish. It happened almost a full calender year ago, and tonight, as I await the 2012 Singapore GP to start, I've decided to write down the things I still remember about those amazing three days Dad and I spent in Singapore.
- The F1 cars are really loud. The Porsche Carrera GT cup cars and the lower formula cars were loud, but paled in comparison to the marvelous F1 cars. I tried to listen to one or two F1 cars pass without ear plugs, and it hurt. Then I made the mistake of taking off my ear plugs when about four or five F1 cars were just seconds apart and passing by our section of the grandstand. Amazing sound, big mistake. Even the backmarker F1 cars were really loud.
- McLaren's cars are shiny. Mirror-like silver paint job. When you look at them at night you can really see the sheen.
- Most of the drivers enjoy the events taking place before the race. Like the driver's parade. I remember Lewis Hamilton and a few other drivers filming the grandstands as they passed by. Vettel was waving to the crowd. Schumi was lounging at the back of his vintage car. They all seemed to be having fun, or at least enjoying the last few stress and pressure free moments before the race started.
- The Red Bulls, and some other cars, had this weird drill-like sound whenever they hit the brakes at the turn past our place in the grandstand. Dunno if that was due to traction control (do they even still have traction control?) or if the undercarriage of the car was rubbing against the curbs.
- Finally, the track crew was amazing. There was one section of the track that needed repair before the race and they managed to do it with no delays to the schedule. Awesome job.
Well, those are some of the memories I had of the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix. The best memories I have are the times Dad and I had a blast watching it live.
Out.
A few weeks ago I decided to do something that would move me out of my comfort zone. For those of you not in the know, I hate being out of my comfort zone. For this particular scenario, allow me to describe this comfort zone.
I prefer to be in control. I want to know all the variables and all the scenarios, that way when (if?) something bad happens I will still be able to execute possible back-up plans that could fix things out.
Unfortunately for me, I made a big decision that put me out of this zone. Just two days ago things happened that were not in my comfort zone. Yesterday was more of the same, and to tell you honestly I was slightly freaked out. I couldn't control anything, and I didn't know what to do. It took all of my strength to maintain calm and analyze things in a different way.
It's still a learning experience for me, and I totally hope that I can somehow find a way to turn this new scenario I am facing into a comfort zone. If that happens then that means I have succeeded in the decision I made. If it doesn't, well life goes on.
Out.
I have just changed my stance on the ideal city vehicle. If I could afford to buy and maintain two cars the ideal daily driver, city vehicle I would choose would be the Suzuki Jimny.
Now the Jimny is still overpriced, in my opinion. The top of the line, automatic transmission variant costs PhP815,000 and that's not including taxes, registration, insurance, etc. The model is relatively old, it hasn't had a facelift in a couple of years. But it's the best choice for a daily driver city car, in my current opinion.
Why? Earlier today a delivery truck and an Avanza taxi got into a fender bender. I was driving home using my mom's 2005 Rav4. We could not get through because the Rav was too wide and both vehicles were taking up too much space on the road. They would not move because, according to the taxi driver, the inspector wasn't there yet to take photos and file a police report.
It was annoying because I could not get through. Other cars managed to get through, and I basically clogged the small gap. Apologies to other motorists. I would have backed up if the cars behind me didn't tailgate. Needless to say I doubt any other cars would have made it through the small gap, except narrow cars.
The Jimny is a narrow vehicle. It would have fit easily with some clever maneuvering.
Take note, though, that I said the Jimny would be an ideal daily driver city car. I will not choose it if I could only afford one car, seeing as how I have a family already and the car is relatively cramped in the second row (specially with me driving it). I have tried to fit at the back of a Jimny with the front seat set-up for my position and there is little to no legroom (a simple test of space I do when I visit car showrooms is I set-up the driver's seat to my comfortable position then I sit behind to see how spacious the back is). But that's because I'm five foot ten.
But as a city car, it's perfect. My wife and I can fit easily. The second row can carry our groceries and other miscellaneous stuff. If flash flooding occurs, it's relatively high enough that we won't have to worry about flooding the inside or the engine. It's got a 1.3L engine that seems like it could give good mileage. And it's got four-wheel drive. The legit four-wheel drive. So in the event that I have to, say, climb over some sidewalks to avoid traffic (like earlier today) it could have tackled that problem easily. Hell, it could even carry my daughter and her nanny should the need arise.
Plus, despite its age, it still looks good in my eyes. The only modifications I'd do to a Jimny would be to maybe add a snorkel (purely aesthetic but would give me the option to try off-roading, also for deeper floods) and replace the mags. That's it.
Out.
I wanted to write this a few weeks ago. I'm only writing it now because I've got more perspective on it. Here we go.
I think it's pathetic that I actually put money over personal safety.
The story goes like this, during the heavy monsoon rains I mostly rode with my mom when I went to work. The reason is my wife didn't have work during the rains because she's a preschool teacher. The day after the government cancelled all work, both private and government, the rains were still pretty bad.
I had heard from an office mate that his wife was saying that some private offices had cancelled work already. The office where my mother worked was also sending home their employees.
So what happened at work? Well, they just announced that everyone was encouraged to go home once work ended. No early dismissals. Just go home as soon as work ends. And I almost followed it. That wasn't the bad part.
I was rationalizing with myself that it was okay to lose one to two hours of my salary just to go home early and avoid the rush hour traffic. Crazy, in hindsight. Anyway, personal safety won. I left work early, with the approval of my director and my producer.
What happened after that? Almost everyone in the office went under time like me. When they saw that going under time, with permission, was allowed everyone went home. Or at least almost everyone. I guess they were just waiting for someone to go home early for them to realize that they could do the same too.
So in hindsight, I thought my actions were pathetic. I didn't even consider my personal safety, just because I didn't want to lose a few hundred pesos of salary. That's something I realized was just wrong. Always, always put personal safety above almost all else.
Out.
I was fortunate enough to not be in the Philippines when Ondoy hit a few years ago. The flooding was bad, and my family was fortunate enough that our house was not affected by the flooding.
Last week though we experienced worse conditions than Ondoy. Lots of places were heavily flooded, school was cancelled for almost a whole week. Work was cancelled for a day. And here's the kicker: It wasn't a storm that caused the flooding this time. It was monsoon rains, being pulled into Luzon by a storm that was already in China.
That storm in China came from the Philippines. When it was here in the Philippines the results weren't as bad as when it left. And that was scary.
I just hope that the events that happened will open more eyes for everyone to start doing something to unify the nation, clean up the environment, and avoid another set of flooding.
Out.
