Reuniting With My Love...
After battling with food poisoning the whole of last night, I am glad to say that I am finally up and running again now and I am nowhere near my current dwelling place at all. In fact, I am at least 53 miles away from home. Doesn't look like a person who suffered from stomach cramps all night long, does it?
It was thanks to the metaphor of experiencing buterflies in my stomach yesterday night when I blogged my first post that it finally had to manifest as an actual physical symptom later. I felt as though my organs were squeezing every single last juice out of me just like how my mother used to squeeze every single drop of soy milk using the cotton gauze.
Anyhow, having recovered slightly in the late afternoon, Cindy and I made a sudden decision to travel back to her place down south in another state. If you must know, it is not unusual for Cindy and I to come up with sudden bizarre decisions such as this, to throw everything down and just hitch a ride to some far, faraway place. I am sure it wouldn't come as a surprise amongst our friends even if our next destination is planet Pluto. That may be an exaggeration but you get the drift.
Back to our trip down south... Why the sudden impulse despite having just recovered from severe stomach cramps? Well, the reason is simple. It is to reunite with my long-separated love - the current love of my life. The name is Hahnemann (more to be explained later). I know what you're thinking but unfortunately, things aren't always what they seem to be. So, the answer is "no". Hahnemann is not the name of a man in my life, but the name of my classic Volkswagen Beetle.
Cindy's family has been accommodating my Bug for over a month now since I left for the Philippines to deliver a series of lectures and workshops last month. I think it is only fair that my lovely yellow Bug returned home. Cramps or no cramps, I really missed the sound of its roaring engine, the touch of the oversized non-power-steering wheel, the comfort of coconut fibre seats and the fun of shifting the manual gear on a classic car (it's very different from driving an automatic gear vehicle these days). While these do not sound very enticing, I am sure classic car lovers will agree that these are verily the reasons why we fell in love with classic cars in the first place apart from the car's defining 'look' that has the idea of unique individuality painted all over it.
Driving modern cars has done much damage to my sitting posture. Believe it or not, sitting on those coconut fibre seats did not strain my back as much as compared to sitting in a modern vehicle. Maybe my bones were made for stone age comfort. Furthermore, while the idea of driving a car with no power-steering may sound intimidating for some, it really isn't as bad on the classic VW Beetle. The steering wheel is, to my surprise when I first test-drove the car back then, so easy to maneuver unlike what other people have warned me against. Even my much younger manual Suzuki four-wheel drive loses out to this old 'man'.
And all the big hoo-hahs about the challenge of driving a manual classic car was seriously overrated. Many people have advised me not to buy this car because the gear was manual, and apparently, manual cars are very difficult to drive. Manual cars was never a challenge to me and the VW Beetle was no different. The only difference was that the reverse gear was on the lower left instead of the lower right.
Rushing for the train in my condition was one serious challenge. I had to use the pedestrian bridge to get to the other platform before I could board the train. Normally, it would have been a piece of cake. Today was a nightmare however. Looking up that flight of stairs from below, my mind instantly painted a picture of hiking Mount Everest. The way I climbed those steps today, it would have appeared as though a farmer was forcing a cow into its enclosure.
Anyhow, I made it all the way to Cindy's place safe in one piece. After reuniting with my love, the next logical step was obviously to give it a thorough wash. If one did not know better, the Bug looked as though it had been left in a lizard farm. There were plenty of lizard droppings all over its rooftop. The funny thing is, the lizards seemed to have only targetted the Bug and not any other cars in Cindy's house. It was as though the lizards have conspired to just 'shit' on the outsider's car because it did not belong there. Or maybe the colour 'yellow' has always been the secret code for 'toilet' in the lizard community, which no one has ever bothered to research about.
Before anyone jumps at the chance to argue that lizards are colour-blind, do you know that lizard retinas contain multi-coloured oil droplets in their photoreceptors, which enable them to perceive colours? In fact, scientific research has revealed that lizards probably see a wider range of colours than human beings actually can. Who knows? Maybe the lizards in Cindy's house actually 'see' something in my Bug that we don't see. Maybe there is an invisible 'loo sign' stamped somewhere on its rooftop that is visible only to the lizards' eyes.
Or maybe, the lizards were just getting their revenge on the Bug because it was probably the first 'bug' they cannot lick and swallow.
Anyway, enough of lizard science. The car was finally going on the road after over a month being stuck in Cindy's home. We took it for a spin to the petrol kiosk to vanquish its thirst. I had forgotten that the reverse gear on this car was on the lower left and was foolishly expecting the car to reverse while it was in gear 4. We human beings take time to adapt to things (especially with the fact that I have only owned it for 2 months and have not driven this car in 1.5 months) and only after Hahnemann gave a loud 'cough' (sort of) and jerked behind as I had entered into reverse gear without stepping on the clutch, the entire knowledge of driving a classic manual just magically came back to me once again. Devastated, I wondered if I had caused Hahnemann any internal damage with that silly mistake.
Already satisfied, we decided to return home to get down to our carwash business. Rolling up my jeans, I began to vacuum the interior of the Bug thoroughly before I decided to shower its exterior with clean water. Oh, and I discovered that I could easily remove the mounting at the back of the car, which would come in handy since I may need the space in the future to store luggage on any long-distance journey.
The droppings came off one-by-one as I sprayed the water from Cindy's garden hose. They were like stubborn soldiers, clinging steadfastly to the body of the Bug - unwilling to part with it initially. If they could talk, they'd probably have said "till death do us part". Unable to withstand the increased pressure, they finally streamed down the delicate body of that yellow vehicle, leaving Hahnemann dropping-free.
Even until today, Cindy and I still could not come up with the perfect name for the Bug. We were debating about all possible names - mostly German I must say. Since it is a German car, I feel it would only be apt if it has a German name. But I have once thought it would be nice to name it after the famous VW Beetle race-car - Herbie. However, this yellow monster definitely does not look like a "Herbie" to me. Strauss, Dana, Sebastien, Hippocrates, Gretel, Hansel, Beethoven, Chopin, and Tschaikovsky were all a possibility.
I finally settled for Hahnemann to which Cindy retorted, "WHY?! Can't you give it a shorter and easier name?!?!"
In fact, she even daringly suggested: "Let's name it Yellow!"
I am obviously not naming this lovely masterpiece "YELLOW" as though it is some kind of Digi's mascot roaming across the Malaysian map.
Oh well, my car, my rules! If you do not know by now, I have a Schnauzer. Yes, a German-breed dog. I had initially wanted to name him Hahnemann. You see, Samuel Hahnemann was a great man. He was a German physician, who was also the founder of Homoeopathy. If I wanted to name a pet or a car, I definitely would like the name to be as meaningful as possible. I ended up naming the Schnauzer "Schumann", named after one of the world's greatest composers of the Romantic era who left the study of Law to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist.
Hahnemann it is... for now at least. I had named my previous Honda car "Yolanda". I think it is about time to reverse the wheel and stop being so feminist for once and give my car a male name this time. I will be sending Hahnemann to the 'clinic' first thing tomorrow morning for his first 'regular checkup' by a specialist before bringing him home. And that concludes my day.
Love and light,
Genevieve
Anyway, enough of lizard science. The car was finally going on the road after over a month being stuck in Cindy's home. We took it for a spin to the petrol kiosk to vanquish its thirst. I had forgotten that the reverse gear on this car was on the lower left and was foolishly expecting the car to reverse while it was in gear 4. We human beings take time to adapt to things (especially with the fact that I have only owned it for 2 months and have not driven this car in 1.5 months) and only after Hahnemann gave a loud 'cough' (sort of) and jerked behind as I had entered into reverse gear without stepping on the clutch, the entire knowledge of driving a classic manual just magically came back to me once again. Devastated, I wondered if I had caused Hahnemann any internal damage with that silly mistake.
Already satisfied, we decided to return home to get down to our carwash business. Rolling up my jeans, I began to vacuum the interior of the Bug thoroughly before I decided to shower its exterior with clean water. Oh, and I discovered that I could easily remove the mounting at the back of the car, which would come in handy since I may need the space in the future to store luggage on any long-distance journey.
The droppings came off one-by-one as I sprayed the water from Cindy's garden hose. They were like stubborn soldiers, clinging steadfastly to the body of the Bug - unwilling to part with it initially. If they could talk, they'd probably have said "till death do us part". Unable to withstand the increased pressure, they finally streamed down the delicate body of that yellow vehicle, leaving Hahnemann dropping-free.
Even until today, Cindy and I still could not come up with the perfect name for the Bug. We were debating about all possible names - mostly German I must say. Since it is a German car, I feel it would only be apt if it has a German name. But I have once thought it would be nice to name it after the famous VW Beetle race-car - Herbie. However, this yellow monster definitely does not look like a "Herbie" to me. Strauss, Dana, Sebastien, Hippocrates, Gretel, Hansel, Beethoven, Chopin, and Tschaikovsky were all a possibility.
I finally settled for Hahnemann to which Cindy retorted, "WHY?! Can't you give it a shorter and easier name?!?!"
In fact, she even daringly suggested: "Let's name it Yellow!"
I am obviously not naming this lovely masterpiece "YELLOW" as though it is some kind of Digi's mascot roaming across the Malaysian map.
Oh well, my car, my rules! If you do not know by now, I have a Schnauzer. Yes, a German-breed dog. I had initially wanted to name him Hahnemann. You see, Samuel Hahnemann was a great man. He was a German physician, who was also the founder of Homoeopathy. If I wanted to name a pet or a car, I definitely would like the name to be as meaningful as possible. I ended up naming the Schnauzer "Schumann", named after one of the world's greatest composers of the Romantic era who left the study of Law to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist.
Hahnemann it is... for now at least. I had named my previous Honda car "Yolanda". I think it is about time to reverse the wheel and stop being so feminist for once and give my car a male name this time. I will be sending Hahnemann to the 'clinic' first thing tomorrow morning for his first 'regular checkup' by a specialist before bringing him home. And that concludes my day.
Love and light,
Genevieve
"It was as though the lizards have conspired to just 'shit' on the outsider's car because it did not belong there." OHHH GENEVIEVE!!! LMAO
ReplyDeletelet's watch out as there is a new conspiracy in town. conspiracy of the lizards!!! lol
DeleteWhy not name the car something american?? Or asian??
ReplyDeleteFeel free to list down some suggestions.
DeleteSomething Japanese perhaps? Kimiko, Yuki, Hitachi whatever... it'd be crazy though. It's not even a Toyota or a Honda. It's a German-made car ain't it?
DeleteWhat is digi? I got everything except that part.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: Digi is a telecommunication service provider in Malaysia. Their mascot is a man in a full yellow suit.
ReplyDelete"Das Auto" ^^ In France "La voiture" is feminine. But i like Hahnemann ; short is Hahn, means rooster right? .. French National Animal ;)
ReplyDelete@Ronan: Das Auto in German is neutral. Thanks for your introduction to its French equivalent though. And please do not taint Hahnemann's name by equating his brilliance to a rooster's. Thank you.
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