End of the month update:

I have had absolutely NO desire to blog as of late...but decided to bust out an entry just to get caught up.

1. I love my new car....love with a little "L", not like the big "L" with the EVO. In any case, the CIVIC SI is amazing. Its comfortable, quiet, and unassuming. It has remarkable handling, a ridiculously high revving motor (the legendary K20 I-Vtec), and a hyper precise steering rack. It has a massive sound system (the best in any car I've ever owned by far), and equipped with the greatest invention since sliced bread; on board integrated voice controlled GPS.

I actually enjoy driving this car to work. It doesn't destroy my back, hurt my ears, or gulp down gas. The clutch is soooo soooo smooth and the shifter is both precise and effortless...you can literally shift it with just the tip of your pinkie!

2. I sold the EVO X to my body shop buddy. Saw it for the last time (I think) last week.

3. Dealing with some crazy-ass mayhem with clients and facilities at work....and I don't want to write about it. Doing that will only make my head hurt.

4. Gamed a couple of times since my last entry.

5. ThePerfectLine came up to pick up a bunch of stuff from various GOG homes to take back down to his new home in LA. I drove down with him, helped him unpack, and flew up to Oakland Monday morning in time to get to work.

We stopped by Buttonwillow Raceway to see a buddy of ours. I brought my helmet just in case I managed to finagle a ride-along. I saw four tricked out EVO X's and it made me sad and wanting. All of that changed after I got in a ride in a CIVIC SI. I spotted it across the paddock area, a white sedan, same exact car as mine. Of course it was modified, but just barely. He had Enkei RPF1's wrapped in NT01's, mono-block calipers, Bride seats, and a four-point. The driver was an instructor in the most advanced run group. I started a conversation and requested a ride...he said YES.

I literally closed my eyes during most of the first lap. I've never been to Buttonwillow and had NO CLUE how the course ran turn by turn...add the fact that Buttonwillow has multiple configurations and the course looked even more confusing. In any case, the SI blew my mind!! I can't believe how well this car handled and how planted, controllable, and poised the car is at the limit. I'm sure alot of it has to do with the Civic running R-comps and the driver being very skilled, but it left me giddy and awestruck.

So in the end, I am actually looking forward to tracking the SI. It will be a riot to have cars with twice the horsepower looking at their rear view mirror and giving a Point-by to a Civic Sedan!

6. Been rock-climbing regularly at Planet Granite with NTT's Brain. I went for the first time just to check it out. By the end of that hour, I was addicted. One downside: your forearms and hands are completely destroyed for several days after each climbing session.

Last week, Rave-boy accompanied us and we both went way way past the point of sanity. Our bodies screamed "ENOUGH" but our Wills pushed us to climb one more time...then one more time again...then again, and again. The next day, I didn't have the strength to squeeze tooth-paste onto my tooth brush.

But damn, rock-climbing is loads of fun...and a hell of a work-out to boot.

7. There is no seven because I gotta get back to work.

Wow, it's been a while....

Sheesh, even theProf busted out with an entry before I did. Anywayz, alot of stuff going on lately and haven't had any desire to blog, but I figure I should throw something out as catch-up.

1. Read theProf's latest entry on Veganism. I don't know if he intended it to be funny but I really laughed out loud. I think its because he's quite good at taking specious reasoning to its most ridiculous yet logical conclusion.

2. My wife got rehired! Its only for this year and she's been moved to the High School in her school district. But she LOVES the job....and we certainly like the idea that she's getting a paycheck. She's blown away by the kids at her school...talk about high-achievers! I'll blog about that at another time.

3. Been driving a PT-Cruiser for nearly a month now. I'm returning that POS tomorrow because I'm picking up my new car tonight!!!!

4. Before we get into that, just some updates. Firstly, here are some pics of the damage. I find it difficult to look at.







So the car has been deemed totaled, meaning the cost of repairing her exceeds a particular percentage based on my Insurance company's total loss formula. I was mailed the adjuster's estimate and it was nearly 26,000 in damages. My trusty body-shop feels that the estimate was drastically inflated but all things considered, it helped total out the car.

In the end, I'm actually profiting from the loss to a tune of several thousand dollars!! I should crash my car more often. This was clearly due to my buying my car for such an un-godly low amount. For about five days last week, the Perfectline and I considered buying back my car at 15% of its market value and paying my body-shop to fix it to mechanical spec with less effort spent on getting the car's paint and body to look perfect. We figured why not make it a track car! But alas, even the bare-bones estimate of repair was a few thousand above what we hoped to pay...and we're not comfortable with even slight frame damage repair anywayz.

But the body shop owner decided to buy her and she will drive again! He was bothered by the idea that the car would be parted and scraped and strongly believed that it was an easy albeit pricey fix. So I sold him the car and he'll be working on it himself...a multi-weekend project for him. And in the end, even with a salvage title, he should make several thousand bucks profit.

As for the new car, well it's not really a new car, but I did get the best deal I possibly could on her. After an exhaustive Internet search, I set out to eyeball 14 of the best cars/deals I found on-line. It took me most of my Labor Day weekend and my travels took me as far north as Concord and as far south as San Jose.

I came pretty darn close to picking up a sweet bone-stock 06 WRX but fell in love with an even sweeter Civic SI...yes, you heard me, a CIVIC. I can't believe I actually like this car! I love the color, it's only a year and a half old, still has a warranty, in near perfect condition (except for the shifter boot), has a bad-ass stereo, and will have my first real NAV. It has less than 25K miles (for a Civic, that's just past her break-in!), and the person I'm purchasing the car from is selling it for three grand under blue-book!

The seller is a doctor working out of one of our local public hospitals and simply wants to get rid of it....he originally bought if for his son as a graduation gift but considering he bombed this last semester, he didn't see fit rewarding him. His loss is my gain. The seller has no time and certainly not at all interested in making a killing on this sale so he priced it low and put an Ad up on Craigslist on Friday night. As soon as I saw her Saturday afternoon, I put down a deposit.

I'm picking her up tomorrow and despite having an utterly gutless motor, I love hearing that K20 Vtec revving to 9000 RPM, yes 9 Grand. My goodness, you shift at 8500! And you better believe I'm taking her to the TRACK!!...and very soon. Okay, I'll be the slowest least powerful car out there, especially considering the car's power to weight ratio, but that will make it even more satisfying to PASS track monster's in a frickin HONDA CIVIC!!! That will be Hilarious!!

And as for daily commuting, can you think of a better car? And lastly, I don't think this car can kill me in the way my old car could. I suppose I could drive ANY car, regardless of its power and kill myself by taking it to it's maximum velocity and slamming into a brick wall...but my point is that I don't want my daily driven car to be a track monster. It's akin to having a Thoroughbred race horse pulling a milk cart every day...it's a total waste and completely pointless. Furthermore, driving a track monster everyday makes it too too much of a temptation to drive her like I was on a racetrack, and treat every stretch of twisties like I'm some sort of Micheal Shummi. This car should be a pretty good antidote for that temptation.

Anywayz, gotta get back to work. I'll take some pics of the car when I have the time.