Moving Again...

We will be moving again in 5 days time. This will be my 6th move in as many years. Moving is expensive. Even more expensive when you're moving to a new position and environment. When I moved here from the city it was very expensive as it meant buying a whole new ensemble of clothes... can't be wearing suits here right? Thankfully, this move will be to the same environment. If I ever end up in the city again, it will really cost me a bomb as it will mean new shirts, ties and suits. A scary thought... but I think I should start saving and be prepared.

We've started packing and as always, the rule is... we only take whatever that fits in the car. The logic is, if I have to pay for a truck or to have it shipped then I would be better off using that money to buy new stuff. Moving from Langkawi was the most expensive as I had to leave everything behind. Refrigerator, mattress, TV, DVD player, cookers etc. Painfully expensive... I didn't even have time to do a cheap sale... circumstances were such that I did not have much of a choice... something not likely to happen again... ever! 

Anyway, wherever you go you tend to acquire stuff along the way. It's now time to decide what makes the cut. We normally start with our clothes. Taking what we need and those that seem 'weathered', we give away or dispose of, depending on the condition. Perishables are categorized into two... daily and sometimes. Perishables that are daily (and dry) like coffee, tea, oats and what not we bring along. Perishables that are 'sometimes' we give away.

The 'sometimes' perishables that will be given away.

The good thing about moving is that it is a good exercise to keep our living quarters clean and minimal with unnecessary 'junk'. Most people tend to accumulate a lot of junk and this is a good way to get rid of junk. When we unpack, we unpack what we use daily... what we need. What we don't need we normally leave it in the box. If it stays in the box for more than 6 months, that means it's classified as junk... things we don't need... hence it's given away or disposed of.

Making sure that everything fits in the car is more difficult this time round as the car is not here.... it's a boat ride away... and the boss is away so I do not have the luxury to go off the island to gradually load things into the car. That means, my 'guesstimate' will have to be spot on... 

Stressful... but that's life... for me at least.

Car Trouble...

Last Sunday, as my wife and I were making our way back from KL to PLR we ran into some car trouble. It happened in Seri Iskandar, about 50kms away from Sitiawan. I was accelerating after the traffic light turned green when suddenly we heard an explosion. I quickly took my foot off the accelerator and started merging to the left lane. By then the back of the car was swerving all over. I pulled over safely and reversed slowly to a safe spot. Got out and saw the tire had exploded. I was already planning to have my tires changed as they were just over 2 years since I last changed them in Langkawi just before coming back to KL. However, I wasn't expecting the back tires to go first as they were in much better shape than the front ones which were pretty worn.

I brought the triangle out of the car and placed it on the road and proceeded to get the spare out of the car. Then lo and behold it starts to rain... tiu... my wife held the umbrella for me while I tried to unscrew the cap that held the spare in place. I turned and turned and turned for what seemed like an eternity  and till my hands hurt but it just didn't come loose. The thread of the screw was gone. The spare was stuck. It was now pouring... I went to the glove compartment and brought out the glove and tried again... then the 'equipment' came out... I tried using brute force to pry it open but it remained stuck. It's a Sunday. It's just after 5pm. The town is about a kilometer away but I doubt I'd be able to find a shop that would be open.

So after much contemplating we decided to have the car towed. I called the office to have them call our panel workshop. They happened to know someone who was coming from Tronoh and told me it will cost me RM120. I agreed and we waited. In the meantime the office was sending a car to pick us up. While waiting, my wife and I chatted... she was pretty impressed that for a 10 year old car, I still had all the 'extras' in the car. The spare tire, the jack, the gloves, the triangle and even a mobile hazard lamp. Of course la... I take driving very seriously. :)

After waiting for 80 minutes, the tow truck came. There was a slight problem. He had to tow from the front or the gearbox might get damaged. But we can't do so without changing the back tire first. The spare was stuck. So we had to swap tires with the front. But he only has one jack. My jack can only be accessed if the spare was removed. Alamak! So the poor guy had to improvise... in the rain. He had to use everything he had on his truck as 'stands'. After about 30 minutes, he succeeded in swapping the tires and the car came just in time to pick us up.

On Tuesday, the workshop changed my tires. They were closed on Monday. I wanted Yokohama C Drive 2 but they were not available in Sitiawan in the profile that I wanted so I had to settle for Continental CC5s. Tires, balancing and alignment came to RM1.2k. And on Thursday we took the car out for a drive and also cleaned it up. 

The CC5s have softer sidewalls compared to the Dunlops that I had. So, we have a softer ride now. I then gave my wife a lesson on tire pressure and what not... and most importantly, I thought her to care for our car. I am a firm believer that if you care for your car, your car in return will care for you. Never miss your servicing. Send your car for frequent waxing or do it yourself. Buy GOOD tires, and brakes... good does not necessarily mean expensive although it usually is. I NEVER EVER buy second hand stuff for my car... NEVER... I just don't have the confidence nor do I want to gamble with my life. But that's just me... and maybe that's why my 10-year old CBU car is in better shape than most 5-year old locally assembled cars.