Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Manual or Automatic?? I'd go for my "automatic" car
Is it a luxury or just being practical? Is it a necessity or just something nice to have? As my 4-year old niece pointed out- "food, house, toys and car are necessities." Her rationale being that she won’t be late for school if she has a car.
After getting used to a commuter friendly environment abroad, I didn’t have the urge of driving my own car anymore. Not until I got back in Manila where I realized that my travel time alone eats up 3 hours of my time each day. Gone are the days when my schedule is predictable thus I can ask the driver to pick me up then hitch a ride with my mom to work. What happens when I work until 8pm and my mom is already finished at 530pm? Yes, on my first month it was ironic that my mom was the one waiting for me. It just didn’t feel right, yet it was expensive for me to take a cab and unsafe to take the buses at night.
I was almost convinced that I really needed a car, though there’s still one big obstacle- I don’t know how to drive. Then there were a couple of things to consider- maintenance and gas expenses, monthly amortization, what if it breaks down, what happens when there's flood, excuses, excuses, excuses!!!
I had a thousand and one reasons and even more when I moved to my apartment just near the office. I found my “automatic car” where it will bring me to my office within 15 minutes and I won’t have to worry about traffic and parking. I really like the added service in my condo since they would even ensure that the cab will be there when you reach the lobby. Isn’t that lovely?
Almost the ideal set up for me yet I guess the necessity of having a car comes up again. My niece would have already given me the look of “I told you so…” I realized that I just don’t go to office and home everyday. There are times when a short drive outside Manila can be relaxing or bringing around friends who are visiting Philippines for the first time to show some Filipino hospitality. I always had to rely for someone to drive for me and it was even more inconvenient that way.
So what am I waiting for you might ask. I just need the courage to take on the responsibility of driving my own car. It’s a big investment in the long term, of which I haven’t really had that kind of obligation before. It’s so easy to budget monthly expenses when there are less of the fixed costs, but obviously that’s just for the short run. I’d really need to work on a budget to ensure that money is spent wisely rather than just having disposable cash. It should be worth an investment. I better check out new models of cars now, most that I’ve seen look like a spaceship or space shuttle. Next thing you’ll hear from me is that I took my niece’s advice… “a car is a necessity.”
2 Comments:
Can I get a ride? Livy, holy god, really do miss our time together, our conversations, gossip and that warm friedship we used to share back in NL. :-) Lele.
By 
HS, at
9:22 PM, May 24, 2008
Dear Liv,
Long time no see. I prefer auto car as well. Never feel more convi than it.
Ahyaa...
http://aidysteveany.blogspot.com
By Aidy Steveany, at
12:39 PM, June 02, 2008
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