So yesterday was Aaron’s birthday party. It’s an annual event and is usually quite the enjoyable thing. Meg and I got to the party at his place at about 9:30 or so.

I decided not to drink too much, if at all, because it just doesn’t do me very well at all. The last time I drank was in Whistler and i ended up drinking too much, yet again. I only drank two glasses of beer and a shot of Fireball whisky over the span of about 6 hours last night.

Meg didn’t seem to be enjoying herself too much and decided to go home early. She said that she didn’t mind leaving me at the party and that she’d just go home and go to sleep. I’m always a little skeptical whenever she says that because she has a difficult time trusting me. I’d much prefer it if she stayed because that seems to be the only way to guarantee her peace of mind (notwithstanding the fact that I just like being around her in general). Well, it didn’t really work out to well right now and I’m sure she’s pissed at me for something that I said (I’ll get to that, but first a little background information)

Some background

There was a bit of an issue regarding a friend of mine whom she and other girls believe is rather flirty.
This issue escalated until I decided that it was best to cut her out from communication completely so as to not upset Meg any longer. This period of excommunication went on for a few months when Meg surprisingly said that she no longer minded if this other girl was hanging around with me. I was a little skeptical about this and I was very very cautious. Meg kept insisting that she was now comfortable with this other girl’s presence and with that in mind I said "yes" the next time this other girl wanted to hang out.

The other girls and I went to visit Bryan at the bar that he works at and then we went our separate ways. It couldn’t have been more than 2 hours. In my conversation with Meg that night, immediately after getting home, I told her that I hung out with her again and Meg got upset. I was very surprised by this outburst of anger because I thought she would be ok with it given how she insisted she was comfortable with it.  Given how sure Meg sounded when she said that she didn’t mind me hanging out with her, I literally would’ve had to read her mind to know that she didn’t mean what she said. Understandably, I was very upset at this situation as well. I was lead on to believe something that didn’t turn out to be true. I learned that I would have to be more conservative and careful than I am told I should be.

I’ve since deleted this girl’s number from my phone. I don’t call her, I don’t text her, and I try my best to talk with an uninterested tone of voice when/if she does call. It helps to keep the conversation short. Very short.  It no longer bothers me that I don’t talk to her.

On to what happened last night

As I was driving Meg home she said that she trusted me to stay at the party by myself. The experience I had the last time she said that all came rushing back and I didn’t want another repeat of that. I didn’t want to hang around at the party without her if she was gonna be sitting at home thinking that I was betraying her trust. So, when she said that she trusted me I asked "Are you sure??"

She had basically said the same thing during the previous incident which made me very skeptical about whether or not she would be upset if I decided to go back to the party. It seems, however, that my words were misinterpreted and she might have been lead on to believe that I was trying to say, "Are you sure [you can trust me]?" I hope she will eventually understand that was not what I meant to say. I really should’ve thought more about what I was going to say to make sure that it wasn’t open to misinterpretation.

I eventually did go back to the party. Aaron is my friend and I wanted to hang out with him. It was a pretty depressing hour or two when I first got back, but it eventually got a little less uncomfortable.  I spent the majority of my time outside around the fire with Mike, Ryan, Shameer, Aaron, and Aaron’s friend Vanessa. We talked about misc things (star wars, relationships, chicken mcnuggets, etc) until about 530a when I decided to head home.

I tried talking to Meg today but she’s doesn’t want to talk about what happened last night. I think that what she heard (what she thought I said) is still echoing quite loudly in her mind so it’s really difficult to get through to her. We’re set to talk at 11pm. I really hope she’ll give me a chance and actually be willing to hear me out.  It’s one thing to let a person talk … but it’s another thing to truly listen to what that person is saying.

The only thing on TV is boring golf and the guys aren’t picking up. I think I’ll go take a walk on the guildford bike trails. That should kill a few hours at least.

So long story short, there was a 2002 330i in Vancouver that I was THISCLOSE to buying, but I couldn’t go through with the deal because it would’ve involved the redemption of a portion of my mutual funds.  While I’ve always wanted the care, the mature person in me (that annoying little twat!) chimed in and said that it wouldn’t be a wise idea to throw away a good investment for a car.  Essentially, I would’ve traded an appreciating asset for a depreciating one.  Combine that with the fact that I run a pretty low margin cash account due to savings, and it could’ve been disastrous without some lifestyle changess.  There isn’t a whole lot of other car news aside from the BMW ConCours D’Elegance next month in Renton.  I’ll be attending once again and anyone else is welcome to tag alone!

I’m glad that I stuck with my maxima for now.  The majority of my investments are in oil, and it was nice to see oil go up for $4 a barrel yesterday and over $10 a barrel today!  The price of gas SUCKS, but I’m more than happy to see my RRSPs go up :-).

I’m hungry and I have a craving for pho.

The Car

So I wasn’t able to purchase the 540i. I inquired about financing, but I had to tie up some of my cash in a term deposit and I didn’t want to do that. It was a shame because it was a really nice car, but everything happens for a reason.

I’ve since moved on searching for something more modest. I’m looking for a 3-series now. I’m searching for an E46 sedan because (1) I like the interior layout better and (2) it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a bungled E90 sedan. So far I’ve found two that might fit the bill;

1. 2002 330Ci
   Pros: it’s blue, 5spd manual, only 6 years old
   Cons: it apparently has a grey interior, it’s a coupe, it’s priced extremely low
2. 2004 325xi
   Pros: it’s a sedan, it’s only 4 years old, 5spd manual, AWD, it’s black on black
   Cons: it seems underpowered with only 180 or so bhp

I might be checking out the 330Ci tomorrow.  I’ve sent an email regarding the 325xi.  I originally ruled out anything less than a 328i because I wanted something with a little more power, but considering how young this car is and the fact that it has AWD, it’s cool with me.

Another thing that I stumbled across while on Craigslist was a Nissan Altima SE-R .  I’ve always loved the way this car looks.  The factory 18" wheels in gunmetal grey are beautiful.  It also comes with a VQ35 engine that puts out 260hp.  That’s 70 horsepower more than my Maxima has right now and I know from experience that Nissan’s VQ engines are reliable because mine has been running strong and my car is 12 years old.

What I don’t like about the SE-R is the fact that it’s a front wheel drive vehicle and that the shifter looks pretty flimsy.  Aside from that, I’ve heard pretty damn good things about that car so I might actually put it on my short list of vehicles.

A long shot would be the Acura TSX with a  6spd transmission.  It’s very unlikely I’d go that route because it only has an inline 4-cylinder engine and it seems rather slow to me.  It is quite a looker though!

I really hope that I can find something soon.  I’ve got two people that are interested in my car but I haven’t been able to make up a decision yet.  *sigh*.  I really hate when I have to make decisions like this.

So I’m considering the purchase of a 2002 540i.  I saw it on craigslist yesterday and I was awestruck when I saw the listing;

• 2002
• 6spd Manual Transmission
• Nav pkg
• M-sport Pkg (front air dam, rear spoiler, 18″ wheels)
• Black leather interior

The only thing that kind of irked me was the fact that it was in Imola Red.  I don’t usually dig red cars and I’ve always felt that only Italians from Maranello have been able to pull off red cars with true class.  Given this, I decided to check it out this morning.

I arrived at Jim Pattison Lexus at the North Shore Auto Mall this morning.  The car was the last in the front row in the parking lot.  That was the first time I’ve seen an Imola Red E39 outside and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!  It was not as loud and boisterous as I originally thought it would be, and it certainly wasn’t as bright as the pictures make it out to be.  It was very subdued, likely due to the overcast in the area.

I spoke with a product advisor named Jeff.  I asked him why the dealership was willing to let it go for so little.  I was told that it’s because of the strong Canadian dollar and they want customers to buy in Canada instead of going south.  I was absolutely elated!

The car was beautiful inside and out.  There was a scuff on the rear valance, but they said they would paint that.  They also said that they will take care of the brake pads as well since they need to be replaced.  Here are some pics;

Anyways, I gave it a test drive and it drove nicely.  I didn’t really push it though cuz I was afraid to.  It’s absolutely awesome though and I really hope I can get it.  I called BMW Canada to get the product spec sheet and the details of the Certified Series Warranty.  Yes, the car is certified until July 19, 2008 so I’ll be replacing as much as I can before the warranty expires.  I called my advisor at the dealership for a CarProof and CarFax report so hopefully he pulls through with that.

I’m working with the financing right now.  If that goes well, then I’ll be owning this car sooner than later.  I’m so stoked!

Sunday and Monday were pretty much about Whistler. I spent most of Monday getting ready to get out. The sun was shining and I was very excited about the night and next day to follow.

I bought a new outfit for the night. I took one of my old jeans and just them right above the knee. Then I went out and bought a Las Vegas Choppers shirt in a children’s size medium, and a hat from Corrections Canada. I cut the sleeves off the shirt, put on the jeans, and here was the result;

I was quite happy with it. I eventually rubbed the shirt around in some dirty to make sure that I had the look down pat. That outfit did not come off until about 2am the next morning.

Tyler, Adam, and David came to my house early to pick up my snowboard and boots, then headed off early so that they can check in. I had to stay behind and give Billy and Bryan a ride up. It was a little frustrating as Bryan told me that he’d be off work at 7pm. When I went to go see him, he said he’d be off work “soon, some time between 7 and 8.” It was at that point that he clarified that his shift was ‘open’ and that it pretty well depends on the volume at the bar. We eventually went on our way by 755p.

The drive up to Whistler wasn’t bad. The roads were dry and there was a decent amount of daylight left. We also went for a food run before leaving surrey, so we didn’t have to stop in Squamish. Even though I wasn’t able to maintain my goal of going at least 100km/h the whole way, we still made it to Whistler (from Surrey) in 1 hour and 44 minutes - that’s from the Wendy’s on Scott Rd by 96th, to the front door of The Delta Whistler.

Tyler, Adam and David had already gotten started at the hotel room;

I also noticed this and almost couldn’t believe my eyes. In the end, they told me that it was actually just hot chocolate mix and that it’s totally take to lick the stuff off the seat.

Soon after we got our stuff ‘unpacked’ (and I used that term loosely) we headed out for drinks, despite having already brought enough alcohol to kill an elephant.

We usually go to the Dubb Linh, but Billy suggested going to the Longhorn Saloon. I was a little skeptical, but I knew that we all needed to keep an open mind about it. The first sign was the line up to get in. The second sign was the fact that there was a cover to get inside. I would’ve understood if I thought we were going to a club, but I wanted to get some shepard’s pie, have half a guiness, then retreat back to the room. The third sign was the hip hop music. I don’t enjoy clubs much so I didn’t get get too much out of the experience. The only cool thing about it was that we met a couple of aussies. Adam was the one who talked to them the most. I had a couple words about cars, but that was about it. Was it all worth the $8 cover, expensive drinks, and all the cold outside? I don’t think so. Next time, I’ll be going to the Dubb Lihn.

We went off to 7-11 after that so I can grab some food. Billy was nursing as he broke his wrist while running from the Longhorn. I bought be some beef jerky and salt and vinegar chips. We went back to the hotel after that and it was about 140a by that time. The other guys went to sleep pretty quickly. I think I fell asleep around 2 or so. I can’t remember. Oh, I bought a Hungry Man too. A pound of food is a lot smaller than those commercials might make it seem to be.

The next day it was raining. We were taken quite aback by it. We had breakfast at Black’s and reconvened back at the room. We decided not to go snowboarding because the clouds had completely covered the ridable part of Blackcomb (which only had two chairs serving it). Instead, we decided to rent mountain bikes. That was pretty fun. We did a lotta small stuff. Billy was king of it all since he rides bikes, but the rest of us were taking it easy.

We stopped for lunch at McD’s. Bryan was paranoid about leaving our $800 rented bikes outside unlocked. I suppose he didn’t notice the $5000 bikes that were unlocked sitting next to ours.

We dropped off our bikes at the rental store at 300p and went back to the Delta to hit up the hot tub. It was fun and Bryan had an egg thrown at him. He was quite upset, but it wasn’t a direct hit so it was ok. A trip to the Glass Elevator completed the trip and I was back in Vancouver by 7pm.

I hung out with Meg later on that evening. We tried to get food but everyone was closed early because of the holiday. We just went back to my place where I grabbed a bite to eat. Meg wasn’t hungry so she had none at the time (quite thankfully too cuz I didn’t have time to make steak or something that she would like much better).

Tomorrow is the City and Colour concert. Three years in a row! This guy must be tired. haha