A Lettre to my ex wife

Dear Choad Sucking Financial Vampire,

I wanted to thank you for your contact last week and to offer an apology.

I’m sorry that you feel walked on by me and by the judicial system and by the support enforcement system. After all these government agencies are most likely controlled and operated by men which you seem to have a hatred for.

I base your hatred of men on the fact that the several boyfriends you’ve had since our divorce look like men, but in fact have a ghostly outline of where their testicles should be. Only one of them was smart enough to get out from under your thumb by his own volition.

I’m sorry that the agreed upon amount for the child support (that was approved and signed off by a judge in a court of law) is not enough. It seems to me that since our children reside with me an average of 48% of the time throughout the year that you may have forgotten that I have just as many child related expenses as you do.

In fact I have incurred additional costs because of your lack of ability to provide health insurance for our children. These costs have been paid in the form of cash/credit directly to said purveyors of the services that were rendered.

Why haven’t I provided health insurance for the children you ask?

Oh well let me tell you why. If you had bothered to read the fine print in the support paperwork you would see where it very clearly states that as the non-custodial parent if my insurance available to me from my employer exceeds a specified cost of $100.25, then I am not obligated to provide it. This is just wrong in my own opinion. As human beings we are all entitled to health care. That being said the cost of health care from my employer is just over double that cost and goes up every October.

What about alternative health care you ask?

Good question! Let me inform you of that well traveled road. It seems that there isn’t a government backed or private health insurance provider in our free thinking liberal state that will allow me to purchase a policy for our children with the exception of my already existing work plan because I am not the custodial parent.

*apparently the definition of Non-Custodial Parent is one who is allowed to view his children from afar, but still bear the financial burden while the mother whines like a tea kettle whistle about the lack of cash.

What can you do to help remedy this problem you ask?

Again, very good question!! You could start by doing something like going to your employer and asking to place the children on your benefits.

What’s that you say? There are no benefits available to you from either employer because you don’t have enough hours weekly to qualify for any. Oh that’s a shame.

Might I suggest that you then start looking for a real job that offers 40 hours a week and benefits? There are plenty of entry level careers out there for single moms that have been waitressing for over 10 years that have not done anything to better themselves by means of advancement or education.

This segues nicely to my second apology. Or is it the 3^rd? Who cares!

I’m sorry that you work two jobs that rely on tipping and don’t provide a full 40 hours. If you look at my previous statement about the real job thing you might find that you have a bit more money and a chance for advancement and better career prospects in the future. Just saying.

I’m sorry that your current live in boyfriend of the last 2 years doesn’t contribute anything to your household. I understand from our children and his very own MySpace and Facebook pages that he is gainfully employed. This means that he should have the means to help you with your rent since he lives there too. He should have the means to buy some groceries. I assume he eats, but if he’s a mindless robot then a quart of 20/50 a month should do him fine. I can also assume that he does more than sit in the dark? So he must use electricity. Does he help pay that bill? What about internet. You have a computer. Does he help pay that bill as well?

My advice is to throw this freeloading prat onto the street or have a chat with him and start dipping into his wallet for a change.

I’m truly sorry that you feel you have been so put upon by the choices that you have made in life.

8th Annual BMW CCA Puget Sound Chapter E30 Picnic

First you'll all have to excuse my hiatus from the blog. Seems that when nice weather appears I seem to disappear from the computer. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel as if I'm ignoring a commitment.

So for the next few months I'll have updates on up coming auto shows/events in the region and around the Pacific Northwest and hopefully photos of said events.

First up on the list: the 8th Annual E30 Picnic. This is the 8th year that the Puget Sound Chapter of the BMW CCA has held this event. It is the largest gathering of the BMW E30 in continental North America.

For those of you not familiar with the BMW E30 series, please check out one of my posts regarding my very own E30, The Bronze Bitch or just wiki the E30 for a brief summary of the the car.

Oddly I wasn't a fan of this body style when it first appeared back in 1982. It just didn't appear to be as aerodynamic as the outgoing E21 body style of the 3 series. The other turn off for me was that the engine got smaller for the first year of the E30. The outgoing 3 series had a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder and the new 3 new series would have a 1.8 litre in the new model which was heavier by a good couple of hundred pounds. The upside looking back now: the E30 has the pleasure of being the first M3 introduced by BMW.

The E21 had the pre-M3 sports models from perfomance companies such as AC Schnitzer, Hartge and Alpina.

Over time though the E30 did grow on me. I mean a really long time. My first BMW was a 1981 E21. Black exterior/black interior. Fun car to drive for what it was. My friend had an E30. Just still couldn't get into that car. Seemed so lacking compared to mine. Well one more BMW under me and some 8 years later I was cruising Craigslist and searching for my next BMW when at the unholy hour of 1:30 in the morning (or there-abouts) I came across a freshly posted ad for this lovely 1987 325is. Those last two initials caught my attention so hard that my ADD could not pull me away from the monotony of staring at endless car ads. Those two little lettres: is. The "is" meant that this was the one that was the predecessor to the M3. It was also the one that was sold in market areas where the M3 was not available. The 325is had all the thrills and punch that this model should have had from the very begining.

Well here it is 3 years later. I'm still enjoying my E30 and thankfully there are enough enthusiasts out there that are still loving these cars as well and this weekend we will celebrate them. This event has grown from an afternoon gathering to a full on sponsored weekend event.

Saturday is the tech session at Griot's Garage (just one of the BMWCCA's many supporters) and then a friendly's gathering for the owners to hang out and chat E30's and general debautcher.

Sunday is the big get together at the XXX Drive In in Issaquah. Cars start arriving at 8am and we finish up about 2pm and then there is the after picnic drive. This year we are expected to break the 200 car mark.

We are also expected to have some special guests with joining the picnic this year. First up is Satch Carlson; editor in chief and columnist for the BMW CCA national magazine Roundel.

Second guest will be (from what I have heard) Steve Johnson the Vice President of the Pacific Region of the BMW CCA.

If you find yourself in the area, come in and see these amazing cars!!!

Decisions decisions

If you're a regular reader then you've figured out that I'm somewhat of a car buff. Kind of weird since the father figure in my life was not a car buff when I was kid.

Although he has told me of the hotrods he had as a teen and now I wonder what happened to that man that he lost that part of him. I mean he had some really sweet cars!!! A 1965 Mustang 2+2 Fastback, a 1968 Camaro SS, a 1964 Chevrolet Corvair. When he met my mother he had a 1974 Chevy El Camino SS.

Domestication can do weird things to people I guess. I've tried to not lose parts of who I was/am in life, marriage and kids. I'd like to think that you can change direction without losing touch.

So where is all this going? Well I've had something come up twice now the last time we have been at the in-laws place.

For a quick brief history lesson, apparently when my father in law came to Western Washington in the late 1960's he wanted to be involved with auto racing in the worst way. He wanted to build cars for racing teams. Again domestication kicks in and he became a printer. He didn't completely lose sight though. He did restore 2 Studebakers and one Avanti.

He has always wanted a Porsche though. About 3 years ago he finally bought one for himself for Father's Day.

A nice Guards Red Porsche 944. Some will argue that since it's a watercooled, front mounted engine that it's not a real Porsche. True it's not a 911 or a Caymen or a Carrera, but it's still a Porsche. Get out and drive one and you'll see what I mean.

Back to the dilema at hand.

So regular readers here will know that I belong to the local/national chapter of the BMWCCA and that I have a 1987 BMW 325 is. Affectionately dubbed the "Bronze Bitch" for some of the issues that it can tend to throw my way.


One of the better angles of the Bronze Bitch.
This shot doesn't really do it justice. It was taken more as an art photo.











So getting back to the subject at hand (again) is that my father in law has been itching for a newer Porsche. He really wants a Boxster. He's even been out to see a few of them.

This leads to him asking me if I want to buy his 944.

*dead silence as I ponder this briefly in my head*

Do I want to buy his Porsche 944?

Well hell yeah who wouldn't. It does need a few things and fortunately these are minor things. It needs new engine mounts (he has them in his garage, thank you) and some minor body work on one fender. No big deal.

This is not the actual car that my FIL owns, but it is the same model and the same Guards Red that it comes in.

I really do love the Bronze Bitch. I've had it almost 4 years now and I've definitely spent the time and money to get it to where it is now. It does have a way to go however.

This car on the other hand does have fewer issues. Only one is really all that major and doesn't need to be done right away. It will need a clutch. The bonus is that my in laws have taken it on several road trips in state and out of state and it has never let them down. That is really huge in my book. I like to road trip and I want a car that can handle it. I don't want to have to rely on the Paisley's Subie and even though renting a new car is fun, it can get expensive.

Another bonus is that the local chapter of the Porsche Car Club of America is affiliated wit the local chapter of the BMWCCA and events of both groups often coincide with each other. That makes me happy since I really want to be more active in my car club and to be able to go to events with folks that I already know is important to me.

At this point I'm leaning towards selling the Bronze Bitch in order to push me into the world or Porsches. It's a natural progression and well quite frankly it's one that I would have made later if not sooner. If only there was a way to keep them both.

Group 2, Gerber and Goodman: Pt II

Thought that I should get something posted up today.

No better place to start than some of the cool shit in the collectors warehouse at Gerber.







If you've ever seen the movie Animal House then this is familiar to you.

The Deathmobile as constructed from a Lincoln Continental.






Back upstairs in the cleaner of the two level are some Porsches just hanging out itching to hit the pavement running again and show off their timeless looks.










Back on the lower level again. There's just so much in here you really don't know where to begin.











One of many business signs/banners posted all over the lower section of Gerber.












Looks fun, but it just can't take the place of the real deal.

I remember these in arcades about 15 years ago.










One of my favs: the classic mini. Quite a hardy little car and I seem to be seeing more of them in Western Washington these days.

I would love to have one as a commuter for work. Sure would make parking easier since most people don't know how to properly parallel park.






This is a tasty little treat in a shop filled with vintage and collectible cars........the lonely motourcycle just sitting here longing for another to be added.

I think a Norton or and old BSA would be perfect sitting next to this Ducati.







Here's an interesting one: the Messerschmidt car. Who knew?

You can actually see one of these in the Addams Family movie toward the end. Cousin It drives one.








Lastly the rare and coveted Ford Rally. Only a handful of these little gems in the world and Gerber just happens to have one hiding out in the lower garage among the other rarities.










Look for the final follow up with the photos of Goodman Racing.