The wait is finally over.

...days of paper work, 11 weeks of waiting, months of research, a lifelong of hoping. Finally it's here...

Introducing our new family van :

Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 Di

The decision for a replacement was made months back, as the ever rising fuel price was getting unbearable... especially our Toyota Litace was running on petrol, with a low FC (fuel economy) figure as it's a OHV carb. The new one must be Diesel, and a european panel van fits the budget. So here you get, the Caddy, closest in our Litace in size and shape, and high on spec too.

The 2 months of waiting time flew, and last Saturday (24/6/06) the keys was finally collected. "High on specs" i said, was very correct..our agent actually have to spend quite a long time explaining to us all the electronics of the van... She loaded with lots of goodies..Power mirrors, climatic air-con, traction control, remote entry, etc etc... the battery better dont fail.

And when i finally get my hands behind the wheel (my dad drove it first, of cos.) ...i just couldnt close my mouth. The moment i fire up the 69horses (capable of 140Nm torque), i'm attracted to it.

Not only the seats are cosy and supportive (in a soft way), the ride is one of the best i had ever driven.. The body control is great, it goes firmly over uneven surface without crashing thru, and the turning in is sharp. Although it's a diesel, it was not noisy at all and vibration is all kept. Being an fully electronic steering rack, it's light at parking and weight up at speed (but is sort of muted) Overall, very very stable.

Complains? That damn speed warning device is very very loud (and sounds like a pager) ...overshadows the radio and human voices. I'm seriously encouraged not to speed. haha.

Conclusion: A great drive, and better than many cars (yes, saloon and hatchbacks) out there. I'm not going for branded, but German engineering is really very good. The european experience is indeed different..

p/s: And oh yes, it very value-for-money too...Being a commercial vehicle it's cheaper than the cheapest car in the market. Not forgetting the tax rebate too, as it meets Euro4 emittion standards (Applicable until Oct '06). And diesel engines are known for good comsumption too.

Interior: Well built and cozy. Steering wheel from the Golf. And cool blue+red when lights are on. The familiar pineapple and etc are back.

A. B. C.

(A)Diesel...Economy yet full of torque. Yeah. (B)The user manual that looks more than an journal...very nice. (C)And concidently a VW Golf parked next to it. "Caddy, meet the donor of your chassis...that's how your handling is good"

And the happy son in his father's work-horse.

dejavu!

Oh man, it's this familiar feeling again....
Today is the day of SIM talk. So a day off from work and woke up early, to SIM HQ.
We are all been briefed on the entire admin process to UOL, the time line, what's expected in the studies, how to choose subject and timetable, the recommandations, etc etc..

Amid all these talks... that familiar feeling kicked back on me again. The feeling of the start of a totally new journey, new things to learn, to adapt, and, alone? Just like the start of JC way back then in 2002.. Except that the orientation kicked us into mood immediately, and got to know people soon too. That's why, i want to go orientation camp~! haha..

Why i mentioned "alone?" by the way? Coz unexpectedly, i didnt see anyone i know today, initially. Guess reason is that people was all split into 4 groups, 2 morning 2 afternoon, for the talk. And in my group, the only people i saw later in the break was (very surprisingly ) a handful of girls from 16th SC. It's was even more later then i saw a few more guys.

Oh ya, back to familiar feeling again. OK i admit, back in upper sec days i wasnt really at 100%. Abit slack, not so disciplined. So when i got to be the JC newbie, i told myself: "Alright, it's all new now, cannot repeat mistake huh, work hard hard huh" ....and i admit again...i could have done better?
So now, would the same thing happen again, right now, for this new journey? No room for mistake already...Money all in, last chance before career. Especially when this course gonna be demanding. Jia you Jia you.

Hmm... before all this...relax first bah, go orientaion. Held at aloha oh....yeah. Better sign up when got chance, else later fully booked.

---------------

After been "mobile" for almost a month, i'm without the van today. Off from work, and they need it today, so it's back to Ez-link card. Ah...almost forgot the tap the card on exit.
And hope i'll stop thinking that it's far...haha..coz i gonna live with bus 74 for the next 3 years to come i guess. Was just thinking..perhaps in the end it would bother that much as i might, well, ended up sleeping through-out the bus journey, just like today. hehe.

Later in the evening just now, i gotten back the van. Finally the servicing was done. Previously the brakes had faded (this van only <1 yr old) ...thankfully it's fixed, with a more confident stopping now. (And i no longer need to use the handbrake to slow down, sometimes.) An oil change was done too, giving a lesser-vibrating engine and smoother power delivery.

Wonder did the servicing side cleaned up the van too...coz it look dusty again. Weirdly, this van does get dusty very easily, especially after a rain. Must be the design.. the body curved inwards near the base, unlike others which wheelarch covers the entire wheel.

Opps, am i making the company van sound like my own van now? Oh man, i better hope i can get used to it after i handed back the keys 3,4 weeks later...

...and remember to tap ez-link card on exit. Someone please remind me.

20 daily sights

20 stuff which i get to see everyday, during work.

1) Taxis (Blue, White, Yellow, Red, Black, Green..)
2) School kids/teens (they seems to like Plaza Sing..)
3) White collar workers/office ladies
4) Starhub staff
5) Queues and queues in starhubs
6) Man in bikes who are concerned with your speed
7) Man in scooters who are concerned with where you park
8) Security (building guard. Have to change pass, again.)
9) Security (those who send $ to ATMs)
10) DHL van/trucks
11) Fed-Ex big big merc vans
12)) Loading bays
13) Distribution parks
14) Blue collar Workers
15) Trolleys / Forklifts
16) Crashed cars (in workshops @ ubi...how sg people drive?)
17) L-plates (and waited long at right turns)
18) Printer Toner, ink catridge, A4 paper, stationaries, etc etc
19) Invoices/Delivery Orders
20) Starhub paper bags
(anyone want any? Many in Van. Stock always last.)

One Job. Many Sights.

Almost going to be the 4th week of my job now. Had gotten used to all the stuff around, the places to go, the time to reach, etc etc. So now i would have more space in the brain to look more around me, and the roads really gave many insights..:

1) Ever wonder why taxis always drive in a bad way? Changing lane without looking, braking late, tailgating, etc etc... I couldnt exactly understand initially, until i began to be guilty of some of these "offences" recently...that i came to realise, the cause could be due to being tired from the long hours on road.. which is happening to me. Was so tired that day that i didnt even know did i ran a red light.. 0_0
...so if a dark blue KIA Pregio van cut your lane, apologises hor.

2) Heard that we have this friend who doesnt give way while driving, 'coz he says no one gives way too. Now I came to realise this is very true, and this is what you get in town area during office hours. A tough fight at first for me, irritating too, but now i seems to do this at times too. No choice, guess that's what happens when everyone is rushing for time.

3) Why that driving school in ubi holds the lowest passing rate in Singapore? Welcome to ubi area during office hours and experience first hand of the situation of traffic there -- horrible. Vehicles cutting in and out, road works here and there, obstruction everywhere. Even me, with some experience, have problems there at times, let alone a poor L-plate learner. So if you are those who passed at first try at ubi, i sincerely salute you.

4) You drive a small van (not for work), travelling well below the speed limit and on leftmost of the expressway. Delivery vans came up and tailgated you, and overtook you. Dont be irritated, it just that everyone is rushing for time. And these bigger vans are pretty powerful when unloaded.


Well, despite the van not being a fun drive at all, thankfully there's still entertainment, in a form of radio and FM933....which i got most of my enjoyment from. Never got a chance to tune into FM all day long, and been fed with the latest hits til i could really recite them at night. Good for K-box, if there's any soon.
And the morning show is really funny..that two hosts are really crappy. The laughs makes you happier, when you started the day, in that moment, amid a "nong nong" jam on CTE.


And not forgetting.. see-ing all those rare cars in real sound and metal. So they are all hiding in shenton way during ERP operation hours. Rolls-Royce Phantom (as huge as a truck), Jauguar XK (the latest latest one, launched in UK some months ago only) Lamborghini Gallardo (loud, really loud), BMW M5, Ferrari 360CS, and even a Mercedes E270 CDI (turbo-diesel passenger car, left-hand drive, embassy-plate.)


Other than the tiriness, so far so good. Really better than staying in office, in the sense of able to travel about. Just need to rest more and sleep early..

the road ahead...

To think of it, sometimes it wasnt too good a feeling when you are still not very sure what's ahead of you...

When you are in primary school, you see yourself in secondary, when in Secondary, you see JC, then uni, but what's after the degree? What career would it be? How my life will be? The road ahead is foggy.

That's why, at times i really admire those who have their vision for future set. At least they wouldnt have to go through so much thinking when they are idling. Or, they can be determined at exactly something.

Many say that you can dont worry first, and see what the future brings by then... Learn what you are interested and it might be useful. I'm been telling myself this, and i believe in this. And i know my interest in certainly automobile. And so i took business (something general, sort of.) and hope to work in the auto industry... still at times, the thought of uncertainly will still be in the mind... what exactly will be my life be?

Or... you feel uncertain when there's a fear, of been unable to reach that final destination?

I dont know.

I only know... The answer will be out in 3 years time. May it be a great road. ^-^

...

Anyway after some chat with this person from work (yup, during work) I came to realise that actually, it would be interesting for me to work as a purchase consultant... be it be buying cars or what stuff that i know.... if such jobs exist...

Lin's Consultant Agency? We find you the perfect car and import services??

maybe in dreamland...first.