Ichiban + Cold Weather = Poor Combination

It would appear that my car, Ichiban, doesn’t like the cold very much. It doesn’t handle temperatures below freezing well. When the temp drops below freezing over night it’s a given that the transmission won’t engage when I try to drive it the morning after. My guess is that the transmission fluid is freezing up causing me to be unable to shift gears. It’s a strange problem. I’ve owned two cars with manual transmissions prior to this car and have never had this problem. When I lived in East Tennessee (for college) my Tercel never did this even though winter there is more severe than it is here in Memphis. The Paseo endured sub freezing weather here in Memphis without a glitch. It’s kind of frustrating. My Dad says I need to take it back to the dealer and have them check it out. I think I’ll do that but the problem is kind of hard to reproduce. The car runs fine during the day. I’ve found that everything will be fine if I let it sit in neautral with the engine running for 20 to 30 minutes. But who wants to do that? I want to get in my car and go. Oh well. It’s a relatively minor problem in the grand scheme of things. Spring will be here in less than a month and I won’t have to worry about it for a while. I’m going to take it back to the dealership and have them look at it. In the meantime I’ve taken to parking it facing south (away from the cold north wind we’ve been having) and leaving it in first gear. That allowed me to limp home in first gear yesterday morning. I couldn’t shift to any other gears but I had first gear and was able to get home by driving really slow and keeping the revs low. That’s bad on the transmission long term but it got me home which was all I was worried about. Hopefully the dealership can put in some synthetic transmission fluid which has a lower freezing point. I think that would solve the problem. We’ll see.

One Day I’ll Go To This

If You Come, They Will Build It : In keeping with my renewed love for all things Lego I’ve vowed to attend this Brickfest event one day. Wall to wall Lego creations. How cool is that?

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Memphis, TN got 2 inches of snow yesterday morning. No that’s not a typo. Memphis actually got some snow for a change. Some areas got 4 or 5 inches. Other areas barely got a drop. Leave it to Memphis to have strange snowfall patterns even within its Meto Area. I’m not complaining though. Morning services at church were cancelled which meant I got to actually go to sleep after getting off work instead of doing my Sunday morning walking zombie routine. Instead of going to sleep though I played Nintendo 64 with my brother. So much for sleep.

It’s great having Kenneth living with us now by the way. I’ve got a built in gaming partner again. My roommate plays but he’s no fun to play with. My bro and I have classic, knock down, drag out smack talking game fests. Why the old and obsolete Nintendo 64? Because it’s got our favorite multi-player game of all time, Mario Cart 64, on it plus the ever frustrating Dr. Mario. I hate Dr. Mario cause Kenneth always kicks my tail in it. I love Mario Cart 64 because I always kick Kenneth’s tail in it. It all evens out. Once I get too frustrated to play Dr. Mario we swith over to Mario Cart. Its a lot of fun. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a snow filled morning. Except maybe spending it with my girl. Tough choice. Video Games or girlfriend. Hopefully I’ll never be faced with that choice. I’d hate to make the wrong decision.

Michael McDonald’s Motown

My girlfriend Mariah gave me Michael McDonald’s Motown CD for Valentine’s Day. She knows how much I love good music and this collection of music doesn’t dissapoint. I’ve admired Michael McDonald’s voice and music for years without really knowing who the guy was. He has a really thick, distinctive voice that I’d describe as smokey. I didn’t know his name until I started seeing him in the MCI Neighborhood commercials on TV several months ago. That’s when I finally matched the voice with the name and face. He sang at the NBA All-Star Game last night along with my girl Beyonce. Yummy. Talk about shaking what your Momma gave you. That girl takes that phrase to a whole new level. Anyway back to Mr. McDonald. If you like the old school Motown hits from groups like the Temptations, the Supremes and a lot of the other Motown greats check out this disc. Michael puts a fresh twist on some old favorites while managing to avoid having the whole project come out cheesy. That’s quite an accomplishment in today’s musical climate.

Dream Job

Building a New Career Is a Snap : This is my ultimate dream job. I absolutely loved Legos as a kid. I played with the wonderful little blocks well into my teenage years. Who knew that you could get paid to build stuff with Legos all day long? I’ve been contemplating starting up my Lego collection again recently but have held off for some reason. Maybe subcousciously I feel like I’m too old to be playing with Legos. This story has emboldened me though. The folks in the article are all older than me and have won the right to build Lego creations all day long. What’s stopping me from taking up Legos again as a hobby? Nothing!

Video Game Music

Nintendo Rocks! : Maybe I’m a geek but I think this concept is cool. A band that plays the theme music from old NES video games is automatically dope in my book. Talk about bringing back memories. Sore thumbs, bleary eyes, impossible boss fights. I wonder if they play the Ninja Gaiden music. I’ll be a fan for life if they do. This brings back wonderful childhood memories. Makes me want to go home and play some Nintendo right now.

Loving Thy Car As Thyself

I’m loving the new car. It’s gotten to the point now that I have to make excuses to drive it. I will probably have to purposefully modify my normal routine to include more driving. The handling is superb. It really makes me grasp how crappy the handling was on my other two cars. Call me easy to please but this remote keyless entry stuff blows me away. I can press a button and the door unlocks by itself. Press the button twice an all the doors unlock. Amazing. I still haven’t gotten used to it yet. I’ll still walk up to the door and start to put the key in the lock before remembering that I never have to do that again. Good times. The in-dash all digital, Audiophile sound system/CD player is also a nice change. No more Diskman + tape adapter to listen to my favorite tunes any more. 16 radio station presets as opposed to only 5 in Allycia. CD restart from the exact place I left off. Incredible. I feel like I’ve finally joined the 21st century when it comes to in-car amenities.

Contrary to my early assessment that the car is sedate I’m discovering that this puppy has a little (I repeat a little) pep under the bonnet as the Brits might say. I know this isn’t a performance car per se but I’m still finding it hard not to put it through it’s paces. The steering and handling have been a pleasant surprise. The steering wheel is small and easy to handle while the steering is crisp and responsive. I have a feeling that even though this car doesn’t have much power it’s still going to be fun to drive. It’s amazing how good a jump from 93 horsepower to 110 feels. Of course all else pales in comparison after you’ve driven a 500 plus HP beast known as the mighty Skyline GTR. GTR = life changing. Focus = fun but not life changing. The jury is still out on that but after a couple of days of driving those are my initial impressions.

I’m planning on getting a Front upper stress bar to firm up the handling a little bit more. It’s so cool actually having a car that people make aftermarket parts for. The aftermarket was a virtual wasteland when it came to finding performance parts for my Tercel and Paseo. Have no fear. Ichiban will not be turned into a Rice Rocket. I can’t stand the riced out look especially when it comes to domestics. I’m looking to gradually make slight, subtle improvements. Front and rear strut bars. Cold Air Intake. Exhaust. Possibly aftermarket rims (though I like the alloys that came with it). Maybe waaaaay down the line a tasteful aftermarket body kit. That covers the basics that I’ve been wanting to do to my car for years but haven’t been able to due to what I was driving at the time. Wilson knows what I’m talking about. You have to modify your car at least a little bit to make it yours. I won’t go overboard a) because my pocketbook won’t allow it, b) this IS only a Ford Focus after all and C) I like the way it looks and rides pretty well already.

Driving is fun again. It had become a chore driving Allycia. It’s no fun when your car overheats and strands you on the side of the road. 6 out of 10 times it would run okay but you’ve always got that nervous worry in the back of your mind wondering if it’s going to happen again. It’s nice being able to drive around without staring at the heat gage all the time. Ichiban is the bomb. I’m glad I kicked Allycia to the curb. Out with old, in with the new I say. Peace.