My Cheeks Hurt!

hlava lhlvava@tampabay.rr.com
Thu, 30 May 2002 10:26:14 -0500


Well, I'm the idiot who purchased the the '91 SE-R that was advertised in
the in the classifieds at se-r.net... but I'm a smiling idiot.

What a trip. Flew from Tampa to Durham early Tuesday am... hoping to avoid
crowds or long lines. Mistake number 1, seems that lots of people were
extending their 3 day weekend and were also leaving at the same time. Damn
glad I prepurchased my ticket over the net! Was even lucky enough to be
searched before the flight... seemed like a full body cavity search. "No
ma'am, that's just my torque wrench.... no sir, you may not touch me
there!". Must of been the stupid silly grin on my face.... "Alert, alert...
passenger having too good of a time, wipe that smile off his face!" I
absolutely hate to fly... and this isn't anything to do with the Sept 11th
tragedy. I used to fly quite often until a few years ago. I was on the
flight from hell. Out of 97 passengers and crew, only myself and 3 others
didn't upchuck all over the place... some people did worse. Pilot never
mentioned what was going on. And when even the attendants are losing it...
makes you think. I hate flying now and I will never ever fly Delta again.

Anyway, got into Durham, to the hotel... and waited. I was pretty positive
about the outcome, but knew enough to walk away if there was anything
majorly expensive to fix. From the phone conversations I had with the owner,
I was pretty sure the motor mounts would need replacing. Went on a 15 minute
test drive to check the trans(5th gear), cv joints and whatnot. Turned into
a 45 minute joy ride! Agreed to purchase the car, transferred ownership Wed
am and started my drive back to Tampa.

Except for a few rain storms, kept the windows rolled down, stereo up high
and babied the car home... didn't want to torque the engine too much, even
though the itch was there. Damn, these cars really like to run!

The car is Veil White, abs, sunroof and obviously a manual transmission. All
weather sealing, boots, paint and exterior trim are in excellent
condition... no hint or sign of rust at all(car was babied). The interior
looks brand spanking new... no discoloration, splitting, flaking, strange
odors, or stains. Only exception is the drivers side floor mat... worn spot
in the mat where his heel rested. Car only had a little over 55k on it, of
course the drive down to Tampa pushed it just over 56k. Of course I've also
got a knot in my right calf from the drive down. Been sissified over the
years with cruise control. About half way back, the pain went away. Either
the endorfin high kicked in, or my calf went numb. Course I'm limping this
morning as if I had been kneed in the thigh on the soccer field.

I feel as though I've won the lottery. I grinned all the way back home.
Didn't I start off by telling you my cheeks hurt?

Later,
Mark