Monday 3 September 2007

On the Move


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Well, I finally did it - I got a car! And it's awesome! It may be a little on the oldish side (it's only from 1993... it's not like I hadn't been born yet!) but it's in great condition. And it drives really well. So far, I love it. It did take a little getting used to... it has a choke, which I have to use for the first few kilometers, apparently. And the clutch is way higher than I'm used to. Man, the first time I drove it, I must have stalled once every mile or so. Certainly every time I stopped the car. But after the first drive, I've gotten much more used to it, and I'm becoming a superb driver! Driving on the left is actually surprisingly easy, though... by far the hardest thing is the rearview mirror, which is totally not in the spot I keep expecting it to be, and it's pointing in a weird direction. I haven't really gotten used to that, yet. But it's all comin' together...

Speaking of driving, though, I had quite a shock this morning driving to work. As I was putt-putting along the highway, this dude on a motorbike scooted between the two lanes of (annoyingly heavy) traffic. When he was about three car lengths ahead of me, someone went to change lanes, and smacked directly into the guy, and he went flying off of his bike onto the side of the road! It was really dramatic and scary. I don't know if the guy was alright or not, even - when I passed where it had happened, there were people all around him, but he was lying straight out on the side of the road, not moving. At least he had a helmet on, but still... holy shit. If I had been thinking of riding a motorcycle, that convinced me that it's not a good idea... so easy to get absolutely knocked to hell - the traffic was barely moving even! I think it was mainly the motorbike dude's own momentum which screwed him - the knocking car was changing lanes from a dead stop. Jeez.

In other news, I also moved house this weekend. I moved from this dormitory style apartment complex called Forest Hill to this add on apartment belonging to this really sweet old landlord, John. It's a little smaller, but way cozier and cheaper (old place: R3000 ~ $400, new place: R2000 ~ $300). And it has a KICK-ASS backyard! Totally going to be doing some braaiing (South African BBQing) when the weather gets nicer. So I'm slowly getting myself acclimated to living here in Cape Town... actually, I think I'm accomplishing this pretty fast - a car, an apartment, a job, and I've only been here one month! Not bad, I say...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that a yard monkey in the back seat?

Anonymous said...

A nice back yard? You know what we are all thinking will be in there?

Julia said...

Hey Alex! It's nice to know what you're up to. Keep up the blogging for those of us who don't keep in such good contact, but want to hear about your adventures nonetheless.

Unknown said...

A car, an apartment, and a blog. all together too grownup, I say. So glad you are thriving and keeping those of us so far away in the loop with all of your adventures! I am totally going to start talking about TOE and AdS/CFT at the next party I go to. It will make me seem quite clever. Until the ice luge really gets flowin, that is. love you! -mandy-

Anonymous said...

i am so proud of what i've started here, Alex. i bet you got a place with a yard just so you could take lots of pictures of your yard monkeys. maybe make friends with them, train them to do your dishes, tie you shoes, juggle. this is a very exciting time for you, my friend. treasure it. i predict that by the end of you year, you'll have gotten rid of that crappy little white car that looks like the one that caused me to get 8 stiches in my forehead when i was 11, so that you can spend more time with your dearly beloved yard monkeys. either that or you'll be using the car to take your yard monkey circus on the road, on a pan-african tour. ALEX HAMILTON AND HIS AMAZING YARD MONKEYS

Andy said...

I like your car. Will you drive me to KwaZulu in it? Please?

Is there a lack of old cars due to pre-1994 sanctions?

Alex said...

Andy - No, in fact, mine is from '93! Meaning that I would severely not trust it to drive to KwaZulu-Natal... you break down in the wild man, and you get eaten by lions... now THAT'S hardcore!

Alex said...

Jamie, what you have started has spiraled out of control. Yard monkeys are like Tinkerbell - they cease to exist if you don't believe in them. The increased attention they now enjoy across the web has boosted their power base enormously. In fact, they are, at the moment, sitting in my nice yard, drinking Brass Monkey, and getting me to tie THEIR shoes, do the dishes, etc... AND they're taking me on the road as YARD MONKEYS' GREAT HAMILTONIAN CIRCUS. They have me performing various String Theory acts of wonder (like creating 10 dimensions, etc.). Jokes on them, though - nobody cares, and they will eventually lose money on their investment...