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May 2009
At this time, five months ago we were standing outside our council housing battling to get our front door open … We were in a strange country with strange people… absolutely helpless, with no mobile, and no mobile number to phone.
Just as we were about to lose all hope, the key hit a sweet spot and the door was flung wide open.
And what I’ve learnt from that night five months ago is that without a bit of effort you’ll never find that so called sweet spot… and the doors will never open.
A couple of days after landing we picked up our (t)rusty steed from dear ‘ol Bob. It took all the effort in the world that evening to control my urge to run a mile. I understood the fact (as every male pointed out) that she was just something that would get us from A to B…
But geez, she was unattractive. And the first time I had to climb in the passenger seat my heart sank…
Her faux sheep skin seats and her carpeted dash made me gag… and all I could think of was the Aussie creepy crawlies imbedded in the fibres. Come to think of it I’m sure Horatio Cain would have had a field day!
Rebecca had earlier remarked that she had thought we were picking up the Holden Lumina that had been parked alongside Mitsi… And oh, how I had wished the same.
But we drove off… and just as I thought, well it wasn’t all THAT bad the Garmin bounced off the windscreen from all the vibrations of the rattling car!
It’s strange though… with all Mitsi’s quirks we sure have all grown to love her…
We’ve learnt that if we place a sheet of metal under her, the dripping oil won’t stain the driveway… we’ve adapted to the fact that the driver’s door can only be opened by reaching over from the passenger side and not the key. We’ve leant that she needs at least a litre of water every morning and at least a litre of oil every fortnight… Bern’s learnt how to handle her on chilly mornings when all she wants to do is stay put…
And as much as I could go on about Mitsi’s quirks, I have to mention that for the past five months she has got us from A to B… safe and sound…and best of all we no longer have Aussie tailgaters… because with one sturdy foot on the accelerator she blasts out the worst oil ridden puff of smoke imaginable.
That’s a gal Mitsi… you make us proud.
Mitsi will no longer be the family car, and will be sidelined as the new school and work runabout.
Bern’s been waiting ever so patiently for his probation period at work to end… Every evening drooling over 4x4’s and such like… Thankfully on Thursday, he managed to secure a loan….
From there it was all about securing the car.
We took a drive to the hills to test drive a real beauty… A 3.0 litre V6 Ford Escape that seemed just too good to be true… The seller was really cool, and we were both pretty relaxed until he mentioned that seeing as he was a policeman he’d better check Bern’s licence… GULP… poor Bern… I couldn’t help but think he must had felt like he was having to redo his licence all over again – only this time with a policeman directing him… you know, turn left in 300m, now right… easy here… to your left, clear this side… Without really any real negotiation, we both decided this car was the one. Friday, Bern secured the cheque and that afternoon we headed for the hills… only this time in a taxi (what? You didn’t expect me to drive Mitsi did you?)…
And being the talkative types that we are, we found out that our taxi driver happened to be the dad of one of Rebecca’s friends at school (luckily he didn’t know it was in fact our daughter that got sent to the principal for pushing his son). Anyway, to cut a long story short we arrived to exchange cheque and car… and then realised that in all my excitement I had left Bern’s mobile in the taxi… Had it had been in South Africa… we wouldn’t have even bothered trying to retrieve it. We tried to call Bern’s phone, and just as we were about to give up… we received a call, it was the driver… he had the phone, and he was back on his way to us.
Just goes to show, a little friendliness can never do any harm.
And in keeping with tradition, we’ve given the new addition a name… Homer. And he’s real hot! He unlocks doors and opens windows all by himself, and can even control his speed if instructed. Poor Mitsi, she must feel even more sheepish now, being parked next to such a brute!
Homer’s already done us proud… He collected our new little bundle of joy from the RSPCA today… and drove like a machine through wind and rain…
We left pretty early, and arrived 10 minutes before they opened. What we hadn’t anticipated were all the other people that had the same thoughts in mind. I couldn’t believe the queue of cars waiting to get in…
Having reported at reception we were guided to the cattery… and introduced to the kittens in line for adoption. Our second choice proved to be the kitten for us… a confident little soul with a very fluffy body that craved the affection of humans just as must as we craved the affection from him.
We’ve called him Cola… he’s been caught a few times today with his head in Bern’s coke glass…
And, as I’m typing this I can feel his little body cuddled by my side… Five months into our journey and I know we’ve done the right thing...
We’ve found that sweet spot… in the land of Oz…
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