Heyya, everyone! My beau puchased a BMW CCA membership for me for Valentine's Day, so I figured I'd finally get around to making use of the forums. I am a bit of a convert! Prior to us meeting in late '07, I had ridden public transit for a full decade, and had generally scorned automobiles in general, and German luxury cars in particular. He had an adorable E30 convertible, which as you can imagine, started growing on me. We started dating in late '08, and between my increasing pay grade, frustration with the floundering transit system, and his insistence that we go for a test drive in 'the best car'. The first time, we left the salesman in despair, but we remembered his name, and a few weeks later, asked for him to make our purchase. I wound up getting my hooks into a CPO '06 Z4 3.0si roadster. This would technically be my first car. For the first four days, I wrestled with buyer's regret. The streets of Atlanta are an absolute terror for anyone low on the ground, but it didn't take too long for me become much more comfortable and confident. Once I started driving into work on a regular basis, there hasn't been a morning that I haven't slid into the parking deck with a smile on my face. Co-workers praised me getting the car because I loved it and /drove/ it, versus others buying it for the name only. The road-trip to northern California in '09 cemented my love for this lil' beaut. Got to explore old, OLD Rte. 66, in the classic 'almost out of gas' and 'ravens cawing our doom out in the middle of nowhere' schtick, toured the Pacific highways, and even snuck her out onto the Bonneville Salt Flats for some redline adventure. So much fun! <3 Everyone laughs at me when I talk about trading her for a 4 seat vehicle once Ed (no, not hamiltoned) and I start having kids. I think they've got me figured out!
I hear ya, sistah! Yes, I went through the entire gamut of WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! when buying my roadster: I mean, kids in Bangladesh ain't got no wheels atall, now, have they? It's been over three years, and I still feel an odd sort of guilt: As Vonnegut put it, "We got so much, and most. . . got so little." But I must also confess an enormous glee derived from every hour spent in the roadster. There aren't many things that can generate that sort of joy these days!
Thanks for the warm welcome, Satch! And yeah, it didn't take too long for me to not regret the decision after all. Also, here's an obligatory pic of the human since someone asked!
That was taken at the North Pole. Actually about 30 miles away... in the early 90's. I retired in 2004. After 24 years of pushing Submarines around the world, I figured it was time to go and start a new career. 2003 transiting into Bahrain. After retirement. Before I bought the MC.
Das Boot You know, one member of the BMW CCA Board is a submariner (retired). . . and one of my close friends here in SoSoCal drove a submarine for many years. Of course, this IS a Navy town, after all! Alas, he drives a fixed-roof Sixer!
