Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Can you though?

As a car enthusiast of over two decades, I am extremely familiar with stretching our dollars in order to buy cars. People spend money on eating out, we spend it on cars. If I weren’t a car enthusiast with a penchant for switching (brand-new) rides every three years, I would have immensely more wealth in investment accounts right now.

Obviously, they don’t give out medals for having the most money going to the grave. In this life you got to spend your money on something. It’s all about balance.

What my brother is planning to do is very far off balance. He’s put in an order for a car that is three times his annual income. Fair enough: he’s been saving diligently for as big a downpayment as possible. And apparently, with “exotic” cars, there exist banking services that would finance them for far longer terms than the typical mainstream vehicle. That is how my brother plan to “afford” this supposedly incoming car.

I’m sure the man-maths are working overtime to justify this move. However, the mistake is trusting the numbers on paper are static. Just look at recent inflation: gas, insurance, and maintenance costs have increased dramatically. The monthly fixed costs seem to be going ever higher. I guess my brother can save on gas by not driving the car, but then… what the heck is the point?

Then there’s the variable costs, with life being the variable. Pinching every possible penny to afford a car means any surprises down the proverbial road - and there’s always going to be surprises - will put my brother into the negative immediately. Can he afford an unscheduled wheel and tire replacement (unfortunate encounter with a pothole, let’s say) when he can barely afford the monthly payments? The only way the math is going to work is if life goes absolutely perfect. That’s simply not possible.

I’ve told my brother all of this, of course. Hopefully it’s enough to steer him from an enormous financial albatross.

Not enough juice

We are about two months away from the annual new iPhone launch in September (typically). I cannot wait to get a new one this year, because the battery life on my current iPhone 14 Pro has been the worse I’ve ever used. (And I’ve had every single iPhone since the 7.) The iPhone is famous for robust battery life compared to the Android competition. In my experience, this has been very true. I’ve never had to plug my iPhone in mid-day to top up the battery ever. It’s never gone down past 20% at the end of the day even in my heaviest usage days.

That is, until the iPhone 14 Pro. 10 months in, the battery life have not held up to standards. These days I’m down to 20% by the time I get home from work in the early evening. Mind you this is without any heavy usage of social media apps whatsoever. I’m only chatting with friends on Signal and reading ebooks on Kindle. I joked to my friends that I’ve become just like them: having to charge the phone battery during the day, otherwise risk running out of juice.

The forthcoming iPhone 15 Pro could have zero new features - only improved battery life, and I would still happily do the yearly upgrade.

Obviously, this is the most first world of problems. Here’s some quick perspective to bring me back down to earth. A new coworker of mine recently remarked that in all of his previous jobs, he’s never had the major holidays off. In the typical service industry-type jobs, the holidays is when you definitely have to show up for work. That’s where the money is made: restaurants needs tables filled, shows need to go on, and parcels need delivering. That coworker’s remark is a humbling reminder that I’m so lucky to only have had jobs where major holidays are actually a thing.

It reminded me of my younger (than me by 10 years) brother. He’s currently working his way up from the bottom at entry-level service jobs. There are no holidays off. And should he wish to take any time off, he has to find others to cover his shift. A two week vacation? He can certainly take one, but just don’t come back to work afterwards. It’s tough work for not that much pay. Fingers crossed he can eventually find a job that provide proper benefits and time off - like my coworker did.

An idiot and his money

So my brother bought another car. He’s already got a Mazda Miata roadster, and now has a Toyota Mirai to go along with it. Not sure where exactly where he’s getting the money from. The reason for the second car is to save mileage on the Miata. I find that absurd because cars are meant to be driven! Brother claims the long commute with a manual transmission is wrecking havoc on his left knee. I contend he instead needs to exercise and lose some weight.

The uniquely hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai does come with a $15,000 fuel card, which is definitely substantial in this era of super high gas prices. However, you can’t discount the fact my brother has already spent $25,000 to buy the car in the first place! I call this spending money to save money. The price of the Mirai can buy an enormous amount of gas for the Miata.

The move just doesn’t make sense to me, and I’m all for spending frivolously on cars! This is both of our primary hobby, after all. My brother’s Miata recently got some spendy upgrades to its suspension and exhaust. New wheels are coming soon as well. And he wants to drive this car less in favor of a second car? Then there’s the secondary ownership costs: licensing, insurance, and maintenance. He’s now paying that for two cars.

Perhaps I will be shown a hypocrite in the future when I do buy a Honda Civic Type R to supplement my BMW M2. I would say at least I’m buying something interesting that’s worth keeping long term. A hydrogen car in the world of rapid EV adoption? The Toyota Mirai is definitely not a long term play. Alas, what’s a guy in his mid 20s to do but spend non-disposable income, disposably?

There’s also parking to worry about for the second car.

No Internet

Due to various circumstances totally of his doing, my brother is banned from using any Internet-connected devices. That is surprisingly difficult these days because many things more than just smartphones and computers connect to the Internet. For example, my brother had to switch television units with my parents’ Samsung because it’s old enough to lack any smart capabilities. What about gaming consoles? Those have been connecting to the Internet since the PlayStation 3 era. Therefore my brother is relegated to the PS2’s 480P experience.

As standard, computer of any sort is not allowed. Feel the urge to check twitter? Spend a few hours into a Youtube rabbit hole? Too bad. Impossible. My brother’s phone is the flip kind aimed at retired seniors that can only do phone calls and text messages. For someone who grew up in the age of the Internet, this situation must be tough. At least I’m old enough to have some training. I didn’t get decently fast Internet until high school; my first smartphone happened during the fourth year of college!

So I’d like to think I can go back to monk mode without too much agony. A few years back I actually went a whole week without my iPhone. I was definitely forced to be present and notice my surroundings more. There wasn’t a tiny screen to distract me constantly. No podcasts or music to listen to, either.

If I were my brother, now would be the golden opportunity to hit the books hard. Read anything and everything that interests me. Perhaps learn a foreign language, or a musical instrument. I currently do all of that (Korean and the piano, respectively) without being banned from the Internet, but I’m wired differently. Taking the enticing options offered by Internet away, what else is there for my brother to do? For his sake I hope he picks up a regular exercise habit, too.

What would you do if you suddenly lost complete access to the Internet for a long period of months?

Tough week

How can it be a “short week” - due to the holiday on Monday - and yet it still feels interminable? The stress from work that I wrote about last week has not abated, though not that I expected it to. In the grand scheme of things, I should be happy that I am still employed, and free of the coronavirus.

And indeed it’s been a rather joyous week. The Biden inauguration signals a return of competence to the executive branch, putting an end to four years of Trump craziness. My littler brother - in some trouble with the law - found out he won’t have to serve time in prison during his sentencing hearing. An absolute act of mercy by the judge. Hopefully my brother can truly begin to turn his life around from the transgression. His debt to society will be paid, just not in a jail cell.

I shouldn’t let the burden of work overshadow such happy events, but it’s tough.

What I really want to do this weekend is take the M2 out for long drives. Problem is, we are still in a stay-at-home lockdown situation. While the chances of me contracting the virus is very slim - it’s just me alone in a car; what happens if I get into a heavy accident? I’d be taking up a precious ICU bed from a hospital system that’s already running dangerously low. Besides, I’ve heard that people who live near the mountain roads are quite sick of us enthusiasts blasting through them in our fast sports cars. The BMW badge screams douche, doesn’t it?

The vaccine can’t be proliferated fast enough. I’ve signed up for San Francisco’s COVID vaccine notification. Working in education, and having to physically go to work, means I’m in the tier just after the initial one. Difficult to say when Phase 1B Tier 1 will get our shots, but I’m optimistic it will be soon (we have a competent federal response now, remember). I eagerly await the email.

Until then, I’m staying put at home. Seeing my friend utterly struggle with COVID symptoms have reaffirmed my thinking that the risk of going outside is not worth the momentary rewards.

New car unlucky

It seems my somewhat rash action of trading in the 911 GT3 for a BMW M2 Competition have inspired my brother to do the same. He recently sold his Audi A3 to CarMax for a surprisingly large sum (the used car market is absolutely on fire) and is now the proud owner of a brand new Mazda MX-5 Miata.

Emphasis on owner, because he’s not really driven the car much since he bought it home some two weeks ago. On a cruise to Monterey during the weekend of purchase, the car threw a check-engine-light on the highway and went into limp mode. A brief stint at the dealership found everything to be okay, though after a few days the CEL returned, and as of writing the car is still at the servicing department, on a hoist with the transmission taken out.

At least they’ve provided my brother with a courtesy car.

Sometimes the luck of the draw is just not in your favor, but that’s not something my brother can control. Good news is it’s a brand new car, so the MX-5 will get repaired to proper standards without costing him a dime. The powertrain warranty covers the next five years of driving, so there’s really nothing to worry about. If my brother’s car buying patterns continues (I certainly hope not), he won’t even see the end of that five years with the Miata anyways.

If the dealership cannot fix the problem, then Mazda will be compelled by California lemon law to buyback the car. If that comes to pass, my brother will simply get another MX-5. The ND2 generation of the iconic Mazda sports car is indeed too sublime and fun to forsake just because the sample he purchased happens to have a few gremlins to sort through.

I look forward to many blasts through the local mountains with my brother once his new car is fixed.

This is not going to help my wanderlust.

Thankful for the gig

With the enhanced federal unemployment benefits having expired earlier this month, my brother - who was laid off at the beginning of this pandemic - had no choice but to look for work again. Due to personal extenuating circumstances and other factors, my brother can’t exactly return to the retail automotive sector he was working in prior to the lockdowns. Indeed, it would be quite a difficult time for him right now on the job hunt if not for the saving grace of a recent invention: the gig economy.

For the many discussed ills of the gig economy, the existence of it has really saved my brother’s bacon in terms of providing a source of income during these coronavirus times. The sheer ease of access - all you need is a mobile phone and a car - to begin working for these apps is incredible, and the ability to set your own schedule means my brother can still keep his preferred mode of sleeping in (not that DoorDash is really popping during those morning hours anyways). I am happy and grateful for the gig economy in helping people like my brother to easily keep earning money. I can’t imagine the scenario otherwise, honestly.

Of course, it has to be said that my brother only has to make enough money for his own spending: he is in a privileged position of not having to pay rent or carry a household with the income earned. I think those situations are where the gig economy garners its negative reputation: it’s tremendously hard work, with super long hours, in order to make an adequate amount of money to support a family while driving for UBER or delivering groceries for Instacart. We’ve all read the new articles: it’s really tough work, with zero health benefits because these gig workers are treated as independent contractors.

All things considered, my brother is lucky to not be in such a position, and that the gig economy exist to help him make some money and go through this rough period before his personal issues get completely settled.