PTO request

I guess the pandemic is truly over:I finally requested vacation time at work! The last two weeks of June will be the first time since the beginning of this COVID-19 mess that I’ll be taking time off. It coincides quite nicely with California’s plan to fully reopen on the June 15th. The possibilities are endless, even though there are no concrete plans as of this writing.

Given I still can’t yet visit Asian countries without a fortnight’s worth of quarantine, I really didn’t plan to take vacation this summer. Staying at home for two weeks just doesn’t have that much appeal to me. However, our manager is encouraging people to take time off. A friend of mine wants to go either up to the Pacific Northwest, or down south towards Los Angeles. So I figured why the heck not. Let’s see what those two weeks will develop into.

Difficult to say whether I will go back to traveling multiple times a year once everything truly goes back to normal. I rent a place now, so my disposable income isn’t what it used to be. Then again, I also don’t have a Porsche 911 GT3 to pay for and upkeep, so I reckon it all balances out. What will be weird is the first time I get back on an airplane. I wonder when I do fly again, if masks mandates will till a thing onboard. I’ll be wearing one for sure.

What I should do is take the BMW M2 on a road-trip. But have you seen the gas prices lately? The car does get around 25 miles to the gallon on the highway, so it shouldn’t be too bad taking it far away. The M2 could really use the miles. These days the only time I drive it is when I do my weekly grocery shopping, and visiting my parents across town. I am paying too much money for it to simply sit.

I think I’ll drive it somewhere far during some of the two weeks I have off in late June.

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Said grocery shopping.

Long term automotive goals

On the car forum I frequent yesterday - The Car Lounge - a user posted a question of “What long term automotive goals are you planning for?”, which created quite a thread, with many users chiming in with their respective plans and dreams for the future. It’s rather nice to see people remaining hopeful and optimistic, amidst these times of huge uncertainty, though I guess it’s a biased representation: those that have lost a job aren’t wont to post about their future car plans.

We count ourselves lucky.

Because of the massive uncertainty caused by the current COVID situation, my own long term automotive plans are quite simple: pay off the GT3 as soon as possible. Now is the perfect time to pay down debt: monthly expenses have gone way down since the lockdowns began, and with future prospects murky at best, I want to be as prepared as possible. That means to not be encumbered with a huge car note, should I need to move or find something else to do. Fortunately, I have about a new entry-level luxury sedan’s worth of payments left on the 911, so I have to say this plan is going quite well.

And if I come out of this coronavirus pandemic unscathed, then the plan is to keep the GT3 forever - it might be the last “fun car” I buy. With the automotive industry heading towards a landscape I don’t particularly like: turbocharging and electrification, is there even an opportunity to upgrade for those of us who preference analog feel and naturally-aspirated motors? My 911 is plenty fast as is, and it presents a level of enjoyment that I think I can be satisfied with for a very long time to come - I bought it with the intention of it being the “forever car”, after all.

Should I need another car for commuting purposes, I’ll likely lease something super cheaply. Contrary to popular belief, the automobile can indeed be just an appliance for us enthusiasts; each type of car has its purpose.

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Right now may not be the best time to be reading this book…

But a recession is coming

I am ready and itching to head off on another travel adventure. It’s been a solid two months since my return from Japan, and as typical with the ebb and flow of these things, I’ve physically and mentally recovered, and recharged to set off again.

Of course, I don’t have nearly that much freedom from work to be able to skip town every two months, nor do I have the appropriate budget to do so. Indeed, the trip to Japan drained quite a bit of my cash reserves; a stash that was already lower than previous years due to my purchase of the GT3. I’m going to need at least a few more months to store back up the reserves, so even though I’m pining for another escape, the smart thing to do is to enact austerity.

Besides, I’ll be making my annual trip back home to China come the end of December. What’s another three more months of waiting, honestly. More importantly, homecoming trips don’t cost me any money because our family uses the proceeds from our rental property in China to fund it. Otherwise, I don’t think I’d be making the trip this year.

Because the recession is looming, and I think it’s important to batten down the hatches for such an event. Perhaps it’s idiosyncratic to my San Francisco locality, but I am seeing the recession signs all around: vacant storefronts, restaurants closing down, houses not selling, and rooms not renting out. Things definitely don’t look as prosperous as the stock market and unemployment numbers would indicate.

There are similar signs as well in an area near and dear to my proclivities: the automobile. The recent car auctions in Monterey back in August saw a 34% drop compared to 2018 results. You know things are turning sour when ultra rich people are holding off spending their free cash. Just yesterday, Subaru announced its first month of decline in sales after a streak of 93 months (almost eight years!) consecutive growth. That’s the proverbial canary in the coal mine stuff, and the entire auto industry in a downturn now.

I don’t think I’ll stop traveling if and when the recession happens, god willing that I myself don’t get laid off from employment, but for sure I need to build back up the war chest so to speak, for the next rainy day.

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Anywhere you go, there you are.