This was unexpected...

So you know what?

I don't really like the interior of the MINI that much.

I'm completely shocked. We went for a test drive yesterday (well Andy drove - we stopped and I sat behind the wheel for a moment so that I could get a feel for the car) and the car was great! I loved the outside obviously and the windows and seats were great.

But what is with all the dials? I don't know. If I didn't find it super distracting, then I thought it was really cheezy (read ugggggggggg-leee). Entirely over-branded.

I don't quite know what to do with his information.

Overall we liked it, but we're headed out today to look at different cars.

Wow, I'm still a little shocked.

MINI Shopping

I am going MINI shopping today! I am very excited. I wore special MINI shopping shoes and apparently I already look like a MINI driver. If they actually have a British Racing Green Automatic for us to test drive, well, I just may pee my pants I'd be so excited.

Mind you, Andy will be doing the actual test drive - stupid laws about not allowing learners to test drive new vehicles. And this is only the first stop of many this weekend as we hunt out a car for me to learn to drive on.

But it would be - just. so. great. If I got a MINI.

Dare to dream kiddies.

Long time no post but exciting news nonetheless

Well friends it's been a while since I've posted. You know how life can get in the way; I had a birthday party to plan, we're moving and then there's that special trip we're taking in the fall.

Rest assured that I haven't forgotten about the best game in the world. Andy and I have been playing each and every day. And just when I think I've beaten him for the round, he comes from behind and takes the day. Stupid world's best player luck!

But onto some really exciting news - I might be buying a MINI.

Gasp - I know. I am super excited about it.

Anyways, due to a change in circumstances it looks like I'll be needing a car of my own. Yes, I need to finish getting my license, but it's about baby steps kiddies-I'll deal with that after I finish moving.

So I started to look at some cars online. Not at anything special - just crappy cars like the Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent and the Honda Civic. Well not crappy - just nothing that would get your pulse racing. So after I changed the transmission to automatic, and added AC most of these cars were coming in at $18000 + (Yes I realize I would be able to get a better price by going into a dealer, but this was just for me to get a ballpark). That friends is a lot of money to spend on something you're not thrilled with.

Anyhoo I went online to MINI and thought maybe I could buy a used one. But the majority of used ones are well over $20K. I looked at what a new one would cost (couldn't hurt, right?) and you know what, I think the extra dough just might be worth it.

I just might realize the dream kiddies. Not the gold dream, but the Metallic British Racing Green and Black Racing Stripes dream.

Sherway is the centre of the MINI universe

I swear that it is. Every time we go to Sherway Gardens a slugfest ensues. Even more so than on College West or in the Annex.

Andy and I went to get my birthday present (round 14) and it was seriously the sheer volume of MINIs that were either parked by the mall or driving around it. I wonder why this is. It's in a very suburban area, otherwise know as the playground of SUVs and Mini vans.

But this mall seems like a vortex dragging any and all MINIs in Toronto and the surrounding area towards it.

Of course Andy once again proved why he is grand supreme little darling, but I managed to hold my own a little better than usual.

Only a bird...

It's raining here today and this is how I feel - caged and not able to get out, stretch my legs and clear my head. On top of everything, the temperature has nosedived. Definitely not a MINI Convertable kind of day.

A great article

The Toronto Star had a great article written by Jim Kenzie about our nearest and dearest car.

Fun factoids include are that the MINI came about due to the Suez Crisis in 1956 in response to the high price of gas (I see not much has changed) and that the first Mini rolled off the assembly line on May 8, 1059 (making it a Taurus).

For all of us MINI lovers, it's worth a read.

Skooled

Went out with Andy on Sunday to have small pre-anniversary celebration and I got schooled. It was like my sunglasses filtered out everything and all that was MINI. And even though I rallied a bit in the last quarter, he outplayed me. To the max.

He even PMPPed me - it was shameful.

When you can advertise your birthday...

Andy snapped this pic for me over the weekend. Must be nice to take out a billboard to advertise your birthday. I wonder if this isn't just a present grab.

Someone is celebrating a birthday...

...and yes, I am too. But more importantly MINI is celebrating 50 years this year!

A whole half a century, that is quite the achievement. How many cars can you think of that have been around that long? I can't think of any, mind you, I don't know much about cars.

But I know what I like, and I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my favourite car! Here's to another 50 years of racing stripes and Union Jacks! Thank you for inspiring the best game ever, even though I get bruised more often than not. And baby, you don't look a day over 35!

Friends, don't forget to punch your partner in celebration.

Well Done

Wings were had. Beer was drank. And what an amazing round of Punch-Mini.

Seriously, having multi-players in the car was a lot of fun. Sometimes as I punched Andy, my brother was punching me. Other times Andy would elbow my brother while nailing my shoulder. Even though it seemed like my brother was at a disadvantage, he played like a super-champ and got me a few times.

Although it was confirmed that my mojo is still officially gone, I did manage to get the one and only MINI we saw in Buffalo. And, thankfully, even though I was the official loser on the trip down, I did manage to spot the MINI dealership on the way back and I evened up the score. Of course, Andy flexed his superior game playing skills, in spite of driving (and waiting) for almost 5 hours, and remains the grand supreme little darling.

In this case, 3 is most definitely better than 2.

Shuffling off...

...to Buffalo. My little bro turned 21 last month so we're taking him for beer and wings in Buffalo. Why you ask? Well why not friends? Anchor Bar is an experience that every true wing lover should experience. Besides what better way to waste a Sunday away than with driving, good tunes and family. Oh and some of the best wings and beer on the planet (we loves the Sam Adams)

Don't worry mom, we won't drink and drive.

Of course this means we have a trifecta to Punch-Mini players in the car. This could be an interesting road trip.

Um HOW do I get one of these?

Hollee coolness Batman! The moment I saw this mentioned, I furiously googled it to see how I could get my hands on one of these. I would even trade in my beloved Air Miles Mastercard for one of these beauties (baby, we already have our tickets to Italy, so it wouldn't be a big deal).

And it is so cool - The MINI on the card is fully customizable. You can choose the model, colour, extras (like a Union Jack roof) and the tires. And you can collect MINI Motoring rewards that you can use to by stuff on the MINI store! This just may be the coolest fricken credit card out there!

But, of course, it's only available in the US. There isn't a Canadian bank that carries this card. To paraphrase another infamous credit card company, critical mass has its privileges.

I want MyMINI Visa :(

Perils Of Punch-Mini - Part Deux

So this past weekend, Andy and I experienced another peril of Punch-Mini that I thought y'all should be aware of.

So you're looking ahead when you see a beautiful Mini driving towards you. So you gear up to punch your partner. Only they have seen it too, and suddenly your fists collide.

And I don't know what caused this? Maybe your brief, momentary admiration of the vehicle caused the ever-so-slight hesitation, maybe your partner was in a position to see it a fraction of a second before you? Who knows.

Usually one person wins and the other person has sore knuckles. The other person was me.

Be careful players - make sure your punches are clean and that they connect.

And the Captain Obvious Award goes to...

As you know, Andy is the Grand-Supreme Punch-Mini champion. 9 times out of 10, he's either a fraction ahead of me or I'm somewhere off in la-la land and miss it completely.

This was not the case on Friday...we went out on a late dinner run. Driving back, he even got me for a Mini on the other side of the road. As we were turning into our street, my mouth dropped open and I had to do a double take. How long it had been there, I had no idea, but right in front of us was the backside of a Mini-Cooper.

And Andy was completely oblivious to it.

I got him good :)

So while he does reign Grand-Supreme Little Darling, he is also holds the title of Captain Obvious.

Don't worry baby, I'm sure I'll win it back any day now.

Disagreement in the ranks

Well Andy thinks that he should have been consulted in regards to the rule around Mini owners, being the grand supreme little darling champion and all.

I think I was being more than accommodating to those people who wanted a more moderate approach.

Supreme Punch-Mini judge rules, fair ruling - play as decreed.

Carry on

We never decided...

...on what to do when you see one of those proud Mini owners. While I swear I am not a violent person (I swear), I did advocate for pounding the bejesus out of them (yes, bejesus). Others lobbied for a more moderate approach.

FINE FINE, have it your way. Pftt, moderates!

So the rule around Mini owners is this: When you see a Mini owner, you must:

A) be the first person within your group of players to spot them by pointing and screaming MINI-OWNER! Only when you have done this are you allowed to punch the Mini owner ONCE on the shoulder.

After you have done this you are then allowed to:

B) punch each of your fellow Punch-Mini players 3 times. This gives you a total of 4 punches per Mini owner.

That is the rule, so decreed by me.

Although I still think my way would have been more fun.*

*Please be aware that I reserve the right to change this rule in the future at my discretion. Thank you.

To Tell or not to tell?

THAT, my friends, is the question today.

Should you let somebody who hasn't played Punch-Mini before in on the game, or should you wait until after the first punch is thrown? Do you tell the unsuspecting person about the game before or after you see a Mini with them? Seriously folks, these are the kinds of questions that keep me up at night.

I see this as a personal preference, really. Personally, I'm the punch-then-tell kind of person; it keeps things more lively. Heck, I didn't even tell my own mother about the game until after I punched her in the shoulder. I remember the day well: we were coming from getting our nails done, standing at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn. Then a Mini drove by; of course I punched her out of habit. (and of course I had a lot of explaining to do after I did)

I consider it initiation; I mean if you DON'T know about the game before the first punch, the uninitiated will surely remember it afterwards. Besides, it's always great fun hauling off on an unwary person, doncha think?

I swear I'm not a violent person.

Miami was grrrrreat

So yeah Miami was great - it was sunny and hot and the ocean was warm and the food as great and there were Minis-a-plenty.

We were driving over the bridge from the city to South Beach and I while I was concentrating on the sunshine and palm trees Andy was seeing Minis left and right. I eventually clued in about 2 days later and started settling the score.

The sheer volume really surprised me - you know I love the Mini but it doesn't scream implants and snobbery. What also surprised me was that there wasn't a lot of convertibles - you'd think in the land of the sun there would be. And in true MIA fashion, there were a lot of custom paint jobs, tinted windows, and oh yeah, all sorts of crazy rims.

So yah it was a good trip; I miss walking around in sandals and tank tops and I've been super sick since I got home. Oh well, it's the price you pay :)

Mightier than the Mini?

So besides gathering a few new bruises in Miami last week (thanks Andy!), I also managed to pick up a mighty sunburn. Sun-starved Canuck sees sunshine and warmth for the first time in 6 months and over-does it, you know how it goes. So basically I lost a day and had to stay inside the hotel room, applying aloe gel and watching tv. That's when I saw THIS commercial...

For reals? A cape and a lightening bolt logo does not make the Suzuki SX4 mightier than the Mini. it's still a giant vehicle compaired to the Mini. Whateves!

Whon-whon!

Try again - re-éssayez.

WHOA!

Maybe this is what should happen when you see a Mini owner? Nah I'm just joshin' What a crazy wreck! Kinda sad actually; how could someone let this happen to their beautiful Mini?

Just sharing, because sharing is caring.