MsPerky

Bill and David!! Thanks for making it official. Hope to see more posts.

Hertz Donut

I don't know if I'm doing this right buuut...

Greetings, I'm Matt, and I live in God's Bonus Track, also know as New Zealand, waaaay down here near the butt-crack of the world. It's a strange country in that we use all the funny measurements like kilometers, and we spell words like "colour" in an unnecessarily extended manner. Also, it's alu-MINI-um, not a-LOO-minnum, thanks for asking.

I'm 45 years old, married with 2 kids. I spend my days hating working in IT and dreaming of the day we finally find a decent plot of land to move an old house onto so I can make good use of my extensive array of tools that are currently piled up in the corner of the garage of the house we're renting. We've renovated a few houses in the past but we're looking for our "forever" home now and want this to be the last move other than the final pine box ride. I'd much rather be lifting heavy things and smashing stuff than sitting at a desk all day, so we're also hoping to eventually start farming organic produce so I can quit and be a generally nicer person to be around.

Previously I was an administrator for the NZ Honda club but drifted away from it with the onset of fatherhood, and now it's time to have some motoring fun again. I bought my AP1 (MY2000 NFR, NZ new, 64K miles) because my wife used to be an accountant, so if I was ever going to have a fun car again and remain married it would have to be something that wouldn't halve in value every year. Also because I always wanted one. Heh.

Should I be accepted into this fine community I promise to overshare and generally ramble incoherently at strange times of the night as I also do a fair bit of overtime. We'll probably never meet in person without one of us spending thousands on air travel, sorry.

Thank you for your pixels.

MsPerky

and welcome!

buckeyesue

Hello Hertz Donut,

It sounds as if you are going to be a fun addition to our "fine community."

I'm thinking that in New Zealand, you are something like 18 hours ahead of many of us here in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.

Right now, it is about 8:00 pm Monday night here in Ohio. Is it about 2:00 pm Tuesday afternoon where you are?

S1997

Hertz Donut

Spot on. It's also Summer here right now, and a lovely 82 degrees (Fahrenheit, not Celsius...) so perfect drop-top weather.

...and thanks for the kind greetings.

canberra

Welcome aboard, Matt.... from one AP1 NFR owner to another. The 'canberra' moniker is not a reference to your neighboring country's Capitol, but is a tribute to the British designed jet bomber that us Yanks 'borrowed' and called the Canberra. I think there may still be one or two flying in your neck of the woods. We are in the currently quite cold MId-Atlantic part of the east coast of the U.S. Looking forward to hearing of your motoring mischief and adventures.

Hertz Donut

Thanks for the welcome canberra, It's been a while since I've made it to any airshows but yes I believe there are a couple around, I know one's in the RNZAF museum in Christchurch*. Closest I get to airshows these days is when the Art Deco weekend is on in Napier**, and we have an assortment of '20s, '30s and WWII-era aircraft do flyovers and aerial displays. I did make it to the aircraft museum in Auckland*** last year where one of our last Air Force fighters (a Douglas A4K Skyhawk) is on display, along with a lovely old Lancaster and a number of smaller aircraft.

Sadly our Air Force has been gutted to the point it's useful for little more than border patrols, search and rescue and humanitarian efforts. We were due to upgrade the A4s to F16s about 20 years ago but the government of the day pulled the plug and now we just smile sweetly at any threats and hope our relationship with our allies doesn't sour.

* https://www.airforcemuseum.co.nz/
** https://www.artdeconapier.com/Events...ll+Events.html - on this weekend! I don't expect any of you to make it this year...
*** https://www.motat.org.nz/exhibitions...ation-display/

Johnsfolly

Maybe this is the room for me?
I'm getting old. Noticed it about a year and a half ago.
My wife suggested I sell my vintage racing MG and take up knitting or gardening. I bought an '05 S2k after my 70th birthday last year and put 6,000 miles on it in the first 7 months. She was chagrined, to say the least.
The seats make my legs fall asleep, but I only notice below 8,000 RPM. Sitting on a little pillow helps. Bought the car from a 87 year-old retired Lutheran minister whose girlfriend wanted an Audi convertible. He never complained about his legs falling asleep. But I never saw his girlfriend either. Maybe I should trade my pillow for a truckstop waitress.
--John

MsPerky

Welcome, John. You've got quite the sense of humor. Speaking of legs, you might be pulling ours. If not, I think you are in the right place.