"RacecaR" (RacecaR)
05/05/2014 at 10:51 • Filed to: None
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"RacecaR" (RacecaR)
05/05/2014 at 10:51 • Filed to: None | 0
| 17 |
So I just moved into our new house this weekend. My wife pretty much knows the neighbors there from our daughter and their daughter being in the same class, and the woman who lives there took our family photos last year.
So as we were moving in Saturday, they invite us over to a bonfire party they were having that night. Me not being a big social person, I was not looking forward to it, but figured I should be neighborly and go. Ended up being a good time. A few other neighborhood people showed up, and some other people I had briefly met because they also have kids in my daughter's class.
Since we were the new people to the group, we were asked questions. One was to me. It was, "So, I saw you moving an engine in last week. Are you mechanical and all that?" I laughed and said no, but I try. I basically said I enjoy driving cars, but like to modify them to make it more exciting. And that I also try and take care of the cars myself when I can. Then it went on to other parts of discussion, including our neighbor trying to sell me his broken lawn mower so I can modify it to go faster, after I fix it of course.
The next day (yesterday) as I was mowing the lawn at the old house, it hit me. I should have said "Have you seen any of the fast and furious movies? I'm like that, but less over-the-top, and was doing it before that movie came out."
Wish I would have thought of that Saturday night.
So how do you "introduce" new people to your hobby when asked about it. And I know there was this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but I am talking just in quick conversations. Like when you meet someone at a cocktail party.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Now have the Eclipse that launched a thousand ricers.
CalzoneGolem
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 10:55 |
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I explain myself to no man.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 10:57 |
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My explanation is just simply, I like cars.
Mattbob
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:04 |
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When it gets to the point where they ask "so why would you buy a car you have to work on?" I just change the subject or walk away. Some people can't wrap their heads around it, or think its some kind of joke. Or they think you are just one of those poors who has to fix their own car.
William Byrd
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:06 |
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At least you are mechanical (if you're hauling an engine around, you're a certified wrencher) I am not really. Which confuses people. The first question they ask when I say I'm a huge car guy, is "oh so you work on cars". Not really. I changed a battery once, damn thing started right up!
I tend to point out that I'm a big car guy and write for an automotive blog in my spare time. That seems to make them understand, or at least stop asking questions.
Lekker
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:14 |
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Sadly the only two people I've tried explaining it to didn't care, nor did they understand. So after a few words, I changed the topic. The best explanation I've "used" was that I admire the technology and complexity of cars, and enjoy driving them fast around a track or just in general driving.
Camry-Into-Canyon
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:15 |
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I play them the sound of my people.
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RacecaR
> William Byrd
05/05/2014 at 11:18 |
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But I'm not all that mechanical. I am good at pulling engines OUT. Getting them back in is my achilles heel.
But I will do pretty much anything else. Work on brakes, suspension, parts of the engine (as long as the engine is still IN the car), stuff like that.
I enjoy cars and driving cars more. But I would rather be working on a car, than sitting in a parking lot looking at other cars.
So I guess it would go like this: driving>working on cars>watching/reading something about cars>talking about cars>walking around a car show>entering a car into a car show
HammerheadFistpunch
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:24 |
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You know sports? Its like that
The Revengel
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 11:42 |
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*Danger to manifold*
Normally I simply say that cars are my first love. When I get a "Whaddayamean?" I let them know that I've loved cars since I was a kid. I like hearing them, driving them, etc. when F&F comes up I tend to geek out a bit - just from the sheer enjoyment of it all. Like when I talk motorcycles with someone I base my depth on the interest of the person.
So the short version of each is to state that I love each (cars, bikes) and expand only slightly from there.
BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
> William Byrd
05/05/2014 at 11:52 |
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I'm the same way. When asked if I work on cars I say no because that's not where my skill level or passion comes in. I tell them I focus more on the driver's POV. I wanna know how everything in the car feels. Is the suspension hard or soft? Is the engine torquey or do I have to rev it? How precise is the transmission?
Sometimes I do get the glazed over eyes from this one, but sometimes this can light a lightbulb in someone head like "Oh! I know what he means!" And it can make the conversation a lot more stimulating for me.
crowmolly
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 12:08 |
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I tell them I am just really into going green. I don't like to just recycle cans and bottles as that's bush league. I like to recycle cars. I cut the carbon footprint and fuel consumption of my last project in half.
LOL
ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 12:12 |
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Well first, they ask why my "station-wagon" is so loud, and if I like people to know Ive arrived, then I explain that what I drive is an Avant, and that this particular car is a S model, and the S means "sports-car" and that its faster then it looks, that is usually fallowed by "but it just looks like a wagon". If the interrogator happens to be a passenger, my reply is usually a WOT(wide open throttle) pull to put the fear of god in them. That's usually all the explaining they need, buy if we dont happen to be driving I just say I like cars, and that working on them keeps me sane.
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RacecaR
> ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
05/05/2014 at 12:18 |
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WOT(wide open throttle)
This is why I love Opposite Lock. You did not assume I knew what WOT was, even though I do, and this is a car themed site, and explained it anyway.
Somethingwittyer likes noisy
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 12:26 |
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Usually I just say I like them a lot and have a passion for them, I'm saving up for a car and all that.
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ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 12:29 |
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ahaha, I assume nothing. Spend enough time on any car forums and you'll realize most dont take the time to learn for themselves (or at the very least search) what a majority of the commonly used acronyms stand for...Like FATS , though that's not a official term used outside of the b5 S4 audi world. Accept a pic of my car as an apology:
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RacecaR
> ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
05/05/2014 at 12:32 |
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No need for apology, but I will accept it anyway since it is a photo of a sexy car!
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ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
> RacecaR
05/05/2014 at 12:39 |
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Thank you for the compliment. She's broken down enough to turn me, a humble accountant, into an audi tech for all things related to the 2.7tt platform. Thank God I work from home...