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Hard to say goodbye

The home minister shed tears on Tuesday evening as we said goodbye to our beloved ‘Ferrari’.

We had owned the chili-red Proton Iswara in 2004, just before we had our firstborn, Owen.

The home minister had used the car more often than I, once driving weekly from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, where she worked for a short while, to Subang Jaya, Selangor.

We became a two-car family in 2012, and for the past 12 years, the home minister was the one who took care of the Iswara.

For the past decade, we were lucky as she found jobs near our home, which meant she only had to endure a 25km-35km round-trip to work each day.

It meant the ‘Ferrari’ did not have to work too hard, and with regular maintenance and some minor upgrades, it served us well, although it needed a new paint job and a change in the upholstery.

However, we decided to sell the car as it had minor issues in the past couple of years, and the home minister wanted to reward herself with a new car.

We sat on the decision for close to four months but finally relented, and last weekend, someone from MyTukar came over to evaluate the car.

The evaluator was impressed as it had all its original metal parts. He said most cars these days had “banyak plastik” (plenty of plastic).

While he was inspecting the car, a neighbour asked why we were selling the car, and offered to buy it.

We were delighted as it would mean we could still see the car, but then, he said, he wanted it for his workers in Johor Bahru.

However, he later informed us that his company had already bought two second-hand cars, so we decided to go with what MyTukar could offer.

After a 24-hour wait, we got an offer which was below what we expected, but the home minister managed to squeeze a few hundred extra, and on Tuesday, we bade farewell to the car.

As we drove away after signing the deal, I was surprised to see the home minister shed tears. Our daughter, Carra, also said she would miss the “loud” car.

The Iswara has a humongous exhaust pipe, and you could hear it a long way off. It was so loud that it would drown out the music from the radio!

If we turned the volume up, those sitting at the back would be deaf!

Despite its faults, I will miss our ‘Ferrari’ as it was part of our lives for 20 years, but losing it does not hurt as much as knowing that Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of May!

January has not been kind.

FINALLY, AIR-COND!

After nearly seven months without an air-conditioner in the master bedroom, we now have a new one from a South Korean company using Malaysian technology.

We bought it via an instalment scheme – RM100 for 60 months – with free servicing every six months for the next five years.

It may seem steep, but we paid nearly RM300 per service, previously. And under the instalment plan, we get a five-year warranty to give us peace of mind.

Ironically, it has been raining cats and dogs the past week, so there has been no need to turn on the air-conditioner!

STEVE MCMANAMAN, SAMI HYYPIA, DWIGHT YORKE, AND JAAP STAM CONFIRMED FOR LEGENDS MATCH

Tickets for the Liverpool-Manchester United Legends match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on April 27, go on sale on Feb 5 via ticket2u.com.my.

Ticket prices are as follows: VIP seat (RM1,888,) PS1 (RM268), PS2 (RM208), PS3 (RM128) and Manchester and Liverpool Reds (RM78).

United’s legends include Louis Saha, Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam, Lee Sharpe, Clayton Blackmore, Keith Gillespie, Ben Thornley, Eric Djemba Djemba, Paul Rachubka, Russell Beardsmore, Lee Martin, and Danny Webber, with Teddy Sheringham leading the squad as captain.

John Arne Riise will don the captain’s armband for Liverpool. His teammates are David James, Steve McManaman, Emile Heskey, Sammi Hyypia, Glen Johnson, Patrik Berger, Vladimir Smicer, Durnin, Phil Babb, and David Thompson.

The tournament’s organisers have pledged to contribute 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of 376 tickets, each valued at RM108, to support Persatuan WeCareJourney, a local organisation dedicated to supporting families affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and disabilities.