Chris.Derecola

Well, it happened. For the first time since I started blogging in January 2006, I went a calendar month without a blog post. I’d say 7+ years is a pretty good run. If I’m honest, I didn’t feel much like writing: no blogging, my Yelp activity was way off and I deactivated my Facebook for two weeks (more on that later). The reason? I wanted to focus on getting through some difficult things in life. There’s more to be done, but I feel like I’m over the hump… especially given all the good news I’m about to drop on you. Let me catch you up on what’s been happening.

• Melissa’s Graduation – I flew to Virginia yesterday because Melissa is graduating this week! She has an exam to do tomorrow, but otherwise she’s done. I knew she could do it; she’ll tell you differently. We won’t be back together until Memorial Day because we both have some family commitments to take care of, but at least we get to spend half of the time left until then together. This last month was the longest and most challenging out of all of them and I am very, very glad it’s over.
• Promotion – Last week, I got a manger title at work and another analyst, that will report to me, is starting at Amazon tomorrow. That puts my direct reports at two with headcount open for another analyst… as soon as we find the right candidate. It’s not technically a “level” promotion in Amazon speak, but it did come with more money/stock. I’m a Manager II, Programmer/Analyst but my business title has yet to be decided on – it will probably be something like Manager, HR Analytics. My next milestone is to get promoted up a level; my boss and I are “actively working” on getting that done at the mid-year review in five months. I put “actively working” in quotes because you have to convince more than just your manager that you deserve it. Really it’s about demonstrating to a wide(r) audience that you’re already operating on that level. Face time, if you will. Looking at the last 13 years of my career, I can say I wasn’t ready to be a manger until now. I thought I was; I wasn’t.
• New Phone – I bought a Galaxy S4 a few weeks ago. My GS2 was getting pretty long in the tooth and I was looking forward to an upgrade. Some of the features are gimmicky and I haven’t bothered, but others (like not turning the screen off when you’re looking at it and gestures) are pretty cool. The screen is pretty big and I actually feel bad for people with smaller screens (yes, iPhones Mike). I’m sure it works for them, but I’m a total screen whore. I’ll save you the babbling fanboi ramble – suffice to say I like it. LTE ain’t so bad either… I can’t believe our cell phones now get speeds similar to WiFi.
• 911 – Audrey is turning out to be a great city car. It’s fun, it’s small and it gets a lot of attention. Who wouldn’t want to drive that? Not me, I find myself driving it 95% of the time. I’m about as ready as I’m going to get for trading in the Subaru for our “one car.”
• CrossFit – I’ve continued my devotion, after taking March off. I am down 20 pounds since starting this whole thing and very, very close to being down 50 since I decided to get healthier 6.5 years ago. With any luck, I’ll be setting a new goal for myself in the next month.
• Food Allergies – I saw a naturopathic doctor to work through diagnosing some seemingly worsening food allergies. Prevailing theory is I have a wheat allergy and adrenal imbalance, although I’ve heard that’s somewhat of a standard diagnosis NDs make. We’re going to be doing a bunch of testing to 1) find answers and 2) re-balance my body. I’m keeping an open mind, in true Pacific NW spirit, and am cautiously optimistic. Even if it turns out to be be voodoo, I got an Rx for weekly massages (read: it’s covered by insurance!). I also scored an EpiPen in case I have a reaction to some of the treatments. Don’t freak out Mom, it’s really only because I seem to be fairly allergic to carrots these days (which you knew).
• Movies – I’ve seen quite a few over the last month. I can’t wait to see Iron Man 3 this week with Melissa.
  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Surprisingly entertaining; I liked the way they wove in historical context.
  The Great Gatsby – Zero connection with the characters. I was hopeful because I love period films, but it was very disappointing.
  The Place Beyond the Pines – Good, but depressing. I’m glad I took a chance on it.
  Argo - I’m kinda indifferent about it. Well made but I’m glad I didn’t see it in the theater.
  Red Dawn – Even worse than I expected. Do not see!
  Life of Pi – Visually stunning, with an interesting ending, although it probably would have been better viewed in an altered state.
• Facebook Deactivation – I don’t want to make this a long winded explanation, even though I feel like I have a lot to say. Let’s just say I used it entirely too much and it became a way to ignore building new friendships. What I noticed in the first few days is how many times in a day my thoughts defaulted to “Oh, I should share this on Facebook RIGHT NOW.” Getting over that was pretty relaxing and I ended up not really missing it. Not having Facebook is not without sacrifice, though. Namely, it was harder to stay up with businesses (e.g. my gym), log into certain websites, play the two games I care about and gets news from close friends that I don’t often talk to. The catalyst for me re-activating was the passing of a good friend’s dad and me finding out about it from Melissa (who read on Facebook) over a week after it happened. I am saddened by his loss and the fact that I couldn’t offer support earlier. In light of this, I think I’m going to compromise by using it but only making very close friends and family visible.

I took delivery at about 9 PM Friday night.

Yesterday turned out to be an awesomely sunny day, so I spent about two hours driving it in/around Seattle. It’s definitely a COMPLETELY different experience than driving any modern car. It’s loud, but not obnoxious, and not having a radio will be something worth getting used to. The high sidewall tires are very noticeable at high speeds, and while it can be somewhat of a rough ride in the city streets, it’s surprisingly comfortable at highway speeds.

The seating position is pretty far forward, for both driver and passenger. I’m probably going to look into getting the rails moved an inch or two back; this appears doable without any real trouble. There is absolutely no need for a passenger side mirror with all the glass, I just have to remember to look all the way around instead of looking for a mirror. I will still probably source one and have it painted so I can put tint on the windows (WA law).

The pedals are indeed floor mount and they take some serious getting used to. The clutch is pretty soft, but it’s in such a position that you’re letting it out with your heel of the floor, so it’s all muscle and no leverage. If you aren’t really paying attention, it will try and catapult your foot off the pedal. I’ve had this happen a few times but surprisingly, the car hasn’t stalled. The engine is actually pretty resilient because I haven’t stalled the car at all. You really have to stand on the brake if you want to stop quickly or if you’re descending one of Seattle’s many steep hills.  It’s much more mechanical than other cars I’ve driven; I like it. The gas pedal doesn’t really feel that much different than anything I’m used to.

The car is much quicker than I thought it would be. I guess that’s what you get when the car is 1000 lbs less than the behemoth Legacy. The wheelbase is also 16″ shorter, so you can easily perform u-turns in the middle of city streets. By comparison, the Legacy sometimes has trouble doing them at intersections. All around, it’s a surprisingly good city car. I welcome that, despite not buying it for that reason.

Then there’s the attention you get. People definitely look and the way they do ranges from trying not to be obvious out the corner of their eye to full on staring with small head nods. There are also honks from guys in old jeeps, a friendly wave to/from a guy getting out of his VW Karmann Ghia and the guy who said “Your Porsche is perfect, man” while were drove through Pike Place Market. Yeeeeaaahhhh, I drove it through the market. It’s actually the first time I’ve done that and something I’d probably reserve for this car. I acknowledge people and despite driving such an obvious car, try to do it as modestly as possible.

Still no luck on a name. One day it’ll just come to me.

Here’s a fairly boring video test I did of mounting the GoPro on the roof. I wanted to see how the sound would come out with the open back on the camera case and what sort of quality would come of shooting HD in such a vulnerable position. If you dare watch, be sure to switch it to 1080p.

Click picture above for full gallery

We are now the proud owners of a 1976 911S!

Before I get too carried away with this post, there are two things I’ve been meaning to write about. I’m not really sure why I haven’t before now… I guess I just didn’t feel like it. If I had to pick something, I’d probably say it’s because I really didn’t have a lot to say about it.

1) My dad sold the 1967 911S my grandfather bought in Germany and brought back to the United States. This car stayed in my family, and was only driven by a hand full of people, from the time he bought it until my dad sold it in the summer of 2011. While it had always been considered an heirloom, the car grew to be far more problematic than it was worth. When a car leaving you stranded is a very real concern, it’s time to let it go. I looked forward to having the car but if I’m honest, having my grandfather’s shotgun isn’t a bad second choice.

2) Late last year, my dad sold the 944′s that we raced for 10+ years in the 944 Cup. This was an eventuality that’s timeline was fixed when Melissa and I moved to Seattle. I could go on for paragraphs about those 10 years; I’m not going to. It was a major portion of my life and one I’m very glad I got to do with my dad. I have one or two regrets, namely how abruptly it all ended and never winning a race, but by and large I’d consider the time extremely well spent. Aside from my relationship with Melissa, it’s the longest thing I’ve committed to in my life. I think that speaks for itself.

Where was I? Oh, yeah… we now have a 911. If this seems a bit out of left field, you’re probably not alone as the cards were kept pretty close to the chest on this one. I’m sure I’ll get a couple of the same questions, so I’ll attempt to answer them without having to make you ask. Hopefully I get them all.

I thought you wanted less cars, not more. What gives?
It’s true, we’ve been talking about becoming a one car family for some time now. Melissa is going to leave her car in Virginia to be sold by friends there. I’m also going to be selling my Subaru so we can buy one car that’s more suited for city living and can also be considered “ours.” The to-be-named replacement car will serve as our primary car for pretty much everything, so while not technically a one car family, it’s the car that will get driven by both of us most of the time.

What about your motorcycle?
As much as it pains me to say it, I am going to sell Emma. Unless I’m going to pay to park it at work and drive it all year round, owning a motorcycle in Seattle is not practical. I commuted for awhile last summer, but it got old pretty quickly. Now that I take the bus every day (for free), the bike has been relegated to when I get out on weekends during the summer.  While I love the thing, I just can’t justify paying $600+/year in insurance (plus registration) for two dozen rides max. I will probably buy something when Melissa and I are ready to explore the PacNW on a motorcycle, but I can’t see that happening in the next few years.

Are you going to drive it to work?
Save a rare occasion, I’ll still be taking the bus every day. Amazon pays for all my busing, so I only ever drive when I need to be at work really early or have something to do directly after work. I’d say I drive to work 4-5 times a month… and I’ll probably end up driving the 911.

Why this car and why now?
The short of it is that the right car came along without even looking for it. Older 911′s are getting very expensive, to the point that most examples are actually considered collector cars. It remains to be seen if this car will end up as a collector’s car, but it’s unlikely it won’t be worth at least as much if we ever decide to sell it. It was also a marriage of convenience given we’ll be going down to one car and the Ducati is heading to the chopping block. Now we’ll have something that’s fun, can be driven in the rain AND can serve as a backup vehicle.

What about the car?
It started life as a 912E and had ~50k miles on it before it was completely gutted, rebuilt and upgraded with a 2.7 L 911S engine. Given the only real difference between the 912 and 911 of the era was the engine, it’s now titled as a 911S. It’s got a bit under 6k miles on the rebuild, so it’s about as fresh as you’re going to find a 37 year old car.

You love personalized plates, are you going to get one for this?
Heck yeah! Washington actually lets you put authentic antique plates on cars that are at least 30 years old, provided they show the year the car was manufactured. A quick eBay search resulted in the plate below last registered in 1976. The number doesn’t have much significance beyond GT stands for Grand Touring (auto racing, etc.) but it’s definitely cooler than a random strong. The best part is I never have to renew them or pay for new decals. Score.

What now?
It’s being shipped from Ohio to Seattle over the course of the next week. Then, we spend some time getting to know each other while Melissa finishes up grad school. Hopefully by the time she visits in April, the new car will have a name. After that, we live happily ever after.