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After spending a couple of hours on Saturday in the company of VW enthusiasts, I have begun to question my choice of “the next car I’m going to buy…”

In my list of top 10 things to do before I’m 30, I state that at #3 is to buy a sports car. In my mind, I always saw myself buying an Audi TT, or possibly a Nissan 350Z or the like. Something that was an impractical but fun way to get around.

However, my experience on saturday reignited my love for my car, a VW New Beetle.

Recently, “MABel” has been getting very expensive to keep, particularly as she has just broken the 80,000 mile barrier, which means new CAM belt, new Brake pads, new CAT… plus a big service, so I’ve been considering her replacement.

Overall, my problems have not been with the car itself, but mainly with Volkswagen’s customer service… which in my experience has not been good at the dealership. The car itself is a very good car, not overly practical (experience proved that you can get more in the boot of a Peugeot 106!) but it has been mechanically reliable, and still makes me smile.

Of course a sports car is even less practical, and J. asked my why I wanted one. I responded with “because I do!”, which she clarified as “because you want something to show off in!”, which I suppose to a large extent is true. I hardly push my Bug, and when I am overtaken by a car, I am usually content with knowing that if I really wanted to, I could probably catch and overtake them back. While the car is a little heavy, it is by no means sluggish, and one thing I do like is the power in 5th gear. What I do like about the Bug is that it is still a head turner, and is completely different in a plain-car dominated world. I don’t think I could ever be a “mondeo man”.

The sports car also falls into this category, while the TT is quite prevailant, and the 350Z is also becoming more visible, it still breaks the mould, just not in the same way the Beetle does.

There is also the factor of price. While at £30,000, I could afford to pay for a TT, it is still a lot of money for a car, especially as the Beetle Cabrio Turbo starts at £19,000. You do get a lot thrown in for your £30k, the only options that I could see was the addition of a Bose sound system, whereas the Beetle Turbo doesn’t even include leather upholstry as standard. So, when you factor in the extras, the Beetle Cabrio can work out to close to £30,000. Then of course, you need to factor in the running cost.

At the moment, my 2.0 lite car uses about £30 a week in petrol when commuting to and from work. A 3.2 TT would use more, adding servicing and insurance on top, the TT works out as considerably more.

I will probably not be replacing the car this year, especially as I’ve just spent a lot of money on her, and will need to spend a little more repairing aesthetics if I was to sell her, but I’m constantly considering my options – the temptation to buy a Cabrio in anticipation of the summer is proving hard to resist!

I think that what you wear defines you, and your car is also an item you ‘wear’. The Beetle certainally defines me: fun and quirky.

Although it may mean breaking one of my top 10 things, I am sorely tempted to go for another Beetle – I do love the cars, both old and new, and maybe in the end, the sensible choice is the less sensible car!

Due to work commitments, I haven’t been on the mat since Shihan’s Funeral.

Last night was my first night back, and despite the trepidation of getting back on the mat after a three week hiatus, I had a pretty good session.

We started off with an extended session of exercises, with particular focus on pusture and focus in Ikkyo Waza and Tai Sebaki. As the mat was all high grades, Sensei got us concentrating on movements from the centre. I found that I was starting technique with my hands held too high, which was leading me to use my upper body and shoulders more than I should.

By dropping my hands to level with my centre, I found I was also dropping my centre, and the exercise seemed to flow better as a result.

Also, I was turning my centre away when doing Yokomen-Uchi. Adjusting my centre so that it faces forward is a bit uncomfortable, and something I’ll have to work on. I find it hard, as I am also concious of making sure I follow through the strike (i.e. you are not striking the side the head, but rather you are striking through the side of the head) this is causing me to lose balance slightly, so I need to work on this.

The session was very useful, as usually these exercises are rushed without any focus – and as a result, our discipline goes to pot…

But aside from a bruise in the silliest place (the tip of my finger! – totally my fault, I entered with the wrong hand.) I emerged scar-free

It’s been a while since my last Blog post, and the simple reason is that things have been so hectic.

Work has gone ballistic, I’ve been working 11 hour days just to keep up. My lack of experience in ASP.NET is showing, as I’m having to refactor time and again as fixing one thing breaks another. Give me pure c# any day!

In other news, our Shihan passed away two weeks ago. An extremely sad moment. He has been ill for sometime, and the last time I saw him was when he presented me with my Black Belt and Hakama. Quite a sobering thought that we will be the last group of Dan Grades to graduate under him.

He will be missed.

My weight has seemed to have stabalised, which is annoying. I’m still eating relatively healthy (although not tracking my WW points) but I think my lack of exercise at the moment is a big factor. Hopefully in a few weeks though, I will have some running trainers and I can start training in earnest.

Also on the footwear front, after a couple of years saying I was going to do it, I finally took the plunge and bought a new pair of Dr. Martens I had a pair through the last year of school and through college, and they were the best boots I have ever owned. Extremely durable, and very comfy, especially for a wide fit like me.

Now all I need to do is to go back to uni and become the perpetual student I know I want to be!