Car week news

As of today, I am now a proud owner of a 2002 TOYOTA COROLLA!
YES - my car! Whoop, whoop, whoopee!

Charles did all the searching - he spent 2 days scouring the internet to find a cheap but reliable car. He stumbled upon this one through CRAIGSLISTING - the previous owners were moving back to CHINA. They were nice, we didnt have any trouble getting the car. We arnt great bargainers so we asked for what we thought was kinda fair... yeah - u know, i wish i was good at bargaining, but hey, at least the car is in okay condition. It is a 2002 model and we got it for less than $10000 (our budget) so we were kinda happy. KEKEKE they even gave us a free CANON PRINTER and CARTRIDGE :) soo lucky :)

We had to get car insurance - and their policy is broken down so much it was confusing. It's compulsory here for every car to have a BODILY and PROPERTY insurance. You actually get to say how much you want to insure yourself for. There is a state minimum but you can opt for higher coverage if you want. They also have an UNINSURED MOTORIST AND PROPERTY section, plus a COLLISION and MEDICAL insurance.. sigh - had to give Charles the phone to speak to the operator. I mean - why cant they just have a THIRD PARTY INSURANCE(greenslip) and the normal COMPREHENSIVE/ ONE WAY AUTO INSURANCE? Hmm, now that im writing this, im thinking it might be the same but worded differently... gotta check it out....

Anyways, we picked up the car on Saturday 24th. Will show you pics in my next blogging :) YEah, yeah, i know, its an ASIAN kinda car, but hey, IM PROUD TO B ONE - er except for the bargaining part ..grr..

Today, i went to the SAFETY AUTO CARE (garage) to get my SMOG check (emissions check?)and then headed towards LOS GATOS (all by myself!) to registrate my car and complete the transfer form. You know the registration sticker we put on our car every year is like the size of ur palm? Well, there's is a little 4 by 2 cm sticker which u put on your NUMBER PLATE! Cute huh? Yup, its also colour coded.

Okay, when driving a car in CALIFORNIA, apparently they dont accept INTERNATIONAL LICENSE, but its sorta ok if you holidaying for a while here, you need to carry with you your proof of INSURANCE and CAR REGO and DRIVERS LICENSE. Failure to do so, means you have to appear in court and produce these evidence and pay a $10 fine. Sigh - it goes on ur record.
SO, folkies - if you ever rent a car, make sure u purchase ALL INSURANCE - it could save u a trip to the COURTS!!

Okay, have i mentioned in any of my bloggin that AMERICA is scary?
it is.. its sooo big.. so wide... everything is magnified like 10 folds!
Im getting little headaches here - charles says its cos i get too worried about the littlest things. Well, we are in a new country and dont quite know all the rules and expectations - that its a bit difficult. And im not certain the Americans are like FRIENDLY FRIENDLY like the AUSTRALIANS... you know, u hear that Australians are so much nicer and tolerant...u dont hear the same about the AMERICANS. But, so far, aside from the Immigratation people, its been kinda good - but then again, it was them that put me on HIGH ALERT.. grrr..
To be fair, i havent exactly stepped out of MOUNTAIN VIEW - its more a BUSINESS district, SILCON VALLEY, they call it.

okies - to end this BLOGGIN - i have to tell u that im taking my BEHIND THE WHEEL test this FRI at 12:10pm. THINK OF ME THEN!