!!! MX-5 Miata Of the Month !!!

An Affair to Remember

The fascination of owning a sports car started when I was still young. Ever since my parents bought me my first “Match Box ®” die-cast car of different sorts, I dreamt of driving one of those in real life someday. It actually taught me the value of hard work and saving, both of which I know would allow me to realize that dream.

Fast-forward to the early 90s… I got a car as a high school graduation gift from my parents. It’s actually a hand me down Japanese coupe from the late 70’s. This car became my guinea pig. Maintaining this car on my own was putting a strain on my savings. I only had enough extra from my school allowances and from a part-time job I held as a delivery man in my parents’ company, so I decided to become my own mechanic. It was truly a trial and error experience at first but that made it all the more exciting.

In 1995, I got my first brand new car as a graduation gift from my parents after all the hard work that I did in school. It was a Honda Civic ESi model with a special color right from the factory – one of my most desired cars (locally available) back then. Looking back, I can still recall the ear-to-ear grin I had on my face every time I held the car.

Then one cool Saturday evening of 1996, while driving along the streets of Ayala, I saw a green colored 2-seater sports car… right size, right form, right growl - the perfect sports car I’ve always wanted to own (along with the attractive girl driving that car… ha ha ha). I had to know what car that was so when I got home I didn’t stop surfing the NET until I found pictures of the car I saw. Alas after an hour of fruitful searching, I finally saw what I was looking for, the MX-5 Miata. I wanted it so much I started having dreams… wild ones.. short of having “wet dreams” he he he. That day marked the start of my “love-affair” with the Miata.

I wanted to own one! Sounds easy to some but for a newly grad employee in a corporate firm, I think what I needed was to win the lottery first. For how could I justify spending my hard-earned money in buying a two-seater car (quite impractical when you think about it) when I already had a sedan for my convenience? Add to that the fact that what I was earning was barely enough for my own needs plus a little extra here and there. But like a love-dazed teenager… I vowed to myself… someday… someday.

Years passed and I never really got it out of my head. At least now I have climbed up the corporate ladder which translates to… you know what. Feeling victorious this time, I set my sights on buying one only to learn that Mazda closed shop. Tough luck! Oh well, at least there’s still the 2nd hand market that I can go to. I just needed to devise a plan on how to justify my purchase of that car.

As luck would have it, I did purchase a vehicle… only, not the elusive Miata that I have been wishing for but a family van. Along the way, I fell in love… with a girl this time. Actually it has been a long withstanding love-affair that started way ahead of my Miata love-affair. You guessed it right, I longed for a family and purchasing a van was more practical than buying a 2-seater sports car for somebody who is set to have a family.

December 2001 was one of the most memorable days of my life. I tied the knot with my girlfriend of 8 years and now the mother of my two wonderful sons. (Check out our website at http://www.freewebs.com/ctortona/ for a separate story on our family).

Well into our first year of marriage, I started daydreaming again of the Miata. It was about the same time when I learned that my wife was pregnant with our first child. With this news, we decided to sell my wife’s car and replace it with a car that would be more convenient for a pregnant woman to use. But the Miata kept cropping up my head! So I just prayed and called on lady luck on my side so I could persuade my wife to buy a Miata instead. True enough, luck was on my side this time for I got my wife’s permission. Finally the dream of owning one was only a grasp away. It was only a matter of finding the right one. It was going to be easy… or so I thought.

It was a long search that always ended up in frustration. I was unsatisfied with the Miata cars being sold back then. They were either over abused or over priced.

Good thing I stumbled upon a club of enthusiast here in the Philippines. I never knew there were people like me who had their own love-affairs with the Miata. Through its mailing list, I made my first communication with the group (*ala the movie Contact*). It seemed lady luck never left my side, two guys replied to my mail that time. One of them, the so-called Mr. Playboy of the club (Chito Frondoso), invited me to check out the cars during one Friday night at the Shell Fort. I was hesitant though, to go to that place during that time because I didn’t know if the members would accommodate a complete stranger like me (although having been a part of that group for a long time now, I wished I could have gone that day for this is truly one of the most accommodating group of people I have met in my life.).

After a week I received an e-mail from a Miata owner who introduced himself as a member of the MCP (later on, I found out that he was the millennium president of the club himself and further in the future my “kumpare”, gigolo-san Rolly Lim.). In that e-mail, he made known his intention of selling his Miata (which already had all the bells and whistles I planned to do with the car). He even volunteered to bring it near my office so I can fully appreciate the beauty of it.

Finally, the tables are turned. Now it’s the Miata chasing me. I decided to make an appointment that would suit both our time. It was Wednesday (if my memory serves me right) and we decided to meet on that Friday. Two more days. I kept my excitement at bay because I didn’t want to get frustrated again in case it turns out not to be what I expected.

It was on a Friday when Xandra came, in all her full glory. I felt like a kid again meeting a beautiful girl for the first time. Not wanting Rolly to sense my excitement (although I’m sure as hell he did), I tried hard to appear as normal and as unaffected as I can be – a task that is easier said than done. Was this really happening? Was my search really over? Where did this beauty come from? From the silky smooth and radiant color of the car to the exact details of its interior, it was love and lust at first sight (as my wife has aptly worded it) for me.

After that short but fruitful meeting with Rolly and Xandra, I immediately called my lovely wife and told her about the other baby that I wanted to have. A mistress in fact, but a mistress that my wife will get along with – how cool is that?

That same night, I called Rolly and set an appointment on that Sunday of the same week so I can introduce my wife to my soon to be mistress. The rest, as you know, is history.

On a side note… My wife got along with my mistress so well that she steals her from me sometimes. Better that than no mistress at all… he he he...