In 2004, straight out of college, that was the “car” I drove.
This was when I was in India, and decided to stay there for a while (well, it wasn’t entirely my choice actually, but whateva). Those were the times the “you gotta work a JOB!” mantra was being fed to me left right and center and without wanting to, i bought into SOMe of it.
But never truly.
But anyway, those six months I was there?
The job I chose elicited criticism from all corners.
How dare I choose a job where I was valued, hehe. As opposed to being a dumb cog in the wheel and doing what the bozos do ...
Not so the car my Dad “allowed me to drive” for a while.
Whcih was supposed to be Mom’s, but she never drove, so ...
Remember one thing though.
You only get the car because you’re “working a job!”
When I wanted to buy beer, or stuff like that for myself, I could hoof it for all they cared.
So anyway, yours truly drove that car for a while. Before he pissed off to China which was of course again roundly criticized, but I dont regret a minute of doing so.
Those were the happiest years of my life!
I know I say a lot about negative stuff about the Chinese government, and truth be told, it’s ALL TRUE.
AND NEEDS TO BE SAID.
But same hand, China has some good things too. Some very good things!
And the last thing I did there was drive beat up cars with nothing but an engine in them.
When “giving” me the car (And truth be told, they were buyng a new one anyway, so ), my Dad kept touting one thing proudly.
“The engine is almost as good as new!”
That it was, my friend.
That it was.
Had nary 25 odd k km’s on it ...
But it had NOTHING else.
No brake fluid, which I found out about on a trip to the Himalayas.
A faulty alternator.
A car heater that never worked. And don’t get me started on the A/C. Took me YEARS , literally to get that fixed.
And so forth.
Many other things.
Basically it was a hull with a great engine, but that was about it.
(Believe me if they could have sold it, they would have. But NO-ONE would take that car - not anyone with any knoweldge on cars, even if that be rudimentary, and I suspect Dad knew that)
And the amount I spent on the car (I can just hear my Dad yelling like a banshee “your so ungrateful!” at me) .. well, lets just say I could and should have bought a decent second hand car with that much!
Which my beloved (not) and “lovely” (YES!) wife did tell me to do, but yours truly dumb ass didnt listen at that time.
My wife did give me another sage piece of advice to which I didnt listen either, but anyway, more on that later.
Anyway, I stuck with the car.
And believe me, I learnt a LOT about cars in all those hours spent standing with the guys fixing it, which was damn near daily to be frank.
Growing up, I dont know if you can believe it looking at my macho self now (well, I’ve been that way always to be honest) – but I Was never taught the basics of car maintenance.
I do remember my Dad pushing his old car once when it wouldn’t start ... but change a tyre?
I Doubt he’s ever done that himself in his life, let alone teach me how to do it.
And while I’m not particularly interested in fixing cars myself, I believe this sort of upbringing is guaranteed to make men FAIL initially at life.
But anyway, thats why I do what I do workout wise with my daughter (needless to say I got ZERO advice on that growing up).
And I did learn a lot about cars from that ole car to be honest.
I have very fond memories of it, and I literally shed tears when I was forced to sell it when I moved to the Middle East - - another huge huge mistake in hindsight.
(I did that in private, hehe).
But anyway ...
Fitness wise, is there a parallel?
Well, yes, and NO.
NO, in that fitness curiously enough is the polar opposite of a functional car in that if you got ticker, the rest will WORK.
“You got a ticker problem, kid!”
I still remember Mickey telling Rocky that in II, and he was right!
If you got ticker, you’ll get to 500 Hindu squats in a row and then some, bro. Believe me, you’ll need gumption more than anything else to get there!
If you got ticker, you’ll DO what it takes to get in the best shape of your life despite round criticism from aLL SIDES.
Ditto for life.
You’ll DO the thing, not just talk about it.
So from that perpsective its the opposite, but it isn’t from another – that being – your body in general benefits FAR more from having your heart’s valves blown RIGHT the hell open during workout times.
In other words, INTENSE and quick get the job done, bro.
Not yakking around on machines pumping and toning after every set “because you got the pump”.
That is the most ridiculous way to do it, and it doesnt work in any way I know of, other than to feed thy already bloated ego, hehe.
And the bloated muscles.
Anyway, thats the point really.
See if you can find more!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
PS – Pick up the definitive course on working out – QUICK – and losing weight even quiker – right here – Advanced Hill Training.
