Wednesday 2 April 2008

Things to Do in the Car (Kids, don't try any of these EVER!)

I have nice eyebrows today. And it's not because I went to a salon to have it done, but because I had to wait in the car for nearly an hour while my parents were in the bank.

I am normally well-prepared. In my car, I have stocked the following items :

i) A novel; normally fiction. Current book is "The Face" by Dean Koontz.
ii) A roll of sweets; currently Vita-C mixed sweets, but down to the last piece. Must remember to replenish soon.
iii) A bottle of waterless hand cleaner and a pack of wet wipes. Very handy after eating Jack n Jill Roller Coaster potato rings in cheese.
iv) A small travel pillow which is easily the best pillow I've ever laid my head on, courtesy of Dunlop tyres.
v) A selection of cassettes and CDs and some great preset radio stations.
vi) When I remember, a bottle of mineral water, a can of Red Bull (for my fella), the above Jack n Jill chips or any snack food I can get my hands on and sometimes a bar of chocolate..mmm.. chocolate.
vii) A map book of the Klang Valley, with pages threatening to spill out any second.

Why do I have these things, you ask, and how is it related to my well-groomed eyebrows? The answer.. I am normally waiting for people in my car. Sometimes, when I feel adventurous and we're having an extremely hectic day, I like to call myself a getaway driver, especially since more often than not, I'm peeling myself away from banks.

On a good day, I just wait for about 10 minutes per stop. That only gives me time to fiddle with the radio, and perhaps read a page or two of my book. Other times, especially when fella's delivering items to clients, I sometimes wait for at least half an hour, and up to two hours. One day, I even managed to finish my half read book, plus get my eyebrows done.

I try to spice things up sometimes, so as to not make things too mundane. Like today, I took my trusty Swiss Army Knife, took out the tweezers and did my eyebrows. I tell you, the best place to do your eyebrows is in the car. Driver or front passenger seat is fine. You take down the visor and start tweezing away. I love the fact that the mirror is at a perfect level to do my brows, and since I am horribly short-sighted, I can even tweeze sans glasses. Plus you're in a comfy chair the whole time you're doing it!

Other times I use my tiny Swiss Army scissors to snip away at split ends. Note: This is only done if I have no other forms of entertainment, 'cos fella is not happy to see little bits of hair all over his precious car.

I once ate breakfast whilst driving to work. I packed some nasi goreng/nasi lemak in a plastic container together with a plastic spoon, and proceeded to eat breakfast in the middle of a traffic jam and at traffic light breaks. I've also applied makeup, read newspapers and presentations, and even edited photos for our Golf Club client whilst in traffic!

My car is also my mini karaoke studio. My current fave radio station is Red 104.9, 'cos it plays my generation's music (God! That sounds old!). I've stopped listening to Hitz.fm about 5 years ago, 'cos alas, I'm not as current as I thought I am anymore. *Sigh* 

I remember days filled with me beltin' out gems such as Cryin' (Aerosmith), Why can't this be love (Van Halen), Gadisku (Search) and er.. Back for Good (Take That). Good days. I'm also smart. To try not to look like a crazy woman singing/talking to herself (er..which was what I was doing anyway), I normally stick my trusty handsfree earpiece in my ear and once in a while, hold up my phone in earnest. Lakonan semata-mata.

If I'm tired or sleepy, I recline the seat and lay on my precious pillow. I tell you, I need to write to Dunlop asking them where they got the pillow 'cos it's so darn empuk! I would buy that for my whole house if I could.

Other things I've done in the car: wipe the windows from the inside, clean the interior using interior wet wipes, cut my toenails, applied lotion all over my legs and arms, did work on my computer, arranged photos in albums, stuffed dvds in their cases along with covers and plastic wrappings, wrapped presents, changed clothes (okay.. totally not advisable unless you're in a moving car and have huge sunshades covering every available window. I am not an exhibitionist people!), and many others.*

To get more things done, I think I may need to upgrade accessories in the car. And whilst I'm at it, maybe it's time for my fella and I to get either an RV, bus, Renault Kangoo or VW Combi and just convert the back as a mini studio/salon/kitchen/car workshop etc.

*Note to JPJ and PDRM: I have not done things in said paragraph whilst driving, so please don't come after me.