ChipesterKhan chronicles - part 6 - Life in Manila and the failed convertible

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ChipesterKhan chronicles - part 6 - Life in Manila and the failed convertible In 2003, my life was a whirlwind. My band, AcidRadio, began touring for Pasiklaban so we were going places and drinking copious amounts of beer. towards the end of 2003 it got so bad that my hands were shaking if I wasn't able to drink anything alcoholic for 6 hours. Imagine waking up thinking there's an earthquake only to realize you're the only one shaking. That's how bad it got. So I was entered in Guadalupe in this unassuming place for alcoholics to help me clean up. That was 3 months or an equivalent of a hundred days treatment for me. At first I didn't realize just how bad my condition was, it was only after 3 days when I started feeling the withdrawal symptoms when I finally admitted to myself that I was an alcoholic and that I really needed help. I experienced memory loss and blackouts. I later on realized that I had substituted drug use for alcohol. And as the years went by my intake was becoming more and more dangerous. I remember going to Boracay and forgetting I ever went there. The only thing that proved I was there was a picture of me playing onstage and me passed out on my bed with a bottle of Jack. That memory always reminds me just how bad too much alcohol is for someone's brain. After I got out, I went to a bar to get drunk again with my best friend. I must've been brainwashed because after drinking a bottle I felt disgusted with myself and the taste of beer. I don't crave it anymore. And my motto which was "One bottle is my limit, after that no more limit!" changed to "I'll have a bottle of Coke please." Once fully sober I decided I needed a real job. I remembered there was a girl I pissed off because I wouldn't take her offer to go into the call center business. So just for the hell of it I went to PeopleSupport and applied. I got in. I spent 2 years (2004 to 2006) in PeopleSupport and I Learned a lot. Got promoted a lot too. haha. During that time, 2005, I bought this old beetle from one of my co-workers. It was a standard beetle with a caved in roof because of the years it served as a makeshift shelf for old bottles. I saw potential in that beetle as a convertible. While in Alcohol treatment we also learn some basic skills and I sat in a couple of metal working sessions. I didn't take enough to make me good cause I got bored, but I learned a few things. So I rented a car shop. Back then I didn't know there were Volkswagen specialists (and I was still sort of a lone wolf type of guy). Basing everything on what little knowledge I had about metal work and the few articles in VW Trends and HotVWs, I proceeded to cut up the volks. My idea of a convertible was that I could just cut it up, put a roll bar and then fit a top on it. I managed to do the first 2 and realized I didn't know how to make a top. I didn't have any knowledge whatsoever. I had to order a top from the states through my uncle. Another thing I did wrong on the volks was that I did not properly brace it. So the rear half of the volks got twisted and misaligned. i tried to remedy it with the roll bar. I stupidly welded the roll bar to the floor pan and then to the pillars. And while I was welding it I had my landlady's husband (who was my friend) physically push against the rear part of the body (since he was a big guy) while I welded the roll bar to it. Hahaha sparks were flying and he was getting hit because he was wearing a sleeveless shirt. We ended up with a couple of singed skin, burnt hair and stupid grins on our face. To us, that activity made us feel more like men and kids at the same time. Ahhh the mindlessness of that brainless activity still brings a smile to my face to this day. To hide the body imperfections (dents and too many body filler from the previous owner), I painted it black with paint from spray cans. I accidentally got flat black and liked it. So the car became flat black. We drove it around Paco and Makati several times and howling at other cars as we zipped along in that death trap. It was noisy and had rotten floors but since we put so much work in it, we were happy. And since we had to wait for the top to arrive which took 2 months before it got here via FedEx, the Volkswagen endured being rained on. The amazing thing was that it would still run! Good old German engineering! I eventually gave up on it and sold it off to a fellow Cebuano who brought it with him back to Cebu. What he paid for was the convertible top and shipping and handling. Made a small profit which helped me buy a bigger car, an Adventure. I got disappointed because of that project and decided that I had had enough of volkswagens. http://www.picable.com/Objects/Electronics/Acidradio-Introspective.2050687