Car Tune Up on Valentine’s Day
For many, it seems to me that Valentine’s Day is a special day. In my case, I have grown up without really making the day as something special. I spent the day on car tune up. It’s just me. No offense meant to those who love to make the day special.
Jokingly this morning, I posted in my Facebook account that I really don’t need a Valentine since I am a Valentine. My dad named me after my grandfather, Valentin. So, my wife has got a funny Valentine!
Mechanical Interest
One other interest that I have which I guess I have inherited from my dad was his love for engines and vehicles. As a young boy, I grew up in a home where the living room, the dining area and other parts of the house had vehicle parts all over. Our house back then sometimes was like an auto repair shop! Outside the house there were trucks, a pickup, a wrecker and a jeep. I used to run errands to buy motor vehicle parts when my dad and/or his mechanic were fixing or doing some repairs. I enjoyed watching them fixed or repair a vehicle. That ended when I was sent to Manila to get a college education. But I got interested in engines too because of that early exposure as a young boy from my dad.
Doing Car Tune Up Myself
Beginning sometime in 1987, it has become my habit to clean my car’s spark plugs and tune up the car myself. Of course, there are occasions when I go to a shop or hire a mechanic to do it for me but normally, I do the car tune up myself. I love to drive the car when I know the engine is in top shape. It’s been about 30 years now and thankfully, I’m still able to do it myself somewhat. But maybe in the coming years, I may have to ask someone to do it for me since I’m now a senior citizen. But for now, it’s a kind of hobby also aside from photography or biblical studies.
Learning from Expert Mechanics
I also owe my knowledge and experience with engines and vehicles to a dear friend, the late Capt. Jess Bahinting, a pilot and an aircraft mechanic. He was then a pastor in Cagayan de Oro and I was the associate pastor. I also learned from another dear friend, Tadeo “Boy” Almera, an expert mechanic. We were all together for some 5 years fixing a lot of vehicles. Jess and I bought vehicles for our pastors, sold vehicles, fixed, repaired, repainted vehicles with the help of Boy and others. It was like we were an automotive shop haha! We sort of “maintained” the church’s fleet vehicles in our area. Those were the days.
Oh well, just reminiscing the good old days.