My First Car!

My first car was a Mk 3 Ford Fiesta, and at the time, i loved it! But looking back at it now, i kinda think that it was the biggest load of horse manure that has ever been created by man. My mum "loaned" me the £600 to buy it, and it stood on the drive for over a week, until the insurance was sorted. I longed for my first drive as much as a 16 year old longs to lose his virginity.

The day of my first drive finally came. Excited was an understatement. It felt like all my birthdays and Christmas' had been rolled into one. I got in, put my belt on, and turned the key for the first time. Listening to 1.1 engine splutter itself into life was like listening to angels playing harps. Engaging reverse, in a very clunky manner, i backed out the drive, and went for a spin.

When you have driving lessons, your instructor says to keep your hands at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions, but this went out the window straight away, and hasn't changed since. I was in love with a tonne of slightly rusty metal and very dodgy wiring. The window was open, the radio was on full, i was probably making an absolute fool of myself, but i didn't care. This was my car, and i felt the whole world should see, and hear, it.

Then on the 23rd of December, as i was driving to work, BANG! A huge plume of black smoke bailed out the back. I thought to myself that that can't be good! I limped it to my local mechanic who happily informed me that i had blown the cylinder head, as, in the 7 months that i had had the car, i had not once put any oil in it. I just figured that the oil light hadn't come on, so it didn't need any. After closer inspection, it turned out the little bulb for the oil light, had blown.

So there i was, 2 days before Christmas, with no car. I was panicking, my car was now my life, a part of my body, my left leg! Without it, was stuck. The world was coming to an end. But then some good news. My mechanic informed me that he can fit me a "new" engine, on Christmas Eve, and it would be a more powerful one. So i had my car upgraded from a 1.1 to a whopping 1.3, which i kept secret from the DVLA! All this power came at a price of just £250.

Looking back now, i remember quite a few funny, and not so funny memories about my first car. Like the time i got pulled over by the police for the very first time, for having little red lights on the windscreen washers, or the time i locked the keys in the ignition, and i spent over 2 hours with a bend coat hanger, trying to unlock the door. In the end i had to pick the boot lock with a pen knife, and make a very undignified entrance. Yes my first car was a rust bucket, it was never fast, never sporty despite my best efforts, but it was my first car, and no matter what your first car was, your will always have fond feelings for it, even if it didn't work.

This post is part of the Car Craft competition  http://www.carcraft.co.uk/info/first-car

2 days after MRI

2 days on from my latest MRI scan and i am in agony because of it. I can barely move my head, and if i sneeze or cough, i get shooting pains from my shoulder down my right arm, and a very bad stabbing pain in the centre of my chest! This MRI was by far, the worst one i've ever had. I suspected it would be, even before i had it. Due to driving, i could not take any pills before hand, and i suspected it might take slightly longer than previous MRI's, i was wrong! It took MUCH longer.

I was in that tube for over 45 mins, unable to move. The sheer pain that i was in after the 20 minute mark was unbearable, to the point that i was beginning to have the onset of a panic attack. Heavy breathing, pins and needles in hands and feet, and sheer longing to get out! However, i managed to calm myself down, as i did not want to have to do it again.

I am really hoping that that was the last MRI i will ever have to endure. I have had 6 of them in the past 3 and half years, and i do not want to make it 7. I am now dreading the results of this one. On one hand, if they find something, then it will a load off my mind, though it will be something else for them to fix. Then on the other hand, if the don't find anything, then what on Earth is causing all this pain in my upper spine. I will be publishing another update once i have received the results.

A quick note about my ESA tribunal. I have yet to receive a date for the tribunal, though i am at a Welfare Rights meeting on Monday. Hopefully they will be able to represent me. I will be taking my ATOS medical results form with me to show them that they lied on the form. Hopefully this should blow the whole medical out of the water and win me the tribunal, thus enabling me to have what i am wholly entitled to! Again, i will keep you all updated with the results of this once i have them.

As for DLA, well, i am waiting til i get the results of the tribunal and MRI before i put in yet another claim, as my last claim was turned down due to the ESA ATOS medical, despite the criteria for both benefits being somewhat different.