I've had Grover for a little over a week and all I want to do is go for a drive, do some detailing, or spend all of my free-time on NAM checking out pics, learning new detailing tricks or gaining some new insight about my MINI. (BTW -- NAM has been a great resource! Thanks to everyone here!)

I've washed Grover twice, clayed & waxed him once, cleaned his dirty wheels twice and ordered more detailing supplies. So far, I haven't jumped on the mod bandwagon (I like to think of myself as a minimalist), but i'm eyeing the auto-window up and some accessories like a rubber boot mat and glove box organizer.

I work as a freelancer from home, so my job requires a fair amount of self-motivation, and this new obsession is making it even harder to get any work done! And I need to work to pay for Grover! (*my new sandwich board sign reads* "will work for Grover")

I guess I shouldn't complain. If I were in a full-time office job, I might not have the freedom to go for a quick ride at lunch!

 

For about 6 months I couldn't do much but sit on NAM @ night and listen to the supercharger whine during the day. :-)

 

I didn't sleep for the 1st week. I was up in the very early hours of the morning driving the car. NAM consumes a lot of my time during the day.

Now I am doing it all again since I got my classic last week.

 

NAM is my homepage. I spend way too much time everyday on it and other MINI sites. I search eBay for MINI parts, accessories and swag. I buy parts online with such abandon I virtually filled my living room with them last winter waiting for the weather to break so I could install them (I'm not kidding...you try fitting an exhaust, sway bar, driving lights, boot stripes, race pedals, brake pads and rotors, euro parcel tray and a few other odds and ends into a room!).

So I'd say your behavior is perfectly normal!

By the way, Grover is a great name for a blue MINI!

 

Perfectly normal, just don't tell my boss...

 

Once you hit 6th gear you are assumed to have the MINI disease...

 

Good reminder. Better get back to work

 

I believe that the Mini is not just a car but a way of life. Everyone who drives a Mini experiences a change. Whenever I am upset I go drive my little gobot and I end up feeling better. I have made a ton of new motoring buddies. No other car in the world has Mini's combination of economy, safety, quickness, handling, and cuteness. To me it is the perfect car.

 

Nice, you have a classic now! Let see some pictures.

I know what you mean about not getting enough of the Mini. I do not know what is it about this lil car that drives me nuts.

So no Mini_Dreams....your not the only one.

Congrates on Grover.

 

Im only on 3rd gear and my girlfriend keeps telling me that i spend more time obssessing about my MINI and checking NAM than i do obssessing about her (which i find completely untrue ).......wonder how its gonna be once i hit 6th gear?!

 

We got ours a few days ago.
My wife wants to know when I'll
start "detailing the inside of the house"

 

Ouch - I hear ya - in fact I've heard exactly that.
I lucked out in the detailing dept - temporarily maybe,
Detailed her car first.

Not getting me off-the-hook long term.


Grover's a beauty by the way - gotta love that blue !

 

Ditto - and ditto on the "ouch"!

I know what you mean about motivation, and my "freelance" job as a consultant requires I travel - by air, though - so the Mini is a few hundred miles away a lot of the time. Ugh! Nice to drive when I get home though... and my wife enjoys it while I'm gone.

Really, it's just plastic, rubber, metal, and glass, why does it arise such passion? Is it just a grown-ups Barbie doll or GI Joe, where we get the accessories so we can show it to our friends, some of whom understand?


Now - all y'all - GET BACK TO WORK!

 

 

T2Nav,

Too funny!! I especially like the "what's my pug doing right now".....hee, hee, hee!!!

Good luck on your upcoming move!

 

I've had Jake for a little over two months and I NEVER thought I would be so into a car. But I agree with the other posters. Becoming a MINI owner DOES change your life but the best part is that it's in positive ways. I have a great new hobby. I'm learning more than I ever thought I would about MINIs, Minis and the MINI culture.

Something as simply as taking the long way home (a zippy on-ramp, off-ramp freeway loop!) or getting a wave back from a fellow MINI owner can really make my day better. I already drive a lot (self-employed on-site computer tech) and I STILL find reasons to drive.

I seem to be buying Jake stuff at least every week. I check the NAM marketplace, eBay, etc. And now that I've done a bunch of interior/exterior cosmetic changes, I'm starting to think about performance mods.

Oh yeah, my first event was a leg of MTTS. What a hoot! And now I'm going to AMVIV in March. Four days of all things MINI!

Don't worry, you're in good company AND you have the flexibility to have a nooner with Grover (so to speak).

 

i remember the first few months i had my MCS i used it as a commuter
car and every lunch i would take it out for a quick 30min spin.

 

I don't even have mine yet (it's awaiting transport!!!) and the amount of time I spend here is ridiculous. I love NAM! SO much great info and eye candy!

 

I work about 18 miles from home and noticed at least 70 miles a day on Mimi's odometer....gotta love those lunch/therapy breaks. I have a nice 20 mile canyon near my job.

 

16 of the above 19 posts were made during working hours.

BUT...

None of us have any idea what you're talking about

 

Work hours, just another way of saying time spent not in the MINI. If I could get away with delivering pizzas all day long in the MINI (or well a pizza delivery MINI), I would.

 

Can't. Concentrate. Can't. Do. It.

It's pouring outside, and still all I can think about is getting into my MINI and driving 'til I can't see the city lights.

Instead, I'm sitting here watching NAM and getting no work done whatsoever. My editor's going to have my head.

 

You know you got it bad when all you can do is think about motoring home.

 

Wow, this thread is a bit frightening! I bought my 02 MCS DS/W the end of June 06. I was gone 3 weeks in August and 3+ in September. Since I've been home this fall the weather has been awful. Still all I want to do is DRIVE and detail the MINI -not the house- and do more mods. I've almost figured out how to use a screwdriver and bought myself a set of torx drivers. My husband "helps" me (he takes over) with my mods. He is trys to be patient, but he sees I am clueless. We are each full time artists. I work at home. I too have to self motivate. Like tonight. I set up for a show tomorrow and have a pile of work I should be doing. Instead here I am posting on NAM. I do art shows that require travelling - in a full size conversion van, not the MINI. My friends think I've lost it. They may be right! Drive back to WI from NM or PA or elsewhere and then go driving for fun!?! NAM, Moss, OutMotoring, eBay, websearches, etc etc etc... I'll need a 12 step program when the snow flies and I have to put the car away until the ice is gone. Makes me nuts just to think about it! I told my husband today I need a heated garage. He figured it was to sit in the car and listen to the stereo. I told him to do more mods. He laughed and shook his head - then he smiled. He'd be as bad as me if I'd ever let him drive my MINI (he hasn't driven it since I signed the papers to buy it). All I can say is welcome to the obsession!

 

Sounds like the transformation is just about complete.
Welcome to the Dark Side.

OBTW - If you are determined, you can fit two MINIs in a (bsmnt) garage designed for one car. (See Gallery)