Post #1: Introduction

Hi all!

After three false starts (perhaps more, but who's counting?), and the urging of a close friend of mine, I've finally started to compile my thoughts, rants, and observations onto a blog; clearly, it's what you're reading now.

On that note, it's time for a blog post, so let the blogging begin!

Riverside isn't the nicest of neighborhoods to reside in. Just the other day, someone was apparently mugged in front of my apartment complex. Lovely. That said, it's really not so bad as us students at the UC make it out to be, especially in terms of the automotive culture of the area. While it, yes, may not be the best neighborhood out there, automotive similarities can be a fairly good indicator of relative wealth. Case in point: one glance through my parking structure reveals no fewer than four late model BMW 335i coupés, which aren't exactly the cheapest car in the world.

Not cheap, this.

Granted, you may figure this to be a fluke. However, walking across the street to a different apartment complex, I find myself confronted upon entry by a white Jaguar XF.

Equally not cheap.

On a completely ludicrous note, between the two complexes, there are at least 12 late model Lexus IS-series sedans.

Twelve of these. Twelve.

Now, you're probably thinking, "Shucks man, those are just outliers! What's a few Lexus-es, BMW's and Jags, they hardly paint a picture of the campus environment, right? Riverside is known for sketchy locals rolling in riced out Civics and the like, right?"

Pathetically typical? Or typically pathetic?

Wrong. Sure, in between the 10 and 91 Freeways there is a lovely den of such... vehicles (and their owners!), if one can even call such automotive atrocities vehicles. Big coffee can mufflers, ugly spoilers, it's all there. However, the closer you get to campus, the better the cars get, in an exponential fashion. This isn't a slow increase, it's a lightspeed jump; this isn't a slow increase, it's the difference between a 7.0 and a 7.1 on the Richter Scale. It's huge.

The easiest way perhaps to chalk up this dramatic shift could perhaps be laid on the large Asian-American population at UC Riverside. Speaking as a member of this population- and one who holds cars very, very dear to his heart- a common stereotype some people might harbor attributes Asians with wealth, success, and power.

Wealth, success, and power.

Naturally, as is the case with all stereotypes, there are exceptions to the rule, thus proving it invalid. Myself, I drive a 1995 Nissan with significant front bumper damage, sagging coilovers, and a rattling interior. Oh, and the CD player doesn't work. Here's to Asian wealth, success, and power, all embodied through a car; it seems I've been a bit shortchanged in that department. Not to mention that the XF and a few of the 335's are owned by decidedly non-Asian kids. Now, with that stereotype quashed, and that explanation for the quality of cars near campus eliminated, what can explain this interesting vehicular dynamic shift?

The answer is simple: the further you get from campus towards downtown, the concentration of the wealthy- and the folks who just drive wealthy-style cars- diminishes exponentially. As a primarily working-class town, Riverside's style doesn't trend towards BMW's and the like; expect to see more Ford F150's instead of Mercedes SLK 350's, and so on and so forth. Befitting a practical, largely blue-collar community, Riverside's automotive landscape embodies this practicality, whereas its resident UC Campus embodies... well, typical University of California, academic ivory tower arrogance. Sure, for every one Lexus there are three Corollas, but the fact remains that in many cases, Mommy and Daddy have bought little Jimmy a car he can't handle, hasn't earned, and doesn't deserve.

Look at Jimmy. He doesn't deserve that.

Now, as a staunch believer in capitalism, I love when people spend money they've earned on frivolous things. But, giving your kid a brand new European luxury car in crime-infested Riverside- ranked as the 24th LEAST safe college in a recent poll, whose URL I cannot find for the life of me, and shall thus omit, setting me up for a massive flaming from the two people (perhaps three?) that actually love our school- is just a bad idea. You're setting them up to be an automotive crime target.

Like real life, except with cheat codes.

Ignoring that you've just made your kid twice as likely to be robbed (Who needs statistics and citations anyway? I'm from the internet!), you're also instilling in them a terrible lack of appreciation for money. Then again, it's just the nature of our society- and that of parents in general- to spoil ones' offspring. We're a free market economy, so if you want to buy your kids a silly expensive car, no one's stopping you. Keep in mind, it's only your fault though if they end up acting like, dressing, or otherwise emulating Spencer Pratt. Consider yourselves warned.

Your child at age 20-something. Minus the reality TV show and marketable looks.

With that bit of advice and ranting done for the day, that's all for me. Enjoy your lives everyone, and I'll keep living mine right here in the ever-cozy, ever polluted 92507.

Best,
E.Y.H.

P.S. Yes, I've changed topics, subjects, and focuses of my ire/fascination/hatred about two or three times. You don't like that? Stop reading my blog.