horsepower

A couple weeks ago, Wei-chao and I made plans to eat at the Taiwanese restaurant Shinbala, known for its sausage.

He offered to give me a ride from Google, even though it's out of his way. The reason became clear when he pulled up in a brand-new convertible, which I learned is called the Lotus Elise.

"This is a pretty car!" I said, as we set off along Shoreline. "How many horsepower does it have?"

"Not that much, just a hundred-some," he said.

I couldn't help but laugh. "That's the same as my Honda Civic!"

Wei-chao just sat, smiling and driving, until I stopped laughing. Then he said, "The body frame weighs very little though, so it can do this." He floored the accelerator.

As the lane markers flew at and past me, my right hand clutched for the passenger door frame. We closed in on the car in front of us, fifty feet turning to twenty as I flinched my face to the right.

Wei-chao switched the car into the left lane without signaling, and our trajectory reminded me of an airplane on the runway. I expected at any moment the bump that comes from the wheels lifting off the ground.

After some minutes, we arrived at the restaurant.



Wei-chao, beaming, with noodles:



Me, in my favorite T-shirt (go ThinkGeek.com!), about to eat the restaurant's trademark "sausage with honey".