VITAL SIGNS

Name:
Manuel E. Feliz

Date of Birth:
December 18th, 1980

Place of Birth:
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hometowns:
Tampa, FL

Height:
5' 9"

Weight:
190 lbs.

Current Occupation:
Sergeant in U.S. Air Force

Hobbies:
Motor sports, Music, Technology

Goals:
Open up my own auto tuning garage; Compete in Time Attack and Endurance racing


IN DEPTH

Immigration - The Beginning:
My parent's immigrated to the United States from Dominican Republic in the early 1980's. Like most immigrants from that era, we lived in New York City. My early years are somewhat clouded because we moved a lot throughout the city. By my preteen years, my parents had separated. I lived with my mother in Brooklyn, NY in an area known as "East New York" and I'd spend the summers and some holidays with my father in uptown Manhattan, commonly referred to as "Dominican Land". Thanks to my parents and their upbringing, I never really got lured into any trouble as some kids often do living in an urban environment, especially an environment like New York City in the early 1990's. During this stage of my life, much of my time was spent playing home and arcade video games, drawing, socializing and aggressive inline skating. Of course, while at my mother's house I would stay inside a lot. At my dad's during the summers is when I would "roam the streets", so to speak, often going to pool halls and pizzerias to play Street Fighter II and Samurai Showdown arcade machines and inline skate throughout Manhattan with a few friends from block we lived on. That all ended when I graduated elementary school.

Migration - The Adjustment:
During that time, my brother (the oldest) had graduated, joined the U.S. Navy and got married to his high school girlfriend. He finished his time in the Navy and moved to Montgomery, New York in the lower Catskill Mountains to live with his wife who's family had moved there earlier. My mother liked the rural/suburban atmosphere of the area and decided to move up there as well. After elementary school my mother sent me to live with my older brother while the house she purchased finished getting built. This was probably a good move as it prevented me from spending too much time in the street, but man was it hard. There went all my friends and everything I knew. Needless to say I spent a lot of time by myself for a while until I got adjusted. Most of my time would be spent drawing and tending to my brother's dog Tyson, a mastiff / shepherd mix. Luckily, the pizzeria right across the street made New York style pizza and even had an arcade machine, a vintage Street Fighter (one) cabinet. The following years were pretty much normal for any kid in Jr. and Senior high school. During this time I gained some new hobbies. Apparently I wasn't the only one that had moved up from New York City, so naturally we banded together. I started listening to Hip Hop music and learning to do graffiti (in a notebook of course). I would also discover the Internet on my brother's computer and would spend many hours browsing the web and chatting with strangers on mIRC.  I would spend a few summers in NYC with my father, but unfortunately, our relationship started to become more distant.

Development  - The Revelation :
Unfortunately, after my junior year, my mom and I moved to Orlando, Florida. Looking back at it now I didn't take it too badly, but at that time I was really lonely. I suddenly left all my new friends that I had made for the past 5 years. I'm now a senior, in a new school, with no friends and no history. That pretty much has to be the worst for any teenager. That move, that change, is probably the largest single contributing factor into my personality. During my pre-adult years I had to learn to entertain myself. Although I did make some new friends, it wasn't like before. I was much more reserved, much more introspective and self aware of what I liked instead of doing what everyone else liked. I also developed a stronger bond with my mother. We spent a lot of time together going to movies and restaurants. Unfortunately my relationship with my father became even more distant. During this time I discovered electronic music. I would stay up late to watch a show called Amp on MTV. The local radio stations would play a lot of Miami bass and Florida breakbeats. Coming from primarily a single parent household and being the first generation in the U.S.A., there wasn't much focus on education past high school. I passed, but I didn't do well enough to get a scholarship or anything. At the end of my senior year in 1998, I joined the U. S. Force. The education benefits were promising and the prospect of technical training and a salary was definitely welcome. Luckily, after all my training in Texas and Mississippi, my first duty station was Tampa, Florida. I'd be close to my mom and "home". I also got my first car at this time, a 1998 Nissan Sentra. Having this new freedom of transportation definitely opened my eyes. This was my first real introduction into automobiles. The sport compact scene in Florida was definitely growing and I ended up making a few friends who also had Nissans. I was introduced to street racing and was overwhelmed with this new world. Unfortunately, or some would say fortunately, I totaled my Sentra after a year. It was my first accident but no one was hurt. However, I was now looking for a new car. When I had my Sentra, I would "hate" on Hondas because that's what my buddies were doing, but I was really envious of the amount of modifications available and how fast they were going. So after wrecking the Sentra, I bought my current car, a 1994 Honda del Sol Si in March 2000. By this time I was very enthusiastic about the sport compact and import scene and want to jump in head first. Through my research on the Internet I found classic websites like honda.perf.org and Honda-Tech. I also found Team Sol International and decided to start a Florida chapter of this del Sol club, now known as Team Sol Florida. Due to funds, progress was slow, but little by little I was transforming this new joy of mine. I would also get introduced to autocross racing and drifting. Wow, how exciting all this stuff was! I spent a lot of time researching on the Internet, viewing pictures and videos of modified cars in Japan and Europe and reading lots of magazines. This is where I'm at now. Having worked on so many of my friends cars, collaborating on projects and modifying my own I've caught "the bug". Apparently I had a blood transfusion at some point because gasoline and oil run through my veins and I have found my passion. I'm now a grease monkey; a gear head; an automotive enthusiast.