⊰ Lambida ⊱
Toward the end of 2019, just before the whole COVID chaos began, I decided to mark our car. A perfectly ordinary hybrid Toyota Auris. After getting tired of walking up to other people's cars and wondering why they were ignoring me, I figured it would be fitting if ours became a company car.
I started looking for an evil corporation, and the clear winner was The Umbrella Corporation, that spread a deadly zombie virus, from the Resident Evil games (and movies). I ordered decals for the sides of the car and the side mirrors.
It took a while after the decals arrived before I finally got around to applying them in January 2020. I cleaned the surface, positioned everything the way I wanted, and then found myself trapped in a conversation with a nosy neighbor, who came over to see what I was doing and, for some reason, thought it was perfectly reasonable to start a conversation.
Neighbor: "What are you doing?"
Me: "Putting on decals." (Duh!)
N: "Company car?"
Me: "Um... yes."
N: "What company?"
Me: (Unable to understand how this conversation was still happening, I looked at the logo and replied:) "Uhh... umbrellas."
The neighbor then proceeded to tell me, in far more detail than anyone should, about his former umbrella import and sales business. Eventually he noticed he'd lost me and asked, "Your husband's company?"
Me: (jumping at the opportunity) "Yes!"
Later, when my partner got home, I updated him:
"If the neighbor asks, you're in the umbrella business."
My partner, in complete acceptance: "Okay."
He's been with me long enough not to question things.
Several years have passed since then, and the decal has faded. The red has forgotten it was ever red, and the mirror decal has turned almost white. I actually think it adds character, so I haven't replaced it. I have, however, added the side element shown in the photo since then. (I have no idea what it's called.)
Sometimes people recognize it on the road, at gas stations, at security checkpoints, and so on.
Why "Lambida"?
Many years ago, we watched “Resident Evil” with a friend. A version from a rather questionable source, It was a burned CD, complete with a cover and everything.
The subtitles had been translated by someone who had confidently claimed to speak English and of course could translate, That turned out to be, not entirely true.
Every single time the movie said "Umbrella", the subtitles translated it as "Lambida."
