magma topics (at this moment. roughly.)

hi blog. i haven't written anything in here for a while so i guess i'll just start and end at random.

***

i've noticed the recent anton casey fiasco shot some keyboard warriors to fame because of the politically-charged monkey shit they've been throwing at each other. well good for you, hope y'all got all the digital brownie points you've ever desired. maybe they'll be worth a bitcoin or something in the future.

***

another piece of crap worth mentioning here, this k-pop contestant who's not proud to be singaporean. it seems everyone has something to say about everyone else, too.

k-pop contestant: i'm not proud to be singaporean.

critic: what! how dare you?! what's wrong with this country! i'm trying to be reasonable here by not ripping your head off you bitch so you take what you said back!

critic's critic: hey back off! she's entitled to her own opinions! i'm being reasonable here too because i'm not calling you names so you back the fuck off or THOU SHALT INCUR THE WRATH OF ALL MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO BANG ON THEIR KEYBOARDS! I AM HOLIER THAN THOU!!!

critic's friend: now we're playing facebook friends? i have fifty million friends so leave critic alone! i'm being reasonable here because i haven't called you names yet, but i will because i'm not above some keyboard banging myself! and if you really piss me off I'LL STALK YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL! I AM MIGHTIER THAN THOU!!!

so, are you actually going to get physical an break one another's neck or something? because this non-name-calling-and-actually-thinking-that-makes-you-the-better-keyboard-fucktard shit is getting real old. if no one's benefitting off this exchange let's all call it a day and have an early night, eh?

***

someone told me this country is becoming a drama mama because of the riot, katana-totting mrt rider, kidnapping and other happenings. now, that i love.

random thought

i had a sudden thought.

i miss the old movies where actors did their own stunts instead of shows of nowadays where directors create explosive and bombastic scenes using computers.

that's it.

yay i'm sounding like an old fart now.

yay i posted an entry.

nightshoot@sg

i never understood why people have to put '@' in the shit they write. guess it makes them feel special.

so we went for another shoot of the Silvia. because it's probably the one going, damn it. i contacted an importer in australia to see if they wanted it and they said they'd love to but can't for legal reasons. well i'm happy because at least they replied.

i never give my pictures names but i'll christen this one "chinky and her laptop"

the only way to make all my facebook uploads come from my phone is to put the pictures on this blog, save the pictures onto my phone, and then do a mobile upload. tedious eh.

and i've put the watermark back into my pictures. for fun.

it's never a good idea

to have two cars that need work at any one time. all the satisfaction you enjoy after one mod/upgrade/replacement is instantly diluted by the other car.

the Silvia never gives me any problems except for the high maintenance costs, but given that it's my dream car and a turbo one at that it's actually very bearable. the bmw was a pig when i bought it but it runs really great now.

so maybe i'll tweak the title.

it's never a good idea to have two engines that have a host of aftermarket options at the same time.

i've put both cars on the market for sale in the hope that someone will take one off my hands and let me concentrate on the other. initial market reactions were good, with lots of enquiries on both cars. however the enquiries have trickled to a stop. i'll let the Silvia ad expire because that's the one i really want to keep, and i'll just keep letting the bmw's ad run till it gets sold.

goodbye bm. thanks for the fun times.

yeah that was a little premature. i'll wave it goodbye when it's actually sold.

***

there's a nardi steering wheel i've been pining for for the last few years. i decided to show chinky a pic of it for her opinion...

me: i have a dilemma. i like this steering wheel a lot, but if i put it in the Silvia i'll have to remove the airbag. what do you think?

chinky: do. not. remove. the. airbag. why did you ask me such a stupid question?

hopes dashed.

***

at great world, i parked next to a low ventilation shaft...

me: you might want to watch your head getting out.

chinky: me?! don't worry. don't know what the hell you're talking about.

me: LOLLL

***

back in feb i was driving on a minor road when i saw a brick lying in the middle of the road. it was over 5cm tall and i lost colour at once because of the low-ass nissan i was in. there was no way to switch lanes so i braced myself for a loud clunk and a broken bumper, or worse, some leaking fluids. surprise surprise, the car sailed over the brick without contact. then i remembered the mechanic had dialed the height up a little when i changed my coilovers the last time.

me: phwoarrrrrrrrrr!!! heng ah!!! did you see that?!?!

chinky: LOLLL!!!

***

we just finished watching the avengers on dvd...

chinky: what's that guy's name?

me: dunno, think it's apocalypse.

chinky: apple grapes?

me: poker face

***

i made an overseas notification on the ns website on a ferry going out to open sea, in my final seconds of connectivity. win.

***

chinky asked me to play a few rounds of fun run.

we found law and yan already in the game.

on a saturday night.

***

i'm saving so many car photos on my iphone that when i see a picture i like in a magazine i automatically touch that picture for one second. fml.

epiphany

i just realised something.

i have a Nissan Silvia S15 for the fun drives and a BMW 5 series for the comfort drives, and all i'm interested in right now is Fun Run.

oh apple, how you've ruined my life.

smart blog

oh my god, blogspot finally did something right and made itself phone friendly.

i'm typing this post on my phone.

of course, i've changed phones twice since i last bitched about its incapabilities, so it might not be blogspot after all.

男朋友, 女朋友

the damnedest thing about being a boyfriend is when you reach home with your girlfriend and you both need the loo you stand there and watch while she happily screams "me first!!" and slams the door in your face. and you can still hear her giggling inside.

but you know what? it's the best thing in the world too.

(:

snippets

been a while eh? i haven't got a lot of stuff so i'll just publish the blog-worthy things i've jotted down. yes, i have this list in case i come up blank and stare at a blank screen.

***

有一夜...

me: 为什么这些 toyota vios 每次在晚上都跑这么快?

chinky: 因为它们白天没机会.

me: 哈哈哈!!!

***

one morning i made a coffee and brought it to the nearby park to sip. a little fruit fly buzzed near while i was admiring the flowers. while i was sipping my coffee i saw the fruit fly stroll around the rim of my mug. and then i stopped sipping and watched as the cute little thing slipped on the inside wall and fell into my coffee, and die from the steaming beverage.

***

chinky had a confession...

one rainy day i parked my car right outside my house. she opened her door too wide and chipped the paint on the fence. i noticed it a couple of weeks later and asked if she remembered doing it and she said "no" with a poker face.

she confessed to me more than 6 months later.

chinky had a confession...

***

one day i drove the mini. after the ground-hugging, planted, firm and grippy ride the silvia gives me, the mini feels like a tall, soft, bouncy, turn-and-you-flip minivan.

yep. comfy.

***

one night at my place...

me: hmm maybe i should remove this key chain from my car key.

chinky: hmm yeah, the whole set looks very heavy.

me: yeah.

chinky: actually the heaviest thing in this set is the key.

me: hmm you're right.

chinky: what's it for?

me: SPEECHLESS...

***

one day we took the mini...

chinky: you know the mini smells really good?

me: hmm yeah.

chinky: no car in the world has this scent! i love it!

me: (:

chinky: the silvia has no scent. just noise.

me: ...

***

one night on the expressway...

chinky (pointing): that.. that... that's got to be the ugliest taillights i've ever seen!

me: lower your finger darling, that's a bentley.

chinky: LOLOL!!! you serious?!?!

just then it braked and entire top length of the windscreen lit up with leds.

me: OHMYGODDD!!! that's gotta be the ugliest taillights i've ever seen!

chinky: LOL!!

me: but then it's really quite blinding. it really works, i'll give it that.

chinky: that's because it's blindingly ugly!

me: LOL!!!

***

you know your car is fast when you can't determine if the person you've overtaken actually sped up. or tried to.

been a while eh?

some funny shit that happened while i was inactive in the blogosphere.

***

me and chinky on old cars

me: i'm gonna get a seriously old school merc and drive it around like a boss.

chinky: ya you should! i like the chrome!

me: you like chrome? you can try to polish it.

chinky: i'll leave this kind of manly tasks to you.

me: LOL!

***

me and chinky on the starbucks guy

chinky: he's an indian right?

me: ya.

chinky: you know what they're called?

me: punjabi.

chinky (rolleye lol): barista la!

me: LOLOL!! but technically i'm not wrong either.

***

the australian trip came and went. just like that. wasn't as spectacular as i'd hoped it'd be.

I haven't been updating like i should have. again. with all the work charging up my ass and barreling down my shoulders right now it's nearly impossible to get any typing done. no time to blog. no time to sleep. no time to zhng the car. no time for any.

fucking.

thing.

and blogspot's changed its format again. i'm getting too old for this shit.

i'll think about updating this blog again.

or maybe i'll just shut this racket down once and for all.

crimson

it's been a while since i last went for a zen shoot. guess what i shot.

someone knocked into me and cracked the diffuser. i don't want to talk about it.

i quite like this spoiler. personal preference, really.

i left the tripod at home because it was a spur-of-the-moment-shoot. everything was handheld so they didn't turn out as well as i'd hoped. and small preview screens don't show blurs, damn them.

maybe next week i'll shoot the bmw with chinky.

if the workshop lets me have it back.

unwilling safari

i told chinky i blogged yesterday.

she: about what? must be cars.

me: you see lor.

we spent five minutes waiting for her phone to load the page. my phone was near our feet so it was too far away. and my lappie was over the mountain on my table. finally i said i was going to get the lappie and the phone speed-loaded. she saw the first few words.

she: you blogged about me? (:

me: (:

then she tapped the entry to see the rest of it and it slowed down again.

she: eh, say you're gonna bring the laptop over again.

me: you say la.

she: i'm gonna bring the laptop over.

re-gen

the last couple of days i've been going straight to chinky's place after work. she fell sick and i wanted to try to make her feel better.

last night we did swatches of nail polish.

tonight we went through her sticker collection.

therapy comes in all forms.

work = no life balance

a monthly cycle is too much trouble. from now on i'll make this blog a bi-monthly affair. bi-monthly because of its ambiguous definition.

i started working on a full-time basis at the end of january and february just disappeared in a flash. at this rate my july vacation will be here in no time at all. yes, any time now.

but right now most of my time is consumed by work-related issues too many to list, so i'll just skip it.

.

okay, so nothing happened in feb.

***

apart from my car(s). that definition's ambiguous too, because the bmw is semi-permanently in the workshop undergoing repairs/upgrades so i see it once a month. the Silvia, then. i'm accumulating the items i bought online so i can put it in the shop for one major operation instead of a dozen flu shots. but don't hold your breath because after these mods it'll still look exactly the same. apart for one additional ding on the bonnet, because the office carpark's dominated by mango trees and i found out mangoes are quite heavy. i fucking hate them now.

and these mods will slow down and eventually cease because my bank account's already in its death throes.

after the turbo upgrade, maybe.

and the engine.

probably the driveline too.

hmm...

maybe it won't stop.

***

i'm spending less time with chinky now because of work too. it's totally upheaved my life. but it's just a temporary thing because once the major housekeeping in the office is over i won't have to spend saturdays at work.

***

yesterday:

father saw me at the office and looked rather pleased.

he: see? if you're willing to burn a couple of weekends for work it'll be cleared in no time!
me: i've been coming here every saturday since i started work and i'm still not seeing the clearing.
he:

if you're willing to burn a couple of months for work it'll be cleared in no time!

me: ...

crossing bridges

hello 2012. or goodbye world, according to the mayans.

i realise i've not been updating as much as i would've liked but then things have just been happening one after another without much in the way of breathers.

---

i left the 5-series with a bmw guru and forgot about it for two months, and he's just started working on it because he's even busier than me. when it comes back to me it'll have a new air conditioning system and a restored engine and be in a different colour. and then it'll be sold.

---

because i've just gotten another car, and this one's here to stay. i've dreamed about it for so long and now, nearly two months after getting it, i still can't believe it's really here. it's my dream car, the Nissan Silvia. it's flaming red and comes with modifications worth thousands.

some of which i've replaced with factory parts because i was stopped by an lta officer who literally jumped on his bike to give chase when i drove past. i'll not go into details with the fun times i had with the compliance inspectors since that day, suffice it to say that it cost thousands to put right. but just try stopping me now, comrade constables.

i've been doing a lot of window shopping looking for modifications for the Silvia, and the internet's my best friend now. alas, it's a downward spiral because there's tons to do to this engine; one can easily go broke. or end up selling a kidney. the most important aspect of these mods is that they have to look factory on top of doing their jobs, but i'll keep this car mostly stock because i don't want to live on just bread and water.

one thing i've learned about modifying this engine: one step at a time.
one thing i've learned about modifying in this heathen, frigid, doctrinaire state: do it smart.

---

i'll be starting work soon. nothing much to say about that really.

---

i've just sold the Triumph. like i said i'll be working soon and don't fancy bread and water. i went back to the bike shop to retrieve my identification card and spotted it sitting there on display with all the other bikes for sale. felt a pang in my chest and stopped to touch it a last time. i'll miss it.

goodbye freedom, in more ways than one.

oh well, shit happens. end of the world is nigh, anyway.

---

here i go again, making this blog a despairing one.

well, my blog.

all in the head

two nights ago i studied through the night for yesterday's exam. at 3.25am i was left with two topics. i know the exact time because here's what happened...

• i looked at my remaining topics.
• i checked out the clock.
• in my head i went "wahahaa!! so much time!"
• i laughed out loud imagining my own thought.
• and then i laughed louder because anyone who saw me then would've thought i'd lost my mind.

---

caught off a forum:

you need to practice so jesus is your braking point. for example, when your passenger says "OH JESUS" and you still make the corner you are good.

the reason

***

chinky just shared the following excerpt with me. i typed it out because i'm not a tech person and it's too troublesome to fucking jack the phone to the lappie just to extract the picture. and i like the keyboard.

---

Her Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, and that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behaviour, I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

His Diary:

Motorcycle won't start... can't figure out why.

---

LOL!!! so if anyone's wondering why i haven't been updating the blog as religiously as in the past, i'll just blame the male gene; we ain't built to talk, that's the woman's job.

***

as mentioned in the last post i've just gotten a new car. well i got it sometime in the middle of the year and it's not exactly a new car. it's a bmw e34 that's about half the age of the morris and comes complete with its own set of little problems, including electrical ones. oh yes, the dawn of electrics in the automobile.

i chose it because of the low market value and ballistic tuning potential. and it'll still be below the fuzz radar even if i max tune it. and the bonnet opens backwards. ain't it cool?

i'm ironing out the electrical problems one by one now and i've bolted on some new items as well, such as proper chassis bits and new wheels, with some major power items further down the list. as of now the family's branded me as an idiot who buys old cars to fix, not to drive, and that's a good thing because if that's any indication of market perception i'll never run out of undervalued ego busters. why's that? because when i'm done with this mother, it'll stab the eyes out of my mom's audi. the 333bhp 3-litre supercharged v6 audi s4, people, in case you're thinking it's one of the lower spec a4s. and to address any safety concerns this baby's made of real steel, motherfucker.

and unlike the morris it's got safety belts. and a much higher cruising speed, which is.. actually i haven't found out yet because that's one of the electrical problems; the speedometer doesn't work.

***

in other news, my neighbour just told me recently that he loves my collection of cars, first the morris and now this old school bmw. the only reason i can see him praising them is because both the merc and the audi suffer overrepresentation on this street alone, not to mention the whole new-thing-let's-join-the-queue economy, which does nothing for their perceived values.

perceived value. that's the only reason i got the bmw at a fraction of the audi's price. and it's going to destroy it. so thanks, you blind retards.

really, are you people really that mindless, to only see things the way you're told to see them? to be unable to form conclusions and make decisions? good god, i'm in zombieland.

the joys of motoring

i haven't been posting photos because most of the photos i'm taking now are work-related, hence confidential company property. in compensation i'll write about some of the joys i've experienced in my terms of car ownership.

---

joy 1: morris beats the light

me and chinky were in the morris with this car dangerously close behind us (well any distance shorter than 20m is dangerous when you're in a 40-year-old rust bucket with seasonal brakes). the light just ahead had switched to amber, and because there wasn't enough stopping distance, i floored it. that's relative actually; flooring the morris produces a velocity change equivalent to tapping my mom's audi. we made the light; the car behind didn't. i pumped both fists in the air and we both cheered the little morris while still pulling gently away from the middle of the junction. and we're both quite sure the driver behind witnessed our joyous celebration.

---

joy 2: airport run

me and chinky went to the airport for a drink in the morris. we had parked and were already inside the terminal when i realised i'd left my wallet at home. we beat a hasty retreat and hopped back into the car, only to discover the cashcard only had cents in it. with no way to top it up we screeched (that, too, is relative) to the carpark exit. when the barrier went up and showed that we were within the grace period, we clapped and cheered mightily.

---

joy 3: firing back

i haven't mentioned this but i've gotten another car. it's now in the midst of restoration so naturally there're some issues to sort out, but in the meantime it's back-fired on a few occasions, which is a bad thing. the first was on an expressway in lousy traffic, on the right lane. the second was in an open-air carpark, where i sent a few people scuttling from the nearby coffeeshop. since i'm lousy with descriptions i sent the car to the workshop and asked them to drive it themselves so they'd know the exact problem and go about solving it. when i went down the next day and heard that it'd successfully back-fired again while they were testing it i was indescribably overjoyed.

---

we laughed at our own reactions to all three situations.

chinky: omg you have such special cars!

me: lol! yeah i know!

chinky: and we're always getting happy at the funniest things about them!

me: lol!

---

i went through some of my last photo posts and realised i miss shooting for the fun of it. maybe i'll go on a shoot this weekend with chinky, exams be damned.

realignments

i didn't write anything last month so i'll make up for it with at least two this month.

i took the bike out for a night shoot some time ago and experienced the true reason i bought it last year. it was a combination of the quiet night and the empty roads that summoned this feeling.

it's not the engine, the handling, or the exhaust. those are what a bike needs. but what the Triumph is, what it really means to me, is freedom.

which is why i'll regret seeing it go in the very near future.

it's a great bike but i can't keep it around if all it does is make me feel alive once in a blue moon, while the rest of the time it just brings me stress and danger. it's diminishing returns. one of the many things i don't agree with in this country is the way people drive here. and i'm not going to keep late nights just so i can avoid these people of monstrous ineptitude.

i won't rant about the Triumph's abilities and what it's done for me; for those who don't understand it can't be explained, and for those who do there's no need to.

all you retarded motorists out there, go eat some shit.

red

today i went out with chinky on the bike. on the way back some retard in an alfa whipped a plastic cup into my way and my tyre ate it up. this was right after he'd zipped between the traffic like he was an f1 racer, and if it'd been something bigger or heavier it might've killed us.

twice after that i raped the bitch; once at the light immediately after the cup incident, and once when we both turned onto the expressway (it's really easy to humiliate people with the Triumph, or any class two bike for that matter). however both times chinky pulled me back from completely destroying the bitch because she thought it was highly dangerous. she thinks she did the right thing, and i reluctantly concede.

still, next time i see you, alfa, i will shaft you again.

barrrp

some days back i was stopped by an lta officer for having an exhaust system that's too loud.

i'd just left school and was gliding down the slope to the kap traffic light between the cars when i passed by the officer. he turned to look at me as i went past. after i made the u-turn and saw him following me in the rear view mirror with his lights on, i immediately went through the list of illegal parts i had. oh hang on, i haven't done anything illegal to the bike, so what the fuck...? and then i remembered my helmet. shit.

he came up next to me and beeped his horn. i turned over and saw a white helmet with sunglasses smiling and giving me a nod. so we stopped at the nearest bus stop. i turned off my ignition, put down the side stand, and was about to get off when he appeared by my side.

him: good morning, sir.

me: morning officer.

him: can i see the papers for your exhaust pipes?

me: ... err, officer, they're original.

him: har! original ah! wah this bike good ar!

me: (: thank you sir.

him: okay, thank you sir.

and he walked away.

i waited till he rode off and before going on my way. two junctions later i realised i'd forgotten to restrap my helmet and stopped at the next bus stop to do that, lest i got stopped again like a twat.

triumph? which triumph?

the other day i fetched my brother to his friend's place. on the bike. however he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. t-shirt, baggy berms with strangling cuffs, and flip flops. yes. flip flops. good thing my father stepped in and commanded shoes unto his feet.

so anyway, he decided to bring some extra stuff on board, like a big sling bag, his lappie, a bottle, and his lunch. all this on top of the backpack i made him carry because i had an upcoming shoot and i couldn't carry it with him on board. well i had fun watching him try to balance everything.

the trip lasted about 20min but there was a slight drizzle. trist wasn't drenched because i let him wear my riding jacket. and the first thing he commented about it was, "it's bloody hot!"

the bike was really rear-heavy once he got on. and him sliding down the seat to claw on the tank every time i accelerated didn't help my fatherhood either. my lower body was jammed between the tank and his bag, which also managed to push my stomach forward, and i was only supporting my upper body with my wrists. good thing it was only 20min then.

but he enjoyed it to the point of asking me for private lessons, at which point i shook my head in my polite way of telling him to go to hell as the sudden vision of him flinging my bike into a tree invaded my head. *shudder*

he asked me why the bike was named after the bra brand and i confidently told him, without any background checks, that the british bike got that name first and the american bra followed.

today i did a quick check and discovered that it was true; Triumph the bike was formed in 1885 and triumph the bra was formed in 1886. bloody hell, that was fucking close. i got one thing wrong though. triumph the bra came from germany, not america.

he was shocked at the price until i pointed out that it was a euro bike and the japanese equivalents were a lot cheaper. then again there's no japanese equivalent. heh.

and damn all you ignorant retards who keep likening my bike to the bra company. you fucking imbeciles.

the idiot engineer

this is a response to this.

the mini was making a lot of funny noises from the engine and whenever i stood next to the door to get in or out my legs were blasted with hot air from the engine bay. so one day i popped a bonnet for a quick look.

horror of horrors, i found the coolant tank empty. that's dangerous unless you're a retard, especially considering the mini uses an all-aluminium engine which could result in a quick melt-down. the worst thing was i didn't even know how long it's been running without coolant. i promptly poured in all the coolant i had left in my possession and ordered some more just in case, so that's sorted.

the next horror was sitting right next to the coolant tank; a rubber hose bringing air into the turbo was cracked right next to said kit, and anything, i mean anything such as a water droplet or a slightly bigger dust particle, that touches a turbo while it's spinning will obliterate the fan blades which will in turn destroy half the sodding system. so i taped up the crack and took it out for a short drive, only to discover the crack had sucked a strip of the tape into the hose. okay, no more driving until the new part, which i've also already ordered, arrives.

so up the stands the mini went. i did a casual inspection under the engine and found the diff covered with some green liquid, which i can only assume is the diff oil or some other such crucial lubricant. i haven't brought that up with anybody in the family because they'll just naturally assume i'm wasting money.

oh by the way, the stands i was talking about were bought for the morris, and when i bought them i went for the higher weight rating ones because i figured any of the cars in the house could potentially get on them. so they're the 3-ton per pair ones which can carry the fucking merc tank. and to make it less taxing on the chassis i cut four strips of rubber from an old tyre and put them between the jack and car every time.

so one day the sister brother came back and started screeching that i took it off immediately, because she he was afraid the jacks would fuck up the chassis, like create four fucking concaves under the car. wow.

the wheels of a car are nearly the last thing they install on the assembly line, after the engine, interior, and all electrical components. how do you suppose they support the chassis while they're installing all the other stuff? what do you think they call those places "jack points" for? and don't you know that the jacks have a higher weight rating that the suspension system itself? what was your engineering degree for... oh wait, who am i talking about, of course she he wouldn't know. you don't want to take any chances? where were you when the servicing intervals came? where are you now when the car needs its owner? in a train, that's where. fix your sink? 吃屎吧!

so anyway i've followed the helpless finger-pointing squawking bitch brother's instructions and put the car down now and it's still waiting for the part to arrive. once that goes on i'll offer no more advice, time, effort, or resources on it to people who can't understand and won't listen. what's the point if all my efforts are viewed with doubt by people whose only concept of owning a car is to pump some petrol and drive it around? isn't it a fucking joke that i should base my standards on these people? the crappy suspensions can fucking break and the dry diff (i'll just assume the green stuff is diff oil) can explode and kill whoever's driving it at the time. it's just a roll of the dice now.

lessons learned

this post is mostly about the triumph, so if you're not interested i suggest you skip it and read the next post. or fuck off.

i changed the radiator juice to a proper one which is supposed to work in the tropics instead of the permafrost other parts of the world experience. parts like the uk, where a one-degree increase in temperature will see people dropping dead in the streets. anyway the engine seems cooler now, though only marginally. i'll have to ride it a couple more times to let the stuff run through the system before i can really tell the difference. if i still decide it's too hot there's one last resort i could use, but i'll just observe the situation before going to extremes.

i'll probably never buy another riding jacket from scandinavia too, because that's also one of those fair weather countries and my developed-and-made-in-scandinavia riding jacket serves as my own personal popcorn sachet.

i also readjusted the suspensions in a bid to find a more compliant situation on the roads, because the roads are not a track and some bumpy stretches actually succeeded in pitching me off the saddle. not the most pleasant thing to happen near the century mark while leaned over. one thing to note about working on the bike, or any vehicle, is that it's so much easier in daylight. i know because i did the previous suspension adjustments in the fucking dark.

i had some errands to run today and i'd already made up my mind yesterday to take the bike. seeing as i'd been reading up on a couple of the most interesting technical riding manuals i'd ever come across, given to me by chinky no less, i thought today'd be a good time to practice some of those techniques, as well as test out the new suspension settings.

but the weather thought otherwise, and dark clouds hovered overhead throughout the day. son of a bitch. i was tempted to just screw it and ride anyway, when the clouds turned darker still. fuck, you win. so i borrowed mom's car for the errands and two hours later when i reached home not a single sodding drop of rain had arrived. the motherfucking sky almost gave me a fucking stroke. ruined my fucking day. i'm sorry if some people suffered my lousy mood today.

on the slightly more mundane side of things, i also dipped the headlights because i found out i'd unwittingly become one of those idiotic assholes with permanent high beams. those englishers must have rather squinty eyes.

***

i've been learning many lessons in different aspects of my life; some technical knowledge, some general information, mostly important ones. nothing bad happened for these lessons to take place, just a slight review of past and present events. prompted by boredom but ultimately beneficial.

i'm over it

let's say you're driving your mitsoobroo gtrx12345 sti on your way to somewhere. up comes another fast car and the two of you end up scrambling for first place. finally one of you ends up triumphant. typical everyday situation isn't it?

okay, now what?

oh sure, you might argue that that stupid little shitbox driver needs to be taught a lesson in manners, or you just want to prove that your lesser car is capable of winning some supercar, or that the little victory is your daily adrenaline intake, just to get your fucking day started.

i used to be one of those aggressive drivers who'd jump on the starboard pedal the first chance i got, until one day someone asked me a question: and then what? and damned if i could come up with an answer to satisfy even myself. lol! the little road disputes here are only won or lost based on how big you think your balls are, both to the other driver and to any potentially camping constable, but now that i remove myself from this stupid little game i realise just how meaningless it all is.

and having the privilege of choosing between two fast cars and an uber lux one only strengthens my point. why shorten the lifespan of my engines just to win some idiot? there's no point trying with those i already know are losers. now when someone ticks me off i'll just relax back into the seat and think of cats sleeping on marshmallows. there's nothing to prove.

this could be due to the recent opportunity of driving my dad's car around for a week while he went to china with mom. i'll codename it the tank because that's what it is. it was so big and comfy that i actually wanted every journey to last longer. i just couldn't be bothered with those little street or highway squirts anymore.

or maybe life's catching up with me. at the ripe old age of 28. heh.

of course, i'll still stretch my legs from time to time, and give the cars a workout; they're sports cars after all. but only on an empty road where there's no one to disturb. and i enter no boy-toy challenge.

***

some sharp-eyed people might discover that i've edited or deleted some old posts. i used to think they all represent parts of a whole, part of me. but that's bullshit. i've deleted those irrelevant posts and pictures that do not contribute to my future.

he who overpromises

ends up underdelivering. that's just another lesson from master morris. it's taught me much more than i thought possible.

details next time. if i feel like it.

***

the bike

the Triumph ate up more money and mileage this month. it's jointly due to fossil intake and lack of a car. yes i've been riding it more often. every chance i get in fact, and loving every second of it.

every time i traverse the higher rev range, the exhaust will generate a more throaty rumble at the end of the ride. it's intoxicating but indescribable; it's got to be heard. bloody mental stuff. comparatively speaking, of the cars at home the mini sounds the best but it doesn't come close, the audi sounds disgracefully frail, and the merc doesn't have an exhaust. the Triumph's soundtrack told me aftermarket slip-ons are just there for looks. i'd like a free-flow header and mid-pipe though, because they'd make the little beast sound even sweeter.

just so there're no misunderstandings, talking about the things i want doesn't mean i'm getting them tomorrow, or within the year for that matter. as always, the safety gear comes before performance and looks.

***

the car

no not the morris. i've already sold it. quick, some say? it took two fucking sleepless months. anyway i'm talking about my next car. i'll make it another project and it'll be an ultimate sleeper because no one's ever going to suspect this car would pack more than it looks. i've already planned a host of mods i want to do to it, and i must say, if everything goes smoothly* it'll be bloody special. bearing this post's title in mind i'll not divulge the make and model just yet. at least till it comes. which'll happen in about two years. or five. yep, any time now.

*and then there'll be the woman and children to think about as well. hence the phrase 'if everything goes smoothly'.

i have one rule

for this blog. it's not actually carved in stone or anything, more of a guideline, that every month should appear in this blog's archive. yes there was once in 2009 when i didn't do it, but that was way before this guideline got conceived. which was today.

a couple of months ago i fitted a rear hugger on the Triumph because i couldn't stand all the road crap getting flicked onto the shock by the rear wheel. it's reduced said crap by a fair margin and i'm not a nitpicking bastard so that'll do. i've also taken a screwdriver and tweaked the suspension settings to track mode. it's a lot more composed and the steering's needle sharp now, though it becomes quite cross at the occasional pothole. then again, no bike at any setting is fond of a hole in the road. besides the hugger and tweaks nothing on the bike has changed except the mileage, and this goes against my rule of modding the bike every month, also conceived today. but there's a reason.

---

reason

last week i went for a car shoot in the rain and the shutter mechanism failed after that. i only found that out on the eve of another shoot and had to get it fixed quick. i spent four hours and four hundred dollars at the service centre and now i'm broke. in any case, the camera's fixed and i'm desperately counting down to my next paycheck.

---

there are a couple of things i want to do to the bike, if only to get it working better than it does now. first off i'd like to change the coolant to a fucking freezing one to lower the engine's operating temperature. not that it overheats, i just like things to operate way within their tolerances. next are some fast road hoops. i'm thinking dunlops or metzelers, which will probably happen once the stock ones are bald, or i see a financial surplus. it's not for speed, more for wet and dry traction, which equates to safety if you're retarded. the stock ones are shit.

as can be seen, i've got two choices with my dwindling resources; focus on the necessities or develop a drinking problem. and due to my resource-generating limits right now sloths look like speeding missiles compared to a time-lapse video of my bike modification.

but thanks very much to the morris, my patience and tolerance have reached unprecedented levels.

---

speaking of which

after a long discussion with my dad with regards to financial resources and the management of it, i've decided to let go of the morris. long story short, he wants me to sell the car and return him the money. and i've recently been going through financial hardship myself thanks to the ownership of two vehicles, to the point of having to decide which vehicle to top up petrol for. so i talked to yim who said he'd reassume the responsibility and return me the money. awaiting said cheque now. once this deal is done i'll free up some time and money and focus on other aspects of my life. like getting the fucking degree first.

---

once the morris leaves i'll only have the Triumph for transport, and if i need four wheels i'll have to charter them in advance from either mom or the siblings.

wahahaa!

and unless you're god you will get caught out in the rain at some point. so right now on the top of my shopping list would be some waterproof riding protection for both me and chinky. the rainy season's supposed to be over already but it still pisses every afternoon. i've already got my jacket so i'll get her one next, and then bottoms for both of us, and then boots and gloves. i'll also get a helmet for her, though she'll have to make do with my old one for now, at least till all the other items are settled.

you're right, i didn't think this through before getting the bike, but i'll administer proper management and we'll get past this. (:

instant karma

i was queueing up to deposit some money to pay for a fine, and this girl who was already in line moved to block me. i believe because she was first in line she thought she could have a choice of two machines.

if that's the way you want to play, fine.

my machine became available first, and she moved to take it.

"excuse me, i believe you were in that line," i said loudly, fingering at her queue, and she was embarrassed back into her line.

lol!

and then, standing in front of the machine, i realised i'd forgotten to bring my atm card. fml.

***

last night i was pressed into my bed three times, and throughout the whole event i heard a female voice with a prc slang talking to me, as if i was supposed to know her.

i made up my mind to jump straight out of bed the moment i could move, but the funny thing was i actually fell asleep somewhere in the middle of the whole thing and had a dream.

weird, ain't it.

exhaustication

two consecutive weeks of four- to six-hour sleep can do anyone in.

okay maybe not anyone but certainly me.

today i had to turn in the second last report and i groggily decided, after another eighteen hours of non-sleep, not to ride. wow, imagine that. so i took the mini to school and back. five minutes into the journey and i knew i wasn't going to make it; i couldn't even focus on the car in front of me. fuck, i remember thinking. this is it, i'm gonna die. well, i had to do something to stay awake, and blasting the radio doesn't do shit for me. so i improvised.

there wasn't much on the way there, but on the way back from school i was thoroughly entertained by a big lexus suv. it tried to go around a corner moments after overtaking me, but guess what happened.

i didn't know it was still behind me when i reached home. it must have been stuck behind numerous slower cars the whole time, because i didn't see it the whole way. bet it upset the shit out of him/her. so as i was exiting i finally saw the lexus take up the lane i'd just vacated and try to accelerate away.

i say try, because it still took it a good five seconds to pass me. and i was braking the whole time.

wow, some victory.

i contemplated showing the driver the 'L' sign but then decided against it. because what's the point?

i'm sorry your ego had to be crushed so i could stay awake.
peace. (:

phototripping

had a long trip to nowhere. good thing the company was good, even though she was snoozing. but stop falling asleep on the bike!

anyway it was a good thing we went there because the place was beautiful that twilight.

check out the moon can

check out the moon again can

some pictures you just can't put a price to.

***

in other news, trist and renne spent the majority of the chinese new year in japan and escaped all the duties. and from the pictures on their blogs they had a great time. the bitches.

in yet other news, the trailer song from hall pass has been running loops in my head for the past two days.

son of a bitch.

well, at least it's good.

for now.

yeah! party like a rock, party like a rock star!