After procrastinating for almost 2 years, I decided to pull up my socks and finish off this long delayed gunpla project.
Colors used are :
Here’re some prelim pics before the real photoshoot.
You could say that I live a rather boring life, going through the days with preset routines which would bore any sane person to death. But I have acknowledged that fact, and a accepted that, as I’m not exactly a person who’s craving for excitement or unpredictability in life.
However, 2011 was a year which I’m not going to forget anytime soon. So many things happened, so many things which I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing, occured during that 365 days. Some were planned, some were suprises.
I’m actually badly struggling at work this year, as the changes to both my jobscope as well as the new technologies made it really hard for me to adapt. And that really showed when I sat back and pondered upon my achievements over the past year.
But that didn’t change the fact that I ended up being sent not once, but twice, this year to the States… experiences which were sure to be useful in future despite the many friction and mishaps which happened there. For that, I’m thankful for being shown that having to eat the humble pie sometimes is a needed thing.
Later during the year, I got the shock of my life when my mum was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. The operation, and the long term ongoing treatment to heal her changed my daily routine significantly, as I now have to ensure I make time to ensure my mum’s well being and the long journey ahead towards her recovery. It also made me appreciate my family more after this. Which is a regret, as I should have done that even before things like this happen.
On to happier things, I’m not a person who likes traveling much, but I still made arrangements to ensure the wifey and myself went for our long delayed honeymoon to Japan. Long story short, the 8 days passed way too quickly… and we were left craving for more of what the far east had to offer. It was definitely a beautiful place and the people there were some of the most courteous you could find. Definitely worth the hearty price tag needed.
Next up, it was time to replace the wife’s long serving Perodua Kancil with something more reliable, as we made frequent trips back her hometown. After going through 2 dealers, 2 salesmen, and a whole lotta cursing through both the phone and also meeting up and giving them a piece of my mind for the constant delays, we finally have a brand new Hyundai i10 minicar sitting in the apartment carpark.
Oh year, btw… my elder sis finally got married, so congrats to her and her hubby :)
There’re still a thousand and one less significant things which happened this year which I want to capture, but these are only a fraction which I can put onto paper.
So as the year draws to a close, I’m just wondering what 2012 would be offering after going thru 2011. I just hope there would be more pleasant things than bad ones.
Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a great one ahead ^_^
Typical of early Proton cars, more and more things fall apart the older it gets. So this time, the center switch of my old 4G18 Waja started failing, the demister doesn’t work anymore, and cosmetically, the paint on the hazard light switch has started fading.
So basically, that gave me the perfect excuse to replace it with something newer. And I had exactly what I wanted in mind. So I head over to ezordaq.com; a local online automotive accessories store, and order a unit of the Waja CPS Center Switch Console.
Service was quick, and 2 days later, I received something via mail.
Now I’m a bit worried about retrofitting stuff using after market parts as I had a bad experience with online bought products.
But I decided to give it a go anyway.
First things, remove the side plastic frame from the middle console of the car. Just remove one screw and yank it off.
Next, remove 4 screws to remove the 2 DIN radio console; 2 on each side.
Remove off the plastic fascia which frames the old oval shaped center switch to access the 2 screws on each side.
Once screws are off, pry out the old center switch console. You’ll see 2 looms of wires. Remove these by unhooking the retaining clips.
Replace the old center switch console with the new CPS version. Work the console back into the empty slot and screw back the 2 screws to secure it in place.
Reverse the steps which you have done previously, to complete installation.
Start up the car, test each and every switch to ensure they’re working. Make sure all illuminations are working as well.
There you have it.
10 minutes work to retrofit the Waja CPS Center Switch console into your old Waja.
I’m mighty happy with it ^_^
After what seems like an eternity, I finally managed to go on an 8 day vacation with the wifey in Japan; which also doubled up as our long delayed honeymoon. This has been an especially harsh year for both of us… both in terms of career, as well as our personal lives. We’ve been running practically on empty, so this short trip was a welcomed relief; giving us the necessary breather before we continued with the reality of life. Anyways, I’ll let the photos do the talking; but I’ll have to admit, Hokkaido was beautiful.
I went in the cinema without much expectation for this movie. I came out laughing my ass off, feeling totally satisfied with what it had to offer. Long story short, this movie is a gem. I was never a fan of American horror movies, but this was was different, never took itself too seriously and had 2 totally awesome actors who hammed up their roles to make it an enjoyable ride.
Anton Yelchin plays the typical teenage anti-hero trying to save the love of his life. Colin Farrell was insanely cool as the modern day vamp Jerry (yeah… doesn’t sound as intimidating as Dracula… but hey… he’s still broodingly effective). David Tennant was campy as hell, who gives the most laughs in this movie as the Las Vegas entertainer, Peter Vincent. This awesome threesome totally gave life to this 2011 Fright Night remake.
All in all… go watch this movie. Dun let the relatively boring first half put you off… the second half is EPIC. 4 sotongs out of 5.
The two trips I spent here, have accumulated to a grand total of 8 weeks so far. And with 1 final week to go, I think it would be good to summarize some of the things I managed to try over here in the States, instead of splitting them up into what would be 20 separate posts. So here goes.
First lunch I had when I touched down on the June weekend. Fresh Choice at Great Mall.
Orenchi Ramen. Amazing place for Tonkotsu and Shoryu Ramen. The semi cooked egg yolk is to die for. 45 min wait for a place in average… bummer.
Various chicken and beef Vietnamese noodles which made the bulk of my dinners.
Some so-so Taiwanese noodles at a shop in Ranch 99.
Great waffles, hearthy omelette at iHop.
I don’t know why ppl are so crazy over the food at Tofu House. I’m of the opinion that the tofu dish is just ‘meh’… but the barbeque meats are good.
I made a mistake in ordering this third pounder Angus burger from McD. I didn’t realize it was 3 times the size of the quarter pounder in Bolehland. Good… but way too big for me.
Fantastic Teriyaki Salmon + Pork Tonkatsu at Tomi Sushi. Me like.
A slice of apple strudle and a warm cup of French Roast coffee at Cafe Carmel.
Huge ass portion of Texan ribs at Armadillo Willy’s. Shared between 5 ppl.
Food galore at Tomi Sushi and Seafood Buffet. First time I tried ‘uni’… or sea urchin roe. Horrible taste and texture. Everything else was good though.
I always make sure I visit Applebees at least once during every trip to SJ for their baby-back ribs. Brings back loads of memories… especially those during my first trip here,
A typical American breakfast at one of the cafes, which I can’t remember the name… near Safeway in Milpitas.
The most expensive dish I had in SJ, lobsters+scallops+shrimp at Red Lobster. Lip smackin good.
More ribs. This time at Outback. Pretty tender. Nice.
A bowl of minestrone soup, and a serving of lasagne stuffed with nothing but cheese. At Olive Garden, Great Mall.
Which is the better drive?
The bigass Pontiac G6?
Or the 2011 Ford Focus?
Eyes closed, I’d take the Focus anytime.
Why don’t I get to play wiv cars as much back in Bolehland?
:P
Been 5 weeks since I’ve been here. Another week and I will be back home. It has been a rather demotivating past few weeks. I wasn’t able to meet the objectives I have set, and as much as I want to blame the instability of the way things were being done here, I have to admit I have my own share of blame for being unable to effectively get my job done this time. The helpless feeling I had really dug deep and I felt depressed every night before going to sleep thinking about how badly I performed.
I hardly traveled anywhere this round, and honestly speaking I didn’t have the mood to do so either. But it came as a welcomed surprise when my San Jose colleague asked me if I wanted to join him for a ball game. Since I couldn’t do anything much on Friday while waiting for feedback, I said yes. I won’t lie by saying I know baseball, but I was interested in what America’s favorite pastime offered. So I hopped onto his SUV after work and head off to San Francisco that evening.
The weather was unpredictable. A moment it was clear skies, the next moment the whole horizon was blanketed in fog. And when that happened, the temperature plummeted and the jacket I brought barely managed to keep me from freezing. When I reached the AT&T park, there place was swarmed with fans. And the atmosphere was electric. Let’s just say, I’m glad I agreed to the invite and I totally enjoyed every moment of the game. Thanks K.
Ok… so the week started off horribly… I still feel like an exploited immigrant… and I still ain’t liking this second trip to the land where freedom of speech is king. But TGIF it’s Friday… I managed to put aside my worries for at least an hour or so.
The invitation came out of nowhere, and I wasn’t even part of the dept… but since the boss insisted the 3 of us went… what the heck… it’s an excuse to not eat cafe food and bask in the sunshine for a moment or two.
The lunch was held at Pedro’s – Restaurant and Cantina which was in Santa Clara.
It was a big lunch group… about 17 in total. A handful of familiar faces… the rest were new to me. But it was a good chance to rub shoulders with the big boys… and they were surprisingly friendly during this outing.
I never really liked Mexican food… and I ain’t about to change my mind. The meal I had was so-so… but the portion was huge.
The best part of the whole lunch? I got to ride shotgun in a pimpin Jaguar XF! All those revolving AC vents when the start button was pressed, and the slowly rising control knob was da shit. And damn… the growl of the V8 was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet… the owner was totally unbashfully generous wiv the throttle… I’m totally a fan now…
I sincerely… utterly… absolutely… still hate this place.
Nuff said.
