I'm Sorry, She Can't be Saved.

And so I went to the workshop along with friends of mine. It was their first time sending their bikes to the 'doctor' and they were rather excited at the prospect of getting a smooth ride. They were like children at a toyshop when we reached and their face lit up when they met my mechanic friends, who were more than happy to help out.

Friend A's bike went first. The verdict wasn't good. Easier said, it had cancer. So, the only way to cure it, is to overhaul. Friend B wasn't doing good either. It had cancer, but at the earlier stages. lolx.

Technically, their engines are in a bad state. Their clutch plates worn, the shaft misaligned because of the broken bearings, and their sprockets aren't biting any chains. Pistons were scratched due to carbon buildup, and basically, it was quite a big job.

And so, only one managed to wriggle out of the workshop alive and in one piece! HahAHahHaa... Got my engine oil changed, my signal lights fixed, and of course, replaced that broken chain guard. Its a cool silver and blends in well with the rims I guess.

Shall take a picture of it soon with the t-loaned digital camera.

(Yeap, I'm a blogger and I don't own a camera)

6am Call. Engaged.

Answering calls at unholy hours have been quite routine this year. Seems like my number is the hottest thing in town. Is it advertised as a chatline number in THE NEW PAPER? From the odd calls I get from the boys I give tuition, to the guys who play DoTA at Prinsep every other weekday night, friends who're stuck in the west when their bikes are facing problems, to the ultimate.... Matters of the heart calls.

This time, it was all about me. Was it a prank? It ain't April Fools yet dawg.

Me: Hello. (Sleepy voice)

Friend: Hello, sorry kacau u tidur. U tak solat subuh ehhh...

Me: Ah... nie ah jap lagi nak solat. (macam real) What can I do for you XXXX?

Friend: Ermm... How are you?

Me: Fine thank you. *yawn* Kinda odd for you to call me at this hour. What's up XXXX?

Friend: Takde.... Dengar-dengar you're getting engaged eh?

Me: Huh? With whom?

Friend: Eh? Tak eh?

Me: Where did you heard it from?

Friend: Oh takpe takpe...

Me: WTF?

Friend: Ok ok. Sorry sorry... Dah gie tido. Nanti I sms tau. Sweet dreams k

Me: Ahhh ok, bye.

(Right... Last year, I was quite fine with this. But this year?!?! Again?!?!)

Courage.

-POST REMOVED, DEEMED UNFIT FOR VIEWING-

Pop, Goes the Chain Guard.

My Wave 125 had a POSH chain guard, unlike the stock, grey chunky ones that you usually see. You can roughly see from the picture below that part of it has been filed off to accommodate the also-not-stock suspensions. Not that it has anything to do with what happened today. The part where its screwed to the rear axle, just snapped! As in, it broke off just before the screw holes.

When it snapped, it created a whole lot of noise as the chain grind against the broken metal piece. Definitely not cool. And with that noise, I limped to my destination taking care to slow down when there were people around. lolx! Not to mention that its quite dangerous having a broken chain guard dangling around.

I removed the whole piece later in the day, and now, my bike's botak over there! hahaha... I'm going shopping for chain guards very very soon! Whooopeee!

The Bodyguard (1992)

I remember the good ol' days when "The Bodyguard" was showing on tv. Back then, Whitney Houston was da bomb, and she never fails to impress with her hits "I run to you", "I will always love you" and "Queen of the Night."

There was a scene in a nightclub, when Rachel (Whitney Houston) was performing on stage, and she gestured to Farmer to stand down when a member of the audience climbed the stage to dance with her. Farmer had no choice but to watch from afar, only to see Rachel swamped by other members of the audience who climbed too. In the end, Farmer had to push his way to her. with fire extinguisher in hand. It was a simple case of 'Better to be safe, than sorry.'

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Farmer said in the movie, "The people who hire me, they don't have to be convinced to save their own lives."

Great movie, great cast. Let my imagination run wild. Go Watch!

Risk-Taking, A Way of Life.

I've been flirting too much with danger, playing around with fire, and walking around with a jerry can full of kerozene. The situation is akin to a juggler, juggling chainsaws about. (Look ma, no hands!) Like how a friend puts it, I keep running away from the dragon, but one day, it'll play catch up, and consume me, and I know it. But well, this is the life the way I want it...

Risk-taking is not seen as a good thing by many. They think too much about the bad things that may befall them, as compared to the good things that may arise from their risk-taking endeavour. And as a result, they stagnate, and do not progress. Things remain the way it is, predictable, boring, uneventful and frustrating.

Source: http://www.risktaking.co.uk/concepts.htm

If you love somebody, you let them go. I say this is just a load of crap in some terms. If you love somebody, treasure them and cherish their presence. Tell him that you love him. And make your intentions known. Hearing someone lose hope over a love just because of this saying, tickled my funny bones. Are you afraid that he'll reject you? Why dwell on the bad outcome, when you should be thinking more of the good ones? If you're so afraid, make use of Valentine's Day or their birthday! It is a great excuse to do something cheesy for him/her.

Gee...

Rejection is part and parcel of life. Its a by-product of risk-taking. Imagine the insurance agent who approaches you at the MRT stations, bus-stops and shopping centres. Can you think of the number of times he gets rejected by passers-by before he manages to find somebody who'll sign up for his insurance plan? If my guess is right, for every 50 people who rejected him, he'll find only 1 person. If he's lucky, maybe 2. So what keeps him going? The fact that he knows statistics doesn't lie; try 50 times, and you'll get lucky once.


Riding a bike is a risk by itself. We all know that motorcyclists are more vulnerable than motorists on the 4-wheeled vehicles, but yet, there's still people who ride. Men, women, of all ages! Why? Because it is a cheap, economical and convenient mode of transport. To put things into perspective, it costs more for me to travel to town in a car, or the train/bus, than on my bike. On top of that, I could get there quicker, and I do not have to worry if the train or bus will come on time, or whether there is a delay. Traffic? Well, bikes thrive in heavy traffic!

I've discovered the joys of risk-taking one too many times. It is an oppurtunity to break away from a repetitive routine, do something new, find someone interesting to exchange ideas with, find a partner and maybe make something out of the risk. Life, without risk-taking, is boring. You mean, you live a planned life, and stick to it till the day you die? Where is the fun in it? To remain where you are isn't wrong, but to improve and progress is what we should seek and persevere towards!

New Running Shoes.

Long lonely runs are a great way to put the mind off things. Just you and the running. For that short period of time, life is simple. No more girls in the equation, no more studies, no more motorbike. Left, right, left, right, a thousand times until you clock the 2.4km. It is a simple thing to do, yet so painful when the shoe is new, untouched, not seasoned, a virgin. The running gets harder, the knees buckle, and the ankles suffer slight abrasion.

It didn't matter that the makciks walked faster than me. What mattered was finishing. Under intense pain. I am no quitter.

Pain is good. It tells you that you're alive - Wolverine

Is It Me, Or Is It Just the Weather?

It is so warm today! Oh my God.

PSI readings are at 54, at 1600 hours today, just entering the moderate levels and the bike ride wasn't a particularly relaxing one. Fortunately the rain helps on the return journey but having a pillion and riding in the rain, isn't something I'd like to do. Dangerous!

I didn't realise it was hazy all these while until today, when it really became obvious. I remembered Friday night was a particularly warm one. Saturday was also rather warm. Sunday, was a blur though.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

And today, the air-conditioning at school broke down. The tutorial classes were filled with carbon dioxide, and I for once, really hate to be in an uncomfortable situation, made the decision to leave.

Channelnewsasia reports on local Bush Fires.

Hope the weather clears up really soon. So that I can have my beauty sleep whilst not bathed in my own sweat. Sleep well everybody!

Save a Life, Donate Blood.

Readers who have been following my blog the past 2 months, might remember I decided to be a 'Yes man' since late December. I started to do new things, hang out with new people, and try out new stuff. My latest recorded 'Yes man' adventure was perhaps the Thaipusam cultural experience, and just a few days back, I took on another challenge.

A challenge to donate blood. It was a self-dare actually. Something that was the last thing on my mind i.e. having myself willingly poked with needles. And I'm actually volunteering for it. Gee! It all started from a flyer I received in school. It was handed out while I was making my way to the canteen for lunch, and *poof!, the idea just popped up. How can I say no when I'm a 'Yes man'? It isn't something bad, and doing so can actually save lives!

I registered the next day, online. I didn't think much about it, and just go with the flow. A key step to doing something you're really afraid of, is to not even think about what will happen. On the actual day, they made me put on this sticker on my shirt with these words boldy in red, "Be nice to me, this is my first donation." lolx. Believe me, that wasn't my first time as I had willingly donated blood so many times to the mosquitos in the jungles. They're like commando mosquitos, preferring the blood from your thighs and butt. eew..

The first thing I had to do was to fill up a questionnaire asking all sorts of stuff. Where I had travelled to the past 3 years, whether I had multiple sex partners, whether I'm aware that if I have AIDS, I could pass it to someone else with my blood, whether I had sex with other men etc etc. Thereafter, they weighed me, took my blood pressure and a blood test for iron deficiency. They'd prick your finger with a needle thingy, get a glob of blood, and put it in this blue solution. If it floats, you lack iron. If it sinks, you're good to go. It was fast, furious and no nonsense. Wished I had the time to compose myself before the needles showed up though.

There wasn't a queue and I breezed through all the stations. Even the donating itself. The moment I sat down and stuck out my arm, the lady was already prepping the needles and tubes. First thing she did was inject local anesthaetic to my right arm. It hurt a bit, but there was more to come. She took out this massive needle, the diameter of a nail, and poke it just under the skin. In my mind, I was like "Are you out of your mind? Is this the correct needle?" But I just smiled and took it in my stride. The process took about 10mins tops.

The moment the needle was plugged into my vein, I could feel the warmth flowing through the tubes. It rushed out like an open tap, and you could feel the difference in temperature from the cold room, to the contrast of fresh blood. Eerie feeling, but I liked it. It tells me that I'm alive and well... And it is this blood, that keeps my body chugging along fine.

While the lady was taping the tubes to my arm, she asked me, "Why are you smiling and grinning away?"

Gee...

Funny thing was, there was this lady in the seat next to me. She was plugged in before I arrived, and was still in the chair when I left! And when I looked at her blood bag, it wasn't even half full! Oh my... I hope that's normal for her. Or perhaps, I was the abnormal one. hahahaha! 10 mins to fill a bag. Fast fast.

And to all my readers, please go and donate blood! You could drop by the HSA building at SGH to do your donations...

Where are the Bike Workshops in Johor Bahru.

Bike enthusiasts do drop by my blog once in a while, having googled their way to MrWiseGuyBlog.com, or somehow one way or another, got referenced from some bike forums. Or some of you might have read my post, Honda Wave Suspension and Brake Pad Change and wondering, where exactly did I send my bike for repairs. I'm more than happy to share with you guys. Good things, must be shared!

Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm just providing a service to my readers, and not affiliated one way or another to the bike shops in Johor Bahru. It is up to you to send your bikes there, and I will not take any responsibility if they screw up. Without further ado...

These are the details from their namecard:

LHM Racing
Along 0137144555
7E Tingkat Bawah,
Jalan Tun Abdul Raak,
80350 Johor Bahru.

(They are open from 1000hours - 0300hours I think)

Alright, for us Singaporeans, the address means nothing to us. Just gibberish. So here are the directions to the workshops. Photos thanks to www.streetdirectory.com.

Step 1: Once you exit from the new Checkpoint on your bike, look out for a Shell Station on your left.
Step 2: Ride on straight past the junction.
Step 3: After passing the junction, keep right, and make a right turn.
Step 4: Keep left, and enter a small slip road that is parallel to Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. Bike workshops should be all along your left.

Take your pick at any of them. But if you're looking for the one I went to, ride on straight until you reach the second block of shophouses. The bike shop is the 2nd one one. There should also be two sports cars, one red, and one white outside the shops. Those are the bosses cars.

Search for my mechanics, Ati or Yus.

Have fun! And ride safe guys!

Look out for the potholes! You might end up having to change more than your ferrings!

To Communicate an Idea, Like Mature Adults.

Ahhhh... It feels good to straighten things out like true, mature adults. I try to refrain from shouting, and getting pms-sy over stuff that could be settled easily. And I'm just glad that I still am trying hard to put my point across to the other party, and having the other party to actually understand my side and cooperate.

Faulty communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can cause a good plan to fail. Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit.

Your willingness to cooperate is a testimony to my belief in your good-nature.

As for myself, I could only try to make life as pleasant as possible for other people. Nothing matters, just happiness for you guys. You'd be surprised as to the distance I go to accommodate others.

On another note, I'm sorry to those who have bookmarked my deleted posts.

It is impossible to love, and be wise. - Francis Bacon