Mr Wise Guy Blog

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)

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.

Alright, alright. Its always about my bike. No worries, I won't marry it even I don't have a girlfriend when I'm 28!

Long bike rides never fail to make me think things through. Its just one of the things I do to keep myself awake when I'm returning home, in the wee hours of the morning or night. There's just something about bike rides you can never get from a car ride. In a car, you have your radio, your air-conditioning and the quiet noise from the tyres. On a bike, there's this unity between man, machine and nature. You're exposed to the elements, vulnerable.

On one hand, you're turning the throttle, eager to go home. But the wind keeps blowing against you, cooling your body, and making it comfortable as if asking you to stay. While the machine revvs away to the tune of 90km/h talking to you, sending all forms of memories racing through the brain. And when you've reached the state of equilibrium between man, machine and nature..................

"Final question for twenty million rupees, and he's smiling. I guess you know the answer."

"Do you believe it, I don't! "

"You don't? So you take the ten million and walk"

"No, I'll play"

She sat with his arms around her, and he played with her hair. It was her favourite part of the body, and he handled it gently, toying it around. The cool wind brushed against her soft cheeks, and kept it from covering her face. It was a cool night, and she had his sweater on, just like any other night they had before. She was comfy, warm, safe in his arms and began to close her eyes. Just then, the stars in the night sky whispered to Cupid, "Shoot your Arrow". But Cupid couldn't. As much as Cupid tried, Cupid just couldn't...

I had a knack for remaining unmoved when something happened. There was the death of Princess Diana and I didn't even move a muscle. I didn't react at all. Someone broke my standing fan, and I calmly put it at a corner. Keyword here is had, and that was in the past. Somehow, my parents kept pointing out my lack of emotions and since then, I've been rather animated and too overreactive.

Now, I want it back! I want my poker face back...

Been playing daidee, done some magic, and I'm gonna need that poker face to pull them off successfully. heheh. I wonder how its done... Lemme recall...

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!

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.'


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!

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.


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!

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.

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.


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!

I dreamnt I was at the Taj Mahal. It happened a few weeks back, probably a month. I've shared this experience with a lot of my closest friends and family. And they'll probably be smiling when they read this post. Have fun reading!

I was sitting under the shade of a gazebo, just outside the Taj Mahal with an unidentified lady. She sat with elegant poise, was dressed in white, had wavy long hair that dropped to her shoulders, and I remembered she had the most attractive smile. I couldn't recognise her, nor could I put a name to her face, but what surprised me was not because I dreamnt of such an attractive lady, but because of the few words I uttered to her.

In my dream, we were sitting down on white beach chairs. The glaring sun created a contrast in the shade and I had trouble making out the facial features on the lady. We sat for quite a bit, before I found myself looking down to my left, picked up a bottle of mineral water and asked,

"Ayang, do you want a drink?"

(Ayang is short for Sayang. It is a malay word, meaning love. It is a common nickname given to lovers, married couples and the like. An English equivalent could be darling, dear, honey.)


Of which she gently shook her head, smiled, and looked down playing shy. I'm unsure what this dream means, but it gives me something important in my life. It gave me hope. Hope that I will fall in love again, and find someone who will enjoy my company as much as I do with her. And till that day comes, who knows, I would have searched high and low, only to find she's already here. Already in my life. Just waiting for me to sweep her off her feet.

Ahhhh... I just love pleasant dreams and the hope it brings...

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...

How was it?

How did you spend your Valentine's Day?

Did you embrace the love that was awaiting?

Or did you just made love to your tutorials and reports?

Whatever that comes, whatever that happens is for a reason. Congratulations to those who have successfully found love, most importantly, reciprocated love. And to those who didn't get so lucky, chillax! and enjoy singlehood. Don't rush things! There are so many fishes in the pond, there's bound to be one waiting for you.

Some spent their days at Marina Barrage, some whiled away the time over at the Botanical Gardens, while most, ended up catching a movie or a play, thereafter, having dinner with their Valentine's. If I were to celebrate Valentine's, I'd take her out to do the reverse bungee, and before it launches, ask her how she felt towards me. Lolx! But nah,I didn't have any tricks up my sleeves but hung out, eating naan and having teh-o.

Ermmmmm... Naannnnnn...

The sentinel is your Knight,
And I have sent my most gallant, to serve and protect.
:)

I've been riding my bike for well over 6 months, and I think I've adopted the biker image. I've been sporting the trademark flat 'helmet' hair, greasy palms, smell of exhaust, multi-purpose raincoat (that can double up as sweater in lecture) and the dark shades. It can't be helped! The flat hair is thanks to my helmet, greasy palms thanks to the grips, smell of exhaust thanks to traffic, and the raincoat is necessary for those odd downpour. The shades, well, protects the eyes from the sun and debris.

Today, when I was hanging out with some friends at Bukit Timah, one of them remarked, "Hey MrWiseGuy, you don't look like the typical motorbike guys. So guai and good boy. Wear bike raincoat also still look decent."

I was confused, but it seemed like a compliment to me... :)

That shook my thoughts though. Are guys riding motorbikes seen as bullies and gangsters? Without me knowing, am I attracting the wrong kind of attention? Heck I will never know. Most importantly, put up a charming smile for everyone to fall in love with. hehehe.

I think the sweater, the helmet, and the shades make you look garang at times. It somehow transforms you from a 23 year old student, to a 23 year old adrenaline junkie. If only my bike was as garang as me. But then again, I love my bike dearly... I wouldn't swap her for anything else. The amount of memories we had, the distances we travelled, the money spent to keep her chugging fine...


Oh and ladies can be garang also. Saw this lady on a Honda Wave sporting a leather jacket, leather gloves and Zeus full face helmet. FUIYO! As they say "Get dressed ready for the fall!"

Alright, alright young ones. What's up with Valentine's Day? Seems like everybody in school is talking about Valentine's Day and stuff. Some are going the extra mile getting flowers, cakes, getting engaged and even planning marriage proposals. Today I saw this guy with a huge teddy bear walking in the lecture theatre! OMG! What to do on Saturday, where are you going, who are you asking out to be your Valentine's?

For the uninformed, Valentine's Day falls on every 14th February. According to the BBC website, Valentine's Day is a Christian Holiday (not here in Singapore) and it came about around 496AD, when Pope Galasius declared the very first Valentine's Day, in memory of a 3rd century martyred priest in Rome. For more info, here's a brief background history of Valentine's Day from the BBC.


Good thing is, I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, nor do I even recognise Valentine's Day at all because I am not Christian. But what I do, is I spread some love, help my buddies out to get the girl of their dreams, help with writing poetry or perhaps give some gift ideas. Hey, if you can't get a Valentine, why not help somebody get theirs right? Who knows, they might get lucky after all!

A friend wrote on my FB Wall, "Valentine's Day is world inflation day."

Come to think of it, yeah it is true. When the supply just couldn't cope with the demand, prices will be pushed up. Restaurants will be promoting their Valentine's Day combo set, the SG flyer will have some tricks up their sleeves and I think the cable cars will be throwing in a romantic dinner in their cabins for some special price. Or maybe, its not inflation in financial terms, but rather, inflation in the human crowd terms? The movies will be packed, the area around the Esplanade will be crowded, and Orchard Road will be drenched in a massive human flood. Gosh, I wouldn't want to start imagining the crowds at Jurong Point! Urgghhh...

Which brings me back to the question, what's the best thing to do on Valentine's?

Simple. Since Singapore is so crowded, head on to Kuala Lumpur for some movies and yummy food, with that cute bubbly Valentine...

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!

Boy, was it an experience!

The word Thaipusam simply brings the chills. Kavadis, piercings and whatnots immediately pop up in the mind with the mere mention of it. And simply because of this, I made plans to check this festival out and find what is really in it for the devotees.

I shall not elaborate on what is Thaipusam all about and will jump straight into the action. But for those who're interested, here's the Thaipusam background info from Wikipedia. Or if you need something credible, here's the Thaipusam background info from the BBC.

The day started in the morning, sometime around 10am. I woke my buddy up from bed, and we headed down to town to meet Aravind, my old time National Service friend, who agreed to be our guide. The plan was to head to the Thendayuthapani Temple, after joining the Thaipusam walking route halfway along Park Mall.

Since he was late, there were some photo-taking oppurtunities as the Kavadis walked past the bus stop.




It was quite a sight to behold, seeing one whole lane of Penang Road closed for the use of the Thaipusam devotees. Children, adults, teenagers all line up the road to give support and cheer to the kavadi bearers. And as you can see, family members turn up in force to encourage the kavadi bearers to not give up, and persevere to the finishing point. The silver pot the lady is carrying, contains milk as offering. Aravind mentions that it can also contain sugar or honey, depending on the situation.

With that, we jumped the fencing and joined the pilgrimage. The traffic police and Cisco were always nearby, and ensured the safety of devotees, including us. Along the way, there were small booths set up along the side. They act as pit-stops for people to top-up drinks, have some food, all for free.

And as we neared the Temple, we were herded into queues. One line for the kavadi bearers & family, while the other is for those without. As the queues were side by side, I clicked away.









The queue was long, squeezy, and not for the impatient. hahaha. I kept myself busy by taking pictures. Oh, and since the milk-carrying devotees also joined our queues, we constantly have to check our backs to give way to them.






It was rather dark in the temple, and takes some time getting used to. But all was fine. The Kavadi dance was on and it was a marvel seeing it. Pardon the lousy dark picture. Basically this is the ending point. They would do the dance, and pray for a while before heading to the tentage outside the temple to take the kavadi off. There are no specific steps for the dance though.



We've reached the end of the journey, and time for lunch! Truth to be told, this is the only part of the trip I'm looking forward to. Free traditional vegetarian Indian food, sitting with the rest and eating with my hands. Damn shiok lah...

I've always loved indian food. Spicy, full of flavour, and there is nothing too spicy/hot for me that I can't handle. lolx! But before we can get to our food, we have to queue. A good 1 hour before we even get to see rice. We were fortunate we were one of the earlier ones. Those unfortunate ones have to stay in the hot sun for I don't know how long, but definitely about twice as long as what we went through.


And so, we whiled the time away talking of nothingness, about life back in National Service, fell asleep for a bit, and of course, coming up with my usual repertoire of puzzles. Arrange these 4 coins, into a straight line... hehehehehe.


And when it was time, we tucked in like nobody's business. Well rather, I was the only one who tucked in like there's no tomorrow as Aravind and my buddy isn't a fan of vegetables. Yummy, scrumptious, and I really like the informal serving methods. hahahaha...

All in all, it was an eye-opener for me. It pays to check out festivals, experience new cultures, and before you even think of exploring the world, why not check out the happenings in Singapore first? Without you knowing it, India is closer to home than you think.

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.