Meh..

Portside Starboard Fork Top tube Rear brake Saddle 8-speed cassette 2-speed crank Front brake Handlebar and Stem Rode home from the shop. Did about 60% of it on the road. Awesome ride. I just need to get used to the more 'aero' stance that the bike has. However, going into the drops was really uncomfortable. Maybe I just need to spend more time with it. Initially, I planned to get a helmet from the same store that I got my bike, but their prices were over my budget. I guess I'll just drop by my neighbourhood bike shop while on my way to work later.

Labels: Bike

Labels: Bike

Two weeks of school have passed, yet I'm still having problems adjusting to my rather lax school timetable. With only 4 hours of lessons each day from Monday to Thursday, with Friday being the only 'full' day, you would think that I have it good. But I also have a part-time job to juggle. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights are spent in a 10 x 5 cell, hunching over the cash registers and flashing fake smiles to a sea of faceless people.

I recently signed up for Archery classes, so that fully occupies Saturday morning's things-do-list. My swimming classes begins next Thursday evening. Being a runaholic, I have to get at least 4 runs each week, and not forgetting the 2 sessions of upper body gym workouts and 2 sessions of core workouts that I have do each week. Plus, I'm getting a road bike soon, so I would have to squeeze in some time for that, or I would have to replace workouts completely.

So why bother going through all this? I could probably be better off with my time preoccupied with just school and work. Why the need to pack my days with aimless runs, torturous workouts and learning new sports? Why bother doing the things that supposedly makes me fitter and healthier? Because after all, they would account for naught in the end, wouldn't it? Everybody dies in the end, no? Everyone dies, and that's the only thing on people's mind. Not the journey in between, they'll just take only the head and the tail, thank you very much.

I get ridiculed at everyday. I get roasted for having a low-paying job, and no, I don't give a fuck how much your bank account promoter job pays you, so stop gloating about it like a tiresome re-run of 'Days of Our Lives'. Honestly, I find it pitiful that you've become a slave to money. So please, take you evangelism somewhere else.

I get mocked for buying things that I need and want, because obviously, other people know best on how I should spend my money. I get flak for thinking about getting a road bike to ride to school. 'It's too dangerous', they say. 'What's wrong with taking public transport? It's much more convenient', another would holler. However, 'Don't be fucking crazy', has my vote for the best response.

My life is awesome, innit?

Labels: awesome

I love boxes. I love boxes with nice stuff inside. The watch and the hrm I saw on ad on sgrunners.com regarding a used RS200 this morning and at the price that he was selling it, it was too good an offer to pass. I called him up and we arranged a meeting at Funan, which is perfect because it is en route to school.

Initially, I thought that the watch would have a steep learning curve, but as always, the manual is there to flatten things out. Surprisingly, the watch came with a pseudo-V02 max test, though the readings would probably have to be taken with a pinch of salt. I got a 50 for it, which was deemed "moderate".

Can't wait to try it on my runs!!

Labels: HRM, Polar RS200

FL Studio 7
Downloaded it on a whim after hearing that it has a pretty good drum programmer. I took extra precautions with the 'cracking' instructions. I would not want the same thing that happened to Ableton 6.0.9 (I fucked up the cracking procedure and the whole thing would not load, even after rolling back the system) to happen to Fruity Loops.

Initially, I found the interface very confusing, definitely not plug-and-play like what I've hoped for. Fortunately though, the manual is extremely helpful. I've not yet ventured into the drum programming side, but my first attempt at analog audio recording has been a very frustrating one. I get a load of noise, even with the buffer length set very high! I've been toying around with the buffer size and bit depth, hoping to find a remedy, but to no avail.

Caffeine, Performance Booster?
I can honestly say that the best runs I've had in the past two weeks are the ones where I had a cup of coffee a couple of hours before a run. Probably too much of a coincidence though. It really must be anger and hatred of women that's fueling my lungs and legs.

School
Starts on Monday. The beginning of the end. Last semester to fulfill my fantasy of fucking a teacher in a classroom.

Labels: Random

M-Audio Fast Track
Front
Rear

Working at 7-11 is great because the employees get blessed with alot of free time. During these idle moments, images of blonde cheerleaders and milfs usually flood my mind like a burst dam. Quite recently, however, my mind has been preoccupied with something of a less hornier nature. Bikes. To say that I've been obsessing over them would be a criminal understatement. I've been doing a load of research on different types of bikes, bike fittings etc and have my mind (supposedly) settled on Scott's SUB 20 or SUB 30. The only problem now is choosing between 26' or 700cc wheels, and obviously, waiting for my paycheck to arrive.

Lately, I've also been toying with the idea of cycling to school. Ridiculous? Yes. Initially, I thought that plan was as rubbish as my "live off parents until I'm 30" plan (close friends would get this. hah), but after marking a route on mapmyrun.com, the distance is honestly, not as mean a feat as I expected it to be. Route displayed below.


Just roughly over 20km from Bedok Mrt to Dover. Now the route follows the MRT tracks 65% of the time, so why don't you just take the fucking train Kamal?! Truthfully, I find that commuting by train and bus is not very time-maximising. I can only take out my notes to study only when there's a seat available, and considering that the number of seat-kiasu aunties and uncles have risen dramatically this year, the odds of of a teenager getting a seat of a train is very low indeed! Even if I do get to sit down, I can only go through 15-20 minutes of reading before a vehicle-induced headache settles in. So the only option is to cram earphones up my ears and listen to repetitive music from my mp3.

Since it's too late to transfer to a school that's nearer to home, I figured that the hour-long boring commute could be replaced by a fun, mid-intensity bike ride instead. The plan sounds good on paper, but whether or not it's practical, I'll just have to find out on 31st October.

Labels: Bikes, Transport

Basically buying stuff to replace the things that I lost about two months ago.

A bag, a couple of shirts and a pair of berms.
Crumpler Seedybar