who's soonger??

Thursday, June 5

What kind of weather is this? Overcast, rain, mild temps we've been having for over a couple of weeks. Feels like BC in the spring. This is awful! Only one good day in the past 2 weeks and it was last Sunday. Thank goodness I didn't work it the whole time... spent the day washing 3 (three) cars and mowing the lawn. It was nice being outside, even it was for (unpaid) manual labour!

Today, I scheduled the day off. What to do with myself and all this free time? I did manage to go out and run a couple of errands -- went to the insurance agent, had lunch with my dad, went to Staples to pick up a couple of work-necessary items. Still need to work out and wash the car. (My dog is looking at me -- he wants a walk, I believe)

What else is in store? Not a heckuva lot, really. Tomorrow, I work 9-5 then I have to get ready for my journey to Toronto. Saturday I go to the dealership to get some aftermarket parts installed on the TL-S. Project-TL will be closer to completeness after installing Comptech springs & sways. Not a cheap upgrade but certainly worth it in improving the handling of the car! Also on the agenda is a car meet with fellow car enthusiasts. I set it up / organized it and now I wanna see what other guys are doing with their cars...

Tuesday, June 10

What amazes me is that there are those who read this journal to keep my friends up to date. Don't want to name any names ...(ahem -- Adrian -- cough, cough). But it does go to show you that some of my 'friends' should be calling me more (or conversely, I should be calling them). But it's nice to know there are people who actually read this thing!!!

What else has been going on? Well, my trek up to Toronto this past weekend proved to be very informative and productive. Highlights include a major overhaul of my auto's suspension system. Parts from Comptech Sports now reside where the factory springs & anti-sway bars used to be! My car now rests about 1.5" (3.8cm) lower and it corners so much better! The limitations to the tires that come with the car are quite evident. No upgrades on those planned anytime soon...

Photos of the upgrades? Of course! Why would I make mention of these changes if I didn't document them in pictures? (Equal to a thousand words, right?).

Friday, June 13

TGIF! However, it is Friday the 13th (spooky!)... have to be extra careful, right? Not much of a productive day thus far ... I'm out in the county helping out a pharmacist in need. Plus, one of my fave technicians where I regularly work at is gone for a long weekend, thus I'm at this location today.

The layout of this place is nice however, it's a bit too new. Some of the 'kinks' in the system needs to be ironed out (they are trivial) but it's something I can live with.

One thing (outside of work) gave me a scare this morning. I took a look at one of my front lights on my car to reveal that one of them has a small leak. Condensation is formed inside and that's a bad combination with high voltage electricity (ie xenon lights) !!! DAMMIT! I have to take my bumper off this weekend to fix this problem. It's good to know that the weather will be nice and sunny (no rain) for the next few days. Not only do I have to take the bumper off, but I have to take the lens off, reseal with silicon and then reinstall everything back again. It'll take at least 1 hr on the bumper removal alone. Need to get myself a nice rachet set while I'm at it -- there's a screw that's really hard to reach... (sigh)

Also got invited to a wedding up in Toronto in a couple weekends from now. Got invited last minute -- guess it's an offer I can't refuse, huh? There's also a car meet for the Sunday ... thus there will be a two-fold reason for me to go up that weekend. I might be able to convince a few guys to show up to that meet instead of the weekend thereafter. A friend from overseas will be in town as well. So make that a three-fold reason to go up!

Sunday, June 13

I have been tacking on some major miles on the car ... drove to Toronto last w/e and this w/e. Last w/e ... it was go to an Indian wedding. Quite an interesting event ... I was too late for the wedding (in the morning) so I only attended the reception. Never been to Brampton before ... now I am more 'desi' than your average bear ...

The real interesting part of the reception was the dance at the start. I was thoroughly impressed at how much practice some of the people (all invited to the wedding, no one was 'hired' to dance) did to prepare! I know song & dance are very important to Indian culture ... too bad Chinese don't have the same philosophy. Didn't stay too long ... drove back to the hotel and crashed. It was a long day, including the drive up.

On the Sunday ... I was supposed to attend an Acura Legends car meet ... I arrive fashionably late (2 hrs late, to be exact) and no one was there. I did see one guy drive in ... but I was a bit frustrated by the whole deal and took off. Went outlet mall shopping with a friend before going home.

The rest of the week ... I was workin' like a dog among 4 different pharmacies! That's almost a record for me. The variety I do enjoy -- seeing new faces and comparing the work environments ... I like the challenge.

Wednesday was the night of the fireworks ... it was much too warm and no one to go with ... I went to Future Shop before it closed and I picked up Midnight Club II for the PS2. This game ROCKS! It has elements of Grand Theft Auto along with driving skills from Gran Turismo:3... a great combination of good soundtrack, graphics and gameplay -- you've got a top-notch game here! Highly recommended! I don't know how the playability is like on the other game systems but it handles quite nicely on the PS2.

Yesterday (saturday), I drove up to Toronto. Left Windsor around 10:30. Was going to meet up with Farah at 2:30. Got to Square One Mall in 'ssauga around 1. Did some window shopping -- almost got some stuff but decided to wait and see if I could find it cheaper elsewhere. Well ... I didn't and I was too lazy to go back and find the place I saw it in the first place! (That mall is huge...)

Met up with Farah at her salon -- she was getting a manicure. Took her back home and we drove uptown to Brampton (deja vu?). She was looking into buying some new running shoes -- she entered a 5K fun race (cancer research fundraiser) and needs to get into shape. After an hour of talking and trying on several shoes, Farah has a good pair of runners. (with a Derrick seal of approval). Drove back to her neighbourhood and we had supper at a Chinese restaurant across the street from her apartment. Got some dessert at Baskin-Robbins (haven't had ice cream in a while!)

We started watching Chasing Amy (a present I gave her) before we were interrupted. I had to go clubbin' that night ... meet up with a friend from Taiwan I haven't seen in close to 7 years! I went across town to pick up my friend and then check into the hotel. It was a long night ... good times.

Got up at 9 this morning ... didn't feel so bad, considering I only had 4 hrs of sleep. Had homemade b'fast at Farah's (tasty pancakes!) and then met up with her parents and aunt&uncle visiting from out of town. Picked up my friend and then went to the Acura TL meet downtown. Nice seeing the fellas again -- didn't stay long downtown before driving back uptown to have a late lunch. Drove to Pacific Mall to do some window shopping before I had to go back home.

The lack of sleep did hit me while I was driving ... I had to take a McD's stop near the end 'cause I was fatigued. Having the A/C set to high also kept me alert. Good music also helps, too. The drive back wasn't as highly monitored (ie less police) than the drive up. Guess there was less police due to the inclimate weather in some areas (lots of rain!). Fear is also another factor to keep me alert ... bad weather gets me scared so I stay awake...