androo's Life

R.I.P. Ni...

2010-11-23T15:31:00.001+11:00

Ni past away last week. So sad..

For those of you who haven't met Ni, she is a tiny little Chihuahua that we all loved. She was my brothers but when she fell ill a 3 months ago, was given to my mother to look after. She has a nervous system disorder where she could not properly control her body. We are unsure as to what happened to her, but doctors said she must've fallen or hit her head really hard. Unfortunately it happened at night and by the time my brother woke up it was too late...

So my mum looked after her for 3 months hoping she would recover. We tried 3 experimental drugs that put nice dents in my wallet - None of them really worked until last week at 2am in the morning, she went on an insane mad dash around the house, mindlessly bashing her head and body against everything. My mum and brother tried to calm her down however after 30 minutes she continued so they took her to the emergency vetenary clinic where they said there was nothing they could do and that she needed to be put down...

Everyone is really sad =( She was really cute and we really loved her. She was the first dog Bobby would make friends with (maybe he had a crush on her?).

Anyway, I will post up tribute photos in a few days once I get access to my old files again. I've been working out of my new laptop and have my old computer's hard drive sitting on my desk. Need to get an external case for it =]

R.I.P. Ni! We'll never forget you!

Her body and me

2010-11-23T07:19:00.000+11:00

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I had a long hard look at her. I've been wanting to do this for so long but never had the guts to do it... I only met her few months ago and ever since she started living at my place I knew I wanted to...

So last night... I finally did it...

I slowly slid myself inside her............................

AND RIPPED HER APART!!!!! My car is in pieces =] I have no back seat, no carpet, no spare tire, no trims, no covers, NOTHING!!!! I'm cleaning every nook and cranny. I hope to finish this weekend...

What were you thinking? You sick sick person...

I was abducted - I swear!

2010-07-21T09:31:00.005+10:00

OK, so there's over a month missing of my life here. I'm not sure what happened. Last thing I remember is a green figure standing over me. I don't think it did anything to me - My bum does feel a little bit sore though...

On a more serious note, I wish I did find the time to blog. The last month has been incredibly eventful:

I quit working at Hurstville City Council
I began working at Orion Integration
I became single again
I met up with old friends + made new friends
I've haven't been able to sleep a single Friday/Saturday since
I'm typing this in Queensland
I'm homesick

This is going to be more of a ramble than a proper post. Sorry guys in a hurry. Let's start from the top of the list:

Work. I no longer work at council so I don't see an issue with saying I left for two reasons:

Boredom
An ogre the organisation had to call a manager

New work - I'm a Networking Technician. My first week I worked over 65 hours - Going from a mandatory 35 hours a week. The following weeks have been 50+ hours regardless. I've driven to Newcastle so many times I can do it blind folded.

The worse part of these crazy hours? I actually love it. I'm now lying in bed lazily in Queensland. Work has sent me here to look after a few sites with 2 other work mates. 3 guys living alone in a 2 storey house - Yum... I've pleaded with everyone - Please don't pee on the floor...

Single - It just wasn't working... thesparkwasgonethefirewasouttheflamewasgonethelightswereout yadda yadda yadda... It's strange that girls that have stopped talking to you ages ago suddenly start talking to you again. Within a week it seemed everyone knew - How did that happen?

Old friends + New friends - I love them all.

Sleeping on Fridays and Saturdays? Who does that when you can sleep on Sunday? lol yes it hasn't been healthy - but I work hard... I must play hard =]

Queensland - I'm in Queensland for work. I'm bored. Out. Of. My. Mind. Here... But this should get better once we go out on the weekend and meet some people.

Homesick - I miss my dogs!

That should bring everyone up to speed - Until next time! Sorry for the horrible post. Ciaos!

The incredible drive in search for love

2010-05-12T10:27:00.009+10:00

Last Saturday (08/05/10) I went for an incredible drive - Starting from North Parramatta, 2151 to Ardlethan, 2665

View Larger Map

It all started two days earlier as I was looking for a car online, when I happened to spot this too good to be true Integra. I called the country boy on the other end and found out he lived over 500km away. I talked him down to a price that was wayyyyyy too good to be true so I had to do a REVS check - Clean! I talked to a mate about helping me pick the car up. My mate agreed to help so I arranged to see the car for the coming Saturday. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us - Here was the agenda:

Goal: Pick up a car

Needs:

Car
Petrol
Money for food
GPS
FM Transmitter for music

Method: I drive there - Pick up car, drive home together.

Simple? Yes. Perfect? No.

Things we forgot to factor in:

The GPS needs the cigarette lighter to run - The FM transmitter needs the cigarette lighter to run at all - Nice...
Phones - My battery was less than half full which I thought was enough.
A second E-Tag for the trip home... It's not like it was hard - I have two, I just didn't think about it.

0600 - Our journey doesn't start. I couldn't get up. It didn't help that I was at a going away party for my manager the night before. I wasn't home until 2am...

0730 - My journey begins - Cold, shivering from the morning breeze.

I pick up my mate and began the enduring drive. First thing we realised was that we could not listen to music and use the GPS at the same time. Needless to say the GPS won that battle. My phone has an FM transmitting function, however with my battery running low, I thought we'd better play it smart and conserve it. We had not even ONE CD in the whole car, except for some gibberish we call Vietnamese music. The choice was simple - The radio, or driving myself off a bridge listening to mum's music. We chose the radio.

0930 - We're getting hungry. Wherever we were, the radio wasn't working properly anymore. There's constant static, and the radio cuts out.

1000 - The breakfast of champions! We stop by a Mac Donalds and eat. We played 'Spot the Asian' and saw three in total. This is in a span of 30 minutes. I needed to pee. I pee'd. We left.

1100 - The radio no longer works. I the silence was deafening. Ow.

1130 - Our phones no longer work. What's happening? Where are we? My friend starts to break down from deprivation of TXTing. My butt gets tired.

1200 - The front of the car is covered in cicadas - literally. You could not see the iconic 'H' emblem. Nor could you catch a glimpse of the radiator. I wondered how the car was staying cool. I also wondered why girls were so complicated, why guys are obsessed with cars and if there is anything in black tea that isn't in green tea (I've since found that black tea is good in it's own ways, guys like cars and girls just suck, period. I still like them though and green tea still pawns).

1230 - My butt is tired. Road is completely flat and clear. Find out that the top speed of the Honda Jazz is 150km/h exactly @ 5000rpm. It refuses to go any faster. Good thing too - Any faster and the Cicadas might actually break through the windscreen.

1240 - We get to a point where the GPS wants us to drive on private property. The gate is closed. We take a 10km detour.

1300 - Mate takes over. I try to sleep. Mate tests the strength of the windscreen.

1330 - We're getting closer. We can smell the car. The battle between the cicadas and the windscreen was getting heated. So was the engine. I asked my friend to slow down a bit (party pooper). The windscreen wins.

1400 - We get there. I see my beat up banger. I fall in love. I knocked even more money off the price and hand over the cash - I am again, a proud owner of an Integra (albeit a beat up one). I watched in my rear-view mirror as the country boy waves goodbye.We start heading back.

1430 - I scrap the bottom of the front of the car. I wince a bit.

1440 - I break a bit of my front bumper. I swear at myself.

1455 - I scrap again. Nice. Man this car is low...

1530 - A suicidal cow walks in front of my car. I break. I miss it by a few metres. It looks at me. Calls me a jerk (in his mind), turns around and walks back into the bushes. I continue driving.

1600 - We're on a weird, small road. It's only big enough for one car. It's raised too high for me to drive to the side. I hold my breath at every hill, dreading the fact that another car could easily be coming the other way.

1605 - A sheep emerges. I stop. It looks at me as it's walking. It gets off the road and I'm about it set off again when I see another one. And another one. And another one... This went on for about 10 minutes. Stupidly, I didn't take many photos. I do have one though...

1630 - The road is big, flat and clear - I open her up. I hit 160 before I chicken out. I'm happy.

1631+ - The drive is uneventful from here onwards. A lot of the roads were unlit. We're both tired. At one point I accelerated at full throttle at a corner due to my friend lacking concentration and not breaking in time, almost hitting me in the rear... At which point we took a rest...

All in all it was worth it. The car's only flaws are cosmetic. Note that this car cost 1/4 what my other Integra cost me (which was also a bargain), and all it has is dents/scratches (which I intend to fix myself). It was a great 14 hour adventure, and definitely something I've never done before. Making it back with the Integra proved that it was a sturdy piece of machinery (still looks like heck though). Being 9cm off the ground was something to get used to, however now that I'm used to it it's become second nature. It will be lower once I change out the oversized wheels!

I'll post up pics soon - Have to steal them off my friend.

Ciaos!

The hunt

2010-04-28T12:21:00.005+10:00

Buying a car - It's the modern equivalent of Russian Roulette - You either win and walk away a happy man, or you get your face severely done in...

My search for a new car has been not only been frustrating, but has reminded me that there are a lot of 'human beings' out there that are more than happy to slam a lemon in your face and call it an apple. I spent my whole long weekend looking at countless so called 'good condition' cars.

Now let me explain what I'm looking for - simple. A reliable car under $8000 that will take me from A to B without making me look like I'm a Centrelink bludger or that I have a chronic gambling addiction.
Countless 'amazing condition for age', 'all original paint' and 'full service history' claims and not a single good car!

Three cars stood out the most - and not in a good way. The funniest being an EK Civic. I called the lady who advertised the car, and found that her English was quite poor. I asked her if it was a Sedan or Hatch. She thought for a moment and said 'I think sedan'. 'Sorry', I replied, 'I'm only interested in hatches (in the Civics case)'. Quickly, she corrected herself and said 'oh it's hatch its hatch!'

Upon arriving, I find a faded blue, SEDAN which, after lifting the bonnet, was quite obviously in an accident. Panels didn't align properly and some bolts were missing. Looked at her and said thanks and left. I'm not blaming her, she might not have known it was in an accident, but I definitely want a car I can sell easily next year.

Second would have to be a CD Accord described to me by the owner as having all original paint, never been in an accident, only driven by his wife to and from the shops only 2km's away and has always been serviced every 6 months. The body is in excellent condition.

Upon arriving, I find an slutty Accord that's had numerous relationships with various walls, posts and curbs. The front passenger headlight was cracked and it was obvious that the car had been repainted at the front, the drivers side door, and rear bumper. There was paint that seemed to have leaked onto the inside door trim on the drivers side, and a heck of a lot of dents around.

But that's not it. The interior light didn't work the horn didn't work the SRS air bag light was on the ABS brakes light was on the handbrake light was broken the interior looked like bats had been breeding in it the leather had more cracks on it than most Sydney roads it smelled like ass the boot looked like it carried a corpse at one point in it's life there was scratches everywhere the carpet was ripped and the log books were missing.

Still, that wasn't the worse thing of all...

It was the owner, constantly insisting that I would not find anything better. I think I'm fully capable of sitting next to my dog's designated drop zone, wait for one of them to defecate and wrap it up and write 'Mercedes Benz' on it. I'd rather take that to work and back every day then drive his death trap.

Last would be one from a dealer. Upon talking to one of the men there on the phone, I decided to go check it out.

It seemed as though every car in the yard has been in some sort of accident. I wish I took my camera with me, because there were some pretty twisted stuff there. No, not scary movie twisted, chassis twisted. There was a Mitsubishi Mirage there who's panels were so out of whack, anyone who buys it is either blind with no hands, or a complete idiot.

I was greeted by a bloke who asked me if he could help me. I told him I called about the Accord. He showed me where it was. Nice... Parked in the darkest, dingiest possible place in the dealership. I looked closer...

Great - a hippy car. No reds, yellows, pinks, purples and blues though, but every single shade of green imaginable was on the car. None of which seemed to match any other panel on the car. Apparently, it wasn't a 4 year old that painted the car... Right...

As I walked away I heard one of the other workers there say to the guy who helped me 'What happened'. The reply? No, it wasn't 'he just didn't like the car' or 'he will be back later', but a whisper of 'he knew it was in an accident'.

To have a whole shop full of dodgy car's operating in Australia is simply appalling. I won't name it however anyone who is wishes to know which dealership it was, feel free to email me.

Happy holidays everyone!

Good bye Integra

2010-04-22T09:43:00.008+10:00

She's gone. She left me. I'm all alone...

Guy's she sold. I posted her up on the 14th and I had 4 calls by the 16th. The buyer was so keen I told him I wouldn't be home from work until 1am or so - More honestly I needed time to remove my sound system. He waited. He came at 1:30am to pick her up. Done. Gone.

I watched as she left me for another man. She roared happily as she left.

I'm sad... Alone...

Nothing like a daggy 90's clip to heal the pain.

Something sad...

2010-04-12T23:08:00.089+10:00

I have some heart breaking news...

Guys I might be selling the Integra. I've put it up for sale at a higher price but if someone wants it, it's going. Why you might ask? I just don't 'feel' it anymore. I think the EG Civc was more fun. This might sound stupid but...

It's too perfect - but not. Let me explain.

I've wanted this car since I was about 12. I remember the school boy days of drooling over pictures of it and watching Youtube videos of it speeding past other cars on the racetrack for hours on end. The sound of it screaming at 8400rpm - yummy!

This is the perfect example of 'never meet your heros'.

Yes, it is fast. But it is too fast. I no longer understand this obsession of fast cars on public roads. Yes, they're 'fun', but you can never go fast on the roads, making them simply frustrating. Worse is that I'm driving a distinct looking car that police target. It's not the fastest car in the world (by far) but already it's too much for the public roads. Doesn't help that none of that power is evident under 5000rpm...

Perfection... For an Integra boy, this car is simply a dream example. The paint is spotless, the chassis is tight and the engine is in tip top condition with exceptionally low kms with a full logbook. Most importantly, it hasn't been molested by a 17 year old boy. Why? The previous owner was born in an era where pet microceratops were the norm. I assume she wasn't a very boring grandma - more likely:

Her left knee has finally lost it's battle against arthritis and she can no longer drive a manual car - Just a guess.

I just can't keep it - I find myself driving slower as to not damage the engine. I find myself going out to dinner, and endlessly thinking if the Integra is safe. I find myself cleaning every imperfection off it as soon as I see them. I find myself parking on the street, then having to catch a taxi to the curb as to not scratch it's rims.

I now understand it. 12 year old me put the Integra on a pedestal so high that it cannot co-exist with the real world. In the real world, there are speed limits, cars break, paint scratches, there's dirt and it rains. That and there are other people - none of which are near perfect. Curbs are also not made of marshmellow, and crashing hurts.

Not the best pictures of the car, but this is from the night after work that I thought I might sell her. I took out my camera and took some quick snaps. Lets see if she sells!

Susy

2010-03-22T00:44:00.001+11:00

Dear Susy,

Please rest assured that I have a large DRAFT awaiting completion. It will be up soon.

My apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards,

Andrew

Home

2010-03-06T22:25:00.008+11:00

I'm home guys!

I'd like you all to meet a new member of the family:

Bobby and Chanel (my work desk + awesome blanket)

Chanel joined our family 2 weeks before I left for Canada. Since then, whenever I'm around she follows me everywhere. It's gotten to the point that I feel guilty when she's sleeping in my room and I just need to go outside for a drink. Result? She gets up and follows me. It's the cutest thing however it does make me feel bad.

Even when I go shower - she gives me the puppy eyes as I close the door on her. She sits outside and waits for me to come back out!

Anyway now Bobby now has a friend!

We didn't name her though - she's a friends dog that they can no longer keep so we took her in. She's been great!

Journey of the Flying androo

2010-02-14T22:45:00.006+11:00

Flying - It's a gift given to us by none other than Orville and Wilbert Wright - known more commonly as the Wright Brothers. Since then, man has flown endless journeys around the world, exploring the amazing lands and open oceans we live upon.

I would like to share my most recent flying experience.

Booked for me was a Delta flight - 12.02.10 at 11:15am. Final destination - Calgary, Canada, with two changes

I caught my 12:15am flight with no dramas - I sat next to a kind, little old lady who took up so little space that sometimes I felt like someone accidentally dropped a larger than normal prune next to me. The flight was just over 13 hours - of which I spent my time watching movies and reading. The worst thing about the flight was when the prune next to me expelled her nasty gases - almost causing a mass evacuation.

I had a 3 hour wait for my next change over - from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. During that time, I explored the 5 shops that were available, then went to Maccas for breakfast.I ended up ordering a Breakfast Barito with sausage. I didn't like it - The burrito was nasty, the hash brown wasn't nearly oily enough, and the coffee was horrendously bitter. I like our maccas better!

I spent the next 2.5 hours reading and playing with my PSP (old-school brick ftw!). About an hour before boarding time, a fat American dude who had an opinion about everything and a Cocktooth™ headset in his ear, was yapping away. He continued this for 20 minutes before I remembered I had legs - and moved away.

About 30 minutes from boarding time, a seedy looking man decided to sit right next to me (seemingly ignoring the other 2000 seats available), singing some god awful song I've never heard of. Even so, I knew the song wasn't meant to sound that bad.

20 minutes after boarding time, they started calling out sections to start boarding. They somehow were able to forget to call out my section - so 10 minutes before take off time, I asked if my section was able to board - the response?

"Oh! I forgot to call that out. Sorry about that. As you can see everything has been really hectic!"

Hectic? Sitting there and laughing on the phone for the last hour is hectic? I can't imagine what real work would do to her...

To my amazement, a whole group of people followed me...

Taking off - An act that involves the plane leaving the ground right? We sat in the plane for just under 2 hours with the captain intermittently updating us with 'engine failure', 'valves stuck open', and finally 'everything the mechanics have tried did not work. We are unable to repair it at this moment and are expecting extended delays'.

The pack of angry yanks featuring an asian kid stormed off the plane and to the Delta ticketing booth - frantically calling family members and travel agents, as well as making sly comments while their out-of-control 'little angels' ran around like headless chooks- all of which did not have any positive results. It took me just over 2 hours to get to the front of the line - where I met fellow aussie also headed to Calgary. We asked that they transfer us to another company and get just a direct flight - which they 'did'. We were ecstatic. We were told to go pick up our luggage from baggage, then catch transit bus A to International, and head to Air Canada and check in.

To our surprise, our baggage was no where to be seen - we went to baggage information - where we were confronted by another line - however it was only another 15 minutes until we were at the front. We were advised it would take up to an hour for them to locate the bags and bring them to us - it would be easier if they just got it transferred directly to Calgary - we were very happy with that.

Upon arriving at Air Canada - we were told by the man at the desk (not going to try to spell his name but he looked just like Usher) to use the self checker. It didn't work. We went back to Usher who pointed us to another lady (lazy Usher...).

The lady told us we didn't have any reservations on the system - we didn't exist as far as Air Canada were concerned. Delta messed up. Air Canada called Delta and helped us sort it out over the span of 30 minutes.

I had to look for a pay phone to call my uncle and let him know - at an awesome rate. It was so expensive it was just about high class. SO high class, it cannot be spelled out in common numbers. Here we go:
Seven dollars and eighty two cents per minute (US Currency)

The ride went without a hitch - Everything went well. Nice and easy. When I got to Calgary, I had been travelling (from when I left my house) for 31.5 hours!

Wait... Without a hitch? They lost my bag. I have no luggage. The other Aussie dude got his. They told me they will call me when it arrives. 'It is due to arrive in the morning'. It is now 4am - 2nd day. I will call them in the morning to chase it up. They did however, give me a complimentary 'lost baggage' bag. This included:

An XL T-shirt
Tooth brush + Tooth paste
Deodorant
Shaver + Shaving cream
Laundry powder

I'm still a bit unsure as to why they gave me laundry powder when I didn't have any clothes. Regardless, it's probably pretty obvious that I didn't enjoy my journey here. It was a bit much...

Oh yeh - and the Integra's speakers have been changed! =]

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Interesting events of the past week (most interesting. Title. Ever.)

2010-01-15T23:09:00.002+11:00

Let me quote you something I over heard yesterday. A poem to my ears. The amazing (and overly intelligent) things you can hear from those in the local community.

Scene: Library. Sky is bright outside, the sun blazing. 11am. Girl One points subtly at androo and whispers something discreetly to Girl Two....

Girl Two - Oh he's Korean

Girl One - But he doesn't really look Korean?

Girl Two - Oh, but he doesn't speak Chinese!!!!

Awesome - Just awesome. Let me examine what must have gone through these (pretty) chimps' brains(?).

Facts:

Boy = Asian

Asian = Chinese or Korean

Therefore:

Boy = Chinese or Korean

Problem:

Boy does not speak Chinese, but doesn't really look Korean.

Solution:

WTF...

Ok now lets back up another day - This time I'm driving to work. I spotted a nice white JDM Civic Type-R (01-05 model - was never officially released in Aus) just in front of me on the M4.

Now - We all know it is wrong to openly talk about street racing. For the matter, I firmly believe that anything to do with street racing is wrong and utterly stupid. The following is an accurate recount of what happened that day.

The pretty Civic Type-R was on the middle lane. I was on the outside lane. I ended up next to him due to my lane going legally faster than his lane. Once he spotted me he smirked, gently applied an appropriate amount of pressure on his perfectly drilled aluminium accelerator pedal and slid in front of my car like a bunny on E. I happily
smiled, cheerfully singing away to the tunes of 'Hit me baby one more time' by the worlds most wonderfully renown artist as I watched him.

Due to his kindness, he beckoned me to have 'frontsies' in the never-ending line of traffic. I happily obliged. Everyone else on the road agreed, and co-operatively lined up and made way, letting me pass smoothly between them, gracefully taking my place in line.

For a happy 20 minutes, a white JDM Civic Type-R (drools) and a white Integra VTi-R danced merrily, happily singing the high notes of the song entitled 'Vtec - by Chopin'.

Ok now Tuesday. I managed to 'pop' my from left speaker in my car on the way to work. It's driving me crazy. Every slight bass note is accompanied by an annoying buzzing. If I turn it louder to a slightly uncomfortable volume, it would be barely evident.

Moral of that story? Turn that music of yours up. It's good for the speakers.

Ok. Back up to Sunday. I went to Cabarita with family. First long drive I've taken in the Integra - and what a hot one it was. With the air-conditioner running the whole time, we had four cars. This wouldn't be such a problem - If they weren't driving by one short angry asian kid (leading), and three old asian women (and in stereotypical fashion, the short angry asian kid had his trademark Integra, and the old asian women had a Honda Jazz, a Toyota Tarago, and... Wait for it... A Toyota Camry - No attempt to break the stereotyping just yet). That is a recipe for disaster.

Somehow I found myself looking in the rear view mirror, thinking to myself... "huh? Where the [profanity] did they go?". This happened a happy 3 times on the way there.

When we got there we found out that the water itself had an abundance of sharp shells scattered everywhere, bottles and wrappers, as well as what seemed to be a huge amount of large rocks that decided that it would be fun mess with the short asian kid. Whenever he fell - they'll be there. Where ever he stepped - they'll be there. And whenever he is feeling that he doesn't have enough cuts on his fingers, palms and feet - God dammit THEY'LL - BE - THERE!!!!

OK now for tomorrow - I'm going out to replace those dreaded speakers, and VOW to purchase a new head unit.

Ciaos for now!

14 days...

2010-01-15T22:22:00.000+11:00

Ok so it's been 14 days. Oh how it hurts. The pain I feel. The hopelessness...

My body has dwindled. My heart imploding... My eyes are sore. Living - I'm loathing.

Life itself - no longer worth living. The pain I feel - It's simply searing.

If I could turn back time, oh how I would. I'd turn back time and change everything.

Everything. From what time I brushed my teeth on Monday, to when I scratched that itch on Wednesday, to that report I wrote on Thursday.

My clothes, my shoes. My walk. My talk. Even the fuel I used - The kid I abused.

NOTHING would be spared...

Oh the scars, the sores, the welts, the bores. Theres nothing more atrocious.

My life is over. My car's going to break down. My clothes will melt. My shoes will smell. My walk will be a series of tumbles. My talk a slurring stream of stutters. That kid I abused will grow much taller and stronger overnight.......

Oh 14 days...

14 days without blogging...

2010 - The newest year so far

2010-01-02T00:02:00.005+11:00

Another new over - a new one just begun.

A new year is the start of many things - the next round of annoyances, troubles and despair, the next bombardment of smiles, laughter and opportunities, the next smattering of technological advances, and the next awesome famous person dies.

Seeing the year go by, I must admit this has to be the longest year so far. A lot of things went the way I wanted them to, but towards the end of the year things became more mundane repetitive.

Regardless, last night was awesomeness. I met up with some friends at Parramatta and headed to Martin Place for the fireworks. The fireworks went by pretty quickly but it was a nice thing to go watch. Here's some pictures (courtesy of Susy):

Myself and Susy

Alan, Michael and myself (as usual, no alcohol for me)

After fireworks we headed off to the station which ended up to be a mosh pit of sweat and noise. After 3-4 minutes of drunken yelps and god-awfully belched songs, we were fed up and Alan suggested we turn around and head to 'a great pizza place.' It ended up being really good - we sat by the water and chowed down on our greasy slices of heaven (yes, I was that hungry).

Once I got back to Parramatta Station (5am), I met up with my girlfriend who's been overseas for the last 3 weeks. What a great start to the new year! Thanks everyone!

Boxing Day Sale

2009-12-26T19:32:00.001+11:00

Ok, so it goes like this; it's 11pm on a Friday night - Sitting on the computer working away, pretty tired:

     'Andrew, want to go to boxing day sales tomorrow?'

     'Yeh, sure! What time?'

     'We're leaving at about 4'

     'Why so late?'

     'No, 4 in the morning!'

     *GASPS*

I decided I wouldn't go to sleep or else I wouldn't wake up. Seeing I was already talking to a friend of mine (MSN), I decided to invite her to come along. To my surprise, she said yes!

Being the smarter one, she went and took a nap instead of staying up mindlessly like myself.

When we arrived at 4:30am (opens at 5:00am), we were amazed at the size of the line i.e. The Great Wall of China made of humans and starting at the entry of Myers (city).

I bought only one thing - a necklace with a tiny heart pendant on it (by Esprit) for my girlfriend =]

Caught my eye, so I bought it (sorry for image quality - took it using my phone)

Looking around Myers, I noticed something interesting - most females were alert, wide-eyed, hunting, honing into their 9th or 10th prey, whereas most of the guys (normally tailing a female) was red-eyed, walking mindlessly on what seemed to be an endless, yawn-filled, expensive journey.

We left just before 8am due to everyone about to die from sleep deprivation.

Arrived home - Slept. Slept like there was no tomorrow. Embarrassingly, my friend was still over. She ended up leaving soon after, but while she was there, she would have had an exclusive insight into me in a complete involuntary coma. The amount of things she could have done to me. Maybe I was violated? I don't remember falling asleep - maybe she drugged me? Hmmmm...

Now... To kill her cat...

Testicular cancer

2009-12-24T17:43:00.001+11:00

I HAVE TESTICULAR CANCER!!!

Not really. But I do need glasses. Ended up blowing $300 on a pair of Diesel's. The conclusion was that:

My eyes are very good for long vision

The general health of my eyes are very good

My eyes get fatigued very quickly - Some how she straight away knew I worked with computers alot.

Anyway thats the update. I'm now poor. My life is over. I pick up my glasses in approximately a week and a half, and once I get them, I will be able to look into my wallet and see extremely clearly, that I am poor.

Thats the update! Now dinner time! Time to look under the couch for hidden food scraps...

Cakes, mates and head aches

2009-12-24T11:06:00.001+11:00

As those close to me would know, I've been having a lot of head aches as of late. I've been seeing doctors about it during the past week, and have found out that I need glasses! 0.0

Too many hours in front of the computer I've been told. Kind of hard when you work in IT but nonetheless! Well I hope I do - I've taken the whole week off due to feverish symptoms but mostly due to the head aches. On the weekend the head aches mutated into migraines, and how they feel more like jack hammers.

It's gotten to the point that I can't take it anymore unless I have a Panadol.

I will be going to the optometrist today at 2:00pm. I am not looking forward to it and in my mind it is playing over and over like this:

"Mr Huynh, you have testicular cancer"

"But how does that affect my eyes?"

"IT JUST DOES!"

Regardless, I had prior arrangements with old school friends for Monday night which happened to be fun fun! Just a simple meet up to eat, chat and hang out a bit. Ended up to be a really good thing as for most of that time I completely forgot about my head aches.

I'll post pictures up later when I can get my hands on them!

This week of no work has helped a lot - no major stresses to deal with so I've had quite a good rest. The saddest thing of all is I miss work!

Ciaos for now - going to get ready to find out if I have testicular cancer or not.

Wait, cakes... I had cake the night before last. Wasn't very nice. Thanks!

An Insight into the Past

2009-12-20T20:55:00.001+11:00

Today I was looking through my car's papers trying to learn a little more about it (e.g. gearing, features, etc.) and found, tucked behind the instruction manual and some paper work - a small yellow envelope labelled:

CAR DETAILS

Upon opening it, I gained a huge insight into the cars past, and (partially) explains why the cars mechanics, interior and exterior were in such great condition:

The primary driver (who's name I will not disclose) was a female born in... Wait for it... 1942.

The secondary driver was a male (presumably the primary driver's parter) born in 1939.

The best thing about it was that it was insured so that only drivers above 55 would be covered. The other amazing thing was that they only needed to pay $351.25 for 3rd party + at fault driver insurance! This is as opposed to myself, who paid almost $900 to insure a Honda EG Civic (at $3000) just last year (third party only).

I am yet to find out how much this Integra will cost me.

I am starting to think that this is a major case of privacy invasion. Moving on.

Today I removed the head unit in my car and was assuming the wires at the back would have been spliced (the stock unit in the car at the moment is just a tape deck). To my surprise, the previous owners never changed the head unit! I am amazed that there are people out there who can function in the 21st century with nothing but a tape deck in their car...

I then 'went' shopping for a HID kit (xenon), head unit and speakers today - first checking online! First off was the HID kit. I didn't want to buy a $60 'ebay special' kit, so I did my research and found that the ebay ones were generally pretty good!

Regardless, I ended up purchasing a kit from vvme.com after numerous recommendations.

Can't wait for it to arrive! I bought the 6000k version (white with a light tinge of blue). Refer to the image below:

Note that the higher the colour temperature, the more coloured it gets and the less bright it is.

I also ordered the SMD parker lights, and white LEDs for my gauge cluster.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a head unit or speakers that suit my liking and budget. I'm trying to stay clear of in car LCD DVD units like my last one, but it's just so tempting! I've learned from my last car, that the 'WOW' factor quickly wears off and you don't really use it. Still..............

OK so this is what's outstanding:

Sound system, new wheels, front lip and new alarm system.

Work tomorrow. Ciaos!

The Break up. The new girl..

2009-12-19T23:40:00.002+11:00

LETTER to the EX:

Darling, we've had a great run but I think it's about time we see other people...

It's not you. It's me...

Ok. It's you. But let me explain. First off I'd like to say...

I loved the way you look at me - the shape of your eyes. The brightness I saw in them. You helped me see things I could not normally see...

I loved how you always made sure I was secure - no matter how rocky the world might get.

I loved the shape of your body - the vibrancy of your skin. I could always see myself when I looked at you...

Your beautiful curves... The shoes you wore...

But most importantly, I loved the way I felt when we were together. You took me places I could never have gone without you.

But lets face it... Lately, you've always angry, and very loud. You groaned everywhere we went - even when it was for you. Eventually, you seemed to have just slowed down, no matter how hard I push you.

It's almost as if you have given up on life.

Your once vibrant skin is dulling. Flaking. Your health, diminishing.

I tried taking you to the doctor - he said you were fine. He gave you a sports drink and gently adjusted your posture.

I tried everything I could. Even the expensive accessories I bought you - your mind always seemed to be somewhere else...

You crashed and burned...

But it no longer matters - I've met someone else.

And lets be honest - she's prettier than you. She's more willing than you, too. I feel a huge surge of excitement when I'm with her that I just simply don't feel with you. I can't explain it but it's the truth.

She might have four eyes, but with them she's able to guide me in a way you never could.

I'm simply more comfortable when I'm with her. She's a lot smarter and she offers me what I need.

She's much more enthusiastic about life - making her more enjoyable to be with and a lot more fun. And oh can she sing - the high notes she can reach are simply beyond anything you could - and she keeps at it where you would already be gasping for air...

All in all, shes in an entirely different league to you. I'm sorry but we must move on.

The Ex:The new girl:All she needs is a little lipstick, some new shoes and a better angle!

On a serious note, this is my first post and those who know me well know I like my cars! I also have a fetish for older cars - specifically Japanese imports. I'm lucky enough to have owned two of my favourite cars (yes, an EG Civic believe it or not). With mix results of course!

Cars are expensive - I'm hoping this Integra will serve me for many years to come (think 100 or so years). I must admit, I've adored this model ever since I started to notice these metal things on wheels (10 years old) and have always wanted to own one!

Anyways I hope you enjoyed my first post!