Why Would I Write

Category: Random

  • Diamonds In My Chain Gold

    Random thought post? Sure. I haven’t done one of these in a while.

    It’s interesting watching how my nephews are growing up. I’m happy that the elder one is generally obedient and very patient with his younger brother. I don’t know why, patience is one of those traits you don’t see in every kid. Hopefully his younger brother will follow in his footsteps. He’s definitely not patient right now. However, they are both extremely loving and caring towards their younger sister, so that’s a good sign. Crankiness seems to be a common factor if you try engaging with them after they wake up. They need a couple of hours to warm up it seems.

    Today’s kids are the TV – or screen – generation. At least based on my observation. Not that there’s anything wrong, it’s just how times have evolved. Like back in my days, it was action figures and army men. TV only became a hobby much later in life. Nowadays, we have access to so many more displays – everywhere we go we either have a TV, smartphone, tablet or laptop. Back then, all we had was the living room TV and the shared family computer. Even I’m a TV kid now – these days I fall asleep watching Twitch streams or YouTube videos, and it’s all by my own volition. I bring my phone into the toilet to Reddit while I take a shit. I listen to podcasts from my phone while I’m driving. I read articles or watch videos while eating if I’m by myself.

    Now that I own a smartwatch, I can’t imagine spending money on a non-smart one. It’s crazy. A few years ago I would’ve said that was a ridiculous thought. Then again, it’s not like I was much of a watch person to begin with. But now that I’ve experienced life with one, I don’t think I could resort to regular watches. My phone already tells the time, why would I need something that only does the same thing? Also, the fact that I can change my watch face to match whatever I’m wearing (not that I do it very often) means I have a watch to suit every occasion.

    Even with access to every kind of music imaginable, these days I still find myself going back to the same old artists – Post Malone, Joji, Rich Brian, Higher Brothers, Dance Gavin Dance, Emery and Tilian are my jam right now. I guess I’m a creature of habit. Every time I hear songs from them played in random locations like cafes and clubs, it puts a smile on my face. I get so hyped for no reason. I used to feel the same way back then when there wasn’t internet streaming music. It’s amazing how the way I react hasn’t changed.

    Vaping is more enjoyable when you have a good coil and good juice. It can definitely replace cigarettes. Not that I’ve been looking to do that – it’s just something I noticed. Snus are still great. I make sure I have some with me all the time.

    I think I am easily influenced – at least by people I like. I don’t think I’m a trendsetter. Not that it matters, but quite a number of things I’m into now are directly because of my friends.

    Dabbing for photographs is very cringeworthy.

    Unironically, I’m a Pewdiepie fan. I enjoy watching his videos. He deserves his success.

    Better Call Saul’s next season can’t come soon enough. I’ll have to settle for Riverdale in the meantime.

    Having a beard hides your double chin. Then again, maybe I should work on losing weight instead. I have been watching my diet again though. Went for a health check up the other day and was told by the doctor that my BMI was a bit high. Fair enough, I thought, since I had let my diet loose for a while.

    My laptop is still under repair, which kinda sucks. On the bright side, I still have been able to complete my work using a tablet – great because it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders when I walk around with my backpack. Typing on the screen is still terrible but I’ve got some great portable keyboards which rectifies this issue. Battery life on this tablet is also insane – I love how I don’t have to worry about keeping it charged.

    Animal Bus is officially in the works. Stay tuned for updates 🙂

  • Destination: Gwangju

    It’s been a while since I’ve traveled for work. It has been almost a year since I’ve stopped doing back-to-back traveling. This change of pace is welcome. Anyway, today’s flight was good. Didn’t end up landing five-years later, like the TV show Manifest. Am here to attend the Gwangju ACE Fair which begins tomorrow morning. In case you’re wondering, I’m not in Seoul – nowhere near, in fact. Not that it really matters since I won’t have much time to do touristy stuff. Also, I’ve never been to South Korea before, so I have nothing to compare this place with anyway. For what it’s worth, we seem to be in a very seedy/happening part of town. Tons of massage parlors, gambling dens and motels in the vicinity. On the plus side, there are tons of bars and restaurants around as well.

    I didn’t manage to sleep for long on the plane today, so I watched a few movies. It didn’t help that the lady next to me kept flicking her long dreadlocks on my arm and went past the arm rest, invading my personal space. Also, she kept looking at photos of herself on her tablet. I have no idea why. Upon loading the movie selection list, I realized how much I took MAS for granted. Korea Air has such a limited selection of movies. Also, their captains make way too many announcements. I managed to watch: The Commuter (I was let down by the middle-end 5/10), Life of the Party (couldn’t even finish the film, 2/10), Fahrenheit 451 (interesting concept, though I thought it could have been executed better, 6/10 – will probably have to read the book or wiki it), Dude’s Manual (honestly, it’s not a very good film, but the actresses were gorgeous so I kept watching 4/10). Maybe on the flight back I’ll spend it sleeping instead.

    I had a terrible omelet on the plane for breakfast but that was made up by the delicious spicy beef soup meal I had after landing. Had spicy pork for dinner and that was good too. Looking forward to more meals in Korea! Coffee wasn’t impressive – it’s very light and watered down compared to how I like it. The weather today was pretty good – neither hot nor cold. Just the way I like it. According to the forecast, it’s going to be raining over the next few days, so I’m not looking forward to that.

    Anyway, I’ve only spent half a day here, so I haven’t got much else to say for now. If you’re interested in the random photos I take, you can follow me on Instagram. Oh, this post was written on my Tokyo 60 – Box Navy switches are so damn loud, but man, they feel so good. This is definitely a board I won’t be bringing to work unless I replace the switches.

  • Shower Slippers are Aptly Named

    Shower Slippers are Aptly Named

    So, over the weekend I decided to replace my 10-year-old+ flip-flops. No idea why it took me so long, but the soles of the footwear were coming off and they were already ugly as hell. I figured Saturday would have been a good time as any to get a new pair. Off I went to Mid Valley, braving the crowds and going from shop to shop, looking for a pair of nice flip-flops.

    I don’t think I was very picky when it came to choosing my footwear, but there were a few criteria I had to meet:
    – not hideous
    – cheap enough to leave outside of my apartment (we’ve had a history of stolen flip-flops left on our welcome mat)
    – no strap in between the big toe and the rest of the toes (I hate the feeling of something in between my toes)

    That was it. Surprisingly, it was quite difficult finding something that matched my criteria without breaking the bank or in my size. It all came down to a pair of Nike flip-flops I found in Sports Direct. Other close contenders were some pricier Birkenstocks and Skechers footwear which I didn’t really feel like shelling out that much for.

    Seeing how the Nikes were cheaper than Birkenstocks or Skechers and they felt comfortable enough, I decided to go with them. So, this is where I managed to ignore two warning signs: the flip-flops had a label on them “Kawa Shower“. I said to myself – what are the differences between shower slippers and regular flip-flops anyway? I always thought people wore regular flip-flops into bathrooms (but I have no idea why they did it – I guess it’s for people who don’t shower at home and the floor of the bathrooms they use are filthy? Like in public places? Beats me.)

    Second warning sign: there were holes in the soles of the flip-flops – I didn’t think they mattered at all, beyond being able to drain away any sweat from my feet – which was a plus point in my mind. And in the event of rain, flip-flops weren’t going to protect my feet anyway.

    After paying for them, I immediately put them on and threw away my old flip-flops. They were textured and a little grippy, but they were comfortable enough for me to walk around in them. Soon I forgot I was even wearing new flip-flops. All was good. I was happy about my purchase.

    Fast forward to today, when I had to use a public restroom. I walked into a stall that had water all over the floor and without thinking, I took a step towards the toilet bowl. Immediately, I felt the filthy public toilet floor water rise up through the holes of my soles to the bottom of my feet. It was then I realized my mistake.

    Right after I exited the toilet, I bought myself a new pair of flip-flops from Miniso (only RM28, and they fit real well). I’m just glad the combined cost of the flip-flops didn’t exceed the Birkenstocks or Skechers but now I have a pair of flip-flops that I’ve only worn for a day and will probably never wear again – at least not to places where I’m expected to get my feet wet. I guess I now own a pair of holiday flip-flops.