A date with an angel

Its Lab-lab’s off this week. Yay!

Agenda:

-         Send money back home

-         Dinner at Wendys at Wheelock place, Orchard.

-         Visit Outdoorlife branch at Wheelock place, Orchard.

-         Coffee at Starbucks

Well it didn’t exactly go as planned. It’s more like this:

-         I queued at the remittance center to send money back home, while she had a pedicure nearby.

-         Pedicure lasted more than an hour. Thus, no more visit to Outdoorlife since it is already closed.

-         Dinner changed to Spize Rivervalley road.

-         Then went back to Wheelock place, Orchard to have coffee at Starbucks

Even everything didn’t go exactly as we planned it; I still had fun with my lovely Lab-lab and Arya (the name she gave her Goyard bag).

Pedicure

Spize: Nasi Goreng Pattaya and Ikan Bilis

Coffee night with Arya

She still had her Wendy's vanilla frosty

Not everyone can say that they kissed an angel

Rido R2 Saddle and Weicon

I visited My Bike House to buy the Rido R2 saddle as I'm having severe discomfort in my perineum area. The bike consultant/sales at MyBikeShop allowed me to test the saddle by riding it around the area, enough for me to test and feel if the saddle will hit my crotch & perineum area. I tried to hit as much bump and uneven pavement to check if it will be painful. The Rido R2 saddle lived up to their claim that this saddle will relieved bikers of the said discomfort. The elevated area provide minimum contact between your part and the saddle.

Once I got home, I installed it on my bike and tried it around for a couple of rounds and I felt like that the saddle is pushing my body toward the handlebar which causes too much strain/fatigue on my arms & shoulder. Adjusting the saddle a little bit forward solved the problem.

I'm excited to ride back to work on Wednesday.

Since the travel took me an hour, I decided to buy necessary things for the bike that I won't be able to find around the city area. I bought a Weicon degreaser, lube and foam spray.

Rido R2

  

Nothing else should come
between you and your bicycle

Weicon
Bike frame cleaner, degreaser & lube spray

UFC 146 - Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir

Here we go! UFC - 146

Junior 'Cigano' Dos Santos: Heavy-handed striker who has good foot movement. He loves to throw uppercut as a weapon against takedown attempts. Great in cutting corners when throwing his punches. Good cardio, YES! He has proven this in Roy Nelson fight. Ground-game? - the question is if he gets taken-down, will he be able to stand-up against Mir's top jiu-jitsu skill?

Frank Mir: A very high-level brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with very good striking but a bit slow movement, almost plodding. Cardio? - based on his fights he is always gassing. Wrestling? - In my opinion, he hasn't shown any explosive doubles, singles and his clinch takedown is mostly ineffective against strong opponents.

I'm a jiu-jitsu practitioner and I would love to cheer for Frank Mir. But, JDS is a beast of a fighter. I'm so pump-up for this weekend!

Note: This blog about fighters is just my personal opinion. I'm not an expert on MMA fighting and will never claim to be one. I'm just a fight fan that is trying to learn, understand and enjoy different aspects of fighting. :)

 

 UFC 146 - Primetime episode 1

UFC 146 - Primetime - Episode 2

I'll go bananas if Frank Mir pulled-off a submission in this fight.

The North Face versus Goyard

I visited Outdoor Life Pte Ltd @ Novena - Velocity and I found a perfect bag to latch onto the handlebar: The North Face - travel canister. This bag can hold your important items such as keys, wallet, phone, toiletries. I believe it's a must to have atleast a small bag to put those important items while riding and at the parking area. Knowing where to get/put things while parking will save you a lot of sweat, literally! It comes with a built-in hook so that you can hang it on a towel bar. You can also use those small handles around the bag for your toothbrush, shaver, eyewear etc. You can also hang small towel into those holes by tying a knot on one end of the towel and shoot the other end into the hole. This will give you easy access to your towel while riding on a hot day.

If you're looking for any sport or outdoor related gears, I highly recommend Outdoor Life Pte Ltd. They have tons of awesome items stock in there. Lab-lab was so bored because I was checking each item inside the store for almost an hour. Thanks Lab-lab for tolerating the little boy in me :D

I love going to these kind of stores: sports, DIY, hardware etc. You'll be surprised on what you can build by simply piecing things together.

The North Face - Travel canister
56 SGD

I used a GearTie to easily latch/remove the bag on the handle bar.

GearTie 18 SGD

On our way to Novena Velocity.
Lab-lab is still smiling and jolly.
She doesn't know that she'll be bored to death where we are going.

Awesome customized bike displayed @ Novena Velocity

Outdoor Life Pte. Ltd.

Dinner at Wee Nam Kee
One of the best chicken rice in Singapore

Now Lab-lab is happy.
She finally got her Goyard Saint Louis PM bag straight from Paris.

Sexy biker on her way to Rue St-Honoré, Paris.

Pong's mini-travel: May 20, 2012

I hereby name this helmet Pong!

Singapore flyer

Fullerton Bay Hotel

Marina Bay Sands

New necessary accessories

I visited MyBikeShop yesterday to buy a Biologic PostRack. The place is located at Clementi which is 1 hour travel by MRT+Bus from my place. But it's worth the travel as the store is packed with all your 2-wheels needs.

I opted for the Biologic PostRack that is easily mountable as I wanted to preserve the sporty-look of the bike. It's a bit of a hassle when folding but it fits its purpose; to carry my everyday bag to work.

I promised that this will be the last thing I will buy for my bike this year. Unfortunately, I need a simple basket that I can easily latch when going to the market. It's hard put everything on the rear rack using an elastic cord which has the tendency to fall to the side.

Pink bike displayed in MyBikeShop

Biologic PostRack (easy-mount): 65 SGD
Voyager 2.0 front light: 28 SGD
Smart super flash rear light: 24 SGD
Bell color black/silver: 9 SGD

Flamingo saddle with pump - 75 SGD
Should I buy this next? :D

First ride to work

It's my first ride to work. Yehey! I already planned this two days ago but when I woke-up today it was drizzling. I waited for 40 minutes and shouted "You shall stop!!! (in Gandalf voice). Ala, the rain stopped. Now, it's time to take out "my precious".

The ride was a bit slower than I hoped due to wet & slippery road. It took me 50 minutes from Boon Keng to Lau Pa Sat. My target is 30-40 minutes. I even lost control when I tried to go faster on a downhill ramp. Anyway, it was a fun ride even there's some mud all over my ass & back because Tyrion doesn't have a mud guard. Oh, and I was sweating like a hog when I reached the parking area. Haha!

Locker and shower room keys

50 minutes from Boon Keng to Asia Square

I also bought a headlight and rear light at LifeCycle Singapore. The guys there were really helpful and knowledgeable. Awesome bike store + Travel + Cafe.

Voyager 2.0 (front)
Smart Super Flash (rear)

Happy mother's day Lab-lab

Happy mother's day baby Lab-lab. I love you too much!

Sorry, no roses this time. But sugar and fats are better.

I love you baby!
Dunkin' donuts for you.

Sabado night and locks

I just bought a u-lock for my Dahon Speed P8 at Trek @ Tanglin road. Unfortunately, I can't find a spot where to mount it in the bike frame. The mount strap is too short to wrap around the thick frame. Thus, I'll just carry the lock in my bag.

Trek U-lock by Kryptonite
SGD 65

Chain with alarm
I'm not sure if I still need to
buy this as an additional lock.
SGD 83

Sabado night with Tyrion at YSW seafood restaurant

Tyrion and my favorite chicken curry rice worth SGD 6.50

To buy list:
Ringer (red color).
Front headlight & rear light. I found a pair in Trek for SGD 95.
Strap to wrap bag.
Bike bag (optional) - I can ride with my current backpack.
Bottle cage (silver) (optional) - I can just put my water bottle inside my bag.
 

Bike parking

I asked the building admin if they're allowing folding bikes inside the office and they said...NO.

Therefore, I decided to check-out the bicycle parking at level 3 and it was actually cool. The bike racks are enclosed in a metal fence that gives the cyclist more security, privacy and space when locking their bikes. They also have shower rooms and locker just near the parking area. The fee for shower and locker is $20 a month but it is free for the entire year 2012.

Excited!

Bike parking

Dahon Speed P8

I bought a Dahon Speed P8. I love it! This thing can go really fast and has a very sporty feel when you drive it. It's been years since I rode a bike and it's a bit scary driving on the main road. I have to be very cautious and attentive to the traffic flow, rules and pedestrians. But at the end of the ride it was really fun and at the same time it is a very effective way to add cardio to my workout.

My goal by the of May 2012: Ride this bike from home all the way to work as an alternative to my daily transportation. I'll probably start biking to the MRT, fold it; then bike again. Goodluck!

By the way, Lab-lab and I named my bike "Tyrion". Since, Dahon Speed P8 is small and badass just like Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones.

On our way to bike-hunting...

Mirror picture before leaving :)

Overwhelmed!

There you are Dahon Speed P8!

Folded

Folded (mirror)

Break-in

Hiding my happiness

Moved to new location: Asia Square

Our office just moved to a new location: Asia Square. Hi-tech entrance gate, lift and better coffee dispenser.

The desk/cubicle division is very low that makes our working area more open. I can see everyone's head in front of me and decided to move my monitor right in front of the guy that's seating in front of me to avoid awkward eye contact.

The place is still near my favorite food place, Lau Pa Sat, which is quite cheap compared to food stalls at the building's food area.

Oh by the way, I'm planning to buy a folding bike that I can use going to work.

Bike parking and shower room application form

Giant Halfway 806 - folding bike

folded

Lab-lab's back to morning shift 5AM

Lab-lab's way of waking me up.

Burnt back and shocked

I asked Lab-lab to take a picture of my sunburnt back and I was shocked when I saw how big I am right now. I was skinny back in year 2007 and just decided to get bigger around 2011 after nursing my injury, herniated disc + sciatica.

For two months, I drank 2-3 liters of full cream milk everyday. I gained 12 kilos in two months, ofcourse most of it are fat. But, the additional weight helped me to lift heavier weight. I changed my work-set/reps from 8 reps to 5, even as low as 3 reps. I did a lot of chin-ups, pull-ups & dips with additional weight hanging down my waist.

I'm satisfied with my current weight and will start lowering my body fat. I read in an article that 10% body fat is not difficult to achieve. Goodluck!

Skinny circa 2007

2007 - 2008

Sunburnt back April 2012

Davao vacation | April 2012

Spent 2 days and 1 night at Pearl Farm with lab-lab, patootie, my sister and tita funny.

Surprise birthday cake. Thank you lab-lab!

Then, we did water rafting at Davao White Water Adventure.
With lab-lab, patootie, my sister and tito pogs.

Another surprise birthday cake! I love you lab-lab!

 

fun, chill and food...

Majids Persian Kebab | Rizal

Moon Cafe | Abreeze Mall

The White Hat Yogurt | Abreeza

Cellar de Oboza

Kilawing bariles 
at inihaw na tuna 
(panga at silik/palikpik)

Goto at tokwa't baboy | Dencias

Jollibee | Gaisano

Lomi at siopao | Kusina Dabaw

Kangaroo Coffee | Mapa

Crabs | Lab-lab's place

Lechon | Lab-lab's place

Utak ng baboy | Lab-lab's place

 
Food & discoveries during my stay in Manila for 3 days before heading to Davao.

Shakeys

Halo-halo supreme | Icebergs
SM Mall of Asia

My "The Beatles" drawing
for my cassette tape cover

Diskettes
I created the first social site
called "The Guestbook" back in 1999

Bye Pinas. Bye Davao.