1215 - Dream Cars

Instagram reels have reminded me of yet another relatively attainable dream car I have. The Toyota Echo Verso (aka the Yaris Verso). I knew someone who used to own one and I was very impressed with the size, roominess, and practicality of the car.

The biggest issue I'd have of owning a locally (emphasis on locally) sold Echo Verso is that they were all sold in manual transmission. Now if I were younger, more patient, or "braver" this would not be an issue. But with traffic and stress and other factors I'd rather have one less thing to think of. Are transmission swaps a thing? Even if it were, I don't know how to legally change the registration of the Echo Verso to do a transmission swap.

Curious idea though, would it be possible to swap the CVT of the third generation Toyota Vios to the stock motor of the Echo Verso? I'm not sure about programming and power numbers if they would work but that would hopefully make a nice, fuel efficient car.

Anyway, this Echo Verso would probably fall right behind the Honda Jazz as my attainable dream car. They're both practical, fuel efficient, small, and locally available. The Jazz just edges out the Echo Verso because of the automatic transmission and that the Jazz is also a great car to drive.

Out.

1214 - Car Free Sundays at Ayala Avenue

Yesterday I went with my wife to check out the car free Sunday section of Ayala Avenue. My wife technically needed to do an ocular for a school event they'll be holding during one of these car free Sundays.

For quick context, the Car Free Sunday in Ayala Avenue, Makati, is from the Courtyard Drive (the road between Glorietta 5 and Rustan's) until HV dela Costa (the section where Ayala North and RCBC Plaza are).

Anyway there was an event there yesterday, tACbo 2026, which would mean the area would only be open to the public at 7:30am. So I decided to do my Sunday jog here because I wasn't sure I'd be able to jog when the sun is out.

We get there a little past 8am and there are plenty of people already. Instead of just looking I decided to ask my wife to join me for a walk around the entire closed off section of Ayala Avenue. All-in-all we did about 3 km or so doing a round trip loop of the area.

There were plenty of people, ranging from joggers, walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, roller skaters, etc. The place was pretty organized and people did an excellent job of getting out of each others' ways. I also noticed portions of the roads around Ayala Triangle may have been closed, maybe for the event? Most people jogging took detours around Ayala Triangle.

Would I go back? Maybe. It does cost a lot since we have to go early, park in paid parking places, and most likely eat after. But I do think it would be nice to see how far I can go around the place.

Out.

1213 - Toyota Raize G

After we got our Toyota Wigo G, my dad also replaced the black 2006 Rav 4 (gen 3) with a Toyota Raize G. Their decision to get the Raize was a good one since it was relatively cheap and it was big enough for their intended use, which was to bring them to and from the province on a regular basis.

I've driven and ridden in it a few times. It is a nice ride, and I think the 1.2L engine and the CVT is a great pairing. It's pretty quick for my driving style and I think the power is just right, again for my driving style.

One thing I've noticed with the Raize that is quite similar to the Wigo is that the suspension is a bit too soft for me. At least the rear suspension. It's happened a few times when I'm a bit too quick over speed bumps that I worry that the rear will bottom out.

Driving and riding in the Raize did get me thinking if I should have just gone a little over budget to get the slightly cheaper and lower spec Raize E instead of the Wigo G. We'd get a bit more space and road visibility (because the Raize E already comes with fog lamps) but would it have been worth it to go over budget?

I actually think it's a good idea to stay in budget. And I also don't feel bad for getting the Wigo. It's a fun car to drive and it fits my family's needs perfectly at the moment. It may be small, but the Wigo is very capable.

Out.

1212 - My Bicycle

Earlier today I rode my bicycle after how many months (or years?) of not using it. I rode it, and not in trainer more. I took it outside and rode for a little over 3 km.

I was slow, I was tired, and I knew not to push myself. Right now my quads are introducing themselves to me, and for some unknown reason my shoulders also. Maybe I'm not used to riding the bike anymore.

Anyway I rode it because I decided to lower the seat a bit more. I don't know if I wrote this before but when I ride on my bike trainer (basically still my bike with that attachment in the rear) even 20 minutes of riding gives me numbness in my groin area.

I've tried raising and lowering the seats, as well as moving it forward and backward, but nothing changes. Still that same numbness. I do remember the very last time I rode my bike I also got that numbness. So I lowered it even more than usual.

No numbness, granted I only rode for about 13 minutes. And there could be a number of reasons for this, like standing while pedaling, or cruising. Still, it felt good to ride again.

I don't know why my shoulders are tired though. Maybe because I need to get used to riding my bike again.

Out.

1211 -- Fitness 2026

I'm still targeting improving my healthspan. Something I started with last year when I saw some videos and heard some podcasts about it. Basically staying independent until the day you die, that's my end goal.

This year though I'm going to try to be a bit more disciplined and come up with some routines that I can hopefully stick with. Of course if I don't feel like doing the exercise, no judgement and no hate. I will give myself the space to not exercise. I do prefer following the routine as much as possible. So here's my rough plan.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays I will jog. 3 laps (around 3 km or so) for the work days, and for Sundays at least 3 km, hopefully farther. I started this earlier today by doing a 5 lap jog, which surprisingly was done with a sub 8-minute per km pace.

Weekday 3 lap jogs is just so I have my doses of cardio for the week. This also makes sure I'm not too tired in case I need to suddenly drive people around. We don't normally go anywhere on Sundays so I can tire myself out in the morning and have the whole day to recover.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be for my "functional kettlebell workout." A friend of mine sent me a kettlebell routine I adapted, basically you set your workout timer for 1 minute workouts, non-stop, twenty times. You do a workout within that one minute and whatever time is left is your rest. When the timer beeps, move on to the next exercise.

My new routine will be still be what I call functional. Functional because most of the exercises I'll do are workouts that are connected to stuff I do everyday. So to start, it will be a goblet squat to two-hand overhead press. This is for sitting down and standing up, as well as lifting household stuff above my head. Next up is a deadlift to kettlebell upright row. This will be for bending over to lift stuff up as well as pulling stuff upwards. Then single arm bent over rows for the left and right arm. This will also be for picking stuff up. Finally I've decided to include some good, old fashioned kettlebell swings. I don't know if this will help strengthen my lower back, but I do need to work on my back as lately I've been getting my lower back sore due to different causes.

So that's my plan to start the year. I hope I can at least continue with this for the first quarter. If I can feel improvements either I'll add more reps, more distance, or hopefully more weight to my workouts. But again, my goal is still to have a great healthspan.

Happy new year again.

Out.