1220 - Exercise Update

It's been a little over a month or two since I tried to be more regular with my exercises. By this I mean I'll do my best to consistently do three jogs and three kettlebell days a week. So far the going has been good.

Do I feel any changes? The biggest I think is that my back isn't as sore as when I started doing this regularly. I don't know if it's a mental thing or it's getting stronger despite the relatively light weight of my kettlebell, but I figure doing exercises regularly no matter the weight is better than doing nothing.

As for jogging, I've been fortunate enough to be able to do all jog for the past few weeks. I just decided one day to stop doing intervals and try jogging non-stop. My pace is slower than my interval pace, most likely because I need to intentionally jog slower so I don't tire too fast. It's been good so far, though the past week was more challenging as I've been feeling more tired despite jogging at the same pace.

Overall though I am hoping to keep this consistent, but at the same time being kind to myself in the event I have days when I really don't feel like working out. I have a feeling this will be happening soon, when a co-work day happens and during Holy Week, when I'll be out of town and not sure if I'll be able to work out.

We shall see.

Out.

1219 - Shoes

I'm not really a sneakerhead, and with my current work set up I have very little need to have a collection of shoes. To be honest I think I have too many. I think I have two or three sneakers for going out, one or two for my jogging, an old pair of basketball shoes, and one pair of leather shoes. And I rarely get to use the non-jogging shoes that often. This doesn't mean there are certain shoes I'd love to own. Here are some of them.

• Converse Run Star Trainer (Black/Egret/Honey). The biggest reason why I like these shoes is the driving shoe heel design. It also looks sleek and I really like the predominantly black color.
• New Balance 574 Core (Navy with White). I want 574s with the blue/white color scheme just because of Initial D. I think Takumi wore a pair in one season. Plus the classic look makes this nice to wear with jeans or shorts, at least for me.
• Xero Speed Force II (Sunny Lime/Evening Blue). I've blogged before that I'm really curious to try barefoot shoes with a wide toe box. I'm not sure how big of a difference these are from the sneakers I'm wearing but I really want to find out.

Those are the shoes I'd love to own. They'd probably all work with my shoe rotation since I can wear the Converse and New Balance shoes for going out, while the Xeros will be used for my jogs. Sadly I can't afford them now nor do I really need them.

Out.

1218 - Attainable Dream Car

You may have noticed that I've been blogging more about a Honda Jazz (or Toyota Echo Verso) than one of my other attainable dream cars, the classic VW Beetle or Super Beetle. Let's just say I've sort of "given up" on the Beetle dream., and there are a few good reasons for this.

Safety. My other attainable dream cars are both newer and relatively safer than the Beetle. Better suspension, stock disc brakes, and other safety features are available stock to my Japanese dream cars versus the Beetle. Plus I'm guessing the newer cars have crumple zones and airbags.

Comfort. The Jazz and Echo Verso have better suspension for a more comfortable ride, maximize space better, and are four-door meaning it would be easier for passengers to get in and out of the car. They also have air conditioning and a bigger space on the dashboard for better in-car entertainment. Heck you can even install the 2DIN sized Android Auto/Apple Car Play ready units. I can even say having an automatic transmission (at least for the Honda Jazz, maaaaaybe for the Echo Verso if you can do a transmission swap easily) is a big factor in comfort because you don't have to be sweating so hard to drive in stop-and-go Metro Manila traffic.

Reliability, and fuel efficiency. Let's be honest, the Jazz and Echo Verso are both relatively newer cars so parts availability should be easier. Plus both cars are fuel injected and offer good-to-great fuel economy. It might be easier to find reliable and trustworthy mechanics to work on cars that are around 20-years old versus cars that are 40 or so years old.

So yeah, while I still dream of owning a Super Beetle, I do think the more sensible dream car of choice is either the Honda Jazz or Toyota Echo Verso. As long as I can restomod them.

Out.

1217 - EVs

My curiosity about EVs is growing day by day. It's not necessarily just EVs sold here, but the other EVs I've been reading and seeing on social media. These are the EVs I'm interested in.

• Renault Twingo - There's something about small EVs that are mainly for daily driving in the city that I find very interesting, and the Twingo combines the practicality of an EV, the small size of a practical daily driver, and the looks of the Twingo.
• Dacia Hipster - I think the Hipster is still a prototype, and I much rather prefer the new Twingo because of the more spacious trunk. Still, the Hipster seems like a small, decent sized daily driver.
• Kia PV5 - Now this is very interesting. It's cheaper than the VW ID Buzz and maybe more spacious? The PV5 seems like my ideal family vehicle, except for the fact that as far as I know, it's only a 5-seater.

I just hope the time when EV batteries and replacement parts are more affordable, and hopefully more EV options are available here in the Philippines. I honestly wish I could eventually get to drive, or own, one.

Out.

1216 Two-Car Garage February 2026

I have no idea what came over me but now I'm liking these two for my "ideal two-car garage." It would be the Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5 SE HEV and the Toyota Zenix 2.0Q Hybrid CVT Platinum White Pearl Mica.

For practicality's sake I'd probably still default to the Wigo and Avanza/Veloz I blogged about before, but indulge me here. The Yaris Cross may be bigger than the Wigo, but the size is still (at least for me) small enough to be a daily driver. The Zenix would be a good people hauler. Both can handle road trips. And best of all, both are hybrids so they both give fuel savings and coding exempt (at least until 2028 or something).

The biggest con I can think of would be maintenance costs. Being higher end vehicles (and hybrids) I'm guessing labor and parts will be way more expensive than the Wigo's costs. And I already find the Wigo's maintenance a bit pricey, but still bang for the buck.

Anyway that's it. Still one 5-seater and one 5-to-7 seater as an ideal pairing for a two-car garage.

Out.