[1105] Breaking Routines

I took the week off to relax. However I wouldn't be doing anything too different from my normal routine. Sure I went out to get my physical exam one day, and then I went with my wife and daughter to get the latter's braces adjusted another. But aside from that it was just me "vegetating at home."

Until today. Halloween would have an event where trick-or-treating kids would pass by the house and we would give some treats. My wife volunteered. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate so the organizers decided to have it held in the village's covered court. They asked us to bring our treats there which I did.

I was not expecting them to ask us to have someone help distribute, and in a very impulsive and unexpected turn of events, I volunteered.

So I spent an hour or so hanging out and giving out our treats. There was supposed to be a second round after some magic show and other stuff in the program but honestly I was sort of bored already and so I decided to head home.

So did I break my routine? Yes. Normally I'd be hanging out at home. Or in today's case, hanging out at home handing out treats. Instead I went out and did something I don't normally do.

It felt sort of good, I enjoyed the short time I was there. And at least I did something different.

Out.

[1104] The Honda Jazz

I think it is safe to say that the Honda Jazz (specifically the second generation, or GE) has now overtaken the Volkswagen Super Beetle / Classic Beetle as my top one dream car. And here are the reasons why.

• Comfort. The Jazz is bigger, has four doors, has air conditioning, and also probably has a more comfortable suspension set up than the Super Beetle. Getting in and out of the Jazz is also easier for everyone because of the four doors, and I'm guessing rear leg room is better as well. Yes the Jazz may be bigger, but compared to the current SUVs driving around Metro Manila it is still a small, compact, practical car.
• Safety. Air bags alone make this is a safer car, add in the fact that the Jazz probably has a better crumple zone than the Super Beetle and it's pretty obvious why.
• Practicality. I can still see Honda Jazz driving around Metro Manila more often than I do classic Beetles, and I rarely see a Super Beetle. I'm guessing this means repairing the Jazz may be a lot easier and cheaper because of availability of parts and more mechanics being more familiar with them. Add to this the fact that the Jazz may just have better fuel economy over the Beetle. Oh and let's not forget the Honda Jazz's Magic Seats.
• Modifiability. I still want to retro mod my car, and just like the Super Beetle I do have stuff planned out. It's not as extreme as the Super Beetle, because of modern tech and safety, but I still have plans. Like better suspension that I can lift up by 2 or 3 cm. Then upgrade the in car entertainment to an Android Auto ready head unit, improve the speakers, and finally upgrade the rims. Possible upgrade interior and exterior lights (except headlights and fog lamps) to LED bulbs, and also upgrade the headlights and fog lamps to better focused lights. A lot less mods than the Super Beetle for sure.

And those are the reasons why the Honda Jazz GE is now my top dream car.

Out.

[1103] Japan Surplus

My curiosity is slowly drifting back to Japan surplus kei vans. Earlier this month I made a blog post about my crazy (and possibly stupid) idea of using a locally sold Suzuki Carry and swapping the engine, suspension, and whatever you can swap into it.

Then I saw a reel on Facebook featuring a version of the Suzuki Every Van/Wagon. The person/s who made the reel gave very honest answers about what to expect with Japan surplus vehicles and I was totally appreciative of the fact that they set expectations properly.

They even mentioned where they got their vehicle from and the re-seller is based in Cavite, which is pretty close to Metro Manila. The seller's FB page featured a few nice looking builds of different Every Van/Wagons including DA64s and DA17s. Plus they even mentioned on their page that they aren't accepting orders now because of the number of orders they are currently processing.

I honestly can't afford one yet, nor am I sure if I really want to risk getting one. I do like how small, practical, and spacious an Every Van is. So I will keep my interest in kei vehicles and hope that eventually Japan will decide to sell them to other countries, and hopefully even have them built in left-hand drive.

Anyway, there are two different kei vehicles I would love to own at the moment. One is the van setup, and the other is the truck setup. I'm guessing the van can do what I plan to do with the truck, while still having seating for at most three people.

I really want a small, fuel efficient, practical vehicle I can load my bike in and bring to different places. That was my idea for the kei truck, create a custom bike rack for the bed and possibly add some secure, lockable storage as well. The Suzuki Every Van can still fit a bike in the rear and not need lockable storage. I would probably just have to fold the seat on one side so I can still get two passengers and my bike inside.

Out.

[1102] Kitchen Appliances

I'd like to make a list of kitchen appliances I'd love to have. I most likely will not give a brand since I have no idea what brands are good, so if I do share links it will be because I'm showing you what the appliance looks like. So here we go, in no particular order.

• A rice cooker. I'd love to own one of those high tech rice cookers, but even the most basic rice cooker can do a lot of things aside from cooking rice. You can steam in them and you can cook those rice cooker meals that became famous in different social media channels.
• An air fryer/oven combo. I am now an air fryer believer. I've eaten different food cooked in an air fryer and if it is indeed a healthier option then I am all for it. Plus having it be a combination oven then even better because you can toast bread, bake cakes, and do other things with this appliance. I can even make sandwiches here instead of using a panini press grill.
• A single induction cooker. Combine this with the two appliances I wrote above and you have a pretty good set of cooking appliances. This can be used for other things you can't cook in the rice cooker nor the air fryer. Make soups, stews, and fry stuff that will taste even better fried in oil.
• A microwave oven. Here's my grand vision: meal prep food every Sunday using all the appliances above. Store them in individual plastic containers and keep them in the freezer. Reheat with the microwave oven. So basically the microwave will serve as a defroster and a re-heater.
• A blender. I think this is more needed than a food processor since you can make shakes and smoothies with this. Yes you won't be able to mince and julienne ingredients with this but at least you can make shakes and smoothies.

And those are, so far, the kitchen appliances I would love to have.

Out.

[1101] Exercise

So I think it was a youtube video I watched where they said if you weren't feeling sore then your workout wasn't really gaining anything from your workouts. And honestly I've felt that way about almost any of my exercises since when I'm done I don't feel sore or anything.

It can be frustrating at times but then I need to remember what my goal is with my exercise, which is to hopefully maintain my fitness level and improve it a bit so I can have a nice health span.

Lately though I have been feeling sore. My hamstring and glute is sore, and I have no idea if it was because of the intermittent jog I did or the kettlebell complexes I do. Maybe it's a combination of both.

All I know is I've decided to bring back my reps in my kettlebell complex to 5 per exercise but I need to do at least four sets per workout. Movements should be slow and controlled and none of the explosive movements.

Then I did a 3km jog, and that's when I felt my right hamstring get sore, as well as my right glute.

Hopefully that just means the body parts are getting stronger.

Out.

[1100] Bike Build Idea

This one isn't as wild as a long tail cargo bike build, it'll be a "normal" drop bar bike build. So here we go.

I just watched Path Less Pedaled's video about Growtac's friction drop bar shifters. This basically means it's a "one size fits all" type of brifter than can accommodate any speed derailleurs. And this is where my crazy idea comes in.

I want those brifters. So I can "just" buy any RD and I won't have to replace the brifters. That's it.

I also want to own Growtac's Equal mechanical brake calipers, but man are they expensive.

Then add bike racks for bikepacking from Old Man Mountain.

Out.

[1099] Crazy Restomod Idea

So I've blogged a couple of times already about how I would love to restomod a classic VW Beetle. Well, this post won't be about a classic Beetle.

I got this idea recently when my mind was once again wandering and I was daydreaming of crazy car builds. So here's my idea.

I'll buy an old, locally sold Suzuki Super Carry minivan. The one sold here locally, based on a really quick Wikipedia search, was the eight generation. This guarantees that the base is indeed built for left-hand drive countries.

Here's where it gets fun. I then get one of those Japan surplus Suzuki Every van. As is. Then I have the experts strip everything and transplant it to the local Suzuki Carry. I'm not sure what can and can't be transferred, but hopefully the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and brakes can be transferred.

The wiring harness I'm not so sure if it can be transferred, but if it can hopefully it'll be wired for left-hand drive steering wheels where the wipers are on the right stalk and the light controls are on the left stalk. That's it.

Seats front and rear can be refurbished and improved from whatever seats are available and comfortable. Interior sounds should be the latest Android Auto and Apple Car Play ready head units with good quality speakers. Maybe even a nice amp if it can fit somewhere.

All the lights, both interior and exterior, should ideally be LED already and bright but not blinding for the headlights. Ideally add a bull bar in front so I can also have some fog lamps installed.

As for the rear, definitely adding a rear LED chase light bar on top of the rear hatch, hopefully having a custom built JDM looking spoiler on top of that. We can also probably add a step-ladded to climb up the roof, where a roof rack will also be installed.

Basically I just want an old Suzuki Carry with modern stuff so it won't be underpowered and hopefully be road trip ready.

Out.