It’s a quiet celebration this year.. went cruising in my new wheels;

Stopped by West Coast Park - lots of younger folks, many BBQ and gather to usher in the new year. A time for reflection nevertheless. The year that has just passed and the year unfolding ahead. Career wise, it has taken a pleasant twist; waiting in anticipation for Feb 2007. Social, the inclusion of my own sets of wheels spells new level of mobility which is clearly evidence - within a span of less than a week, it had travelled over 500km!! Need to start watching the $$.

No fireworks this time round.. think I’ve outgrown watching and photographing them… Also learnt some sad news concerning an old buddy from PFS… life is full of the unexpected. And the impact that brings along only makes you cherish what you have and focus on what really matters.

Some year this has been ….

:: Q1 ::

Started with a forced change in career; moving out from a quiet and routine job with HP,.. reluctantly though. It was a semi-retirement stint which I would not have mind doing for a couple more years. Guess it was not meant to be.

The birth of WUF-C; my new DIY center speaker. A notable addition to my HT setup. Was a real challenge in the making, ambition got into my head saw me gunning for curve cabinetry, top of the line components costing well over 2k! All in all, it was worth it. There were some major boo boo, but it turned out well at the end. See the details here: http://av.rslweb.com/WUFC/

:: Q2 ::

Not surprising, in my financially challenged state travelling plans were put on hold. That gives lots of free time to progress with my diy project. Invested further in more professional hand tools. I sure can spent when it comes to things that I’m passionate about. The estimated time to completion then was abt Sep 2006….

Went down to Genting for a 2nd time; will be hitting the casino and looking forward to joyrides in the theme park… alas, the rides were nothing to shout abt since I’ve been to Disney Paris and Lotte World Seoul. The casino was a new experience - in fact it was a 1st. The last time I was there, I did not bother to enter… played the roullete most of the time, busted RM200; small change by most standards. The downside is the air - smoking is allowed!

On a job hunt: took me a much longer time to find a replacement than was previously . As the saying goes; good things comes to those who are patient. In my case, it was Wyeth. Scheduled to start work on 1st June.

:: Q3 ::

Back in the rat race in the form of a challenging and exciting post with Wyeth… this one proves to be another 1st, securing a full fledge managerial responsibilities (with the added perks ) Surprisingly I managed to maintain a balance btw work and personal time. It even allowed enough free time for me to complete WUF-C. But things are begining to ramp up as I assimilate into my new role.
Other development on the AV front, sold off the Krell and disconnect the rear speakers. Tweak the front xo futher to get a fuller mid-bass. This is a never ending pursuit,.. one that is getting taxing; am thinking of replacing these with the actual Sonus Faber Cremona - target 2007-2008;
:: Q4 ::

Lifestyle upgrade in the form of a Camry 24G, 2006/2007 model. Christmas comes early

Also, verbal confirmation in terms of my future with Wyeth; YES!! An offer that is almost impossible to refuse. Even if I do strike the Toto tommorrow, I’d probably stick around just for the experience. Then again, knowing my tendencies, maybe not. I’d probably dump a large % in the STI. ;D

My ride finally arrived. Left work early to pick it up from the distro center off Pasir Panjang. After a long wait in the customer lounge; finally caught sight of SGP6076A.

…. and within the short time span of a week, it chalked up over 500km. It is a long beast and parking turns out to be a great challenge. So far so good; Starting to get a good feel of the handling - hopefully, by CNY 2007 will see me zipping around town like a pro.

More pix can be found here.

*sigh* another two days before the black beau arrives…

I wonder how much live would be changed due to this?

This is the status of your bid as at 06/12/2006 16:00:00.00 HRS

Bidder ID: S*******H

Yahooo!! another hurdle overcomed. Yep, getting there step by step. Should be cruising in MY black Camry 2.4G before xmas ;).

Had some time to reflect on life in general… at these time and age, it  gets easier to get lost in the pursuit of life’s dreams as generally accepted by the masses we forget that this life is our own. To achieve happiness is to live it on OUR own terms and not on basis set by expectations of others. This can be from people who are total strangers, so-called experts or even family and friends.

There’s a need to get back to basics, to reflect back on what was once our desires or dreams and compare that to what we have achieved today. Have we changed, if yes, was it ourselves or was it some external influences. Does the change now reflect our true selves or a forced adjustment to fit-in to society’s whims and fancies.

yep, suddenly feeling philosophical today.

Itchy butt, got me-self a brand new black Nokia 6288 handset. Cost only S$28 with a 2 year contract with Starhub…. the lost cost is due to an offset from a $200 voucher. *sweet*

A nice gadget, am just begining to test out all the features. The best part IMO is the built-in radio and media player… unfortunately only plays MP3 and AAC. Good thing is that external mem-card is supported; mini-sd; though a little limited in capacities, but should be sufficient for the time being.

Actually this purchase was driven by the upcoming Camry 2.4G - has a built-in bluetooth function to link up with BT capable phones… my current handset being a lowly spec model, to utilize this means getting a new piece. Guess it’s about time I play catch up with the rest of the new gen. in terms of handphone tech.

Tested it out with my laptop - works like a charm

Went to test drive several make and models in the past two weeks.

Was at Borneo Motors on 11th - took a peek at the Camry and Lexus :D !! Didn’t really intended to test drive, but the sales girl was very persistent. My 1st time driving a SUV was a RX350!

Luxurious to say the least. Was kind of nervous, being the 1st time driving a $170k car and a SUV - the elevated position and large vehicle does not help. But surprisingly, it gets really comfortable once out of the gate. Simply amazing… must be partly the high of being in a Lexus for the 1st time! (more…)

I’ve been playing with the idea long enough. Finally, taking a serious look and narrow down to the following candidates;

Mark-X 2.5
Harrier 2.4G
Camry - JDI
Accord Euro 2.0 I-VTEC

They are sorted in the order of preference… though the top two are more like 50-50 !! Financing any of these is no small feat… the key decider is probably securing the perm post with Wyeth (+ some increase in pay) :D.

Sold off the Krell for a fair sum of $3300. Mighty glad I hold off and stick to the asking price. Lots of low-ballers coming in below $3k.

  
The DIY-center finishing is completed - not exactly as intended. But still looks good. Lacquering was not perfect and rub-down with water as lub caused some damaged