theCollectiveUs - Juggling, Unicycling and All That Stuff.

noob

JH — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:25:34 +0000

I’m finally done migrating my stuff (well most of it anyway) to my new Mac. I’m starting to understand how technophobes feel now; I’ve been so comfortable with the Windows platform, there’s that little voice in my head that tells me that learning something new takes too much effort. It’s not all new though - I’ve been acquainted with Linux so some of the features do make more sense than they should. There’s still so much of getting used to though - not having Microsoft Office (I whine about how bad it is I figure this is a good time to switch to something else) and trying to get software that I’d regularly use (Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc) is definitely more difficult than it would be for a PC.

I hope I’ve time for pancakes after…

Random Moments From Ride the Lobster #3

JH — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:32:23 +0000

It’s interesting how perception works. When the 3 of us first got our 29″ unicycles, they looked massive beside everyone else’s 24″. I played hockey once with it and the speed was ridiculous. The turning radius too for that matter. The first time I rode it, I had 170mm cranks on them and the few people who were cycling (ie on 2 wheels) alongside me remember my being a hindrance, speedwise - I can’t keep up and my saddle felt like planks.

I pretty much jumped at the idea of heading to the ride the moment I heard of it. There weren’t large unicycles here and to ship them in cost a great deal. I was actually prepared to ride the race on a borrowed 26″ and that’s partly the reason why I went for the cross-Singapore ride on a 20″ (and kept up with everyone else on their 24s and 26s for that matter). The other reason was because I’m not very bright and had very little in the common sense department.

I think I’d have still done the race on a 26″.

Because I wouldn’t know any better.

Random Moments From Ride the Lobster #2

JH — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:56:33 +0000

Pizza’s always good.

Our car license plate says Elvis. Almost.

(Heart)

JH — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:50:08 +0000

That I’m waxing lyrical about this midway between completing an article (at 5 in the morning no less) and am putting this ahead of getting vacation pics online speaks volumes.

I LOVE MAPLE SYRUP.

Happiness is warm pancakes and maple syrup. I’m sitting here typing this while eating fluffy whole wheat pancakes (I found only whole wheat flour) drenched in deliriously golden syrup.

I actually lugged 1.5 liters of syrup back from Canada, spurning souvenirs and other assorted touristy stuff to bring home. And to show my undivided devotion to the liquid, I shall pen an ode to it.

Maple Syrup is Love

Mmmmm syrup.

MMMMM syrup.

Ok, I’m done. You can continue with your life now.

Yellow Snow

JH — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:07:47 +0000

Because of the generosity of two unicycling brothers in New York, I’m now housed in a little room right beside Central Park. It’s as convenient a location as you can get and for that I’m grateful and a little embarrassed at how I could probably not be able to offer the same were the situation reversed with them visiting Singapore.

I’m quite ambivalent about New York City. The city smells like piss and that tends to influence one’s feelings about a certain place. I’m not sure where the smell is coming from and it’s not just limited to one street or district; the WHOLE of Manhattan smells like piss.

Today I got lost in the morning and ended up in a weird part of town, north of Manhattan towards the Bronx. Every other street, I get mistaken as a hooker which really, I think, has nothing to do with how I’m dressed or how I’m carrying myself but rather is directed as an insult for my being yellow-skinned and sticking out like a sore thumb. Ironically, race works in your favor too in such situations. I’d usually pretend I don’t understand English or what’s said to me regardless of context and greet everything with a quick smile - people won’t harass you if you play dumb.

I’d like to think of myself as being adaptable and to an extent I’m quite sure I am but the past two weeks have somewhat made me reflect on how shelted Singaporeans are and the things we’ve taken for granted unconsciously. Things like how necessities and food is always within reach regardless of the time. Or how our train stations don’t make you feel claustrophobic and cranky.

The New York subway must be the most confusing train station in the world. I might be wrong about this but it appears that some train stations serve only one directional travel. Standing in the sweltering underground heat and stench (piss again) at midnight when there’s no proper signage of what trains have ceased service and what trains go where defines misery. Middle-aged Chinese Counter Guy had given me the wrong directions yesterday when I asked to go to Prince Street.

Him: “Fifth?”

Me: “No, Prince. *mimes crown* PRINCE.”

Him: “Oh, you go to Queens via bla bla bla”

Me: “No, I want to go to Prince, not Queen. Do you have a map?”

Him: “No more map.”

Me: “Forget it”

Selected Moments from Ride the Lobster #1

JH — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:16:52 +0000

Since I’ve been asked about the race and updates so many times, I figured I should post something DESPITE the fact that I’m still on vacation, enjoying New York City.

Here’s the Masticating Bunnies From Hell (ie. us) with Arne, part of the German team that won the competition. Click for a bigger picture. We’re cool that way with all that newfangled hyperlink stuff that you technology imbeciles would never know.

Here’s a series of shots taken DURING the race. So for those of you who’re wondering why we’re always so fricken’ slow, it really wasn’t our crappy equipment. I’m embarrassed.

Montreal

JH — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:02:36 +0000

It wasn’t that bad that I missed my flight and had to pay an extra CAD$130 to take an afternoon flight. Because I wouldn’t know what to do in Montreal at 7am in the morning anyway. Shops here are mostly closed (”FERME” - yes in caps and yes, I don’t have the accent mark on my keyboard.) because of St Jean Baptiste except for food outlets and I’ve all of $50 or so in my wallet after paying off the Greyhound fees to NYC. Will update on the food in a next post.

Montreal’s kinda cool. The best thing about the city is that there are these lockers you could rent for $3 for a whole day. I stuffed my 40kg luggage (i kid you not) in there and only had to carry my 10kg backpack and 14kg unicycle around town.

It might be how I’m walking around in the ugliest tee and shorts combo possible or how I’m carrying my uni around but people seem to think I’m local. And not chinese. I walk into shops and get spoken to in French. I’d walk around the streets and get addressed in French. I’d go into McDonald’s and order a Cafe Glace, Vanille and would have been quite convincing if I actually knew what Small/Medium/Large was in french. I went into this grocery store manned by some Chinese who were speaking mandarin. I asked for the cost of something in mandarin and got a shocked stare and no answer. Very weird.

I wish I had more time to spend here though. 6 hours of walking around with baggage is very very troublesome.

Blame Canada

JH — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:26:09 +0000

Here I am, sitting at Tim Horton’s in the Halifax airport which is apparently so commonplace in Atlantic Canada, there was a day when we had food from there thrice in the SAME morning. If you need recommendations, the BLT sandwich is pretty decent. I like bacon.

In 15 hours, I’ll be flying to Montreal where I have about 12 hours before leaving for New York. It’s kinda exciting, that I’d be pretty much alone wandering the streets with no accomodation - nor any planned for that matter - and no booked passage to New York.

The Appetite Decends.

I’ve here a list of food places I should really visit when I’m in Montreal. I’d agree though with Mike (who made the list) that you need to have poutine when there. It’s like how Nova Scotia wasn’t complete without lobsters (which regrettably we had but one). Or McLobsters for that matter which have proven thus far to be elusive. We’ve seen them all around Annapolis, Cape Breton and we can’t find them in Halifax.

Speaking of fast food, A&W here is awesome. Their burgers taste like meat and their onion rings are great - nothing like the processed breaded onion-flavored pieces we have in Burger Kings in Singapore.

It might actually be a good thing I didn’t go for that teeth-cleaning procedure before the trip…

The Return of Thunder Thighs…

JH — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:50:08 +0000

…and her sidekicks Killa Kalves.

The next time we’re doing Ride the Lobster, we’re going to get sponsorship from prosthetic leg companies.

School of Thought

JH — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:09:02 +0000

I got an email advert from some local school of media and whatsit and this line caught my attention:

Before embarking on the 15 month specialist diploma program or the 9 months diploma in one of the five core specialization at CITS, we offer students the following inexpensive and effective training program through our Coconut Outreach Program.

Man Eat Man

JH — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:14:17 +0000

These are bread.

This is actually very gross but a baker in Thailand sculpts these things out of bread. He’s awfully talented I must say (emphasis on ‘awful’ here) but isn’t it more disturbing that there might actually be people who buy his bread??? How else does he stay in business???

Video here:

Stupid Young Punk

JH — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:47:40 +0000

My hair was getting a little untidy so I thought I’d go get a haircut.

For some reason, I had a sinking suspicion I’d screw up and get a totally weird cut, I took a ‘Before’ pic. The guy who cuts my hair cracks me up. We had a conversation that went like this:

Me: You grew your hair long! (I’m bad at small talk)

Him: No I didn’t. It’s a wig.

Me: Huh?

Him: It’s a wig.

Me: Why’re you in a wig?

Him: Because I’m going for reservice (army) and I don’t want my customers to see me in short hair.

The back of my head now looks like this

I find it pretty amusing though which is why my pic’s here. There’s this distinct line across the middle of my head which is apparently some attempt (or experiment) at a ‘not so boring’ haircut (in the words of hairstylist).

Actually if I had known he was going to shave a line across, I’d ask for my name to be spelt. Because you know, when I wear a bicycle helmet, you’d still be able to identify me.

Ey, Mac!

JH — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:36:53 +0000

After waiting for frickin-half-a-year, I bought my iMac this week. I’m very impressed with the service and the machine I must say - bought it in the afternoon, was told that it’d arrive the next day and it got delivered the same evening when no one was expecting it. I think I got a pretty sweet deal with the student offer - iMac at a $100 discount and an iPod Touch at $28. It’s great because my mp3 player’s falling apart and I had intended to buy a shuffle initially. The iPod Touch has so much more potential, what with talk about VoIP hacks. I’m still fairly fascinated with the WiFi features though the screen size is really too small to do anything decent.

My workdesk REALLY needs cleaning up now. Thank God I got rid of the TV when the one in the living room exploded. No, seriously.(Note the dejected Xbox360 and the obsolete psTwo that’s now being used as a speaker coaster.)

The box the iPod came in could fit 15 of them. Or 2 babies.

Yo Baby’s Too Big

JH — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:55:52 +0000

China Eastern’s website says this in their Checked Baggage Allowance.

Random Note to Myself

JH — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:22:08 +0000

Someone asked me a question yesterday which was sort of interesting. I’ve got quite an opinion which I’d remember to write about soon enough because I WILL see this note and remember what exactly it is about.