The Black Canopy

Emenius Sleepus

2010-03-04T19:02:00.005+08:00

Some call it just plain bad luck!!!
Some will utterly state it was sheer stupidity.

But all things in life depends on ones own doing. Things neglected could cause serious things that could cause severe pain or the total opposite. And then the repercussion steps in. Holding you by the throat. Succumbing in fear. Lightning fast guilt.

If only things could be recalled just like car companies... But then it was hopeless... Darn it!

Waves

2009-06-10T10:11:00.007+08:00

Long overdued post. Wifey and my little kiddo do need some vacation. So what's wrong with having a 30-40 mins drive to a nearby town of Pandi, Bulacan. Good thing the weather is cooperating on our travel. Mushy weather I have to say but still it's good not a single droplet of rain water on sight. The trip was not that long but I had to say the road is still not in A+ condition after stepping out of NLEX via Bocaue exit. This means low riders would have difficulty on something I may say as muddy + rocky portions of the road. Wallah! Amana Waterpark not yet fully functional other than the wave pool and kiddie pool but the place is quite nice.

Here's some shots from the trip. I may say that their collection of Hero replicas is indeed fascinating, I almost enjoyed their sight as much as my kid and his 2 nephews. The kiddo never failed to amaze me specially on picture takine moments... He indeed love none moving characters a totally opposite on those seen dancing on kiddie parties ;)

Vulcan

2009-06-01T15:49:00.002+08:00

Draven's Photography

2009-04-21T14:41:00.006+08:00

Our bicol trip would not be complete without taking some photo shots... but who is the one taking shots on the images below... No other than the little boy using our Casio Exilim digicam... What's more funny is that he's making his own funny poses while taking pictures... If only I had a spare camera to take a picture of him on times like these :D

Dropped Accord

2009-04-21T10:45:00.005+08:00

Time to let go of my Espelir Lowering Springs... But before the inevitable, I think I'll had my share of some valuable photos.

Dropped 1 finger gap to the front fender

I almost had my target set-up but then with my family growing It's time to share some pains of letting go of some stuff :(... Below is the simple 5th gen that I had in mind...

Black 5th gen

Now back to stock... Maybe some day I'll be able to strut that machine again to it's finest form... But then family comes first to toyz ;)

Stock ride... Stock comfort...

Lakwatsa

2009-04-13T19:14:00.003+08:00

An uber long holiday just passed by... Good thing my wife had previous plan for such occasions. Together with my mum, dad, nephew, kid, wife and father in law we journeyed towards Cam Sur... It was one heck of a drive... To my hasty calculations it took us about 10 hours from Valenzuela to our destination. That of course includes some stop over to relax our feet and the rest of stuff... The view was all but amazing. If only the roads along Quirino is all fixed it could have take us less than that amount of time.

Well my kid sure enjoyed "Beee...cul" as he pronounced it... Next time kiddo you'll have your share of the wheel ;) For now grow up and enjoy life...

Wishy Washy

2009-02-24T19:38:00.002+08:00

Stroll down the park...
Stop at the red lamp post...
Slowly release the clutch...
Gently step on the accelerator...

The drawbacks are really kicking in. The difference in being an actual mechanic from the norms of being a normal accelerator junkie. Just got the compressor changed and it did hurt when monetary aspect hits you by the head. Maybe am just not fit. So many regrets nowadays. Beginning to think a gentle slap would hurt that much. Then again past is gone, present is what is now and future... What should I do for the future. Worrying that much is not my forte I guess... Let's just roll to tomorrow.

Zoobic...Subic

2009-02-09T13:45:00.005+08:00

Another weekend has passed and this time my wife, kid and I decided to have a long trip to Subic. I woke up early around 5:30 to have a close car check. I've checked all four wheels for any sign of problem, checked the engine oil, water level, and the rest of the car fluids(brake, powersteering, clutch). After a round of check, I've decided to wash the car while it's still early.

Around 9:15am we travelled to Petron NLEX @ Marilao to meet the rest of my group mates who'll also travel to join our monthly Get Together that will be held at Subic International Raceway and have some fun moments on Subic's theme park. At 10:00am, 3 accords (2 5th gen and a 6th gen) rolled to Subic via SCTex. The SCTex road was too comfortable even for a dropped ride so I gave in to the acceleration up to 170kph, too bad after roaming SCTex my temp gauge rose to an exhilarating 3/4 mark from a usual 1/4 needle mark. No choice but to take a short stop after the Tipo exit...

Good thing all went well and we arrived safely in the racetrack with my a/c turned off... We initially checked the water level and we found out that the a/c fan is not functioning when the a/c is triggered... Too bad, oh well we can get by without air-con this time, since the weather is not too hot to open the car windows...

After lunch, we watched the rest of the guys in track while doing their laps. Around 3:00pm we decided to travel to "Zoobic" and good thing we were just in time for the Animal parade... My kid sure enjoyed the rest of the Zoo trip. From caged tigers to close-encounter with them while riding a caged Jeepney... My little kid almost went to tears upon noticing the fearful sight of the huge tiger barraging our zoo-ride while our guide feeds the creature with raw chicken worth(200bucks)... But then, this is just first time reactions... After we left the place, my kid starts acting like a little tiger cub in his funny little way...

Went back to the track after the side-trip to the Zoo... Since, it's too dark to travel with a not so functional car... Our initial plan of a day tour changed to an overnight stay. Bad thing we haven't arranged for an accommodation and all the hotels inside Subic were fully booked tsk... Trying to cool our heads, we dine at Meat Plus and have some tasty meal....

Since this trip is what my wife and I calls "Anything goes trip", we stretched an effort to get out of Subic into Zambales acting as Mary and Joseph did looking for a place to stay. Good thing our car helped us in this task... We stayed for a night in a place where both my family and our car is safe... The next morning had a couple of stop before going home (Lunch again at Meatplus and buy some stuff at Duty Free)... Lots of lesson learned but then, we do enjoyed having such adventure.... And of course, my kid now likes playing little tiger cub with the mighty roar hahahaha

2009-01-19T14:05:00.003+08:00

It has been like 5 months since this one was updated. So enough for the long drought. Been busy with a lot of things lately. So how was the previous holidays? Not much, but still am thankful that we're still breathing and life continuously configure itself. I'm beginning to sound weird I may say. From configuration and logging etc. so please excuse my unpredictable language. The little kid is healthy and mostly energetic nowadays... The wife is ever supported in every little way.

So what's up with the new year. Not much of plan i guess... Slowly moving into things left to be done last year I suppose. Less miscellaneous expenses I hope although this expenses is what keeps us from being sane :)....

Well I guess that me and my wife just needs to develop another habit. Planning miscellaneous expenses. But then as long as we're happy then nothing could go wrong...

wHY sO SeRioUs...

2008-07-25T17:39:00.008+08:00

The most creepiest line that struck a chord in vein last night after watching "The Dark Knight." The movie is worth watching. Not just because reviews said so and sometimes almost over exaggerated. The whole crew did great in passing what they intended the audience to absorb. Cynical it may be but this is the first Batman flick that approached the concept seriously. From villains, heroes and civilians. The darker side is specifically targeted. Am just wondering is it coincidence that this is the first time the word "Batman" is not specified as the title. Superb!

Photo Gala

2008-07-25T16:21:00.002+08:00

Taken in the shore of Snake Island, Palawan

Soaked

2008-07-23T18:30:00.003+08:00

Last week was a daze in a haze. The trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan last week is a relief. Good thing the rain did not pour much during those 4 days. We all needed to have break sometime. The place was comforting and should not in any less be compared to other places. 1 thing I can surely attest the place is "Clean", well I can only expound to the limits of what my eye can see. Zero trash, not even a bit of cigarette butt will be seen on sidewalks. Courteous people plus the beautiful surrounding will really make you feel relax. Am just hoping the next visit would still be the same even until little Kurdt found his own way in reaching the place.

And I almost forgot. It was me and my wifes 2nd year. Cool!

Dirt Etcetera

2008-07-07T15:58:00.006+08:00

A pumped-up saturday is all I can say. Well traditionally this is my DIY day for all stuff. May it be doing something in the house or needless to say aside from the house something for our family car. I was successful in fitting all the garden hoses in the house using the stuff I brought from a hardware store. Too bad haven't found anything that will put two 1/4" hose together. Good thing the spare 3/4" connector with some tweaking worked. This makes life a little easy specially in washing stuff outside the house.

Almost spent the whole day cleaning the under-hood of the car. And I was amazed that with a little effort and availability of materials, the result was fulfilling. Here's how it was after the cleaning :)

Believe me that it was all black before :D. This was done after I prepped the car for waxing the same day. The result? The glitter went back the way it is. Well that's after 2 minutes when kids started marking the car with their hands after me waxing it for an hour tops. Well what can we expect for kids... Patience....

On 21st Month and So

2008-07-07T15:28:00.004+08:00

Much things happened for a span of years. The little boy is now starting to be a restless kid with a cuddly smile. It'll be like his 21st month on the 30th anyway. Just hope he stop giving me and his mum a hard time before going to sleep. But anyway, his sweetness stays and he starts to be playing out with words. Like sponge as they say, he's fast in catching up things such as utter words he just recently heard. Be playful kiddo and smile often ;)

By the way, here's another way playing the longest wait of all (bored?)

On Friday's and Weekend

2008-07-04T16:17:00.004+08:00

Absentminded, been contemplating much on what to do over the weekend. Like i need to attach some garden hoses for ease on cleaning our car. Play with my kiddo, haven't done this much as I'm always occupied with other stuff. Except for weekdays that he's too sweet to comfort "Thinking: kiddo saying: Pa..pa.. with the express full face"... Well he's growing up to be a sweet individual but these times, he's just too hard to handle specially if he wants to play all around the house. Well kid's as they say, but then he does know when to obey. Though sometime it just needs a little bit of push.

DIY

2008-07-01T11:05:00.003+08:00

Envious impervious whore S#!t... That's how I could should define people who go all out trashing someone else's property. Been having this dilemma for quite some time and it's just perplex to think how satisfying could it be to do the same on their faces. But then the vengeful egoistic bastard is not quite my type. Just one thing I could put up to their faces... If you are amazed on what your looking at be thankful that the owner displays them for the pleasure of your eye sight. But then, please don't make that stuff to look as a sight for sore eyes. Cmon' ...

June the sixth month

2008-06-30T11:57:00.002+08:00

So what's up with June?

Little Kurdt's 20th month after being born on the 30th of October
Me and my wifes 23rd month of being married
Our car's 1st year whew
Gas price still going up

Celebration anyone :D

2008

2008-04-18T19:26:00.004+08:00

Another year added... A year of endless life changing experiences... Some for keeps... Some were just there to remind us that we still live... Glorify "G"!

Excess... just keeping a record... it's been the 9th day since our car suffered a wreck... darn....

Behave

2008-02-12T10:51:00.000+08:00

Just got this picture of my little kiddo... He's almost 16months old... The rapid growth is sometimes scary at first but then again... It has some sweet moments... How cool!

Dreamscape

2008-02-07T15:28:00.001+08:00

5th gen accord coupe... My target is to at least have stellar pose the same way as this car... with its lip out shoes... Dream on... The image posted might be copyrighted by its user but just can't help but look at it....

Learning to Write

2008-01-31T14:16:00.000+08:00

Head is twitching maybe for lack of sleep... For selfless reasons.. For silly reasons... Or just plain dumb judgment. Rotating in a mindful of ideas, felt stuck... Need a push... Needless to say!

2007 Victory

2007-10-22T11:07:00.001+08:00

Yes the pictures below is not lying indeed. Formula 1 Driver and Constructors Championship belongs to Scuderia Ferrari. The wait is over and with a great show of finesse and overwhelming team effort this is what we can call a well deserved win. 2007 is indeed a Ferrari year and as a fan there is no other delight than to see the team's effort in clinching this victory in Brazil. With Kimi as fierce as ever and Felipe showing how faster he could ever be there is no doubt that even with the ups and downs for this years race, victory belongs to the team.

Kimi taking the victory stand

Sector 1 with Kimi overtaking the Mercedez just behind Massa

Note: Pictures are copyrighted by yahoo-sport

Forward... Keep moving!

2007-09-20T09:32:00.000+08:00

Well, stellar is back on the road. Thanks to my family(mum and dad), the hardworking mechanic of my father-in-law, my wife and kid, and pa mundo and the rest of the guys in Valenzuela (from being towed in NLEX :D). It costs us a lot this time around. Next stop is little Kurdt's birthday. My wife and I did agreed on having a famous food-chain party instead of a huge party for Kurdt's 1st birthday. Just have to plan our budget ahead as we are also planning to transfer to my wife's house for us to start on our-own. Maybe stay there for 3-4 months tops and as soon as the renovation in Cavite is finished. It has been quite a long time that this must have been, we've been living with my family for almost a year now and I guess that's too long as my wife would say :)

Bad News Mitigated

2007-09-05T12:36:00.000+08:00

Another entry. Another list of bad news for me. Yep the worst has yet to happen. Stellar has been stuck for about 3 days already. Yesterday's news really saddens me. Not that am worrying too much since my little boy's birthday is fast approaching and me having just 500 bucks in my account. Worst is that it seems it will took a little while for our car's recovery. The cylinder valve which I thought was not affected by the timing belt breaking down is damaged. Great isn't it, a friend told me that this is somewhat at the range of 17k and more from their experience. Now what is it that I have to do? Take a choice.. leave the car unfixed. There's no other option for me to choose, our budget does not have to suffer just because of this incident. What a day for bad news with lots of office work to-do's.

And then out of no where, receive a message from my mum this morning. A quick fix for the problem is that dad will be helping out. Isn't it just great that parents are just by the corner waiting for us to seek their assistance. I had to admit, since I had my own family I'm partly hesitant in seeking for their assistance I just don't know why. But am just thankful and somewhat relieved that they are just there in times like these.

Stellar Breakdown

2007-09-03T18:02:00.000+08:00

2nd of September year two thousand and seven. I will never forget that day... Another long lists of should have resurfaced in. It was a bright Sunday morning, our little kid was past asleep so instead of roaming round the house doing nothing but stare at the tube, my wife and I decided to go to the mall. This time just the two of us.. Then just after 15 minutes from the toll gate. The car just lost it's rpm, engine lights are on and the steering wheel got too heavy. Just the way to celebrate this moment. Me and my wife stuck on the Highway. But then it's a good thing we didn't bring little Kurdt along. Then all the "should have" just hit my face straight-up. The mechanic states that the timing belt is the culprit. What the... now I'm beginning to wonder if I just have to let it be. Not a nice thing for an experience but then again I'm glad were all safe and well... Another lesson learned. This time the hardest way :(

Tripping Sunday

2007-08-13T17:26:00.000+08:00

It was a blessed Sunday that is. Yesterday seem to uplift my moral and somewhat re-align me to life. Been daydreaming widely this past few days. The bump plus the ever gloomy weather seemed to overshadow my brain. Of course who would not want the rain? No not me, but it's just too wicked when it rains sometimes, just unexplainable.

Morning sweep woke-up early as I have an appointment with a neighbor who'll fix Stellar's bump. Half-past nine and It was all done. Did not want to have it repainted this season so asked my neighbor to try hard not to damage the paint and he just did the finest job I may say. At least now I've got a glimpsed on how to fix such sort of car damage. Next time It will be D-I-Y for me.

Noon passed by and after doing some chores, waited for time to move swiftly. Little Kurdt has been an angel today. Sleep much after drinking his milk. As I was washing the car, my wife arrived and we both opted to bring the car to church and have it blessed. Parking was a mess in the church but then it was just in time, the mass just ended meaning the rest of the cars are about to leave. My wife approached a priest and after 2 months, Stellar has been finally blessed. Attended the next mass after the blessing and went home an hour after.

Now I need to try and keep focus. Kurdt's birthday is fast approaching :)

UberGloomyTuesdayThatIs

2007-08-07T17:33:00.000+08:00

Closed doors... Key-in... Ignition...
Air-con vent opened... Tune the radio...
Check both side-mirrors... Check rear-view mirror...
Clutch stepped-on.. Crank to first-gear..
Hand on the steering-wheel... Release handbrake...
Mildly release clutch.. Turn the steering-wheel steadily...
Gently step-on accelerator... Then boom...

It's just heart-breaking that even the simplest of all things becomes so complicated. Try drowning yourself with bottles of beer just to forget the simplest possible error there is. Just ain't enough you think. Whole bitter day just to check what is reality. All in all am just shadowing the person whom I elegantly poise on the top deck. This is sickening when all we wanted to is just to break ground. Breaking? I know someone who's great in doing this stuff...

Dead-tired of this phase. Maybe minor errors are just part of the learning curve. Maybe there's just 101 records broken every second. Maybe there's no real word such as 'maybe'. Well that is if those so called errors surprisingly takes toll of somebody else. Now I'll be posting my own penance. No more driving for you kiddo...

by: Somebody-Else-On-The-Back-Of-One's-Mind

Stellar 643

2007-07-05T11:02:00.000+08:00

Woke-up early this morning.. My wife's finally home and while my little boy is sleeping peacefully, decided to stand-up and go down for today's line of work. Then again it's still to early, went outside to check Stellar... Maybe it's a bit odd to name my car with my favorite track from Incubus. Since the car is still clean and damp, decided to pursue on waxing it with a liquid wax my friend suggested that I use. This plan was supposedly scheduled on a weekend and It should have been. But since weekend has it's own unmanageable schedule, opted to complete the chore on a weekday. It's interesting that even I lost track of time. 2 hours just flew on doing this task, but am quite happy with the output. It's as if Stellar was brought back to the time where it was parked on a showroom along Aguinaldo highway.

Went home after this and saw my wife and kid still fast asleep. What a way to start a day. Now it's time for me to work. To the office I go :)

Old Days

2007-06-22T16:17:00.000+08:00

Was just like yesterday. The time where "My So-Called Life" is like a prime-time "must see" series. Maybe it's just the teenage years thats been creeping. Anyway, I was surfing all known channels in our television when suddenly a familiar face caught my attention. And I came to contemplate that I was not watching too much nowadays. At first I was caught with the melody and knowing me some tunes really doesn't go along with my sense unless there's a chord or something that felt familiar. It was a surprising band but then I really don't mind their appearance as long a their sound is interesting at least for me to listen to them 4 or 5 more times. And yes like what I always do, get the name of the band and the name of the song and during free time surf and look for their info.

Alas, doesn't the name Jared Leto ring a bell? Yes, the Jordan Catalano of the series I initially mentioned aired during the mid 90's. Apparently their project band with his sibling has grown and was officially named "30 Seconds to Mars." Initially thought it was the band "My Chemical Romance" but then it's now quite clearer. And yes, the single I saw on MTV was "The Kill." A great and interesting track. It's just funny I was just thinking of how Claire Danes character was somewhat intertwined with his. Anyway, that's it for my piece. Good luck to the band and hope to see more of them.

Here's the cut from youTube!

Step Taken

2007-06-15T18:22:00.000+08:00

Finally, after almost a year of planning and budget stretching my wife and I reached our initial goal. Major decision as it may seem but then it's just worth it thinking that both of us worked hard to reach it. Kurdt's car has just arrived, a 94 model M/T Honda Accord to sum it up. If you might ask me, a month of tedious sacrifice just to look for a car is worth it. My wife has grown tired after a week of looking for a car that will fit our alloted budget, but I never lost hope knowing that if there's something meant for me, every effort I'll exert would be worth-it in the end. Many thanks to my kumpadre' for all the help extended. Warmest gratitude to my family, siblings, wife and kid.. Now it's time for me to be on the road ...

Inner Sync

2007-05-23T13:35:00.000+08:00

Sometimes updating the site as it is becomes overwhelmingly tedious. But then again, it won’t hurt if I can just come up with words to describe the state where I was now. The continuous learning process I referred to as life is kicking in a faster pace. My subconscious mind is just shouting the tempo in breaking the habit I came to adhere into. The boundary I have set has been clouding up my thoughts for so long. I guess it’s time to disembark the rotating platform that me alone knows. Again am uttering lots of words, I am just good at it. Continuous affirmation for me is a great start and I’m just blessed to have opportunity to reflect as who I really am.

1998 Flick

2007-03-21T18:26:00.000+08:00

Last night after taking a cab with my wife from work, we arrived a couple of minutes past midnight. Good thing traffic is not much of a problem. Decided to have our little kid sleep with her grandma for the night. Her mom is very tired and of course looking at my kid's little eyes I immediately notice he ain't gonna sleep at once.

After changing clothes, went downstairs to relax a bit. Opened the tube and found an interesting flick that I believe saw almost a decade ago (less a year). It's just so funny that the movie signifies transition. From high school to college as the movie narrates. One favorite part that I like in this movie is the scene where Preston (Ethan Embry) got to have a decent talk with an Angel (Jenna Elfman). For those who have seen it I bet they'll immediately know what I'm talking about.

And of course, who will ever forget the song "Mandy" by Barry Manilow.

Jump Start

2007-03-07T16:07:00.000+08:00

Been contemplating on lost thoughts prior to putting up this blog. It just hit me that any new beginning comes from something that ended. It's just a never ending cycle in life. Now I won't even wonder why many utter words like 'cherish life while it last' or 'live life to it's fullest.'

But then again, feeling lost at one point does not mean you can't hit another mark and jump back to where it all began. Again this is just random thoughts that does not need further explanation. Plain and simple.