'Insert amazing name for bike crew here'

I sold my car.. and now I'm building a bike (albeit slowly). This is me all summer..

Need more money to finish my build. 'Wants' list never ending..

Study Guide

"I swear I won't leave the next assessment till the last minute". Every year, every single assignment.. always the same words. I'm now 25 years of age, and I have been in some form of school based education since I was 2 years old.. yes you read right, 2.

Having been born and raised in the UAE up until I was 5, and having parents who were both full time professionals, I was basically thrown into schooling when I was 2 (and I'm not talking 'kindy' or 'pre-primary', it was the real deal). I was writing in perfect cursive by 4 years of age. There was no such thing as a pen license in the UAE, if you didn't learn coordination and style, that cane would be coming for you at super light speed... believe.

In 1990, my parents relocated to Australia for work purposes, and to give 'us' kids better opportunities (through better education). This is around the time, I started getting slack, possibly due to the fact I was losing the fear I once had for teachers - "what, they don't cane us here!?". I started to lose the discipline I once had as a diligent student. Don't get me wrong, I got through it all, and have done quite well thus far. But I had to, there was no choice.. my folks struggled to get here, in order to give my brother and I an easier life. I can't let them down, and I can't let myself down either.

Regardless of this, why do I constantly leave assignments till the last minute. This is now my seventh year at Uni, and it has certainly been one of the toughest years in the 23 years of my schooling. To be honest, I feel like I'm definitely burning out. I finish the year in 20 days, and then I only have one year to go. But man, these assignments/thesis are killing me. The work itself, isn't actually that difficult.. but it's just my focus and motivation that's lacking. I feel like I'm taking twice as long to get assessments completed.. assessments with the same level of difficulty I could complete in half the time 2 years ago...

One more year, one more year. Like everything in life.. I just got to grind it out. I will be stronger for getting this completed.

Untitled #1

She didn't like Badu
Things fell apart, from the start
I should have known then

Is heartbreak worth that amazing feeling of love.. if that was even love? But if it was love.. there would be no heartbreak right? I don't mean to be all glum on a Friday night, but in honestly I thought I would never see her again.. but I did. She was driving beside me in the adjacent lane (Perth is too small). As much as I didn't want it to, all those feelings came rushing back, and my heart fell hard into the pits of my stomach. She dyed her hair blonde.. she seemed happy, and I'm happy for her..

I deserve to be happy too. I think heartbreak is worth that brief moment of whatever that feeling was.

When I find myself reflecting, I keep coming back to the same words that have always led me through the toughest of times.

"It is very important to generate a good attitude and a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come"

The day I went and bought some... art?

A recap of Tuesday. Having only slept at 2 am yesterday morning, with a considerate chunk of my assignment still yet to finish off, I was determined to rise from my slumber by 5 am, and continue on. With three hours of sleep and copious amounts of caffeine, I managed to grind it out and submit that sucker.

Rather than returning home to start my literature review for my dissertation, I decided it was just too nice a day to be sitting at home procrastinating, when I could be outdoors enjoying it with some buddies. Shit, what would you choose? Regardless of the anxiety, pressure and that overwhelming feeling I have today, I had such a nice day yesterday, so nice that I decided to blog about it.

So I met up with crew at this Vietnamese joint in Nedlands and rewarded my early morning efforts with a bit of Bun Ga Xao and fresh lychee juice. Amazing would be an understatement when describing the food. It's been hit and miss for me when eating Vietnamese food in this city, but this joint in Nedlands did not disappoint (damn I'm kind of craving some Pho right about now). So we had lunch, took a leisurely stroll up and down the block, before continuing our day in the CBD. Stopped at THE french patisserie spot for some sweets, before heading to King St.

Oh, I finally picked up that piece of art I put a deposit on some time ago. Yes I bought art, why did I buy art... I still don't know? I certainly did not need art.. I'm not sure if I wanted art either, shit... did art want me? What has art done for me? I guess I just wanted to carry art around the city.

Button-ups.

Spring/Summer.. pretty much the same thing when it comes to the South West of our state. Regardless, the temperature is rising and I can't bring myself to stash away my beloved button-ups.

And so, whilst I type this (procrastinating from studies of course) I thought I would feature one of my favorite styles of a button-up shirt (or 'dress shirts' for all you sophisticated types). I guess it all started when I got my first hand me down from my brother, the first hand me down I actually wanted. It was a RL Custom Fit Oxford that was slightly too small for me at the time (I was a chubby little brother to him). But the way it sat... man it was perfect! It was a fitted piece.. perfect in the shoulders, perfect length, not too boxy, not too tapered.. fitted. Because I struggled to button it up completely (chubbster), I wore it open and layered over a fresh white tee, usually with my trusty camo shorts to complete the fit haha. That was me basically all year around when I first got it.

Roughly 13 years later and I'm still infatuated with a good button-up, even more so now considering I can actually wear them to their full 'fitted' potential. But I digress, the shirt I'm featuring today is a ordinary Oxford (a type of woven fabric), with a utility pocket on the left breast. These shirts are so versatile, and even during the hottest of days, can still be worn with comfort (unbuttoned, white singlet, rolled up chinos.. steez). The featured shirt was made with a pinpoint Oxford weave resulting a finer basketweave look (fine white threads woven through to add some contrast). The Oxford is a great shirt. The next step is to get some tailored joints happening..

Mar Variations

"I grew up with so many different music genres. With my dad as a professional musician and mom literally starting and ending days with the radio as her bible, I got exposed to music as a whole package. With this as the foundation of Mar Variations, I can take any joint or lyric and flip it the way I would love to hear it." Mar, 2010.

You should know who Mar is by now.. but if you don't, well then.. just go research 'Full Crate & Mar' and all the other amazing artists on the MPM label. I'm not going to make it easy for you. Mar's latest endeavor was launched two days ago, essentially encompassing some facets of design through the medium of music. With sound design by Full Crate, camera/editing by Yoji Moniz and a endorsement through the hype machine that is European blogger Nalden, you know it has to be something worth checking out. Starting in October, every month will see a release from Mar, a variation (not to be confused with a cover) of carefully selected songs from various artists. Octobers release features a variation of Lil' Wayne's 'Single'.

Mar does it better/Amsterdam killing it. Here's the jump.. so you know what to do.

Looking forward to the next drop.. new musical projects are always good. I'll eventually educate you on Full Crate & Mar's previous collaborative efforts.. but for now, just enjoy this.

Make You Wanna

The spot where I find myself reflecting, venting, ... and sweating..


I can't ball without beats.. the joint below is one of those musical pieces that always manages to lift me. Thank you Reggie.
15 Make You Wanna by Ta-ku

Teknoman

As a kid, I knew that one day I would to do big things, great things, honorable things. Who did I want to be..? Well that was easy for me.. it was Blade from the animated series Teknoman. I still regard this series to be one of the greatest ever to be created, followed closely only by Robotech.

Pickups

I've been called materialistic, yep.. that's me and I can't change.

A Loan For The Lonely

Dunc & Toine Makin' Dollas? I've been following DTMD for about 5 months now, after stumbling onto their vimeo page. Ever since I copped their EP 'The Basics', I've been playing it hard out, and now I'm highly anticipating their first LP 'Makin Dollas'.

Two months ago, they released "a candid/look listen" at a song from said upcoming LP, titled 'A Loan for the Lonely'. Toine lays it down live in Williamsburg, for our listening pleasures. Make sure you check out their first single from the EP too.. 'You'.

3.25 min mark onwards.. on point..