My Santa's name is Moo Neh

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Last year I dropped a huge bomb over the New Year acquiring the EF35L lens and this year I spreaded the funds over 4 items and not exactly all on the same day but rather in the same month. Bought meself a new jacket since the current one which had been keeping me warm for 3 years had started to flake on the inner lining. Sadly the one I bought which was supposed to be extremely durable and battle tested ran into a bit of an issue recently. Let's go through the items...

1. Arc'Teryx LEAF Alpha Jacket

I did not know about this brand since I do not search actively for winter gear which I only utilize for a short span of 3 months or so. But when I found that Arc'Teryx was actually a brand in pioneering in many of the fabulous designs on modern day jackets, I began to dig further. Then I found the LEAF line which caters to military and law enforcement personnels rather than civilian markets. What this means is that you cannot buy them in your local Arc'Teryx store and have to be specially obtained thru other channels since this line of clothing is not being sold to civilian. Hard and troublesome but not impossible if you do your homework.

The jacket arrived in good faith after being imposed a tax by the Japanese Customs (Shame on you people after taxing me so much!). Very well made (in Canada) as compared to the other high end consumer Arc'Teryx jackets which are made in PRC. Trying it for the first time, the jacket felt thin and very light which made me wonder if it's really that durable. Overall it's a fantastic jacket less the prominient logos, colors and designs of regular off-the-store stuffs. The only complain I have is that the length is longer in the back to cover the butt and shorter in the front covering above the belt line. No other complains.

The jacket itself will NOT keep you warm and have to be layered with inner layers like a fleece jacket, base layer, etc. but being a very light jacket and water/wind proof, amazing I would say. The only headache came when I visited a local diner in Japan and the grease odour stained this jacket so bad I had to wash it after wearing it only like 3 times. According to the Gore Tex/Arc'Teryx sites' care/maintainence instructions, I washed the jacket in a regular washing machine with regular powdered washing agent. Then I air dry it only to find brown water stains near the lower part of the jacket and the biggest cardiac arrest experience was a single loop loose nylon appearing on THE FACE FABRIC itself...not the stitches in the seams but THE FACE FABRIC ITSELF. My gosh, what on EARTH just happened? How is that even possible, what actually caught a nano diameter nylon thread and pulled it from the FACE FABRIC? I flipped and panic but I am in the midst of finding a remedy for the shocking situation.

2. Suzuki Alto

Nice manual car for all my Initial D needs but lacks a rev meter, proper tuning and parts. Bought it at a fantastic price which could only bag you a nice second Recardo seat in Singapore. A bit on the light side so have to be careful about floating around a bend. But given the current situation, I don't think I would want to upgrade to a 2.0 turbo monster like the sleek S15 or the monster WRX or EVO. Zipping thru tiny roads with relatively little effort but on straights, I am better off walking.

3. Toy Camera

While the name Holga has been around and very popular for toy cameras, I wasn't all sold to it. I waited and contemplated for a long while before I found what I wanted. A toy camera in disguise and not obnoxious and screaming to be robbed. Will receive it by today and try it out over the weekend, and a party mid week next week. Fixed aperture and shutter speed which seems all awkward to me but partnered with an amazing film, magic awaits me.

4. Casio G Shock GW-5000B 1JR

Apparently there are a lot of discussions about the classic squarish G Shock but sadly, like all major corporations, out sourcing and manufacturing their products would significantly lower the cost of production and increase profits. The classic G Shocks are encased in a screw back type of chassis dubbed "Tuna Can" which supposedly are stronger (might just be a rumor). Somewhere in the late 1990s, G Shocks are no longer manufactured in such a fashion and instead, a stamped metal plate was held by 4 screws against a rubber O ring to seal the gasket from water. Though I have not heard much complains about a design flaw, the prices of G Shocks are much cheaper in the newer designs and almost all were made NOT in JAPAN. While most people would prefer electronics or precision instrument to be made in Japan since PRC stuffs might blow up in your face or kill you by poisoning, the new batch of G Shock(s) are all made outside Japan.

And then in May 2009, the limited Japan on release GW-5000B 1JR was secretly revealed thru various sources but not stealthy to keep out the ever preying eyes of the G fanatics. A quick search on the official G Shock Japanese site did not have this particular model listed though this black beauty can be found using the product search function. The regular model the GW-5000 is listed on the website for a slightly less price. This model apparently bear strong resemblence to the original first G Shock but with newer technologies. The "Tuna Can" screw back design was re-introduced with Diamond Like Coating (DLC), Solar Charger which means no need to change batts, wave ceptor which calibrates the time using atomic technology thru any of the 6 radio wave stations around the world, a reverse white on black display and lastly, it is proudly made in Japan.

Though most comments on the net supports the claim that the price is not justifiable for a G Shock which is supposed to be an affordable but tough watch as compared to those made outside Japan at a much lower price. But paying a premium for a MADE in JAPAN is all mental but works for me to sleep well at night.