Category: Reviews

Comfy Suede Watchband

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO6400
 “Suede Watchband” Cedar Park, 2020

I put this “Onthelevel” suede watchband on my Seiko SNDA27 chronograph and I think it’s the most comfortable watchband I have ever used. I think it also looks great! The brown leather leans towards orange, and matched the seconds hands on the watch nicely. The outside of the watchband is very soft and the look changes slightly depending on which direction the suede has been brushed. Although new, it looks immediately “lived in” and it gives the watch a cool vintage look. The inside of the watchband is a smoother texture, but still very soft and comfortable. I think this surface is more durable and a good design choice.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO6400
 “Suede Watchband” Cedar Park, 2020

The green/orange version of the Seiko Chronograph wasn’t my first color choice (I wanted the now hard-to-find black/red SNDA57 version), and so the watch has been on the second tier when I choose which watch to wear. But with the new watchstrap, I have fallen in love with the Seiko, and I’ve been wearing it for the past week.

Another thing I like about the watchband is that it is not a NATO/Zulu style strap. With those types of straps, the band threads through one watch pin, then under the watch itself, then under the other pin, so your skin never touches the back of the watch. But the suede watchband is a standard type which attaches to the pins, so I can feel the metal watch on my skin, and that feels good! It also means the watch is not as thick as when you use a NATO/Zulu strap. Very nice!

The only criticisms I have about this strap are that the stays (the loops) could be a millimeter or two wider, and I wish the buckle had a brushed or matte surface to match my watch. But those are just small things.

I’m now thinking of getting another suede watchstrap for my smaller Seiko SNK809 watch. The strap is just that comfortable to me. However, I am not considering using a suede strap on my Seiko SKX007 watch, as I feel that dive watches should not have leather watchstraps. That’s a bit of purist thinking, but it just feels right to me. 😄

Easy Way to Carry a Bike – Swagman STANDARD Fork Mount Rooftop Bike Carrier

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/500 sec, ISO200
 “Bike Carrier” Cedar Park, 2020

Today, with the help of my two teenage sons, I installed a trailer hitch on the Subaru. And along with the hitch, I bought a hitch-mounted bicycle carrier. I love it!

The hitch is a CURT 13382 Class 3 Trailer Hitch, and it’s beefy, heavy, and tough. I was so happy to have my sons at home because, although it’s a relatively straightforward installation process, the weight of the hitch makes it awkward to lift both sides and thread the four nuts onto the bolts (all while lying on your back). I followed this helpful video and it made the process easy to understand. I love YouTube!

After the hitch was secure, I put the bicycle rack on, and adjusted the wheel supports so that Mango the Bike fits perfectly. The Swagman XC2 Hitch Mount Bike Rack is super-easy to use. It carries two bicycles securely, and you can even lock the bicycles if you have a padlock. Highly recommended rack!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/750 sec, ISO200
 “Bike Carrier” Cedar Park, 2020

Before I bought the hitch and bicycle carrier, I bought and tried out the Swagman STANDARD Fork Mount Rooftop Bike Carrier. It’s a lot more affordable, but lifting the bicycle to the roof was kind of a pain, and more importantly, I felt a lot of anxiety driving around with the bicycle up top, especially when I was driving around corners. And not being able to see if the bike was ok up there was not comforting.

With the hitch-mounted bicycle rack, I can see it in my rear-view mirror for that peace-of-mind, and the mechanism that secures the bicycle is very sturdy. I have no worries at all with that hitch-mounted bicycle rack. Definitely a good solution. (Thanks to my brother for recommending it!)

Life (1982) – Book Review

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Yu Lao’s Life is the story of Gao Jialin, a young man in his 20s who recently lost his job as a teacher and has to move back to his rural village and peasant life. From there, the story explores the relationship with his elders, his romantic relationship with the peasant girl Qiaozheng, and the city girl Yaping. Although he makes some big decisions that affect his personal life, Jialin’s (and everyone else) fortunes and future are greatly dependent on the government of 1980 China and the bureaucracies it creates. This social structure combined with family connections can give you advantages and also take them away, as we witness as the story plays out. Jialin deals with conflicting motivations and pressures that shift with his job situation, which take him between rural and city settings, and also between the groups of people who live in each.

Some things about the characters that resonated with me (SPOILER ALERT in the bullets):

  • Jialin’s spirit and talent even in the face of challenges. His conflicted feelings towards Qiaozhen versus Yaping were palpable, and the ultimate decision he made was certainly understandable, even if the results are somewhat heartbreaking.
  • Qioazhen’s pure heart and devotion. Even though she knows the limits that her illiteracy places on her, she takes the chance to spend her life with Jialin. I found Qiaozhen the most interesting and admirable person in Life.
  • Yaping’s prudent and opportunistic nature. She realizes her love for Jialin, and how he fits in with her future life. However, when situations change, she’s not afraid to re-evaluate.

I watched the movie version of Life / 人生 (1984) right after finishing the book, and believe that it’s best viewed as a support for the book. As a stand-alone movie, I don’t think it’s very good because events just seem to happen one after another, but you won’t know the motivations or the relationships between the people. It’s a classic case of the book having much more detail and insight than the movie. However, for me, the film added welcomed color to the book. As someone not familiar with the setting, it was great to see what the village looked like, as well as the city and the people. Lao describes the clothing they work, like the Dacron pants or patterns on Qiaozhen’s shirts and voila – there they are on the screen! Not only that, but the dialog in the movie was pretty much exactly like the book (the translations, at least). The scenes were like little visual depictions of the book’s chapters. I thought it was very helpful!

“Qiaozhen and Jialin”

I give the book my rating of 8.5, and the movie a rating of 7.

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Eleanor & Park (2012) – Book Review

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I finished reading (audiobook) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I was captivated by this YA novel from beginning to end. Set in Omaha, Nebraska, it’s about two high school students’ relationship. The year is 1986, which was the year I graduated, so the references to popular culture were familiar to me. I normally am put off by too many references in books, but I enjoyed the ones in Eleanor & Park. Some were pretty obscure, like the Prefab Sprout t-shirt towards the end of the book, which I really appreciated. I feel like only a certain 80s subculture, like the one my friends and I were part of, would recognize many of the references. But others, such as Totino’s Party Pizzas (we used to eat them all the time!) are common but add a lot of context to the times.

The love story is a simple one but the details and characters were very interesting. Eleanor is a misfit, Park is half-Asian, Eleanor has a large family with an abusive stepfather, while Park’s lives in a typical household. While it’s mainly a teen romance, subjects of bullying, domestic abuse, inter-racial relationships, and racism are also talked about, but not too deeply, which is kind of a shame and I think a little bit of a missed opportunity. However, the pace of the story moves along nicely and maybe it was just the right amount of lightly touching on those heavy subjects.

One thing to note is that some of the East-Asian stereotypes can be a bit “cringey” and reading them left me a little uncomfortable, but if I think about the setting of the story, it kind of makes sense. I don’t know if the author was intentionally describing Park like that to point out the stereotyped mindset of the time, but she could have been clearer. And I have never heard of “Park” as a first name (it is a common Korean surname).

I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that I thought it was excellent and I (unlike many other readers) was satisfied. That final chapter brought a big smile to my face and a little tear to my eye. 😊 Give it a read if you haven’t already!

Note: Book cover design by Olga Grlic and illustration by Harriet Russell

******** SPOILER ALERT *********

About the ending… it reminded me of the ending to Monsters Inc. It’s that same feeling.

By the way, I made a little sketch of Eleanor wearing Park’s Prefab Sprout t-shirt::

“Eleanor”


Weathering With You / 天気の子 (2019) – Movie Mini-Review

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Loved this! Weathering With You is *almost* as good as Your Name, but I think I need to watch it again just to be sure. 😊 The storyline was fun and combines fantasy and reality in an original way, and seems timely considering the changes in the climate.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO6400
 “Beautiful Background” Austin, 2019

Just like in Your Name, the background artwork is amazing. Some of the scenes with cloud-scapes are breathtaking! But what I really enjoyed about Weathering With You was that there was a bit more action, which was refreshing for a Makoto Shinkai film. I’m still in love with the Honda Super Cub, so seeing chase scene involving one was awesome. ❤️

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Supercub Scene” Austin, 2019

Although Weathering With You didn’t have as many moments as Your Name that gave me “the feels”, I enjoyed it quite a bit. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments as well, so I’d say it’s a very well-rounded movie. It’s got a bit of everything: artwork, story, romance, action, and humor. It’s definitely a movie I’d like to watch several times. Highly recommended!