If Love Is Shelter, I'm Gonna Walk In The Rain

I wanna hold you close under the rain, 

I wanna kiss your smile and feel the pain.

I know what's beautiful, 

Looking at you,

In a world of lies you are the truth.

Like the rain,

I have fallen for you and I know just why you liked tha rain.

Always calling for you,

I'm falling for you now,

Just like the rain.

Would You Donate Your Face For Face Transplantation?

Aloha!

I have received one interesting question on FormSpring and decided to share it here.

"Face transplant has been done for people with major accidents. Would you donate your face when you die? (face won't look like you after transplant)"

I went to search a bit more on face transplant and here are what I have gathered from Wikipedia.

- Apparently, face transplant is done and aesthetically beneficial for people with faces disfigured by traumas, burns, diseases or birth defects.

- The world's first partial face transplant on a living human was carried on 27 November 2005.

- The world's first full face transplant on carried on 20 March 2010 whereby, a team of 30 Spanish doctors carried it out on a man injured in a shooting accident.

He is Oscar (Left: before face transplant. Right: after face transplant), who was the first have to a full face transplant done when he accidentally shot himself in the face in 2005. Before face transplant, he was unable to breathe and eat on his own.

You may read more about him at http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news13609.html.

I went on Google-ing for images for face transplant just now and read the stories behind each images.

I came to realize that face transplanting is not totally about looking aesthetically more pleasing, but also allow them to do the most simplest thing such as talking, eating and breathing. 

They could smile, smell and taste their food again.

I was oblivious to these facts.

Their expressions might be wooden, but there's something glistening within their eyes.

Each beneficiaries could not express their gratefulness to the doctors and donors, and happiness any further.

They had their lives back.

To be honest, my initial response was the same as everybody else (those who have responded to this question in Formspring). "Hell no am I going to donate my face. I wouldn't want to be a faceless ghost,etc." But I have never posted my response till now.


Reason being, I do not want people to stare into my "blank face" while I lay in the coffin. I want people who loved me to be able to see my face for the last time. 
I do not mind donating my organs after my death, but to donate my face, it is kind of scary.
Superstitious I might be, I am worried that Hell King and Ghost Guards would not be able to identify me. I would be a wandering ghost. 


I stood firmly by my initial response then.


But now, I am not sure.
If I could donate my organs after my death, sure can I donate my face too.
There are people who benefit greatly from a face donor. There are people who can be healed in their souls and minds from it.


I am wavered in my decision. 
Will I ever donate my face after my death or will I not.

      

Getting Down & Dirty: Bike Rim Chroming - The DIY Way

Booya!

Perhaps you can already tell what is today's blog post about from my Title.


Yup, I had my bike rim chromed in Feb (with the help of none other than DBT). I was too lazy to blog about it back then. Before the rims are chromed, it was reflective rim stickers.

DBT suggested that I should chrome my bike rim (the DIY way) since the reflective stickers are sort of peeling off and it distort the shape of the rim. I pasted the stickers on myself and hence, it was pasted on in a perfect circle shape.


We went over to Mustafa to get necessary stuffs.
It was really easy to chrome your own rims but be prepared to spend a lot of time on it.


So, it is really a good way to pass your time if you are dying of boredom. Plus! I think you need not spend more than $50 on getting the stuffs. Save tons of money from sending it to bike shop to do the work. However, it is back-aching work.


*DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE*


I believe you would not want to ride your bike out if your rims are in half-fucked condition

Here are some stuffs that you need before you proceed on chroming your rim :


1) Paint Remover ($6.50 from Mustafa Lvl 4)


2) Thinner (Very important! Splash this over the area where you had the Paint Remover in contact with your skin. The Paint Remover stings your skin very badly!)


3) Paintbrush ( Tip: get those with neat brush ends)


4) Sandpaper - 800 and 1000


5) A container (For easy dipping your brush in Paint Remover duh!)


6) Masking Tape (Optional, unless you have a pair of steady hands)


7) Autosol or any Chrome Polish


Optional: Snack and drinks

Everything prepared!


Let's get down and dirty then.


Step 1: Sticking The Masking Tape
P.S. Remove your rim stickers (if you have any) prior to this ok?


You can totally skip this if you think you have a pair of steady hands.


The purpose of doing this is to ensure that you do not get the Paint Remover at areas where it should not be. It is also to protect your precious tyres from it.

Tip: Tear the masking tape in short pieces so that you can stick it around the rims easier.

It should look somewhat like that when you are done. 


Step 2: Applying The Paint Remover


Now that you can apply the Paint Remover on with ease since there are masking tapes.

Tip: Don't dip your brush directly into the can of Paint Remover.
One, after a few dips, don't be surprised if your brush ended up in a bad shape with the bristles in all directions.
Two, the rest of the Paint Remover left in the can would not be that effective anymore.


Be good and pour some of it into another container.

Apply a few good coats of it.


It will take quite some time for it to work its magic on the paint.
Meanwhile, you can continue to sticking masking tapes/applying Paint Remover on the other side of the rim.


Or!
Sit back, relax, snack on your tidbits and monkey around.

This photo taken by DBT is so unflattering!

After some time, the paint would look some what like this.

You can start by gently scraping off the paint with either the brush or something else.
But be careful not to scratch your rims.


If some of the paint are not coming off, don't go scraping it even harder.
Leave it for awhile more or apply some of the Paint Remover.


When you are pretty sure that the paint are coming off, wash them off with water. 
Check for any paint left on the rim.


If so, apply the Paint Remover on it again.

(DIY Chromed rim)

(With reflective rim stickers)


Check out the difference of having reflective rim stickers and chromed rims!
It looks so much nicer!


Step 3: Sanding With 800 and 1000


Splash a bit of water onto the rims before you start sanding.


First, sand with 800 followed by 1000.
This is to sand away any dirt and ensure a smooth and nice surface before you start polishing.

Result of putting water and sandpaper together.


Step 4: Touching Up With Spray Paint (Optional)


This is purely optional.
In my case, parts of the black paint of the rims came off exposing the orange base-paint.


It was truly an ugly sight.


Hence, I have them covered with black spray paint.
You can also use this method to cover off the wavy lines.

To do this, use short strips of masking tapes to cover the chrome part of the rim.
Make sure that the side edges of the masking tapes form a perfect circle.
After that, proceed to spray on the paint carefully.


Leave the paint to dry.


Step 5: Polishing


When the paint is dry, remove the masking tapes and start polishing!


And then, YOU ARE DONE!

That's all for now!


Have fun chroming your own rims!


P.S. I did the sanding part while my DBT did the paint removing part. He couldn't stand me playing with the Paint Remover.