My Close Effort...

It was that time again to replace the rear brakes on my 2004 Golf TDI. With the car up on jack stands I discovered that only 5% of my rear pads remained while the fronts still had 80% remaining. How odd is that?

Armed with my brand new Mastercraft Impact Gun and Socket Set, I was going to complete the brake change completely myself. I admit that I felt nervous, but also excited that I was going to try this on my own. Replacing brake pads isn't exactly rocket science. It was just wierd not having my friend Alexi directly standing over me for supervision throughout the whole process.

Normally, I would always make an effort to help out when it came to servicing my car. Time after time, he would step in at any signs of me needing help and end up completing the whole job by himself. Unknowingly, he became my teacher as I would attentively watch and ask questions.

Dispite all my built up confidence, I still needed to call him for assistance in removing my seized 20 mm spacers from both hubs.

This Caliper Resetting Tool made the brake install so much easier! I was able to rent this for free from my local Canadian Tire. It saved us alot of time and hassles of using a C-clamp to reset the piston! I definately need to pick up one of these for myself the next time I am at Princess Auto.

On a side note, I've been running B40 fuel in my TDI for the past three weeks. Despite a barely noticable loss in fuel economy of 50 kms per tank, I've found the car running alot more quieter and smoother. The motor seems a lot more peppier while and feels like it was fueled by gasoline! I'll continuely update my progress while running B40.

My Andrew, His Hotwheels and XBox 360

It's been nearly three months since my last entry and my son Andrew has now reached 8 weeks old. It would be an understatement to say that he has kept me extremely busy. Even when I do get some free time, I find myself wanting to spend it all with him.

Luckily, he and I have discovered many similar special interests which I consider important in father & son bonding which include:

1. Collecting Hot Wheels (we have reached over 250 cars);
2. Collecting Pampers "Gift to Grow" ponts (130 pts so far);
3. Watching the Golf Channel.



Yesterday, we won the ultimate jack pot! I recieved a telephone call from a friend offered Andrew and I the opportunity of a lifetime to purchase an unopened XBox 360 Premium Console at an absurd price of $125 CAN. Needless to say, we immediately jumped at the chance.

According to my friend, he had brought his orginal XBox 360 back to Futureshop for an immediate exchange due to some sort of manufacturer's defect. Three weeks later, his doorbell rang. Microsoft had sent him a new console via UPS in error without realizing that Futureshop had already provided him with a replacement.

Talk about perfect timing as it was a nice birthday gift to myself! Andrew and I are really enjoying Tiger Woods 2006!