Tag: fashion

1991: Kickstarting the Bucket List

Don’t grow old – just evolve.

(last updated: 9 August 2025)

Purchased in the early 80’s, that amplifier (pic 3) is still sought after to this day.

The boy got a new toy. #Quad #303 #33 pic.twitter.com/NP1f2Vsn6o

— oskar c. neubauer (@freeoskar) September 4, 2023

And for me, coupled with InterDyn P2 speakers of the early 90’s, should be on any audiophile’s bucket list. Only moderate volume levels are required. Slow jams of the 90’s were off the chain.

Those speakers were bought for a “modern” Denon PMA-1080R, which was a good amp back then, but the sound just wasn’t in the same league as the vintage amp that was brought back to life. The Acoustic Research speakers stored away were crackling – they probably should have just been repaired.

The CD player was a Technics SL-PS900. I read Hi-Fi magazines back then and it got an unbelievable review. Our neighbour from Brunei who ended up at HP after RMIT, Lawrance, was also into Hi-Fi gear. He followed on from Mikito with a bunch of other tertiary students from Asia. They had a Marantz amp and kept a lot of vinyl. I think his speakers were JBL but he wanted Infinity. He really got into Luther Vandross. Really nice guy too, and showed me Windows 3 before anyone else and even helped me install it, as well as scan for viruses. This made me a sort of go-to guy at school.

I kind of struggled with fashion back then, I didn’t really know what I liked and what I didn’t. As long as I wasn’t in Stussy pants: I wasn’t good enough at skateboarding for those! They would turn me into a try-hard! I had gray Stussy shorts though as they weren’t as obvious.

[ 1993 ]

Justin and Julian said they met Lawrance on the way back from Chapel Street on the tram and he gave them a whole heap of KFC for free. I’m pretty sure it was them, but not 100%. At one point I gave Lawrance our Paula Abdul Spellbound CD to keep – I think it was brought back from Chicago by my mum and no one really played it. But his whole apartment rocked it, though.

My mum had been in Chicago representing a gallery alongside Tom Spender at the CIAE Art Expo (1991?)

She just went into a record store and asked for their tips. She brought back Diamonds and Pearls with a special edition hologram cover that I didn’t see in Australia. I couldn’t believe the simplicity of the Cream beat.

So I made a mashup with Paula in 2022.

The chorus is only gifted at 2:15. Incredible build-up.

One of Justin’s friends Charles (not from my school) gave me his Billy Hyde drum pad around that time not long after I met him at his home. I couldn’t believe it. It was almost new and he was around my age. He said he never used it. I used it all the time.

People, especially friends and neighbours could really gift more to each other and often it does more for the giver than the receiver because it comes back in multiples. If you have something you don’t want or need, give it to someone who does. So simple, right?

So one of the guys at the apartment with a souped up bronze Honda Civic was installing a new radio or sub-woofer and I was trying to screw in a bolt behind the radio with my small hand. I couldn’t see what I was doing and at one point I said “Have you gotta light?” and everyone standing around screamed with laughter. It didn’t matter – I got the bolt in regardless. No smoko required. Incidentally, that Civic had “Mugen” emblazoned on it, but I don’t think it was a real Mugen Civic. Not sure.

That was at the back of the building where I often went to hit a tennis ball and the apartment block is still standing to this day.

src

A few years later the whole apartment had cleared: maybe 1995 but Lawrance is still around somewhere – if you can get his attention for a test drive or test listen.

Anyway, by the late 90’s I was driving a gray Hyundai Excel (with Desmond in the boot) and had learned to double-clutch and rev-match. A lot of fun. I took an Indian girl from uni once for a spin and she blurted out “ooh, I love the way you drive.” I thought it was only backies that got the girls.

Skier outrunning an avalanche does a backflip pic.twitter.com/kkTEyI7z3G

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) December 18, 2023

So at one point, I was close to buying a new car, and located a strangely inexpensive but great condition 1991 Honda Civic CRX Si-R VTEC. It belonged to a relative of a mechanic I knew at the time and I saw it gleaming in his workshop one day. His cousin may have had trouble offloading it because it was a 2-seater but wanted to keep the radio from it. After a few tense calls, I took it for a test drive and it was lit, especially for the price.

At $28000 it was about $2000 more than the Nissan Bluebird (1995 LX,  series 2) that I could’ve sold – money which I didn’t have. Maybe he could’ve dropped the price without the radio?? Using its VIN, I checked from the side of the road to see if it had an accident history over the phone and it did not. It looked like this and had the rare glass roof option.

【緩募】

友人のクルマだけど

CR-X SiR(グラストップ)
7.2万キロ 修復歴無し

外装内装めちゃくちゃ綺麗
リアだけ爪折り

社外パーツ全て付けて
200万で欲しい人いたりしますか？ pic.twitter.com/hdrUGbp1CM

— レオ (@JrMuka__S2000) May 6, 2021

Flooring it, Jeremy who somehow found me that day, blurted out “it’s like an M3!” And it was. Being a 2-seater sports meant I couldn’t get any more help buying it. I was out of contact with Lawrance – he may have wanted it, or his friend. Mugen not needed.

So another “close but no cigar moment” and another one for the bucket!

While driving, Lawrance turned to me once and said “you know, I can beat any car in a straight line race.” It was difficult getting him to actually do that or explain, but he sort of showed me how to anticipate a green light, and said something like “you know, you’re not really allowed to do that.”
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