Cost of survival

Man and machine relationship, it is more than meets the eye. Recently my doctor called..

 "Mr. Sim, you have missed couple of appointments to do your check ups" Please make an appointment soonest possible". My car's service centre sent me a text to say my car is due for service. When I look at my bikes service records, I know all of them are due for oil change and general checks. Boy, my body and vehicles are on the same boat (pun). 

 When I started riding/ driving 36 years ago, none of these things matter. Basically, I didn't  own a car, dad was the "go to". My first bike was a 2 stokes Yamaha RX-S 115cc ( if memory serves) bought by my dad for me to commute to work. I took bus to work wasn't really motivating. The Yammy came with broken side stand which required wall leaning everytime I parked. Harlik the bassist of the resident band at the restaurant where I worked, did a fine rescue job by welding a piece of metal on to the existing half grinded of stand. He was the first person who ever thought me about welding ie. Remove battery from the terminal before we start welding. Otherwise, battery may explored.

That RX- S was the model my uncle introduced to me in mid 80s also the 1st bike that got me into motorcycling, I suppose. He owned one with red colorway. Mine was black. My dad got it cheap from one of his colleagues. The guy was having a pregnant wife and needed a car. 

I used for about 1 year, my within that period, there were the bleeding, 2 strokes bike with bad 2T reservoir did have the tendency to bleed. Mosquitoes and other bugs will get stuck on the side of reservoir exterior wall. Cholesterol likened.

The Yammy also have a habit of dying when I was about to close the gate before departing home from work in the dark and parked on the slope. That was sweaty exercise each time the bike died in the dark, either from the kicking or the scary imagination (being surronded by graveyard, the place I worked was like an island surrounded by ocean of Chinese tombs).

 1999, I bought my 2nd bike brand new, a Honda Raider 2 stokes with HRC race colorway. Beautiful bike, now could not recall if I ever brought the bike for oil change and general service or not. I got the bike for several months and sold it off, to finance my 1st migration to KL. 

 As for my health, I was 18. I was at the best of health (at least, I thought so). 

 I never really correlated both bike's health and owner's until very recently. I am now in a junction of life. Many things going through my mind as new phase of my life is looming. Ever since Nov 2022, I was expecting some major changes in my life even now as I am writing. The department I am working for is going through a reorganisation and I am a victim of this corporate exercise, I reckon. For more than 20 yrs, I've been producing excellent results for the company, it was shocking that I am being put on this circumstances. "Life goes on"as the saying goes. No point duelling on it. A serious reflection and planning needed to move forward. 

 Now sitting at the doctor's clinic and waiting for my blodd test result  "man and machine correlations" came into play.

 As I move to next phase, first thing to do may be to switch my monthly medication to cheaper alternative. I will not have the luxury to continue seeing the doctor in private hospital. I will lose all my current medical benefit. I may have ever get a basic medical package with any smaller company or non at all if I were to start my own business. It will be just me against all odds.

How about the bikes? All of these machine needed medical attention too. Change to cheaper oil and filter? Do somewhat complicated brake fluid change a the workshop now, to get at least one and half year fluid life, while I can still afford the labor cost. 2024 onward I may need to do oil change myself. Learn from YouTube for the rest of the maintainence work. 

Recently, while doing new seat wrap on my SV650S Crow. I realised this is unplanned cost. Contraditing to my own proposed cost saving plan, the mental alarm went off... Hey!! why am I upgrading the seat?Originally, I intended to sell off the Crow, however after several attempts, I gave up the selling endeavour, -I am keeping it, hence, the seat upgraded. Yeah, self consolation...mental note to myself.. " it was just RM70 for the upgraded seat.

 By this year end,  would I still  keeping it. All the maintenance cost, road tax, insurance and tyres..yikes!! Can I still afford the cost? 

 

 Using our body, eating and drinking whatever we wanted to were easy decisions and taken so lightly. Now, even taking a coke, needed a strong reason to do so. Who would have thought that the sugar in coke can be harmful when we were young? Now this body require more management seems like a constant reminder to oneself.

 If there is graph to show the medical spending from our 20s, it would looks like gradual climb from the bottom 10% of our earnings at the age of 20 to 35. At 40 to 60 years old,  perhaps it may show the line goes up to 35%- 40%, this is when one earn the most and can either afford or medical are paid for either by company or insurance. At this stage one will not hessitate to get the best treatment, supplements and upgrading. By 65 to 85 years old, after retirement all benefit gone. One will be extremely careful with food intake, to avoid all medical issues. Keeping medical expenses at mere 20% at most if possible. 

 As for the machines, similarly, when young, cheaper machines owned, less care required. At the age of 40 to 50, affordability increased. Bigger and more expensive machines owned, following maintainence schedule recommended. Buy best assessories, gadgets, add ons etc..Paying easily by credit card or cash. Affordability is at the peak at this stage.

By 60 or 65, one may starts to keep nose out of water. Plan to liquidate and just keep one bike or two the most. I suspect the graph I spoke of earlier would look similar.

Of course, I am talking about employees like me, the average wage earner. There are those that do not belong to the same category.