SPOILER ALERT: Contains British terminologies; I will note some terms that I hear a lot. Unless permission is given, I may not be using any logos other than my own, which is traditional for me.
You probably heard about Adam Swords somewhere. His motto for many of his videos posted on YouTube is to "find your everyday adventure." The same can be said for my own adventure, except for two things: I use a variation of another YouTuber named Mavirik Joos (Minnesota native), who I also subscribe to on YouTube in addition to Adam Swords. Second, instead of Mav's "keep on truckin'," mine is "keep on movin'", which is my personal reference to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) motto on their buses in their ongoing campaign for transit and vehicle "solutions that move you."
As Santa Clara County is in the background for all of my video content, local music is important, even though they may be from outside the county but have played within the county before. The music I selected for my video reflects are only a handful of people who I met in the past. In my video on Adam Swords, my background music includes Alwa Gordon (from Santa Cruz), Bennett Roth-Newell (from Redwood City), and the music group named Sweet HayaH (from San Jose; consists of Nehal Abuelata, Kosuke Okamura, Ryosuke Ryo Sakurai, etc.). All released soundtracks may be streamed via their favorite music app, and are available in the iTunes store for a small fee.
The story on Adam Swords can be traced back to his United Kingdom roots of which he grew up in a small town within the UK (specifics are top secret unless permission is given to say it, and thus is undisclosed in my blog for the time being). One of his YouTube videos mentioned his move from the UK to Orange County, California. Of course, it's the same state as where I am (the difference is that I'm still living in southern Santa Clara County - San Martin specifically), though one of my uncles and aunts live in Orange County, specifically in Anaheim Hills. Adam's two "XX" indicators are prominent on selected videos and in his merchandise. As a kid, his mother uses those "XX" indicators on wherever his mom would put it - text messages, birthday cards, personal notes, and so on. The "XX" indicators are a historical reference to the viking rune known as "Inguz."
Given the unique design of the "XX" indicators, I've decided that in the long term, I'm going to get his merchandise. For me, I'm wanting a transparent version of both the "Swords" and the "XX" indicators in both white and black forms on hats, T-shirts, sweats, shorts, and pants. I looked up Adam's merchandise store and unfortunately, that only comes in black sweats, hat, and long pants ("joggers") in the form of a "stealth" version. I'll have to wait until he does eventually release a stealth version of his merchandise in both black and white versions on various form of clothing. Furthermore, I'm also interested in his lineup of phone covers that utilizes the "XX" indicators on the back of the phone, in both stealth (transparent) and normal modes, plus the availability of colors such as yellow-green (used in his "XX" logos), black, and white and phone compatibilities and evolving technologies (mine is an iPhone; but Android phones should be made available too for those that want it).
I personally met Adam Swords at Precision Motorworks in Santa Clara, California. Note that Santa Clara is a county, but Santa Clara is a city of it's own - not a county seat (the county seat is the 10th largest city in the United States - San Jose). Adam and his crew at Precision Motorworks have taught me what is right and what is not. For example, Adam didn't want me to take visuals of what is under the engine bay on his Volkswagen Golf R. His setup is very unique, and I want to take as many appropriate visuals as I could before he went back to Orange County. Upon meeting Adam Swords, I immediately felt safe without the fear of dangerous stunts conducted on public roadways like sideshows (street takeovers) and street racing. At least a few of my future episodes will revisit some of the places that I found to have problems, and explain why I felt better at car meets involving responsible people like Adam Swords over being involved in dangerous stunts involving dangerous drugs, alcohol, and illegal weapons or fireworks.
I also had my schedule that I had to confine to as well, continuing on my streak of a busy weekend schedule that includes the annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, the Gilroy car show in mid-June, and some grand openings within Santa Clara County. Getting there is a challenge using only my two feet and VTA transit to get there, hence my video feature that has the settings in San Martin (at my residence), along East Middle Avenue (including to cross highway 101 as an overpass), and the stop on Monterey Highway at East Middle via VTA bus line 68 (note that while I am allowed to drive as defined by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV/DMV), I still cannot drive or use a bike for insurance reasons related to an accident back in August 2021 until I'm cleared). In fact, all of my trips start with a 22-minute walk from home followed by a bus ride. I plan to mention Adam Swords in many of my future video releases as he is considered as my mentor (along with some help from the Precision Motorworks staff), and I have plans to continue learning from him in person the next time he plans on having another public meet-and-greet, or upon his request via either messaging me on social media or via iPhone/FaceTime (yes, I can give him my number upon request). Who knows - I might even treat him and his friends to something affordable to eat, as long as the eatery is local or regional and not seen anywhere else - and I do plan on paying for his meals (yes, seriously; and up to 3 of his friends).
My meet with Adam Swords also gave me a reminder of the past that I'm also long exposed to British terminology dating back to when I was in Hong Kong and Macau to visit my relatives as a child. I've been there for many of my vacations and back then, I wasn't used to the British terminologies such as "lemon squash" (lemonade in American English), toilet ("restroom" in American English), and programmes (program in American English). In one of my visits to Hong Kong (1998 specifically), I was diagnosed with a type of neurological disorder (in turn a type of autism), which still reflects in my documentation of when I first applied for a Clipper card (the Bay Area's transit card) and in an old letter by the Morgan Hill Unified School District. I'm always required to carry my wallet at all times when using transit as mine is discounted (in the Bay Area, the card for the disabled is known as Regional Transit Connection, or RTC Clipper).
I was slightly nervous at first when I met Adam Swords and his dog named Diesel at Precision Motorworks. However, Adam was very nice to me and he did show me both his Ram truck and VW Golf R. At the time I met him, I also surrendered one of his "favourite" drinks called Liquid Death (it's a water brand) to Adam as well, as I felt that he may not have brought some Liquid Death of his own. The Liquid Death water brand I got for him is a sparkling water (without the bad stuff), not plain water.
The VW Golf R that Adam Swords has reminded me of a few Hong Kong trips, in which my cousin currently owns a standard VW Golf of a previous generation. I hope that one day, I will own one of the last versions of the Golf R (automatic transmission), and perhaps modified to Adam's specifications (minus the seating interior which will remain leather and the exhaust, which will be kept stock to California standards except for replacement when broken) so as long as those meet or exceed California's specifications and cost restrictions. I also plan to have all the interior and exterior have LED lighting as well, plus a black "stealth" version of the "XX" indicator on the top corner of the vehicle, depending on Adam's current position. Two of my other favorite vehicles are also under my consideration as well; one is a 1992 or 1993 Buick Roadmaster (wagon or sedan) and the other is a GMC Yukon (1997 GT, 1992, or 1993 2-door models only).
Having said about Adam Swords, I plan on having a series on YouTube that is focused on my journey via my two feet and transit use that centers on my variation of Adam's theme, "find your everyday adventure" - without bikes or vehicle driving. Many of my videos will have some mention of Adam Swords. It can be a variety of things from the best places to get something to eat in Santa Clara County to problem areas that many neighbors may be complaining about. The final episode in my initial series will only occur the next time Adam Swords is in Santa Clara County and only when he wants me to be at his "favourite" places or announces a public meet.
There are simply way too many reasons why Adam Swords to me may be the best person from Britain that I've ever met so far, and among them is that I feel safe knowing that Adam is a responsible and respectful person without ever performing dangerous stunts, making me feel like that Adam is an idol and a legend. I also believe that Adam should most importantly credit his parents and siblings for teaching him something positive.
I'll be surprised if Adam Swords decides to respond to my blog and/or video with his own blog and/or video using any of my visuals (he must credit me if he uses my visuals). If he wants to reach out to me regarding my blog and/or video, he may contact me. Both my Twitter and Instagram use the same handle - I'll be surprised if he wants to actually follow my adventures on social media and on my YouTube channel. The only downside is that whenever Adam Swords does come to Santa Clara County, he may forget about me...
EDITOR'S NOTES:
- Bonus images follow my blog. The images were formatted in 16:9 format for YouTube for upcoming viewing. Full sized images are available; please inquire with me. These are also seen in my video.
- San Martin (pronounced SAN MAR-TEEN) is a small town in southern Santa Clara County, nestled between Gilroy and Morgan Hill. As it is a Spanish pronunciation, it's never meant to be pronounced as names like Ricky Martin.
- Some of my YouTube videos contain Chinese characters. Those 3 Chinese characters are my Chinese name followed by my name below the Chinese name, hence may be reflected in my notices at the beginning of some videos or series.
- Special thanks to Adam Swords and Precision Motorworks for allowing me to film the visuals for my video.
- Adam Swords has his own website and merchandise section. Follow him on social media (@adamswords). The links to his website and social media are available here.
Kyle Chak
Email: chak5953301@gmail.com
On Social Media: @KyleSChak
