The End of F1 GP for Lot 10!

Mon 270709

What can I say? This morning was to have marked the end of our subscription to the Sports package in our local satellite tv service provider, Astro. And yup, it was found to be not value for money by continuing to subscribe to it considering the rather steep further increase in the subscription for this particular package. (Pls check out my earlier entry re the latest price increase.)

As it was, both inmates of Lot 10 had a truly enjoyable time watching our "last" & "final" F1 GP race Live @ Hungaroring in Hungary last night, our time (2pm in Hungary). To add to the nostalgia, the race was watched on the BIG screen! And this time around, there was more than the usual excitement...more thrills & spills...even with Alonso losing a whole wheel after a pitstop!!

And yup, Lewis Hamilton won the race! As the pics above show...

However, the disposal of the Sports package did not turn out to be an easy simple task...as it should have been.

To cut a long story short, the first call to Astro Customer Service line @1 300 82 3838 just after 10am this morning. Arrangements to have the switch-over from Sports to Variety mini package went smoothly...so it seemed at the time.

Then the wait...the long wait began. Previously, such changes transacted over the phone were effected after the call was over. That was previously....

This time around, it was different. By 5:30pm, there was no sign of any change. All the Sports channels were still available. There was still NO sign of any of the the Variety channels though! Kinda expected, right? Cos the Sports channels were still there! Correct? No changes. Period.

Made a second call. And, of course, the hassle of pressing this number key & that number key...for this and for that...as common in all automated phone reply systems nowadays! This time around, I was told that there was a system problem and the personnel who took my call, told me she would activate the switch-over there & then. And she even confirmed to me as such at the end of the call. Was it so? Nope. Pls read on...

Back at my tv & trying all those channel numbers, trying as hard in whatever way I knew how & could, I still could not access any of the Variety channels! Even went through the rituals of re-downloading the List of Services...to the extent of switching off & back on the receiving MM console a number of times. No way!

Made one more call...kinda out of desperation! And frustration...

This time around, the guy who answered literally went through all the various checks in their system & confirmed that changes have been made as per my request. I then asked, "Then why is it that I still cannot access the switched-over channels?"

Cutting a long story short again, this guy got me to go through a list of checks including what I'd done before (as stated above) and finally asking me to remove my Astro Smartcard & putting it back into the module.

That did it!! Phew!

That made me wonder...why didn't the earlier 2 staff members tell me that the Smartcard had to be removed & reinserted before such a change would be effective? Even if so, I do NOT remember having to do so during those few times previously in the past that I had requested for changes to be made my subscribed packages. What gives?

If an answer given by the said guy applies, I would say that it truly serves Astro right! Yup, Astro asked for all the confusion & hopefully, subsequent losses, too! The answer? Their system is encountering problems cos of the heavy traffic due to the latest price increase of the Sports package!! Ha ha!

Does anyone know the true story? Maybe a delaying tactic by Astro to keep unhappy subscribers still in the Sports package...as long as possible? Maybe in time for bills to include the new increase & thus make some millions out of it?

Frankly it doesn't matter now. My switch-over is now officially in place and I will start saving some hard-earned $$ in the months ahead. That is what matters most...to me, at least!

To end this entry on a happier note, here's a very recent pic of our fav grandaughter, KL, taken by her mom on her brand new N97...

Nice?

Pic was sent via MMS. Haven't seen her for already more than a month. Kinda thinner...slimmer if you guys prefer that term.

Well, what's more important is her health. Agreed? As is, size does not matter...haha!

My best wishes to all for a great new week ahead!

What goes up must come down?

Sun 260709

What goes up must come down? Do you honestly believe that? IMHO that only applies to physical items eg a ball...haha!

In our lives, that saying does not hold water! Why?

In Malaysia recently, we have been facing spiralling costs of living a life here...a never-ending problem, with more to come... to be sure!

For starters, during this year itself, we have been faced with the Govt's approval for increase in bus fares, both commercial & school buses...up to a max of 30%!! Imagine the huge increase should a parent have a number of school-going children...

Then there was the menacing threat of an increase in electrical tariffs...which the Govt has so "wisely" deferred in the wake of the increased bus fares...according to news reports...to the end of the year! There is no doubt in peoples' minds that there will be an increase. Just a matter of when...

Another impending increase is in the price of petrol. The govt plans to increase the price of RON97 grade of petrol (to RM2/litre) by introducing RON95 which it says can be used by most vehicles. However, it is clearly stated in the flap of my ole junk's petrol filler that the petrol for my Proton should be RON97+ (plus!!). So am I to understand that my ole junk can move around happily on RON95? Or do I have to pay more for the RON97 come September 1st?

Impending increases are on the table for Toll Rates when we use our highways ...soon. When? Your guess is as good as mine.

And yesterday, I got a letter from Astro, our local satellite tv provider, informing me that the Sports Package (that I've been subscribing to & which had an increase in subscriptions to it last year) will face a further increase of RM17 per month in my next billing!!

The worst part is that me, as a subscriber, is NOT given an option (not asked at all) if I consent to continuing my subs at the higher increased rate or not. The letter just states...

" ...a revision of the Astro sports package price is unavoidable.
The new price will take effect from your next bill statement. "

And that...

" For your convenience there is no action required on your part. We will update your account automatically and the new pricing will be reflected in your next monthly statement."

Now, is that the way to treat your loyal customers? To me, this is a "forced" upon me situation...there being no allowance for any period of decision on my part to consider if I should accept the new pricing or reject it!

Do you think it's worth an extra RM17 per month to continue subscribing to a channel that I use to watch only ONE event, namely the F1GP series? At times it might be only 1 race per month or at the most 2 races? In total, I would be paying a sum of RM27 extra (incl the increase last year) for just that! Nope. I don't think so.

And...also not to forget that each time you make a change in your subscribed packages, a service fee of RM10 will be charged!! That fee is only waived if you UPgrade ie pay higher for extra packages.

Anyway, despite that RM10 service charge (I only stand to lose RM10 once instead of the RM17 for each & every month I continue to subscribe to it), I have decided to cancel my subs to this package. However, I will only do so tomorrow. Why? Since the new rates might be already included in my next bill, I might as well enjoy one more race LIVE at the F1GP to be held today @Hungary! My monthly billing is for period ending 4th August...

Frankly Astro has been increasing its subs to cut down its "losses" as reported in the media...at the expense of its subscribers, not forgetting the numerous & inexcusable rounds of repeats that we are being subjected to daily in almost every channel! If only we have another reasonably good alternative...then many present Astro subscribers would, without any hesitation, migrate over! Wanna bet?

Well, what do you think would be increased next? Does what that goes up come down?

Nope...not really...not in things that matter most in our material lives. Nothing comes cheap these days. Agreed?

So Best of Luck to you & me...in the ever-rising scale of things in Life...

Longest partial eclipse above Lot 10

Wed 220709

A moment in history. Yup, what happened this morning was truly a special day in this century...the longest eclipse of the Sun! The next one would be in 2132, if me heard correctly...

As forcasted, it was to be a cloudy, if not rainy day. And just before 9 am, the clouds parted and me rushed out of Lot 10, hastily unpacking a new piece of safety "welder's glass" to use as protection for my eyes. Once on the edge of the road in front of Lot 10 (where me could get a clear view of the Sun in the Eastern sky), I held the dark "welder's glass" to my eyes.

And behold! There it was...a darkened corner of the disc of the Sun...on the side which was to my left! Yup, that's the moon blocking part of the Sun. A partial eclipse. By that time it was less than the 17% - 20% predicted for our northern region. Not a bad-sized chunk clearly blocked.

A thought came to me. I quickly took out my trusty N73 and began snapping away at the eclipsed Sun, using the "welder's glass" as protection, too!

This was my best snapshot...
However, my best was not good enough...

And yup, sorry...the partial eclipse is just not visible in the pic. Too tiny a section & thus not captured by my not-so-sensitive N73. However, you can see the clouds aroung the Sun and of course, the Sun, can't you? Ha ha!

A short while later, while having breakfast, CNN on Astro was showing Live the total solar eclipse in China...in Chungqing if not wrong.

Out came my trusty N73 and this was what me captured from the TV screen...


Yup, this is a clear shot of the totality of the eclipse at that time. Certainly wished I was there then. Wouldn't you want to witness such a rare event?


Frankly I've seen many partial eclipses of the Sun. The earliest was when me was in Primary School...Std 5 if not mistaken. That day is still etched in my memory. I can still picture our class teacher preparing the darkly smoked panes of glass (using a candle) for us to use then. We watched the partial eclipse out in our school field.

However to this day, I've yet to witness one of a truly total eclipse. Have you?

Well, that was the only excitement worthwhile mentioning for today...

And yup, Lot 10 inmates also enjoyed a plate of self-prep "cucur udang" with real prawns! For tea.

Finally, me wish me could experience a total eclipse of the Sun in my lifetime...which I feel, would remain a dream...

So if you do ever have the opportunity to do so, go for it!

Snippets?

Mon 200709

Well, for something to do...to write...to make it known that lil ole me is still around, here goes...

Yup, nothing much but the ramblings of one ever so free...haha!

1. For a starter, there was this event @AS Mall on 180709 night. Drums & cymbals were creating a noisy disturbance while my other half & me were browsing around on its 1st floor area. As always, curiosity took the better of me and we proceeded to the source of it all. And as thought, it was a Lion Dance display in progress on the road just outside the Mall...one of the activities for the month of July. Not a bad performance though. As you can see in the couple of pics that me managed to snap, ever so hurriedly, with my trusty N73...

And yup, this Mall has been holding various interesting events to attract potential customers...esp on weekends.

2. Believe it or not, it's already the 40th anniversary of the first Moon-landing by Apollo 11 astronauts! And me remember watching that historical event when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the lunar surface in July 1969. "One small step for Man...One giant leap for Mankind" are words forever etched in my mind!
My late mother had, at that time, commented that it's no wonder the moon was not so bright & shiny those days after the lunar astronauts had stepped all over its surface! Esp so when she saw all the boot prints made that were shown on tv...Ha ha! Now where were you on that historical day?

3. COD (Chef's Off Day) last Sat was the usual. Nothing exciting happened. Meals were out and the day ended with the usual Cine Nite. The movie was Morgan Freeman & Antonio Banderas in "Thick As Thieves". Not a bad movie.

4. Sun 190709 was quiet...and to pass the time, a walk-walk session took place @Tesco Mergong. Just couldn't avoid "donating" although just a little bit...actually less than RM4! And instead of watching the weekly "ghost story" movie on Astro's HHD channel, we had Cine Nite #2...the movie "Angels & Demons". Serious but absorbing...we just couldn't help following the flow of the story!

5. Today is kinda long awaited...the day before our "Kay Pa" gives us our monthly "allowance". Yup, if he's as reliable as has been all these years, we should be "loaded" tomorrow...haha! Well, we've been very very "good" this month, considering the fact that we've been trying to patch the "hole" made in our pockets when the HP lappy was bought. What can I say? Now a few months later, we are gonna be "there" tomorrow...Yup, back to Square One...so to say...

What's next? Frankly, no idea whatsoever....hehe...

Let's leave it at that, ok? I am very thankful that I've come this far...every day is indeed a bonus for a retiree. No doubt about that!

Have a good week, won't you?

A quiet peaceful past 7 days...

Thur 160709

Yup, it's been a very quiet & peaceful past 7 days since I last made an entry in here...

And it's still very quiet & peaceful...which is good.

So I wouldn't want to bore you with boring uneventful going-on's in Lot 10 nor about its inmates.

However, I would like to share with you a posted entry that I'd read in one of my fav Blogs (kh7883), namely an extract from a lecture given by Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of theM.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico...one of Non-violence.
Do give it a good read here : http://kh7883.blogspot.com/2009/07/ghandhism-must-read-power-of-non.html

In conclusion, the speaker had said that he wondered...

"if he (his father) had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. "

Yup, if we could only have the intelligence & foresight (like the speaker's father) of how best we could teach our children to learn Life's lessons well in that non-violent way (instead of the ways we'd known at that time of our lives, namely mainly through direct action taken or some form of punishment), they might have become better & non-aggresive persons today... so unlike what most of our youngsters are these days. Possible? Maybe..just maybe.

However, we can't turn back the clock now, can we? Nope. No way. So there is no point in living a future filled with regrets. We did what we'd known then which was the best of how & what we could do to teach them the right from the wrong. To equip them to face their future lives. Our children should understand that as they mature...esp after they have become fathers / mothers themselves. Agreed? Sadly though, not all children are that understanding nor able to see nor learn from experiences whilst teaching their own children in their own lives.

Believe it or not, most of us did understand that our parents had punished us for our own good & that whatever they had done, they had done so because they loved us so. With no other intent whatsoever.

We can only hope & pray that our own children will, too...maybe in good time? Yup, Life is all about hope...

Have a good weekend!

The Platinum Me...

Thu 090709

Hi...

As we all know ( and most, if not all of us) have come to accept, our world today is truly a materialistic world. Like it or not. That, of course, may also just be a matter of opinion. I agree.

However, whether we like it or not... whether we need it or not, etc, etc, there is no escaping the fact that if one does have good credit standing/credibility, one's confidence in the everyday going-on's invariably increases in proportion, too. Agreed?

Well, another surprise came my way a couple of days ago. While popping in online to see what was the outstanding balance for my current banking monthly bill, I could not help exclaiming out loudly when I saw 2 new entries in the list of credit cards to my name! And they were both Platinum Cards!! Phew!
(Note : For those not in the know, credit cards come in various grades, the lowest being the Classic...followed by the Gold and, at the very top, the Platinum!!)

On further checking, I also found out that my combined credit limit had been increased by quite a few K...in RM, of course! The increase was in tandem with the upgrade as well as to portray the higher value of the Platinum pieces!

After a hurried call to the CC centre of the bank, I was enlightened by the fact that those 2 Platinum cards were the result of an upgrading exercise of my present credit card status! And only for selected clients, too. Now isn't that amazing? Me? Yup, lil ole me now has 2 Platinum cards to my name now. And yup, lil ole me now belongs to the so-called "elite" Platinum Club...a truly nice & warm feeling when one is recognised, respected, appreciated & of course, when one is rewarded accordingly.

I was also told that I would be getting an official letter to that effect soon...

And yesterday, our local Poslaju guy came with a special delivery. Unfortunately, we were both out and as the postman would not return to the GPO till late in the evening, we could only go to collect the item this morning... after a late breakfast.

And true enough, 2 new & shiny Platinum CCs were enclosed! And best of all in the enclosed congratulatory letter was this one phrase, telling me to ..." enjoy complimentary annual fees for 3 years...". Those few words were the best in the whole letter...

And, if me not that poor in English, that practically means NO annual fees for the next 3 years should I activate and use those Platinum cards. Am I correct?
(NB. Me'd better keep that letter as proof of that...don't you think so?)

Sincerely & truly hope I really am correct...or else me am gonna be in for a huge hole in my pocket in 1 year's time...that would be a tragedy! Yup, a Platinum CC would normally come with a hefty RM550 annual fee per card!!

A special feature, that came with 1 of those cards ie the Visa Platinum, is that it enables the electronic " Visa Wave" payment at participating outlets ie one only needs to "wave" the card in front of an electronic sensor unit at the counter to make payment. That's cool, isn't it? Can't help wondering though...how many merchants around would have such "wave" sensors installed? Just don't remember seeing one in A/S or maybe I missed it? Have you seen any?

As is, I've only activated & started to use the Visa version. Yup, whilst filling up my ole junk at a nearby petrol service station. Ha ha! And yup, a small step...but still a giant leap for yours truly here...along this new Platinum road...hehe...join me? Soon...ok?

A little world in my own small world...

Mon 060709

Hi...with all the time on our hands & time that is truly ours to enjoy, both inmates of Lot 10 do find calm & solace in our little world within our world today. Yup, it's our very own little plot of earth...our very own little garden of sorts...

And yup, it's only a roughly square plot where our eyes focus whenever we need a good diversion at times of complexities. As is, that 4'x4' plot is in itself a complexity! Haha!

One of the fav focus of our attention in the past had been an orchid plant that we'd bought during an orchid exhibition in Taiping a few years back. It had been flowering practically every month and we'd considered it a very worthly buy. However, its numerous roots grew so long that they'd almost reached the ground! Do orchids really have "aerial" roots? These roots don't grow up into the air but down towards the ground! As is, I'd no choice last year but to trim them off...to only the length (height?) of its pot. And, the worse part after that was the plant stopped flowering...not a single bloom since then...more than 7 months now!

So it came as a surprise recently when we noticed a flower stalk appearing in one of the leaf nodes. And true enough it bloomed! Here it is today...
Pic shows the orchid in full bloom...just like it used to be! A long long wait but still worth it, nonetheless!

Also our collection of Thai cactii continue to increase in number & forever blooming...a colourful bunch of them!Our "kiddy" guava trees from their long gone parent tree had started fruiting a while back and this particular "older kid" has quite a number of fruits to its credit. Can you see the number of fruits it is bearing now?

There are also some buds which have as yet to bloom...

Its sibling, on the other hand, has just started to bear some buds but we are keeping our fingers crossed that these would bloom & fruit soon.

An uninvited but welcomed "visitor" into our little 4x4 world is this little fern(?). Found it growing well beneath the old dead trunk of the parent guava tree now used as a support of our main orchid plants. Me transplanted it into a hanging pot & it appears to be thriving well & doing fine...so far...

Sincerely hope it would stay with us for a long time to come. We had another "fern(?)" that visited but somehow didn't make it for long...probably because of my poor knowledge of ferns. Yup, me probably paid too much attention to that one and it "passed away" due to over-care!

One other new addition to the area were our "Snake Plants" or "MIL's Tongue". They were previously indoors...placed indoors cos they were supposedly "air filtering" plants. However, they appeared to be not growing well and it was decided that maybe we should give them the stronger sunlight they might need since they looked more like some "desert" species. True enough they seemed to take to the "hotter" climate next to our 4x4.

And finally, these orchid plants (in pic below) have been our pride & joy all these years in Lot 10. They have continued to bloom with great splendidly coloured flowers, one stalk after another per plant...at times even more than 1 stalk!

There had been times when there were at least 3 stalks to a plant! Now, that is true splendour! And those flowering stalks do truly make our 4x4 plot worth all our efforts & a pleasant soothing sight to behold in times of stress and times of joy...

The above lines & pics are just to share our "little world" in our already small world with all of you...

It is sincerely hoped that you enjoyed that short tour of our little 4x4 world...

Have a great week ahead!

Back on the right track...again...

Sun 050709

Yup, it's true...that whenever one gets lost, one should never ever give up but persevere. On the political front, our politicians are at it again & again! Truly lost souls. Lost & have as yet to find the true path towards unity & common goals for the Malaysian people. Let's leave them alone to their petty squabbles cos they appear to have lost sight of what they have been elected for. Our only hope & prayer is that they do not drag us all (and the whole country) down with them...

But right here in Lot 10, it's a totally different picture. And for what it's worth, true enough, me & my other half got back on the right track once again...and if based upon our 40 solid years of mutual faith, trust & love, hopefully for good this time around!

And yup, whenever one is faced with a never-ending stream of issues, especially on the personal emotional aspect, one should always remain focussed on the road ahead and not be distracted by side issues which tend to be more overwhelming than the main issue. We both started as two...and we are now back to two once more.

Well, guess me talking in riddles, huh? That's yours truly...all his life...haha! Maybe that's what had caused many to misunderstand him all this while...even his own children & other half, too!
Not really matter, really...hehe...cos what's most important is the future ahead. And I truly & sincerely do see light at the end of this long tunnel in my life. Phew...

Well, back to more pleasant albeit less "juicy" & more boring items...haha!

Another COD had just passed. Another 7 "bonus" days.

Chef's Off Day (COD) last Saturday (yesterday) was a good one. Plain & simple but full of good feelings & togetherness. It started with the usual buy-back breakfast...roti canai this time around. Tasty.

Lunch was a planned Fried Koay Teow, my fav. @Jin Ho...but another disappointment though...unfortunately for good this time! The stall has been closed for good...sincerely hope our "friend" is well & fine. So both of us had Pork Leg Rice instead. Still yummy though.

Walk-walk was initiated by one at nearby City Plaza & soon followed with one @Tesco Mergong. And yup, we could not avoid making a small "donation" although the visit was supposedly to be only a pure window-shop deal!

Dinner place was @PSK...my "boss" took Fish-meat Meehoon Soup and lil ole me took the "888" Bah Kut Teh...the former was good but the latter was kinda disappointing. Well, like they say, one cannot win them all, right?

Cine Nite was good & enjoyable with Jackie Chan's Shinjuku Incident. And the evening ended very well. We were ONE once more...a truly good day!

Well, today is gonna be a quiet day. Yup, me not think this ole heart can take too much excitement...haha! As has always been, routine is always good. Agreed?

Oh! Before me forget, today is also our fav niece's birthday. Happy Happy Bday, Amy! Do have a great day with family & all the very best for a great year ahead, too!

Bye, everyone! For now, that is...

A day of bad news...

Thu 02 July 09

Yup, me am still around...haha! Me am, slowly but steadily, .getting over the recent trauma & depression that me underwent in furtherance of the extended "father & son" issue.

Of course, that was achieved ( & better more peaceful sleep) with a little bit of help from a few tabs of "Upjohn 55" (from our understanding family doc)...if you know what that is. And yup, that's not what you think it was (by its name...haha!) but an "anti-anxiety" medication. Works like magic lo...practically slows down the brain's activity! Each tab ensures peaceful sleep throughout the night...

However, life as is, is not that good either. Why?

You see, me had tried to divert my attention & improve the mood (that had persisted the last few days) by leaving Lot 10 for nearby Giant Hypermarket for a so-called "breath of fresh air"? But it was not all "fresh" cos in the process, me got a whiff of some not-so-good news of fellow ex-colleagues...

Yup, a nice jovial guy he was when I was still working...my daughter even attended his wedding. But now, it seems that he'd lost a lot of weight and was even met in hospital whilst undergoing an operation. And yup, it appears he has the "Big C"...so common these days that it is no more shocking than to hear of someone having the flu. The big difference is that the mention of it, is like knowing that a death sentence has been imposed, kinda unjustly, on a nice good person! But who are we to say so?

My daughter, when so informed of that former teacher's condition, wrote in her sms reply that "Life is cruel... ". In response, me keyed in that "Life is not cruel. But that, with Life, there will inevitably be Death and that no one knows how or when one will go...one just has to accept..."

Of course, every one on Earth would wish for a long life and a peaceful, painless way to go. But who are we to have any say nor control over that, right? It's just one of those aspects of life that none of us have any control over...unless we are capable of practising or legally permitted to carry out "euthanasia"...mercy killing of oneself painlessly.

Once upon a time, me & a fellow colleague tossed about the idea of keeping some "cyanide" (that we had access to at that time) so that we can pop it into our mouths when the time was "right" to end it all. A few secs and that's it! However, upon further discussion, it was agreed that it would be a futile exercise when that time really came cos we might not even know where we'd kept that substance nor know what it was for! Don't you think so? Ha ha!

Well, besides the above-mentioned misfortune that had befallen that ex-colleague, there was also news of one who had left us a few weeks ago...younger than us...also another victim of the same ole "Big C". Info was that his liver was the target. May you rest in peace, LFL! Our most sincere condolences to his family and all who knew & loved him...

What's worse is news of that of a younger colleague who had tumours in his brain area but thankfully, those tumours had been successfully removed. And from info updated by other colleagues, that friend is doing ok & fine now. We do wish him all the very best for a clean bill of health for the rest of his life...

All that goes to remind us that Life as is, is truly fragile & short...sometimes shorter than we may think or feel that we have. So let's be happy & not let any unhappy, unpleasant happenings affect our remaining days.

As another ex-colleague that we met yesterday echoed what practically all retirees have understood & accepted...simply that every day we get to live through is a BONUS!

Let's enjoy our bonus for today!!