The 6th Month of the Year...

Thu 4th June 2009

Yup, we are in the 6th month of 2009 now. The saying that "Time flies..." is really true cos time has really flown! Agreed?

And yup, me ended the month of May & started the month of June with value time, namely with family. This is what Life is truly about. Family.

And yup, to those whose family means more than just their own spouse & their own kids! And yet there are ppl who believe that their family consists of only they as parents & their own kids! Not even their own parents! Doesn't such people realise that that's why there is such a thing known as a "Family Tree"? Can there be a tree without roots? Where does one come from? A virgin birth? No la...Parents, right? You just can't marry someone and then say that your family includes no one else except only your spouse & kids, can you? That's pure & simple denial...

Now picture this. Some time in the future. And your own kid turns around & say that you no longer are part of his family! Only his/her spouse & kids are. Wouldn't that be plain simple poetic justice? If only I could live to see that day...I could then really really RIP...

Well, back to my month end & month start...

The end of May was a very busy one for me. For 1 simple reason. The new-to-be-released Operating System for computers, Windows 7 Ultimate RC, was available for official download & use till March 2010! With auto-updates even. An offer so irresistable! I grabbed it!

You see, an RC version is the "Release Candidate" version ie the version prior to official release of the Operating System. And this is from Microsoft themselves, mind you! FOC. To download, install & use. A rare...actually never before...offer. RCs had been offered for testing in past OSes before release but never for so long...

And what does the user have to do in return for this huge "favour"? Just agree to use (test, actually) the new OS. Info & problems encountered would be sent directly back to Msoft. That's your payment to Msoft! Ha ha!

Unwilling to touch my original HDD that came with my lappy and of course, its well-setup contents, I went out & bought me a new Samsung 160GB HDD! Just to install this new OS as NEW! Cost? RM155. And a matter of 9 tiny little screws...

And so it was that yours truly downloaded the image file of the new OS. Burnt an ISO disc of it to facilitate installation. Took me 1 whole evening & night. But it was worth it. In the process, an official product activation key was provided FOC online.

That was on 29th May. It was indeed a very enriching experience...just to be among the millions trying out the new OS before its release. And offhand, I can say this Windows 7 is definitely much better than Vista, its predecessor. Looks like me gonna have to put aside some hard cash to use when Win 7 is out for public sale...probably at the end of this year or the start of 2010.

Next in the list of things to do...a trip to Taiping. Yup, to my daughter's place. Why? Simple, too. Her birthday. June 1st.

We went on 310509. After late breakfast. A long drive.

Pic on left shows a snapshot of KL on 310509 soon after our arrival. Pretty little girl, isn't she?

And this is the uniquely worded Bday caramel cake, specially bought for the occasion. Ha ha!

Happy happy Birthday, ODEL!!
We shared in the birthday joy with a dinner @Panorama Hotel & a seafood dinner the next day @Matang, not forgetting a simple laksa treat. Ha ha!

And... to cut a long happy story short, we came home on the morning of 020609. More of value was our happy times spent with our fav grandaughter, KL. A happy ever-smiling kid can truly be more effective than all the painkillers & meds that one may take. Unfortunately, this time around, KL rejected all our attempts to feed her her porridge for lunch...a clear sign of how her deeply-embedded trauma had created such a great suspicion of whom she can trust to feed her. At the moment, it appears that only her mom can feed her. Not even her dad.

It's a sad but unavoidable departure for both grandparents when the time came and we had to leave. Our view on leaving...a sad & puzzled KL waving bye-bye to us...not understanding why these 2 ole folks, with whom she had a few happy enjoyable days, had to leave her now.

Not to worry, KL, Kong Kong & Ma Ma will see you again soon...and we'll have more happy times together.

On the way back, we stopped at Sungei Petani for our long-missed roasted duck rice with fried belacan Kangkong vege dish. This was followed by a "walk-walk" of the Village Mall next to Tesco SP.

If not for a book exhibition being held there, the Mall was kinda deserted. Many shoplots were either not taken up or closed. Maybe an effect of the current economic downturn?

Can you see the practically empty row of shoplots at the topmost floor? And the almost empty lower floor?

However, in spite of all that, we both managed to "donate" a reasonable sum while there. I got myself a new leather belt. Swiss Polo Leather @ 70% off! My other half got herself a nice pair of ear-rings.

Well, what can I say? The best feeling is to find oneself safely back home in Lot 10. And more so to find Lot 10 safe & secure...the way we left it on 310509.

Home Sweet Home. Yup, Lot 10 is just all that...cosy, peaceful and more!