Long time no go...

Mon Sept 29, 2008

Know what? 2moro is already the last day of the month of September! And soon it will be the end of 2008...with 2009 in abt 3 months! That makes one wonder what would be in store for the new year. However, in my case, I feel that 2009 will take care of itself when it does come along...
What is more important is what the day will bring. This has been my trend of thought ever since me adopted the philosophy of many others...namely "Enjoy the moment... " Every day has been a bonus day...of life!!

With that in mind & in spite of me ole body & ole junk, the true me took over last weekend. Yup, me & my other half went on a trip which we had not done in quite a while! And yup, it was a visit to Taiping...

The occasion? My SIL's birthday. Mentioned it in my previous entry. And yup, he's the father of our lovely KL. Know what making that trip meant, too? Yup, we also get to spend some time with KL. That's another bonus!

Well, I set the alarm clock to wake us up early on Sat morning. Had a simple bread & butter breakfast. And we were on our way....Taiping, here we come!

Arriving early, we decided to drop in at our daughter's new place of work. Columbia Asia Hospital, Taiping. Had a "guided" tour of the facilities. What can I say...we were impressed!! Go look-see for yourself if you don't believe me...

A pic of front view of the hospital ...the interior looks even better...
Up2date medically furnished & equipped rooms & facilities for all who need medical attention & services...very friendly staff on hand to serve you. Smiles everywhere. And yup, even a great cafe for the healthy ones! And yup2, we kinda "tested" the cafe...hehe...

Lunch was at the Prima coffee shop in town. Took our fav BBQ pork (Char Siew) with roasted chicken rice.

Next stop...KL & fmly's home. The rest of our day was filled with happy moments. And true to my newly adopted philosophy, we were really enjoying the many moments...

A pic of KL to share...on 27th Sept...More pics soon in the slide feature "The Many Faces of KL in 2008" in this Blog. Do watch out for the updates!

Ain't she just beautiful? Both of us had lots of fun playing with her. A pity, though, that these ole bones are not as willing as the young me in me...haha!

Well, dinner was to be our treat for the birthday boy. We went to the new Taiping Sentral Mall which was opened recently. The weekend crowd was huge. Esp now with Hari Raya celebrations just around the corner. Parking was the biggest problem...a few rounds and still not a hope!

So we had to abandon the idea of a dinner there nor for a 1st timer inspection stroll. Consequently, the bday boy opted for their former fav spot...Prima Kopitiam in town. Well, dinner was great! Even KL enjoyed her chips. Me? Ordered for Chicken Maryland. Imagine my surprise when the waiter brought along my order & announced that it was Fish & Chips!! However, the confusion was cleared when the Chief Waiter confirmed that it was really Chicken Maryland...(2me, kinda their own version lo) although it looked more like fish & chips (as declared by their own waiter)! Haha! Sorry, no pics...& so no evidence... for you to pass judgement here tho...

Back home, there was a simple bday cake do. Yup, candles were lighted & our bday boy made the usual silent wish before blowing out the candles on the cake...a special cake with both dark & white choc chips on top!

Here is the cake...

Before we dozed off that night, me & my other half recalled the day's happy events...nice thoughts.

The next morning, after all KL chores were done, it was our turn to be treated. Guests la...hehe...

Breakfast was at the family's fav Bah Kut Teh shop. With Chinese tea. Hot! Then it was another attempt to "tour" Taiping Sentral. No luck again! Not even in the neighbouring Tesco area. Finally, the nearest spot on a slope adjacent to Taiping Sentral was found.

The happiest person there & that morning was KL. She even got a free Digi heart-shaped balloon! Sorry but me forgot to snap a pic then. KL even had fun going up & down the escalators! A great & enjoyable attraction to her these days...kids will be kids, right?

Then it was time to leave... to be home in time for another special event!

The 1st Night F1GP Race...in Singapore! Yup, me changed my subscription package in Astro to the Sports package...with this event as an incentive!

And guess what? The "rush" home to enjoy the race was not in vain. This F1 GP special was truly special with lots of thrills & spills! To those who missed it, you really missed a lot! Esp so if you are a F1GP fan...

Above pics show the conclusion of the race...the winner, Alonso, and the top 3 on the Podium. Pics were taken with my N73 hp cam of live coverage projected onto our "Big" screen...

It was a good weekend. Sincerely hope that yours was just as happy...

ps. A special treat for all ye visitors to my Blog...KL doing her "ribbon dance" to music from a TV program...hehe...

Will Life ever be the same again...??

Wed 24/09/08

This afternoon the present Govt announced that fuel prices at the pumps would be cut by 10 sen wef midnight tonight.

In case yu have forgotten, fuel prices were jacked up a whopping 41% in June this year!! That sudden jump resulted in a chain reaction of price increases in practically every thing one can think of. And, prices of goods are still increasing...with Inflation reported officially as at 8.7% in August! Frankly, in reality...to the man-in-the-street, there is no way than anyone can convince him that inflation is only at 8.7%.

For example...A simple bowl of mee now costs at least 20 sen more...20 sen of RM1.60 is....?? percent??? Also a piece of Roti Canai was 80sen/pc but now RM1/pc...also a 20sen increase. However, what percentage is 20sen out of 80sen? Only 8.7%? Me feel that your maths is much better than that of the Govt. Ha ha! Btw prices of most items had gone up by even more...

Good news? Or just a sweet for all the "kids" in the country? Last month, fuel prices were lowered by 15 sen...a mere 5.6%. Now...today, a further drop of only 3.9%. Don't we have a long way to go before it ever reaches the 41% rise in June?

Co-incidence or otherwise...the first fuel price reduction was announced before the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. This second announcement came just before Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Guess we have to wait for another "good" day or event for another fuel price drop...hehe...

Back to our present scenario. And yup, the important point here is....did prices of goods & foods go down proportionately when fuel prices were reduced last month? Nope. Don't think so. Will those prices be lowered accordingly now with the further reduction of fuel prices at the pumps this time around? Nope. Don't think so either.

So, where do we stand now? Are we better off or worse? YOU tell me...

Ah yes...there was the Govt offer of cash rebates to vehicle owners when there was a hue & cry after the whopping fuel increases in June...when there were street protests & even calls to the PM to quit by certain quarters. Well, you might have been luckier than me. Yup, you might have got the said rebate. But not me. One only gets the rebate of RM625 for owners of vehicles up to 2000 cc after one renews the vehicle licence (road tax). Mine is only due for renewal in March 2009. A long long wait...

In the meantime, me will still be paying what is the official fuel pump price, from me own pocket. And, hopefully, that rebate will still be there when the time comes for me to submit my claim for it. Wish me luck lo...

Anyway, come January 2009, our "Kay Pa" had already promised us a 20% recalculation of our pensions...namely a revision for all civil servants who had served 30 or more years. And luckily, me & my other half fit nicely into that offer. Actually we both had more than 30 years of service in our records. And this 20% increase is truly something of value for 100% pensioners like us! Something to really look forward to...

Hopefully, by then, the inflation rate would not have reached the sky... at least not up to the 20% we would be getting. Or else we would be back in square one!

Finally, my SIL would be celebrating his Bday this year on this coming Sat., Sept 27th. Happy Birthday, Lg!! May there be better times & more love in the years ahead for you & fmly...and esp so with the beautiful daughter who is definitely a joy to be with & to share...

Have a great weekend soon, everyone!! And, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri to all our Muslim friends...Be safe.

Happy Birthday to you...

Sun 21/09/08

Hi...Remember the wedding me attended recently (Blog entry 100908)? Ok...that very next day me & other half made 1 of our regular visits to her cousin's fmly. It was there that we made a promise to return to celebrate the birthdays of 2 persons close to us. However, the birthdays fell on different dates but very close to each other. Just 7 days apart. And so it was decided that we go on the later date to celebrate both at one go.

That day came. Fri 190908.

That morning, I did my usual check of various aspects of our ole junk. Imagine my surprise & disappointment when the air pressure check on the LHS rear tyre showed a dramatic drop compared to the other 3! On further & closer checking, it was found that a screw had pierced the thread area. And that day was a Friday! Our state's weekend. Most shops were closed.

Not to be outdone, me pumped up the tyre to normal pressure. We got ready...went out to do what we had planned to do that morning & had breakfast. (Note: All that was possible because of the advantage of a tubeless tyre...heheh....) Then we went hunting for a tyre shop that was open on a Fri...

Lady Luck was with us. Found one close by...without the need for a long nor tedious hunt. What's great was that shop had facilities, know-how & materials + tools for carrying out an internal patch...the recommended safest way to patch a puncture in a tubeless tyre of modern times!! Thank God for that blessing...

Soon the patch was done & the wheel & tyre was re-balanced (with proper stuck-on weights as rec for alloy rims) & refitted. And we were ready to roll...RM40 poorer tho. But most importantly, me felt very satisfied & so much safer...

First stop was at Tesco Mergong. To get 2 presents for our 2 bday ppl. Decided that was the best venue cos it would save time (we know the place well...hehe...) since we were running late. Got 2 of the same & had them gift-wrapped by the Cust. Service Dept ppl. That was a free service by Tesco...thumbs up for Tesco!!

Well, we reached Penang at almost 1pm...slightly late but not too much later than as planned. Wished both birthday ppl & presented our "small" presents. The birthday boy invited us for lunch. We, the birthday girl & all in the fmly, were taken in our bday boy's volvo to CRC Restaurant...a surprise for us cos we'd expected just a simple lunch. It wasn't!! Our bday boy had pre-booked & pre-ordered truly sumptous dishes for a great lunch! Yup, even a roasted piglet dish was in the menu...and, believe me, it's been ages since we've had the privilege to taste such a special dish!

Thank you, Unc Lee!! And, a very Happy Birthday to you again!!!

A video clip to share...a happy kid, YL, performing her dance at the CRC bday lunch...

After lunch, it was getogether time & everyone had a long chat...besides enjoying the Hokkien serial being screened on Channel 333 of Astro that afternoon.

It was soon time to take our leave. Decided to leave earlier than usual with the hope of avoiding the usual jam on the way to the Pg Bridge. Nope. We weren't that lucky. The jam started earlier than we'd expected. After joining the queue for a few mins, we decided to breakaway & head for Tesco, Pg., which was nearby...instead of moving inch by inch in the jam.

After spending more than an hour at Tesco, Pg, we made our 2nd attempt to go home again. And guess what? We were faced with another jam on the bridge! Imagine Penangites travelling to & fro across the Bridge having to face this tedious ritual every day....phew!! Thank God me not staying in Pg & working on the mainland or vice-versa!!

Took us more than double the time it normally takes to cross the Pg Bridge! But finally we were free of such traffic...the highway had been troublefree for us so far.

Dinner was at the coffee shop next to Tesco, SP. For a change, we thought. Not a good change though. The "Yee Mee" that I took was kinda a little bit too salty for anyone's taste buds.

Anyway, the best part was when we were back once again in "Home Sweet Home"! Yup, Lot 10 OFH was most welcoming...to its 2 ole but happy inmates!!

And guess what? It poured like anything just a short while after we arrived home...now ain't that lucky? Again.

Yesterday, Sat 200908, was our regular Chef's Off Day. In short, also COD...haha! A happy day. Had our regular 15 sticks of Sate as part of our dinner menu. A monthly feature since our retirement. Our own little way to commemorate each month of our retirement.

The COD ended with its Cine Nite. Money No Enough II was the movie selected. Another one of Jack Neo's products...related to the lives of Singaporeans. True to life in many ways. Not just that of Singaporeans but of most ppl esp of Chinese families. Feel many young ppl would see themselves portrayed so accurately in that movie. Yup, the truth hurts but...that's life, right?

Today? Today is just another day...a bonus in our lives. Not to complain. Am just thankful for another day...

ps. Me almost forgot...remember the old advert in Astro? The "No petrol how to move" one? Yup, our Pg trip to celebrate the 2 birthdays was made all the nicer cos pensions were paid out 2 days earlier than scheduled!! On 18th Sept evening itself! Yup, our "Kay Pa" was kind enough to release funds in view of the coming Hari Raya festivities. But some would say, "Earlier come, Earlier go..."? Well, what can I say...? Earlier is better than later... ? Also, $$ in the pocket is better than none in the bank...? Ha ha...

In lieu of "Enjoy the Moment..."

Tues 16 Sept 08

Wishing ALL true Malaysians a Happy Malaysia Day! Yup, today is the official Bday of our country, Malaysia...
May there be Peace, Goodwill & Prosperity in this young nation of ours...an uncertainty now with all the political turmoil happening from day to day in these recent times...our future depends on what's gonna happen next! The latest episode being the ISA arrests & the dignified & responsible reaction from our de facto Law Minister, compared to the lame excuses by the Home Minister.

For more down-to-earth news (your decision, of course!) of the political scene, you can try accessing http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Well, let's push these looming clouds of myopic politicians heading to a probable disaster ( Man-made ones, as a matter of fact!) into the background.

And... join hands together for a better Malaysia...better than the superficial peace, tolerance & harmony that has been the norm in its 51 years of Independence. We are all God's creations, no matter what colour of skin or background. 1 Life is all we are given. And Life is only temporary...

Yup, we have but only 1 Life. Go to any hospital. Ask those who are sick. What is their one wish? To get well. To be able to continue to live. Nothing else matters.
It's only those who are young, strong & healthy (at the moment!) who forget that fact of Life. That to be able to see the start of another new day is a Miracle of Life itself!

Enough philosophical thoughts for now.

For good news, our niece, YL, who underwent an ops recently, is finally home. Discharged. A folow-up is scheduled for 18th Sept. Happy for you, YL!!

On the home front & with various factors in play, it was time to make amendments to our Astro (satellite TV) subscribed package. Our latest package was a simple one. A main group, Dynasty, plus 2 mini packages namely, News & Learning.

We subscribed to the Learning package cos at that time one channel abt home, health & children, was included. However, that channel (altho a Discovery channel, too) was later removed & put into another package. Only Astro knows why. As a result, that channel is now hardly accessed.
With the very special 1st time Night Race for F1 GP in Singapore and, the preparations & inconveniences me had to undergo each time an F1 GP race is on, subscribing to the Sports package was inviting!

And, my other half's Taiwan Hokkien serial is coming to an end soon. So, the Hua Hee Dai (HHD) channel, with its numerous Hokkien serials & whatever, is another attraction.

A final list came to one with Dynasty, Sports & News mini packages plus the Gold Package which includes the HHD channel. Total subs? RM107.90 instead of the previous RM89.95. Just RM17.95 more per mth. Worth it? A matter of opinion...hehe...
Considering our "Enjoy the Moment" philosophy? Of course it is...worth every sen of it!! Ha ha!!

Moreover, I could now remove the long, long cables connecting my PC upstairs to our TV in the lounge. A sight for sore eyes! A possible danger & risk item, too. Not forgetting the much lower quality of images that me had to endure while watching the F1 GP races via streaming online.

A word of advice here. If anyone of you intends to make such subscription changes in your Astro packages, do use the Customer Helpline at its 1-300 number. Don't think that by doing so online via its website, would ever be faster! You'd be so DEAD wrong!!

Yup, me learnt that the hard way! And yup, me tried submitting my upgrade changes online. Called the Cust Helpline abt 1 & 1/2 hrs later after the online form submission. No one had received my online request at all!! I was told that it would take at least 24 to 48 hrs by the online method.
So, me requested for the changes there & then on phone. Changes were effective after less than 30 mins!! See? Phew...

Btw our new LG TV has been serving us well in the dining area. Nothing to complain about. the 7-day 1 for 1 replacement warranty has passed. Now, meal-time is so informative & entertaining even. Didn't realise what we'd missed before the change until after the replacement!

Feel Chinese sayings are from generations of experience. Yup, I now truly believe in the "Beh Chak Kee" quote.
So, do Enjoy the Moment, won't you?

Updates...

Fri 12 Sep 08

Update #1 : Our niece, YL, had a successful ops ( Entry dated 110908) & is now on road to recovery. Congrats, YL!! Have a swift recovery...

Update #2 : Re Emergency Lamp replacement, a similar, but appeared to be a better system type ie with an overcharging protection circuit by the same company, was found to be offered at Tesco here for RM85. That's way higher than what me had paid for the present "faulty" unit! If me remember correctly, it was only abt RM60...
Oh well, let's check out the price of that unit offered by other electrical outlets in town. A decision will be made then. No urgency as present "faulty" unit is still able to function...although not 100%.

Need to keep fingers crossed that there'd be NO power failure in the meantime...hehe...not a long failure session, anyway!

Update #3 : Received an invite for a "Nasi Lemak" dinner do at a former colleague's place, just at the end of our block while we were at Tesco shopping around for the emergency lamp. Turned out to be a small celebration of her daughter's 13th Bday. Food was great. Not just "Nasi Lemak lo..." Lots of choices including home-made chocolate "cookies"...yum yum, my fav kind!!

Today : 12 Sep is the Bday of our fav cousin, KS. As mentioned in my post yesterday, we'll be making a sp trip for a dual celebration of sorts. Until then, this morning, a sp personal call was made to wish our Bday girl a very Happy Bday!! So, Happy Bday, KS!! Have a nice day today... we'll see you on the 19th, ok?

Also made a call to MBB to make a request for the Annual Fee waiver for my credit cards. A nuisance really. Most banks are already issuing "No Annual Fee" cards. However, at such lean times, any $$ that can be saved will certainly go a long way in one's budget. Agreed? In my case, it amounts to abt RM200...which is no small sum, right? With that settled, I was also told that it is possible to request to be emplaced with an auto-waiver facility but I need to write in officially for that. An email would suffice. No prob, right?

Now back to the usual routine of a normal Friday, another day in Lot 10...

What a new day brings...

Thu 110908

A new day. A new entry. New News.

For starters, 1 of our nieces, YL, was admitted to KMC in AS for removal of fibroids yesterday. Ops scheduled for this morning. We wish her all the very best & a successful surgery, followed by a swift recovery!!

Also a tiny electrical-based "explosion" occurred yesterday in our dining area. I was switching on the switch on the 4-gang extension unit for power to our new TV and there was this sudden "pop" sound with a flash of light at the said switch! Never had this happened before...on any of my power extension units. On opening up the ext. unit, black burnt marks could be seen. Only a faulty or short-circuited connection could have caused that. Pics below show clearly the burnt areas...
Can you see the charred mark just below & to the right of the red switch? Also the blackened mark on the unit cover?

In 2nd pic, note the blackened section of the yellow-coloured wire?
So a new replacement ext. unit was bought & duly replaced. Hope this new one (see pic) would not go "pop" soon...haha!

At around the same time...after the "pop" incident but before the replacement unit was installed...our Emergency Lamp (shown in same pic - above the new 4-gang ext. unit ) for the dining area, using the same ext. unit for its power supply, started to blink. At that time, I thought, "Oh well, it might be due to the faulty ext. unit..." However, after I'd replaced the ext. unit, it was still blinking! Intermittently.
Me opened the lamp housing & on checking, it was found that one of the connectors to the rechargeable battery inside was not fully pushed in. Remedied. Then refitted. Later in the evening, it started blinking again albeit a lot less. The only possibility now is a faulty internal circuit in the lamp itself. That is, however, beyond my capability to resolve. Except, of course, getting a new replacement Emergency Lamp! Ha ha again!

Have to KIV that for now...God knows why! Sorry. Besides, except for the slight intermittent blinking, the lamp still functions fine as an emergency lamp, namely, it switches on when power is cut off. Good enough, right? For now, that is...

Finally, this month appears to be a month for trips. To Penang. Again. Tomorrow is the Bday of my other half's cousin to whom we have been making regular visits. And a few days later ie 19th Sept, is the Bday of another cousin's hubby. We just cannot be travelling that much with the dates being so close to one another. So, since we just came back from a very recent trip, we'll most probably go celebrate both on the same day ie the 19th.

Btw, looks like more clear DVDs are coming in now eg Iron Man, Wall.e, the latest Batman & X-Files movies. Lots of choices now for this coming Cine Nite on Saturday! Pls pass the popcorn...thanks!

Another weekend is here, too. So, have a great weekend! Me will sure try to...

And they lived happily ever after...

Tue 100908

Once again 2 ole inmates of Lot 10 OFH flew from their nest. And this time for a couple of days. 2D1N, to be exact.

Well, we had this wedding dinner invitation from a cousin's family in Penang, to be held on Mon 090908 at a restaurant in a hotel there. Arrangements were earlier made for both to put up for the night in our fav niece's place in Tanjung Bungah area. Mainly cos the dinner was held, of course, at night and it would be late in the night by the time it was over. You see, this ole guy has lost confidence in travelling late at night...sorry but growing old does have its minus points...in my case, that is.

As usual, we left AS after a late breakfast at our corner coffee shop. Kwan Lo mee. Reloaded our T&C card for toll payments and off we went.

Plan was to go for walk-walk in Gurney Plaza on arrival on the island. It was a lucky walk-walk session. My other half found a blouse she liked enough to replace what she brought along to wear for the dinner event. A happy event!

Lunch was in its food court. It was Indian Fried Mee for my other half & Eco Rice for me.

After lunch we proceeded to our fav niece's place. Had a long chat session. My bday came surprisingly well ahead of time...my fav niece had ready a present for lil ole me! Now not only my other half but me, too, had a new "wardrobe" for the dinner function!
Also had fun playing a few games of what I call "Football in a Box?" with my fav grandnephew. Guess what? Me lost all games... Me first timer la. Congrats, ET...

Before we knew it, time came to prep for the dinner do. We then joined our fav niece & fmly for the trip to the dinner venue...a great ride it was.

The Wedding Dinner? It was a grand affair. Too many tables to count! Here is pic of bride & groom during the "champagne-pouring" ceremony....
And this is a special one of me & my...grandnephew?



In red "pirate" headscarf...??


Surprisingly, beer & even whisky was served during the dinner. Me had a few glasses...hehe...me not driving that night, you see...


After breakfast the next day, we were invited for an early lunch. Special Fish-head Curry at a location one would not expect...one of the sidelanes of Carnarvon Street. Yup, the curry was special (with giant prawns & squids, too) & both enjoyed it. Besides the main dish, we also had prawn "crackers" with real prawns. Thanks a meg, KI!!

Later in the afternoon, we sidetracked on our way to the Penang Bridge to make our regular stops at a fav relative's house. After a long chat and a promise to return to celebrate the sp day of 2 of them, we headed for home.

A stop was made at SP for a quick dinner. Nothing special. Usual hawker fare. We reached Lot 10 just in time before it rained cats & dogs!! Phew...