I have to admit, I am always so unlucky with electronics. Electronics goods that are of reliable and reputable brands can just spoil/get faulty for no apparent reason at my hands. My friends said I am just unlucky when it comes to buying such items.
Here are some examples:
- Fujitsu laptop. Failed to boot up the first day I bought it. When I sent it back for repair, tech guy told me the hard disk is corrupted. Hello, first day only, can't even use it, hard disk is already corrupted. What ever happened to Fujitsu QC??
- Palm Tungsten PDA. After a year of moderate usage, it went faulty. The battery, fully charged, will only turn on the PDA for less than 15mins and then showed that the battery is flat! And I don't even abuse it in any way. I just used it to record my appointments that's all!
- Mac Mini. The first day we bought it until now, it can never detect any portable hard disk. Thumbdrive yes, but not portable hard disk. When I called to check with Mac support, apparently, I've got one that has some faults in the drivers. That is why the system can't detect. And I thought Mac is supposed to be reliable, of good quality? Looks like I got one that didn't pass the QC again!
- Nokia phone. The digit "7" on the number pad wasn't working when I first got the phone. Demand to have a new set but Singtel cited "company policies" can't replace a new phone for me. But tell me to send to Nokia service centre for repair, FOC.
And the list goes even to trusted brand of watches. I think I better stick to trusty old Casio or some pasar malam brands.
And you know what, within days of us moving in to the new place:
- The Fujitsu laptop (which I had endured its erratic behaviour for 2 years) went crazy and I couldn't even open any applications without seeing a barrage of error message.
- Mac Mini went bogus and will shut down automatically by itself within 1 minute of boot up.
- The "7" on the Nokia phone pad is malfunctioning again. I had to pressed at least a few times and hard enough for it to detect. Warranty had expired so I will have to pay for repair works.
- My watch of trusted brand STOPPED. And did I tell you I refused to pay a single cent for the repairs when the servicing guys called me?
I decided it is time I need to retire the laptop. Enough of putting up its idiosyncracies. I went to get a new one on Tuesday. I told the young chap, get me one that is most reliable and won't break down after 2 years.
He replied," Buying electronics actually depends on luck too. Some people can use a Dell for 5 years and still good. Some people can use a branded and premium one and only lasts for 1 year." I had to agree with him. All the "unlucky" evidences where pointing at me.
So eventually, I bought a BenQ laptop that is really value for money, one of the cheapest models and good enough for me to work on. WF tells me I should get one that I won't regret later and it will be useful and up to date, not so much on saving that few dollars.
I tell him, this time I am buying on luck.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
View from Pebble Bay
The grilles will be installed tomorrow, so I better post some pictures for us to enjoy. 
We get to see the bay view from our balcony and masterbedroom. The other two bedrooms enjoy the sea view. It really windy here. It has come to a point that we don't switch on the air con at night now but just leave the windows open. Talk about saving electricity bills.
On weekends, we see a lot more activities along the Kallang Bay where a lot of canoeings and dragon boat practices get going. Quite a nice and peaceful sight.
Brewerkz and other restaurants around the Indoor Stadium is just a stone's throw away. You can always call WF to join you guys for a beer if you want!
So here's a peep at our living area with WF sitting on his new armchair.
We get to see the bay view from our balcony and masterbedroom. The other two bedrooms enjoy the sea view. It really windy here. It has come to a point that we don't switch on the air con at night now but just leave the windows open. Talk about saving electricity bills.
On weekends, we see a lot more activities along the Kallang Bay where a lot of canoeings and dragon boat practices get going. Quite a nice and peaceful sight.
Brewerkz and other restaurants around the Indoor Stadium is just a stone's throw away. You can always call WF to join you guys for a beer if you want!
So here's a peep at our living area with WF sitting on his new armchair.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Finally!
The last box of stuff had been unpacked on Sunday! We've finally settled into the new place with the last set of shelvings being fixed up on Saturday.
What's left are the balcony grilles and the tables and chairs set. Yes, we're installing the grilles for the safety of the kids even though we have such a nice bay view infront of us. I don't want to leave it to chances after I witness Zhi pushing a chair towards the balcony.
The kids love this new place. Its bigger and has more running space. Ning has got her own room too. And I am proud to say, since the first night she's here, she had been sleeping on her own.
The kitchen is way too small. And I had to put my trusty old oven in the storeroom simply because there isn't enough tabletop space for my oven!!!
I've taken some pictures of this new place. Will try to put up as soon as I can. That's all for now.
What's left are the balcony grilles and the tables and chairs set. Yes, we're installing the grilles for the safety of the kids even though we have such a nice bay view infront of us. I don't want to leave it to chances after I witness Zhi pushing a chair towards the balcony.
The kids love this new place. Its bigger and has more running space. Ning has got her own room too. And I am proud to say, since the first night she's here, she had been sleeping on her own.
The kitchen is way too small. And I had to put my trusty old oven in the storeroom simply because there isn't enough tabletop space for my oven!!!
I've taken some pictures of this new place. Will try to put up as soon as I can. That's all for now.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Our New Home
We just gotten our keys last Friday and I had been busy packing for the big move on 13th. In between, we had been busy buying the necessary furnitures for the new house.
Quite hectic for me because while I am not sleeping or shopping for furniture, I'm tearing the whole house down by packing everything in the 80 cartons that was given by the mover. And its not easy when you have two kids messing up the things or trying their luck at playing the scissors and masking tapes. Eventually, I resorted to pack when they're sleeping. Don't be surprise when you see me with "panda eyes" when you're invited for our house-warming.
Here's a preview of the empty house I took on the day we went to get our keys:
Pebble Bay Home
Quite hectic for me because while I am not sleeping or shopping for furniture, I'm tearing the whole house down by packing everything in the 80 cartons that was given by the mover. And its not easy when you have two kids messing up the things or trying their luck at playing the scissors and masking tapes. Eventually, I resorted to pack when they're sleeping. Don't be surprise when you see me with "panda eyes" when you're invited for our house-warming.
Here's a preview of the empty house I took on the day we went to get our keys:
Pebble Bay Home
Monday, June 2, 2008
Our Punggol Home
We're leaving for church camp and will be back on the 5th. Thereafter, I'll be madly packing away until 13th June, Friday, where it'll be the date we're moving to our new home in Pebble Bay. Yes, its a very un-auspicious date. But knowing WF, he likes unlucky numbers. It works well for him actually.
I'll definitely miss this Punggol place. The good thing is, we're not selling. And we joked that maybe when the Punggol 21+ has finally materialized (who knows when), we'll move back here to retire. This house is just nice for the two of us.
The movers delivered the boxes for packing on Tuesday night and I thought before we start to pack and box up everything, I should take some pictures of this place. Here's a video of our Punggol home, for those who didn't get the chance to visit us here for the past 6 years.
Punggol Home
I'll definitely miss this Punggol place. The good thing is, we're not selling. And we joked that maybe when the Punggol 21+ has finally materialized (who knows when), we'll move back here to retire. This house is just nice for the two of us.
The movers delivered the boxes for packing on Tuesday night and I thought before we start to pack and box up everything, I should take some pictures of this place. Here's a video of our Punggol home, for those who didn't get the chance to visit us here for the past 6 years.
Punggol Home
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
NYC - Statue of Liberty
I had wanted to go to Ellis island in addition to the boat trip to Statue of Liberty. But too bad, the long wait to buy the tickets took away 1 hour. And then another frustrating 1 hour to queue up for security check wiped out my hopes of going to the island.
Everywhere we go, there are so many security checkpoints. Other than the airports, we faced a lot of these checks at the many attraction spots. I can only say, its messy. WF commented that they do these everyday, why can't they "perfect" the queuing system?. Its so messy that everybody don't know where to queue and there, you eventually run into a confusion. And these loud mouth New Yorkers will just yell at anybody everywhere to get in line. Hell, where does the line starts anyway. Ask him, you won't get an answer because he doesn't know it himself. That's how frustrating (or idiotic?) it can be.
Fyi, when I meant security checks, its really security checks. Take off your shoes, take off your belts, take off your coat etc. I cannot imagine how tedious it will be during winter time. And I wonder if those officers seated behind the screen are really checking? Because most of the time, I see an obese person sitting on an almost breaking swivel chair, chewing a gum or worse, talking with another colleague.
Enough of complaints (yah, this trip, WF had so many compalaints about the people and system that towards the last day, we were dying to leave). Some information about Statue of Liberty:
- Its not entirely a gift from France. The Americans had to raise money to build the pedestal and the assembly works.
- If you've watched National Treasures: Book of Secrets (I watched this on the flight), Laboulaye was mentioned. He was guy who decided to sent America a gift that signifies freedom.
- Bartholdi was the guy who designed it. Eiffel, the guy who designed and built Eiffel Tower in Paris, came up with the interior structure to hold the statue.
- Pulitzer, a newspaper mogul at that time (and linked to the Pulitzer Book Prize), help raise funds in NY to build the pedestal.
- Emma Lazarus wrote a poem with reference to the statue.
- Due to security reasons, you can climb up the statue anymore. The highest point you can go is the pedestal. And there are limited number of tickets give out each day.
Everywhere we go, there are so many security checkpoints. Other than the airports, we faced a lot of these checks at the many attraction spots. I can only say, its messy. WF commented that they do these everyday, why can't they "perfect" the queuing system?. Its so messy that everybody don't know where to queue and there, you eventually run into a confusion. And these loud mouth New Yorkers will just yell at anybody everywhere to get in line. Hell, where does the line starts anyway. Ask him, you won't get an answer because he doesn't know it himself. That's how frustrating (or idiotic?) it can be.
Fyi, when I meant security checks, its really security checks. Take off your shoes, take off your belts, take off your coat etc. I cannot imagine how tedious it will be during winter time. And I wonder if those officers seated behind the screen are really checking? Because most of the time, I see an obese person sitting on an almost breaking swivel chair, chewing a gum or worse, talking with another colleague.
Enough of complaints (yah, this trip, WF had so many compalaints about the people and system that towards the last day, we were dying to leave). Some information about Statue of Liberty:
- Its not entirely a gift from France. The Americans had to raise money to build the pedestal and the assembly works.
- If you've watched National Treasures: Book of Secrets (I watched this on the flight), Laboulaye was mentioned. He was guy who decided to sent America a gift that signifies freedom.
- Bartholdi was the guy who designed it. Eiffel, the guy who designed and built Eiffel Tower in Paris, came up with the interior structure to hold the statue.
- Pulitzer, a newspaper mogul at that time (and linked to the Pulitzer Book Prize), help raise funds in NY to build the pedestal.
- Emma Lazarus wrote a poem with reference to the statue.
- Due to security reasons, you can climb up the statue anymore. The highest point you can go is the pedestal. And there are limited number of tickets give out each day.
Monday, May 19, 2008
New York City (NYC) - Part I
We were in NYC at the beginning and end of our itinerary. Because NYC was the stop for us to land and go back to SIN, naturally, WF will want to visit New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
On the first full day, Wall Street and NYSE was the main highlights. NYC is designed like a grid. So its easy to navigate. People in NYC rely a lot on walking and the subway. We took a morning exercise of walking from 32nd street all the way to downtown. Passing through TriBeCa, Soho and then to the Financial district. And I chanced upon "Gray's Papaya" while walking the streets. Gray's Papaya is actually one of Anthony Bourdain's favourite hangout whenever he's back in NYC.
Since 911, visitors are not allowed into the viewing gallery of the trading floor unless you are someone rich and famous. There were a lot of security officers throughout the street which makes the whole place feel so "uptight". The bull that used to be infront of NYSE was taken away. Both of us joked that the economy is getting worse that the bull is missing in action.
We ventured two blocks up to the Federal Reserve Building because it was also the FOMC day. Such coincidence. But I was told off by a lady officer when I wanted to take a picture of the building. She shouted across the road that I "cannot take a picture of the main entrance of the building. But I can take it few steps down the street". I thought to myself, "what kind of logic is that?" Pictures of the building will still be taken and a professional camera person can still shoot the main entrance even if he take the picture "few steps down the street". Anyway, this is one of the many incidences I had with these idiosyncractic Americans.
Of course, we visited Ground Zero where WTC once stood. Massive works are being done to reconstruct a new building to commerate the heros and the dead.
A trip to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty is a must if you're in the Financial District. Because the ferries to these islands are just across the street. One of our frustrations with Americans is their slowness in being efficient at things they do everyday. Imagine I had to queue for more than 1 hour to get the tickets to these islands. And when it was our turn at 2pm, the ticketing officer shouted across to us that ferries to Ellis Island had stopped because there "will be no time to visit both islands today." Crap, if they had just worked more efficiently, many of us can still get on the ferries to Ellis island. And mind you, the queue wasn't that long. It can't even compare with du Louvre's kind of long queue. 2pm and there won't be enough time? Well, they knocked off at 5pm. SHARP.
So onwards to Statue of Liberty Island. More will be shared in another entry with more idiosyncractic behaviours and rudeness I encounter.
The more exciting part of the day's trip, to me, was walking Brooklyn bridge. Nevermind that Victoria Beckham's son was named after this place. This bridge had been featured in so many movies, but somehow, Godzilla immortalized this bridge and etched deep into my memory. Maybe because it was the only movie I know that Brooklyn bridge crashes down.
The trick is to take a subway to Brooklyn and then start the walk on the bridge towards Manhattan. Because the skyline of Manattan is more beautiful as you walk on the bridge. And we planned it such that we walked in the evening to enjoy the sunset view of Manhattan as well as the night view.
That said, its still better just to skip my long post and go straight to see those pictures.
On the first full day, Wall Street and NYSE was the main highlights. NYC is designed like a grid. So its easy to navigate. People in NYC rely a lot on walking and the subway. We took a morning exercise of walking from 32nd street all the way to downtown. Passing through TriBeCa, Soho and then to the Financial district. And I chanced upon "Gray's Papaya" while walking the streets. Gray's Papaya is actually one of Anthony Bourdain's favourite hangout whenever he's back in NYC.
Since 911, visitors are not allowed into the viewing gallery of the trading floor unless you are someone rich and famous. There were a lot of security officers throughout the street which makes the whole place feel so "uptight". The bull that used to be infront of NYSE was taken away. Both of us joked that the economy is getting worse that the bull is missing in action.
We ventured two blocks up to the Federal Reserve Building because it was also the FOMC day. Such coincidence. But I was told off by a lady officer when I wanted to take a picture of the building. She shouted across the road that I "cannot take a picture of the main entrance of the building. But I can take it few steps down the street". I thought to myself, "what kind of logic is that?" Pictures of the building will still be taken and a professional camera person can still shoot the main entrance even if he take the picture "few steps down the street". Anyway, this is one of the many incidences I had with these idiosyncractic Americans.
Of course, we visited Ground Zero where WTC once stood. Massive works are being done to reconstruct a new building to commerate the heros and the dead.
A trip to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty is a must if you're in the Financial District. Because the ferries to these islands are just across the street. One of our frustrations with Americans is their slowness in being efficient at things they do everyday. Imagine I had to queue for more than 1 hour to get the tickets to these islands. And when it was our turn at 2pm, the ticketing officer shouted across to us that ferries to Ellis Island had stopped because there "will be no time to visit both islands today." Crap, if they had just worked more efficiently, many of us can still get on the ferries to Ellis island. And mind you, the queue wasn't that long. It can't even compare with du Louvre's kind of long queue. 2pm and there won't be enough time? Well, they knocked off at 5pm. SHARP.
So onwards to Statue of Liberty Island. More will be shared in another entry with more idiosyncractic behaviours and rudeness I encounter.
The more exciting part of the day's trip, to me, was walking Brooklyn bridge. Nevermind that Victoria Beckham's son was named after this place. This bridge had been featured in so many movies, but somehow, Godzilla immortalized this bridge and etched deep into my memory. Maybe because it was the only movie I know that Brooklyn bridge crashes down.
The trick is to take a subway to Brooklyn and then start the walk on the bridge towards Manhattan. Because the skyline of Manattan is more beautiful as you walk on the bridge. And we planned it such that we walked in the evening to enjoy the sunset view of Manhattan as well as the night view.
That said, its still better just to skip my long post and go straight to see those pictures.
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