Pseudo Left-Handedness..

I shall begin by saying I am a right-handed person.

Today, throughout the day since early in the morning, I tried (experimented) to use only my left hand to do everything, as if my right hand is lifeless. I really mean everything in every sense.

1. I used my left hand to put my wallet and handphone in the pockets on my left. The little bulge at the left side of the backside pocket felt strange, not used to that.

2. I tried driving using my left hand only. I used my left hand to open the car door and even used my left hand to shut the door on the right of the driver’s seat. I used my left hand to insert the key into the keyhole on the right side to start the engine of the car. Sometimes, when I wished to activate the left or right signaling lights, I ended up activating the wipers. Making u-turns was a little challenging. Parking the car can be a little demanding at first. No worries, I was driving really slowly.

3. I carry loads of purchased items with only my left hand.

4. Wearing and taking off t-shirt or pants with only my left hand and keeping my right hand lifeless needs lots of practices. Buttoning jeans took me quite some time.

5. Toilet visits.. I better skipped the details. But I know it is not wise to go to the toilet only when I am urgent. I wouldn’t be fast enough for any big or small businesses.

6. Taking shower. Since only the left hand is active, I guess the right side can be cleaned. The left side? Since the right side is supposed to be lifeless, naturally certain left parts could not be reached at all. Mm..

7. I tried brushing my teeth with my left hand.. Heh… I felt rather strange. I don’t really feel clean and fresh.

8. Signing on the slips when making purchases using credit card… ha… those were the only situations I gave in a little. I mean I can’t possibly sign using my left hand (yet), in case I may be wrongly charged for forgery. Still, I experimented with the idea of having a lifeless right hand. I used my left hand to lift my right hand and placed in directly on the charged slips to be signed, then I scribbled my signature to the best of my ability.

9. When comes to eating noodles, I have yet to learn how to use my left hand to handle the chopsticks. I actually used a fork to eat a bowl wanton noodles. Haha.. Jusy like a little boy.

10. I even tried to type this entry with only my left hand. The mouse was just shifted to the left side.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15 …
ETC..

You may be thinking, just what am I up to? Wu Liao right?

Erm…

I injured my right hand. :o(
I was skating too fast. I was trying out something and was gliding as fast as I could, faster than whatever speed I used to achieve so far. When I was enjoying the speed, I missed a footing and dived face-down, tumbling like a durian dropping from high above. Haha..

My right hand was stretched out just in time to cushion my face from hitting the rough ground. My pair of ET-spec flew quite a distance away. With the momentum, of course I was dragged further. Aiyo.. just imagine my right hand got to shoulder the entire impact when my heavy body was literally slammed down on it, and I was gliding past my earlier-top speed.

I laid motionless for a quite a while. Help wouldn’t have come so soon even if I were to need it, as those gliding with me were quite far behind.

I sat up, only to realize I only suffered a few simple bruises on my right hand. Too good to be true. But reality set in soon. Haha.. I realised I can only lift my right hand half way up. I was/am powerless to lift it higher. The fingers can still feel and move, but there was/is this tightness on the right shoulder (quite swollen) giving a rather strange sensation, render me powerless to lift it up. I can’t even carry anything with my right hand.

So, besides the fingers, my right hand is pretty much lifeless.

Seen a Chinese physician to fix a slight dislocation.
Was also told that the tendon is torn, the muscle is injured.
Took a X-ray only to confirm got a few fractures.
Visited A&E at hospital to be told this kind of fractures will usually heal by themselves. Was given 10 days MC and loads of painkiller and made an appointment to meet a bone specialist soon.

Mm…

I am not complaining.

Actually, I’m feeling very grateful now.

- Instead of multiple injuries (more likely for such a fall), only my right shoulder sacrificed a bit.

- Yes, I know there was a little dislocation, the tendon is torn, the muscle is injured, some obvious fractures. But to think that my body slammed hard on it when I was travelling rather fast… wa… lucky liao lo

- All (no exception) the medical practitioners I met today were all very friendly and patient. We ended up chatting quite comfortably.

- Strangely and luckily, I hardly feel any pain, even till now. I admit I feel rather uncomfortable and a fair bit of numbness and suan-ness, but not that kind of sensation you wanna pumped in painkillers or even to give a scream of any kind. At most I will say gently “Ouch, please don’t touch here.” The ouch is just a natural response to ask people not to get near that sore zone.
Even, when the Chinese Physicians were pulling hard on my shoulder (yes 2 were working on my shoulder) in an attempt to rectify the slight dislocation, I just felt extreme suan-ness and uncomfortable, but was not in pain.
The doc at the A&E said he is a believer of painkillers and gave me 2 types of painkillers to assist me to handle pain of differing degrees. Apparently, these two types of painkillers have side effects and I was given another 2 types of medication just to counter the side effects. Heh… I don’t think I need to try any of those.

- I was told that the waiting time at the A&E of TTSH was horribly long because of the crowd. I was warned that even if I were to register at 4pm, I can prepare to be discharged near midnight. I was even advised that it might be wiser to go to Alexandra or even Changi. Somehow I still ended up at TTSH. The whole experience only took 75 min, despite a sign saying expected waiting time (waiting time to see the doc for consultation only, excluding treatment and actual consultation duration) is 90 min.

- blah blah blah ...

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There were some related funny moments.

1. When little N learnt about my injury, he commented “why is uncle Nanzi so clumsy?”
Haha.. he is so right.

2. The Chinese Physician I saw share the same surname as me. Frankly, I was thinking of W (sharing the same surname too) as to when will he be ready to serve as a Chinese Physician? Haha..

3. When the guy taking my x-ray said “Okay, don’t move. I am going to take your x-ray.” … I was actually smiling broadly as if I was being photographed. The guy had to add in a cheeky way “You don’t have to smile. I am only taking your shoulder.” Err…

4. Later, when I need to purchase something, the ladies and aunties at the stores volunteered to assist me to carry my items to my car. Paiseh la… I kindly rejected, acting tough only. Haha..

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Typing so much with only my left hand is tiring.

No matter how tired I must also add : Thanks to all dear pals helping me to kill a fair bit of boredom through exchange of sms-es during my pretty boring waiting and waiting.

I think he has great discipline..

During the holiday, I still have to go back to college to prepare certain things. Each time I visit, I almost always see F. He will be there quietly studying by himself either in the library or outside the library (when the library was doing stock-taking for a period of time).

He is really studying. I mean, each time he brings along with him thick stacks of notes and tutorials, ploughing through time carefully.

Each time I passed by, we would simply acknowledge each other. And for a few times, he would take the opportunity to drop me 1 or 2 intelligent questions. Ha.. He was top of the class (also amongst the top amongst all my *little pals, and also near top of the entire cohort) in mathematics during this year promotional examination, so of course his questions are pretty intelligent.

Wondering so good, then still study so hard during holiday for what? Should go have a break right?!

Ha.. F is catching up on his Chemistry (his weakest subject). Not that his Chemistry is that bad. But a 56% is disappointing enough for him (and probably for his mother too).

So, while many of his peers are having a good break somewhere out there, this F decides to do something about his already-over-average performance. We know there are so many *little-pals who are weak in some/many areas and yet choose to take a total clean break during this holiday. Hey.. I still believe in taking a break, and please have one! But I think we can also try to take this holiday to do/learn something useful and catch up on our weakest link(s). This little effort/habit can actually help oneself in the next year, or later years.

Now I remember reminding F (and others alike) to catch up on their weaker subjects during the holidays, besides taking a break. I remember F telling me “yes I will”, and he puts it into actions.

Of course, I also believe those I didn’t see during the holiday season, must also be catching up on their studies besides having a good break. I’m optimistic. :o)

I think it takes great discipline and focus to do that, to do even what we believe in.

人就是有惰性嘛。
我们是否都能克服我们的惰性？
我们是否都有相当的毅力和决心来完成我们的志愿？
大家加油吧！

Season’s Greeting :
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year

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Tattoo of the Year??

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 3 of 3

I think I better be more disciplined and complete the last Part 3 of 3,
in case, memory gets faded (I know that wouldn’t) and erm..
in case, there are people waiting for the read.. haha.. siao.. (I know that wouldn’t too), and erm..
No “in case” lah.

I thought this is just a pretty neat avenue for me to practice a bit of writing and get familiar (and more hands-on) with a bit more of IT.

So..
Here I go again.

(1) We thought 2 days is more than enough to explore almost all (if not all) of Pulau Pangkor. We decided to have a change of plan.

Hence, on the early morning of 13/12/07 (Thursday), we took a bus ride southwards towards Melaka. It was again a long long ride. This one.. kaoz.. started late, and the driver was not-fast and the bus stopped at almost every small town along the way and so it took another 10 hours or so. Unexpectedly long. So I can also say, we went Ipoh, we saw Klang, and blah blah blah..

We survived, anyway.

Oh, before I switch mode to Melaka, let me shared a few more random pictures taken by WK at Pulau Pangkor.

A fishing boat stopping by…

~ ~ Sunning Anchovies ~ ~

The beige colour spreads are anchovies.
We can smell them from where we stood and took this picture.

(2) Wa.. I visited Melaka about 1 and a half year ago. Now .. It bears noticeable changes. Still I quite like the rather laid-back feel, not-so-fast pace atmosphere, yet quite well-structured town.

Walking around is simple and most importantly, it feels pretty safe.

We can easily a few Singapore-licensed cars along the way. I understand that during weekends, Singapore-licensed cars can flood (I’m exaggerating, but you get what I mean) the street.


(3) We learnt that the all-famous-cannot-be-missed Jonker Walk is only active on the nights of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Erps.. WK just got to miss it (as we had bought our return-tickets back to Singapore already). Being more optimistic, this will be a good reason for a re-visit for WK next time, in the near future.


(4) Showing you some random pictures of Melaka..

A street of Melaka early in the morning.
Somehow it reminds me of our own China Town.

Another street of Melaka early in the morning.
Noted the Renaissance Hotel at the background? There are quite a few many-stars accommodation in Melaka. But we chose to stay at a budget accommodation, paying only RM24.5 each. The beds are pretty comfortable and the room has attached bathroom also.

~ ~ Elaborately Decorated Ricksaw ~ ~
If we choose not to walk, we can then choose to be driven around the town by such elaborately decorated ricksaw. I think I pretty walking. Haha..

(5) Confirmed! Score 8 : 0. What am I talking about?

I think I really have immunity to mosquito bites. Envy right? This time round, I have statistical proof.

I recall that while we were at a particular store in Melaka, W and WK were complaining about the many mosquitoes around. I wouldn’t have noticed the mosquitoes if they didn’t mention it at all. They got an average of 4 bites each and I got none. So the score is conservatively 8 : 0. “8” being their combined score; “0” being mine alone. If we were to stay longer, their combined score would improve and mine would still be "0"… hehe..

WK commented that the reason behind is likely that the mosquitoes in M'sia know that my blood being not as nutritious. Haha… Actually S’pore mosquitoes also have the same “knowledge” lor.
I think that’s because maybe my heat-signature is not as strong as theirs.


(6) I am hesitating a bit now. Should I write about “it”? Erm.. Okay, maybe write a bit more mildly.

I didn’t know WK is rather keen about SPA. Because of the currency conversation rate, it makes everything more attractive, I guess.

During our first night at Melaka, he suggested to check it out. Okay, so we went, and he decided to go for it. I joined him.

It was erm… rather comical on my side, I tell you. I went without having any good idea of what to expect.

We were given a towel (one each, of course) with the instruction : Please change to towel only. When I was wondering where would be a good place to do so (as the lady masseurs were just nearby), this WK who was just beside, already professionally and tactically transformed into his only-towel gear. I was… okay… let’s skipped to the part that I was finally changed.

I was trying very hard not to make a fool of myself. I tried to secure the towel the best I could. It was tied around my waist very tightly. I couldn’t imagine what if the towel were to accidentally drop. I thought I was being clever.

We were invited to lie face down. That was easy.

I was trying to make myself comfortable. And erm.. The first thing she did was to loosen the knot of the towel. Not so easy for her. Remember how I tried to secure it? Haha.. No lah, don’t be crazy, she did not remove the towel. The towel was just spread tactfully over my bottom for decent cover.

She started with the calves and toes and I was supposed to relax. How to? Haha.. I actually felt a little too vulnerable. Anyway, she worked on. And I told myself that I should relax and the good thing was I gradually learned to, trying to enjoy the experience. But… erm … to my surprise… she…

She…
Okay, how would I know she wouldn’t even leave my buttocks alone?
How would I know even my inner upper thighs were not spared?
Haha… I am not complaining, but… I was just feeling a little embarrassed.
I knew she was working on my calves and toes and gradually worked up to the back of my thighs. I thought that was it. But… those eventual warm palm strokes upwards to the regions that I think even some people in close-relationship hardly reach with their bare hands until.. erm..

Aiyah.. I don’t want to elaborate further already, although it can be juicer. I thought I looked foolish enough liao. :P

I feel a little warm ticklish feeling on my face now that I’m writing this. Haha..

On a fairer note, I think the whole process was rather professionally done. I don’t doubt the good effects of a good massage. And for a whole body massage, I would agree clothing can be a kind of hindrance to some extent. So, the current problem is just me, who has yet to learn to really relax under such situations.

Anyway, because of such intimate physical contacts during the process, I think I would prefer the idea for a pair of couple to administer massage on each other. It will be perfect, I guess. Just a thought.

Okay, enough laugh for you. Byee…

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A simple and relaxing trip. Thanks to W and WK. :o)

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Good Reason to Wear Pajamas to Bed!!!

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 2

(1) I finally saw how real sea cucumbers look like.

When canoeing towards Pulau Giam (a small island facing Coral Bay), the water gets clearer and clearer, so much so that the sea bed can be seen. What can be seen then? Plenty of sea cucumber! I tried to tickle a fat sea cucumber with my index finger. It felt so fluffy and spongy. :P

Of course there were fishes, some corals and even some sea urchins. Oh.. I actually sighted twice when a relative big group of small fishes decided to leap out of water together. Pretty cool!

In fact, sometimes during low tide, one can simply walk from Coral Bay to Pulau Giam.

This is Pulau Giam viewed from Coral Bay

Gliding leisurely towards Pulau Giam. Gliding leisurely towards the broad horizon later when making round(s) around the little island.

I noted that our skin tone were so fair before our canoeing trip.
Although the sun almost went into hiding during the two hours, we still looked quite baked after the canoeing experience. :P


(2) You experienced “beach therapy”?

Wear a well-fitted floating device, a life jacket.

Just lie down on the beach at the coastline so that our body is partially submerged. Due to the inclination of the coastline, our lower part of the body is actually floating, but our head quite well-rested on the sandy beach. When the waves come in, we can be slightly lifted and become almost totally afloat momentarily. It’s okay even if the waves drag us slightly away from the beach and more into the water (for we were wearing life jacket).

“Beach Therapy”

Just relax, yes even our limbs.

With our eyes closed, listening to the gentle waves, feeling the cool light splashes, under the gentle heat of the sun… it was rather therapeutic. I almost felt asleep.

Oh, how can I forget?!
When we were just sitting by the beach, partially submerged in water, resting, there were quite many little fishes swimming around us, waiting to be fed, I guess. They must be the anchovies.


(3) The hygiene level of those street-side food stalls (街边摊) is questionable. We didn’t try it, and W almost.. almost tried it till he scrutinized how the food was done at one particular stall.

I mean how hygienic it can be when fried oily food is displayed (without cover) just by the road side? The roads can be quite dusty with many cars / taxi-vans / motorbikes travelling by almost non-stop.

It didn’t help if the same pair of hands can handle the handles of the motorbike, the money and the food in sequence without washing of any kind (as observed by W). Haha.. But food poisoning is not heard off in the region though.

A street-side stall.
On one side is the main street. On the other side is the beach.

Another street stall (to be operative only at night), left unattended in the day. I think the ingredients kena "robbed" by hornbills.

Nevertheless, some proper eating venues can really come up with simple tasty food. We were rather impressed with the small restaurant at Purnama Beach Resort, very nearby.


(4) There isn’t any vegetarian food stall in Pulau Pangkor. A driver told us vegetarian food will be sold only during the first and fifteen day of the lunar month. We didn’t stay long enough to see how and where.

But, of course, the chefs in restaurant-like eating places will cook anything the way we like it. I didn’t skip a single meal and every meal was rather nice and filling in fact.

However, when we were back in Lumut ferry terminal, a 5 minute taxi-ride took us to Sitiawan. And while we were travelling along Jalan Lumut, we sighted 3 pretty big vegetarian restaurants on the left. We didn’t dine there. A taxi driver directed us to another one, well within walking distance from where we alighted and leisurely look-look-see-see. Oh, I remember we only paid RM10.3 for the dinner for 3.

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Adding a little humour in our attitude, even when situations are unfavourable.

I think I’m still the kind of shy shy type.

I thought I am not that kind of shy shy type, but now I think I am! Err..

I was casually introduced to E and we ended up chatted quite a bit. But a few simple comments from her during the conversation (although may be a little flattering if we were to take it positively) stunned me quite a bit, making me erm.. just a little tomato-red in the face, if she realised. Haha..

E (smiling) : 你好文静、好斯文哦 ..
That’s because I haven’t warmed up yet.. Haha..

E (smiling again) : 对你讲话，我都不敢大声。我发觉我讲话也变得比较柔一点。
Wa.. How am I going to continue man?
Me : 没有关系啦，你就自然一点嘛。

E (smiling, almost laughing) : 你讲话真风趣。
Erm.. I have forgotten what I was saying. Never mind.

E (smiling and enquiring) : 你看起来好阳光哦 … 你是不是有常常运动？
Erps.. The little sun during the recent trip can also do the “trick”. :P


文静、斯文、风趣、阳光 ++ = ME ??!!
No lah. I can laugh at the idea. Haha..
But for a fine lady to comment that right in my face (during first meeting).. erm.. I am just speechless. :P

If we go on talking, maybe she would realize I can actually be 罗索、无聊 too ..

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有一些知名人士这么说：

「快乐要做有意义的事，有意义自然就有动力。」

「给需要水的人一杯水就是最大的帮助。」

「一个人最大的快乐，就是可以给别人快乐。」

「想想我们不是没有东西，而是你有没有想过你有什么，而且去做。」

「假如你想快乐...
一个小时，就去睡个午觉
一整天，就去钓鱼
一个月，就去结婚
一整年，继承一笔遗产
一辈子，去帮助别人。」

She had a bigger share because…

L met up with a friend (N) for dinner.
With agreement of N, L decided on the menu and the dishes were served shortly.

Dish A looked appetizing and both L and N liked it so much. So they munch and munch and munch.

Dish B looked fine. They both tasted it. Both thought that it was not that fantastic, but still edible lah.
N exclaimed (after tasting it once) : I am not going to eat this anymore, you can have it all.

N continued to munch and munch on Dish A.. and subsequently Dish C (which she liked) and left Dish B entirely to L.

So L got this opportunity take more of Dish B which both thought that it was only so-so, and ate less of Dish A and Dish C which both thought that they were fantastic. Mm..

I know we like good food.

But…

On a sharing basics (and assuming we don’t tolerate wastage and we have similar consumption capacity), taking more of one, means taking less of the other.

In other words, when we say “I am not going to eat this anymore”, we are also implying to our mates “please continue to take this not-so-good food and I shall continue to tuck in on the better ones”.

But we know we all like good food. Mm..

Wouldn’t it be more “appropriate” when we all feel that something is nice, we share with friends fairly and even hope they could have a bigger share? Haha..

Something like, “Oh, this is nice. I see you like it too. 多吃。多吃。”

In the same light, wouldn’t it be more “appropriate” when we all feel that something is not that nice, we don’t mind taking a bigger share and of course in the least it’s okay to have a fair share with friends? Haha..

L did not “complain” lah.
L and N are merely stranger characters I saw over the next table during dinner.
I wrote this because N’s comments were loud and could be heard easily and I was stunned a little.

Maybe the basic principle for a more gracious society is still
《 一人一半 》

But I don’t mind (and in fact gladly doing so) taking a bigger portion of the not-so-good categories, because I know my pals will have a bigger portion of the better ones. =)

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HOW TO HANDLE A PROBLEM NEIGHBOUR

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 1

Little notes (not necessarily in chronological order) that I can recollect..


(1) The journey was long.

A good 10 hours bus ride brought us from Singapore to Lumut (in Perak) bus terminal, where a ferry jetty is just beside. It was a night bus, and we were supposed to sleep during the journey so that we can reach our destination in the morning feeling fresh. Erm.. So.. The long bus ride was quite manageable.

From the jetty at Lumut, we had to take another 25 min +/- ferry ride to Pulau Pangkor.

We landed on the little island around 0800h on 11/12/07, filled with anticipations. :o)


(2) We set off knowing the weather forecast was like

for all the days we were supposed to be there. Sianz right?!

But … wahaha …

Amazingly, we have fair weather whenever we need it during the entire trip.
E.g. It poured once when we were sleeping.
It only rained when we just got into shelter, or after our scheduled activities, or when we were in a bus or a taxi, or…
Even when we were canoeing or snorkeling, the sun went hiding behind huge clouds.
As if the weather was planned around our activities, and not our activities were plan around the weather.

I can only feel very thankful. :o)


(3) The island is infested with hornbills. Ha.. I mean we can see pretty big hornbills (not mynas, not doves hor) flying around the coastline day-in-day-out.

(4) Interestingly, all taxis on the island are vans. To be more precise, they use candy-pink vans as taxis. What’s candy-pink? Let’s see it, to understand it.

A ride from one point to another almost always cost us RM10 (for a group size of 1 to 4), unless the journey is unusually long or we demanded a longer non-standard route for some reasons.

A driver shared with us that in this peak session, he can easily accumulate more than RM20000 in earning. Not kidding, the number of zeros is correct.


(5) The beaches are generally fine, but not fantastic.
They are better than what we have at East Coast or Sentosa or just anywhere we have here locally. But .. still not too fantastic.

The picture shows the best public beach – Coral Bay at Teluk Nipah.
I stress the phrase “public beach” here. There are some better private beaches – beaches only accessible by guests of some classier and pricier resorts.

Anyway, some public beaches around the area may be better (more beautiful) than Coral Bay, but they may not be that accessible or they are just not that suitable for swimming or water play as we wish no trouble over deep waters.

I understand better that even the venue may not be super fantastic, the good company can still make the experience really great and memorable.


(6) There are many fishes in the waters. You will understand when you bring bread along during snorkeling.

I chose to place some bread right in front of my face (my face being under water) and saw many fishes (big and small) dashed towards me for the bread and bit off pieces of bread just before my eyes. I think the sight was rather awesome. The bigger fishes we saw were only about a feet long but some can be quite colourful.

During the feeding frenzy, some couldn’t differentiate the bread from my pale-wrinkled-and-water-soaked fingers. But no worries, their bites were very mild. Haha..

I took the opportunity to sayang them (the fishes) also. :P

Oh, snorkeling usually cost about RM20 for as long as you like! But.. erm… the suggested site is really too crowded and too small.

I think the better and more affordable snorkeling sites not too far away from us would be Krabi, Phuket or the islands off the eastern coast of West Malaysia. Haiz.. Sad thing that the eastern coasts of Malaysia are having serious floods now. Let’s wish the people there will be able to cope well and they can all return home safely soon.


(7) It may be appropriate to also share some random scenes captured to give you a better feel of the island.

One of the streets at Pangkor Town. And this is during so-called peak season? There is even a branch of Maybank on the island. I think I also saw a shop selling 4D. Many shops sell fish products. There is a fishing village on the island itself. In fact almost the entire eastern coast of the island dominates with the fishing trade.

This is the main entrance of one of the few Chinese temples around the island. Ha.. Why is the donald duck there? Is this where the east meets the west?

The eastern coastline is filled with this kind of housing (on tilts). This is a fishing village after all. This is one end of a long stretch of such housing. Further in, we saw many bigger boats parking just beside such houses.

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This is only part 1, but I have already shared all the photos that I had taken. Haha... I was a little lazy to snap when I noticed WK was doing most of the snapping. From part 2 onwards, I think I shall be using WK's photos accordingly.

Trade in your HP @ Singtel Shop or M1 Shop or .. ?

I’ve got some simple statistics to share.

This near-2.5-year-old old toy of mine (Sony Ericsson K750i) was quoted $50 flat at those official Singtel Shops and M1 Shops if I were to trade-in. They aren’t really interested in its condition at all. They looked at the model, referred to their standard price lists and gave me a quote straight away. Haiz.. The value of the phone has fallen so so much. Mm..

I approached a nearby stall selling second-hand handphones. That stall looked at the condition of my old toy and quoted me $80. Wow! That’s 60% more lor. I thought it was quite a neat deal already.

I approached another stall also selling second-hand handphones. The new quote became $100. Heh.. 100% more leh! :o) The guy was quite frank with me, saying that if I were to do a trade-in (that is, I sell them my old toy to them and also to buy one of their toys in return), they can even quote me $110. Mm… Hehe… I rather get a new toy instead.

In conclusion, I think it is really unwise to trade in our old handphone at those official Singtel Shops or M1 Shops (and probably Starhub also) when we upgrade to a new handphone.

Talking about handphone-upgrade…
I think M1 usually offers better handphone deals.

Just a simple illustration (I did not do any comprehensive analysis at all) :

Sony Ericsson K770i is now being sold at Singtel at $188 (with contract for not so high-end plan), but this model is now being sold at M1 at $68 (with contract).
See and feel the difference?

So if I were to make an upgrade to the said model, I can literally get $32 back in return (by signing the contract with M1 and selling my old toy to that second-hand handphone shop).

~ ~ Sony Ericsson K770i ~ ~

I had just made the plunge. Hehe.. Isn't it good to be given a new toy and at the same time being paid ? =)

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HOW WAS YOUR CEREAL THIS MORNING?

Good to be away ; Good to be back

It’s always good to take a break, have a holiday somewhere.

How about taking a long long ( be it comfortable or uncomfortable) bus ride to just anywhere where you know you are going to just relax and have a neat break?
How about lazing by a decent beach with good water?
How about tucking away in a small village where pace of life is slow(er)?
How about having little sincere chats here and there with the locals of a small village?
How about getting closer with wild lives?
How about gliding on the surface of the sea, and gliding leisurely towards the broad horizon?
How about purchasing simple good local food items back to share with family and friends?
How about having fine weather throughout (whenever we need it) when actually storms and rains were forecasted?
How about having good company of pals for some days throughout?
How about … ?

Just experienced all of the above (and more) !! Haha...

And yes, I am just back.
And yes, feeling equally good.

Thanks for the fine weather.
Thanks for the fine experience.
Thanks for the good company. =)

一直很想去散散心
有诸友人相随真好

能走得放心、能玩得顺心、回来了也安心...
也就多了一分感恩之意...

Different Screams..

S : Maybe you should try fishing.
Me : Mm… Maybe not ba..

After a while, we met again over lunch.

S : Really, maybe you should try fishing. You know, the feeling of fishing something real out is really cool! Who knows you might eventually like it?
Me : Mm… I think the fish very pain leh.
K (to S) : Ooi.. (in a friendly tone) How would he try fishing? You still repeat so many times..
S (to Me) : Oh… sorry sorry. I know you would not want to try fishing.
Me : Hey.. Come on.. What sorry? It’s okay lah. 或许我还会调到美人鱼呢。 Haha..

As a matter of factly, I still appreciates S's intention of sharing. :o)

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I think I understand the joy of fishing.

We know there are people who are pretty hooked on it. They can rent boat and went out to the sea in the middle of the night to hook out or net up the fishes.

They are tired but always certainly happy and share willingly their prizes with friends and relatives.

I can imagine when they caught their prize(s), they were screaming for joy. But on the other end of the line, the fishes must be also screaming (silently though) – screaming of agony.

I can imagine how terrifying it can be if someone were to force me into the water : a medium which I don’t belong to (live in). Hence it is also not difficult to imagine how equally terrifying it can be if the fishes were to be forced out of the water and into the air : a medium which they don’t belong to (live in). The feeling of out-of-breath is .. erm… I don’t think I need to elaborate.

Mm…

While I do respect individual’s decision, I can only gently advise against it (fishing).

倘若是愿者上勾，我就无话可说了...
可是，我看的总是人们的千方百计、天罗地网...

我们是不是都喜欢如鱼得水的感觉...
那么为何要鱼儿承受如人溺水之苦...

不要说鱼儿不懂痛、不懂苦...
记得它们上勾、入网时的垂死挣扎...

I don't mean to criticize anyone. These are just some flow of thoughts. Anyway, there are always many reasons why many people are doing many things, no matter how silly or proper these things are.

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有一位圣者这么说：

一个具有理想抱负的人，是不会满足现状，安于现状，
他会一而再，再而三的激励自己，以更具影响力的行动，
来改善世界上一切的丑陋。

知责任者，大丈夫之始；
行责任者，大丈夫之终。

希望常与失望相倚，
若希望不使失者，唯有毅力可致。