Water Dispenser

This water dispenser has served us hot and chilled water for more than 3 years. Last month, when lightning struck, both the fax and water dispenser were spoilt. Fax was important enough to warrant special and immediate attention. We purchased a new fax (for the 3rd time!!!) almost rightaway - of course, being in this company, red tape was inevitable.

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A few days ago, my boss noticed that I was always going to her side of the office carrying a thermos flask. I explained that I wasn't feeling too well and needed to drink lots of hot (bordering on warm) water. I added that lightning struck and we have been without hot water for a month now.

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I told her that I thought of getting the normal hot and warm water dispenser but she said that I could boil the water using the (very old) jug kettle and fill it into a bigger (and better) Thermos flask.

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WHAT???

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Who would have the time to do all those? As if reading my mind, she said that the cleaner lady could do it every morning.

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My question is .... if I had to go get a better Thermos flask which would cost about RM100, it's better that I get a new water dispenser, which would cost less than that amount.

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It wasn't conclusive and for a moment, I wondered what would happen if the situation was reversed.

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Anyway, I was about to start looking to buy one when someone gave me this for FREE!!!! I think it must have cost RM140.

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God is really very good!!!! He knows our needs. But sigh! I'm still pretty mad as my boss' suggestion.

Chinese New Year - 2nd Day

On the 2nd Day of CNY, we gathered at Uncle Alan's place for lunch. It's another Yeoh tradition.

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Aunty Alice cooked all the dishes. Because of the heat, I didn't feel like stuffing myself. I only ate 2 pieces of fried chicken (simply can't resist it) and the traditional turnip dish cooked the Hokkien way. David insisted that the "hum choy" soup was simply delicious. I took half a bowl because I was already feeling so warm and didn't want to sweat too much. David was right! Soup was GREAT... err... a little too salty (hmmm. maybe that was why I liked it so much) though. Soup, according to David, was boiled overnight and when I scooped it into my bowl, it was still boiling. I burned my tongue drinking it. And that gave me the excuse to eat more of Aunty Lily's agar-agar. :) I also drank a little of the "tong sui" because Sharon said that it tasted good.

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We "lou sang" after lunch - children and adult alike.

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Someone bought firecrackers and lit it. This used to be a norm in almost every Chinese household until it was "banned" because a lot of people burned their fingers while lighting it.
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Eunice and I went to KL a week ago and bought this shirt for Dad for CNY. When Dad saw Jaden, both realised that they were wearing the same shirt.
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Here's a picture of all the younger generation - candid shots because most of them didn't want to pose for me.

Hospital Visitation

For the second part of the 1st day of CNY, we went to Tesco to get some toiletries. We were at the parking lot, about to leave Tesco when Esther called to ask if we wanted to go to the hospital to visit MCTC's mother and MinChee grandmother. We weren't pressed for time, so we agreed.

picture curtesy of Eric H

It was 5.30pm! And you know what I forgot? I forgot all about the solar eclipse!!! Garrgh!! My friend Eric told me about last week and I really wanted to see it. Hmmm... funny that I don't seem to realise that it was a little dark when I was out at the parking lot. Eric said that it would take place at 5.30pm Malaysian time!

Anyway, we left Tesco, picked up Esther and my mum (who found out about our plans and wanted to tag along) and went to the Seremban GH. There were a few parking spaces - which is a miracle because sometimes it takes an hour just to find a spot. Eunice told me that it was a public holiday and visiting hours are more flexible.

We went to see MCTC's mother first. She was on ward errr... I can't remember. Probably 6B or something. We walked right to the end of the ward and saw her lying down on the bed, looking weak. Her breathing was laboured and for a lady who is 73 years old, she looked really frail. We chatted with her for a bit. Mum witnessed to her. We prayed for her.

And off we went to see MinChee's grandmother.

We found her in the toilet, on a push chair. She didn't look sick at all. After she brushed her teeth, she attempted to wheel herself back to the room but Esther insisted on helping her. Once on the bed, she talked to us. It was like as though she was not sick at all. Now, get this. She is 85 years old and she was pretty animated when she talks. She's got a very strong voice. Yes, indeed she's a pretty strong person.

We left the hospital at 7.30pm and went straight back.

That night, we went to Uncle Ah Ba's place - another place we'd normally visit every year. This year, so many of us turned up. Swee Lee, Alisa, Ai Lee, Peter, Ethan, Boon Leong and Kathy were there for the first time. Indran was sick, and therefore was absent.

So there .... the 1st day of CNY proved to be quite fruitful. We got so many things done.

Chinese New Year - 1st Day

We always go to my parents' place for breakfast on the 1st day of Chinese New Year. Two reasons : one is to fill our stomachs and the other is to get all those exchanging of ang pows over and done with.

The day before, David messaged my sisters and I the following :-

So, according to the message, mum will be going to Kuala Pilah at 10.30am. I figured that if we got there by 9.30am, we'd still have time to eat and give out the ang pows.

Little did I know that early meant 8.30am. So, whose fault was it that Rajen and I got there at 9.30am?

En greeted us. She was carrying Molly Bear. Probably trying to teach Molly manners.

There was quite a spread on the table : Eggs, cocktail sausages, fried luncheon meat, chips, baked beans and of course, bread. A good hearty English breakfast. I forgot to bring cheese from home but the baked beans more than made up for it.

After breakfast, we gave out the ang pows. Rajen went around singing "Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi Ni" and saying "Sun Nin Fai Lok" - both probably means "wishing you good luck in the new year" ... or something like that.

Everyone was in a CNY mood. Some wore red. And that included Molly, who wore her new dress which Tusi made. Yeah, yeah, I know! Molly looked older than me but hey! she's a bargaining chip between En and her parents!

Reunion Dinner

We ALWAYS (ever since 1988) have our reunion dinner at U. Beng's house on CNY eve. Everyone brings a dish. Err... everyone meaning the "older" adults. The younger adults would sometimes (ha! depends on our mood, actually) prepare or buy desserts.

We have a variety of food laid on the table. Each year, it's slightly different.

But one thing's for certain, we always have lettuce and a cooked turnip dish. Mum's side is Hokkien and this dish is a specialty. We have it every CNY.

The correct way to eat this is to place the turnip onto the lettuce, fold it and eat it.

Yee Sang is also another dish that we normally have during CNY. I don't really like the taste but most of them like it.

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It was also mum's actual birthday. We bought her a cake and sang her a birthday song.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Wishing you an oxpicious and bullish year.

May you milk all opportunities that come your way and discover new greener pastures along the way.

Gong Xi Fai Cai to you and your family in the year of the ox.

A Manly Job

Ask anyone and they will tell you that fixing the light bulbs, painting the walls and even putting together a D-I-Y rack are jobs that men do around the house.

Not so in my house. If I want to get those done, either I have do it or I ask my dad to help out.

One of my Christmas gifts to my husband was a DVD/CD rack. Almost one month after Christmas, it was still in the box.

Seeing that his collection of DVDs overflowed to the bedroom floor (in a sense that we don't have any more space for DVDs), I rummaged into my tool box and got to work.

Easy-peasy! Just follow the instructions and tada! I got myself a new rack.

So, right now, I have three racks and hopefully, I don't have to get another one soon. If I did, I don't think there's any space left in my living room.

Teapot Set

For those of you who know me well, I always have a few packets of green tea bags with me wherever I go.

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A few months ago, I bought a packet of loose green tea leaves but did not use it. Instead, I gave the whole packet (which cost me more than RM30) to my mum and explained to her that I didn't have a strainer at home.

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Last week, she bought me this beautiful set of teapot. The little cups are double layered (if you get my meaning) that provides some form of insulation and keeps our fingers from getting burned.

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This set looks expensive but it only cost my mum RM26 a set and I'm pretty sure that someday, this might be priceless - provided that it survive long enough to be deemed as an antique.

Mini Shopping Spree

Last Saturday, MinChee, Eunice and I went to KL specifically to spend money. The three of us have something in common - we're all born in the month of December.

There's this home decor place in KL which sells great stuff - from ribbons to interior home decor to gardening, you name it... anything to do with the home decor, they have it. The three of us signed up as members a few years back. One of the "benefits" of being one is that we'd get discount vouchers on our birthday month and it will be valid for more than a month.

Each of us would get a 50% discount voucher for one item and 20% discount voucher for 10 items.

Last year, I got this three tier metal thingy (without the pink flowers, of course). I was quite fascinated with the very fact that I'm buying it "New" but it looked rusty and worn out. I think after my 50% discount, it cost me about RM164.00.

This year, I used up both my and MinChee's 50% discount voucher for two things to complement my three tier thingy:-

A flower pot holder (without the flower pot and plant), which cost RM106 after discount

and a plate cart thingy which cost RM224 after discount

Yeah, yeah. I know. I must've been out of my mind to pay so much for two rusty and old things but hey! I love them. Right now, the flower pot holder is at my parents' place (temporarily). The three tier thingy is also at my mum's place. I haven't decided where to put the plate cart thingy yet.

I also bought some crystal-like decor for this year's "White Christmas" theme. Even with the 20% discount, each cost about RM3.10

Both Eunice and I saw this authentic looking clock which we gave into temptation after some contemplation. It cost us RM23.90 after discount. I think mine is a little faulty. Hmm.... must get my dad (jack of all trades ....) to fix it.

These square plates were going at 50% discount. We did what we naturally would do - Grab them.

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After spending so much, we went to Sogo. I didn't dare spend much in there. Thank God for "No Sale"

Lau Yat was our last destination. I bought ink (RM123 in total), one 4G thumb drive for myself (RM25 - CHEAP!!!), 3 2G thumb drives for my company (each costing RM17.50) 50 blank CDs and 50 blank DVDs. Can't remember how much all came to but I know I spent a lot!

Till now, I don't dare calculate how much I spent. I keep telling myself that I am using the money that I received for my Christmas present and I calmed myself down saying that I did save up the other 50-60% of what I received.

Hospitalised

Can you read a 450 page book in less than 5 hours? Of course you can. That is, if you are stationed at a place with nothing else for entertainment except the TV (which I don't watch) and an iphone.

My mother-in-law was admitted into Columbia Hospital yesterday. Her unhealed wound on her left leg was infested with hundreds of maggots (yucky) and was bleeding a few days ago. Trust her NOT to tell us about her being in pain until Viji saw the spots of blood on the bedroom floor.

So, there I was, keeping my mother-in-law company at the hospital after her surgery, with nothing much to do. So what I started out to do was to key in some of the contact numbers into my iphone (ever since I got my iphone, I didn't have time to do the transfer) but soon, I was feeling a little bored and started on a new book which I brought with me : "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson & Howard Roughan.

Let me tell you something - Patterson's books normally sets me to the edge. It's difficult to put it down once I start reading it. I won't say that I am addicted to it, but he has this way of creating so much suspense, you just want to get to the end of the plot.

Actually, I know I shouldn't be reading these kind of books because it involves lots of psychotic people and mass murders and weird stuff. This book in particular, talks about her meeting people who has been dead for years. It's really spooky!! I woke up at 4am last night and got spooked by it!!!

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Viji came about 2pm, after getting permission to leave the school (she's a teacher) early. She was fiddling with her phone while I was reading. Pastor Sally came at about 4pm for a visit. We chatted and she prayed for my mother-in-law.

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We got her a very comfortable single bedroom with settee for visitors. Compared to 1 1/2 years ago, where she was in a twin sharing room, this was so much better. Of course, when the bill comes, it's another story altogether.

Classes

I've just signed up for an OT Survey class yesterday, which also means that all my weekday nights (from Monday to Friday) are filled with things to do for the next 3-4 months. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Err... good because it means I get to study more of God's Word. Bad because I don't have much time for myself.

Pas. AnthonyL is really a fantastic OT lecturer. When he teaches, you can feel his enthusiasm and passion for the Word of God, which comes alive when he talks about It.

If you know me well, you'd know that I didn't grow out of my ADD-ness, which means, I can't sit still for a long period of time .... which means, I get bored easily.... which means my attention span is not more than 20-30 minutes at any given time.

This class is a 2-hour session with one 5 minute break in between. Nobody sleeps, in this class - not even a yawn or bored look.

In fact, he's so popular, his class is filled to the brim - 40 students. That's the maximum figure per class. So if any of you out there want to join this class (after reading how good a lecturer he is from this blog of mine), sorry-lah, full house!

King's Palace

We'd normally pass this usually-crowded-with-tourists place many times but didn't take the time to stop and see what the fuss was all about.

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Last Saturday, MinChee, Eunice and I were on our way to SSF when we stopped by this place A.K.A. The King's Palace. We parked, got down and took lots of pictures. There was nothing much to take actually. Two royal guards guards were placed on one side. One was on a horse. On the other side was another set.

And you can't even see the palace from the main gate. Phooey!

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We were there for only 7 minutes before we left for our planned destination, where I blew lots of money on household items which I do not need at the moment - will write about it in another blog posting.

McD During Cell

It was Bernard's turn to bring food but he was at a BM tuition which he hoped would be changed to Thursdays in the coming weeks. I think everybody's thoughts went to "Pizza Hut" for that was what we'd normally order when there was no food on the table. But this time, Rajen felt like eating a Big Mac. Prior to 8.15pm (our unofficial stating time), I asked all of them to order their food and I wrote them down. Then I went somewhere quiet to place the order. Here was what happened:-

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Me : Can I order one Big Mac ....
He : Next (a little too harsh)
Me : What?
He : Next order
Me : Oh .. err... 2 Mc Chicken ........... (and I rattled on until I finished the whole order)
He : Next. Me : That's all....ummm .. how long will it take? He : 2 hours
Me : TWO hours (I exclaimed)
He : Yeah. For orders more than RM120, it's considered a big order. And therefore, it will take two hours for us to deliver to your place
Me : What about if it's less than RM120
He : It will take about 45 minutes
Me : How much is the total?
He : RM122
Me : Then, can you cancel one fries so that it would be less than RM120
He : Cancel everything? Me : No, just cancel one fries He : You only want one fries?
Me : (Exasperated) No, just cancel ONE fries
He : It is still over RM120
Me : What will the charge be?
He : RM123 Me : I thought just now you said RM122
He : That is inclusive of RM3 transport charges
Me: Oh. Then can you take out one fries and one curly fries?
He : Ok
Me : How much would that be?
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Phew! It was so difficult just placing an order. When I sat down at my place, I remembered that I didn't take Tusi's order yet. Also, Christine came late. So what I did was to call McDonald's again. This time, my order only came up to RM30. So what happened was that only 1/2 an hour after I placed my first order, the delivery service came. And later, the same person came again for my second order. He asked if I were giving tuition classes or not!!!

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Justin, Sara and Rebecca needed to be home early so we had our food time in the middle of our lesson - at 9.30pm. I think we took about 25 minutes to finish everything. And then we continued with our lesson until 10.30pm.

17 people turned up for Cell. PTL

Tedious Job

Last week, I received a very blur site plan with numbers running from Block Nos. 1-3. That was it. Block nos. 4-10 were left empty.

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Knowing that it would either be difficult or it would take a very long time for the proper site plan (with numbering) to get to me, I asked my project manager for the aproved endorsed plan by the local approving authorities. It was soooo much clearer than the one I got earlier.

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There was NO numbering at all on this plan.

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So, what I did was to type out all the numbers, print it, cut it and then paste it. Each piece of numbered paper was only 2mm X 3mm. It was really a tedious job which requires patience and long finger nails.

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I think I took 2-3 hours to finish it.

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I know that with modern technology, what I could've done was to scan it and then insert the numbers but I don't have the proper software for it. So I did it the looong and tedious way. When I passed a copy of the finished work to him, he was impressed!!! :-)

To Wait or Not to Wait

I am in the opinion that if you don't need a certain thing urgently, check out the price in a few places and look for the cheapest offer.

It also depends on other factors like how it would benefit you (financially, mentally, emotionally, health, and the list goes on) if you got a slightly more expensive bargain in the course of needing it with immediate effect.

Say for example, a laptop that's on sale for RM2,500 at a certain shop and you know for certain that you could get the same model at a 10% discount if you were to wait for the PC Fair that would be held in a certain mall two weeks later.

In the mean time, you really need the laptop because you old one just crashed and you needed to get a job done within 3 days; a job that would bring in RM10,000 if you finished that piece on time.

I'd say forget the RM250 difference and go buy it at the local shop.

Okay, okay ... I know I'm being long winded here.

Here's what happened.

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BOTH my car remote control covers got brittle and the part where I press very often, .... well ... the rubbery patch fell apart and the electrical circuits were exposed.

For months I was looking for a replacement for both remote controls.

I found one place near Tesco which sells it for RM50. Yes! RM FIFTY for one piece of plastic. I reckon the cost of producing one is a mere 75 cents. I refused to part with my money.

MCTC told me that it cost about RM20. I decided to look around. To my dismay, I couldn't find any.

One day I was bemoaning this problem of mine to Minchee. She said that she got hers for only RM30. In my heart, I was thinking "Still expensive, but it's better than paying RM50 apiece".

That same day, I overheard MatthewL saying that he will be going to the Toyota svc centre that weekend to service his car. I asked him to buy two remote control covers for me. I expected it to be about RM20 each.

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Last Sunday, Minchee came to me and told me that she got TWO remote control covers for only RM21.80 - which translates to RM10.90 each!

Gosh!!! Those guys near Tesco are certainly causing inflation rates to rise in this country.

So yeah ..... the remote control covers were not that urgent and I saved so much just by waiting.

A Moment of Frustration

I discovered Bejeweled (it's a mild computer game, ok!! Not some fancy bling-blings) a few years ago when DavidY told me that I could download some "free" (for a while, anyway) games from addictivegames.com (err... I can't really remember the exact name of that site).

And yes, I was completely glued to the computer after that.

When the game became chargeable (I think they get you so addicted to the game, you'd pay whatever amount to continue fueling your cravings), I decided not to give in to their clever marketing strategy. I turned to those really FREE games such as err... Free Cell.

When I got the iphone, I checked out the games/applications/etc that I can download for free (yeah, yeah... call me cheapskate if you like). Bible was free. I installed that. Fring was free. WorldWiki was free. Facebook was free. GPS tracker was free. PAC-MAN lite was free. Whoppeeeee.... I downloaded them all.

Then I came across Bejeweled 2. Gulp! USD2.99 screamed out at me. I was so tempted by this game, I press the install button before my conscience took over.

And before I knew it, I had purchased the game and it has now become part of my everyday life.

I was a little rusty at the game after not playing it for at least a couple of years. By level 3, "No more moves" would jump out of the screen.

Then I got smarter. I began to plan my moves and I got better. I went from level 1 to level 2 to level 3 .... and when I got to level 15, I decided not to allow anyone else to play this game. I wanted to see how long I could continue with this game.

Level 20.... level 21 ..... level 22 ..... level 23 .....

One evening, I was a little bored and decided to continue playing. I think I must've accidentally hit the "Start over" button instead of "Continue from last game".

And before my very eyes, I was back to Level 1.

Arrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I couldn't believe it!! I kicked myself for not paying attention to where I clicked on.

And now, I am at level 11. I am now more careful at which button I press the moment I press the "Bejeweled 2" tab.

Books for En

On Sunday, Rajen asked En to set a date and time for him to bring her out to buy 2 books (one was a belated Christmas present and the other, for winning in the Christmas Eve quiz). After moving back and forth between Esther and Rajen to confirm when the BOTH of them would be free to take her out, they decided on Monday night in Jusco.

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En wanted to go to Popular first. Over the past 1 year, she has been buying all the Enid Blyton books from Popular. To her dismay, she has read ALL the Enid Blyton books there. Immediately, she requested to go to MPH.

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Within 15 minutes, she chose two books.
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We met Uncle Norman, A. Chris and Brian at the school uniform place next to MPH. Brian was there to get his St John's uniform.

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Both En and Brian suggested Pizza Hut for dinner. No surprises there. It's either Pizza Hut or MacDonald's. We ordered a mushroom soup, a jug of Pepsi, one large Stuffed Crust Chicken Supreme, one medium Beef Pizza (forgot the name), some cheese sticks and criss-cross potatoes. We are all small eaters. Six adults and 2 children and we couldn't finish everything!

After dinner, En and Esther had to rush back because En has another 3 homework which she has to finish. Pity! Pity! Her life revolves a lot around church, school, extra activities and homework.

Presents to Hubby

About a fortnight ago, I blogged about what dear hubby got me for Christmas. It's only fair that I blog about what dear hubby got from me (apart from a big, fat, juicy kiss, that is!)

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As EVERYONE knows, it's difficult to get presents for a guy, especially when what ever he needs he already has. I face this problem 4 times a year - birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary and Christmas.

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Thank God, I was able to find good presents (err.. from MY perspective, not sure about his!) in just a short time. For those who do not know, I'd normally spend a few days shopping for his presents. This time, it's only within a day.

A portable laptop table. I used it at my mum's place last Sunday. Esther saw me using it and immediately called me a snob. When I told her that it was dear hubby's, she didn't say anything. Hrmmph!! She could've told him that HE is a snob.

A CD/DVD shelf from Jusco (without the CDs/DVDs of course). Hubby's two other CD shelves are full and we needed one more for his overflowing CDs.

Hubby reads a lot of "serious, heavy duty" stuff - and by that I mean reading materials which look like text books.

I bought him this comic in hopes that he would take some time to relax and laugh. Err... even after days, the wrapper is still there. I don't think this comic would be read sometime soon.

Hubby loves Asterix. I know that he already has so many in his collection but he definitely doesn't have this omnibus version (I checked with Esther).
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And lastly, two "Archie" comics. He used to read a lot of these. Again, I am trying to supply him with light reading books.