My Thoughts

St. Patrick Graduation Night 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Jason attended his school graduation night on Thu 19 Nov 2009.

He was given a medal for his outstanding leadership and service in Track and Field & Peer Support Board that evening.

Needless to say, Jas enjoyed the company of his teachers and school friends tremendously......!

Here is a slideshow of the photos taken during his graduation night :

Well, so happy for them ..........!

( There is no such graduation night during my school days......sob....sob...)

David

Holidays in Penang - November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:10:00 +0000

Hi,

After Jason's 'O' level exams., the family flew to Penang for a short holiday to visit his grandparents.

Here is a short slideshow of the trip :

Well, if you plan to visit Penang soon during the school holidays, drop me a note and I can give you some advice to help you plan for it.

David

Singapore Lions Roar In Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:40:00 +0000

Singapore Lions score 1 goal to beat the Thailand soccer team at their home ground,in their Asian Cup Group E qualifier.

The victory helped Singapore leapfrog Thailand into second spot in the group and revived their hopes of qualifying for their first ever Asian Cup.

Duric was the goal scorer but all the players did well.

I have met Duric personally during my days in RHB Bank and Duric is a very pleasant guy. He is a great soccer player too especially at his age!

Congrats to the Singapore Lions.........!!!

David

Michelle Wie's First LPGA Title

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:39:00 +0000

I am happy for her that she finally won her first LPGA title.

Michelle closed with a threeunder 69 for a total of 13-under 275, two strokes ahead of Paula Creamer in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, and finished off the win in style, hitting a bunker shot within a foot on the 18th hole to set up a birdie.

She used to always want to play against the men and hardly made headway. But she attracted a lot of attention and sponsorship..... and that means $$$...!

My friend who has a daughter on a golf scholarship in US now told me that Michelle Wie's family has taken the right approach to generate the publicity leading to lucrative sponsorship even if she did not win any trophy then.

Opportunity comes once and you grab it to make the $$$.

Anyway, congratulations to Michelle Wie's win....!

David

Manny Pacquiao Won Again!

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Filipino boxer,Manny Pacquiao, is first boxer to win titles in seven weight classes.

Pacquiao took the World Boxing Organisation welterweight crown from Cotto in Las Vegas on Saturday night when the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round.

He did us, Asians, proud.

I hope he will retire when he is at the peak of his career and not greedy for more victories.

Congratulations ....!

David

Fallen Tree

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:15:00 +0000

While I was away in Penang in Oct, the tree outside my house fell...!

According to my Filipino maid, she claimed that a huge delivery truck passed by and brushed against the branches sticking out.

The driver and passengers came out to see the fallen tree but no one from the 2 houses came out so they drove away.

Since the tree fell and landed in front of my neighbour's house, he called the authorities to remove it and it was done almost immediately.

Unfortunately, they also removed the lovely big fern growing on the tree.....sob...sob....

Installing IDE Hard Disk Onto SATA Port

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Hi,

I am so happy that I managed to installed one of my old Samsung 80GB hard disk into Jason's desktop PC.

The challenge was that there was no more IDE port and I did not want to install it using the IDE connection that was already used for the DVD Rewriter since there are 3unused SATA port.

After some research on the Internet, I found that there is such a gadget to link an IDE to a SATA connection or vice versa.

So off to Sim Lim Square (SLS) to look for it.

I bought it for S$18 and after fiddling around with it, I got it working....!

Hurray...!

It was quite challenging as it did not detect the HD initially and then only managed to detect 32GB out of 80GB in the HD.

If you know how and patient enough, you can get reasonable help from the Internet and then you do some trial and error.

I managed to overcome all the obstacles and I met my objective of installing the old HD into Jas's PC to give him more disk space.

Earlier, I also did some housekeeping and salvaged some disk space on his existing HD too otherwise, the PC could not even do a fragmentation as there was not enough work space for it.

Well, I enjoy playing with the PC upgrade.

A few weeks ago, my Filipino maid asked me to help her go to SLS to get a DIY PC for her to bring home; ie pay the shop to assemble a PC. It was slightly cheaper by at least S$100 but the QC and installation was done by me after all the components were assembled.

I dare not offer to build it for her though I did it a few years ago and it was also given to her subsequently and I believe it is still working in his brother's home in Philippines.

It has rekindled my interest in building a PC or looking at the motherboards and CPU, etc.... but I have no excuse to spend $$ building one for the fun of it. So the next best thing is to look into upgrading the Jason desktop PC......ha...ha....

Over the past few months, I have also be shopping for notebooks for a friend at the PC shows. One is coming again later this Nov.

So if you got an old PC for upgrade or even an old notebook to dispose of, give me a call ........ hopefully, I can help you or salvage some components that I can use or play with.....ha...ha...

David

Budget Flights

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Hi,

The following observations are based on my own travels to and fro Penang over the past 6 months; flying at least once a month on the budget flight.

I have flown Air Asia once but subsequently flew on JetStar as I found that the pricing and flight times suit me best.

However, I must also said that I prefer to travel by JetStar as I can use the aero-bridge at Pg airport whereas Air Asia requires their passengers to walk from the aircraft to the airport; ie you have to climb the stairs and walk on the airport tarmac. I do not like it as I have a bad left knee.

Also, though I have only flown on Air Asia once only, I observed that the JetStar air crew are more helpful and service oriented.

JetStar allows me to carry a hand luggage of 10Kg which is sufficient for my purpose of travel. It also allows me to choose my seat without any additional charge.

The other observation on the booking of such budget flights are :

- Watch out for promotions as I manage to get a special price of S$30 for both ways; but you may have to book during a very short window and very early like 3 months ahead. So u need to know your schedule way ahead..... but may work well for those who are retired and have a flexible schedule.

- Check the travel dates, time and prices of a few budget airlines for comparison

- Flying different day and even times may have different prices

- One day difference in booking your flight can mean an increase of S$20

But being budget flight, it is definitely cheaper than a normal flight; eg my average price for JetStar is abour S$80 compared to S$315 on MAS or SIA.

But, you will not be pampered and no food and beverage allowed unless you buy from them. So book the meals when you are booking your flight as it may be cheaper else be prepared to pay S$3 for a bottle of mineral water.

My elder brother and younger sister flew Air Asia from Melbourne to KL and KL to Pg to visit my parents recently. It was about 7 hours of flight.

So conclusion.......

In my opinion, for short flights and if you are quite flexible with time, flying by budget airline is acceptable.

But for longer flights, you may want to re-consider budget flight unless you are prepared to rough it out;eg you may not be able to sleep well as the seats are not that comfortable and you should bring your own entertainment like watching a movie on your laptop.

I am quite lucky to-date, as I have no problem calling their call centres and booking online. So far, only one flight delayed for 1/2 hour only.

My family and I will be flying to Pg in Nov by budget airline again.

David

Happy 83rd Birthday to Mum-in-law

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Hi,

This is one of those rare occasions that we manage to celebrate my mum-in-law birthday as she is the type of person who does not want any fuss or inconvenience to her children.

She is as old as my own father who also just have his birthday in Oct too.

Since she does not want to go out for a meal, we bought her a birthday cake for lunch at her home as my wife and I visit her every Friday and buy lunch to share with her.

So Happy Birthday, Mum....!

Happy 83rd Birthday to Dad in Penang

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Hi,

While I was in Penang, we also celebrated my father's 83rd birthday.

After my Mum's medical appointment, we went to have a western lunch at Secret Recipe at Plaza Gurney.

I must say that the service was excellent and the staff was very nice and went all the way out to ensure that we have an excellent dining experience there; eg. one of the staff even show us the way to the public toilet as we are not familiar with the place, they offered to put the ice cream back into the fridge since my Mum was away in the toilet,..

I asked a staff to help take a family photo and I mentioned that it was my father's birthday and she happily obliged, asking me to check the the photo is well taken else she can take another one.

Much to my surprise, the supervisor presented my Dad with a slice of cake and got the staff to sing him the birthday song.

We were caught off guard else I would have taken a group photo with them or even video it.

It was indeed a pleasant surprise and my Dad was still talking about it a few days later as his birthday actually fell on 19 Oct but we were celebrating it earlier.

Here is a photo of Mum waiting for a taxi to take us home. A very rare occasion too as she does not like to go out unless necessary.

We also got him a birthday cake and we have another round of celebration at home that evening.

Happy Birthday, DAD...!

David

My Penang Trip in Oct 09

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:04:00 +0000

Hi,

I flew back to Penang again to bring my Mum for her medical appointment and at the same time, sent my younger sister off to Melbourne.

My younger sister was back in Pg for a month to care for my aged parents, esp my Mum who is recovering from a mild stroke.

Here is a photo of Wei, taken outside Plaza Gurney after our 'makan' at the nearby hawker stalls. There was some rain earlier on and we saw a nice rainbow in the background so we quickly grab the opportunity for a great photo of it. Unfortunately, the rainbow was not very evident in the photo as it appeared like a white streak of light from the sea to the sky.....

Anyway, Wei looked good too with a very natural smile indeed...... so ok-lah!

BTW, Wei is a fantastic shopper too..... taking advantage of the Deepavali sale and also the strong Aussie $$.

David

Happy Birthday to ME...!

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:30:00 +0000

My family and I went for a western dinner to celebrate my birthday on 9 Oct.

Jas met us after school since he has no tuition that evening, so he appeared in his school uniform in the photo below.

On the actual day itself, I bought some durian as a special treat for myself too.

D24 durian....

I ate one box myself and shared another box with my dear wife, for dinner...!

Jack was also wanting to have some of it and was waiting patiently for it but he almost snatched it from the table when I got up to greet one of my neighbours.

Naughty Jack!

Anyway, he got to lick some of the leftover on the box and he enjoyed it too.....!

Also, birthday greetings and wishes to Soo Leng and Tatt Cheng who also have their birthdays in early Oct .......!

Singaporeans More Animal Friendly

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:41:00 +0000

My Paper reported that Singaporeans seem to have become better friends to animals.

Fewer animals have been abandoned and more adopted over the last 5 years at SPCA.

So if you are looking for a dog, you should drop by at SPCA and see if you could find a dog to adopt before you buy one at a pet shop or farm.

Yesterday was World Animal Day .........

Singaporeans Are Gracious

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Hi,

I have been wearing a knee brace for almost 10 months now and it enable me to walk more than 1 hour without pain or having a need to rest.

But it is not always comfortable wearing it and I do not mind sitting down in buses or MRT trains instead of standing as I am still exerting pressure on both knees or more on my right knee.

When I am wearing long pants or jeans, it is not obvious that I am wearing a knee brace.

I was just telling my family that all these months even when I am wearing bermuda, so my knee brace is obvious to the public, I was never offer a seat in the buses or MRT train.

Why am I complaining suddenly?

Well, my knee has been playing up lately and I am feeling some pressure or discomfort when I have to stand too long.

But there was hope though, recently.....

2 days ago, a man tap me on my back and gave me his seat in the MRT train. Honestly, I gladly took it and said 'Thank you' to him, of course.

Yesterday, in a crowded train again, a young or a girl in her late teens also tap my shoulder and gave me her seat.

I was surprised by these two gestures and they were not sitting in the 'Priority Seat' section.

Well, in short, I think Singaporeans are a gracious lot and it just take them some time to show it..

David

COMEX 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:14:00 +0000

Just before I left for my Pg trip, I managed to go to the Comex 2009 IT show held at Suntec City.

Initially, I wanted to buy a new photo colour printer but then decided to defer it to the next PC show in Nov 09 since I do not think that I will be needing it in the coming months and can wait a bit longer though the color printing by my current photo printer is a bit off.

Instead, I ended up shopping for a NetBook for a friend and also brought my Filipino maid to shop for her IT accessories as she will be going home for good in late Nov 09.

I managed to collect sufficient brochures and do an evaluation on the spot, and then got my friend's consent to buy her an ACER netbook as shown below.

I bought her a Ruby Red colour netbook and it looks good indeed....! I spent the evening and following morning setting it up for her. Needless to say, I enjoyed the shopping and playing with such a new toy.

So much to see that I was tempted to go back to have another look especially at the new models and offers.

It would not have seen appropriate if I did not buy anything for myself no matter how small it is.....ha.....ha.....

I chanced upon a set of earphones that I wanted and it only cost me S$10 whereas it was retailing outside for at least S$25 so I just grabbed it. I am very happy with it as I took it along for my Pg trip and it served me well and I am also using it now. Value for money if you look hard enough during the show.

So where got recession in Spore...? I guess most of us took advantage of the reduction in prices and the retailers have decided to sell more at a lesser profit as oppose to sell less at a higher profit. Possibly, newer models are coming out too so better to get rid of old models.

A good business model as it is a win-win situation for both the Buyers and Sellers!

So until the next PC or IT show in Nov 09 as I definitely have to buy my colour printer and I hope they will give a better price and freebies too.....

BTW, I have been helping friends to buy notebooks for the past 3 shows .......... but no excuse to buy myself a NEW notebook......sob...sob....

David

Queensbay Mall in Penang

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:12:00 +0000

Hi,

During my recent trip to Penang, I amanged to find some time to take my younger sister, Wei, to this new and huge shopping mall, Queensbay Mall.

It is quite far from home and almost near the Penang airport.

We took a taxi there and it cost me RM30 and for another RM5, it would have taken me to the airport!

We were there for 2-3 hours but only managed to grab a quick bite at a food court and then spent the rest of the time at the 4 floors of Jusco.

There are many more shops but we did not have the time......

My next trip in Oct then.....ha....ha.....

Wei is a great shopper indeed....!

But then with the Hari Raya sale on and the strong AUD, each piece of clothing worked out to be pretty cheap for her....

I bought a polo shirt for my dear wife too.....!

Last trip, I bought presents for the family from Body Glove... a very popular brand and was on sale too .....!

So besides the well known Penang food...... shopping can be great too when there is a sale on.......!

Wei was also shopping at places like Gama and Prangin Mall when I was there.

I told her to visit Plaza Gurney too with her friends.

So if you have no idea where to go for your holidays......... why not Penang!

Check out the JetStar budget flights....... I am happy with it to-date.

David

My Visit To Penang - Sept 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

I flew back to Penang to take my parents for their doctors' appointments from 15 - 19 Sep 2009.

During my August trip, last month, my brother also came back from Melbourne to care for our parents for 3 weeks.

Some of you may know or recognise my tall brother too....!

This trip, my younger sister also came back from Melbourne to care for our parents for a month.

Sue, my elder sister, was also home for the long weekend Hari Raya holidays, from Kuala Lumpur.

Dad has gone for his usual morning walk so was not in the photo......

Mum waiting for her turn to see her doctor in LWE hospital. I was with her while Wei accompanied Dad to see his doctor for his annual follow-up on his colon cancer recovery.

After the visit to the hospital, Wei & I managed to visit the new shopping centre, Queensbay Mall, for some shopping. Sale as the Hari Raya holiday was just around the weekend.

Mission accomplished..... so here I am ...... leaving for home in Singapore again until next month doctor's appointment.....

Wei will be around for a month to care for my parents........ our rotation or I call it our 'Tour of Duty' .....ha.....ha...

David

Mummy's Birthday Photos

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:18:00 +0000

We celebrated Mummy's birthday in late August with a very special birthday cake.....

View the slideshow below for more photos of Mummy's birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday, Mummy dearest....!

We love you......Daddy, Jason, Jack & Ruby too!

Plastic Cover For A Gate Lock

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:49:00 +0000

Do you know what is this photo about?

I took this photo during one of my recent visits to my Penang home. I was also puzzled by this homemade gadget.

Apparently, my aunt saw that the people in Kuala Lumpur cut out the plastic bottle as such to cover the lock on the gate to prevent any rust or water getting into the lock and ruin the locking mechanism.

Very true, as I have to oil the lock after some time else it can be difficult to lock and unlock it.

So I made one too for my lock at my gate too ........

You may want to try it tooo .....

Especially when it has been raining lately....

David

A Visit To Geylang

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Hi,

I read this interesting article about a thrill visit to Geylang for food and the atmosphere.

To be honest, I never go to Geylang at all until recently.......

When I was with RHB Bank, we went to a nearby soccer field for some practice and I brought Jason along. The location is just next to the 'action' as after our dinner nearby, we have to walk through a side road to the main road to catch a taxi home.

So along the way, we saw 'working girls' plying their trade along the road. Different nationalities and sexily dressed too. We also saw a few negotiating the price too, openly.....

I must admit it was an eye opener for me and I took the opportunity to educate Jason too.

Subsequently, we returned to Geylang with a friend, who is familiar with the eating places there, for dinner a few times.

There are a lot of good food there so do check it out.....

David

Proud To Be A Singaporean

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:55:00 +0000

I have been living in Singapore for more than 20 years since I have given up my Malaysian citizenship.

I was raised in Penang until secondary school before going to Australia for my tertiary education and subsequently, started work in Singapore.

My only connection to Malaysia are my parents and my elder sister who are still living there.

My elder brother and younger sister have also chosen to live in Australia and became their citizens.

I am so used to living here in Singapore where I started my career and family. Recently, I have also decided that Singapore is where I will retire and call it a day when it comes.

There was a report that Singaporeans are a happy lot ........

Lately, I have been back to Penang very often to visit my parents and I started to re-discover some of my childhood or my hometown again.

But when I have to fly back to Singapore, I am so excited to see my family and also to be back in Singapore.

Singapore is truly my home now!

David

Miss Universe 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:35:00 +0000

I happened to be home and turned on the TV that morning and it was showing 'live' the Miss Universe 2009 pageant.

I was reading the newspapers and watching the TV at the same time but was focus on the papers instead so I missed Miss Singapore on her catwalk.

Anyway, I started to pay more attention when it was narrowed down to the finalist with the Q&A segment.

I somehow thought that Miss Venezuela has a X-factor and likely to win and I was looking at their faces rather than their bodies....ha....ha....

You may not believe me but I missed the swimsuit segment too as I was reading the papers...!

Anyway, this is the first time the final result matched what I thought ......

Whatever it is, I think beauty alone cannot be a winner unless you are just looking for a piece of furniture or painting to display.

The personality or character + beauty should be the winning factor.

In a relationship, you may be attracted by some physical beauty ( and this differs from each individual ) at first but it is the chemistry or personality that seal the eventual relationship.

Anyway, I am no expert...... just my thoughts only....

David

My Visit To Penang In August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Hi,

I have been in Penang to visit my parents since Tue 11 Aug 09 and will be flying back to Spore Thu 20 Aug 09.

Here is a photo of my Mum and I in her room.

I managed to get connected to the Internet through a USB modem and you can see me surfing in the kitchen.

I managed to catch up with my old friend, Yeow Guan, at his optical shop, and made a new pair of spectacles. We knew each other since primary school and went overseas to stucy in Melbourne together too.

Well, good to be back in Penang and eat the local food like Hokkien Mee, Char Koay Teow, Laksa, Apong, Koay Tewo Tng, etc......

David

Mobile Broadband in Penang, Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:55:00 +0000

Hi,

I am now in Penang, visiting my parents.

As I have been making frequent trips here and wanted to stay connected through Internet, I have decided to explore the use of mobile broadband.

I managed to set it up after some research from my last trip and also follow-up with my Starhub ISP on purchasing a USB modem.

So here I am testing it by do a posting on this blog.

I only paid RM20 for 7 days of usage and it is going to end this afternoon but I can either renew it or change it to a daily usage for RM6 only.

Since I am leaving tomorrow afternoon, I will not renew it but will use the free WIFI at the airport instead to check my emails.

Well, using it for emails is definitely not a problem unless u have a large attachment then it is very slow or appeared to be hung.

Surfing the NET can be slow depending on the site; eg. I could not booked my next trip online as it was too slow and I dare not take the risk in payment.

I was able to msn but video conferencing was lagging to the extent that I cannot hear them but can see them only.

Anyway, for the price I am paying, I am happy to be able to send and receive emails and msn my family. The rest is just bonus to me.

I am using Celcom prepaid mobile broadband and I think it is the best at the moment.

In my research back in Spore, I actually bought a Starhub prepaid mobile broadband at S$99 that comes with a USB modem and S$12 value. I tried it in Spore and it worked beautifully and then I bought a Msian SIM card and inserted into the USB modem and it works too.

So if u are in a similar situation as I am, and need access to Internet for emails.... checkout this option.

I am looking forward to go home tomorrow afternoon as I have been here since last Tue.

Singapore is my home now .....

David

Durian Durian

noreply@blogger.com (David PCW) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Hi,

I do not like durian at all until one day, I was introduced to durian puff and then I was hooked....! This happened more than 10 years ago.

But until recently, I started to enjoy eating durian again...... with my dear wife.

We just found this place called Durian Cafe located near our home and we love the durians sold there.

Reasonable price and meet our expectations to-date.

We have eaten their durians 3 times now.

The last episode was when we bought 2 D24 durians for dinner recently......!

Here is a slide show of the dinner .......ha...ha.....

Even my 2 dogs like the taste too!

I scooped a bit of the durian meat on my fingers and let Jack the Beagle, licked them. He held or rather bit my fingers in his mouth and licked them. One of my fingers could really feel the bite from his front teeth...ha...ha.... I actually yelled at Jack!

Maybe I have to buy more to feed Jack and Ruby too....!

So for those who still do not like durians, you really do not know what you are missing......!

David