Living next to major road

Current flat is facing a 6 Lane road. Even at 6am, the noise is terrible from all the buses and trucks as they started work.

This never bothered me before. All my life I lived in places near the roads.

But as I get older, I started to appreciate quietness and serenity. Must be from all those stress as a family man!

Can't wait to move to new place. It should be quieter but there's a small two way road on the side but the rooms are not facing it and to the left is another unit which hopefully filters off any noises.
There's a bus stop though, so the freaking early buses noises will probably be there. But indirect facing will sure cut down the db levels.

Miele

Total $5k

Really well made machines...

Need to budget for this!

Beef noodles

Property

Finally took plunge

Next question, what to do with current hdb?

Nanoblock T2 3D endoskeleton

Pretty cool stuff
Bought it years ago when holidaying in Osaka Universal studios at on 1800yen as it was on sale
Made in Japan!

Wow, just realized this item is now a collector item selling at over 200USD!

Lets see how much I can fetch since I have no intention nor time  to build it or display

Samsung galaxy s5

New phone for wifey

Impressive specs as expected for a flagship
Very light
Screen is high quality
Plastics are good quality

But somehow the interface is not as smooth as a windows phone. Maybe it is the bloatwares that are running. I'll have to tune this

Raffles place Sep 2014

Puma retro snickers trinomic

Remember that PUMA used to have this type of midsole tech for their shoes in the 80s, when Adidas had torson bars, Reebok had ERS and hexalite, Nike had AirMax, New Balance had EnCab

Bought this today at 50% discount. $65 only!

Surprise, its actually very comfortable to wear and the cushioning is very nice. This is compared to the retro New Balance and Adidas ones I had before, which were flat, and generally too hard. Though those were more stylish.

But this pair of pumas looks good and at $65, very good value for money!

Just look at the exposed trinomic thingy at the bottom! Very geeky...
Yeah, those little hexa shaped rubber is unlikely to have any use.

Surface Pro Gen 1

Narita fav shop renovated!

BMW 116

SGD 147k
136bhp, 1.6L turbo
Nice body kit
The interior design is nice, sophisticated and materials are very good, makes you feel you are in high end vehicle
The rear space is quite decent, legroom is surprisingly good for its size.
As usual, due to the RWD, the middle seat is useless.

The boot size is decent too.

This car is more practical than the A-class hatch.
The doors close with a very solid feel compared to the merc

Only issue is image. Driving a BMW is very atas
And, this one is kit up to look very powerful when in fact it is not. So its like a poser car.
No doubt it'll handle decently
Will have to go for test drive one of these days.

Actual 8.1 update download in progress

Pre windows 8.1 update for 1520

Looks like 1520 quite hacked up for its release earlier :)

Shure SE215

Lowest end
Dynamic drivers
Costs SGD $199

Verdict:
Fitting is excellent. Though a bit troublesome to put on and off, but once on, its very comfortable. The foam isolation of sound is very good.

Sound quality...not as clear as I hoped, but still more detailed then other earphones (cheaper ones from Jays and Kilpsich)

Looks like hearing aids to me, but still cool especially the clear case showing the innards

Maybe I am down the slippery path to high end Shure.....

Playground in SG

World cup 2014 - my only bet

Goal!!! Lets see if the Germans are good at soccer as they are in making nice cars!

When I fell sick

Fell sick 2 weeks ago. Started with a fever and tiredness, then developed sore throat and high fever which lasted for 7days. Took life and energy out from me just like that. Luckily it wasn't dengue. Work was thrown off balance.

Wife was very supportive and fortunately she's off peak in her work as well.

I'm getting better and am clearing 3 days leave this week to recharge. Or more like, to reflect.

Approaching 40, and I am not feeling top form in terms of health. This is lousy feeling. I'll resolve to recover from this and build up my health again. Its for myself, my loved ones. What's the point of earning more money when health is bad?

Health and family are going to be the foundations for me. Upon these then I can build others like finance and career and friends.

When you are sick, all materials things fade away, in fact they look stupid. What shined through were family love and precious time spent with loved.

When you are well, the reverse happen. No. I am not going to reverse.

Time to reboot life. Take charge.

Mi3

Pretty good screen
Slick response
Fast
Light
Nice design
Low price...$340

This will rock Samsung's boat

Xiaomi mi3

Hot day, black car

Plastidip

Door grabs of megane peeling off like shit and becoming very sticky to touch...gross
This rubber coating is obviously not made for our hot and humid weather....

Bought a can of plastidip, scrubbed off the original coating as much as I could and resprayed...viola!!

Well, looks good, but the surface is not smooth to touch. Like a matt coating with some grainy texture...well, hope it lasts for a while before I need to swap this car out...at least it is not sticky anymore and looks better when its time to sell it 😊

End of a chapter

With Ah Ma passing, it signals the end of a chapter

A chapter for mum, as she no longer has a tie to the family. She is a great woman, making arrangements, doing visits, showing sincere concern for Ah Ma for many years even though she doesn't need to. Now I hope she can break clean and live her own life carefree. I believe she can. She is very strong mentally. Looking at how the others her Gen in Ah Ma side had aged, she looks so much more energetic, full of zest and in fact looked young. Its really a testament of her strength and will for all to see. Proud of you mum.

Gave dad a pat on his arm on the bus when walking pass, don't know why, but just want to give him a pat to show him I want him to not be so sad. I didn't want to talk to him. Nothing to say. I don't hate him. He made his choice and we made ours. I sincerely wish him good health and happiness. Our paths may or may not cross again. It doesn't really matter to me. As one of the uncles told me.."take good care of your mum". That's the most sensible thing someone told me during these few days. He is right, me and my sisters duty is to our mum only. That's why I don't want to talk to him, don't want to give the window of chance that he might come into our present lives and complicate matters. We are doing well and don't need to take this risk of hurting our mum. Not easy decision, but between him and mum, no question about my choice, and I'll stand by it regardless what happens in future. That's the price of betrayal. Its a life lesson for me.

It is a closure at last.

Again. RIP Ah Ma. Don't worry about us. We will take care.

Beginning of a new chapter!!!

RIP ah ma

She passed on 19 April 2014 , age 91


RIP ah ma

I won't forget how you doted on me (well, it is kind of favoritism). Still it was a privilege.
The old generation treats the first grandson from first son as their youngest son, so that's probably why.

Somehow, the memory of staying over at her 1 bedder in ChaiChee never goes away. I guess it was a pleasant feeling, so it stays.

Still, its been over 20 years since the drift happened. So maybe the pain wasn't so much because of it.

Still, your passing brings new perspective for myself. As children, we must be filial to our parents. I heard how she was alone at her last breath. Well, she was already probably sick for a long time, so perhaps I should not judge like what Brenda said, as taking care of her would probably be a huge strain to her children. But still, being alone at your last when your loved ones are actually around somewhere...it is kind of heartbreaking.

Well, at least all your children, grandchildren are here for the final rites and send off. It is a huge family, something you can be proud of. Your legacy. No one can take this from you.

So, rest in peace Ah Ma. We will all live well forward. Don't worry about anything anymore.

Love you

ST test drive

Tested the focus ST today
250bhp, 2.0 turbo. 6speed MT
One word...SHIOK

The car can accelerate at low speed when in 4th gear. OMG

Quoted 155k for demo unit which is white. Pretty color, but wonder how many time ms it was trashed around.
159k for brand new black.

Bay area

Blessed

Blessed is when you are presented the opportunity to love your children

Tooth fairy arrives

She's so excited!

Big milestone for my lovely princess

My vacuum bot

That's 1k
Better do a good job to clean the house!!!

159 alfa

Life is short

Life gets shorter as each day goes by
So don't waste life
Go out
Get out of your norms and comfort zones
Try new things
Pick up knowledge
Learn a new skill
Have fun
Take actions on things you planned out for yourself and your loved ones
Be happy
Don't dwell on small things
Don't get upset by people who you don't care about in the place
Don't spend time with and on people who don't matter to you at all, and who can jolly well take care of themselves.
Offer to help people who really need your help, but remember, your loved ones could comes first no matter what.
Take care of your body so it can do what you need to do when the time comes.
Take care of your mind. Mind is strong and weak at same time
Don't waste food
Don't throw but give away things that still works.
Don't be a miser with your money, you can't take them with you when you're gone.
Give your friends and loved ones a treat, a gift
Not expensive things to show off, but meaning things
Not expensive meals to show off, but meaningful time spent together on a meal, sharing feelings and thoughts and asking about each others day

Meaning

Very tired.

Why can't we be nice to each other

Already so tired and stressed still want to fight.

Should support each other

Alive

Need to feel it

Melody

Black beauty

Toto numbers

Keep buying this

Whooping cough

So that's what it was.

Scary to hear her cough like that nonstop for 1hr

Glad there's antibiotics for it. Get well soon my baby!

Reunion dinner

Every year it is the same shit.
Why can't I have reunion dinner with MY family on the actual eve?
Frankly, I can't recall when was the last time it happened. 10 years ago?
Everyone is surprised when they see me here. Except someone.

This is call taking things for granted.

That's why I never answer any questions today. What's the point. I am always moody this time, for reasons I only know too well myself.

Next year I'll turn things around. This shit cannot go on.

Lambo

Son, I'll get you a lambo

KFC chicken rice

My girl has tooth growing

New front tooth growing up behind existing one at a funny angle. Time for her to see a dentist.

Wonder how much this will cost.

But more importantly hope it is not serious issue!!

New home sales

CCNP

Passed, after 2 tries. Phew. Now a certified CCNP for another 3 years!

Frankly, this thing has not much value to my work. Most of the questions are on EIGRP, who uses that?

But having a cert is impt nowadays for a job. And recertification is much easier, compare to starting all over from CCNA level!!

$600 gone

Principle of engineering

"Every step forward begins with a complaint about what already exists... Rising expectations aren't a sign of immature 'entitlement'. They are a sign of progress - and the wellspring of future advances...

Special noodles

2014

Are the years getting shorter?
Or I am living under the 'busy' rock for too long, lost sight of time?

New year:
Keep fit
Stay focus on job
Take care of fam
Get finance in order
Smell roses

1979

"And we don't know
Just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
forgotten and absorbed
Into the earth below"

Live once.