Homecoming- Day 1

Coming home from overseas has always been a happy experience for me… none more so than this trip home…

After 8 ½ months of being away… I am finally home… I cant remember the number of times I asked Zhiying “Very excited hor?”

We took one of the best flight you can take for a long haul flight…. Executive economy on SQ.. I am thoroughly convinced of SQ’s supreme standard after this experience…

One of the most impt thing, if not THE most impt, is food… below is the chronological order in which food was consumed (with delight I must add) during my first day

510am: Saw Polar… always liked the chicken pie and the sugar rolls… walked up.. might as well try the Curry puff… and also saw… DURIAN roll… can taste the real durian in it man!!

9am: After a bit of unpacking and wash-up… headed to the market that I go to, when I growing up, and ate the BLACK carrot cake… with CHILLI!! Super stuff… of coz… not forgetting the chin chow drink…. The combination I only had for the past 23 years (at least).

11am: after a short drive… reached the prawn mee shop at upp east coast road… with soup… and chilli powder… it was good… but the accompanying Wu Xiang (aka Chinese rojak by my dad) was even more POWER (as tim would put it… SHEN)… It would be nowhere as good without it’s chilli, which deserves a special mention.

Went home thereafter… took a nappy…. Then headed for geylang at 630pm

7pm: Ate the frog leg with porridge… and others… all very nice…

Rest and sleep….?

No! Woke up at 430am (must be due to jet lag)…

Took a look at the fridge…..

DURIAN! Took 3 seeds… Satisfied…

What’s next???

Waking up at 630am….

Recently, I discovered an avenue to watch ESPN’s Sports Center… No no… no the one that attributed 2 seconds to World Cup coverage… it’s Sports Center ASIA!!!!

What’s the big deal, you may ask. To you, it may be just the difference between waking up on the left or right side of the bed (no difference)… but to me… IT IS THE PROGRAM!

Why? Being born and raised in Singapore, it is natural that I am concerned about the happenings in Singapore… B*S*!!!

The actual reason is… I watched almost ALL the sports on ESPN and Starsports… Football, F1, Golf, Tennis, Basketball…. Etc etc… and for the 8 months I have been here… F1 was never mentioned (becoz some suckers cant do well at certain things… they rather not know it exists)… Football was given another name and given 2 FREAKING SECONDS worth of coverage during the most important event in 4 years!!

Why wake up at 630am, am I an early riser? NO! If you know me just a tiny wenee bit, you know I can barely wake up at 830am, let alone 630am (I was always late for my lessons at 1030am when I was in school… WTF!)

The reason is becoz Sports Center is telecast at 730pm Singapore time, which is 630am my time… I honestly have never been committed to any cause that requires me to wake up early… this is really a BIG exception… but… I am happy…. So happy to see some real programs on “the beautiful game”. Not some lame shows shown on Tim’s channels (called FSC). And of course… not to mention.. I get to listen to my all time Ou Xiang (idol)… John Dykes… he is a football presenter, who is humble, knowledgeable, and extremely insightful on all things football. F1 is something I missed a lot too… hopefully I will get to watch more… and the live streaming will not be cut off…

HaaaaaaaaaAAAAaaaAAAAaappPPPPpppPPppppYYyYYyYyyyyYYYYYyYyyyyY!

Excited!!!

I was working now... 912am... and somehow feel really excited about going home.....

The sweet smell of home... I smell it... do you?


WWWWWWWWWWWWOooooooooooooooooooO OOOOOOOAaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaHHhhhhhhhh

Money money money...

Planning the trip back... biggest problem... repaying debt.....

just a simple breakdown of the money that is going out...

Sadz...


SGD 1.57 USD
Dad loan-----------USD 19,108
Ma allowance -----USD 2,000
Things to buy------USD 1,000
Money in account-USD 2,000
Sis' tic---------------USD 850
Sub Total----------USD 25,108
Zhiying ------------USD (10,000)
Total outgoing----USD 15,143 (heartache)

How to not blog this?

One thing there is extremely steady about the firm... not sure if it's US in general...

I wanted to have a printer.... cant find a good client to request it for (most clients here provide every freaking thing you can think of).

So tried requesting it online...

Bingo! request granted. Printer issued within 2 days. How shen! (as tim will say countlessly).

Someone collected for me... I thought they will give some cheap cheap printers, since it's quite easy to request for one...

Who knows..... HP Deskjet 460c

It is this!!!! What a beauty... Checked online....

Cost US$200!!! I am impressed...

Enough said...

Bruised ego

We came here, with great expectations, with excellent reputations… somewhat arrogant about myself… about how much better we are than “them”.

8 months on… we realized we are the “guy” or that “staff” who briefly appeared, out of nowhere. The person who is there to fill some gap. The reason why you are here is no longer becoz you are you, but becoz there’s this gap that needed to be filled.

8 months on… we realized we are not really that much better than “them”. While we are not any worse generally, we certainly get nothing close to the “superstar” treatment, sometimes we foolishly think we deserve.

I guess this bitter pill, in the form of a humble pie, is something we have taken, like it or not. I think this whole process really teaches me to have greater humility, to think of myself less (not feel inferior). More importantly, it teaches me to appreciate the recognition that I receive from peers and superiors back home. It also teaches me to appreciate the “lesser” foreigners better when I get back home.

One thing I am good at.... make the most out of the situation. Since we like to travel, request for more travelling engagement... see the country more... whatever it is... it's up to us to make it good and better....

While many would cry and whine… I know this is only consistant with what Jesus said… (not in exact words, just the gist)… “the last will be the first, and the first will be the last”

I would also like to add something that I read somewhere….

The joy of working hard is not success,
but the mere knowledge that you have tried your best.

SCAMS

My life has suddenly become less than simple....

During my relentless pursuit of a "value" camera.....

I almost got myself into a "like-fraud" dealer.

Found this website through a advert on a forum a frequent:

http://www.bestpricecameras.com/display.asp?page=312322

Sells superbly priced camera, at unbeatable price. Payment method: Credit card....

Cant go wrong....? So I thought....

After keying in my credit card details (before the good deals get snapped up), i googled "bestpricecameras"... and much to MY HORROR..... I saw posts like this:

(Source: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bestpricecamera)

"the company is involved in a HIGH pressure sales pitch to get me to buy accessories, like lenses, filters, batteries and charger, memory cards, etc. "

"DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THESE CROOKS"

and other things like.... stolen credit card IDs.... It was a nightmare!!

Thank God... It was a late Friday night, and I guess they must have been sleeping or something... I called my credit card company asked if they have charged my card. They have not. So I immediately report the lost of credit card info, and requested for a change of cards.

Just today, when surfing on another website, I saw another good deal at
http://oneclickdigital.com/product.asp?productid=CanEosXTkit&tab=1

When I searched the web again, it is another bait-and-switch operation....

So... Be WARNED.

Good food

This week, I had the opportunity to make my 2nd trip out of town for an engagement. Like I have heard so much before from my inner circle of friends, one perk of travelling is... GOOD FOOD.

Why?
Need you ask?

What did I have?
Sunday night: Tuna Sashimi, prawn sphagetti, drinks.
Cost: Abt US$40 (price after tips and tax)

Monday night: Japanese sushimi, sushi, rolls..
Cost: abt $35

Tuesday night: Break from good food
Cost: Immaterial, leave.

Wednesday night: Filet Mignon, Wine, Desserts.
Cost: $50

Thursday night: Starter- Lobster something, Main- Roasted Duck, Desserts- Peacan Pie
Cost: $50

Weekly summary: Too much good food.
Cost: Porridge for one day at least.

It's a fresh experience, but not something I enjoy too extremely.....

Hmm... then again... Can't complain, can i?

My narration of our Grand Canyon hike

Since I am taking forever to load my photos, i shall share a few that I particularly like. Something that I use to reflects our feelins about the trek down to Grand Canyon...

It was certainly a trip.... one of its kind... I hope these pictures will aptly describe our experiences...

Here it goes....

The TREK DOWN TO GRAND CANYON

Like many things in life... We started confident, not complacent... ready to take on the world...
(Tim and Zhanwen at one of the stopping points along highway 1)

We felt that we are bigger than anything we will face.... with an overcoming attitude.. we set out...

(Tim taking a picture of sharon in a lousy jersey- LA)

we caught a glimpse... an adventure of the life time beckons... excited... expecting.. we went on

(Sunset at a place near Williams, stopover pt to Grand Canyon)

As we started... we realised it was indeed a rugged adventure...

(Zhiying with her worn out attire in Grand Canyon)

we saw a lot a beautiful sights... but it was never a breeze..

(Another stop point along Highway 1- Jagged point)

At times, we wanna punch ourselves for setting on this trip.... other times... we felt shitty...

(LA's Universal studio- A fun shot)

We walked... we toiled...

(Tim following closely behind a exhausted, but persisting Sharon)

We could see that the end was near..... and the obstacle was not as big as we sometimes perceived it to be.

(Zhiying, persisting despite a sprained ankle, behind the backdrop of Grand Canyon)

Sometimes, when life gets tough, you just have to focus your mind on other things...

(Beach goers at Mahattan Beach, LA)

Finally when we completed the journey.... we wanted to dance... we knew it was worth it... every bit of our sweat ...

(The Bellagio Fountain- Las Vegas)

The end may be just THAT MOMENT.... But we definitely have it captured, deep in our heart.....

(Fireworks at Monterary Bay, California on July 4)

Home home home...

The sweet smell of home is nearer... the date: 31 August, 2006, 540am!

Counting down... haha

I teared

A couple of tears rolled down my cheeks.....

No... no one bullied me... no... my love did not leave me...

It's simply because I was watching a video on my friend's blog.

How it Started:

Me: Alec, so hiong ah, do Iron man. Actually what does it take to be an Ironman. (He is doing it this Dec)

Alex: nothing la....3.8km swim, dats abt 76 laps of the pool only....

Alex: 180km bike, from boonlay to changi and back...2 times

Alex: followed by a marathon, dats all.

Me: (So easy? I am sure I can do it too)Wah so hiong,
that time i went to nike cycling... from east coast till NTU, my butt almost cracked

Then he shocked me....

Alex: and when u think dats tough...imagine a 70+ yr old man carrying his 30+ yr old disabled son through the entire course....

Zi...Tri Hard! says (11:30 AM):
watch this video....i always Cry when i watch it, esp at the finish....

Here it is... at the heart of the ironman...
http://zitan.multiply.com/video/item/5

Prepare a tissue or two..

Update on scam

A 2nd email (pretending to be the seller of the item i bidded), offering a "2nd chance" bid.

Kaoz!!

MUST BE CAREFUL BIDDING IN EBAY!!!

Was ALMOST caught in a scam... involving US$1k

Long story short, bidded for an item, lost the bid becoz very kiam gana.

But the winning bid was $150 more, which was about the right price.A short while after the bid ended, I was contacted by the seller about the 2nd chance bids (that means his winning bidder put his aeroplane).

After a short verification that he is indeed the seller, by sending a message directly through his ebay account. I agreed to buy his product. But he replied to say that we could do the deal through "ebay square trade", and I was supposed to send the money through this 3rd party agency through Western Union.

When I search the net for the company Square Trade, I found that it is indeed a recommend arbitration party by ebay.

The PROBLEM is... when I click through the email sent to me by the seller, it led me to this webpage: http://www.square-trade-ltd.info/index-1.htm

When I click it through ebay, it led me to this page:http://www.squaretrade.com/cnt/jsp/index.jsp

Seems the same? I think it's not. I tried to locate the physical address... it seems correct too.

Then when I check the official website (through ebay), it said:"Beware of potential fake "spoof" emails that pretend to be an authentic email from SquareTrade or other trusted companies. DO NOT SEND MONEY TO WESTERN UNION / MONEYGRAM / WIRE TRANSFER !!!"

http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pop/p...raudAlert.html
(READ THIS... It's good)

So... beware... I am not 100% sure that the seller is a fraudster, but I will not trade outside the ebay homepage. (i cant be sure until they take my $$$). Hope it helps.

The morale of the story... there are very few extremely good deals... the market now is quite transparent, so it's hard to get an extremely low price for anything. If you do get one... do your homework, or risk losing your money.

Thank God for the Kiasu Kiasi mentality in me... I am after all just a Singaporean....