Well, i did not really forget what i promised to blog about. I was just too occupied with a few things. Besides running around in SG to get some stuff done and shopping for iPad accessories, i have also got myself yet another new toy when i was in SG last week.
Uh huh, say hi again to my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.
Now you must be wondering why i need two tablets. Actually i don't. What i really need (or rather - want) is an Android smartphone.
So why not get a mobile phone instead? Well, here's what happened.
I've been using the same SG mobile number for about 10 years already and am still on a very old plan that Starhub no longer offers. It was a simple plan with monthly subscription of only SGD22, but only provides 100 minutes free talk time without any data plan or other add-on services. As i had been using company phone previously, my own personal mobile number is only for light usage. I did not have the need to upgrade it to a more expensive plan.
Two weeks back, i received a SGD100 voucher by post from Starhub. I will be able to get any handset with this discount if i were to re-contract my plan for another two years (my contract has already ended). Of course, if i were to upgrade my plan to something more expensive (like those that come with data plan), i can get the phones at even cheaper prices.
Initially i thought i could live without a smartphone, but then recently i ran into a problem when i was settling some stuff in SG and required instant access to the Internet. Even though my X10 can access Internet too, it is so small that it is difficult for me to search for the information i need. At the end i needed to sms LF and little brother to help me to search for it and sms back to me.
That was when i decided that i really ought to get a new smartphone. Since i got the discount voucher, i decided to make good use of it. So last week when i was in SG, after i've done what i wanted to do, i went to Starhub to get two things: a new smartphone and a prepaid data micro SIM card for my iPad (so that i can use it when i am in SG).
I did not want to spend too much on the phone but also wanted something decent enough for me to use (not like my X10). Even though i was very impressed with LF's and little brother's Galaxy Note, as well as Sui's S3, all these are too expensive and were prices above SGD500. I had liked the company phone S2 and thought of getting it but Starhub has already sold out all S2 and does not carry this model anymore. So i could either go for other brands such as LG, Nokia and HTC (all of which i did not like and have heard negative feedback), or get the Samsung Galaxy Tab that can also serve as a phone even though it is rather bulky as a phone.
I saw that the Tab 2 7.0 was priced at SGD398 with renewal of two years contract. With the SGD100 discount, i only paid SGD298 for it, which i considered quite a good bargain. After much contemplation, i decided to go for it and so now i have two tablets with me.
And here's the cool part.
My iPad is now with the Starhub prepaid data plan and the Galaxy Tab is with the Digi prepaid plan (for both calls and data). My X10 is of course still with my old Starhub mobile plan for calls and sms only. When I am out in Malaysia, i will tether the Galaxy Tab for my iPad and vice versa when i am in SG. Then i am able to access both devices when i am at both places.
(There is a valid and sensible reason why i went for prepaid plan instead of getting a monthly subscription, which will all make sense when i blog about what i promised.)
Oh, and in case you are wondering why i didn't get an iPhone, that's because iPhone is even more expensive without an upgraded plan and also i don't need two devices with same access to Apple Apps, which are mostly chargeable. I want an Android device because more Apps are free at the Play Store.
So now i don't feel handicapped anymore. The only issue now is that the Galaxy Tab is really a tad too big as a phone. It is ok to be carried around but it is rather inconvenience for making calls. I need to use the earpiece or get a bluetooth headset, but to dial a call is still troublesome. I will look for some accessories tomorrow in SG to help me to overcome this issue.
Yes, i am going into SG again tomorrow for another two days to continue what i didn't complete doing (you must be wondering what the heck i was really doing!). Normally it only takes me a few hours to settle the stuff and i will go shopping for the rest of the day. I was in SG for three days last week and i had been to Compass Point, Raffles City, Takashimaya, Plaza Singapore, Funan the IT Mall, Bugis Junction, Sim Lim Tower, Causeway Point, and Novena Square. I walked until my feet ached.
See, i do exercise, by the means of shopping. No, i am NOT a shopaholic. I was just looking for some gadgets but couldn't find it. Hence i did not really spend a lot despite shopping at all these places.
Hope my quest for the desired gadgets will be successful tomorrow. I am waiting to get all the gadgets i want before showing them off here. ;)
Gee, more like indulgence it seems ... You really cannot tahan your purse when it comes to bargain, and mention about tethering with 2 tabs... hai-yah. See lah, now you are going to accommodate for 2 devices for the accessories, don't think to compromise and be frugal for the quality. Oh, which side of factions you're in - apple or Samsung?! I always have thought you are apple fan, and s.jobs said before he will spend all of the money to bring down google ... Sigh, sigh.
Oh well, enuf of the crap, gotta admit the tab is one irresistible good bargain (but cannot like that also mah, and that's kinda big for phone also). Iphone indeed overpricey, gotta be realistic too. By the way, that's not one good example of exercise, you'd probably get the urge to spent, or new target lor.. Good luck in your hunting spree, hmm, you might try with online ordering for the gadget. Look forward for the new story, i wonder what's the gadget that is so special that you're willing to huff and puff almost the whole places in sg. Perhaps, with new tab, you might want to share the story of writing your own android apps. That's gotta be real interesting :). Cheers.
Forget to say even you have new toy(s), don't be so indulged and neglect your health. Sleep early, wake up early, what's more invigorating on new fresh day rather than late nights. Don't sleep late, and still carrying panda eyes, there's no more excuses being stress and insomnia due to work. oh, not especially with 2 pandas came to sg. So, does ICS, er, JellyBean better than iOS? Cheers :)
hey i just got the tab 2 last week too. the size is really good for leisure surfing, no doubt i love it so much but i have to agree on the size. a tad silly to hold it up to the ear.
just wanna share with you. i got this off gmarket recently, especially good for huge phones. if you don't mind carrying another device with you. i'm still waiting for it to be delivered though.
Angel, there are good and bad on both iOS and android. Now I should probably blog about my thoughts on this... ;)
quelle, I was actually searching for similar device too and only found one that is sold on China e-shop: http://www.cyber-blue.com/products_info.asp?id=119&code=AA Was wondering how to buy from china, and now the one you shared seems good too! Please do let me know if it works so that I will get one too. Thank you! :)
i just received it. it's kind of cool actually. very small in size. smaller than a palm size and it does work.
tried calling a few times. i can hear clearly what he/she says but the other party was telling me i don't sound very clear to them but still audible. unless i plug in earpiece to the mini phone then it's very clear.
I know i have said that i wanna get back to the habit of updating my blog more regularly, but there is a reason why i didn't do so for the past few days.
And i think it is a valid reason...
Uh huh, i have a new toy that occupies a lot of my time now. I finally got it.
Say hi to my New iPad.
This arrived at my JB home when i was travelling up to KL for the treasure hunt. So, you should understand why i did not blog about the treasure hunt even though i was back to JB since Sunday night.
Oh, and i went through a lot of troubles just to get this new toy. It is gonna be a long story, but i am not gonna write about it now, as i gotta run some errands and will be going to SG this evening and coming back tomorrow. I also intend to get some accessories for my iPad while i am there since i couldn't find the things i want in JB.
And in case you are wondering - no, this post is not written with my iPad.
ouch .... looks like your friends have indeed successfully brainwashed you! frankyly, it's more convenient for users to surf net on tablet than laptop. and obviously much much better than the old breaking down laptop.
by the way, what happened to the treasure hunt? don't tell no news = bad news .... look forward for more nice nice stories and thoughts hor. cheers :)
This is an overdue post, which should have been posted more than a month ago with the other new toy that i bought at about the same time.
So i decided that i should at lease clear this post before the end of the year, and i will have to tell the story from the very beginning.
I can't remember the exact day but it should be around the beginning of the year, the battery charger of my camera (Nikon Coolpix S700) died off. I then went to Sim Lim Square and wanted to buy a new charger. I had actually wanted to buy the original Nikon charger but then somehow was convinced by the storekeeper that the original one was too expensive and i could get a generic brand multi-charger at a much cheaper price.
And so i bought it, but the charger only worked for about a month or so before it stopped working - it would charge the battery for only less than 10 minutes and the indicator would then turn green and stopped charging. This means that the battery could only be charged a little bit and not fully charged at all, and it wouldn't even sustain my camera for more than 5 minutes.
(Lesson learnt: always get the original accessories for the equipment even though it is more expensive, and do not believe in the crap of those sales people)
I was very fed-up, for i've wasted money in getting a charger that was useless, and the worst part was that this happened during the time i was going to the USA. So my entire trip was rather pathetic. I gotta switch off the camera after taking one picture so that the battery can "rest" for a while to gain back some charge and then i could switch it back on to take one picture again. Even this won't last me for a few hours, and for most of the trips, i gotta take pictures with my two mobile phones (the iPhone and Samsung) instead. I was really pissed about it, as it was a rare chance to have business trips to the USA and yet i did not have a decent camera for the trip.
After i returned from the trip, i decided that i would not get a new charger anymore. After all, the camera was a gift from YY and it held too much memories as well. It was time that i should get a new camera.
Being the queen of procrastination, naturally i would not get a new camera immediately. So for almost the entire year, i've been camera-less and using my iPhone to take pictures.
Finally, i got a new camera in November.
It's a Canon PowerShot S95.
For the people who know me, you should know very well that i belong to the Nikon camp because i used Nikon SLR back in my school days when i was with the Photographic Society. I would always get a Nikon when it comes to photography. This is actually my very first Canon camera.
Frankly, Nikon is not very good in the compact camera range. I had insisted in getting Nikon compact previously simply because of being a fan of Nikon. This time round, i decided to explore other options for the compact camera that i wanna get (but i will still insist on Nikon when it comes to DSLR).
After some research, i saw that Panasonic LUMIX and Canon S95 are among the top reviews in the compact range. Little brother has a LUMIX and he persuaded me to get S95 instead because of the size - LUMIX is bigger and not pocketable. I thought that since i would be getting a DSLR eventually, then i should get a compact camera that is really portable and yet still produces images of good quality.
So then, S95 was the choice, which cost me RM1,400.
The purchase came with some freebie, one of which was the camera case. I did not really like it because of the old-fashioned look.
Anyway, after getting the new toy, i tried it out by snapping some random pictures here and there (and of course, the pictures i posted on my blog since i got the camera were all taken with this camera as well).
Trying out the different shooting modes on the camera case (because i had nothing else to shoot):
Macro shot of dried flowers:
Night landscape of the flats opposite where i stay:
And some random pictures i took in the office:
Souvenirs from overseas
A sad-looking little doggie sitting on top of my cubicle
Microsoft calculator
Google Lego blocks on the cubicle of our IT department
Plants on my colleague's desk
A Google yo-yo
So far, i am very pleased with the images that this camera produces, but till now, i'm still unfamiliar with the many functions of this camera, so i'm using the Auto mode most of the time.
I will have to play around with it more to unleash its potential, even though it is just a compact camera.
haha, queen of procrastination. don't call yourself like that lah. anyway, when it comes to battery and charger, always try to get the original or authorized ones for safety reason. batteries are considered explosive items and there are many stories of alternative batteries and charger caused the gadgets to explode (and fire in the house). yet the price for the original accessories is so unreasonable too. darn. handphones/PDA and most items with batteries < 5V usually can be charged using USB when connected to PC, but i don't know about compact cameras - ah, mine's cannot though but i'm not using nikon and it's quite an old camera. whatever it is, it's nice that you get a new camera indeed. it's just 2 months old and you have snapped close to 1000 photos (can tell from the photos filename img????), gosh, you're sure an avid photographer :).
hmm, and i thought google and microsoft are loggerheads.
Haha! did I told u that my Nikon charger also spoilt not long after urs? I wanted to buy a Original too, but Nikon don't have stock, so after waiting for a few months, I was forced to buy a multi-charger too. So far, it's functioning well, and I haven't pay my cousin yet. (initially he let me use while waiting for the original to reach, so I suspect he actually know the stock will never arrive, so I'll be forced to buy "pirated" one in the end) However, this year I also plan to buy myself quite a no of "toys" as a reward of hardwork. Will need your advice then. Enjoy your toy.
This is a message i sent out to little brother on last Tuesday:
The square phone was referring to Motorola Flipout, which i originally had my eyes on for quite a while, even before it was released. I didn't get it in the end though.
Anyway, i have my first Android phone now.
So how i ended up getting X10 Mini Pro instead? Ok, let's see if i can make the long story short.
I am now holding three mobile phone lines, two from the company and one of my personal line. All employees of manager and above rank in this company is entitled to a company phone, and the main purpose is for us to be contactable anytime, anywhere, whether through phone calls or emails.
The company phone that i am holding is an iPhone. It's not the new iPhone 4 of course, and i will not get the new version because the one i have was only given to me a few months back.
Then, as i return to JB every weekend and am in KL for a week every month, the data roaming charges for my iPhone was sky high. There was a month that it went up to SGD800+. Big boss then decided that each of us who goes to KL frequently should get a Malaysian mobile line. Then when we are in Malaysia, we can switch off the data roaming on our Singapore line and switch to the Malaysian line instead. So each of us was given the old out-dated Blackberry and a DIGI SIM card. Hence i have two company phones now.
Yet, don't forget that i do have a personal line too. I've been using this phone line for many years. It was such long time that the mobile plan i'm holding now is already obsolete. It was with a monthly subscription fee of SGD22 only, without free data plan or any other extra fancy packages like the mobile plans today. That was ok for me since i only use it for calls and sms. For Internet connectivity, i'd use my company iPhone.
For my personal line, i had been using the Samsung INNOV8 that YY gave me as birthday present about two years ago. Naturally, this phone would remind me of the past, but i continued using it, as i was too occupied to go buy a new one.
Then, about two months or so ago, it broke down. I had to get a new phone, otherwise all my friends would not be able to contact me (none of them know my company mobile phone number). But i couldn't make up my mind on what phone to buy, as i hope to get something small so that it's convenient to carry around. Both iPhone and Blackberry are considered big, and i do not need a third one that is big too. Yet, the mobile phones nowadays emphasised on multimedia capabilities that require sizable screen, and hence the various manufacturers hardly produce small phones anymore.
I browsed the Web for small phone with QWERTY keyboard (as i've never owned one with it and wanted to have one), and came across the Xperia X10 Mini Pro and saw that it is rather small. Then i also saw the Flipout, which is of a very unique square shape. I had my heart on Flipout, as i thought it was quite cute and fancy, but at that time, this phone was not released in SG yet. So i continue to wonder what phone to buy, and in the meantime the IT manager lent me a very old company's Motorola phone for my personal line.
Then recently, i was happy to find out that Flipout was released in SG. Last Tuesday after work, i went to the Starhub shop, thinking to recontract my plan and to get the new phone. After i got a queue number and waited for my turn, i looked around in the shop and saw that X10 Mini Pro was also on promotion. Then i had a second thought.
I then remembered the one and only Sony Ericsson phone i ever had, the W580i, which i liked but dropped into the toilet bowl and spoilt it after using it for less than a year. As i travel frequently, the mobile phone also serves as a MP3 player for me. I do not load any songs into the iPhone because it belongs to the company, and i had been using the INNOV8 for this purpose. I then decided that Sony Ericsson is better when it comes to playing music, and i seriously thought about buying the X10 instead of Flipout.
The final straw that made me changed my mind is when i looked at the size of the two phones again carefully. Yes, Flipout is small when it's not opened up, but because of its square design, it is rather wide for my small hand. Basically, it is about the same width as the iPhone and as big as iPhone too when it is swivelled opened.
Here's how it looks like when i hold the iPhone (yes, i have short and fat fingers despite being quite tall and slim):
And X10 Mini Pro will fit nicely into my palm.
Oh, and the X10 Mini Pro is also about SGD30 cheaper than Flipout, which wasn't really a factor in my consideration.
So in the end, i changed my mind and bought the Sony Ericsson instead. When i was paying for it, i was told that i have a SGD100 voucher and hence the phone only cost me SGD38.
I checked with the sales representative about future upgrading to iPhone 4, and she told me that i could do that after a year even though my recontract was for 2 years. If i indeed leave my current company, i may upgrade my mobile plan and get the new iPhone instead, but that will be in the future.
I know the review for X10 Mini Pro hasn't been very good, but the bad reviews were mainly for the smartphone features, which wasn't a concern for me at all. As i am using an old mobile plan with it, my bill would sky rocket if i use it for Web browsing or emails. I still use the company iPhone for all the other smartphone functions.
As for the OS, which was one of the main factor that i found to be on the losing end compared to Flipout, turned out to be not a concern either anymore. The Android upgrade for Xperia has just been released in SG on the day before i bought the phone, and i seriously wasn't aware of it. After i bought it, i searched the Web and found out that i could drop off my phone with the SE service centre and get it upgraded to a newer version of Android (even though not the latest).
So, my phone is now with the service centre. I have to leave it with them for 3 days or so for the upgrade. Well, i'm not in a hurry so i'm fine with it, even though not being able to perform the upgrade ourselves was kinda troublesome, as i need to go down to the centre two times just to get it upgraded.
But then, i'm happy that things turned out to be all well for me. God really loves me!
(The funny thing about this is that when the IT Manager found out that i did not upgrade my mobile plan and have no intention to use any smartphone features on this phone, he asked me why then i got a phone with QWERTY keyboard. I then said to him, "for sms". I could almost see him rolling his eyes with my reply! )
wah, so evny smartphone you have there! i also do not aware of xperia upgradable to android 2.1 (i heard it from my friend who's using xperia 10) until i googled and realized sony just announced recently. you better jaga the phone properly so you won't end up the same mistake as your old phone lor. come to think of it, even if the phone got soaked in water, there's still 20% chance of survival if you open up the casing to expose the electronic board and dry it with a hair dryer. it's just opinion though :).
hmm, i always contemplating to get one smartphones myself. i have friends (colleagues) who own google htc nexus, iphone4 and xperia 10 and review a bit on them. the champion is iphone4, of course! that's my opinion, i hope i did not offend android fans. but to think the purpose of having smartphone is to surf facebook during office time, in the meeting, canteen is ..... and to pay rm50-rm100 a month for that purpose is ..... and my loyal 2.5G sony phone is still working well for 3+ years and to replace it is ... ah, my friend also commented that sony ericsson sound output is better than iphone, maybe he's biased because he's carrying xperia 10.
by the way, having smartphones with qwerty doesn't mean for sms only. you can use it to surf net at wifi available locations mah, like starbucks and mcd. it can be also for apps that require typing. i heard from my friends that iphone apps is only available at apple site, while android apps is not limited at google but downloadble everywhere. gosh, temptation is really HIGH when everyone is carrying smartphones. and, what kind of engineer who works in technological company and yet does not follow technology trend or own such gadgets. enjoy your new toy, guess this is kind of reward and pamper after all the hard work-lor, you should have asked your boss to subsidize! cheers :).
Angel, do get an iPhone if you have finally decided to get a smartphone. You will not regret it. Oh, and it is indeed quite embarassing nowadays for someone working in technology field to not have a smartphone - my aunt and uncle (who are 60+ yeard old) are using iPhone too leh... Heehee, my intention is not to rub it in but to motivate you to get one for yourself. ;)
Sui, yes, indeed... and stay tune for another one.
here's little comic to live up your mood (hmm, i should have sent the draft to you for editing first). http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7150/comic36.jpg. i must say i don't have talent in drawing lor, else i could have posted this yesterday instead. if you zoom up the corner left sms text, that is actually the text you sent out to your little bro.
so, where's about the new toy II. oh well, health is more important, better get enough rest+sleep than staying up late to blog. cheers ^0^!
On the eve of Christmas, i got another present from 贝.
Uh huh, i got a new mobile phone -- Samsung INNOV8 (i8510).
This is my birthday present, more than a month early. 贝 said since he had already bought it, he might as well give it to me earlier. In fact, he got himself a same phone as well, so i bet it was because he couldn't wait to use his too.
I can't recall if i've actually written about this -- i dropped my old mobile phone into the toilet bowl a few month back. It isn't really right to call it my old mobile phone, because i had only used it for less than a year. It was actually still quite new.
What happened was i brought the mobile phone to the washroom with me, and put it in the pocket at the back of my pants. The washroom on the floor of my office only has two cubicles, one of sitting type and the other the squatting type. The sitting type was occupied and so i went in to the squatting one. Forgetting that the phone was at the back pocket, i just pulled down my pants and then that was it, the phone dived right into the toilet bowl.
I was stunned for a second or two, and quickly picked it up from the toilet bowl -- before you say "ewwww", please know that the toilet bowl was clean and i had not urinated into it yet. Ok, it indeed was a bit "ewwww", which was why i did something really stupid. After i picked the phone up, i switched off the power and took it to the wash basin and rinsed it with clean water.
Ya ya ya, idiotic, i know. I am a bit of this "cleanliness freak" that i totally forgot that it was an electronic devise that cannot come in contact with water! When i finally realised what a stupid thing i was doing, i quickly wiped it dry and gave it a few hard shake, hoping to shake out the water in it.
Anyway, to cut the story short, the phone could not be used anymore. Dropping it into water would void the warranty, and fixing it would cost more than getting a new one. 贝 said his two-year contract with Starhub was ending soon, and he could get a new phone for me at discounted price, so i decided to wait for a few months. 贝 lent me one of his Nokia phones (he has three mobile phones!) and i had been using it ever since.
I was actually quite upset with that incident. Other than because it was still new and i had spent SGD100+ to get a new earphone to go with it, i kinda like that Sony Ericsson phone quite a lot, especially the walkman function, which helped to keep me entertained with nice songs on the many business trips i had.
I have yet to explore the multimedia function on this new phone. This is the first smart phone i've had and decided to make full use of it.
I'm taking a break from blogging about my business trip and gonna update about the wonderful Christmas eve i had yesterday.
Before that, i'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
Yesterday morning, 贝 and i drove in from JB to SG as other normal Monday, except that i skipped work as planned. I drove 贝 to his office and then went home and rested.
At around 1pm, i met up with 贝 at Suntec. We had lunch and did some shopping. We bought quite a lot of clothing today, since many shops were having sales and promotion. The malls were crowded, as there were lots of people doing last-minute shopping for Christmas gifts. With the decorations and the non-stop Christmas songs aired in the malls, we could really feel the holiday mood.
While we were shopping, there were a few times i threw my tantrums at 贝, for he jokingly passed some remarks about what i wore and looked at a girl who wore exceptionally short dress. I wasn't really upset, but i think it was because of PMS, i got irritated by his remarks easily. Despite my fit, we did have a good time.
In the evening, we had our Christmas eve dinner at the Paulaner Bräuhaus at Millenia Walk. It's a restaurant serving German beer and Bavarian cuisine. We ordered the Nürnberger Bratwurst (sausages), the Gegrillte Schweinshaxe (Grilled Pork Knuckle), and a glass of dark German beer. Both dishes were simply delicious and went very well with the beer. We had a divine time relishing the food as well as the memory of seven years ago back in Munich when we first tasted such cuisine and where our romance blossomed.
After the dinner, we went back to Suntec in search of a timepiece shop where i could get 贝 a watch that he would like. As i was away for two weeks and didn't have time to shop around much when i was in Taipei and HK, i didn't get 贝 any Christmas gift at all.
I had gotten him two Yonex polo shirts for his birthday, and decided not to get him any more clothes. I had thought of buying some nice Chinese tea leaves from Taipei, but 贝 has stopped drinking tie guan yin and only drinks pu-er nowadays. Then i've thought of buying a limited edition watch on the HK-SG flight, but then i really didn't know if he would like the design or brand (he's rather particular about the brand of stuff he uses). There wasn't really anything that he really wanted lately except a watch, so i decided that he should pick a watch for himself, albeit lacking of surprises, at least it's more useful and to his liking.
But then, it's Christmas eve and most shops closed early. I didn't get to buy anything for 贝 at all in the end. I felt really bad about it.
Then at midnight, i felt even more terrible about not able to get 贝 a gift. He gave me a Christmas gift that i've never expected.
I mean, i did know that he got me a gift, as every year we do exchange Christmas gifts, but what i didn't expect was that he actually got me a new digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix S700!
The camera that i'm using now was bought more than three years ago. With the speed of technological advancement, it's actually considered old already. I've been telling 贝 that i wanna get myself a DSLR and a new compact digital camera to replace the one i'm using. Never did i expect that he took it to heart and bought me one!
Here are the pictures i took with my mobile phone, comparing my old camera and this new gift.
I'm so touched for receiving this gift. 贝 had told me that he just got his AWS and he's gonna give some few thousands dollars to his parents and my mom. He said after playing this Santa Clause role of giving out bonuses to the elderly, he'd used up all the AWS already. But then, he still spent so much on buying a new digital camera for me instead of getting himself something, and somemore the gift is something that i've been yearning to get. I'm so moved by his thoughtfulness, and felt even worse for not able to get something for him.
贝, thank you so much for the gift and i love it very much. Sorry that i didn't get you a Christmas gift in time. Please do know that i sincerely had every intention of doing so. Let's pick up a watch that you like as a belated gift. *muak*
Uh huh, i bought myself another toy today, even though i'm pretty broke this month.
Those who know me are probably wondering why the heck i bought a sewing machine for. Well, simple, it's because i wanna sew something. And despite being a bit hard up this month, i decided to get it while i'm still an employee of the company.
It cost me SGD143, after 10% staff discount on top of the promotional price. By the company policy, staff discount is only applicable to normal priced items, but i talked to the buyer in charge of the product and managed to get another 10% off the promotional price. Finally i get to enjoy this staff benefit at least once before i leave the company.
I already have something in mind on what to sew. Can't wait till weekend when i get my hands on it.
Went shopping at Vivo City today. Didn't buy any clothes at all, but got myself a new toy instead at SGD268.
My 2-year contract with Starhub had ended more than half a year ago and i couldn't decide on what phone to buy. I had used Nokia, Samsung, Panasonic, Siemens, and Motorola before. I've heard quite a good review for Sony Ericsson phones and decided to give it a try. I actually had my heart on S500i but Starhub doesn't have this model, so i decided to go for W580i, which is very similar to S500i except that W580i has the added functionality of walkman phone.
I'm charging the phone now and will be able to use it tomorrow morning.
In the meantime, i'll have to read the user manual and get used to the new interface.
About 5 years ago, i bought an electric shaver as a gift for 贝.
He used it for a year or two, and then shove it deep into the closet and never used it again. The main problem with this shaver was that it took a long time to recharge. After each recharge, the battery could only last for a few hours and needed to be charged again.
So, 贝 has been using the traditional razor for these few years.
This year, i bought another electric shaver for 贝 again as his birthday gift.
On Friday night, 贝 and i stayed back in Singapore after work and had a sumptuous meal at Billy Bombers (on my treat of course). Since i didn't buy any gift for him in advance, i decided to let him pick up his gift for himself.
He has been talking about getting a new electric shaver, so i've thought of buying it from my company with the staff discount. Then i got to know from the colleagues that we gotta fill in some forms and obtain the director's approval to enjoy the staff discount. I thought it's really troublesome and not worth going through the troubles just to get some petty discounts. So i thought we should check out the prices at the competitors first.
We went to one of my company's competitors and was totally disappointed by the way the salesperson conduct the business. 贝 had already made up his mind to get a Braun shaver after the bad experience in using Philips shaver. We made it clear to the salesperson that we wanted Braun, but then he still kept on hard selling Philips by giving a lot of negative comments about Braun shavers. One of the most ridiculous things he said was that the blades of Braun shaver would get rusty just after a few months if it comes in contact with water too frequently, which 贝 found to be highly doubtful because shavers should be designed to be used in the bathroom. Braun, being a famous brand in electric shavers, shouldn't have such obvious shortcoming. I thought this salesperson kinda did it a bit too far and it became apparent that that company must be having a SPIF on Philips.
(That is something i learned after i joined the retail business. I got to know that sales people will receive some extra commission in selling certain brands during a particular promotional period, which is known as a SPIF. When a SPIF is going on, the sales people will do whatever they can to hard sell that certain brands, and thus we should take whatever they say with a pinch of salt.)
Then, 贝 and i decided to go to my company's retail chain instead. We got a different point of view from the salesperson there and came to know that the information given by the first salesperson was indeed untrue. In the end, 贝 picked this latest Braun electric shaver that comes with a stand for cordless recharging and self-cleaning.
贝 has been shaving daily for the past three days, which previously he only shaved once per week. Well, let's see how long his enthusiasm will last with this new toy.
Just now aunt gave us a treat to lunch at a restaurant in celebration of her birthday (which was yesterday). Uncle brought along a bottle of red wine that was made from organic grapes. I haven't been drinking for a few years already. I used to be able to drink at least half-a-bottle, but now just one glass is enough to make me tipsy. So i guess i'd better not go drinking with any guys, well, at least not until i can increase my alcohol tolerance.
It's really bad that i'm feeling tipsy now because 贝 and i are gonna play golf with KT and Carol later at the Daiman Golf Course. This will be the second time we are playing on the golf course since the last lesson.
I've originally planned to have a competition between them and us, and whichever team that loses will buy the other team dinner. I wonder if i should still suggest that later. KT and Carol had played on the course for a few times already, while 贝 and i have been practicing at the driving range only all this time. And now i'm under the mild influence of alcohol, so i'm not sure if i can play well later (not that i've played any better all along).
Ah, perhaps i can blame it on the haze. The haze is really bad today and i wonder if we will be able to see where the golf balls land with such low visibility. But the good thing is that with this hazy condition, the sunlight is somewhat obscured and thus i'll not get so tanned like last time.
Anyway, i think i'd better go and take a cold shower to sober up.
I got myself another new toy that cost RM4k+, which arrived on Friday.
Dell XPS M1210 notebook
So this is the first post i blog using the new laptop.
I'll be leaving the company soon and hence gotta return the company's laptop that i'm using now. I'm not sure if i'll get a laptop in my next job, but i highly doubt so.
I chose M1210 because it's smaller and more convenient for carrying around. It's not as light as i've hoped it to be though.
I realized that i left my watch at my grandma's house. So it wasn't lost... phew!
I have long hair. This basically means that i spend a lot of money every year on my hair and hair product. Ya, ya, you can call me vain but i tell you, it's not easy for a woman to be over 30 years old and still looks good. It requires money and effort, lots of 'em in fact.
I clean my hair everyday with shampoo and conditioner. I use hair treatment wax on my hair once a week. I go to hair saloon to do a full expensive hair treatment once per month. And to make sure that i don't go to work with messy hair, i style my hair every morning with a Vidal Sassoon Ion Shine Hot Air Styler:
Ok, to be exact, my so-called styling is just making sure that my long hair is straight and smooth. I have fine and limp hair by nature, so my hair would just all kink up after a night's sleep. I just need to use the hot air styler to straighten it, but sometimes the result isn't so satisfactory.
So today, i get myself yet another new toy -- Vidal Sassoon Ion Triple Shine System:
And here's what inside the box:
This new toy costs SGD69.90, and it's a gift from 贝 to me. I should thank 贝, as well as Italy.
In the instruction booklet, the first paragraph reads:
The VS Ion Triple Shine System is a triple action conditioning straightener that leaves your hair ultra smooth and shiny, thanks to the combination of ionic ports, ceramic plates and gentle steam.
Wow, sounds so powderful huh?! Well, let's see if my hair will indeed look better tomorrow.
