The Hapiness of the coming New Year

Its time to take another break. There is nothing I can do at the moment to solve the problem in the factory. And working in this environment, taking a day off for me, is not a good thing because for the rest of the holidays, I would be sitting around worrying. Of course there is nothing to worry because it won't solve anything. Yeah, right. You're you and I am me. I know it won't go away despite my begging to the workforce and pleading with the customer. But then, this is my whole life since young. I know that even if I followed procedures correctly, crap is still going to come after me.

Anyway, enough of this. Time to concentrate on the place which is not even mine. Yes, Life sucks when you have insufficient money and a dead Sunset career.

This was the Panasonic Water filter we got weeks ago and we decided to put this on the outer kitchen. It has an expiry date at end of May 2012, but since due to our current situation, the actual expiry date could be years away.

Our very own blender! I am so excited! Hello, healthy drinks!

Ah, just in time too because the furniture we ordered a week ago is now here

Not going to tell you what it is just yet but the girls are very very happy

They're so happy, you can actually see the smiles etched in their face. Just joking, They're actually tired out from all the excitement from the new furniture.

This is the AFTER picture where, its a nightmare to keep them awake.

I forgot what this was but it was crunchy and delicious. Still the dinner was enjoyable until it took me off my troubles.

And so, I would like to wish you a very Happy Ne....Oh-oh.

Yes, any problem?

 I am not sure what to say either

The start of the problem

Its close to New Year and I have my first real problem.

Which is not a nice feeling because of the coming holidays, there is no way for the factory to overcome this production shortfall. Here, I am taking what I can to the customer. And I hate it for every step that I take since its wrong.

Kenny's Place

OK, time for a break here. We just heard that Kenny has broken his foot. Which is a surprise as even some of his closest friend did not know about it. But nevertheless, once I found out, we decided to call on him.

Apparently, there was some Sports activity in his company. And he was told to participate which he did. It was all fine until some buffoon stepped in his heel...

You want to know the funny part?

We were all admiring the 2009"Star Trek Phaser from Quantum Mechanix instead of his injury the whole time. Maybe it because of the fact that his leg cast does not even resemble the anti-gravity boots worn by Spock in Star Trek V.

For a polystone cast of the real stunt prop taken from a digital file and plated with real metal, it is quite big and feels heavily, real.

Bigger than the shiny toy from Playmates

And much more detailed. Because its based fro a stunt phaser, there are no moving parts. And no electronics either, which, at this stage, the Playmates toy wins. But there were plans for a 'fully functional' version int he future, complete with electronics. Its now close to 2012, so I guess it might come out after the 2013 movie.

However, RM300 (plus postage, of course) or thereabouts for an actual, non moving prop is quite a bargain. But then, you have to appreciate and be aware of this kind of thing before saying stupid things like, "OMG. That is so expensive! What a rip-off!"

So, do I want one? Yes and no. Yes, because its an actual screen-accurate prop. No because its made from polystone which is used for high end statues. No matter how you call it, when it falls, you know the scenario...

That is, unless someone can do a resin roto-cast which I can gut the toy's electronics....

Boxing Day Painting

On the next day, it was time to complete the first coat of that white undercoat. Since I have never properly painted a wall before, I think I have used more stuff than calculated. The big can was enough for the four sides of the gate and also, the separation wall (not in the photos).

By the end of the day, I am starting to hate white

Once the pain subsides, I decided to get rid of the 'extra' fingernails as it would be accident waiting to happen or in other words, more ouchie-wa-wa time. I do not know the term for this but maybe it has something to do with the word torn and very close to Japanese torture methods.

Boxing Day Gas

The next thing on the list was getting some cooking gas for the kitchen. This is so that we can cook some simple stuff instead of going out to eat whenever we were here. Although its a no brainer to get this set up, you really need to follow some instructions. And as it was my first time, I forgot to RTFM....

Anyway, to get this done, we have to gather a few things:

1. A good LPG regulator

2. A good rubber hose

3 A sharp cutter, and

4. A good sized screwdriver which does not wear on the screws

When I said 'good', I mean safety approved products. Trust me on this, sometimes, there are things you cannot save money on. So, don't scrooge on this at the cost of other people's lives.

OK, I decided to go Ah Beng mode with this and got a regulator which has a pressure meter. In the end, since the LPG cannister was hidden in a corner, it was pretty useless to read the meter... haiya.

Disney Store Exclusive Tron Legacy Lightcycle

With some extra time left, I would like to elaborate more on this toy of mine.

First of all, this is the Tron 12" Lightcycle from the 2011 movie Tron:Legacy. And this is the most frustrating toy ever in my life. Its not about the quality or the price or even its accuracy. Its about its availability. The closest example I can relate to, are the regional DVD discs. For example, if you have a Region 1 DVD, you cannot play it in a Region 2 country and the only consolation were the different DVD Covers. And so like the regional problem, different countries were given different Tron products. In the UK, you had these huge Tron Lightcycles while in the US, you have the three different variations of the identity Discs. And each country has their own version collection of die-cast toys and action figures. Which is still good because over here, in the land of tree-houses and located above Singapore, we have.... leftovers. The only way to get them were from the toy importers from a very well known weekend bazaar and, you are expected to shell out a very high price for them too.

But lets take open the can a little bit more. Most of the Tron Toys, such as the Identity Discs and the die-casts are from Spin Masters while the coveted 12" Lightcycle is actually a UK Disney Store Exclusive and they would not ship beyond the British shores. Which explains why no one has the whole 'collection'. Now, being a ordinary Joe, I have no inkling of what went behind the scenes of toy distribution but it really irks me when the toy I wanted was really out of my reach. Blame it on the Internet or point-and-click culture or whatever name they call it nowadays, I wanted the toy, yesterday, and as cheap as possible. I won't tell you how I got it but trust me on this, it was a real bargain.

All these just for a pull-bak toy. But the real reason why I liked this 12" version was because of its lighting possibilities. The first time I opened the box, the toy's impressive size was very hard to dismiss. And once you have controlled yourself and landed back on Earth, you would have realised a few niggling things, namely:

1. The rider's helmet is from early drawing concept and is not movie accurate.
2. The switch inside the wheel is very sensitive. You will experience a lot of annoying sounds when it is picked up, touched or even when it feels you are looking at it.
3. You actually want to take it apart, examine the toy and start designing LEDs into it.

OK, the third part was just me. But I have yet to open it up and after watching the race-grid sequence a few times, there are a lot of modifications that needs to be done before it is 'acceptable'. Or, I can just whiz-bang the lights and distract everyone from the inaccuracies. Anyway, keep a look out for this blog because once I have the time, I am going to share the experience with you.

I tell you, the more I look at it, the more I want to get rid of the helmet and also remove the cover for the rear wheels.

Christmas Cleaning

Merry Christmas, everli da body! Today, we're going to do something special! It has never been done before, especially in this household and so, its time to start! Want to know what it is?

Its not sleeping on the floor...

Yes, I am going to vandalise this portion of the gate with white paint!

For years, the walls were filled with culture couture and now, its time for a change. Now, unlike model kits, you cannot just dip it in soapy water and start painting or even prime the surface. No, sir. You need to prepare the surface manually.... with a wire-brush. The black stuff was the fungi and you need to get rid of them before you can paint the surface.

Almost more than an hour later, its done. And my hand hurts.

And I am litertally sweating and also, well, wet

Since I have never used a wire brush before, I scraped so hard until the fingernails were literally starting to come off at the edge.

And there were deep wire scratches the fingernails and some blood on the skins. My hands were shaking, in pain and had no more strength. But the worst is yet to come...

...which is, this part. Yes, the fungi was all over the place even in my nostrils. So, this means I cannot sit back and dig my nose in peace. Sigh.

Anyway, after some rest, it was time to go for lunch. We drove all the way to a restaurant in Puchong, in a corner lot behind somewhere near Tesco. I cannot remember much about this restaurant but everyone seems to be going for the Indian food there.

After that, it was time to have a look-see at the 2020 Furniture place.

There were some nice bargains because one of the company is moving back to their own factory in Sungai Buloh. The majority of the shops have been taken over by foreigners.

And so, there were only so much stuff we can see from this remaining company. Its not  that they're packing yet but this is the indication that most of their stocks have been sold. For the remaining shops, which offers almost the same furniture but at ridiculous prices, I know somewhere there was a catch.

While the shop assistant was away...

This is nice too but unfortunately, we do not have a TV nor wish to get one since a TV is not important to us.

Anyway, its time to continue with the painting. First thing is to prime the surface with the undercoat

OK, here we go... not bad. Painting is quite fun and since its water-based, its easy to wash off.

Two hours later, the first coat is done, except for the dustbin area. Its not easy to paint in the dim evening since everything was white. Hope to continue tomorrow.

24122012 Christmas Eve at KK

With Christmas being on this Sunday, it means a three day weekend for everyone. What better way than to spruce up the place. Although we're months late in activating the Plan, but as long as there is progress, I am happy. You see, regardless of the situation, that place needs looking after once in a while or else it would look worse than being neglected. Right off the list, there are a lot of things that needs to be done, with the painting being last.

With all the stuff in the car, its time to start our journey. Yeah, there are still a lot of my stuff to bring over.

When I was small, I was worried about paining because the only thing I can remember was that the paints were very hard to clean off. Now, its just water-based. And so, for a bit of money, we got some primer and white paint. And for once in my life, I am actually looking forward to painting the gate. We bought the topcoat in a larger can because this was the only one which is water-based. Knowing that I am very careless with paints, it will be easier to wash off. The 'Pearl Silk' White Paint was also water-based too.

But before that, its time for Lunch at KFC...

Eeewww.... I am not sure what caused this but it has something to do with mosquitoes. And I don't think they're rolling mud/dirt while we're away.

The RM5.00 foam wall protector from Daiso. Its meant for protecting either the walls or the car.

but I am going to put it to better use, which is to protect the fridge door from wall-slams.

So, with most of the chores done, the place is more or less livable again. Tired from the day's work, everyone went to bed early except me. Because this is now a good time for me to sneak a peek into my package sent by Kenneth from UK. Want to know what he got me?

He got me a PS3.... what a disappointment. Ha ha ha ha. To be honest, no one dares to send me a PS3 unless they want my Wife to kill them a thousand times over.

But actually, inisde the PS3 box, there were three 12" Tron Legacy Lightcycles which he helped me ship over. What is so special about this is that during the Tron Legacy movie, only UK has these toys and they're huge. The US do not have them but instead have the Discs which comes in three versions. For there rest of the World, apart from the skimpy looking action figures, they either have the discs or they don't. But the 12" bikes only exist in the UK. weird.

Christmas is this Sunday, so...

You know what, I just realised that Christmas is this Sunday and today is Friday. This means, today is the 'last' day for doing pre-Chrsitsmassy stuff. Well, there is nothing to look forward to since I have my own problems in the office. So, the moment my colleague asked me to help with an errand, I quickly took it just to forget about things...

Whoa... nice setup

This little guy is made up of empty mineral water bottles and CDs. Not sure where it got its 'nose' from, but perhaps, from a fabric conditioner? I mean, who in the office uses fabric conditioners? Was there a washing machine there?

Still, this is a very nice decoration and tome, very imaginative.

After the errand, I made it just in time for the Office's gift-exchange. But because I had some discussion with my Senior, I missed it. Still, I got this for me DVD video which I bought and gift-wrapped for a total of less than RM20.00

Kaelynn helped me open it. Its a coffee cup of some kind, with a rubber cover.

Seriously, I am not in the mood for anything and missing out on things not in my control is not something I would like very much. Then again,

Aaaah, I don't even know what I am trying to say. Sorry, I am just feeling very down from work.