Oh!pEnions: 2013

Here's to 2014!

Oh, ye Blog, how I neglected ye...

So, with the year coming to an end, I would like to give a moment's thought to what I have been experiencing. But then again, maybe not since its all very boring. But there are some memorable events, this much I can say:

1. A very scary GE (right outside our house!)
2. Met a lot of on-line friends face to face for the first time
3. My job went South once I am tasked to other areas.
4. Took me two years to get the second product out which I only designed within weeks. Yeah, the same excuse: Money no' enuf
5. Attended a few Star Trek events and for the first time, I was actually being photographed rather than doing the photographing
6. My Job is going really, really South (almost beyond the South Pole)
7. One product is in KIV limbo because of some design which depended on LEDs that suddenly went obsolete. I can redesign but this would also mean more cost and worse, extreme soldering. I can't believe I used so much money developing this.

I have some discussions with my Wife and sad to say, I have problem with Focus, which I first thought was signs of dementia. With so many things going in my mind as a parent and also trying to make sure food comes to the table, I can say this that at the end of the day, I am exhausted, battle-worn and now, most of my daily life is filled with apathy and trying to keep to the so-called SOP.

I have tried and failed but I still want to continue. To be honest, I feel that time is really not on my side anymore and I do not want to wait until I have legally retired. But at the risk of jeopardising the family, I need to re-think on my strategy of starting my own business catering to the Hobby Community.

Because at the end of the day, the food on the table could either be a roast chicken or a pack of sweets.

Secondly, the way I see things, I am always in the middle of the "Do this first to get to that stage to get that item before coming back to this stage, etc." process. To a lot of people, a simple case of walking to the Library is just well, a walk to the Library. But to me, I get so worried and had to think out the possibilities of things that can happen (they usually do) during my walk to the LIbrary.

eg. I can't wear my shoes because the socks were wet from last night's rain. Then I am sure the Librarian would know me and ask for the book I borrowed which my friend has taken it to her place and won't be back till Friday. And then if I can sprint fast enough, I can make it to the Newsagent and get something while still on track to the Library Schedule... and so on. And then there is this thing and that thing and the other thing.... And I end up designing a new design while thinking about circuits.

(It sounds like an Adventure game but just no Ending and things went off-tangent in the end)

Man, what a screwed up life. Because at the end of the day, nothing gets done from me since most of them are tangled up with other events which I depend on.

But anyway, I see the coming year, just like two years ago, as a make or break year for me. All I need is just something to keep the family running and the bills paid every month, and then some of my problems are solved and I can go on with my plans.

If you met me and I seem disjointed or my train of though seemed Hyper-spaceing, that's just me. Thinking.

Anyway, I am too exhausted come this Eve and so, here's me wishing you a Great 2014 and have a great one!

Trip to Singapore 2013 Day 1

Yeah, we had planned this two months before and yes, my leave was approved. Then, everyone realised that dates I took was right smack into the Hari Raya and also, a day before, the Jay Chou concert plus on the day, two Warehouse Sales.

Yes, those who realised it, went nuts. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, this would be our first Family trip out of Malaysia and also, the very first time the girls would be riding on a train for 9 hours! Maybe I am just an excited Dad but this is going to be a very exciting trip for all of us...

And this time, for the very first time, we're going to stay at my Sister's place (aka the girls favourite Aunt in Singapore.)

Kaelynn at the Vending machine.
Most of the cans are RM1.00 each.
Told my Wife that I can just park outside
and she runs inside to get RM10.00 worth,
then we switch for another RM10.00. But noooo....

The queue for the 1400 Train.
Needless to say, this is the very first of all queues...

Yes, the train was running late and so, we had to rush since
we're going to be in the first coach. Just enough time for this...

The coach is quite nice and with the Air-con on, its very cool.
Even the seats are comfortable and spacious.


In the afternoon, with the girls being hungry, we traipsed to the Canteen Coach. When I saw this door ajar, I was quite afraid for the girls who are oblivious to the dangers. And I thought crossing the coaches were scary.

Kaelynn with her Oreos, Kristine with her erm, nothing, while
I had some Iced Tea and Nasi Lemak. Bear in mind, the prices there
are exhorbitant and with the train going 100Kmh or more, there is no
way but to pay. For example, Kaelynn's (not Ori) Oreos costs RM4.50.
This was my turn to have my lunch since they had theirs earlier.

This is a Panoramic shot of the Cafeteria Coach, where later, I would
find myself going here quite often. Not because of the food but for
the warmth as our coach's Aircon was very cold once you settle in,

Preparing their roles on Motherhood...

Another trip to the Cafeteria. Unfortunately, the only thing that was hot
were the Cup Noodles and Porridge. The girls went at them but left the
Porridge, which to me, was quite nice. Another RM15.00 gone...

Trying to tie your shoelaces in a speeding train is not easy...

10 minutes past ten and we're left Malaysia

I like these seats but once you put them into reclining position,
I find that I keep slipping until my head touches the lower part.

The seat I was sitting in, moved about and after most of the passengers
had left, I decided to investigate. I think this is to allow for the seats to
face either direction because when I moved it to face the windows, it looks
a little bit too cramped. Then the train conductor came...

We have arrived in Singapore and yes, we have to queue up for
a taxi. Its half-past ten by the time we cleared Immigration.

There was a slight stinging on my feet and when I looked at
them, the blisters were due to the horrendous amount of walking
during stting up of the Jay Chou Concert and two Warehouse Sales
where I helped with a lot of things after setting up the POS systems.

Jay Chou

OK, so I just found out that a few months ago, we're part of the Jay Chou concert. Well, no big deal for me. But after that 'incident', I was to take on the POS support and reality sank in. I was to prep and also install all 8 POS PCs for the sales of Jay Chou merchandises for all three concert nights. Not only that, once they're OK, I was to help with other matters. Fine.

Then, we're to report from 11AM (9AM on first day) until 1AM. Oh my God.

Yeah, one big OMG and not only that, we're required to setup some other stuff a few days before. Without going much into details, its very tiring and the only thing I could do after each night was to sleep. But on the other hand, I was thankful for being given an all access pass which means I can go to most places (except his room), get better meals and well, loads of softdrinks. Plus, yeah, access to aircons. You might want to laugh at these things which I took for granted but when you're 'out there', outside the hot and humid Putra Stadium, they are precious little treats.

But for most of the time, I was helping inserting batteries for those pink light sticks and on the last day, repairing them and some other stuff. I was so happy that the lightsticks were sold out two hours before the last concert.

Anyway, there are a lot of things I found out that I did not know. For instance, I COULD apply for tickets and all. Damn.


Bear in mind, this is just a poster. But, I was surprised that as the day wore on, many posed in front. And as each concert night came, a lot of fans posed in front of it. The amount of crowds that was there and the types of poses would, well, astound you.

I say the first 10 minutes of the last day of the concert and it was brilliant, what
with those LED panels, fireworks and jumping platforms, etc. But after that, I
noticed my ears were ringing.

If he comes next year, I am prepared because I have friends and families to treat.

The aftermath at 1-Utama

And so, after three hours in the Buffet, I think everyone has had enough. As my Dad has other plans, we split up since Wife decided to get some things for the girls. And yeah, it's going to be a long afternoon/evening. For you see, 1-Utama, the Shopping Centre was not what it used to be since the late 90's. It has expanded to almost twice (or more) its size. And so, yes, if you're wearing the wrong type of shoes...

Right in front of us, was this ECO activity for kids.
And one of the highlights was for the kids to abseil all the way
down. The thing is, the kid must do this when they are ready
and not forced. So, for every kid that went down, the crowd
clapped and cheered.

Next, we went to the Toys Department, or rather, I went.
We need to separate the girls since Wife needs to get some shoes
for Kristine without any interruption. And so, I dragged Kaelynn
away and got her into the Toys Department. Yeah, I sure do like
this NERF...

Peeking for panties....

After some traipsing around the isles, both of us were bored

So, we decided to search for Kristine and Mommy.
Because once you see a kid walking like that, it
means they're bored and mischief is not far behind.

Finally, she got what she wanted and the
next destination was... Sarah Wonderland
or something, which turned out to be the
video arcade next to the Jusco Food Court.


We had to relent because they were bugging us. And so, Mommy changed for some tokens and away they go... This was a wet one and luckily, the hoses had a limited turning angle...

Most of the time, when they played, Kristine always wins
because Kaelynn's reflexes were very slow. She sort of just
stood there, smiling but this time, her defenses has improved.

This is a fun way for the girls and you can actually gauge their
hand & eye coordination.

Playing a bit on a broken machine...

With the tokens halfway gone, it was time to have some snack.
You would not believe how much they can eat as they're running
around like crazy. So, its time for some gyoza while Kaelynn is
asking very very politely for more tokens...

This machine costs a lot and also, well, its a little bit out of their
league. You can see Kaelynn walking off bored, but they have
not even seen it on 'demo' yet.


Tokens are running out and so, they need to find a machine which allows for both to play and also, with only one token...

OK, this looks good and after some 'testing', they want to play...

And this is how they did it, by sharing...

With one last token, it was time to finish it off with another round.

Erm... she must be tired...

Another few laps on the escalator...

Then another snack time...

I bought some cream puffs for the girls which has durian
flavour. But I did not realise that it costs me RM12 or so
for two puffs... Kaelynn ate one and stopped.

And so, I had to finish it. What the server did was to take one
cream puff, inject it (yes, inject it) with cram of durian and that
is the cream puff. My mind was thinking, I got ripped off...


Bought this toy because I wanted the tires. Wife suggested I let the girls have a go at it before I take the tires away. Yeah, and they did it in less than 30 minutes... Not bad for their first time.

Shogun 01062013

With everything out of the way and not answering any calls (I was instructed not to, OK?), we are now free to have our lunch at Shogun. OK, so its a buffet but like the rest of the family, they love buffets. I used to but now, well, it depends on my mood... and stomach. To be honest, my weight right now is below 85Kg. Back in the days, high 90's were a common figure for me. But ever since working in the last company and the passing of my Mom, I began to notice that I am not the jovial/idiotic self anymore, but more towards the moody and 'let me be alone' type. I want to go back to my normal self but, it seems like the more I force myself, the more I am pretending. So, I guess, I'll just let it be for the moment.

Anyway, the reason we went for Lunch here was to celebrate my Dad's successful eye Operation and also because my Sister came back. Yeah, that's the cause for celebration. Really.

We were the first handful waiting outside.

Once everything was settled, we were Welcomed
(such as who's paying and all that)

Its very unusual to be the first because you need to realise that
everything is 'ready' for you and so, there is no need to rush like
mad and take all the food as if there is no tomorrow.