chio or not?

Chio or not? The new (actually not so new.. came out quite a few months ago...) But it has 18x optical zoom! Just how cool is that!

Can read about the full review here.


I think it cost around SGD$899 or something. The previous model where it has 10x optical zoom already cost about SGD$799, so this one is better!

mystery no more

Oki, as promised.. here's the follow-up to the case of DDDP Monthly deduction.

Well, just the other day, I've received a letter from UOB stating that they've refunded the disputed amount.... a day before that, Club Rainbow actually called me up to check on the status. Which really reflects well on Club Rainbow and so I'd think I'd support them again!

The twist came a day after the letter, when a lady from Singapore Cancer Society called me up stating that the DDDP Monthly deduction was actually for them. I was like, huh? Then why deduct twice? She went on to say that because Singapore Cancer Society actually contracted an external company to do the transactions and thus the name that appears at the charge slip will be shown as DDDP Monthly. Also, the double deduction was because of my credit card bill that fell somewhere in between. Hmm.. not that I really understand what she's saying. She also admitted that since they got this company to do the transaction, there had been complaints and thus, in the next deduction, the bill will reflect Singapore Cancer Society so that the donors are aware of whom they're donating to. But to me, her explanation seems to be hurried and shoddy.. no apologies no nothing... just wanted me to call up the bank so that they can deduct that amount! Which is a pity... as cancer is one of the major cause that I truly want to support...

peat moss

Finally i bought the peat moss bedding (recommended by one of the staff at Pet's Lovers Bugis for the pets to burrough). Found it in the Lot 1 branch. Cost about $8++ after discount. It looked soft and feels like foam. Supposedly it allows the pet to dig into it and the top part will retain its shape while a tunnel is formed underground. (or so the picture in front of the packaging shows that.. the rest of the wordings are all in japanese and of course, I can't read nor write nor speak Japanese!) But anyway, so I brought home the pack (after I bought it, only left 1 more in the shop) and looked at it a little more thoroughly and noticed the word: 注意

Hmm... but after the words 注意, all of it are in Japanese... so warning for something but don't know what. Anyway, I opened up that package and well... it looks like dirt. Powdery and dirty looking (brown black in color), but nevertheless, I poured it into a small plastic aquarium and placed Daisy in it. Oki, she digged into it alright, but the moss thingie sticks to her entire bum, head, nose.. was kinda worried that it might affect her respiratory and eyes. So left her in it for a few seconds and nope, she doesn't look like she's having fun. So scooped her out, powdered her (her bathing sand) and make sure she's clean before putting back into her own cage.

Then, I decided to look up in the internet to see what the heck is a peat moss anyway (yeah, I know.. should've done that earlier.. yeah..my fault la... )

So here's the wikipedia definition of peat moss.

Its some decayed moss that was compacted that can hold up a lot of water.. which is good.. but hey, when you reach that part about health dangers.. that's it, that's done it for me.

So off into the garbage bin it goes.. never to return again. (but probably it could've been quite a safe material to use since it can be sold in pet shops... not sure... )

game consoles

ps3 consoles look like this



xbox 360 looks like this


nintendo ds looks like this



while nintendo wii looks like this


The other day I was at Funan, went walking around and wandered into shops that are dedicated in selling consoles and games. Didn't manage to ask how much does a Nintendo DS costs but I think it should be a couple of hundred dollars... The game cartridge itself cost around SGD$55! Saw one parent bought a Nintendo DS for his daughter. That kid looks to be about Primary 4-6 level.. and she gets a Nintendo DS already. Last time I had to top the class before I was even rewarded with... a mechanical pencil! *piangz* Time has really changed! Although my mom did eventually get us one or two handheld games.. forgot what they called it but it can only play one game, those kind... you know? Probably not your era... Those days, we had games like Donkey Kong, Western Bar etc. But I like Western Bar most... its a shooting game, but I don't have it.. I played my friend's one until the battery gone flat!


Western Bar looks like this


Ok, so back to Funan... Overall, I saw like 2-3 guys walk away carrying Xbox 360.. so I guess Xbox still rules? (for now, probably?) PS3 cost $799 per piece and its game cost about SGD$90+.. goodness.. can buy one desktop computer... And Xbox plays hi-def stuffs, so that's cool... Of course, PS3 supports Blu-Ray and supposedly there is a war going on between the hddvd format, but still to us mass consumers, at the end of the day.. its still the price that counts.. may the best priced wins! You can read more about it here.

Okay, I agree... the graphics shown from the PS3 looks awesome... (as seen from Sony Bravia tv in Funan)

Now I just wish that I have a few thousand dollars to splurge on all these luxury!

the day the building swayed...

Was in the office this morning, when suddenly had this dizzy feeling... 'Whoa.. must had been working too hard.' or so I thought. Then I looked up from the screen and then felt it more clearly now, hey.. the building is shaking! Went out of the room and saw Zak starting at Harold's room. The door was like hitting against the door frame on its own. Now that is alarming. So we decided to evacuate as it was like 11.52am. But first had to make a pee stop. Hendrik said he was in the loo when it happened and he could see the toilet door banging... he thought it was some ghostly encounter!

So we got out of office, and voila.. looks like the entire Gateway East and West people were already down there! I messaged my brother who's working at Jurong East... and yeah, he felt the tremors too. So likely is some earthquake from Sumatra. Zak said Bukit Merah also can feel the tremors. Anyway, we went to low ground and had our lunch.

After lunch, we went back to the office and minded our own stuffs. Then around before 2pm... again we felt it. This time we wasted no time and grabbed our stuffs and headed towards the door. Harold happened to be back and he asked us to pack up and go home. So we did.

Read about the news report here.

from m'sia, with love...

Took the pictures one fine day when i was at home.... yeah, was bored so took out the camera and loaded it with batteries (geez, i think my camera spoilt liao.. it eats up batteries like nobody's business!) , and stepped out of the house in style... hahaha! Anyway, it was hot.... very hot... the weather, of course!



i think this is what my parents called 'steel tree', well.. it looks like just the trunk of the plant and to plant it, you simply stick the trunks into the soil and water and wait. Basically, it'll grow and if you're lucky, it will flower too!



hmm... i don't know what this is.. but my sis does though, but never mind la, next time you ask her! i just liked the way the shadow falls!



this.. is Bobbi, my sister's pet



usually she looks like this (if she likes you...)




this one.. some kind of lime leaves... we took it and put inside our water container when we bathe... supposedly to ward off evil... or, you can use it as a natural air freshener!



i suppose this one is some kind of cactus.. and hey, got flower leh! if you wanna know the scientific name, ask my sister.. ya, she's the one that completed a degree in horticulture or something like that...



this one i know.. bougainvillea... although i suspect the spelling, is like a bit off...



this one my mom's plant.. basically the tree is like high up there.. and it has thorns... has some medicinal value to it, and it basically have a chinese name, but literal translation, this would be 'seven star needle' plant... well, literally ya..



this, is basically how the entire garden looked like... somewhere more to the far right of the picture, is the location of the dog house... Bobbi's home (but of course, you can't see it from this picture coz can't fit...). On the left most of the picture, is the 'seven star needle' plant, and you can't even see the flowers from this picture.. told ya it was tall...




and this, is how the front of the car porch looks like... direct to the main road...


So there you go.. i present to you, my home in m'sia... in a blogshell! (modified from nutshell).

Daisy Pics

Shadowy image of Daisy, curious to find out her surroundings...



Here's looking at you babe! Daisy doing her crouching tiger hidden hamster pose...

mystery...

Have you ever received a credit card bill which charges you for some transaction that you never take part in?

Well, unfortunately I am experiencing this now. It all began when I opened up my UOB credit card bill for February. In it, there was a transaction dated 16th Feb and deducted $30.40 for a DDDP Mnthly Singapore. What the heck is that anyway? But comparing the amount, it seems something like a charity donation or smthg... but since its stated 'Mnthly' as its title, it'll likely means that I am going to be deducted for this amount, every month?! What the.... and moreover, 16 Feb I was already happily in Malaysia, so how could I charge that?

Anyway, so I called the UOB Card Centre. First call, they only picked up after trying for half hour or so. So this guy answered and verified what they need to verify and asked me to wait. So I waited. Finally he came back and told me that DDDP merchant in question, is Club Rainbow. I was like, fine but the only donation to Club Rainbow was like in 2005 and that is for a one time donation only. So I asked him what can I do now. So he asked me to wait again... and thus I waited... and waited.. until the phone went *toot... toot... toot* dead. On 23 Feb, I was very busy you know.. no time to wait. So didn't call them again as I need to prepare for an external meeting at client's site. So seems like UOB guys did try to call again but during the meeting so I couldn't pick up the call as well... and on the same night, I had to board the train back to M'sia so will continue with this problem when I'm back.

So today, I called the UOB Card Centre again, and today the response time is much shorter. So I repeated my problem again ('coz I can't recall the previous guy's name, though I suspect he's the same one that I am speaking to now!) and he asked me to wait again. After like 10 minutes, he came back with 2 numbers, 1 for Club Rainbow and another one for the company that runs the DDDP programme for Club Rainbow (think the company is called APPCO or smthg like tht). UOB says its best for me to call the merchant and ask for a refund.

So I called Club Rainbow and a lady called Stephanie (or was it Daphne? Sorry la but cannot catch the name) answered my call. So I explained everything again, and she checked her computer system and came back with this, "Hmm.. Ms Lee, seems like the only transaction that you did with your this credit card was a one time donation to Club Rainbow.. and that was deducted in 2005?" I was like, yeah.. correct.. but what about this latest transaction dated 16 Feb? She reiterated that there is no record for any request for any deduction for 16 Feb for this credit card number and usually the amount should be $30.60 if its really from Club Rainbow. Hmm... back to square 1.

Oki, never mind.. although the mood level had dipped to -20. So I called back UOB Card Centre and this time, a lady answered and her name is Liza (or Lisa.. not sure but from her accent, likely she is a Filipino.. not that it matters..) Anyway, I repeated my problem again, and she needs to verify whatever that needs to be verified again and as you may have guessed it... she asked me to wait. After like 10 minutes, she came back but she has more manners that the guy, 'coz she apologized for the waiting time (not that it really made any difference anyway...). She can't confirm anything but she said she'll call back in half hour's time to advise on next step.

So she did call back after some time, and she said from their records, the merchant is Club Rainbow. She said I would have to request for a written letter from Club Rainbow to state that they have never intended to deduct the amount from my card, and then fax the proof to them. I was like silent for a while, and then said, "Hmm... this is strange, for UOB to start deducting anything from customer, it would have meant that UOB had received instruction from merchant (with prove and everything) but now the merchant had claimed that they did not instruct. Shouldn't it be like UOB work it out with the merchant instead of the customer having to do so?" Simple question, right? Immediately, she said "Ms Lee, its ok if you cannot get the written letter from them, just simply fill up the form to state that you did not participate in this transaction." I was like.. WHAT? First you asked me to get letter and now you say its not necessary? WHAT IS THIS...? So never mind, 'coz she's just the poor customer service person and the problem didn't start from her anyway. So I said, ok.. send me the form.

But I am still curious (although curiosity should kill the cats but me not a cat mah!), so I called the second number, to the company called APPCO. A lady answered and thus I repeated my problem again for the 101th time. Again, she punched the numbers into her computer and the record only showed the 2005 transaction (but no one was interested in 2005 transaction!). Again, I said, it's very strange as UOB claimed to have received the instruction from merchant and now, none of the merchant (Club Rainbow and APPCO) said they had instructed for the deduction. Its like a mystery waiting to be solved... So I did asked if APPCO is running anything for other charities besides Club Rainbow. She said yes and rattled one but it didn't sound anything remotely like what I would donate to. So she said, she will get back to me as this is indeed, puzzling to say the least.

Questions: WHO, HOW, WHERE and WHY?

WHO:
1. Was it UOB that for some reason, entered the wrong digit and thus poor me had to pay for it?
2. Was it Club Rainbow for some reason, submitted the wrong number to APPCO?
3. Was it APPCO for submitting the wrong number to UOB?
4. Was it myself, who signed up for the donation and then became amnesiac and thus had no memory of it?

HOW:
1. It was obvious, the transaction was via credit card.. but for the past 1 month, my main credit card was Citibank Visa and not UOB... and the only thing I used UOB for, was for a monthly instalment for something else (definitely not a charity donation).

WHERE:
1. On 16th Feb (transaction date), I was physically in Malaysia (together with the suspect, UOB credit card). So how could I have signed up for that? (of course unless a post-date transaction was instructed but no leh... don't have this in my memory bank)

WHY:
1. I'm not rich, cannot donate to so many charities (currently is supporting S'pore Cancer Society and NKF Children's Fund through the UOB credit card) and Club Rainbow I distinctly remember is a one time payment (and indeed the organization itself have confirmed that I was only a one-time donor)

Therefore, there is no conclusion at this moment... Only the frustration level has dippped to -30, but ahah, the mystery and curiosity level has increased to +15. Is this somehow connected the the alien lights that I had seen last year? Was I abducted during that short 2 seconds (not very likely as I was with my brother at that time.. but then time need not run in sequence as we know in our dimension. If the aliens runs in a parallel dimension and what I saw was when the dimensions somehow intersected and thus created a pocket whereby certain objects came into our dimension view... ). So no one knows...

--------------------- to be continued -------------------------------