I spent some money at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale this past weekend. They had advertised that they were going to throw a book sale the way it should be thrown – with real discounts and real deals to attract new readers and to reward existing book lovers.
It’s great going to a book sale – cheap books are a real treasure in a country where a slim paperback can set you back RM40 and the slimness of the book means you can finish it in one day! Some people may find this ok but I prefer to find good deals so I visit places like second hand bookstores and for a long time, I loved ‘Novel House’ available in Penang and KL but now, sadly – they’ve ALL closed down!!! WHY OH WHY!!!!!!!!
Anyway, books were mostly selling at RM8 at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale with some special ones and children’s books too going at RM3 or RM5……The place was air conditioned and the staff were helpful. The ONLY thing I would ask for for anybody having a book sale is the arrangement of books by genre ….. but it seems a very hard thing to do – I guess cos the stock comes in boxes all jumbled up already…..
But all in all – I bought 8 books for a grand total of RM64 and I would have bought more if only I had space for storage!
Thanks Big Bad Wolf!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Save the One You Love!
In life, there are momentous times when you have epiphanies, when you realise it's time to give back to society....and then the moment passes and you continue in your wild goose chase (?) for money, status and power.
Remember this name - MVFRA.
Visit this website - www.mvfra.org - the Fire and Rescue Volunteers, Malaysia.
Help someone!
Captain K. Balasupramaniam or Captain Bala for short is a young Malaysian who's been tireless in his efforts to save and educate people from around the world. He's been in countless rescue missions within Malaysia and he's been sent as an angel of mercy to other countries like China and Indonesia where massive natural disasters create an even greater need for a show of human kindness.
When you start a search for the website above, you will find that it is not something new and others have written about it. I'm writing about it tonight because I just attended a Road Survival Talk (2 hours and all too brief!) conducted by Capt. Bala. He's a funny man, very young - I was surprised to see someone so young....but the message that he is trying to deliver is neither comical nor new.
He teaches numerous courses on how to survive on the road, in the city (especially for women), in fires and even has specialised courses for kids! No one has walked away from his seminars bored or ambivalent. I am sure many of those who attended tonight are as of now, making hectic plans to visit their nearby hardware store to get the much acclaimed Life Hammer that could indeed, save your life if your car happens to turn turtle or turn renegade and you have to get outta there fast .......
When he shares his stories, his sentiments and his experiences (all 18 years worth), I couldn't help but shed a few shy tears - yes, I love my husband, yes, I love my family - so why don't I take better care of them AND of myself?
A couple of hours and a few ringgit could award you many more years with your family! The MVFRA is a non-profit privately-sponsored initiative that tries to educate, promote and instil values of safety and I must say, humanity, in all Malaysians.
Our talk tonight was sponsored by the company and it was, as in the famous words of Visa, priceless!
So please - if you can, if you want to, make a contribution to help them achieve one of their aims this year - to gift 18 full-fledged ambulances that will provide FREE service for accident victims. And if you want to provide corporate sponsorship, all the better cos every RM counts!
After his talk, driving home tonight I had a better understanding and empathy, not to mention tolerance, for the motorcycle riders out there. I don't swerve around them or honk at them, not because I am afraid they are Mat Rempit, but just because it doesn't cost me anything to not take a life, not jeopardise a family cos everyone has someone who cares for them. 15 minutes, or even 30 minutes extra is going to buy me a whole lot more time with my family and everyone else's theirs - if only we showed a little kindness along this journey called life!
Captain Bala's underlying message was one of love and hope as he teaches us about survival and emergency rescue tips as well as knowing how to stay calm and know what to do so you can help yourself and someone else! For example, if you/someone need/s a neck brace in the event of a car accident, you need to know that it needs to be put on tight with the head and neck held rigid - if only for the simple reason that no further injury to the spine is caused and to stop the neck from lolling around and the tongue to jam up the airway. Also, knowing about the ring cutter to stop your rings from stripping the flesh from your fingers, besides learning how to use oxygen tanks so that CPR is not worthless - heck, learn how to perform CPR!
There were so many hints and tips I can't list them all here - but needless to say, every little bit of correct information we learn could be useful in helping us save a life one day.
Remember this name - MVFRA.
Visit this website - www.mvfra.org - the Fire and Rescue Volunteers, Malaysia.
Help someone!
Captain K. Balasupramaniam or Captain Bala for short is a young Malaysian who's been tireless in his efforts to save and educate people from around the world. He's been in countless rescue missions within Malaysia and he's been sent as an angel of mercy to other countries like China and Indonesia where massive natural disasters create an even greater need for a show of human kindness.
When you start a search for the website above, you will find that it is not something new and others have written about it. I'm writing about it tonight because I just attended a Road Survival Talk (2 hours and all too brief!) conducted by Capt. Bala. He's a funny man, very young - I was surprised to see someone so young....but the message that he is trying to deliver is neither comical nor new.
He teaches numerous courses on how to survive on the road, in the city (especially for women), in fires and even has specialised courses for kids! No one has walked away from his seminars bored or ambivalent. I am sure many of those who attended tonight are as of now, making hectic plans to visit their nearby hardware store to get the much acclaimed Life Hammer that could indeed, save your life if your car happens to turn turtle or turn renegade and you have to get outta there fast .......
When he shares his stories, his sentiments and his experiences (all 18 years worth), I couldn't help but shed a few shy tears - yes, I love my husband, yes, I love my family - so why don't I take better care of them AND of myself?
A couple of hours and a few ringgit could award you many more years with your family! The MVFRA is a non-profit privately-sponsored initiative that tries to educate, promote and instil values of safety and I must say, humanity, in all Malaysians.
Our talk tonight was sponsored by the company and it was, as in the famous words of Visa, priceless!
So please - if you can, if you want to, make a contribution to help them achieve one of their aims this year - to gift 18 full-fledged ambulances that will provide FREE service for accident victims. And if you want to provide corporate sponsorship, all the better cos every RM counts!
After his talk, driving home tonight I had a better understanding and empathy, not to mention tolerance, for the motorcycle riders out there. I don't swerve around them or honk at them, not because I am afraid they are Mat Rempit, but just because it doesn't cost me anything to not take a life, not jeopardise a family cos everyone has someone who cares for them. 15 minutes, or even 30 minutes extra is going to buy me a whole lot more time with my family and everyone else's theirs - if only we showed a little kindness along this journey called life!
Captain Bala's underlying message was one of love and hope as he teaches us about survival and emergency rescue tips as well as knowing how to stay calm and know what to do so you can help yourself and someone else! For example, if you/someone need/s a neck brace in the event of a car accident, you need to know that it needs to be put on tight with the head and neck held rigid - if only for the simple reason that no further injury to the spine is caused and to stop the neck from lolling around and the tongue to jam up the airway. Also, knowing about the ring cutter to stop your rings from stripping the flesh from your fingers, besides learning how to use oxygen tanks so that CPR is not worthless - heck, learn how to perform CPR!
There were so many hints and tips I can't list them all here - but needless to say, every little bit of correct information we learn could be useful in helping us save a life one day.
Monday, April 27, 2009
SIGH! Guilt is a sign of a mind that is free...
Now I feel guilty…..maybe some people are just made the way they are…..maybe they don't know any better? Sigh - oklah, I will just keep to my own business from now on.
Toxic People Around You?
A couple of things I wanted to highlight.
No. 1 is this great quote I read in an email attachment someone sent me - great in meaning and great in untackiness….
"Dream of what you most enjoy
Go where you want to go
Be whom you want to be
You have but one life
So achieve what you want to achieve."
You know living life and being happy is not difficult in its core. We just do it. If you want to be rich, then when you work for it (be it by working in an organisation or on your back as some people enjoy doing - which will be discussed in more detail later in the post) then don't complain about it because that is what you decided makes you happy.
(Gosh, I can feel my mood changing as I write this - it started out happy and motivated and enlightened and became a little bit….angry…)
I get upset when people whine all their lives (ok, start of 'much more detail later part of post'). I know some people in my life who are happy to fcuk for money and presents and gifts with no thought to anyone but themselves and still manage to find time to whine. I can’t understand how some people can love themselves so much to the exclusion of others. I have always thought it unfair to cheat on your partner, be it with someone else or with yourself (not that I'm counting masturbation - but when you love yourself too much to the point you'd hurt your partner to advance yourself then yeah, that can be called cheating - right?) ((Another aside: yup, definitely angry mood), But ever since getting married and feeling the emotions that I feel now when I look at JH's face (I love just looking at his face - I don't think he knows I stare at him when he eats….)…..Anyway, I feel so doggone ANGRY when people are selfishly fcuking for money and cheating on their partner! ARRGGGHGHHHH!!!!!How can you live a happy life when you can't even forget yourself for one moment and fully love and care for another??? It is one of the greatest joys in life - says the woman who isn't sure she wants children….- but seriously when you want to do all the little things you sometimes wouldn't even do for yourself, for someone else, you know that you're happy. Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, like I want to eat that fruit in the refrigerator downstairs but I'm too lazy to get it - so I don't. As compared to I want him to eat it or I'm sure he wants it - therefore I go down and get it……
Some people think that when you get a man to spend money on you or when you humiliate him and he takes it, it makes you great - well, it doesn't. It tells me you're shallow and immature and your parents have brought you up to care more about yourself than others! Trust me, no man wants to be taken for a ride and no man will take it forever - that's why God invented the concept of trust and respect. Aiya, I don't know why I'm in this mood. I just read about whines all day long - people who want more than they're getting just because they can. Like I said in my Beijing post - I saw a garbage woman pushing her father/husband along in a wheelchair collecting recyclable aluminum tins from garbage cans and she was happily smiling and chatting away. It's not money and material things that make you happy!
It's having your husband drive up to the house and break into a wide smile as he sees you at the door. It's preparing the chair for your husband when you're settling down to watch a movie cos he is more comfortable that way. It's buying something expensive for your sister just because you know she'd love it. It's telling your mum you love her to get her out of a funk, even when you're upset yourself and reminding your dad that he's done so much to shape you into the person you are….
People wonder why I wonder at having children - perhaps I'm just a pessimist - I know there are good people out there but I am deathly afraid I won't know how to raise our child(ren) into good people - good not necessarily as in rich and famous but good in the heart and mind and soul. These are things I don't know how to teach! So many people can go wrong - I have friends who can, by all accounts and standards, be happy but they continue to whine - I don't have enough money, I don't have enough stuff, I don't have enough skinniness….sigh…..perhaps they just need more luck and good karma - then the right inspiration will come into their lives and they will have an 'Eureka' moment - life is about having the right happy people around you. I think I have to explain this - in order for the people around you to be happy, you will have to influence them right, and vice versa…..so it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation where you make them happy and when they're happy, they make you happy and the cycle goes on…..the thing is just to identify the right people for your little group and to be willing to start the cycle - but hey, that's just me.
Maybe others are happy with an extra bottle of perfume! (Yikes, maybe I shouldn't have said that - the best perfume in the world is happy pheromones)!!! Someone stop me PLEASE!!!!!!
No. 1 is this great quote I read in an email attachment someone sent me - great in meaning and great in untackiness….
"Dream of what you most enjoy
Go where you want to go
Be whom you want to be
You have but one life
So achieve what you want to achieve."
You know living life and being happy is not difficult in its core. We just do it. If you want to be rich, then when you work for it (be it by working in an organisation or on your back as some people enjoy doing - which will be discussed in more detail later in the post) then don't complain about it because that is what you decided makes you happy.
(Gosh, I can feel my mood changing as I write this - it started out happy and motivated and enlightened and became a little bit….angry…)
I get upset when people whine all their lives (ok, start of 'much more detail later part of post'). I know some people in my life who are happy to fcuk for money and presents and gifts with no thought to anyone but themselves and still manage to find time to whine. I can’t understand how some people can love themselves so much to the exclusion of others. I have always thought it unfair to cheat on your partner, be it with someone else or with yourself (not that I'm counting masturbation - but when you love yourself too much to the point you'd hurt your partner to advance yourself then yeah, that can be called cheating - right?) ((Another aside: yup, definitely angry mood), But ever since getting married and feeling the emotions that I feel now when I look at JH's face (I love just looking at his face - I don't think he knows I stare at him when he eats….)…..Anyway, I feel so doggone ANGRY when people are selfishly fcuking for money and cheating on their partner! ARRGGGHGHHHH!!!!!How can you live a happy life when you can't even forget yourself for one moment and fully love and care for another??? It is one of the greatest joys in life - says the woman who isn't sure she wants children….- but seriously when you want to do all the little things you sometimes wouldn't even do for yourself, for someone else, you know that you're happy. Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, like I want to eat that fruit in the refrigerator downstairs but I'm too lazy to get it - so I don't. As compared to I want him to eat it or I'm sure he wants it - therefore I go down and get it……
Some people think that when you get a man to spend money on you or when you humiliate him and he takes it, it makes you great - well, it doesn't. It tells me you're shallow and immature and your parents have brought you up to care more about yourself than others! Trust me, no man wants to be taken for a ride and no man will take it forever - that's why God invented the concept of trust and respect. Aiya, I don't know why I'm in this mood. I just read about whines all day long - people who want more than they're getting just because they can. Like I said in my Beijing post - I saw a garbage woman pushing her father/husband along in a wheelchair collecting recyclable aluminum tins from garbage cans and she was happily smiling and chatting away. It's not money and material things that make you happy!
It's having your husband drive up to the house and break into a wide smile as he sees you at the door. It's preparing the chair for your husband when you're settling down to watch a movie cos he is more comfortable that way. It's buying something expensive for your sister just because you know she'd love it. It's telling your mum you love her to get her out of a funk, even when you're upset yourself and reminding your dad that he's done so much to shape you into the person you are….
People wonder why I wonder at having children - perhaps I'm just a pessimist - I know there are good people out there but I am deathly afraid I won't know how to raise our child(ren) into good people - good not necessarily as in rich and famous but good in the heart and mind and soul. These are things I don't know how to teach! So many people can go wrong - I have friends who can, by all accounts and standards, be happy but they continue to whine - I don't have enough money, I don't have enough stuff, I don't have enough skinniness….sigh…..perhaps they just need more luck and good karma - then the right inspiration will come into their lives and they will have an 'Eureka' moment - life is about having the right happy people around you. I think I have to explain this - in order for the people around you to be happy, you will have to influence them right, and vice versa…..so it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation where you make them happy and when they're happy, they make you happy and the cycle goes on…..the thing is just to identify the right people for your little group and to be willing to start the cycle - but hey, that's just me.
Maybe others are happy with an extra bottle of perfume! (Yikes, maybe I shouldn't have said that - the best perfume in the world is happy pheromones)!!! Someone stop me PLEASE!!!!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I TOOT BLOODY TOOT HATE DIGI TOOOT!!!
I tell you I am bloody sick of Digi!!! Their signal sucks and even though I am on a special discounted line between myself and hubby, our bills still run to the RM100s!!!! I don't understand this?? We're supposed to have discounts between us Digi freaking zens but I don't see the discount reflected anywhere!!!
Hubby's recent bill had a RM10 discount - for all that he calls me, no way there is only RM10 worth of calls that can be discounted!
And when I try to check our bills on their so-called All Convenient Online Customer Service (OCS) whaddya know - it's OFFLINE from 19 - 30 April.
I am telling you - if you are not on Digi - don't go there and if you are, do think of switching. I just told JH that we oughta get rid of DIGI, I don't care to which provider we go to - just anywhere BUT DIGI - Disgustingly Inefficient Gila Idiot!
Hubby's recent bill had a RM10 discount - for all that he calls me, no way there is only RM10 worth of calls that can be discounted!
And when I try to check our bills on their so-called All Convenient Online Customer Service (OCS) whaddya know - it's OFFLINE from 19 - 30 April.
I am telling you - if you are not on Digi - don't go there and if you are, do think of switching. I just told JH that we oughta get rid of DIGI, I don't care to which provider we go to - just anywhere BUT DIGI - Disgustingly Inefficient Gila Idiot!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tit Bits from My Life
JH asked me to write that the Lorong Seratus Tahun Curry Mee in SS2 is very very good!
He also asked me if I had written a blog about something else but I hadn't and now I can't remember what I'm supposed to write about.
I had a very antsy feeling yesterday evening - I feel like I don't wanna go home and veg and make small talk. I feel like going to a mall somewhere - of course it'd be great if I could pak tor with my husband but…..well, let's just say his employers aren't paying him to go dating…..sigh…..
I also have to clean up the house in time for somebody to come stay in it - I hope it'll be alright….I've never let my house or anything else out for that matter and am feeling just that teensy bit possessive….actually I'm just afraid the tenant will be careless (I shan't say irresponsible) and my whole house will be at risk.
Also, tomorrow night, my new car will be arriving! YEAY! Stay tuned for pictures - maybe on Wed or Thursday or after Beijing if I don't have the time. At the same time, I can test out pics from the new camera of the car on the unsuspecting public (yeah, that means you!). At first I was excited about getting a new ride but with the time lag my dealer is making me endure, it's gone rather stale….I just want to be able to collect my RM625 petrol rebate….come on man! It's your job, just do it ok!
And it doesn't help my mood that I'm getting fatter by the minute. Not anyone else's fault but my own - or maybe I can blame it on my Mother In Law for cooking great dinners and my Father In Law for hiring a maid.
Yesterday JH said I should be a very happy woman. I'm 4 days away from hopping on a jet plane to a honeymoon in Beijing for a week, I don't do any housework, I don't cook unless I want to experiment and potentially call out for Domino's (heheheheh) and my "husband loves me so much that he plans a massage for me in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday" (verbatim from his mouth). However, sometimes when I'm in a funk, he has also offered to spend me off to a day spa - so he can escape my diarrheic harangues! So I don't know- was I being bitchy on Sunday???
It's true though but I try not to revel in it too much - lest the heavens get jealous (to quote Kino/or his wife Juana in 'The Pearl' by John Steinbeck!)
On another note, I CAN'T BELIEVE I remembered Kino's name! This is a novella I read in Secondary School in English Literature class and haven't thought of in years!!!! I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT!!!!!!!!! I confess that I got Juana's name from the internet but KINO was all on my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When we come back from Beijing, I have a few things to sort out - the housing loan, the car loan, the condo, the kid…..
He also asked me if I had written a blog about something else but I hadn't and now I can't remember what I'm supposed to write about.
I had a very antsy feeling yesterday evening - I feel like I don't wanna go home and veg and make small talk. I feel like going to a mall somewhere - of course it'd be great if I could pak tor with my husband but…..well, let's just say his employers aren't paying him to go dating…..sigh…..
I also have to clean up the house in time for somebody to come stay in it - I hope it'll be alright….I've never let my house or anything else out for that matter and am feeling just that teensy bit possessive….actually I'm just afraid the tenant will be careless (I shan't say irresponsible) and my whole house will be at risk.
Also, tomorrow night, my new car will be arriving! YEAY! Stay tuned for pictures - maybe on Wed or Thursday or after Beijing if I don't have the time. At the same time, I can test out pics from the new camera of the car on the unsuspecting public (yeah, that means you!). At first I was excited about getting a new ride but with the time lag my dealer is making me endure, it's gone rather stale….I just want to be able to collect my RM625 petrol rebate….come on man! It's your job, just do it ok!
And it doesn't help my mood that I'm getting fatter by the minute. Not anyone else's fault but my own - or maybe I can blame it on my Mother In Law for cooking great dinners and my Father In Law for hiring a maid.
Yesterday JH said I should be a very happy woman. I'm 4 days away from hopping on a jet plane to a honeymoon in Beijing for a week, I don't do any housework, I don't cook unless I want to experiment and potentially call out for Domino's (heheheheh) and my "husband loves me so much that he plans a massage for me in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday" (verbatim from his mouth). However, sometimes when I'm in a funk, he has also offered to spend me off to a day spa - so he can escape my diarrheic harangues! So I don't know- was I being bitchy on Sunday???
It's true though but I try not to revel in it too much - lest the heavens get jealous (to quote Kino/or his wife Juana in 'The Pearl' by John Steinbeck!)
On another note, I CAN'T BELIEVE I remembered Kino's name! This is a novella I read in Secondary School in English Literature class and haven't thought of in years!!!! I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT!!!!!!!!! I confess that I got Juana's name from the internet but KINO was all on my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When we come back from Beijing, I have a few things to sort out - the housing loan, the car loan, the condo, the kid…..
Monday, March 30, 2009
Online Photo Printing
Aiya, I have been trying for the past half hour to upload some photos to an online print facility - eoe.com.my tapi cannot one! So upsetting! And I purposely came home early to do this some more! Bleakh!!!!
Better go down and eat some dinner now - Mother In Law (henceforth known as MIL) cooked Butter Chicken for dinner.....
Better go down and eat some dinner now - Mother In Law (henceforth known as MIL) cooked Butter Chicken for dinner.....
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
China's Camera
We're off to Beijing, China for a week for our honeymoon!!!! YEAY!!!!!!!!!! China is one of those places that I am ambivalent about though certain parts of it are a must visit - I term those my 'At Least Once In A Lifetime' locales. Like India, like Egypt, like Alaska, like Machu Picchu…….
We bought a camera for the trip….yeah weird isn't it? The last time I bought a camera was for my trip to Scotland oooooh, about 5 years ago? And now it's konked out but I loved it - loved the ease of use, the picture quality (only 3.2 Mega Pixel - ooooooooohhhh!!!!). It was a Fujifilm. So this time around when shopping for cameras, I kept to Canon and Fujifilm. I know hardcore amateur photographers always go for Canon since it does do its job quite well - even a couple of my cam-whoring friends have them! Another friend though has the Fujifilm F100fd. For the models that I was looking at, both were priced the same - RM1399.00 but Fujifilm having 12 MP while Canon has 10MP. Not that it matters so much - actually more MPs could end up crucifying the photos if you don't know how to work it, people!!!! But everything else was about the same - the zoom, the wide angle lens, the free gifts….the pic quality I would say is a personal distinction.
The Canon pic quality from my amateur perspective, is brighter, more vivid and some say, more enhanced therefore looking rather artificial. The Fujifilm one looks more subdued, less over exposed with more natural colours. However, from an objective standpoint, when the wedding photos were loaded into sis' laptop from Canons and a Fujifilm, the pic quality I liked (forget composition and subject matter!) was from a Fujifilm - so 1 up for Fujifilm.
Sis also suggested that I check out http://dpreview.com/ for expert reviews and comparisons of cameras. I love that site! It's so informative and it's neutral and objective. So of course I checked out the competition between the Canon 870IS and the Fujifilm F100fd. And guess what, it was a very very slim whisker by which the Fujifilm won out!!! Woo HOOOOO!!!!! But dpreview did concede that most people would buy the Canon with its longer reputation and bigger customer base and therefore, bigger fan base/people who've used it before and don't want to learn how to use a new camera. So, 2 up for Fujifilm. Now the only thing holding me back was the price of these babies!
Since I had not bought a camera in so long, I asked a couple of people what I should realistically be spending - I'm more a point and shoot person while Ju Han is a 'DON'T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB TO TAKE PICTURES' person so we'd most probably be using the Auto mode for 90% of our pics….Though reading dpreview did teach me a thing or two about ISO settings and low light picture taking. So what SHOULD I spend on a camera that gives me and hubby what we need for the best value. My sources came back and suggested to cap spending at RM1000.00. Ok.
I put together a list of what I wanted and matched it against several more reviews and against pricing. I wanted fast start up (from the time you turn on the camera to it being usable), small shutter lag (from the time you 'Click' to picture taken), wide angle (to take nice pics of the Great Wall of China), good battery life and nice picture quality on the LCD screen and printouts. And oh yeah, something easy for both of us to use! Other cheaper cameras didn't have what I wanted so in the end it was back to the Canon and the Fujifilm.
SO WHAT WAS THE CLINCHER???????
A 'little' known fact: Fujifilm the company has been running an exchange campaign which brings the price of the Fujifilm F100fd down from RM1399 to RM999!!! I think the campaign has been on since end of 2008 but there were still certain camera shops (like FotoKem in 1Utama) that still had stock. The paranoid me would be wondering why there was still stock if the camera really was so good but I just couldn't ignore the great 'Highly Recommended' review it got on dpreview.com. I just thanked my lucky stars.
Upon calling Fujifilm, they told me Foto Shangri-la branches were mostly sold out but FotoKem still had them.
So last Saturday, hubby and I paid RM999 plus RM80 for 2 years extended warranty from FotoKem and walked off with our black Fujifilm F100fd, a 4GB memory card, a kisgnbn gi rechargeable battery, a soft case and a screen protector. We had a choice of the protector or the mini tripod but looking at the spindly spider leg tripod, we chose the screen protector.
It's about the same weight as the Canon that we were looking at - a tad weight-ful (heheheh) but can fit into the pants pocket (shirt pocket also can but a bit heavy lah). We didn't get any additional battery or memory card cos Ju Han says he doesn't want to spend 1 hour of everyday taking photographs……we're not really that sort of people and I prefer scenery shots anyway so less time fiddling with the camera.
It's not the sleekest or prettiest of cameras and at 12MP, when you zoom in really close -you see the painting like quality of the photo. It's got a cool edit (trim) and save function too which is something I didn't know about but really like. It's easy to use and we're happy. Now I want to see how it performs in China!!!!!!
Which brings me to - CHINA! I can't speak the language but we're going on our own. Since it's our honeymoon we just wanted to take our time to slowly explore or amble and wake up at a reasonable hour. Ju Han speaks some Mandarin so we will wing it and we're forking out for a 5 star hotel too!!!! Good reviews on that too - gotta be careful in China cos their local 5 star is an international 3 star…..But anyways, we saw pics on the web and read user reviews so it should be ok.
We gotta change some moolah and I wish we could use HK dollars cos we still have some of that left over from before……and then next week we're off!!!!!!! SO EXCITING!!!!!!
We bought a camera for the trip….yeah weird isn't it? The last time I bought a camera was for my trip to Scotland oooooh, about 5 years ago? And now it's konked out but I loved it - loved the ease of use, the picture quality (only 3.2 Mega Pixel - ooooooooohhhh!!!!). It was a Fujifilm. So this time around when shopping for cameras, I kept to Canon and Fujifilm. I know hardcore amateur photographers always go for Canon since it does do its job quite well - even a couple of my cam-whoring friends have them! Another friend though has the Fujifilm F100fd. For the models that I was looking at, both were priced the same - RM1399.00 but Fujifilm having 12 MP while Canon has 10MP. Not that it matters so much - actually more MPs could end up crucifying the photos if you don't know how to work it, people!!!! But everything else was about the same - the zoom, the wide angle lens, the free gifts….the pic quality I would say is a personal distinction.
The Canon pic quality from my amateur perspective, is brighter, more vivid and some say, more enhanced therefore looking rather artificial. The Fujifilm one looks more subdued, less over exposed with more natural colours. However, from an objective standpoint, when the wedding photos were loaded into sis' laptop from Canons and a Fujifilm, the pic quality I liked (forget composition and subject matter!) was from a Fujifilm - so 1 up for Fujifilm.
Sis also suggested that I check out http://dpreview.com/ for expert reviews and comparisons of cameras. I love that site! It's so informative and it's neutral and objective. So of course I checked out the competition between the Canon 870IS and the Fujifilm F100fd. And guess what, it was a very very slim whisker by which the Fujifilm won out!!! Woo HOOOOO!!!!! But dpreview did concede that most people would buy the Canon with its longer reputation and bigger customer base and therefore, bigger fan base/people who've used it before and don't want to learn how to use a new camera. So, 2 up for Fujifilm. Now the only thing holding me back was the price of these babies!
Since I had not bought a camera in so long, I asked a couple of people what I should realistically be spending - I'm more a point and shoot person while Ju Han is a 'DON'T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB TO TAKE PICTURES' person so we'd most probably be using the Auto mode for 90% of our pics….Though reading dpreview did teach me a thing or two about ISO settings and low light picture taking. So what SHOULD I spend on a camera that gives me and hubby what we need for the best value. My sources came back and suggested to cap spending at RM1000.00. Ok.
I put together a list of what I wanted and matched it against several more reviews and against pricing. I wanted fast start up (from the time you turn on the camera to it being usable), small shutter lag (from the time you 'Click' to picture taken), wide angle (to take nice pics of the Great Wall of China), good battery life and nice picture quality on the LCD screen and printouts. And oh yeah, something easy for both of us to use! Other cheaper cameras didn't have what I wanted so in the end it was back to the Canon and the Fujifilm.
SO WHAT WAS THE CLINCHER???????
A 'little' known fact: Fujifilm the company has been running an exchange campaign which brings the price of the Fujifilm F100fd down from RM1399 to RM999!!! I think the campaign has been on since end of 2008 but there were still certain camera shops (like FotoKem in 1Utama) that still had stock. The paranoid me would be wondering why there was still stock if the camera really was so good but I just couldn't ignore the great 'Highly Recommended' review it got on dpreview.com. I just thanked my lucky stars.
Upon calling Fujifilm, they told me Foto Shangri-la branches were mostly sold out but FotoKem still had them.
So last Saturday, hubby and I paid RM999 plus RM80 for 2 years extended warranty from FotoKem and walked off with our black Fujifilm F100fd, a 4GB memory card, a kisgnbn gi rechargeable battery, a soft case and a screen protector. We had a choice of the protector or the mini tripod but looking at the spindly spider leg tripod, we chose the screen protector.
It's about the same weight as the Canon that we were looking at - a tad weight-ful (heheheh) but can fit into the pants pocket (shirt pocket also can but a bit heavy lah). We didn't get any additional battery or memory card cos Ju Han says he doesn't want to spend 1 hour of everyday taking photographs……we're not really that sort of people and I prefer scenery shots anyway so less time fiddling with the camera.
It's not the sleekest or prettiest of cameras and at 12MP, when you zoom in really close -you see the painting like quality of the photo. It's got a cool edit (trim) and save function too which is something I didn't know about but really like. It's easy to use and we're happy. Now I want to see how it performs in China!!!!!!
Which brings me to - CHINA! I can't speak the language but we're going on our own. Since it's our honeymoon we just wanted to take our time to slowly explore or amble and wake up at a reasonable hour. Ju Han speaks some Mandarin so we will wing it and we're forking out for a 5 star hotel too!!!! Good reviews on that too - gotta be careful in China cos their local 5 star is an international 3 star…..But anyways, we saw pics on the web and read user reviews so it should be ok.
We gotta change some moolah and I wish we could use HK dollars cos we still have some of that left over from before……and then next week we're off!!!!!!! SO EXCITING!!!!!!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wedding Photos!!!
Weeee!!! The photos are ready!
Feel free to go into:
www.lucaschua.com
Select "Client Login"
Input username: juer09
With the password 0808
Hope you like them!!!!!!!!
Feel free to go into:
www.lucaschua.com
Select "Client Login"
Input username: juer09
With the password 0808
Hope you like them!!!!!!!!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Good Places for Food...in KL!!!
HiHIHI!!! Just wanted to recommend a couple of good places for eating in KL! I know! Can't believe I said that!!!!
Anyway, here goes:
1. Old Hong Kong Kitchen in Jalan Utara (or somewhere thereabouts). It's near the Pasar Rakyat - NOT PLaza Rakyat which is Puduraya. So it's at a corner lot bungalow just around the Bus Station that's there. If you drive a full circle around the bus station you should be able to find it - Oh Yeah, it's opposite the Beryl's chocolate kingdom......
(Aside: That whole road is actually full of chocolatiers!!! Can't believe it man!)
So this place serves the most awesome DIM SUM!!! I am not really a big fan of it but I thought the little itty bitty things were all so deliciously and (it tasted like) lovingly prepared! The skin of the Prawn Dumpling (ha kau) was soft and thin and the prawns inside were big and fresh and juicy and sweet. Another fave of mine, the beancurd skin with prawns inside - mmmm, the skin was crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth and the prawns again.....Even the Siew Mai which I usually hate on account of it being too MEATY - was great! I would have had a second piece if I had room in my stomach!
We also ordered the Fried Rice with Dried Scallop (19.90 for a sharing portion) and that was good too - couldn't really find a lot of scallop but overall, very ok to eat! The dim sums were RM4.80, RM5.80 on average.....So very yummylicious food for affordable prices!
2. BBQ Chicken LG floor at 1Utama, New Wing. We had walked by it many a time, always feeling kinda sorry for it cos it would inevitably be empty but I told myself we have to try it SOMETIME! And we did! And it was great to JH and ok to me. It was very healthy chicken - steamed or broiled or grilled or something but leaving a wee bit of redness on the inside (which I can't stand) and lots of juicy tenderness (which I love!). So all in all, we promised ourselves we'd come back! The mushroom soup was good too!
Last night we walked by it again and WOO HOO!!!!! It's packed! I am so happy for them cos I was afraid that they were going to have to close down.......
So there you go. Go I tell you! GO!
Anyway, here goes:
1. Old Hong Kong Kitchen in Jalan Utara (or somewhere thereabouts). It's near the Pasar Rakyat - NOT PLaza Rakyat which is Puduraya. So it's at a corner lot bungalow just around the Bus Station that's there. If you drive a full circle around the bus station you should be able to find it - Oh Yeah, it's opposite the Beryl's chocolate kingdom......
(Aside: That whole road is actually full of chocolatiers!!! Can't believe it man!)
So this place serves the most awesome DIM SUM!!! I am not really a big fan of it but I thought the little itty bitty things were all so deliciously and (it tasted like) lovingly prepared! The skin of the Prawn Dumpling (ha kau) was soft and thin and the prawns inside were big and fresh and juicy and sweet. Another fave of mine, the beancurd skin with prawns inside - mmmm, the skin was crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth and the prawns again.....Even the Siew Mai which I usually hate on account of it being too MEATY - was great! I would have had a second piece if I had room in my stomach!
We also ordered the Fried Rice with Dried Scallop (19.90 for a sharing portion) and that was good too - couldn't really find a lot of scallop but overall, very ok to eat! The dim sums were RM4.80, RM5.80 on average.....So very yummylicious food for affordable prices!
2. BBQ Chicken LG floor at 1Utama, New Wing. We had walked by it many a time, always feeling kinda sorry for it cos it would inevitably be empty but I told myself we have to try it SOMETIME! And we did! And it was great to JH and ok to me. It was very healthy chicken - steamed or broiled or grilled or something but leaving a wee bit of redness on the inside (which I can't stand) and lots of juicy tenderness (which I love!). So all in all, we promised ourselves we'd come back! The mushroom soup was good too!
Last night we walked by it again and WOO HOO!!!!! It's packed! I am so happy for them cos I was afraid that they were going to have to close down.......
So there you go. Go I tell you! GO!
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