This one was originally published on http://adriantai.blogspot.com back in 2007. Reproducing it here since I think it does make a nice read.

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Mrs Tai (that is what I call my wife) asked me to help her do some banking on Saturday morning since she had to be in school (she is not the student, in case you need to know).

She handed me her ATM card and a piece of paper with instructions (yes, that’s how bad my memory can be). Very simple task, really - withdraw money and deposit into 2 different accounts.

How difficult can that be, right? It can be very difficult, actually, when you’re confronted with this screen:

Sh1t, which one is withdraw money la…?!?

We forgot Maybank actually remembers your preferred language and Mrs Tai’s preferred language is chinese. And I can’t read or write in Chinese! So how? Press Cancel and wait for her lor…

Cr4p! Actually, it can be a good point because if it is a snatch thief trying to withdraw money, the fella may not even know how to withdraw money. Bad point… When it is a genuine case like mine. I am so helpless… Shy only…

I had my first experience with the new rounding mechanism last Sunday. The Jimat dan SENang (translated to English, it means SAVE AND EASY - the SEN is used as word play) is the government campaign aimed at introducing the rounding mechanism based on the TOTAL amount of a bill. The total amount is rounded to the nearest 5 sen.

Last Sunday, I went to Pet Family to buy some bedding for my hamsters. The bill came to rm6.98 but I ended up paying rm7.00 instead because of the rounding mechanism. The new mechanism didn’t save me any money… I ended up paying 2 sen more! So much for the JIMAT part…

Last week had been an eventful week for me.

The same could also be said for the past few weeks, actually. Many things have happened — I have had time to reflect on my life, my family, my work, the people around me, etc… I did some thinking, some talking (to family, friends and a few others), did some more thinking…

The baby is due soon — May. There are still so many things to get ready. And I personally feel I’ve not spent enough time with my wife and have not done my share of things for the baby — skipped the last two routine follow-ups with the specialists, etc…

So last week, I tendered my resignation…

About 2 years back, I accompanied Mrs Tai to her course mate’s wedding in Penang. I was going to Penang on a business trip anyway. She had known this course mate for quite a while and the few of them would occasionally meet up and visit one another, including this particular course mate who’s hometown is in Pulau Ketam.

When my grandpa passed away and Mrs Tai found out that we had gone to somewhere near Pulau Ketam, she suddenly remembered this friend and was telling me all about her again…

Mrs Tai called me just this afternoon… This friend had been involved in a car accident this morning. Her friend did not survive while the husband and baby is in critical condition.

Last week, my brother-in-law asked me to help him get a notebook. As always, my first recommendation would always be DELL simply because price-wise and service-wise, they are very good (at least in Malaysia anyway).

So after asking him a few questions, like what he intends to do with the notebook and what is his budget, I suggested he go for Dell Inspiron 1420. Actually, for this case, asking for the purpose was redundant because eventually we got a very high spec notebook - his budget allowed it! Basically the notebook comes with an Intel Core2 Duo Processor (T5450 @ 1.66Ghz and 2MB cache), 2GB RAM, 160GB harddisk, 2MB integrated webcam, DVD Writer, Bluetooth, wifi-enabled, 3 years complete cover, etc… His only request - he wanted it to be Expresso brown.

It arrived today. And it comes preloaded with Windows Vista. So, first task, reinstall with Windows XP (yes, Windows Vista really sucks, IMHO). This is the one bit I don’t like about Dell — they don’t have option to install with Windows XP. So have to buy another license! Bummer…

This morning, we went to the crematorium to pick up grandpa’s ashes. It was an emotional affair for my relatives, especially my aunts. After going through the custom ceremonies (which included prayers, etc), we were off to Port Klang to scatter the ashes. We had done the same for our grandma.

We chartered a bus as there were about more than 20 of us. We arrived at Port Klang about half and hour later and proceeded to board the two boats that has been arranged for us. We were told there wasn’t any boat big enough for all of us. So we had to split into two boats. I was told to board the boat carrying grandpa’s ashes. In about 10 minutes, we were on the way out to the ’sea’…

Clockwise from Top Left: We arrived at Port Klang; Walking down to the jetty; On the way out the the ’sea’; That is grandpa in two bags having his last sun bath
Dad holding onto grandpaAbout 10 minutes later, we arrived at our destination. We were not really out in the sea but it was far out enough from the port. As the boat slowed down to a stop, we could feel the boat swaying left and right. It was a bit rough. Dad and my uncle got started. They slowly poured grandpa’s ashes and bone bits into the sea. All it all, it was another 10 minutes followed by a quick prayer. We then started to head back to the jetty.

Rest well, grandpa…On the way back, I noticed that the water was some how separated at one area… You can sea the water is greenish on one side and brownish on the other…

See the line? The water seems to be separated by that line - green on one side, brown on the otherSince we were in Klang, someone suggested we have the famous Klang Bah Kut Teh (pork ribs in herbal soup).

Dad just called a few minutes ago…

My grandpa had just passed away…

He had fallen down twice yesterday and had been admitted into the hospital. He was still unconscious then. This morning, my uncle (dad’s youngest brother) had told us that grandpa has some brokens bones but no surgery can be done as he’s old and weak.

The past few months has been a series of bad news for me…

Dad sold of the old Volvo and got himself a Perodua Viva recently. The car arrived middle of the week and I have to say that it looks good. I believe the one he got was the 850cc version.

Since we were relatively ‘free’ over the weekend and dad has not been to Setia Alam (my future home) in a long time, we decided to try out his car and drive there.

Can’t say I know a lot about cars. So don’t expect an expert kind of review. The three of us (my dad, Mrs Tai @ my wife and myself) sat comfortably in the car. I am kinda impressed that at its price (I think around rm33k, all inclusive), it comes with power windows for all the windows. Cabin space was quite big. As I said, we felt quite comfortable inside. Dashboard was very minimal and basic. There is the single CD player. Side-view mirrors is not manual (meaning you push some buttons to adjust the side-view mirrors). I think it even comes with air-bag (I might be wrong about this — sorry la, like I said, I’m not a car freak).

Inside the Perodua Viva

So far, the things I noticed and found to be slightly ‘off’ is the lack of a meter to show the temperature. Viva only has two light indicator - one for COLD and one for HOT. They will only turn on when the engine is too cold or too hot. I think that’s kinda bad. I would like to know if the engine is starting to get too hot. Besides that, I also noticed there’s no way to turn off the air-cond vent. You can turn it left or right or up or down… But you just can’t shut it.

I think Mrs Tai has fallen in love with this car. She said that if not for our need to have extra space (meaning the car boot), she would love to get this. We have been told by friends who have kids to get a car with lots of space - for baby seats, strollers, etc…

The drive to Setia Alam was smooth. We didn’t expect much changes for the house since its like 95-99% completed already. I managed to speak to the sales person and she said that the house progress is still on schedule and we’re expected to receive the house keys next month (April). The Certificate of Fitness/ Occupation (CF) is expected to be ready in April or May. Once we get the CF, it means we can move in.

But for us, we are planning to only move in by the end of the year. Partly due to other more important matters - our baby is due in May. Plus, we would like to take our time to decorate and improve the house (plant flowers, add cabinets, etc) before we move it. Like Derrell, we will slowly move our things to our new home.

One more month and we should be getting the keys. That’s my dad’s new Perodua Viva

It was a rather uneventful week.

I was back to work on Monday after a long Chinese New Year weekend. My Waja is still trying to maintain its record run. It clocked-in its February visit on Tuesday after spending a night at my office’s basement carpark on Monday. In fact, my car outdid itself and had two visits for January (the last week of January for a tyre change). I can’t wait for March!

Parliament was dissolved on Wednesday. Valentine’s day was celebrated at home… Home cooked food is always the best… Tasty and full of love. I took Friday off and spent sometime with my wife and in-laws. Went to check on my new place in Setia Alam. Looks like my house is almost ready…

The house is almost ready now. VP expected in April 2008

A mini playground… A half basketball court… We can’t wait to move in

Managed to also visit Dean over the weekend. What else…?!? Oh ya…

Another photo of the squirrel, courtesy of Mrs Tai.

Chinese New Year is just around the corner… Sorry, but I have to admit that this year, I’m just too lazy to change the background to a CNY related theme… Next year la, ya?

OK… Now, back to my Wii…