I finally decided to get myself  into the 4G world to really see if its worth chasing after. After much consideration (I think some of you doubt that when it comes to me about gadgets and technology), I got myself the YES 4G Huddle device bundled with the credit and all. I made the informed decision by browsing their webpage and reading all……ALL the info there…….here is what I learnt:

They definitely do not put all the info you need to know there………which is a given marketing thing…….so here are things you should note:

a. You do not pay as you use technically. If you don’t use anything you will be still charged RM30 a month. I learnt this after calling their hotline and asking

b. If you decide to go to the value pack, you do not have to pay the RM30 but you must reload after 30 days. If you don’t all leftovers will be lost. If you do, your remainder will be transferred to the next value pack reload to the unlimited. Supposedly you can accumulate as much as you don’t use. But thats the trick!!! you’ll have to spend at least RM68 a month! One day late in reloading and you lose everything!

c. Don’t be surprised if you see an RM50 charge because its stated that they’ll charge you that somewhere on the website. So technically when you pay RM1199. You’re supposed to get RM 800 credit and RM 400 Rebates. But you’ll be left with only RM750 credit and 400 rebate.

d. Your rebates cannot be used to get value packs so you have to spend it at normal 9sen rates.

e. read all the info on the website carefully before you purchase. They are not so direct after all with many things not as plain as it may seem

f. installment plans are only for maybank, citibank, hsbc and hong leong bank only.

If you’re tech savvy, setting up is easy and a breeze. unfortunately when I did set it up at home, there was no coverage……how sad…..just 30 m from my house, it works but not at my house. My house has some kind of signal repellant. Even mobile coverage is tough on all networks…..

So I took it out to Bukit Indah’s Mcdonalds and it was awesome. I got a DL speed of 12mbps and UL speed of 3.5 mpbs. Sweet! That’s faster than my singapore singtel and M1 line by miles which I averagely  get 3mbps DL speeds. On the way  from my house to McDonalds, I used the 2nd Link highway and it only got disconnected at 3 spots but not for long so much so trapster on my iPhone worked fine with no disruptions. Occasionally I speed tested the connection every 3km and I was getting an average of 1.8mbps DL but only 0.5mpbs UL even and low reception areas. House to Mcdonalds being about 10km in distance. Not bad at al. On my way back I used the back roads and reception was non existent for about 2km.

I also tested the Yeslife calls when I was there but I got disconnected twice. Probably not very stable yet. But I didn’t try more to verify the problem.

So in summary, what do I think? I was right to assume that it was not a network that was ready to take over my prepaid number. I was hoping though that it would be. With the intermittent disconnection it won’t be an ideal phone replacement as of yet. But I certainly hope they get there soon. But I think they work better than any other mobile broadband in malaysia I’ve use so far. Coverage put aside, the speeds are excellent and again, I hope they keep this up.  It was a very pleasant browsing and using session I had with my iPad and iPhone. Latency was good compared to my experience with competitor P1.

I’ll be going to test this on the road from Johor Bahru all the way to Subang Jaya this Monday. I’ll blog about it. I’ve tried using Maxis all the way but I had many points where I was on GPRS and internet was useless. I hope that Yes would give me a good connection on the way. That would make my day! At the mean time, if you’re looking to get YES ? If you need internet on the go, it seems like this is a good way to go but check for coverage first. There are no refunds. Cheers!

COMING SOON! ROAD TEST

Hi everyone I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the family. It is a bitter sweet moment for us because in a little while we have to say goodbye to Shades. But I don’t want to think about right now and not let that spoil the moment of our joy. We have decided to name him Momo. He’s got a cute helmet buddy with his name engraved on it. One day probably you’ll see me riding cross the town with him. He’s attractive, cute, and quite hot too hehe.

I recently learnt through another blog how to treat him good and I think I’m not going to let any other guy touch him and do the work of servicing him myself. I’ve done it the first time already. Its really easy and wow how much it saves money.

It is the beginning of our attempt to be really frugal ermm more like my attempt to be frugal cause we’re praying we have enough to begin family life. Another benefit of our new family member is that he keeps me safe as a rider. He is a smooth and slow type and I can’t push him. He don’t like it. So I’ve been really slow hahaha. Less worries for those of you who have been worrying about me

Well Regina is really happy and so am I. So Momo, welcome to our family. We love you and we hope you’re here to stay for the longest time.

I know I haven’t done this for the super longest time. But when I heard the first song of this album, I said I must share it with those of  you who read my blog. This is Francesca Battistelli’s latest album and its creating waves on the billboard but more so on my creative juices. I’ve been waiting to hear an album like this for a long long time.

If you like Colbie Caillat and some of the really catchy pop tunes that you hear on radio with a little folk twist to is. This is the album to get. The hooks on each song is amazing! She write all her songs too!!! If you like singer songwriter type of music. I think she tops all the ladies I’ve ever heard in the gospel music category. I’m analyzing the music and she’s a genius! My only regret is that I never bought her earlier albums.

Usually you like only one song in an album. I like EVERY SONG! This is crazy. Super inspiring. This album is filled with catchy melodies, excellent arrangements, exciting harmonies. The mastering sounds excellent bringing the clarity of the music instruments so clearly that I can hear every detail of the album easily. Mixing is perfect as the engineers visualization of mixing makes me feel so intimate with the recording. Ian Eskelin has got into my books as one great producer too because of this. I’m a fan!

This album gets my satisfaction guarantee status! Donny if you read this you’ll love this album get it!!!! Actually anyone who knows me and trusts my taste you must get this!!!!!!

Sorry super super happy an excited on an album. This is like what I’ve been looking for a year!!!! I’ve spent literally thousands of dollars this year on CDs and this is the first that has got me so excited!

Okie now I’m going to hear this album a million times. BYE!

Let us skip the part where we have not been able to blog of late. It’s a new slate. It’s a new start. Ok?

In the past 3 years I’ve been moving like a nomad across Singapore from the East to the West. Finally I’ve found a place where the grass is greener and the birds chirp louder. A place that I call home……wait! It’s WE now. We call this place home. We finally moved to JB. Living costs in Singapore was impossible for us to afford.

A miracle happened when we stumbled upon this more than slightly humble home. It cost us literally zero to start off. The house was fully furnished. Brand smacking new and the same as my rental of a room in Singapore. No downpayment. No renovation necessary. Impossible you think? Apparently not. We were shocked too. God provided something amazing, more than we can hope or ask for. Some of you have been asking for pics and well I finally got them ready. Well let me take you on a tour of our house ok? Let’s begin the tour

Guest Room 1

We’ll start from the back of the house. This is my 1st guest bedroom.  Right next to it is the bathroom and the kitchen as seen below

Downstairs Bathroom

Kitchen with all the fittings that came along with the house, yes the fridge was included

View of backdoor and other end of kitchen

Some say our kitchen is small but we are both not great cooks. Even so its kinda enough to cook a great meal actually. Oh well, lets proceed to the dining area right outside where my piano is placed too….

Dining Area...Can you spot Nahum? Ruby's boyfriend hehehe

My Piano given to us graciously

A larger view of the dining area to the kitchen where you can see our cd collection too

Now you have a little peak of my living room area that is just next to that piano. Lets gooooooo…..

This is a view of our living room from the piano area

A More Central view

Living Room Opposite View

Side View to Kitchen

As you can see I love pets and well this is my little koi pond and waterfall

My Fish Tank that I intend to be a planters tank but I haven't finished setting up my CO2 tank and new filter

That does it for the ground floor. Its time to move upstairs to the 1st floor. You like our place so far?

Here you can see both floors

Welcome up! Careful not to trip

This is the view of the washroom and the two bedroom doors

This is where Victor Lee (if you know him) stays during the weekends. He wanted a red room so we painted it red for him

This is our third guestroom for all you who want a retreat at the resort we live in....wait did I tell you that we live in a resort? Well we do hehehe

They built in nice wardrobes for us. Very neat. Both rooms have them too

This is our guest bathroom

As you walk along the bridge to the master bedroom, it is quite a neat view of downstairs

This is the view from closer to the Master Bedroom

Well, how do you like it so far? Wanna come over and stay. Well if you want you can always contact me and I would love to have guests who just want R and R. There is a swimming pool nearby, equestrian clubhouse if you want to ride horses, orchard and a nice park nearby. Now lets go to our room….

As you enter the room, this is the view of it

This is our bed, oh I feel like sleeping on it now.....

This is the view from the bed. And our little work space and mini studio

This is my awesome attached bathroom where I hideway and destress hehehe

This is the shower area in the master bathroom

Now as we exit, I'm greeted by my one and only lovely beautiful wife.

That ends the tour of the place we have now come to call home. I really hope you guys will come visit us some time. Thanks Mom for helping us paint the house so beautifully. It is time to really go home. Tata….

I think Pangkor Laut was ideal for Leon and myself. For Leon, the nature lover and the Tarzan wannabe (I think of him as that because he talks about wanting to live in the forest close to nature!), staying at the resort was somewhat like staying in the forest. I told him the resort felt like a combination of Sentosa Cove and MacRitchie Reservoir. For me, it was secluded enough to get away from people (I needed to recuperate from all the wedding socialising) and feel like I was in paradise looking out to the cove Considering we only decided on the destination a day before departure after depositing Wedding Collections into the bank, this place was divine for us. There was only one type of room (Villa) to choose from for the duration of our stay and it was just right for us. It felt like the place was kept and prepared for us

Instead of going into details about the getaway, here are my personal favorites about the trip

1. Spending time alone with each other and sleeping as much as we liked!

2. Infrastructure/Landscaping. The whole feel of the resort was coherent. From the ferry ride, to the room, the restaurants and their color schemes that matched even the serviettes.

3. Food. GLORIOUS FOOD! My favorite would have to be the Soy Panna Cotta dessert (It was so nice I savored it and forgot to take a picture of it!). The texture is a little more firm than ice-cream but less creamy and taste like butter cookie with a light soy fragrance =) Mmmm….Absolutely delicious! Leon’s is probably the Nasi Lemak at breakfast =)

4. Sweet Gestures from Hotel Staff

5. Nice Sea View. It’s therapeutic to be eating and looking at the sea at the same time. Absolutely relaxing!

6. Nature. We could see Kites, Hornbills and Fruit Bats =) I’m sure there were more if we looked harder.

So far, a few people have commented that our honeymoon was too short. Some thought we didn’t go on one cos we were back at work 9 days after the wedding. I dunno. Time is relative. It was enough for us so it didn’t feel short

We are deeply thankful for the time, the place and the blessings from loved ones that made this trip possible If you are one of them, THANK YOU!

Here I am getting fat…..really fat….I noticed Adino has been writing about weight loss and I’m trying to follow and be as successful as he did in losing weight but I can’t seem to control my hunger panks. Sighs…..

Then I received a gift. Something I have been wishing for! Can you believe it? I got something that will probably cause me to be even more lazy to do the little exercise I have left. Housework!

Presenting to you. My latest gadget. Hehe the iRobot! A robot vacumm that will revolutionize the way my life is and the circumfrance of my waist hahahahaha.

Opening ceremony...the time has come

Perhaps I’ll do a review of the iRobot later to tell you if this thing really works or not. I will also be measuring my waist line in the process as to discourage you ladies from insisting that your husband get you one.

One a serious note, I want to thank the person who gave this to us as a early wedding gift! We are truly touched. Regina was asking is the person is encouraging her to be a ‘Tai Tai’. Oh no, I’m not sure am marrying the right person now. Hahaah…..ok ok no no I’ll love her no matter what but I also know she’ll never be a Tai Tai. Hehe

The 'Tai Tai' wannabe hehehe

So now…..I can’t wait to try it, but I’ll be away for the next few days….sadly, trying this new gizmo of mine will have to wait. Sobss. Until then, have a great and lazy weekend. Hehe

I feel like I want my nose so BIG!

Call me vain, call me whatever. I need this! I have delayed this surgery for a year now due to the lack of time to recuperate after the operation. BUT…..its taking a tow on me.

Ok ok on a more serious note what I need is no plastic surgery nose job. I’ve been having throat infections everyday. I’ve started to snore. I have sleep apnea. All this because I have this bad nose allergy that causes me to not be able to breathe from my nose.

I’ve drugged myself, got myself a dehumidifier, made changes to my lifestlye but I can’t get it off. So it is time to do it. It’s time to get my nose job done. BUT…..I really don’t have the time.

Getting it done will make me I think 300 percent more effective. But it will put me off the grid for 2 weeks at least I forsee. Can we afford that? Should I take the risk?

I haven’t been able to sing well. My throat hurts so bad. I really can’t stand how I have so little control over my voice because it feels plain BAD. I’m tired cause I don’t get enough oxygen when I sleep. I feel so weary…….then what is stopping me from getting it all done immediately? I don’t have the time….

Ridiculous as it seems, this is the scenario, this is the reality. Pray with me that I will solve this soon. I’m tired. I’m so so tired.

We want to spend our life together…..we need a house…..but we want a nice house…..how do we balance that? Between a house that is functional and a house that is desirable

Anyways, if we buy a house in singapore, it will cost at least 200k SGD and that is a maximum of 700 square feet built up area. In comparrison, here is what I get if I stay in Johor for less.

View of the outside in the evening

It is 2340 square feet of built up area. Double Storey terrace house with clubhouse facilities. It is all fully furnished and air-conditioned and fully ready to move in condition.

No initital payment needed and no fees involved.

Living room with different furnishings

This is a picture of the living room not taken by a professional photographer

Dining Area

Master Bedroom

Look at the toilet....bathtub.....ooooooo...

Singapore the Cash above valuation is frightening now at 30k++SGD and that doesn’t include renovation and furnishing costs!!

So the Johor place is everything I want and need. The Singapore place is everything I need but don’t want. How do you decide?

These are not the only options we’ve been looking into and here I am LOST! How to decide? I can’t believe I have to make decisions such as these. It is time to grow up I guess. I have done all the maths. Done all the comparisons but how to decide?

Any advice?

After service, in a desperate attempt to find some New Year goodies, the Penang’s food trail brochure led us to a very inconspicuous shop that had over 60 years of history in making Nonya Kuehs. As Singaporeans, the first thing we thought of and asked when we entered the house was, ‘Where’s the display counter?’. Nope, there weren’t any display counters, just a wooden rack with some of the freshly made kuehs. Thus began the food tasting session.

Kueh Tasting

According to the owner who was the 3rd generation in his family running this business (the 4th generation doesn’t intend to take over the business), they mainly handled orders from restaurants and hardly had customers gatecrashing like we did =) Haha! Anyways, we left as satisfied customers, returned with bagful of kuehs and amazing homemade kaya!

Awesome Kaya

Lunch was yet another round of Penang Char Kway Teow! This time at the recommended street (forgot the name) on the Penang Food Trail brochure where the person cooking wears goggles to cook! Well, with good stuff always comes competition. If you are interested to check the place out, there are 2 of such cooks along the street. One male and one female. The female cook is the one recommended on the brochure but our local intelligence told us to go for the male cook instead. We were not disappointed.

After lunch, some of us went for Nandos while the rest went shopping. In the late evening, the troop prepared to go back to Singapore while Leon and I stayed behind to celebrate Valentines Day early.

Breakfast @ Old Town

Old Town Signature Dishes - Ipoh Hor Fun & Curry Mee

Jon Jon: I'm Not Interested In Adult Food

This Way Up To Penang Hill

We took it easy in the morning after a packed day yesterday. We lingered at New World for a while longer, some resting and some shopping. After that, our host drove us around to take a look at the town area. We decided to charge up Penang Hill after driving around for a while. The drive to Penang Hill took about an hour I think. It was quite a ride. Traffic was generally slow (perhaps compared to Singapore). Leon slept most of the way there.

The train took half an hour to get to the top of the hill. Weather conditions wasn’t that good so pictures of the view up there wasn’t great. It started drizzling when we were up there so we decided to wait awhile at the cottage restaurant to have tea. Fresh warm scones with strawberry jam and butter was good. The same as the one at Cameron Highlands.

Hilltop View

Us at Penang Hill

Group Photo

Dinner and rest in the evening concluded Day 2.