Anti-Climax

I visit Apple's website cum online store everyday - without fail. Healthy interest or serious obsession? You decide.

Over the last few months, I've had my eye on a MacBook. I've never been a huge fan of Macs but since they started rolling out Intel-based hardware, it became attractive because it would not only run Apple's own operating system (OS X) but Windows XP as well. However, it was a little pricey and out of my reach. So, I check the website everyday hoping for a special discount or promotion. If I were lucky, they might have a "Buy An iPod and get a Macbook free" promotion. I'd like that.

Today was no exception. I typed in the URL and found that their store was down! It only meant one thing... either a promotion or a new launch!! I almost pee'd my pants.

Could they be slashing their prices on Macbooks and finally, I'd be able to afford one? Perhaps, they may be adding cool new features to the Macbook but maintaining the same price? Wait a minute... could it be... a surprise launch of the iPhone... 6 months early?

I held my breath each time I hit the "refresh" button on my browser. And then, there it was...

Coloured iPod Shuffles?? That's what they took down the entire online store all around the world for?!?! What a let-down.

Anyway, if you're in the market for these microscopic music players, they now come in these attractive colours. No longer are you stuck with just bland matt silver.

Available at all Apple dealers and online stores. A great gift for your special someone on Valentine's Day.

Disclaimer : Links here are to Apple's online store in Singapore. Visit Apple's International site to take you to an online store near you.

Loss Of A Father

My father died a year ago today.

I still remember the day. It was two days to a major public holiday in Singapore and I was looking forward to it. I thought I could chill out from all the stress I was experiencing. I received a call from a relative overseas who was visiting my father in hospital there while I was at work. He said "I am sorry to tell you that your father is no more. He passed away about 15 minutes ago". At that instant, something inside of me died as well. Reality, as I knew it, was altered beyond recognition. I became an "orphan" without a father to turn to for advice or a mother for comfort. She died 10 years before. The feeling of lonliness was overwhelming. I rushed home to be with my wife because the emptiness was consuming me very quickly.

People tell me that time heals all wounds. People don't really know what they're talking about, do they? To me, it still feels like I lost him yesterday and although only one year has passed, it feels like 20 years has gone by. I sometimes wonder how I am to carry on life with this severe dent in my heart.

Fate can be so cruel. My father died in January and his Grandson was born in July. They missed each other by 6 months and 2 days. I never realised it till now but my Grandfather (my Mum's father) and I suffered a similar miss. He died in May and I was born in October the same year. My father would have loved to have met his Grandson and I'm willing to wager everything I have that nothing in his life would have topped his happiness. I still remember how he tried to contain his excitement when I first told him over the phone that we were expecting a baby. As always, he would not betray his cool and calm exterior but he failed miserably in trying to mask the excitement in his voice. And three days later, I received word that he suffered a severe stroke, never to regain consciousness again. As I said, fate can be cruel.

Everyone talks about lonliness. But you never truly experience lonliness until you realise that you no longer have anyone to speak for you or defend you in life. It is a frightening path when you know you have to go it alone without any parental advice - no matter how old you are. It becomes worse when this is thrust upon you unexpectedly. And as I embarked into fatherhood still aching from the loss of my own father, I constantly ask my dad in prayer to guide me along the right path in life, to give me the strength to be a good husband and father and to be able to teach my son right from wrong so that he will grow up to be a respectable and honourable man - a man exactly like my son's Grandfather.

One year on, I've learnt the pain of his passing will never cease or diminish. But I hope that my father has found peace after struggling a great deal in life. Although I have not been the best of sons, I loved my father more than he ever knew and him not knowing will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Mike And The Mechanics' "The Living Years" has new meaning for me. A part of this song that makes my heart ache goes :

I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say.
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him
In the living years

Till the time comes for me to see my father again, he will be sorrowfully missed.

Walk The Dog

Another day, another innovation.

Our friends who live in the land of the rising sun have come up with what I think Eddie and Casey would really love to have. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the doggie treadmill.

I have no idea how much it costs or where I can get it from because their website is in Japanese.

Its a pity. I could use some time on it as well.

Sayonara!!

The "Ladoo" Shop

For all ya home boys (and home gals?) out there who like kickin' it with 50 cent (that's read "fitty cent" - yeah, get it right if ya wanna hang with The Premsta!), here's a video made by a couple of bruthas out there.

Check it out, dudes and dudettes....



Word...

Yanking Your E-Mails Back!

Heard of Bigstring.com? No? Then count your lucky stars that you have been acquainted with The Premster's blog.

Ever write an email, be it a joke or a nasty note or and regretted it the minute you hit the 'send' button? What's worse is if you wrote a lovey-dovey email to a special friend and then gasp in horror when you discovered you sent it to your Dad instead?

Being an absent-minded fella, such things have happened to me a million times. In fact just about an hour ago, I got a reply from a major retail store in Singapore about my little boy's 3 month old stroller that had a hinge that gave way. The Customer Service Officer responded via email and directed me to the local agent. Thinking that I had hit the 'forward' button, I wrote a note to my wife beginning with "hi dear" and ended with "love you". After it went out, I was shocked to see "Prem to Customer Service" on the top of the email.

There was no way on God's green earth I could get that email back - unless I make like Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) in Mission Impossible and enter through the ceiling of the retail outlet, access the system and delete my email. So, I sheepishly typed an apology and asked the Customer Service Officer (a lady!) to disregard it. I can just imagine a print out of it going around the store for everyone to read. *sigh*

Fortunately, no *ahem* personal stuff was included. *wink*

Wouldn't it be great if I could just get it back with a press of the button? So, I went searching and came across Bigstring! Apparently, they're fairly new and they have all the Mission Impossible type functions in their email. You can even set your email to self-destruct based on a time-frame you set. Amazing? You should check them out. Best of all, its free!

Grab the account name of your choice quickly before they run out. My dear wife's name has already been taken! I haven't shared this with her yet!

And in case you're wondering - no, I don't get paid a dime for sharing this. Too bad, isn't it?

A Strange Day

Today was a strange day - in a good way, that is.

I didn't get much sleep to begin with and by the time I was out of bed, I had only clocked about 4 hours of shut-eye. I had to go out early because I had some arrangements to make in preparation for my father's first death anniversary prayers. According to our custom, the first death anniversary is the most important and special rituals should be performed.

I went down to the temple and met with a staff who helped with the arrangements. He gave me a list of things to buy and since the prayers will be held day after tomorrow and some of the items are perishables, I decided I'd go get them tomorrow instead.

Since I had already lost sleep and was out and about, I decided to get my car stereo fixed. It was getting a little screwy and appeared to have a mind of its own. The 'on' button became the 'volume down' button, the 'input source' button became the 'off' button and so forth. Operating it was a game of chance and since its display wasn't working either, you wouldn't know what station you were on or what CD or track it was playing from the changer.

Getting back to the point. Since I had sent this unit in for repairs for the exact symptoms previously (paid a bomb for repairs and waited 3 months for the job to be done), I figured getting a new one would be worthwhile. So, I picked one out (with my wife's over-the-phone blessings) and they proceeded to install it. You would think that something like this would actually excite me. But it didn't. At that moment, an over-powering urge to be with my son came over me. I don't know why but that's exactly how I felt.

So, after hurrying the technicians repeatedly, I hopped in my car and rushed home. And when I came through the door, there he was - flashing his toothless grin at me as I entered. We spent a good 20 minutes together 'chatting' until our domestic helper came with his milk bottle again! Anyway, he did appear hungry so I handed him over.

I've always felt a bond with my son. But I never felt that bond as strong as it was today. Maybe, preparing for my father's death anniversary reiterated my need to always be there for my son - like my father was for me.

It was a strange day. But it was nice.

Cake Engineering

There is a very good reason why Engineers should remain Engineers and not venture into other trades.

A couple of weeks ago, I got it in my head that I should give baking a try. So, while out shopping for groceries, I picked up a couple of ingredients and a can of peach topping. It clearly said "topping" on the can but being the clever bloke (Engineer) I am, I decided that it should sit in between the cake - like a center filling. Simple enough - or so I thought.

So, here's how it went this evening.

Step One : Mixed the batter and then whisk for about 2 minutes.

Step Two : Pour into baking tins. I used two (splitting the batter equally) because of my ingenious plan to have the peach "topping" in between - much like a peach burger.

Step Three : In the oven they go. 165 degrees celsius for about 35 minutes.

Step Four : After 45 minutes (I was watching "The Day After Tomorrow" on TV and missed the beeping oven), the two sponge like vanilla cakes came out. Looks good?

Step Five : Here's where it all goes horribly wrong - just like the massive weather disaster unfolding on the tele. The cakes were "freed" from their tin prison and left to cool. I then flipped one around so that I'd have the flat side to spread the peach topping (or should I say peach "centering") on. Here's the "peached" side.

Step Six : When the peach center was done, the next logical step is to put on the top. UFO or flying saucer jokes at this point will not be appreciated! *wink*

Step Seven : Here's where the word "horrible" comes into play. I thought, like cement, I could get the two cakes to become one with frosting. So, I piled it on. The top turned out messy but the sides... the frosting just slid off! When I stood back to 'admire' my work, it looked like someone with a bad case of the flu sneezed his lungs out over it!

Step Eight : Behind every unsuccessful baker, there's a supportive wife. My wife tried her very best to even out the mess I created and then popped it in the fridge.

Step Nine : The final product. After about an hour in the fridge, my wife decided that she would risk it and try. I tried to dissuade her but she cut two pieces, one for me. She promptly took a bite. I didn't have her guts (and literally too) but tried it anyway. It turned out ok. My wife said so too!


Oh, credit also has to go out to two lovely ladies. My wife, of course, who helped line the baking tins with grease paper and with the 'rescue mission' and a new friend my wife introduced me to at the Supermarket. Her name is Betty - Betty Crocker, that is.


So there it is - my foray into baking. After we finished our slice of cake, I told my wife "if I ever suggest that I bake a cake again, please feel free to give me a slap".

Water Works

Sometime last week, I found a notice stuck on our home door. It was from a Government appointed contractor that said the water suply to our apartment block would be turned off on 12 January 2007 between 10 am and 5 pm for water pipes re-routing - or something like that.

Being the responsible dude that I am, I remembered (more like my trusty Treo reminded me)when I got home last night. I made a list of all the things that needs to be done for our domestic help, like filling up containers and pails with water, ensuring that Dev has his morning "swim in his plastic jacuzzi" and doggies' water bowl is filled, all before 10 am. I felt proud of myself as I climbed into bed at about 5 am.

I decided to sleep in since there was no water but by almost 1 pm, I needed to use the little boys room. So, I did. And I flushed. "One tank disabled", I thought and automatically moved to the wash basin to wash my hands. I washed, dried them on my towel and stepped out to get back into bed. Then my head screamed "Wait! The tap had water!"

This was about 4 hours before they were scheduled to turn the water back on. Did they reschedule and forget to tell us? I called the number on the notice left on my door last week. A lady answered and asked if she could help. I asked how come there was water flowing at my home when they were supposed to have turned off the water. She calmly replied "We have turned off the main supply of water to your block. But the common water tank serving the residents of the block has been filled before we disconnected the supply." All I could say was "Oooohh.... thanks!"

I stepped out of my room and in the kitchen, I found pails, containers, jugs and cups filled with water everywhere. Anything that could hold water was holding water. I felt a little stupid. Anyway, thinking that there might be others like me hogging water from the tank, I rushed back to the bathroom and enjoyed my bath - just in case the tank ran dry.

A whole new appreciation for the convenience of water on tap surfaced.

Have a good weekend, all!

Super Nanny

"Good help is hard to find these days" is a common phrase heard regularly. I hear horror stories about foreign domestic help through friends who have them and when it was time for my wife and I to seek one, we were worried sick.

"Will she look after the baby well?", "Will she be able to cook?", "Will she practice good hygiene?", "Will she cause us problems?", "Will she spit in our soup if she's pissed with us?" were a few of at least a thousand questions we tossed around before we visited a couple of agencies. We picked one based on her resume and she arrived at our doorstep exactly a week before our son made his dramatic entrance into the world.

And how did our domestic helper turn out? She was good! She cooked well, swept and mopped our home everyday and other than the occassional monetary problems back home which resulting in her asking for advance salary, we grew to trust her to be independent.

But when it came to my son, I think she is way too "good". You see, due to my work schedule, I have the unique opportunity to spend time with him during the day while my wife was working. When I wake up, I find our domestic helper playing with Dev or singing odd sounding kiddy songs. Maybe it's the accent. But when I asked to take over and spend time with him, she hands him over, rushes off to the kitchen and soon returns with a bottle and calls out "Dev!! Feeding time" or "Dev! Diaper changing time" armed with a diaper or "Dev! Bath time!". So, even though I spend a good part of the day home, I have a total of about 15 minutes with my little boy.

So much for good help.

iPhone - iMustHave

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Its finally here!

After almost two years of speculation, rumours and hoax images, Apple's iPhone has been announced! Isn't she a beaut?

When I heard that it was launched about half an hour ago, I rushed to my desk and typed in Apple's URL and when it loaded completely, my colleagues found me transfixed with my mouth open. One had the nerve to ask "Porn site?"

This is a phone + iPod hybrid. There's hardly any buttons because it is touch-screen - just like the phones / communication devices found on the Starship Enterprise. It boasts of bluetooth, wi-fi (great for our recent islandwide free wireless internet access) and other goodies. This thing even plays videos. Short of waking up before you to cook breakfast and iron your clothes, it pretty much does everything!

So, I guess Zune's not being marketed in our parts was a blessing in disguise. And to think I was thinking of importing a Zune or even springing for an iPod a couple of days ago. Thank God!

So, here's my declaration :

"I, The Premster, owner of this blog hereby declare that I will hold off as many gadget purchases as possible till June 2007 when the iPhone becomes available. I will love, honour and cherish the iPhone for as long as it shall live - or till a better gadget is launched. I declare to have and to hold, till obseletion do us part."

I'll kiss the iPhone when it arrives.

Closure

Would you believe that this is my 100th post? I had originally planned for my "centennial" post to be up on 1 January 2007 but alas, things that are planned rarely work out. Or is it just me? Hmmm....

Anyway, at the end of the year, I kept thinking about what a fellow blogger (you know who you are) said about "closure". For me, I've heard the term used on TV shows frequently but never put much thought into what it really meant or how it would affect one's perception of the future. So, "closure" was just another word I knew but did not fully understand.

In 2004, as a result of a mistake by a friend, my father's company was sued for over S$10,000 due to copyright infringement. At that time, intellectual property was something that was just surfacing and being taken seriously in Singapore but no one really knew what it entailed or where the boundaries were. It was an honest mistake and when we found out, we rectified the situation - 8 months before the legal notice was served. But that did not deter the plaintiff from arm-twisting and threats despite my meetings with them to explain the mistake, with irrefutable proof, as well as my father's financial position. As it turned out, there was no room for negotiations. The Director I met with, a burly man, seemed to take pleasure in seeing helpless people writhe in fear of legal consequences. When I say "people", it was not just my father's company that was affected. Newspaper reports indicated more than 500 companies have had letters of demand ranging between S$10,000 and S$100,000 shoved down their throats.

We didn't have much to go on and my father had no choice but to give in to their demands - in 12 installments. This bought me time to do some digging into this company's background. My hunch about the company paid off and I confronted them head on with my findings. After three paid installments, they backed off. But the fact that one human being can stand by and watch another human being suffer without any room for compassion, sympathy or understanding scarred me permanently. That "bad taste in my mouth" seemed like it would never go away - until 24 November 2006, that is.

I read in the papers that a company was being sued for infringement of copyright by selling materials originally produced by a Government authority well after their original agreement had expired. The name of this company stuck out like a sore thumb to me. I couldn't believe that this same company, which previously sued 500 companies for copyright infringement, is now on the receiving end of the charge. The phrase "what goes around, comes around" had new meaning.

Upon reading this article, I suddenly felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders and my mind - a weight which I carried for so long that it became a part of me. I whispered "Wish you were here to see this day" to my Dad in the hope he would be looking down on me and sharing my joy. He knew how much this took its toll on me mentally and it was the last fight we fought together before he became ill and passed on.

I do not know what the outcome of the Government authority's case against this unscrupulous company would be but it is nice to know that although the wheels of justice may grind slowly, it is important to realise that they do grind.

And with that, I find closure.

A Little Late But....

Happy New Year to my dear blogger friends... that's all 5 of you! I wish you much love, joy, good health and good fortune for 2007.

I missed blogging about Christmas and then blogging about the New Year. It has been quite a rollercoaster ride over the last two weeks. Firstly, my wife came down with a cold and since she distanced herself from our little boy, I stepped in to help out - when our overly enthusiastic domestic helper went on with her other chores around the house. But in spite of my wife distancing herself, the young lad caught the cold as well. He also developed a little bit of a cough - more from screeching his lungs out then from an onset of the flu, something he has learnt to do and enjoy. Its like living on a farm these days. Bright and early, he starts his screeching - like a rooster crowing at the break of dawn - waking me up after only having about 3 hours of sleep. Anyway, when both my wife and Dev were all better, I came down with the cold and a few days later, developed a severe migrane that forced me to seek medical attention at 5 am on the second day of 2007.

In between all this, we had a legal issue to sort out. A tenant who leased our apartment before we moved in stiffed my wife of almost S$300 when the utilities bill was left unpaid. It took 9 months and threat of legal action against the tenant before the tenant caved.

In spite of the cold, the severe migrane as well as the headache our former tenant inflicted upon us, things seemed to work out well and I pray that it'll carry on along this not-so-rocky path. And with Dev growing quickly and screeching more and more loudly everyday, it sounds like 2007 will turn out to be quite a hoot.

And my resolutions for the year? I'd prefer not to put it in writing for now lest I do not fulfill them. I'll let you know at the end of the year if I pulled them off. All I can say is.... so far, so good.

Have a fantastic 2007, y'all!