Day +1312 : Another blood donation campaign

I am fine today.

My church organized its 5th blood donation campaign today. This is also the first blood donation campaign for this year.

A total of 48 units of blood were donated today. This is a record again! The last blood campaign collected a total of 47 units of blood which was a record also :-)

With this campaign, our church successfully donated 211 units of blood since the first blood donation campaign on 19, September 2007.

The result:

• First campaign: 36 units
• Second campaign: 34 units
• Third campaign: 46 units
• Fourth campaign: 47 units
• Fifth campaign(today) : 48 units (break the earlier record by one only)

We do not expect good response this time because the school is having replacement class today and people are also busy doing Chinese New Year shopping. With this in mind, we are quite satisfied with the turnout today.

Our next blood donation campaign will be held on the 21 August and the last one for this year will be on the 11 December.

Do you have blood to contribute? If yes, take note of the date and see you then :-)

Registration - need to fill a form
Some of the donors



My brother - Richard




Let me press for you - that is the advantage of having a boy friend :-)
Another one who shared the same advantage :-)
Carmen - she had a terrible experience earlier; experiencing dizziness and serious bruises. But she was brave enough to have another one today and everything was fine.

My wife - Angela. She went to school in the morning and donated blood in the afternoon. She didn't sleep well last night because Adriel was disturbing her but the donation was completed smoothly :-)



My niece - Hui Na. She was the last one. I fetched her to the church last minute. Her donation allowed us to break the record - no 48th unit of blood today :-) This is the first time she donated blood. When doctor asked her, "How many hours did you sleep last night?" "From 12:am to 11:am," was the answer. She slept for 11 hours last night!
Hui Na's blood
See you next post :-)

Day +1311 : An alternative to Rainbow Cleaning System?

I am fine today.

I blogged about the Rainbow Cleaning System on Day +1009 : Rainbow Cleaning System. It is a water-based filtering system that cost over RM7000.

I spotted the cleaner in the office using a similar system in the office a few days ago. It was actually a Pensonic vacuum cleaner that used water filter. And according to my sister, it cost less than RM400.

However, the cleaner complained that she experienced electrical shock while using the vacuum cleaner. I am not sure whether this problem is confined to the specific unit that we have or common to all.

If the system works well and there is no issue of electrical shock, I would be very interested to get one for home use.

The unit in action
See you next post :-)

Day +1310 : Is your family safe?

I am fine today.

My neighbour’s house almost caught fire a few weeks ago. The main power supply cable that was connected to the fuse box was overheated and caught fire suddenly. Another neighbour came to the rescue in the critical moment, putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher. The outcome could be disastrous without the fire extinguisher as there was no alternate way to put out the fire.

The incident was reported to the resident association and the immediate action was to arrange for the purchase of fire extinguishers and infra-red scanning of fuse box for all residents.

I purchased two 2kg fire extinguishers through this exercise. Have you purchased any?

Aaron with the two fire extinguishers.
Each one cost RM65. It is of the dry powder type.
See you next post :-)

Day +1309 : Getting Touch and Go refund tomorrow

I am fine today.

A Maybank officer informed me that the Touch and Go will refund the RM500 to my Maybank account tomorrow. I am happy that the refund is quite fast; not months after as mentioned by the bank officer earlier.

“Should I use the cash machine again to top up my Touch and Go balance?” I asked the bank officer.

“No, never do that!” is the answer.

And I was told again that many customers are facing problem in topping up Touch and Go balance through cash machine. But the question is “if the machine is so unreliable, why Maybank still let people to use the service?” The bank should stop the service to avoid unnecessary support issues. This reflects the couldn’t care less (tidak apa) attitude of the bank staff.

I was advised to use the ATM machine to top up the Touch and Go balance. Hopefully, the top-up will be successful this time.

See you next post :-)

Day +1308 : Traditinal Chinese Medicine is not bad!

I am fine today.

I completed the 5-day course medicine that was prescribed by the TCM doctor on last Friday. The medicine made me sleep a lot and thus, rest a lot.

I found the medicine quite effective :-) The cough is lessened and the greenish phlegm is reduced too.

Perhaps I should seek the treatment for other symptoms especially the dry eyes problem. Who know it works too?

See you next post :-)

Day +1307 : Finally AirAsia allows reprint of boarding pass :-(

I am fine today.

I quote from my blog “Day +647 : Back to kampong with web check-in” regarding the web check-in service.

One shortcoming of the AirAsia web check-in is that no reprint of boarding pass is allowed. Once a passenger checks in through the web but fail to print out the boarding pass due to whatever circumstances, there is no way for him/her to reprint the boarding pass. This happened to Richard and he called and demanded AirAsia to email him the boarding pass, but AirAsia advised him to do a normal over the counter check-in which Richard angrily declined. He insisted that the web check-in service should allow a passenger to reprint the boarding pass.

The support staff said that the reprint feature could not be provided due to security reason, but Richard argued that the feature has nothing to do with security. Indeed, it has nothing to with security. People can print or photocopy as many boarding passes as they want.

In the end, Richard took my boarding pass which bore the same flight information apart from the passenger’s name. He printed his name and sticked it over my name and then made a photo copy of the boarding pass.

He boarded the plane successfully with the fake boarding pass :-) This proves that AirAsia should provide the reprint feature for the convenience of passengers so that they don’t have to take the hassle to DIY (Dot It Yourself) the boarding pass, as what Richard did.

Richard sent me the following story.

Finally AirAsia has to allow reprint of boarding pass else it would be more costly for them to bear the cost of technical support. Its call center is always overloaded. They are unable to handle all the incoming call and waiting time of 30 minutes is expected for each call :-( A few months ago, when we waited patiently for about 30 minutes, the support staff would pick up the line to take down the reservation no., name and contact no. and then promised to call back in 24 hours. But today, if you call them, you will get an immediate respond from a staff (not the machine), "All our staff is busy at the moment, please give us the reservation no., name and contact no. They promise will call back in 24 hours"

I would like to share with you an interesting story about the quality of support offered by MAS and AirAsia.

Somebody wanted to compare the service between MAS and AirAsia. They would like to found out which airline offered better service. When it came to the call centre service, both of them had to agree that AirAsia is better. Why? The reason is explained below.

One day, both of them called MAS and AirAsia to seek for some information. They dialed the call centre at the same time; one to MAS call centre and the other one to AirAsia call centre. After waiting for 3 minutes, a colleague came to knock at their door and said that his car was running out battery and needed their help for a jump start urgently. Both of them rushed to the car park and took about 40 minutes to make jump start the car.

After that, they rushed back again to pick up the line. The one who called AirAsia still heard the machine saying "...for all flight booking and reservation, please visit our website at www.airsia.com..." but his friend found out that the MAS line was already terminated; might be quite some time ago.

So the one who called AirAsia said proudly to his friend, "Now you can see yourself, I do not need to redial again, my line is still active. Your MAS already suspended you call..."

See you next post :-)

Day +1306 : Touch ‘n No Go :-(

I am fine today.

My Tuouch ‘n Go card was running out of balance. I went to Maybank Puchong Jaya Branch yesterday to reload it with an amount of RM500 through the cash-in machine. The machine accepted my money but the balance of the card was not updated.

I filed a report to Maybank this morning and faxed it the transaction-slip that bored a remark “transaction rejected”. The bank officer told me that she had to escalate the problem to head quarter and the refund would take months. Many customers who experienced the same and filed a report long time ago still haven’t get their refund back until now :-(

It is very difficult to comprehend how the reload facility can be so unreliable. The customer is required to touch the card on the machine and the correct information is captured automatically. With this, the transaction should not fail.

My friend asked me why I have to top up so much given that I am not a regular traveler. The answer is simple - to avoid hassle caused by unreliable system such as what I have just experienced.

See you next post :-)

Day +1305 : Blood Donation Campaign

I am fine today.

My church and UH are organizing the first blood donation campaign this year on this coming Saturday (6 Feb). The time is from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

As the hospital is always lacking of blood supply during festive season like Chinese New Year, you are encouraged to partipate. You can also invite your friends to participate.

As usual, the blood donation will be held at the church which is located at No. 43 & 45, Jalan Puteri 5/8, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong. Contact : Pastor Tan: 017-6728093/03-80607037.

The campaign poster. Click on the image to get a larger view.

See you next post :-)

Day +1304 : So sleepy...

I am fine today.

I have been coughing for many weeks. The situation is getting worse this morning with heavier cough producing green phlegm.

I went to see a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor (中医师) practicing in a shop next to my church.

I was prescribed with three types of Chinese medicine: cough capsule, flu capsule and a black syrup to boost immune system. When I asked what the ingredients in the syrup are, I was just told that it was made of Chinese medicine. And we know that Chinese medicine can be anything ranging from herbs to insects. Hopefully, there is no something like scorpion or cockroach in it :-(

I felt so sleepy after taking the medicine; more sleepy than taking western machine :-( So I slept from 2pm to 6:30pm in the afternoon, and I found myself continue to be sleepy after that. I wonder what ingredient in the Chinese medicine that makes one so sleepy. Perhaps the TCM doctor added in some sedative powder and the amount must be too much for a sleepy person like me.

I rarely see a TCM doctor. My sister brought me to see one just before I was diagnosed with Leukaemia 4 years ago. And the diagnosis was wrong miserably.

This is the first time ever I see a TCM doctor after that. I hope it works this time.

The medicine - RM30 including consultancy fee

See you next post :-)

Day +1303 : Finally, I get my camera back

I am fine today.

Two days ago, the camera shop asked me to pick up the Canon Digital Ixus 870 IS camera which was sent for repair on the first day of 2010. I was told that it would normally take two months to service a camera. I am very fortunate that I could get it back in 26 days :-)

I asked for the service report to understand what was actually done to the camera but I was told that there was none :-( So what I could do is to perform a quick test; shooting about 20 photos continuously with flash. The camera didn’t give burning smell and no smoke appeared around the flash light. With this, I assume that it was repaired.

With the camera, I should be able to post more photos especially those delicious dishes :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1302 : She collected 290 aluminium drink cans

I am fine today.

My mother-in-law walks to IOI mall and then walks home again every day. One way journey took her about 15 minutes. She is very persistent and we didn’t see a day which she didn’t visit IOI mall.

We are not very sure why she is so interested in visiting IOI mall. She did purchase something like bread and vegetable but we suspected that this should not be the main reason that she visits IOI mall every day.

When I spotted her selling aluminium drink cans to the recycle agents this afternoon, I only realized that the main purpose of her visiting IOI mall is to collect these aluminium cans along the way. I overhead that the total number of aluminium can collected is 290. She was paid 2.5 cents per can and the total income was about RM7. She then equally divided the amount of money earned and passed to Daniel and Joseph.

My wife and I don’t mind her doing this as long as she is happy.

See you next post :-)

Day +1301 : How am I going to find the owner?

I am fine today.

While I was “enjoying” my plain oat meal this morning, my mother-in-law passed me a camera that she picked up from pedestrian path a day earlier on the way back from IOI mall.

She was not sure what that was and asked me whether it was some kind of toy for the children. I found out that it was not a toy but a functioning camera worth more than a thousand ringgit.

I sent my camera for repair as mentioned on my blog Day +1282 : My camera is having problem. One might think that his camera could be a good replacement, better than the one that my brother Richard’s old Sony Cyber-shot. But the problem is that the camera is not belonged to me. I need to find a way to return it to its rightful owner.

I examined the memory of the camera and based on the photos, I had some idea what I should do. Many photos in the camera indicated that it might be belong to a member of a direct sales firm called Debao Biopanax Sdn Bhd which maintained a website at http://www.db2u.net/index.php. But fortunately, the telephone published on the website was not contactable. Further search also linked the company to a mobile phone which was not in servce :-(

The address on the website points the location of the company to Puchong One Business Centre. I will pay a visit to the company sometime this week and ask the company to direct the one who lost a camera to me.

I will return the camera to its rightful owner after some verification such proof of purchase.

I hope the search for the owner is successful; else I don’t know what to do with the camera. Perhaps pass it to a non-profit organization is an option if no one comes forward to claim the camera.

See you next post :-)

Day +1300 : “I like you!” is not enough

I am fine today.

Following what I mentioned in Day +1293 : “I like you so much!”, I also practise it on my wife by saying “I like you!” every day.

I expected her to be happy with this good practice but she told me otherwise.

“Not enough!” she said.

“You are good to everyone and like everyone in the church. There is nothing different!” she continued :-(

“I love you!” I said to her and she was very happy with this.

Now I understand that she likes me to treat her special among all and I believe so do your wife or your husband :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1299 : Another visit to Setia Alam

I am fine today.

Following the night visit 8 days ago (Day +1291 : A night visit to Setia Alam), we made another visit to Setia Alam after the church service this afternoon.

We decided not to purchase the RM1.5 million 3-storey shop lot due to congestion on Saturday night market. The agent introduced us another lot in which the ground and first floor are for sale at RM0.9 million. The top floor belongs to another owner.

We were very interested even though it is not facing the main road. The purpose of this afternoon visit was to see the condition of the units and if we were satisfied, to pay the agent 2% deposit. But we were put off by the condition - extremely heavy leaking with plenty of green fungus :-( We decided on the spot that this one is not for us.

After seeing us having no interest to purchase this one, the agent introduced us to a corner lot where the first floor is for sale at RM0.6 million. And this one is located at a busier location that is next to EON Bank. It is also somehow facing the main road and the resident area. The ground floor is Kiwi X'press restaurant whereas the second floor is office. The third floor is a ballet centre.

Now we are deciding should we purchase this unit.

The 3-storey where the first and second floor are for sale at RM0.9 million


Opposite the shop lot

Ground floor looked fine

Sharing the staircase
The concrete cover is so thin! All this while we thought that Setia Group produces higher quality buildings but this one along tell us that it is not the case.
Another view that show how shallow the concrete cover
Fungus
Water leaked from the top floor
After we show no interest on the units, the sale agents brought us to the first floor of a corner lot.

This is the one. The residential area is just opposite.

A group photo in our future church?
View from outside - the one on top of the Kiwi X'press Restaurant

The location
What we have opposite the shop lot
Next to EON Bank
Another group photo in front of the shop lot
The restaurant
Having drinks and discussion in the restaurant

See you next post :-)

Day +1298 : “Is it the same?”

I am fine today.

Many mobile Satay Celup stalls gather at the car park in front of my office every evening. I planned to bring my family there for a Satay Celup dinner last night. But it rained and we ended up having dinner at Liong Ya Restaurant (梁雅茶餐室) - a restaurant famous of stuffed bean curd and paper wrapped chicken(纸包鸡).

Aaron would like to order Coca-cola. I told him that Coca-cola in restaurant is very expensive and he should refrain from drinking it. And I promised to get him one from TESCO which is much cheaper.

“Is it the same?” he questioned.

He must be thinking that the cheaper one is inferior and less delicious.

People’s perception towards the quality of a product might be affected by its price. Higher price might give an impression that the product is superior. This is an important factor that we need to consider when setting the price of a product.

See you next post :-)

Day +1297 : It’s just a point of difference

I am fine today.

A couple was late for an appointment in the morning.

When they just about to leave the house, the husband noticed that a pile of clothes that supposed to be hanged to dry under the sun was lying in the basket.

He volunteered to hang the clothes and in a rush, he broke his wife’s favourite flower pot.

What would be the reaction of the wife? There are two extreme possibilities that bring very different outcome.

A positive wife will appreciate what her husband did – hanging the clothes for her.

A negative wife will blame her husband for breaking the flower pot.

Positive and negative is separated by just a point but the outcome of which side she chooses to stand can be very different.

A negative wife will suffer because she loses a favourite flower pot.

A positive wife would be happy because her husband is so helpful and caring.

Which side would you prefer to stand?

See you next post :-)

Day +1296 : “Cannot come cell group, need work at India”

I am fine today.

Hi all,

I cannot attend this week friday cell group and sunday worship because require work oversea india (fly there 2day) and come back on monday.
By the way, the cell group location is wei show house this friday.
So, c you all next week!

A simple message from my nephew, Heng Chiek, that delighted me very much :-) He needed to work in India over the weekend and he didn’t just go “missing in action”. He informed us two things; he will be absent and the reason.

Heng Chiek was very introvert and he was once addicted to computer games. However, he stopped playing computer games just a few months before his STPM exam. And fortunately he managed to score quite good result for him to secure an electronic engineering course in UPM.

Not long before he graduated from his university study a few years ago, he had another breakthrough – became a lot less introvert. Before that, he always escapes from us whenever we met. I believe it was a tremendous pressure for him to greet us at that time due to his personality:-(

Now he not only “dares” to greet us but also active in the church. He is one of the cell group leaders and also takes up the role of praise and worship leader regularly.

I praise God for transforming his life. In God everything is possible :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1295 : “Hey! I am not a piano!” (2)

I am fine today.

Continue from yesterday...

When I invited someone to attend an event or look into certain issues, I would get three types of responses:

1. no response
2. a simple response such as Yes or No
3. a response with some elaboration

A response with elaboration is the one that makes me very happy.

Similarly, if a husband doesn’t go back for dinner, he can do the following:

1. Do nothing
2. Inform his wife that he is not going home for dinner
3. Inform his wife that he is going home for dinner with reason

I believe his wife will be very happy if he can inform her on his absent for dinner with some reason.

Response with sufficient elaboration promotes understanding and good relationship :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1294 : “Hey! I am not a piano!” (1)

I am fine today.

Adriel don’t like the maid to wake her up and dress her in the morning. She insisted that I should be the one who did it.

One day, while I was taking off her pyjamas, I started to get a little bit naughty and tickled her body. She was defenceless as her face was covered with pyjamas with both hands constrained inside it.

“Hey! I am not a piano!” she shouted in laughter.

“The piano is there!” she continued and pointed to the piano in the living room.

“The piano is long. I am tall” she elaborated.

I believe she is trying to teach me how to distinguish a piano from her :-)

Just a little bit of explanation or elaboration such as this made me very happy :-) And with this, I understand her better.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +1293 : “I like you so much!”

I am fine today.

Peoples in Eastern culture are generally implicit in expressing their feeling. They tend to hide their feeling deep inside their heart. It is embarrassing for even husband and wife or parents and children to say “I love you” or “I like you” :-(

Adriel is very explicit is expressing his feeling towards us. Very often, she would say “Baba, I like you very much” and sometimes, she also said “I don’t like you anymore”. Aaron followed her and started to say “I like you” very often :-) And I also follow them to say “I like you” almost every day.

I found I am a happier person after saying “I like you” :-) If you are still embarrassed to say it, force yourself to say at least once, and once you say it once, it would be easier for you to say the rest. And I guarantee you will be a lot happier after that :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1292 : “No Planta, no kaya, no peanut butter”

I am fine today.

My sisters know that we like native olive (Dabai) very much. They prepared a big plate of the fruit for us when we reached my second sister’s house in Sibu during the last holiday.

Native olive of Sarawak

Aaron never eats the fruit before. He picked up one and ate.

“No taste! No Planta, no kaya, no peanut butter,” he talked to himself.

He must be thinking of applying either Planta, kaya or peanbut butter at the native olive to make it tasty just like what we did for bread :-)

This gave me a new idea of how I should eat the native olive. I haven’t tried that but definitely will try it the next time I eat the fruit.

See you next post :-)