Day +1191 : My lung is getting better :-)

I am fine today.

A few days ago, I visited an office which was situated on the third floor.

As usual, I rushed up the stairs without resting, forgetting that I might run into breathing problem. But I was quite surprised to find out that I was no longer gasping so much as before when I reached the third floor :-)

A few months ago, I was really short of breath when I did the same, and it would take about 10 minutes for me to return to normal breathing. However, the breathlessness was minor this time and it took a very short time to return to normal breathing :-)

This indicates that my lung condition is improving, and I hope it will continue to improve until it reaches a state the same as before I was sick. With that, I could dive from one end of the swimming pool to the other end at once.

What makes my lung better? Could it be durian? Whatever it may be, one thing that I always believe is that it is the grace of God that lead to the recovery of my lung :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1190 : Second visit to the durian stall

I am fine today.

We went to eat durian again this evening at the same stall that I mentioned two days ago.

My initial “eating plan” was to eat some D24 first and then tried one Raja Musang (Cat Mountain King or 猫山王) which according to Pure Faith (through his comment on my blog), is really worth to try. As mentioned in my blog, I was quite reluctant to try it, but after the recommendation, I changed my mind.

The reason of not trying was “I am now very satisfied with D24, why should I looking for trouble of getting involved in a type of durian which cost 2.5 times more?” But now the argument is - if the durian is really so good, there is no harm to have a little bit of trouble :-)

However, we were given two big D24 durians which after finishing them, there was no room in our stomach for Raja Musang anymore :-(

The durian seller recommended us to come again for Raja Musang, which is extraordinary good. We were also introduced to D2 and ZhuJiao(竹脚D??) costing RM6 and RM8 per kg respectively. They told me that ZhuJiao is very fleshy with small seed. So if you are very hungry, it is better to start off with this type of durian to be economical :-)

The quality of D24 today is not as good as those on Sunday. I rejected the first three of because of hardened flesh. The fourth one that I accepted was good, but the fifth one got problem again. Anyway, I accepted it as I didn’t feel good to reject so many.

My children were very satisfied with the durian. “This is still the best durian stall I ever visited,” Daniel said.

See you next post :-)

Day +1189 : Children projects, parents do :-(

I am fine today.

Daniel and Joseph were given some school projects. They didn’t bother to do it because these projects were really tough, and definitely were not for the average students.

For example, Joseph was required to build a model house. He didn’t know how to do it and thus didn’t have motivation to do it at all. My wife became nervous and helped him to build the model eventually.

My wife worked until midnight yesterday to complete off Daniel’s history project. I appreciate her work very much. If she didn’t do it, perhaps I have to do it. So I always see my wife a very good student :-)

My wife told me that most of the projects submitted to the school were done by parents. Many of the model houses submitted were as beautiful and professional as those displayed in the housing developer’s showroom.

I don’t like school projects and I believe most parents don’t like them too. The reason? Children projects, parents’ burden :-(

See you next post :-)

Day +1188 : Durian season again!

I am fine today.

There is a durian stall set up on the side of the link road between Tempua and Wawasa, Puchong. It is next to Puchong Jaya Food Court to be exact.

We stopped by the stall and have some nice D24 after church service yesterday. We were very satisfied with the quality of the durian at this stall. The meat was yellowish, dry and creamy (黄肉干包) :-)

The stall was selling D24 at RM6 per kg which is quite reasonable. We finished two pieces carrying a total weight of 2.5kg (RM15) on the spot :-)

While we were enjoying the durian there, an auntie told us D24 is “second class durian” to her. The best one is Cat Mountain King (猫山王) which carries a price tag of RM15 per kg. She said after having this type of King Durian, one would not like to eat any other breed of durian.

She tried to convince me to switch over to this King Durian, but I declined. The reason is simple; I am now very satisfied with D24, why should I looking for trouble of getting involved in a type of durian which cost 2.5 times more?

I would like to recommend this stall to you if you are staying nearby, but beware of Cat Moutain King, unless you have plenty of money to spend :-)

The stall
D24 Durians



Let's take a photo before eating
See you next post :-)

Day +1187 : Kindergarten Concert

I am fine today.

Adriel and Aaron were performing in the kindergarten concert held at Summit Auditorium last evening.

Adriel managed to perform quite naturally but Aaron was a little bit shy. As parents, both my wife and I were very happy to see them perform on the stage; how well they perform is really a secondary issue :-)

The kindergarten is belonged to my sister, Sie Ling. She assigned me the role of a photographer in this event, but I am certainly not the right one to take on this task. First of all, I don’t have a good camera and secondly, I don’t have much knowledge in photography.

I had great difficulty capturing moving objects in most part of the concert, and since the children were moving most of the time, most of the images were not satisfactory. In the end I discovered a shooting mode called Kids & Pets on the camera which allowed me to take moving objects with acceptable quality, but that was towards the end of the concert :-(

Waiting to do the made-up
Aaron with his "original" clothes
Now with concert clothes
Adriel and Aaron

My sister is addressing the audiences
Adriel is performing

Aaron is performing



Adriel perform again - better image capture this time with the Kids & Pets mode turned on


Aaron again
A group photo before going home - Daniel and Joseph didn't attend the concert
See you next post :-)

Day +1186 : Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

I am fine today.

I would like to wish you a very Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

This is the fourth Mid-Autumn Festival I have celebrated since I was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

I praise God for leading me through all the days - whether they are easy or difficult. Once I come to Him, all difficulties do not seem to be so difficult anymore :-)

By God's grace I lived, and now I am living by His grace, and I am very sure that I am going to live - by His grace too :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1185 : Respiratory Function Test (RFT)

I am fine today.

I suffered mild breathlessness for quite some time already. Doctor suspected that this might be a result of graft-versus-host disease. However, it is not easy to confirm this.

The possible treatment in this case is to take Prednisolon (steroid), but I am not keen to do this. This is because the breathlessness that I experience does not come to a scale that impairs my daily activities. Taking Prednisolon for an extended period of time certainly is not good for the body.

In order to monitor my lung condition, doctor arranged a RFT for me half yearly. If the lung condition worsens, then I have no choice but to start taking Prednisolon.

The last RFT was done in April this year, and I did another one yesterday. I don’t have much knowledge in interpreting the RFT result. Fortunately, there is some explanation about the test on Wikipedia under the entry of Spirometry.

The readings of primary concern for a RFT are as follow:

• FVC (Forced Vital Capacity) - the volume of air that can forcibly be blown out after full inspiration, measured in liters.
• FEV1 - maximum volume of air that can forcibly blow out in the first second during the FVC manoeuvre, measured in liters.
• FEV1/FVC - ratio of FEV1 to FVC. In healthy adults this should be approximately 75–80%.

For yesterday’s test:

1. FVC = 4.66 Liters
2. FEV1 = 3.61 Liters
3. FEV1/FVC = 77% (within the normal range)

I don’t have the April result, but I managed to retrieve the one that was done on 30/6/08.

1. FVC = 4.80 Liters
2. FEV1 = 3.72 Liters
3. FEV1/FVC = 77%

There is a very small degradation of lung function over the past 15 months, and I believe the degradation is negligible. However, only doctor can confirm whether this is the case.

I would show the result to my hematologist during my next BMT clinic appointment.

The RFT result - click to have a larger view


See you next post :-)

Day +1184 : I can’t imagine, it exploded!

I am fine today.

I helped to purchase a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop for my niece, Nga Ming, who studied in UTem, Melaka on June 2007.

Nga Ming called me yesterday informing that the laptop’s power adapter exploded with a big explosion sound. Many came to his room to find out what had happened upon hearing it.

She was just about to pick up the adapter before it was exploded. Fortunately, it exploded before she touched the adapter; else she might be injured.

She called Dell support and was told that the laptop was out of warranty and furthermore, the adapter was exploded because of improper use. Therefore, she had to pay for a new one. She was also told that she could extend the warranty and the cost of extending warranty would now be higher because the adapter is faulty.

Dissatisfied with Dell’s explanation, I called Dell support and reminded them that this was a serious safety issue. I told them if my niece was holding the adapter when it exploded, she might get killed. I also told them I had ordered so many Dell laptops for company staff and also for friends and relatives. And with this incident, I have very good reason to worry about their safety.

The technical support transferred the line to her manager who apologized to me first regarding how the first technical support handled the case, and she promised that Dell would send a new adapter to Nga Ming the next day free of charge.

On my worry on the safety of the Dell power adaptor, she said that this was the first “explosion” that she came across, and she assured me that the device is safe.

Later I found out from Nga Ming that in fact there was sign of fault for quite some time already; the power indicator on the adaptor could go off suddenly and it would be on again once Nga Ming adjusted the position of the adaptor. I suspect there was some wiring problem within the adapter and after some adjusting and heat, the wires got short-circuited which result in an explosion.

If you found any adapter showing sign of glitches, please discontinue using it immediately. Never try to be as clever as Nga Ming – it could explode anytime!

This is how it looks like after explosion

See you next post :-)

Day +1183 : Taxi fare to KLCC or KLIA

I am fine today.

My brother, Richard, compiled this list for your convenience. Please note that this is applicable for those who stay in Puchong or may be Klang Valley. Don't call them if you are staying in Sabah or Sarawak :-)

Booking Taxi from Puchong to LCCT or KLIA. Highlighted is the cheapest fare.

Driver	Contact/ Booking no.	Day fare (6:00am-11:59pm)	Midnight fare (12:00am- 5.59am)	Note
Mr. Yin (Chinese)	016-3678622	RM 64.00	RM 64.00	Drive very slow, almost 60 minutes to reach LCCT
Mr. Mathaven (Indian)	016-2525326	RM 64.00	RM 80.00	Very punctual, speed average, 50 minutes to reach LCCT
Mr. Yan (Malay)	019-2041918	RM 60.00	RM 80.00	Can drive very fast 35 minutes to reach LCCT. Usually also take 50 minutes to reach LCCT.
Airport Limo (No fix driver)	03-9223 8080 (8.00 am–12.59 pm) 03-8787 3030 (12.00 am-8.00 am)	RM 56.60	RM 83.60

Important note:

Need to book at least 6 hours in advance. Book one day before is the best.

For AirAsia, we need to reach the boarding gate 20 minutes before the departure time.(New rules)

See you next post :-)

Day +1182 : Express bus - What an experience! (2)

I am fine today. Continue from yesterday...

However, we got a refund and managed to purchase a ticket at the first ticketing counter that we had approached at RM 31.10 only. The bus departed at 5:30pm as promised.

I tried to file a complain after the incident but I found out that there was no company to complain to as there was no company label on the ticketing counter. So to whom should I complain to?

There was no bus company name printed on the ticket. What was written on the ticket was the bus plate number only. Apart from this, nothing was written. A proper ticket should have company name, bus plate number, the seat number and departure time. Without the company name, one can only liaise with the counter for any business related to their service; provided it didn't disappear before we get there.

My friend told me last time that a lot of ticket counters actually are not from bus companies. There are agents to another up-line agents and the up-line agents in fact are agents to another up-line agents. And finally, it reached the bus company after so many layers.

In fact this is another type of “yellow cow ticket(黄牛票)”. So should anything happen, the authority will never handle the case. Even a Consumer Tribunal would not want to hear a case like this.

Lessons that we learned from this incident:

1. Never purchase a bus ticket from any agent beside the bus company itselt.
2. Purchase the ticket from a well known bus company like Transnasional, Sri Maju, Causeway Link and other well-known bus company. If you do that, I am sure the Customer Tribunal can protect your interest should a dispute occurs.
3. The best bus company I found so far is TRANSNASIONAL (a member of KTB group). You can get the following advantages:

• You can check their schedule and ticket price at their website http://www.transnasional.com.my/
• You will certainly not overpaid for the bus ticket even during the "cow season".
• You can purchase the ticket in many Petronas station such as Petronas Kinrara BK5. This means that they are open 24 hours/day and you would have your ticket ready before you go to the bus terminal.
• If you miss the bus, the ticket is still valid. You just need to pay some penalty. My nephew Ting Heng Wei missed the bus last time and that was how they handled the case. (For your information, this nephew always miss this and that. He also missed the air flight. Just hope that he won't miss his girl friend or wife later :-))
• You will never need to liaise with a gangster. Ticketing lady can become a fantastic gangster that is worse than a guy.

Transnasional is certainly your preferred choice!

See you next post :-)

Day +1181 : Express bus - What an experience! (1)

I am fine today.

The following was my brother, Richard's experience, regarding express bus service.

On the 21 September 2009, I brought my relative to the temporary bus terminal located at Bukit Jalil at 3:30pm. He would like to return to Johor Bahru (JB) after enjoying his holiday here.

For your information, the temporary bus terminal at Bukit Jalil was set up during festive holiday only; for example during Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali.

We approached a ticketing counter and we were told that the next bus leaving for JB would be about 2 hours later; that was on 5:30pm. I noticed that this ticketing counter was labeled with a proper bus company name and I felt that this should be a proper bus operator.

However, we felt that waiting for 2 hours was too long for us, so we approached another ticketing counter. The ticketing lady said that the bus was waiting outside. If we purchased the ticket now (3:35pm), then we will be able to catch the bus that would be leaving at 3:40pm. What a good timing!

We paid RM 35.00 for a ticket, and someone from the counter led us to wait at the bus parking area. We were quite confused as there was no bus waiting there and we saw a group of more than 20 people were there before us.

We waited and waited. At 4:00pm, we didn't see any bus coming; 4:30pm still no bus coming... 5:00pm no bus coming... and at 5:15pm, the bus still didn't appear.

We felt that we were cheated. So we rushed back to the ticketing counter and demanded an explanation from the ticketing lady. Drastically, she showed another face to us; very rude, worse than a gangster. This was the first time I saw a lady being so rude. She could pull your hair and threw a dustbin to you...

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +1180 : Setia Eco Park – 2nd visit

I am fine today.

I visited Setia Eco Park with pastors and church members after the church service this afternoon. Setia Eco Park is a big township development project by Setia Alam which covered an area of 791 acres.

We had our first visit to this place last Sunday. The purpose of the visit is to see if there is a possibility of planting a church here :-)

A Tesco hypermarket is in business here, and Giant hypermarket, which is situated just opposite Tesco, is under construction. We were told that a mall – Setia City Mall - will be constructed very soon.

There is also a Chinese primary school here with about 1000 students and the number is growing as more people are moving into this area.

We like this place very much and at the same time, also see great potential in this place. However, more work need to be done – including praying – to determine if this is the right place we should move in.

The 3 storey shop-lot; extra one storey for corner lot. The middle lot is selling at about RM1,000,000.00

We had lunch here
The street where the above restaurant is located
The explorers :-)
The dishes - 5 dishes with a total bill of RM108 including the rice and drink. Cheaper than Puchong.




There are 5 Chinese restaurant along this streets.


Another restaurant on a corner shop-lot on the next street
Talking to property agent
The first floor
Residential area

Shop-lots next to Tesco - higher class one


Back to the 3-storey shop-lot, and found a Methodist church here
Busiest area for the moment
See you next post :-)