Nuts and Brackets: A Series of Unfortunate Events

This morning I had to travel to work by public transport as I sent my car for 10,000km servicing to the authorised service centre. Initially I dreaded the thought that no longer can I get from home to office seamlessly. But as I got on the train, the groove came back to me, and the old thought that public transport is still more convenient came flooding back to my mind. Indeed it is fuss-free. Just board, wait, alight, walk, and you would have reached office in one piece. I can even run some errands along the way, like posting letter and buying coffee, activities that I would find it inconvenient if I were to drive to work.

Then at 11am, I received a called from the service centre. Apparently, they broke the wheel nut bracket when trying to remove the nuts (screws) on the wheels. To explain, the wheel nut bracket is an adapter that fits onto the nut of the screw to allow the wheel brace (screwdriver, in layman terms) to loosen the nut. If the bracket is missing or broken, then the wheel brace cannot loosen the nut, and the wheel cannot be removed.


So I had to take time-off, grab a cab to the tyre shop that fitted the wheels, bought the bracket, took another cab to the service centre, and passed the bracket to the service guy. Then he tried it on and oops, it didn't fit. So the guy called the tyre shop and he informed me that they had the right one. So I left it to them to sort it out while I took a bus to the train station and headed back to office (no more cab rides, too expensive). I was told the car would be ready by 3pm.

Then at 3pm, I received their call, with more negative news. Yes, they got the right bracket, and yes it fits. But, YES, it broke again! So the service centre had to drive the car down to the tyre shop to get it fixed. My car was finally ready for collection at 4.30pm.

An important lesson for a new car-owner: NEVER get those fanciful wheel rims with fanciful nuts. I'll be damned if I get flat tyres on the road and I - or even the tow truck - can't get the wheels changed.

I enjoy taking public transport, been doing that since a young age. It offers me lots of time along the journey to indulge in thoughts. But no doubt having a car delivers benefits of convenience, something that I also experienced today. I do feel somewhat handicapped when I had to run around. But again, the public transportation system did not let me down and I was able to accomplish the above errands without much hassle.

Today is also the day my wife took her first driving refresher course. Her first time behind the wheels on public roads since 10 years back, and she's doing very well. See, driving is like riding a bike, except that while you can see every inch of the bike, you have to be one with the car, able to have good judgment when maneuvering the vehicle.

Trailer: Please swtich off your mobile《钱不够用2》－ 请关掉电话

Very original! Extremely unexpected twist! This is probably the best ‘Turn Off Your Mobile Phone’ trailer I’ve ever seen. I’ve never felt tickled by such messages so much. If I’m laughing when watching on YouTube, I can’t imagine the amount of laughter I will get on the large-screen cinema.

Indiana Jones

Today I caught Indiana Jones And the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in the cinemas. I can't even remember the last time I watched the franchise movies, but with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, you just have to watch it, no matter how crappy it is.

Fact is, we are swarmed by adventure movies in the past 2 decades since the last Indy movie. Therefore, IJ4 turns out not as exciting as some other Hollywood movies like National Treasure. In fact, George Lucas the story writer threw in some scenes and plots just to make the movie more entertaining. I shan't reveal the scenes lest I spoil your movie-going experience. All I can say is that the effects are more realistic with today's technology.

But you just have to watch it, because it is Indiana Jones, although it probably doesn't mean anything to teens. There are some character developments and closure to the quadrilogy. There is actually just one or two scenes where Harrison Ford is in hey-day action. The rest of the scenes are just like any action movies he's done in recent years. So to say that he's too old for this role is over-exaggerated.

So, watch it if you are in your thirties and want to reminisce the good old times. If you teens are expecting some kick-ass heart-pumping action, then National Treasure is probably a better movie.

Mayenne's Birthday Party - Number Two

We had another birthday party for Mayenne last Sunday. We invited Angie's relatives plus a few colleagues and friends.

In our previous party, my parents did all the decorations. This time around, we did everything by ourselves. Fortunately, there is a large common area at my mum-in-law's flat, so we used that for our party.

Mayenne wasn't as enthusiastic as last week, maybe she was "kissed" on her face by bugs. Also, she was being carried throughout as the party was held outdoors.

But she soon warmed up to the kids, which was really the best part of the party. Kids are always the centre of attraction, especially when they are cute and adorable.

We bought the cake from the same cake shop, ordering back the Lychee Martini but changed the top tier to another flavour. We chose 'Winnie the Pooh' theme not because Mayenne likes him, but more because of the soft toy on top of the cake and those little figurines that looked rather nice, albeit non-original.

Mayenne got 'saboed' by Grandad.

Immediately after the cake-cutting, we passed the teddy bear soft toy on the cake to Mayenne, and she cuddled it tightly. Within minutes, she dozed off.

For more photos, visit http://photosg.com/v/mayenne-18052008/

Mayenne's Birthday Party - Number One

Mayenne will have 2 official birthday parties. First one was held last Sunday, to coincide with her Lunar birthday.

We started off the day with Mayenne soiling the entire bed, no thanks to her diapers who was so full that it could not contain the poo. So Mummy has to remove all the bedsheets to clean. (Unfortunately, her favourite bolster has to be thrown away because it was deem unwashable)

We went to my Grandma's house where the ancestral tablet is for the ritual blessings. Mayenne had fun picking the "symbolic items", a custom that all toddlers go through which could determine her future career. Mayenne picked the book first because it was conveniently the closest to her.


The celebration continues at my parent's house, where we invited relatives and friends and enjoyed Mayenne's good behaviour and entertainment.

Beautiful and delicious lychee martini cake from Pine Garden.

Who's the happy girl?

Taking a ride on her birthday gift.
But she still prefers going all-fours.
The party ended about 5pm. Mayenne didn't sleep the entire afternoon, and was instantly knocked-out the moment she got in the car.

More photos at http://photosg.com/v/mayenne-11052008/

Hurray for Pocoyo

Every parent with a toddler and who subscribes to StarHub Cable TV's Playhouse Disney Channel will know who Pocoyo is.

It's an adorable digital animation in 6-minute episodes teaching children about values.

The series is conceptualised by a Spain company, but the animation contains strong Japanese anime influences. The characters design is outstanding that even adults love them.

Pocoyo, Loula, Pato, Sleepy Bird (on Pato's beak), and Elly

Pocoyo has won dozens of international awards for its quality, and has sold to over 100 countries around the world, including Japan and Arabia. So you see, it has global reach.

Here's the official blog site that details the journey of creating these lovable characters. http://www.pocoyo.blogs.com/

Pocoyo shows at StarHub Cable TV Channel 34 - Disney Playhouse - on 9am and 8pm daily.