Now at KLIA enjoying cup of coffee

.. just arrived KLIA airport. Still got many hours to kill so end up having a nice cup of coffee at some cafe.
The taxi journey was interesting. Never knew the taxi driver was a millionaire. He made hiis fortune as an engineer in oil and gas exploration. Due to an accident, he quit his job but found retirement too boring and wasted much money to fill in his time. So now to control himself, he decided to take on a taxi servicing.
In life you just don't know a person's background. An assuming person could well be a person very well off!
Well, that's life and for the rest of us, we just have to work our butts off to have any semblence of a lifestyle!

Co Trip to Shanghai

Well, we be going for company trip to Shanghai 4D/3N. Leaving behind darling wife and smiling baby. This morning was last chance to see baby as tonight I won't have time to see his happy face and hyper active mode. The flight would be rather tiring as it a very early morning flight way pass midnight and arriving early morning, bleary eyed and off and about sightseeing after clearing immigration.

The arrangement is very tight as boss only allowed for very short days as he would like to avoid disruption to work. It was rather difficult to find a travel agent willing to take such a small group and with such a short duration tour and travel. So the travel package was necessarily expensive in order to cover all expenses while making sufficient commission for the travel agent as well.

Anyway, the trip is more for the staff as a reward for making enough for the company. I've been to Shanghai perhaps some 10 years ago. This trip is not so intriguing for me, but I still have to tag along.

For that kind of pricing it was not worth it for me to bring along my dear darling wife along. Besides, my financial is rather tight at this moment, so I'm trying to conserve some money.

Anyway, a trip is still a trip, and many preparation has to be made.

Checked the Shanghai weather forecast and it looked bright and sunny. Hot weather just like here in Malaysia!

Extreme heavy rain!

.. It was awhile since the last downpour. So naturally the thunderstorm came with a vengence!
--
I managed to leave work timely but during the rush hour commute, the cats and dogs could not stay their hands any longer.
The end result was a super duper thunderstorm!
If I didn't get away sooner I probably got stuck in a super duper traffic jam. Now i'm back home and relaxing here.
Yeah!

iPhone IOS 4 update is a pain

Updating iPhone IOS 4 to the latest version is really a big headache! Why can't Apple provide a separate file download? Why must it go through the iTunes 10 software for update? Mind you the file size is really huge at 666.6 MB (uh, the number of the beast too?) that's about the size of a CD-ROM. I know, I know, it takes me just as much trouble to download the 700 MB Ubuntu Linux ISO file, but I can use those helpful download software like uGet to continue my download if the connection breaks and also split my downloads to a couple of days if the server is really slow.

 

 

And this Apple update server is indeed really crawling at a snails pace! Could be Streamyx throttling my speed due to large download file. Or perhaps both, a slow server from Apple plus Streamyx broadband throttle, now that would really make your download day a super slow event. Wish they have a separate file for download. That would really make things it easier. I wonder why they don't do that? Perhaps they are afraid hackers would get at their code and reverse engineer it?

 

Whatever the reason, it makes for a poor user experience. That's why I don't always want to update my phone software, be it Apple's iPhone or Google's Android. Fortunately the Android update was far more faster, took me only about an hour plus for the update to be done.

 

However, my wife complained that the Apple iPhone was getting cranky and according to her fellow iPhone users in her office, that the mobile phone needs an update to make more stable. Her colleague left the phone overnight with the PC to download the update. Uh, with 666 MB and a slow server and broadband throttling, I guess that's the way to go about it.

Otherwise to keep your sanity the other option is to bring it over to the Telco (after all they bundled the phone in the mobile phone plan package) for the update since they have far more faster connection and perhaps even have the software at hand or they simply just have ultra fast broadband connection without being throttled.  

 

Anyway, I'm going to give this self-updating of Apple iPhone IOS 4 a go before crying surrender if it fails. Anything for dear wife!

 

 

Seven signs that your child loves you

Just received this newsletter from Baby Centre. This really warms the heart and gives you a nice buzz for the day!

Some of the points is still not applicable to baby just yet (eg points 5, 6 and 7). I do noticed baby is doing some of the things describe in this brief article.

 

Cheers!

 

Seven signs that your child loves you

 

1. Your newborn stares into your eyes — he's actually working hard to memorise your face. He doesn't understand anything else about the world, but he knows you're important.

 

2. Your baby thinks about you even when you're not around. Between eight and 12 months old, he'll start to scrunch his face and look around when you leave the room — and he'll smile when you return.

 

3. Your toddler throws wicked tantrums. Nope, those screaming fits don't mean he's stopped loving you. He couldn't show he was so hurt and angry if he didn't trust you so deeply.

 

4. Your toddler runs to you for comfort when he falls down or feels sad. Children this age may not truly understand the meaning of "I love you," but their actions speak louder than words.

 

5. Your preschooler gives you a flower picked from the garden, a finger-painted heart, a sparkly stone or another gift.

 

6. Your preschooler wants your approval. He'll start to be more cooperative around the house and he'll look for chances to impress. "Look at me!" will become a catchphrase.

 

7. Your school-age child trusts you with secrets, such as his first crush or his most embarrassing moment. You're his confidante, even if he shies away from your hugs in public.

 

Source: babycentre•co•uk (June 2010)

 

 

 

Mad rush, then car accident

Serves me right for being impatient. Rush hour in the morning is very tough for me. Worse, when there are slow 'apek' drivers testing your patience.
In a fit of insanity, I decided to do a foolhadry overtaking cutting too close with another car.
It wasn't anything serious. Just a scratch. Perhaps God is looking out for me. It could have been pretty bad.
Anyway, now I will have to take him to a car workshop for minor spray paint job.
Them the breaks when you don't have flexi working hours and a boss who enforce every little rule to the letter!
Sigh!

Baby 15 months old and walking!

Baby is 15 months and he just started to walk unassisted! This is a milestone for baby. For the past couple months, he was just crawling all over the place with some minor walks by bracing himself on furnitures.
It took a lot of prompting to get him to try walking more. The motivation came when I took him to the shopping mall and decideed to just hold one hand and let him walk assisted.
He would look at others walking by and he would notice other children who would walk. Going home later, he would try to walk more assisted. And when he was ready, he walked without support! And in some instance still managed to walk unassisted while holding on to some bulky containers!
He still need more encouragement so will let him walk more while holding his hand.
He is still a little wobbly and I noticed his walk was rather bow legged. A quick check online from baby centre, and it was explained that it was normal. Baby will grow out of it when his muscle strengthens. So now just need to encourage him to walk more!