Yes, I've caught Superman Returns. Despite the underwhelming trailers (bar the bullet-doesn't-penetrate-his-eyeball-part), it was a watchable movie as a whole. It is the superhero movie with more heart than most. And of course alot of people will comment on the hotness of Superman.

So watch it if you're remotely interested in the movie at all, cos it's enjoyable enough. Do watch out for Superboy.

Yesterday morning i woke up and found the flourescent light in my room wouldn't light up. As in the corners lit up abit but most of the tube didn't. After another couple of failed attempts to illuminate my room by turning it off and on again, I decided it was time to change the light. I came back from breakfast, it still didn't work, so I turned on the table lamp instead. After awhile it was nap time, so I concussed for an hour plus.

Wakey, it was time to prepare for my hunt-a-present afternoon. As anybody who knows me will be aware by now, I somehow like to rush abit when preparing to go out; even when I wasn't supposed to meet anyone. Haha.. Don't ask me why, think I'm just too used to trying to reach 10mins after the arranged time. Anyway, I was walking in and out of my room to shower, put on contact lenses, drink half a cup of water (my little quirk everytime I'm preparing), wax my hair.

'Eh? Fixed your lamp already?' aunt said.
'Nope, I have to ask get a new fluorescent tube' said I.
'Huh?'
Impatiently, 'No more extra tubes at home, I gotta go to the DIY store to get one before I can change it what.'
'Buy what? Look at your room. There is light!'
'EH?! OOhhhh.....'

Yes, that was how blur and out of the situation I was and can be. Amidst my rushing, I never realized the light was turned on all the time when I was preparing. Kept thinking I had to get a new fluorescent tube to replace it later. How embarrassing!

And for everyone else, it also shows how naturally some things happen that we often don't realize those things have always been there. And people become unappreciative of what they have, treating every good thing as a given to them.
Also, it doesn't mean things aren't happening just because you aren't aware.

Let's all wake up our ideas. :)

Yes, sorry for not bitching about anything for the past 2 weeks. It's just that the workaholic in me is taking charge this season. And yes, I see shocked faces. Junrong a workaholic? I can be one.

Anyway, just one thing to say. Coffee Club serves tap water now!!! *applause*

A career-minded woman who needs a life of her own with her husband and her own ideals rises to the occasion to take care of her mother-in-law who's just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

A maid who is paid a paltry several hundred dollars to keep the house in proper condition in addition to to taking care of the wheelchair bound granny even when they're totally unrelated.

They didn't even feel like it was a strong obligation for them to do it. Because if they did, they wouldn't have looked as happy as they were doing it.

The power of love is great. And at times you just don't realize how much love you're showing, or how much love is given to you.

The PC Show at Suntec wasn't fabulous, but for all the university students to-be, if you don't want to get a Fujitsu or Acer or iBook from school, check these out. I've only put down the better deals of the more mainstream 14" models, which is a good compromise between size, price and performance.

For those who want their laptops to be built like a brick

HP Compaq nx6320, $2399 (fully black chassis)
Core Duo T2400 processor (1.83GHz)
XP Pro
15" XGA screen
512MB RAM
80GB HDD
DVD burner
Fingerprint sensor
Bluetooth, multi format card reader
Expresscard slot
2.6kg
1 year warranty
* add $99 for mouse, keyboard, docking station and notebook stand. add a further $99 to extend warranty to 3 years (local carry in)
Note: The closest you can get to the tough looks of the ThinkPad if you don't have that much cash to spend

For those who want to train their shoulder muscles

Acer Travelmate 4152, $1698 (typical Acer silver)
Pentium M 740 1.73GHz processor
XP Home
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
80GB HDD
15" XGA screen
nVidia GeForce Go 6200 128MB VRAM dedicated graphics
DVD burner
Bluetooth, multi format card reader
Expresscard slot
built-in 0.35 megapixel webcam
2.84kg
1 year warranty
Note: The price is so low for a model with dedicated graphics because this model has recently been discontinued

For those who are design whores

Sony Vaio FJ67, $1999 (yes the price is right but the specs are low) (fully white chassis and keyboard)
Pentium M 750 1.86GHz processor
XP Pro
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
60GB HDD
CD-RW/DVD combo drive
14.1" WXGA (widescreen)
Memory Stick reader only
built in 310000 pixels webcam
external media player controls
2.4kg
1 year warranty
* freebies: Vaio laptop case, wireless mouse, 1GB thumbdrive
Note: The definition of stunning design, but is sure to get dirty very soon

For those who want maximum value for money

Dell Inspiron 640m, $1599 (silver chassis, black keyboard)
Core Duo T2300 processor (1.66GHz)
XP Home
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
80GB HDD
DVD burner
14.1" WXGA screen (widescreen)
multi format card reader
external media player controls
2.4kg
1 year warranty
Note: I still think it looks hideous

For those who want to be different

Samsung X11, $2499 (silver chassis, black keyboard)
Core Duo T2300 processor (1.66GHz)
XP Home
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
80GB HDD
DVD burner
14.1" WXGA screen (widescreen)
nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB VRAM dedicated graphics
Bluetooth, multi format card reader
2.17kg
3 years local warranty
* free mini speakers, mouse, notebook case
Note: The hinge on the test unit felt under damped, making it feel fragile. Samsung's AVS now works like a 'lite' edition of Windows Media Center Edition.

For those who want trouble-free computing

Toshiba Satellite M100, $2399 (peacock blue top cover, silver keyboard surround, black keyboard)
Core Duo T2300 processor (1.66GHz)
XP Home
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
80GB HDD
DVD burner
14" WXGA (widescreen)
harmon/kardon speakers
Bluetooth, multi format card reader
2.26kg
2 years international warranty
Note: The top cover feels very hardy, and why doesn't anyone else does a straightforward volume control dial like Toshiba now? Keyboard is spill resistant

For those who needs maximum security for their data

Toshiba Tecra A6, $2699 (titanium silver chassis)
Basic specs as of Satellite M100, but with XP Pro instead.
3 years international warranty
Toshiba Easyguard system that features shock protection, TPM chip, one-touch data backup utility, Toshiba ConfigFree, fingerprint reader

For those who want a great all rounder but doesn't mind not getting a fantastic Fair deal

Asus A8J, $2298 (titanium grey chassis)
Core Duo T2300 processor (1.66GHz)
XP Home
512MB RAM + 512MB additional free
80GB HDD
DVD burner
14.1" WXGA (widescreen)
nVidia GeForce Go 7300 256MB VRAM dedicated graphics
Bluetooth, multi format card reader
built in 0.35 megapixel webcam
2 years international warranty
* free notebook case, mouse
Note: Asus is a main OEM manufacturer for many notebooks, so they're definitely trustworthy.

It's after a visit to this place that I know how bad the service of a place can be. Anyway, you should know that I'm already freaking tired but I just can't get to sleep without doing this.

Place: Wang Jiao Hong Kong Cafe or something like that
Venue: Marina Square level 1, where Han's used to be

My friend and I stepped into the place at around 810pm and ordered 10 minutes later. Har Gao, Guo Tie, a drink, and our main courses. 10 minutes later, our Har Gao, Guo Tie and drink came. Didn't taste good, but that's besides to point. And so we wait for our main courses to come.

About 20 minutes to half an hour later, they hadn't came yet. My friend asks one of the waiters if our food is coming. He said 'hang on please', went off for a minute then came back saying 'oh, there's a long list of orders today'. Fine, we 'oh ok-ed' and waited. All was fine until the table next to us came in around 20 minutes later than us and got their food. So alright, I gave them 10 more minutes just in case they in fact did miss out on our order and was preparing it immediately. Tick tock, our food didn't come.

Getting fed up, I got out of my seat to approach a woman (pardon me but I don't think the service crew of this place needs any form of respect at all) who appears to be the captain or manager of the restaurant. I told her, 'excuse me, our 2 main courses never came. please check what's going on.' She gave me a look of disbelief or confusion, as if she didn't expect someone to be coming up to her to tell her that an order has taken 45 minutes and hasn't arrived. 'ok, i'll check with the kitchen' was what she could muster.

So ok, we were hungry so waited for awhile more. I mean, after such a long waiting time you'd expect our food to be coming soon. Nope. That woman never showed up after 5 minutes, so we decided to finish the drink and leave. I was at the cashier paying for whatever we've eaten (I still don't understand why I even bothered paying at all for the kind of utter rubbish I was getting) and cancelled the order. And here comes the fucking lame part. She said 'ok, sorry about it'. Full stop. HUH?!! You tell me just that when we've just waited like an hour for our food? She's gotta be fucking kidding me. And the stupidest part is here. I actually paid for it and said 'never mind'. Wow, There must've been some angel right beside me stopping me from creating a scene there and then.

That was that. A few points I want to make though. The 'service' of that place is total bullshit. I'd much rather give the money to a fake beggar than to pay the 10% service charge for this. At least the fake beggar is trying. You people? Not a chance.
The waiter who came in the middle to tell us that our food was coming. I bet he didn't actually go to the kitchen to check if our order was missed. Get this, you were either just plain lazy to check or just didn't want a customer to complain to you about a mistake the kitchen or whoever made. Like come on, get a life. 'Fess up, apologise, and get the kitchen to hurry the order. Maybe your little brain tells you otherwise, but that's what I do.
Woman. You were wearing something different from the service crew, so I'm guessing your voice means something in that place. Do not be lame. You gave me a doubting look when I told you my order never came. Instead of asking someone else to take over the cashier for 5 minutes and explain to us what could've happened that requires an hour to prepare (I dunno, maybe the milk that's used to make the cheese hasn't been squeezed from the cow yet), you chose to never get back to 2 obviously already hungry and irritated customers. And what sort of an apology was that? A 3 year old can do better after accidentally dropped something onto the floor.
Management of that place. Did you even interview those idiots working in that place? I wonder how with that kind of attitude and service standard you can survive. And please, the place is rather large. Employ a couple more people. Employ a couple more useful people.

To the relevant authorities or something, I honestly hope there's a way to deal with those people who are in the service line but offer ridiculous 'service'.

And to the rest of the staff, if you happen to have read this, I'm not even sorry for you. Blame your useless and idiotic colleagues for this. If you think I've insulted you and you deserve better, quit and get another job.

That's the end. People who read this, if you ever encounter this sort of situation, please don't be like me. It is NOT ok. Please make a fuss or walk out of that damn place. Get the manager, whatever. Just don't let them get away with it.

Junrong signs off.