bombastic Crap

A review of the latest BlackBerry Z10 (After 3 days of fiddling)

First Time

This is the first time I'm doing a review of mobile phones in such a way. Most of time, my reviews of the phone are by the word of mouth and is very short, like, 'This phone is ok. Can do this and can do that'

My experience in mobile phones goes all the way back when Nokia was still leading the market with the likes of 3310 (the legendary indestructible phone), 8250 (first phone with blue lights), 7250 (the high end camera phone), S40,S60, first generation Symbian to Symbian Anna and belle and to present, windows 7 and 8 phones, Android, iOS (i know I'm biased but hey, you got to use it before you can judge it!) and of course the latest BlackBerry 10 OS.

So yup, enough bragging on the amount money i have spent to get those experience, let's get started.

Why BlackBerry?

I'm a sucker for new tech and BB has kept us waiting for a long time to an update of their user interface.
Even Nokia deploy S40, S60 and Symbian every now and then even though its not perfect, but BB has stick to its 2 way email pager OS with added functionality (till it nuked itself in the end) and also, the must to subscribe to their data services (RIM server)

So when my Samsung Note decides that it will not take the bull shit I have been stuffing it with anymore and died, I decided to take the plunge and dive into the Blackberry ecosystem.

Now, don't flip me the bird when I said something you do not like or is unconfirmed or somehow technically wrong about BB and Z10. I'm a first time user after all.

AND, apple fans, don't flip me the damn bird just because my opinion differs from yours.

Physical Appearance (Eye candy!)

The first thing that capture my attention when I saw Z10 was 'Another iphone clone?'

Left: iPhone 5

And that was one of the reasons i bought this phone, to troll iphone users wahahahaha.

I currently own the black version (the white one sold out) and because my photography skills sucked hard, here is a linked picture of it:

That is not my hand

Back view

The phone oozes an executive feel. A black candy bar, a generous estate of glass, with the BlackBerry logo in silver at the front and the logo in metal at the back.

Simple, clean, non flashy. Classy. To quote: Sorry Apple, BB is hotter than iphone.

Don't ask me what are the exact materials are. I'm a user and this is not a professional review.

Z10 is not a humongous piece of technology. Its display is only at 4.2" (Phone itself is 5.2")
When placed side by side with Note, it looks like me standing beside my Bn 2IC (for those who knows what is BN 2IC).

Left: Note (BN 2IC) Right: Z10 (me)

Told you my photography skills sucked hard!

The back cover gives a a solid rubbery feel. The best part? The back cover acts like your car's ABS. Try sliding across a table and see what happens.

And yea, there is no home button. No hardware home button at all and I'm not fretting over it. You will know why soon.

The only hardware buttons you will find are:
1. Power button (located at the top of the phone, in the middle)

2. The volume rocker and also the voice command activation button (right side of the phone)

There are only 2 ports on the left side of the phone. A micro usb 2.0 and micro HDMI port. (See picture above)

This phone is light, it only weighs 137 grams, but yet still feel sturdy and dependable.

Screen, display whatever you want to call it

As a layman, i do not know what technologies are used. Fanciful names like Retina display meant nothing to me. I just want things to look nice, sharp and beautiful and this is how it looks like

This screenshot doesn't do justice to it because there is no light depth. Get a demo unit and take a look at it. DROOL over it. Period.

Z10 operates entirely on gestures, which means, flicking your fingers up at the lock screen unlocks the phone, flicking it either left or right switches between apps list/active layer/BB hub (depends on location) etc

This needs precision, accuracy and of course fast response speed. I totally got no complaints about it. No lags, registered every gesture correctly.

A little complaint about this is the lack of auto brightness adjustment but well, it doesn't hurt me much.

Usage

I'm a big fan of instant live data which is always on the screen without accessing the app and that's the main reason why I love Symbian and Android.

BB10 has a layout like iPhone, the home screen does not allow live widgets but that doesn't mean that there is no live widgets.

It has a section call the Active layer (or something like that). It holds up to a maximum of 8 apps which runs real time.

Active Layer

The weather apps auto updates and display the latest information

Its like a home screen for live widgets, oh yea, any apps can become a live widget if it streams and display live data.

Pressing the app brings you directly into the app, press the X and the app exits.
Flicking up at any screen brings you directly back to the Active layer.

If there's any notifications, be it Whatsapp (yes, there is whatsapp), sms, email, FB, linkedin, Twitter etc, you can access it just by flicking up then left at any screen to access the BlackBerry Hub. Its that easy.

Notifications(Flick up to see this screen)

The unified notifications in box (flick left from the screen above to access the hub)
Click on it to open the notifications to reply. Even for facebook notifications.

Flick left to access the individual categories

There are 2 types of views for the Hub which affects email view:

The Conversation View:

The Single conversation View

Thats the difference.

Text, Messaging. The keyboard!

So far, the keyboard that I liked the most is Swype. That is before I met BB10's keyboard.

A picture says a thousand words:

The words you see floating are the predicted next in line words. Most of the time, it floats directly above the first letter of the next word. For eg: when you type 'it', 'is'will float on top of 'i'. By flicking 'i' up, the word 'is' will be inserted. Once you get used to it, texting is freaking fast.

At the space bar, where you see the blue words; that is auto correct in action. By pressing on the space, the blue words get inserted into the text field. However, if you want to retain the original word that you type, just flick up on the space.

And yes, it gets added to your personal dictionary.

Words that are inserted into the text field comes with a space along with it, but no worries with punctuation!
It automatically goes to the correct place when you insert it.

And if you make a mistake or trying to erase a phrase, just left swipe your finger across the keyboard.

Coupled with the power of auto correct, predictive input and left swipe, backspace key is for the noobs.

I'm getting damn fast on these keyboards...

Phone Calls

LTE also known as 4G. Coupled with don't know how many bands, this phone will not have an issue if you are globe trotter. It basically can work anywhere.

I worked away from my desk most of the time, so I call forwarded my DID to my mobile phone.

When I was using Note, most callers note the difference in call quality and will comment on it. However for the past 2 days, people thought I had changed to a better desk phone.
Not that Note's call quality is bad, its just that there are always better things you know?
No drop calls, no 'Hello, hello' , no 'can you speak up'. At least not for now.

And take a look at this:

Now, get someone to sing for you on the phone!

Out going call quality is good too. The other party has no issue hearing me (maybe because im loud in the 1st place)

Oh, video calls, the technology which Nokia has perfect it a long time ago, is not available in BB Z10 for normal calls. Only through BBM then you can do video call and of course voice call.

Speaking about BBM, there is this new function which blows you away. You can share screen! Much like your office communicator Share screen function. Sadly, I have not have a chance to try it yet (no BB friends!).

Connectivity
GOOD, very good. I don't know whether is it because of 4G, but now, i can still maintain internet connection in the trains, which is a good thing.

Browser

Browsers, one of the key components in a smart phone yet under rated in importance.

Like I said before, I owned N8, Ipad and Note (i still have them now) and so of course, I have used this browsers before.

Trust me, if there's a war of mobile browsers right now, Z10's default browser will win hands down.

For starters, its built completely on HTML5. 2nd, the address bar is at the bottom, not the top, which makes typing of url easy.

Its blazingly fast, no matter on wifi or 4g

A little complain about the browser is that there is no Auto Reflow but it overcomes this by having the Reader function. See below for example:

Normal view: The text got chopped off

This is the reader function:

The webpage after using Reader:

The browser also allows you to create shortcut to your home screen.

This is the first time that I do not have the urge to change the to another browser app.

Notifications

I like Nokia for this. They got it right hands down. Every damn phone and every damn time. You can set whatever kind of notifications you like. Be it a 1 sec tone, or a 10 mins mp3. The moment you press any button on the phone or when you access your messages, it stops.

Then come the likes of Samsung Omnia (i almost forgot i owned that crap too). Thats the 1st windows phone i owned (until HD2 cos HTC has done a great job skinning the hell out of it) and I was so shattered by the notification tones.

Short, Boring, barely audible. Of cos, there is a work around and I of cos did it, then another nightmare occurs. It wont stop. It will go on and on until the time runs out.

From there onwards, except for those Nokia phones i owned, I was never happy with notifications.
Until Note. After installing GO sms application that is.

But for the Z10, except for Whatsapp, all built in apps which has notifications automatically stop the moment you access your hub.

My life starts brightening up again! Of cos, Whatsapp is a pain the ass as its not built in. So what happens when there is a new message and I used a 10 mins mp3 file? I press the volume rocker once. And it stopped.

Yes, its an extra step and its something I don't like, but heck, i got my 10 mins mp3 as a notification and it stop the moment I press the volume rocker. ONCE.

I can live with that.

Oh by the way, the BB's signature RED LED light. Its still there. Guess what, with the correct app, you can make it go disco with different colors.

Camera, Rolllllllll and Action!

Camera, a standard part of the phone. Smart phone, no camera? You got cheated (except for those who needs to go back camp. You got no choice in that!)

Don't ask me how many pixels. I know it before I bought it. I forgot all about it after I bought it. After all, I have a N8 which is built to take pictures with online sharing capabilities.

And No, I won't be doing a review on this. I will be doing injustice to it. Here's a link to a professional review: Review of BB Z10 Camera

Quite technical, even those who hold a DSLR might not know what the hell they are talking about.

And here's another link on what the camera can produce: Photos

What does it comes with

Well, lets see the box shall we?

Nope, no unboxing video, no unboxing pictures. I'm just a excited little kid that day when i got that phone! How the hell would think of making unboxing pictures and video? Well, you still get to see the box you know?

It comes with a adapter, a usb cable, a headset and of cos the battery and phone.

Bonus content:

1st Step towards the Future

Today is the 1st step towards the future!

New Job, New Beginning

I finally quit my job in Jones Lang Lasalle last month on the 28th. It took me forever to come up with the courage to send in the resignation letter without a job on hand.

But after serious thoughts about my commitments and financial status, i decided to to take the plunge and leave JLL jobless.

I consider it as taking a break.

I have been with JLL for close to 4 years. During my tenure, i have learnt a lot things, made a lot of good friends and met a lot of good people.

Things were nice there. I could come in late to work and still leave on time. I was damn good with what I'm doing and people always look for me for help.

However, due to a certain circumstances, all these good things were marred and made my experience in JLL, not a very pleasant one to remember.

Changes are always hard to accept, but only with changes then will come improvements.

I managed to secure only one interview when I was serving my notice and i seriously didn't bother to look for other jobs.

I didnt blast my resume, nor was I actively looking for job openings. Basically, i was only of thinking of NUAING. At least for the next 3 months.

However, the only interview that I had secured, turn out to be the biggest surprise. I managed to get the job through one round of interview, and on the same day no less.

I was surprised. Never expect that to happen. I even managed to meet the team on the day of interview.

So now I am with iDA. Been working there for last week and tomorrow is my 2nd week. Hopefully, I can learn as much as I can here!

I saw...

I was having a late dinner at Hougang just now. While having dinner, I saw an old man, with a green t shirt, a cap and a cloth.

He was limping towards an empty table, with a cloth in hand, started wiping the table while clearing up the empty plates.

The old man looks to be around 60 to 70. The wrinkles on his face marks the path of time. His hands, wrinkled, with green veins popping out. He shuffled with a limp, as if every effort to move requires him to exert every muscle in his office.

He had a tired look, his eyes, as if resigned to fate.

His trembling hands carried the empty plates and bowls, with the dirty cloth in hand, shuffling and limping towards the collection point.

At the collection point, there was this young man. Fit and strong, standing down there, having the easy job of sorting the plates and bowls. If the plates and bowls are not empty, he would just poured them into a trash bin and sort them accordingly.

A job that even a three year old or a elderly that could do.

The old man handed over the plates and bowls and continue shuffling to another table.

However before he could move, a stout, pot bellied Indian stopped the old man. He gestured towards the old man and for awhile, the old man watched him intently.

Without a word, the old man took a bag of plastic bags and proceed to stock up the stalls. While the old man was busy, the stout pot bellied Indian was eating nuts and chatting with other cleaners. Young and fit Indians.

It was not long before there was another empty table. The stout pot bellied Indian called to the old man and pointed to the empty table. Gesturing to the old man to stop stocking up the stall and wants him to clear the table immediately.

The old man, without a word, a complaint, set down the plastic bags to one side neatly, shuffled and limped towards the table. While the stout pot bellied Indian continue chatting with the Young and Fit cleaner.

My heart broke when I saw that scene.

This is a man who had gone through life almost more than any of the cleaners being deployed.

This is a Singaporean, who MM Lee has mentioned, the generation that remembered, the generation which built the foundation of our modern Singapore.

This is an individual who had to struggle with such little dignity and pride, in order to survive in our country.

With the FT lording over the old man, while being biased towards his own fellow country man, is this the Singapore that we want to see?

While the Fit and Young man at the sorting station stands down there and do simple job, the old man has to shuffle and limp around.

A bloody contrast, a young FT having an easier job than an old Singaporean.

What has the country done for the generation that Remembered, Contributed, Built and Brought our glory today? Is this the future that you want to see? Is this the way of how the country treated the contributors?

Is this what we really wanted and is this how we take care of the ones who had help built what we are today?

N8 Reviews Coming Soon!

Okie people... I will be getting the N8 at Jan next year, which is just a few weeks away.

I have been seeing a lot of negative review on the phone but also, tons of valid argument against those review.

However, as i am a stubborn ass when it comes to gadgets, i wont believe any of those reviews who wrote them. I only believe in what i used, touched and have seen.

So people, those interested, watch here!

Wa, too long no update~!

Sheesh, this place is gathering dust as i type. its almost a yr and more since the last update... I almost forgot this place >_<

time to clear up the dust.

now now, time to update what had happened for past 1 yr...

Starting from

Sep 2009 After 10th

Got my PS3 Limited edition 10 days later. Set me back about 1200 >_< Had fun, a lot of fun! it even came with FFVIII demo and FF AC complete Blueray!

Oct 2009
celebrate my birthday with my gal at a place call Wens. With Ah Huat, Erin, Glenn and forgot who. I drink, drank and got drunk. I cant really remember anything much except that after the drinking session, we went for frog leg porridge.

Nov 2009
My PS3 lens got burned after trying out a game call cross edge. will never touch that stupid game again. Boring as hell and it burned my lens! cost me $90 jus to repair.

Dec 2009
Lost in wonderland till Christmas! Christmas was so so...

Jan 2010
Start of the new yr! a very busy yr in fact. got so many things to do and so little time.

Feb 2010
Okie seriously i think im missing out something here. I have forgotten when i started schooling again! anyway, school was great! to those pple who keeps on screaming that school sucks and is a waste of time, i have to tell u this. You are missing out the best time of your life!

Mar 2010
forgot what had happened. maybe its bcos its too uneventful?

Apr 2010
Bonus! LOL, ar! i suddenly remember when i go sch already! cos i paid my school fees using my Bonus! yea yea, school starts at Apr. then know this auntie call esther at the 1st day of school. exchange phone numbers cos 1st day nia lec already give team assignments! And hell yea, Im de only guy in the class...

2nd week of the class, recruited Kopi and Gu Lian into the team for assignments. these 2 aunties also funny... we joke during class... kinda defeated the purpose to sign up for studies >_< but heck, learning is fun when you have these pple with you! LOL

May 2010

Classes and work and my gal became the center of my life. things look so ok at this point of time.

June 2010

Exams and homework i think! i know its damn hectic.

July 2010

I think i got my results back. 1 b and 1 c. LOL gu lian and kopi got shocked by my results. thinking i would get an A. i tell them no la. i lousy one :p

August 2010

Biggest event of the year happened in this month! you guessed it! but no prizes! its NDP! the only day when every Singaporean is patriotic and really really love Singapore. After NDP, we jus shut up. LOL

September 2010

Start of ICT. 3rd one. 3rd high key in fact. Big things happened, mutiny occured. shall not go into details, not my issues anyway :p

Oct 2010

Wa Wa, so fast oct liao! my bday coming again! hmmm
going batam for bday :p my classmates got me a electric shaver for my bday! they don like to see me full of mao mao! LOL

thats all.. think i will update this blog once a month or once very fornight. Yearly affairs are tiring >_< too damn taxing on the brain :p

Later!

long update

It has been forever since I update this blog of mine... Time for a major update.

This yr's reservice is crazy, I have been summoned back to camp for 5 weeks straight. 3 weeks of normal in camp and 2 weeks of CSM course.

The first 3 weeks are crazy as this is de first time tat we have to train as an Ops unit. We were made to move like as we were in combat. A lot of us were first timers as we have not went through this before... Even for me.

It was chaotic. We spent a lot of time planning the movement, including traffic control. However, on tat day, nothing went according to plan.

The vehicles were going to all de wrong places at the wrong time. People not following instructions as they try to do what they think is right. I was not there to suprvise as I was made to go outfield. My RQ was basically screaming all de way.

When we were out in the field, we do not have enough manpower to set up the obstacles. I have to work alone...

It has been a long time since I went outfield. And there are a lot of things that I cant take it as when I was a regular.

Im having the NS man mentailty. LOL

After my 3 weeks in camp, I managed to rest for 1 week before going for the CSM course at ASTW.

It was another 2 weeks of hell....

We were trainees there. We got screwed left right centre with all kinds of abuse that you would have never come across. We were being trained in the 84mm gun, which is heavy as hell.

The weather was crazy. I can be as wet as a duck a few moments ago and I could be as dry as a stick a few moments later.

The final 5 days 4 nights mission was held in Tekong. Only 1 word could describe it. Nightmare!

But ovrerall we had fun. We ordered $300 worth of pizza and $80 worth of drinks at the last nite of the training.

It was fun!

Long Long Ago Till Now

It seems like forever since the last time i updated this blog.

jus came back from ICT. another 3 weeks of suffering, except this time its worse. theres outfield...

i got both hands cut by concertina wires. my boots were destroyed, my pants were torn, my shirt got extra holes for ventilation.

Worse of all, i didnt lose weight! WTH!!!

Men Vs Women, Mars is different from Venus

Look at the title. Guess it you can know what this post is gonna be...

Seriously, this issue has been debated thousands of times, more possibly, millions. up to this date, i still can never understand the most mystical creature in the whole universe. Women that is.

I wonder who came up with the rule that women must 1.)be hoax, 2.)have things their way, 3.)is always right, 4.)to throw temper as and when they like it without men knowing the damn reason.

The list goes on, but it might take me forever just to complete it. Its no joke, just ask the men ard you, you can try the ladies too. that is if u don mind dying.

Arguments can start with no reasons nor trigger during a conversation or any action. Like walking through a landmine field. And surprisingly, it can jump from one genre to another without and indication, warning nor hint. just like 4D, whatever combinations or possibilities u can come up with, it jus continues to amaze u more...

Women is good at jumping and most probably no men can win in this sport. whats the best thing they jump into? Conclusions.

SERIOUSLY, if u don believe me, ask ard again. and they do follow the famous investigator's rule, which is "Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth."

WHAT DE HECK IS TAT!!!??? by taking things at face value, their over creative brain starts to go into CONCLUSION mode.

1 example:

Me: I need a new computer for work. There's a lot of things to do tonight
Her: okie, lets go get one.
Me to sales lady: I need something that can run excel with a huge data load.
Sales lady: sure, this thing can *blah blah
Me: okie i will take this.

Reached home, comp set up, I started to work. due to MY COMPETENCY in excel and the POWERFUL PROCESSING of the computer, i managed to get this done quite fast. So fast that its out of my expectations by 10 times?

I started to look into the specs of the PC and decided TO TEST THE GRAPHICS PROCESSING POWER of the PC. So i log on to Audition since its a graphic intensive game.

Her: Wa you told me you are going to be very busy hor?
Me: i finished my work, jus plain testing de graphics.
Her: YEA RIGHT
Me:...

and she didnt even wan to talk to me after tat.

I mean thats her way of showing her displeasure and i was like WTF HAVE I DONE WRONG?

DAMN.

i still don know y she thinks that i cant finish my work fast even though my workload is heavy... CANT A WOMAN PLACE HER TRUST IN A MAN?

F*** if tats de case, then be together in the 1st place?

Isnt it?

Secret Project

Secret project in progress... Stay tuned!

ICT

Jus came back from 2 days Bn day. It was PAINFUL. not physcially but mentally... its worse than being in a meeting at work and thats for the 1st day.

2nd day wasnt so bad. thats when the men starts to come in. we had a Q&A session between the men and the commanders. The men decided to question me about the out pro for last ICT. why we were the last.

I explained them in details and they accepted it. The day whizzed by and we are allowed to book out. Fauzi gave me a lift home.

On the way home, the subject of the company was being brought up.

I asked him a very simple question. Does the men hate me as i have always been the devil. Fauzi looked at me in surprise then ask me why do i think tat way.

I told him i jus had a feeling abt it. He laughed and says that i have gotten it all wrong. he told me tat the men and commanders were actually happy that im the CSM instead of the others. (Fauzi is the 2nd in command)

He has talked to men and junior commanders and he told me what de men thought.

The men understand my situation and they had put themselves in my shoes. They know the reason why i have to be the devil and be so strict with them. they know the reason why i have to make them do so much and make them do so much drills.

they know why i have to push them so much despite the fact that its jus reservice.

When they saw my company tag changed to Alpha, they asked me why am i not in HQ anymore. i told them that HQ don like me and so they transferred me to Alpha. I told them then Fauzi would then become the new CSM.

It was then when i realized that how much control and command i have over the men. One of men told me straight in the face that if the transfer is true, then HQ will fall cos they know Fauzi cannot control them.

They were actually happy to have me as their CSM.

LOL

Updates!!!

Wa! its been so long since i last updated this blog of mine... think its gonna rot soon if i don post something up.

Time for some recap, all in chronological order...

1. Got a new toy for Wii. A dancing mat with DDR Hottest party game. Was having fun with it, sweating buckets. Played till late night, mum came and showed us her fury. Decided to dance by landing on toes. Got a fast song, jumped too high, landed badly on a bad angle, sprained my ankle. Out of action for 3 weeks...

2. Receive news that there is gonna some movement in my department but no confirmation from anyone. Then receive news that there might be another opening in another department. But still waiting for the new structure to be set up.

3. Bought 4 DVDs. Red Cliff 2, 200 pound beauty, Yip Man, The Tokyo tower. Watched 3 of them at one shot. Still have not watched Tokoyo Tower... Must find time for it.

4. A frd decided to help me print my book!

5. Continued writing story for He & She. Left off from Dec last year.

6. Got a new game for Wii, The Legend of Zelda. Fun Fun Fun and the puzzles almost drove me crazy.

7. Got myself a new portable HDD, 360 GB. Cool looking!

8. Night ride to Mount Faber. Challenged the mother of all climbs. Almost kaput... Saw Antony dismount and push. Straight away give up and push also... Then realise how close i am to the summit.

9. Night Ride to Tampines Trail. Hougang -> ECP -> Changi Coast Road -> Changi V -> Pasir Ris -> Loyang -> Tampines. Never went in the trail, too dangerous. Some of us went to the coffee shop and wait for them. Seehow got battle scar when he was in the trail.

10. Bought another new toy for Wii. Guitar Hero World Tour, with the band set. Hell lot of fun playing drums in my room! Hell Yea!!!

11. Received news about movement in the company again. This time more clear. But decided not to tell anyone or say anything and its still sketchy.

12. Wilson msned me, asking for ideas on how to declare his love to a gal he like. In de end fail... LOL.

13. Registered for NTU bike rally, 128KM.

14. Started a 1 time training for NTU bike rally. Full island. Pong chek on mandai road on the way back. Too many climbs...

15. Changed tires for my bicycle. Kept kenda nevegal for the front, Maxxis ignitor for the rear. Test ride was so damn smooth~~~~~

16. News about movement for the department again. Rumours!!! But still have some truth in it.

17. 128KM Bike rally day! woke up at 430 am. Met jeremy, moved off. Seehow overslept so we went to ECP 1st. Registered, seehow came, loaded ourselves with carbo. Flagged off at 730am. Clustered F*ck initially, so we stayed behind.

So many god damned climbs, luckily changed tires, else will die. Finished at 3pm. Jeremy came in at ard 315pm. We collected our goodie backs then moved to Carls Jr to rest. Rain came, hungry, bought Carls Jr. Rain stopped ard 5pm, cycled back home.

Got a sore butt, sun burnt arms and 2 color tones for the skin.

18. Bought a new watch for her. Original price $800++. Discounted: $400. Sherry bought a watch for me too. Ellesse.

19. Brought mother to Cafe Cartel for dinner. Had St Louis Pork Ribs. She almost fainted when she saw the size of it. We ordered 2 servings of St Louis, 1 Chicken and Fish, 1 chef salad. 1 Hot chocolate, 1 mocha and 1 cookies and cream.

20. Short ride from Hougang to Seng Kang. Met new frds. Joel joined us when we were almost ending the ride. LOL.

21. Received news that Ash is leaving us. The department got her a watch from Fcuk. Wondering when its my turn....

22. Bought 1 Ipod Nano and 1 Ipod Touch. Impulsive purchases for the Touch. Nevertheless, still having fun with it.

23. Bought new games for Wii! My fav game series of all times. Final Fantasy! Echo of Times. And also Super Smash Brawl! Had fun!!!

24. Mahjong from 11am to 630pm. Brought mom and dad to Cafe Cartel. 1st time for dad. Was planning to go Pasta Mania, but dad says he wan pork chop. Same as mom, almost fainted when he saw the ribs.

25. Had dinner at NeBo. Tried the Gladiator Sandwich. KOAZ, Bigger than Carl's Jr.... Had a hard time trying to finished it. In de end take away. Watched Handsome Suit today. Laughed my ass off. Damn funny and touching too.

Half of the Sandwich! 4 Pieces of chicken, 8 pieces of Ham. Tons of Cheese and Gravy!!!

Watched a documentary on Chinese History today. Awww! I wanted to study Chinese History! Damn it! It has been a long burning passion of mine but no chance to fulfil it!!

Hiaz

Recent updates... 100th Post!!!

Have been busy these few weeks due to quite a bit of stuff....

In the order of importance:

1. Work

2. Cycling

3. Wii

4. RT

1. Work

I have been busy with work for the last few weeks. I have to cover my work, take on new stuff and train my new assistant.

My new assistant holds a Master in Finance. In a way, one should expect more from her. I had high expectactions from her and yet, the more I hope, the more I fell...

She was with Stand Chart as a Finance Analyst before she came over. One would have expected her to be proficient in certain aspects of MS office, notably, Excel or Access.

When I asked her whether she knows the basic functions, such as, Vlookup/Hlookup, IF, Date, etc... She said yes. But when I saw her struggling with the functions, I knew we are screwed...

She has been eating into my work time as I have to break off from whatever Im doing when she asked me for help in some simple things. My productivity dropped.

Im taking on new stuff at the same time because I have new assistant. But it seems that Im being taxed on a lot.

2. Cycling

Been banging around the place on my little bicycle for last few weekends. It was nice and fun and I got good workouts. I and Jeremy had planned for breakfast on every sunday morning at CV, cycling to there.

3. Wii

New poison, new toy, new interest. Whatever you say it, whatever it is! Been stuck to this cute high tech little white box that has provided me with intense game play (Motion sensored!) and the pretty graphics.

The best thing of all, its Party Games aglore!!! Which means, the whole family can join in together!!!

My room has become a Zoo, an arcade, a mental hospital.

Wii sports has been thrashing quite a bit of my family members right arm. (Boxing and bowling!!!)

4. RT

The worse thing ever to happen to someone who has ORD from the army. Shall not elaborate on it. Anyone who went through it knows how troublesome and how stupid it is!

Anyway, apart from those issues above, I did something drastic today.

I HAVE SENT IN MY RESIGNATION LETTER. With immediate effect as on today.

I have to ask Kimi-chan to help me draft the letter as I have not written any before. (I bang table with the upper management last time)

Kimi-chan thought I was joking when I asked her to help me draft the letter. Her eyes were going to pop out when she saw who I was going to mail it to. She asked me why I wanna quit since Im doing so well currently. (Im one of the highest paid in my department)

I told her that its my own personal decision and I need a new enviornment. She then asked about my new job status. I told her I got none pending, which means, JOBLESS.

She got a double shock upon hearing that. I told her I need a break first before doing anything else. She then shake her head and said that people like me can afford to do that while she cannot.

LOL

Sunshine Empire

Read the papers 2 days ago and the headlines had grabbed my full and immediate attention.

The chiefs of Sunshine Empire has been charged and is waiting to go trial.

Its a big news which is worth celebrating as Singapore's Biggest scammers were caught. The net of justice has caught up on them.

I had absolutely hated the Sunshine Empire and the management group even though I do not have any involvement in it. However, the way they scam people makes my fist itchy.

I came across them a few years back when I was still a regular in the SAF. At that point of time, a lot of my colleagues and friends were in to it and told me that its a good way to earn money. Basically, just throw money in there and let it roll...

I declined them countless times and yet they were very persistent. I even had some friendships that soured because of this issue.

Relenting to pressure and not wanting to have any friendships broken up, I reluctantly followed them to their so call seiminer.

When I reached there, the number of people over there is over-whelming. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and there was a buzz in the air. There were people wearing black suits walking around the place, telling people that they are going to have their lives changed. I stood by in a corner waiting for the seminar to start.

When the hour came, we were ushered into a room. There stood a man who introduced himself as James Pang. He said that he is to help us change our lives for the better and to earn big money. And then, the power point slides.

The seminar was more like a brain washing seminar. Almost everyone seems to captivated by his speech and his fraudulent promises. I have done the maths in my head before I went to seminar.

The returns were too good to be true and its unsustainable in the long run. Even banks can't promise you returns that were so high.

After the seminar, my friend drag me to a corner and introduced me a man who wore suits. He sat down with me and asked me how was the seminar.

I told him that I am very skeptical about the whole thing and its very hard to convince me to part me with the money. He laughed and said that everyone who came had the same mindset as me and he will changed my thinking.

He started by taking out a pen and paper (the usual stuff) and started to draw and write figures while explaining how the payout system works. When I asked about the products and services that the company provide, he said that they are not important.

HEADCOUNT is the main revenue.

That's when I know its a scam. However, I decided to stay on let him finish his talk as I do not want to offend him as my friend was still standing beside me. When he was done talking, he told me not to wait anymore and produced a paper to sign.

I told him that I wanted to go home and think about it as the amount is huge. He told me that the longer I wait, the more chances I'm losing and I should act fast. I gave a firm no and persisted to go home.

When I reached home, my friend called me and ask me to make up my decision fast. I told him that after discussions with my family, I decided not to as we might need the money for emergency. He told me to call him when I had changed my mind.

I begin searching the net and found quite a bit of information on the founder, James Phang. After going through all the data, I realised that its a scam and called my friend to warn him.

It was a wrong move. My colleagues in camp start to ignore me and my friends stay away from me. Some even called up and scold me. I took it like a pinch of salt till the point when people who I do not even know started to call me up and demanded a meeting.

Not fearing these people, I went down and meet them. We had a heated argument and some said that I'm one of the worse kind around. I give up talking to them and give them a piece of advice.

Time will tell the truth. And the time is now...

So for those people who dissed me and said that Jame Phang is their father, I would say that you are blinded by greed and become stupid.

Cycling Pictures and Picutres of Bling!!!

Weeeee!!! its a long over due post of cycling pics!!! Here we go~~~

First up! The pictures of the new Bling!

The new bling tat I have been talking about! My new Shimano XT Hydraulics Brakes!!

The levers damn bling right?

The rotor!

Then I and Jeremy got new lights! Damn bright! Next time when me, Jeremy and Elias went cycling, its gonna be a like day ride!

Here are some of the pics tat we took while we were at the bridge to Sentosa.

Elias and Jeremy Me and Jeremy Me and Elias

Me and Elias Jeremy and Elias

MLM, What the heck?

I got a meeting request from a friend a few days ago, asking me to meet her up for coffee. Since we had not met each other for a long time, I decided to attend.

When we met, I was amazed at her transformation. The last time I met her, she was a girl who wore T shirt, Jeans and sneakers. Now, she looks like a executive, the standard 3 piece suit. A shirt, blazer, skirt and high heel shoes.

We sat down, ordered our drinks and talked about old time. Barely 10 mins into the conversation, she started asking me whether am I interested in a business deal.

I was surprised yet already half expected it. (Not the first time, wont be the last too)

Not trying to be rude, I act interested. I gave her the 'WoW' look and used the exciting tone in my voice. She was beaming with smile when she saw my expression.

I'm a damn good actor...

She then proceed to introduce me the company, her position in the company, the products of the company... All the standard opening fare with all the bells and whistles and fireworks.

And then, she took out her weapon. The paper and the pen.

I guess I don't have to talk about the rest. I believe most of the people who went through this knows what will happen next.

To cut the story short, after the presentation is finished, I asked for 3 things.

1.) Business Plan/Business Proposal
2.) Official Company Profile / Product or Service description
3.) Official Financial Statement

Her replies were so beautiful till I'm stupefied by it.

1.) There's no need for Business Plan or Business Proposal as the CEO fully knows the direction for the company. Business Plans or Business Proposal are for amateurs only...

2.) She has already shown me the Official Company Profile / Product or Service description when she showed me the printed Powerpoint slides.

3.) She says that the company Financial Statement cannot be released.

I was like, what the fuck? (Pardon me)

If I were an investor/member/partner, the company should have allowed access to these publications easily to us. Unless, I'm a consumer.

So people, if someone ask you whether are you interested in a business proposal, ask for these 3 items. Else, you are either a consumer, or just a freaking big carrot head.

Full Specs of my bike Giant XTC SE 2 2008

Frame: Giant XTC SE (Special Edition) 2
Material: Giant Allu Alloy 6000 Series Double Butted

Fork: Rock Shox Tora Solo Air

Handle Bar: Giant AI Racing, Giant Alloy 30.9

Handlebar Stem: FSA OS 140

Headset: Crane Creek

Seatpost: Easton

Saddle: Giant Comfort

Shifters: Shimano Deore Rapid Fire

FD: Shimano Deore

RD: Shimano Deore

Brakes: Hayes 9 Hydraulics Disc

Brake Levers: Hayes 9

Cassette: Shimano CS-HG50, 11/34, 9-speed

Chain : Shimano HG53

Rims: Xero Maravilloso Disc XPD 3

Hubs: Shimano Deore

Spokes: DT Competition 14/15g

Tires: MAXXIS Ignitor 26" by 2.1

Cranks: Raceface XC Prodigy Forged

New Injury >_<

okie, i got another injury last fri... A kid riding a bmx without brakes shot out from nowhere and bang into me on the right...

I flew and landed like a ragged doll while scraping de floor... my left side of my left calf...

I lay down there half stunned. After awhile, I realised tat i was bleeding. When i took a look at de wound, i curse and swear..

it was big.. approx 11cm by 5 cm. It was a 2nd Degree Abrasion. Theres was no doctor at tat point of time so i have to cycle back home while bleeding.

this time, i didnt even check my bike for damage...

When i reached home, I washed my wound and let it dry. I preferred to let it heal de normal way. Which means let de scab form. however, after 2 days it still didnt look good. so i went to de doc. the doc says tat i got bacterial infection...

so yea, i have to cover it up...

heres de wound before i cover it up.

so i die die have to listen to my doc advice to cover it up. Doc says tat for a injury this size, its gonna take at least 2 weeks!!!

so yea, here's all covered up. i seriously hope this can heal fast...

i will post pic when i change dressing tomolo

60 Km trip from HG to Changi Village and back

Totally shagged out today... my gal, Jeremy and I went for a 60km ride today.

we started from hougang at 2045. Our 1st destination is East Coast Park. when we reached east coast park, we did not take any break till the starting of the Park connector.

we move off from the park connector and then travel to Changi Coastal Road.

the coastal road was like a never ending road... after some time, we reached changi village...

we had our pit stop there and had some food.

after tat we cycle all de way from changi village to ecp via coastal road... its was a trip from heaven to hell... hahaha... especially for my gal.. cos she is using a $200 market bike... wahahaha

after tat we make our way back...