Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

Some shots of Bintulu - yet another industrial town in Sarawak. Nothing particularly remarkable about this town for a tourist to check out, that's why you won't find many about.

There is one little nugget to process though. You can't find a single McDonald's here as "You make money back too slow. There are faster ways of making money in Bintulu." Fair enough.

Waterfront. Can't really stop people from trying to put a little beauty somewhere, somehow.

The following ones are from the wet market 

her First Trip ...

Catriona went on her first long distance trip without her parents yesterday. Coincidentally, it was also her first bus trip as she followed her Grandma back to Penang. Postmark event.

We thought that she might pine for her parents somewhat but we don't know how much that'll happen. What we didn't anticipate was her brother missing, and asking for his sister. The best laid plans of mice and men ...

The experience with coupon website

Lession learn so far:

1)      Always double check the actual retail price listed on the coupon site, some sites like to hide up the price in order to give a very attractive discount when in actual fact, and the price is similar or sometime even higher than the normal retail price.

2)      Normally the deal will last for few days, wait and hold to purchase if you can because sometime the similar deal will appear in another coupon site with even better discount.

3)      Always check the background of the merchant and learn from other customer’s experience.

So far I had make purchase from Groupon, Living Social, I love discount, Webuy, Mydeal  and Jackcow. 

Overall I will rate each one of them as below:

	Value for money	Quality of service/goods	Keep to promise	Customer service
Groupon	3	3	2 (refund policy is not uphold unless you insist)	3 (mix experience with good and bad)
Living social	4	4	4	4
I love discount	1 (found a website selling  at cheaper price)	4	2 (delay in sending the goods)	2 (no one pick up the phone)
Webuy	5	5	5	No experience
Mydeal	5			5 (called back as promised and really helpful)
Jackcow			5	3 (should have inform the customer if the merchant has close down)

As for merchant: 

Swarovski earring @ Sunliz Jewellery: 

Cool: the quality of swarovski zirconia earring is good, clean and shinning. Deliver on time. 

Warm: the description said 7mm in diameter when in actual fact I think it is only around 5mm. 

Coupon site: Groupon

Tart @ Justart: 

Cool: really nice tart fresh and tasty.   

sarm: For Webuy coupon strawberry tart is not allowed to redeem even tough the web ads says can 

Coupon site: Living social and Webuy*provide immediate redeem service rather than end of deal. Nice!!

Loop pendant @ Perfect Day Trading

Cool: the pendant is really shining and clear, the necklace is also shining. Deliver on time. 

Coupon site: Living social 

Full body message and facial @ Multi beauty

Cool: service ok, full treatment for minimal cost

Warm: basic SPA equipment, weekend is always full. 

Coupon site: Living social 

Inner bag organizer@ eunice fashion shop 

Cool: not sure what is cool. Late delivery.  

Warm: other website selling cheaper

Coupon : I love discount 

Strawberry shortcake lining@ winplus marketing

Cool: really nice printing and so far the quality of textile is ok 

Coupon site: Living social

For those who want to have a consolidate efford from all these website, check this http://deals.bigsale.com.my/. 

More to update later..... 

We cry with you

Football is a cruel game. One man to shoulder the dream of millions and break it into millions pieces in mere 2 seconds. 出来混的，迟早都的还。

Heartbreak for Bayern

I was watching the Bayern Munich vs Chelsea Champions' League final yesterday that saw Bayern lose on penalties, when I heard the comment "the English have finally beaten the Germans on penalties..."

It's a notable comment as English sides - whether clubs or national teams - have a terrible record on penalties against German teams.



But then, I noticed the irony of the English team. Other than the fact that it's owned and funded by a Russian, of course.

You see, of the 5 penalty takers for Chelsea, 3 of them were not English - or even British for that matter. And the other very important person, Petr Cech the goalkeeper, is a Czech. So, of the 6 people involved in the penalty shootout for the English team, 4 of them were not English - that's 67%. In contrast, the comparative number for Bayern Munich was 1 foreigner - 18%.

But, yes ...... the English finally beat the Germans on penalties.

On a side note, I found it unbelievable how selfish Arjen Robben was throughout this final. He, more than anyone else, lost this final for Bayern Munich. They could very well have won this within 90 minutes if Robben could find it in himself to cross the ball once in a while instead of always - and only - looking for his shot.

Penang Hill

Just got around to looking at some photos of our trip to Penang Hill back in December 2011. I definitely do not belong to the Facebook-instant photo posting fraternity.

reading the writing on the wall

sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is a train 

a moment in time

I must admit I didn't know that the mountains in the background could be seen from Penang Hill.

I guess when one's young there are more important things than a splendid view.

Harvest Moon

Here's a surprise. The girl has started singing along to this.

1 Rubbish Bin

Is ok, anything that you all don't want can dump here. No problem.

Seasons in the Sun

There we were dancing as the song played. And when the song ended, there was a request that the song be replayed. And again. And again.

There were snatches where Catriona sang along. Apparently she had been taught the lyrics in preschool. So now, I'll just go "We had joy, we had fun ...", and off she goes singing the rest of the song.

the little man Speaks ....

For the past month or so, the gurgles and screams have gotten a tad more specific. The little man's first words were "mama" and "mem mem" (for some reason, many Malaysian Chinese use this phrase for food - but only for babies). I couldn't figure out which came first but the nanny tells me that it was "mama". Smart boy - he knows which side his bread is buttered on.

Cedric's morning hair - invariably the mohawk

His third word ? "chie chie", sister in mandarin. He hasn't used "papa" with any sort of regularity yet but it sounds like it may be on the way. That's okay, I can afford to wait.

One Last Run

They're picking up their game at the right time. Roster tweaks have revitalized Kevin Garnett's game, turned Avery Bradley into a starter and made Greg Stiemsma a vital part of the rotation. Rajon Rondo is on an assist streak and Paul Pierce is doing what Paul Pierce does. Doc Rivers is coaching his ass off. They had one of the best records in the NBA after the All Star break.

Their core players are also older than any other team. Pierce is now playing with a slight MCL tear and Ray Allen is hobbling around with bone spurs. While they definitely have a chance in any one series, you do wonder whether they can last the grind of playing through four playoff series.

Still, they've edged the Atlanta Hawks and that's one down, three to go. And while the Philadelphia 76ers won't exactly be easy, they definitely caught a break with Derrick Rose's injury and the subsequent elimination of the Chicago Bulls.

This is a good place to be. Considering that the Celtics have had vital rotation players suffer season ending injuries/heart ailments earlier in the season. Considering that this team might be broken up at the end of the season, with free agents aplenty in the squad. Considering that KG and Ray Ray will be free agents.

Just live in the present. Enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. Bob Ryan described it best - this is Year 5 in a 3 year plan. They got an NBA title in their 1st year, everything else is gravy. They came within an injury and were 5 minutes from a 2nd NBA title. It's been a blast for the past 5 years supporting them considering the seasons before that. So let's see how far the C's can drag this playoff run out. I hope it's all the way.

Written in the Stars

After a period when I've been too wrapped up to blog, I'm back. And I can't think of a better way to return than to introduce a song that I heard at my last futsal session.

Yuna's 'Terukir di bintang' - translated as 'Written in the stars'. Lovely shots of Venice in the video. She's got some talent, she does ......