My Facebook memory popped up this morning to remind me that my Dinky Dinosaur tattoo is five years old today! My goodness. Sometimes I even forget I have it. Hahaha. When it is out of sight, it will be out of mind.
On top of Dinky, I sometimes forget that there is another one at the back! This one is definitely out of sight. Well, it looks like it’s time to get another one. Yes, I am seriously thinking about it. Stay tuned.
The power of advertising today, especially on social media, has changed advertising from what or how it used to be. It was from a Facebook posting that I found the cafe that served lovely strawberry cakes.
So I convinced hubby that we should drive to Hulu Yam to try the cake, and this was the beginning of our short weekend excursion plans. A nice change from the usual weekend golf game and window shopping at shopping malls.
Two weekends ago, we drove to the Kebun Cafe. The drive was long because traffic was heavy. But when we arrived, it was a pleasant discovery. There was an organic vegetable and fruit farm next to the cafe, and yes, we bought some fruits and vegetables.
The cafe had a small crowd, but we managed to get a table. There were only drinks and cakes on the menu. Luckily, we had lunch already before we drove here! We ordered the strawberry cake and the black sesame cake, and both were heavenly. I’d say it was worth the drive. But as there wasn’t much else to see and do, we left after the short coffee break and sinful cakes.
Doing such short excursions during half a day on the weekend can be therapeutic, and we are convinced to continue with this activity. Away from the hustle and bustle of work and city living or even the monotony of our daily life, this activity discovery is pleasant for our well-being and mental rejuvenation. I look forward to our next excursion!
A memory feed popped up on Facebook this morning: M1 turns 18 today, and we celebrated. That was six years ago. Today she turns 24! Dang, time sure flies.
Wasn’t it just yesterday she turned one, and we had friends and family over for a party? Then the next thing I know, we were at her graduation commencement in the Summer of 2019. That was the last time the whole family was together. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree.
With both girls pursuing their education in two different countries, it certainly is hard to have a birthday celebration. Add in the three different time zones that we are all in, a virtual get together is the only way – either a FaceTime or WhatsApp group call for this occasion.
Happy Birthday, M1! Stay safe.
With the dawn of the new year, DIY project number ten kicked in. It’s been 11 days already that I have been working on it, albeit slowly. After the big disappointment of project number nine, this was a welcome change. I am taking my time on this project because I want to customize certain things.
I learned from my Facebook DIY group about customizing miniatures. These die-hard fans changed colors, materials, and props in all the projects that they did. Spurred by their creativity, I experimented on project number eight. But it was only a color change on the wall, nothing too elaborate or drastic. That was as far as I went, and no other changes or additions in terms of materials and props.
So this time, I want to push further to see how much I can customize. We shall see as I progress along for DIY project number ten!
Project number eight has been progressing well. I even joined a Facebook group of fans working on such DIY projects. There are various sets, and all these DIY die-hards share their efforts, progress, and finished sets on the social media site. I get very motivated and inspired when I see all the beautiful results!
From the group, I learned a few new things or two. These fans are pros! Some of them even customized their sets with extra accessories or colors. It never crossed my mind to customize the DIY sets from the very beginning.
Who knows, maybe from here on, I will customize my sets too. For now, I will stick to what’s on the instruction book to complete project number eight without extra items. However, I did paint the main wall a lime green color instead of leaving it white.
Yesterday the bags were finally delivered, at 9.55pm! It was a long day for us waiting for them and the bags, I supposed for their delay and ‘adventure’.
I must say, the last three days I wasn’t overly stressed over our delayed bags. Sure there was some anxiety initially because of the unknown and no updates. But soon after, there was confidence that KLM would sort it out. It was just a matter of time.
For such a global airline, KLM was very approachable when they responded to my queries rather quickly in my opinion. They had many channels to be contacted: Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, email, WhatsApp and Customer Contact Centre.
I chose WhatsApp because to me, the other platforms were either too worldly or corporate and not personal enough. The key here is being approachable rather than professional and I am glad I chose this channel.
The exchanges with KLM on WhatsApp helped bring them down to a more personal level and faster too, giving a lot more reassurance than email, which I used with a regional airline in April and they responded a day later.
Lessons learned here: always label your check-in bags (which we did), buy travel insurance (which we did too and will claim for the delay), make full use of the best and fastest communication platform to stay informed thus, avoiding stress and have a positive attitude towards the situation, it helps.
Last week I went to two different cobblers before making a decision to have my Blundstone Style 550 re-soled. I opted for the second cobbler, who happened to be the one who fixed my first pair when the boots had this Hydrolysis issue too. Even after all these years, the cobbler still have the same sole choice but I chose not to go with it this time.
Instead I picked something more rugged but heavier. It’s okay, I like it.
Also, I did write to Blundstone Australia to inform them that my boots experienced Hydrolysis. This time via Messenger privately and not publicly as a post on their Facebook wall.
They responded pretty quick and nicely too (best customer service, remember?), and directed me to Customer Service for Claims. So I filled in the necessary information, submitted my claims and within a short time, an acknowledgement email came stating a file was opened on my case. Super efficient!
I kept telling myself not to expect anything – after all this was already a replacement pair. Can’t expect another replacement for the replacement pair, right? What they did for me – replacing the first pair was already above and beyond, and to expect the same this time just does not seem right. Realistically, from the business perspective it would be bad for them as they just can’t go replacing every pair of boots with this known Hydrolysis problem.
The sole is a rubber/PU/TPU compound and over time, the material will disintegrate whether the boots are used or hardly used because moisture from the air is absorbed by the compound. If the boots are worn more often, Hydrolysis will still occur but possibly reduced.
After some back and forth emails to understand the mishap, the investigation concluded and Customer Service deemed there won’t be any compensation or warranty in this instance. The soles of my boots disintegrated due to Hydrolysis, a known common occurrence in humid environments and not because it’s a product, design or manufacturing fault.
I guess this is something one has to be aware of when buying shoes from overseas to bring back to your country. That being said, the humidity level in Malaysia is very high, so shoes purchased from overseas depending on material, may be prone to the humidity and disintegrate or explode upon pressure from our weight.
My only regret from this experience is that I didn’t wear this pair of Blundstone enough before this mishap. Oh well… Anyway, my boots are now fitted with new soles that I like and are still comfy. I should wear them more often and not just keep in the shoe closet. And I will happily go stomping in puddles when it rains because I know my toes will be dry.
Brand new again and looking fierce but comfortable!
Recently I carved Monument #11 from a block of Meranti wood, a four-tier piece meaning there’s four Citizens stacked on top of one another. And I shared the finished piece in a public owl community group in Facebook.
I was amazed and very flattered at the responses and numbers it garnered within 24 hours. There were so many likes, positive comments and shares, and it made me feel like a celebrity, totally great and very motivational.
But now I wonder if the stats increased after that moment of stardom died down. I should revisit to check… Hmm.
Yesterday morning I couldn’t launch Candy Crush Soda on my iPad Mini! Eeeks. I was like “Nooooooo!” my Daily Bonus record is going to be broken. The app kept saying to log into Facebook to continue and when I did, it couldn’t go on. Aaaargh…
I restarted the device and said a little prayer because my record was at stake. Thank goodness, after several attempts, I managed to launch without further problems. It was Day 815.
An unnecessary little scare that was. And today? Without a hitch that I could even play three rounds before the app quit on me! The iPad is dying a slow death.
My hopes for a six hours drive home yesterday was not to be as my estimates were way off! The drive home was just super duper long.
It started out smoothly but only for awhile. Traffic then became so heavy and got worst, culminating with a standstill situation on the freaking highway and a crawl at 10km/h, sometimes 30km/h for a good part of the journey for no apparent reason. Ridiculous. And it rained, making the drive more tiring. All in all it took us nine and a half hours to reach home.
This is part and parcel of Chinese New Year – the traffic crawl besides the food and family. Because it’s only a once-a-year experience, we take it in stride. If not, we’d never go back for the occasion. Thank goodness, we had food, drinks, music, devices, cables and power banks to keep us entertained during the long drive home.
Anyway, enough of the driving ordeal, what’s more important was the activities we did during the four days in hubby’s hometown which was a change in pattern from previous years.
Besides the food and rest, we managed to play two rounds of golf instead of just one round. During the first game at Darul Aman Golf Club, I lost my nine iron and discovered the loss almost immediately. I absent-mindedly left it somewhere on the fairway approaching the green at Hole One. Amazingly I wasn’t too upset and rationalized I did not need it, save for a couple of shots, and managed for the rest of the game.
It was the heat that got to me more than the loss honestly. After the game, we reported the loss and thank goodness, the club was found and returned within a short time. Phew… relief. I had contemplated my options if it wasn’t returned. An excuse for a new set perhaps? Hmm…
The next day, we played at a different course, Royal Kedah Club and after two days of back-to-back games, I’m happy to say there was no pain felt on the limbs. In other words, no recurrence of the tennis elbow. A good sign indeed considering I was using just all my irons for both games. No driver, woods or hybrid clubs at all.
The change in pattern also saw us catching the latest Marvel Comics’ superhero movie, Black Panther which was refreshing and very entertaining. And we visited a plant enthusiast whom hubby befriended on Facebook and got to see his eye-popping huge staghorn ferns at his farm. Hubby bought two staghorns from his new friend and promised to visit again on our next trip.
And this year, we start work on the Fifth Day of Chinese New Year instead of the Sixth Day which has been the norm for us for years. Definitely a change in pattern for the Year of the Dog.
Lovely blue skies and paddy fields on the right
One of the many meals the family had
The big staghorn ferns and the two purchased smaller ferns mounted on wood
Angieneering 
Remarks