Tag Archives: iPhone5S

A Glowing Gnome

4 Jan

Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with materials. I have a bottle of glow varnish purchased in the middle of last year and yet to be used on any of my carvings. One evening many moons ago, I couldn’t decide to start a new piece or simply just put the finishing touches on some existing ones. Then I remembered the Gandalf-like purple Gnome has yet to be varnished.

So I decided to give it the glow varnish to have it glow in the dark like some mystical character. But it’s hard to capture the image on my iPhone5S and I left it as is without further experimenting the effects.

Then not too long after that, I purchased a bottle of glitter gloss and I thought this might work better especially during the day. Forget the glow effect at night that might scare the bejesus out of myself.

My giant Gandalf-like purple gnome now sports a glittering beard but subtle.

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Before the add on…

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Glitter on just the beard

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Goodbye 2018

31 Dec

What a year it has been! At the beginning 2018, never did it cross my mind that I would be facing many ups and downs, making it a truly eventful year. Top on the up trend has been my musings and followers, and my carvings for Gigglesville and Gnomie-wood. The cumulative number of 273 pieces carved consists of Citizens, Big Citizens, Monuments, Whales, Ocean friends, Apeach, Dinky the dinosaur, Gnomes and their homes. But there were no increase in the Superheroes count.

And worthy to mention also is my chase on Candy Crush Soda to reach 1000 Days on my iPad. To me, the daily launch just to get the Daily Bonus is an up trend to achieve that number. I just hope the device don’t die on me as I inch closer to my target.

On the home front, my two girls are all grown up with M1 in her Senior year at University and M2 ready for the next exciting chapter in her life, college-bound having completed high school. Time goes by so fast. Too fast I feel sometimes.

On the down trend, there were notable events too that could almost rival the good ones. These are mostly health-related issues and I must say are pretty life changing.

I was diagnosed with Infectious Colitis in February after a Colonoscopy and Endometriosis in April after a Laparoscopic surgery. Not good so I had to change my diet and lifestyle to deal with these issues. I gave up coffee, eggs, cheese and avoid certain food groups but alcohol and chocolate are still hard to resist. I lost weight as a result from this change which was good until recently, I added some back. Oh well…

However my physical problems didn’t end there…

My sports injury exacerbated and the diagnosis turned out to be a Wrist Tendonitis problem due to my constant carving besides golf. When you think about it, subjecting the wrist to the constant swinging of the clubs and hitting the ball is actually too much to bear upon impact with a weakened wrist. And golf is a non-stop 4.5 hours or thereabouts, thus aggravating the problem acutely. Whereas for carving, the time spent on it can be controlled. I can carve for less than an hour or sometimes three to six hours at a pace without pain that can aggravate the wrist.

So I stopped playing golf for ten weeks to rest the wrist, and did treatment and therapy which helped. Carving continued though but only as and when I have time.

An even bigger down trend is my iPhone5S. It is dying. I thought it would at least last until my birthday next year but the situation does not look good at all. The battery drain issue is just so bad, I find myself using the phone lesser and lesser. One charge can only last a quarter of a day if I even use it a little bit. Perhaps in retrospect, this is a good thing to be less device-dependent? Then again, I suspect this less device-dependency will change once I get a new phone. We shall see.

But I should not focus on the down trends to say life was not good in 2018. There were many up trends as well which I should be thankful for. And I have my friends to make me laugh and be happy, my carving to keep me occupied and contented, and my health is actually much better after those two main episodes.

So as I bid 2018 goodbye, I brace myself for 2019 to be an even more exciting year as there will be major changes, positive ones to look forward to. Thank you 2018, another year to remember by and to 2019, I welcome you with open arms.

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A Lovely Morning

15 Dec

It was indeed a lovely morning after breakfast. The sun was bright and hot and I got toasted a wee bit while working on Codewords on the book instead of the phone, my dying iPhone5S.

An occasional dip in the sea then the pool, we couldn’t ask for more. By lunchtime, automatically our tummies were rumbling and we opted for sandwiches and a Tandoori pizza by the poolside.

Unfortunately, the beer that I intended to drink did not materialized as the mocktail Margarita concoction on the menu sounded very tempting, so we had a jug of it. It was very good and refreshing.

Feeling contented and with a light breeze blowing, the setup was perfect for a snooze! And we almost did but decided to go for another dip in the sea after resting long enough for the food to digest.

Soon after, our Penang friends dropped by the resort to catch up with us and it was nice to see them again. Amidst our chatter, the sky turned dark and cloudy again. Yes it rained.

Thank goodness I managed to work on my tan earlier in the morning. Let’s hope tomorrow, being our last day (how quickly time went by), I can still catch a bit more sun in the morning before we check out and leave for home.

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Cloudy and Gloomy

14 Dec

The weather had other ideas for us, staying cloudy and gloomy. There was no sight of the sun. But that didn’t bother us too much as we still have the weekend.

And I, being old school and also having major battery problems with my iPhone5S resorted to a physical copy of Codewords whilst hubby napped and M2 was on her iPhone6. Eventually it did rain and we went back to the room to chill before deciding what to eat for dinner.

When technology fails you, a hard copy is best!

We opted to walk across the street from the resort to check out the street food stalls and was pleasantly satisfied with our choices. Spicy, generous in portions and very cheap, dinner was just as satisfying as our lunch earlier.

Pasembur Special (top), Assam Laksa with Egg (bottom left) & Ayam Penyet Special (bottom right)

All in all, despite the weather, it’s a good start. Let’s hope tomorrow the sun will be out for me to work on that tan.

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Embracing Change, Part 2

9 Nov

These days I am wondering if my decision to update to iOS12 was a good one. While I have gotten used to the new iOS now, I think my iPhone5S has not and cannot handle the change or something is not right with the phone. The battery drain problem has gotten worse.

It may last a day if I don’t use it but such a scenario is highly unlikely in this age of constant connectivity. And with minimal usage, it can’t even last half a day. Note half a day!

There was once the battery was down to 54% and I was at the grocery store. One quick snap of a picture and a phone call, the battery power plunged drastically to one percent!!! One percent, how is that even possible with a conversation less than a minute with M2 just to confirm the choice of cereal?

And that wasn’t the first time it happened. Then two weeks ago, the phone had 54% (again) and I was updating some apps. It was fine, the next minute, it dropped to 16%. Something is obviously very wrong.

I was hoping not to jump the gun to wish an early death for my beloved iPhone5S but it looks like now, this decision has been taken out of my hands. Sigh.

I am contemplating whether to just change the battery to resuscitate and save the phone. Hmm… Something to really think about. Otherwise, I may have to upgrade to a newer model sooner than later, something I am not keen to do yet. We shall see. For now, the powerbank is a must have.

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800 Days

1 Nov

Yesterday I reached Day 800 with the Candy Crush Soda’s Daily Bonus! It’s like an obsession and a mindless morning routine on the iPad Mini for me to reach this crazy number .

The iPad Mini…. big sigh. Sometimes the device works, sometimes not and it bothers me depending on what I do. If I do need to play Soda for the heck of it, I will play it on the phone because on the iPad, the app can’t go beyond the Daily Bonus.

I get more riled up when I am on Sticky Hands’ apps – Solitaire Cooking Tower and Age of Solitaire because the iPad Mini is just too laggy with these new games but this is not the focus here. It’s the Candy Crush Soda’s milestone.

And as I have said previously when I reached Day 700, for every 100 days you’d see a post on this crazy number of a milestone. Next aim: Day 900. I think I can do it.

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Next milestone to reach: Day 900!

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Creepy iPad

1 Oct

After the creepy Siri episode, my iPad Mini was next! Unbelievable. It was a typical evening at home and I sat at my usual spot in the living room. Then, as always, I reach out for my iPad for a dose of evening games on it.

Upon trying to turn on the device, my iPad Mini of six years – never once required any password to unlock suddenly asked for my ID and password to unlock and activate! Huh? Since when did I needed to do this? Is this creepy? Brr…

Seriously I’m not quite sure what is going on with my devices. Are they trying to tell me something? Hmm…

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Creepy Siri

28 Sep

Over the year, my iPhone5S has been acting weird when it comes to Siri. While this assistant may be a useful feature for most, Siri’s helpfulness for me is bordering on creepy.

First of all, I must say I never use it because Siri doesn’t quite understand my Asian accent. I left it as is because I was not aware or may have forgotten that I can disable this feature! How silly of me.

So every now and then in the office, in the quiet of the moment and out of the blue, Siri would trigger, asking me a question or telling me an answer! Creepy. How is this possible when I did not even interact with it, much less touch the phone?!

It’s even creepier in the past when I am in bed at night, there’s no sound or loud noises, Siri suddenly activated itself, a couple of times no less! Gulp.

I brushed those several creepy occurrences aside, but recently I mentioned to M2 and she told me I can disable the feature and proceeded to show me how to do it. Phew.

On top of this and with the phone recently updated to iOS12, I don’t foresee Siri behaving creepily ever again. Unless of course I reactivate it…

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Embracing Change

24 Sep

Recently Apple launched their new range of iPhones for 2018/2019. Cool babies I must say but pricey. As for me, I am still with my trusty iPhone5S, adamant not to upgrade or update.

It took me a long time to update from iOS7 in the past. And when I finally did, a whole new world opened for me as far as my phone’s usage was concerned and got me thinking that I should have done it earlier. Oh well.

Currently, my phone’s still on iOS10.3.3 as I held off updating to iOS11 because I didn’t like the new features then when M2 showed them to me on her iPad. Being a dinosaur, I must admit I don’t like change because it’s cumbersome to learn new things.

But now with iOS12 being available and somehow it’s pretty cool especially compared to iOS10.3.3, I don’t mind updating. With the iPhone5S included in the list for the update, I am convinced and decided to take the plunge.

One reason for making this decision is that my phone’s battery has been acting wonky of late. Maybe with the update, the battery drain problem can be stabilized? Nonetheless, the situation is making me wonder if the phone is showing signs that it may not last as long as I would like it to. Shudder…

So if I ever come to the point where I need to change my phone, obviously I’d like an upgrade to one of the new models that were launched. And it’d be good that the dinosaur in me is also prepared to deal with the new iOS12. But until then, let’s not jump the gun to wish for an early death for my faithful phone and just enjoy the new iOS on my current iPhone5S.

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The Gnome’s Home

21 Aug

Over the weekend, I had a really good opportunity to work on the two-piece Meranti block. After sending M2 to school for her activity early in the morning, I came home and set up the carving station. Initially I thought of warming up by carving a Citizen but changed my mind and dived into the Meranti at 8.00am, early by my standards.

Two hours later, I nicked my finger for the third time but it did not deter me. I had my warm green tea in the Thermos, the weather was lovely and although official pet number one was snoring away by my side, the focus was not disturbed by his loud snore.

Another two hours went by and I nicked my finger again! Dang… either the Meranti is too hard or I am not doing it right. I have not nicked myself so many times in one carving. Then again, it’s been a while since I started on a new shape/character, what more on a Meranti.

Eight hours later, the Gnome’s home was done. I was pleased with my efforts but suffered the consequences soon after, not just with the four cuts on my index finger.

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The third and fourth cut. Ouch

The right tennis elbow flared up and the left hand was sore at the thumb and wrist. The left index finger throbbed from the fourth cut and the strangest thing, the fingers of my right hand tingled at the tips, a sensation I’ve never experienced before. It became more pronounced when I typed on the phone. And this sensation lasted six hours passed the carving.

Have I pushed myself too far this time? Then I looked at my end result, the Gnome’s home, and all that pain was forgotten.

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