Tokyo honeymoon route 26 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Internet & Blog, Nihon no koto, Travel & Discovery, Wedding.add a comment
I’m playing around with how to embed Google Maps into wordpress. And what better way than to experiment with our Tokyo honeymoon route. Gee… Here’s how it looks like. Took me about 15 mins to draw.
View Larger Map
Interesting… This will be useful for visualizing places that we’ve visited or places of interest both outside and within Singapore.
Now, how do I change the marker symbols? And what about marker colours? Line colours? Lots of things to learn. Tips, anyone?
-Dear1
M1 to Singtel 26 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Around the House, Dear1, Dollars & Cents.7 comments
It’s done! Dear1 and Dear2 have shifted from M1 to Singtel. And now, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I can’t remember some of the exact prices so I may get them wrong. Pls pardon me. :)
Many many years ago, Dear1 got his first mobile phone. Back then, Dear1 was too young to sign up for a line, so Dear1′s dad applied for the line under his name. Back then, M1 had this 1+1 plan where the first line is a prime plan @ $30 and the second line will also be a prime plan @ only $10. This meant that each plan was paying $20 per month. The prime plan comes with $20 worth of talktime and the charges are divided into 20cents per minute for peak hours, 10cents per minute for off peak hours and 5cents per minute for super off peak hours. Back then, there was no such thing as free incoming calls. The plan also comes with 300 free sms. Also, top up $5 for caller ID.
Some months after that, Dear2 also wanted to get a phone (Yes, Dear1 and Dear2 started dating in the era *without* mobile phones. That is so amazing…). And so the plan was to make full use of the 1+1 plan and that was why Dear1′s mum (who still did not have a mobile phone) applied for 2 more M1 lines, one for herself and one for Dear2. After many years, M1 awarded some loyalty discounts and the total bill of the 2 lines under the 1+1 plan became $28 per month. That meant $14 per line per month.
Fast forward. Free incoming calls became the norm and the prime plan was officially discontinued. But those who were already on the prime plan will retain the same billing structure of the prime plan until they opt out of it. At around the same time, Dear2 needed the free incoming call service as she was bursting her free talktime every month due to the nature of her job. So, Dear2 left the 1+1 plan (much to Dear1′s mum’s disappointment) and signed up for the sunsaver plan for $25. This came with 100 minutes free talktime, free incoming call and 500 sms. Later, Dear2 also added the mobile email value added service for $5 per month because she needed to be connected, again for work purposes.
There was one nagging problem with this arrangement over the years. The phone lines were under Dear1′s parents’ names. This meant that every time Dear1 and Dear2 wanted to upgrade their mobile phones, Dear1′s parents had to come along to sign the line upgrade contract. It takes quite a bit of coordination and also making parents wait in queue for 1 hour isn’t very nice. This was the same situation for even minor issues such as checking of contract status and applying for value added services. Quite inconvenient.
Most recently, another problem surfaced. That is, Dear1 and Dear2 moved out and into their own love nest. Yeah! However, that also meant that Dear1 and Dear2 needed to get their own house line and internet service in their new home. House line is a hidden cost of internet service if you are getting broadband from Singtel because the broadband requires the house line to operate. However, no such problems with Starhub. Who uses the house line these days anyway? In the end, Dear1 and Dear2 still decided on Singtel broadband as it was cheaper and so we had to get the house line as part of the deal. Broadband was $33 per month while house line was $25 for 3 months, let’s just take it as $8 per month.
At this point, let’s tally Dear1 and Dear2′s total telecommunications expenses monthly. House line $8 + 1Mbps broadband $33 + Dear1 mobile $14 + Dear1 caller ID $5 + Dear2 mobile $25 + Dear2 caller ID $5 + Dear2 mobile email $5 = $95. Wow. Nearly a hundred dollars gone every month!!
And that was why Dear1 had been hatching a plan for the past 2 years, to consolidate the mixture of M1 and Singtel services in order to save some money. It was a rather obvious decision for Dear1 consolidate everything under Singtel as Singtel broadband was the preferred choice. So Dear1 told his parents not to sign anymore contract for Dear1 and Dear2′s M1 number and to allow them to run out their existing contracts. Full number portability was also announced around this time and that made it all the more attractive.
At this point, Dear1′s mum was a little bit upset because she still thinks that *just* $10 for a mobile plan (under the 1+1 plan) was too good a deal to give up. There are 2 flaws with this argument. One, it should not be viewed as $10 for a mobile plan. Rather, it should be calculated as an average of $14 per plan under the 1+1 plan. Second, the billing structure for the prime plan is outdated and $20 worth talktime during peak hours is only equivalent to 100 mins for both outgoing and incoming calls. This may work for very light users but its a bit tight for an average working adult.
Another disadvantage of waiting for the two years contract to run out would mean that Dear1 and Dear2 cannot change their phones within this time. Not true! Gee… Since Dear1′s parents dun really keep up with the latest trends in mobile phones anyway, Dear1 and Dear2 upgraded Dear1′s parents’ lines to get new mobile phones. Another option would be to buy an expensive no-contract phone, which Dear1 eventually did.
Finally, the day came. Last week, Dear1 switched both Dear1 and Dear2′s M1 lines to Singtel mobile. Also, Dear1 signed up for the 3Mbps mio Home service which would provide the home line + broadband + mio TV at a discounted rate of around $40 (actual price $39.90), and get 20% off mobile plans for 2 nominated mobile numbers + free caller ID for one number. Yes, there exist an unadvertised 3Mbps mio Home plan. You must ask for it over the counter at the Hello! shop. Sounds great as far. Let’s do the sums again in a visual table form for easy reading.
Overall, Dear1 gets free incoming calls, lower peak hours talktime charges, 200 more sms and free caller ID; Dear2 gets exactly the same billing structure; and our home gets a 3 times increase in broadband bandwidth, and 3 extra TV channels (HD5, mio Home movies channel & Sony Entertainment Television); and we saved $5 on our monthly telecommunication bills. Not bad, not bad at all. And there’s no admin charges incurred during this whole migration process. New SIM cards are free, mobile phone delivery is free, mio TV installation is free, number portability is free, all other registration charges waived. :D
Of course, there may be better combinations of deals out there but Dear1 and Dear2 are comfortable with this arrangement for now. At least until the 2 yr contract is over. The key point here is, consolidation does help to save some money. And do not hold on to the past (M1 1+1 plan) blindly. Do your sums and you may get more for less.
-Dear1
Ranting about the Marriage Life 23 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear2, For Him For Her.add a comment
“So, how is marriage life?” This sort of question usually comes from ‘friends’ who need some filler to fill in that silent conversation. The worse thing is, Dear2 still get this kind of question 2.5 years after our marriage! Duh.
Anyway, seriously after 2.5 years of living together with Dear1, there’s still a lot of conflicts day in day out, and still a lot of things to learn with each other. Enough about understanding the inherent differences that these 2 INDIVIDUALS have from 25 years of different living habits that each of us have. It’s about accommodating each other’s style, or coming up with something that the 2 of us can share.
But talk is easy, worse still, words dun seem to translate across the meaning that they are supposed to convey. Discussions cannot become discussions if 1) Both people are talking at the same time, or 2), Both or either 1 person is not listening, or 3) Words dun mean what they mean because the interpretation is different by different people. As one can see, the problem of (3) is the most serious problem, resulting in what is commonly know as mis-communication.
Dear2 has repeated this dunno how many umpteen times, and on and on and on, it’s the same thing. There’s always a good side to everything, it’s just a matter of whether you want to bring yourself to see it. Marriage life can be interesting and fulfilling, but I need cooperation and collaboration from Dear1 for the both of us to have a meaningful life.
Are we doing enough?
- Dear2
Empty the Bottle, please 18 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear2, Slice of Life.add a comment
It’s amazing how much strength a human will can exhibit, and yet the kind of sorrow it can withstand as well.
We humans are indeed very amazing, sometimes we are able to take blows and beatings one after another, but like a bottle being filled to the brim, there will always come a point in time when the water starts to spill out. Some people have bigger bottles, 1, 2, 3, 4…10, 11, 12 doesn’t seem to be a problem to them. Or some people have learnt the art of making their bottle to be bigger, what can once fill 5 can now hold 10. This is what we call learning from life experience.
Whether is it a big bottle or small bottle, the key is learning to empty your bottle.
- Dear2
What is it that you really want? 17 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear2, Slice of Life.add a comment
Remembering how Dear2 slimmed a few inches just before the wedding, it’s a reaffirmation of the saying, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’.
A few weeks before the wedding, Dear2 was at a last dash to look her prettiest on the big day. The arms are still not good, flabby as usual, and the little tummy still shows. With a final ditch, Dear2 embarked on a 10 runs or a cumulative 50km until the wedding day. If I din remember wrongly, we are talking about 10 runs or 50km just 3 weeks to the actual day. And that means a run every alternate day, and 5km each time. Time was running out and the pressure was indeed great at that time.
Run 1, 2, 3, 4. Very tired. And there dun seem to be any effect at all. The arms still look flabby and Dear2 was going to be a bride with flabby arms. And time is really running out becos it’s simply too tedious to run every alternate day when weeknights are work-laden and weekend nights are out.
Run 5, 6. Hey, am I imagining things? The arms seem to tone a bit now. But with less then 1 week to go, it’s almost an impossibility to do 4 runs until the actual day, unless 1 run everyday until Fri (the dinner is on Sat).
Dear2 eventually clocked 50+km, but in just 8 runs (that means some runs are done in 6, 7, 8km). And turned out as a pretty and satisfied bride on her wedding day.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Is there something that you really want? Something that you REALLY want, and not just something that ya, I can do with if I get it. Some people concern themselves with ‘how’ to get it done, and spend many headaches over the ‘how’. In my opinion, you need to identify the ‘what’ first, what is it that you want to achieve? And once you have defined the ‘what’, the ‘how’ will come along naturally.
What is it that I want to achieve?
- Dear2
Mizuno Mount Faber Run 2009 16 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear2, Sports & Health.add a comment
Dear1 and Dear2 participated in the Mizuno Mount Faber Run last weekend. The participant seems to be much poorer as compared to the other usual runs, becos 1) The race pack collection booth was manned by a miserly 5 counters for each category, as compared to the over-whelming scene of kid helpers at the earlier Passion Run, and 2) The registration was extended 1 week, what a stark difference compared to the year end Standard Chartered Marathon when participation was so limited.
Flagging off from ‘the grass patch’ between Block 121 and 123 at Bukit Merah, it almost looked like a Resident’s Family Carnival when Dear1 and Dear2 arrived. Dear2 almost half expected to see some balloon booths or the large air filled structure where kids have a jolly time bouncing around in. The toilets were a miserly (about) 10, and Dear1 and Dear2 did not join in the flag off as we were still queuing for the toilets at that time. How lucky we did that in fact!
There weren’t the usual student helpers, or road closure for running events like this. Instead, what greeted us were the numerous traffic policemen directing traffic at the zebra crossings and pedestrian crossing, and many uncles and aunties who I think are likely to be residents of Bukit Merah. And becos of this, what it means for runners is 1) There is no road closures and we have to run on the pavements. Bearing in mind that the pavements in Bukit Merah are not exactly wide, some only allowing 1 runner to go through at times unless you are willing to step out on the road. And bearing in mind that there is NO road closure, meaning that vehicles are still zooming past by every other minute. 2) Becos the route is not marked extensively, you’d better be fast enough so that there’s some runner visible in front of you, or if you can spot a helper, or a traffic policeman somewhere in front. No telling how the lone runner knows which way to turn if he is left far back!
Surprisingly, Dear1 and Dear2 completed the run in about the same timing that we did the Passion Run, even though we totally walked the entire stretch of the uphill on Mount Faber and there was plenty of gentle upslope or downslope on the Henderson and Bukit Merah estate. The Faber scenery was nice too, for people like us who have never been on Mount Faber before. It’s a surprise to find that Singapore actually have such a place like The Peak in Hong Kong. The best part of the run will be its shadiness. It came as a pleasant surprise to us that pretty much of the route was naturally shaded by the trees alongside these pavements. Cool! (literally)
I’m glad we did this run.
- Dear2
Mt Faber Run, here we come! 4 June, 2009
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Sports & Health.1 comment so far
It is interesting to join new and difference sporting events to see the race route itself, explore places of Singapore where we wouldn’t normally go to (such as Changi area for Real Run), and also to see how such public race events are organised. This is the first time that we’re participating in the Mizuno Mount Faber Run and below is a picture of the race route for me to remember by.
It’s a 10km race just like the Passion Run. But since it is named the Mt Faber Run, we can expect the route to be hilly and probably made up of a lot of uphills and also downhills (what goes up, must come down). So for that, I’m predicting a slower timing compared to the Passion Run. Let’s put our target at 1hr40mins.
I’m quite excited to visit the new park connectors around the region as I haven’t visited any of these park connectors before. The only time I managed to catch a glimpse of it was on TV.
Being a couple, Dear1 and Dear2 have never been to the ‘romantic’ Mt Faber before, so it is an opportunity for us to visit the place in the mood of sporty romantism (coined by Dear1). Gee… No lah. Next time we visit Mt Faber again during the evening to enjoy some romantic time together. This time is more for the run and healthy exercise. :)
Now, let’s talk about the registration. We didn’t want to commit to this run too early becos we were rather out of shape and didn’t know if we can take this kind of hilly run. So we waited until *after* the Passion Run to decide. Passion Run went well and so we decided to join the Mt Faber Run. Luckily, there was no early bird price (correct me if I’m wrong and make me sadz…) so we didn’t really miss out on any discounts. And luckily, registration deadline was extended (due to lack of participants?). Somehow, I had the impression that registration must be done in person at selected World Of Sport shops so we made the trip down to the Jurong Point branch. But alas, the deadline extension was only applicable to online registration. That meant we made a wasted trip. -_-”
Anyway, back home, online registration was a breeze. It was mentioned that there will be free socks for the first 500 Passion Card members. During my registration, the system actually asked me for my Passion Card number. Does that mean that I’m the first 500 participants, even during an extended deadline?! Or maybe the programmers are just lazy. This kind of nitty gritties really create negative impressions on the organizers.
Race cost is $35 which I found it a bit on the expensive side, maybe due to it being a small scale event. Race entitlements only include an event running tee and a (non-event?) waist pouch, and *no* finisher medals. The last Mizuno/VGO event we participated in was the Mizuno Wave Run and that time, they ran out of event running tees and distributed normal leftover stock Mizuno running tees instead. Yucks! Hopefully this won’t happen this time. I have heard that the Mt Faber Run is different and much better organized than the Wave Run. I certainly hope this is the case.
Right, that’s it for my pre-race thoughts. This weekend is the race expo and next weekend is the race. See ya.
-Dear1
