When the economy gets tough, the smart people spend. These are times where you get that extra mile for your dollar. Smart companies are thinking of ways to slash prices to make you, the average consumer part with your hard earned monies ESPECIALLY during hard times. Who can blame them? They just want to stay afloat. This is the time to spend spend spend!
(note: HDB as mentioned in my previous post is doing the entire opposite. Raising flat prices instead of slashing them. But then again that only works if you've got a monopoly. Even Mediacorp is advertising lower ad rates even though they are also a monopoly just that they are in denial)
Just flip through today's Straits Times and you will find sales galore. Forget the 20% off storewide stuff. They're not much of a help. Forget up to 70% off at boutiques. I asked Hush Puppies which items were at 70% off and there were none. The max was 30%. Places to score great deals are warehouse sales, baskets and periodical mega sales at trusty places like 1) carrefour, 2) departmental stores and 3) expo sales.
Before you buy, create a budget. In tough times, it’s important to limit your spending on unnecessary extras and zero in on what are truly important. So if you're looking for a 8GB thumb drive, don't be distracted by that groovy portable speaker. Chances are you don't need it. If the stuff is out of your REASONABLE price range, forget it. If you notice a trend in electronics, prices are going DOWN DOWN DOWN (my 42" LCD TV was bought for $2,899 and about a year later it's dropped to less than 1K!). Even when you're encountering a MEGA SALE and have the possibility of overspending, make sure you budget yourself. Say I am only going to spend $80 at this book fair. And I will not pay more than $x per book. It usually helps you take out the stuff that you've grabbed on impulse like "the life of Mao Zhedong" and "Applied Modern Philosophy". You probably won't read it. Not even "Barack Obama". And if you've never read the Davinci Code before you saw the movie, chances are you probably won't. So put that back.
(note: this aunty woman queuing up in front of me was approached by a PRC to help her purchase the Da vinci Code. It was a pretty good hardcover for $8 with big font and even I had a copy of it bought a few months back for $6 at a similar fair. After agreeing to help the PRC woman purchase the book, she started flipping through the book and conversed with her equally aunty friend that "this book is not very good" and "alot of it is not real". After which she beckoned to the PRC waiting by the line to come over, and told her "this book is not a good book. Alot of it is not real". I mean C'MON. It's FICTION. OF COURSE IT'S NOT REAL. So does that make "CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS" that's in your box to purchase a BAD BOOK as well because it is NOT REAL?)
That said, one should hit mega sales at expos and warehouse sales more frequently. BUT limit yourself to stuff that you are actually buying. Hence if you are looking for bedroom sets, wait for warehouse sales for bedroom sets. If you are looking for shoes, look for warehouse sales of shoes. If you are looking for books, look for warehouse sales of books. This cannot be stressed enough because general warehouse sales by establishments such as METRO, JOHN LITTLE and ROBINSONS are a dime a dozen and simply don't have a good deal for people knowing what they want. They are structured to make you pick up things that you don't actually need! (As if you didn't know that already...)
I used to scout Amazon for the best deals in books because I simply do not like to pay retail for books. But even nowadays, Amazon is faltering to the local bookstore chains that offer you 30% + 10% every other month. Although having said that, I sincerely regret buying my MICROECONOMICS and FREAKONOMICS from Borders at 30% + 10% off because now I see the same book sitting on the shelf in CARREFOUR for $6. Books will never go out of print. So if you're into books, wait a few months for the distributor to dump his excess stock via expo/warehouse sales and you can find the books sitting high on Kinokuniya's top 10 books for the week in the bargain bin for $6 - $8 depending on whether it's a softcover or hardcover.
Of course the above is just my perspective and is only in relation to stuff I like, like toys, electronics and books etc. Nerdy stuff. But that said, I also do buy clothes and look out for stuff like the Club21 sale amongst others and pick up good deals from Isetan and TANGS baskets. Yes, there are cheap and affordable clothes at TANGS.
But even now, I have actually shopped LESS in Singapore and have chosen to spend MORE overseas. Without leaving my chair of course. That brings me to shopping online, the next best thing to being there. Yes I know, women like to "physically shop" but shopping online is tiring too okay! :) Although I have given up Amazon for books, I still trough online websites for good deals and there are many to be had. For instance her latest buy for me online was a $5 pair of men's shorts from Heritage. And it was better than anything I could find in Singapore for say $30. Also, I can pick up something that's available in Singapore at $300 for about $220 shipped to my doorstep. These savings all count IF you MUST buy the item. Also, before purchasing, use your search engine to identify manufacturers of items you regularly buy and see if you can get on their e-mail list for special coupons online. Major retail chains also e-mail coupons and news of special sales to customers online as well. If you don’t have something to type in that “discount code” box when you’re buying something online, stop. It’s wise to pull up another search window and type in the name of the product, the retailer’s name and the words “discount code” and see if anything comes up that fits the product you’re buying. These can give you 20% off plus free shipping on ALREADY heavily discounted items! (and if you ship by vpost, they have 20% off using UOB PLUS a lucky draw which I won a pair of $39 speakers!)
And I don't even need to tell you how good prices are when you import your essentials directly from China. A fraction of the price. Of course, my essentials aren't the same as yours and it would be wise to steer clear of all foodstuffs.
Yes. That means at the end of the day, I have a smaller bank account. But if you consider that you're not gonna spend that money anyway even if you hang onto it and wait to spend it in better times, and the CRAPPY PUI PUI PUI bank interest POSB is giving you (it's an insult I tell you), you might as well spend more NOW and get MORE, then to spend MUCH MORE next time, and get LESS.
Unless of course you are buying a HDB flat. (Shame on you HDB!)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
HDB should reconsider
Considering the bad economy which our ministers have been harping about, how we should tighten our belts, how the government is trying to help our people through this difficult time and how property prices are falling like crazy (today's newspaper says central 4rm flats are lower by $40,000 and are still going to drop!), SHOULDN'T HDB WAKE UP THEIR IDEA AND REPRICE THEIR DUXTON FLATS?
I mean yes, when you declared it for balloting sale the economy wasn't THAT bad. YET. But over the past few weeks, things have gone to hell and honesty, they should step in and say that "we're gonna give you guys an additional $100,000 discount. This is considering we've already raised the price by $200,000 since the first release and oh yes, the bad economy."
One can only hope.
(this is highly unlikely. Just look at the Bishan DBSS flats)
I mean yes, when you declared it for balloting sale the economy wasn't THAT bad. YET. But over the past few weeks, things have gone to hell and honesty, they should step in and say that "we're gonna give you guys an additional $100,000 discount. This is considering we've already raised the price by $200,000 since the first release and oh yes, the bad economy."
One can only hope.
(this is highly unlikely. Just look at the Bishan DBSS flats)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pirated Fruit
My mum was just telling me about the lovely honey melons that we had 2 weeks ago and how expensive they were. When the other mao cow liked it so much that she finished half of it, my mum told my dad to go get some more. These were rare honey melons from spain that somehow found their way to the local HDB fruit stall and were hence expensive at $8.50 per melon.
Fast forward 2 weeks later, my dad brought home 2 of the 'same' melons at the same exorbitant price but they just didn't taste the same. The seller said they were from spain as well but they just tasted so inferior. In fact, they were tasteless. After making a couple of rounds at bedok interchange and spotting similar looking melons from malaysia, my mum came to the conclusion that the HDB fruit stall seller was passing off malaysian honey melons as spain honey melons. In a sense, these were pirated fruit!
It's a fake. It's not from spain = pirated!
There are also other types of pirated fruit around. For example this lovely orange below:
It's supposed to say VALENCIA and not NALENCIA. So next time check your fruits (if it's a sticker problem) or don't buy too many melons at one go. We're still stuck with the tasteless one since nobody really likes to eat tasteless food.
Fast forward 2 weeks later, my dad brought home 2 of the 'same' melons at the same exorbitant price but they just didn't taste the same. The seller said they were from spain as well but they just tasted so inferior. In fact, they were tasteless. After making a couple of rounds at bedok interchange and spotting similar looking melons from malaysia, my mum came to the conclusion that the HDB fruit stall seller was passing off malaysian honey melons as spain honey melons. In a sense, these were pirated fruit!
It's a fake. It's not from spain = pirated!
There are also other types of pirated fruit around. For example this lovely orange below:
It's supposed to say VALENCIA and not NALENCIA. So next time check your fruits (if it's a sticker problem) or don't buy too many melons at one go. We're still stuck with the tasteless one since nobody really likes to eat tasteless food.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Stupid People
Half my extended family is _______ . I'm sure most of you that know me know which half (although the other half are almost as equally melodramatic as they are ________ ). I'm not criticizing them, but more so of commenting on their _______ manner in which they handle things. One case happened years ago, another, just yesterday.
#1) Years ago, my mum repeatedly got a phone call from my grandfather asking for my dad. He was obviously at work and when asked what the matter was, he just kept saying never mind and put down the phone. Many many times. Much much later, my mum managed to contact my dad it turned out that my grandma had a stroke but they didn't know what to do. When told to call an ambulance, they decided to wait until xiaomei was home before calling. So about 12 hours after the incident after xiaomei came home, they called for the ambulance and well, it was confirmed that it was as stroke. Apparently though, the first few hours after the attack is the most important as chemicals/medicines can be injected to ease the damage caused by the stroke and help the patient towards an almost full recovery. But no. They chose to not tell anyone outside of the 'family' (anyone without DIRECT blood relation) so not even my mum whom would have told them to call for an ambulance immediately and the old fart may still be walking around today screaming her head off and reigning the household. That's one ridiculous incident.
#2) Yesterday, I got a call from my uncle multiple times looking for my dad. From 2 different numbers. I kept asking him what it was regarding and whether I could leave a message for my dad and he kept saying no, it's nothing. Never mind. Having decided that whatever went on in that side of the family had dipshit to do with me anymore after I tried to tell my dad what they were doing (withholding information from us when we could obviously help) was wrong and got reprimanded for it, I didn't even care whether anything was really wrong. But apparently as usual there was something wrong. It turns out that my aunt had contracted breast cancer and well, I simply wasn't 'family' enough for this information. So fine. Even when my dad came back at night, I told him my uncle was looking for him, and knowing my dad, he can't be bothered to call back unless he knows HOW important it is. So today my uncle keeps calling back and looking for my dad and my mum picks up. After the second time he called, he finally relented and told my mum about my aunt's condition. I guess maybe because my mum knew my aunt personally or that maybe she was more adult than me, but IF he had told me that yesterday, my dad would have gotten the news last night and he would have definitely called back. Not that it's any help though. The operation is today. Apparently they saw a small dot on the mammogram and then they went in to take a sample. By bursting the cell to take the sample, the cancer immediately spread within the few days and now have to cut both breasts. Whereas my mum's colleague last time got small dot, the doc advise her to go radiation and kill the dot without disturbing it and she has no problems after that. Maybe they should have asked for a second opinion or consulted relatives (considering we have how many cancer relatives) on this matter before acting. Sigh.
I honestly didn't know that such an arcane way of thinking can still exist.
#1) Years ago, my mum repeatedly got a phone call from my grandfather asking for my dad. He was obviously at work and when asked what the matter was, he just kept saying never mind and put down the phone. Many many times. Much much later, my mum managed to contact my dad it turned out that my grandma had a stroke but they didn't know what to do. When told to call an ambulance, they decided to wait until xiaomei was home before calling. So about 12 hours after the incident after xiaomei came home, they called for the ambulance and well, it was confirmed that it was as stroke. Apparently though, the first few hours after the attack is the most important as chemicals/medicines can be injected to ease the damage caused by the stroke and help the patient towards an almost full recovery. But no. They chose to not tell anyone outside of the 'family' (anyone without DIRECT blood relation) so not even my mum whom would have told them to call for an ambulance immediately and the old fart may still be walking around today screaming her head off and reigning the household. That's one ridiculous incident.
#2) Yesterday, I got a call from my uncle multiple times looking for my dad. From 2 different numbers. I kept asking him what it was regarding and whether I could leave a message for my dad and he kept saying no, it's nothing. Never mind. Having decided that whatever went on in that side of the family had dipshit to do with me anymore after I tried to tell my dad what they were doing (withholding information from us when we could obviously help) was wrong and got reprimanded for it, I didn't even care whether anything was really wrong. But apparently as usual there was something wrong. It turns out that my aunt had contracted breast cancer and well, I simply wasn't 'family' enough for this information. So fine. Even when my dad came back at night, I told him my uncle was looking for him, and knowing my dad, he can't be bothered to call back unless he knows HOW important it is. So today my uncle keeps calling back and looking for my dad and my mum picks up. After the second time he called, he finally relented and told my mum about my aunt's condition. I guess maybe because my mum knew my aunt personally or that maybe she was more adult than me, but IF he had told me that yesterday, my dad would have gotten the news last night and he would have definitely called back. Not that it's any help though. The operation is today. Apparently they saw a small dot on the mammogram and then they went in to take a sample. By bursting the cell to take the sample, the cancer immediately spread within the few days and now have to cut both breasts. Whereas my mum's colleague last time got small dot, the doc advise her to go radiation and kill the dot without disturbing it and she has no problems after that. Maybe they should have asked for a second opinion or consulted relatives (considering we have how many cancer relatives) on this matter before acting. Sigh.
I honestly didn't know that such an arcane way of thinking can still exist.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
人生不该那么惨
对这个世界如
果你有太多的抱怨
跌倒了
就不敢继续往前走
为什么
人要这么的脆弱堕落
请你打开电视看看
多少人为生命在努力
勇敢的走下去
我们是不是该知足
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧回到最初的美好
不要这么容易就想放弃
就像我说的
追不到的梦想
换个梦不就得了
为自己的人生鲜艳上色
先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色
笑一个吧
功成名就不是目的
让自己快乐快乐
这才叫做意义
童年的纸飞机
现在终于飞回我手里
所谓的那快乐
赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了
谁在偷笑呢
我靠着稻草人吹着风
唱着歌睡着了
哦哦~
午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
哦哦~
阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
珍惜一切就算没有拥有
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧回到最初的美好
还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧回到最初的美好
The Cat Chaser
Looking at the open casket transported me back to primary 3 when I was faced with a similar situation. I was delegated with the honorable task of chasing cats away from the tentage area. We had to ensure that no cat jumped over the coffin as it may result in us having to tackle our undead grandfather (although I believed then that the glass covering the coffin was enough to hold him in). This time round, it was my uncle.
He wasn't my favorite uncle for the simple fact that I never had one. But he was a good family man. Extremely patient and tolerant, he was able to bear everything he faced headlong and never faltering. He didn't drink, he didn't gamble, he didn't smoke and of course he didn't drink and drive. What he did do was to work hard to provide for his family and work even harder (initially) to propel his own parents and siblings out of poverty. Although he had a very demanding wife whom went for treatment at times for her problems and idyosyncratic tendencies, he never left her side even as she turned their matrimonial home into a war zone and frankly speaking, less habitable than my toy room. That explained why for a prolonged period of time they stayed in hotels for months. He did not make much money, but he tried all he could to provide for his family.
I never spoke to him about politics, about school or even about how we were doing much. We met during the obligatory chinese new year gatherings and exchanged pleasantries. That was all. Whatever I knew came from stories that my parents told me. Hence it was a shock when we heard a few months back that he suffered a serious heart attack which left him with only 5% of its usual strength. But yet he persevered. Doctors told us that his heart stopped twice and yet he fought back. We knew he loved his daughter, we just didn't know how much.
It was a worse shock to hear about his passing a night ago. Apparently the remaining 5% of his heart strength just expired, taking with it a great man. He wasn't a minister, he didn't make millions, he wasn't even well known in his housing estate. But this man in bid to create the perfect life for his wife and daughter, made sure that everything was taken care of for them. His wife never worked and so he was the sole breadwinner of the family. Yet he managed to pay off a two-storey HDB executive flat and his car. They have essentially no bills and no debts to worry about. His final gift to his loved ones: a peace of mind.
But even then he couldn't let go. From what was told to me (maybe a bit melodramatically), his eyes were opened and even though the doctors pushed his eyelids down, they couldn't do it fully. It was only after my mum told him to rest in peace and move on as we would all look after his family, did he finally close his eyes (drama). I believe that he was a good man. He wasn't a womanizer (although he had all the reasons to be one) and he sacrificed his life to go back to work full time for his family after his heart attack and that may have been what drained his heart.
But I am angry. People can say it's life. But I still have to say that it's unfair. How can someone so good be taken away before those more deserving of death? For starters I know for sure Clorance from Led Dawg surely has character flaws so bad that everyone he meets would want him dead. So why did a good man have to go and not someone so despicably bad that actually backstabbed 3 people and caused them to lose their jobs? It just doesn't make sense. Doesn't balance out.
If there is someone up there, He should be going "You! the Pubic Renaissance associate that just spurted vulgarities at your client when he's asking you what went wrong. Take THIS for your punishment for getting a $2,000 fee for 3 months and acting like a big fuck!" Okay I digress. But you see my point. And well, just fittingly, my other aunt came along and reminded me why I lost the plot with the dude upstairs when she refused to hold the incense because it was against her religion. Fantastic.
Do people believe in spirits? Do people believe that a butterfly at the alter means his spirit is back? Do people believe in the 7x7 49 days of when the spirit is wandering in the house? I think my aunt does. Apparently she's too afraid to go home because she is afraid of him being there. Other than that, another reason why she doesn't want to go up home is because the place has too many memories. Which is why mother and daughter will break down frequently when they see some object my uncle used fondly when he was alive. A solution which my relatives employed when my grandfather passed away was to throw away all his stuff. Especially his bed. Although then it took some time because times were hard and they didn't want to waste money. So my uncle (another one) stacked my grandfather's mattress below my grandma's, thereby encouraging my grandfather to visit my grandmother at night in a bid to take her away with him. Luckily she outsmarted him. I dunno how. But that's why she's still 95 and kicking. Hence apparently alot of my uncle's stuff has to be thrown out too. Even if I don't believe in that mumbalo jumbalo, I'd still be afraid to stay in the house, afterall, someone died there. Sorry I hum. But I was having a backache from resting on the cold hard cement void deck floor like a bangrah because the comfy chairs were for the grieving folk. (And I just got home and it's like 12:33 in the afternoon)
But enough ranting. I've survived the night chasing cats, building anti-cat weapons, establishing forts and inventing new ways to prevent cats from turning my uncle into a zombie. I also ate alot of food. I believe that deserves some incoherency.
He wasn't my favorite uncle for the simple fact that I never had one. But he was a good family man. Extremely patient and tolerant, he was able to bear everything he faced headlong and never faltering. He didn't drink, he didn't gamble, he didn't smoke and of course he didn't drink and drive. What he did do was to work hard to provide for his family and work even harder (initially) to propel his own parents and siblings out of poverty. Although he had a very demanding wife whom went for treatment at times for her problems and idyosyncratic tendencies, he never left her side even as she turned their matrimonial home into a war zone and frankly speaking, less habitable than my toy room. That explained why for a prolonged period of time they stayed in hotels for months. He did not make much money, but he tried all he could to provide for his family.
I never spoke to him about politics, about school or even about how we were doing much. We met during the obligatory chinese new year gatherings and exchanged pleasantries. That was all. Whatever I knew came from stories that my parents told me. Hence it was a shock when we heard a few months back that he suffered a serious heart attack which left him with only 5% of its usual strength. But yet he persevered. Doctors told us that his heart stopped twice and yet he fought back. We knew he loved his daughter, we just didn't know how much.
It was a worse shock to hear about his passing a night ago. Apparently the remaining 5% of his heart strength just expired, taking with it a great man. He wasn't a minister, he didn't make millions, he wasn't even well known in his housing estate. But this man in bid to create the perfect life for his wife and daughter, made sure that everything was taken care of for them. His wife never worked and so he was the sole breadwinner of the family. Yet he managed to pay off a two-storey HDB executive flat and his car. They have essentially no bills and no debts to worry about. His final gift to his loved ones: a peace of mind.
But even then he couldn't let go. From what was told to me (maybe a bit melodramatically), his eyes were opened and even though the doctors pushed his eyelids down, they couldn't do it fully. It was only after my mum told him to rest in peace and move on as we would all look after his family, did he finally close his eyes (drama). I believe that he was a good man. He wasn't a womanizer (although he had all the reasons to be one) and he sacrificed his life to go back to work full time for his family after his heart attack and that may have been what drained his heart.
But I am angry. People can say it's life. But I still have to say that it's unfair. How can someone so good be taken away before those more deserving of death? For starters I know for sure Clorance from Led Dawg surely has character flaws so bad that everyone he meets would want him dead. So why did a good man have to go and not someone so despicably bad that actually backstabbed 3 people and caused them to lose their jobs? It just doesn't make sense. Doesn't balance out.
If there is someone up there, He should be going "You! the Pubic Renaissance associate that just spurted vulgarities at your client when he's asking you what went wrong. Take THIS for your punishment for getting a $2,000 fee for 3 months and acting like a big fuck!" Okay I digress. But you see my point. And well, just fittingly, my other aunt came along and reminded me why I lost the plot with the dude upstairs when she refused to hold the incense because it was against her religion. Fantastic.
Do people believe in spirits? Do people believe that a butterfly at the alter means his spirit is back? Do people believe in the 7x7 49 days of when the spirit is wandering in the house? I think my aunt does. Apparently she's too afraid to go home because she is afraid of him being there. Other than that, another reason why she doesn't want to go up home is because the place has too many memories. Which is why mother and daughter will break down frequently when they see some object my uncle used fondly when he was alive. A solution which my relatives employed when my grandfather passed away was to throw away all his stuff. Especially his bed. Although then it took some time because times were hard and they didn't want to waste money. So my uncle (another one) stacked my grandfather's mattress below my grandma's, thereby encouraging my grandfather to visit my grandmother at night in a bid to take her away with him. Luckily she outsmarted him. I dunno how. But that's why she's still 95 and kicking. Hence apparently alot of my uncle's stuff has to be thrown out too. Even if I don't believe in that mumbalo jumbalo, I'd still be afraid to stay in the house, afterall, someone died there. Sorry I hum. But I was having a backache from resting on the cold hard cement void deck floor like a bangrah because the comfy chairs were for the grieving folk. (And I just got home and it's like 12:33 in the afternoon)
But enough ranting. I've survived the night chasing cats, building anti-cat weapons, establishing forts and inventing new ways to prevent cats from turning my uncle into a zombie. I also ate alot of food. I believe that deserves some incoherency.
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