July 15, 2009
Wow, what can I say. I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything that makes me feel like a smug 
The user-friendliness of this Apple product is beyond my belief. Perhaps it is also to do with me not having owned any Apple product before. I mean I have played with the previous generations of iPhone before in phone shop. But still, I’m in awe. I used to worry that I might not feel comfortable using the phone because my fingers can sweat a lot. I thought about buying a Blackberry before. But when I know that they now have landscape keyboard, like the one shown on the picture, it becomes very clear that I have to go for the iPhone. I must say that typing is easier for me on the iPhone than on the Blackberry. When I’m used to touch typing I’m confident that I can type very fast on the landscape keyboard.
I always like the idea of being able to check emails and Internet information on the go. And I like to be able to easily type in web address or reply an email. So I’m really satisfied that it can allow me to do that, and surprisingly effortlessly. And an important added feature for me is the GPS map. The other day we drove down to London and we haven’t got maps with us. It was really useful to be able to locate ourselves and navigate around in London using Google maps on the phone. Amazing.
When I have chosen the white colour iPhone, I was somewhat worried that my phone may really get cooked and gives me yellowish ring on white casing. But after using it for about a week, I think overheating is a rather exaggerated issue. I guess unless you absolutely run everything at the same time, i.e. 3g, Wi-Fi, ipod, GPS together. Otherwise I don’t see based on my usage it is going to get that hot.
Battery seems to be a real issue though. As the battery energy is drained rather quickly on this iPhone that I have to charge it once a day. Unless I’ve not been using the net at all, and just for phone calls. But this defeats the whole purpose of owning the phone and getting that all inclusive unlimited data usage plan doesn’t it?
I’ve had a look at how to optimise the lifespan of the battery from the Apple website and it seems that the best thing to do is to switch off the Wi-Fi interface when not in use and stop it from fetching emails too frequently or being pushed emails automatically. Allowing the Wi-Fi to listen all the time can drain as much energy as transmitting. So remember to switch that off.
I’m a new Apple convert and by the look of it there will be many more following soon
Related blog entries:
Posted in Technology 
1 Comment »
July 6, 2009
In February 2008, C and I went to our local clinic for blood tests just for general check-ups. We didn’t expect anything amiss as we are both healthy and exercise regularly, especially C. When the results came back, everything seemed normal except our cholesterol levels which were on borderline high, around 5mmol/l for C and 5.2mmol/l for me. It threw us back a little as we eat very healthily. I mean, we almost follow the book in terms of what the so-called health experts have been advocating.
So, after speaking to the doctor, we thought may be it was because of the number of eggs we have been taking to compensate for not eating meat, or rare meat consumption in C’s case. Since getting my test results, I was determined to do something about this. I reduced my eggs consumption and really put in extra efforts when it comes to my diet. I also started eating oat porridge for breakfasts as they claimed that oat porridge is proven to lower cholesterol. C couldn’t be bothered to cook porridge every morning, he continued his routine cereal with milk for breakfasts.
17 months went past and we hardly noticed how long it had been. We went for another blood test as a general check-up. I was very anxious to know the results as I thought that if my cholesterol level didn’t lower, that would be it. It would probably be my gene that is the vice and in which case, there is nothing that I could do about it. My mum also has slightly high cholesterol so that kind of explained why I thought my case was genetically linked. C’s whole family has high cholesterol except one. So, it was even less surprising in his case although he is fit and healthy and exercises at least 3 days a week.
The long awaited minute arrived. C got his results first, it was no better. In fact, his cholesterol level had gone up to 5.2mmol/l from 5.0. I was so bitterly disappointed as I thought my result would probably be the same given that we eat almost the same food. Then the doctor showed me my result and I was pleasantly surprised that my cholesterol level had dropped to 4.6mmol/l! This is excellent news! We couldn’t quite figure why our results could be so different at first. But after a long hard analysis, by myself of course, C couldn’t be bothered, I thought it must be the oat porridge. It could not possibly have been anything else.
I only wanted to share this experience with anyone who is struggling with their cholesterol levels. Give oat porridge a try, and I do mean at least 5 days a week. I am a strong believer in healing through diet instead of taking medication, which merely suppresses the symptoms.
Related blog entries:
Posted in Sophie's World, Uncategorized No Comments »
July 2, 2009
It’s been a really long time since I last wrote a blog. As C said, it was a hectic holiday home. In fact, I wouldn’t even call it a holiday, but simply a break full of commitments. It was so busy to the extent that I was only looking forward to the end of it to be back here in England so that I can live my ‘normal’ life again.
May be I expected the worst before I went back to Malaysia, so I was mentally more capable to deal with all the things that I had to do. I knew that this was no ‘holiday’. I almost feel relieved that this ‘holiday’ ended.
Anyway, the point of writing is to share a little of my experience of flying with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur from London Stansted. I wasn’t expecting a lot as my family and friends flew with them before I did. So they said it was okay for a budget airline. On arrival at London Stansted, the check-in procedure was rather stress free. So that was a good sign. We made a mistake of not buying more baggage allowance, so with 15kg per person, we really struggled to fit all the things that we wanted to bring home. On calling to enquire if I could up my allowance the day before, I was told that this had to be done 48 hours before flying. So my only option was to pay at the counter or shed my baggage weight, of course I chose the latter! The customer service didn’t sound very friendly. He mumbled so softly that I had to ask him to speak up.
Boarding the plane was rather civil. In fact, the experience was much better than what we had with Easyjet or Ryanair. There was no such non-sense such as paying for a ‘priority boarding pass’. Only business class and those with children and special needs get priority. Others were boarded according to seat numbers. YES, you do get a seat number! And no need to run in order to get a prime seat. Also, they don’t make you fit your hand luggage into that steel frame and enforce you to check-in your hand luggage in order to squeeze extra pennies from your wallet. We also get to pool our luggage allowance instead of restricting to one bag a person and what not (like the Easyjet or Ryanair).
The seats were surprisingly spacious! In fact, C found it more spacious than conventional airlines and I noticed the space too. What I liked was that there were only two seats on each side with four in the middle column. So C and I could be on our own without having to trouble someone in order to go to the toilet etc. Service was okay. You cannot expect services like those in conventional airlines. Food was also not bad. We chose the Asian option because we know that they make better Malaysian food than they make pasta or other western dishes. The only drawback is that the meal portion was small and far and few. So I would advise everyone to bring their own fruits and snacks to top up.
We came across a few turbulence on our outward journey. We think that may be because the plane was smaller, we felt the bounce a lot more and it made us feel nauseous. The inbound journey was much better. Would I fly with them again? I think that depends on the cost savings. As London Stansted is sort of inconvenient to get to from where we live, we would really think twice to fly from there again as the hassle is really so much that it wouldn’t be worth it if the savings is not great. But for anyone within easy distance, I think it is a good option as Stansted is not as crowded and chaotic as Heathrow and Air Asia does provide good value.
Related blog entries:
Posted in Sophie's World No Comments »
June 20, 2009
Have been back to Malaysia for three days now. Strangely this time I’m not feeling quite as hot as what I used to want to believe. Although it is still very hot, about 34 degree Celcius! I think I’m trying to condition myself to learn how to adapt back to the hot and humid weather, knowing that at some point in the future I will eventually move back to Malaysia. And surprisingly I’ve not been suffering from jet-lagged as well! Considering that the time difference between Malaysia and the UK is 7 hours!
It’s always good to be surrounded by family members (haven’t really met up with my local friends yet even after 3 days! ). And new family members too, as my brothers and sister all have children/babies now. But I must admit that I’m not very good in coping with all these family affairs. I still feel that it is very time consuming. And our family is not that big either, with no relatives living in our home town! Thank god.
Since we are only going to be in Malaysia for 2 weeks, we make sure that most of our time is spent with our family. It’s always good to catch up with friends too. But unfortunately we have to prioritise. And we have a wedding to attend in Singapore as well! Goodness. What a hectic trip. Hardly feel like we are coming back for holiday!
Tomorrow we are going to Langkawi, via Penang. Only for two nights. When people talk about Langkawi, surely it’s about seaside, relaxation, holiday etc. But we are going there for business as well. So it’s probably not quite as enjoyable as one would like to think. Nevertheless I think it should still be quite interesting, considering that we are such young looking couple, meeting up with hoteliers and tour operators who must be thinking what on earth are these two kids doing here!
That’s the downside of trying to get a lot of things done within a short amount time. But I’ll try to enjoy it the best I can. Afterall there’s no reason why we should not get the most out of any circumstances.
Related blog entries:
Posted in Travel 1 Comment »
June 8, 2009
Took a day off to the Queen’s Club in London to watch the Aegon Championships today. It used to be called Stella Artois Championships. Anyway it was the first time I went to the Queen’s Club in West Kensington. The venue is much smaller than Wimbledon. But I think there are more ground courts sitting areas for people to comfortably sit down and watch tennis. Particularly when there is good weather like we had today. It was a wonderful day out.
To be honest, I may be more a football fan than tennis, but I think I enjoy watching tennis like this better than watching football game in a stadium. To be able to get so close to the players, and feel all the actions going on in the court. Very enjoyable. I mean it will be difficult to beat the atmosphere in a stadium if the fans did turn up, and start singing and cheering. But it is so much more relaxing watching tournament tennis, where you can watch tennis the whole day, in the accompany of very civil audience. The atmosphere is certainly very different. And you don’t always have to spend all the time watching tennis. You can have a break and have drinks with your family or friends outdoor or in the dining area.
We’ll miss Wimbledon this year. So maybe we’ll find more people there next year. Meanwhile, it’s back to work again tomorrow.
Related blog entries:
Posted in Tennis No Comments »
content rss
Recent Comments