Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Chapter 414 - A Series of Unfortunate Events
Well, I'm writing this post to complain about the string of (rather unfortunate) events that happened to me lately...

It all started when I got back from Phuket. On the day I got back from Phuket (Youth Day holiday), I went back to school wanting to get stuff from the staff room, so that I could finally get started on some work. I went around 4.30pm, since it was supposed to be a normal working day for the admin staff, plus I was napping at home before that. And guess what? The staff room had just been locked for the day, so I couldn't get in. Went home empty handed.

Then, that very night, I realised that I'd left my Brasil waterbottle on the airplane. I had left it on the seat initially, cos from previous experiences, the water leaks out in my bag during the flight cos of the reduced cabin pressure.

Then on Wednesday (two days later), I went to IMM to purchase a new modem from Starhub, because they've decided to give us a "speed boost", and my (very) old modem is unable to support the new speed, so we need to get one. Esther and I had dinner there, and when we went to the Starhub shop, we found out that it was CLOSED for renovation! WTF! It was open just the week before! Anyway, we walked around while I was fuming, found a starhub counter, was told that we had to go to the nearest outlet at Plaza Singapura (wah, damn near!). So I continue to fume, and then found another Starhub counter/roadshow, where I finally found out that I could actually purchase the modem there. Thank goodness!

The next unfortunate event happened 2 days ago. I participated in the Nets surprise promotion and won a pair of wireless headphones, and was told to collect it from Challenger at Sim Lim Square, Level 6. And guess what? There isn't a Challenger at Sim Lim Square! Spent some time walking around the building before I asked Esther to help me check it out. I later found out that it was supposed to be Funan centre. So the guy who called me had given me the wrong information. =(

Also (2 days ago), I'd finally submitted my claim for LDS for my new pair of spectacles. My short-sightedness had gone worse for 1 year in teaching, and the words on the projector screen were beginning to look fuzzy. So I went to get a new pair of specs prescribed in June, and thought I could claim it from my $400/year LDS entitlement. Submitted my claim through Pac@Gov, which went through fine (as in it was approved in the system already). And my school has this procedure of collecting the receipts, so I was trying to file the receipt when I asked my finance clerk whether I could submit a photocopy of the receipts, because I needed the original for the warranty. This was when she kicked a BIG FUSS in the general office, saying that I cannot claim from LDS, giving me all sorts of rubbish reasons (it's something you need! you mean if you have no LDS, you will not make your specs meh?) So I'm like, "so what do you want me to do now? It's already gone through the system!" So she calls MOE finance, and gets me a form, so that I can get the amount refunded. like SRSLY, WTFOMGBBQ! I ranted on Facebook, and here's the "transcript".


So anyhow, I thought that was the end of my unlucky streak. But apparently not! The modem that I had gotten the Wednesday before was supposed to integrate the MaxOnline (internet) and Digital Voice (telephone) modems into 1 device. The internet device got activated okay, but the telephone device still hadn't got activated today, so I called Starhub to find out today. And guess what they told me? They said that the new device on works with Digital Voice Home, but my telephone device is on Digital Voice Global, so it doesn't work with it, so I still have to use my old telephone modem. They could have told me this when I bought the modem, so I wouldn't have paid more for the "additional feature" that I wouldn't enjoy.

Well, let's hope that I won't need to update this post anymore. It's certainly spoiled my mood for the past few days. =(
Posted by yellowlemonie at 12:11 PM | 0 comments
Monday, July 05, 2010
Chapter 413 - Phuket Delights!
So.... Esther and I made a weekend escape to Phuket over the Youth Day long weekend. It was sort of sneaky, cos neither of us declared (i.e. applied for leave from MOE) that we were gonna be away.

3 Jul 2010
We woke up sleepy-eyed, having sent Esther's good friend (Crystal) off to Melbourne the night before, to catch our early morning (8.30am) flight to Phuket. Traffic to the airport was clear (duh, it was early on a Saturday morning), and checking in was a breeze since we had nothing to check in. ;p We had breakfast at MacDonald's before proceeding to board our flight.

After 1.5 hours, we landed in Phuket International Airport. The descent provided a stunning view of the pockets of beautifully carved islands (by water and wind) that surround the Phuket peninsular, which give Phuket its magic.

Upon clearing customs, we set off to find the minibus which was to take us to our hotel. Prices seem to have gone up by a fair bit since the Lonely Planet was last published, as the published rates were 120B but had gone up to 180B when we were there (all the booths were selling tix at this price). Well, we had no choice but to fork out the money.

We arrive at Sugar Palm Resort, Kata almost an hour and a half later, and checked into our rooms. We were delighted by our deluxe pool access room (we made reservations 2 months earlier), where we could jump into the swimming pool from our balcony (on the ground floor of course!), and also amused by the bathroom, which had sliding windows which provides an unobstructed view of the bathroom from the bed (for the voyeuristic, we think).

As it was almost lunch time, we walked out to the town where we tried to a place to fill our grumbling stomachs. Street food we did not find, instead, we found numerous posh restaurants, serving everything from Japanese to European to Mexican food - everything but Thai food that is. How ironic. We eventually managed to find a decent Thai restaurant (notice the use of the word restaurant and not stall/kopitiam), where I ordered Pad Thai, and Esther had Tom Yum Goong, the quintessential Thai dishes to have. They tasted good, though not quite value-for-money for the 300B (S$12) we forked out. The restaurant did, however, offer excellent views of the beach, and sea, and I was excited to see the surfers out on the waves.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by a travel agent, where we forked out (I suppose "splurged" will be a most suitable word) money for "Simon Cabaret" (transvestite, aka "ah-gua" show), a half-day tour of the Kai islands for the next day, and for our return taxi to the airport. The damage done at the travel agent amounted to some 3900B (or S$160)! Well, at least we got most of the big ticket spendings out of the way.

When we got back to the hotel, we were so exhausted for our short sleep the night before that we took an afternoon nap (also to escape the immense afternoon heat), and woke at 3pm, in time to laze around in the swimming pool. I must say it's quite a nice feeling to be able to step into the pool from the balcony - makes me feel like one of the super-rich! ;p We then proceeded to the beach, where I rented a surfboard, but soon found the red-flagged conditions a little too rough for a beginner surfer that I am. (there were still hordes of surfers out there though) We lazed on the beach before heading back for a shower.

-pause-

I have to go off for MPS now, so I'll only be able to continue writing later, whenever that might be! ;p
Posted by yellowlemonie at 12:21 PM | 0 comments
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