yeah finally a long break! this year's deepavali falls on a saturday and hari raya pausa is on the tuesday, meaning that we have 4 days break if we take the monday off =) quite a lot of accomplishment and decision made during this break.
first, i bought a car eventually- honda jazz. after eliminating and comparing all the various cars in my mind, i know this IS the one and it fulfills most of my criteria. but it won't come so soon.. the earliest it can arrive will be mid Jan. Quite a major decision to make with all the considerations.
second, i will be going for an overseas trip soon to taiwan with my family. quite difficult to coordinate, cos everyone has to synchonise their leave, but luckily we didn't ask for the sch holiday period. we got a package tour cos my parents prefer it that way, somemore i am not too confident for free and easy either. and this time i am going to spend like nobody's business cos i don't want to regret not buying enuff haha.. of cos must be things that i need and like lah.. yea and i am going to buy yanzi's latest compliation from taiwan cos it's different from singapore one =)
third, i have signed up for MRCP part 1, meaning that i will need to start mugging real soon. hmm come to think of it, the last time i actually studying hard was during MBBS period. dunno whether i still have the momentum or not..
so looking up, these are probably relatively major events in this year's almanac and they happen together heh...
Before i procrastinate further, i have decided to give a serious thought to what i want to buy and i need to cut down my choice. After looking around and finding out more, and taking into consideration what i desire to have realistically, i have the final two choices:
1) Honda Jazz i didn't include this as one of my choices previously cos at the back of my mind i always think Honda is quite costly. but Jazz is relatively within the price range (the latest quote they give me is 55k), and it is a hatchback. More importantly, when i see it in the showroom, i am really quite attracted to it! and i dun have much complaint.
2) Toyota Vios affordable at around 46k (and probably add another 2k if i change to leather seats). it is still one of the most reliable, of good market value and reasonable car to have for daily travel. i think i need to give it a second look before i make a final decision which to buy. but i need to decide fast cos the latest COE bid is of new low this month!
* ohh ya, attended a grooming course organised by MINDEF. quite interesting- this lady whom they invite (and whom i think is quite attractive still at 46 yrs old!) gave us a talk on how to look better heh.. picked up some tips here and there, and i think i need to revamp my wardrobe!
Sian these few days i seem to have so many things to do - and all need huge amount of cash! car, exams, wardrobe, tour... And there is only one solution to this...
Went to AH recently to settle some personal stuff and to visit those wards that i have been working in for 10 months (and that was like 1 year ago!!). Quite fun to talk to people who you have not talked to for ages, and i wondered how many would have actually remembered my name (or surname)...the converse is true too- i can't remember some of the names. Most of the people are still around, but i dun really know those MOs and HOs.
After taking public transport for so many years, i think it's about time to upgrade myself and get my own car. after all, it's so much convenient and more freedom entails to where u want to go, how long u want to stay out, when u want to leave without the hassle of waiting for buses, waiting for cabs or waiting for the telephone operators to attend to my calling of cabs. and i dun have to walk all the way into the camps like maju and seletar- which can be quite a long walk if u have ever been there before.
of course there are much considerations too. in fact it's a damn heavy burden (financially) that i will have to bear in years to come. i did some maths and taking all into account (taxes, petrol, parking, maintenance, insurance, installments), i will have to fork out about 800 to 900 bucks per month! that's like 2 to 3 times of the transport fees that i am paying for right now.
well i think ultimately all of us will get a car, and it is only a matter of time (whether before or after ns, or after u become a reg!), so perhaps now is the time for me, esp when i am free of loans to pay for now, and have some time to do some research what i am looking for..
Went to view some cars recently, but i din test-drive though (for obvious reasons...). and based on my budget of around 50k - 55k and some basic inclusion criteria (auto gear, asthetically acceptable, reliable, not more than 1.6cc, 5 seater, wun consume too much petrol), these are some of what i have in mind:
1) Toyota Vios
+: affordable, reliable, not too many people ard me have it -: need to pay more if u want leather uphostlery, digital speedometer (cos the manual speedometer doesn't look too nice..), got some cheapo parts like velcro for the mirror, comparable to Altis if all these furnishings are up, so might as well get an Altis
2) Toyota Altis
+: reliable, leather seats, spacious -: very common, higher end of my budget
3) Mitsubishi Colt
+: Hatchback, cool external design, not too common, foldable backseats to increase boot space -: the gear is on the steering wheel- may not get used to it, need more budget if i want to include the spoilers, skirts and bodykits
4) Mitusbishi Lancer
+: very affordable -: common
5) Toyota Yaris +: used to be my number one choice cos it's hatchback, looks cool and relatively new in the market -: but upon looking at the real thing, dun really like the interior design..
Also look at other cars like the new Hyundai Avante (but quite expensive). So with all these in mind, i am still thinking which one i should get.. any opinions?
the PSI has reached a new high today.. 145 as of 10pm!! that's in the unhealthy range sighzzz. i foresee more people reporting sick for URTI/asthma/conjunctivitis etc. even i am feeling a bit SOB. hope indonesia will stop giving us this.
Vivocity opens today and i was there too. but to our disappointment, most of the shops were not officially opened yet. in fact there were more people walking about along the corridors rather than shopping. i guess that's what most singaporeans are- kiasu and want to be the first one visiting a new place. anyway i read from the banner that the grand opening is actually on 1st dec.
Had dinner at harborfront instead as there wasn't any food outlets in Vivocity (yet). had a very bad experience at this Vietnamese restaurant (which is supposed to have won some awards..) the waiter doesn't seem to know much about the dish and kept saying that it has run out of this and that dish! and the food is so dry that i could hardly swallow. dun think i will ever going to try it again.. no second chance hahah when it comes to food.
yesterday was mid-autumn festival and i had my share of mooncake =) from eater palace - supposed to be quite famous. initially we wanted to buy those whisky-flavoured mooncakes from Raffles Hotel but apparently it was so overwhelming that they stopped taking order from last Monday! but this one also not too bad lah.. yam-flavoured with salted eggs.
saw a lot of kids at the park near my place carrying lanterns and playing with sparkles and candles. so happening! seldom get to see so many people outdoors. reminds me of what we used to do when we were younger. the only problem is that they will contribute more smoke to the already hazy environment...
feeling a bit bored and free tonight, so i have decided to have a revamp of my blogsite. just some minor changes, namely: - the front pic - the font type and font size - the song - the width of the text columns
holidae.
singapore.
lefty left-brainer.
leo.
9 Aug.
selective procrastinator.
paladin by day and nite.
Chatters
Wishlist
tag watch
learn cooking
play a new musical instrument
lasik op
new hobby
clear exit
Fav food
chilli crab
fried kway teow
fried carrot cake @ upp bt timah, bt merah, bt merah view, clementi
fried dang hoon
pig kidney/liver/small intestine/large intestine/organ soup/pig blood
kway chap from sembawang hills
hainan chicken rice with gien3
century egg porridge
fried oyster
BBQ stingray
clams and lala
chicken soup and all sorts of soups my mum cooks
fried fishballs
fish soup from han jee @ amoy
fried chicken wings
salmon belly sashimi
hairy gourd
lotus root
szechuan veg
prawn mee esp from old airport rd, zion rd, adam rd, sembawang hills and hong lim
chwee kueh from tiong bahru, jurong west, clementi, queens st
kueh tutu
coffee/bread toast/egg from sembawang hills, ah kun
prawn cracker
strawberry sundae @ macs
hotcakes @ macs
rum and raisin
duck's tongue
indocafe coffee
water chestnut juice
sugar cane juice
marigold lemon barley
holidae.
