Every cloud has a silver lining

The great internet dilemma

Last weekend had been frustrating for me. Without reason, my internet connection faced a sudden breakdown.

Let’s backtrack a little...

Just so you know, I’m using a Celcom Vodafone USB Modem.

Yup...My whole life during this holiday (that is to be saved from boredom), teeters precariously on this little device.

At first glance, this nifty and portable little device is like a dream come true for frequent net surfers like me or those who always go travelling. But it wasn’t long before I realised that I had fallen into another advertisement trap. Typical as it is, it seems that advertisements never fail to blow their horn in persuading customers that their products are top-notch and invincible.

The attack

However, it wasn’t long before I discovered there are plentiful of flaws. If my memory serves, the advertisement claims that their broadband promises ‘unlimited connectivity’ and ‘fast connection anywhere’, but little do they say that the fast connectivity is only limited to certain areas with 3G coverage. Unfortunately, my housing area was not covered and it was by luck that only the third floor of my house, which is my room (Hurray for me!) is able to receive the 3G signal.

But the flaws don’t end here yet. Its user-friendly concept which is “plug in and play” only applies for Window XP. For Window Vista users like me, I’m in deep trouble.

The first few days I arrived home, I’m in great dismay when I realised the modem didn’t run on Vista and my streamyx is gone. The notion of me not surfing the net for almost 2 months was completely deplorable and unimaginable.

Thus, I resorted to spending a few agonizing days trouble shooting and finally managed to download a software that enabled the modem to run on Vista. It took me the hell of a time (it was a large file) and I had to use my friend’s XP laptop to download it. Thanks again, Steward :)

The return

Just as I thought the dust had settled and all problems had been solved, a new wave of problems surged forward. The perfect smooth connection for 24 hours that I yearned for didn’t quite materialise. Instead, the modem seems to have its own irritating habit of disconnecting every hour.

Just imagine, you are happily chatting with a friend on MSN then suddenly: ‘Your message cannot be delivered’.

Uh-oh! This is bad.

You check the bottom right screen that says: ‘Disconnected...’

In other words, you have been rudely booted out from cyberspace! Care to leave a message for your online friend while you are offline? Taunting indeed.

There are other errors make me broke cold sweat, like the ‘Blue Screen Error’. It occurred sometimes when I plug the modem in. My whole computer crashed and a blue screen appeared which said it identified a critical error and need to be shut down to prevent further damage. Then, the computer restarted. Until now, even after viewing the problems details, I still can’t find the source of the problem. But after a few blue screen errors, I’m getting used to it since my computer seems to be ok after restarting. I just hope it isn’t something cumulative that will go Boom! In the end and my computer just totally shut down and died. :(

Dead at last..

So, back to last weekend...The modem was plugged in, no errors, but there is just no signal! Not even the faintest heartbeat. It just laid there showing you an empty bar and said ‘sim card not detected’.

After several futile attempts, I handed it over to my dad who also had the same result. In the end, he promised to fix it on the following Monday. Thanks dad. But that mean I had a whole weekend off without any internet. Being not able to go online is hard. It’s like being cut off from the rest of the world. No chatting, no web surfing, no Friendster, no online news, and worse...no facebook. Imagine the amount of virtual gold I lost for not signing in for one day.

But as the saying goes: Every cloud has a silver lining.

Things were not as bad as I though. With my internet addiction abruptly halted for the time being, I discovered I had time to do other stuff that I like or enshrined in the holiday-to-do list. The best of all, I had a great family outing this weekend.

Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort

On that Sunday, we went to Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort. It was the first time I had been to the clubhouse and I was excited. With all the necessary sport gears loaded in the car, we set off. We drove a long way and it was further than I had imagined, dashing my hope for going there myself in my free time. I had not really mastered the KL highways with its rowdy traffics and congested roads.

We soon reached our destination and the place was HUGE! We drove through a park full of people jogging, strolling, and kids playing around. After parking the car, we entered the indoor stadium. The resort had all sorts of sport facilities but you need to book prior to use. At the back was probably a golf course that I had yet to explore.

The stadium had five badminton courts but they were all fully booked! Hence, we booked the squash court which seems quiet and unoccupied. Due to lack of training, my squash skill had certainly plummeted to an appalling point whereby I even missed the ball I intended to serve. Oh well, I admit I still need a lot more practise since I had just recently been introduced to squash back in UTP by my good friends. It was really an interesting sport and I’m hooked to it.

After squash, we went to the bowling alley.

Bowling

Yay! I’ve never tried bowling before in my whole 18 years of life! Seriously, I need to get out more often. Anyway, better late than never...

I never knew bowling balls have a range of weight. I tried the heavy ones which gave more power but also difficult to control so I switched back to the lighter balls which I’m more comfortable with.

Believing myself to be a future engineer, I tried to apply the concept of Physics, Bernoulli’s Principle, by adding a spin to the ball. Annoying enough, either my direction of spin is wrong or I’m not supposed to anyhow spin it, the ball always end up in the gutter, or the so-called term: ‘cleaning the drain’. In the end, I just trusted my instinct, rolled the ball and that score me a few strikes! Best of all I had fun with my family. Bowling is definitely a fantastic get-together game for families and friends (as long as they dun hit each other with bowling balls). My father won with a score beyond 100 while I only scored 80+. Not bad for a rookie player I guess.

After that, we had dinner and did some shopping in Tesco (the sales are on) and arrived home late, tired but no doubt satisfied and happy.

Internet vs Family

Time passed quickly indeed and I had completely forgotten my internet woes!

Perhaps it was a good thing that my modem was damaged for a while, to show me that holiday isn’t all about doing what I want or spending the time online whole day. Instead, it is our precious moment to be spent with our beloved family, which I would leave behind again in two weeks when I’m heading back to UTP.

Every cloud does have a silver lining. But sometimes the silver is too thin that we fail to search for it, and instead grumble and curse at every misfortune that we encountered in life.

In a nutshell? Be positive, even when you’re negative, because every positive charge has the power to move you across the circuit of life that is full of negative charges. And with power, you can get more work done over a rate of time taken. Ok, I better stop reading my Physics textbook...

Meanwhile, on Monday, my dad brought back the repaired modem. It turned out that the Sim card was damaged due to overheating, which mean I overused it.

I can’t believe my ears! I thought this thing can stand 24 hours! But it doesn’t matter anymore, bcoz the most important thing that everything is fine and I can go online. I limited my online time these days and gave the modem plenty of rest, and amazingly the internet tantrums ceased and I faced less disconnection and errors. So machines have feelings too huh?

Double Reunion

OMG! It’s a new month! Time really flies especially if one is idling around during a holiday.

It’s been a while since I updated my blog. What better time to do it than the start of a new month?

Anyway, it’s not about the usual mumbo jumbo that life is boring or whatnot. Instead, the previous week had seen me zipping past a tumultuous, yet exciting and memorable week.

The First Reunion

I get to meet my grandparents who had travelled far from Kapit just to meet us and our new home in KL. Frankly, I rarely visit them except once in a blue moon during Chinese New Year. Not to mention now that I moved to KL, the chance of visiting them has gone slimmer. To finally meet some familiar faces of relatives and blood ties after being cooped up in a city for so long is rejuvenating.

“What? Ah Mah (grandma) and Ah Gong (grandpa) is coming?”

‘’Yes, with Da Gu and Xiao Gu (my two aunts) also.”

Hence, there’s the usual fuss about who should move out to make room and all fingers finally pointed to me in a unified consensus. But I expected this anyway since I personally ‘dominated’ the whole third floor with one large room with plenty of space.

It was sad but my room is gonna be turned into a guest room (in other words, a spare empty room) when I return to continue my second sem in UTP. Just imagine, my poor room abandoned and left in the dark at the third floor for weeks to turn dusty. How I wish I could just simply link my whole house straight to UTP through a giant portal, say, from another dimension. Then I can study and visit my family at the same time without having to woe over accommodation, food, etc.

Sorry...back on Earth. Staying temporarily in my younger brother’s room, I moved a few personal stuffs down and make sure my room is in spick and span condition. Took me quite a while too coz my typical room is messy with stuff sprawled everywhere from the bed to floor. Boys’ rooms are supposed to be messy what.

The next day, it was a Saturday I think, grandpa and grandma arrived with my aunts. After plenty of heart-warming greetings, my parents show them around the house like tour guides, except that the tourists will be staying overnight!

My grandparents never failed to bring us food from Kapit. From fresh fish to chicken, vegetables and fresh fruits, I could never fathom how they transport all the food here. Surely not by Air Asia!

The great dinner

That night we had dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant. It’s been a long time since I have the luxury of enjoying good food at a glorious place like a restaurant.

But uh-oh! We ran into the Cantonese language barrier. No sooner we had settled down, the waiter passed the menu then blurted out in Cantonese a long list of the names of dishes they serve in the restaurant which sounds to me like alien food from outer space. It’s quite annoying that some people here, especially salespeople or hawkers, assume every Chinese in Selangor is supposed to know how to speak Cantonese. Then when u politely tell them that u dunno how to speak their language, they will give u the typical ‘Oh, you are not from here?’ looks.

Back to the restaurant... My dad studied the menu or order a Set A. That saved us the hassle of trying to say the name of every dishes. Chinese tea is served shortly then we waited for the main dishes to arrive. While waiting I had the chance to see the aquariums where the to-be-on-dinner-plates fish were swimming forlornly. Then the cook came, netted a fish and went straight to the kitchen. That's why fish served here are fresh without long period of storing in fridges.

After a long wait, the main dishes finally arrived. The food taste great! I savoured every moment of every flavour till the last bite. It was great to see everyone enjoying a meal together. We had missed the Reunion Dinner in Kapit this year during Chinese New Year when we moved to KL. Instead, we had our Reunion Dinner in our old apartment, but a special one with two additional family members (or guests). Guess who?

Anyway, sitting together at the round table in the restaurant make me feel like we were having a semi kind of informal Reunion Dinner since not every one of my relatives are there. But still make me feel close enough to make up for the dinner we had missed.

After that, we went home after that feeling full and satisfied.

The prayer

The next morning, I was abruptly woken up at 11 am (I usually wake up at 1pm) by my grandma who told me to come downstairs to pray.

Huh? Did I hear right? I thought we are going to the temple or something. But as I descended down the stairs the strong smell of incense met me. At the doorstep was a hand-made altar laid with food for as offerings. It has been a tradition that whenever a family move to a new place, the family must pray so that God bless them with the strength to meet the new challenges ahead and also may peace and prosperity prevail. This is similar for other big family events such as weddings, anniversaries, or the birth of a child in a family.

After the prayers, we proceed to burning paper money and scrolls believed to be our ‘financial savings’ in the world hereafter. My grandparents are quite religious people but frankly speaking my family are more to being free-thinkers. We seldom went to the temple except only on Chinese New Year or special occasions. However, I am not free-thinking till the extent that I say God does not exist. I believed that God DO exists. But not the different Gods worshipped by each different religion. Just one al-mighty God above all that creates everything and gives life to Earth. How else can Mother Nature be so perfect? Even the tiniest cell in our body is so complicated yet perfect that it took centuries for scientists to unravel what they are and how they work. They must be one supreme power unknown to us that creates all this before the age of humankind.

Coffee Bean in Mid Valley

Back on Earth again...The next few days flew past quickly with my dad bringing them for sight-seeing in KL city. I went to Mid Valley Megamall with them, but tired of window shopping (what’s the point of shopping if u are not meant there to but things?) so instead I stopped by a bookstore, spent a great deal of time there, then try the wi-fi in Coffee Bean. It was the first time I tried coffee bean, and the price really make my jaws dropped in surprise.

15 bucks for a cup of Cappuccino!! That will surely scorch a hole right through my pocket.

I think the white cream on top is vanilla but it tasted great anyway and each consecutive sip made me yearn for more (probably because it made me thirstier).

Second Reunion

After a few days, I decided to visit my friends, Esteban and Yen in Subang since my dad would be driving a lot these days to take my grandparents and aunts to see the city. So why not drop by in Subang?

Esteban : Come earlier la. Around 2 pm.
Me : Hah? Cannot la. My dad working at that time. I can only come at night.
Esteban : Aiyo, u can come by taxi.
Me : Dun wan la. Taxi expensive these days.

Esteban then said he might not be able to meet me if I arrive at night since he will be in Sunway Pyramid with his friends. His friends had bought movie tickets for a 9 pm movie. I said I would meet him there.

I arrived at the apartment that night only to be greeted by Yen and I can tell she obviously just woke up from a nap interrupted by me. Her grouchy and grumpy mood suggested she still need some sleep so after cautiously greeting her, I left my luggage in the apartment and took a bus to Sunway Pyramid.

Upon arriving, I proceed to the central area where I can watch the ice-skating ring. I’ve tried roller skates before but ice-skating somehow promises more fun and challenge. Esteban had a little tough time locating me since I didn’t realise my incoming message box is full. So I waited for Esteban to meet me near the ice-skating area while he had already fired off a message telling me to go meet him at the entrance, which I didn’t receive of course. Of all times, my inbox had to be full at that night?

Esteban took me to the Yogurt House where I met some new friends all studying in Taylor and from JB. They were Seng chye, llyod, Chow, and Ko (any spelling mistakes please correct me). They were just about to finish a round of UNO game. It’s almost nine so we proceed to the cinema.

“WANTED” Bend the bullet now

The movie, “WANTED”, is an action-packed movie featuring the famous stars Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. The opening was initially dull, something I had not expected in a movie that is supposed to be filled with gunshots and explosions. But the momentum changed completely as the plot develops. Soon, I was glued to the screen unable to take my eyes off the heart-stopping actions, nerve-racking suspense, and breathtaking special effects. The perfect timing and use of special effects are really cool. The climax is reached with an unsuspected twist in the plot and finish with a great ending. Overall it was great. It was of course, filled with a little violence and torture but that is to be expected.

It was almost midnight when we reached the apartment. My new friends lived just one floor above Esteban’s room so visiting them is convenient. Then, carting my laptop into their room (each of us has our own laptops), it’s time for....

DOTA!!

Now we are talking!! After so long of being stranded at home with sucky internet connection speed, (not that I’m complaining. I’m truly grateful I had the chance to go online everyday but my current internet speed at home just cannot support online games. Hey! This is DOTA we are talking about.) I finally had the chance to release the warrior inside me that had been crying out for DOTA for so long.

It was great to play DOTA together with friends using the reliable LAN connection that is ensures a total smooth game without lagging or sudden internet disconnection. However after a few games, I horrifyingly realised that my performance had severely deteriorated over the few weeks from the lack of practise. Not only my last-hit frequency had dropped drastically, my rate of creep denial had come close to almost nil. In other words, I was earning less gold than the usual. But luckily the lost gold was easily compensated once I went farming. For those who never play Dota, to farm is to hunt for ‘neutral creeps’ (wild monsters) in the forest to earn some extra gold. Farming has its own risk. You are separated from your team and when a group of enemy heroes trespassed your forest, WHAM!! You got raped and outnumbered for being solo, giving ur opponents a free kill. But since we were playing against AI heroes (Artificial Intelligenge), which means we VS the computers, there’s no risk of farming since the computers’ heroes are simply programmed not to do so. Instead, they go about the predictable routine of staying together in one group and pushing the middle lane to break the defences and end the game. But it all boils down to teamwork. There’s no ‘stongest’ hero in the game. It all depends on how the team work together to defeat their enemies.

It was almost 6 by the time I slept. I think that was the latest time I ever slept in my whole life!

The next day, I woke up at 2pm...

Esteban and I went to Mc Donald for lunch. It’s been a long while since I had fast food. I know skipping breakfast and having fast food as lunch are not particularly healthy but I can’t resist the temptations. It was worth it. The spicy beef rollover is simply too delicious to describe with mere words. One bite and you are in paradise. (I must really be hungry to say that but that’s how it tastes like anyway.)

That night, Yen brought me to a food court to have chicken chop for dinner. Although more expensive, the chicken chop was certainly worth it and tastes far better than the chicken chop I had in UTP. (No offence to UTP cooks but that’s reality). Then the night ends with the guys back together and play a few more Dota’s. I slept earlier that night, completely exhausted from the non-stop gaming spree.
Banana Spilt

The next day, (it was a Saturday), we went for lunch at a cafe opposite the apartment. The services there are bad and the place really seems understaffed. We had to signal and call several times before finally getting someone’s attention, even when we want to pay for the bills! We can just choose to walk away without them noticing. But of course, as civil-minded and responsible citizens, we will never dream of that.

I am sure whether it was just pure bad service or Murphy’s Law, but I was the first to order yet the last to eat, simply bcoz they had somehow forgotten my order! But despite all that, the kuew teow soup tastes great. While waiting for me to finish up, the guys ordered a banana spilt, and I had no idea what it was until now. It’s another name for ice-cream on top of a spilt banana.

Mamak! Mamak!

For dinner, we went for mamak. Due to experience, I had always associated mamak with the troublesome need to rent a car and drive out of campus. But the mamak in Subang is near and in fact just beside the apartment. This was the second time I went for mamak and I was caught by surprised. I thought mamak is an eatery that is supposed to be outdoors with all the stalls and hawkers. But the mamak in Subang in an air-conditioned cafe! With all the decorations, lightings, and the plush cushion seats, the environment there is like a being in a restaurant. But of course, the food doesn’t come cheap. We ordered some roti canai and maggi mee with sunny side up egg. After finishing the roti canai, the maggi mee arrived. Then, the ‘war’ began where there’s great clashing of forks over the table to break the perfectly round egg yolk on each others’ plate. The war ended with everyone’s yolk being broken and eaten. The food tastes great as usual.

That night, we continued a few games before my parents came to fetch me. We played CounterStrike but for some reason the game won’t run on my computer after I installed it so we resumed to playing dota. My parents arrived with perfect timing just after I won a match. I packed up my stuff, ate a cheese cake reserved for me, said goodbye to Yen, then went back upstairs to say goodbye to Esteban and my dear friends from JB. They are really friendly and cheerful and I’m glad to have met them. I wish them all, including Esteban, Yen and John, who is not in Subang anymore, best of luck in their studies and a great life.

That’s all from me. Sorry this post seems to lack pictures. I’ve never thought of bringing my camera. But I’ve upload a few photos for the previous post as well. :)