So Much To Do, So Little Time

There's so much to do.

There's so little time.

Hope I'm making the right choices.

Hope I'm prioritizing my time properly.

Wishing things will turn out well.

Wishing everything will be fine.

Good luck to myself.

Good luck to me.

Manchester United 3 Tottenham Hotspurs 0

Best team performance this season!

What a win!

1) Who Had A Poor Game?

Such was the performance that The only ones I thought had a poor outing were the three substitutes: Falcao, Rafael and Andreas Pereira. Not that they played poorly, but they just never played as well as the starting eleven.

2) MOTM

In spite of all the good performers, there were a few standouts. Blind, Fellaini, Young, Carrick to name a few. But for once my MOTM was Rooney who not only played as well as his abilities, gave it his all, and even led the team like a true captain should. Plus a terrific solo goal to boot.

3) Old Birds Play Better

Aside from Herrera and Blind, none of the other new players brought in by LVG started the match. No ADM, no Rojo, no Falcao. It will be interesting to see how they break into the side once they return from injury or suspension.

4) Big Game Philosophy 

It makes me wonder whether LVG's so called philosophy is built I beat the top teams but to struggle against the minnows.

5) Tough Run Next

So we have to see if we can survive the tough run of the next four games. Liverpool, Villa, ManC, Chelsea. If we can safely navigate out of this stretch alive, then UCL is ours.

GGMU!!!

Fat

This.

This is why I really need to force myself to exercise a lot more!

Fatherhood - Reflections VIII - When Kids Fight

This is gold.

My Baby Girl Turns Three Today

My baby girl turns three today

She's just grown up so fast

She takes after me in so many ways

As long as possible I wish this could last

My baby girl turns three today

I recall her first appearance at birth

She definitely looks more beautiful now

I say that which much mirth 

My baby girl turns three today

She's definitely got my smell

Some call it BO

I tell them to go to hell

My baby girl turns three today

A very stubborn streak she's got

This one I shall pin on her mom

She demands and sulks alot

My baby girl turns three today

She's turning into a 千金小姐

Vain enough to fake polish her nails

I really dunno what happened there

My baby girl turns three today

Such a huge Frozen fan is she

Everything Frozen she's got them all

She sings Let It Go better than me

My baby girl turns three today

She's assertive and tough

Ordering people around with aplomb

I just can't get enough

My baby girl turns three today

My princess she'll always be

And I'll love her for as long as I live

My baby girl just she and me

How Much To Fix A Dent In The Car Bumper

Amazing.

I can only say the old adage that every dark cloud has a silver lining really rings true. Just find it and you can overcome so much.

So 小红 got into abit of a situation today which left THE DENT.

I really wanted to sort the problem out because I wasn't sure how much downtime such a dent could cause the car (we're such heavy users).

So I brought it to a previous car audio store in Kembangan to check if they could fix it. They couldn't and recommended to go Euno/Paya Lebar instead.

Paya Lebar has changed a lot but the car workshops are still there. Effectively I parked at the first workshop I saw and went to ask the cost of the repair job.

Now before heading down I had checked online those car forums and many have warned of potential scam jobs, workshops overcharging, and souping up insurance claims. The most relevant in my case, was that a simple dent like the one on 小红 would be inflated to $500-700 so that you would be tempted to claim on insurance and they'd earn a big profit. So I was abit wary.

Indeed the moment the repairman saw the dent on 小红 he asked if I knew the details of the other car which did this and whether I was going to claim insurance (it appears this is a standard question). This is before he can provide me with a quotation. 

I declined the insurance portion and said that I didn't know who hit me. This drew a sympathic look on his face and he muttered something like,"wah, looks like you have to cough up cash yourself", to which I gave a sad,"yah lor". He said he'd check how much it would cost me.

The guy then went to ask his 'senior' and then came back and quoted me a 'best price' of $220, which was basically removing the bumper, melting and beating out the dent, repairing the broken side clippings AND spray-painting the whole bumper. Now this was definitely a reasonable quote. However I had to leave the car overnight as they required 24hrs to service, which was out of the question.

So I asked if they could just repair the dent and the side clippings without the spray job. His first response was,"gonna be very ugly wor". He did say that it would take approximately 2-3hrs though, and I could come back another day for the spray job. I thought that since 小红 was only two years away from being scrapped, even if all the paint melted away and the whole corner was black it might be ok. Anyway I gave the guy hope, saying I'll come back another day to have it sprayed. But so how much does the rest of that cost, without spray? 

The guy quoted me $50.

$50?!

For melting the bumper, repairing the dent and repairing the broken side clippings?!

I was shocked. But I obviously agreed to it. I guess the job must probably look so ugly that's why it's so cheap, because the owner will definitely come back for the spray job.

2hrs of walking around Paya Lebar Square later, the job was done.

OMG. What spray job does that need??!! It just looks like a couple of scratches!

Anyway I was a happy camper. Even tried to tip the repairman an additional $10 for his efforts but he refused! I'm sure he was hoping I'd go back soon for the spray job.

So that, folks, is how much it costs to fix a simple dent. Who knows it could be even cheaper than $50 and in fact on YouTube, you can even try to fix it yourself! But for the hassle involved and workmanship, I give this repair shop the thumbs up for giving me such a good deal, reasonable quotes, good workmanship and honest assessment.

It sure took away the glum feeling I had all morning.

I feel so blessed.

小红又出事了！

Xianz.

I'll just take it that I'm paying my dues for this year.

As long as everyone I love dearly remains safe and in good health that is all that matters.

Chap Goh Mei 2015

Happy Chap Goh Mei! 祝大家元宵节快乐！A simple but significant family dinner. 

Huat ah!

Class95FM Muttons In The Morning

You know you're not young anymore when you make the morning drive switch from 987FM to Class95FM and you realise suddenly you know the title and lyrics to most of the songs.

When the boy asks,"Papa, what's this song called?", I can now answer with confidence whereas previously with all the latest songs on 987FM, I had to wait for the chorus and try my luck at the song title there.

Oh how times have changed.

Manchester United 2 Sunderland 0

At least the result came in as expected. It was one of those games we played well. It was one of those games you wouldn't expect anything less.

1) Falcao And ADM Disappoint

Our two most expensive recruits are starting to show why it's a waste of big money buying players at or past their prime. ADM was substituted at halftime while Falcao, apart from that sublime touch that earned a penalty, made way for Fellaini. I am still more happy when we buy less established players and turn them into superstars. I think the last established player we paid crazy money for that turned out worth the money was RVP. £24mil paid for our 2011/12 EPL title.

2) Defence Far Better

Maybe it's a home ground thing. With Valencia, Smalling, Evans and Rojo in the back four, it would have been understandable to fear another standard few leaked goals. But they did very well and at times played with such aplomb two were like midfielders. Hopefully we can keep this form for our away performances.

3) Blind Is Our Rock

As if I haven't stated this enough, partially why we are suddenly so right at the back is the presence of DM Daley Blind. With him around, we don't feel the fear of leaky defending as much as without him. He does all the dirty work and protects the back four extremely well and reliably. Hope he keeps his performance up.

4) Rooney Is Back

Shunting him is midfield was never a good decision as we all have known since the SAF days. The moment he moves to the front as striker, he scores two good goals. Hope he keeps this goal scoring touch. He really needs to work harder for what he's paid.

5) Just Another Home Game

As mentioned, this is just another home game where winning is easily expected, so let's not et too carried away. Hopefully we can carry this form to our away games. Newcastle away is next!

GGMU!!!