Friday, May 14, 2010
Super Sunday marked the end of my family's association with starhub and scv. Ever since Singtel won the rights to screen epl matches for the next 2 years, I've gotten myself accustomed to their mio tv. Even the technician who came down to fix the setup box said that my area is pretty lucky in getting pretty decent broadband and cable tv as our house is situated some distance away from the main cables. I cannot help but agree with him because there are some houses in Singapore which won't be able to watch their epl matches next season because there's no singtel cables in their area. It's simply a case of where money can't buy you everything.
Since the subscription fees for starhub would be pro-rated as long as we don't return the set-up box and its relevant cables, I decided to head down to vivocity the very next day. It's not just the ease of usage and familiarity over the years but also the animal planet, national geographic, discovery channel, travel and living, squash, tennis and australian network etc which I'll missed. Well, changes are happening all the time and it's a matter of getting used to it. The only complain I have is that my house dvd recorder has been rendered useless as the miotv setup box doesn't allow any of the cables to be connected to it (unless I search the forums for instructions). They simply want consumers like us to top up another S$10 to buy a setup box with disk space in order to record programmes.
If you get the drift, I simply won't be subscribing to the world cup matches because the prices are really out of the world. If our neighbouring countries like Thailand and Indonesia can get it for free, I don't see how a developed country like Singapore would have to fork out S$70 to S$100 plus for 64 matches. Looks like I'll be heading to the nearest macdonalds or coffeeshops for certain matches and try to soak in the atmosphere there. I've also settled the usual adminstrative stuff needed for my Cambodia trip after buying travel insurance from NTUC income after returning my setup box. Despite years of hanging around harbourfront centre, I never knew that there was a ntuc income centre located on the third floor. Within a span of 15 minutes, I paid up and got my instant travel insurance in hardcopy form - it helped that I was the only customers there.
I watched Dear John just now and it's really a beautiful movie. The storyline was perfect and it reflects the society we live in nowadays. You're not always able to be with the person you want be for reasons out of our control. There's one part inside the movie that I can definitely relate to - how Channing Tatum (John) chose to remain in the force instead of heading back to his hometown. Since I was based in Changi East, there were times where I saw no point in heading back home. In camp, you are told what to do every day and there's nothing to worry about. The ji pa mian, xiang xiang hokkien mee, chwee kueh, chicken rice, nasi lemak, red tea longan and sugarcane juice etc, it's been a while. My first ever ict would probably arrive when I graduate and it's mixed feelings when I head back. There's definitely going to be a sense of apprehension when I received the news/letter and it's something that chee could relate to.
Those trench-digging days were sure tiring. It got so hot in the day that one could literally can collapse from the heat. At night, while the cooling temperatures allows work to proceed without much fuss, it's a tough fight against the z monster and the insect community out in full force. I remember walking past lao beng's hole and seeing a whole nest of termites going about their normal business. Tired as we are, the view of seeing civilian passenger planes take off less than 800 metres away was priceless.
