Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Once bitten twice shy

My mother was admitted to hospital after she complained of difficulty in breathing caused by her blood pressure that is sky high. She has been on and off the medication. She on it when she's not feeling good but off it once she feels fine. But I feel at fault too for not attending to the medical complaints fast enough due to work. All I can do is just to do better next time round.

Doc says that she might need to have her blocked arteries ballooned up this time, just like my late dad did. My late dad passed away two months after having the operation. It was not the operation that killed him. It's his inability to recuperate fast enough after that, due to his age. My mom is around his age too now.

It's like deja vu all over again. I still remember the doc asking for permission to go ahead with the procedure if my siblings and I agree on that over medication. This time however, no way in hell I will agree on any procedure.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Why stop at cats? Kill humans too

I refer to this article Why kill a cat over scratches on car

All I have to say is that I wish I was there to see how miserable she be the day her car gets the first dent caused by the car parked next to hers or the first chipped paint on the bonnet caused by a flying pebbles on the road because believe me, that day will come even if Singapore eradicates itself of all cats.

Dents and chipped paint are way worse compared to any faint scratches that a cat might make. So should we provide her with her own personal parking space all around the island or 'cull' all pebbles on the road? If not then I suggest she sue HDB or URA for not designating her own parking lot or sue LTA too for not keeping the roads free of pebbles.

Put it this way. Humans are the biggest culprit when it comes to scratches on a car. Maybe we should cull all other humans and let the woman live by herself and her car up there in the snob paradise.

This is what I call idiocy at its best.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Budget travelling on Jetstar

I recently went on a budget trip to Perth on Jetstar. I was glad that all the horror stories I've heard and read regarding budget airlines did not happen during my flight.

Since carriers charge really low nowadays, more people can afford to fly. I therefore compile a list of things that can be useful if you want to travel on a budget.

I have not tried the rest of the budget airlines but since Jetstar left a good impression on me and I will definitely fly with them again, the following are based on a Jetstar flight.

Booking
It is always cheaper online and book months earlier. Booking nearer to flight dates always equals expensive fares.

Flight
Choose a night flight. This allows you to sleep especially for long journeys which means you save on meals and/or entertainment on the plane too. Also, reaching your destination early in the day means you save on a day's accommodation the night before and have time to explore your destination before you check in to your accomodation.

Baggage
A JetSaver Lite fare allows a maximum of 10kg carry on baggage. If you travel in pairs and need a total of >20kg but <40kg of baggage allowance, then get the JetSaver plan at an additional $20 for only one of you. This adds another 20kg to your allowance and you can have the option to check it in. To do this, book two tickets separately. To ensure that both of you get side by side seats, open up two browsers and book each ticket simultaneously.

Seats
Jetstar flies the Airbus 320 where all seats are similar. Avoid seats 29D-29F because the back of the seats is the toilet wall which means you cannot recline the seats like the rest. Although the other seats can recline only one step, it is still better than nothing. Also, the baggage compartment above seats in the row 28 and above are taken up by the crew and their equipments so if you like easy access to your baggage along the way, take this into consideration.

Entertainment
Jetstar has an in-flight portable entertainment unit that cost AUD10.



This is really worth the money for a long trip. It comes with a stereo earpiece which you can share with another person. Flight can be noisy so the volume might not be enough even at full blast if you share. So get a stereo jack splitter and bring your own additional earpiece so that both of you can have full stereo audio with less noise.

Food
You can pre-pay your meals and enjoy unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, such as water, juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee during your international flight. Select the FEED ME option for $25-$30 each way for just one of you if needed. Share your meals with your partner.