貼題的歌詞

Daniel: argh~~~ I'm falling apart... <kaboom>
Cindy: uh-oh...
Daniel: I'm seriously dying here... >_<
Daniel: it's like SDA and Test Lead at the same time with parallel releases
Daniel: I'm so sure I'll be dropping the ball somewhere
Cindy: 無所謂 慢慢來 迷宮一樣的未來
Daniel: lol
Daniel: definitely an unpredictable future :D
Cindy: lol
Daniel: 迷宮一樣的 design
Cindy: lol

First OB Visit

My family doctor has scheduled my first visit to the OB at 11:30am yesterday. Thinking I would be done by 1pm, I only had a glass of orange juice for breakfast.

How wrong I was!

First, the OB's receptionist asked me to go to the ultrasound clinic across the hall to get that done. I spent more than 1/2 hour waiting for my turn. The first ultrasound was a life-changing experience: I could see the little feet, and even the little fingers on the baby's hands, moving. The ultrasound pictures, however, didn't turn out as well as what I saw on the screen (and cost an extra $10).

After ultrasound was done, I waited another 1/2 hour to see the OB's nurse -- yes, the nurse, not the OB (yet). The nurse was helpful, explaining a lot of things about the hospital and pregnancy in general. She also scheduled my next batch of medical appointments (ultrasound, blood test, OB visit).

Next, it was finally the OB's turn (or, my turn to wait for the OB to see me). After the OB did some examination, I was sent to the lab downstairs for blood test. By then, it was already past 2:30 and we were starving. The line in the lab was just as long as all the other lines I was in, so we finally gave up and went out for lunch first -- I was sure my blood sugar level must had fell through the bottom by then. Plus, I don't want to deal with hunger and blood loss at the same time!

Luckily, by the time I went back after lunch, the line at the lab has shortened considerably. It "only" took me another 1/2 hour to be finally done with the blood test.

Next up? Blood test on May 26, OB visit on May 31, ultrasound on Jun 23. I guess I'll visit that medical building many more times in the next few months.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Bada Bada

Bada bada bada bada
Do you know I want you so bad
Something stirs deep in my heart
Oh babe, yeah yeah yeah

OK, this song has been totally looping inside (and around) my head for the past week. Maybe it's time to listen to something else...?

The Story Behind a Purchase -- J.A. Henckels Scissors

After the n-th round of grocery shopping this weekend, we passed by a houseware store which was holding a store-wide clearance sale. As I was naturally attracted to sale (like bees to honey), I dragged Daniel into the store.

At this point, we didn't really need any more kitchen utensils or serving dishes. However, the few J.A. Henckels products available caught my attention. I first saw a series of cast-iron cookware, and I thought I could really use a casserole dish (we planned to make shepherd's pie this week). However, the $125 price tag was way too steep, even with an additional 30% off.

I then turned towards the (locked) cabinet of J.A. Henckels knives. Again, I couldn't justify buying more knives (we do have enough). However, I saw some J.A. Henckels International (i.e. the "value" brand, with a single guy in the logo) kitchen shears. We've been planning to replace our pair of kitchen shears for a while now, as it had become increasingly dull. However, I really wanted a pair of Zwilling J.A. Henckels (i.e. the main brand, with two guys in the logo) instead, as the quality and warranty coverage is just better.

I also saw a few pairs of J.A. Henckels craft scissors in the cabinet. We kinda need a pair of those, so we asked a salesperson to grab us a pair of those. As she was taking a pair out, we casually asked about the kitchen shears. Little did we know, they actually have one pair of Zwilling shears hiding behind the cheaper ones! We decided to take that pair of Zwilling, even though it was expensive (we're talking about $50 vs. $15 a pair, both with additional 30% off).

So, yeah, we unexpectedly dropped another $50 this weekend. ;)

On a side note, we saw some knives with a three-man logo akin to J.A. Henckels'. Obviously, that was a Chinese brand instead. :D

The Story Behind a Purchase -- "Start from Here" by Joanna Wang

A few weeks ago...

Daniel: Did I tell you there's this Chinese artist who sings like Norah Jones?
Cindy: Nope.
Daniel: <sent a stream URL> go to 41-minute mark and listen for yourself.
Cindy <went to 41:00 mark and found Janice>: Huh? that's just Janice.
Daniel <no response>
Cindy <kept on listening>: Oh you mean 44:00? Joanna Wang?

Cindy worked on her Google magic and found various MV posted on YouTube.

Cindy: The Chinese name is 王若琳 and she is the daughter of renowned Taiwanese songwriter/producer 王治平.
Cindy: Her first album "Start from Here" is already out... two CDs, a full CD in English (!!) and the other in Mandarin.

Cindy: Let's go buy it at Pac Mall. :)
Daniel: But Pac Mall is SOOO far! The gas price has skyrocketed!! Plus, parking is always frustrating! :D
Cindy: Heck, maybe they don't even carry it in store... we should just order it on YesAsia and avoid all the hassle. :P

---

Yes, we are both Pac Mall-adversed, which delayed our planned CD buying trip for at least two weeks.

Eventually, I set this weekend as the deadline for (trying to) buy the CD in Pac Mall; if we didn't end up buying it in Pac Mall (either due to lack of availability or lack of motivation to go there), we'd just order it online.

As luck would have it, we went out yesterday, and finally decided to go to Pac Mall and grocery shopping in that area. (We ended up going to two different grocery stores nearby, but that's another story.)

Ever since Music Headquarters folded, the only choice for purchasing (legit) CDs--the only one with a sizable selection--is Broadcast. Broadcast opened a CD/DVD specialty store in Pac Mall a few moons ago, after Music Headquarters closed out (I think). However, Daniel totally forgotten about the existence of that specialty store yesterday. Instead, he headed towards the original store (which mostly sells gifts and various Sanrio stuff), until I pulled him. That proves how often we go to Pac Mall these days.

We went into the store, and I found the CD on the new release section. As we continued to browse through the new releases, I realized I don't know half of the singers, and don't care much about the other half, if at all. (In fact, my general disinterest meant I didn't even bother finding those songs via less-than-legal means, nevermind buying the legit ones.) The store blasting Andy Lau concert on its speakers helped drove us out of the store as well.

As we paid for the CD, Daniel enrolled in Broadcast's new loyalty points program. At the rate we're buying CDs, we may as well pool our purchases to qualify for free shipping and buy on YesAsia, which has cheaper price.

No TTC Strike Tomorrow

I knew there wouldn't be any strike -- there is too much public support to lose for both sides to let the strike materialize. The game of "who blinks first" had no clear winner.

TTC is an organization in which almost nothing is going right: the management and the owner (i.e. the city) are both inefficient and incompetent (except when it comes to begging money), the union is greedy, and all sides are just stuck in the 60's mindset and are very out of touch with the real world of business. Example absurdities include:

• Claiming a switch to reloadable cash card only costs more money and require more people than the current arcane combination of tokens, tickets, cash, and transfers.
• Further refusal to implement a GTA-wide fare card.
  
• Co-existence of tickets AND tokens, both of which serve the same function (at least when it comes to tickets for adult fares).
• Utilization of tickets and transfer means each subway station must have one or multiple people manning the ticket booth, which is SLOW.
• A friend on subway ticket booths: "When I go to McDonald's and ask for a smile, I get one. At TTC ticket booths, I'm only getting a frown."
• Assuming I have the patience to spend two hours to take the TTC from Port Union to Kipling station, why does it cost the same as getting off at the next stop?
• Bus schedules only list the times when buses arrive/depart a stop, but not the time the SAME bus arrives at a destination, making trip planning a guesswork at best.
• Claiming taking buses is "the better way" for the environment, when the buses are often under-utilized, and the pollution looks 20 times dirtier than my car's.
• Always crying poor, but never really considered to increase income stream by higher commercialization of subway stations.
• At this day and age, there is still no cell phone coverage when the subway is underground. (WiFi would be a bonus, but chances of it appearing is next to none.)
  
• The half-assed attempt to build the Sheppard subway from Yonge to Fairview, when it should extend to Scarborough Town Centre. Then, threaten to shut down the line due to under-utilization.
• Allowing a fare collector to earn six-figure income, more than half on overtime pay.
  

Where "I Love NBA Playoffs" Happens

First day of NBA playoffs 2008 has come and gone. Thanks to the ultra-early morning (by our standards -- I was up by 8am), we chose napping instead of watching the first game, Washington at Cleveland. To be honest, this series didn't really entice us, unless (until?) it's coming down to game 6 or 7.

The second game of the day, Phoenix at San Antonio, was WAY MUCH MORE anticipated by us.

We used to like Spurs a lot, until they got soooo dirty during last year's playoffs against Phoenix, especially with all the hacking at Steve Nash. Now, I still think Spurs is one of the few teams which can win it all, but just like last year, we WANT to see Phoenix take this series.

With this series being a rematch of last year, the game had all the makings of one deep in the conference finals,
even though it was only game 1 of the first round.

We watched a few Suns games on TV this year, and one major problem we noticed was they tend to be much more careless with the ball in the second half. The number of unforced or unnecessary turnovers, plus the decline in the quality of the shot selections, had cost them a few games. This is exactly what happened in today's game. One can argue the foul troubles of Suns' big men, especially with Amare fouled out in the first OT, was the sole reason why the lost. However, had they kept playing in the same level in the second half as in the first, the Spurs could not have completed a comeback from being down 9 points in late 3rd quarter. Kudos to Spurs for hitting two clutch game-tying 3-pointers; in a game where Tim Duncan hit his first 3-pointer in the season to send the game to 2OT, Spurs deserved the win.

After the exhausting Suns-Spurs game (just by watching!), Daniel crashed again, and we went out for dinner after I (finally) successfully woken him up. By the time we left home for dinner, we saw Dallas had a comfortable first half lead against New Orleans. Imagine our surprise when we found after dinner that New Orleans came back and took game 1! I didn't see much of the game, but my guess is Chris Paul must have gotten over whatever first-playoff-game funk he had pretty effectively at the half.

Last game of the day was Utah at Houston. As we both think Jerry Sloan is a brilliant coach (he made Paul Millsap into a useful role player!), plus with all the selfish ex-Raptors we hate on the Houston roster (T-Mac *and* Rafer Alston!), we naturally want Jazz to DESTROY Rockets. Again, this series is a rematch of last year's first round, and Jazz eventually won the series in game 7--in Houston no less. Suffice to say Houston want revenge, but I don't think that's gonna happen, especially after Jazz took today's game 1--in Houston again. (On Yao: Yes, he's a good player, probably the best centre in the league right now if he's healthy; but no, I don't feel attached to him. Just because "he's Chinese" doesn't mean anything to me.)

I should probably go to bed now to make sure I won't miss tomorrow's Raptors game at 12:30pm...

Birthstone

In a recent conversation with an engaged couple who are shopping for wedding bands, they told me they planned on buying wedding bands with their birthstones on them.

I told Daniel about it. He, definitely didn't care about birthstones or anything like that, replied, "yeah and my birthstone is the psi-emitter... -___-"

(For those who don't know what a psi emitter is, it's from his favourite game of all time, Starcraft.)

(And yes, I knew what he was talking about.)

Good thing I never counted on him to buy me jewelry with my birthstone on it.

Weekend Activities

Saturday

I woke up around noon after a semi-nightmare and started web surfing, because there was nothing good on TV.
Daniel woke up at 4, fulfilling my prediction made to Dan on Friday when he asked if we'd go to his sister's naturopathic clinic's open house.
We initially planned to have brunch/afternoon tea at Kennedy/Denison, then do grocery shopping in that same mall, plus hitting the No Frills nearby, and look for a specific CD in Pac Mall. But we changed our minds when we saw the price of gas at 111.4 and went to Leslie/Finch instead.
We decided to go to the Chinese BBQ place for a change, after someone suggested it has the best roast duck in TO.
We wanted to try their duck and BBQ pork. In the spirit of the opportunity cost tutorial video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igp1OuU4v3o), we ordered them as separate dishes instead of two double orders.
The duck was pretty good, although probably not as good as I was expecting. The BBQ pork was slightly overcooked as well. But the meat they use for BBQ is of much higher quality than other places, and it's pretty good overall. I'd rate it 4/5.
After the very filling lunch, we did some grocery shopping in the same mall. We walked out with two bunches of spinach, 2 lbs. of hot house tomato on the vine, some black grapes, and a box of about 20 oranges. I'm still not sure how we can finish the oranges before the go foul.
Then we drove to the No Frills at Don Mills/Finch. This week's sale items were music to our ears, as we were dangerously low on laundry detergent. We also bought chicken brests, mushrooms, and stawberries, all of which were on sale.
After we were done with groceries, we decided to go on a stroll along the Don River. I was slightly surprised there was still snow on certains parts of the path, but it was mostly snow-free. First time I actually feel spring has arrived this season.
Then we went home to catch the NCAA semi-finals. I was secretly satisfied when both UCLA and UNC were knocked out; I found both teams overrated.
Dinner was sandwiches: grill chicken sandwich with mushroom melt, and BLT sandwich, plus a side salad. Every ingredient down to the cooking oil, except the balsamic vinegar used in the dressing, was a sale item.
I started working on my parents' taxes. Their taxes were fairly simple except for the medical expenses. They gave me 2 full pages worth of itemized medical expenses to deal with, and their health plans reimbursing each at a seemingly different rate, it was the most time-consuming part of their taxes. I did all the calculations and optimizations on QuickTax online first, then copied the values over to StudioTax to generate the NETFILE file and PDF for the paper forms.
Then it was back to surfing until I drop.

Sunday

We woke up around 2:30. Brunch/lunch was assorted leftovers: chicken sandwich, dumplings (yes, those dumplings).
Daniel was in an eternal debate between slacking at home and getting a haircut. In a rare event, I actually wanted to leave home for a while to enjoy the weather (excessive snow would do that to you), and managed to persuade Daniel to go out.
I dropped him off at the hairdresser and went price-comparison-shopping. The verdict: Wal-Mart is still WAY cheaper than Shoppers Drug Mart.
We then went to Home Depot at Woodbine/Hwy. 7 to refund a small item. We were (and are) both so clueless about home improvement that we've been refunding at least once for each small fix/improvement.
Daniel suggested we make chicken for dinner, but I was feeling overloaded on chicken for the past week (pretty much had chicken every day), so we decided to dine out instead. However, neither of us were actually hungry yet, so we chilled at Chapters for a good hour or two.
The first thing he showed me at Chapters was the current issue of Vogue, with LeBron on its cover. I found that picture incoherent; maybe it's just me.
Dinner was at a Shanghai cuisine restaurant called "Ala". Overpriced and underwhelming food. At that price, I'd rather have Asian Legend (which I'm not very fond of neither).
We got home, and Daniel started fixing some pasta for Monday's lunch, while I worked on books I borrowed from the library -- Benjamin Graham's Security Analysis is a much thicker tomb and denser read than I thought it'd be, and I haven't even started on it!

Summary

An otherwise uneventful weekend.

Penny-Wise

One MP recently stated he intended to introduce a private member bill to remove the penny from circulation. I can understand why some people prefer the penny goes the way of the $2 bill (most recent currency removed from circulation, replaced by the $2 coin):

• First off, it's a nuisance to most. Many people would not bother picking up pennies on the ground, and some would ask the cashier to keep the pennies when given them.
• Secondly, due to the ever-rising prices of various raw materials, it costs significantly more to make a penny than a penny is worth.
• It is not, and has never been, accepted by any vending machine.
• Consumers increasingly prefer to use plastic over cash, even for micro-transactions.

The proposal calls for the removal of the penny, rounding the transaction to the nearest nickel, but only if it is paid in cash. When credit or debit card is used, the transaction is still rounded to the penny.

And here lies my biggest objection over the removal of penny. My other pro-penny argument is related to the pesky sales tax.

For the sake of argument, imagine a perfectly rational person who doesn't factor time into his utility function, who always have sufficient cash and sufficient credit on his credit card (and always pays his balance in full before the due date) when he makes a purchase. Imagine he makes a purchase of $11.08. With 5% GST ($0.55) and 8% PST ($0.89), the total comes to $12.52. This logical person would prefer paying $12.50 in cash over paying $12.52 in plastic. If even 5% of the customers does this, the retailer, responsible for swallowing the difference (because rounding should balances itself out in theory), would lose money in the long run.

Now imagine the same person is buying 7 items of $11.08 each. If he buys them in a single transaction, the subtotal is $77.56, with 5% GST ($3.89) and 8% PST ($6.20), the total is $87.65. In this case, the logical person would actually make 7 separate purchases of $11.08 each, all paid in cash, to bring his total cost down to $87.50, instead of paying $87.65. If someone actually does that, imagine all the time wasted by the cashier, whose time is part the the utility function of the retailer, and any customers waiting in line behind him, whose utility functions probably include their time, and almost certainly do not include the money this guy can save.

Before you dismiss this case as, "who's gonna waste all that time saving just a few cents??" Let me tell you, during my years as cashier in a bygone era, I've seen my fair share of such penny-pinching customers. Back then, their calculations only involved sales tax -- to them, how tax was calculated by the POS (or the cashier using a calculator) actually affected their choice of bill splitting. Imagine if they have this new dimension of rounding to use as well!

OK, I'm just being paranoid/annoying. It probably won't matter much in the end.

Browser Notes

I've been using Firefox 3 beta as my primary browser since beta 2 was released. The latest beta 5, released yesterday, seems to crash more often than beta 4. Whether it is due to the countless add-ons I have in my profile, my heavy dependence on AJAX apps, the habit having 20 different tabs opened, or the general sluggishness of my laptop (constantly have less than 3% hard drive space free) remains to be seen. My salvation comes in the form of the Session Manager add-on.

Speaking of AJAX apps, Wesabe seems to kill the browser much faster than Google Reader (averaging 300 items per day) or Google Mail (GMail, plus 2 on Google Apps). I wish they would fix that.

On a separate note, I realized I have a total of 6 different, standalone browsers installed, and I have used each one of them as my primary browser for at least a few days in a row at one time or another: IE 7 (when I want to restrict myself from surfing the web during work hours), Opera 9.26 (when Firefox 2 was too sluggish), Opera 9.5 beta (the synchronized bookmark with Opera Mini was useful), Firefox 2 (previous main browser), Firefox 3 beta (current main browser) and Safari (wanted to like it, but it uses more memory and crashes more frequently than all other browsers combined).