My Books

These are the four books that I bought from the recent Shanghai Book Fair. They are Wordworth edition and Bantam pocket classic edition. They should be available in KL too, but not sure of the price.

The Jane Austen complete novel collection is RMB75 and the rest is between RMB20-25.

I also bought five rolls of the adhesive book wrapper which is RMB7 per roll. It is good for 10 paper size books or 5 normal size books. This should prevent any tear and wear, especially dog ears, on the cover of the books.

Boyzone

This evening at 2010 hours, on CCTV Music channel in Shanghai, there is a programme on the best music concert compilation. The artist featured include Kylie Minogue, Sarah Brightman, Elton John, Tina Turner, and many others.

What caught my attention is the rendition of "No Matter What" by Boyzone. On 3rd August 1998 this song hit the #1 UK, #2 AUS, #12 US Adult Contemporary Chart. The lead singer is Stephen Gately. I think anyone with a good gaydar would be able to single him out. His mannerism was kinda soft and effeminate, so adorable.

Stephen came out and gave his story to The Sun which published the headline "Boyzone Stephen: I'm gay and I'm in love" on 16 June 1999. In 1998, Stephen revealed that he had started a relationship with Eloy de Jong, a member of the boy band Caught in the Act. Later, Stephen dated Andrew Cowles and they were married in a civil ceremony in London on 19 March 2006. And get this, Cowles was introduced by no other then Elton John, and his civil partner, David Furnish.

I also like the other lead vocalist, Ronan Keating. I find his most memorable track is "When You Say Nothing At All".

Annual Book Fair at Shanghai

It is the annual book fair at Shanghai. The first one was held in 2002. I visited the one last year which was held at a different venue.

It runs from 15 to 21 August 2007 during summer holidays before school reopen on 31 August. The admission fee is RMB10 for one day pass.

The discount wasn't that great during last year book fair since I could get better discount at Amazon China, which could be 15 to 70% off. But it is a real treat for me book hound, to browse the books and the latest titles, leafing through the books and admiring the glossy covers.

New Day in Shanghai

This is my second trip to Shanghai.

The weather has cooled down a bit and not as hot and humid. All because there were heavy downpours for the last few days. According to the locals, it will be autumn soon. I can't wait for the temperature to go down a bit more from 35 Celsius to 30 and below.

This morning I saw a comment to my post 'Unfriendly Malls', I am not able to view it right now since I am in Shanghai. Anyway thanks for the comment and you are welcome to post your comment and I will read it once I got the chance.

Yesterday there was a farewell dinner for one of my colleagues. He has left for KL for good this morning. You can view the pics of the dishes that we ordered and group photos. The link is here. No prize for guessing me in the photos.

Unfriendly Malls

Yesterday my mom and I were at Ikano Power, the Curve, and Cineplex. To our dismay, the access path to the Cineplex from the Curve is badly designed.

There is no ramp for the sky bridge on the first floor connecting the Curve and Cineplex.

The ramp on the ground floor where the exit is blocked by the booths and whatever passage left is so narrow, it is difficult to maneuver the wheel chair.

The access area at the Curve was heavily blocked with tables and chairs and diners. The restaurant should not place the chair and tables until it is so narrow for the wheel chair to pass through.

Just look at the photos. I conclude that the malls are not so user friendly to the handicap.

No More Blog

I would arrive at Shanghai around 1430 today.

I am now waiting for departure at KLIA. While in Shanghai I would have no access to blogspot since it is censored or blocked in China. I won't be able to read your comment real time but please keep posting them and I would reply to them when I am back to KL.

I may be able to post new blog but would not be able to view it myself. So please come back and check for any new post.

Book Lovers Beware!

To say the book fair by Popular at Amcorp Mall is disappointing is an understatement. There was limited number of books and the concourse area is too small. Popular has used the various shopping malls' concourse area and so far the best was at Summit SJ.

I was at Amcorp around 4pm yesterday and did not know what to buy. Gasp! Maybe it is the end of my book buying days. I dare not think of it.

Then I strolled to Pay Less at 1st floor and it has never been one of my favorite hang out place. I explore the other floors and came across Reissued which specialized in imported magazine at lower rates. Next to it 'was' Book Xpress as there is a sign saying that they have moved to Lot 3-57 with more floor space.

The store is brightly lighted and the display and shelves remind me of the newly renovated bookstore ala Times. There weren't that many customers at the hour but I am sure business will pick up soon. The books are all new (unlike Pay Less where books with dog ears) and at nearly 1/3 of the original price.

@Kyle, I did not buy any book from Popular.
@Magus, there is a hardcover print of Covey's "The Speed of Trust" only at RM29.90!

I bought three books, "Brokeback Mountain", "John McEnroe" and "Teacher Man". May be I would do a book review later. All for RM51.70. I love the cover of Annie Proulx's book which is now a major motion picture. I must say that Ang Lee has done justice to the story based on Brokeback Mountain.

The cashier told me that Book Xcess has been in operation for the last 6 months. This is the only branch in KL and they intend to open up more stores in Malaysia. Good news to book lovers.

Transformer

I picked up this Snille swivel chair from IKEA today. My mom and I were there at 1015 and we thought we're early and surprised to see Ikano Power already so crowded.

So this is the before and after picture of the chair. Thanks to the brilliant design and it only needs basic skill to read picture and intuition to assemble the chair.

We also went to Aussino and bought the bed skirt for the coming Slumberland mattress. Yesterday at Jusco MidValley, I have bought two sets of comforter bed sheet as there is a sales up to 70% now. I can't wait to dress up my new bed.

The Ante is Up

I finally placed the deposit for a Slumberland bed mattress. The tag line of Slumberland is "The Most Comfortable Place in The World".

I have been a Slumberland follower since 1995, I bought super single and later a 3-seat sofa. Now I have finally decided to get a queen size bed.

Get this! It is the Bio-ceramic Sanctuary with a posture spring divan and Oxford headboard. Tada! And the price is RMx,800. The next in range would be Royal Haven which is more than double the price!

The sales girl said she will be kind enough and promised to swap the two anti dust mite pillow which is FOC with the more expensive ortho-posture pillow which has a list price of RM368. You can check out the pillow at Harvey Norman.

The Bio-ceramic fabric is woven with a special fiber, made with many different kind of ceramics mixed with mineral oxides, like Silica Oxide, including nano sized far infrared materials and nano sized photo catalyst materials.

And the benefit of far infrared ray? Supposed to improve sleep quality, micro circulation that activates and adjusts blood vessel flow, body's general metabolism, it also reinforces the immunity system and eases pain... too good to be true? Maybe it is all marketing gimmick.

Now I can't wait for the mattress to arrive. But I would be out of KL for a month, so I have asked them to delay the delivery until I am back.

What a Burden!

I could not help to include the extract from this book on "empowerment":

"All too often, managers put people in charge of a project but fail to give them the authority to get the job done. For example, a senior executive may ask a manager to work with the marketing department to develop a new launch campaign. However, the executive fails to inform the people in marketing of this and gives the manager no resources or budget to carry out the assignment. The manager is responsible for the project, but does not have the tools needed to succeed. This is akin to hiring a general contractor to build a home, but not giving him the authority to hire carpenters, masonry workers, electricians, and plumbers to assist him. Any assignment where responsibility is dispensed without authority will quickly run into roadblocks. The process will alienate those involved because they will be responsible for the lack of results and will be expecting discipline rather than kudos. Is it any wonder, then, that the concept of empowerment has become so tarnished?"

Does it sound familiar to you? You are given tons and tons of responsibilities but not any authority to execute what you are asked to do? There is no support, no resources, no power and yet you were expected to deliver.

Unscrupulous

Next time when you are out shopping, beware of unscrupulous vendor!

The latest Nokia 6300 promo ads published the price as RM899 officially and the package comes with a 1GB microSD card.

On Nokia website, the original package comes with the 128MB microSD card with SD adapter and full software like theme, graphic, games and Dictionary. Yes, a dictionary on cell phone.

I bought mine at recent PC Fair at the RRP. The vendor gave me the 1GB card no doubt, but he swapped it with the original 128MB and did not provide the SD adapter, nor the software.

So I borrowed my friend's original 128MB and transfer additional theme and the Dictionary into my 1GB. The game and other software is write protected. At least now I am happy that I have dictionary on the go, which is Eng to Chn and Chn to Eng. Too bad there is no Eng to Eng. Well, it is not a perfect world after all.

Sales! Sales!

It is another book fair by Popular.

This time it is at Amcorp Mall, PJ. The sales runs from 7 August (today!) till 15 August, 11am to 9pm. So hurry! Go and grab your copies.

Based on the ads, English book is 15% for one book and 20% for two books or more.

I will probably drop by one day.

Carnation for my Mother

Carnation
Originally uploaded by Red_Kitten

The other day my mom and I were at Ms. Read, at Mid Valley branch and 1 Utama branch. The sales is on and I bought two blouses for my mom.

The boutique specialized in oversize lady garment of size from 12 to 24. I find that the price is quite reasonable and value for money. If you have friends who might find these garment appealing, please let them know where they could get them.

My mom said she will keep one of the blouses to be worn when her time is up. She even gave me instruction on how she would like to be dressed and all that. I felt a cramp in my stomach and I just nodded my head.

MPH Sales

It is another sales by MPH bookstore from August 1 to 5, 2007.

I was at 1 Utama MPH. However the sales is only valid for MRC card member and mine already expired in Nov 2006. So if I wished to enjoy the discount of 15% to 20% on books, I need to pay the renewal fee of RM10.

Knowing that I still have tons of books unread and gathering dust at home, and my mom won't approve for buying new ones until I throw away some, I decided to forgo the sales. I find excuses that there is nothing interesting to buy and read though I would like to get my hands on "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne and "Social Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman. Further more I have a membership at KL City Hall library and they have a good collection of books and CDs.

I think I am a collector of all sorts. I collect books, DVD, music, and more books. But I never find the time or get around to read the books or watch the DVD.

Object of Desire

She is an absolute beauty. Look at her curvature, her sleekness and smooth skin.

This is an object of desire for many men, I supposed.

This phone is offered free by signing up a 24-month 125RM airtime plan with Digi. There are not one but four phones to choose from. But Samsung SGH U600 and F300 are top of the crops. Together they belong to the Ultra edition II family.

I love the U600 for its reflective mirror-like coating around the TFT display and no forgetting the touch menu keys which respond to the slightest movement of the fingers over the touch sensitive keys.

I also like the F300 for its two-face design. BTW, it also comes with an extra battery in the form of the phone pouch or cover. For a mere 9.4mm thinness and 77g it felt so light in your palm.

Read about the review at CNET.

Nonetheless, I bought the Nokia 6300 for its simplicity design. Simplicity is more!

Another PC Fair

200604 convention centre
Originally uploaded by superciliousness

The time has come, for another PC Fair.

It couldn't be more an appropriate time but in the midst of Visit Malaysia Year 2007 sales carnival.

As usual, the venue was jam packed. There were people everywhere in all the halls. There is always something for everyone.

As usual, I would drool over the VAIO notebooks. This time it is the newly launched TZ series for its 11.1" display and long life battery of 11.5 to 18 hours of usage.

There are so many things to explore but too little time.
Too long a wish list to fulfill, too little money. Enough said.