Firing up an Old Flame

I had been looking up the review for the upcoming BlackBerry Priv and felt that the phone certain got potential. On the one hand, you have the great hardware and keyboard - both physical and software - which came with BlackBerry plus the flexibility and the established platform that was Android operating system.

I have invested a lot in Android software, so it would make perfect sense to port over into another Android rather than plod along with BlackBerry OS, which may be going nowhere soon.

While waiting for it to be available at the shop, I thought I rekindle my love for BlackBerry. I went back into my digital cupboard and dusted off my old Z10, got it charged up and updated the OS.

Hmmm! Sluggish but usable. Now I realised why I left the phone in the cupboard in the first place. The main problem j had with the phone was not the hardware, but the software. And the worst part was navigating through the trove of emails in the so called Hub. To erase the email in bulk took some prodding. Then came the problem of trying to jump from email to the next. It appeared that you needed to load each emails individually rather than sift through them fast such as in the Android or Outlook.

And that was just for starters. It get worse with the other third party apps. They were just slow and sluggish. Therefore marrying the good of BlackBerry and Android made perfect sense. The keyboard on the Z10 itself remained peerless. Even better than any Android or iOS keyboards.

Still waiting for a unit to try. Hopefully the wait would not be that long.

End of the Road?

Since the closing of Bukit Bintang Plaza, its sister Sungai Wang Plaza seemed to have aged considerably. It was slowly turning into a dump unfortunately. Certainly it had not aged gracefully.

When I was there yesterday, quite a number of the business had closed. Some of them had moved across to Berjaya Time Square just along the road. Some of them had packed up while most of the IT vendors had moved to Low Yat next door.

It was a Sunday and usually the place was the buzz capital of townApparently the main foyer was occupied by a K-pop dance event. It was already done.In the past years, there were still plenty of vendors selling phones at the main foyer and walkway. It uses to be multiple floors of them. Yesterday, it was down to just a single floor. And even then, you can't get the really up to date gadget any longer.

This was one of the earliest "Famous Amos" store in the country. And still serve the best cookies.But it was depressing to look around everywhere ....I was convinced that its days are numbered. Maybe once the MRT station operational the situation might improve but at the rate it was going things were. It looking too good. The whole of the third floor was practically empty. I didn't even bother going up to the loft where there used to be a big eating area.

Time had certainly moved on ....

Kenduri Afternoon

One of Anita's cousin hosted the wedding of their son this afternoon and the whole family including my in-laws went with us. It was held at a hall in Bangi.

As my in-laws were the guests of honour, we had to be there early which did not go down well with the boys. They were playing up all lunchtime, refusing to eat. I had to stay with them out side the hall while Anita entertained her cousins and relatives.

The happy couple arriving at the hallMy Dad-in-law at the high tableAlready starvingThe ceremony itself went very well. Both the bride and groom were Doctors now finishing their housemanship. Food was excellent and the best thing was, the event started on time!

The theme was blue and it was clear everybody had a great time while I had to soldier on with the boys outside the hall. We should have left them at the apartment with our maid. The original idea was to take them to see some of their relatives who they have not seen for a while.

On the way ....On the way back, they were complaining because they were hungry. We stopped by at Express Sushi while our driver drove our in-laws home.

How About Fahrenheit?

Located across the road from Pavilion, I thought I have a look at the decorations there as well. Not much interpretation here. Just a simple Xmas celebration, Father Xmas and his helper.

Plus reindeers of course. Much more subdued than past years, which reflected how business had been over there. It had gone rather quiet I was afraid ....

Faeries at BSC

The Xmas decorations went full swing at BSC, and as usual the main foyer at the new wing was transformed - usually into decorated stalls. They pulled it off again this year, and the theme from the looks of things were faeries. They were everywhere, although it was called it Elfland. No, I could not spot any Elves. So can't my boys.

The stalls there sold candles and other festive items. Far too expensive for us to browse to be quite honest. But the ambiance was contagious.

There was a small stage by the fountain for shows, but they were mainly during weekends. I was sure Santa would be there.

We were there for early dinner since I was on call the evening before, and Anita had to do a bit of groceries. We had our meal at Chinoz. Still early and the place was still empty.

Then came the shopping and the boys went wild. Idlan even asked for some macaroons as he could not resist the ones flown in from Belgium. We baught a couple and he finished them straight away as soon as he reached home. Very tasty he said. But I don't think that I could afford many more ....