Thoughts on the Dyson V8

Friends have been raving about the Dyson V8:

If  you've seen its TV advert (or watch it here), it looks really easy to use.

One would jolt when one first comes across the price tag. For info, it is now retailing at S$799 at Courts. What?!? $800 for a vacumn cleaner?! A traditional, mid range vacumn cleaner costs about $200-$400 - I recently bought a cute Tefal for $169 - so tell me, what is so special about the Dyson V8????

So okay, friends said it's light-weight and cordless, quiet operation, comes with detachable heads that serves different purposes e.g. for mattress, for tight nooks and crannies, for ceiling... Do these frills (or gimmicks) justify the premium?

Let's think about the cons:

- It is cordless because it runs on a battery. Which means its performance will degrade with time, just like the battery in your mobile phone or laptop. Thus, one should also factor in the replacement cost of the battery in one's consideration
- To enhance the life of the battery, the battery musn't be overcharged, i.e. if it takes 30 mins to reach full charge, the power must be disconnected. I think this adds stress to the user... cos he/she gotta be mindful of the time???
- Comes with detachable heads - Duh, so does my Tefal and any other vacumn.

Conclusion:

Depends on the usage frequency la. If one vacumns everyday and develops OCD with dangling wires coming out from the ass of the VC, then the higher cost of the Dyson will achieve higher ROI within a shorter timeframe. My wifey is attracted to it and is inclined to get one too (and I secretly think the wives of my friends played an influential role). Of course the Dyson V8 attracts me too for it is compact and user-friendly; IF I really get it, it would be really just down to 2 reasons:

1. It can vacumn my bed mattresses, much like a Delphin/Rainbow VC that costs ~$4k; AND
2. Price drops to below $600.

HAHA. To add on my point, most people knows Dyson products are overhyped and overpriced. Know of someone who worked at Dyson and he stated the same. However to make a fair argument, many used the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer (that costs $599) and have been very impressed with it! But anyway, our Tefal VC is our storeroom most of the time. It is under-utilised because we use magic wipes which are super effective at picking up dirt and hair! Hence, in the short term future, the Dyson V8 in our household shall remain on the TV screen.


P/S: I wouldn't reject it as a gift. =)

When u ...

'Nuff said.

So, I'm not alone to be feeling this way eh? 

We BBQ!

Look how huge Aloha Loyang Resort chalet is!

Relaxing dad

Huggggggeee living room, hugeeeee kitchen, hugeeee patio, spacious dining room, plus 4 hugggeee double bedrooms with ensuite bathroom!

Wifi connection was strong and stable, in fact excellent enough to stream movies on their smart TV! Place was spick and span when we checked in, furniture and fittings looked fairly new and well maintained. Sis said it's recently renovated and the livability condition has improved drastically, for example the living and dining areas are now air-conditioned! The kitchen is very well furnished with a huge freezer (just dump all your drinks and beer in when you check in), pots and pans, induction cooker and utensils no less. The outdoor BBQ pit comes with generous table-top and dedicated sinks for food preparation.

Walking distance to the beach and a big children friendly swimming pool (manned by an attentive lifeguard).

Crybabywyx

The previous time we had family BBQ was many years ago!! This year, the crowd has increased cos number of cousins are working in Sg. And when it comes to BBQ, the family and extended family have the same passion towards FOOD...!!! We had a great time!!!

More BBQ (and more turnout) to come!

QOTD

My SAHD week!

Nothing short of enjoyable!!! 

My parents took a week's overseas break to Korea. Wifey's work doesn't allow much flexibility so I cleared my work and took 5 days of Mandatory Block Leave (yes, even in my engineering scope of work we practise corruption prudence) to care for babywyx. Fortunately the week coincides with sis' school term break and she was good company cum chef! 

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

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Really really enjoyed the quality bonding time with babywyx. I think we understand each other alot better now. In the mornings we slept in and woke up at ~10:30am hehehhee. I thought the most challenging part of the day would be getting her to take afternoon naps, for when she's home she's used to latching to zzz; but this week I learnt that my magic arms were able to work the magic still! =D

I'm blessed that my baby girl's a very understanding and patient kid, when we are home she can entertain herself whilst I prep her porridge and do other chores (plus a little bit of TV as distraction); when we are outside she doesn't throw tantrums or create a nuisance, and is very contented just window shopping or taking a bus/car ride. :) It is such a joy watching yx be amazed by the many scenes and sights; such fulfillment when she picks up new words/nouns/sounds; and such heart-warmth walking side by side holding her little hand - I should say this joy, fulfillment and heart-warmth are emotions that only parents can feel and appreciate, and I am very proud to be a father to my babywyx :)

 P/S: I thought yx put on weight this week, and my mom agreed!

My stocks journey (ultra depressing)

Back in 2015 when news got out that former $MRT CEO, Ms $aw PH, joined Auric Pacific, I almost immediately bought 2 lots of the latter's shares. Having more than 9 years of proven commercial success and having personally seen her working/management style, I had no qualms she would bring nothing but success to any private company. AP's share price was hovering at about 83 cents at that time. True enough, not long after, ST published that the stocks had risen about 50 cents to ~$1.31 in a matter of months. Fast forward 2 years later March 2017, Auric Pacific was delisted at $1.65/share. In between I had bought a couple of lots more and thus made not much, but a substantial (by my own standards) profit from there. =D

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I have a habit of updating my financial portfolio every few months, you know, to keep tabs on my cash savings account, my CPF summary, insurance products and stocks etc.

Today I was updating it and realised that AP is the only profitable share I have made since setting up my POEM$ account in 2010. Not said is a realized loss of a few hundreds in Golden Agri, Eu Yan Sang and Federal. And unfortunately I am still holding on to paper losses in:

Noble Group
Sabana REIT
Singtel
Starhub
M1
HPH Trust
Sembcorp Marine

......amounting to thousands! T_T

Cui max!!!

Happenings the past week

Eventful week since we returned from Hong Kong:

-- Master bedroom door lock was stuck in the locked position!!

Dismantling in process

It happened so quickly - as per her bedtime routine, yx went into the master bedroom and would push the door close. She always does this hastily without paying attention if her feet are in the way; so I always made it a point to follow her inside. And fortunately I did, cos the door slammed shut this time and could not be opened! The mechanical latch was stuck to the door frame and refused to budge. We called my dad over for help. After removing the knobs on both sides of the doors then we managed to inspect that the latch was sort of embedded in the wooden door frame. No choice but to call locksmith ($80 for response) who reached in 20 mins. Using a special tool, he reached in and removed the latch in as little as TWO SECONDS. As the former lock was dismantled beyond repair, we asked the locksmith to change the lockset ($30). Bye bye $110 for about an hour and a half of 'Escape Room' excitement.

Really really fortunate that there was an adult in the locked room with yx; can't imagine if she was by herself and would be crying out hysterically!!??

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-- Wifey lost her footing and twisted her ankle real bad

2 days MC and on crutches. Lesson learnt - Do not use the phone while walking or using the stairs!!!!

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-- Volunteered at a Home

Ukulele AIG. Entertaining them in the best manner I am familiar with.

This initiative began early this year. My ukulele AIG was like half dead and members were lacking enthusiasm. And I always wanted to contribute more to the society, therefore:

I have a ukulele,

I want to contribute to society;

Uhh!

Volunteering!

Just nice my employer had recently implemented a 1-day Volunteer Leave which came in handy. But play ukulele also cannot play 2 hours right? So I roped in other AIGs! To my pleasant surprise, the response was very well-received:

Balloon sculpting. Their final products are really cute!

Zumba AIG

A total of 27 colleagues turned up, not including a few others who helped behind the scenes but who could not turn up physically. Baking and Cooking AIGs also made and distributed amazing cupcakes, cakes and almond biscuits they made in their own spare time. The residents' faces were radiant the time we were there. I was surprised to see a number even getting on their feet, dancing and singing along with us!

At the end of the event the residents proactively came up to us and shook our hands, thanking us. A few I spoke to even asked if we are visiting next month. The office staff in-charge, Mr Foo, gave us the best testimonial. He praised us for our "very well organised and well planned" contribution, and shared that "this is the first time the residents stay put in their seats till the end of the performances". Overall, I'm really pleased and grateful we made a positive lasting impression in the old folks, on top of that all of us volunteers had an enjoyable time mingling with them!

The next week I bumped into D(CD&EP) along the corridor, he commended my effort for initiating this cause. I humbly and honestly mentioned that the credit belonged to the volunteers, I didn't do much except to send a few emails. Nonetheless he mentioned it was a wonderful job being the 'strategist'. Okay, I'll take that :)

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-- Yx turns 20-month young!

Posing like a natural??

How much a baby can grow in 20 months. Amazing things at her current stage:

- Counting 1 to 10 in both English and Chinese, without any prompting
- Able to identify many Chinese characters, for e.g. sit, run, ear, head, eye, cry, stand, dog, cat, flower, door.
- Wants to choose what videos/songs to play on Youtube/phone (not a good thing).

Alas, she is running a fever now (I believe due to growing tooth, for she has been biting her finger, sth she hasn't done for quite awhile) and is very whiny and clingy to mommy. Get well soon little one!

Her 2nd birthday is in 4 months??!