Marathon #2.

Can someone tell me why on earth did I sign up for this kind of torture again?

Had to drag myself out of bed way too early in the morning and having a badminton session the day before was a really bad move. And we had to park about 1 km away from the starting point - walking TO is all good but walking FROM was almost life threatening. And the running route was hilly, almost 45 degrees at some points. And the dude at the one and only water station gave me false hope by cutting out a kilometer of the actual distance remaining. And at 2km, the front runners have already completed 9km, heading to the finish line - so demotivated! Not forgetting the scent of sambal belacan when passing the student's quarters.


But all in all, although I didn't manage to finish the Mizuno Wave Run within the 90 minutes time frame, I slashed about 25 minutes off the time spent on my previous run, which I have to admit, is pretty satisfying. And the 6 cups free ice cold Milo after the run was so heavenly it brought me back to life, literally.

The one and only image from the run, thanks Jason for the picture.

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iPhone Story.

A week before the 30 days waiting period was due, I made a call to Maxis (123) inquiring on the status of my booking. Hoping that the individual on the other side of the line would mention something along the line of "phone ready for collection", I was instead informed that it should be the following week. Although it was to be expected, I couldn't help but to feel quite disappointed.


5 days before due, I received a call from some random fella representing Maxis, informing me that my collection date has to be further postponed by 2 weeks due to shortage in stock (worldwide). Overwhelmed with disappointment, I used the "urgent with lame excuses" tactic to which the fella replied that he would note down the request in my booking and forward it to Maxis.


3 days before due, I made a call to Maxis and not surprisingly, when I inquired on the urgent request, according to this individual, nothing was noted. So, I repeated everything all over again with her responding in a similar scripted-like-response of the 2 weeks delay due to shortage, noting down my request blah, blah and yadah, yadah. However, this time around, I was supposed to be getting a response from Maxis within 48 hours.


So, on the 30th day itself, after 52 hours of waiting for response, I gave a call to Maxis again with the intention of giving the unlucky person who picked up my call a piece of mind. This time, I was told that since my 30 days waiting period is up, I should head over to the Maxis Outlet (where I made the booking) and inquire on the status, no guarantee that I would be getting it though. Upon further inquiring, apparently our inquiry via the 123 helpline would be forwarded to the intended Maxis Center via email and there's no guarantee that it would be replied, although according their procedure, it should be within 48 hours. And them making a call to the Maxis Outlet wouldn't help because it would be unlikely that someone would answer it.

Either the individual couldn't be bothered to do anything to check on my status or she's a newbie to be telling me all this or she can sense my Level 97 Anger and blurted everything out accidentally due to extreme nervousness.


Hence, I headed over to the Gardens Maxis Outlet after work (just 5 minutes walk), took a number, waited for 30 minutes because the individuals occupying the 3 counters before me was pretty long winded, passed the lady my booking slip and said "I'm here to collect my phone". Guess what, it was processed immediately, no questions at all and after some forms and signatures, the beautiful black box was laid right before my very eyes. I played it cool although deep within, I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement, adrenaline rush, heart pumping, palms sweating... muka maintain.


This is my iPhone story and my conclusion, checking your status via calling Maxis Center (123) is totally unreliable, if possible, just head to the outlet where you made your booking directly upon 30 days. Although there's no guarantee that you'll be on the receiving end, I think you would at least get a clearer picture on the actual status. Or make a fuss. Or throw a tantrum. Or create a scene. Or you could take a risk by heading there earlier, who knows, you might just get lucky.

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Observed: The n-th Wife.

n. Because I lost count.

I have a feeling that this one would get along pretty well with the Prime wife and it would be unlikely for the "others" to have any disagreements. Would be bringing this one out to shop for "clothes" pretty soon, hopefully it wouldn't cost that much and all goes well without objection (or interference) from Prime.

Because pink is hideous.

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