Twisty Tales : Buying My 2nd Folding Bike

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Buying My 2nd Folding Bike

THIS REALLY HAPPENED TO ME!

I have recently taken up biking, riding bicycles as a leisure sports and not competitive biking. This, after a close friend Sin encouraged me to buy a foldie, i.e. folding bikes. Foldies can be, well, folded up and put into the car boot. Drive somewhere and assemble the bike within a minute or two - and off we go riding.

Sin seems to have taken his bike to many places, riding with one foldie group or another to small towns, parks, long-trails, etc. Reading his blogs hApPy HaPpY, encouraged me further. After all I need the exercise too.

Initially, I bought a basic foldie. One with bare minimum gear-speeds and not to expensive; as I wasn't sure whether my foray into biking would last. Whether it would just mushroom up and fade away all too soon. I started riding on my own, then joined Sin for some group rides getting to make new friends. We soon formed our own smaller group of 6. And I was really enjoying biking.

Just after 2weeks from my first purchase and I was bitten by the biking bug!

But some of the rides were tough, going up steep roads, and my basic 7-speed foldie just wasn't built for it. At some of the steeper and longer slopes I just couldn't make it to the top, humbly dismounting & pushing my bike up.

So what should I do? Up-grade! My biking buddies advised me. Upgrade!

Off I went around town with my son Nitaro, looking for better bikes - lighter and with more gear speeds. Surprisingly, there were so many shops around; and so many choices available. And I learnt a fair bit during my shopping stint. Frames as light as possible (from steel frames to aluminium alloy to reinforced carbon ones). Number of gears is also important with light gear ratio to go up the steep slopes, and heavy ones for speeding along the flats. Prices ranged from 2 times to 10 times my basic foldie.

I saw a few models, good bikes at just the right price, but I wasn't sure. So I went back to Johnny, the guy I bought my first bike from as he was a helpful fellow and should be able to give me good technical advice. He was just about closing his shop. I showed him the pictures I took of the bikes I viewed.

While he was advising me, out of the corner of my eye I say a midnight black foldie with lime green stripes - an 18-speeder. It was love at first sight and I just have to get that bike. As his shop was closed for the weekend, I told Johnny that I will be back the following Monday to purchase the bike.

All through the weekend, I was dreaming of my new love. On Monday, just after work I picked up Nitaro & drove anxiously to Johnny's.

Woe and behold! The bike was gone, my love was not there anymore. "What happened?" I asked Johnny. He sheepishly answered that there was something wrong with the bike, etc. etc. etc. I strongly suspected that another purchaser must have bought the bike in the morning! When will the next shipment come, I inquired. Johnny sadly replied, "Perhaps in another month's time." ONE MONTH!

Nitaro had to rush back to meet some friends, and I grudgingly left Johnny's, grumbling all the way back home. Reaching home, I was surprised to see my wife back home early. The look on my face told of my disappointment.

I was ready to flop into bed and sleep off my sorrows, when I heard Nitaro shouting, " Hey Dad! something is wrong with the guest bedroom. I rushed over and.... 
Lo and Behold! There was that bike standing mysteriously at the corner of the room.

You see - my wife was the other purchaser!

She, Nitaro & Johnny had conspired to give me a good surprise! My first love had bought me my second love! Mwaaah!

POSTSCRIPT:
They are two stories behind buying my second foldable bike, this is the hilarious one. For the serious, technical one read - Buying My 2nd Foldie

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WoW! : No.5 Uncle 65th Birthday

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NO.5 UNCLE 65TH BIRTHDAY

Nice Birthday Cake

My 5th Uncle came back to Penang to hold a nice birthday celebration with relatives and friends. It was a reunion of sorts, one that was eagerly awaited by many of us. My 5th Uncle is the youngest in his family, and because of that he is closer in age to many of his older nephews & nieces - sharing the same views and experiences. To the younger ones, he is also a fun uncle.

The dinner was held at May Garden Palace Restaurant at upper Penang Road. This is a simple, cozy place with delicious food.
When I was informed by Nico that he is helping Uncle 5 to organize a birthday do, I was telling myself that this is one that I should not miss and quickly re-arranged my schedule accordingly.

The Elders

I believe Uncle 5 held this dinner to remind us, the younger ones, about the importance of family and how lucky we are to be part of such a big and diverse one.
Most of the elders, few they may be, came to join in the celebration. Many others came from all over; with Uncle 5 and his better half, Adrienne comng over from New Zealand. The Lau's elders came up from Kuala Lumpur.  

The Chang's & Ooi's from Taiping & Butterworh

The Tan's from Penang

New grand-father August (with daughter Celeste) came from Ipoh, & the Chang's

Tor Pooi, Uncle 5's best friend, came with his wife Belinda. They sat with some of the Tan's from Penang.

And then there were the girls - in-law, nieces,  grand-daughters & grand-nieces.

The young guys, who were trying to act like old guys.

And the old guys who were trying to dress like young guys.

Cute, adorable nieces.

 Uncle 5's daughter brought her whole family from New Zealand too.

Kiriana was a warm host, seen here posing with Uncle 3's daughter & grand-daughter

Having not seen each other for a long time, there were hugs aplenty.

Cousin Nico, the organizer, was also a lively emcee - cracking jokes and making everybody happy with his laughter.

He made sure that the elders felt welcome with his warmth. Seen here with Uncle 1.

And his hugs - here with Auntie-in-law 5.

And smiles - here with Auntie 4.

And more hugs with Auntie 5

And even more hugs with Auntie 8.

More smiles with Uncle-out-law.....Oops! I mean Uncle-in-law 8.

Uncle 5 also kept us in laughter with his wit. There were many jokes especially about Uncle 5 famous saying - "Seh Moh Au Booi?" (In English - "Grow hair yet?"). You see, Uncle 5 during his younger days likes to take his nephews to go swimming or just for a short drive. Many of us were eager to follow him as he was a fun uncle. The younger ones who wanted to follow were simply asked "Seh Moh Au Booi?" No hair means no go!

But all too soon, the cake was brought out.

And the candles lighted up.

And Uncle 5 then blew out the candles. When asked what he wished for, I could hear him whisper "My wish has already been granted."

He gave a short speech on the importance of family closeness, love and forgiveness. We all sang "Happy Birthday" and "For he's a jolly good fella" And then he cut the cake to our cheers of "Hip Hip Hooray!"

The dinner ended, but the reunion didn't. Most of us stayed back and traded stories of the past and caught up on the present.

Thank you Uncle 5, it was a wonderful reunion. And Oh... the food was good too.


P.S.  - Sorry. No photos of the food. Too busy taking photos of relative and chatting with them.

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Twisty Tales : Trigger Finger

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Trigger Finger

THIS REALLY HAPPENED TO ME!

Before I go on, I better put a disclaimer, lest people think I am one of those gun-totting cowboy types. This blog isn't about the Wild West, it is not about violence. Rating here is G. So, read on.
It's about physiological ailments that hit various parts of our body - especially as we get older. I list down some of the more interesting ones.

SMS Thumb

This ailment was common prior to the advent of today's smart phones with touch screens. Then most mobile phones had physical buttons. Most, especially youngsters, will use their thumbs to type out their messages, and they can do it at a reckless speed! But after a while, the poor thumb, not being designed for this type of angled usage gets strained and the pain sets in.

Mahjong Thumb
Now these is an odd one. Skilled mahjong players will take a tile from the rack and without looking at the tile face, will use their thumb to feel and guess which card it is. This adds thrill to the game with the unnerving suspense of the other players while that player is having his feel.
One friend of mine was pretty good at this; but one fine day he had this pain in his left thumb and went to see a physiotherapist. The physio, to rub it in,  advised that this ailment came about through rubbing action by the thumb. My friend couldn't figure out how he got it until he recall his mahjong games. Rubbed the wrong way, huh!

Trigger Finger

Okay, the infamous one, the title of this blog. For the sufferer, as he/she tries to slowly open the fingers of the hand, the affected finger will suddenly flip open, just like the action of a gun's trigger - hence the name.

I got it while I was playing games on my touch-screen phone, using my fore-finger to poke and folding my other fingers outwards and away from the phone. Lesson learnt, never have one's digits opened at wrong angles for too long a time. Or else - Flick, flick uncontrollably.

Tortoise Back (aka Backache / Slip Disc)

I always think myself as a Mr. Macho, but machoness has it's realistic limits. Well,I  learnt this the hard way when I single-handedly carried a fridge and lifted it into a waiting truck. Ever since then, I have a poor back and will have back-aches even if I stress it just slightly more than normal. And sometime stressing my back was unintentional.

Once, while bending down to brush my teeth, my throat was tickled causing me to cough & Ouch!

Another time, while bending down to pull up my underwear a sneezed suddenly came. Aachoo! & Ouch!

Once the pain got so bad that I couldn't get out of bed easily. I had to flip myself over and slowly crawl to the bed's edge like a tortoise, slowly put my legs onto the floor and push myself up with my arms. So now I nickname it Tortoise Back. 

Tennis Elbow
This one, I'll never forget. Tennis elbow is caused by the frequent flicking action of the wrist while playing tennis. I don't play tennis, I got it when..... well read on.

I was once an keen gardener and would potter around my garden, planting plants, weeding etc. I even did a bit of hardscaping with some stones and pebbles laid in nice patterns to form flower beds.

There I was happily placing small rounded stones, setting them in with mortar. Mixing a mortar mix in a small pail needs some churning action. So- Churn, churn to mix. Then churn to place one stone. Churn again to place another. Little did I know that I was imitating a tennis player's action. The next day when I woke up, one small touch to the elbow bone sent an electrifying jolt through my arm. Ouch!

So, off I went to see a doctor who while treating me remarked "Ahem, you must be good at tennis." "Nope, I don't play tennis, never once in my life." "Then how?"

"From gardening......."

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Twisty Tales : Sweet Young Thing - She Was After My Money

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Sweet Young Thing

THIS REALLY HAPPENED TO ME!

One fine day I received a call from this SYT (Sweet Young Thing). She was from the credit card company calling to ask for payment and the conversation went as follows :-

SYT - Hello Mr. Tan and Good afternoon to you. I am calling regarding your outstanding payment which is overdue. Can you bank in the amount today by 3pm.

Me - 3pm? Are you crazy? Don't need to work gah?

SYT - But Mr. Tan, it's overdue.

Me - How long is it overdue? And how much?

SYT - Two weeks sir, and the amount is $150, Mr. Tan. 

Me - $150 AND TWO WEEKS ONLY. DON'T YOU HAVE WORSE PEOPLE TO CHASE?

 
SYT (in a even sweeter voice) - But Mr. Tan, don't get angry. I am just doing my job.
(At this stage I was almost boiling, but decided to stay cool. So I calmly asked her -)

Me - Miss, how old are you?

SYT - 21. Mr. Tan. Why? Sir.

Me - Can you check and see how long I have been a member of this card.

(Paused for a moment)

SYT - Uncle! Uncle! (No more "Mr. Tan" and no more "Sir" - just "Uncle")

Your card is even older than me!!!!!!!

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