Blending Happy Call

HamsterVille.

It is time to clean the village as the smell is now noticeable when one goes to the service balcony. Yes, my PDA is alerting the notification too.

Got to get my hands dirty this weekend to clean the 9 cages we have at the balcony. Sigh... it is a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. Me!

I have to get my son to do it too... after all, it started off with his project gone berserk.

The phone rang early in the morning. It was my Mom...

"I need a new blender." She said. "Your Dad broke the old one and now I can't cook...." she paused and continued with a strain in her voice "he is trying to repair and use it back again."

"Oh. Was there any spark or any smell when it went dead?" I asked intently, "ask Dad not to use it or plug it in to try. It might catch fire."

"Imran said don't fix it..." with some murmuring over the phone, "don't plug it in!" she hollered at Dad.

"Why don't we go out an buy a new one," I suggested "that blender is quite old, right?"

"We have been using it for 5 or 6 year now, I think..." she was counting in her head, "back from when we were still living in Tampines."

I think the blender had given enough of its life-time contribution to the kitchen and the cook for the household, all those years. It is time enough for a new blender. The old blender from National is really a very good brand, surviving all these years.

So, HamsterVille has to wait. The town clean-up will just have to be done on Sunday.

Since I have been meaning to bring both Mom and Dad to the new and largest shopping mall in Singapore to date, it was the perfect time anyway.

Wifey had to tend to her shop and my son was just too tired after coming back from his tuition he started for the first time this year in the morning, at ACE in 201D Tampines Avenue 2, he gave this outing a miss.


So, it was just me and my parents to VivoCity this afternoon.

Mom wanted to take the cab instead of the convenient North-East MRT line. Guess she is a little self-conscious about sitting in a wheelchair locked in the centre of the carriage while surrounded by other commuters.

Well, it cost us S$16.80 which she was adamant to pay for when we reached VivoCity's 2nd floor taxi stand.

"Ahh... I feel free," she exclaimed once we were inside walking around the mall "it is as if I don't have any sickness." She smiled while her eyes looking around the bright new place. She felt a relieve, a liberation of sort from being cooped-up in the house for so long.

Dad just smiled while pushing her wheelchair, looking at the harbour out across the glass walls on the opposite side of the mall. "This place is huge!" Was the first thing he said.

"Let's eat first. I'm hungry. It there Yong Tau Foo here?" Was his second.


Yes, Banquet Food Court was at B2. My favourite place to eat too. Tom Yam Seafood Noodle flashed in my mind's eye.

Once seated, we all decided to eat Yong Tau Foo instead. At S$4.00 a bowl, a big bowl at that. .. it was totally filling. Sat there for some time talking while sipping coffee after our late lunch. It was a nice time as we enjoyed each other's company.

Then onward we went for the blender hunt at Best Denki on the 2nd floor. A huge electronics and electrical hyperstore which was my first time in there too.

"Everything is huge here... impressive!" Dad exclaimed with awe. Mom just nodded in agreement. I nodded too. It was huge for something like this in Singapore, though I have seen even bigger hypermarts while in the US.

We found the blender. They wanted Philips Twist Blender as what Sis has. At $39.00, model HR1707 has a 2-year warranty. It was quite affordable and my parents were quick to decide on buying it.

My parents had another item on their shopping list. They wanted a home-phone to replace the intermittent one they are already fed-up with now.

Yes! That reminded me too. The one at home had its 2nd cordless set hissing noisily and the sound has become pronounced, irritating the caller at the other end.

I was looking for something that has at least 3 handsets to put one in the bedroom, the Gym Room and in my son's room.

My parents had their hearts set on a Uniden Digital Cordless Phone model DCT746-2. Two Cordless Handsets with for S$128.00.

I found the Motorola Digital Cordless Phone model ME4052-3 practical for my home. At S$226.00 for three Cordless Handsets for everyone is ideal.

Each handset has its own phonebook, so apart from the common family and emergency numbers programmed-in, the handsets can each be as unique as the personal numbers of friends and others that are important to each of us.


I know my son will have his numerous numbers of friends from school and around the block, while Wifey will store-in her friends and business suppliers in her handset. I will store my office as well as personal friends' numbers in mine.

With the stored name of the caller flashing if he or she calls in, apart from the usual caller-ID... makes it even more convenient at a glance. At the same time, each handset is already programmed with each of our names displayed all the time. A cool and convenient gadget!

Coming back to shopping... My parents were so happy to just sit back and relax on the stone benches along the harbour watching the waves and ferries passing by.


Just soaking up the sea breeze. Watching the sun set, silhouetting the cable-cars and the cruise ships at HarbourFront International Cruise Centre until it was time to go home. Not before more photo taking with my PDA and Mom's cell phones.

Nice day spent with my parents outside... with new a gadget to play around at home now.


Oh yes! Tomorrow is Sunday!