23rd Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship - Round 2

Round 2 was played off a combination of both White and Blue Tees. This day the alien have been kept at bay and I became myself again and played like myself. Loads of excuses but still we never run of our excuses when we have a bad day. Ask John Daly last week after his shot 63 only to shoot 86 the next day. So if pros can do it, what can't I? Navy Course Hole 1 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball again near right bunker of green. A magnet seems to have been placed at that spot. Shot 3 ball on green. Shot 4 ball kissed the lip of the hole to miss par. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 2 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on left of buggy track. Shot 2 ball short of green. Shot 3 chipped to green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 3 Par 3 Shot 1 ball on right side of fairway. Shot 2 chipped near to pin. Putted in for Par. Yay! Shot 3 for par. Hole 4 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball overshot green to right. Shot 3 chipped ball to about 12'. Shot 4 putted and missed to right. Shot 5 putted in for bogey. Improvement of 2 shots over Round 1. Hole 5 Par 5 Shot 1 pulled shot to left bunker. Shot 2 tried to be smart and used 5w to hit from bunker and topped ball but it's ok as it's on left fairway. Shot 3 beautiful shot that I thought was towards right side of left bunker 100m from hole. Then found ball in bunker, again. Damned. Shot 4 ball again in bunker fronting the green yet again. In this hole alone, my ball visited every conceivable bunkers it finds. Double damned. Make it triple. Shot 5 ball on green. 2 putted for double bogey. Shot 7 for double bogey. Hole 6 Par 3 Shot 1 ball about 20 m short of green. Shot 2 ball on green. Ho hum. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 4 for bogey. Hole 7 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway centre. Shot 2 ball short of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Big improvement of 5 shots over Round 1. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 8 Par 4 Shot 1 ball in left rough. Shot 2 ball short of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Another improvement of 5 shots over Round 1. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 9 Par 5 Shot 1 ball in rough of left bunker. Shot 2 hit the equator of the ball but it's still safe on fairway. Shot 3 laid up before water hazard. Shot 4 ball went back left of green. Shot 5 ball on green. 2 putted for double bogey, again. Shot 7 for double bogey. Army Course Hole 1 Par 5 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 duffed it, again. Shot 3 ball short of green. Shot 4 ball on green. 1 putted for Par. An improvement of 3 shots over Round 1. Shot 5 for par. Hole 2 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball on left of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 3 Par 3 Shot 1 ball on green. Elated. 3 putted for bogey. Damned. Shot 4 for bogey. Hole 4 Par 5 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball on left side of fairway, again. Shot 3 ball short of green. Shot 4 ball on green. 3 putted for double. Damned. Shot 7 for double bogey. Hole 5 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball short of green on left. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. This hole is Index 2 so I am a happy man. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 6 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball went right of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 7 Par 3 Shot 1 ball in bunker protecting the green. Shot 2 hit an amazing shot. Ball nearly went into hole and slide just 6" of hole. 1 putted for Par. Huge relieve over Round 1. Shot 3 for par. Hole 8 Par 4 Shot 1 duffed the ball. Shot 2 duffed once again but ball now on fairway. Shot 3 laid up before water hazard in front. Shot 4 topped ball into water hazard in front. Took penalty drop. Shot 6 ball on fairway. Shot 7 ball on green. 2 putted for triple birdie. Damned, worst than Round 1. Shot 9 for 5 over or quintuple. Is the alien returning to possess me? Hole 9 Par 4 Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball short of green. Shot 3 hit ball on equator but on green about 26' away. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. End of game and managed to keep alien at bay. But it's not enough to see me through Round 3, the final round. And I lied right at the bottom of the table. First time in all the tournaments I took part in that I am in this position. I hope I will not repeat it again in the upcoming tournament at OCC from 21 to 23 Nov'12, the Singapore National Senior Amateur Championship.

THE 1st SINGAPORE NATIONAL SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 1 Scorecard

THE 1st SINGAPORE NATIONAL SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP After waiting for about 2 months for the day to beckon, it has finally arrived today. This is the first time I am taking part in a tournament of this intensity. Well not really, I think. The 23rd Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship is more intense, and I was possessed by an alien on the first day. Weather wise, I can't complain. It's simply nothing we can complain about. Not sure if Silver and Old Man Golfer (OMG aka Edmond) bothered to do what I am about to do, that is post their hole by hole scores to bore you people out there. I believe their scores make a more interesting read compared to mine. But it's ok, so here goes. Arrive OCC clubhouse at 6.55am for registration. Collected my score card and a free magazine from Singapore Senior Golfers Association. Sorry, no goodies bag for amateur tournaments. Dilly-dallied in the changing room waiting for tee off time to beckon. 7.20am came out from changing room and took a spare score card along from the bag drop area. And guess what, Silver is there and so is OMG and his friend. Yeah, I knew Silver would be there because I tipped him off to register since he has already come of age but not OMG. So it's a surprise to see him and his friend. How he came to know this tournament I let him tell you people lah. Ok, time's up and I get to drive the buggy alone. Special privilege for being the highest handicapper among the 3 golfers in my flight. Yes, that's right, there are only 3 balls per flight for this tournament. Guess this is to speed up play too, like the PGA (tio bo har) or probably the registration is not full booked. We set off for Dendro course. There on the fairway about 220m from the tee box (White Tee) there is bitch (a big brown stray dog). Please be patient, I like to tell stories first while waiting to tee off and sometimes stray when writing my hole-by-hole adventures. Bear with me first hor, please. I asked the Marshal whose dog is that on the centre of the Dendro Hole 1 fairway about 220m from the tee box. The Marshall said it's a stray and said initially, this dog have 4 other siblings. Let me see, 4 siblings + 1 brown dog = 5. Yes, total is five. Now am I a good mathematician. Don't test my mathematics ok, I very good one ok. I got Phd in Mathematics hor. The Marshal continued. One by one this dogs siblings began to disappear when they were just puppies. I think the puppies are cute, not that this one is not. But it has grown to be quite big. The Marshal said this dog is the peaceful type and would not bother golfers. Now, I can rest assured it won't attack me. Man, I could write a book just describing the dog. But time's up for us to tee off. 7.38am. Have to be careful, Silver is watching over my shoulders in case I wrote something incorrect. The Marshal called out. First to tee off, Mr. Francis Chia Kok Hui follow by Mr. Chong Cheong Heng and TDO (Kidding, he didn't know TDO existed). Ok, now I serious liao. I don't care about what and how these 2 better golfers played because it's quite boring. I am more exciting, looking at my final score in Round 1. DENDRO Hole 1 – 476m Par 5 Index 4 Shot 1 - Ball on left of fairway. Got the best view to the green but can regular OTG is another matter. My standard of OTG means 3 on not 2 like the pros and some people here. On reaching my ball, saw man's best friend lying and basking in the bunker. It's a brown bitch (female dog hor not obscenity ok). I whistled to it to get it's attention while waiting for my turn. She ignored me. Oh well. Shot 2 - Took 3w and gave it a whack. Ball traveled to the right of the fairway with about 145m to go. It wasn't a good shot but I am happy. Shot 3 - Took 6i and whacked the ball and duffed it slightly. Ball landed short of green. Haiz! Shot 4 - Chipped with 9i and ball ran 18' past the hole. Shot 5 - Putted downhill and ball came to rest 1' next to hole. Shot 6 - Putted in. How can I miss a 1' putt right? Bogey for me. Hole 2 – 304m Par 4 Index 14 Shot 1 - Ball on right fairway near 100m marker. Happy man. Shot 2 - Ball on green with 8i. ya la ya la. Some people use only SW or PW but I old man liao. Excuse me please. Ball ran past hole about 16' Shot 3 - Another downhill putt. How come always downhill putt one har? And green is bery fast wor. Ball lying about 8" next to hole. Shot 4 - Par. Got my first par. Quickly write down score in case I forgot. Hole 3 – 451m Par 5 Index 2 Shot 1 - Ball right in middle of fairway. Now that's what I call golf. I am beginning to enjoy it because it's longest drive in my flight. Never mind it’s not a long drive but I beat both my flight mates who are rank higher. :-) Shot 2 - With about 240m to reached green I took out 3w hoping to get it as close to the green as possible. Katuput! Ball traveled only 80m with my 3w. Damned! Duffed the ball. I am now left with still a still make-able 3 OTG 165m uphill shot. Shot 3 – Using 5w, the ball flew to where I want it not to go, left of green but past the bunkers guarding it. Found the ball lying on the rough but with reasonable lie. Shot 4 – I was still thinking of Par for the hole. Using Pw, I hit the equator of ball and it careened past the hole by about 19’. Now facing a slightly uphill lie, I have to make the putt for Par. Shot 5 – Putted the ball slightly to right of hole a bit too hard and it again went past the hole by about 4’. Shot 6 – Putted in for bogey. Hole 4 – 149m Par 3 Index 16 Shot 1 – With 6i in hand, I send the ball along with divot at the tee box even though it was teed up to just before the green, 25m before the flag. Geez! How can I duffed with the ball teed up. Shot 2 – Using 9i for chip and run, the ball stopped 9’ on the right of hole. Shot 3 – Putted and ball passed hole to left and lie 2.5’ away. Shot 4 – Tapped in for bogey. Uneventful hole. Hole 5 – 335m Par 4 Index 10 Shot 1 – Driver in hand, I send it to left of fairway or so I though and it had to end up in the bunker. Damned! Shot 2 – Seeing the reasonable lie though it was slightly in some inconsiderate golfer’s shoe print, with 150m to green I thought 5w could put the ball OTG. Instead I fluffed it to the left of the rough. I could still put it OTG in 3 and get away with at most a bogey as it’s only 90m. Shot 3 – Nine iron should do the OTG trick. Ball fell short and ended up in bunker before green on the left. The adventure now begins. Shot 4 – With Sw, I didn’t take enough sand and ball went straight past the flag and to the bunker on the right of green. Shot 5 – Again with Sw, this time the ball came out but I caught it too heavy and it landed on the fairway before the fringe with 30’ to hole. Shot 6 – I am not going to take anymore chance with my poor chipping skill and downhill green, I chose to putt instead, just to play safe. Ball went 4’ pass the hole on the right. Shot 7 – Putted in for triple bogey. First blemish on score card. Hole 6 – 414m Par 5 Index 6 Shot 1 – I want to put the adventure of the previous hole behind. Was holding driver in hand until I saw my flight mates using 3w and realized there’s water just at the 210m mark. With strong tail wind I decided to switch to 3w. Heng ah! Didn’t use driver. If not driver will send my ball to the watery grave. Whacked the ball and felt good until it started to curl slight to left but passed the bunkers on left. On reaching where I thought my ball was, I could not find it. Then I looked down to the left, and that idiot ball seems to be telling me, “Sir, I’m in the bunker hor”. Felt foolish and thought this would also be an adventure hole for me, once again. Shot 2 – I care not two hoots and used my 5w. Stance was tough with ball on uphill slope of sand. And the sand is so damned soft it’s difficult to plant my feet firmly in it. But that I did and proceed to give it a good wallop. Ball happily sailed over the watery grave as if waving to the water as it landed on the other side of the fairway. Phew! Shot 3 – With 110m, 8i for me to bring the ball OTG. That I did with finesse though the result could have been better. But WTH, only 15’ on the right of hole. Easy par at most. Birdie would be a bonus. Shot 4 – Putted ball 1’ to right of hole. Shot 5 – Par and gave myself a slap on the back. Sandy Par. Hole 7 – 314m Par 4 Index 8 Shot 1 – Drove ball to right of fairway to avoid the bunker on the left waiting to catch those uneducated balls. Ball instead kicked left as fairway was sloping to left. Drove buggy forward and found ball happily staring at bunker from the fairway 6 feet away. Should be an easy 8i from 110m. Shot 2 – The 8i sent the ball to the right of green and into bunker. “He who laugh first laugh last” the bunker seems to be saying. It’s ok, at most I get away with a bogey. Shot 3 – Sw didn’t get the ball out of bunker. Now this is serious. Shot 4 – Ball OTG, only just with 17’ to hole. I must make this putt. Shot 5 – Make the putt I did not and it went pass the hole by 2.5’. Shot 6 – Tap in for double bogey/ Cry! Hole 8– 142m Par 4 Index 18 Shot 1 – The distance is misleading and don’t look to be 142m. I opted for 7i. I normally would use 6i for this distance. Ball OTG. Yea! And nearest to pin in my flight though it’s 12’ away from hole on the left. Shot 2 – Slight downhill putt and ball kissed the edge of hole and went by 2’. Missed birdie. Shot 3 – Tapped in Par. Hole 9 – 267m Par 4 Index 12 Shot 1 – Easy hole, I thought. Driver in hand, sent the ball to just right of fairway rough. Shot 2 – Uphill and 80m to green with ball in rough, I want to charge with 8i. That I did and it landed beautifully on right of green. Shot 3 – Makeable putt from 14’ but missed it to 2’ right of hole. Shot 4 – Tapped in Par. Score for 1st Nine – 45 Not much of an adventure for 1st Nine, but I am beginning to feel hungry. Only had 2 slices of bread and that’s not enough for a big man like me. I consider myself big, never mind my weight but watch my tummy. It’s undesirable for many. VANDA [u]Hole 10 – 335m Par 4 Index 14[/u] Shot 1 – Driver sent the ball 220m to the left fairway. Shot 2 – With 115m to green, used 8i but duffed it. Don’t tell or remind me of the alien please. I have only 30m to flag. Shot 3 – Chipped to green with 15’ to hole. Shot 4 – Putted ball past the hole leaving a 3’ putt. This is a knee-jerker putt. Shot 5 – Put ball in hole for bogey. [u]Hole 11 – 146m Par 3 Index 16[/u] Shot 1 – The look of the flag does not justify the 146m. I would normally use a 6i if the distance is correct. With tail wind, I took the chance and use 7i instead. Ball landed on back left of green with a 15’ putt. Shot 2 – Slight downhill putt, aimed for the right lip of hole. Ball just kissed the lip the lip and ended up 6” past the hole. Cheeky ball. Shot 3 – Tapped in for Par. [u]Hole 12 – 343m Par 4 Index 12[/u] Shot 1 – Driver sent ball to left rough with 165m to hole. Nice view of the reservoir on the left from where my ball lies. Shot 2 – Uses 5w and duffed the ball sending it to the 90m mark. Shot 3 – Pitched ball with 9i only for it to land on left fringe. Shot 4 – Putted from fringe and ball went 18” right of hole. Shot 5 – Tapped in for bogey. [u]Hole 13 – 133m Par 3 Index 18[/u] Shot 1 – With 7i, ball landed 15m short of green. How come ah? Shot 2 – Chipped and skulled the ball and it careened 25’ past the hole. What kind of a golfer am I? Can’t even do a simple chip! Shot 3 – Downhill putt. Looks straight to me. Ball went for hole only for it to tease me by suddenly turning left of hole just as it was 3” from hole and ended up 6’ behind. If only I had putted a bit harder. If only. Life is full of “If onlys”. Shot 4 – Tapped in for bogey. [u]Hole 14 – 364m Par 4 Index 4[/u] Shot 1 – Driver for me and ball landed on right fairway with 155m to flag. Decent shot. Shot 2 – 5w seems a good idea to get it OTG. Alamak! Teochew ball and it hit one of the trees on the left before the bunker. Didn’t know where it landed. Parked buggy and walked back about 25m to look for it. Found ball resting beneath the tree. Heng ah! No obstruction to backswing. Shot 3 – With 25m to flag, it should be an easy chip. Used Pw and place ball closer to right leg to de-loft the clubface as there’s a low hanging tree branch just 15’ in front of ball. Dang! Duffed the shot and it landed 8’short of green. Shot 4 – Played safe and putted from outside green since my chipping is jokingly terrible. Ball went left and 6’ short of hole. Shot 5 – It’s either make or screw it for me. Slight break to left, putted it 2’ right of hole. Screwed! Shot 6 – Tapped in double bogey for hole. Not a happy man. [u]Hole 15 – 414m Par 5 Index 6[/u] Shot 1 – Driver no go. With tail wind and too short landing area, 3w is a safer bet and 3w it shall be. Gave the ball a good whack and a teochew man came screaming out of the ball and ball flew to the left and ended in the watery grave. Shot 3 – Dropped ball about 20’ behind the water. With 5w, sent the ball on its way across the watery grave that just gobbled my 1st ball. It landed left of fairway with 115m to pin. Shot 4 – Head wind and 115m to pin, hmm, 8i should do the trick. Katupooi! Duffed once again and idiot ball went left and landed in the bunker fronting the green. Shot 5 – Sw to get the ball out and hope to get it near the pin and get away with bogey. Instead, took too much sand and ball didn’t clear the bunker and rolled back into sand, again. Better lie this time. Shot 6 – Managed to get ball on green as it rolled past the flag 25’ away. Haiz! Another downhill putt. Shot 7 - Putted ball close to hole 3” to the right. But close does not mean it’s in the hole. Shot 8 – Tapped in triple bogey. Wanted to kick myself in the arse but refrained as it would dirty my pants. [u]Hole 16 – 328m Par 4 Index 8[/u] Shot 1 – Driver sent the ball to the left and into the bunker. OMG! What is happening to me? Shot 2 – With 140m to green, used 5i to hopefully get it OTG. I now have to depend on hope and I can no longer depend on my erratic skill. Saw 3 electrical workers 40m to the left of the bunker. Strange how the mind play tricks, I saw, I hit and ball went left towards the workers but not before hitting the tree and ricochet to the right rough. Shot 3 – Took shot with 9i, taking into consideration the rough, I became the tournament’s top player and topped the ball so badly it careened past the green and into the back of the green’s downhill slope. All dreams of making the cut came crashing down on me as I knew there is water behind the green. Shot 5 – Could not locate my ball and dropped ball after asking flight mates if it’s the right procedure to drop the ball at point of entry. But slope is too severe to drop the ball. I therefore placed the ball on the slope and chipped with 9i. Ball landed on green, only just, and lie something like 30’ away from pin. Shot 6 – Slight uphill and putted ball to right, 2’ away from hole. Shot 7 – Tapped in triple bogey. Started mental planning for what to take for lunch. Forget the game. Won’t make it this time round again. So don’t think too much. Just enjoy the 2 days of social golfing, though not much talking was done with my flight mates. [u]Hole 17 – 294m Par 4 Index 10[/u] Shot 1 – Driver sent ball right to the middle of fairway. Longest drive among the 3 of us. Actually, the lower handicapper was further but his ball is in the rough so tak kira (not counted). Shot 2 – Only 85m to green. Kiasu a bit because of strong headwind, used 9i to get ball OTG. It went past the pin stopping 15’ away. Happy man! Shot 3 – Easy, slight downhill putt for birdie. Tweet! Tweet! And it flew away 5” to the left of hole. Shot 4 – Tapped in Par. Sweet return to golf. [u]Hole 18 – 404m Par 5 Index 2[/u] Shot 1 – Driver sent ball to right and into bunker. Shot 2 – With 210m to hole, tried using 5w to get ball out of bunker and as near as possible to the green. Played too much sand and ball travel 50m out of sand in leisurely pace. It’s ok, still possible to get it OTG in 3. Shot 3 – Uphill green and 160m to it, 5w should do the trick. Katupooi! Again! And ball nearly went into flower bed on the right. Shot 4 – Left with 85m to go, I opted for 9i, never mind if it’s over-clubbed. My iron skill is like trash anyway. Got ball on the green and 16’ past the flag. Shot 5 – Par chance coming up. Slight downhill putt to right. Let it go and it went right alright 1’ but not into the hole. Shot 6 – Tapped in for bogey. Summary: Ho-hum day. Have to work harder tomorrow. Scorecard: 93 Fairways hit: 7 of 14 Putting: 32 Lost balls: 1 Note: Round 2 of my story will continue at my leisurely time when I can find it.

23rd Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship. Oct 3 - 5 2012 @ NSRCC Changi - Round 1 Scorecard

Recently I took part in the 23rd Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship held at NSRCC Changi's Army and Navy Course. No, I wasn't really excited about it and was actually felt quite confident about my chances in qualifying for the final round on 5 Oct'12. I also look to it as any other social game that I used to play on weekends. I took 2 days morning leave for the first 2 rounds on 3 & 4 Oct'12. My tee time on 3 Oct'12 for the Round 1 was at 7.48am. I arrived at the clubhouse about 45 minutes early to avoid any traffic congestion. After registering for the tournament, I was given a score card with my name printed on it along with a course layout and the rules and regulations of the tournament. The score card highlighted Navy Course, which means we are to tee off from Navy Course. My buggy mate (Paul) came to load the his bag and told me he will be at the putting green. When the time came for our flight to move off there was a bit of confusion where Paul was. I told the starter that he's at the putting green. Our other flight mates (Kong and Edward) set off for the tee box first while I waited for Paul to turn up. Moments later he showed up. We set off for Navy Course and Paul said we should be starting at Army Course. I showed him the highlighted Navy Course. When we reached Navy Course our flight mates were not there. We then turn around the buggy for Army Course. Sure enough our other flight mates were there waiting with the starter saying we are late. My reply was there was a confusion and showed him my score card which highlighted Navy Course, which would mean we are to tee off from Navy Course. He then realised the mistake was not due to us but administration. Man, the day sure is going to be slow seeing that two flights in front of us were waiting to tee off. We waited approximately 15 minutes before it's our turn. Prior to hitting the first shot I was quite frankly at ease and do not feel any pressure. First to tee off was Paul being the lowest handicapper at 4,5. Nest in line was Kong (Hcp 8.5) followed by Edward (Hcp 12). I am the last with Hcp 15. We played off from Blue Tee and I have not played from Blue for many many years, at least 5 years, if I remembered correctly. An alien must have possessed me during Round 1. Below are the Hole by Hole, shot by shot scoring of how I performed on this fateful day. Round 1 Army Course Hole 1 Par 5: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 duffed it. Shot 3 under club. Shot 4 duffed again. Shot 5 overshot the green. Shot 6 ball on green. 2 putts for 8. Hole 2 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 duffed and short of green. Shot 3 ball on left fringe. Shot 4 putted and ball kissed hole to miss par. Shot 5 ball in hole. Hole 3 Par 3: Shot #1 ball on green. Elated. 2 putts for par, Thought I am getting into the game. Par for hole. Hole 4 Par 5: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball on left side of fairway. Shot 3 duffed the ball. Shot 4 top the ball and ball went 40' past the pin. Shot 5 putted too hard downhill and ball went past flag to the front fringe. Shot 6 putted from fringe and ball went in. Cheers all round from flight mates. Bogey 6 for hole. Hole 5 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball short of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 6 Par 4: Shot 1 ball went into bunker. Shot 2 ball went right and into plants. 5 minutes search. Found ball unplayable. Took penalty drop. Shot 4 ball on green. 2 putted for double. Shot 6 for double bogey. Hole 7 Par 3: Shot 1 ball on green. Horrors! 4 putted for double bogey. Shot 5. Damned. Hole 8 Par 4: Shot 1 skulled the ball. Shot 2 duffed and ball went into water hazard on right. Took penalty drop. Shot 4 ball on fairway. Shot 5 ball overshot green and went down slope behind the green. Shot 6 ball on green. 2 putted for Big par, Shot 8. Hole 9 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 duffed ball into front water. Shot 4 ball on green. 2 putted for double bogey. Shot 6 for double bogey. Navy Course Hole 10 Par 4: Shot 1 ball in left bunker. Shot 2 ball near right bunker of green. Shot 3 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 5 for bogey. Hole 11 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 duffed ball. Shot 3 duffed again. Damned. Shot 4 ball on green. 3 putted for triple. Shot 7 for triple bogey. Hole 12 Par 3: Shot 1 ball in right bunker. Shot 2 didn't take enough sand and skulled ball. Flew past hole and landed about 36' away. 3 putted for double bogey, Damned. Shot 5 for double. Hole 13 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on fairway. Shot 2 ball went in front water hazard. Took penalty. Shot 4 duffed ball and landed short of green. Shot 5 ball on green. 2 putted for triple. Damned. Shot 7 for triple bogey. Hole 14 Par 5: Shot 1 ball in fairway left bunker. Shot 2 ball on fairway. Shot 3 ball in fairway bunker, again. Damned. Shot 4 ball in bunker yet again. Shot 5 ball on green. 2 putted for double bogey. Shot 7 for double bogey. Hole 15 Par 3: Shot 1 ball 55 m short of green. Shot 2 ball on green. 2 putted for bogey. Shot 4 for bogey. Hole 16 Par 4: Shot 1 ball on right fairway. Shot 2 ball went into the plants (Not considered flower bed). Lost ball. Return to where I last played. Shot 4 ball overshot the green and went again to the plants on right side and behind green. Not wanting to look for ball I declared ball lost, Shot 6 ball in bunker. Shot 7 ball on green. Ball found by flight mate behind the green flower bed but too late. Already declared lost ball, 3 putted for 10. Damned, damned. Shot 10 for 6 over par, Hole 17 Par 4: Shot 1 ball sailed into right of fairway and into same plants. Played a provisional ball in case I have to drive back again like previous hole. Shot 3 Found ball in left fairway bunker. Shot 4 hooked ball to left of green and found ball under the shrubs. Shot 5 used putter to hit ball out to buggy track to take free lift. Shot 6 take free lift and proceed to duffed the ball. Ball hit slope and rolled down to buggy track again. Free lift again. Shot 7 ball on green. By then already very very upset with alien for possessing my body and affected my game. 3 putts for another 10. Damned, damned, damned, Mother, Father nearly came out but I kept them in my heart without uttering a word, God it's just so difficult to bottle them up. But I kept my sanity and moved on. Shot another 10 for 6 over par. Hole 18 Par 5: Shot 1 ball on buggy track on right. Took free lift and stupidly dropped ball on slope making next shot difficult. Shot 2 hooked ball to left of fairway and between the trees lining between Army Hole 7 Par 3 and this hole. Shot 3 chipped ball to fairway. Shot 4 sliced and duffed ball into front right of water hazard. Took penalty drop. Shot 5 ball on green. 2 putted for double bogey. Shot 7 for double bogey. End of game and alien quickly depart from my body and all sanity returned to me and left me awake in this nightmare. So sorry I disappoint many bro for not bringing honour to our forum. But I came back in one piece and will be back for more punishments. My adventures in Round 2 will continue tomorrow.

Golf, Golf, Golf and more Golf - My first hand experience

Golf is a strange game. How was I ever involved in this crazy game? Let me tell you, it start with my younger brother back in 1993. I just find it amusing when he does his practice swing with an imaginary club that I sometimes bust out laughing though I was unable to fathom why. I told myself I would be seen as crazy if I pick up this game. We bought Pulai Springs as an investment in 1994. One year into it and paying foolish monthly subscriptions as described by my old friend, I decided to pick up this game. I was brought to the range at NSRCC in September 1995 and was given a 7 iron to hit a few balls. I have no idea how to hold the club correctly let alone hitting it but I managed to contact it quite a number of times. I was using the baseball grip, which is quite easy, come to think of it. I guess my natural ball sense ability took over and I managed to hit the balls much to the surprise of my old friend, albeit some inaccuracy. Thanks to my racket games like Squash, Tennis, and Badminton. I started buying golf books to learn more about the game for improvement to my game and subsequently bought a few VCDs (No DVD then) looking for tips in how to properly play this game. After a few months of regular games with my old friend and his friends, I grew more confident and was slowly addicted to the game. I got my PC from Pulai Springs (my home club) in October 1995 and finally got my Handicap in December 1995. And like they say, the rest is history. More about my golfing exploits in the near future.

True Encounters of Singapore Ghost Stories Part 1 - Yio Chu Kang Road Incident

I was posted to Seletar Air Base in July 1974 after completing my Basic Military Training in Changi. Now what am I trying to recall... Let me see. Yes. We (my old friend ET and I got to know each other in April 1974 at Maju Camp) were on our way back to camp after watching the 9.30pm movie "Devil Woman" (Famous movie at that time) and we watched it during the Hungry Ghost Festival to make it more scary and exciting. We were riding our motorbikes along Yio Chu Kang Road back to camp just before the old Woodbridge Hospital (In case any one of you don't know what Woodbridge Hospital houses, yes, the hospital houses Mental Patients. It has now shifted and is known as IMH).

I was riding my Honda CB175 (Reg: AJ5755)with my good friend on his Yamaha 100cc (Reg: AN1512) following behind. Anyone interested in 4D are free to place their bets. You are guaranteed to lose the bet anyway because I have never strike these numbers. But to be kind to me, please contribute 20% of your winnings to me for giving you these numbers. Very soon, I will copyright it, just like the movie "Where got Ghost?" About 1 km before reaching Woodbridge Hospital, some sand got into my left eye. At that time it was close to midnight and the road was supposedly quite deserted. We are suppose to reach camp by 23:59. That is a common term in the army. I rubbed my eye with my left hand (of course you use the left hand dummy. You can't rub it with your right hand, comfortably) unaware of what was about to happen. Suddenly, I felt a very cold hand clamped around my forearm near the wrist and guide it to my motorbike's handle that I have momentarily release to rub my eye. At that moment, I got the shock of my life as I opened my eye and came face to face with an oncoming car overtaking another car with total disregard that he is driving in my lane. My quick reaction by swerving to the left to avoid a frontal collision have saved an otherwise fatal accident. Thanks to the invisible hand, I am still alive today.

Shivering from that incident, we proceeded straight to the traffic junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Jalan Kayu. We are based in Seletar Airbase. As we stopped at the traffic lights, ET stopped beside me and asked me what the hell am I doing dreaming away when there's an oncoming car driving straight into your path and I was apparently doing nothing to avoid a collision. At that moment, goose pimples appear and I told my friend I will relate the whole story to him when we reached our barracks. Not only did the goose pimples appear, they appear every time I tell this story. I showed the goose pimples to my younger daughter as I told her the story yesterday night. (hey, I have already told you the story in the 2nd paragraph but I will be kind and repeat it again and inject something new).

After parking our motorbikes, we went straight to our barracks. Ok, I will start with the part when I started rubbing my left eye when some sand got in. It was precisely at that very moment when the car in the opposite direction driving at quite a fast speed and was trying to overtake another car. The eerie part is the ice cold hand that grab my forearm near the wrist. Now where did that cold forearm come from that saved my life. It was then that I remember it was probably my father. You see, I kept a Black & White photo of him with me for many many years in my wallet as a remembrance. And I can only make an educated guess that it was my father who save his son's life by guiding my hand to the motorbike's handle.

When I went home the next day, I related this story to my mother. She agreed that probably my father saved me at that moment and I must offer my prayers to him burn incense and thank him for saving my life. Mother told me the praying has to be done at that place where the incident happened to which I responded by saying if he is around us, he would be around anywhere. So we did the next best thing, pray at home where we have an altar.

Well, more stories next time when I can find the time provided I am not lazy writing.

Walking In The Rain

It's been a long while since I last blog on 11 August 2008 and I can't wait to follow up with the next one. So here goes.

24 August 2008. I remembered that date. It was a Sunday afternoon after having a lunch of Hakka Tea Rice at a nearby coffeeshop with my wife at about 1pm. I had planned to go for a brisk walk. My walks on a Sunday usually last at least 2 hours and above. The distance would generally be between 10 to 15km, sometimes more, exceeding 20km. But on this special day, that is the 24 August 2008, I am writing something that I have not done for something like 40+ years. Yeah, come to think of it, it's a long time coming.

As we finished the lunch, I accompanied my wife to our block, handed her my hp and bidded her "bye bye, I am going for my long walk". I had with me a few dollars worth of coins, an EZ-link card and a bottle of water. Why do you think I bring this Easilink card along? It will come in handy when the need arises. Why do I bring the coins you may ask? Er, I am not exactly sure but I am sure it will do me some good too or help in one way or another.

Okay, my intended route would be to start from behind Church of St. Mary along Bt. Batok East Avenue 6, towards Old Jurong Road, turn right at junction of Upper Bt. Timah Road, Upper Bt. Timah Road, straight pass the junction of Bt. Timah Road and Clementi Road, pass Ngee Ann Polytechnic towards Holland Road junction, turn right into the Ulu Pandan Park Connector which comprises of passing through, er, under Clementi Avenue 6, under Commonwealth Avenue West, straight down towards Faber Gardens, towards AYE, cross the now disused railway track over the Pandan River, towards IBP, cross the road of Boon Lay Way, cross the road of Toh Guan Road East, over PIE, towards Bt. Batok Industrial Park, then pass Keming Primary School and home. My guess of the distance would be about 13 to 14 km.

The weather was somewhat unpredictable. I have been fooled a number of times into giving up the walks by the weather thinking it would rain which eventually did not. This time I am determined to sit, er, see it through, regardless of the weather outcome. Well, it is a bit windy with slight overcast and it was a good day for a walk. At least it not too hot considering that it's about 1.15pm in the afternoon.

The walk was quite enjoyable, though, with less than moderate vehicular traffic along the roads. How do I measure the distance? Well, generally, my pace is about 50mins/5km. So technically speaking, I will cover 1km/10mins. That should be a good gauge for the distance covered.

As I walked down Old Jurong Road, heaven seems to be playing the mind game with me again. These words seem to be playing in my mind. "You should give up the walk. Go accompany your wife at home." No, this time round I am determined to go ahead with the walk and not be fooled again by the weather. Usually, I can see monkeys in Bt Batok Nature Park, just before the junction of Old Jurong Road and Upper Bt Timah Road. No, no monkeys around today. I press on until I reached the junction of Hindhede Road (Bt. Timah Hill) and saw some people coming out from the road. Some are from the church while the others have probably just completed their hike in Bt Timah Hill. They don't seem bothered by the overcast sky. Well, why should they in any case since they have different objectives from me? Well, neither do I. Hee! Hee!. The only thing I dislike about walking the roads are there are traffic lights that I had to stop, look left, look right, look left again before I cross. Sometimes, I jaywalked (not a good idea though). (I am trying to change that lazy mentality, no not really lazy but impatient. If I am lazy, I wouldn't be doing this walk, right? However, if there is an overhead bridge, I will use it to cross over the other side of the road.) Meaning, I cross the road even when the Red man is still watching me. I disregard the angry look of the Red man when I crossed the roads. It's as if he's telling me that I should show some respect for him. Hah! There are no vehicles and you expect me to behave like a goon. Well, I read somewhere in a magazine some time ago in USA that Jacky Chan (I am sure there are many other like him) will wait for the Red man to turn Green before he crosses a road. Yes, even when the street is deserted. But then again he is Jacky Chan, I am "me" and that's the difference.

Now where was I? Oh yes, I passed Hindhede Road. You know, deep inside Hindhede Road, there used to be a granite quarry. It brought back fond memories during my younger days. I spent quite a number of years visiting that place back in 1976 and became a regular when I owned my first Mini Cooper in January 1977 and continue to do until around 1985. There was an old mechanic friend of my late mother whom I had known since 1964 or 1965 where he was a vehicle mechanic working for his brother who so happen to own the Mobil petrol station (next to the road called Pasir Panjang Hill, I think) along Pasir Panjang Road before the famous Haw Par Villa. Can't really recall the year but should be around that time. Ok ok ok, I will not talk about my passion for cars in this blog. This will be revealed in my subsequent postings of how I came to own the #16 car (I mean my 16th car not 16 cars) in my current possession, that is when I can find the time to write again. I must really push myself real hard before the weather changes its mood. I should know myself.

As I make my way up the inclined road towards the exit of PIE, some of our very distant relatives from millions of years ago were monkeying around, foraging the litter bins at the linkway and bus stop. I didn't have my hp with me (I handed it to my wife as if expecting the rain to come) for this occasion and could not take any pictures. I managed though to take one on top of the linkway during my other Sunday walks.

Now as I was walking towards the pedestrian light along Dunearn Road outside the previous Yeo Hiap Seng Factory, the sky started to turn unfriendly. The mean-looking clouds casting their displeasure from above. By now I should be walking about 20% of the intended distance. I pressed the pedestrian light button while waiting impatiently for it to turn green. Haiz... Couldn't wait. Since there are no vehicles coming down from the slope on my right I hasten my pace (Hey, this road is extremely wide and the Green Man do not wait for you, you know) and ran to the other pedestrian lights and waited for the traffic lights to change before crossing towards MacDonald's. I sensed the Red Man anger when I dashed across the crossing.

Traffic at that moment is light. Anyway, it's the least of my concern. Weather was cool and slightly windy, and it helps so the walk isn't that tiring. Tiring? No! Not at all. Actually, I was beginning to enjoy it. The road ascended towards Ngee Ann Polytechnic and down again passing a nursery. That's when the sky turn really gloomy. I can see that heaven is showing his displeasure at me for, probably not paying due respect at the initial warning by whipping a few lightning lashes across the greying sky followed by thunderous boom. Yeah, it was scary but not enough to discourage me into turn back.

I pressed on and reached the nursery as it start to drizzle a bit. I was in two minds by now. Should I continue with the journey or should I swallow my somewhat injured pride, cross the road and take TIBS bus service 61 home? Then again, it's only a small drizzle. It will past pretty soon and the weather will be fine and sunny again. That is a real Sagittarian thinking. Always optimistic. Yes, I managed to convince myself to press on. And I am so proud of the fact that I managed to convince myself and nobody could have done a better job at that than myself. And soon I reached the bus stop no. 74 opposite Clementi's Sunset Way. By then, I was already more than 75% wet. Okay! Since I am already 75% wet, I might as well get 100% wet. No, it's more that 100%. It's 110% wet. Now, why would I say 110%. Because when your whole body is thoroughly wet it's 100%. But when you are drenching wet with excess water dripping like mad it's 110%. So there.

There must have been many strange looks and stares from the motorists. "What the heck is that silly guy doing walking in the rain?" Hey, I miss walking in the rain since childhood ok and this is one way to relive it. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I stood waiting for the traffic light's green man to wave me at the junction of Clementi Road and Holland Road. The green man beckoned and I cross quickly, sheepishly looking down at the road as I walked briskly knowing the many eyes form the motorists staring at me.

So I reached the Ulu Pandan PCN (Park Connector). The track is practically deserted. Of course it is deserted. Who in the world would want to come out and exercise in freaking weather? There's only one person that I know would do it and it can be none other but me. I continued with my walk, but Heavens seemed to demonstrate His unhappiness, striking the sky with flashes of lightning and booming thunders. It soon dawned on me that this is going to be very very risky and somewhat foolish if I continued walking in this inclement weather. But I have to continue until I find shelter. I can't just stop walking without looking for a shelter. And the shelter is quite a distance. No actually, it's only about 400m away. I then saw an overhead pedestrian bridge linking Clementi Housing Estate to Sunset Estate.

At that moment, Mother Nature beckons. And when Mother Nature beckons, you had better respond, appropriately and without questions. I reached the overhead bridge but found no consolation. This is not the spot that I wanted to communicate with Mother Nature. There would be prying eyes from people using the overhead bridge linking Clementi Housings to Sunset Estate. Remember, this is suppose to be my private moment with Mother Nature and I am sure she would want me to keep it that way. I risked heaven's displeasure and continue until I reached another overhead bridge about 450m down but it's not an overhead bridge. It's a flyover bridging Clementi Avenue 6. Looking around to ensure there were no prying eyes, I start to communicate with Mother Nature. Short, fast and much to my relief. The communication process lasted the full 45 secs and it was simply very enjoyable. My body shivered and I ended the small talk with Her. All of us have responded to Mother Nature before though in a magnitude of ways. We men, I belief communicated with Her more often than women do in her playground. You guys know what I meant do you? Let's put it this way, it's more convenient for men to communicate with her than for women. Period.

Following the completed communication process (The Communication Process from what I learnt is when one party sends a signal to another party and that the receiver receives it and respond correctly) with Mother Nature, I look for an exit to escape Heaven's unhappiness. The next point of exit is another flyover linking Commonwealth Avenue West. That is another, perhaps 400m away. I plodded (Appropriately termed as my shoes were filled with so much water that I could probably keep some guppies in it.) on in the heavy rain while the lightning continue with it's flashes in the sky. By now, I am feeling more threatened for my safety than I had earlier felt at the start of the walk. About 4 minutes later I reached the spot for my escape plan from the rain.

Looking at the slope beneath the viaduct of Commonwealth Avenue West, I made my way up the slope. Not a soul in sight. I took the right side of the viaduct and soon reach the top and main road. Man, they said "When it pours it pours" and it was pouring like nobody's business. By now I have lost my enthusiasm in the walk and simply want to get out of the rain. It's too dangerous to enjoy the rain with the lightning flashing across the sky. I don't mind the thunder. It seem's like "Stick and Stones may hurt my bones but words will never hurt me". Yes, thunder is nothing and all the noise from the thunder it won't hurt either. Lightning is another thing altogether, you know what I mean?

I reached the bus stop just before the traffic light junction of Commonwealth Avenue West/Boon Lay Way and Toh Tuck Avenue. The next thing that I wanted to do was to remove my "T" shirt and dry myself up. Now why would I do that? Don't forget I was drenched to the skin. There are 2 bus services that I can take to go home. TIBS Service 963 and 106. First to come off were my shoes and socks then my T. No, I didn't remove my bermudas.

Gave the socks a hard twist and out came about 20ml of water. When I gave the T a hard twist, how much water do you think will drip off the clothes? If my estimate is correct, it should be about 0.8 litre. Mind you it's not sweat (If it's sweat I would be most happy) but rain water. You don't think it's a lot of water right, do you? As I twisted the T-shirt, I kept a lookout for any of the 2 approaching bus. I quickly put on my socks and T before wearing my wet running shoes. Man, it really isn't as comfortable as when the attires were thoroughly wet. Mainly because my semi-naked body have been exposed to the wind and this makes wearing the damp T-shirt and socks uncomfortable. And I am beginning to feel the cold. But what to do?

Just then, bus service 106 approached from afar. It's a long twin cabin type. I hailed the bus with my outstretched arms and started thinking; "Will the bus driver stop for me?" By now you should know why I brought the EZ-link card along. Like many people used to say and continue to say into th future, "You have to be prepared for a rainy day". A very appropriate saying I think.

The bus isn't crowded. Only about 20 or so commuters in it. I can see I am the centre of attraction at that moment. Many eyes were on me. Hey, you have never seen a wet man in a bus before? I got caught in the rain ok. But sheepishly, I moved to the centre of the bus where the link and pivot was. I couldn't bring myself to sit on the seats and wet it. Not a nice thing to do. So there I stood. It's only a few bus stops away. Let me see, we have one at the Ulu Pandan Incinerator, one opposite the SMRT Sub-Depot, one just before the traffic junction of Bt. Batok East Avenue 3 and Bt Batok East St. 25, one opposite Yusof Ishak Secondary School, one just after the Caltex petrol station and the next one is the destination. So all in, I am only 6bus stops away. After just one bus stop from where I boarded the bus, the strange eyes returned to normalcy. Thank goodness for that.

My stop next. I press the bell at we reached the traffic junction of Bt Batok East Ave 3 and Ave 6 to indicate my desire to alight. Got off the bus and used the overhead bridge to cross to the other side.

There is a bakery and I intend to buy some bread home. The bread were good. Soft and tasty. Took 2 loaves. One a sugar sprinkled twisted loaf and another a plain pandan bread comprising 6 square pieces. As I was about to dig out the coins I had in my pocket to pay for the bread, I overheard one of the bakery aunty complaining about her wet shoes. Yes, I know the aunty as I am a regular customer. "Aiyo aunty, you only got your shoes wet and still complain, look at me, I am wet from the very top to the bottom, including my underwear." We all had a good laugh.

I quickly make my way home. You can imagine what my wife said when she saw me drenched to the skin. "Huh! Heavy rain and you still walk in the rain. You are really mad and had me worried with the lightning and thunder out there. A warm shower sort of made me feel sleepy and I did take the afternoon nap but not before I have my teabreak of the bread I just bought.

Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed it (the walk in the rain) very much. Have not played in the rain since childhood way back in the 1960's.

Note: The pictures that I posted were taken a few weeks after the "Walk In The Rain". I do not have my hp with me during that walk remember?

Cheers!

The Day Has Come - My Trusty CRV Won't Start

Three or four weeks ago, I have been preparing for this day. To compound it, I did not drive it over the last weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Yep, this morning I was on my way down to work from home with wife to the MSCP (Multi-Storey Car Park). I parked the car next to the RC column on the driver side. Carrying some foodstuffs intended for my Parents-in-laws from the Hungry Ghost Festival brought back by me and wife, I activated the remote control on the car key to open the door. I have to enter from the front passenger side as I parked it close to the RC column. Once I moved to the driver's seat, my wife followed and board the car. I inserted the key into the ignition and gave it a crank. My God! The engine turned ever so slowly and immediately told wife that the day of reckoning had arrived.

I tried again to turn the key to start the engine but it got worse until the engine refused to turn. Ok, that's it. I am starting to perspire. And got wife to ask if she have Orix Ashokan's hp. No, she didn't have it with her and have to call her office to find out. I finally got his number from wife's boss' wife. (Quite confusing do you find it) ;-)

I called Ashokan and asked if he still remember me.
"I am Puan."
"Yes sir, after hearing your voice, I remember you. How can I help you sir?"
"Alamak, same problem as the last time I called you back in November 2005." "Car can't start again. I think battery is flat already."
"Is it your Cefiro sir?"
"No lah! Cefiro is history."
"You changed car already sir?"
"Yes, changed to SUV. Now already 2 years plus."
"What car is it sir? RAV4?"
"No, Honda CRV."

He next asked for my location and hp number. I gave him the information and asked him how long will it take for his mechanic to arrive. You see, this workshop is just 1km from my home. The service provided by Orix is reasonably good. The only reason why I did not go back to them (Orix) for car servicing is purely because my car is still under the 3 years warranty and I do not want anything untoward to happen to it should I send it for servicing to an unauthorised workshop (Orix is not authorised by Kah Motor who is the agent for Honda Cars). By the way, Orix is a subsidiary of Tan Chong Motors of whom is the authorised agent for Nissan Cars.

"Sir, the mechanic just arrived. Can you wait for about 10 minutes? Which floor is your car parked?"
"No problem. It's parked at the upper level. Car park only have 2 levels."

True to his words, the van came in 10 minutes. I waved to the mechanic and pointed to him where my car was.

"I thought it's RAV4?"
"No, it's a CRV. I told Ashokan it's a CRV when he asked if it's a RAV4. Never mind then. Important thing is the battery you brought is suitable for my car."
"Ya, it's suitable."
"How much is the battery by the way?"
"I won't be charging you for before or after working hours (He got to be joking, I called him after 8.30am) and no transportation fees. Normally, there would be a surcharge for such service." (I must be eternally grateful to him for that and I am beginning to suspect that this is not an honest guy but what to do?)
"Ya, thanks for coming and also for not charging me the extras. I have known Ashokan for many years already so I can trust him on the recommendations. And what is the battery cost again?"
Doing a somewhat puzzling calculation, he put forth a figure I find a bit on the high side.
"Er, $149.80 GST absorbed (included he meant but absorbed seems like a discount. Anyway, if GST is absorbed, how come there is this odd $9.80. I gave him the benefit of the most doubts.)
"Eh, battery prices went up quite a lot already?"
"Ya, by about 20-30% but what to do we cannot anyhow charge higher price because of competition."
"Last time when I change my Cefiro's battery in 2005, it costs me about $105.00" (That battery is definitely much bigger than this puny one. And with 30% increase it should be about $136.50 for the big one not this smaller one but never mind. He did his best and was here right on time and within 10 minutes.)

The battery he brought along seems a bit smaller than the one in my car. So naturally I asked him if this battery is suitable for my car.

"No problem. It's the correct one, except that the connecting terminals are a bit smaller than normal."
"You need an adapter to make it thicker so that the terminals can be tightened, right?"
"Yes, wah! you know a bit about cars do you?"
"A little bit but not too much because I have seen these stuffs before in tyre shops. Can you also check if the battery is no longer charging or is it still ok?" (Don't have the heart to tell him I know more than a bit about cars as I have driving for more than 32 years now and if I had been riding, it would have been 34 years. Sometimes in life we have to act stupid so people are more willing to help you. It boosts their ego and pride when you compliment them and they in turn will offer a better service.)

He went about doing his stuffs. He placed the new battery on the floor nearest my car bonnet. Using the jump start cable, he asked me to start the car. I got into the car, cranked the engine and it immediately jump to life. Disconnecting the battery terminals, he told me that Live first followed by the Negative.

"Other mechanics would simply change the battery without going through the hassle I just did." (Had me wondering what hassle was he talking about? To me it's just a routine and he made it seems like a big deal.) "You see, other mechanics would not bother to jump start the car and would simply disconnect the faulty battery and replace the new one and all your electronics like radio and clock would have to be re-adjusted because after disconnecting the battery, there is no backup power to save the programmed radio channels and the clock."
"Orh, thank you for the trouble."
"This way, all your programmed radio channels and clock will still be as per originally installed."
"Could you check if the faulty is indeed faulty and how do you know if it is faulty?"

He whipped out a volt meter and connect the clip to the old battery and showed me how the meter works.

"You see the Green and Yellow bar on the meter. When I connect the clip to the faulty battery, it will stop at the Green bar but once I activate this button (which is to simulate the switching on of the electrical gadgets, the needle will drop to the Red bar indicating that it is not charging." (Hey, this battery wasn't even connected to the car, so how can it charge. But never mind, the battery is already more than 2 years old and is due for replacement.)
"You know, my previous record of using a battery was 4 years before it's replaced. That was in the mid to late 1970's to early 1980's. And I did not use battery water but rather rain water to top up." (Yes, I shocked him with that statement but it's nothing but the truth) "I only use rain water that did not come into contact with any metal and collected with plastic pail."

So the job is completed and I paid him the $150.00 in cash. He issued an official receipt with no revenue stamp and told me that this receipt will act as an official warranty for 6 months.

"If the battery is faulty after 6 months but within 1 year, the replacement cost would be 50% what I had paid. Please don't lose the receipt. Do you need an original receipt as in Invoice?"
"It's ok. I can live with this receipt."

He left in a jiffy. As for me, I got an errand to run. Send the Hungry Ghost prayer's stuff to my in-laws in Jurong East on my way to office.

Just as I moved off, I was winding up the electric window on the driver's side, I found that the window would not automatically wind up all the way. I have to hold on to the button to activate it. Ditto for winding down. I fiddled around with the A/C button and the automatic winding up and down button is working again. Phew! Next thing I knew was all the pre-programmed channels in the radio was lost and I have to start all over again. I managed to adjust the time but could not do the same for the radio channels. Now what was it that this mechanic said? That all the pre-programmed channels would remain intact. Maybe it was because I switch off the radio when I failed to get the car started and he didn't realise it and I forgot about it. Oh well.