Hitched

Hitched. Yeah... on golfing.

Wife bought a pack of golf balls today, in addition to 10 fluorescent yellow ones which I bought at Setapak driving range yesterday. The white ones are cheaper by fifty cents each, and they were actually consist of different brands - ranged from Wilson, Top-Flite, Pinnacle, Volvik & Everio. The earlier batch of golf balls, 10 in total, were all used up in my ever first 18 holes (2 rounds of 9 holes) at Titiwangsa Golf Club PDRM. Used up meaning I have lost the balls in 2 flights of golf there, losing branded balls like Titleist, Nike, etc., which cannot be avoided since I have no idea on the location of the water hazards and failed to control the momentum of my swings, resulting in out of bound locations (including main roads and adjacent fairway) - which easily makes up 10 out of the 12 balls I've lost there. One or two could be lost due to tall grass there (outlining the fairway) or simply just 'plucked' into the soggy ground.

The aim is to reduce number of lost balls to a minimum, perhaps 6 or less would be a realistic target. So before my next golfing outing, I have to get prepared with my swings.... need to 'vary' them, if you know what I mean. Being a beginner without an experienced trainer by my side, I have to rely on my own assessment of my swings (see where the balls go with different approaches and golf clubs) and also based on my memory. My memory is my best friend at the moment, since I was actually 'trained' back in the mid 90s, where I used to work at the golf section at Isetan in Lot 10. There was this golf swing equipment to guide my swing, and I had fellow colleagues to correct me when I whacked the ball wrongly at the small 'test driving' room. The room consist of a net with a bull's eye in the middle, and lots of empty boxes at its back to cushion the impact of the balls. I still remember my morning routines when I was working there while waiting for my STPM results; getting hold of a used driver and a 5 iron, and whack about 5 balls or more before the mall opens officially at 10am.

As for my swing and the preparation for my next outing, I have to start using other clubs which I am rather apprehensive to use - the hybrids 3 & 4, as well as iron 6 to 9. The hybrids looked rather weird - small club face and the bulge behind... it is just like a cross breed between a wood and an iron. But definitely I would prefer to have iron 2 to 4, rather than having the hybrids. What to do... the hybrids came in a package which I bought last year - Wilson's golf bag with a driver and wood 3, coupled with iron 5 to 9, PW, SW and a putter. Haven't got used to the putter yet... kinda heavy and hard to control the impact on the ball during putting... perhaps I should get a PING!

Next planned trip would be a golf course in Bentong, but apparently I have to give this outing a skip since I will be committing my time on the other hobby, which is photography. Ironically, it seems that a lot of people are taking up this too, perhaps because DSLR cameras seemed to be more affordable these days. There's a hot air balloon festival coming up soon - just look out for it in the internet.

And yeah by the way, this is my first blog posting for this year. Am wondering if anybody out there is reading or following my blog.

The passing of my beloved grandfather

My grandfather passed away last Sunday, Dec 27th morning.

He suffered a heart attack on Christmas eve and again later in the afternoon. He was admitted to Selayang Hospital and that evening he was transferred from A&E section to CCU.

I was on my way to my parents' house for Christmas dinner when I came to know that he was admitted to the hospital, as apparently I was not informed earlier about him. I decided to make a U-turn at Sungai Buloh interchange and headed straight to Selayang Hospital with my son, and my wife was waiting for me near my parent's place.

Besides having histories of heart attack, his kidneys were not functioning that well and he was supposed to go for dialysis, to which he told me the week before that he doesn't plan to undergo since the whole treatment may be too taxing for him, i.e. thrice a week and 4 hours for each session of hemodialysis.

He was like a fatherly figure to me since my sister & I were under our grandparent's care since both our parents couldn't afford to hire a maid to take care of both of us, and both of them are working full-time. I've heard testimonies from a dear friend of my uncle, to whom he said my grandfather loved me the most and he sacrificed a lot to see me healthy (I was diagnosed with bronchitis). My sister & I stayed with our grandparents till we were 8 years old, since we were just few months old.

Tears just ran down freely when I remembered many, many things that he had done for me and how his lifestyle had influenced mine, be it getting my identification card when I was 12, getting an ATM card for me also at 12, taking me to the best barber to get my haircut, getting up early to send my sister & I to school when we were 7, using chopsticks when I was 6 or 7, paid and encouraged me to obtain my driving & motorcycle license, tendered to me when I was sick (he came back in the afternoon to bring me food and cared for my medical needs), gave me pocket money when I started going to school, always buy the things that I longed for (toys basically, when I was still a kid), giving me 1 to 1 driving lessons and letting me drive his only car when I was still pursuing the driving license, cook for my sister & I when my grandma was away at work, encouraged me to drive his working van (during his retirement he helped my uncle to sell clothes at pasar malam & pasar pagi), etc.

Although he is quick & hot tempered, he had never scolded us (my sister & I) just as he did so to his own children when they did something wrong. He was a great man, a former police who had sacrificed a lot for his country (notably busting communist cell groups and going after drug dealers) and his eight children, to which he had never complained about having my sister & I as an addition to his immediate family (i.e. children).

Being a cop in this country isn't easy. From Tanjung Malim in the early eighties, he was transferred to Slim River, after which he was transferred to Kuantan. Kuantan was his last posting before retiring in the mid eighties, when I was still 5 or 6 years old. And throughout these relocations, we (grandma, my sister & I) were with him. We can see how he has suffered a lot being a CID in the police force, and due to the stress at work he drinks & smokes heavily. But he never forsake his family and the two of us (my sister & I), as he was the main breadwinner of the family.

Kung-kung, I feel honoured to be your grandson and I hope your soul will find peace and mercy in the eyes of our Creator. I promised that I will take good care of po-po in your absence. Love you, Kung-kung.

Season's Greetings

Casting

Had a fall at the driving range last Thurs after whacking 200 golf balls. Slipped on my way to the car, wearing my new golf shoes with artificial/plastic spikes. Luckily my wife was there to console me, and got me some f&b to help me overcome the 'shock' from falling.

Felt extreme numbness at first on the entire arm, my face was pale as if i've just saw a ghost, and looked like the elbow had been displaced. Could barely straighten or bend 90 deg, and decided to retain 60 deg or 45 deg until i've got home, and drove with my right hand (single-handedly).

Tried to recall how i fell, but apparently i was still in the state of shock for the next 1 hour or so and after a while I realized that my left foot slipped and fell into the drain while I'm holding my golf bag (with complete clubs in it) and my left elbow had to endure the weight of my body & the golf bag. My right leg wasn't in the drain, and to my amazement (Thank God!) my legs were unhurt, it is just that my left arm was a bit awkward and tightness can be felt around the elbow area and muscles in the vicinity of the elbow.

Went for X-Ray the following day at a private hospital and confirmed there is a small fracture at the head of radius bone at the joint with humerus (upper arm). Got the diagnosis from orthopedic who later fooled me into believe that a simple push and casting would do the trick at the cost of around RM1K. But eventually the whole thing, including rental of OT, ballooned up to RM2K++ and bcos I had both Great Eastern & Berjaya Sompo medic card, I settled for GE bcos the co-insurance is 10% as compared to 20% if I use BS.

Seeing the doc again tomorrow, dunno whether want to complain about the high fees before or after the check-up. Anyway I hope the casting can be removed so that I can move my left hand without any hindrances.

OB car wash

OB - out of bounds

Here it is:

http://www.enginelounge.com/2009/10/05/pictures-singapore-topless-car-wash/

Small, but worth the curiosity I guess... for the participants & contest winners I mean ;-)

BSO - Buat Susah Orang

Was requested to handover the Kia Sportage 2006 today, and in exchange I could take home Honda Accord 2.0 VTi 2007. But what a hassle to remove personal things from the KIA - umbrella, toddler's car seat, lubrication oil, cards (access card, Touch n go, etc.)

So does it worth the swap?

Nope.

Golfing

Been lazy to put up any post in this blog.

Anyway, just a quick update. Went to driving range after being absent (i.e. at a driving range) for more than 5 years. Everything seemed to be ok... had the swing & groove coming after 10 hits or so. The last time I went to a golf driving range was more than 5 years ago. RM10 for 100 balls... and took just more than one hour to whack them. Colleagues planned to visit a public golf course next week, likely 9 holes and asked me to practice twice next week if I want to join them. But don't think I can make it, cause feeling stiffness around my neck and upper abdomen muscles. Didn't spend time warming up or stretching before I whacked the first ball... and now seems like I have aches all over on the upper body... and feel kinda pain in my stomach when I cough. Damn... should have done some warming up first....

Well, how did I start golfing, or rather picking up the golf club and whack that teeny weeny ball? Years back I had some basic lessons when I was working at a golf department in an established shopping mall at Bukit Bintang. Here, some golf pro are available to teach me... and corrected me if my swing is bad. Furthermore there was this machine that assists in swinging the club... hard to describe... just have to see for yourself. Being in the golf department for 2 months (while waiting for my STPM results), I was exposed to golf terms and equipments, so much so that I have these knowledge embedded in my head.

Been itching to play golf since graduation, and bought the first few clubs at Cash Converter near Ampang Point. Not few actually, just 3 - one iron no.5, driver and woods no. 3. Nothing serious after that... just a couple of visits to the driving range in Setapak and the fire seemed to be gone after getting hitched.

Anyway, the idea of getting involved came about when a Danish colleague asking me out to the driving range and directed me to a golf store near Kelana. Bought a complete golf set last month - one driver, 2 woods, 1 hybrid, 6 irons & 1 putter... not very branded but should be okay for a beginner like myself.

Feel unprepared for a 'flight' at the golf course... feel inadequate... training,
etiquette and equipments. Wanna get some rubber tees, wooden tees, better glove, golf cap/hat, sunglass, etc. Hopefully by the next post, I would be golfing at the real golf course already - perhaps just 9 holes for a start!