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Ambushed with rules

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Recently, we went a short trip to Seremban with my mum. I booked an apartment via Booking.com and as expected, they contacted me via WhatsApp to ask for details and to give instructions. One strange question was where I do come from i.e. which state/city. Why? Even if it's for data collection, how does that help them to improve their business? More instructions were given on the day of travel e.g. videos and additional info on how to check in and how to get to the correct carpark bay. All were expected. What wasn't expected was the additional rules that came in when we were about half an hour of reaching the destination, such as no birthday party allowed, no alcohol, no pets and couple must be married. Wth! I have no issue with such rules but to only made them known after money had been paid and we were about to reach the place was distasteful to say the least. When we arrived, I went checking the place for any defect and reported them accordingly. I also noticed that there wer...
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Jesting toast

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During a dinner:  Ban's mum: *Looks at Ban* Ok, give me a birthday toast. Ban: Happy birthday mum. Ban's mum: It's my 75th birthday. Say a longer toast. Ban: Longer toast. Ban's mum: *Gives up and looks at Bans' brother* You try. Ban's brother: Kaya toast, butter toast. 😂 
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Shoe wash collection point

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  I've seen before laundry version of this, in a mall, but this was the first time I came across shoe wash version. This was along a row of shophouses at SS2.
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Inconsistency and omitance

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During a recent actuarial project (valuation of general insurance reserve), auditor pointed out to client the inconsistency of recognising a component of premium (let's call it "CP1") in the total premium but not using it in calculating unearned premium reserve (UPR). So they asked client to include CP1 in their calculation of UPR. Please bear in mind that due to the choice of words the client used, it probably complicated the actuary's and my understanding of what the changes were. I determined which part of our workflow that was affected and looked at the relevant spreadsheets. I pointed out an inconsistency where within the same formula, one parameter excluded CP1 whereas another included it and we multiplied them to obtained estimation of another parameter. I tried my best to explain it to the actuary but first 3 attempts failed. I was frustrated and running out of idea of how else to present this point, when the actuary used a specific example using the data. I t...
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Cholesterol 2026: Part 3

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Test results as compared to 3 months ago : Yes, it's worse than previous but not as bad as I had expected. During the preceding 2 weeks or more, I had cakes more often than usual (shared with my mum who was here for a while) and might have exercised a little less than usual (no access to treadmill or swimming pool during the 2-night trip to Seremban). Total cholesterol is uncomfortably above the personalised score of 6 but still not alarming. LDL is only slightly above and so that's ok. The good news is triglycerides level fell a lot while HDL improved tremendously. Hence, overall I'm not worried and need not start taking medication. Hopefully my reasons for the deterioration are correct and so it should get better in 3 months time. Meanwhile, I resolved to have a bit more unsweetened soy milk. Incidentally, I fasted about 12 hours for this test and so the vast improvement 3 months ago was probably not due to fasting for 11 hours. That remains a mystery :D 
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17th anniversary

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As with previous year , we went to Kinpachi and Huang Soy.   At Kinpachi, they had always served a mini appetiser before our main order was served. This time, it was eggplant. I normally don't like eggplant but this was quite delicious. Once again, I had the Daimyou Maki. It was good and filling. I like that it had a variety of filling (seven) that gave different taste and texture. First time Ban tried their Hiyashi Tanuki Soba, which he liked. He seems to favour cold over hot soba. Naturally, this was insufficient for him and so after perusing their menu, he ordered something from their seasonal menu:   Buta Shiokoji Misoyaki. It wasn't bad but it was nothing special: the flavour was too mild and it was harder than expected. He got the remaining 5 slices packed.   We then went to Huang Soy where Ban had their Homemade Chrysanthenum Tea, which tasted...normal :D, and I had Pandan Pudding, which had shaved ice underneath. Think there wasn't enough gula melaka for the shave...
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Decorative seafood

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This was at Jaya Grocer outlet at Starling Mall:   Up till even recently, it was still decorated similarly this way. It looks appealing but I can't help thinking that those vegetables are wasted. 
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