Musings by Grace Chng

It’s about a month since I bought the Kindle. Reading on it is like reading a book. Okay, buying content or anything remotely related to the Kindle is a pain cos Amazon doesn’t sell it or accessories outside the US. The workaround solutions are good but they do require a few extra steps.

That said, reading on the Kindle is easy on the eye. I’ve now read about 3 books on it. It’s the size and weight of a paperback. Easy to carry around.  Best of all, I don’t have to hurry to add book shelves. I know I would read fiction on it. But if I do want to read non-fiction where I would like to write notes on the sideline or attach stickies to it, it would be much easier for reference. A small keyboard on the Kindle allows you to make notes, but I still prefer to visually scan because it’s easier to find what I want.

What irritates me is the battery. In the one month, it “crashed” on me - that is the screen was stuck. I’d to go to the forums to find out how to re-boot it. It’s happened three times. And the battery tends to grow weaker each time I re-boot. I checked the forums and found that the battery is a common problem. Good thing is I can change the battery except that Amazon won’t send it directly to me and I need to work around this. Sigh!

Why can’t the vendors just sell devices worldwide? Are they so blinkered that the US is the only world market? Surely the global market is a larger one - especially one for books … and music (hint: iTunes!)

Oh, I’ve been lazy. Not blogged for 2 weeks!

Anyway, today I was desperately calling PS Cafe for a dinner reservation. For those who’re familiar with PS Cafe, it first started in Paragon. The parent is Project Shop that sells those grungy, edgy kinda clothes. The cafe is famous for its salads. For those with sweet tooth, its desserts like double chocolate cake, cheesecake etc are worth dying for.

Anyway, it has opened a new branch at Palais Renaissance. So I called for a reservation but the phone went unanswered. I tried from before lunch to after lunch. Finally I reached an answering service: plse leave a message if you want a reservation or call xxx, a cellphone number.

I’ve not heard of restaurant reservation by SMS, and was sceptical. I tried it and within 2 minutes, the response came in. Would I like indoor or outdoor, and what’s my name? I was impressed. Such quick service. I gave the information and at 7.30pm turned up at the restaurant and my table was reserved!

You learn something new every day!