medical checkup & psp-hunt
19th jan 2008

And so, i finally had my NS medical checkup. It was so flipping troublesome! Had to travel all the way to Queenstown/Red Hill and change bus. Why isn't CMPB located somewhere like city hall or something? Benefits everyone!

Anyway, the total checkup took about 4~5 hours. There're several stations to go to, like check your eyesight, hearing, teeth, blood pressure, height and weight, blood.. AND MANY MORE. There's even this IQ test(which is the LONGEST OF ALL) that consists of a trillion questions.. i was yawning the whole time, thinking,

"when is this gonna end? when is this gonna end? when is this gonna end..?"

Okay, and so, i received PES A PES D. Which means the results is pending/unconfirmed status. This is due to one bloody doctor who claimed he heard a funny sound in my heart. Funny sound in my heart, yes. Did he hear a burp? Or techno music? Or did someone had a conversation with him? I've no idea what he meant by funny but it ain't funny to me. I was referred to Alexandra Hospital to do a more thorough checkup on monday(before getting my PES result).

URGH! WASTE MY TIME MAN!

Went PSP-SLIM-HUNTING at sim lim square. And it wasn't a pleasant experience. There's countless treacherous scammers(mostly in the human form of ah bengs and uncles) awaiting for victims to be preyed on their traps(products).

THINGS TO NOTE:
if you're buying a PSP, please read!

1. PARALLEL IMPORTS
Ask and check if it's a parallel import(meaning from Japan). If it is, don't buy. It should come from china instead, as latest productions are in china. The first batch of PSPs are from jap. Forget the thinking that "Made In Japan" are better than china's. They're all from Sony, for goodness' sake.

2. LCD SCREEN CHECK
Check for any dead pixel or dust in the PSP. To check for dead pixel, change the colors of the screen(mainly red, blue and green) and look carefully. You just have to be really cautious for LCD screen check since warranty does not include LCD screen, even for Sony's.

3. SCRATCHES
Needless to say, it should be totally brand new and no scratches should be detectable.

4. REFURBISHED SET
ASK. If it is a refurbished set, show the scammer your 3rd and 8th fingers. Refurbished sets are old PSPs being "re-made" and it's definitely not a first-hand product, no matter how flawless it looks.

5. STANDARD PACKAGE
Check if it's a standard package. It should come with: charger, battery, manual, warranty and the original PSP box. If the scammer takes the PSP out of some other shit other than the box, it's definitely screwed. Take note to check that all parts are from Sony and not from any other 3rd parties.

6. CUSTOMIZABLE FIRMWARE
Check its version and see if it's the latest. Take time to ask in details if you're able to download games into the PSP. Unless you want an un-modded PSP and happily spending your assets on expensive games.

7. PRICE OF MARKET
The current price for a standard package and MODDED PSP is SGD$280.00. Memory stick will not be included. If it's something insanely cheap, like $190 which i've heard, there's unquestionably a catch to it.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Buy cheap PSPs at your own risk. Even if you do all the checks listed above, i can't guarantee it's not a scam. Warranties from PSPs are shop warranties, not Sony's(since the set is modded). So the shop/store could easily scam as many PSPs as possible and had the store wind up, voiding the warranty. And then scammers can easily register a company under a different name at sim lim square.

Just think, if PSPs(or any other electronic products) are really that cheap, why wouldnt other stores sell at that price? =]

p.s. i'm contactable by mobile phone already, what a week!