Saving My Lappie & Porridge Buffet

I guess the 3rd part of the bad luck(s) came along about 2 weeks back. I was using my lappie as usual and all of the sudden, my screen became distorted and blurry. Thinking it was just overheating, I switched it off and let it cool before turning it on again. But the problem still persisted. So, I switched it off overnight, (I usually leave it on because I need the alarm to wake me up) and switching it on again after I got home from work the next day. Still, the problem persisted.

Dear then accompanied me to go get a VGA cable and we hooked the lappie to the family computer's monitor in the living room last weekend. The screen looked ok and we ruled out the possibility that the video card was spoilt.

During this long weekend, we went down to Funan to hunt for a cheap monitor, so I could hook my lappie out to use it. While looking around, we went to ask a HP reseller about the repair of the lappie and she told us the cost of repairing was about $400-$500, and the cheapest monitor we found was $149. Though the monitor was within my budget, I didn't buy it immediately.
Reason was because we saw this unassuming shop on level 3, sitting below the escalator, that repairs computers and lappies. The price for the repairs was about $300 (depending on the size of my screen) and it will only take one day, and will be able to give a firm quote once they see my lappie.
Weighing out the options, Dear suggested bringing the lappie down to HP Service Center first thing in the morning on Saturday and see how much and how long it would take for my lappie to get it repaired there.

Woke up early on Saturday morning and almost got lost at HP till we found the security checkpoint. There, a very nice security guard gave us directions to the service center.
Like all service centers, have to take queue number first lah. There were a lot of counters opened, so the queue moved pretty fast. But the initial diagnosis took a little longer. The lady who served us told us the cost to change the screen with all labour charges and GST would total up to about $614. Of cos, me, being so broke and already not earning much, would take the cheaper alternative lah.

We then took a bus down to Suntec to fill our stomach with Joaquim's Porridge Buffet. The spread and everything was good but the aircon toooooooooooooooo damn blardi cold, making the porridge and dishes cold very fast. To imagine how cold the place was, here's what you should know: the braised gravy of the pig trotter dish "jelly-fied" at the end of our meal.

Got back to serious business and walked down to Funan. Showed the guy my lappie and he said that this particular model of lappie heats up very fast, and now my screen has this problem, the most common reason is because of the motherboard. He told us, to change the screen, it will be $320 and about 45 mins wait, but if it's the motherboard problem, he will repair the motherboard, which will only cost us $250 but we can only collect the lappie at about 7pm. He then took down my hp number, told us to walk around first and will give us a call once he has changed the screen and tested it.
Within 20 minutes, the call came. He told us that it's confirmed that he has to repair the motherboard and even asked if we would want to take a look at the lappie first to confirm. We just told him to go ahead and repair the motherboard because I really dun see how he could be cheating us lor... hhaha...

So, Dear and I nua and walked around Raffles City till about 6pm. As we were about to reach Peninsular Plaza for Dear to place his soccer bets with Singapore Pools, the call came again and told us the lappie was ready for collection.
When we collected the lappie, he even told us he has tested a few rounds and there isn't any problem during testing. There is also a one month warranty and if there's anything wrong, can go back to look for him. Dear and I then deduced that he has actually finished by about 4+ to 5pm, but was leaving it to test. Not only was the service good, the delivery was punctual, or rather, earlier than expected!

Saving up now to up my lappie's RAM, which they can also do! hehhehehe