The new A-Class

Löwen/Stuttgart.  Best vehicle tested in 2018 and best in class in the small family vehicle segment: The European safety organisation Euro NCAP has presented the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class with an award for best performing car in safety.

The new A-Class from Mercedes-Benz has undergone European NCAP crash tests, and achieved outstanding results in them. As a result, it was awarded the top rating of five stars. “This Euro NCAP award, which we are delighted about, is recognition of the excellent standards of safety in our vehicles,” explained Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Schöneburg, Head of Passive Safety and Vehicle Functions at Mercedes-Benz Cars. “However, the standardised crash tests only represent a small sample of the real-life accidents that may be encountered on the street. For that reason, Mercedes-Benz designs all its model series using around 40 different accident constellations.”

Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) is an organisation of European transport ministries, automobile clubs and insurance associations. It carries out crash tests and assesses vehicle safety based on the safety systems available. The General Secretary of Euro NCAP, Michiel van Ratingen, says:

“In 2018 we introduced new, tougher tests, with a particular focus on protecting particularly vulnerable road users. The winners of the “Best in Class” awards clearly show that the vehicle manufacturers are striving for the highest levels of safety and that the Euro NCAP ratings act as a catalyst for significant progress where safety is concerned.”

The new A-Class: exemplary active and passive safety

The new A-Class is also the first Mercedes-Benz model to have been developed in part at the new Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS). The design of the vehicle structures incorporates findings from research into real accidents. The centrepiece of the body’s safety concept is the highly rigid passenger compartment. Its great rigidity in accident conditions, e.g. in frontal, lateral or rear-end collisions and roll-overs, is above all due to the greater use of high-strength, ultra-high-strength and press-hardened sheet steel.

The driver and front passenger each have a three-point seat belt with belt force limiter and belt tensioner. In conjunction with the PRE-SAFE^® system (optional equipment), the front seats are equipped with reversible belt reel tensioners. Both of the outer rear seats are fitted with a seat belt with reel tensioner and belt force limiter.

The new A-Class is equipped with driver and front passenger airbags, a driver’s kneebag and windowbags as standard. Unlike in many competitor models, the windowbag also covers the A-pillar for more complete passenger protection. Thorax-pelvis sidebags are also fitted as standard in the front. Rear sidebags are optionally available.

The new A-Class has the very latest driving assistance systems with cooperative driver support, giving it the highest level of active safety in this segment, with functions adopted from the S-Class. For the first time, the A-Class is able to drive semi-autonomously in certain situations. It keeps a very close eye on the traffic situation: improved camera and radar systems allow it to see far ahead. The A-Class also uses map and navigation data for assistance functions. For example, Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC as part of the Driving Assistance package is able to support the driver in numerous route-specific situations, and predictively and conveniently adjust the speed e.g. when approaching bends, junctions or roundabouts.

The new A-Class comes with expanded Active Brake Assist as standard. Depending on the situation, it can effectively help to mitigate the consequences of rear-end collisions with slower-moving, stopping or stationary vehicles ahead, and even with crossing pedestrians and cyclists, or prevent them altogether.

It’s time of the year again where Bruneians look forward to. The only event that can easily attract thousands over the span of five days. This was the signing ceremony with the partners of the upcoming 22nd Consumer Fair at D’Sunlit office yesterday.

Day 11. 48 hours more to go. I still feel that I haven’t achieved much in terms of my productivity level. I blame netflixing and my mobile games for sure. I have to be productive or maybe that could be another challenge of its own. Yea, maybe that could be a new challenge – doing something different each day for two weeks. Maybe I can take up ballet or dancing. Ok, maybe not the former but yea, it would be nice to do something that I have never tried before. I mean, cooking was fun and I have been doing some cooking of my own during the social media purge.

I am also thinking if I will be blogging again full time like I used to. It’s kinda fun when you can express and pour your thoughts and share it with people. That was what Ranoadidas was built for when it started – to share the fun and the joy of my everyday life and that’s what made what it is today. You know what, maybe I will still continue to blog in this manner even after the social media purge. This year will be my 18 years of blogging. My blog is an adult.. Woohoo…

Yesterday, I attended the signing ceremony of the 22nd Consumer Fair and I am very fortunate to always partner with D’Sunlit with the Consumer Fair since Day 1. This time the theme will relate to family – there will be four characters, Babah, Babu, Boboi and Alai, and it’s basically a story of them shopping wisely during the Consumer Fair. There will be a RUSH HOUR shopping spree where customers can enjoy huge discounts for only ONE hour at a specific time. It reminds me of how Singapore conducted their IT fairs where they have crazy sales for an 1 hour to entice buyers.

I want to jog but my jogging partner had last minute changes. Then again, I shouldn’t make that as an excuse. I should be more motivated to do it for myself. Soon, Rano, soon. Well, at least, the night ended up quite productive as we had a toastmasters dinner at Rizqun International Hotel. It was great to kick off the year with the Brunei Advanced Speakers Club meeting as the rest of the toastmasters clubs will only be back next week.

This is Rano Iskandar, signing off and have a great weekend, peeps!!!

I woke up and read a text from my friend and she was cornered, watching More than Blue. So have you?

Kudos to the RB crew for handling a dangerous situation calmly and making sure safety is the number one priority.

Day 10. Two more days and the feeling is just mutual. Nothing high, nothing low. Just like any other day. I’m referring to the day when I am back on social media this Sunday. I felt like catching a movie today but ended up chilling at home, netflixing and playing mobile games. I did say that I wanna do something productive such as clearing my junk emails, clean my room before the renovation, read my unread books before they collect more dusks and do more exercise.

Speaking of exercise, I plan to do more of it this year. To be more active and even pro-active in burning calories. Oh yea, typing doesn’t count as burning calories. I really need to sweat. I have gained a few kilos and my medical check up also shows that my cholesterol is still above borderline even though it’s lower than before. Now I have to be careful with my diet and I know I am big fan of curry especially curry chicken from Teazone and I really love fried chicken. This one, I won’t put it as a challenge but more like a discipline and I know I can do without curry chicken or if I do, have them in moderation. My goal now is to improve my cholesterol and make it below the borderline by August 2019.

Today’s my friend’s birthday Pranika and I hope you had a wonderful day today. Hope you enjoyed the lunch treat with your buddies. Thanks for being an awesome friend and coping with my lameness.

In other news, there is always a reason why power banks are always a no-no in luggages when checking-in. One of the passengers flying on RB had a power bank blown off in mid-flight and good thing the RB steward managed to handle the situation with great care and all the passengers and crew were safe on flight BI636 (Hong Kong to BSB). So there you go. Always important not to store your power banks in the luggage, instead carry them with you on the plane.

I also heard a shocking, good news. Well, that’s a wrap for January the 3rd.

My routine medical check up every six months. Even though, I’m a Permanent Resident, I’m still feel privilege for able to experience good medical check up at government clinic. We have to pay like BND 3 fee which can costs more in private clinics. I will definitely do an extensive one soon. It’s about time the Gen X should be checking out their health status.

Lunch with birthday celebrant at Flour & Butter. I don’t know why it’s my go-to-place for birthday treats. Just love the environment and especially the food.

Happy birthday Pranika 😀 and she must have been happy to receive two bouquet of flowers.

It’s paying bill time. I realised why don’t I simply pay my bills online rather than wasting my energy visiting counters which I have been doing for the past year or so.

A quick visit to YMRM to see this tauke #herefortesh and he was hyped up for the new YMRM signature store, opening soon in January. It will be the first of its kind in Brunei. Can’t wait.

Guess who sent me this pic? Amirul Adli…. He is now in midst of taking driving lessons and soon enough, he will be driving here and there. Just make sure, I will be one of your passenger list once you’re a legit driver

My go-to-place for dinner at times. Even after two months of opening, the queue is still there. Not many healthy joints have the same hype as Fuel’d. If you ask me, it’s more about affordability and healthy and still tasty.

Headlines in yesterday’s paper. Seems that the bonus month is a good time to conduct roadblocks. 500 offences in just a week is quite high. Another headline is the tragedy at the beach where two persons were reported missing after being swept away by the strong currents. I’ve seen this situation with my own eyes two years ago and it was terrifying. We need more proper signage to make it explicit to beach goers on the dangers swimming at the beach.

Angela accompanying her dad while we had a quick meeting at Papparich. I am quite amazed how she caught up with speaking as she was a late bloomer. A smart kid indeed 😀

Day 9. Can you imagine if I were to simply stop social media for good, how would I take it? It’s something I couldn’t imagine for now. It’s easier to give up on Maggi Curry (or instant noodles) but social media is a different league. It’s the root of all addiction and I have to admit that I am of them. 20% of the usage of social media is attributed to my work for my clienteles but the remaining 80% usage involves viewing personal stories, being updated of other people’s life, stalking, liking, sharing “interesting” stories through WhatsApp and the list just goes on and on. It’s embedded in every one of us and because it has become a culture and a lifestyle, it becomes a norm and we don’t see anything negative about it unless one crosses the line.

I don’t how I am gonna take it once I enter the social media life this Sunday by 12pm. Will I view it differently than before? Will I be less proactive than before? Will I be concerned about my drop in ratings and impressions? I mean, will these numbers or figures matter to me? It is hard to say until it really happens and only from my own experience, I am able to feel and think after a 12 day hiatus. I am very happy and honoured that a few of my friends did their own 3-day purge in supporting my good cause. Thank you, Reuben, Amran, Pranika, Nabil, Brendan and Ruby to name a few.

Now, how was my 2nd day of 2019? I feel more recharged after a good long rest. My thoughts became lighter and I feel blessed to still be in a healthy condition though I have to wait what the doctor will say about my recent blood sample (Wish me luck tomorrow). I know for sure my blood pressure is still borderline because I haven’t been taking care of my diet. I still eat healthy stuff but it is still being outweighed by the unhealthy ones.

I have also received an email for an invitation to Taiwan. It does clash with the upcoming Consumer Fair. The former seems to entice me more since it’s a travel/working trip. I have turned down a few flying trips last year due to work commitments. Maybe this time round it will be tougher to turn especially to a country that I don’t mind traveling to. So far, it’s an 80/20 likelihood I will accept the offer.

So how was your first two days of 2019? Let’s hope it’s a good start to an amazing year.

Lewis showed me his new gadget he bought from Singapore – Hypervolt. It’s a portable device that vibrates and helps to massage your muscles. It’s pretty heavy and it costs around 500ish. This might be ideal for those who works out a lot.

I managed to finally complete an hour recording of our Favourite Movies of 2018. My special guest this time is Del Goh. Do check out Progresif Radio next week for our Podcast recording. You’ll be surprised what’s my number one movie of 2018.

Ruby trying to remember how to set up the balls and she did it. A much improved player than she was weeks ago. You’re one fast learner, my friend. Safwan, beware!!!

A card game that I was getting to be familiar with – Monopoly Deal. However, Ruby is unbeatable in this one.

My first time trying out the cendol at M-Strike and one of the best sellers too.

We saw this mixer at Wise Generation outlet at Setia Kenangan II and it costs more than $15,000 if I’m not mistaken. A few nice kitchen ware here and tons of choices to look at. I’m definitely check this store out again for my cooking materials.

We had a pitstop at Potters too. They have discounts from 20% to 40% until 13th February. A few items also caught my eyes.

Ruby finally catching up on my blog entries and she was shocked with the statistics I shared about my social media usage per week.

Before midnight, we were preparing for a surprise for our birthday friend. It was 90% success.

Happy birthday, Pranika and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day!!!

Nothing much to update on the final day on 2018. I was charing my joy con for Switch for the small gathering. I wanted to buy Just Dance 2019 for Switch but sadly, I didn’t have time to do so.

I had my final tennis session with my buddies. Minul didn’t show up because he thought it was raining since he was caught in the rain at Gadong. See you all in 2019 😀

Day 7. YEESSS, I survived for a week so far. There has been any drastic change in my habits or feelings. I did feel lighter than usual in terms of not bothering about social media. It’s such an anti-climatic day since it was the final day of 2018. This was the day I started to slow reflect what has happened in 2018 and having that rewind button on your head can take a toll on me. Furthermore, I couldn’t rely my flashbacks by going through my IG feed. Hence, I had to jog my memory on my highlights of 2018.

I didn’t do much on the Day 7 but more preparing on a small gathering at my place. A simple one and a pretty last minute one. So let’s go quickly on my top picks or highlights of 2018.

1) Maggi Purge Challenge. The first ever challenge that changed my personality, fighting one of my biggest addiction – instant noodles. It has been more than a year now and I don’t even crave for Maggi 😀
2) My Nepal Trip. At first, I was skeptical because I have never been to Nepal and loads of uncertain thoughts in my head. It turned out the other way. I truly love Nepal especially Thamel and Pokhara. There are still cities I have yet to explore. The best travel trip so far this year and I will make my plans to go again in 2020.
3) Cuckoo Trip to Seoul. This was early in March with a bunch of social media friends and the local media. I really had a great time, visiting the Cuckoo factories and also sight seeing in Busan and Seoul. I think it was kudos to the ground handlers and also Hui Ting for taking care of us and the awesome hospitality since Day 1. I hope for another trip again to Seoul.
4) Grabbing a podium finish in Toastmasters. It was the first time I received a Toastmasters trophy at Area Level. After competing numerous times over a span of 4 years, I inched my way to the top three for both International Speech and Table Topics. Let’s see what this year brings for me.
5) _ _ E. I have known this friend for a few years already but it was only this year, things started to gel and we simply had a lot in common and interests. I know it’s cliche but you’re a gift to this wonderful friendship and bond we have. It’s a great reminder that to not take things for granted or lightly. For more adventures and excitement in 2019. Thank you for being such an amazing friend.
6) Social Media Purge. Of course!!! This is maybe the best highlight of 2018 and the toughest challenge to date. To not access Whatsapp, Facebook and most of all, Instagram. A few weeks ago, this was just a thought in my head if I could pull this off. Today, it’s a reality and I am very proud that I can do without social media. I shall be back soon.

So these are my quick bits on my highlights of 2018. Let’s hope for a much prosperous year ahead and Happy New Year to all my friends, families and readers. You all have been super awesome and thank you for reading my updates.

One of my favourite board games and even the newcomers love Werewolf

So we played Werewolf, Telestration and Cards Against Humanity

Thanks guys for coming last Monday

We had a bit of karaoke for some entertainment on New Year’s Eve

Sending off Derby who will continue her final year in Vancouver after completing her first two years in Melbourne University. All the best, Derby xx

Having guys talk over Jollibee. Now will these boys be “tested” one day? (Inside joke)

Day 5. I’m actually getting used to this haha. I feel freer and lighter at least. Temptations to be curious gets lesser and we normally kill the curiousity through social media or gossips. True or not? I’m a sucker for new information as it has become part of my job to know what’s going on in our community. With the ongoing purge, I’m beginning to see the other side of the spectrum. Do I like it? Yes. Will I change my perspective? Maybe yes, maybe no. It’s still early days but it’s kinda a good to have this kind of awareness.

Have I been eating a lot and napping lately? Not as much as the first two days and I’m kinda blending in with my daily routines. I still have the habit to carry my phone in my hand though this time, I hardly check my phone because of the absence of notification. I still anticipate for SMS though. Ah, speaking of SMS, it’s so different from Whatsapp. People then to reply slower on SMS as compared to Whatsapp. I would say 70% of them are slow repliers LOL. I am yet to determine why they would take their sweet time to reply through SMS.

I’m now 7 days away from the end of my social media purge. I have friends who have been very encouraging on my journey and it’s kinda ironic that some of them can’t even live without IG and Whatsapp for a day. Well, there’s a way to go about this. What you can do is build your purge through having shorter hours to begin with. Say, start with 4 hours without playing with your phone (in your waking hours, of course) and build it from there. Perhaps, that could be another challenge I might just take within this one week – not to touch my phone for a day. Hmmmmmm… Scary but that’s a different ball game to deal with.

Enjoy the 5th Day updates of my Social Media Purge journey. Adios.

I told Reuben about the recent awful Robin Hood movie starring Taron Egerton and I told him that I preferred Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves when I watched it as a kid. Reuben was right that back then that Prince of Thieves is cheesy after I rewatched it on HBO yesterday. But yea, it’s still way better than Robin Hood (2018).

Did you know Guardian has 22 outlets in Brunei? The 22nd one opened at Annajat Complex. Image taken by Azrol Azmi of Borneo Bulletin.

Cooking is therapeutic indeed. I went grocery shopping and here’s the menu for yesterday’s lunch

…. And I ended up cooking Chicken Garlic Tomato Rice. I love it 😀

It was stated in the news that it’s gonna be rainy in the next few days. I was supposed to play tennis but it rained.

After a grueling 96 hours, a winner was crowned for Brunei Film Blitz. Wan Amiurl Azizan Hj Ibrahim, won for his short film, Yang Hilang Akan Berganti (What is lost will be replaced) and he won himself a two-year Diploma in Screen and Media scholarship sponsored by Progresif. Image by Wardi Wasil from The Scoop. Click image to read full details.

The Gala Night hosted by Brunei Film Blitz with the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism. Image by Wardi Wasil from The Scoop.

Behind the scenes at a wedding recently. The waiters were prepping before dinner at Mulia Hotel.

Congratulations Valen and Cristal on your wedding celebration

A unique wedding as I witnessed a traditional gesture. The bride side has Murut ethnicity.

Always a pleasure to video Ruby on stage. My favourite number was Versace on the Floor. Awesome!! And good job to The Sequence for lifting up the warm audience.

I was nervous when Arsenal broke the duck early in the game but Liverpool came back stronger and gunned off Arsenal 5-1 with a rare Firmino hat-trick. Liverpool lead the table by 7 points.

Day 5 status so far. Not bad.

I woke up early in the morning of Day 3 and headed off to give my blood sample of my routine health check. Let’s hope everything is fine and hopefully my cholesterol is lower than before.

Normally people say “Time flies fast”. Well, not for my case. Day 3 began and it was not as challenging as the first two days I must say. It still felt longer though and I have nine more days to go before I break the purge. Now, I did mention earlier that I was looking for distractions, positive ones, like reading or writing for a start. Well, I haven’t gone down that line just yet. Maybe in Day 5 or Day 6.

The temptations to play with my phone is still there. The most active apps I used are Football Manager, Words with Friends and some Zynga games and not forgetting SMS. I’m glad that I didn’t have the urge to check my IG and Whatsapp for that matter. I know it felt that I am missing out a lot of what’s going on in Brunei or those hot topics on group chats. Yea, aren’t we all addicted to those too? I will be lying if I should I’m not.

Sometimes I wonder if it will make a difference if I were to carry out the purge on a non-holiday season. I find it slightly less challenging at this period because most of us are in the holiday mood and not much work can’t be done anyway.

I bumped into a friend last night and she gave me some morale support on my #socialmediapurge (Thanks, Ida). She sees the benefit as we are all too caught up with social media and forgetting what’s in front of us. It’s good to see that this movement is raising awareness on how social media has impacted our daily lives.

Let’s see what Day 4 brings. Thank you once again for the support and encouragement.

This is truly a sad case and I hope the culprits will be dealt for. I am totally against animal cruelty.

Congratulations to Qurratu’aini Qayyimah for her solo expedition in the Himalayas. This is tough bucket list for me.

I have been catching news online and this was one of the headlines on the CNN app. With Brunei’s economic growth slightly down this year and with the recent oil plunge, year 2019 doesn’t look promising. Furthermore, there have been cries of unemployment here and there. There’s still hope indeed. It will be interesting how the upcoming LegCo in 2019.

How Day 3 looks like now on my social media folder

I had a short swim and did some laps. It was great to be in the pool again, relaxing and listening to music.

One thing I realised is that I don’t have to bring my power banks around as much because my phone life is quite healthy since I don’t use my social media which can take a lot of battery juice.

Pranika trying out the mochi from Japan. She loves the cinnamon ones. Yumm!!! We had Japanese dinner before heading off for a movie.

We took away some milk tea from Liho. It’s getting popular after its soft opening and I love the drinks too. My fav to go is the Avocado ones because they use real avocados and not the powder version.

People say “finder’s keeper”. I saw a dollar note on the toilet floor. I picked up and just left it by the basin. If it was a 1,000 note, will it be a different story? Hmmmm

I caught the Indonesian horror movie last night. My overall take – horrible. Why? Many reasons – the lead actress was really bad on screen. All the whiny laughs and her two-dimensional acting. Just terrible. Secondly the plot was just meh. Some scenes were really silly and illogical. The only redeeming factor are the home workers who brought comic relief on screen. The scares were also subdued. Verdict: 4/10 Pranika 3/10.

To detox after watching the totally crappy horror movie, I went on online and caught Upgrade movie which was released back in August. Wow, wow, wow!! I was totally impressed and if you thought Venom was cool, this is way cooler and I love the plot (original). It was humorous too for a much violent movie. This could be one of my honourable mentions for Top 10 movies of 2018. Verdict: 8.5/10