Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Well, Christmas is round the corner, though you don't see snow flakes gently falling down and sleigh bells ringing, you'll still hear the Christmas carols on the airwaves, in shopping malls.

This year has been a great year. There has been ups and downs but which life of ours will be perfect eh? So here's wishing all of you a wonderful Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year in 2008.

P.S. I'll be out of touch for quite a bit but will be back with more stories after the New Year. :)

INCOMPETENT JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA MALAYSIA

What was supposed to be my happiest day of my life is marred with episodesof ugly and repulsive scenes due to the lack of judgement and incompetent staff atJabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) at Putrajaya.

My fiancée and I arrived at JPN with the rest of our family members at 8.10am and took a number to register for our marriage. When it was our turn to be served, we were asked to provide the Identification Card (IC) of our respective witnesses but upon checking, the officer questioned me about my witness which happens to be my father. He asked whether my father is around, and I pointed out my father to the officer. Never would I imagine them telling me this. They can actually tell me that in their system my father is deceased!!!! I mean how good can this get?? We’ve heard of plenty of other sorts of stories where people actually registered to vote but they are classified as deceased. We’re facing the same problem now!! The officer in charged, told us to go up to the next level to get the problem rectified. Thank you very much. No help there and I am not surprised. I would be more surprised if they offered to help get it changed. I think I would have fainted or strike a jackpot should they offer to help!

We went up to the 2^rd level to see the officer at the counter and explained the problem. Another “excuse” was given. He told us that we need to proceed to the 3^rd level and look for ANOTHER OFFICER. We had to wait for the officer in charge because the person is busy. Busy yakking and laughing on the phone is more like it. We waited for a whole 10 minutes before we decided; we might as well not lose anymore precious time and change to another witness.

We came back down and use my mum’s IC to be presented for witness instead. We were now served by a different officer. A lady officer this time. After keying in and changing the details, lo and behold, she now tells me that in the system, there is something wrong with MY NAME now!! Seriously, I have no idea how these people do their job!! First they make a mistake of putting the wrong information in my dad’s IC chip. Now it’s my name that is wrong??!! How come you did not tell me the last round you guys verified my IC when I submitted my form in June 20007 you brainless IDIOTS!!!!!

All in all, none of the officers bothered to say a single sorry or actually try to offer to rectify the problem; instead they asked us to settle the problem ourselves. Typical government officer standard attitude!!!! And yet to think that we’re going forward into the future, it’s more like we’re going backwards into the olden days. So what’s the point of spending billions and billions of Ringgit on all that architecture in Putrajaya when your people are still incompetent and still do their job so carelessly??!! Why not use the money to spend in training up the people and upgrading the system instead??!! And yet to think that the government are questioning why more and more youngsters are going overseas to work and not coming back. Think people! Think! With what is left of your brains!!!

Popping pills

When u get up in the morning, you're hoping to get through the day without much ado. I've always been looked forward to the weekend but for the past 2 weeks I find myself dreading to see the weekend round the corner. Probably due to the fact that I have to spend the weekend rushing here and there rather than have a relaxing weekend. Also due to the fact that for the past 2 weekends I have been getting the flu bug as well as having sore throat. But after hasty actions of almost drowning myself with bottles of water as well as lozenges, all symptoms of sore throat and flu seem to miraculously disappear when Monday arrives.

So, after 2 weeks of playing hide and seek with the viruses and bugs, I've decided I need to take some sort of action to actually get rid of it once and for all. Time to get my ass to the clinic. As usual the norm for the doctor nowadays is to prescribe antibiotics. I've always tried to stay away or ignore the prescription for antibiotics, meaning I'll take the rest of the medication but not that but I think I'll have to be a good girl for once and pop the pill. Can't afford to get sick for the coming weeks ahead.

So, here's to popping pills and plenty of water. I'll be close friends with the toilet these couple of days. So, forgive me if I don't have anything new to update ya?

Life Experiences

When conundrum hits you like an oncoming truck in the middle of the night you’re flung far away from reality till all you want to do is just lay dead. Let the pain slowly become darkness that overwhelms you and all is over. If only it were that simple, life wouldn’t be a slow and sometimes painful learning curve.

Each day we wake up to a different new day. As we work methodically throughout the day, we always have a hope of getting somewhere or doing something that makes the day worthwhile. It can be life simple pleasures of having a home cooked meal to a sudden surprise of finding mysterious presents that we’ve been longing for. A day can also start with pleasant surprises or we find them as we go along. A little rain or cloudy weather might cheer someone up while sunshine and the feel of the warmth brings a smile to another person’s face. But when a normal routine day ends with a debacle and catches you with surprise, do you take it with stride and let it be another learning point in life or do you let it take over your life? These are questions that plague every individual at times. Part of you wishes to just take it in, learn from it and let go while the other part of you wants to just let it consume your life. At times little grievances like these can actually open your eyes and wake you from your slumber of peaceful and quiet life. You learn that anything is possible and nothing can shield you from the possibilities in life, whether good or bad.
Life continue to surprise us and we mature along the way.

New pair of eyes

New pair of eyes. That is what I initially thought what it would be when I place the contact lens into my eyes. Ok. I’ll admit that I’m vain enough to get one pair but only for the one month period. I contemplated whether I should go half blind to my wedding dinner next month but in the end, I decided I’d better not. The thought of knocking into chairs or even walking into a pillar does not seem a very happy moment, though classic in the years to come so, I got the lenses yesterday.

I’ve been vainer during my college days, trying out contact lenses then, but I just couldn’t stand the alien feeling of something in my eyes. Each time I blink I get irritated by the feeling that I had to practically sit on my hands from tearing my eyes out. It was that bad for me, the discomfort, and the red, dry eyes. All for the sake of being pretty or whatever that was during that time. But thank God as I matured, I decided, I’d rather take comfort above anything. No amount of persuasion from friends or when my fiancée got his years back did sway me from my decision, not until last night.

So basically, this morning, I took a longer time getting prepared for work. Normally it’s just the usual 1,2,3 step for facial after brushing my teeth, running a comb through my hair and I’m out. These days, I even got lazier or more of I’m not even bothered to put on any make up. Don’t ask me why but somehow I’m in no mood for making up. It’s a painstaking process and I’ve never had a knack for that. So, since it was a first time for contact, I decided to make the effort to put on slight bit of make up.

As I’m typing away this entry, I’m furiously blinking my eyes hoping to God that the uncle sitting opposite me doesn’t think that I’m coming on to him. It is still a tad bit uncomfortable but not as what it used to feel like. Probably technology has evolved and made the lenses more bearable, either that or I’m trying to convince myself that it really isn’t when it actually is. Oh, I just don’t know. It’s just 3 weeks away, so I’ll just grin and bear with it till it’s over.

Tired, grumpy, losing faith, you name it, I have it.

This is basically what I've felt for the past week I've been absent from the blogging scene. Terribly sorry to my dear friends who read this page frequently. I feel that, there's no point for me to write something just for the sake of doing it.

Why those feelings you might ask, well I guess many of you have been catching up on all the political hoo hah in the national papers about the different election parties, all fighting for this and that, doing all sorts of things that only one word can describe, plain childish, cowardly acts. Going to the extent of using the police force just because they can. You get the drift. I won't elaborate further. I don't feel I need to give further "advertisement" space for them in my blog. Firstly they don't deserve it and secondly I do not want to teach them to be smart. What for? Let them continue being stupid if they want. At least I can laugh at them for being stupid. Isn't that great and mean at the same time. Makes me feel so much better. So that's where I'm losing faith, in the government itself. There I said it.

Tired and grumpy is more of because I'm losing sleep worrying about the last minute wedding details and also about what I have to do for work. It's a real challenge in my work place especially when you have bloody stubborn people that practically won't move an inch, what more to say a small millimetre. So, when things get stuck at the mule's section, (bear in mind that this uncle has been there for dinasour years so I can pardon him for that small detail) but what pisses me off the most, is when he begins to take sides especially sides that does not belong to the organisation. Take for example, he works in company A and we engage company C to help us in certain projects. The mule practically just opens his mouth and agrees with anything company C says. HELLO??!! I thought you were working for company A??!!! Anyway, everything has a chain reaction. So when the mule doesn't moves his ass, most of the things gets stuck so sleepless nights are in for me.

Hence the title you name it, I have it. So much for the massages. Well, at least that's the bright part of the week for me, something to look forward to, to help me de-stress. Have a great weekend!!!

Of stress and small little luxuries

Such wonderful bliss. Absoutely paradise to have someone paying so much attention to you. I'm talking about my massage. Recently I went for a complimentary massage at one of those spa centres and they happened to have a promotion on their packages. Ok, I'm not those rich tai tai out there who go for their monthly facials or manicure and pedicure or such but a massage don't really qualifies me for a high maintenance girl, nor a rich tai tai right? I guess it's a norm for nowadays working girls to actually have these kind of luxuries compared to our mother's time. You don't hear them talking about going for massages or manicures per say. Well, then again, during their time, where do you actually see them working their asses off at the office till 10pm or 11pm most the days huh? Back to the topic of small little luxuries.

I'm never one to easily succumb to sweet talking especially those salesmen that walk up to your table when you're having a bowl or curry laksa at the hawker or something like that. Neither am I one to give in to a sales person who calls out to you to sign up for a bank credit card when you go shopping at the hypermarts. So most of my closest friends that either does MLM or insurance or have anything to sell to me knows I'm a hard nut to crack. I'll only agree to actually buy or sign up for something when I've actually made up my mind on it. No amount of convincing or even free gifts will actually tempt me, which I might say I'm really proud. Ok, I might do it to help a friend but that's for a one time basis.

Back to the promotion package I signed up this week, I thought it's high time I learn to enjoy what I've earned and also to let it be a means of releasing stress. In my earlier blog entry, I was talking about how we've always worked so hard to actually find we have no time to enjoy time with loved ones much less to have ME quality time. So that's why I thought it's a good reward for myself after all these years of work.

It's been a great week so far. Something to look forward to for the coming weeks.

$$$$$

What would you do if you saw a whole vault of $$?? Would you run screaming into it and start rolling on the floor with the money or would you be one of those with are like the goldfish mouth wide open with amazed till you're loss for words??

Ok. I'll probably can't say I'll go for the first. I thought I would be the latter but in the end it was neither. I had the opportunity to actually check out a place with all these $$ on the table though I did not go screaming like a mad lady, nor did I open my mouth looking like a goldfish. I actually hated the place. It was bloody dusty, it doesn't smell of the usual new $$ smell we get in ang paus or from the ATM. It's a very orderly place but really, it wasn't a pleasant place to be in. Not counting the various cameras watching your every move but I just couldn't stand the smell. Now I know I'm not that crazy about $$ as I think I would be.. Hahahah!!

So, I won't elaborate much here cos I'm not allowed to say where I've been, nor what the place looks like but one thing for sure, it sure was an eye opener.

A leader or a jester

A book on one of the ministers of this country was recently published. I have nothing against it at all, none whatsoever. I even applaud the writer who actually took the time and effort in managing to get the book published. But it got me thinking, why of all people did she choose him?? If you are not a Malaysian reading this, you must be wondering who am I talking about. This book is about the life and achievements of the leader of MIC. That is all I can say. I will not elaborate on who this person is but I am shocked that she actually find him worth writing about.

I’ve seen many a leaders out there, whether be it a minister or a commoner that are much more worthy to be written about. Why do I loathe this guy?? For many reasons. I believe he has his good qualities, I believe that he has done many wonderful things for his own community but almost each and every year, he has some particular reason to increase the toll charges. I wonder how many times will he or whoever it is that cites the reason that they have yet to cover back the $$ spent on building the highways. That’s an old excuse. Come up with something much better will ya? Yes, I do see the highways get “upgraded”, have new layers of tar on them, swept clean of rubbish by the conscientious highway sweepers, the grass and the flowers along the highway, being kept in order. But, do these “purveyors” that supply the workers for all these arduous task hike up the price, hence we bear the brunt of it? If yes, do say so and we’ll understand. But for the past couple of years, there’s always a toll increase thanks to this particular gomen and I’m not that ecstatic about it. I’ve no idea whether it is his call for the increase of the toll but each time he opens his mouth, something comes up.

He also recently commented on the fact that he wants to ban those bigger bikes on the highway? What in the world?! Because of what? Tell me? What did they do to him, I’ve no freaking idea but sometimes it feels like his brain doesn’t really register what he’s trying to say and it all comes out wrong. And we have him for a minister as well. How great is that?

Sometimes I do understand why some of my blogger friends have the wish to leave this country. When I see people like these that we have to call our leaders, they make me want to leave the country too.

Wake up before it's too late!

How many of you have actually taken into consideration your health as a whole? Do you just simply eat what you feel like eating, satisfying those cravings for potato chips or even a greasy burger and wash it down with a light coke (just to make yourself less guilty for bingeing)? Or maybe after the enormous meal that you’ve enjoyed over the weekend do you go to the gym and sweat it out, just to burn the calories or because you really want to or even maybe because you think that since I’ve paid for it, might as well utilise it?

I’m guilty for all of the above from time to time. Today, we got shocking news that a sales officer at one of the branch passed away due to a heart attack and he was only 36 year old. But I guess, it can’t be that surprising since we’ve all seen the email circulated around where this employee that died at the desk without the colleagues knowing it. Also, I happened to receive an email on Great Philosophy of Life from a colleague, talking about how much we slave and toil, all that hard work just so that we can have a better future, or so that our future generation can have a better future. But we always forget to look at the present.

The future is always before our eyes. We forget to live for today, to enjoy what is before us, to experience the elation of friends and people we care about around us. We work so hard and in the end, we lose a lot of things along the way. We neglect our friends and you might wonder how. How many of you get a call from your friends sometimes, asking you out for a drink maybe during the weekday, but you turn them down, citing being too tired after work, or you had to work late? What about your family? How many of you as parents, manage to spend time with your children before they go to bed? You work till 9 or 10, and by the time you get home, your children will be in bed or just about to go to bed. What about your parents or your siblings? Let us take a simple daily life scenario. Do you have time to have proper dinner with them or do you tell them ok I’ll heat up the food once I get back. But when you do get back you heat up the food, maybe watch a little television without saying a word to them and then go to bed due to sheer exhaustion from work. Is this all worth it? Are you seriously happy with all that or you just take it in stride because it’s how the rest do it since generations before us because they drill this into you and me and they tell you that, without any hard work, you won’t get a good life.

All this, it’s like a wake up call for me, one after another. I do not think that it’s coincidences but it’s a message or a caution from God, wanting me to be aware before it’s too late.

That time of the year

It just that time of the year again where I've got to get my teeth checked. I used to dread going to the dentist, it's not the fear of the high pitch sound of the drilling but more of fearing that the dentist is going to announce that he's going to have to do an extraction.

When I was younger my mum made me wear braces and I was known as terminator in school, not because I'm a machine but due to the braces in my teeth. Only God knows why the name came up. I had no problem with all these name callings, probably cos I had a free spirit and I'm not really bothered of what people thought about me. Back to the topic of visiting the dentist, when I had to get my braces done, no one told me that I had to have some of my teeth extracted, and perfectly fine teeth, not those rotten, decaying ones and not those baby teeth. Perfectly cute, ivory looking teeth mind you. I practically had 4 teeth extracted out!! Just to have my braces put in. But luckily that's all the pain that I had to endure. I didn't go through any sort of pulling pain or whatsoever related to braces wearing, that some might tell me over and over again. So, I'm at loss why some feel the pain. Probably different people have different threshold of pain. But definitely having braces that time was a nuisance. Getting vegetables stuck in between your braces is not one pretty sight. Therefore chewing gums are definitely out of the question then. Maybe that's why until now I don't have a penchant for chewing gums or even bubble gums.

So when I went for my scaling and checks I was pleasantly surprised that I had a pretty good experience with the Dr. Not only was he a pleasant and easy to talk to, he was pretty gentle while doing it. So no pain or any discomfort and I came out with sparkling white teeth. Ok, not sparkling but it felt like it was. Hahahah!!! One thing I noted during my visit was while he was doing the scaling, the nurse actually put on headphones for me and instead of listening to the high pitch sound, I was almost lulled to sleep with the music. So, a total remarkable experience, for a dental visit.

A country's loss

A great loss to the country. I think this is the appropriate topic that should be splashed out on all the front papers today. Ok. I mean different papers have different topics to catch one’s attention but as long as the intention’s the same, it’s still fine.

Lim Goh Tong has been the legendary name that has brushed our lips countless of times. Any Malaysian, young or old would have spoken his name, let along knowing who he is. He can be well known among Malaysians with the name Uncle Lim. I believe we all know him that way. And he is definitely one true Malaysian that I truly respect, fully. Ok, it says in the paper he came from China so he’s not an actual Malaysian born fellow but putting that aside, he shows true colours of being a Malaysian. It was stated in the Star papers by his Deputy Chairman, that he conducted his board meetings in a smattering of Bahasa Malaysia even though he wasn’t educated in Malay. That’s a real respect for the people and the country. A salute to him.

It has been said he’s a philanthropist as well. I know many of you would say, what is the big deal being a philanthropist when he’s one of the listed billionaires in the Forbes richest category? Yes, it is no big deal that many famous people out there do charity as well. But I believe that coming from a poor family, it’s much easier for him to understand the poverty stricken life and from hand to mouth lives that people lead out there to make him want to give back what he has been blessed with. How many of you out there can actually say that if you were to win the lottery, will give it to charity first? I bet most would say I would pay my debts, buy my dream car and house first before thinking of actually donating to charity. I’m not saying that I know Uncle Lim that well but I somehow believe that he gives from his heart with the intention to.

He has countless of achievements to speak of and it wouldn’t do him justice for me to speak of it here as I would not know the full story but one thing I do know for sure is that he has been a tremendous influence to the country.

My deepest condolence to his family and relatives and to ourselves as well for his passing is a great loss to us whether we realise it or not.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;...they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Guess this

Ok guys. This blog is going to be a simple one but an interesting picture is seen here. Can you take a wild guess what it is? I took it during my visit over the weekend. Pretty interesting.

P.S. No prizes if you guess correctly. Heheheh!! But just for the fun sake. Enjoy.

Money vs Sympathy

Spanish mosque design for institute. This is the topic that I glanced at in the Star paper this morning. Again it never ceases to amaze me how our Malaysians are spending their money. I’m not objecting to the building of the institute nor am I condoning it but at least have a little compassion towards the other poor people out there. I mean if you have the means of building such a magnificent building why not build something less flashy and expensive and use the remaining money to do charity.



Each morning I open up the papers I’ll see people of Malaysia asking, seeking for medical help, in terms of a lung, or a heart transplant or even $ for operation. Why can’t these money be used to be donated to them rather than spending RM50 million on one institute? I thought we are supposed to be a caring society? Or is that just a saying to make ourselves feel better. I’m happy to see during the tsunami a few years back, most Malaysians actually worked together to help these poor souls whether in Malaysia or even in Indonesia or India that side. So why do we have to wait till a disaster strike only then we show our caring side? Why can’t we do it before anything bad happens?



It’s something to think about. A sad little Friday to see news like these where money is just squandered away and a few pages away you see people asking for help because of sickness.

Weekend

A long weekend has just passed and the bones have got to get cranking but usually to no avail. Let alone cranking it up to get up in the morning for work. It's called lazy bones.

I wonder where did the origins of the term lazy bones came from? Anyone knows about this? But this is definitely the feeling for each human being after a long weekend, especially when many have gone back home for the holidays or outstation. This Raya is the first I had spent staying in KL. No joining the mad rush of the raya jam to go anywhere for a holiday. It's a first and I've enjoyed most of the time lazing away, going for leisurely walks, doing the house chores at my own pace, rather than rushing through it over the weekend. Somehow the urgency did not materialise at all. Of course I took the chance to check out the new comers in town. Which new comers you say? Read on and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I guess most of you guys have somehow visited the spanking new Pavillion or The Gardens that was recently opened in September. I again, decided not to join the mad rush to see what was all the fuss about for these 2 until the Raya weekend. I assumed that most KL folks would have either gone home for the holiday or gone for a little hiatus somewhere so I decided to go take a look at both places.

Golly! The Gardens's really impressive. All branded outlets, lining the mall, squeaky, shiny floors, the smell of fresh paint and glue. It's an eye-opener. For one, the number of new boutiques are staggering. Some I've not heard of (probably cos I don't get to see other parts of the world where these brands reside), but one sad thing was most of the shops were closed since I went on Saturday which was the first day of Raya. This basically means that I get to have another excuse to check out this place again with my fiancee again one of these days. One thing I find odd was the toilet. There were signs of the toilet but all it did was to point you to a series of lifts. At first I thought that I had mis-read the signs wrongly so I went up another floor but it was the same thing. Then managed to tracked down a security guard who explained to us that the toilet's entrance IS actually nearby the lifts just that it's still under construction therefore the only way in was via the side door. No plus points there. Robinsons's housed here at The Gardens and it's real classy, black glass acting as a mirror, so many brands to choose from inside Robinsons alone, not counting the boutiques outside, and their home section, Wow is all I can say. Countless to choose from. Overall, shopping at the Gardens actually made me feel that I was shopping in S'pore instead. The vibe, the crowd, the boutiques all made it feel that way. One word for it all, Impressive!

Pavillion. This one needs a little guidance in terms of getting to the right floor from the car park. We had to try at least 3 buttons before we actually arrived at the exact floor where there were shops. The past few opened up to more car parks but there wasn't any indication for that as well. So no extra points for that. But when I arrived, one thing I noticed was the air-conditioning. One word. COLD! Many of the shops were branded but at least at different levels they sort of had different type of stores to cater for different income range community. The food court there was pretty impressive. Again it reminded me of the Takashimaya food court concept where all the food was located at the lowest GF and there were so many to choose from. This I gotta give them credit. At least we just had to walk one floor and see it all rather than having some restaurants together with other shops as well. Imagine you're hungry enough to eat a horse while walking you suddenly de-toured to another shop just because your friend saw something captivating in that shop. No such chance here at the Pavillion. At least your ultimate aim to find food won't be thwarted by something other than food. This place needs getting used to, as there's many levels for one, as well as different parts to each floor. So if you're in for a shopping spree cum hide n seek with your partner this is a good place to go to.

These 2 places are a rare gem for the KLites for now. So, happy shopping and happy exploring.

** No pix uploaded. Dun ask me why. Ask blogspot on this. Sigh.

Selamat Hari Raya

This is going to be my shortest blog of all. To my other readers out there who celebrate Hari Raya, Selamat Hari Raya in advance and Maaf Zahir Batin.

I'm not too sure whether I'll be coming online during the weekend so I'd like to wish you guys in advance. :)

To the rest, have a great holiday and happy weekend.

Of movies and puking

Have any of you seen this movie yet?? I’ve not seen the previous 2 but got free tickets to watch this movie, sponsored by Volkswagen Malaysia . I’m no big fan of Matt Damon. I mean he can act of course but not a fan of such kind of action movies where one too many times all these villains try their best to kill this guy but he just seem not able to die. Talk about a cat having 9 lives, the main hero of the movie has more than 9 lives.

Overall the movie had a pretty good story line. Simple enough to understand for a person who’s never watched the previous 2 sequels before this, let alone being so tired that I can simply doze off anytime. This shows that it has a pretty good rating in terms of how the whole things goes but when it comes to how the movie was shot, my goodness, it’s a total catastrophe. Not a single time was there for the camera to have a still shot, meaning that even when there wasn’t scenes of fleeing the scene from the villains or nerve-racking driving scenes, the person who was shooting the movie still had a possibility of shaking the camera. Haven’t they heard of a tripod at least?? I mean there were good cars in the scene, from a Toureg to a Golf both from Volkswagen so at least have some sense to shoot the movie properly.

By the time I came out of the movie, I felt worse than a sick pregnant lady (not that I’ve felt those symptoms before) but I’ve never felt like puking for 2 hours straight. So half of the time I was watching the movie through slits of my eyes cos I can’t stand to watch the shaking even though the actions were superb. Sigh. To go through the sheer torture of watching a good movie made into a debacle of a movie just because it was free was not worth the pain and effort.

Would you have gone through all that??

What a weekend

Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. My least favourite day of the week and you’ll definitely know why. To wake up for Sunday morning church is not a chore but to wake up for an early Sunday rally organized by the office is definitely a total waste of my time.

Sundays is about time to rest, to spend time with your loved ones and friends as well. Talk about being up to par with the youngsters who partied their night away on a Saturday nite, gone were those days for me. But I have to take it in stride, waking up in the wee hours of the morning to get ready for a rally. Ok, I’ll admit not wee hours but still, waking up at 7am on a Sunday is torturous.

I’ve had less sleep in my college days, I can still function without sleep for 2 or 3 days in a row, but the caffeine level in my body would be above the limit if there is one for it. I would land myself in jail far more times than I know it. But, ever since I’ve join the modern slavery forces, my fitness level as well as my functioning body and brain has deteriorated tremendously. The question as to why this happens still eludes me. Is it because of the job scope that’s weighing me down or I just don’t get the motivation from it. I won’t say that I’m a fan of exams or assignments at college to have the motivation but it just seems different from the hey days of college. Even with the arduous task of last minute assignments to do, or last minute cramming for exams did not land me in fatigue as I now am constantly in. Probably age has been catching up as well.

So, there goes my weekend. Given to the organisation. Hopefully the bonus will be equally “demanding” as they have been on us.

Another long week ahead. Happy working everyone.

P.S No pix today cos there's some problem with blogger today I think.

What a life

I wonder why when you reach a certain age, you spend more than when you are younger or older.

I've just utilise a quarter of my card limist within 2 days. Firstly was for my kitchen gadgets; hob, hood and oven. The next was a handphone. No this was not a splurge. Fiancee's hp decided to die on him last week and after much cajoling, he went it to the service centre but it could not be "resuscitated". He has yet to bring the hp back so that we can do a "burial". You must think I'm nuts but this was the 1st generation 3G hp that arrived on Malaysian shores and it has served us well for the past 3 years or more.

So back to the topic, spending more at a certain age range. Yes, I do believe that when we were younger, we had no commitments, less worry as well as less money to use but heck we had a pretty enjoyable life during secondary and college days didn't we?? I sure did. But once you reach a certain age, even when your salary doesn't go up the ranking as fast as you want it to, you still can't run away from the normal events in life. Marriage, getting your own pad, having kids or friends having kids, friends getting married, etc. It all comes with the age range.

Once you have passed that, you slowly spend less on these events, then when you reach your 50s or 60s when maybe it's your own kids turn to go through what we went through ourselves. That will be the time to take the $$ out of the FDs, or sell your bonds or unit trusts, etc. Either to help your son on the dowry or childern having grandkids you know the drill. So the whole cycle starts over again.

This 1 month, past few weeks has been really exhausting. So I really wanna apologise in advance for not updating my blog as often as I would like to. I'll admit to being what Zewt mentioned, a modern slave. I'm guilty as charged. Anyway, nowadays life's not getting better even with a change in job. No $, no time for myself or my friends, going broke all for the sake of having a happier, better life. Sometimes I wonder is it worth it??!!

Monday Blues

It’s a cold Monday morning and the feeling of Monday blues is not I would wish for anyone to feel. It’s sheer torture.

Firstly, dragging yourself up on a rainy Monday morning is such and arduous task altogether, adding to that the slow motion of getting prepared for work and getting caught in a jam does not bring tears to my eyes but a sense of gloom on a Monday morning. Thank God I did not turn up late for work.

Even my email seems to be slow in starting up this morning. Another sign of Monday Blues perhaps?? I slaved over the weekend to precipitate the project paper I was supposed to submit for some branch improvement thingy but as usual, Monday will be full or surprises. The other project manager did not show up so no getting on with the rest of the project. If I would have known I would have chosen to enjoy my weekend and not end up looking and feeling like an old, grumpy and haggard witch. Damn! Could have finished it up this morning instead.

So now at 11.30 in the AM, I’m writing the draft for this entry instead. Talk about ironic. Sigh.

I hate Mondays; Monday Blues!

Paying peanuts to get monkey manners on board Air Asia

Phew. This has been the longest hiatus I've taken. It's not for a long break, holidaying somewhere but more of because of too many projects at hand and work piling up.

Now I'm back and I'm sorry to say that I've to start with a criticism on our local budget airline. Which one you say?? Of course the famous one, the red and white CI colour.

One of the few things I'm used to is to be greeted courteously whenevr I board the plane, whether be it Mas or S'pore Airlines, Cathay whatever airlines. But I did not hear any of these words when I board the flight of AK6335 on the night of 18/09/07.

I took a flight out to the East Coast to attend my fiancee's sister's wedding and it was really a totally unpleasant experience. No greeting, or probably it was too soft I couldn't hear what they muttered, but I can still live with that but boy was the flight attendants unprofessional. None of them bothered to smile, what more the Head Flight Attendant had the nerve to scowl at my fiancee's uncle when he enquired about something.

I wonder whether is this a norm for them, to not smile?

Too bad for her, my fiancee's sister saw the scowl and being stressed out enough for a bride-to-be with so many last minute details to look into, she lost her cool and demanded the Head Flight Attendant to apologise to her uncle.

Well, surpise, surprise, the typical Malaysian attitude kicked in (what else other than the "tidak apa" attitude). The Head Flight Attendant couldn't care less what she was asked to do, instead she had the nerve to nod her head then walk past her uncle prentending all the conversation never took place. No, "I'm sorry sir if I was rude to you". She instead hid beind the storage area where all the food is kept till the captain announced that it was time to land, did she only came out. She walked to my fiancee's uncle with a sheaf of papers, telling him, if he would like to make a formal complaint, he would do so by filling up the forms. WHAT THE F***ING HELL HAPPEN TO PROPER COURTESY??!!".

Not saying sorry but instead being cocky. This is Air Asia style!

So I'm still thinking, does paying peanuts means you get monkeys to serve you? I believe monkeys' will have better manners than her don't you think so?

This would be the 1st and the last time I'm ever taking Air Asia even if they offer free tickets to Paris. Damn!

Bus companies made liable

This was the topic that caught my attention and must I say IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

It's stated in The Star paper that, Kurnia Insurance has decided to make the bus firms out there be partly liable for certain damages if certain conditions are not fulfilled. I find this very reasonable as it's about time these bus firms take responsibility on their part.

Think about it for a moment, customers pay a certain amount of $$ for a bus ride, they of course expect get proper comfort and of course to arrive at the destination in one piece, not one arm flung into the ravine while one leg on the highway. (Sorry, if it's too descriptive). So is it so difficult to ask for the bus firms to bear a little responsibility for the welfare of their passengers? I mean how much is RM5,000 of damages for death or injuries compared to a whole bus load of "you know what"?? I'm thinking that RM5,000 is considered pretty measly amount, taking into the fact that, 1 individual can be insured up to more than 1 million. Alright, I mean that's a personal thing, but RM5,000?? Can you actually put an amount on a life of a person??

It is also a good implication for the bus firms to get their act correctly. They'll have to think twice, NO, more than twice in actually hiring proper bus drivers, not any Tom, Dick or Harry just to fill the position, not taking into account whether the individual is wanted by the police even.

So, I'm hoping that other insurance companies will not take advantage of this issue and use it as a business opportunity in offering these bus firms their insurance coverage instead if Kurnia decides to go on with their plan.

** Won't be updating my blog after this for the whole week as I'll be outstation (no access to the internet).

Monkey Business

Weekend's here so let's do some monkeying around. Just kidding.

I met up with a friend for tea today at Cheras and I happen to chance upon 2 monkeys. Yes. You did not read it wrongly. I actually saw 2 monkeys swinging on a tree. Exact location would be in front of a mamak, same row as Kaki Corner in Cheras.

How often do you actually see a real monkey so close up within the vicinity of an urban development?? It's actually pretty heartbreaking to see these monkeys living in a tree, literally 1 tree where what's left around it are stretches of highways, shops and further development.

So, before we all think of further developing our nation, maybe we should learn to nurture what is left of our rainforest, the natural habitat of wonderous creatures you and I might see but not our future generation.

Thankful

Each day I wake up, I'm thankful I'm alive

As I walk down 18 floors, I try not to complain because I'm thankful I have legs

As I play the piano, I'm thankful I have hands to play and ears to hear the music

As I shop for Christmas presents, I'm thankful to have people I care and love about to buy presents for

As I listen to my parents nag me, I'm thankful for having such loving parents

As forwarded emails flood my mailbox, I'm thankful that I have friends that care enough to forward me emails

As I complain about my work, I'm thankful I have a job

As I write this, I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to attend school to get an education

As I write this, I'm thankful that God gives me nudge from every now and then to remind me to rely on Him and not to try to run my own life without Him

As I write this, I'm trying to remind myself again and again not to take things for granted.

Drafting of letters

Re: Complain on itemised charges.

Dear Sir / Madam,

With regards to the matter above, I would like to make an official complaint. I've been charged for all these items (not appropriate to mention here) in my bills for the past 7 years and I've made verbal complaints after verbal complaints but to no avail. In the terms and conditions fineprint, it clearly states that I would only get charged the first time I signed up for the service. I'm very disappointed with the service provided and how this matter is handled.

Attached herewith are the itemised billing for the past years as proof, starting from May 2000 till August 2007.

I expect a written reply on this matter ASAP. If I do not get a reply within 5 working days, I will proceed to cancel my service with you.

Thank you.

You guys must be wondering, what the heck is this lady doing, writing a complaint letter for this blog. Nope I'm not complaining about any service in particular but just happened to have a friend that asked me to draft a complaint letter. Let's call this friend of mine, Shawn. I was kinda stumped on what to blog about today, then as I was chatting with Shawn on messenger, he asked me to do him a favour, to draft a complaint letter for this service he's paying for monthly. This letter's just a draft for him as I still haven't gotten the clear picture on what the whole billing's supposed to be like and I've been asked to exercise some discretion on this matter as some big organisation is involved. Therefore, I can't comment more on this .

This is not the first time I'm asked to write a formal letter for friends, family members, etc. I still haven't perfected this skill of writing formal letters either to government bodies, or organisations, etc but I'm brushing up on it. It is quite an interesting thing to do. I wonder if this is my calling??

Tick tock, tick tock

Time ticking away. It's been passing me by. And I'm still trying to find enough time to do so many things, to accomplish them within 24 hours. How do I find time to squeeze everything into 24 hours??!!

Mornings are a blur for me, rushing to get ready for work, at work it's rushing for project datelines, after work I'm still trying to rush through traffic to go for an appointment with friends or to rush back probably for a spot of exercise, then rush back to blog, read blogs, check my mail. Forever rushing. It's been more hectic lately, more responsibilities, less time for personal things. I've been spending my honeymoon week at work last week to actually think whether I want to do this for the rest of my life, to keep rushing against time. Even my blogging has taken a toll. I'm not updating it as often as I want to, not able to read that many blogs, not able to spend time with my family members.

I'm contemplating to maybe start something on my own, but I'm also wondering, whether it'll actually squeeze more of my time instead of giving me more time. It's time to think about all these at this point in my life, which probably meaning taking a pay cut but the upside of it, I would be able to spend time with my parents, friends, people I care about, able to do things that are meaningful.

Such difficult questions and it's even more difficult to get answers to these questions.

Cartoon

Typical Sunday would be a laid back one. Spending quiet time with God is a definite. I've been frequenting 1Utama for the past months so I've decided to take a break from all those window shopping. Yes. I'm a girl but I don't literally shop just because there's a sale.

Today's no different. As I sit here and think of what should I blog about today, since it's a Sunday and I've totally used up my brain juice for the week, I'm stumped. My fiancee's watching tv, in particular the cartoon channel. I'm actually quite amazed that he still finds the latest cartoons interesting to watch. I've no idea whether he's watching it for the animation, storyline or just because there's nothing else to watch on the channels. I've always love cartoon. There were classic ones like Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

But nowadays cartoons like Danny Phantom, Ed, Edd n Eddy or The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, just doesn't jive. Probably I'm too old fashion about cartoons. My version of cartoons would need people, animals "drawn" properly with a proper story line, it can be comical, filled with all those "aw" moments but it definitely has to be something that we all can relate to somehow or the other. Not something like the Untalkative Bunny. I mean, what's with the horrific looking bunny acting dumb? I wonder what they're trying to potray to the childern watching it? Look "adorable" but dumb at the same time? No offense here. I've got high respect for all the animation producers, the artist and effort they put into all these drawings to make them come alive but at least the story should potray something useful or something for the kids to learn.

I'm lost for words. But hey, if that's what the new generation is into now, I'll just have to go with the flow and hopefully I don't end up being less intelligent than what I am now.

Have a great Sunday and a smashing week ahead.

Radio Shows

Morning norm for me is to listen to Fly FM Big Bang Breakfast Show. It's not that my taste for music has changed but more of like which DJ's hosting the show.

Back in the college years, Hitz FM had the craziest morning crew, Lil Kev and Fly Guy. Boy were they hilariou. Even before that when there was no Astor yet, I listened to Radio 4, Yasmin and Patrick. So you can all guess as much what's my age now. Hahaha! I love all that sarcasm, the "freedom of speech" when Patrick just "taruh" or what proper English sayas as to criticise. I mean he wasn't bothered about people's feelings or anything at all. Just went straight to the spot. Anyway, I'm going off track here. Back to the topic.

When I was in college, Hitz FM were pretty good but all good things will surely come to an end one day. Both Lil Kev and Fly Guy decided it's time to explore further horizons. So, with nothing to entertain me I switched to Mix FM breakfast show with Shazmin & Richard. They weren't as crazy as Lil Kev & Fly Guy but their constant head butts on topics kinda make the show interesting. I especially love the "Battle of the sexes" game on the show, where a guy and a girl calls in ahd whoever answers all the questions thrown to them correctly wins. And both Shaz and Richard would definitely help their own gender group and made bets on it and I remember Richard lost one of the many bets and had to cook roast lamb as a penalty.

Well, after both Richard and Shazmin decided to break their "duet" bond for the breakfast show, I was stuck again in choosing which channel I would listen to. I tried staying on to listen to the new trio of the breakfast show in Mix FM but somehow lack the "oomph".

In the end, I decided to try FlyFM and I got hooked. I was kinda skeptical at first, since I've always thought it's just another Hitz FM station wannabe since the songs they air is not dissimilar to Hitz. I mean let's look at Mix, it's a mixture of all types from the latest songs to the oldies, chinese songs to korean songs, etc. While Lite FM or what it was used to be known as Light & Easy, potray more relaxing to oldies songs.

But with listening to Big Bang Breakfast Show, I'm quite pleasantly surprised with it. It took a while to get use to but both Phat Phabes and Ben are really so comical. They really can make a person laugh till they cry mind you. But the best part of the show would be the Fix It for me. It's where listeners actually email Ben & Phat Phabes their problems and they try their very best to solve it or what they call Fix It. It can range from small petty problems to full blown problems that might include certain authorities.

Well, everything evolves and I guess my taste for radio station channels evolves as well and I'm contented with what I have and I'm fortunate enough to listen to all the past radio stations.

So what do you listen to?

First day disaster

This is how it actually feels like on my first day of work in a new organisation; a totall disaster.

When I first arrived, I was greeted by one colleague from another department. As a new comer and I don't know where I was supposed to sit, I went straight to the pantry where I met this colleague. There was introduction of course. I mean I'm still friendly even though I can be what people presumed to be stand-offish if they don't know me well.

As usual, introduction of name, previous attachment, was the main topic of discussion. When it got to who I was supposed to report to, I got a shock of my life, the AVP (Assistant Vice President) that interviewed me left the organisation. I thought, ok. That's kinda normal, people come and go. I can still accept that.

As usual, when a new comer arrives, a senior will bring the new comer around to know the rest of the team and neigbouring departments so today was no different. I did my rounds, saying hi, shaking hands, you know the drill. After that comes the serious part, job scope or so I thought. As I was briefed by one of the regional manager, on the on-going projects that I was supposed to take over, I was told of more bad news. I mean how much bad news can a gal take for one day, let alone one morning? Get a load of this for a first day, the regional manager himself told me that he's resigned only after 6 months serving the organisation. Another project manager in our team has also resigned as well. Which means both are serving their notice now. It felt like a bad dream and boy was it de-motivating. It was not a good feeling to start a day with. How do you feel if on your first day most of your team members tell you that they're actually serving their notice and left because of certain issues. They cited reasons such as workload issues where the main bosses have the tendency to say yes to practically everything which ended up them having them to do everything from branch to hr even, red tape issues, being forced to do other department's task, etc. I believe that each and every organisation would face these kind of issues.

But DAMN. The feeling was like having a huge wave pound your head over and over again, while you're trying to re-surface for air but keep getting dragged down under water by the current. Feels like something what the cantonese call "seong che" which basically means being cheated.

Now I'm trying to figure out whether I've made the correct choice in accepting this job while turning down another offer. Only God will be able to help me through this rough patch. Sigh.

Celebration, Food and Laughter

Yesterday nite has been one fantastic night. Managed to celebrate a very good friend's birthday yesterday at Penang Village in USJ. You must be wondering, out of so many food reviews on places to eat by "Joe who's constantly craving" why did I choose Penang Village. I actually wanted to try the new restaurant he just recently introduced at Mid Valley but we made the reservations much earlier and also due to the fact the birthday gal was a Penang food fanatic. So a friend actually suggested this place.

We had a superb night. Food and laughter with great company, what more can a girl ask for. We really did enjoy ourselves, non-stop laughing, I mean literally, we couldn't stop laughing at every single thing. ( I think the people at the outlet probably think we just escaped out from Tj. Rambutan asylum or something like that).

After satisfying our hunger we went to Baskin Robbins for cake and candle-blowing. Where else can you go? Not the normal Secret Recipe of course. We had to find something different. Why the clown cake? Cos we're a bunch of clowns. Hahahahah!!! No, really, we totally have so much fun, "clowning" around, hence the Tj. Rambutan asylum description earlier.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Andrena. It's been great knowing you all these years!!!!!

Food galore below.

(Hae Bee Butter squids)

I'll admit overall the food was up to par. I especially love the Hae Bee buttered squids. Yummy. So creamy and the smell of the Hae Bee as you sink your teeth into it, it's totally out of this world.

(Char Kuey Teow)

My Char Kuey Teow was delightful. Just the right taste, not too oily, and huge prawns. I have always thought that in KL, Mdm Kwan and Little Penang Cafe do really good Char Kuey Teow but this restaurant's got the kick.

(Otak-Otak)

The otak-otak was really first class. You can actually see succulent fish meat inside it, unlike some, where you can only taste a bit of fish taste and not see a single fish inside it. So thumbs up for this.

(Kam Heong Tofu)

Another extraordinary dish was the kam heong tofu. This is the first I've ever tried such a dish. Usually it's kam heong prawns or chickens but tofu, not bad. The tofu, I'm not too sure whether they used actualy tofu and fried it or they used tofu "pok" (I've no idea what it's called in English) but the taste was exquisite. Something totally different and I'll definitely call for it the next time I'm there.

The only slack was the asam laksa and the red bean cendol. The asam laksa had a too strong fishy taste, not sour and spicy enough. So, didn't really like it. The cendol was a total disaster. I'm not sure whether they put too much ice-shavings inside but there was not gula melaka taste at all.

All things considered, I'll give the food an 8 out or 10.

Thank you

Hallelujah! (This is actually an email I received from a colleague, congratulating me on my last day today, stating just that, in BOLD RED!)

No! No! I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit while I write this (though I wouldn't mind). Today is my last day as a slave in the "legal loan shark" company. It has been a long wait. 3 whole months and the feeling is not entirely pure bliss.

I'll admit that I have had pretty good colleagues here, real sporty and outgoing as well as crazy times we've all had when out of office or during office events. We've had our fair share of arguments on projects, disagreements on how things are done but in the end, it's been the friendship, the bonding session over a bowl of char siew rice that makes everything worthwhile. I'm definitely going to miss the yam cha sessions after work. All in all, it's a bittersweet moment as I left today.

It's finally hit home after I got back that it's finally happened. I supposed that I should be doing "the dance" to celebrate my freedom but I'm beginning to miss them already.

So, today's entry, is a tribute to the guys from "you-know-what-bank".

Joyous experiences I've encountered,

Memories etched in my heart,

Kindness that touched me,

Brings deep meaning to life,

Reminiscenes of bittersweet memories,

Still brings a smile to my face,

Friendships that I've gained,

Will be cherished forever.

Thanks guys for making it such a fantastic working experience.

Damn Streamyx

Damn Streamyx. The connection was so slow yesterday; I can’t even login to blogspot, let alone update a new entry yesterday. I wonder whether I can upload this tonight since I usually type out my blog somewhere before I actually post it up. I’m hoping that the new broadband connection that’s “supposed” to be coming in to Malaysian waters will be much better than Streamyx. I’m talking about WiMAX.

If I remembered correctly, there were 4 major companies who gotten the bid and they are Asiaspace Dotcom, Redtone-CNX Broadband, Bizsurf (a unit of YTL Corp) and Packet One Networks, but (I’m gloating here) that TM didn’t get it. I mean, come on, give others the chance. Just because you dominate the entire country in telecommunications doesn’t mean you’re the best. Proven already many times, one of it was yesterday. I will give them leeway, as in there will always be a chance where the connection might go haywire once in a while, but the frequency of it happening at least once a month or even more is starting to irritate me. That shows that something is seriously wrong there. So I’m still waiting here. Starting to have cobwebs growing out of my hair. But still no sign of WiMAX yet.

Let’s speculate a little, one reason WiMAX is taking so long to get started is probably because after the deal has been signed, there still needs to be the construction of the IT platform, location picking bla bla bla. I’ve no idea in these matters. Or another reason could be because certain “authorities” decides that, no way we’re letting all these big-ass companies take over the broadband industry. What’s going to happen to our “baby Streamyx” if they’re better than us? Then, start improving your service, dim-witted people!! You’ve gotten so much $$, you can build a whole kingdom of infrastructure! Think about that for a second! It’s all possible, if only you would spend the time and $$ in R&D, rather than idling away!!!

Sigh. I better not go on. You know how it’s like. We are free to actually voice out our opinions but only opinions that are soothing to “their” ears, if you know what I mean. I won’t elaborate further.

I'm not surprised

KL lure for Middle Eastern tourists. This is the title of an article in TheStar online metro section today. There has been more and more Middle East (ME) tourist here in KL and I personally sometimes think that I’ve just stepped into an Arabic Land . That’s how I feel each time I go out for lunch at Bukit Bintang (BB) area. There seems to be more of ME tourist from the month of June till August. That’s what the hotels here call it, the Middle East season. I’ve not gotten the chance to actually find out why they all flock to Malaysia during these few months, other than I know it must be some school holiday and probably because Malaysia is claimed to be an islamic country by many politicians here.

It’s funny how all these shops started mushrooming in BB area, are putting emphasis on the ME feel. I mean we’ve seen a steady stream of tourist from all over the world, bus loads of tourists from China and Taiwan but how come there aren’t any shops opening with the entire Chinese feel to it? I’ve gone shopping at KLCC too many times and it is hard not to notice the armful of designer shopping bags, on the arms of ME tourists. I’m beginning to think that the businesses out there are targeting the ME tourists because they’re not that conscious of their spending but just keep on spending and spending, hence more shops to target their $$ instead. I’m not that surprised if this is one of the reasons behind the mushrooming of increasingly popular ME stores. Well, I’m not complaining, as long as there’s no riot, or any bombings. They’re supporting the economy. I’m totally fine with that.

Another thing that surprises me though is when these ME women are all dressed to cover up; their children are totally the opposite. They’re dressed in skimpy outfits, spaghetti strap tops, or clothes that are too short that they show their belly buttons. What’s with that? I mean, is that how you do it? Just because they can’t wear these outfits, they dress their kids in all these clothes. I mean no disrespect. I’m just curious as to why they do so that’s all. All these cultures really fascinate me but at the same time I find them really weird. I can’t seem to understand the concept. A little help here maybe from anyone who understand??

Still it feels a little weird to be surrounded in all black hooded women. Scares the shit out of me, especially when you’re walking at night and then some hooded figure suddenly stands beside you, I mean waiting for the traffic light to cross the road. What were you thinking??

Being a responsible parent

I’d love to start this entry with loads of swear and vulgar words as that’s how I feel now, KKNCCB, %*@@##!!!. Pissed to the core. Recently I have been splurging quite a bit, not only for myself but for those close to me. My fiancée’s sister’s (let’s just call her Samantha) desktop just “died” on her. Since I love her so much, I decided to buy her a notebook. No, I’m not some rich datin where I can afford to give everyone a new notebook but since she hasn’t been that lucky in getting a new computer, I became Santa Claus for a day. Got her a new Acer notebook, with minimal features, just enough for her to surf the internet to do research, sufficient for her to do her assignments and of course not forgetting her much adored DVD-rom. She’s an avid fan of all TVB series. I mean, come on, every student surely needs time to unwind with their favourite pastime, and hers happens to be watching TVB series. J

Well, she brought back the notebook back to her hometown last weekend, and being the kind-hearted soul she was, she consented to allow her cousin’s son to play some games inside her notebook. But being a child with another younger sister, you know how kids play rough. They fought over playing the notebook and somehow they managed to cause a hairline crack on the screen. I know, you’ll be swearing up and down. When Samantha called me, I thought that it was a small crack. That night, she brought over the notebook and my GOD!! It was not hairline crack. There are 2 bloody big cracks all the way from bottom to the top. And here’s the ultimate, she said the kid’s mother, Catherine won’t be paying for the repairs. She blames Samantha for the crack, saying that she shouldn’t have let her kids play with the notebook in the first place. Yes I know, it may sound quite true to a certain extent, Samantha shouldn’t have let the kids play with the notebook, but come on, I mean, let’s say, you go out to the shopping complex, your kid accidentally break something, doesn’t it state clearly that, “Once broken, considered sold” which basically means you need to pay for it. Or another scenario, let’s say you borrow your friend’s car to drive and you got into an accident, shouldn’t you pay for it?

I don’t know. I’m really pissed off at the same time wondering whether I should demand a payment for the repairs. I’ve checked with Acer as well as the computer shop and they already said there’s no way that a warranty claim can be done for a crack notebook screen, even though we’ve just only bought it for a month. But Catherine is adamant to claim for warranty. Her reasoning being that we are supposed to tell Acer that the notebook is faulty, poor quality. By the time she said that, I really felt like banging her head to the wall. I mean how stupid can you get man! At least for an educated person, think of a more valid reason. Poor quality. Good Lord! Of course being a hot tempered person I am, the argument got really heated so I said irregardless of what happens she has to find a way to fix it. I don’t care whether you cheat someone of a new computer, steal or even go to the extent of bribing the relevant parties, I want it fixed. There’s still no conclusion at the moment.

To be continued….