Bee Stung Lips

When I read an ad in the local newspaper a few days ago that Clark’s is having a warehouse sale at Corus Hotel, KL on 15-16 Jan 2010, 10 am to 5 pm, I knew I had to make it there on 15-Jan itself if I were to be lucky enough to grab some decent shoes/sandals for Chinese New Year.

What to do? CNY is good enough a reason to spend some dough even if I haven’t earned any in the past month :-p

I miscalculated the traffic conditions this morning, and by the time I arrived at 11 am, the queue had already snaked from the ballroom (where the warehouse sale was being held) to the carpark outside the hotel!! Man, I wouldn’t believe there’s an economic downturn judging from the number of boxes carried by most happy customers.

Sure enough, most of the popular-sized shoes/sandals were out-of-stock by the time I got in the ballroom. Luckily for me, I managed to snag a pair of turquoise sandals and black work heels. They weren’t cheap, but at least much cheaper than normal retail price.

Which brings me back to what people would do just to get a good/better price or value-for-money. Wait in a queue for 1.5 hours, squeeze with total strangers to snatch a pair of to-die-for chearper-than-retail shoes/sandals? Drive all the way to the other side of town to save a few dollars on groceries?

Someone once told me TIME = MONEY, to save TIME we’ll have to spend MONEY.

But today I wasted TIME and still spent MONEY. Hmm… something’s not quite right with the equation.

Aha! I didn’t vanish from the face of the Earth nor did I get sucked into an alternate planet/universe ala Avatar. I was simply too drained to do anything else in 2009. Simply unbelieavable, right? Well, believe it!

About a year ago I took the bait to get into something most peers avoided career-wise. I thought it was a good opportunity to widen my horizon. And then I spent the rest of the year gasping for air…  The experience was such an emotional/psychological roller coaster ride that I amaze myself by staying/hanging on that long.

I’m glad to say the nightmare is over!

I’m starting year 2010 with a bang!

I look forward to bring out the best of me with the new ship. After what I went through with the previous vessel, I dare say it’s not the package that counts… I’m looking for happiness. I’m looking to belong somewhere and I think I have found the place.

*read this from an online newsletter*

If you messed up your life, you could press “Alt, Ctrl, Delete” and start all over!

To get your daily exercise, just click on “run.”

If you needed a break from life, click on “suspend.”

Hit “any key” to continue life when ready.

To get even with the neighbors, turn up the sound blaster.

To “add/remove” someone in your life, click settings and control panel.

To improve your appearance, just adjust the display settings.

If life gets too noisy, turn off the speakers.

When you lose your car keys, click on “find.”

“Help” with the chores is just a click away.

You wouldn’t need auto insurance. You’d use your diskette to recover from a crash.

We could click on “send” and the kids would go to bed immediately.

To feel like a new person, click on “refresh.”

Click on “close” to shut up the kids and spouse.

To undo a mistake, click on “back.”

Is your wardrobe getting old? Click “update.”

If you don’t like cleaning the litter box, click on “delete.”

It’s that time of year again… have you thought about what you want to do/achieve in 2009?

I resolve to:

1. Put my family above all

2. Exercise!… or use the uZap more frequently

3. Save more, spend less, invest wisely

4. Get my hands on the iPhone 3G

What’s your new year resolution?

One down side of using the free version of Wordpress is that bloggers aren’t allowed to post advertisements. That’s one of the reasons why I signed up with a web host… I wanted to put up Nuffnang ads in my blog.

In collaboration with Friso, Nuffnangers now stand a chance to win a fully sponsored 3D2N trip to Hong Kong Disneyland for 2 adults & 2 children aged 1 to 8 years. Just what my little princess has been dreaming of – to see Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and all the Princes in real live. Well sort of, anyway.

And spending quality time with my princess, whether at home or outside, is one of my top priorities. It’s part of her upbringing process. Monkey see, monkey do – as some say. So, Family Day might be a event held by specific sponsors, but to us, Family Day is every moment of any day when it matters most.

Human beings are indeed a creative lot, especially when imaginations are allowed to run wild free. When I read this article today, I remembered the first time I saw a mannequin wearing the Islamic swimsuit in a store in the new wing of Sunway Pyramid.

Too bad I’ve deleted the picture from my mobile phone. So here’s one taken from today’s The Star:

I wonder if any swimmer in the same league as Michael Phelps will don this swimwear in the international arena and bag some gold medals as well as shatter world records?

A few months ago the price of petrol and diesel were raised drastically from RM 1.92/L and RM 1.50/L to RM 2.78/L and RM 2.50/L, respectively. These overnight price increases created a chain reaction which led to price increases of everything including basic goods and essential items. Ordinary folks suffered the most while trying to cope with earning an honest income and surviving on the ever-shrinking purchasing power of our ringgit.

Our caring government then came up with mechanism to help us ordinary folks by giving rebates when we renew our road tax. Car owners of 2000 cc capacity and below are entitled to collect RM 625 each whereas motorcycles owners are entitled to RM 150 each.

Some might have wondered why those in power didn’t consider floating the price of petrol and diesel like our immediate neighbour down south – open up the market and let demand/supply dictate the actual price consumers are willing to pay. It makes little sense to revise petrol and diesel prices once every month, once every 3 weeks, once every 2 weeks or even once a week.

And there’s the fiasco where consumers faced short or even no supply at petrol stations in certain states. Reasons given include (1) most tanker drivers were on Deepavali holiday, (2) petrol station operators did not submit their orders earlier for payment clearance, (3) petrol station operators bought less amounts than usual to avoid losses when prices drop. The Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs Minister reminded the operators it’s just part and parcel of running a business when they face losses. Heck, who in their right mind would do business knowing that each time the authorities control/drop the price of the goods they’re selling, they face (big) losses?

While the petrol station operators continue to lose money, who gains? It’s like a zero sum game. The authorities repeatedly assures the public that we’re still getting a 30-sen/L subsidy for our petrol. But with each delay in price adjustments when global oil price drops, who pockets the extras? Are we getting more rebates soon? Will petrol pump prices drop below RM 1.92/L if the global oil price drop further?

Image taken from here.

A couple of months ago a newspaper reporter was detained under the draconian ISA for reporting actual events that happened during a local by-election campaign. Her detention was for her best interest and safety, explained the Home Minister, as there were threats to take her life. This reporter was later released.

Almost at the same time, a hugely popular opposition MP was also taken into custody via ISA for her alleged attempts to get local mosques to tone down their loud speaker during prayers. We later learned there was no substance in the allegation and this MP walked free after spending 1 week in Kamunting.

Today, the infamous blogger RPK walks free from Kamunting after a high court judge ruled that the grounds for the detention order by the Home Minister did not fall under the scope of Section 8(1) of the ISA.

Justice & common sense vs ISA:   3-0

Barack Hussein Obama II has made history after the people of United States of America voted him as their 1st black President. Indeed the Americans have voiced their desire for change after living the past 8 years under W’s disastrous governance. And I think the Americans didn’t want Sarah Palin assume presidency if John McCain should one day drop dead while in office. We might see a female version of W running the country and global issues with unsound ideas.

Closer home, we’ll definitely have a new Prime Minister in a few months’ time. Even before he assumes office, we’re already reading news of ”questionable” financial dealings: billion-dollar purchase of helicopters without test drives, billion-dollar injections into a fund most people have not heard of using rakyat’s retirement monies, a U-turn of previous statement saying our country won’t be hit by the current financial crisis due to our strong fundamentals… what’s next?

How will change affect us in 2009? 

The musical is scheduled to hit Malaysian shores at the end of the year. I’ve not seen it before and I’d really love to go watch it. Alas my other half thinks watching the show in the cinema is way much more economical than watching the musical at Istana Budaya.

Anybody kind enough to sponsor a ticket? I’ve been unlucky in getting free tickets from Red FM