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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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

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? 

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