Sony Ericsson Cybershot photos

Here are some random shots taken using my phone over the past few weeks. Somehow, they're mostly on food.

Part Two of "This is the country"...

and is it the end of the story, I wonder.

I had complained in an earlier post about the frustrating ordeal we've been having with our phone and internet service provider. The last was that they requested us to take the lower speed internet package if we didn't want to wait for the availability of the higher speed one that we wanted. And the ball was then left on their court to tell me how long I'd have to wait to get the package of our choice.

Two days later after that phone conversation with them, the internet installer called while I was out. Eugene took the call. The techinician said he had been instructed to install for us the lower speed package. Without any inkling (I remember updating him, but that's another issue...) to the status of my dealings with them (i.e. they were to tell me how long the wait was before I decided whether to accept their 'offer' of the lower speed package), he agreed to getting it installed.

So now I'm accessing the Internet via our newest lower-than-desired speed. Despite that, I'm relieved that we finally could put a tick to this item on our to-do list and be contented with availability of the internet.

I thought I'd never hear from them again but surprise, surprise, I got a call from yet another girl from the internet service provider. Here's the conversation.

Caller: Ms Tham, I'm calling to inform you that your application for Stxxxx service has been approved. You are getting the 1MB package.

Me: What? What do you mean approved? I already got it installed.

Caller: I mean your application is approved....

Me: Your technician came on Saturday and installed it already. (hellooo, blur case, duh...!!!)

Caller: For which phone number? Is it xxxxxxxx? Oh, let me see....was it Mr XXX that installed it?

Me: Yes I guess so, I didn't get his name...a Chinese guy.

Caller: Oh, ok then.

Me: But hey, since the internet was installed, the clarity of my phone is bad. There's lots of static when I talk on the phone. Can you send a technician to check?

Caller: Ok, ok, we'll look into it.... (end of conversation)

Now, tell me, is this a real comedy or what? The first two months after we made our application, I was very gung-ho in chasing them. Assertive to the point of almost successfully drawing blood out of stone. The next two months, I gave up. The last month, I said "que sera, sera" and voila, they f-i-i-i-nally installed everything. During the week between their call to say we got it, me spending one hour at their outlet to make the relevant installation payments and them arriving at our home to install it, I was getting somewhat worked up again by their inefficiency and stupidity.

And after their latest call this afternoon as described above, I could only sigh, shake my head and think of this service provider as "mo tuck kow" (Cantonese for "cannot be saved" or no-hoper). I've expended all my frustration on this so much so that it's just water off my back now.

This is the country I was born and bred in

After five long months of waiting for a phone line and living without a telephone in my house, I finally got a line. Just a phone line. It can be connected to broadband Internet but I have yet to get that. It's a mystery how the phone company works.

The people there appear half-baked to me so their work is half-cooked I conclude. Although the phone line and internet line application is within the same form and submitted to the same service centre, the people processing the application and installation are separate as I have found out.

I got the phone line the very next day after paying the deposit and relevant charges. But meanwhile, in the span of one hour while I was grocery shopping, I got three calls from three different people from the same Internet processing/installation dept, requesting for the same info despite me having indicated everything in the form.

And the icing on the cake is the next day after patiently entertaining the 3 people (or shall I call them some other derogatory names?), one of them calls and tells me the package I want (highest speed broadband) is not available due to not available ports at my area (??!!) and asks me to take the slower speed package that is available. Otherwise, I have to wait. So then I ask how long do I have to wait. The reply came as "I don't know, I will check and call you back..." And that's the last I heard from them so far.

I've had similar experiences with service-related people at the bank, post office etc this week. It took me one hour just to get a replacement ATM card simply because the girl at the counter I was called to was a freshie and fumbling about (one colleague didn't even know her name!). After one step of work, she tells me to sit down while she consults her senior officer. Then after another step, she says sit down again. Then it went on that way for another time before I finally got the ATM card. She didn't even tell me what I had to do to activate the card, or to change the PIN number, or to re-activate my internet banking access using the ATM card etc etc....

And in all my dealings with these people, I had to speak Bahasa Malaysia. Otherwise, they'd give me a blank stare, or reply in BM although I spoke in English to them. Luckily I can speak BM well. I empathise with those who can't speak BM well or at all. They will have a worse time getting things they want.

So, the Education Ministry says the teaching of Maths and Science will be reverted back to Bahasa Malaysia in 2012. Hurray....Where are we heading? While I acknowledge that it is good for all Malaysians to know and speak the country's language well, what good will it do for the country and its people globally? We are not like Germany or other European countries who have become so advanced that German, French etc are recognised internationally or at least regionally....

And this issue is just one of the comedies playing on the Malaysian screen. There are others, especially on the political arena but I don't talk politics in my blogs or elsewhere.

Food or your life?

I read this in the news today.

When a hawker and his two customers saw a car heading at full speed towards their stall, their first instinct was not only to save themselves but also the bowls of laksa that they were eating, reported Kosmo!.

A Proton Iswara crashed into the stall after colliding with a Nissan Sentra at the junction of Kampung Guar Jentik, Beseri, near Padang Besar, on Sunday.

In the 1.30pm incident, hawker Dahli Saad, 36, was making a bowl of iced shavings while the two customers were eating laksa.

“I heard a loud bang and saw a car spinning towards my stall.

“Without thinking, I screamed and ran, carrying with me the ladle I was using. My two customers also ran for their lives, taking with them the bowls of laksa and drinks that they were having,” he said.

You get more of what you give

Thank you Aunt SY, for a good chuckle for me to start the morning with this! Be careful then, men, and also other women with regards to the last part!

Invitation

This is a banner hung at a traffic light junction (I believe without permit from the city council) somewhere near where I live. It's an invitation to the public from a 'mamak' shop nearby in conjuction with its opening.

The English text reads "Everyone was invite to feast...". Hmm, is it Manglish or Mamak-glish?

Cute

Pleeease let me out....



No one's looking so I'm biting my way out of here!!

Upside down house

I just came across this piece of news from Associated Press featured by Yahoo!News and thought it's interesting enough to share it. It's a real house built upside down with everything inside upside down too. It's to give people an alternative view of everyday life.

AP Photo/Frank Hormann

Click here to view a short slideshow of the house.

Domestic help

This is my semi funny take on the whys and why nots of having live-in house help, or what Malaysians refer to as 'maids'.

Why I don't have/don't want a maid

Can't afford one i.e. acquisition fees, salary, full board costs
Don't want additional person to be frustrated with
Don't want additional headcount to care for
Don't want another crybaby if she is the emotional type who can't take correction
Don't have to worry about walking around the house in my undergarments
Can go out or holiday without worrying where to park her if we don't bring her along, or if I'd return to find her (and contents of my house) missing
Don't have to worry where and when we do 'it' as long as kid is asleep (not that we are such horny beings-lah!)
My kid will not speak with Indon or Filipino accent
No worries about maid seducing hubby (LOL! but actually I've heard of such cases you know...)
Don't lose money to agent or get blacklisted by the authorities if maid runs away
Don't need to do quality control check on housework done


Why I would like a maid

Can pretend to live like 'tai tai' or designer mum
Don't have to clean meat, fish, vege after marketing
Don't have to wash, cut, chop food to prepare for cooking
Don't have to do laundry, dishes, house cleaning, ironing
I will not have hand dermatitis, instead can have manicure and pedicure everyday
Can park maid and kid at home or bookstore while I do my own shopping in peace
Can enjoy my dinner with other adults instead of sitting at the kiddies' table, or hopping between adults' and kids' tables to make sure the kid is eating and not just playing with other kids when we eat out.
Can exercise, watch TV while the housework gets done by someone else.


Looks like why I don't want a maid outweighs why I want one.... Damn! Hee hee, so I've been maid-less for two years now. Hooray...or sob sob?

Fish spa experience

One weekend when we visited Pavilion mall, we chanced upon the fish spa that is quite the novelty lately. It's a place where you pay to get your feet nibbled by fish for 'therapy' to remove dead skin cells, rough skin etc. Caitlin was very fascinated by it as they had a glass window display at the shopfront where shoppers walking by can see people's feet getting nibbled.

She had mentioned wanting to go try it a couple of times when something triggered her memory and finally this evening (yesterday actually since it's past midnight now), we literally took the 'plunge'. We went to their outlet in Mid Valley mall. After paying (RM38 for adults and half price for kids age 4-12 for 30 mins), we washed our feet and found one 'tank' to put our feet into. Eugene did not join us as he had tried it before during his lunch break one day.

I had read in their website that different tanks had different sized fish, the bigger ones nibbled harder while the smaller ones were recommended for first timers. Unknowingly we dipped into the one with larger fish and immediately we both felt so ticklish we burst out laughing and almost couldn't stop.

Two Japanese women who were already there were quite amused with us and pointed out the tank further away which had smaller fish. The smaller fish's nibbles were more bearable, my feet felt slightly tickled and tingled. After awhile, I got used to the sensation. Caitlin however refused to put her feet in after the initial experience with the bigger fish. Only after much persuasion (I wasn't going to let RM19 go to waste, man!), she finally found the courage to put her feet in for the last remaining 10 minutes.

My feet

Caitlin's feet

When time was up, she said she wanted to do this again, but at Pavilion the next time...

My verdict? An interesting, fun and ticklish first-time experience. The hard and dry parts of my feet feel slightly softened. I guess you need to go frequently to get the full effect. The difference between this and using feet pampering products like foot baths, scrubs, lotions, etc is that you get the additional 'tickles' and you just sit and relax with drinks/snacks (they have a small menu) and reading material (provided free)instead of having to work on your feet yourself (unless you go to a pedicure or spa).

This place also offers a range of other pampering services like reflexology, head, neck, hand, shoulder, and body massage. Certain outlets also offer full body fish spa. Imagine dipping your whole body into a tub full of fish and getting nibbled!
Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa

Ken Lee!

For those of you who have yet to watch this, here it is. It's been circulating in Facebook and email accounts. Have a real good laugh!

Have a laugh!

I received this today via email and I do agree that Chinese names can be confusing. I've heard of other (vulgar) jokes involving Chinese names in fact. As for my own name, Anna Tham, it' been mistaken as an Indian name once when I spoke to "Sam Wan" (someone) over the phone and gave him my name. He subsequently sent me a fax addressed to "Anatham"! I remember I had spelt it out for him but I guess he didn't listen carefully enough.

Confusing Chinese Names

Caller : Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan (anyone)?
Operator : Yes, you can speak to me.
Caller : No, I want to speak to Annie Wan (anyone)!
Operator : You are talking to someone! Who is this?
Caller : I'm Sam Wan (Someone). And I need to talk to Annie Wan (anyone)! It's urgent.
Operator : I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone! But what's this urgent matter about?
Caller : Well... just tell my sister Annie Wan (anyone) that our brother Noel Wan (no one)has involved in an accident. Noel Wan (no one)got injured and now Noel Wan (no one) is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan (everyone) is on his way to the hospital.
Operator : Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital, then the accident isn't an urgent matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!
Caller : You are so rude! Who are you?
Operator : I'm Saw Lee (Sorry).
Caller : Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!!!

Caitlin's 'knock knock' joke

Knock knock
Who's there?
Apple
Apple who?
Apple in an underwear.

Huh?

Caitlin's explanation:
It's a joke because real apples don't wear underwear. That's why it's funny.

Guide to cleaning mouth and hands

1. Turn on the tap.
2. Wet hands.
3. Squeeze liquid soap onto palm and rub hands together.
4. While rubbing hands, hold them up to check if clean, let soap drip down to elbows.
5. Wash soap off hands (and not forearm or elbows where soap dripped down).
6. Wipe and rub mouth with wet hands.
7. Turn off the tap but not fully so that it still trickles.
8. Dry mouth with shirt sleeve or collar.
9. Ignore hand towel. Dry hands on shirt or nearby wall.
10.If mummy is nearby, dry them on mummy's shirt or shorts.

by Caitlin, 5 years.

(Editor's note: the ideas in this article are original and copyrighted by Caitlin. No input whatsoever was provided by her main caregivers i.e. her parents. Her parents marvel at her creativity and resourcefulness)