Home sweet home…

There comes a stage in ones life where he or she embarks on a decision or event that will forever alter their course in life from then onwards. Be it pursuing further studies, career advancement, purchasing their first property or car, falling in and out of love, getting married or having kids: all are rights of passages in the journey that is life.

I have the great privilege of witnessing firsthand the advancement of people close to me, my family and friends. And I am genuinely happy for each and everyone of them (in some cases, with a little sprinkling of jealousy, hehe). As with any life altering decisions, they are more often  not easy, come are fraught with more complications and sacrifices than perhaps the individual had bargained for. But, after sowing the seeds, nurturing and caring, the fruits that they enjoy at the end of it all, has been worth it.

I had aimed to pursue my studies a while ago, but alas that is not in the cards for me for the time being. I have also entertained the prospect of carrier advancement: While that requires not only the determination, drive and self-confidence which somehow I am lacking at the moment, but also the belief that people around me realise and acknowledges the potential that I have. As for falling in love? Well that requires a whole blog entry (or several) in itself, hehe…

So at the ‘ripe’ ol age of 30, what does one do to show (to himself more than anyone else), that every turn and twist leading up to this moment had not amounted to nothing?

In my case, If there is that one thing that I promised myself to undertake is buying my own house, my own place to proudly call my own.

Even that took much procrastination on my part, until of course the fateful Eureka moment when my parents informed me that my siblings will be moving into their apartment that I ‘took care of’ on my own all this while (7 years to be exact). So much for epiphanies, hehehe…

So after searching around, researching and some inner soul-researching, I finally took the plunge last Saturday and embarked on the journey (or should I say adventure) that will hopefully lead me to my dream abode. Thus, it is with great pleasure that I to introduce to you my ASTANA LUMAYAN.

Nestled within the established and pristine Tasik Permaisuri and Bandar Tun Razak cul-de-sac, this condominium promises a ‘lake park living’ lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur. Befitting its lush natural surroundings, the condominium employs state of the art green technology for a truly sustainable and responsible standard of living. And with a small density, it offers the exclusivity and safety that is unrivalled within the vicinity. Public amenities are also close by, offering the convenience and connectivity to complete the urban lifestyle.

 

The units themselves are a spacious 1,207.9 sq ft that are functionally laid out to maximise space. From the balcony, one can wither enjoy views of either the exhilarating city lights or refreshing lake park.

From time to time, I hope to share with you on the progress this journey: from the home purchase process, to construction and completion and right up to renovation and furnishing, and eventually culminating to the unveiling of the finished residence. So please stay tuned and watch this place…

ps: Is it ever too early to even discuss colour schemes? hehe ;)

Welcome 2010

Wishing everyone a very happy new year!

May 2010 bring all your dreams come true.

Let us all strive to be a better (and upgraded) version of ourselves ;)

It’s worth a thousand words, but it won me RM50!

Don't forget to vote here ;)

Hope has come to America (and perhaps the world)

 

On 20 January 2009, history will be written as  Barack Hussein Obama II becomes the first African-American to be elected as the President of the United States. The inauguration of the 44th commander in chief truly demonstrates the audacity  and triumph of hope and  is testament of the American dream:  the  freedom that allows all its citizens to pursue their goals in life through hard work and free choice. What's more, that all of this happened 46 years after Martin Luther King daringly imagined a "table of brotherhood of white and black' in his infamous I Have a Dream speech shows without a doubt that in America (for now at least), anything is indeed possible.

At has time when the America's reputation and credibility has been severely tarnished in many of the global issues we are confronted with today, from wars to global warming to financial excess and turmoil which has led to the current global recession, the world is looking and (indeed hoping) for the new president to address and remedy all of these.  True, these are all monumental challenges, too much to bear of even the most charismatic of leaders. But if the new president engages in inclusiveness and cooperation with is friends (and foes), in multilateralism instead of unilateralism, in a 'we' instead of 'us and them' , then the hope for a better tomorrow that we all dream of will surely become reality.

Finally...

After waiting for two months plus, my DIESEL XXX book finally arrived . Yay! but now without its trials and tribulations.

On 2nd Jan, I wrote to Amazon again about my predicament:

Dear Amazon,
I would like to alert you that I have still not recieved my order for the above item.

My account has indicated that the order has shipped on 21 Nov 2008 and that the delivery should be by 15 Dec 2008. On 16 Dec 2008, I have written to Amazon.com asking for the tracking information number and the customer representative replied that the tracking tracking information on the Deutsche Post web site appears incomplete. She advised me to be patient and wait until 31 Dec 2008 for the order to arrive, and also mentioned that Amazon.com will take full responsibility should any item become lost or damaged while being delivered, and that Amazon.com are more than happy to replace these items at a cost to yourselves.

As it is now 2 Jan 2009 and I still havent received my order plus the fact that the tracking information is not available, I have to reasonable conclude that my order is indeed lost. As such, I would like to take up upon the customer representative assurance that Amazon.com will take full responsibility and would appreciate greatly if Amazon.com would despatch a replacement for my order(using priority courier shipping)free of charge.

To be fair, I have always enjoyed quality service from Amazon.com throughout the years as a loyal customer and I sincerely believe that this is a one-off unfortunate incident. I hope that Amazon.com would respond favourably to my request for a replacement as promised and look forward to continue shopping with Amazon.com in the near future.

Thank you

 

Just a few hours later, they replied...

Hello from Amazon.com.
I'm sorry--it appears that your shipment was lost in transit. I've placed a new order and well ship it to the same address as soon as possible.
Here are the order details:

Order Number: 102-0348662-5449859
Shipping speed: Priority International Courier
Estimated Delivery Date: January 7, 2009 - January 9, 2009

To ensure that your order is delivered quickly and isn't held up by customs clearance procedures, we create a replacement order with charges when an international order is lost, damaged, or incorrect. The charge for this order is $130.48. Were also refunding the same amount $130.48 to your original order. Both the charge and refund will be applied to the credit card used on the original order, and the refund should be processed within the next 2-3 business days.

Again, I apologize for this situation. I've added some more information below that might help you.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

 

With that email, my replacement order was shipped, and with tracking information, I was able to track its movements across half the globe. It appears that my book travelled far, from Amazon HQ all the way up to Alaska, then Taiwan before arriving in Malaysia:

This the book safely in my hands, I would like to express grateful how impressed I am with Amazon for keeping their promise and upholding quality customer service :)  Malaysian companies have much to learn if we aspire to compete internationally...

Congratulations Ning

Today marks a new chapter in the life of my Diva. My Ning is officially a married woman! Congratulations Ning & Chris, may this will be a most blessed union of souls.

I have been a Ning fan since forever... I even rank her higher then my other idols, Madonna included (jangan mare hadzryzal). I remember buying my first Malay album in 1994, or cassette at that time, 'Ning' , just to test out the audio capabilites of the new hifi system my father bought. Ning was, after all the face and voice of Sony Tru-Vox. I was astounded by her voice: unique and soulful beyond anything that has been offered in the Malay music at that time.

My love affair with her continued unwavered, despite the episodes of ostracising and controversies that had plagued througout most of her early carrier. Yet Ning preserviered, like a pheonix rising from the ashes triumphant....she is a SURVIVOR. And the tears of joy when she went up on stage to recieve the AIM award of the swansong 'Awan Yang Terpilu' must have been felt by all of her fans throughout the nation, me included.

So once again, congratulations my dear Ning, may your soar to greater success in love, carreer and life...

My new baby

Finally got my 'Damier Multiple' last Friday. Bliss... :)

The definition of Luxury

Look up the word 'luxury' in the Oxford English Dictionary, and you may find the following:

luxury

1. the state of great comfort and extravagant living.


2. an inessential but desirable item

The definition seems awfully foreboding, something that is bad, in excess and smells of caste hierarchy. But for all of its negative connotations, luxury to me is essentially a driving force of human nature. Why? Doesn't everyone wants to make better of their lives? To live more productively, more financially able, more healthily, and even per chance, more spiritually? I would like to think that what luxury really means is that it is the pursuit of betterment and success, but in tangible terms.

It is with this (very deep) frame of mind, plus a tinge of excitement and anxiety, that me and a couple of my friends had recently set foot into a certain boutique which is the embodiment of luxury. It has always been a dream of ours to one day own at least a small item from this iconic institution. And that day was now as we feel that ourselves had achieved considerable good fortune in our lives and careers and as such intend to celebrate in a special way. But, before anyone jumps into the wrong conclusions, we are also very grounded in reality: what the Oxford definition conveniently omits is that luxury also comes with a steep price (hehehe...)

So, enough of the psycho-babble and on with the pics:

Congratulations Governor!

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz got an A for the fifth year in a row in the 2007 CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD survey issued by Global Finance Magazine. The magazine said that her "even-handed management of monetary policy has helped Malaysia to successfully weather this year’s global and regional financial turmoil".

Congratulations boss... your success is ours as well. Hopefuly this years bonus quantum would reflect the good news and commensurate accordingly, hehehe... ;)

Congratulations Dr Sheikh Muszaphar!

So the search for Malaysia's first astrononaut has come to an end. On October 10 2007, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 35 will blast off aboard a Russian-built Soyuz space craft en route to the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson for 10 days, conducting life science experiments and other research. Meanwhile, Faiz bin Khaleed, 27 will be the reserve candidate.

I was fortunate to have met Dr Muszaphar during Ning Baizura's 2007 birthday party. He was kind and gracious for having me take a picture with him. 'Star' qualities for a man destined to make the nation and his people proud. Dr Muszaphar, i salute you and wish you the best of luck and a safe return!