Thursday, January 26, 2006

B in the News...

Again!! This time it's on the front page of Utusan's Mega. I've never ever bought Utusan before but for this time, I'm making an allowance for it.

Now, to walk or drive to the Mobil near the house. Hmmpphhh... I think I'll walk. Some exercise will do me good.. hehehhe...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

I am So PISSED!

at MPPJ. Yupp that's right. Especially at their parking system. So, allow me to rant, aight..

Yesterday, after having a splendid lunch with Lin at Midvalley, we went to Victoria's Secret Warehouse Sale at PJ. I dragged Lin actually because I know she would want to go (she being a VS worshipper and all).

After navigating through roundabouts, small lanes, junctions and traffic lights, we finally made it to Jalan Tandang (that's where the warehouse sale was held). Parking was a breeze and I quickly found a spot right in front of the building where the sale was held.

The sale was quite a bargain. One VS bra for RM19.90 and 5 VS panties for RM 10!! Their lingerie were going at RM20/2 pieces. There were Nike Dry-Fits for RM39 a pop. Levi's jeans going at RM 39/pair. Shirts by Billabong, CK and DKNY. I was quite disappointed with their Osh Kosh selections. They were only selling OK jeans for ages 6 and above and they weren't even nice.

Opppsss... I digressed.

So, after happily paying for our stuffs we headed towards my car and what should I see... but a guy in a blue shirt with a gadget in his hand standing in front of my car. I was shocked! I quickly ran towards him while waving at him frantically to let him know that I am coming, leaving poor clueless Zareef with Lin. But that guy boleh buat tak paham je and terus print out a tiket and tucked in behind the wipers.

I almost fainted when I saw the amount. It was RM 100!! Bloody hell!!! I could buy 5 VS bras with that kind of money. I argued with that guy

"Encik... takde signboard pun tulis kena bayar parking". Which is very true! I looked everywhere for a signboard. There weren't one in sight on the side of the road that we parked and even on the opposite side.

"Ada, tu kat sana"
"Mana?"
"Tu bawah pokok sana"
"Laaa... mana nak nampak. Saya carik parking meter yang kita masukkan syilings tuh".
"Sini takde. Awak kena bayar kat orang bawah payung tuh".
"Mana saya nak tau. Kalau ada signboard kat sini or kat sana, dah lama saya bayar parking". And I pointed out to him that there weren't any signs whatsoever indicating that you have to pay for parking within 100 m radius of my car.
"Saya tak boleh buat apa. Saya dah print tiket so tak boleh cancel. Kalau awak nak komplen, pegi buat rayuan kat kaunter. Saya tukang check parking je".
"Mana boleh camni. MPPJ tak letak pun sign suruh bayar kat area sini. Tiba-tiba datang nak saman je".
"Orang kat sini sumer tau kena bayar parking camne awak boleh tak tau?"
"Saya bukan orang sini. Ini first time saya datang sini. Mana nak tau kena bayar parking kalau takde signboard or parking meter tempat masukkan syiling tuh! Kalau MPPJ letak signboard kat setiap block, mestila saya bayar. Takkan saya nak kena saman saja2 pulak. Ingat saya bodoh ke!" (Time ni aku dah hot sangat2!!)
"Awak jangan komplen kat saya. Awak pegi komplen kat kaunter". And he walked off!!! Boleh tak?!!

I was so angry at that time I couldn't help myself that I had to let out "Eiiii... fucked up giler la!!" to which he turned and gave me a venomous glare. Arghhh... lantak ko la nak tengok tapi MPPJ punya salah la. Sape suruh tak letak signboards terang2 kat every blocks!!! I would have paid you know! I'm a law-abiding citizen and takkan la aku nak free2 bagi duit kat MPPJ pulak. BodoohhhSSS!!!

Just to prove my point that MPPJ were careless in putting up signboards notifying the public to pay for their parking, I drove the whole stretch of Jalan Tandang. Guess what... for the whole stretch that was about 2 km long, there were only 2 signboards! 2!!!! And what makes my blood boil was that the place to pay for your parking was to a guy sitting under an umbrella who was in plain clothes at the start of Jalan Tandang. Mana la aku nak tau kat situ kena bayar parking. Ingatkan mamat mana la jual goreng pisang kat situ. At least, do wear the proper official uniform or put up a proper sign la. Ini tak. Memang saje nak mengenakan orang! And what if those who came and parked their cars at the very end of Jalan Tandang, takkan nak kena jalan all the way up front to pay. These MPPJ parking people can be so stupid sometimes that it's almost unbelievable!!

I was so fucking mad that I drove straight to MPPJ. I was lucky as they weren't close yet. I parked while Lin went to find the counter to pay for the fine. She, as me argued too.

"Ramai betul orang kena saman kat Jalan Tandang hari nih"
"Ye lah, orang ramai pegi sale kat situ. Sumer orang luar. Mana nak tau kena bayar parking. Kenapa tak letak signboard terang2 so that orang tau kat situ kena bayar kat orang bawah payung. Dah la tak pakai proper uniforms."
"Ohh... tu la satu kelemahan MPPJ." Goodness!! Is that all that she can come up with??
"Banyak la ye dapat untung hari nih. Kalau dah tau ada kelemahan, improve la. Letak signboard banyak2. Ni kat sepanjang jalan tu ada 2 signboard je. Jauh2 pulak tu. Kalau macam saya parking kat tengah2, tak tau pun kena bayar parking. Buat la pondok bayaran kat situ yg betul2. Tulis besar2 'PONDOK BAYARAN LETAK KERETA MPPJ' kan senang."
"Cepat la bayar. Kaunter pun nak tutup." She dah malas nak layan la tuh.
"Berapa kena bayar? Tak boleh kurang ke?"
"Paling kurang saya boleh bagi RM 30 je. Kurang daripada tuh, nanti saya yang kena bayar". Wah Wah Wah... minah ni perli balik pulak.
Lin paid and we walked off. She insisted that she pay half of the fine as she too were there to shop. Syukur Alhamdulillah dapat member camni.

So there. I've ranted. So to anyone who is working at MPPJ, please do improve on your parking signages especially along the roads near the industrial area. It is such a simple yet effective thing to do. I will definitely come back in 6 months' time to see if you've done so. If you haven't, then it proves that you are just out to get at the innocent public! No?

Monday, January 16, 2006

The TOUGHEST Decision Ever!

I have made some hard and tough decisions in my life but all are pale in comparison to this particular one.

Like the time I decided to switch from A-Levels to doing an American degree thus breaching a scholarship agreement. That was a no brainer. I had the time of my life in the states and managed to score an engineering degree from a top university with a CGPA that I'm very proud of (goshhh... I'm sounding rather vain here, aren't I?)

Then there was this one time when I decided to call it quits at my company where I had to serve 10 years because I put family first before my employer by following B to the UK. That was a hell to pay but Alhamdulillah, I persevered and so did my family.

Now... this is the damnedest of them all. Even B can't decide. We've slept, ate, drove, walked, scoured and prayed on it only to be still stumped by it.

I have to make a decision by 1 pm today or else, it'll be gone. Someone else will eventually get it. It's all about the future roof that we're going to put on our heads. It's no joke man! Buying a property that is.

When we got back 5 weeks ago, we've scouted and turned every single new housing development within 20 miles radius of UPM upside down starting from day 4. Us, being the fussy ones, will always find fault with the development i.e. it's near a power line, near a landfill, near the pasar borong, next to the main road and so on. Until we've seen one particular housing estate, there were very few that met our unforgiving requirements. But now, we have two! Tu yang makan tak kenyang, mandi basah sikit2 je and tidur tak lena (this one literally happened to me because when I woke up yesterday morning, I had a really throbbing headache just dreaming about the two houses).

Unable to decide for ourselves, I dragged my parents to see the two houses yesterday to show them the confusion that has boiled up and the state of predicament that we're in.

HOUSE 1:
-Freehold, 22 x 75, 4 bed 3 bath, odd end lot with 8 ft of extra land at the side and huge space at the back of the house courtesy of Majlis Daerah Sepang where we can convert it to our own open backyard if we want to, open space plan, on a bukit, lots of parking space for guests if we ever hold a kenduri or open house, a safety bumper right outside the gate so I know for sure that cars will be slowing down, requires lots of time, energy and money on renovation and beautifying the extra land.

HOUSE 2:
-Leasehold, 20 x 100, 4 bed 3 bath, intermediate with only 5 feet at the back and a seciput garden up front, very open space plan to which I have to use my innovative and creative mind to create depth in the house, gated community, well designed gardens and good future plans of facilities and infrastructure, 24 hrs security which I have to pay RM 80 every month, not much of a parking space for visitors, it's situated near a cul-de-sac which is good as I don't have to worry about cars ramming through at high speed, no renovation required on the outside and just a seciput garden to maintain.

Huarrghhhh... now I really feel totally and utterly confused. I love house 1 because of the extra land and it's a freehold. Period. But I also love house 2 because the built-up area is 2800 sq ft. The living and dining is so huge that Zareef can cruise in his Peg-Perego without any obstruction plus I just love that the master bedroom is humongous but the downside of it is it's a leasehold. Price wise, house 2 is cheaper by 3k which doesn't contribute to the decision-making factor.

Arghhhh... decision, decision,decision. Please God... give me a sign. Any sign to make it easier for me to decide.

___________________________________________________________________

It's 4.25 pm now. A decision has been made about the house that we'll be purchasing and call it Home. I would like to thank Nong, Lara and Along profusely for providing me with valuable insights, point of views, input and key questions that has made this decision possible (on my part as I couldn't decide which house to go with in the first place).

B and I have decided to go with House 1. Phewwww... I'm so glad that this is soooo over. No more heavy clouds over my head. B is at the sales office now paying the booking fees of 3k. Then, we'll have to come up with the downpayment in 30 days time. Gulp!!

The CF for our Home will be out by end of this month. So, maybe just maybe, we'll be able to move in by March (wishful thinking, Nora!). So now, I would have to save every single sen for the Home. And I mean it! No more shopping sprees (Oh help me God!!), eating out lavishly, spur of the moment purchases. Nothing! Nada! Zilch!

So B, congratulations on our newest purchase. May we live long, happy and prosperous in our new Home.