Retail therapy. Not for me this time.

It's dark and rumbling outside. It's threatening to be a storm, but it feels like it's almost scared to even drizzle.

A bit like a dog who barks at everyone passing by but is wearing a cone on his head and is locked behind the gates :(

You feel kinda sorry for the dog but at the same time are glad that he's not on the loose to bite you.

Anyway, it was a really blazing hot day today. Went to Telawi with Sharry Berry cuz she needed some retail therapy after working 6 day weeks for the past few weeks. Poor her. And not being compensated by the company either. That's why working in Malaysia sucks.

And that's why I know I would be really really unhappy working here in a company.

One of the shops we went to was Zara. They're having a clearance sale and I wanted to check it out. The one in Bangsar Village isn't as well-stocked as the one in Mid Valley, but I decided to take a look anyway. It wasn't that great. Everything was really expensive, and there was nothing really fashion forward there. Just the usual 'Zara look'. Very classic, nice but almost boring.

The only interesting way they made their clothes would perhaps be the texture and material. I saw two black and white striped jackets, but decided that I didn't have the money to buy any of them. Because of all the maintenance on my car that I've had to fork out for.

(Yesterday I found out I had to fork out another RM600 for a major service on my car. Okay, Mumsy Bumsy offered to pay, but I think if I can afford to, I'll pay her back.)

I love jackets! Since I've nothing else to do before the delicious-smelling dinner of chicken and potato that Mumsy Bumsy has just made, I think I'll look for some nice jackets to post up here.

(Actually, I DO have work to do by Monday - geez, who asks someone to do work over the weekend? Maybe I should charge more - but that can wait till tomorrow.)

McQ By Alexander McQueen Tuxedo Blazer £395 on asos.com

Diesel Super Draped Parka £195 on asos.com

Knitted Textured Cardigan £35 on topshop.com

Goodputty Design: updated!

I've finally updated Goodputty with the NS Try Out Festival krant. Also streamlined it a little to improve the whole 'look' of the site. Go visit and show support :)

A series of unfortunate events.

What an unfortunately eventful day today!

For a couple weeks now, my car has been sputtering whenever I turn the ignition. I figured it's time to get the battery changed, and I arranged to have it done yesterday morning. However, I was too busy and couldn't make it.

So this morning, I woke up with a kind of nervous feeling. I had a meeting to go to at 2pm nearby at Mid Valley. I dunno why I felt nervous this morning, like I KNEW that today would be the day that my car decides not to start.

I get a phone call from Regs to say that she will be in Mid Valley shopping and I can join her if I like. So I tell her that I have a meeting there and will meet her after. Later, she calls and says that her car won't start! So if I would be so kind as to pick her up on my way to my meeting, that'd be great. So I said, sure.

I get ready for my meeting and walk to my car, channelling good vibes and energy towards it.

Didn't work. It sputtered and sputtered and this time, it never started. Panic!

Although it was already 1.30pm, the workshop guys were apparently still at lunch and besides, apparently, they couldn't come and get me as they were sooooo busy. So I hailed a taxi from in front of my place and paid RM5.20 to get to Mid Valley for my meeting. Which lasted only 10 minutes. Then I had to find a taxi back. What a bloody waste of time, really.

Thank goodness there were loads of taxis waiting. So I took one directly to the workshop, which cost me RM6.40. This is already costing me way more than driving myself and parking in Mid Valley.

I tell the guy there that I need this done asap and then he was like, oh they are sooooo busy today, maybe they can only come to your car at 3pm (it was 2.15pm). So I said, well, do whatever you want and do it quick, I'm parking myself here, right in front of you.

Five minutes later, he walks over to me and says, oh we have someone free to send you to your car and fix it. And if it's the battery, it costs RM220. And the labour is RM35.

Dagneggit, the battery is RM220??? Why do I remember only just over a year ago paying slightly over RM100 for the exact same battery? At a different place, sure, but are they excessively overcharging me here? Well, I really need my car to be fixed or I'll be in a fretful mood all day, so I said okay.

So the guy brings me back and fixes up little Bruno (yes, I rarely call my car by his name, but there ya go). Then I drive back to the workshop to pay RM260 for everything. So expensive! I was gonna send my car for servicing tomorrow, but after paying that amount, I think I might skip it for the moment. The guy did scare me a little by saying that I should send my car in for the major service soon as my timing belt will need to be replaced at 60,000 km (I'm at 52,000km).

Since my car is working again, I headed to the bank where I had to pick up a bank statement for my company account. I decided to park inside the compound because there is a 15-minute grace period when you don't have to pay for parking. Since I was just picking up the statement, I figured it wouldn't take me long.

Well, it didn't take too long, but it certainly took me about 10 minutes or so. I waited a minute at the ATM machine, wanting to withdraw some cash, but they were taking too long and I really didn't wanna pay for parking, so I went back to my car.

Lo and behold, what's new? There are 5 motorcycles parked behind my car, almost certainly all heading to the gambling shop I'm parked in front of. There were two motorcycles blocking my path, and one of them rode away while I was entering my car. So now I had one problem on hand. And no one in sight. A dude comes down from the gambling shop and goes to the cycle next to the problem one. I try angling my car to squeeze out, but to no avail, the damn cycle was just right in my way!

Now, why can't these stupid cyclists park the cycles at least in places where we cars can squeeze out? Why do they all have to park in a cluster behind my ONE car? Can't they just take an extra 10 steps and park in a more convenient spot for EVERYBODY? Damn them!

I had to get out of my car and ask the dude to help me move the idiot's cycle next to his. He could only budge it about a foot away (30cm for you Europeans), which was barely enough for me to squeeze out with about 10 cm between my car door and the bike handle. So pissing off!!

Then of course, by the time I reach the exit, which is only 10 seconds away, the guy tells me that I have to pay because I'm a damn ONE MINUTE past the grace period!

Everyone hands up who has NOT been a victim of the stupidity of a motorcyclist!

No hands? Not surprising.

Retail therapy always works

I've been feeling rather down since Schrobbenmaster left KL two weeks ago. It was the hardest the whole week after he left, because not only was I stressed about waiting for the inburgering results from the IND, but I had a lot of work piling up from over the holidays. And of course the fact that I was again alone, living half in Kuala Lumpur and half in Rotterdam. Or Amsterdam (when Schrobbenmaster is at work). Or Hoorn (when he's with his parents).

That's a lot of places to be splitting myself up into.

Anyway, for the first week after he left, I basically didn't do anything AT ALL. I felt really dry creatively and demotivated. It might also have been because of the stupid internet being cut off and making everything incredibly inconvenient.

I tried motivating and inspiring myself again by drawing, watching TV and picking up some old books to read. Didn't really work.

I then got even more down when I thought of how I disliked the clothes in my wardrobe. Probably a girl thing. But I felt like I really needed some new stuff. And instead of buying one item a month, I wanted to buy a whole bunch of stuff at one go, to feel like I was revamping my entire wardrobe.

I started by clearing out things I absolutely would not wear again, including bags, scarves and all sorts of nonsense that's been hiding in there. The motivator was to feel lighter and more refreshed, and also because I wouldn't be able to keep many things here once I move to NL.

That done, I went to Telawi but only restricted myself to trying things which I deemed "practical" - "warm stuff" is how I put it. Didn't get much, but it was a start.

And this week all of a sudden, everything starts pouring in... I had a few vouchers to use at Topshop and Miss Selfridge, and I bought quite a few things there. "Warm stuff". Including a really cute scarf that was RM99, then slashed by half to RM49.50, and by using my RM25 voucher, I ended up paying only RM24.50 for it. How awesome is that?

Tonight I just came back from Pavilion with two new tops. "Warm stuff" again. Well, kinda. They're things to layer over each other. Talking about "warm stuff", MNG is having a really good sale on sweaters. Anyone going for a holiday to cooler weather should go check it out.

Besides shopping, other things have lifted my dark mood - my neighbours responded to a little note slipped under their door 3 weeks ago and gave me their internet password - for free! They are SO nice. I'm definitely sending them a present before I leave for NL. So now I have internet! Wooohooo!

One things leads to another, and because my mood is improving, I feel better about doing my work, and I'm finally getting things moving... and getting paid, most importantly!

Now to wait for news from the IND that I've got my permit!

More Engrish!

I went to dinner last weekend to the Grand Imperial in USJ. It's in a brand new mall called the USJ 19 City Mall or something like that. The whole building interior wasn't even completed yet, but as usual, to minimise losses and to maximise profit, the grand Chinese restaurant has opened its doors at the very earliest possible.

The dinner itself was alright, the food was tasty enough. But, again, as usual, the normal servers were foreigners who don't speak any English/Cantonese. And that is really one of the basics you have to speak in KL. It's starting to really annoy me, not being able to communicate what I want in a restaurant/cafe/eating place.

Anyway, as we were leaving the place, we caught sight of the promotion banner outside. And, yes, as usual, there was a good example of Engrish on it.

Sorry for the dodgy arrow... some people don't have Wacom Intuos 4 tablets like some others do.

So, Monzalera Cheese... I'm assuming is Mozarella... or is it Mozzarela? Or Mozzarella? It sure as heck ain't Monzalera! Heehee.

Doing my best to write a fair opinion

I try my best not to be judgmental and I try to be fair and respectful at all times.

So my opinion as stated below, I hope, sounds fair and sensible. And if not, I would love to hear any arguments on why they're not.

Fat people - and I don't mean big-boned, but genuinely fatter-than-their-bodies-allow people - tend to generate disrespect from me. Yeah I can hear people starting to go "Ooh!" and already putting me on their hate lists.

But hear me out, when I say "fat people", I mean people who eat too much, who don't control what they consume, and who don't make the effort to be healthier by eating properly or working out. People who genuinely can't help their size because of a medical condition or their biological shape, or who are temporarily overweight because of some problems or setbacks in life... you get the picture... those people are not who I'm talking about.

So let me make it clear - this post is about people who consciously don't make the effort to live healthily, or who turn a blind eye and refuse to accept what they're turning into by their unhealthy living.

Okay, now to get down to it.

The reason I don't have respect for them is that it signifies to me a lack of discipline. If a normal person continues to eat and eat and ignores signs of getting unhealthily fat, does it not say that they are not brave enough to face reality and improve? Or maybe too lazy to want to do anything about it, and so just brush away these signs?

They are also waving away the responsibility for taking care of their bodies. There are people who are fat, and have their friends tell them that they're fat because they care about them, their friends tell them to cut back and control... but their choice is to ignore and refuse to take on the responsiblity for their health.

I think these are already warning signs. It won't only be eating that's a problem. It'll be junk food, it'll be smoking, it'll be addiction in general.

If someone doesn't have the discipline or responsilbility to take control of their addictions, it affects other parts of their life.

I do really have a lot of respect for fat people who decide to take charge and take the initiative to work out and eat healthily. I respect big-boned people who say, "I'm comfortable with my body!".

But when fat people who say, "I'm comfortable with my body and society can't make me feel bad about myself!", and then get cheers because they're supposedly big and proud... that annoys me because some of them are not big! They are not big, they are genuinely fat. And fat is a whole different story. Fat is unhealthy.

Fat is not something to be proud of, being comfortable in your REAL body is something to be proud of, whether it's small or big. We just have to find the right balance with everything.

All that said, I genuinely try to treat everyone the same way. And I genuinely hope to see the best in everyone I meet.

---

Interestingly, Schrobbenmaster has just told me that KLM now requires people over 120kg and/or cannot put the armrests down have to buy two seats on the plane. And that's fair, because currently, anyone who has to sit next to someone whose body spills over onto their seat is just spoiling their flight experience. The seats are small enough as it is, without having to have someone make it just that little bit worse.

Commercials are irritating, but this takes the cake for now

Is it just me, or are those damn Astro Byond ads on TV getting REALLY annoying?

In fact, I already got annoyed the third time I saw it. It's so bloody long, which makes it so obvious that they are practically shoving this new HD subscription down our throats. And did they cancel the BBC Entertainment channel with quality shows because they plan to sell that on Byond, and thus replace it with the crappy Granada channel which shows trash like Emmerdale and Coronation Street and The Paul O'Grady Show? I honestly wouldn't mind having the Granada channel if they'd only keep the BBC channel as well.

Oh man, I hate long commercials, especially when repeated once every 10 minutes.

The only thing I like about the commercial is the song. But I still think it's way too long, and way too pushy. Did they even announce that they were removing the BBC Entertainment channel and replacing it with a crappy Bio channel? I don't know because I was in NL. But my parents certainly seemed surprised at the change. And they watch Astro regularly enough, at least an hour a day.

Gosh darn it, Astro really ruffles my feathers!!!

I just wish a rival would come up and give them some competition, therefore giving us paying subscribers a better range of choices.

Sentralfon doesn't trust customers.

So... it has been a while because my internet account has been suspended. Due to my non-payment, which was caused by technical faults, therefore causing me to not pay for services not rendered... and prior to that, by incompetent technical staff who never recorded my problem when it happened, subsequently causing the management to effectively say that I was lying about not receiving promised service and refusing to reinstate my account.

I blame Sentralfon. Is it my fault that Janar came over to my apartment complex twice to check out the problem but never logged it? Is it my fault that I was only receiving 10kbps when I was paying for 2mbps? Should I therefore be paying the monthly service fee for 2mbps when I only receive 10kbps and frequent internet connection drops?

What the hell.

If this was in the food and beverage industry, the restaurant would apologise for their staff's incompetence and give complimentary dessert. They know to put customers first and they know that staff can sometimes be lazy and incompetent.

Does Sentralfon wanna lose my monthly business over a lousy RM240?

They said they do. And so they'll bloody well lose my business.

Happy 2010!

Happy new year everyone! Gelukkig nieuw jaar! Or should I say, "Gelukkig sneeuw jaar!" :)

I finally have a chance to sit calmly in front of my Mac in a reasonable state of mind. Reason being, I've been so darn busy since I last blogged that my neck is so stiff, my eyes are sore and I feel so drained, not to mention stressed thinking about work.

New year begins and so does the work. And yet I've had to play tour guide and chauffeur while Schrobbenmaster's parents were in KL. It was so nice of them to come and pay my family and I a visit, but a word of advice... next time you plan to have visitors, try not to plan it over the turning of a new year!

They arrived on January 1, which was fine as it was a holiday, but the following days have been a struggle, juggling long days out and about, with emails and designing work.

Today was finally the last day they are in Kuala Lumpur, and although I feel a little sad saying goodbye (Isn't it always sad? Except when you're bored shitless at a party and can't wait to leave...), but at the same time, I feel more relaxed as I can now stay in bed longer, and have time to get some work done that I'm being chased for.

It's a struuuuuggle!!

Anyway, really tired now, going to watch a show before bed. Watched half of The Big Fat Quiz Show (think that's what it's called) last night, not bad so far. British quiz show with celebrities answering questions about what went on during the year. I know Mumsy Bumsy will be asking me for it shortly after reading this post!

See you soon, folks!

The annual "looking back" year-end post

Yes it has been a while since I've been here.

Christmas was incredibly busy and tiring, with all the stress of present-buying and worrying what to give who and dealing with the crowds and devoting all my energy to willing people to stay away from the shopping mall I would be visiting that day. Stressful is also when I have to get as much work done as possible while doing all of the above. And keeping Schrobbenmaster entertained on his holiday in KL.

I think I managed to do all of that - without too many frowns and sighs - pretty okay.

In a way, I'm glad December 25th has passed, and I'm glad I can still enjoy my little Christmas tree with the wooden toys and red shiny balls. But the year is coming to a close and it's kinda nostalgic.

The time is drawing near when I'll be moving (immigration allowing) to NL, and it's starting to scare me, all the people and things that I'll be leaving behind. It's gonna be really hard. And also knowing that I might have to leave everyone at the airport and fly alone, that's kinda worse. I'm crossing my fingers that Mumsy Bumsy can find time off work and a cheap flight to go with me.

The best presents I received this Christmas were from:

Schrobbenmaster: A new Lacoste purse. Really needed a new purse as the threads were already unravelling on my old one.

Mumsy Bumsy: "Maxi the mini", a soft toy version of Maxi, my Silky Terrier. Except that the soft toy is a Golden Retriever. She said she couldn't find the exact breed, but nevertheless, Mini Maxi is soft and good company for falling asleep. And will keep me safe in NL.

So what have I achieved this past year?

Off the top of my head, I suppose I have...

1. Kept Goodputty Design going for another year (2 years now!)
2. Visited friends in Melbourne after some time
3. Visited Bangkok for the first time
4. Visited The Netherlands for the first time
5. Stayed out of Malaysia for 3 months in one go, longest ever
6. Learnt Dutch
7. Designed a wedding invite for one of my closest friends
8. Twisted my ankle
9. Learnt how to cook about 8 dinner dishes AND cooked almost every day for 2 months

I guess that concludes my end-of-the-year post. Will definitely try to get another in before we actually say Goodbye to 2009 *sniff*.

Until then, hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and here's to a brilliant ending to 2009 and a promising start to 2010!

Dutch Embassy. FAIL. Incompetent and incapable.

I haven't been writing much because I've been quite upset the past week and I can't write when I'm not happy.


---


On a separate note, I just wanted to say that with all my complaining about Dutch grammar and Dutch language being difficult to learn, I realised a few days ago that English pronunciation is even more complicated. The two vowels "ie" together in Dutch are pronounced only one way (right?), but in English, you have "pie", "thief", "pier", "drier", "friend" and probably a few more I can't think of right now. I definitely don't envy people learning English as adults.


---


Anyway, here's the story of why I've been unhappy the past week.


The Dutch Embassy in KL: FAIL. And I found out yesterday... the Dutch Embassy in Singapore: ALSO FAIL.


I have been making effort towards getting an MVV, which is a temporary residence permit for The Netherlands. Among the things I have to do are to sit for an exam called the inburgering exam, which is to make sure your knowledge of Dutch society and the language are sufficient to live there.


There are lots of information available online and there are official books to buy to practise. But sometimes you just want to ask someone directly about things you're unsure of. Here is my experience with the KL Dutch Embassy.

I would like to ask if, in the inburgering exam, there are one or two nazeggen sections? When I took the sample test from the Naar Nederlands package, there was only one, but I am currently doing some sample practise tests with my teacher, and there are two sections to repeat sentences. It has me a little confused.

Another thing, is there a waiting list to do the exam and do I have to make my appointment to sit for the exam early, or can I just call a week ahead and arrange a time to go to the embassy?

And the reply I received was:

Dear Jun-Yi

We do not know because we do not take the exams.  You will be using the head phones and will directly dealing the exam dept.   so I really do not know wheather it has 1 part or 2 parts

thanks

Carol Peters

Can you believe the way she replied me? I was surprised and annoyed with this reply. How can they not be able to answer my questions "because we do not take the exams"? If they don't know it, why not FIND OUT? What are they here to do, if not to help Dutch citizens and Malaysian citizens? This was my first experience of their laziness. Secondly, they did not answer my question about making an appointment to do the exam. Such a short email and she can miss out this question? It just doesn't make a good impression on me, that this person is not observant and not careful in her dealings with the public they serve.

So I asked again...

How about making the appointment to take the exam? Is there a waiting list, or can I just call up a few days in advance to make the appointment?

And take note of her answer. It's important:

You can call up the embassy and make the appointment anytime. 

thanks

Carol

After stewing about their incompetence and laziness to find an answer to my question about the structure of the exam, I let them know I wasn't happy with their "We do not know so don't ask us" answer.

Could you please find out if the Nazeggen section has one or two parts? There is no one else I can ask the answer about the Dutch exam as you are the Dutch Embassy. If you can't tell me how the exam goes, how else can I find out? It's really important for me to know and be prepared as this exam, I believe, costs 350 euros and I'm taking it quite seriously.

After this email, I thought she would at least make an effort to write one little email, or visit the website related to immigration to find out. She took two days to write this to me:

There are 2 parts in the exam. One is the language and one is th cultural.  If you need more info I think you will have  to write to the IND where you made payment for the exam maybe they will be able to help you more.

I very sorry that I cannot assist you  more.

Thank you.

Carol Peters

Did I not already know this? Was this my question? Omg.

Anyway, after that, I found out that I was mistaken earlier, and there are indeed two nazeggen sections. However, advised by Mumsy Bumsy and Schrobbenmaster, I did not inform the embassy of this so that they could either let someone else know they are stupid and lazy or just continue living blissfully in their ignorance.

Finally, after several weeks of Dutch lessons with Geraldine, 3 times a week for 2 hours each time, the time to take the exam arrived. I had planned to take the exam in the first week of December so that Schrobbenmaster could send in all the documents for the processing of the MVV application before the holidays started. And so that I would have my permit (if approved) in time to head over at the end of February or early March.

I called the embassy on the 1st of December to make an appointment on the 2nd, but they said they weren't available and if the 3rd was okay, so I said yes and made the appointment for 2pm.

The day arrived and I was really nervous, not helped by the silent and empty lobby where I could hear the tiniest tap of my feet echo on the tiled floor.

After 5 to 10 minutes of having my passport and doing whatever they have to do, a blonde girl brought me to the exam room. She was nice and understood that I was nervous and told me that I could take my time if I wanted to, but I told her that I wanted to get it over with. I did all the fingerprint scanning, and she registered me into the exam system. While doing that, she asked me to read laminated A4 cards on the structure of the exam.

And there, right in front of me, was the exam structure. 2 nazeggen sections, 1 korte vragen section and 1 tegenstellingen section, in addition to the Dutch society test. It was right there the whole time, and the lazy woman who replied my email did not even know that! Imagine my disappointment again. I didn't dwell on it because I had other things to think about, but I was just thinking to myself, not for the first time, "Omg.".

I sat there, with the headphones comfortably on, heart beating quickly and trying to keep my head clear. I chose to do the Dutch society section first so I could attune myself to people speaking Dutch to me. So I sat and waited while the blonde girl dialed a number on the phone. And dialed again. And I waited. And watched her. As she dialed again. Then she goes, "Let me just double check this number.". So I go, "Okay.". And wait. And she dials again. And one more time. And finally says, "There's something wrong, let me check with my boss if they've changed the number.".

She leaves the room and I sit there on my own, not wanting to remove the headphones in case the next time I put it on, it doesn't fit as comfortably. Yes, I get quite paranoid about little things that might jeopardise my results.

1 minute passes...

2 minutes...

5 minutes...

It feels like 10 minutes have passed, but it's possibly just under 10 and more than 5, sitting on my own in the exam room with my headphones on, tapping my fingers on the chair. All I know is that I was in the embassy for just over half an hour, without achieving anything, except that they now have my fingerprints on file and will be able to find me if I ever kill someone in The Netherlands.

The girl comes back after what is ages to me, and says apologetically, "I'm so sorry, but I have bad news.". Jolly good. I remove my headphones and wait to hear it.

"It seems that the phone number has changed and we have to wait for the Orange network in the UK to start work and give us the new number. But that means that it's 5pm our time and we're closed then. So tomorrow morning I'll give you a call and you can come in, about 12.30pm to do the test, as we close at 2pm tomorrow (Friday)".

What could I do but say "Okay"?

I headed home, frustrated. I had put so much effort into being ready for this moment, taking classes right up to the day before, listening to the audio CD in my car and memorising 180 words and their opposites.

The thing was, my friend Euying had experienced this same thing a year ago. There had been no sound when they called up the exam centre. They told her it would be fixed. She waited a month. And they finally told her, "I think you should do it in Singapore.". Wtf! So she told me while I was having lunch with her at her home in Eindhoven: "If the same thing happens to you, don't wait. Just go to Singapore. I wasted a month of my time on them and time is money. You need to get your application processed.".

I decided to give them a chance till Friday morning.

I studied again on Thursday night, when I shouldn't have had to. I set my alarm for 9am to call them in case they forget to call me.

All groggy the next day at 9am, when of course they hadn't called, I called them instead. And she says the same thing, that they haven't fixed the problem, and, "To be safe, I won't promise that you'll do it this afternoon, but probably Monday.".

It was very, very irritating because now my plans were being held back. Schrobbenmaster was supposed to hand in our documents that day itself. I had hurried to renew my passport, get my unmarried certificate from Putrajaya, and he had done his own arrangements and got his certificate (which is valid for only 30 days). And now because of the KL Dutch Embassy's incompetence, everything had to be put on hold.

On Thursday itself, Schrobbenmaster had already called up the ministry in NL to scold them for this. And on Thursday, they told him that there was no problem with the connection. Then on Friday, he called to scold them again. They then told him there was a problem with the exam centre's connection with the KL office and that the IT department would be at work on it immediately.


I couldn't leave it in their already-proven-to-be-incapable hands, so I sent an email to Singapore:

I'm a Malaysian citizen who has made an appointment with the embassy in Kuala Lumpur to take the inburgering exam, but they have postponed my exam TWICE now with the reason of technical difficulties, and it's very upsetting for me.

I was advised by a friend who took the exam last year and faced the same problem. She ended up doing the exam in the Dutch Embassy in Singapore. I was wondering if you could make this allowance for me, as I would rather not wait for Monday to find out that my exam has been postponed yet again.

The reason they give is that there is a technical problem with the exam centre in The Netherlands. If you don't have this problem and everything is working properly, I would like to make an appointment with you in Singapore to take the exam. Your quick response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jun-Yi

Then we gave the KL office the weekend and a Monday to sort it out.


On Monday I called the embassy again and she tells me the same thing, that she's still waiting and still not receiving any updates.


On Tuesday (yesterday), I received a reply from Singapore:

Dear Ms Lee,

You need to come in contact with the Dutch Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to make the necessary transfer to this Embassy if you wish to sit for your civic integration exam here.  

Please note that our next available dates for the said exam will be from 20 January 2010.

For collection of the approved MVV, one needs to collect at the same Embassy where one had sat for the mentioned exam.

Best regards,

Mei-Li Sim

What the hell! 20th January 2010? That is just over 6 weeks from the date I'm supposed to have taken the exam! Will they compensate me for this 6 weeks when my application could be halfway through it's processing? Hell, no!

I forwarded this mail to Schrobbenmaster, who called up the Ministry again and spoke to the head in charge.

And paraphrasing Schrobbenmaster, her reply was:

You don't have to rearrange with KL to do it in Singapore, it's bullshit that the next exam date is 20th January as it's mandatory to have the exam done within 7 days, and you don't NEED to collect the MVV at Singapore, as they should send it over by post and arrange all the formalities.

She was apparently very upset with the behaviour of these two embassies we had asked help from. And she was taking steps to get a solution for us asap, opening an emergency file and setting two people on the case. Which is what has to be done to get these two embassies to buck up and stop passing the responsibility onto each other, as if they can't communicate with each other, and making the public they serve do everything for them.

Additionally, doing the exam in Singapore would have cost us more time and money. Not to mention, my Dutch skills are slowly deteriorating as it has now been a week since I had my last Dutch class. We are expecting to receive some sort of reimbursement or compensation if I have to take my exam somewhere else besides KL. It's their incapability and incompetence that's causing all this trouble and, potentially and probably, a difference in my results in the exam.


It will be 7 days since my appointment to take the exam tomorrow, and we'll see what happens by then. After tomorrow, I feel that we are perfectly within reason to really put pressure on them and, in a manner of speaking, step up the aggression.


Will keep everyone updated.

Perfection doesn't come often

I just love heavy rain at night without all the stormy elements like thunder and lightning. There's something very calming and romantic about quiet, heavy rain.

Feeling really comfy on my bed with the MacBook Pro, Ivy on iTunes and my Christmas tree lights twinkling outside. I love my lights so much I actually sometimes stand at my bedroom doorway just to look at them for a few seconds every once in a while.

It's a wonderful night :)

Dinner at Alexis Ampang and 'cleansing' the house (somewhat)

Another Dutch class down, two more to go...

Planning to take the exam next week, so I'm really crossing my fingers that the IND contacts us soon to make an appointment with the embassy. Until 2 or 3 weeks ago, I was in two minds, first about wanting to sit for the exam asap so that I could get it over with, and second that I wanted it to be as far away as possible so that I had more time to learn. I think right now I'm at a sufficient level to sit for the exam fairly comfortably. And so I just want it to be over.

---

On Saturday night, I went out for dinner with my Dutch teacher, Geraldine and her boyfriend, Wijnand. My 'partner' for the night was Musicmaker Nick. Or Maniacal Nick. I think I like Maniacal Nick better.

We went to Alexis Ampang, where the first thing I asked was: "Do you have the chocolate cinnamon cake tonight?". OMG if you haven't tried it, GO GO GO! After our delicious main meals, I wanted to order the cake for nagerechten (dessert). The others were still too full from their individual pizzas so I ordered my cake first. When it came, the scent was so divine, and it just made my heart melt with its loveliness. I offered a bite to everyone (genuinely!) but they declined. However, after enjoying half the slice, I decided that I really couldn't keep this piece of heaven to myself, while leaving everyone at the table so ignorant of it. Maniacal Nick agreed to a bite... and like everyone's first reaction to Krispy Kreme ("It's just a doughnut!"), his eyebrows raised to high heaven and he said, understatedly, "Ooh, it IS good!". And ended up taking several mouthfuls after. Wijnand and Geraldine caved in soon after, but I'm sure were being polite by not taking more than one forkful.

I miss it! I want it right now! Can't wait till Schrobbenmaster comes and we can go to Alexis just for cake. I was once disappointed and had to have the Chocolate Steam Pudding, which was nowhere in the same region as the Chocolate Cinnamon, so I think in the future I'll have to call Alexis before going to check if they do have it. Especially if I go there only for the cake.

Anyway, dinner was really good. Conversation was flowing and interesting. Wijnand said my Dutch 'g's were commendable, and Geraldine told him that I had a slight Russian accent when speaking Dutch (which is what Schrobbenmaster told me as well... very strange!).

Cynthia Utterbach from the International Jazz Series was performing that night but we weren't planning to stay for the show. We did end up listening to two songs before hightailing it out of the restaurant so we wouldn't be charged the RM25 for cover. I really think, though, that after having a main meal at Alexis, they should give us a discount for the show. Like pay RM10 instead of RM25. Because we've already spent hundreds of ringgit there, unlike someone who turns up, pays RM25 and orders a glass of ice lemon tea and sits for 2 hours.

---

This morning there was supposed to be a charity group coming over to my condo to collect donations left at an open area on the ground floor. I hadn't had time all weekend to set aside some things I wanted to give away (especially important as I'm leaving soon, and should really decide what to keep and what not to keep), but I hurriedly put together some food cans and shoes I never wear and brought them downstairs. It wasn't much, but I guess my house feels just a little more 'cleansed'. I hope they come back again, because there weren't many donations at the open area when I went. We were only given about 3 or 4 days notice, I believe. I think a week would have been better to alert people to gather things to give away.

Oh well, did my good bit for the day.

Rather painless visit to government departments

I hate doing anything official because I have the impression that it's really slow and no one will be able to answer any of my questions etc. I also hate going out of my house. Yes, even though there are many, many photos proving otherwise... I'm actually really comfortable at home in front of my Mac.

But what needs to be done needs to be done.

There is an official document I had to request to certify that I'm unmarried, which I need to send in to the Dutch embassy to get my residence permit. Thankfully, I have a friend who has done this before, so she just told me to head to the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (National Registration Department) to request the document, then move to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get it legalised and stamped.

I really cannot be bothered to get up extra early to do things so I figure I'll take my chance and have faith. I had also called the customer service at the JPN yesterday and was told that Thursdays are the best days to get stuff done at the Marriage/Divorce department because they only have counselling and no ceremonies.

So I decided to just go ahead and do it today. I got up, had my tea, took a shower, had some lunch, played some Facebook games, then set off.

I took a new road which was very pleasant. It's the Maju Expressway which heads straight to Putrajaya (also turns off at National Sports Complex, Bukit Jalil and some other places). There were cars but it was a smooth drive. Toll is a more expensive RM2.50, compared to other roads going to Putrajaya. I'd rather pay that then face irritating KL drivers though.

I even decided to go to the JPN without a map. I figure that since Putrajaya is the administrative capital and was built to house all these government agencies in one area, it should be easy to find. Such faith I have. I just followed all the signs to Kompleks Jabatan Kerajaan (I think that's what it said... basically means government department complex) and I saw Kompleks C, D and E. Where the heck is A and B? Because JPN is not in C, D and E! Finally, I had to call Mumsy Bumsy to look for the exact address online. She told me to go to Precinct 2.

Once there, I saw a bunch of humongous buildings as well. This time it was right. All the jabatans were here. The kompleks were only housing the ministries. I'm pretty sure they signboard didn't say Kompleks Kementerian Kerajaan though. Which they should have, to make it clearer (Kementerian = ministry).

Anyway, I found the JPN and parked at the big area outside which only costs RM4 per entry. Good thing too, because who knows how long one has to wait at these government departments?

Photo of JPN by qunut13 on flickr. If you're qunut13, I hope you don't mind me using your photo. I tried to sign in to send you a message, but stupid flickr kept sending me to the main Yahoo! page. Lovely photo, by the way.

At first, with such a huge building, I expected to be lost and have to walk ages before reaching somewhere. But it was actually pretty alright. Within a few steps of walking in from a side entrance, I reached the info desk where the friendly lady pointed me in the direction of the Marriage department.

By the way, I wanna add that I was driving around Putrajaya and was really impressed (yet again) at all the buildings and the roads. Very nice indeed. Much better than having to brave KL traffic going to two government buildings.

I took a number and waited half an hour for my turn. I got some forms and was told to go to the Commissioner of Oaths so that he could witness my proclamation of being single. Unfortunately he was out for lunch and only back in 15 minutes. So I waited outside.

While I was there I wondered... government employees here only work from 8.30am to 5.30pm, right? They don't have to work overtime do they? And if they don't, shouldn't they just get 30 minutes lunch break? That's how they do it in Dutchland. Because, honestly, there's nothing to do for one hour. And everyone else in the private sector who works 10 to 12 hours also gets one hour lunches? Not very fair.

Anyway, this Commissioner guy was the worst person I encountered today. Absolutely didn't like him even though I only dealt with him for 2 minutes. First, he was late back from lunch. His female assistant, who was very nice but kinda dumb (let's give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she's new), opened the doors 5 minutes past, and he strolled in 10 minutes after that. She gestured to him that I was there first, so he called me over. I said "Hi.". He just looked at my letter and form. Asked for my IC. Filled in the necessary. I said "Thank you.". Nothing from him. Fat ass. Even stamped and signed my official forms on top of a bloody newspaper! Can't even set your table up nicely in an official manner?? He only told me, "Pay there." and pointed to his assistant. When I got up, he looked at the other two couples in the room and announced (I can imagine him opening his arms in a self-important, grandiose way), "Semua." (which means, "Everyone.").

Fat ass.

I paid RM4 for that silly stamp and signature.

Went back up to the Marriage counters and waited 20 mins to send in my forms. Then another 10 mins to get the official document. Paid RM5 for it.

So far, I've only paid RM13 for everything. Pretty well cheap, eh? Very pleased.

I go down to the info desk to ask the way to Wisma Putra, the Foreign Ministry building. She directs me, but of course, I don't understand directions and I end up driving up and down that big, wide jabatan road until I decide that it's definitely not on this road. Shouldn't everything be on this road, I wondered. So I looked for a location map and discovered that it's on its own little hill, set apart from everyone else. Geez!

Nice building though. Once I reached there, it was free parking, a big plus.

Same deal with spOt_ON on flickr. Couldn't sign in to send you a message. I also colour-corrected your photo slightly, as the original is too yellow. Ahem.

Went to the guardhouse to register. I said "Nak pergi bahagian konsular." (Going to the consular section). The other guard who was sitting behind suddenly looks up and goes, "Eh, you Melayu atau Cina??". I'm so surprised by this question I actually almost say "Melayu". I think my mouth wanted to say "No no, I really AM speaking Malay even if I don't speak it well!". Instead, I went "M... m... Cina!" and he told me how surprised he was, because I spoke with a Malay accent. And I wanted to tell him that I actually don't speak it much, but what actually came out was, "Tapi saya tak cakap banyak..." and trailed off into silence. Which he took to mean that I didn't even say much, how can he tell I have the proper Malay speaking accent? And he replied that he could just tell from my accent. I suppose a Chinesey accent speaking Malay IS pretty obvious, after all.

"Nak paagi pahagian kansula..."

Anyway, the people in the konsular weren't very friendly or chatty, but at least I was in and out of there in 20 mins, with my precious stamp and signature. It cost me RM10, the most expensive so far. But still cheap enough. Very very sweet!

Wanted to hop on over to the Immigration Department next to renew my passport for another 5 years, but it was already 3.45pm and some departments close at 4pm. Kind of a bummer because I wanted to finish everything official today, but I'd rather go home and beat the rush hour traffic than drive around looking for another building.

So passport renewal is next week then. Should also take a really short time since we now have electronic passports (and it's so cool we have them!) and I think I remember being able to renew them just at a machine. Hopefully that's all it takes. We'll see next week!

Ugly new RM50 note, and the impressive Dutch

The new RM50 note is really ugly. What a waste of money spent on such a goshawful, old-fashioned design! Like frachely said, "... it looks like currency from Cambodia or some such place...". I'm not dissing the lovely Cambodia, but we are far advanced of the country, surely our currency design should show it too! Our old RM50 design was perfectly useable and quite pleasing to the eye. Check out these new hideous combo of colours on the new hideous note. I'm so disgusted thinking of the money spent on redesigning something that didn't need to be.

(Apparently it is better at deterring counterfeiting... but why not just improve the old note? This is so ugly!)

Malaysia. Gah.

Okay, due to popular demand, here is the existing and going-to-be-phased-out RM50 note. I actually thought of putting this up earlier for my foreign readers, but then got lazy because there was no photo I could find of both the old and new note together.

In my two decades of knowing about money, this is, I believe, the third design of the RM50 note. Why does it need to be redesigned so regularly? Update: Just found out it's the fourth series. So in 50 odd years of independence, we need four redesigns? Four?! How many times has the pound or the US dollar note changed in the last twenty years? Serious question. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

... hmm...

I actually meant to write about something else, and the new RM50 note slipped under some books caught my eye so I decided to drop in a line about how ugly it is. Instead, it turned into quite a major rant. And now I've forgotten what I was gonna write about in the first place.

Oh yes (switched between browser windows and saw what triggered my post).

The Dutch have this calendar called the verjaardagskalender (is that the right word??), which is a calendar they keep every year for birthdays. It has numbers and months, but no days, so it's useable every year. It was my first time seeing such a thing this year in Dutchland. In a way, I'm kinda impressed by the practicality, and on the other hand, sort of amazed that they can keep a calendar, the same design, every single year and not get bored of it.

In English/Malaysian culture, we have a yearly calendar. We buy a new one every year (or get given one by clients/printers/shops)... I probably diligently flip mine for 2 months then leave it for the rest of the year. Frankly, I have not much use for a calendar, as my iMac can show me everything with a click of the middle button on my Mighty Mouse.

So the only reason I'd get a calendar is because it looks really nice, is innovative, creative, has some awesome illustrations... you get my drift. Therefore, I couldn't ever get a verjaardagskalender that I'd be happy with. I'd pick one up and think, "This is really nice, maybe I should get it... but what if I get sick of it in a few months? It's kind of a waste to get something like this then...". And then I'd just put it down.

So... I guess what I'm saying is how impressed I am by Dutch practicality in having something like this. And their staying power (a very good thing for me hehe). And at the same time, I'm impressed, in a slightly less positive way, that they can live such a "boring" existence, in terms of seeing the same thing every single year, when they could have a new, fancy calendar instead. Guess practicality overcomes aesthetics when it comes to the Dutch?

Does any other culture have a verjaardagskalender?

Before the inburgering exam...

Well, well, things are moving along pretty quickly now. Just found out yesterday that, contrary to what the Dutch embassy told me (grrrrr!!), I don't just make an appointment to do the exam. They should really be more informative and tell me the whole process, or at least direct me to a website which will give me instructions. Isn't one of their functions being a foreign embassy to help citizens of both countries with matters concerning both??

Thankfully, me being paranoid and nervous about the inburgering exam, checked out websites to try and find out exactly what to expect and if anything has changed, seeing that the Naar Nederland package I have is freaking 4 years old. Found a page in Dutch from which Schrobbenmaster then informed me that I had to fill in an application form to register with the IND (Immigration in Netherlands) that I wanted to take the exam. They would then give details for bank transfer of the exam payment. After processing, they would inform me and I could then make an appointment with the embassy to take the inburgering exam.

Apparently all this takes 1 to 2 weeks, so finding this information yesterday was really timely as I want to do the exam in 2 weeks.

Now I feel really pressured with time because before I take the exam, I have loads of things to do! I have to renew my passport at the Immigration Department, get a certificate of "singledom" at the National Registration Department in Putrajaya, and hop on over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to legalise and certify it as a true copy.

Yep, I'm also curious as to why an official document from the NRD, which will have the government stamps and all, has to be legalised and certified yet again by the Foreign Ministry. Oh well. At least they're close by to each other, which is the whole point of Putrajaya, right? I'm about to test it's useability and IT HAD BETTER PROVE RIGHT.

On a more positive note, I took a mock exam last night and did pretty well on it. So I feel a little more confident about going for the real one.

(I'm getting really distracted from writing because I'm watching Friends at the same time, so I think I'm gonna sign off right now.)

Oh, and one more thing... goodputty::paperie has something new - and free - for Christmas.

Schrobbenmaster in Kampung Baru and MORE bad Engrish!

I woke up this morning with a dry mouth. Must be the Ruffles I was stuffing my face with last night. They're so yummy!

Because I've been waking up early every day for the past few days, I woke up at an irritatingly early 9.30am this morning. So I pulled on my eye mask and slept again till 12pm. Bliss! Strangely (or maybe not so strangely), in my dream I was decorating a shop which was in the middle of nowhere. Signs of Restaurant City creeping into my dreamworld as well?

Hmm... I also dreamt that my partner had found someone new, but then I started doing ballet all over this airport/shopping mall, and suddenly he realised that his new interest wasn't that great after all. It was a nice reunion. Heh. Straaaaaaange!

Anyway, speaking about partners, let's get back into the real world. Just found this solitary photo of Schrobbenmaster in Kampung Baru snapping photos, tourist-like. He looks really... Caucasian in here. Which is when I realised that, normally, when I look at him, I never think of him as that. Is that strange, you think? But I guess cuz he looks all touristy here, it reminded me that he indeed, is Caucasian.

And here are two last random photos from my Blog folder. Then I can delete it! And remove a little clutter from my desktop! Muahahahahaha.....

I love those striped pyjama pants of mine.

Anyway, this is a flyer for a cake shop. Those flyers are always mass-distributed on people's cars and mailboxes. I just thought it was funny they called a cake "Mocha Barbarian". I really wonder if they intended to write something else, but spelt it wrongly, just like my all-time favourite signboard which says "No Dumpling" instead of "No Dumping".

(Incidentally, in the flyer, Doraemon is spelt wrongly, and so is Raspberry.)

Among the other bad English printed on this box, check out the white words at the bottom. If you can't read:

The Cartoon Shape, Interesting Function! Let we the together small animal studies music together, feel a happiness together.

I just love spotting really bad English. Perhaps someone should learn how to use Google Translate. Or perhaps they should improve the translation system on Google for Chinese and Japanese languages.

The senseless way to get into The Netherlands

In the inburgering exam I have to take in order to get my temporary residence permit in The Netherlands, there is a section called 'nazeggen', which means 'repeat sentences'.

It is an absolutely pointless test to see if you should enter the country or not. This exam is for absolute beginner's level Dutch. If they want to test our level of Dutch, the more sensible sections include answering questions and hearing a short story then seeing how much you can retell after hearing it.

But to repeat precisely Dutch sentences??

You wonder why I'm complaining?

The sort of sentences they give are expressions like (in Dutch) "It is so warm that the birds are falling off the roof" or randoms like, "It is my fault that I like gardening more than you do".

Daymn!!

How can a beginner level hear and catch each of those words spoken quickly, much less remember them? They range from 5 to 11 words in one sentence.

Would make much more sense, if they really wanted to ask us to repeat sentences, to ask us to repeat sentences that we should know at our level. Sentences like, "Can you tell me the time?" or "Which platform does this train leave from?".

Again, I say, how the heck are we expected to be able to repeat precisely random sentences that a sour, lonely woman sitting behind a desk makes up in her head?

IND Nederland! Come on, please, if you have to force everyone to sit for an entry exam, at least make it sensible!

Obstacle course in Seremban

First off, let's start with a really adorable picture of my dogs.

Now that's over with...

Several months ago, I took part in an obstacle course in Seremban. I've always wanted to do obstacle courses cuz I love a mental + physical challenge now and then.

Royal Yelly and I partnered each other in this. This particular course was high up in the trees, not one of those crawling under obstacles and stuff you see on TV. There always has to be one person on the ground, watching, encouraging and reminding their partner what to do. I guess when you're up there you tend to forget simple guidelines like looking straight ahead, or putting your hands in certain positions for optimum balance.

That's Royal Yelly on the right carefully switching the big clips that hold us safely to the wire should we slip and fall. There is also a way to clip them up so they don't get twisted and accidentally open.

This section was the SCARIEST of them all. Looking up, I wondered why everyone took ages to cross this, but once I was up there... oh boy... the ropes hanging down with the tyres are actually the ONLY thing that you hold on to while trying to walk across on that single line of rope. And the tyres are actually not that close to your body. Shit, I was hanging on to my dear life on this section. The others were a breeze, but this was the real challenge.

That's me at the end of that horrible horrible section.

This is the last section which was fairly easy until the end when it wasn't as tight and it started swaying.

This is to show how high we are.

I just found it funny that we have such an association with a shopfront announcing it like that. So old school.

Tired now, can't end this post in a nice and humourous way.

Languages, frachely's visit, and I'm back at Barsonic!

Well, hello after a long time!

Been having pretty busy days for the past week or so. I don't like being busy! But that's life.

To start from the most recent happenings, frachely was in KL over the weekend staying at my abode. After Dutch on Saturday, I picked her up from Corus Hotel in town, followed a Google map screenshot I saved onto my iPod (so organised and high-tech huh) and arrived safely at Sookie's house to collect money from her grandmother.

Ooh, that sounded wrong.

... to collect payment for some work I did for Sookie's company.

Yeah, that sounds less gangster-y.

I also had to attempt to speak Cantonese to this sweet little old lady and it felt so funny. I was using really basic words but I think my accent and intonation went alright. Albeit a little Western but still better than a (typical) Westerner's attempt.

I remember last week at Canton-i, I asked the waiter in Cantonese for the WiFi password (which I had to rehearse in my head beforehand), and he pointed at the menu and said it's "Canton i", I wanted to ask him if it was with the dash/hyphen. So, in my head I was thinking "Speak in a foreign language!" and I really almost said, "Met de dash?"

Okay, so "dash" in English might not be "dash" in Dutch, but I'm sure most Dutch people would've understood me, especially when seeing me point at the dash in the name.

By the way, silly waiter, the password is "dragon-i" not "canton-i"! Wasted so much of my time trying it and failing until I had to ask the captain instead.

But anyway, I digress. After collecting my money, we drove to Bangsar where we had lunch at Delicious. I had the Duck Confit Spaghettini which was full of olive oil and really nice. The hot mocha is also good. Very thick, but better than diluted.

Then a walk up the road to Moca, Mooie and Tea & Sympathy. My three favourite places to shop at. I'm losing hope in Mooie though, because everything there is way too "young" for me. Or too Hong Kong.

Home to rest, and for dinner I made my famous Chicken Basil. Except without the basil. So we renamed it the Chicken, Peppers & Coconut Milk Delight. And the use of the word "Delight" is just to poke fun at Chinese restaurants' naming of dishes with "Delight", "Special", etc, when it really isn't anything special at all. And it probably just means they don't wanna write what's in the dish.

After dinner we changed and got ready for Lapsap at Barsonic (woohoo!). We arrived quite late and missed the guestlist by a measly 12 minutes. Stupid people at the door. Come on, it's just 12 minutes... if it was half an hour, I would understand. But don't you also go above the speed limit by more than 12 km/h AT LEAST??? I'll give you my whole wardrobe of (stylish) clothes if you can prove you don't. Pffft.

Lapsap was awesome by the way. Halfway through there was this white dude who started playing. He was alright for a few minutes but after some time it was really monotonous and almost boring! You can't compensate by turning the volume up and blowing cold ice air into the crowd! Thankfully, Lapsap took over after that and wow, the energy was just explosive from then on.

Okay... I only just wrote about one day and I'm already feeling exhausted. Here ends my blog post on this cool, rainy Monday.