Everyone is wearing a Tissot

Among my colleagues, I have become the guy they should consult before buying any electronic product. Not sure whether I can call myself an opinion leader but I guess I am. Now, it seems that I am also becoming their fashion accessories consultant. That's so wrong because I am definitely not gay nor a metrosexual. I am just a normal old-fashioned type of guy.

Last year my wife gave me a Tissot PR 50 watch as our anniversary present - the gents version of the one she has. "Matching! Matching!" in her words. Reminds me that our anniversary is coming up soon – in fact it falls next month.

Anyway, one of my friends was looking for a new watch to replace his old one and asked my opinion regarding various brands in the market. Of course, I recommended Tissot.

Why?

1. It's a Swiss watch.
2. It's a brand with a long and proud heritage. The brand celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1853 and is now part of the Swatch group, the biggest watch company in the World.
3. It's one of the classy yet among the most affordable brands.

If you have seen Mr and Mrs Smith, the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt adventure flick, you might not have realised it but both of them are wearing Tissot T-Touch watches.

Actually, this is not the first time Jolie has worked with the Swiss brand. She also wore the Tissot’s T-Touch in the movie: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life.

My dream watch, the T-Touch offers 8 separate functions including an Altimeter, Chronograph, Compass, Alarm, Thermometer, Barometer as well as Date and Time. You may say, "So what? Even my Casio has all of those features?" Ah! That is where the similarity with the Tissot T-Touch ends. Pressing on the crown and then touching the touch-sensitive screen activates the functions.

Anyway, coming back to my story. One fine day, I noticed that my friend had bought a new watch - one exactly like mine. Yes, it’s a Tissot watch. According to him, "it was the best looking affordable model in the watch shop".

Yah right! What happened to all the Seikos, Citizens, Swatches, CKs, etc, etc.? However, unlike, ladies who would die if they were caught wearing the same clothes or fashion accessories, guys don't have that problem. So I have no problem with my friend wearing the same watch. Show's that we have similar good taste.

NOTE: I was not paid by Tissot to write this post.

Long Live Blogger and my blog

Someone told me that it was about time that I got myself a proper domain name for my blog and move away from Blogspot and Blogger. According to him, getting a dot com or dot net or dot whatever for your blog and hosting it somewhere, means that you take blogging seriously, in other words, have taken "the big step forward."

To illustrate his point, he pointed out that all famous Malaysian bloggers including Kenny, Minishorts, Peter Tan, had unique domain names for their blogs.

However, I beg to disagree.

First of all, I do take blogging seriously.

I already own a few domain names and I don't think getting one for my blog is a good idea. You have to pay for the domain names and the hosting, annually, biannually or whatever annually depending on your choice. Unlike some people, I am surving on a paltry government employee salary.

On the other hand, hosting on Blogger is totally free and comes with great features. It is also owned by Google, which I don't think is going to go out of business soon. As Google grows, so will Blogger. For example, we can now add Google adsense ads to our blog straightaway.

I also don't have the time or the patience to mess around with Wordpress or Movable Type or some other blog software. I am not an IT guy and don't like to trouble people to help me with the template codes, blah, blah or deal with some customer service guy in the hosting company who treats you like an idiot because you don't know how the codes work.

I prefer the Blogger templates, ready made, which I can tweak a little from time to time.

If I have any problem, I am sure I can contact any of the guys in Blogger to help me out. It's a proven fact: they helped famous Singapore blogger Wendy put her blog up after it was hacked??? And as you may realise, it is hosted with Blogger too.

Not all famous Malaysian bloggers have a dot com or dot net or dot whatever. Actually, I think Lucia pointed that out sometimes back. I can name several famous Malaysian blogs hosted on Blogger:
Afdlin Shauki, Yasmin Ahmad, Sultan Muzaffar and of course Lim Kiat Siang

And talking about unique domain names, I assure you guys that there is only one blog with the url http://ok-lah.blogspot.com in the Whole World Wide Web.

Renewing Maid's Visa I

Two weeks back we received a letter from the Immigration office stating that our maid's visa was due to expire in December.

Most leave it up to the agents to do it for them but you can save a lot of money by doing it youself. However, you can end up wasting a lot of time, if you don't know what is required and unfortunately I couldn't find any information on the net telling us what to do.I am sure a lot of people out there would be interested in knowing how to go about the whole process.

1. Renewing Registration with FOMEMA

FOMEMA Sdn. Bhd. is the foreign worker's medical examination monitoring agency in Malaysia. It is now a subsidiary of Pantai Holdings Bhd. The office address is given below:

FOMEMA SDN BHD
Lot G1-G10, Level 3, Block G (Central), Pusat Bandar Damansara,
Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.
General Tel. No. :03-20946188

In order to renew the registration with Fomema, follow the steps given below.

i) First of all get photocopies of the front page of the passport as well as the work permit.

The maid need not make the trip to their office with you. Also no photographs are required for renewal of maids already registered with Fomema.

ii) Make out a bank draft for RM190/ (RM180 if a guy) to FOMEMA Sdn. Bhd.

iii) Check for the nearest medical clinic in your locality listed on the notice boards (preferably choose one with their own X-ray facilities to avoid making two trips. The list of clinics is not listed on their website.

Make sure you choose one most convenient as changing it later can cost you another RM20. Remember to write it down on a piece of paper as you have to fill it in the application form.

iv) Get your number in the queue from the lady at the enquiry counter, fill up the application form and wait for them to call your number.

This Friday, I went to their office at Pusat Bandar Damansara, followed steps i) to iv). However as they say, the best-laid plans can go astray. There was quite a number of people already there. My number in the queue was 1118 while the present number was 1080 (38 people to go). There were six counters but I soon realised that only counters 1 and 2 were handling renewals and I expected a wait of about an hour...

After an hour they were still going at a snails pace and there were about 20 people to go before my number was called. I went down to get a drink and buy newspapers. Came back up again, read and reread the Star twice from cover to cover.

I also missed my Friday prayers at the mosque - was a little guilty about it but didn't want to make the trip again. I excused myself saying that I was a musafir - a traveler and would make up for it with Zohor prayers later in the house.

When my turn finally came, more than two and half hours later, I was really mad but was calm on the surface. I mentioned it casually to the lady at the counter and she apologised saying that the system was a bit slow that day. A BIT! Between the two of these ladies, they had taken two and half hours to process the applications of 32 people (5 people didn’t turn up when their number was called). That’s almost 10 minutes per person. They better do something about their stupid system or open up more counters.

However, it took them only five minutes to print out my stuff, and I was really relieved when they called my name to pick up the documents from the counter.

2. Going to the clinic

The clinic I choose was in PJ State, about 10 mintues from my wife's house. Rushed there with the maid because they closed at 12 pm on Saturdays.

It took them only about half an hour to complete the entire procedure - medical checkup, blood samples and x-ray. I love professional and efficient organisations.

Now have to wait for at least 10 days before we can get the results. And then finally renew the Visa.

Majlis Bertunang

Last Saturday I drove down to Johor Baru with my wife and Rahil in tow. This was my first trip to Johor Baru but I would not have missed it for anything.

We were there for a very important event - Hardy and Zaza's engagement ceremony - two of our dearest friends. We were also looking forward to meeting Zaza's parents.

For those who not aware of Malay culture and customs, the Majlis Bertunang (engagement ceremony) is an elaborate affair seeped in tradition.

Traditionally, the man's relatives and close friends will usually go to the girl's house (without the guy) and a designated representative will ask for the hand of the girl on behalf of the guy's family.

On the girl's side, they will have their own representative, which will negotiate (I don't know whether this is the right word) with his counterpart on the guy's side.

They will take turns in speaking, usually using poetic and flowery language beginning with the introductions.

Not so common now, sometimes these representatives would spar verbally (in a friendly manner) with poetry (called Pantun in Malay).

This is not easy considering that you would have to immediately come up with a short Pantun, which has to make sense and has to rhyme as well. I guess, in the olden days if you wanted to get married, you would need a really witty person who was good with words to be your representative. I later learnt that the guy representing Zaza was really good with coming up with 'Pantun' but he decided to let us go with only one which he used in closing.

I find it interesting that a simple sentence like: "We have come to ask the hand of your daughter in marriage" would be worded as "we have come to pluck the beautiful flower from your garden" In Malay.

And if the family had more than one daughter, they would reply in Malay : "We have a few (in this case 2) flowers in our garden. Which one would you be referring to?"

This goes on for a while until they clarify which daughter the party is referring to, sometimes the ‘Hantaran’ (dowry) amount and date of marriage is fixed.

Another important part of the 'bertunang' ceremony are the gifts (on trays) which are exchanged between the two families. The girls' family will usually give 2 trays more than the guy's side. The gifts vary but there are 2 important gifts which are compulsary. One is the engagement ring and another is a tray holding folded sirih (betel) leaves, pinang (betel nut) and kapur (lime) placed together in a container called 'tepak sirih'. All of this is part of the Malay 'Adat' or tradition.

Anyway, coming back to Hardy's and Zaza's engagement, we were relieved that everything went OK. Even then, Hardy being the perfectionist he is, was a bit worried with some minor details. My advice: Don't worry! Now plan for the wedding.

Zaza, it was really nice finally meeting up with your parents. They are indeed wonderful people.

A memorable trip indeed.

7 things meme

Oh no! Not another meme.

I was tagged by Lucia. I found this particular meme quite interesting because I often ask myself these questions and leave it at that. Answering these questions made me think about my priorities.

So here is the 7 x 5 meme:

A) 7 things I plan to do before I die.
1. Go on the Haj at least once.
2. Visit as many foreign countries as I can.
3. Make a name for myself (not in the negative way).
4. Draw my family tree (at least 20 generations before).
5. Get a scuba diving certificate.
6. Buy a nice house with a big garden.
7. Set up some charitable trusts.

B) 7 things I could do.
1. Be more charitable
2. Write a book
3. Apply for a PhD scholarship
4. Earn more money
5. Save more money
6. Spend more time with my wife
7. Spend more time with my daughter

C) 7 celebrity crushes.
Like Lucia, I actually can't recall the last time I had one. Maybe when I was a teenager. And as I wrote in my profile "I am not a teenager any more".

D) 7 often repeated words.
1. Oh oh! (When something goes wrong)
2. Shit! (When angry with someone or something)
3. Allahu akhbar (God is great)
4. OK (when emphasising a point).
5. And.... (when I am pausing between sentences)
I can't recall others.

E) 7 physical traits i look for in the opposite sex.
Nice friendly smile and 6 other physical traits of my wife ;-) (An opportunity to score some points with my wife).

Tagging anybody who feels like answering the questions.

I Hate Corruption

"Corruption - defined as 'the abuse of public power for personal ends' - has always existed. During recent decades, however, it has grown both in terms of geographic extent and intensity. Since the mid 1970s, it has infiltrated virtually every country in the world." - Euforic.org

A recent survey (I forgot the source) noted that many youngsters in Malaysia were willing to take and give bribes.

Initially the term “corruption” was a taboo subject in international development circles. This was broken when James D. Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank (1995-2005) gave his groundbreaking "cancer of corruption" speech to the World Bank/IMF annual meeting in 1996. He cited corruption as a major burden for the poor in developing countries. - World Bank

I hate corruption in any form. It is unethical, haram, disgusting, (you can add more here...).

Why do I think so? Well, corruption:

1. Increases the cost of doing business
2. Puts more pressure on poor people
4. Deters foreign investment
5. Delays/ distorts justice
6. Inefficient, ineffective, unsuitable people are chosen over others more deserving.

I am sure you all can come up with more...

Look at the following cases and decide whether these are forms of corruption:
(Imagine that you are the customer/ decision maker)

1. Company representative offers you a RM10,000 cut if your organisation decides to buy the computers from them.
2. Company representative offers you a laptop/ latest mobile phone/ palm top if your organisation decides to buy the computers from them.
3. Company representative requests you to join them for some drinks at this great Karaoke club (GROs to give you company. Hint! Hint!) during the evening.
4. Company sends you a gift hamper during Hari Raya/ Chinese new year/ Diwali.

On the other hand, you did not take any money/gifts during the selection process and selected the candidates purely out of merit.

To show their gratitude, the lucky successful candidates arrive at your home / office bearing gifts. Is it OK to accept the gifts?

BTW, I am really sad to learn that Malaysia’s World ranking in competitiveness and efficiency fell from 16th to the 28th place last year, based on the report by the World Competitiveness Center, International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Letter to Malaysian Government Officials

Writing a letter to a Malaysian government official or even a Minister?

Most of us absolutely have no idea how to go about it and we were no exception. However, over the years, I have gained some experience in this matter. Hope that you don't make the same mistake we made.

Here are some guidelines according to government officers, some retired and others still serving Minister's offices at Putrajaya.

1. Make the letter short.

Usually not more than 3 paragraphs and on one page. Remember these are busy people who have no time to go through 3 - 4 pages.

We made this mistake.

2. Write in Bahasa Malaysia.

Letters in English are not entertained.

Made this mistake once.

3. Verify that you are addressing the right person.

Discovered that 2 officials we once wrote to had been transferred to another department.

4. Get recommendation letter/s whenever possible.

Helps in getting the letter through. The most valuable one is from the Prime Minister himself (tell me if yuo know him personally). We really need his help.

5. Preferrably, hand deliver the letter.

If you send by post, there is no gurantee that they may reach the intended receipient. So drive down to Putrajaya and get there before office hours.

6. Follow up

This is to ensure that your letter went through and not put in KIV or have been thrown into the rubbih bin.

BTW, we finally see some light at the end of the tunnel or is that another lamp.

2 Years Blogging

My blog 'Ah OK Lah' turns 2 tomorrow. It has come a long way since my first post on Monday, September 8, 2003.

During this period I have made a lot of new friends most of whom I have never met, from various countries around the World.

My wife still thinks that blogging is a waste of precious time that could have been utilized for other more important things. I have tried to explain how blogging gives me a sense of satisfaction that can't be described but I guess she still remains unconvinced. However, I know that she reads each and every post I make and she is one of my biggest critics.

Though I haven’t reached even half the celebrity status or popularity of other more famous Malaysian/ Malaysia based bloggers like Kenny Sia, I have a small group of visitors who drop by my blog regularly. It is actually their comments and suggestions that actually drive me to blog.

Thanks guys and hope you come back again and again.

Belated Blogday Post

Blogday fell on the 31st of August, 2005, which was also Malaysia's Independence Day. I was in KL and posted up the Blogday message from there and forgot all about it.

It was only today that I suddenly realised that the post was missing. I am not sure what went wrong - maybe I forgot to hit the 'Publish Post' button or something.

Anyway here is the belated Blogday post again.

According to the BlogDay posting instructions, we were supposed to:
1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2005
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag using this link: http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2005 and a link to the BlogDay web site at http://www.blogday.org

Well as I think it's too late I am only going to follow the rules partly:

So here are the blogs. All of them are personal blogs, but all of them write quite serious stuff from time to time. There's only three. I got bored with the others - mostly teenagers.

1. The Surging Waves

Blog Owner: Avik
Location: Kolkata, India

This guy usually has some short interesting posts, which are thought provoking. In one year he has changed his blog 3 times. By change I don't mean templates. He has started and completely deleted and restarted his blog - 3 times with a new blog name every time. I hope he doesn't change it again.

2. Words of a Broken Mirror

Blog Owner: Kayla Vincent
Location: Bucharest, Romania

She describes herself as: "Always changing and yet the same. Somewhat like a ghost: those who believe in me, cannot see me and those who see me do not believe I actually exist".

It is not everyday that you come across a blogger from Romania who blogs in English. I got to her blog from Avik's. You can also check out the nice pics on her Photo blog: Views of a Broken Mirror

3. Charleston Jenerator
Owner: Jen
Location: Charleston, South Carolina, United States

She has this to say about herself: "I am a navy brat workaholic who has lived in Charleston nearly all my life. I work 40 hrs. a week at a car dealership and a few minimal hours at a local restaurant. I am a data analyst by day and an assistant night manager at night making sure the food's hot on the weekends".

She writes about her life in Charleston and brings up some interesting issues. I find that we share some common issues despite the distance between countries, cultures, etc. One of her recent topics was on teenage pregnancies, an issue often swept under the rug here.

Happy Belated Blogday.

View From Our Apartment 2

Some more pictures from our apartment at Flora Damansara.



For more pictures click here.

Related Posts:

View from out apartment 1

View From Our Appartment 1

View from our new apartment in Flora Damansara.