Tag: Life

Crocs Malaysia Warehouse Sale

I have always been a fan of Crocs shoes because of their lightness, durability and the airy design. As someone who suffers from athlete’s foot since the teen years, airy means better air circulation and dryer feet.

Back in 2009 or 2010 we went to a Crocs warehouse sale in Ikano Power Center in Damansara. It was held in an empty unit next to the IT hypermarket at the top floor. We bought 5 pairs – two for myself and three for my son.

I bought myself an Olive Baya, and a Black Trailbreak.

For my son we bought him a Green Baya, a Batman Cayman and a Crocs Electro.

For other models than the Baya, links are from other websites as they no longer exist on the official website. Maybe they have been taken off production or something.

The purpose of this post is to make sure that if there is any more warehouse sale in the future, and if you’re going, you better thoroughly check the shoes you’re buying.

A few days back, my son was having trouble to put on the Crocs Electro on his left foot. That was weird, and at first I had a silly thought that his left foot has grown more than his right foot. I was surprised to see that the shoes, although marked with the same size, had the left one smaller than the other.

I don’t know how this happened but I’m not happy. Lucky for us we realize this before his feet were bruised more. It is not my intention to accuse anything at anyone but I have to admit that I am disappointed. Knowing Malaysia, we can’t return the shoes especially since it was bought in a warehouse sale. Heck, we can’t even return them if we buy them at retail price.

And of course, living in Malaysia I’m not excluding the possibilities of foul play. It’s how most businesses make maximum profit anyway…

You can see more pictures in the full post.

Continue reading Crocs Malaysia Warehouse Sale

Some Tips For Fresh Grads

I had to go through quite a significant number of resumes the other day, and here are some tips for fresh graduates out there.

  1. Try to make your resume short. 2-3 pages is just nice, 4 is too many. Skip that section listing your primary school results and hobbies. What good does it make if your hobby is “playing video games”? Unless of course, you’re applying for a Game Developer position.
  2. Employers take an average of 30 seconds to scan through your resume, make sure yours stands out. Put in more bulleted sections and use bold words wisely.
  3. Use professional looking email addresses. Consider something using your own name. Something like [email protected] is nice. Also, it’s understandable that popular names are hard to get so you can try putting numbers in the end. It can be your birth year, current year, or just some random number you like for example [email protected]
    Avoid these examples:

    • [email protected]: too long and hard to read
    • [email protected]: employers are still unsure you can do a good job even if you’re cool. Unless of course you’re applying for a showbiz position
    • mohd.ali@sexmagnet.com: an actual domain offered by a popular mail forwarding service. A big no-no. You get the idea.
    • [email protected]: is a freakishly long email address, even if it’s your full name
  4. The BEST thing to do is create an email address specific for job hunting. Emails are searchable, and employers might find some activity they don’t like from forums or other public sites
  5. Protect your Facebook page and any other social tools you own. Employers do scour these you know. If you’re sure you have not done anything naughty, it’s fine.
  6. In your cover letter, do not demand for an answer. Instead of “I hope to be called for an interview as soon as possible” try “I hope to be called for an interview to explain my credentials further“
  7. When someone has already emailed you to ask for your complete resume, do not use “TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN” in your reply email. It’s rude. Use the person’s name be it an HR person or a Technical Manager. Also, do not send an email with empty body and only attach a resume in it.
  8. Be firm with your answers. Do not use “maybe”, “I think so”, “Errr…”, or “Can you call back later? I am busy with something”. However if you’re driving you should tell the person calling you and ask for a callback. You are no use to any employer if you’re dead.
  9. If you have bad hand writing just like mine, try your best to write each letter at a time. It’s super easy to confuse an “i” with an “l” or and “l” with a “1” or an “S” with a “5”. When emails get bounced, do you think the employer will try again? Maybe yes, maybe not. Why take chances?
  10. Talk clearly. Even if you were sleeping, once you realize that you are receiving a call from an employer you should wake up and clear your throat. If you’re in somewhere noisy, consider getting away from the noise source if possible.
  11. If you really have to include a salary expectation (not recommended for fresh grads), do not put in a range. Put a maximum expectation and discuss with the employer once a real offer is on the table. 2500-5000 does not make any sense as the range is too wide.
  12. Last but not least, research the company and the position you’re applying for. Get as much information as humanly possible. If you ask “What position am I applying for?” it shows that you’re desperate for a job and are not applying based on your interest in the position. It is okay however, to ask more information about the company.

In summary, when contacted take it as a big opportunity even if you are not a fresh graduate. These days one job opening may have hundreds of applicants, so a simple mistake that annoys employer can mean that your resume and cover letter end up in the shredder. It’s that easy to be disqualified, really.

Always remember that the employer representative communicating with you is a human. That’s the most important thing of all.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

Malaysian Twitter & Facebook Users Makes Fun of Rais Yatim

You can consider this as an honest and sincere opinion from me, as a Malaysian and a heavy Internet user. Maybe, if Rais reads this it will be much fun.

It’s all because of this news article: Malaysians advised against being immersed in Facebook, Twitter.

In twitter, the tag #yorais has been spreading like mad. The tweets are hysterically funny but too insensitive so I don’t think I should include them here.

In my own opinion, Rais should have not linked any of the online services with religion. In short, he should not have assumed when he has no idea himself.

From the text: “He chided some Malaysians who belittled those who were no savvy of the Facebook and Twitter culture.” it looks like Rais is offended by some people who might have said he’s left behind in technology. What I think he should do, is learn instead of condemning technology.

Admit it, everything has its own disadvantages and advantages. It’s not Facebook that Rais should condemn – it should be the users or more specific Malaysians. There exists fanatics and extremist in every single thing in this world and Facebook is not excluded.

It’s unfair to condemn services just because they were created by Westerners. Blame the users.

Facebook and Twitter has helped a lot of users even Malaysian to publicize their businesses and meet old friends, just to name a few. If you use something correctly it’ll be good, and vice versa.

As a matter of fact I just saw one of my respected businessman being bombarded with bad comments in a fan page named “I hate XXX” just because he made a bad comment about another related profession. Not cool.

I wish that Malaysian ministers would learn more instead of following the traditional way of thinking and assuming – what we all do in our beloved country. Don’t you?

The Star even published the outcome of Rais’ statement: Rais comment has Net users boiling, creates global sensation

rais-facebook-twitter

Big Bad Thursday

I spent 6.5 hours from 9.00AM to 3.30PM at Puchong Naza Kia service center, wasting time because I didn’t realize they have free wifi.

As planned, we rushed to the Big Bad Wolf book sales at Amcorp Mall. The traffic was moderate, but Amcorp Mall was packed with people. Arriving at the outdoor parking space we can already see people carrying boxes and plastic bags sporting the Big Bad Wolf logo. When we reached the 3rd floor we were relieved to see that there are still pile of books ready to be taken away.

It wasn’t easy to go through the crowd, and it was even more difficult after office hours that day as there were an even bigger crowd. We managed to go for lunch after the first session, and came back for the 2nd session.

big-bad-wolf-1st-day

Here are the results of the first visit. 41 books altogether, plus one for a friend. I only got myself 3 technical books which are dirt cheap at RM15 each compared to the shelf prices that may reach more than a hundred ringgit. And I don’t have any favorite author either. The last fiction I read was the 4 books from Dan Brown and I am waiting for the paperback version of The Lost Symbol to be published. It’s just too tiring to stay there too long. I am getting old.

big-bad-books

The interesting thing is that when we return home to look at the website at http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com the site was suspended because it went out of resources. Too many visitors perhaps? It was back up on Friday, though.

Things didn’t change the second day when we went there with a niece, except for there are less management books available. We didn’t see any change for the children books either. They have added more technical books, but most are references for outdated technologies.

I didn’t get any books for the second visit but my better half and niece found theirs.

big-bad-wolf-2nd-day

big-bad-wolf-2nd-day-niece

Estimated off the shelf price for both days: RM2000

Spent: less than RM500

This does look like reckless spending if you don’t read, but for book lovers this is the best you can get. They don’t get any cheaper than this.

The sales continues until 2nd December at Amcorp Mall. Although they say that they unbox new boxes everyday I am not sure what is available at the days approaching the end. Look for them in Facebook. I hope there will be more books for me the next time they organize the sale.

Italiannies Sunway Pyramid

This is an overdue post that I wanted to write right after I came back from there on Tuesday, but I couldn’t.

That day, I went back home earlier than usual as my other half was craving for pasta. Pizza Hut and Kenny Rogers pasta were also candidates but we like the Carbonara at Italiannies best because of the full flavor. It was our second time at Italiannies Sunway Pyramid, as the first was on Father’s day where I enjoyed a free Grilled Salmon Oreganata (that is a RM44++ meal gratis). I like the branch in Sunway Pyramid better than the one in The Curve as the restaurant is bigger, the air conditioning is a lot cooler, and the environment is much calmer. Plus, the service in Sunway Pyramid is superb.

If you have been following my posts, you will know that I am easily annoyed with bad service. I was annoyed at first with the weird, hard to understand accent but it faded away when they gave their best service. The first time I went there they helped me carry the stroller up the stairs (we used the wrong entrance by the pub to the smoking level). This time, they brought a pillow for my kid’s back support when they saw that I had to use one of my hand to support the kid’s back on the considerably large high chair. They paid good attention and gave help without the need to be asked. I felt so grateful I almost shed some tears but fortunately I didn’t.

If tipping is practiced in Malaysia those two servers would get a fat tip from me. Well I would still tip them if I feel like I have money to spare but not right now. Maybe some day, hopefully soon.

Italiannies in Sunway Pyramid consists of two levels – the lower level is the smoking level and there is an entrance near the pub (I can’t remember the name). If you’re coming from inside the mall, the entrance is at the back of TGI Friday’s. Yes, you have to enter TGI Friday’s, go left and straight to the back where there is a door waiting for you. I personally prefer this entrance.

I will go there again, to try the Sicilian Pizza. I ended up having the salmon again since they were out of ingredients for the pizza (it was quite late in the evening).

So what about you, do you like Italiannies and what can you recommend to have there?

Allianz Auto Assist

My car refused to start on Sunday, and as a car dummy I didn’t expect it was the battery. I thought the maintenance-free dry cell would last longer than acid lead batteries. That incident caused me to miss a friend’s wedding, but I am happy to see the pictures posted in many other blogs as well as in Facebook. I wish them a lifetime of happiness.

Back to the car problem, I tried to contact some of the workshops nearby home but to no avail. So since I have just installed the new car road tax and the Allianz Auto Assist sticker on my wind screen I decided to try calling them. 1-800-889-233

A female picked up the phone and asked me whether I have tried jump starting. Of course not because I didn’t expect it was the battery. Plus, it was Sunday and nobody was around. In 10 minutes Allianz called me back and told me that they are sending people. In another 10 minutes I received a call from the person responding to the case. And for every 10 to 15 minutes after that Allianz called me to ask for progress. It was a nice gesture. Although I had to wait for the auto assist van to arrive for 1 hour (nearby agents had other cases so they had to come from PJ), it was overall a nice experience with Allianz.

The battery was changed, and I went out with my family not to the wedding as it has ended by then but just to get out.

Kudos to them for providing a great service. I will stay with Allianz as long as I can. Anyone else have good experience with their car general insurance provider? Share them!

Queue Jumpers Beware

If I were to make a separate website dedicated to share pictures of queue jumpers, would anyone be interested in joining in? It can be worldwide as queue jumper is not a rare breed.

Queue jumpers deserve to be shot, and if I have the power like Sylar I would have thrown the truck upside down or to the road side while making sure the driver (and passengers) escape unhurt. That should be a good lesson. They are the most inconsiderate people on the road.

Here’s one driving the green truck:

asshole-driver

Too bad my K750 camera was too slow to capture this image and I can’t see the registration numbers. Maybe next time I will always have my DLSR and a fast lense by my side. The other day there were two queue jumpers at the same location so I had the idea to get ready with my camera phone but it looks like I need a new plan.

Get Your Pipes Fixed

The overflow pipe at my home has been running since the end of January but I was too busy to either call a plumber or look at it myself. I was surprised with a RM50 water bill this month when the usual bill is around RM3. So I decided to climb up the “attic” to take a look at the water tank. It was difficult since my arms are now too weak for the heavy body. Painful, but I got there. A sign that I need to exercise. The buoy was immersed more than 1 feet under the surface because water won’t stop flowing in from the main intake pipe.

water-tank

The pin was rusty and causes the arm to stop pushing upward. So I decided to clean the pin and loosen the arm to make sure it will do what it is supposed to do. It’s still working well now, and I hope it stays that way until I can move into the new house!

The Power of Assumption

When it comes to personal life, “assume” or “assumption” is the ugliest word. My good friend Ijoy has written about assumptions in his blog, most probably after someone assumed something that is not true about him.

WARNING: This is a partialy emotion driven post and should only be read by the open minded. Continue at your own risk.

Continue reading The Power of Assumption

One Bun To Rule Them All

I went out to Subang Parade on Sunday and passed by a Rotiboy outlet. This board was placed up front:

rotiboy-one-bun-to-rule-them-all

It was interesting, funny, and scary at the same time.

It’s funny and interesting to know that whoever designed the board is a LOTR fan because that is not even a tag line (I can’t find it on the website).

It’s scary to think that there is some kind of mind control substance in the buns, and them all refers to consumers! Who knows one day with a simple radio switch, the franchisers will turn us to zombies.

Of course, I am kidding. People are particularly testy these days I don’t want a lawsuit against me!

Economy Crisis Hits Malaysia

For the last couple of months I realized that the world economy is heading downwards. Europe and America have had their worst moments, Asia had a taste but Malaysia didn’t really feel anything. To be really honest the first sign I saw was last week when they announced that around 100K people in the manufacturing industry was going to lose their jobs. Maybe I was ignorant enough that I didn’t realize of other related events happening in this country.

Even when that happened, it still has not touched my comfort level. Although I am working in an American company I trust the brand and the business nature enough. I was living my dreams, praying that nothing bad would ever happen.

On Wednesday the morning peace in my office was broken by a rumor that a team is going to be closed and the product they maintain is going to be discontinued. And to think that this was the team I tried to penetrate back in 2007 I was selfish enough to think that I am lucky that I didn’t really join them. At least 6 people left the building in disbelief (exaggeration). Of course they get some kind of compensation but I am not going to talk about it here.

The main reason that made this event scary and were able to shake my comfort wall (not only me!) is the fact that there was no sign, no hint, nothing. It was a sudden move. I have not had the chance to talk to one of them yet but I think they was not warned. Were they?

There is no secure place except if you work with a Government Linked Companies or are a Public Servant. I would like to hear from these people, whether or not they worry about their jobs?

Good luck ex-TRAK I hope you will find better Ruby jobs! We will certainly miss you.

The US Boycott Dilemma

Since Israel started to attack Gaza many parts of the world has started to organize events such as demonstration and peaceful gatherings to voice out against Israel actions, and as usual the ally – United States of America. WARNING: The fact that I am currently serving an American company might cause me to be biased and clouds my judgment.

The biggest countrywide boycott was launched against 3 major brands: Colgate (toothpaste), Coca-Cola (carbonated beverage), and Starbucks (coffee chain).

To be really honest, the first thing that crossed my mind was that whether boycotting these brands (and other brands of US origin) will be beneficial towards the objective. And my first concern was that what will happen to Malaysians who are working for these giants. Since the topic here is related directly to Islam, I am wondering how many brothers and sisters of Islam would be suffering from the loss of job that may be caused by the boycott activity. Would the effect of the boycott to the US is significant enough for us to jeopardize the life of those people we call brothers and sisters?

Don’t answer that! I don’t want to know what you think — I was just thinking aloud and asking myself.

Not surprising to me, the list is long. Major popular brands (for the mass public not only the rich and famous) in Malaysia includes KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Huggies, Maggi, Nestle, IBM, Nokia, The Sun and countless others. And I am not even sure whether sales drop in Malaysia will have any effect for those in the States — maybe they are only collecting license fees, who knows?

If any of them are only collecting license fees and the licensee in Malaysia is not doing well I don’t reckon they will give any kind of discount to the failing company. Will they go bankrupt? Fat chance. Will the license holder in Malaysia go bankrupt? Probably. How many jobs will be affected? Plenty.

I am not saying whether the boycott is correct or wrong — I am simply saying my concern for others and one day maybe myself.

The American government is doing something we don’t like, do we punish the people? Some Americans are against the US Army invasion in Iraq and the US-Israel alliance.

One thing I am sure about, I have already been boycotting Fotopages for a couple of years now. Fotopages is owned by an Israeli company called Pidgin Technologies, based in Tel Aviv. It is a pure product of Israel. Most shocking to me is that there are more than 58,000 users registered from Malaysia. Malaysia is the winner with the most users. User count from Israel is merely around 700. Some people asked me how this company would make money when the service is free?

It’s actually very simple — from traffic. The traffic generated from users browsing the photos will cause the site ranks to increase, and in turn the advertisement revenue will also be significant. The conclusion is simple: By using Fotopages to share your photos you help fund the Israel economy and in the end the attacks against Palestine. If you really want to join the fight against Israel you should start telling your friends and deactivate your account at Fotopages. Your old photos do generate traffic from the search engines. —

SpongeBob SquarePants

I have been working from home for almost a month now, and to cope with loneliness from the lack of company and with the noise produced by the work next door I always have my TV turned on while working. I used to hear about SpongeBob and I know what he is but never bothered to watch it. I stumbled upon the cartoon series once in a while at 5.00pm at TV9 (dubbed version) so I decided to watch it. Although I usually hate dubbed versions I have to say that for this series they did it pretty well.

spongebob

And now, I have learned to love Spongebob. If I have nothing important to do at 5pm everyday I will switch on TV9 and watch the yellow little guy with his friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his colleague Squidward Tentacles, his boss Eugene Krabs, his pet Gary the Snail, and the unsuccessful rival of Eugene Krabs’ – Sheldon Plankton.

SpongeBob cartoon series is fun to watch, as the funny elements are intelligent enough in contrary to some cartoons (local and international).

And yes, in history it will be known that my first post for 2009 is about SpongeBob. SpongeBob is my hero, he made me laugh and this suppresses my desire to commit any kind of crime.

Spongebob names in other languages:

  • Спондж Боб (Spondzh Bob) (Bulgarian)
  • SvampeBob Firkant (Danish)
  • SpongeBob Schwammkopf (German)
  • Μπομπ Σφουγγαράκης Τετραγωνοπαντελονής (Mpomp Spouggarakhc Tetragonopantelonhc) (Greek)
  • Bob Esponja (Spanish)
  • SpongaBobo (Esperanto)
  • Bob l’éponge (Bob the Sponge) (French)
  • 네모네모 스펀지 송 (Ne-mo Ne-mo Seupeonji Song) (Korean)
  • Svampur Sveinsson (Icelandic)
  • スポンジ・ボブ (SuponjiBobu) (Japanese)
  • SvampeBob Firkant (Norwegian)
  • SpongeBob Kanciastoporty (Polish)
  • Bob Esponja Calça Quadrada (Portuguese)
  • Губка Боб Квадратные Штаны (Gubka Bob Kvadratnye Shtany) or simply “Спанч Боб” (Russian)
  • Paavo Pesusieni (Finnish)
  • SvampBob Fyrkant (Swedish)
  • Sünger Bob (Turkish)
  • 海綿寶寶 (Mian Qiu Fang Kuai) (Mandarin)
  • BobSfoge Michnas Meruba (Hebrew)

So in Malay language he should be “SpanBob SeluarSegiempat” ?

Welcoming 2009/1430H

2009 is very near, and I am writing this post earlier for the fear of getting arrested before 2009 actually comes. 1430H arrived yesterday. Happy New Year!!

2008 was a very good year with a new job, new son, and new house purchase. The new year of 2009 is supposed to be the best new year for me and my family but it seems that now the house next door is going to spoil it for me. As I have previously mentioned in my previous post they are making so much noise that I feel really miserable. It’s gonna be the worst new year for me and my family.

On the good side, my report to MPSJ about the unbearable noise has been recorded and I have received the usual “your report has been received and is being processed for action” note.

If I manage to avoid arrest, I hope I will be a better man in 2009. A better father and husband, a better Samaritan, a better Muslim, a better Malaysian, a better employee, and a better human in general. There is no specific resolution for me except to put a strike to the word nicotine on the tag line (to be super honest removing the word nicotine has been on my mind for the last several years). And oh yes, who does not want to be a millionaire?

Take good care people and enjoy life. I hope all your wishes come true in 2009. Happy new year, and thanks for being my reader.