Mixed Marriages? Even if you married your own race, it's still a mixed marriage.

Since when the ministry of (mis)information, (mis)communication and (un)culture(d) of Malaysia dishes out wise advice "to think a thousand times" before entering into a mixed marriage? And the wise minister, he didn't just say this because he was jealous he couldn;t score some minah salleh or ah moi for a wife or two, you know. He backed it up with STUDIES, saying that "studies conducted from 1995 and 1998 by several sociologists in the country had shown that seven out of 10 mixed marriages end in divorce." He also said that "the failure of the marriage is caused by cultural differences, religion and how a person is raised."

I'm not going to even question his intelligence. It's obvious.

Being married, and that too, to someone that is only different from me in terms of his skin colour and his passport, I say getting married to ANYONE needs some degree of thinking, don't you think?

And I'm tired of people labelling mixed marriages as marrying someone of a different culture etc. We are all marrying people of different culture, background, upbringing, irrespective of the skin colour, nationalities, religions...all that labels that come with a person. I call all these things, add-ons or softwares. These softwares are unique experiences that make up the collective self, so even if you are of the same race, it doesn't mean that your softwares are the same. A Chinese from Selayang is different from a Chinese from Ipoh and even if they are from the same town, doesn't mean that they share more similarities because they could attend different schools or have different tastes in music etc.

Both my siblings are married to Chinese. My sister even married someone from the same town but the cultural differences between the husband's family and ours are so big, it is as good as marrying someone from 18th century China. My brother's wife is a fan of mahjong and we think it's odd and could hardly understand the game, yet, she is 100% Chinese.

Although Chris is obviously a mat-salleh, someone who does not share the same hardware, and even some softwares, but we have more similarities than differences. And that's much more important, isn't it?

How To Get Your Complaints Taken Seriously

My parents' house phone was out of service since February 18th and I lost count on how many times we called Telekom Malaysia (TM) to complain. Each time my mum called and failed to get a concrete answer as to why the phone was not fixed, she would call me, and bugged me to call them. And so, I had to call them and the cycles went on and on. The saddest was when my mum called on Sat, and the Customer Service girl said, "Oh, but you've only complaint on Feb 18," which prompted my mum to call everyday because it seemed that we needed to hit a certain number, I don't know, maybe like 100 times to be qualify us for some sad attention.

So when mum called today at work, when I was really busy, really, really pissed me off. Got worse when no one picked up the damn phone. So I called a number I got from the website, 603 2240 9494 and this was how it went:

Me: Hello Telekom?

TM: Yes.

Me: I want to speak to your Customer Service Director or Corp Comms Director?

TM: Why?

Me: I want to get their names and emails so when I write my complaint to the media, I can cc them.

TM: (Long Pause). You call this number 603 2240 4281.

Me: You cannot transfer?

TM: Cannot. Must call.

Me: (Inside my heart, tiu nei ah seng...) Fine.

Next call

Me: Hello, is this the Customer Service Director's office?

TM: Er, no.

Me: I want to speak to him now! Now!

TM: May I know what is it regarding?

Me: You wanna know why? I want to get his email, so when I send my complaint to the media, I want to cc him, so he won't miss the news.

TM: (Long pause...) Can I help you?

Me: No need to helplah. I tried already. You guys don't seem to be bothered to help. You can check my records - 603 6136 7003. You tell me, what is the problem?

TM: Hold on, Ms. (Checking....) I see, your phone is out of order on Feb 18.

Me: Exactly. Now tell me how many times we have called? It's not your fault or your customer service dept's fault. They have done their jobs, they picked up the phone. They recorded our complaints but TM's technical dept is not doing its part. So, don't worry, when I complaint, I will say that you guys have done excellent job and deserve to win another award for best customer service next year, ok. Now just pass my call to your director.

TM: OK, Ms?

Me: Tan.

TM: Ms Tan, I will get the technical people to attend to this immediately. Can I call you in 2 hours time to update you?

Me: You sure or not? Don't simply promise. If you don't call me in 2 hours time, then what? You will make me mad and I don't want to write your name in my complaint.

TM: I will make sure I call you at 4pm. This is my direct line, my name is XXX.

Me: OK, if you don't update me at 4pm sharp, then you will get a call from the media's hotline number.

TM: Yes, Ms Tan.

2 hours, 10 minutes later:

TM:Ms Tan?

Me: Ya, saya. So, you call lambat, now I'm writing my mail half way now. (It's true)

TM: Sorry Ms Tan. I checked and yes, the cable memang rosak, so memang your mother's phone not working (At this point, I really wanted to scream at her "OII! Of course it's really not working, you think we so damn free to call TM issit!!" WTF!)

Me: So? What's the solution? Cut TM and get Maxis?

TM: Er, no. We will fix the problem now. By today it will be fixed.

Me: You sure ah?

TM: Yes, sure mesti today siap for you.

Me: Ok, we'll see about that. You give me a call whether it's fixed or not, ok. Please don't make me wait. Kesian my parents they don't have phone. What if they have emergency or anything like that how to even call an ambulance. If they died because they cannot get help, is TM gonna be responsible? Have pity on your customers lah.

TM: Yes, Ms Tan. I will call you. Definitely.

An hour later:

Mum called and said that the phone is working now.

Five minutes later, the TM girl called to inform me that the phone is now working and if I have any complaints in the future, call her directly.

Anyone who needs to complain to TM, call:

Yusnida 603 22404281.You can use my script too.

Killing me softly

Seeing that my new job requires me to understand financial report of the company, my dear boss had signed me up for this:

WORKSHOP ON FINANCE FOR NON-FINANCE EXECUTIVES
22 & 23 February 2010, Melia Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

INTRODUCTION
The course provides a broad-based foundation to financial and management accounting, for those

who need to acquire an understanding of the main concepts
and the practical application in decision-making, but who do not require
in-depth theoretical or technical knowledge and details with regards to
measurement, recognition, preparation, presentation of financial statements (for
internal and external users and decision makers).

The course is aimed primarily at non-accounting and
non-finance managers, executives and specialists, who have business, economics,
human resources, marketing or engineering background, but need an understanding
of internally generated financial statements for various stakeholders.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:• explain the role and nature of accounting,• explain the nature and purpose of financial statements,• interpret the quantitative information in the financial statements,• identify and calculate the major categories of ratios used for analysis purposes,• discuss and critically examine the limitations of ratios,• distinguish between internal and external information and reporting functions• distinguish between financial and management accounting, financial management• be aware of contents and elements of financial statements• be aware of management accounting reports

I forsee lots of coffee during and lots of beer post-training. If you are around the area, or kawasan-kawasan yang sewaktu dengannya, do call.

Sofia Coppola+Louis Vuitton

The Sofia Coppola Louis Vuitton Bag. It's the perfect bag - no loud labels, so understated.




Also available in monogram. Cheaper than the plain one. See how roomy it is.




Maybe I'm just liking this bag because Sofia has it?




The evening bag, also designed by SC.



This SC is also favoured by Garance Dore. More reason for me to get it.



The burgundy leather is stunning.



That's the content of SC's bag :)

The only drawback: the bag costs like US4000. Start saving now, V

Do you know how the new Fuel Subsidy System works?

You don't even know that there is a scheduled price increase? Apparently this will happen on May 1st (on Labour Day, how nice eh?).

Whoever is supposed to inform the public on this, is really doing a lousy PR on it. Or maybe it's their tactic to confuse the public? Tak payah bagitau diorang. Kita hentam saja. Mana boleh bantah? So far, this is what I know, which is very little.

• Price increase due to adjustment in subsidy.
• Cars 2000cc above - no more subsidy. I drive a MyVi, so I ok! Issit?
• Company's cars - no more subsidy.
• Each motorist only eligible for one subsidy - i.e. if you own like 10 cars, only one car gets subsidize.
• Motorists must use MyKad to buy petrol.
• A bank (gee, I wonder WHICH BANK?) has been appointed to manage the operation of the new fuel subsidy scheme, and consumers may have to register through the bank or at the petrol stations using MyKad.
• Based on what I have read, to buy petrol is like passing through the immigration gate at the airport. Put in your card, scan your thumbprint and pump petrol.

What I do know is that if the monkeys running the show do not give out more information, then we will get this rude awakening on May 1st...

Pic from The Star

My Funny Valentine

My Polar Bear.
Ever so patient and amused with my drama.
Yo-bo, sarang hae!

Happy Birthday, Paris

Princess Paris turns 2 on February 18th.
May you be healthy and happy, always.
Love, Godmama & Godpapa