Archive for the 'General' Category

If you’re not fortunate enough to be living in a gated and guarded community, or  you don’t live in a condo, then you’ve probably heard of a security patrol team by your local Residents’ Association. These have mushroomed all over our urban residential areas or housing estates in recent years.

In the past, there was never a need for such things and I’ve never heard of them before but now, you can see security patrols  by guards hired by residence patroling the housing areas. A sure sign that crime is on the rise. Many homes now carry stickers that their house is subscribing to a certain security patrol, paying an extra RM30 to RM40 a month if I am not mistaken. My house is one of them.

However, I wonder how everyone feels about this. We feel that we want very much to improve the security in our area and that is why we dutifully pay the subscription fee for extra security surveillance. We feel that since it is a community kind of thing, it will only be successful, if everyone contributes or does their part by subscribing and so we subscribe faithfully even though, its hard for us to even pay up and after paying we don’t even have a receipt.

The excuse is that since the team is manned by volunteers and so… we’re not to have overly high expectations (like getting a receipt?). Oh well…. We do receive quarterly reports about the security in our area and we feel a (perhaps a wrong) sense of security seeing the guards patrolling our area in their motorbikes and cars and having an emergency number to call, just in case.

Yesterday, I met a friend who stays in a “crime zone” (which area isn’t that now). His neighbour’s houses had been broken in (both side and opposite). He does not subscribe to the security surveillance service that is available though. His feeling is. “What is the point anyway?” Besides, “you don’t even know if the security team is in cahorts with the burglars or thieves.” he added.

I wonder what does everyone else feel about such security patrols? Are you paying extra for it? How do you feel about this? Do you think it has reduced crime?

I keep on receiving scary emails about people being hijacked from their cars and houses being broken into. I know some of these emails may not be true but some of them come from people we actually know. I used to feel safer living in a condo but apparently even living in a condo is not safe anymore. The other day, I visited the old condo where I used to live. The maintenance person there told us that they are now stepping up security to have the guards going around floor by floor every hour because of crime. According to the guy some tenants do not like this but they have no choice. The burglars now come from within ie the modus operandi is to rent the premise for a few months, then strike when their neighbours are out.

Almost everyone I know has witness a crime or has had some personal experience. I feel so unsafe. The other day, I happened to be eating at the roadside with my handbag (I normally don’t carry my handbag when I eat at the roadside) and I was very distracted throughout my meal because I have to keep on clutching my handbag close to me and glancing around every few minutes. (I’ve had friends whose had their handphones or bags snatched while they were enjoying their meal, thats why I have this paranoia). Afterall, crime happens partly because of opportunity and we can reduce that opportunity by being more aware of our surroundings and it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful, right? Can you tell me what you have done to reduce the opportunity of crime to your person, car and home?

Well, I don’t know if it is but it is Fashion Week at One Utama and Mid Valley Megamall. I just happened to be there during the weekend and was treated to Fashion Shows.

I watched a Fitness Fashion show at Mid Valley. What fantastic outfits. Gone are those days of boring old shorts and t-shirts for jogging or boring black leotards for group aerobics exercises. The fitness fashion is so interesting these days. What fantastic outfits. Now if only I could fit into them! Hahaha. Well, first I’ve got to exercise in my boring old T and shorts first before I can wear one of those nice fitness outfits. Lol! The models looked great sashaing on the walkway. Oh! Those flat tummies! I’m so jealous! I never had a flat tummy. Not even when I was a teen! Sobs. Now I can forget about a flat tummy ever. Racking sobs!

At One Utama I was treated to an all male fashion show as I happened to be there when they were modelling an all male brand. The guys don’t look as good as the girls on the walkway. Maybe I’m just not used to seeing guys strutting their stuff on the walkway. Haha. I thought they walked kind of funny. My only thought was how come none of the male models (and there were plenty) looked like a true blue Malaysian. They all looked so…. foreign. I am sure there are many good looking Malaysian guys around. Maybe none of them wants to become a model. Hmmm… what do you think?

The other day, I was window shopping at a shopping complex in KL when I saw a small crowd gathering in front of a window display. Out of curiousity (KPC), I too went over to have a look. I haven’t the time to upload the photo yet so I shall describe it the best I can.

In the window display was a water tank and in it I saw two pairs of feet and lots of little fishes nibbling away at the two pairs of feet! At first I thought it was some new marketing gimmick. You know, sometimes you see magic shows and escape artists doing their act in the water.

But it was no marketing gimmick. Its the latest spa therapy. A designer spa to rejuvenate, relax and beautify. The little fish nibbling at your nerve endings is good apparently. Sorry I can’t give more information because I was too busy chasing after two kids to listen to what the marketing person was saying and by now the brochure they handed me has been torn up by the same two little kids.

Anyway this is not a review so I don’t have to worry about the accuracy. I am just speaking my thoughts. It just shows that we live in a world of added stress leading to more and more people seeking new alternative forms of treatments.

If you are interested in having your feet snacked on by Dr Fish you can check out this NST story link for a more detailed story about the fish spa.

They are catching them younger and  younger these days, the consumer ads.

I remember those days when I was wadling in and out of my gynaes clinic when I was pregnant, I received loads of product samples, milk powders, diapers, creams, more milk powders….. I don’t mind the diapers…. Anyway, the point is, all these while my baby was still snug in mummy’s tummy.

Then I remember an occassion when my children’s regular paeditrician was off and I went to another. I was horrified. His entire clinic was full of glass showcases with all sorts of consumer products on display! I am quite annoyed with paeditricians who recommend milk powders instead of promoting breastfeeding.

Recently, my daughter came home from kindy with yet more product samples. “Mummy these are party packs” she told me innocently. “And look, mummy, if you buy one at $16, you will get one T-shirt free. I want the T-shirt.” she declared. I’ll need to have a word with the principal if this continues.

Oh and don’t forget the TV. I don’t subscribe to pay TV (Astro here) so fortunately my kids don’t get influenced by TV ads. Phew! Or I’d be hassled with more “I want!” at the supermarket.

When they hit the teen years, the ads will keep on coming and it never stops and it never will. Lets face it. Young consumers means big $$$$$$.

These ads and product samples aimed at the young annoy me so especially the milk powder ones and the junk food ads on TV (with the exception of the free diapers Ahem!). What about you?

The difference between living in a house and a condo is that in a house, sometimes you have unwelcome visitors ringing your doorbell. From salespersons, to grass cutters, to surveyors etc etc etc.

So when the bell goes *DING DONG* normally what I would do is take a peek to see who it is. If its a dubious character or someone I don’t know, I usually pretend I’m not in. Being the paranoid being that I am, I’m worried that if I decline their offer for services, they may get angry and come back for revenge. Haha. No, seriously, its easier to feign being out than to answer to some of these undesirable visitors.

However, recently I found out that pretending that I’m out is not such a good idea anymore. I heard that there is a new modus operandi by those crooks who do daytime breakins. What they will do is send someone who looks trustworthy like a child or an elderly person to ring your doorbell with some excuse and if you don’t answer, they breakin into your house.

Now, what shall I do when the bell goes *DING DONG* Hmmm…. with pretending to be out no longer such a good idea, I still hate the idea of opening my doors to unwanted visitors.

*DING DONG* Oh oh. What shall I do now?

Took the kids to the KL Bird Park recently. Also known as the “The World’s Largest Free Flight Aviary” it certainly houses a large collection of birds. They look well fed too. I could see that they were feeding on papayas, corns, bananas and other fruits. Yum yum. The fruits do not look like discards. They look fresh and good.

The birds were used to tourists I suppose because they flew about freely right before our faces. Some of them were really colorful and some looked like they were wearing pretty headdresses. Now, I know where some designers get their ideas. The colors were really beautiful and striking. Bright hues of red, yellow, turquoise, blues, greens, purple and pink. There were quite a number of peacocks too and one of them decided to showoff to us, spreading its beautiful tale wide open. It was quite a sight to behold.

To my amusement, I saw a signboard in front of some green leafy plants. There was a brief description about the plant. The signboard labelled it as the Malaysian Ginseng. It was a Tongkat Ali plant. Hahahaha. Well, I guess it belongs in a bird park alright since its suppose to treat another type of “bird”. Lol!

Since its Friday, those of you who have kids and have not been there before can consider going there for the weekend. Its RM30 for adults and free for kids under 3. Can’t remember how much it is for kids above 3 but if you flash them your MyKad, you get a discount so your ticket costs only RM12 for an adult. Please forgive me if I get the ticket prices wrong. My memory isn’t quite what it used to be.

There! Done my bit for Malaysian tourism. Happy Weekend to everyone. 

I have been summoned to attend a wedding dinner. (in Chinese, this means being given a wedding invitation card with your name on it). I used to receive this summons a lot during my 20s when lots of friends were being wed. I still got them in my 30s but its dwindled a lot by now.

Receiving one of these things often puts me in a dilemma. Though Chinese, I don’t really know what is the “cultural” expectations. In other words, I don’t know what to do lah.

So what is the expectation, can someone please tell me? What is the standard? There is KL standard etc etc. The Chinese must protect their own “face” so they often give in to this “ransom” for money angpow and apparently there are certain standards to comply to (meaning a minimum amount to give) irrespective of whether you attend the wedding dinner or not. Comply to these standards or forever be known as a miser or stingy poker.

So what is the standard? I have my own theory. To me, if I get this summons from someone close to me, I would give them something irrespective of whether I attend or not. If I attend, I would make sure that I at least pay over and above the cost of my dinner so that my friend won’t have to pay for me to attend their dinner. If I can’t make it to the dinner, I would give my friend something too because I want to, not because I am obliged to.

This is probably the same reasoning why people are expected to pay more give a bigger angpow when attending a dinner in a hotel compared to a dinner at a Chinese Restaurant for example.

Once, I received this summons from a colleague on another floor which I hardly know. I did the unthinkable. I chose to ignore it. I did not pay up the summons lah. Some say that is very rude. Aiyah, so many rules one. If you receive it from a subordinate, you must pay more, if you receive it from your superior, less etc etc. To me, I hardly know you, so why should I be held ransom? But some say must at least give a token lah blah blah blah.

On the other hand, if you are the wedding couple, handing out this summons can also give you headache. You have to plan your seating arrangement and number of attendees so that you don’t explode your budget or run out of food or seating places but sometimes you invite just one person and that person brings a legion of relatives. Sometimes you’re not sure whether its “nice” to just invite someone without inviting their spouses etc etc. More rules again.

There are also rules in giving out the angpow. Apparently you can put it in the same envelope that you receive together with the summons so that the wedding party immediately knows who its from since your name is written on it. Is that right? I’m also not sure about this practise.

So many rules makes me pening kepala. So what is the standard? If you are not attending? Must give ah? How much to give huh? If its addressed to you and your spouse, must give double ah? How much to give if its your subordinate or superior leh?

Yesterday I had to go to Carrefour, Mid Valley to change some stupid clothes hanger/dryer that broke even before I started using it. It was of such bad quality, it came off at two parts and the colour at the sides comes off my hands whenever I happen to touch it. Hmmm…. another case of too much lead in paints? There has been many cases of toys being recalled recently for this reason, the latest being Thomas the train.

Anyway, since I was there I decided to check out The Gardens. I only managed to go to Robinsons because it was late in the evening when I got there. Will have to check out Isetan another time. This is my impression.

With two such excellent anchors ie Isetan and Robinsons, I think The Gardens will do rather well. The other key anchor is Marketplace by Cold Storage. I think The Gardens is supposed to be a bit more upmarket compared to the older phase of Mid Valley. However, I did not get that impression. I got the impression that it had been completed rather hurriedly just in time to catch the Raya shoppers. The floors were a bit dusty (I even saw a crack on a tile) not spick and span and shiny to give it the classy look it should have for a new phase especially an upmarket one. Its completed but has an uncompleted look. My children liked the stars in the ceiling at one end of the mall.

Robinsons was nice though. At least it was spick and span and shiny in there. The staff were very courteous and friendly. Everyone greeted you whenever you walked passed and asked if they could help. I hope they can keep this up. Some of them approached us to sign up for their card. Wah! So fast. Cannot afford so I gently declined.

In the gents department I saw several men shopping for attire. Hmm… I would have thought that it would be the ladies going there in droves since everyone always seems to equate shopping to ladies. I guess men like to check out new departmental stores too, not only ladies.

Too bad time did not permit me to check out Isetan. I will have to go back another day for that. I saw in the floor layout plan that Isetan takes up 4 floors on one side of The Gardens, whereas Robinsons takes up 3 floors on the other side. Nice.

Some tenants which I am looking out for but aren’t open yet are the Borders bookshop and Gurney Drive with hawker like stalls. I do miss the Gurney Drive in Penang so I hope this one won’t disappoint. There will also be a 2201 Fashion Avenue showcasing our local designers. Interesting. Not I can afford designer wear but I can ogle can’t I? Theres also a boutique cinema but I haven’t entered a cinema in years so I am not that interested in it.

I don’t know about Isetan but Robinsons is offering a 20% discount to shoppers for purchases worth RM200 and above.

I noticed that aromatherapy is getting very popular these days. There are more and more shops selling essential oil and burners. Instead of using burners for aromatherapy, another method would be the use of Vaporizers. Vaporizers heat without burning making it safer and healthier.

Some people use vaporizers as a healthier althernative to smoking. Some use it to ingest drugs and other herbs for medical or other purposes. You can also use it for aromatherapy.

You can go to this link to find out more about What is Vaporization and how it works? Apparently the key to vaporization is the temperature. The temperature has to be digitally precise and accurately maintained at all times. When the heat source is at the correct temperature, the substance will not burn. Instead vapor will be released. No smoke or odor, only vapor from the plant mixture of your choice. Thats basically how it works.

Recently, my water tank burst. The water flowed down the drain all through the night. The next day, we called in the plumber. According to the plumber, the dent made on our water tank was very unusual. He thinks that someone had stepped on it.

This brings forth our fear about the security of our roof. Oh, we have alarms and all that but we had to remove one due to constant false alarms. We couldn’t live with a daily false alarm.

The roof is often the weakest point for many of our homes. We grill up our windows and doors and put in contact point alarms etc but there is very little protection for the roof. We have zinc sheets put in by the previous owner but still we don’t feel as secure as when we were living in a condo with concrete above us.

Anyway, we searched around for a way to secure our roofs and found a gadget which we liked. It was a floodlights plus camera that gets turned on by motion. For example if an intruder makes a motion on the roof, the lights will get turned on and at the same time, the vcr will be turned on and the camera will start recording. We thought that that was exactly what we wanted. Too bad they don’t ship here and we can’t find anything of that sort here.

Strange. With the number of burglaries with point of entry being the rooftop, I think that those alarm companies should bring in something more proactive like that. Sigh. Now I have to search for something else. I’m not really interested in a cctv which records 24 hours. I want bright lights and only motion detector recording. Anyone knows of anything like this?

Prose from the pros: Most people don’t care for their home roofs but are careful when fixing garage cabinets. Always bear in mind that protective roofing can save you from a lot of future thefts. All the four siding walls should build as to make it more secure.