The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Customer service is something I shudder to deal with. They are mostly bad. Mostly difficult to deal with. But there are gems too. Here's a list of what I can recall enduring, scaring, threatening:

Let's start with 'The Ugly':
1) Oakley's Malaysia distributor, Revelstoke
My, weren't they a pain. SF's Oakley glasses (his sixth pair? ninth?) broke while we were in Penang and when we sought a replacement part, was told that wasn't available anymore. No further explanation. Probed further, we figure it's because that frame wasn't the best they made, hence it was discontinued. Revelstoke would only go as far as giving us a 200 ringgit credit for a new pair of frame. That was an almost new pair, may be about a year old. Why should I fork out more than 800 ringgit to get a 1,000 ringgit Oakley frame and still pay for prescription lenses? That got me furious. It was a battle threatened with complaints to the Consumer Claims Tribunal.
Revelstoke relented in the end, and gave SF a new frame onto which he could still attach his existing Rx glasses.

2) Ipa-nima's Malaysian distributor, CarmenZ
I bought a leather handbag from them, the second in my Ipa-nima collection, for a little less than 1,000 ringgit, and discovered the silk inner lining was frayed along the stitching. I called CarmenZ's Hazel, and was told I should just get it fixed on my own. This is a brand new bag, and I'm not even asking for a replacement, just for a fixing. I called the Consumer Claims Tribunal and was told I have a case against them if I choose to file an official complaint.
I chose to write to Ipa-nima's founder, Christina Yu, in Hanoi and she was simply helpful, arranging for me to send my bag to CarmenZ for fixes. Bag came back good as new.
I've, of course, sworn off CarmenZ but the lure of Ipa-nima bags made me go back for more. I don't know why I bother. After all, SF was basically living every weekday in Hanoi at one point. Ipa-nima bags are one of a kind and I have five in my collection now! The first a gift from SF, and the rest my gifts to myself ;)

The Bad
1) Car Distributor
Actually, this isn't so bad. It could even go under "good." The experience started right after I took delivery of the car. A dent on the door made me curse the sales manager for dismissing my complaint with the excuse that my car's fully imported, hence the company can't do much for me. He trapped himself with that reasoning. I had my dent sprayed on his account.
There was also the air recirculator problem. First Mercedes Benz Malaysia (or Daimler then) refused to entertain my requests for a re-programming. Did I write to Stuttgart, Germany? May be I did. Or may be I threatened. It was re-programmed, in a hurry too, and after the work was done, I was told I owed them 150 ringgit or so for inspecting the electronic connections. Not being told of this costs earlier, I told them they can hold my car ransom.
More came when the car central locking failed, after three years and a bit of owning the car. Pretty shocking. But CCB's great service advisor pulled me through this, when from a 50% liability absorption, Mercedes Benz Malaysia went on to take up the full costs.

The Good
1) For something totally inexpensive, this comes as one of the best, if not the best! I own Cocoons' OveRx sunglasses since 2006, and the case was frayed from the inside since I had it. Never bothered me till lately, when the bag won't shut. I wrote to Cocoons in the U.S. No response for days. Then an e-mail arrived. No trouble, I was told..just go to the place I bought it from and get a replacement. Easy as that. Wow! Hats off to Cocoons for great customer service.

Dhall Curry

Dhall Curry
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

I love dhall curry and finally made the effort to cook my first bowl. More like a pot, actually. Here's the recipe. Simple, but a bit time-consuming.
Ingredients:
Dhall, tumeric powder, garlic, jintan manis
Fish curry powder, biji sawi, lots of fresh curry leaves, dried chilli, shallots, salt to taste.
Potato, tomato, carrots
Method:
Boil dhall, add potato, tumeric powder, jintan manis.
In a wok, fry biji sawi with minced shallots, curry leaves and some fish curry powder. I added some anchovies.
Pour mixture from wok into pot of boiling dhall.
Towards the end, add tomato and carrots.

Recipe courtesy of Rahimah. Really yummy. I've frozen two containers for my office lunch.

Earthworms Galore

Earthworms
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

On Sunday morning, right after a night of rain, Kayrin, Shaw Feng and I made our way to the playground. Instead of playing badminton, we ended up collecting earthworms that flooded the basketball court. The sight of the worms made me very happy. When was the last time we've seen so many of them. So I turned into a worm-transporting aunty and hauled the lot of them back home into our garden. I hope they like their new home as much as I like them in our compound! I've been thinking of breeding earthworms and this is such a pleasant find.

Drained

Things aren't so smooth for Kayrin at school after all. After a good first week, it has degenerated into a nightmarish second and third week, with tantrums that led to her being spanked by daddy and me. May be being absent for two days, when she had a cold and cough, triggered it. She then became weepy over the thought of going to school. She'd go to bed crying, wake up weeping, return home unhappy. She'd tell the maid she doesn't want to go to school. I daren't even ask that of my parents, that I didn't want to go to school, if it was OK by them.
What have I done wrong in her upbringing? SF, time and again, reminded me that I'm responsible for any wayward behaviour down the road because I am too lax with her now. But she's now so very adamant about having her own way, so what have I done wrong in the past? Left the MIL to manage her? I've taken to driving her to school for a week now. The crying has lessened but hasn't stopped. That and the battling of traffic to get to work before a daily morning conference call and the mad hustle to get home to bathe and feed her has totally drained me. I feel a failure of a parent. I dare not push her at school now but I have no compassion for a wimp. I can't stand clingy behaviour. But that's my child. I'm plain exhausted. I know not what to do with her, for her.

Sedaya

Sedaya
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

Exactly a month to being 7 and Kayrin started her first day at Sri Sedaya school. Jan. 4 started well: She awoke at about 5 a.m., insisted on having her milk from a cup (instead of the bottle), showered, dressed up in her uniform of a blouse, a skirt and a tie without kicking up a fuss, and gamely waited for the school van in the pouring rain. Van arrived at 6:45 a.m. and she got off in the school compound at 7: 20 a.m.
I accompanied her the entire day, where she ate her snack and her lunch along with the 50 odd kids from Primary 1. Didn't see any kid bawling his or her eyes out on the first day. Pretty amazing. Unlike the days of old, when kids would go running out of class to mommy or daddy outside the class.
Instead, I spent the entire school day, till 3:30 p.m. hanging around in the school compound and intermittently peeping into her classroom.
It's been a big relief for me, to see her adjusting well, on her way to greater independence. Not having her grandma with her full time means Kayrin doesn't have grandma pandering to her every whim and fancy but so far she's coped, making new friends along the way as she and her kindy friend Jia Ler keep each other company.

Happy New Year

Another year wraps up. I took a tumble early on New Year's eve. Didn't need to raise my glass to bid auld lang syne to 2009 before I was on my knees. It all happened on my way to the gym for the last time this year. I lost my concentration the split second I was about to step down a flight of five steps. Next I know, I had landed on my butt and an officer in charge of more than 100 people who must have heard me moaned was asking if "ma'am's all right?" Yes, I'm fine and happy new year, I chirpirly replied. The butt now hurts. Especially the left butt cheek, for landing right on the edge of a marble step.
What's a tumble compared with the troubles of 2009! This year is marked by troubles at home. Tumultous times between the father-in-law and mother-in-law. Bad enough that Kayrin was left to be sent to school by her teacher after having her grandfather ferry her for about 1 1/2 years. The squabble spread, splitting the family in many ways. It also made me realize that there wasn't much I could have done to keep my own parents together when trouble brewed between them when I was in my early-20s. As an adult in the late 30s, I couldn't even patch up the divide between MIL and FIL. For all my efforts, I became MIL's public enemy No. 1.
A thud on the butt is a good reminder as any that in the coming year, I'll take charge of my family, because no one is able to keep my marriage in good shape if not for SF and myself. Happy New Year!

School

"I like my school," Kayrin told me today after her orientation at Sri Sedaya, which she went to with Daddy.
Best words I've heard in weeks! After months and months of agonising over which school to send Kayrin to, which type of school she goes to (Chinese-medium versus the National-type-in-a private-school), she seems happy with what we've picked.
I thought it was hard to choose which brand of milk formula to give her after I stopped breastfeeding. This is a lot tougher!
I hope her fondness for school remains. I don't particularly remember liking the five schools I had attended all my life, except for may be Sekolah Menengah Convent Butterworth. I spent five years there, the longest I'd been in a school, so that probably explained my affinity for it.
There was Sekolah Kebangsaan Baling, SKB. The kids called it sekolah kandang babi. Never felt like I belonged there. I was the only Chinese kid there till Woan and Lyan started school. Then there was three of us Chinese kids in a school of Malays. And a handful of Indians and Thais.
In 1980, we moved to Butterworth. SRK Convent Butterworth was fun, especially its library of Enid Blyton books. Sure did inspire me to read. Mrs. Wong the librarian was the best in inspiring us to devour those story books.
Then there was Sekolah Menengah Convent for five years, with teachers who inspire me to write. Puan Lee Mee Lin, in Form 1, allowed us to write and dedicated time to us asking silly questions . We could remain anonymous by dropping questions into a box placed in class. One student asked what VD was! Anothr asked how we could mourn the death of the Challenger astronauts.
Then, I got sent to Sekolah Menengah Tinggi Bukit Mertajam for Form 6. Didn't last more than three months at HSBM but through the people there, I met, fell in love and married a true-blue HSBM alumni.
Sekolah Menengah Datuk Onn was the nearest school to home I ever had. I'd walked there and home.
May Kayrin have a great time at Sri Sedaya, make friends she remembers and be inspired to live life fully because of her experience there. Happy schooling, darling.

Mother, Only by Law

Life at home has been chaotic since the middle of this year. This time, I must say, I have not much of a hand in it in the first place. Now, it seems to me that I'm the central, focus point of this family trouble that started with the mother-in-law and father-in-law having a fight over money.
When the rows began, I tried to stay neutral, patch them together. I assumed that I could help. Right-ho, the first thing I always say about assuming is this -- making an ass out of you and me. If I had wondered why I didn't do enough to patch my parents together way back in the 1990s, those anguish were sort of put to rest after what I attempted with the in-laws. I tried talking to the mother-in-law, all in vain. Actually not. It turned me into her public enemy No. 1. She's caused SF to stop talking to his dad, and now she's wont on worsening relations in my home.
I'm sinking into a big hole of unhappiness. I'm one to talk things through. Even when SF and I fight, we trashed things out. We may raise our voices, but we talk things over and we get through it. But how does one discuss the issues at hand, that mother-in-law has only bad things to say about me behind my back, without making the old lady put on a show of being the world's most victimised person? She does fainting spells when things don't go her way.
Her anger is seen by all around her. Her unhappiness is well known. My only prayer is not to go down her path. Not to internalize all these angst and years later, implode and accuse SF of not taking up my case. I need to see things from a different view. But wait, the view's blocked because she's impeding it.
I need to de-stress. Poor Kayrin has already been the brunt of my unbridled temper lately and can't understand why I won't speak to her grandmother over the phone.
I'm sure one day I'll come back to this and read this post and no longer want to scream myself hoarse. May be one day I'll stop having pretend conversations with the old lady where she is civil and agree nicely that she will stop making me out as the evil one.
Not everyone thinks highly of me. If SF and Kayrin do, I guess that should be sufficient.
How apt that this was on the Daily Bible Verse today.
"A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating." Proverbs 18:6

A Win

On Aug. 5, SF and I took the day off to go look at some private schools for Kayrin. A day for running errands and for some time together. We dropped the S40 off for some tire alignment off. After half a day of running around in the rain, we returned to pick up the car, test-drove the new XC60. I was given the Volvo summer contest form after SF settled the bill. I hurriedly wrote up a slogan. Knowing how if I brought home the form I'd never wander back to drop it off, a 15-word slogan was conjured up while I stood on the counter. And now I've got my name up in lights! Wow. It's my biggest win ever.
I've won, with Yee's help on the answers, a KFC meal for the entire family including Ah Kong (grandpa) at the one and only KFC outlet in Butterworth when I was a teenager. Later, there was an Avon gift basket. But I don't think I've been prolific since then. Wei has had quite a few wins.

http://www.volvocars.com/my/salesandservices/promotions/Pages/SummerXL.aspx


2nd Prize :
RM5,000 voucher redeemable for Volvo accessories plus a
Portable Navigation System worth RM2,650
Winner :
Jane Lee Ching Shen
I/C Number :
xxxxxx-xx-5142

A couple of weeks back, there was also the good news of a 70K-ringgit rebate from the developer for the new house. These are things cheering SF and I up amidst all these craziness we have to deal with on the old folks' end.

A Sale, Nothing Less

escada
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

You know the Malaysian Mega Sale has come around again when words like `The Best Deals', `Unbelievable Offers' and `Amazing Grabs' fly past your eyes every few pages in the newspapers. But nothing beats this ad. You and I must make a beeline there.
There are items with discounts of up to 90%. And you get an extra 10% if you're the cardholder of a certain distinctive bank. Add this up, and I read a giveaway!

Rain in KL

Rain in Kl
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

The past two weeks in KL have been a time of bad air quality. The annual slash-and-burn took place in Indonesian forests and even in some Malaysian plantations. The smog got so bad, again, and the media gave it not much coverage anymore.
Amidst all this, the skies darkened on the political side too. A life was lost. A 30-year-old father-to-be. Tremendously sad when he was in custody at that time. We will remember,

Three Years

Three Years
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

It's been three years since you left us, Woan. I'm sure one day I'll cross a bridge as well, and we'll be seeing each other again. We missed you a lot. Ivan's growing up fast, and cheeky and naughty though he sometimes is, we've got no complaints. You've got a kid you'd surely be proud of.
You're happy in heaven, we trust. It must be a lot more beautiful there. No more of the suffering you had to endure a bit more than three years ago.
We miss you a lot.

Kuching

iphone_pic
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

Kayrin and I took our first flight this year, to Kuching. I surprised myself with how infrequent I now fly. From a couple of times a month in 2000/2001, I'm now down to one flying trip a year. Kayrin loved being on a plane..especially when Malaysia Airlines served up Baskin-Robbins ice-cream on the flight out to Kuching.
Kuching was wonderful, as we did nothing but wandered down Carpenter Street for food, lazed by the pool every evening after the afternoon nap. Night time meant more walking around for food and the waterfront.
This was Kayrin and SF waiting for the flight home to KL. We had three nights there but with an extra early flight out at 8:15 a.m. on June 9 and a late out home at 6:50 p.m. on June 12, we had four whole days. Sufficient for Kuching town. Next destination, Kota Kinabalu.

Nine

Nine years ago, we weren't family. Nine years ago, we pledged to start a life together. That didn't come naturally. Or easily. It took me years and lots of tears to see I would have to give up part of myself to have an us. Once I got through that stage, I was afraid for what I could lose now that I was a part of us. Now that I've looked back, no one said, `Welcome to an easy life now that you're hitched.'
Nine years -- or 20 if you start counting when we first met -- you stood by me, accepted my flaws, gritted your teeth and stuck up for me. You let me be me. Thank you and happy anniversary, Sweetie.

Toothless

iphone_pic
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

Almost six years to the day after her first tooth came out, Kayrin lost her two lower ones. Here's the toothless girl, still looking pretty toothy. Pix taken from my new phone..the iPhone 3G. I went hunting for a Nokia to replace the missing Nokia. Frustrated at 2 days of unfruitful search for the perfect Nokia, I settled on this baby. More reviews coming up!

Phone Lost

There must be a home for lost phones. Just like the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. They were boys lost by their nannies.

I lost my mobile phone on May 2, while shopping at Tesco Puchong for the first time in months. That was my second phone lost in about seven months. No fun, indeed, when I was getting used to using the Nokia N78 after losing the HTC Touch in October. The N78 was great in that I could send pictures directly to the Web. And the camera was a 3.2-megapixel Carl Zeiss one. That has spoiled me a bit. Who wants a 2-megapixel camera even though the iPhone is one cool piece.

A pattern has emerged, I noticed. The last time I lost my phone, Kayrin had come down with hand, foot and mouth disease, and I was walking around in a daze after losing sleep. I was trying to lobby her kindy to shut and prevent the spread when I lost the phone.

This time, it's the lack of sleep after Kayrin had her worst stomach-related viral infection. She threw up six straight days and was recovering, but on the day that I lost my phone, she threw up some of her breakfast.

So maybe when I lose sleep over my child's health, I should hang the phone around my neck. If you happen to chance upon me with a phone swinging from my neck, don't mouth SHOW OFF, OK? It's just one sleep-deprived mommy with a tendency to lose her shoe-phone.

On a Mission - Part II

I've got my police report. Not too bad an experience. I had to make the report in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur because that's where the incident happened. Now I know there's a police station next to Empire Tower (or now known as Intermark), along Jalan Tun Razak. I typed my own report and told the officer I didn't need an investigating officer on my case. No fees paid. Wonderful. Next task, snap pictures of the place of incident. Now, that's tricky, as I might be in trouble for snapping away in the embassy area. Will have to explain to the police guarding the vicinity of the embassies and high commissions what I'm up to! The only other time I got shouted at snapping pictures was along Penang's Gurney Drive, while doing my photo-journalism paper. Must have been 1992/3. I had positioned myself on to take a picture of the promenade when this lady in her 60s, dressed for a run, started hurling abuses at me for snapping her pix, supposedly. My regret was not to shout back at her.

On a Mission

My car bonnet had a dent, thanks to some flying pebbles from our very well-maintained roads. I'm now bent on getting the city council of Kuala Lumpur to cover, if not all, part of the costs of the fixing and re-painting job. I've always gone off the rails at the shoddy workmanship of the contractors which dig up our roads. This time, I'm taking action.
It's just the start, but already I've made about 20 phone calls over two days. I rang DBKL yesterday, got passed to Jabatan Kerja Awam (Public Works Department), given the run-around. And today, I got through to a legal adviser, who instructed me to file a notice of claim with a long list of a copy each of the following..
-IC
-driver's licence
-car insurance
-car registration card
-adjustor's report
-original bills
-police report
All's do-able, until I got to the bottom. To file a police report, where do I go? The nearest police station, you'd say. Doesn't work this way here. So that was why there were at least 20 calls made. More to come in this adventure. Stay tuned.

Eng Tay Exhibition

Eng Tay Exhibition
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

Kayrin makes it a point to visit Galeri Petronas in Suria KLCC when we go for our month Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra performance. This month, New York-based, Malaysian-born Eng Tay was having his sculpture and paintings exhibited there. His round figures remind me of Botero's. The Brazilian artist's exhibition was the only one I made my way to in Singapore during my years of living there. Rushed there after work, before a company dinner, one Friday because that's a day when the Singapore gallery opens up to the public free of charge. Cheap me. I'm glad Kayrin's enjoying the art exhibits here. She knows she shouldn't touch them.

Pangkor Holiday

02/04/2009
Originally uploaded by leechingshen

(left to right: Lukas, Kayrin, Yau-Yau and his mommy Fong Siew)

This March school holiday we took a short jaunt to Pangkor Island. The Pangkor Island Beach Resort was wonderful for having a stretch of beach not shared with other hotels, giving us privacy. With a little cove, it was well protected. Trees lined the beach, and the pools, next to the beach, were clean. Much cleaner than what we experienced during our August 2008 break at Awana Kijal. Pangkor island doesn't serve up great food, so if we ever make our way back to this one, we'll definitely sign up for the hotel meals in advance. We had the company of two families, and with six adults and three kids, it didn't cost much to charter a van for a 50-ringgit return ride to Pasir Bogak. Kayrin enjoyed having the two little boys, Lukas and Yau-Yau, as company. The highlight of this three-day, two-night trip was the seafood lunch at a shack that we had at Kampung Koh. Hai Tien Di served wonderfully fresh seafood. Let's see if we can find our way back there. Would I go back to Pangkor Island Beach Resort? Definitely.