Faber Castell Malaysia Warehouse Sale

Checked out the Faber Castell Malaysia warehouse sale over the weekend with the sibling. I wasn't looking to get anything really, but just thought I would tag along to see the clusterfuck that was the sale on Sunday. (Couldn't go on Saturday; not a sale I would go myself)

Their version of "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here"

For the turnout, 9 cashier counters was NOT ENOUGH. Apparently some people were there for several hours on Saturday, most of which was spent lining up to pay. If it was me, I would rather leave empty handed. 

Some people brought their elderly parents and/or grandparents because after Saturday's mess, they added seperate lanes for seniors, pregnant ladies and the disabled and also an express lane (10 items or less, but no receipt will be issued, which is fine for personal use) for people not buying in bulk. Apparently a lot of people got their haul for free (and probably saved A LOT of money) late Saturday because they were closing and would probably take all night if they checked everyone out. At least, that's what I got from some of the Facebook comments about the event. 

In honesty, it probably took about an hour in line (well, for the sibling anyway; I was just standing under one of the giant fans trying not to get a heat headache). And yes, I saw one kid affected by the heat - passing out, feeling nauseous, etc. I don't know why these parents thought that bringing their kids to a warehouse sale was a good idea... 😒 I got him a can of 100-Plus before he passes out from the heat too. 

Prices were cheap, but not cheap enough to endure the heat and the clusterfuck of it all like that. A lot of people were getting the more than one of the UHU DIY kit (which didn't have the actual UHU product) for reasons beyond me. Yes they were RM3, but why lah buy so many...?

Luckily there was a Lipton booth on the grounds and got a cold cup of teh tarik on the way out. (It was samples for everyone, but if you liked a Facebook post, you get a proper cup of cold teh tarik)

The Sephora Malaysia Conspiracy

Recently, Sephora Malaysia had a three day member sale that only certain members got by text message/email. I wasn't one of them. 

How did I find out about it? 

From a Facebook friend, who also happens to be a prominent(ish) lifestyle blogger who blogs about her shopping from time to time. Not naming names, so you can guess all you want. 

When did I find out? 

On the night of the 30th, which was the last day of the "sale", so I couldn't do anything about it even if I wanted to.

Poking around the Facebook Page, as it turns out, I wasn't the only one that didn't get this memo.. excuse my crappy obfuscation job and there were a few more, but you get the point. 

Here's what they replied to me personally on there... mind you, it's a standard legalese-filled reply.

"...Different marketing campaigns based on our members differing shopping patterns" What the hell  - just because I'm not crazy enough to pay full price (some of the things there are seriously overpriced), means that I don't get to find out about these things?

Oh biar betul...

Oh LivingSocial...!!

So I bought two packs of Eneloop rechargable batteries on LivingSocial back in September. 

Thing is, it's now December and I still have not received them. 

I've emailed them, called them, even tweeted about it (which the American office picked up on and helped me as much as they could from the other side of the planet). 

Sigh, apa boleh buat sekarang?

Passport renewal blues

My passport is expiring this coming September after the last 5 years of under-use. I was going to let it lapse and not renew it before, but then some things happened which would require an up-to-date passport. Like my cousin's wedding in Sydney. I know I could renew it later closer to departure, but I don't want to do that to myself. I suddenly want to travel down to Singapore to watch The Addams Family Musical that's happening in July. I also wanted to do it before the mid-year school holidays next weekend, where it's also notoriously bad.

I'm ranting on here because goodness knows people that know/knew me IRL are probably tired of my grousing/bitching/kvetching about the situation on Facebook.

When I last renewed back in the previous decade, the passport renewal kiosks were just implemented. Now there's an online renewal option: where you could do it online and then go the your selected immigration office to pick your brand new passport a few hours later. 

I don't know if it's just my bad luck, or because it's after elections or some other weird coincidence, but what the fuck: 

1. NOW you have to take your mug shots on a WHITE background, 
2. I can't do the online option (collection centres in the drop down menu are all outside the Klang Valley at the moment), and 
3. the kiosks are offline. So if I was in a bigger rush, I would have to do it manually; it's like the freaking 90s all over again.

Went to the one nearest to me this morning (Plaza Glomac) and it was like a freaking ZOO outside at 9 something on a weekday morning. Decided to cut my losses and leave. Luckily I got a copy of the form (which is now a 4 x 4 inch square at most) and a list of immigration offices in the Klang Valley so that I can now call ahead and harass them beforehand.

Passports in an hour. Pbft.

Oh, woe is me.

What Pissed Me Off About Culture Japan Night 2012

Culture Japan Night is not my scene, like, AT ALL. But with the sibling being out of state at the moment can't make it himself, so he asked me to get one of these limited edition Touch N Go cards  (400 only) which are going at RM20 each. Luckily it was only ONE and not all four, so fine. 

Only left PJ around 4 p.m. and I didn't have to wait that long before the doors opened. But the line going in after that was a little slow cos they were busy collecting the RM20 entrance fee (Jimmy Choo progeny Danny insisted that it was the venue demanding for the money). I was only gonna get the stupid card and leave, but NO - they still fucking insist on the RM20. There wasn't even any refreshment (that I could discern in the tiny room) of any sort. WTF wei. 

To top that off, once inside you had to line up AGAIN to buy the damn Touch N Go cards. At first it was supposed to be only one per person, but later I heard that it was 2 each, and then I heard that you can get as many as you liked.

Argued a little with the people at the door afterwards, asking for my money back (talk about highway fucking robbery). They told me to ask someone else to buy one for me, which was a ridiculous suggestion cos I'm already in and I paid. But I know they are only small fry, so there's nothing they could do for me anyway. I left in a huff and to say I am majorly pissed off would be a damn understatement. I would gladly pay if I was planning on staying on, but I was not going to. I wished they would just give me my money back. WTF.

What I got out of the whole thing was exercise (having to take two trains from PJ to Cheras) and was RM50 lighter (RM20 entrance fee + RM20 for the card + RM9 for the round trip train fare). 

*pengsan*

I will kill anyone who asks me to go again, especially if I have to pay MONEY for an errand that took less than half an hour. TMD.

Dear TM....

With the monsoon season currently raging on, I fully expect the internet to be shittier than usual, but not totally absent. 

So I bitched about it on Twitter and the TM customer service picked up and followed through with me. At the same time, my mother also called 100 to complain. Someone came to look at it within a few hours of calling. As I wasn't home when he came by, all I got when I got home was that the modem was "rosak" (spoilt). Which was weird, because besides the lack of a ADSL line, it works just fine. After pulling out and adjusting a whole bunch of wires (now I dunno how to put the phone line, etc back into the lightning isolator even I wanted to)

The time was wasted figuring out it was the actual phone line (which would be in TM's purview) outside that's probably degraded from the pouring rain and thunderstorms that the area tends to get. Also spent some money calling the sibling (who was several states down south) from the cellphones cos the fixed line wasn't working so great either. Sigh.

So the guy came again (at least I gathered it was the same dude, based on how he was addressed) and I came home in time to set up the new modem. Or so I thought - decided to plug the old modem back  to see if it's really busted. 

Guess what? It was working just fine - it really was the damn phone line. To say my mother was mad would be an understatement: she gave not just the contractor quite the sounding, but also the guy from TM who called afterwards one too, mostly about the money spent on the new modem. (Which wasn't that expensive, but it was still money spent - this is Malaysia; I can't exactly get a cash refund)

Do not mess with my mother.

Shitty Zalora Malaysia Experience: The Conclusion

After over 3 months of sturm und drang (picked the phrase up from Tim Gunn - thanks!) with Zalora Malaysia, I can finally close the chapter on this black spot in my personal online shopping experience.

For some inexplicable reason they could not bank in the cash refund into my Public Bank account (which I have online access) and asked for another account number. The only one I still have to my name is the Bank Simpanan account, which I don't have online access to but otherwise you can't miss transactions. So I gave them that and after having to drive out to a branch where I don't have to worry about parking and updating the old bank passbook, I finally saw the refunded amount in my account.

Never again.... 

Related articles

• My shitty Zalora experience
• Is Rocket Internet losing its grip in Southeast Asia?

So I found this Chinese wedding angpau guide...

I almost did a spit take when I saw this so-called Chinese wedding angpau giving guide (that's not in Sing Dollar, that is) that a better known local blogger has on her wedding blog awhile ago. If it seems normal to you, then excuse me. I do suspect that this list is strictly for weddings in KL.

Other factors that can affect the above:

• If the wedding is on Mon-Thurs: Give 90 – 95% of the weekend rate.
• If your sibling or best friend is getting married: Add 50%.
• If your ex or frenemy is getting married: Deduct 50%. Bitch, I would've ignored the invitation, let alone give anything.
• If the wedding couple gave you a lousy sum when you got married: It’s payback time!
• If you obviously got a last-minute, fill-seat invite: Deduct 30%. Heh heh.
• If you RSVP-ed but can’t make it at the last minute: You still need to give an ang pau; at least 50% of the amount. It’s not nice to have empty seats on the couple’s big day. If you can't make it, how do you pass the angpau to the bridal couple if you can't get another attendee to do it?
• If you are a thrifty guest but want ‘face’: Call the hotel beforehand and ask for the rates. Got liddat meh?

*Note that this also depends on your budget. Give what you can afford and I'm sure the bride and groom are more than happy that you're there for their big day. I sure hope so :P

• I don't have RM300 "minimum" to help pay for your upscale wedding dinner at a posh 5-star (and above) hotel. Even if I did, it would go to a better cause that would be infinitely more entertaining and satisfying. 
• What happened to inviting guests, not deep pockets? If it's the latter, just keep a VVIP list already, no need to invite people you actually know.
• Just be glad that I gave you something and didn't just show up empty-handed.
• If you want me to give you so much for wedding angpau, be prepared... I will come and collect every CNY ad infinitum.
• As the odds of me getting married are pretty slim, I am not afraid about the angpau "retribution", so pbft on you.
• I'm not sure if the hotel would be the most objective party to ask.  

Any thoughts?

My shitty Zalora experience

Zalora is like the South East Asian version of say, Zappos in a sense that they sell clothes, shoes and other accessories, has free local shipping, choices and variety of items you can buy on the site. Zalora also have a presence in other countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. The online ads are everywhere it's ridiculous; they even have money to blow on actual TV spots. 

I was looking for a particular item that's not available in Malaysia - the Lagu beach friendly beach blanket that I saw on Zalora Philippines (because it's a Pinoy product). So I decided to check the Malaysian one, and it was listed on there. So I signed up for the newsletter and with the RM20 discount on RM80 minimum purchase, I ordered that and a tchotchke to reach the minimum. That was on 9th July. I was expecting to get my items sooner than later. 

I should've seen the red flags: most of the usual payment options (Paypal, ipay88) didn't take when I tried to pay. I had to do the online money transfer, which was unnecessary if I could pay through Paypal or ipay88 to begin with. WTF.

First, I got an email saying they had run out of the tchotchke item and that I would get store credit on the original price. Another red flag.

The website has also been buggy - not only I can't access to my orders on Zalora, but now (as of today) when I go back to check, it says "You have placed no orders"? WTF?!

I've been bugging their customer service (on the Live Chat option) on the status from the second week (which is not a habit of mine - I trust people to do their jobs properly), and even then, the Live Chat keeps crapping out and I have to keep restarting. WTF.

The best I've got was the "because the item is coming from overseas, it will take up to 14 business days" BS. Guess what - it's past 14 business days this week and coming to a whole calendar month and I still haven't gotten my order. I've gotten a couple of reps telling me that it should be here "this week" (ha). I would've cancelled my order already if I can get it back in actual money and not get anymore motherfucking store credit.

I've waited absurdly long times for stuff I buy online as it's part and parcel of online shopping when you're in Malaysia. But this is just plain ridiculous. 

I don't know what's up with their logistics, but they really need to straighten that shit out instead of spending so much on advertising. WTF. It's the Philippines, not the bloody Antartic! How long can it possibly take for an inanimate object to travel from The Philippines to Malaysia? I've gotten items faster that's travelled further! 

I know they've only been around a few months, but they need to shape up like, fast.

To the better known bloggers with rave reviews of Zalora - may you all get hit with huge bags of dicks. 

UPDATE: Fabulous Tan Debacle

To recap: I bought a waxing voucher in MARCH at Fabulous Tan in Midvalley via ILoveDiscounts, which I've not been able to redeem even to this day. I've complained to ILoveDiscounts and I've even heard back from the manager of Fabulous Tan (via email), who was gracious enough to give another free session on top of the deal, valid until the end of the year. He also promised to call (yeah right) to schedule. Even I haven't called them back since cos there are other places for me to check out. 

Today (in AUGUST, mind you), I got an email from ILoveDiscounts asking for name and bank details so they could issue a refund. I think I can safely say I can't have been the only complainant in this matter. Funny how it took them FIVE months to resolve this and issue refunds. Oh well, at least I'm getting some money back.

Edit: Got the refund. Thanks, ILoveDiscounts.

Related articles

• Fabulous Tan Midvalley, BAD! (lifeasacynic.blogspot.com)

Not So Fabulous Tan Midvalley :P

Here's my experience with this deal (Wax session for RM37.90 at Fabulous Tan, Midvalley) from I Love Discounts since getting it:

First call (early May): Was told the waxing room is under renovation. Fine.

Tried again a few weeks later - was told that they can only schedule wax appointments after the following Monday (16/5/2011).

So I decided to make an appointment for Tuesday (Vesak) and when I got there, there was a handwritten sign outside saying that the waxing machine is out of order. WTF. So I walked in and I was told in person that the waxing can't be done and that they were waiting on the person to fix it. I just about blew a gasket because NO ONE BLOODY CALLED ME TO ASK ME TO RE-FUCKING-SCHEDULE!! WHAT THE FUCK - THEN I DRIVE ALL THE WAY THERE FOR WHAT?! KANASAI LAH! WASTED MY TRIP ONLY!!

After being told that they'll call me (yeah right) to reschedule once it's fixed, I stormed out, my mood soured.

Not expecting anyone to call me, I called again TODAY (30/5) and the waxing therapist is on emergency leave until 15 June. WTF. Have to wait another 2 weeks.

Damn kanasai lah these people, I tell you.

Ini belum buat lagi tau.

I Hate The Neighbourhood Line Dancing Class

The neighbourhood's Resident Association has a line dancing class that meets twice a week from 8 p.m. - 9.30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays on the basketball court outside the house. Public space, open air, etc - fine.

Although I've never met these ladies in person, but I hate their guts and here's why.

I know line dancing and country music go hand-in-hand, but there's only so many times I can listen to Billy Ray Cyrus's Achy Breaky Heart every stinking week! Even the fun, pop tunes like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha's music are played too may times to count. It would be freaking hilarious if they were practicing to Trace Adkins's Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. Yes, the song is as funny as the title is, even if the lyrics are on the misogynistic side.

I know they're out in the freaking open and the sound might not be so great, but there really is no need to play the music so damn loud - the high windows of my room (and also of the other houses in the area) acts like a periscope; it's akin to me blasting it myself in my room. I can barely hear my shows over the din, which is why I go out sometimes. The only relief I get is when their classes get rained out. 

  

These people are also pretty damn obnoxious: there's plenty of space right outside our house even with a couple of them there minding their own business for parking, they expect us to move OUR cars around just so they have nice parking. WTF, man - you come here only twice a week and you want us to bend over backwards like that? I got half a mind to charge them parking. I don't know why the sibling's freaked out about them - driving the cars in immediately after dinner before these aunties show up. They should just freaking DEAL with it and park where ever they can lah. 

Even with all that practice, it doesn't seem to pay off when they perform at the neighbourhood events, never mind that I don't know good from bad line dancing.

KFC Fish Donuts - Seriously?!

Yes, you read it right - KFC FISH DONUTS. I've been meaning to be outraged about this, but I keep forgetting and I had other things to blog about. Well, now the new KFC Fish Donuts will have a taste of my wrath.

When one thinks of KFC, one tends to associate the brand with well, chicken. Last I checked, KFC doesn't even have a fish burger. So, the fish donut idea is pretty new and also pretty out there.

So all I have to say is this - WHAT THE HELL, KFC? FISH DONUTS, REALLY?! FIRST THE NASI LEMAK WRAP, NOW THIS?! SERIOUSLY?!

Now my next question is this: why the combination of fish and  the donut form? Is there such a thing as donut-shaped fish (which brings about a funny image, I admit)? I don't think so.

I saw a few blog posts online about them and reactions were mostly about the size and the portion (5 pieces ala carte, 3 with an existing plate combo).

I am not sure if I'll ever try it, but definitely not as part of the set meal. The ala carte one maybe, if I was peckish for a snack one afternoon - I'm such a sucker for tartare sauce.

P.S. Am I the only one that notices that some outlets don't give proper plates and silverware anymore? The really busy outlets like KLCC and Midvalley puts everything in the paper boat plates and sort of expect you to eat everything with your bare hands, even the sides (it happened to me and my cousin in Midvalley) :P The not-so busy ones (like in Giant Mall in Kelana Jaya) will still grant you use of plates and silverware.

Summer movies this year I would not be watching

Image via Wikipedia

Out of all the SNL sketch-based movies, I have to say that MacGruber's one of the stupidest by far. In concept, anyway. More so than Coneheads.

I'm still trying to understand how the writers stretched out a whole movie based on a series of 30 second MacGyver spoofs where the bomb goes off and everyone presumably dies. I was outraged when I heard that the MacGruber movie was in the works before a MacGyver movie (still am actually, even though now they're getting it on).

I almost forgot that Ryan Phillippe is also in this one. D'OH. Any wonder how the ex-wife got the Oscar and not him?

I'd no sooner watch the Smurfs movie (yes, there'll be one) than watch MacGruber.

Another movie I won't be watching is Sex and the City 2. I was about to rant on about paying to watch a bunch of cows prancing around Moroccan desert with no underwear until I remembered that I've not exactly been watching really high-brow stuff myself. But you get the drift. There is a reason why plot details didn't leak (and not just because of the precautions they've taken) - it's a sign of a bad movie when the plot is kept under wraps like that.

I also didn't know that there's a Marmaduke movie out. Another kids movie with an animated Great Dane? Really?!

25 calorie Swiss Miss? Bleaurgh.

Not everyone knows this about me, but I am a fan of Swiss Miss hot chocolate packet things. Anyone coming back from the States please buy a box back for me, please? :D 

I know you can whip up a batch of your own hot chocolate mix, but I can't be arsed yet.

They're not available everywhere, which can be a bitch because if you can't get it in KL, where else can you?

Anyway, was in Carrefour earlier and there wasn't my usual dark chocolate Swiss Miss, so I decided to branch out and try the diet one for a change...

A red flag was that the box was a little too light when I picked it off the shelf. And I was right when I opened the box. The individual packets were too light.

I usually use the coffee mug (left) for a typical packet of Swiss Miss and it'd only be 3/4 full - and would need to top up with some more water as it could be a tad too sweet - I had to use the tiny teacup on the right for a packet of the above. 

No wonder it's only 25 calories: it was only a quarter of a typical Swiss Miss packet and there was sweetener (don't ask me which one).

Reminder to self - never buy diet Swiss Miss EVER AGAIN.

Firefly cancelled my flight... :(

So I got an email late last night from Firefly saying that the outgoing flight to Singapore that I originally picked (at 9.20 a.m.) was cancelled and moved to the later flight that leaves at 12.45 p.m. 

You can imagine how pissed I was. From the 10 odd hour day that I more or less had planned for, I was now down to about 6 hours because damn Firefly took 3 hours away from me. Look, if I wanted to be there by 1 p.m., I might as well have taken the 8 a.m. bus out of KL. Kanasai.

GODAMNIT FIREFLY, ARE YOU SHITTING ME?! WHY IS THE FLIGHT CANCELLED?!

This could be a "make it work" moment or I could just be annoyed. Dad suggested spending the night there, but I already got the return flight.

I've expressed my annoyance just about everywhere else on cyberspace but my own personal Facebook stream. Ish. 

PS. Called the number in the itinerary - changed to the first flight out (at an ungodly 7.55 a.m., arriving at 9.05 a.m.). Oy vey.

Things I hate about the local public pool

[Some of you might have an idea which one I'm referring to, but no prizes for guessing to the rest of you]

I have to admit I've been pretty lazy in keeping a regular routine in the swimming the last few years, but to be fair the local public pool is not the greatest hangout spot on the planet, because...

• It's a 15 minute drive from home when there's no traffic jam/gridlock.
• The 6 - 9 p.m. slot is the only time I could do it, but with rush hour, dinner and whatever else, only option is the weekends.
  
• It's crowded, so it's damn difficult to do laps on the weekends (DUH).
  
• I heard it's a gay cruising spot - it's on the internet, go look it up.
  

I know that not a lot of money goes to sports and sports facilities in this country, but seriously... what is the RM4 entrance fee for ANYWAY?

First of all, the place is MOLDY - the pool, the changing room, etc etc. I'm not even sure how clean the water is with all the body hair, dead skin cells, yada yada yada floating around. Damnit, even the sides of the pool are moldy - there's green stuff everywhere. When was the last time anyone's cleaned it or changed the water, anyway? I wouldn't mind if they close it one day just to clean...

Second, the shower doors also have no locks on them since they changed the doors some time ago, but some don't even HAVE doors, which I get if I was in a Western country, BUT I'M NOT.

Third, some more have to pay parking. Outside. There's a guy sitting at a makeshift desk and chair, charging patrons to park in places that otherwise would be free during after hours, weekends and public holidays. I've taken to parking on the outside perimeter of the designated parking lot. Fuck them.

Why I Don't Leave the House to Socialise

I find myself not leaving the house these days to socialise all that much for a few reasons:

• I tendered my own resignation as social organiser of gatherings of more than 2 people ages ago - too much stress and anxiety at something that shouldn't be stressful and anxiety-inducing - I was resentful and annoyed at everyone. It's easier to get a hold of at least one other person for a trip to the mamak than to call and text a bunch of people for the same purpose.
  
  
• People are busier than I am expect me do the damn organising because I've more free time - fuck, I'm not expected to know when you're free and when you're not, YOU do it.
  

And then there's the tardiness - people who know me already know that I can't stand waiting on other people (and even make the effort to be early), and yet when I get on their case about it, they just laugh it off and attribute it to Malaysian time. Damn kanasai punya kawan.

So I'm home most of the time watching TV - to prove it, here's my appointment TV schedule:

Monday - Bones, 8.30 p.m. and Criminal Minds, 10.30 p.m.
Tuesday - The Biggest Loser Asia, 9 p.m.
Wednesday nights or Sunday morning repeats - Man V. Food
Thursday - The Good Wife, 9 p.m.
Letterman - if no one else is watching anything - 11 p.m.
Weekend afternoons from 3 - 5 p.m. - I'd say The Tonight Show, but with the current fracas going on at NBC, it'll be the last week that Conan will be on air. So yeah...

In between, I'm usually watching...

• Castle
• CSI franchise
• nip/tuck
• FOX cartoon block (Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (on YouTube)
• The Daily Show, The Colbert Report (online)
• Slew of reality shows (Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, Top Chef...)
• Mythbusters
• Dirty Jobs
• (occasionally) Time Warp
  

on the laptop.

The former usually is on time (can't say the same about people I know) and the latter I can watch whenever I'm free.

TV makes me happier than people do. At least it doesn't piss me off and leaves me resentful of it.

People, photos and mall decor... seriously?!

So the holiday season is upon us.

And the malls have come out in full force in making their space look festive for the occasion, which I'm fine with - I haven't found a mall whose faux wintry Christmas decor I didn't like or thought was ghastly. (Though I have to say I'm glad that KLCC is not using that tall faux "tree" that they have used in the past - some of you would know what I'm talking about).

While taking pictures of the decor is one thing, it's another to pose WITH the fake wintry scenery and have someone else take a picture of THAT.

I cannot wrap my head around is all these people who would have their pictures taken with said mall decor. It's like the cheapass equivalent of having that annual Christmas family picture taken. Seriously, you cannot miss the sight if you're shopping in a mall for the last few weeks! I know it's their prerogative, but it's pretty freaking cheesy, in my opinion. It also never helps that they're typically in my way as I walk through and I'm (perhaps) in their shot of their kid/girlfriend/whoever standing next to a shiny decorated faux Christmas tree or faux-ginger house or whatever else.

And it's not just Christmas - it's the same when any festival where it requires a change in mall decoration. I shit you not - Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya.... damnit.

If someone asks me to take a picture of them in that situation, I'm just gonna pretend that I don't know them (unless I hitched a ride with them, then... ).

You heard it here.

Annual Starbucks madness is upon us.

Although Christmas is only about 2 months away, Starbucks Malaysia has kicked off the holiday drink/2010 planner madness where every year people go nuts, spend too much money on, and take in too many calories to collect stamps in order to redeem a Starbucks-branded planner.

Holiday drinks - nothing new, just Toffee Nut Frapp, Toffee Nut Latte and Mocha Praline Frapp. What happened to the Peppermint Mocha?? ARRGGHHH!!

Last year wasn't too bad - just buy a Grande drink and pay RM18 for the (refillable) leather planner. That I could live with.

This year, it's back to the usual nonsense that is buy x-number of drinks to get x-amount of stamps - You have to buy 11 (yes, ELEVEN) Grande-sized drinks (not tall nor venti, mind you, GRANDE - the biggest size on their menu). WTF, Starbucks, REALLY?!. Kanasai-nye.

I kinda doubt that any ONE person who would drink 11 grande-sized drinks for it. If there were, I salute them. One would need at least another person to "share" the burden with, or get people who are not planning on getting one themselves. I guess now would be a good reason as any to go yumcha there... heh heh heh.

Personally I'm not sure if it's worth the effort or not because I've not been to a Starbucks lately to see what the new planner looks like. (To be fair, it only started today). And there are no pictures that I could find online, but I did find what the Filipino one looks like... and they've got THREE designs to collect.

PS. There's a way out of buying 11 drinks AFTER ALL - If you just want the thing, I hear that they're going for RM50. I think I can live with that, as it's cheaper (and less fattening) that way.