Car Ownership Transfer at JPJ Padang Jawa

Went down to the Padang Jawa JPJ last week to get the car ownership transfer done and to meet with Dad's car insurance guy (who was the one who sold him the car in the first place, but also does auto insurance on the side) for the actual car insurance. Why Padang Jawa? Because the guy is not exactly keen on travelling to PJ (I guess), etc. Long story there. 

The parking situation there is terrible. And it's RM2 for the first hour or something. 

Anyway, you would need.. (forms are available on JPJ website so you could download and fill out beforehand)

• Pink registration card
• Valid PUSPAKOM inspection report (only valid for a month)
• RM100 fee
• Both parties, their thumbs and ICs
• TM-2 form (Checklist)
• 2 copies of K3A form (Actual ownership transfer form)

You would also have to get current road tax and insurance policy cancelled at JPJ (I think), but since they've lapsed in my case, we didn't have that to worry about.

Anyway, got directed to the right room by the front information desk, took a number and was attended to quickly. After filling out a few missing details here and there on the forms, as well as having thumbprints scanned to verify the details on the IC, paying, it was done pretty quickly. 

What took longer was getting the new registration card on another car (that was already full and had needed a new one anyway) which I didn't know required another form. But at least I didn't have to take another number or go someplace else for it. 

No jodoh with GlassesOnline.com.my

Made an order on GlassesOnline.com.my in late February, partly to test the site and because there was a coupon code that I couldn't pass up. Got the usual confirmation email that my order was being processed, which was SOP. Got a missed call and message (on FB) to ask if I wanted to proceed with my order. I even made a withdrawal in anticipation. 

It's been nearly a couple months now, and still no product. Messaged them on FB and left a couple of emails in the weeks since, but was told that it was still being processed, etc. Luckily it was an order for a pair of sunglasses and not anything crucial like spectacles or contact lenses. I also could've sworn that they had a Live Chat option on their website at some point (?). Correct me if I'm wrong. 

So I sent them one last gentle reminder this week and I finally got confirmation that after an exhaustive effort to source the item for me, the thing I wanted was out of stock and that my order was cancelled. I just wished that they would say so sooner than stringing me along... There also complaints on their Facebook Page from other people who also hadn't gotten their items for yet far longer than mine. 

After this length of time, I kind of saw it coming and I wasn't mad or anything; I was just glad I chose the COD option and had not paid any actual money.

All in all - no real hurry to buy anything from them in the near future; and as I can't judge an unfinished transaction (much like how judges on cooking shows can't judge a dish they can't eat because it was raw, etc), I guess that will have to wait. Or if there was a juicy coupon code.

Shiny new passport - Collected!

Drove back to the Jalan Duta immigration office on Monday morning. Found parking pretty quickly along the same stretch as last time - yay!

Back to the passport department to get another wait number (just show them your receipt) specially to collect. The guy ahead of me looked (and dressed) like the Malay Ryan Gosling in the movie, Drive, which I guessed was his intent. Was a little dismayed at first when I saw (on the slip) that my number was 3101 and that they were currently serving number 3002. Then I realised that it was in the 3080-range and I was a little happier. Giggled like a crazy person when Ryan Gosling Melayu finally got up to collect his passport. I can't explain it.

Only two out of the 6 counters were open for collection, so I thought I was going to be in for a long wait. My number was finally called and all I had to do was verify with my right thumb, check the details inside, and sign both the form (that you received it) and in the passport itself (which you might want to practice the signature beforehand if you don't). I had already accepted my ugly ass mugshot in there and hope that I look better than that when I travel. The whole process probably took 30 minutes, tops.

At least for RM300, you now get a 48 page (great, more empty pages than the previous 32 for yours truly never to fill up in 5 years) passport filled with all these security features to prevent tampering and forgery (speaking of forgery, who in their right mind would pay so much for a black market Malaysian passport when it's easier to travel with a US/UK/Australian/Singaporean passport?) like the laminated, hologram-laden detail page, ghost imaging, etc.

Only good news out of this whole thing was that my 5 month balance was added on to the new passport. (They carry forward/add on remaining months if you have about 6 months or less left on your current/old passport and opted for the 5-year passport). 

Does anyone still have their old, voided passports? I still have mine, even my first passport as a tot (still goofy looking, even then)! I was looking through them and was amazed at the evolution of the Malaysian passport.

I swear - this will be my last post about passports (until next time)...!

Related articles

• Passport Renewal at Kompleks KDN

12/12/12 Was a Bust for Me

A shitty 12/12/12 - here's how:

1. After weeks (or months - it's been that long) of random BSODs and reboots, my dang laptop as of yesterday can't even boot up past the initial screens. Reluctantly brought it to the shop in Digital Mall for them to find out (definitively) whether it was the hard drive, the OS, or graphic card that's buggy. There goes $$.... but I reckon still cheaper than bringing it back to HP :P
2. Had thought of watching The Kiss of the Spider Woman at KLPac because of the mid week flat rate ticket price of RM23, but had to kiss that goodbye and decided to go send the laptop in instead. 
3. Didn't take advantage of any of the 12/12/12 promotions anywhere - not the RM12 for a dozen Krispy Kremes, nothing.

Another long weekend is behind us

This is the second and perhaps, the last long weekend for the first half of 2012. At least productivity would be up for a little while :P

Didn't do much - didn't leave town, anyway. I don't like leaving town when everyone else does. I probably would've taken the time to redeem the remaining group buying vouchers that I have left, but I left it too late and didn't make the appointments in time. Oh well.

Sunday was Prophet Muhammad's birthday and in Malaysia (at least), it means that the next day is also a holiday, and Thaipusam was on Tuesday. 

The only thing of any significance I've done over the long weekend was to visit my youngest aunt at her new place in deeper Puchong (as I called it) on Monday. It was the other sisters visiting their youngest sister. I only went along as I didn't have any other plans anyway, but it wasn't a total waste of time.

The rest of time was spent field testing the new phone and staying home.

It is what it is.

Friday the 13th

Checked out the one day L'Oreal sale at the Parkroyal. There wasn't much left at midday - the hordes must've gotten to the "good" stuff in the morning - and I only bought like a Vichy moisturizer for about a third of its retail price. 

As I was already in the area, I finally remembered to go to Lot 10's Hutong for lunch. Had one of the more expensive plates of Hokkien mee in recent memory at RM 9.45 plus taxes; edible in the porky deliciousness sense but I don't know if I'd get it again as there are plenty of other stalls down there.

I also checked out both Uniqlo and Sephora while I was still in the area.

Dorothy Perkins fashion show:

Fast-forward to evening: I promised a friend (whom I've not seen in person for awhile) that I'd be her plus-one at the Dorothy Perkins fashion show at Bangsar Village II. After the usual congestion on Jalan Maarof, I got the BEST parking I could find at that time of day and week: outside Cziplee, which is literally a stone's throw from Bangsar Village II - YES!! No need to pay jaga kereta dude some more cos I was early.

You'd think with an event like this, you would think that everyone and their guests would get door gifts, but that didn't happen. Just as well. 

Ate our fill on finger food - tiny sandwiches, cakes, quiche, fruit tarts, cute (handbag-sized) bottled water and OJ - catering was by Coffee Bean, which was decent eats and after what seemed to be forever (we've been standing the entire time - the classic way of getting people to "mingle"), we finally got to our seats around the U-shaped runway. No, I didn't take any pictures as I can't be arsed to do so. But one of the models did take a spill on the runway - you'll just have to take my word for it. After the fashion show, we went to the store upstairs as there were discounts for members. 

RTC Battery Saga

So I've been having to deal with having to manually synchronizing the time on the computer because apparently the RTC (Real Time Clock) battery's dead or dying. For all intents and purposes I'll just call it dead.

For the heck of it, I called HP Malaysia to ask how much said spare part was. I nearly spat out my tea when the person on the other end told me that a tiny little thing like that was gonna cost me RM165, and that was before the shipping (from overseas) and the labour cost.

I have issues with paying so much for a thing so small and quite frankly, a bit commonplace.

Instead I ordered one off eBay, using the product code that the sibling has dug up. So I'm now waiting for it to arrive. 

I hope when it DOES arrive, it doesn't end in my laptop exploding.

Not watching Tron: Legacy

As visually awesome and captivating as Tron: Legacy seems to be based on viewings of the trailers and TV spots (which you can't get away from, honestly), but if I've not seen it by now, I probably wouldn't watch it ever.

I was either really young or not even alive yet when the first movie came out and even when it was on TV in my childhood, I couldn't get into it. So I'm not about to go watch the sequel, even for the heck of it. Not even to see Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen.

Related articles

• Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Tron and Tron Legacy [Tron] (io9.com)

Mummy's back from Egypt

Mum got back from Egypt yesterday afternoon. Apart from the dry, itchy skin she got from under-moisturising while there, she seems fine.

So I got a HUGE collectible Starbucks City mug (which she got at the airport, since she didn't spot any outside of the airport), which looks something like this ... no, I didn't take a picture, but I found it on this site: GOT MUGGED: STARBUCKS CITY MUG COLLECTOR SERIES 1994-2008. You get the idea.

She also bought tee shirts, other clothes, perfume (which is so pure one drop is enough)...

One of those Saturdays

Went to Midvalley for the first time since this happened...

Interesting how this didn't improve traffic whatsoever

Instead of parking there, I decided to try another way - I parked at the open air parking lot near the Bangsar LRT station (which was charging RM3 per entry) and crossed the road over to catch the free shuttle bus. Which didn't pan out so great because when I got there the shuttle was on its mid-morning break and I paid the RM1 bus fare... yeah, didn't work out so great. Doable, but need to plan better.

Anyway, was there to check out the Beauty, Wellness and Spa exhibition upstairs and to also do the Schick razor swap with one of my old pink Quattro razor at the Caring Pharmacy downstairs. There was this uncle who made the rookie mistake of going alone with TWO used razors and threw a slight hissy fit when told that he can't exchange both razors, but they did suggest that he buy the refill blades so that he'd get another razor for free (was I the only one who didn't see the logic?). Those must be some damn expensive blades, man.

Brunch was the Krispy Kreme brunch special - two doughnuts with either tea or coffee for RM5.50 - and I had to tar pau half 3/4 of a doughnut and some of the coffee (they wanted to charge me RM1 for takeaway, so I sat down and ate and drank some before I asked to tarpau, haha).

Traffic was so terrible around that area that the shuttle bus schedule was a little off - but glad I caught the one coming back and the driver used a different route to get back to the LRT station because Brickfields traffic was horrendous (so I was told when I asked later).

Since I already paid parking, I hopped on the train to Pasar Seni to check out Art for Grabs at The Annexe. Didn't get anything, but this guy's tee shirts caught my eye.

Oh, the new razor I got? Gave it to Dad.

Related articles

• The Shaving Racket -- How Are Gillette and Schick Getting Away with Ripoff Razors? (alternet.org)

So far this week...

Mum's having a gay ol' time in Egypt with some of her older siblings at the moment.

Since Tuesday anyway, when we drove her to the airport late Monday night. It's already Friday, and she won't be back until next Thursday, so it's another week. I think this is the longest she's gone by herself like, ever. Dad was (and probably is still) concerned, but I had to remind him that she wasn't going by herself, she'll be fine. Sigh.

So far - had dinner at home on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Thursday night - dinner at the newly renovated McDs at Section 14.

Friday night - dinner with Dad at the new bak kut teh place near the ol' hell hole.

I've only done laundry TWICE since she left, which is at least half the times I had to take the laundry out in an average week.

Still reading The Bell Jar.

Day at the service centre

Took the car into the service centre to get it serviced as well as find out what is causing the strange noise in the engine compartment when idling (it's usually up to me to notice these things) and basically rotted the time away because the so-called free WiFi in the waiting area wasn't working for me.

Because I hadn't made an appointment, I was a "walk-in": I was there from 10.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. It's a lot of time to kill. Which might have something to do with the slight miscommunication - they called my mother's phone (who doesn't carry it on her person, and I've had trouble calling her as it was) not knowing I was in the waiting area and la di da. Sigh.

It was the Monday before Raya - the service centre was busy, and people (presumably) taking time off to service their cars before leaving town. I even heard one of the guys at the counter telling someone on the phone to come over Wednesday cos people would've left town already.

I even packed my laptop (which doesn't leave the house) to do the road test. So much for that.

Anyway, the reason why the weird sound when idling was because the two of the mounting on the engine was deteriorating and needed replacing. What I didn't expect was it to cost over RM200 each and the bill to be over RM600. Even then, I didn't have enough cash on my person and fortunately I could pay with the ATM card.  Guess who owes me money now.

Story of my life

Today was the sibling's graduation day, which I initially didn't have to wake up before dawn for because the uni only lets graduating students invite their parents ONLY (which I get, otherwise people would have their extended families plus the entire village as well). 

Except that unfortunately I was rudely awakened at 6 something because SOMEONE forgot to bring their damn GRADUATION ROBE and guess who has to drive all the way to Cyber-fucking-jaya to bring it. At 7 a.m.

Yes, yours truly. 

So I let them squirm for a little whilst I showered and changed (as fast as I could, mind you) and got a little caffeine in the system before driving like a mad woman. I was just glad that there were no roadblocks or anything because I could've been fined for using the phone behind the wheel, with the way everyone was calling me to find out where I was. Hello, it's at least half an hour's drive FROM PJ, can? Not to mention the other cars on the road. And I can't rush the tiny car ANYWAY.

I don't know why they're so mad at me - not one of them remembered to bring it with them when they left. Really?! REALLY?! AND they all went to bed early; I only went to bed around 1 something.

So fine, I got home around 8 something and went back to bed and only finally woke up around after 11 a.m.

Kids books and small change

Spent the last few days going through the books that my grandmother wanted to throw out or sell to the newspaper guy, which belonged to either me and some of the other cousins over the years after the youngest cousins has had her pick of the lot over the weekend. The only books that are going to be pulped are the ones with (either) termite, bookworm or silverfish damage. 

In the end, there were plenty of Enid Blytons, Agatha Christies and other odds and ends. Whatever that can be sold is in a Google spreadsheet; if interested please check it out here. The rest that are otherwise readable I'm gonna release at the OBCZ in 1U the next time I'm going there.

In other news, word on the street is that the price of petrol is going up 5 cents a litre tomorrow, so I'm staying put at home because I'm not in the mood to get caught in the mad lines that are bound to happen. Bollocks, I've put off fueling the Jeep too long. Oh well.

To all the people scoffing at the desperadoes queuing up at the petrol stations - five cents more per litre is still money, okay...!

Day in KL

Decided to go check out the Clarks warehouse sale happening at the Corus Hotel on Jalan Ampang (which I've never did before because I had to WORK), which is a short walk from the KLCC LRT station (yay). 

Being the first day of one of the more anticipated sales in the Valley, the line was literally out the hotel entrance... seriously. One auntie asked (who came with family in tow) and found out that they let people in every 10 minutes. My guess was that they're matching the number of people in and out for crowd control. Killed some of the time in line talking to some of the other people in line. Also didn't help that people were leaving with boxes and boxes of shoes.

Since I had forgotten my watch, I guess I spent about an hour in line before I finally got into the sale area. After going around the circuit a couple of times, I didn't get anything and left.

While I was still in the area, I decided to stop by the Pelita restaurant on Jalan Ampang for lunch  (funny really, because it's been YEARS since I last went to the one in PJ) before walking back to KLCC. Also picked up a sample box of Kellogg's Special K cereal after lunch on the sidewalk walking towards the mall - the promoters couldn't open the boxes quick enough to catch up with the pedestrians. I wonder if the Kellogg's people know that Special K is a street name for the drug Ketamine? That's all I think about everytime I see the boxes in the supermarket.

Wandered around KLCC for a bit before calling it a day and taking the train home.

Kelana Jaya public pool - safe for women and children :P

Decided to drop by the local public pool since the school holidays are over and it shouldn't be as crowded. 

By the time I got back from sending the 'rents to the airport and a quick lunch, I was just in time for the afternoon session. It did not help that I was the only female at the time. But with its reputation of being a cruising spot for gay dudes, I'm not totally concerned :P The weather was also not too bad - I'd take cloudy over the bright sun any day. Must remember to be a little more thorough with the sunscreen application, though.

I also agreed to check out this media event tomorrow morning at Vila Manja spa on Jalan Damai. Yes, I've been staring at the driving directions on Google Maps, hoping that I've absorbed it in some fashion. 

Wish me luck.

One of those Saturdays

Drove down to KL today because I wanted to go to Bangsar and to Central Market within a few hours and wasn't in the mood for public transport. 

Went to Bangsar, got a nice parking spot - rare as hen's teeth, I tell you - in front of Pappa Rich on Telawi 3 because I had heard of this family-run optical shop which has great service, selection of eyewear, yada yada yada. Some of you might know which one I'm referring to - they were not kidding about the crowd, because the shop was packed when I walked in. No, I didn't get anything, but the attention was greatly appreciated... or I could have been tailed just so I don't sneak a pair or more out of the shop :P

Since I had already paid to park for an hour (stupid DBKL, insisting on having to pay parking on Saturday), so I wandered around for a bit. Only thing I bought was a bag of Cheetos from the Village Grocer and fresh juice from Boost Juice Bar.

Later managed to park at Central Market because I wanted to check out the KL Alternative Bookfest and Art for Grabs happening at the Annexe Gallery, located right behind Central Market. My only snag was how was I going to get home, which wasn't too hard in the end, thankfully. No, didn't get anything from there too, though people interested in getting "alternative" reading material could always check out KLAB. 

If you go down on Sunday, parking in Dayabumi's cheaper.

_ _

There's a funeral happening in the neighbourhood this weekend, which I wouldn't ordinarily care if the house in question wasn't situated on the one road to and from the house. The ONLY road. I guess it's a good thing that they only took up half the road. I thought it was a little convenient that the deceased passed on on a weekend during the school holidays. If it wasn't the school holidays now, it would've been chaos.

To be frank, I saw it coming when I saw an ambulance pulling out of that house earlier in the week.

My week so far

Been mostly home because there was no real reason for me to be out... well okay, I did go to Tropicana City Mall and The Curve over two days to enjoy some quiet time and air conditioning, and that's it.

• Catching up on the fifth season of Criminal Minds...and the odd TV episode here and there.
• Attempting to plough through the tome that is James Lipton's Inside Inside.
• Also tried reading Waiting for Godot - either my attention span is getting worse, or it was like waiting for Godot to show up: it was hard reading it without having seen it before. 
• Sorted the various paper and plastic shopping bags that I've accumulated over the years, which was quite a bit.
• Resisting from buying all sorts of stuff online, biggest culprit - eBay

To travel, or not to travel?

Been pondering the thought of travelling since I have all this time, just not necessarily the expense. 

I had thought of visiting the cousin in Australia but there are no direct budget flights to Sydney that I'm aware of. The non-budget options also cost too much for my wallet.

I also thought about going to the UK, even for just a few days. There are the budget flights, but the accommodation would kill me on top of everything else I had wanted to go see when I'm there. Would be nice if I could crash with people, but... oh well.

There's also going to Singapore for the Great Singapore Sale, if I wasn't already there recently before the sale. I also can't quite think of anything I would buy there to justify the travelling... apart from a visit to HMV. Since there are no concerts there that I'm looking forward to in the near future. It is, however, the one place I would travel to by myself as it's how I've been doing it in the last few years.

Well okay, I've been spending a little too much time on eBay, looking up random stuff that I'm curious by and stuff I could get cheaper than if I bought it locally.

So I checked out the Benefit sale and came away with zilch

So I drove the Jeep back to PBD to check out the Benefit sale at Milenium. And I managed to drive there and back without incident, which I'm glad for.


I was also surprised that the Damanlela open air car park still had parking at that hour - until I saw how much it cost to park for the first two hours >P I know parking is a bit of a premium in that neck of the woods, but it's still ridiculous. 


Surprise number two was getting to the 13th floor and... there was no line going in. It was still in the same small room as before and there were some people there perusing the merchandise, which makes it hard to just look. Spent a few minutes looking and... I didn't buy anything. There was nothing I wanted and I didn't want to buy something just because I was already there kinda thing. The prices aren't cheap enough to simply buy something just because it's cheap. If anyone wants prices of what's on sale there, blogger Miu has the list on her blog post about it. 


Anyway, walked around PBD to see what's changed since I was there, got a drink at Starbucks and drove home.