away for the weekend...

A break from work, and trip away from home.

Hong Kong, here I come.

i can't believe i'm being blamed for this...

Today I received a call from a client whose sole purpose is to give me a tick off. And it was a lengthy one as well.

I delivered some samples for viewing to the said client this morning for selection of prints, and she was not in when I arrived. I am not sure how ‘professionals’ deliver items, but being an ‘amateur’ dispatch myself I passed the samples to her colleague and reconfirmed that the parcel is supposed to be handed to her before I left it with them.

Less than 2 hours later I got a call from this client, and I assumed that she called to inform that she has received the parcel. Unexpectedly, the first thing that blurted from her mouth was ‘Is this how you deliver things? I can’t believe you’re so unprofessional.’

I was like, WTF?

I made a delivery. She was not in, during office hours. I passed the parcel to her colleague and left a message that it has to be handed to her.

And somehow, that made me unprofessional.

To summarize the telephone conversation, let’s just say that they have some office politics and internal problems between themselves, and I look to be a very good scapegoat for someone who’s probably enduring THAT time of the month.

The samples aren’t P&C (and mine by the way), and I know very well how I should handle the deliveries should they involve monetary or confidential documents.

I do not know that your colleague is a troublesome employee in your administration, and even if she is, I honestly don’t think that’s my problem, is it? And I definitely do not know that this colleague of yours is getting fired soon for her inadequacies.

Let’s sum it up, so now I am not professional, because…:-
1) You’re out of the office, during office hours.
2) Your colleague is a prick in your office.
3) Your colleague will be getting the sack soon.
4) I do not know information (1) to (3).

Ah, the common sense in a woman’s mind.

I do not intend to analyze how the conclusion came around that I am at fault right now. It’s futile.

government maths...

Government losses can reach RM28bil a year – or more due to overpayment

RM28 billion.

Hmm.

That's RM28,000,000,000.

Malaysia's population is 27 million.

That's more than RM1,000 from each Malaysian.

Say if I pay RM1,000 tax every year, that will mean the government 'lost' my money all these while.

Welcome to Bolehland, where everything 'boleh lesap' just like that.

first experience in auctions...

Perhaps this doesn’t equate in an ordinary manner, but I traded approximately three weeks and 50 bucks to buy an experience in property auctions.

Before anyone jumps into conclusions, I did not manage to get the unit auctioned.

Here’s how the story goes.

I spotted a pretty decent auction unit while rummaging through the classifieds 3-4 weeks back. After the usual queries, an agent alerted me of another condominium studio unit in a location which has been interesting me a long while. I got the common information I could get from the agent and paid the unit a visit the following day.

Visiting the auction property is a must, if you do not know yet, because you’ll never know if you are buying an auction unit with a corpse tucked nicely in the fridge (you know, the Mont Kiara case several years back). But having said that, 99 of out 100 times you’ll never get to view the inside of the unit because 1) the unit’s vacant with padlocks intact; and 2) the person staying there refuses to open the door for you. Well, unfortunately but expectedly, yours truly belong to the group of 99.

Anyway, knowing the area and location, I was somewhat confident that the unit is decently priced below the market value and after a week of research, found that the unit’s being auctioned for the second time (and 10% cheaper than the original auction price). Also, after checks with several agents and database, figured out that it’s around 15% below the market value, which is pretty decent.

The following week, I arranged with another agent to view a unit for rent which is identical with the auction unit so that I can look at the actual layout with my own eyes. Not the nicest thing to do, I have to admit, but that’s the best I can do to have a good grasp of what I’m getting into.

Within the same week, I also visited the land office twice. I arrived at the land office in the afternoon for the first time and got turned away because the land office does not check documents in the afternoon (?). Don’t ask me why, but that’s the reason uttered by the man over the counter. In Bolehland, anything can happen and that includes government employees being barred from searching for documents after 12pm. Good luck in achieving Vision 2020.

Anyway, had to return the following day to make the title search, as well as to check whether any caveats are lodged on the property. After being directed to 3-4 different counters, I finally manage to get the property’s strata title presented in front of me.

It’s but a whole load of jargons.

Can’t really decipher anything encrypted in all of the 3 pages and considering that I can’t photocopy it, I end up staring blankly at the documents not knowing what I should be looking for. I had to request the office staff to explain the important things that I want to know, which is 1) if the defendant the rightful owner of the auction unit; and 2) whether there are any private caveats lodged on the property. And I got good news for both.

Went through the proclamation of sale with the agent again after that and was assured that the bank will bear all outstanding arrears so everything seemed fine. All the recipe for a perfect buy.

But if some things seem too good to be true, usually it’s too good to be true.

Several days ago, I dropped by the auction unit again and this time I lingered around with the security guards to know more about the current owner. Little is known about the owner except that she defaulted payment amounting several thousands, and the weird thing is the neighbour of this unit is so reluctant to talk to me (I bumped into the neighbour in the lift) he’d rather stare right at the lift’s wall than to speak up.

This bothered me for a couple of days. What if the owner’s still staying there? What if she refuses to move out after the auction? Is she even alive? Why is the neighbour so afraid when I asked questions about the auction unit?

After much consideration, I decided to back out from the deal.

But having gone through almost the entire procedure, I went to the auction anyway, and bought the banker’s cheque that will enable me to enter the auction room.

Thank God I made up my mind early, because on auction day there were 7 other bidders who’re targeting the same unit. And the proud new owner of the auction unit is a middle-aged lady who’s obviously a newbie in auctions.

How do I know?

Because she raised the last three bids without anyone counter-bidding and she got the unit at a price 15% above the market value (might as well scout the market for sales if you’re gonna pay a price like that). The judge actually had to stop and ask if she knows she’s upping the price herself before the hammer finally comes. Not my problem anyway.

It was fun while it lasted, and despite all the hassles and troubles I think it was a worthwhile experience. I’ll be glad to go through the entire ordeal again if I can unearth another gem in the auction market in the future.

you know you're old when...

…friends are throwing red bombs at you from all over the place.

I am invited to FIVE wedding dinners in the space of one month. This is simply outrageous (and burning a bloody big hole in my pocket!).

Work commitment means I can attend only two of these weddings, but that does not mean it did any kind to my wallet.

At a time when I’m planning a decent trip to overseas. Crap.

done and dusted...

It took almost seven months, but anyhow I’m glad that the deal’s finally concluded.

It was right before Chinese New Year this year that we went to view this condo unit, which wasn’t even put up for sale back then. We were merely viewing another similar unit belonging to an extremely fickle-minded owner, and for that this condo unit was presented there and then to us by an agent, from a person who didn’t thought of selling at all.

Immediately after the first viewing we made up our mind that this is the better choice (thanks to the other owner’s decision to increase the selling price 3 hours BEFORE we sign the agreement), and we made an offer to this current unit which he agreed after almost two weeks of consideration.

I had some doubts during the early stages, but seven months down the road, the path looks so far so good. The current tenant is continuing until end of the year, which as least will give us several months’ buffer which can be used to cover the gap when we take over for renovations after vacant. Hopefully, we’ll be able to increase the rental and get it occupied before the turn of a new year.

The entire duration of this transaction hasn’t really gone that smooth, but at the moment I pretty satisfied with the extra knowledge and experience gained throughout the past six months. I’m sure I’ll be better equipped for the next target, although I may have to push the plan further back to accommodate some far more important plans at the moment.

Plans, plans, plans.

celebration at leonardo's...

This post is long overdue. I've been wanting to write up a picture post but with my desktop currently dying on me, I kept finding excuses that prevented me from doing so.

Back in May, during The Lady's XXth birthday, I made a reservation at Leonardo's Dining Room & Wine Loft in Bangsar. It was a lottery really, as I browsed furiously in the world wide web to find a decent fine dining restaurant and this place popped up in the first page.

Thank my lucky starts that this place didn't disappoint me. Leonardo's is superb with very little crowd (in fact, I think they can house a maximum of 30-40 pax only), and with soothing music being played in the background, you can feel that they really make it a romantic venue for couple the italian way.



Leonardo's serves modern Italian cuisine, and while fine dining restaurants have limited items in the menu, there wasn't short of options here.


I can barely remember the names of the dishes that we ordered that night, but looking back at the photos it's pretty apparent we had mushroom soup as a starter. The Lady ordered spaghetti (forgive me but I really can't tell what kind), while I took up the chef's recommended Port Knuckle. Plus a Kahlua Tiramisu for dessert.

The spaghetti was okay, but the Pork Knuckle was simply delicious. Which surprises me, I didn't even notice that Leonardo's is a non-halal restaurant until the waitress recommended this dish.

Leonardo's also organizes talks, book launches and exhibitions occasionally during the weekends, according to the notice board found at the staircase. I'm sure this place attracts plenty of intellectual groups, and usually classy ones.

If you ask me, I'd definitely return to this restaurant again, probably with a small group of friends for a good round of dinner. I tell you, this will make you look pretty darn professional; dining and sipping wine in a classy restaurant located in a secluded row of shoplots hidden in Bangsar.

Leonardo's Dining Room & Wine Loft

61-1 & 61-2, Jalan Bangkung,

Bukit Bandaraya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 6.03.2096.2226