will & kate

William & Catherine

grew up 'following' him because well, he's the same age as me. haha.
the perfect fairytale wedding... =D

too bad i actually missed it live.
and where was i the whole time? white water rafting yo! @_@

encik suami, can i get this for my upcoming birthday? =D

photo source: Google

weekend getaway

negeri di bawah bayu...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

foreign domestic helper part 1

hmm. i could voulunteer to be a runner for this. haha.

my domestic helper arrived from Indonesia recently via visitor's pass. so earlier today (and yesterday) i ran around the immigration offices in Shah Alam and Putrajaya to settle her JP Visa application before her visiting visa expires (in exactly one months' time from her arrival date).

why JP visa? i learnt from the immigration offices today that they've recently reinforced the ruling that calling visas are temporarily freezed for Indonesia. meaning that the only way that you can enlist domestic help from Indonesia is by getting them here first, then only send in your application. i know because a lady came in with all her forms intact only to be rejected because of this ruling.

also, Filipino maids are only obtainable via agents only and will not entertain applications by individuals (don't ask me why. i just simply read all the signs they pasted onto the walls). my friend says Filipino maids are superb, just highly expensive, huhu (tunggu i gaji 10k dulu ok haha).

anyhooo... applying for JP visa is basically the same as applying for a domestic helper, with the additional letter of an appeal letter. all the other documents needed i obtained from the Immigration website. here's a list for quick reference of what i actually submitted (for new PRA application):

1.Borang permohonan baru (PRA1)
2.Borang IM 12. (Permohonan PLKS)
3.Borang IM 38. (Permohonan Visa)
4.Borang Personal Bond yang dimatikan setem RM10.00
5.Perjanjian Pekerjaan oleh pembantu rumah asing yang dimatikan setem RM10.00 (4 sets handwritten by you, but only 3 needs stamping, the 4th one is your own personal copy, i got this information by calling Putrajaya office)
6.Salinan Pasport pembantu rumah asing (and also the original)
7.Laporan Perubatan bakal PRA dari negara asal oleh panel yang dilantik oleh Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia
8.Borang perakuan daripada majikan yang tidak menggunakan agensi berdaftar bagi majikan yang mengemukakan permohonan secara individu
9.Bukti pendapatan tetap suami isteri:
Penyata KWSP dan slip gaji (3 bulan terkini)
10.Salinan kad pengenalan suami isteri
11.Dokumen sokongan untuk tujuan permohonan PRA (Seperti sijil kelahiran anak, pengesahan pegawai perubatan mengenai keluarga sakit) - my children's birth cert in this case
12.Sijil perkahwinan

(for non Muslim majikan, i think there's an extra form you need to fill up if you're taking a Muslim domestic helper)

easy peasy write? well if you know what to fill up in the form lah. make extra print outs if you fill up wrongly as to avoid having to go home and obtaining the necessary documents and signatures again and again @_@. oh and usually the majikan would always be the husband, no matter what. i initially filled up my name since i'd be the one running around to settle the application, pffft.

also prepare glam passport photos of youself, the spouse and the domestic helper. i made 4 copies but i think i only used one each of ours and 2 for the domestic helper. i had to drag the maid to get her picture taken (i forgot to tell her to bring copies along with her), alang2 i took mine too for future use =P. i had to grab a scanned copy of Significant Other's photo, buruk pun buruk laa haha.

get your forms stamped at LHDN first. they'd cost rm10 per stamp, so that's a total of rm40 - three contracts and one personal bond (you don't have to stamp your own copy of the contract unless you want to =P). i went to the LHDN branch at Plaza Perangsang, Level 9.

then only you make your way to Immigration in Presint 2, Putrajaya.

i called up Shah Alam branch, they said i could also apply for JP visa there but at the end of the day they still had to forward it to the Putrajaya HQ. so what the heck i drove all the way to Putrajaya to hand in the forms. thanks to GPS, without it i might've gotten lost just getting there, the buildings are pretty intimidating. more spacious, parking was free and the place seem to bring the illusion of less people here compared to the branch in Shah Alam. haha.

i think i spent more time just getting there than actually being there, haha. saw some other people bringing a whole bunch of passports, but one of the ladies look too pretty to be a runner. or she might be a pretty rich majikan to be able to employ many2 domestic helpers (one to look after the house, one to take care of the kids, one to do gardering, etc etc hoho).

after submitting my documents i was told to wait after 7 days before calling them up to get the decision. oh well. so i guess i can continue with my rambling next week. lol.

i love Putrajaya. well driving through that is. i feel like i'm in another country. haha jakun sekejap. doesn't feel as stuffy as KL is. pffft.

i would recommend you apply for JP visa immediately after the domestic helper's arrival because processing time takes awhile and you won't have to pay extra to extend her visa. i made that mistake, she arrived at a point when i kept going home late from the office hence only applying for it almost 2 weeks later, sigh.

ok, that's it for now. errands to run, tax returns to submit. ttyl!

'environmentally' green

i was busy organizing my closet that day. to keep Dayana preoccupied, i handed her a box of flashcards and told her to play in front of the telly. she loves playing guess-the picture-on-the-card, and we've played a few times for her to understand how the game works so she was more than happy to go play by herself.

so... alkisahnye... this was what i overheard while hovering at the living room unnoticed:

Dayana: what this?
it's a clock! yes! (sila sebut clock without the 'l' ok, anak i ni keturun cina sikit =P)
Dayana: what color's the clock?
it's geeeeen!

puts back the card onto a pile. then picks another card up.

to myself: i rase the clock tu bukan green in color, apekah? so i snuck a little bit closer to get a better look.

Dayana: what this?
it's a cat!
Dayana: what color's the cat?
it's geeeeen!

T_T~

i keep teaching her colors yet she still gets them wrong. does anyone have any pointers?

busy busy busy

new maid has arrived. i don't have time to settle the permit @(#*@(*&$(*@# i find it weird that by far both my kids will automatically warm up to Indonesian maids even at first meet. serious, til now, Dinara throws a ruckus each time my mom comes to visit.

been working late the past week to settle a hotfix. but the environment is not making it easy for me, my files keep going into the ERROR directory. and the error messages that i get from the component log only comes in standard Complish jargon, something which i do not converse well in.

4 fluffies unexpectedly arrived at my (office) doorstep. this goes to show how officially crazy i have been, an intervention is necessary before it's too late.

due to rushing to meet deadlines, i have not been pumping on time therefore milk production is decreasing @_@ i am lucky that i have a kind and concern neighbor in the office that will always remind me that i'm water-less. haha.

to make things even complicated, Significant Other just sprung a surprise next weekend. crapppp.

last weekend i went to the GP to get Dayana's overdue 18-month shot, Dinara for her phlegm and happened to be she was down with a slight fever.

weight of both kiddos as of last Saturday 16/04:
Dayana: 11.1kg at 2yo 7mo+
Dinara: 5.4kg at 7mo+

dunno if i should be worried. not like i can shove more food down Dayana's throat. and since i babywear Dinara most of the time, i feel like my arms are gonna break each time i carry her barehanded, lol.

tax return deadline is coming up. double crap.

oh and i finally got around to sticking this bumper sticker i received from my friend Rozy. i kept misplacing it until i found it one day while emptying out the rubbish from my car.

(pic)

a car's tale

did i tell you my car overheated again? this was the 2nd time it happened to me. also happened once while my parents borrowed my car.

i got my car on July 28th, 2006. i still remember the date because that was the day i missed my team dinner at Jogoya just to pick up the car at the dealer before it closed for the day. barely 5 years old. already dying out on me? T_T. i can't afford a new car. not so soon. but i do wish my car was 4-door. 2-door is annoying like hell. especially if the car door keeps swinging shut on its own. konon Proton fixed the door weight glitch with Neos, but apparently it's doing too much of a good job to the point that it swings itself shut even when i don't want it to. bencik.

anyyyway, i was on the way to pick up Significant Other from the airport after work. i woke up at 4.30am just for him to be able to catch the 7.10am flight bound to Sarawak, so i ended up being a zombie most of the day at office (i now understand why coffee is a very important tool in keeping one awake).

so there i was stuck in the jam on the road from MV spilling into Sungai Besi (i was heading for the MEX, fastest way to get to LCCT) when my car suddenly died. no kidding. at a non-strategic place too where i can't even get out of the car, where it was only two-lanes with no space for an emergency lane. summore it was raining heavily, and it was a Friday evening. what luck. didn't even realize the temperature was rising until the engine died out. tried to start the engine again, but it died 5 seconds later. managed to steer it closer to the side of the road.

ok, so i think this is the third mishap i've experienced with my car. first being the car overheated at Ikano, but i had my brother to help me out. the second was when my car ran out of gas when i was driving on MEX, but MEX had their own peronda that i could call for help. this was the third mishap with my car. but this time i wasn't so fortunate, 1) the combination of rain + jam was superb, 2) the location of where my car died was really 'strategic' (why couldn't my car wait until i was on the MEX before it gave out??), 3) who was i supposed to call to help me out? even Ghostbusters couldn't help me out of this predicament haha.

luckily i had my trusted WA-mates to teman me. Significant Other wasn't around (he had to get home by taxi), my brother was at the other side of the world, and even if someone did come to rescue me, what about my car?

i had Etiqa Assist's number i got the first time my car overheated, decided to give it a try. the assist on the line was really helpful, although at first he did mention that help would only arrive 1 hour later (my car died around 7.30ish) and i really really wanted to go to the toilet at the time (there weren't any bushes around!!! ahhahahahaha). the closest tow truck was currently at Sunway, so i had no choice but to wait lo.

i was also very very grateful my iPhone battery was charged to 100%.

i think it was almost 9pm when the tow truck arrived. by that time traffic had eased and cars were zooming by rather dangerously @_@. i was lucky the tow truck arrived when it did. and boy was it big. it's not the small tacky ones where they tow your car with the wheels rolling on the road, no. this is the one where the car gets loaded onto the tow truck. and it had flashing lights too! hehe. sorry, abit of jakunness here. i've never been towed before, let alone rode in one!

wish i had taken photos. the current location i was at didn't allow me to lepak at the roadside, the technician shooed me into the truck while he loaded my car. and he was really nice too. he told me a bunch of stuff about towing. apparently when it rains, confirm got accidents, and confirm his services will be needed haha. i asked him what he thought about Etiqa, and he said it was not bad (he has to say that, he works for them lol). but he also said for the best vehicle insurance, Hong Leong was not a bad choice.

for Etiqa's towing service, the first 50km is free, then charges applies. i had to pay absolutely nothing save for the toll. i requested to have my car towed to Proton direct so i could send it directly the next day. the technician even had the guards to allow me to park inside the compound for the weekend haha.

best service ever. in my book lah. nothing to compare to though.

since it was a Friday and Proton didn't entertain complaints on Saturday i had to wait until Monday to file a complaint. apparently most of the people at Glenmarie were all new, most of them resigned or moved on. i got this very enthusistic lady as my service advisor. they managed to get my number wrong, and my plate number wrong when i made an apoointment T_T.

i got charged about rm30ish to retighten the wires, which was supposed to be the cause of my car overheating (but each time i send my car for repairs they said the same thing, my dad even replaced the fan when it overheated). alang2 since i was already there i had them replace three blown lightbulbs for my car. lol. so kene la rm50 for repairs. sigh. i'm out of ideas on what i should actually do if it happens again.

anyone wanna sponsor me a new car? LOL.

so make sure you choose a good insurer for your car. you know, just in case stupid things like this happens to you.

wednesday already?

this wednesday... ain't any wordless wednesday. haha.

i keep procrastinating my posts these days because i always have something preoccupying my mind one way or another. recently the house blew a couple of fuses so that's unforseen expenses out the door.

first one blew at the main fuse outside (which explains the partial blackout).
second fuse kicked the main supply downstairs, found out the autogate was the culprit, further investigation revealed cicaks to be the MAIN CULPRIT of the electricity failure. stupid cicaks. takbley berasmara tempat lain ke? alas, you literally got fried. haha. oops.

here's some quick updates for my 7-month old and my 2y7mo dot:

Dinara:


# she has mastered the rolling technique, and can manage to turn 360 degrees on her tummy. has yet to attempt crawling yet, she'll slink away like a caterpillar and has already attempted mini push ups.
# she doesn't like the apple and mango combination i gave her the other day. each time a spoonful enters her mouth she'll scrunch up her little fast in protest (but swallows it anyway haha).
# she likes peas and zucchinni though. interesting...
# easily distracted, especially during bf time. more interested in the world than refuelling.
# depending on her mood, i can just leave her with a bunch of toys/distractions around her to occupy herself with while i go run errands.
# her hair is not as thick as Dayana's hair last time, hers is really thin and flyaway.
# she's fascinated with plastic, or things that crinkle like plastic.
# is still my favorite wearee of all time :D
# i feel the weight each time i carry her in my bare arms. thank God for babywearing. now i just need to convince myself i don't need that many.
# i love her smiles. morning, noon and night.

Dayana:


# i recently bought her a coloring book to color in. at times of sheer boredom she'll end up coloring the floor, the doors and even the carpet T_T. thank goodness the crayons are washable.
# has learned the differences between Snow White, Cindelella, Ariel and Beauty. prasan that she is the Snow White character. the most-played movie to date is Beauty & the Beast. heck i think she has memorized 3/4 of the movie.
# her words and pronounciation is getting more clearer now. however she still insists that her baby sister's name is DIYAYA AMANI!
# she goes 'MA! MA!' whenever she wants something. it's really annoying, i tell you. she used to say this alot previously, i didn't understand what it meant then.
# chugs alot of milk at night. and dispense alot of 'water' in turn. and not like she'd tell me that it's time for a change. sometimes she will, sometimes she don't. grrr. how to potty train like this? @_@
# shares only certain toys with Dinara.
# seems to fail at color-indentifying. practically ever color we ask her to identify she'll tell us that it's 'geen'. haih. Significant Other is wondering if she's color blind T_T.
# loves talking to her Wan on Skype. bebel apa pun tak tau.
# corrects us sometimes. i remember playing flash cards with Dayana, and i purposely held the card upside down, she quickly help to turn the card the right way up and tell me, 'upside down lah!'. clever! a few more would be:
-- not Dear, Mommy lah!
-- not Kalish, Angah lah!

kekekeke.

Formula 1 in Malaysia this weekend. for the past weekends i always had something planned, something to do, some event to attend. this weekend is Formula 1. didn't get tickets for this year though =(.

stendhal

definition of Stendhal taken from Wikipedia:

Born: 23 January 1783(1783-01-23) Grenoble, France
Died: 23 March 1842(1842-03-23) (aged 59) Paris, France
Occupation: Writer
Literary movement: Realism

Marie-Henri Beyle (23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black, 1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma, 1839).

hmmmmm. i wonder how he became an inspiration for this:

:)

btw, there's a definition for Stendhal's syndrome on Wikipedia:

Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.

hmmm. if art = wraps, then this definition seems to describe wrap fanatics perfectly, especially when there's a recent release. hahahahahahhah.

=P

weekend DIY project

hoho. pretty ugly upon close inspection, but me likey since i did it all by myself. let's hope he's not too worksmanship-fussy!

materials:

- window pane measurements
- ruler
- pencil
- frosted film (2 meters costed me about rm72)
- sharp scissors
- water
- water spray bottle
- cloth
- babysitter to keep watch of your screaming children

how to do:

1. get actual window pane measurements
2. measure onto frosted film and mark with pencil
3. cut along measured lines
4. get babysitter (a.k.a. DH to babysit your screaming kids)
5. clean window pane to be frosted
6. fill water spray with water and spray window pane to oblivion
7. carefully peel of plastic film layer
8. paste onto window pane
9. use a cloth to press out air bubbles that exist between the frosted film and the window pane
10. wipe away excess water
11. sit back and admire your artwork
12. repeat for the rest of the window panes until you develop backache

final masterpiece kakakaka

:D. like i said, don't stare at the worksmanship, because if i did, i'd end up sleeping overnight in front of the window just trying to get it right to perfection. s'long as it serves its purpose of adding privacy to the unit. agree? =P

p/s. happy birthday Sophia!

hungry

ice cream comes to mind... can you say that i'm stashified? i seriously am. now it's time to move on to more greener pastures... the only problem is... WHAT.

i can't remember the last time i had a slow weekend. my friend's having an akikah tomorrow, and Deen's having a birthday party for her cheeky chubby little one on Sunday. i'm supposed to be tinting windows tomorrow. and Signficant Other wants to teach Dayana how to play tennis @_@. do you think i got time to drop by the Curve to get macarons from my friend?

ugh. i also got 3 postals to mail out on Monday @_@.

i'm just happy F1 is next week and not this week!

heh happy weekend y'all!