Tai Tai for a Day

30th April 2008, that was the deadline. Being the very law-abiding citizen that I am, *sniggers, I had to take leave that day to rush to the IRB office to make the e-Filing since I missed the last day to have the password reset online which was on 25th April, and Thank God the IRB branch I went to was not so crowded. After spending about 15 minutes queuing to have the e-Filing password reset, I headed to the e-Filing room, and again after 15-minute wait I finally was allocated a PC. And the e-Filing server had to start crawling right after I logged in. Sigh! I stubbornly insisted to wait although the IRB technicians started harassing everyone to do manual submission instead and blaming us all for rushing at the very last minutes which caused massive traffic jam to the server. Hello… aku punya income tax aku punya sukalah… I wished I could just shout back at them. So after about 1-hour stubbornly occupying the PC not wanting to leave, finally they made arrangement to route the e-Filing to a different server and after a few flip flops (don’t blame us, we are only doing the filing once a year!) viola, IRB owed me RM 4,012! Wohoa!!! Seesh, if only I had submitted much earlier I could have received and enjoyed the refund already!

Still on Cloud Nine over the RM 4,012, which I have yet to receive, I went straight to Eden Restaurant for early lunch. The place was still empty so I had the pleasure to be the sole Queen of the day for a while.

Good afternoon ma’am, may I take your order please.
Ma’am, here’s your Caesar Salad as the appetizer.
And here’s your sizzling lamb with blablabla… enjoy your lunch ma’am.
How would you like your coffee ma’am, to be served now or after the meal?
And, here’s the mud pie ma’am…

And, here’s the bill ma’am…

Sigh! Bagi lah chan dreaming lama sikit… Well, at least I had enjoyed my 1 hour lunch with the attentive lady-in-waiting services from the 2 waiters.

OK, after the hearty lunch, what better way to relax than walk around the mall shopping for shoes, handbags, etc.

Whoaa…refund from IRB, hmm… I could have that Coach sling bag quite similar to what H* my officemate had purchased at San Francisco recently. Talk about tak nak kalah dengan member ish.. ish.. ish! But that model has yet to reach Malaysia, has it?

What about shoes? Oohh yes, I definitely need a new boot for my Berlin trip next 2 weeks, something formal I could match with office suits yet casual enough to go with jeans. And I finally bought from Bonia, only the boot. Sorry to disappoint you Bonia sales assistants, but I don’t think those bling bling-type handbags you tried hard to push me into buying are really my type. You see, I think they suit Tai Tais better. Yes, I am a Tai Tai, but only for today lorrr… Haha!

I wonder what the famous contractor in yellow boot had to say about the style I chose. Haha!

OK, I still have some more balance from the IRB’s cheque. What else do I need for the Berlin trip. Oh ya, I do need new backpack, something not too flashy but formal enough to carry my laptop and notepad for the conference, yet roomy/casual I could carry around when roaming around Berlin later. Aha, why not Samsonite backpack! No thanks to you Sir Richard Branson, ever since they chose you as Samsonite’s brand rep for business/casual travelers, I am so hooked to it. But, I still couldn’t find one that suits my taste and most importantly my budget within that whatever balance left in IRB’s cheque which I have yet to receive.

Seshhh, all those walking and squabbling with the sales assistants really wear me down, I wonder how real Tai Tais can be doing this everyday, I think.

And this Big Apple really helped boast the energy level back. Sooo smooth and yummmyyyy… lalala!

Opps..it’s close to 5:00pm I better rush home before I am being caught with Klang Valley traffic rush hour.

Miss, care to try this new DKNY perfume miss…
It’s the latest in the market..blablabla…

Aiyah the perfume sales assistants sounded so persistent to make sales after seeing me haggling with the Bonia and other shopping bags. Hei sudah lah, that Tai Tai sudah balik kampung dah…this is NJ.

And IRB, I am waiting for the refund cheque!!!

Love Is In The Air

I am in love, again. Yes, I really am. I have been doing nothing this weekend except for indulging myself in familiarising on how to manouver and navigate this new big nerdy boys’ toy. It’s the latest edition of its famous series. It’s been a year since it’s being made available in the market, and finally himself and I can no longer contain the mounting peer pressures to own it. In fact we have been cat-fighting since yesterday over who should be in control of this new super cool toy.

I have seen enough demonstrations on how this brand’s latest technical marvel can do wonders while it’s being manouvered around. In its own way, it is definitely close to that of a luxury liner that offers one of those experiences that can only leave one gushing. And as always, Himself has been subtly exerting that super alpha male ego and has insisted to be my expert guide in explaining the suite of features that could bamboozle a newbee.

This famous brand’s latest edition also includes all the familiar state-of-the-art functions such as, well, you can imaginatively compare with any exotic car’s all-speed traction control, electronic brake-force proportioning, antilock braking, cornering brake control, dynamic brake control, and cornering and avoidance stabilization.

And of course for ordinary manouvering, we can always tune back the sophisticated features to a modest day to day usage. And if our hearts desire to show off, to outrun a missile, we just have to bump it back by activating and leveraging its full new suite of features. With all the available new powerful features that we can opt to cluster the dashboard which can tremendously enhance the look, the feel and the power of the new toy, I can safely say it’s close to impossible to give anyone a switch for everything.

It’s so cool!

Needless to say, it has a wide variety of interior and creature comfort options. But the ultimate selling point of it I must say is of how it looks, manouvers, and fullfills yours truly’s selfish requirement. Dollar for dollar, it is the ultimate tool for an inquisitive, imaginative, techno-centric and close to crazy blogger, ahem… yours truly again lah.

And for the bimmering, diomand showering steering wheel… how should I describe it ya?

Eh, Hallo Hallo… Woman, snap out of it. Get back from your dreamland! Where got bimmering steering wheel. You are just holding a mouse to navigate through your newly installed Microsoft Windows Vista…

Oh well..

Will You Be My Best Friend, Paris Hilton?

The world’s billionaire club is welcoming another 146 new members this year, making the total members almost reaching 1,000 with net worth increases of 35% since the previous year. According to Forbes, the increase in wealth is due to surging commodity prices, real estate, and strong equity market.

Bill Gates is still in the lead with $56bn followed by investment guru Warren Buffet with his $52bn. In the women’s category, among the famous names are Oprah Winfrey ($1.5bn) and JK Rowling ($1bn). And among the youngest club members are Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, 33 and 34 years respectively, whose fortune worths $1.6bn each.

And, Malaysia Boleh! Our very own Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary with $1.3bn is in the 754th place.

Pure ingenuity, not industry, is all what it takes to become one. The average age of billionaires is getting 2 years younger this year. In fact the new kids on the block are 7 years younger than the average. And 60% of them do not inherit the fortunes, but earn them from scratch.

Good news then. It seems like I and any Tom, Dick and Harry on the street can join this club. So, where do I go from here?

OK, a quiz in Forbes might help shed some light:

1. You are:
· An only child
· The eldest child
· A middle child
· The youngest child

2. If you were to start a business tomorrow, it would be:
· A software company
· A media company
· A financial company
· A real estate development company

3. You will specify that the kids will:
· Inherit it all upon your death
· Inherit a few million
· Get an annual income from the trust
· Get nothing

4. What is your highest level of education:
· High school diploma or equivalent
· Some college, not degree
· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
· Graduate or professional degree

5. What is your marital status:
· Never married
· Still married to first spouse
· Divorced or Widowed
· Married multiple times

6. What is your country of birth:
· The United States
· Japan
· Russia
· Others

7. How would you like to earn a fortune:
· Inherit it all
· Make it all myself
· Greatly increase a small inheritance
· Win the lottery

8. Your hobbies include:
· Sailing
· Collecting art
· Raising thoroughbred horses
· What hobbies?

9. You would be most likely invest in:
· Currency derivatives
· US equities
· US bonds
· Gold

10. How many children do you have:
· None
· One
· Two
· Three or more

The verdict, I scored 30 out of100, it says:“Joe Salariman (hallo, it should be Jane) – There is nothing wrong with the 40 X 40 X 40 plan. Just remember that for 40 hours a week for 40 weeks a year for 40 years doesn’t make it a billionaire.”

Aiyayayaya… there goes my chance to rub shoulders with Paris Hilton and the like.

Well, if I don’t have what it takes to be a billionaire on my own, why don’t I make myself married to one.

“Yang, can I send ur CV to Warren Buffet. He’s looking 4 a new investment mgr”, I SMSed the significant other while reading the Star today.

Tit..tit.. “Semekum, x bfast lagi ke? Pi minum, baru cerah sikit otak” was his reply.

Arghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!