Horrible Service at KFC Alamanda

I hate Alamanda. Detest. It. Hate the crowded parking lot, hate the barbaric crowd who seem to only go there to hang around the park or Carrefour and I hate the idiotic 'customer service' reps at KFC.

Today, I went into the KFC Alamanda to try to buy the snack plate and noticed that there were four cashiers open. I went to the one to the farthest left and asked her if this line was open but she said that only the two lines next to her register was open. I looked to my right and only saw two cashiers, both to the farthest right. I stood in line at the right cashier behind another girl who was ordering her food. Once she got her food, I moved to the front of the cashier and proceeded to order but the stupid girl said, "Sorry, Miss, the line is closed."

What the fuck? They had helped the other girl and if the line was closed, why didn't they tell me that earlier?? I opened my mouth and said, "that other cashier told me that there were two cashiers open and I saw this one and that is why I am standing here". As I was about to explain further, this other ugly, full of makeup bitch shouted, "CLOSED." I just stared at her in disbelief thinking, 'Oh hell no, this fugly bitch did not just scream at me. Especially when I was just explaining myself and wasn't giving attitude or anything'. The other two bitches (why the fuck does one cash register need three people? Hello, these people are idiots!) just stared blankly at me. Frustrated, I said again, "but that lady said there were two cashier---oh forgettit."

It was no use arguing with such retarded assholes like these girls. I shot them an angry look and went to the cashier to my left, who was really nice to me and treated me like a normal human being. I was still mad though, and was going to ask her to call her manager so that I could inform her of her customer representatives bad attitude towards me, but I decided to drop the matter. Fact is, maybe the girl didn't understand English properly but she shouldn't be raising her voice to her customers like that. I will let this matter slide thanks to my having a fever, or I would've bitch-slapped that hoe.

Lesson learned: Don't go to KFC in Alamanda else you will be served by fugly, lazy girls who stand by the counters and just chat with their own co-workers instead of serving their customers. And why do you need three people for one register? What the hell, KFC Malaysia Corp. You guys are wasting your money on these slobs. Better inspect your restaurants because your workers are hardly working, your restaurant is dirty as fuck (hmm...same goes to your 'clientele') and your food taste like saw-dust mixed with shit. When was the last time someone changed the syrup in your soft-drinks machine? The 7-up I got didn't taste like 7-up! It tasted like undistilled water that I could have gotten from the bathroom or even the toilet!

What a bloody waste of RM10.30.

RIP Caer

A friend from the US passed away recently. A week and some days ago to be exact. I just wished that I had checked my correspondence earlier. The shock has gone away but the sadness is still inside my heart. She was such a lovely and strong person too.


 Caer passed away on November 16th, 2010 at 9:00am. 

It's unreal. Just over a month ago, I was exchanging comments with her and from her positive updates on her chemo, we all thought she was going to get better. She was a strong, beautiful, courageous, lovely woman who never judged a person even if that person had different viewpoints from her own. We were lj friends for more than 6 years but I knew her in two years earlier. 

Caer gave me advice, read and offered her own helpful thoughts and she was one of the most loveliest woman I've had the chance to get to know in life. Wish I was on the other side of the world so that I could have attended her wake.

Rest in Peace Babe and love you.

Missing you as ye shall be sorely missed.


RIP
Caer Daly
03-29-1976

Braces time!!

I am getting braces!! Finally, after 5 bloody years of enduring crappy teeth (which, btw, only turned crappy in college), I have saved enough money to get some orthodontic help.

Okay, my teeth aren't horrible as some people but I've always been bothered by them especially when taking close-up pictures. The front teeth are uneven compared to the other teeth and one of my canines have shifted out of place. Disgusting.

I went to see Dr. How in Bangsar and he is very sweet and nice. He asked me if I was of mixed parentage because in his words, I have a European nose. Hmm..how bizarre, I always thought I had a Native American nose, lol!! His services are a bit expensive compared to the norm but his personality and perfectionism is worth every cent.

Bad thing is that I will have to extract four healthy teeth!! And one stupid, small wisdom tooth that wasn't extracted because that Filipino surgeon bitch in Torrance said it wasn't worth it!! Stupid cow, my insurance could have covered that! It wasn't worth paying a premium of $44 per month for dental insurance if I couldn't utilize the services properly. Grr.

So my braces will be fitted next Wednesday and I am excited. Only thing I'm not excited about is the atrocious parking in Bangsar. Does every expat and wannabe social climbers and their mothers in KL go there for lunch or something? Sheesh.

Pictures will be up next week.

Mineral Makeup and Laura Mercier

*This is a review for makeup and may bore some people*

Ouch..my itchy, itchy face.

On a quest to find the perfect foundation that could stand the heat and humity of the weather here, I did some online research for mineral makeup products in Malaysia and read rave reviews about the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF15. This product is one of the rare minerals foundation found in Malaysia as there isn't such a craze for minerals as in the US.

Previously, I have tested and tried Bare Escentuals, Everyday Minerals and Urban Decay back in the US. Bare Escentuals was too thick and made me itchy as hell, probably due to the bismuth oxychloride and mica. I tried Everyday Minerals which suited my sensitive skin but it was hard to match the foundation to my skin perfectly.

Urban Decay's 'Surreal Skin' was the best fit as it fit my skin tone perfectly and it didn't cause any itchy or burning sensations. The product does have a bit of mica and bismuth but it may be in lower quantities than BE since I my face wasn't protesting at all. UD is hard as hell to find in Malaysia since there isn't a Sephora here...best bet would be to go to Singapore and buy it there or wait til next year for Sephora to come to Kuala Lumpur.

I went to the Robinsons at the Gardens Mid Valley and requested for the sales assistant to test the foundation. She used the makeup remover to wipe off the existing concealer I had put on prior to going out, used some sort of toner and then put primer. My face was flaming red due to either the remover or toner. It was quite embarrassing sitting on the counter chair showing the whole world my burning red cheeks with blemishes and all.

The SA matched my skin with the foundation color (Natural Beige) and tapped some of the powder onto the top container. Using her brush to swirl the powder around, she tapped the brush against the container to remove the excess powder and brushed it against my face. 

There is a sieve which allows the user to twist for usage

I kept looking at the mirror to see the effect of the powder and without concealer on my face, the foundation provided great coverage. However, it does enlarge some pores especially if the ones closer to the nose. The SA also brushed the 'Mineral Finishing Powder No.1' which gave my face a nice matte finish.

Impressed and liking the look of my skin, I purchased both products and received a RM20 voucher for spending more than RM180 in one transaction. I looked at the voucher as I was walking out of the store and nearly laughed. It expired in two days!

15 minutes later, I felt my face start to itch and the effects were just like the Bare Escentuals mishap. It felt like an itching/burning sensation on areas like my chin, around the mouth, my forehead and my cheekbones. I tried to endure it for awhile thinking that my face was just trying to get used to it but I couldn't stand it so as soon as I got home, I went to the bathroom and washed my face twice. 

What a pity. It looked and felt like a great product but because of the two ingredients, it just didn't fit my acne-prone, highly sensitive skin.

I called Robinsons and explained my situation to them. Since I didn't use the two products and kept my receipt, I am able to exchange or return the products for my money back within 14 days. Yay!

 The return policy is horrible in Malaysia as most places do not allow you to return or exchange anything but the policy at Robinsons is pretty damn good. So note to readers: check all ingredients listed on the product first before purchasing it and if you do purchase the product, make sure the store has a good return policy. 

*sighs* Now I will still have to go around looking for the perfect foundation...might try the Laura Mercer Oil-free Tinted Moisturizer as I heard it was great for sensitive skin but I hope it won't cause another allergic reaction.

Missing You Already

R.I.P Rock Cafe Food Court. Ye shall be missed.

I remember the days when, after a hard day's work, Old Boney Bitch and I would sit under the shaded roof-top, the musty smell of Chinese wine and food mixed with the stench of underarm from the nearby workers drifting in the air, and drinking fine hard glasses of tasty, cheap as hell beer.

I will miss most of all, the three Bangla workers Monoril Islam, BlipBlop and Topon...every time they saw us on Fridays, after 6:00pm, they would polish our table and have our beers waiting without a moment's haste. I shall also miss seeing the regular Thai girls who used to sit in front of us, eyeing potential clients as they walked past their tables.

It is a crying shame to find out from some of the workers that they had to close down because there wasn't enough business and they didn't have a lot of loyal, regular customers like OBB and I.

Never ever, will there be another place like the FC. *sniffs*

Scammers

Do people still fall for these scams? My god, people must either be really gullible, stupid or desperate. Here's a new one that I opened in my junkmail...usually, I tend to delete these but I just had to send a message out to this joker.
--

From: jdapoya2010@gmail.com
Subject: Hello
To:

Hello I work with a bank In West Africa,Burkina faso .I have a business transaction for you. In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of $10.5 Million US Dollars .In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family in car bomb in Iraq. Since his supposed next of kin died along side with him at the Bomb blast,there is nobody to claim the left over balance in the account.It is therefore upon this discovery that I and other officials in my department decided to seek your assistance and present you to the bank as his Next of kin. If you accept i would give you the guide lines of how we can achieve this transfer of the balance (10.5Million Dollars) to your account.and we will shear the money 50-50%. I expect that you will give me your telephone and fax numbers for easy communication with you and for more details. Best Regards James Dapoya NB; i want you to send your response to my private email address jdapoya2010@gmail.com

My response:

Hi James,

Go to hell. Do you really think any one is stupid enough to fall for this? Why don't you find a real job instead of scamming people out of their money. There is a special place in hell for you and I know I will see you soon.

Love,

The Devil

PS: Better start doing good things or karma will bite you in the ass. Have a nice day asshole.

--
I am sick to death of these bums conning their way into peoples' lives. In Malaysia, there's nearly something in the news every day detailing the arrests of con-men cheating people through job ads, love scams, business deals, etc etc. Guess these illegal scams issue will never be resolved until gullible people use their common sense and stop believing everything they read or hear.

The Rudeness of People

I don't understand the people living here at all. Be they foreigners or locals, once you've stepped foot on Malaysian soil, you tend to forget all the manners your parents have taught you and resort to cutting queues, not giving people way, trying to mow down pedestrians, pushing and shoving people to get out of your way on public transportation, lying, cheating, conning, bribing...

and still this country wants first world status in 2010? Huh! Good luck with that. Try changing people's minds and perspectives first, then you can concentrate on providing first world luxuries.

I'm trying to be positive here by letting my anger simmer when one of these things happens to me but sometimes, I just gotta let out steam.

I was waiting in line to purchase a monorail ticket in a station in KL when this foreigner (not tourist, in Malaysia there are two cases of foreigners: rich tourists, or dirt poor migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Pakistan, Laos, etc who have either come here legally or in most cases illegally) who was standing next to his friend in another line, sees that the lady in front of me is leaving and just pushes himself to the screen. I just stood there gob-smacked until I went up to him, said, "Excuse me, did you not see me standing there?"

He pretended not to understand me or maybe he did not understand English, but he pressed the button of his location, looked at me and pointed at the screen as if saying, 'oh, I just pressed the computer screen and chose my location so that means I was next.' I looked at him, and I felt like pushing him out of the way and I almost did, but contained my anger. Instead, I snarled, "Next time don't do that and cut in front of people. Now hurry up."

I think he understood because he kinda laughed in disbelief that I kept going, "Mhhhmmm...okay, you have the money, now hurry, hurry, you're wasting my time." Because of that asshole, I had to wait 5 more minutes in the line when I should have been the next one up and I missed the first train. I am not sure where he is from (guessing Nepalese), because it did not seem that he respected women at all and was shocked that someone talked back at him.

I told my sister about this and she agreed at what an asshole he was. The thing is, Malaysians do the same thing too by cutting queue when they get the chance but when it comes to standing in lines at the banks or public transportation kiosks, it is rare to see a local jump queue. Unless they wanted to die because I would gladly help them on their merry way to hell.

From the past 7 months that I have been here, I just have to say that the rules here are so lax. Granted, I do not want a rigorous or strict authoritarian regime, but I wish people wouldn't be so selfish here and at least give some consideration to other people. Asians think about saving face all the time but when it comes to the public, they do not give a fuck if they act like pigs in the wild. Sad to say but there needs to be some damn good changes if this country ever wants to play with the big boys.

A Day at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California

These are old pictures taken back on February 24, 2010. My sis and I visited the Getty Villa in Malibu, CA to see the ancient Greek and Roman statues and artwork displayed. This was my sister's first visit and my second visit to the Villa. Situated on a hill overlooking the beautiful clear waters off the Malibu and Santa Monica coast, the building, a replica of an old Greek temple, features art that has stood the stand of time, theft and vandalism.

The great thing that was about living in Los Angeles, are the abundance of art showrooms and museums strewn throughout the city. Nearby Van Nuys is the grand ol' J. Paul Getty museum, and in the Wilshire district, there is LACMA and MOCA. Downtown has the Japanese American Memorial as well as art galleries displayed by local artists.

Since coming back to Malaysia, I haven't had the time to go to some museums but I did venture into a tourist center in Melacca which I will share in another post.

Below you will see the pictures that I took as well as my running commentary. Greek and Roman mythology has always fascinated me ever since I was a young kid, most of the myths I still remember even til now! Those Ancient folks may have smoked some wild janga back in the day.

Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder & Lightning

a.k.a 'the dude who tries to screw everybody

 including his own family members'

The Vase and the Figurine are both of Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom,

or known to the Romans as Minerva;

She was also known as the Virgin Goddess or aka 'that chick who had a semi-lesbian fling that may have been reciprocated if her love interest hadn't died'

Why, hello there.

I think this was a young Hercules sans penis.

Didn't really pay attention since I was too busy wondering what happened to his missing organ.

A closeup of his beautiful bod

How did that tagline go again? "I Want that Bod"

Bust of Emperor Augustus (born Gaius Octavius), the first Roman Emperor;

Julius Caesar's nephew, adopted son, heir to the throne and rumored lover

Outdoor Mural with Fountain

Close up of the fountain

Replica of a lady unsuccessfuly covering herself

It was a great trip to the museum and I really enjoyed myself. People who go to LA and visit the museums tend to miss this one out because they don't know that it is free and nearby. Tickets are free but visitors must reserve the entrance tickets by going to the Getty Villa's website and selecting the available dates. I think that the most number of visitors allowed in one day is 60 or less (I may be wrong) so as to not disturb or interupt other viewers from enjoying the art work.

The Start

So I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and started posting onto this blog. I've said to myself before that I should start writing but I never got around to doing it....finally, after 6 months of leaving Los Angeles and settling here in KL, there are no more excuses. It is high time to share my crazy ramblings with the world.

To those who have stumbled across my site, let me tell you a few things about myself:

1) I am back in Malaysia after nearly 11 years of living abroad (since the last time I came back to Malaysia; Total years living abroad is actually 18 years)
2) I am still getting used to the culture shock
3) I swear like a sailor (though I will try to contain myself lest some kiddies come across this site)
4) I like to eat, drink, and bitch
5) I try to have as much fun as possible
6) I like to share my opinions and hear other people's perspective on social issues
7) Originally created as a means of sharing pictures and experiences with my friends back in the US so that they don't think that I am dead, I also hope to gain much further insight in knowing what the hell my life path truly is. One day will equal one further (hopefully not shaky) step to my journey into adulthood. Bleh.

Those are very limited things right now that I can think off and I do not want to bore anybody reading this but also expect pictures of random stuff (though they may not be as constant as other blogs; I do try to keep some things private).