*Pics for this blog post are not ready yet because I haven’t been home to extract he photos from my camera.  Hehe give me three days and I’ll add them in.*

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This month is, without a doubt, going to be the most exciting month for James-Chow.com in her entire history!

In slightly over two weeks’ time, ladies and gentlemen, James-Chow.com – the fair domain that hosts the blog you are reading right now – is turning THREE!

Yes, James-Chow.com is gonna be THREE YEARS OLD on June 21, 2009!

Hooray!

Now, I feel that’s pretty awesome for my little blog to turn three – and still being alive – because from what I’ve seen, many blogs die within two years from their creation.

And by ‘dying’ I mean without any new updates or posts for at least three months in a run!

I’m right, aren’t I? Don’t you have a blog that is either dead (no updates for more that three months), half-dead (there was at least a one-month period in the blog’s history in which there were no updates at all), or still growing-up (less than three years old)?

Hehe… Alright, maybe you do have a healthy, grown-up blog – so now you can be happy with me! Yay!

To celebrate this glorious occasion, I have prepared a gift for my blog:

A brand-new hairstyle, the most gorgeous make-up, the latest designer heels, the most glamorous accessories, and the wildest, sexiest dress ever seen by the insatiable blog-viewers on the internet – on June 21, 2009, you will look at James-Chow.com like you’ve never seen her before.

Renovation works has already begun! Hope we’ll make it in time!

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Meanwhile, I went to Menara TM on Tuesday and ‘kinda’ sorted out my TMNet problem!

Before I tell about how it went inside, let me tell you about the outside of the building first. Without a better word – it was parking hell.

The compound wasn’t too big, with very limited public parking space, and that’s because most of the space were purchased by those pesky parking operators putting up signs saying ‘PARKING – RM8 sekali masuk’!

And there were not just one, but MANY of these ‘parking areas’ surrounding the building! More incredibly, most of these parking areas were FULL! Damn crazy corporate people can pay so much everyday working in this place.

I could pay RM10 for a parking spot like this in downtown KL, but not in PJ – not even RM8; more so when all I needed was 10 minutes in-and-out to complain about a friggin’ ridiculous problem that wasn’t even my fault in the first place.

So, I turned into a small path with very few traffic, made sure I was on the left lane and that cars could still pass in the opposite lane; I stopped the engine in the middle of the road and got out of the car.

Who cares.

Stepping into the tower itself made me understand instantly why these people were willing to pay a fortune for parking to work here. The interior was like a goddamn hotel, with a really comfortable and quiet environment as well as convenient points like a San Francisco Coffee outlet in the lobby beside the huge glass pane facing the busy PJ streets outside.

I stepped into the TMPoint there and a receptionist promptly tended to my problem. She ran a check on the system and immediately confirmed that I was indeed still using two packages. She gave me a number and a form, and asked me to fill in the latter.

I think probably the most admirable thing here was that this TMPoint was… empty. By empty I mean no customers, of course, and a counter was immediately available to me even before I could fill up the form!

(Contrary to the standard 2-3 hours waiting time needed in the stupid TMPoint in Cyberjaya.)

In the end, after checking though the records, I was told that the branch in Cyberjaya really HAD NOT processed my cancellation request in March.

Meaning that the lady in Cyberjaya had, despite her promise that she would process my request the next Monday, completely FORGOTTEN about the matter, and made me pay two months of package fees for nothing.

I was slightly annoyed. But they quickly provided a solution for me: they would submit the complaint to an investigation team, who will look into the matter; in a couple of weeks’ time, if they can confirm what I said is true, they would refund the full amount that I had paid for the package in the past three months.

They cancelled my package on the spot anyways. So nothing can go further wrong.

Gotta wait 3 weeks before I get the results of their ‘investigation’, I’ll wait and see… Meanwhile, you should wait and see my website’s new look on the 21st this month!

February was great!

Lately, I realized that I’ve been writing blog entries a month late of time.

I wrote about New Year’s Eve celebration on January 31st, posted pictures of my birthday on February, and now, February stuff – recalled in March!

It is a sin to have an inconsistently-updated blog, because all blog-deaths are caused by nothing more than this!

So this time, I’m going to write just a small piece on February, and concentrate on March! It’s better to look ahead into the future.

In February, I was:

Rich – because I got a load of cash from selling my laptop for a very handsome price.

Even richer – because I bought another laptop for RM1,000 and resold it for RM1,300 the next day.

Lazy – because in the end, without my laptop I feel lazy updating this blog.

Guilty – because I’m lazy updating this blog.

Enthusiastic – because, to divert my guilt, I’ve set a goal to do very well in my studies this semester.

Demotivated – because I found out I had six monstrous subjects each with long lab sessions and tough assignments to go through the next twelve weeks.

Encouraged – because people close to me told me I could still do it.

Confident – because I knew I could still do it… Somehow.

Romantic – because I had a wonderful, enchanting February 14th.

Happy – because she was happy.

Luxurious – because I’ve had my most luxurious dinner yet, for Valentine’s day in Shook, Starhill Gallery.

Poor – because I paid for the dinner.

Even poorer – because TM sent me a warning letter telling me I had an unpaid balance of RM446.

Sad – because I am poor now.

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Anyway, March is going to be so excitingly different!

I’m going to Bali on March 22nd!

Before I signed up for this trip, my impression of Bali had been that it was a beautiful, serene island where people go for honeymoon on its golden sandy beaches, dive into the clear water flourishing with colorful corals, and the whole place is like totally peaceful and exotic. 

After I signed up for the trip, and before I’ve actually gone to the place, my impression now has changed to that it has a lot – A HELL LOT OF… temples.

When I looked at the travel itinerary, I saw at least three weirdly-named waluwatu-something temples.

If it’s all about temples, then maybe it isn’t worth taking the tour package after all! But we’ll see.

I know, many of you all out there who’s been to Bali are probably laughing at my naivety towards Bali right now, but that’s really my impression right now.

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Next Sunday, March 15th, is going to be a very special day to me.

I am going to celebrate a ‘friendship anniversary’ with the oldest friend of mine. A very special occasion – our 15th anniversary of friendship!

If you think 15 years is nothing, think again – I have only just turned 21 this January, that means I’ve met her since kindergarten!

How many friends whom you have known since you were 6, and is now still your very good friend, do you have?

I have one!

Details in the next blog entry.

I think this isn’t a regular entry… Hehe…

I’m not at home but just felt like writing something… so now I’m essentially writing this sitting in my car, with the engines running and breathing-in carbon monoxide.

(Therefore don’t have many photos with me now… Hehe…)

My class had ended at 5PM, and I was sitting in the library waiting miserably for time to pass before a meeting at 8PM.

Have I mentioned it? Staying away from Cyberjaya seems not to be the best decision ever!

With petrol bills soaring over RM500/month not-to-mention (of course not all are spent on traveling to/from campus, but still it contributes..), the most torturous part is whenever there are activities, meetings or exams at night – or simply when there are a few hours’ break between classes – I wouldn’t be able to go home…

I would have to stay in campus and entertain myself!

… and it becomes particularly worse when the activity or meeting is at 8PM or 9PM – because the time between that and 5PM (the typical time at which my classes end) is not pleasant at all – everything is closing and friends have gone home…

… and now, even the library where me and other simliarly-fated (or less likely, hardworking) students can usually ‘camp’ in during these hours is being closed for ‘buka puasa’ at 6.30PM-8.30PM and they actually close the lights and air-conditioning system to make you leave…

Check this out:

You’re studying (or sleeping or doing something else) in the library, you feel hot, and then suddenly half of the lights are being switched off…

… and then if you don’t leave soon, it becomes pitch black!

(It is still bright outside! And the library normally closes only at around midnight…)

… scary huh? I’ve been in this campus for over three years now, but I’m still not used to it!

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Anyway, gotta go now… Updating soon ya!