Book Review: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Andrea.....

Photo credit: wikimedia.org

Andrea.....

Andrea....!!!

I can't let go this book during my long vacation break. I have been always fascinated by the fun side of fashion world, the arts of textile, photography, and the trappings of glamour. Enjoying every bits of Andrea's journey from fresh grad to the cut throat world of fashion and finding her true self by working for the dragon lady - Miranda. I can't imagine if these were to happen to a person but if you were to go through all the challenges, you're gold. Absolutely golden! 

A highly relatable book if you're also working for a monster boss. Whenever I was feeling down or bad at work, I think of Andrea, if she can pulled it through Miranda, so can I. (actually, she did't... but i like to think that she did because Miranda granted her ultimate wish) Set all the drama aside, this book gave me the power to get through the bad days in work. 

Finding time to read is difficult and frustrating, but I need to find time during lunch hour to read, I'm currently stucked or stopped at reading. Just too busy or rather too lazy to read, I just hope I don't lose the momentum of reading. Current read: Eating Together: Food, Space, and Identity in Malaysia and Singapore by Jean Duruz & Gaik Cheng Khoo 

PTPTN, CCRIS & ME

This is no laughing matter. PTPTN is getting serious about loan repayment and they are listing borrowers who did not service their loan repayments up to 6 months to the Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS)

photo credit: freemalaysiatoday.com

Consequences? Impact on financial or credit facilities by financial institutions.

Here's my case. I've been working for about six months and is now considering to apply for a credit card. I wanted one just for general usage, grocery shopping and fuel. I've tried Maybank, CIMB, and Citibank cards, all were basic credit cards. Prerequisite and eligibility has been checked through, income is more than the required. Unfortunately, all applications were rejected. The first time I thought maybe there were some problem with my online application or documents uploading, so I tried another. The second time with another bank, I was totally rejected from submitting my online application forms and redirected to a new page stating: unable to proceed with my application. From that moment on, I have doubt about my CCRIS but instead, I do not trust online application method even more. 

Two month later, I managed to pay up all  my PTPTN overdue debt plus, I've managed my monthly instalment. For the third time, still not feeling defeated I approach a credit card centers and submit through a sales person. Two days later, a rejection sms. Only then it realy hit me, I am not a desirable candidate for a credit card.

No, third time's not a charm. I have hunch that CCRIS may be the factor and boy am I right. I went up to Bank Negara and printed out my CCRIS report from the kiosk. 

Proudly present my credit report

Not good. In fact, VERY BAD. I did not repay my loan for seven months. If PTPTN were "ah long", I already lost 10 of my fingers or more given my two PTPTN loans. Starting November 16', I started repaying all my overdue and service my monthly installment but I still getting note #1. The reason is that I was late for that month. (the key is always pay on the first week of every month) Also, remember to check up with them regarding your account once a while. 

Fear not, this is not the end of the world, I have to service my repayment on-time and diligently every month from now on. Then I am able to push the 7...6.. and 5... away from my report. For now? Just forget about any credit facilities and be patient and keep on working. 

___________________________________

Some may ask, why don't you never check your ptptn repayment schedule when you received repayment notice letter? Why do you never pay them back? That, is a long story. Cut to the chase: I was not granted to waive my loan to scholarship although I graduated with a first class degree. Reason? My course changed name - with a word "science" added to it. Without a hitch, all of my course mate managed to switched to scholarship. Just me, I went up from local office to headquater and laid all my cards, still I was not granted the waiver after all the appeals and waiting. What do I get at the end of the day? 

I've lost badly... the battle with PTPTN. Worse, now I ended up with a scratched credit report. Two lesson learned. #1 Never underestimate the power of PTPTN today #2 If you made your bed, you have to lie on it. Loan is a loan and there are rules that come with it. Don't simply mess with financial institutions. 

Listen : 988广播剧 友没友

友没友 [2016] [6集]


当友情变质， 如何维持朋友彼此的感情？ 

“人生于世上有几个知己  多少友谊能长存“ 这部五位朋友的过去，现在与未来的故事显出友情的重要性，但也足以令人反思人生里头的复杂。 漫漫人生路重会有几个与你同缘度过快乐和悲伤的日子。 身在现代忙碌生活，友情渐渐被科技冲淡。很少有机会拥有真正明白你的知己， 愿意分享你一切的喜怒哀乐。短剧里也可领悟到友情就像所有的感情， 需要双方面培养和包容。 

 这部在新年佳节来时播放，令人想起即将来领的朋友聚会，反思到底你有多少位知己。

简介：友情， 爱情

片头曲：陳奕迅 - 最佳損友

片尾曲：陳奕迅 - 最佳損友

Working architect #1 : Car park

Car park design is important. Very important. I spent a whole week just re-configuring a multi storey car park podium design for a condominium. No, wait more than a week in fact. The issues are always the number of car parks and circulation flow. Good circulation flow is a must I would say because you need cars to be able to maneuver around. Technical knowledge would be useful here, the minimum access driveway width, turning radius, minimum car park size and so forth.

The other thing is the car park layout. This I feel would require some thoughts to it. Efficiency is prudent. I was designing a huge drop off area for the car park in order to create a grand and welcoming entrance for the residents lobby. Mr. Boss just took 2-seconds look at it and said: “If you do these kinds of designs, it is not efficient, you’ll sure get shoot by the client”. Instantly I thought, there goes my whole day of designing. Wasted. Yes, I have to admit I sacrificed a row of car parks for the drop off. I feel it would be a nice gesture for the residents to have a better entrance lobby but no, car parks are more important here. Designing car parks is a skill actually, designing an efficient layout with maximum number of car parks. Plus, those bulky service rooms and staircases should be placed strategically without compromising running distance. Design simplicity is best here to cut down awkward negative spaces. Designing with grid system can be useful and make things manageable.

  

Just last weekend, I went to KL sentral and parked my car there for 5 hours. Total fee was RM24. I was stunned! The first thing that popped up my mind was.... Yes, he's right.... The number of car parks is important. Car park can really earn a lot of money, tons of money. 

Listen : 988广播剧 喜帖風雲

喜帖風雲 [2009] [20集]


众多部广播剧， 这部是首几部让本人爱上988广播剧。 988 网有好几部让大家重新回味剧集。 本人将在这里简介剧本的概念和音乐。我觉得988的剧配上的音乐和插曲令整体故事听得津津有味，非常有感觉。

简介：家庭， 复仇， 爱情

片头曲：謝安琪-囍帖街
片尾曲：謝安琪-囍帖街
片插曲：方力申& 鄧麗欣-我的最愛，Kevin Kern-Above the Clouds，David Lanz - Cristofori's Dream

Tech : Huawei P9 Lite Review

Hey, it's time for a new phone! Upgrading from a 4-years old Galaxy SIII model to this is really a big step forward for me personally. No more laggy interface and apps anymore!

I choose the black one because it looks super edgy
(photo credit: huawei.com)

The flagship P9 with two leica lenses and top-end specs looks very appealing especially the price which is almost a quarter less than it's competitors, but I could not justify spending that much money on a phone (yes, I am kiam siap). Thank god, Huawei came out with a lil P9 sibling - P9 lite. First of all, this phone is a bang for the buck. For just a thousand ringgit, I can have the latest phone with some good specs. I am not a power user or phone gamer, so I am certainly very satisfied with it. 

I really like design of the phone: a medium size phone with rounded square edges and a thin body (7.5mm). Coming from Galaxy SIII, I thought 4.8" screen size is the maximum that I am wiling go, but these days most mid-tier android phones are roughly 5" or larger. One month later, I still find it difficult to adjust to the size but it is not impossible to live with it, I can make do for the trend. Plastic material was chosen for the cheaper counter part but this does not mean the phone looks cheap. I find the built quality is very good, every corners join perfectly and feels solid holding it.

The phone is powered by Huawei's own Kirin 650 chip and Octa-core CPU. Coupled with 3GB Ram and android Marshmallow the phone flies through every applications I use. App switching is equally fast enough. Mind you, my normal usage usually 1-2hrs of web browsing, 1-2hr of social media/messaging, under 1hr of youtube-ing and some random apps or calls. Whenever I'm indoor I'll connect to wifi if not mobile when needed. That's why the 3000mha could easily last for 2-3 days and sometimes even longer. Also, I notice there is no overheating issue when using the phone. 

The phone also comes with a fingerprint scanner at the rear of the phone. It can be use to unlock the phone and as a track pad to slide down notification tray and other interface navigation. I find the track pad function very useful and starting to use it more frequently. There's a 13 mega-pixel camera with led flash. The camera launching speed is good enough and packed with settings and features for some who like to venture out of autofocus. Picture quality is fair enough but not great. I find pictures tend to have a lot of noises. So, you might want to think twice if ya'll like to capture nice pictures and selfies.. 

Another thing is the user interface. If anyone who is familiar with ios interface will sure find the similarities here. The emotion ui is very similar to ios and some may like it and some may not. It's a matter of preference I think. I personally is familiar with ios so I have no complain with it or I just don't mind (the similarities doesn't bother me). The Ram management is quite good as I always have 1.6-1.8GB of free memory space. Plus, it's easy to close all apps with just one button. 

After one month of usage, I certainly have no major complain using this phone. For anyone that need a decent phone with good quality. P9 lite should be in your consideration. Final remark, this phone actually has a notification light! My No. 1 criteria for buying a phone.