Maybank Tak Boleh Lah

Ever since MCKL forced me to open a HSBC account 4.5 years ago – payroll purposes, in case you were wondering – I have been a HSBC Bank customer. And a happy one, too. I think they provide me with good service from competent staff, and I have been most satisfied with their Customer Care Helpline (1300 88 1388) that I call every month. (Yes, we're that tight, HSBC and I.)

HSBC on my iPhone list of favourite numbers.

The Husband, on the other hand, is an avid Maybank fan. And he's been bugging me to start employing their online services for my own financial gain ASAP so I don't lose out on what I can have but don't. Well, today, after many days, I attempted to do just that. Unfortunately, I am far from pleased with the performance and efficiency of Maybank2U.com.my, and more so with their Customer Care Helpline (1300 88 6688). Calling them was pretty much useless. This was how my conversation with a certain Firdaus went:


Firdaus from Maybank: HellomynameisFirdaushowmayIhelpyou?

Pam Song: Hi! I'm Pam and I'd like to ask you a few questions about the Maybank2U services I've been using.

Firdaus from Maybank: Ok.

Pam Song: I tried to bla bla bla but I don't see bla bla bla so does that mean that my bla bla bla transaction has been approved?

Firdaus from Maybank: Yes.

Pam Song: Then why don't I see bla bla bla?

Firdaus from Maybank: Hmmm... I'm sorry but for that, you need to check with your nearest branch. 

Pam Song: @_@ Oh. Urm... but I'm doing an e-transaction. It defeats the purpose if I still need to go to a bank, right?

Firdaus from Maybank: Yes, I'm sorry but for that, you need to check with your nearest branch. (*wth face* Broken record much? -_-''')

Pam Song: Sigh. Ok. Next question then: I was looking through my bla bla bla and I noticed that there was a bla bla bla. Why is that?

Firdaus from Maybank: Uh... I'm sorry but I cannot check that here. You need to go to your nearest branch.

Pam Song: @_@ ??!? Fine. What about bla bla bla then? Can you answer me that at least?

Firdaus from Maybank: Oh, that also you need to check with your nearest branch.

Pam Song: What??? *big fat sigh* O.K. T.h.a.n.k.s.

Firdaus from Maybank: OkthankyouforcallingMaybank!

-_____________-'''

Maybank's Customer Care Helpline is of no help at all. But to be fair, it doesn't sound as if it's cos of bad training or incompetent staff. It just seems like the Customer Care Consultants aren't given enough access to check on anything or enough power to change anything as per the customer's tele-request.


Comparatively, I've never had such problems with HSBC. Whatever I've had to do – save for closing and opening accounts – I could do over the phone with the assistance of highly trained and super pleasant Customer Care Consultants (from the Phillipines and from India, from the sound of it =p).

But blergh. What a bad first experience with Maybank.

From now on, it'll HSBC for me, thank you.

Singapore, October '11: Somerset Grand Cairnhill

An expensive taxi ride later, we were out of the airport, and standing in the modest lobby of Somerset Grand Cairnhill, Singapore on Cairnhill Road, off Orchard Road. It was to be our place of residence for the next two-and-a-half days while we were in Singapore.

Name-dropping. It's all about networking and connections.

 Address, website and contact numbers.

Surrounded by shopping centres! Wheee!!!

I was never an orchid fan (to be honest, I used to hate orchids :-/) but... I must say that I've had a slight change of heart ever since I really went flower hunting for the wedding. Some varieties are actually quite pretty! =) Like these ones!

Pretty white orchids in the lobby!

Got our room keycards and proceeded to the 24th floor where our unit was at and... surprise surprise, we found a whole bowl of fresh tropical fruits, along with a bottle of Chilean wine and a box of Merci's Finest Selection chocolates!! <3

Complimentary welcome gifts, courtesy of Somerset.

I guess it pays to be corporate clients! =D

Haha.

Now, let me bring you for a virtual tour

around Somerset Grand Cairnhill.

 Living – right.

 Living – left.

Random chair shot.

 Orchids in the hall! And that's the dining area behind me.

Close up.

 Closer up.

 Kitchen – left. Good enough to cook with the stove

and heat up stuff with the microwave.

 Kitchen – right. Fridge and washing area.

 Masterbedroom.

 2nd bedroom.

Sorry lah, my 14mm pancake lens is just not wide-angle enough to take good shots of bedrooms. Haha. Oh, and I somehow missed out the bathrooms (common with shower stall and master with bathtub) as well as the laundry area that's equipped with a working washing machine. Haha. Virtual tour – semi fail! Bwahahaha.

Anyway, more on Singapore later.

Gotta run. Dinner beckons! =D

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Related Posts

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• Deepavali 2011 [Wednesday, October 26, 2011] 
• Singapore, October '11: From Here To There [Sunday, October 30, 2011]

Siri In A Year

Source

Haha. Gotta love that chick for her wit and sarcasm. =p

Singapore, October '11: From Here To There

The Husband was to head down to Singapore for some work last week and shockeringly, I was invited along for the ride. So... to Singapore, it was! For a jolly good time of (window) shopping and sight-seeing along... wait for it... Orchard Road. HAHA. #bloodyunadventurous

Air Asia. Now everyone can fly.

As you can see, we checked in online and had our boarding passes printed out before going to the airport because we weren't about to let Air Asia sneak off with our hard-earned RM10s per person. Especially not since they started charging that ridiculous Processing Fee of RM16 per person that you get charged online by default without your consent if you make payment by credit card. Grrr. >(

Anyway, after making our way through immigration – btw, The Husband got stopped cos they wanted to have a look at my bottle of facial toner in our tiny carry-on, wth – we still had some time to spare so I spent the better half of it walking the duty-free aisles of the Penang International Airport, and the other half of it camwhoring with my back toward the sun. Like so:

Me waiting to board my flight. It was a very sunny morning.

It may have been good for photography but I wasn't too pleased with the steady stream of sunlight that poured through the glass windows at the waiting area of Gate 14. Couldn't they have at least tinted the windows darker?! Rawr! In under a half hour – and thankfully before I melted into a puddle of salty sweat – we were called to board flight AK 5801 to Singapore.

 Flight AK 5801 at Gate 14.

We took off soon enough and I was blown away by

this beautiful sight of the coast of Penang Island. 

 View from the skies – the coast of Penang.

But I was even more taken aback by the blue of the waters

that surrounded Singapore when we landed! Look!

View from the skies – the busy waters of Singapore.

By the way I'm talking, you'd imagine I've never been to Singapore in my life. Haha. I assure you, that's not the case. But it's funny how I never quite noticed these sights before. Maybe it's cos I've never flown an early flight that gave me rewarding views in the early morning light. Haha. Maybe.

A blink and an hour later, I was in Singapore. =)

Leafy installation. Very artistic, very green.

Up close.

Even closer.

Orchids – the national flower of Singapore.

On the travellator behind a couple who apparently

didn't know that you don't stand on the right.

Walking along the corridors of Terminal 1 and standing to the left on the travellators that would bring me straight to immigration for a pretty little stamp that would confirm I made it to Singapore. (FYI, I LOVE PASSPORT STAMPS!!)

Compulsory Disembarkation Form for visitors.

Once through the gates, the people looked the same but it all felt... different. The toilets were dry, the cabbies were nice, and the streets were clean. Haha.

Well, hello, Singapore! =D

Dealing With Irritations

Over Koay Teow Th'ng breakfast this morning...

The Husband: *does something to irritate me*

Pam Song: *narrows eyes and grunts disapprovingly*

The Husband: Eh, you're stuck with me for life. And, like the ang mohs always say, "DEAL WITH IT." *laughs hysterically*

Pam Song: Eh, in case you didn't know, it works both ways. You wait. >(

The Husband: I know! And I'm prepared to deal with it. =D

*a moment of silence*

Pam Song: No, you're not. You're just lucky you're more irritating than me. -_-'''

Deepavali 2011

Q: What do you do on a public holiday?
A: Take an afternoon nap. In Singapore. =p


Have a Happy Deepavali, you guys!!

Now, excuse me while I escape the world and
catch up on some Zs in the middle of my (holi)day.

Kuala Lumpur, October '11: Day 2 Of A 26-Hour Trip

Day 2 in KL was... nice.

Nothing spectacular;

nothing to shout about.

Just... nice. =)

The Husband and I woke up a little later than planned, ate a hearty Nasi Lemak brunch with his super hospitable aunt and uncle whom we were bunking with, then proceeded to house-hunt in the neighbourhood. (Yup! Fingers crossed, I'll be headed back down to KL again someday! =D) By the time we were done, it was past noon and nearly afternoon.


We then slowly jammed our way to Mid Valley Megamall (again) via the Federal Highway for a little bit of hand-in-hand walk-walk time together while I did some half-hearted shopping. (I was looking for a pair of black, easy-wear, ballerina flats to replace the rain-wrecked ones I was am still wearing.)


Barely an hour in, The Husband pancit. So off we went in search of some bubble milk tea to ease the man's pain and to recharge his batteries. Unfortunately for him, every other man in the mall had the same brilliant idea. Chatime was ridiculously packed! The line was snaking all around the booth!! Crazy. Kana giving out bubble tea for free liddat, man. -_-'''


So, we did what any impatient person would do. We decided to walk the distance to Gong Cha instead. Haha. Not a big diff though. The line was pretty long here, too. Just not quite as long. But still, I'm glad we jumped ship to this bubble tea franchise instead.

 My Earl Grey Milk Tea and The Husband's

Something-Something Milk Tea With Herbal Jelly.

After having tried both, I must say that I prefer

the taste of Gong Cha 贡茶 to Chatime. =p

Walked around the mall a little more and ended up going home with a tiny stash of The Body Shop products (massive discounts storewide!!!) and no black ballerina flats. *snorts* BUT... in my defence, I totally planned on buying the stuff I bought! You see, while staying over at The Husband's aunt's place, I ended up using The Lauder One's leftover shampoo on her shower ledge. And liked it.

The Lauder One's Rainforest Shine Shampoo

and Conditioner on her shower ledge.

So, yes, I bought exactly what I wanted to buy. I just didn't plan on getting it in KL and then lugging it all the way back home to Penang. Hahaha. Waddd?? Kiasu ma. 20% discount, you know. What if I come back to Penang and it's not on sale here?? Then ma rugi and regret like hell??? Cannottt... Buy first, think later! =p

Oh, and just so you know, the Rainforest Shine shampoo is awesome but the conditioner is shit. Just take my word for it and don't bother buying the latter lah, ok? The Lauder One's sample bottle of conditioner ran out so I didn't get to try it or else I would have known better sooner. But I used both last night when I was taking my bath and... seriously lah. The shampoo is boomz-y but the conditioner is a big time shingz in my books. Totally useless.

*blink blink*

Eh, how did I end up talking about shampoo

and my bath last night when I was initially

talking about what I did in KL lah!? -_-'''

ANYWAYS... after that, we just jammed all the way back to the house for a short nap to make the most of a lazy weekend. =) Then, before we knew it, evening was upon us, and it was time for me to go home. Without The Husband. T_T We went to the airport and tucked into some McDonald's Double Cheeseburgers while waiting for boarding.

My first taste of McDonald's in over a month! Wheee! =D

7:20PM rolled along and, once again, it was time for us to say our goodbyes. Sigh. I hate goodbyes. (And FYI, The Husband actually hates goodbyes even more than I do.) But to my surprise, for the very first time, The Husband just stood at the gate where we parted and waited for me to walk down the loooong corridor, right until I rounded the corner and walked out of his sight. He even gave me a big wave when I reached the end of that corridor. =) *heart melts*

Taken on the flight out of KL.

And with that "goodbye", ended my weekend in KL.

It was a good weekend; no, a great weekend. =)

Travis Corey Paints To "Oh The Glory Of It All"

This video blew my mind.

Travis Corey painting to Oh The Glory Of It All

by David Crowder Band

@_@

Wow.

----------------------

Artist: David Crowder Band
Song Title: Oh The Glory Of It All


At the start He was there, He was there
In the end He’ll be there, He’ll be there

After night, comes the light, dawn is here, dawn is here
It’s a new day, it’s a new day
Oh, everything will change, things will never be the same
We will never be the same, we will never be the same
We will never be the same, we will never be the same

Oh the glory of it all is: You are here
For the rescue of us all that we may live
For the glory of it all, You are here
With redemption for us all that we may live
We will never be the same, we will never be the same
We will never be the same, we will never be the same


NOTE: The lyrics of this song have been modified in accordance to the shortened version used by Travis Corey in his presentation seen in this post.

Kuala Lumpur, October '11: Day 1 Of A 26-Hour Trip

Hello, dear interwebs! I'm back! =D

From where, you ask? Well – sinceyouaskedandallthat – I just came back from spending the better half of this weekend down in KL with my better half –  The Husband! Uh huh. That's me spending quality time, with my favourite person on Earth, in my favourite place on Earth! Wheee!

*cartwheels followed by happy sigh*

 Taken on the flight down to KL.

View of the skies from Seat 1C.

Super bokeh of my Longchamp.

What you probably didn't know about The Husband and I is that we're total opposites when it comes to where we are and where we'd like to be. I'm all the way up North in Penang, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE KL and miss it to bits. He, on the other hand, is stuck in KL but he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Penang and hates KL with a vengeance like no other. (Ahh, if only we could swap places. Haha.)

Ok, now that I've established that,

let me tell you what ter-happened.

While we were driving along the Pantai Baru Highway, on our way to SS15 to run some errands, my gaze landed on the familiar mess of highways and overheads before me – the very ones I was so accustomed to *points below* – and before I knew it or realised what was happening...

 Pantai Baru Highway on Saturday, 22 October 2011.

...a happy sigh escaped my lips. @_@

It came so naturally that I didn't even realise it had happened. But it didn't escape The Husband's ears. He immediately turned to look at me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen sitting on his face and exclaimed in shock, "OMG, YOU'RE MAD!!!" Haha. Yup! And you married me! Hahahaha. Who da mad one now??? Bwahahahaha. (Dua-dua gila. That's why we're made for each other. =p)

So, yeah. Maybe I am a little crazy that way. But I have missed the life I had in KL so terribly that it just felt really good to be back on familiar ground, driving along familiar roads. (I actually started driving in KL so the roads in Penang are still pretty foreign to me. I wouldn't be surprised if I was to get lost on the island one day. Haha. =p #lousypenangite)

Anyway, right after doing what we were at SS15 to do, we zoomed off to Subang Parade to run one last errand on behalf of The Husband's new Blackberry and to grab a bite at Dave's Deli's new outlet before heading into KL for Jayesslee Live.

Our dinner at Dave's Deli, Subang Parade.

I tucked into the 1/4 chicken you see in the foreground while The Husband ate that puny little pie in the background along with that extra plate of mash. We then shared the OJ on the left. To be honest with you, I'm surprised that Dave's Deli started a brand new outlet considering how they've always appeared so very comfortable on that balcony lot upstairs that they've been at since, like, forever. But I guess Starbucks had more money to offer so they probably got sidelined or something. =p (Their old space got taken over by Starbucks.) Anyway, service was slow-ish but the food was good.

After that, we rushed off to PWTC to watch

Jayesslee Live In KL at the Tun Hussein Onn Hall.

Our tickets – this shot was taken after the showcase.

True to form, we arrived fashionably late and the opening acts had already started. Haha. But thankfully I bumped into a couple of friends who were running the show and they guided The Husband and I to some empty VIP seats. Wheee! RM150 seats for just RM120! *happy and blessed*

We missed the first two opening acts altogether but were just in time to watch skinny Shawn beatbox and Dennis Lau (the villain chef in Nasi Lemak 2.0) woo the crowd with funky hair and a funkier electric violin. The Husband was pretty impressed with Shawn but I've heard him BB more times than I can count so... meh. (No offence, Shawn fans.)

I was sitting at the edge of my seat, waiting for the reason I paid RM240 for us to be in KL that night. To see the Korean-Australian sisters and YouTube superstars, Jayesslee, LIVE! After what felt like forever, they finally appeared on stage.

Jayesslee singing their first cover – Price Tag.

The sisters are as goofy as ever! Just like they are on their YouTube channel. Janice dropped her whole mic stand once while Sonia's mic kept giving weird feedback at all the wrong moments. Haha. Funny lah the two of them. Janice actually messed up more than a few times but she laughed it off to ease the tension. Sonia's also got a really good sense of humour and is very, very spontaneous so she helped cover up for her sister, too.

 Sonia on her guitar and Janice with her apple shaker

singing an unrecorded cover that has yet to be

uploaded to their YouTube channel.

It was a good showcase lah. I think they're even better live than they are on YouTube. The ad libs were awesome. Although – since there were two of them and it's natural to want to compare – by the end of the night, The Husband and I agreed that Sonia's the musical-er twin of the two. Having said that, Janice's harmony is just mind-blowing and she complements her sister's vocals well. I guess that's why they make such a good pair. :-/


Bottom line? I would totally go for Round 2 if the twins were to return to Malaysia next year or whenever. The Husband, on the other hand, thinks we should just make arrangements with the organiser (who is a good friend of mine) to matchmake Sonia with his younger brother. HAHA. Fat chance lah, Husband... Both sisters are TAKEN. *snorts*


Left super quickly after the show ended – like immediately after, no thanks to my hustler of a husband who's got anti-social tendencies T_T – and ended up seeing these messages on Facebook the very next day:

Boo hoo.

Anyway, we decided to pop by Mid Valley Megamall on a whim, on our way home after watching Jayesslee, to catch Real Steel. Unfortunately for us, the tickets were all sold out so we ended up just paying RM3 for nothing parking. Sigh. No blood, sweat and gore on the big screen so we went over to SS15 for some thong sui to end the night on a sweet note instead. =)

Cold Tohua Peanuts for me.

Cold Best Seller with Grass Jelly for The Husband.

And Milk Tea for us to share.

Not cheap for just 3 items but ok lah if close one eye.

My favourite dessert place in town!

After that, we went straight back home to bathe, wash up, and crash. I think it was the most happening 6 hours I've had in a long, long time. Haha. But hey, no complaints! That's KL fer ya! Wheee! More on Day 2 later. Now, I'm off to catch my Zs in my own bed in Penang, to make up for the few that I lost while catching Jayesslee Live In KL 2011. Night night! =)

Pam Song Talks About Having Kids

Over the past few months, some DGMB members and other random bloggers have started bugging me to start having kids so they can play with babies and eat red egg. Well, in a recent conversation with my fellow DGMB-ians on our regular email TKT (tokkokthread), this ensued:

 TKT 3 days ago on 18 October 2011.

I meant it to be sarcastic. But then...

Now that I look at it...

 Hahaha. Damn, I'm funny! =p

Yesterday's Office Mishap

The downpour was so heavy yesterday afternoon that the ceiling boards at our office's front porch just gave up on staying up and came crashing down.

 Wet cars under the porch.

It made a big wet mess all over the floor

and very nearly missed trashing our cars. 

 

The ceiling boards lying in a heap

between my car and Miss Kana Kiu's car.

Phew! Would you look at that! Missed that one very nicely, didn't it? Thank goodness. Cos I'd totally take a wet car over a trashed one any rainy day of the week. But that's yesterday's bad weather story. Today? Well, big surprise – it's raining. Again. In fact, it's been raining all afternoon.

Under the porch, I mean. -_-'''