Friday, November 27, 2009

RUMBLES of Mumbles

Today is a holiday - I had plans to go to the Big Bad Book Sale but saw a report in the newspaper that it was jam packed - JH advised not to go and get stuck in all that.....too bad, I was really looking forward to it - I've never heard of a book sale being so difficult to get to! Anyway, there is another reason why I'm abit down, besides the fact that JH is working today and we can't spend some time together when it's not a weekend. You know how you get that extra delicious feeling when you get a day off that isn't a weekend? It's like sneaky and extra fun cos you know it isn't normal????

Well, anyway, I was doing a bit of math and realise that I don't think I'm saving anything these days....I've gone from a massive saver to a 'cutting my coat beyond my cloth' person!!! I don't even know how it happened. What with paying for the mortgage and the maintainence and my car and various other things......what does it mean? That I need to get a new job? I think I am earning way below my potential here but am not sure what I need to get into to earn what I should earn.

I thought I was doing good but I don't think so anymore.....Suze Orman on the Oprah show just said, try to live on half your salary for 6 months.....I can't do that on my nett salary - as it is I am over it I believe hence me concluding that I don't think I am saving ANYTHING these days! She also said we oughta have an emergency fund 8 times our monthly salary. ACK! Scary - am I missing something here?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Skinfood Cosmetics and Skincare

My mum always maintains that my skin looked its most glowing and radiant and healthy a few years ago when I used Skinfood. They have the most delicious gorgeous packaging - everything is made to be like food - hence the name. I really liked their Pumpkin face cream but after using one jar, I went back just to find out that they didn't sell it anymore! So instead I bought this icky little Su Cream (Blackberry or something). Cost me like RM80 and apparently it was a new product....expensive at that - for Skinfood.

One week ago, I was browsing in Skinfood again - they always look Soooooo Goodddd! And their Chocolate Facial Foam is to dieeee for!!! YUM!

Ok, anyway, a week ago, I was browsing and I.SAW.THE.PUMPKIN.CREAM.AGAIN!!! But THIS TIME it was retailing for RM60 (I believe the old price was RM48 or thereabouts). So, clever old me kinda thought - hmmmmm....so I take away a product, I bring it back after a respectable interval, I've 'improved the formula in it' and I sell it for a higher price......I mean, I'm not SAYING anything, just THINKING ALOUD. Whaddya think?

I have noticed that they are changing their products alot - and getting more expensive as they cycle through.....Worth 10 sen huh?!

Btw, I love the MAC mascara. I also just bought Maybelline's UNSTOPPABLE Curly Extension Mascara for RM28.00 (on discount) at Watson's and I really like it too! I figured I already have the length - I need some curl gurl! It goes on nicely, the brush is a nice size with nice brush bristles that coat nicely. The black colour looks good -I wonder what Gold mascara looks like.....or brownish lah....

JH thinks I'm defacing the Mona Lisa!

Friday, November 13, 2009

What can one do with RM50?

Lots of things:

  1. Get a Baskin Robbins quart
  2. Buy an ok pair of shoes
  3. Eat 1 kg of crabs cooked in sweet chili sauce
  4. Watch a movie in Gold Class
  5. Buy a SuhWEET hairband from Diva to wear with my pretty dress to an upcoming dinner
  6. Donate to charity
  7. Buy the 'Red Prophet' by Orson Scott Card (which is UNAVAILABLE in every bookstore in KL)
  8. Buy an AirAsia ticket ....somewhere, anywhere.....
  9. Buy a tank of petrol
  10. Pay for my Credit Card Annual Service Fee to Bank Negara....
So, I currently have credit cards from ummmm 2 international banks and 2 local establishments. So I have like a total of 9 credit cards....yikes, almost as bad as that government servant who reportedly had 10 right?

I only carry 5 around with me - god knows why I need so many....but maybe cos they give different offers/privileges at different establishments.....I can never remember which card gives me discounts where so I basically just ask the waiter/cashier and then pay with the card that is applicable.

But with the upcoming RM50 Service Fee, I shall be cancelling all but one - now the banks are ALL asking the big ole question - what to give my cardholder so they will keep my card???

Well, I'll tell you what I want:

  1. Discounts that are relevant to me - don't give me gifts or purchase with purcase, I want the good old monetary discount!
  2. The widest possible portfolio of merchants - I don't mean range - I mean portfolio as in, if I'm interested in shoes - give me the longest list of shoe merchants I can get discounts at.
  3. The best possible discounts - don't give me the measly 5% - if I can afford to buy a Jimmy Choo, I don't need no 5%! (WHY DO MERCHANTS NOT UNDERSTAND THAT????) If you give me a 25% discount minimum, I might think again about buying something I don't need! (Don't worry, I'm not a shopaholic! I'm a discountaholic! Can I start a group?)
  4. Ease of payment - over the internet, over the phone, without extra costs - better still if I can set up a monthly instruction to pay the statement amount automatically unless otherwise instructed. BETTER STILL - the Bank will call/sms me to tell me this is my amount for the month - do I wanna pay or not. So that reduces the scariness people feel about paying their credit card bill blindly cos you knowlah, if there is a wrong transaction in there and the money's gone to the bank, it could be quite hard to get it back!
  5. This next one - I've been talking about for some time for Malaysia but now the banks are starting to do - paying with points. Though again, I'd like that the points are not like 180 = RM1. Which means I am literally paying RM180 (from past transactions) to pay RM1 in my current transaction (I guess this is when you get rewarded 1 Bonus Point for every Ringgit you spendlah). I know the points are from the Bank's income but still man - can we maybe say like 50 points for RM10????? I'm on the side of the consumer here! I also love it where I can also pay a portion of my bill with points - it's like getting a discount right there.
  6. Customer Analytics and Differentiation in offers. Nowadays all the banks give the same offers - dining, slimming, exercise machines, hotels in god knows where....where is the GOOD Stuff???? The credit card I stick with should perform Accurate, Timely and Comprehensive Customer Analytics and find out what makes me tick. And give me benefits in those arenas. They could also call me up/email me once in a while just to say - Hey, what kind of discount would you like? Hey, I wanna give you a gift for your patronage - what would you like? Hey, here's free 3 days 2 nights on us at the Four Seasons Langkawi cos GOD KNOWS I never win any contests!!!!!!!!!!!! At least I know I'm a name and a face to them instead of just a Customer Number.

Now I'm stuck between choosing HSBC and EON Bank. Which one will emerge the winner??? HSBC doesn't really do a lot of fun stuff - I know their customer demographics are probably the older set and the RICHER set but that doesn't mean they can't cater to people like me right??? I mean I have the potential to become OLDER and RICHER - I AM their target market (albeit 15 years from now!!!) They should catch me now!!!!

And for those of you asking - EON? As in the Car Financier? As in E-O-N???? Well, yeah! EON Bank! They have a pretty wide range of discounts and their MATTA credit card gives lots of travel opportunities.....Aiya, so difficult - I would say this - HSBC should modernise their package and start looking at the young and stable and potentially old and rich....cos baby - I'd love to take you home!!!!!!!

Why are people searching for 'Ludicrousity'???

So I realise that I wrote a blog post about this word - ludicrousity - a long time ago. I wondered if it was really a word and it seems that alot of people have in interest in it as well....very strange.

Ok - i took 2 mins out to search for it on the web but nothing interested me. And I found out my blog post is the first in the results list - hmmmm....they should read my other stuff too and tell me if they like my style, my topics.....I would love to write a column somewhere....do I have to know someone who knows someone to get to do that????

Today is a Holiday

Hi - it's been a while and I HAVE felt guilty - obviously just not guilty enough to log in when I get home. It's kinda tedious, I spend the whole day tearing around the office, getting around all the red tape and paperwork (in this day and age can you believe it?), even though I have so many topics to share, I just can't seem to wanna switch the computer on. And I have gotten emails about it....so here I am, on a holiday - writing.

I just got home from a business trip, yesterday I spent a LOT of time watching Sex And The City (hmmm....for a moment there, I was like...is it 'Sex IN the City'.....). It's amazing how Sarah Jessica Parker can maintain Carrie Bradshaw the way she was from the very first Season to the very last....And now, because I've jumped straight from the Serial to the Movie, I can see, Miranda looks better, like she's come into herself and just looks better, more confident and content....(well, to me she was never the looker of the show but in the Season 6 - especially when Big comes and talks to the girls about going after HIS girl in Paris - Miranda looked really good in that scene - I kept wondering if her eyes always looked like that!) Carrie looks a bit older but her mannerisms, the way she talks, walks is all the same.......she has that same style of talking about her that the Friends tease Ross about.....not that they both share the same style but that they each have their style and it's never changed.

Carrie is so cute - she makes me want to walk the way she does - or should I say strut....like she's full of life and joie de'vivre, with a little hop, skip and jump.

Ok, I don't know why I'm writing about Sex And the City.....I meant to come in at different times today to just write. I'm 'On Holiday' cos I've contracted Conjunctivities in my left eye. Not the first time in my life and not the first time from contact lense wear. Anyways, it's swollen, itchy, pus-sy (NOT 'pussy') and oozing some times.....Yahoo!!!! S-E-X-Y!!!!!

And I'm so busy at work too -sigh!!! It's a good thing no one else uses this computer, or else I'll have to Dettolise it.

Hmmm...sitting in front of the window now, it's a nice overcast day but still with light just not heat and watching the men outside clean the place - the neighbourhood has these landscape people...it's a nice feeling, just sitting here with my coffee 3-in-1 and watching the daily grind....

Ok - more later.....Toodles.