I was very spoilt by how mobile I was in New York City. At any given day, nobody knew where I went or how I got around. The lack of mobility would be my biggest complain coming back to Malaysia. My biggest regret would be not renewing my driver’s license when I had a chance, four years ago.
The LRT system in Kuala Lumpur is reasonably convenient if you want to get to and around the city. If you are stuck in your suburban home like me, and the nearest supermarket or mall is about 15-30 minute drive or 50-120 minutes walk, it suddenly seems like the LRT is pretty damn useless. My brothers, dad and friends have been my drivers for the past few weeks and it’s time for me to take over the road.
How to renew your very-expired Malaysian Driver’s License
1. Fill out the e-rayuan form on the JPJ website with your information and hit submit. http://portal.jpj.gov.my/v5/index.php/en/erayuan-lesen-memandu-tamat-tempoh
(Confused? Yeah, I was too.)
2. You wait.
3. You get impatient after a few weeks (because your friends are hinting about not wanting to be your driver) so you go back to the JPJ site and login with your IC number and you find out the status of your e-rayuan is “berjaya”.
4. You are puzzled and (still) unsure what to do next. You call the JPJ toll-free number on the site. Someone on the line tells you that your appeal (rayuan) is successful and now a JPJ letter will be sent to you with your next steps.
5. You ask the person on the other line why this little simple information isn’t explained on the website. The person sheepishly says, “…oh ye, website will be updated soon, soon.”
6. You wait.
7. Your letter finally arrives (total wait time is 4-5 weeks). Instructions on the letter indicate you need not retake driving classes or the written test. However, you will need to get an “L” license and take a “special” test, which you can register with any driving school.
8. To get your “L” license, you will need to go to one of the JPJ headquarters (for Petaling Jaya residence, HQ is in Shah Alam. Take a GPS with you). You will also need to bring with you:
i) 3 license-size photos
ii) RM80
iii) Photocopy of your IC (front and back)
iv) A black or blue pen to fill out a form
You have to do #8 within 60 days of the date indicated on the letter but after getting your “L” license, you have 3 years to take your test. Yes, I find that strange also but not complaining since I left shortly after this and is now in India. Best of luck.
Showing posts with label Annoyance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annoyance. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Layoff
December 13th, 2008.
My flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur this morning was bad but what bothered me more is that the home I grew up in Malaysia may be my home for the next few months, or even years. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting home, it is “living” here I’m feeling a little nervous.
A few days ago in a small conference room in the Bangalore "company" office, I had a conference call with my manager who was in California and my worst nightmare came true; my position has been terminated and I am where near my home in New York. Within minutes, my laptop, cell phone and badge were taken away and I was escorted to the entrance of the office building where a driver would take me back to my service apartment. I admit I have been worried sick about this day but I was also in major denial (or refused to acknowledge I might be a candidate of the layoff) and the worst of all is I had zero back-up plans. Naturally, like any self-respecting Asian, I moved back to my parent’s house.
My flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur this morning was bad but what bothered me more is that the home I grew up in Malaysia may be my home for the next few months, or even years. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting home, it is “living” here I’m feeling a little nervous.
A few days ago in a small conference room in the Bangalore "company" office, I had a conference call with my manager who was in California and my worst nightmare came true; my position has been terminated and I am where near my home in New York. Within minutes, my laptop, cell phone and badge were taken away and I was escorted to the entrance of the office building where a driver would take me back to my service apartment. I admit I have been worried sick about this day but I was also in major denial (or refused to acknowledge I might be a candidate of the layoff) and the worst of all is I had zero back-up plans. Naturally, like any self-respecting Asian, I moved back to my parent’s house.
January 13th, 2009
It’s been a while since my last blog, so I won’t spend too much time bitching about how the “company” has screwed me over because of unforeseen, uncontrollable and inevitable reasons. To summarize my whine, I won’t be able to work in the U.S. right this instance because my H1b visa is no longer valid (I was on my 7th year H1b visa right before I left NYC – 6 years H1b is the maximum for each alien), which means if I get a job offer tomorrow with a U.S. employer, I am not legally able to work for them. However, I was told that the H1b visa resets automatically if you are out of the U.S. for 365 days. I left the U.S. mid-June 2008, hence I have another 6 months to eat and travel.
It’s been a while since my last blog, so I won’t spend too much time bitching about how the “company” has screwed me over because of unforeseen, uncontrollable and inevitable reasons. To summarize my whine, I won’t be able to work in the U.S. right this instance because my H1b visa is no longer valid (I was on my 7th year H1b visa right before I left NYC – 6 years H1b is the maximum for each alien), which means if I get a job offer tomorrow with a U.S. employer, I am not legally able to work for them. However, I was told that the H1b visa resets automatically if you are out of the U.S. for 365 days. I left the U.S. mid-June 2008, hence I have another 6 months to eat and travel.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Malaysia, truly Asia..
.. is this year's Visit Malaysia theme. I'm finally home!
Registration Paper Part II
I was at the Bangalore airport yesterday to board my flight to Malaysia and the custom officer DID NOT ask to see my registration letter. I felt like I have been taken for a ride by the Indian government. This also means that ...
A) If I went on a different line two Fridays ago and was attended by a different custom officer, I would have gotten away without a registration letter.
B) After being rejected by the custom officer, I could have taken a stroll around the airport for an hour or so and then get on a different line and would still get through.
C) I could have gone back to the airport the following evening, or any evenings after that day and could have gotten through.
Just my luck.
Registration Paper Part II
I was at the Bangalore airport yesterday to board my flight to Malaysia and the custom officer DID NOT ask to see my registration letter. I felt like I have been taken for a ride by the Indian government. This also means that ...
A) If I went on a different line two Fridays ago and was attended by a different custom officer, I would have gotten away without a registration letter.
B) After being rejected by the custom officer, I could have taken a stroll around the airport for an hour or so and then get on a different line and would still get through.
C) I could have gone back to the airport the following evening, or any evenings after that day and could have gotten through.
Just my luck.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Registration Paper
I packed my suitcase, picked out a nice comfy outfit and checked-out of my service apartment. The 1.5-hour cab ride the airport made me nauseas but I didn’t care because I would wake up to Malaysia and have myself a steamy bowl of Kuay Teow T’ng for breakfast. Got to the Bangalore airport, checked-in my suitcases and got handed my boarding pass. I proceeded to the custom. The man behind the counter asked for some registration letter and I was like, what the eff is a registration letter. Within seconds, his entourage gathered around him, exchanged some Kannada words and next thing I know, I was taken aside to talk to a higher ranked officer.
Apparently, if you stay more than 180 days in India, you have to register with the Police Commissioner of India. I wasn’t planning to stay more than 6 months but my Indian visa is valid for one whole year so there’s a tiny print that says, “register in 14 days on arrival”. I’m f**ked. I begged, pleaded and told them I have left the country once to Singapore not too long ago without any issues, but there was no way out of this especially with all the terrorist attacks going around India.
I didn’t board the plane, but my luggage did, so the airline people had to delay the flight to remove them. When I eventually spoke to (or yell at) my lawyer, I found out the registration process will take about 2-3 working days, and since my flight was on a Friday night and lawyers don’t work on weekends, I will not be able to get home in time for pre-Raya festivities. Bummer.
I don’t know which is more upsetting; the fact that this country is so paper-driven, my overpaid lawyers are incompetent or that I forgot to read the fine prints.
"it's like fine prints appearing out of no where, throwing a curve ball at you", says Joe Win.
Part 2
Just my luck, the India government decided to declare Monday as a holiday. I have to pay a late fee to the nationalized bank as a penalty but the bank is close on Tuesday because of "Half-yearly closing of banks and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday". Eid (or Adil Fitri in Malaysia is a holiday for Government offices in India) will fall on Wednesday. Thursday is Gandhi's birthday and also a national holiday. In conclusion, the earliest I can submit my papers will be Friday and processing takes 48 hours, which means earliest I can get my registration papers is Monday evening, but that's not even finalized because who knows what else might come up? *vomit*
"Man.. u r getting a taste of Indian red tape ;(", says Sajeed.
Apparently, if you stay more than 180 days in India, you have to register with the Police Commissioner of India. I wasn’t planning to stay more than 6 months but my Indian visa is valid for one whole year so there’s a tiny print that says, “register in 14 days on arrival”. I’m f**ked. I begged, pleaded and told them I have left the country once to Singapore not too long ago without any issues, but there was no way out of this especially with all the terrorist attacks going around India.
I didn’t board the plane, but my luggage did, so the airline people had to delay the flight to remove them. When I eventually spoke to (or yell at) my lawyer, I found out the registration process will take about 2-3 working days, and since my flight was on a Friday night and lawyers don’t work on weekends, I will not be able to get home in time for pre-Raya festivities. Bummer.
I don’t know which is more upsetting; the fact that this country is so paper-driven, my overpaid lawyers are incompetent or that I forgot to read the fine prints.
"it's like fine prints appearing out of no where, throwing a curve ball at you", says Joe Win.
Part 2
Just my luck, the India government decided to declare Monday as a holiday. I have to pay a late fee to the nationalized bank as a penalty but the bank is close on Tuesday because of "Half-yearly closing of banks and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday". Eid (or Adil Fitri in Malaysia is a holiday for Government offices in India) will fall on Wednesday. Thursday is Gandhi's birthday and also a national holiday. In conclusion, the earliest I can submit my papers will be Friday and processing takes 48 hours, which means earliest I can get my registration papers is Monday evening, but that's not even finalized because who knows what else might come up? *vomit*
"Man.. u r getting a taste of Indian red tape ;(", says Sajeed.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Kerala
JC, a coworker and I took four forms of transportation within six hours; a cab to the Bangalore airport at 4am, a plane that departed at 5:55am to Kochin, an hour bus ride from Fort Kochin to Vaikom and a 5-hour boat ride that took us on Kerala backwaters tour.
When we reached Kochin airport, we were tired, hungry and in desperate need of coffee but the cab ride took so long, by the time we met Merv at his home stay, the travel bus was already waiting, so no chance to grab a shot of masala chai. Merv arranged the tour that includes hotel pick-up and drop, lunch and 2 boat rides.
Little-boat ride along the backwaters through villages and a spice tour.
Water here is used for transportation, cleaning and cooking.
Big boat ride.
Big-boat took us to a small island, where we had lunch served on banana leaves.
The 2 hours big-boat ride got a bit boring and plus the heavy Indian lunch, it was the perfect opportunity to take a nap.
Sunset at Chinese Fisherman Nets.
These colorful fans were hand-made.
Khatakali performance. I enjoyed this a little more than I thought I would. The animated and colorful costumes with exaggerated expressions, actions and make-up reminded me of a silent version of Chinese Opera.
ANNOYANCE.
We stayed at Orion Homestay in Fort Kochin. Mervyn thought we got cheated because we paid Rs1600 for a tiny room in this home stay but one of us had to sleep on a very uncomfortable mattress on the floor. The owner overcharged us Rs100 thinking we won’t double-check the bill (which we later left as a tip), charged us for breakfast (which they mentioned on arrival was free) and made us pay Rs40 for a roll of toilet paper.
Fort Kochin is another tourist-infested state so auto-rickshaw drivers get commission if they bring a new customer or foreigner to any hotels/home stays, souvenir or handicraft emporium (Merv: “… or tourist trap. When they see us foreigners, it’s like seeing money walking in”). After a few minutes of haggling, we decided to go along with the auto-rickshaw driver’s proposal of Fort Cochin tour + 3 emporiums (look only, no need to buy) + free t-shirt = Rs20.
At the end of the “tour”, auto-rickshaw driver was annoyingly persistent about going to 2 more emporiums. Since this wasn’t part of the agreement, JC yelled at him and he dropped us back without another word but left us with a content grin probably because he made enough commission to throw todi parties for a week. Oh, and we never got our free t-shirt.
Snake-y auto-rickshaw driver
More Kerala Pictures
When we reached Kochin airport, we were tired, hungry and in desperate need of coffee but the cab ride took so long, by the time we met Merv at his home stay, the travel bus was already waiting, so no chance to grab a shot of masala chai. Merv arranged the tour that includes hotel pick-up and drop, lunch and 2 boat rides.
Little-boat ride along the backwaters through villages and a spice tour.
Water here is used for transportation, cleaning and cooking.
Big boat ride.
Big-boat took us to a small island, where we had lunch served on banana leaves.
The 2 hours big-boat ride got a bit boring and plus the heavy Indian lunch, it was the perfect opportunity to take a nap.
Sunset at Chinese Fisherman Nets.
These colorful fans were hand-made.
Khatakali performance. I enjoyed this a little more than I thought I would. The animated and colorful costumes with exaggerated expressions, actions and make-up reminded me of a silent version of Chinese Opera.
ANNOYANCE.
We stayed at Orion Homestay in Fort Kochin. Mervyn thought we got cheated because we paid Rs1600 for a tiny room in this home stay but one of us had to sleep on a very uncomfortable mattress on the floor. The owner overcharged us Rs100 thinking we won’t double-check the bill (which we later left as a tip), charged us for breakfast (which they mentioned on arrival was free) and made us pay Rs40 for a roll of toilet paper.
Fort Kochin is another tourist-infested state so auto-rickshaw drivers get commission if they bring a new customer or foreigner to any hotels/home stays, souvenir or handicraft emporium (Merv: “… or tourist trap. When they see us foreigners, it’s like seeing money walking in”). After a few minutes of haggling, we decided to go along with the auto-rickshaw driver’s proposal of Fort Cochin tour + 3 emporiums (look only, no need to buy) + free t-shirt = Rs20.
At the end of the “tour”, auto-rickshaw driver was annoyingly persistent about going to 2 more emporiums. Since this wasn’t part of the agreement, JC yelled at him and he dropped us back without another word but left us with a content grin probably because he made enough commission to throw todi parties for a week. Oh, and we never got our free t-shirt.
Snake-y auto-rickshaw driver
More Kerala Pictures
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Horn Me
Drivers in Bangalore honk their vehicle horns not because they want to warn but because this is how they communication with other vehicles, pedestrians and animals. So imagine being in traffic during rush hour in a city with approximately 1.95 million cars and each car is communicating.
Some trucks and auto-rickshaws have "Sound OK Horn" written on the bumper.
Now that I got that out of the way, I want to say that I am very disturbed by what I witnessed this morning on the road and I shouldn't be since this happens a million times everyday in Malaysia. My cabbie was stopped by 2 fat traffic officials (maybe a random inspection?). Cabbie showed Fat Officer 1 his driver's license and then was asked to stepped out. I, of course have no idea what they are talking about but watching them from my tinted window, this is what I *think* is happening.
Fat Officer 1: I'm going to write you a big fat ticket.
Cabbie: Please sir, I didn't do anything wrong.
Fat Officer 1: You know what you did! We can fix this. How much do you have?
Cabbie took out his wallet. Looks like Rs100 bill and no change (Rs100 = US$2.30). Fat Officer 1 took the bill. Now if I never found out how much cab drivers make monthly, I won't feel as bad but I do.
Fat Officer 2 and Fat Officer 1 exchange whispers. Fat Officer 1 took the Rs100 note, symphatize and gave Cabbie a couple of crumbled Rs10 notes under his hat. I found myself grabbing my camera.
No, I didn't do it. I didn't want to be dragged out of my AC cab and stoned to death. Would've been a good picture though.
Cabbie dropped me off at my Guru's. I spent the next 2 hours practicing yoga, and no matter how many ohms and deep breathes I took, all I could think about is how these 2 fat men just bullied my scrawny driver and now Cabbie (who probably has 3 kids and a wife living about 100 km away, who are all probably as scrawny) will have to skip meals today. When Cabbie sent me home later, I gave him Rs100. Is it wrong?
PART 2
So Saturday night, a new friend N got pulled over for DUI and had a BAC level of .07 (N said .03 is maximum legal level in Bangalore). N had limited Rupees on him, and Officer Ram wasn’t going to let him off easy. Since N had a chick on the passenger seat, he negotiated for a down-payment and Officer Ram gave him his cell phone number.
Sunday, I got a ride from N (who wasn’t driving) and H (who was also drunk driving the night before). H drove us to where Officer Ram was placed for the evening and passed him the previously agreed balance. Apparently, N’s deal with Officer Ram was not to get out of a ticket but for Officer Ram (with a *little* incentive) to go to court and pay for N’s ticket. Before we left, N & H shook hands with Officer Ram and he said “see you next weekend”…
Some trucks and auto-rickshaws have "Sound OK Horn" written on the bumper.
Now that I got that out of the way, I want to say that I am very disturbed by what I witnessed this morning on the road and I shouldn't be since this happens a million times everyday in Malaysia. My cabbie was stopped by 2 fat traffic officials (maybe a random inspection?). Cabbie showed Fat Officer 1 his driver's license and then was asked to stepped out. I, of course have no idea what they are talking about but watching them from my tinted window, this is what I *think* is happening.
Fat Officer 1: I'm going to write you a big fat ticket.
Cabbie: Please sir, I didn't do anything wrong.
Fat Officer 1: You know what you did! We can fix this. How much do you have?
Cabbie took out his wallet. Looks like Rs100 bill and no change (Rs100 = US$2.30). Fat Officer 1 took the bill. Now if I never found out how much cab drivers make monthly, I won't feel as bad but I do.
Fat Officer 2 and Fat Officer 1 exchange whispers. Fat Officer 1 took the Rs100 note, symphatize and gave Cabbie a couple of crumbled Rs10 notes under his hat. I found myself grabbing my camera.
No, I didn't do it. I didn't want to be dragged out of my AC cab and stoned to death. Would've been a good picture though.
Cabbie dropped me off at my Guru's. I spent the next 2 hours practicing yoga, and no matter how many ohms and deep breathes I took, all I could think about is how these 2 fat men just bullied my scrawny driver and now Cabbie (who probably has 3 kids and a wife living about 100 km away, who are all probably as scrawny) will have to skip meals today. When Cabbie sent me home later, I gave him Rs100. Is it wrong?
PART 2
So Saturday night, a new friend N got pulled over for DUI and had a BAC level of .07 (N said .03 is maximum legal level in Bangalore). N had limited Rupees on him, and Officer Ram wasn’t going to let him off easy. Since N had a chick on the passenger seat, he negotiated for a down-payment and Officer Ram gave him his cell phone number.
Sunday, I got a ride from N (who wasn’t driving) and H (who was also drunk driving the night before). H drove us to where Officer Ram was placed for the evening and passed him the previously agreed balance. Apparently, N’s deal with Officer Ram was not to get out of a ticket but for Officer Ram (with a *little* incentive) to go to court and pay for N’s ticket. Before we left, N & H shook hands with Officer Ram and he said “see you next weekend”…
Friday, July 25, 2008
Damn Bombs
After spending 3 hours being indecisive about watching the Dark Knight movie, I finally gave in and my nice colleague K instantly bought the movie tickets. Five minutes later he said change of plans because there are bombings in Bangalore and one of the bombs blasted right behind The Forum; a popular mall and also where our theatre is located. I found out later there were a series of 9 bombings and one of them on Langford Road, which is the street right off my corporate apartment building.
My brother Justin told my mother, "bomb goes wherever she goes" (re: 9/11). I'm just annoyed that my Friday night plans got cancelled.
Full Bangalore Bomb Story
My brother Justin told my mother, "bomb goes wherever she goes" (re: 9/11). I'm just annoyed that my Friday night plans got cancelled.
Full Bangalore Bomb Story
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