Life 29 | I am Danny Foo

Karma slapped me in the face of my car!

They say karma comes back to haunt you. Well, mine anxiously came and slap me in the face, of my car. 🙁

I’m really not sure what triggered this bad karma to be honest. It literally just started happening on Friday.

Little boy’s Daddy didn’t have his happy meal

As I was turning into a parking lot (near King Crab) on Friday, I noticed this Dad and his little boy from the passenger’s side. I knew I had enough space to turn in without hitting anyone and I didn’t want to stop traffic behind me. But as I turned in, I heard a light knock on my car. I looked at my side mirror to find the Dad walking his kid to the back of his MPV but didn’t notice anything wrong. So I continued to move forward and park my car.

Then again, I heard a knock and when I looked to the side, the Dad had a face like he never got his happy meal. Puzzled by the situation after parking, I turned off the engine and got out of the car and asked; what was wrong? In his grumpy face (like I steam rolled over him) he said, “you never saw the kid ar?!”

So I responded back in a firm tone as he did to me, that I did and then he lashed back, “why didn’t you stop then?!” Hence, I answered assuringly I had enough space to go in without hitting anyone. And to be honest, how the f*ck could I hit anyone with the side of my car while I moved in like a snail! Macam his kid going to climb below my car while he held his kid’s hand?! -_-”

Before Daddy tried to fork me, I just apologized and walked off. I looked at the wife and thought how an embarrassing moment this could’ve been for her husband. As much as he was doing his Daddy’s duty there. Because I honestly still think, it was all uncalled for.

The Myvi and AAM

On the next day at night, Ariel called me in panic because the Myvi she took to work couldn’t start. I drove over to see what the problem was and first thought came to mind was the battery.

I asked my Dad to help call AAM since I’ve not registered with them yet. Once AAM arrived, the mechanic asked me to try starting the car to see if it was the battery. The guy took out a battery from his van and installed it into the MyVi. After being instructed to start the car, it came back to life! Hooray!

But I suppose champagne popping was too early. The very next day when we wanted to get lunch, the car was dead – again. Same problem of not being able to start and worst of is no electronics work. In addition, do note if you drive a MyVi, you can’t manually lock your car boot if all electronics are dead. At least, I know I couldn’t.

So this morning, a friend’s a mechanic came over to look at the MyVi. He said the battery seemed like it was dead. When he switched out the battery, the car was fine again. He was great to loan me his battery while he takes back the AAM unit to charge. He wants to rule out the hunch AMM may have supplied me with a faulty battery.

My friend on Facebook however, told me it may be something wrong with the alternator. A device which helps charge the car battery or something like it. I’m unsure of this but hope it’s only the battery.

Karma really wanted to fork me

After half a day of meetings, I was on the way to bank in money to Simpleet’s account. Malaysia seriously must improve their road system because this accident left 2 victims; me and the blue BMW.

As illustrated amateurishly, there were 2 lanes and those were the exact arrows on the road. When the traffic light turned green, I followed the arrow and headed straight and little did I know, the car on my left (blue pill) decided to make a right turn instead.

After hitting, he immediately stopped further in front while our cars were hindering traffic a little. We got down to assess the damage and I noticed the medium sized dent in his back door while my car had a smaller dent with paint transfer (sounds like CSI).

The first thing he said, “I was signalling” and asked why didn’t I signal I was going straight. Well, based on the road directions as drawn out in white arrows, I technically wouldn’t have to signal if I was going straight. So I answered him, “how was I suppose to signal if I wanted to go straight? Do I signal left?”

Instead of making an argument in the middle of the road, I asked him if we could move to the side where we didn’t block traffic. We stopped at a nearby building, came down from our cars to assess the damage again.

Honestly, I knew his car would be worst of than mine because it’s a BMW and his dent was much larger. When he started the conversation to ask how this would be settled. I told him, “we’re both not in the wrong. I can’t blame you and you can’t blame me”. He extended his arm out with an agreeing open palm to shake on it and smiled before we both left.

Because honestly, we’re both victims here of the bad road system and if we wanted to blame anyone, I’d blame the one who decided on those arrows!

After my banking business, I thought back to why karma couldn’t wait to slap me these following days.

Was it the Daddy without the happy meal? Was it the discussion I had before my banking business? Or, have I had a streak of good luck and to balance it, I had to accept this bad luck?

Well, I would never know. And as I believe in the Secret, I would have to accept what has happened and merely look forward to continue filling my mind with positive thoughts.

I guess my act of giving this month will be to help my Dad fix up the car and give business to the mechanic I’ll meet to fix the dent soon. As some say; the more you give, the more you will receive. 🙂

Uniqlo Malaysia and the Exchange Policy

I headed down today for Day 2 since Uniqlo Malaysia opened at Fahrenheit 88, Kuala Lumpur.

uniqlo malaysia entrance

Traffic was smooth sailing thanks to the public holiday; Deepavali. But I was greeted again by the queue which had already started at Uniqlo Malaysia. 0.0

Don’t exchange during Uniqlo Malaysia opening day

My purpose of visiting Uniqlo Malaysia so soon again was to exchange a pair of jeans I bought. Weirdly enough, even with the same waist size, this particular pair had more room compared to the others.

uniqlo jeans Caryn and Orchid were asking me what I bought from Uniqlo Malaysia on Twitter. Well, 4 pairs of jeans and 1 pink Minnie Mouse t-shirt for my girlfriend (not pictured here). The Uniqlo tote bag was free for purchases above RM200. And what I really liked about it was, it had a pocket inside of it! 😀

Hoping to skip the queue this time, I went up to the 3rd floor and caught one of the Uniqlo staff trying to enter from the shuttered entrance. I asked her if I’d be allowed to walk-in if all I needed to was exchange my pair of jeans for a smaller size and if I could, try it on first.

Alas, she said I could exchange within a 30 day period so if I wanted to exchange it today, I’m forced to join the 3-hour queue for to enter and exchange. Sigh.

I still made the most of my visit today

Not wasting the trip down and my RM3 parking, I thought of filming the queue to show you roughly how long is it. 😉

body shop promoter — Click for larger version

Today, Body Shop used the opportunity to place a promoter right beside the queue promoting their latest fragrance. Smart!

And in a bright printed dress, she stood tall on a mini stage with a fan cooling her down. It’s hard to miss her though I wonder how’d she spray the fragrance on the ladies from that height.

And by the way, Fahrenheit 88 doesn’t have a lot of parking bays. I had to create my own parking spot when I reached – thank goodness for MyVi. 😛 But as mentioned in my first Uniqlo Malaysia post, be prepared to pay RM3 first hour and RM2-3 every additional hour if you’re staying long.

Well, looks like I’ll only make my product exchange 1-2 weeks later. Hopefully by then, there’s no queue and I can browse the Uniqlo Malaysia outlet with comfort, and without smell. 😛

Uniqlo Malaysia Opening Day Photos and Video

Malaysian’s 2nd home no doubt, can be shopping malls.

Brave the queue or test your patience

Me and Hawk headed to Malaysia’s first Uniqlo store opening at Fahrenheit 88 (formerly KL Plaza). We arrived around 10:30am and stepping out of lift, were greeted by the throngs of bodies already queuing. Plus, it wasn’t just any queue.

uniqlo malaysia crowd

It was a queue which spanned from the front entrance, into the concourse, to the back of the mall and back out again to the main entrance of the Uniqlo Malaysia outlet. Within 30 minutes, the morning queue grew till people started forming a line to the wall.

Though one of the good things which happened was the spillover business to kiosks nearby. The kiosk with yellow, orange and white balloons (I think) sold some gelato to patrons queuing for Uniqlo. 😛

In the morning, some VIPs were there to officiate the opening. And I heard someone mention, apparently one of the VIPs was Maya Karin. *shrug*

And before I forget, even after you’ve reached outside, there’s still 1 more queue before you can step into Uniqlo Malaysia.

As the crowd started moving, onlookers started gathering outside Level 2 of Uniqlo Malaysia. Only to peek inside the store and envy the shoppers inside who’re making purchases. Honestly, me and Hawk were thinking, why on Earth are they torturing themselves? LOL!

Drinks on the house

Some lucky people were given free drinks courtesy from one of the F&B outlets in Fahrenheit 88. I don’t remember the name but they’re located on Level 2.

free drinks for uniqlo malaysia patrons Once inside, the ground floor looked like it was ransacked. Seriously. Clothes were on the floor. They were piled on top of each other. Some chucked aside like it was someone’s house. But what bothered me most was a lurking stench. Thinking to myself, someone had really really REALLY bad body odor. Yuck!

Inside Uniqlo Malaysia at Fahrenheit 88

In terms of staff, they had enough and Uniqlo prepared their Malaysian team well. They were still mindful to help customers find sizes, even in this chaotic and smelly environment. Kudos! Plus, you’ll never not know where’s the back of the line – here’s why.

Come to think of it. They should’ve placed one of these staff in the mall, together with the sign. This way, everyone can tell where’s the start (or end) of the line.

In the Uniqlo Malaysia store, you’ll find garments from simple T-shirts to formal wear to winter wear. In my view, Uniqlo’s line of clothes is for the simple and functional consumer at an affordable price with awesome quality. The fabric used for most of their garments were soft and comfortable. Including their UJeans! 😀

men's underwear and socks — Men's underwear and socks

And here’s what really happened.

Me and Hawk didn’t queue the moment we reached. Instead, we observed the crowd and estimated the time it took at the time to reach point A to point B. The crowd like this may have spooked us off a bit. 😛

As it was nearing 12pm, we decided to hunt for lunch and later come to back to re-assess the situation. The line was shorter but it was at its shortest much later.

In our hunt for lunch, we spotted the YES cube and troopers.

yes marketing cube and storm troopers

YES is the new 4G broadband offered by YTL Communications.

We stood in line from 1:25pm inside the mall only to reach the outside queue about 2 hours and 30 minutes later. Once inside, we rummaged through what’s left of the t-shirts on the ground floor before heading to the Men’s section on the 3rd floor. If you’re looking for UJeans, don’t waste your time on the ground floor. There are shelves of it upstairs! 😉

If you’re going to use the fitting room, estimate 30 minutes to 1 hour wait time. And for UJeans, you’ll want to try all of them irregardless of it looking the same. Because 1 of the pairs I bought fitted differently compared to the others. Which is weird, I know.

And here’s a very important message:

Uniqlo Malaysia now opens at 11:00am and closes at 8:00pm.

Plus, I read on their Facebook page they discourage patrons queuing from 7:30pm.

Which I suppose is understandable, thinking back to the mess they’ve to sort out before closing time. In addition, it’s a long weekend, so you can expect a crowd these 3 days.

Fahrenheit 88 parking rates

Monday to Thursday: RM3 first hour and RM2 every additional hour
Friday to Sunday: RM3 first hour and RM3 every additional hour (ouch!)
Maximum per day: RM15 flat rate

You can get RM1 off parking if you spend more than RM100 in a single receipt. This needs to be verified at the concierge services counter located towards behdind mall.

But I paid the painful maximum rate of RM15 yesterday parking from 10:30am to 6:00pm. My advice, take the train to Bukit Bintang and walk. Unless you’re only expecting to spend less than 1 hour there.

Must Read: Time spent at Uniqlo Malaysia store

2 to 3 hours average queuing time to get into Uniqlo Malaysia
1 to 2 hours shopping time depending what you’re buying (best to plan ahead)
1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes queue for fitting room (you may find women on men’s floor)
5 minutes to 1 hour waiting time at cashier (depending on crowd)

To the patrons today, good luck. To Uniqlo Malaysia and the staff, gambatte! 😀

Limited Offer: Opening items sale period

uniqlo opening special prices — Click for larger version (650kb)

Note the following items will be on sale for a limited time only.

2010 UT-shirts collection: RM29.90 (November 4 – 18, 2010)
UJeans collection: RM49.90 (November 4 – December 2, 2010)
Fleece collection: RM49.90 (November 4 – 18, 2010)
Free tote bag by spending Rm200 in a single receipt. (November 4 – 7, 2010)

And it’s subject to while stocks last. Me and Hawk personally went for the jeans only. Plus, when I asked a Uniqlo staff, he said the offer only applied to Regular Straight Fit. It would be disappointing to find this was untrue right now.

But overall, I love the outlet and clothes. It’s going onto my regular places to shop list. 🙂

Must Read: Before buying Apple iPhone 4

If you already have your Apple iPhone 4, it might be too late to save it. Save it from what? Definitely not Tom Dickinson’s blender.

But glass shatter. Yes, I’m referring to your shiny mirror-like finish on the front and back of your Apple iPhone 4. That glass, can shatter from a fall.

As much as I didn’t want to believe it, all truth has been published on the Internet. And to make matters worst, a couple of people have already done the Apple iPhone 4 drop test.

Exhibit A

This tester didn’t use a protective case or bumper, as Apple iPhone 4 users refer to it. However, notice the average height and drop of the iPhone 4. As much as you may be comforting yourself right now saying, you won’t drop it that many times, don’t be so sure. It’s really scary knowing that without protection, the glass shattered easily by the 3rd drop. In addition, I’ve a bad feeling our tarmacs is much more unforgiving than theirs. Ouch.

But hang on, here’s the final drop test video I want to share.

Exhibit B

This dude did the drop test with the Apple iPhone 4 bumper. The real life scenario tested were from heights of 3 feet, 6 feet, 8 feet and an attention seeking; 22 feet – off his roof!

After watching this video, you’d have a sigh of relief knowing you’ve a bumper. However, I’m wondering how much protection can a bumper give you because the front glass is still exposed. Possibly the back too, depending on the bumper you purchased.

Personally, this design flaw is holding me back more from getting an Apple iPhone 4. This “what if the glass shatters” is a whole different level compared to “I’ve a dent in my iPhone” from dropping it.

Which makes you wonder, will Apple release a newer iPhone 4 in the coming months?

Linkin Park reinvented their sound

The 1st ever time I listened to Linkin Park was the release of their Hybrid Theory album, which was 10 years ago. Wow. Now that I think about it, it’s been a decade. And the song which I remembered from the album was, One Step Closer. You see flying kung-fu shaolin type performers around.

The sound in the Hybrid Theory contained a lot of anger and sadness. A great mixture for the genre they categorized in. Though thinking about it, their sound have always been rock, alternative and somewhat, electronic.

Then in 2003, they released the Meteora album. The songs made famous were Somewhere I Belong, Breaking the Habit, Numb and Faint. This album to me sounded like there was struggle with a hint of giving up.

It was also during this time, I recall being in Melbourne when I ordered their special edition album which came with a t-shirt plus a DVD. I was very inspired by the music video; Breaking the Habit, with the sketchy style.

Plus, this was the year they had a concert right here in Malaysia! Mosh pit, baby! A concert I’d never forget, which you’d probably can only go now if you went to Singapore. Why? Let’s say, our so called higher-ups were unhappy of their performance behaviour. LOL! B*tches.

In 2007, they released their Minutes to Midnight album. The song I suppose most listeners can relate to would be from the Transformers sequel; What I’ve Done.

Funnily enough, when I re-watched this music video, they were already moving towards the awareness of wars. And in this album, their sound was about the suffering and hope.

Now in 2010, they’ve labeled their new album; A Thousand Suns. The sound is very much different from the past. It’s more electronic to me. Plus, when you listen, you can’t help but feel remorse or an annoying poking feeling.

A friend of mine said, you’d only enjoy the album if you listened to it from beginning to end. Because, it’s like they’re telling you a story. He said, they were talking about WWII. And I don’t think it could be far off, since the album booklet had much war imagery in it.

Then again, everyone interprets music differently – like, design. So, you tell me what you think of this?

This song is; The Catalyst. And while it’s a whole different sound from 2003, I’m gonna let myself immerse in it and sit in first. Slowly taking my time to envision the state of mind, the band members experienced when they created this album.