For the first time in my life, the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day fell on the same day, February 14, 2010.

The question of “Do you celebrate with family or girlfriend on the day?” never popped in my mind. Family always has the highest priority then only followed by girlfriend.

Not that I don’t love my girlfriend enough but.. well, she understands it and we will celebrate later. You see, that’s why I love her so much!

“If you are in love, everyday is a valentine’s day.”

(only applies when your other partner agrees too)

After all, why can’t celebrate both Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day at the same day? I don’t see any conflicts between two.

For me, the Valentine’s Day is the “make money day” for businessman. They came out all kinds of so-called special valentine’s promotions to steal money from your pocket.

For my family and I, the biggest day of Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner on CNY’s eve. Every family member must sit together and have the steamboat dinner.

The Chinese New Year day is the vegetarian day. Mom will cook one vegetarian dish and one dessert, and that’s our meal for the whole day. We spent the 1st day of CNY with family and we usually don’t go out on the day.

A peaceful day…

I will have old friends gatherings during CNY too~

How about you?

How did you celebrate Chinese New Year and Valentine’s day? What’s the valentine’s day gift you received/gave? Share with us!

Wish you all Happy Chinese New Year & Valentine’s Day! Be happy and healthy always!

[image courtesy of Mike Licht]

OMG! It is almost the end of January 2010 and I haven’t written a New Year blog post! *smack forehead* Time flies when you didn’t notice it…

(image credit: Optical illusion)

2009

It is my car’s birthday today (20 January). It had a relaxing year because the owner only drove it for 4,000KM in the whole year! Whenever I send the car to service center, the staff would ask “Sir, you seldom drive the car huh?” *speechless*

Worry not, I will drive more this year… visit my girlfriend in KL and Cuti-Cuti Malaysia (Holiday in Malaysia).

Talking about girlfriend… (she “ordered” me to mention her in this blog post) She is a nice, cute, naughty, independence, understanding, caring, kind, nature 28+ year old woman who does not make up, does not buy branded stuff, a food hunter, and loves to travel a lot. Oh! She wants to learn photography recently.

I feel very comfortable together with her… relax, no pressure, happy, sweet, loved. Oh My! I am soaked in LoVe!

“I love you.”

Last year is the year I traveled most in my life. My girlfriend and I visited Taiwan and GuiLing, China. Traveled to Japan for Sakura with mom. Flew to Beijing with other local medias for a tech event.

In Malaysia, I visited my girlfriend’s hometown – Sekinchan, Selangor. At the end of 2009, we were food hunting in Ipoh & Penang together with her two friends.

I started doing gym workouts in late 2009 and successfully cut down around 10KG of my body weight in a few months. I am now healthier and FITTER (ok, no six pack yet..)!

2010

I should be more productive in 2010. Slacking too much in 2009. Yes, I admit it.

I am searching for the ways to keep me productive yet still maintain the quality of life. I think I have seen the “path”…

My body weight was recorded 82.4KG yesterday. I would like to keep body weight under 80Kg and build up some muscles.

If no six pack, I would happy with 4 pack too.

My girlfriend and I will go to Shanghai, China for the Expo 2010. Probably, we will also travel to Cambodia for Angkor Wat. Genting Highland & Malacca are our planned local holiday destinations.

“Do what you think is right and do it now!”

Over to You

How’s your 2009? What are your resolutions in 2010?

I’m Liew Cheon Fong (a.k.a LiewCF). I just passed my 29th birthday at August 19, 2009. September 9, 2009 (09/09/09) is my 4th anniversary of full-time blogging.

My life does not change much after 1st anniversary of full-time blogging.

Every month, I still get money from multiple Internet income sources. I have free time and money to travel at anytime (went to China, Japan, Taiwan this year alone).

I’m no longer taking public bus because I bought the Honda City 2009 (but still take express bus to KL because of the high toll fees and petrol fee)

I have monthly investments in unit trust funds. Am a Gold member of Public Mutual. My latest funds report shows that I have yet to profit from my funds (blame the economic crisis!).

I do not own a property yet. Buying a property is like getting a girlfriend, it is not easy to find the right one and it is a long-term commitment.

A personal good news is that I am now in a relationship. YES, after being single for years, LiewCF finally got a girlfriend!

*hooray!* *claps! claps!*

(No, you won’t see her photo here. )

Health is important, especially for someone who work at home. Chances are you would have less exercise and sitting in front computer or TV most of the time.

My body weight is increasing year by year ever since I became a full-time blogger. No more! Started 3 months ago, I joined a local gym club with a friend and have been actively going for gym workouts almost daily!

Till now, I have successfully lose 5KG+ and have a better body shape (read: bigger chest & arms). *grin*

Few notes to new bloggers (who want to make money)

In the past years, I have seen many full-time-blogger-wannabes but only a very few of them have succeeded. Whenever someone ask me “how to make money by blogging?
, the follow are my notes for them:

• Understand yourself. What’s your expertise? What can you offer to your blog readers?
• Pick the right topic. Write only the blog topic that you would have passion and endless content. As well as a topic which has many demands (readers). You need to do some researches for this.
• Blogging is a slow process… It really takes time for your blog to be discovered by people. The competition is much higher nowadays. Don’t give up too early.
• Be ready learn new skills/knowledge. HTML, SEO, online marketing, and image editing are the few things you need to know (at least, the basics).
• Stop blogging if it has become a stressful task for you

More Information:

• ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income listing at Amazon.com
• Blogging For Dummies listing at Amazon.com
• Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World’s Top Bloggers listing at Amazon.com

Maxis Malaysia is bringing in Apple iPhone 3GS to Malaysia on 31 July 2009 and will be available in its retail stores. For those who are interested, you can checkout the Maxis iPhone 3GS plan at here.

What’s new about Apple iPhone 3GS?

The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G have the same design, but the former has a white color version.

iPhone 3GS has better performances (up to 2x faster), better build-in camera with autofocus, ability to take/edit video, voice control, and a virtual compass. iPhone 3GS has a slightly better battery life than iPhone 3G, too.

Compare the two iPhone models here.

What are the features still lacking in iPhone 3GS?

The new iPhone 3GS hardware and iPhone OS 3.0 added many new features. However, compared to the list of lacked features of iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS still lack of following features:

• No flash on camera. (Apple thinks all mobile flash light sucks?)
• Cannot replace built-in battery. (buy AppleCare to extend warranty)
• Cannot transfer files via iPhone bluetooth (Apple forces you to use MobileMe?)
• Does not support Flash animation on website. (Adobe CEO: “Flash on iPhone not so easy”)

Which Maxis iPhone 3GS plan is best?

There are 28 different Maxis iPhone 3GS plans. It could be very confusing and difficult to pick the one that suits you best. I spent a night to survey, research and calculate before I picked my plan (iData 2).

I would recommend you to pick the ideal plan type first before comparing iPhone 3GS prices among different plans.

Before picking an iPhone 3GS plan, you will need to decide:

• Which model? 16GB or 32GB?
• Contract or not? 12 months, 24 months?
• How much data access you needed per month? few hundred MB or unlimited?
• How often you make calls/SMS?

All Apple iPhone 3GS sold by Maxis Malaysia are the UNLOCKED version.

iValue Plans is ideal for:

• new Maxis customers who switch to get iPhone 3GS
• people who want to have another phone number for iPhone 3GS
• people who use data access more than calls/sms

Note: the free minutes of local calls is valid for all local operators (not limited to Maxis number). You pay iValue Plans for free call minutes and free data, exclude SMS. Port-in customers are not eligible to sign up for the iValue Plans with a 24 month contract.

iData Plans is ideal for:

• current Maxis Value Plus Plan customers who make calls/sms often

Prepaid Plans is ideal for:

• existing Hotlink prepaid plan customers
• people who wants a contract free, unlocked iPhone 3GS
• heavy data users (use cheaper unlimited data plan by other mobile service provider)

Note: Hotlink prepaid pack is required, and you will get free 500MB data for 12 months

Warranty for Maxis iPhone 3GS

The Maxis iPhone 3GS comes with 1 year official warranty.

If you opt in for 24 months contract but the iPhone breaks after 12 month warranty expires, you will STILL have to pay for the 12 months contract WITHOUT a working iPhone.

We can purchase the AppleCare for iPhone (SGD $99) to extend the warranty to a total of 2 years.

Right? Sadly, the answer is “No” for Malaysians.

Quote from a post on LowYat forum:

“There’s not AppleCare For iPhone according to Apple Malaysia. AppleCare for iPhone only applies to certain countries.”

Yes, I buy Maxis iPhone 3GS!

Previously, I talked about Maxis iPhone 3G-no-S and I didn’t like it. After reading all the good reviews of iPhone 3GS, I have changed my mind.

“But as a whole, the iPhone 3GS is the best all-around smartphone available.” — Gizmodo

I pre-booked Maxis iPhone 3GS,the 1st smartphone I buy, and waiting to pick it up on 1st August 2009.

As an existing Maxis Value Plus Plan 150 customer who send many SMS, I picked the iData 2 plan (12 months contract, RM50/month, 500MB data/month) and pay RM2090 for the iPhone 3GS 16GB (black).

What do you think of Apple iPhone 3GS? Are you getting it too?

You are invited to join The Nature Conservancy to Plant a Billion Trees in The Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

The Nature Conservancy is working with local partners to bring the Atlantic Forest back from the brink by restoring 2.5 million acres of land and planting 1 billion trees over the next 7 years.

Just a dollar a tree. You’ll help to make a difference now and for future generations.

I have donated $25 for 25 trees. How about you?

I am back from Japan Sakura tour for over a week. Tired but satisfied. Met the cherry blossom and the Mt. Fuji.

It was a tight trip and traveled a lot. We stayed for 5 nights and switched 5 hotels. Although not much shopping time, we still managed to buy many Japanese tidbits.

The greatest shopping time was in Ginza. Many tour members went to Burberry in Ginza for the “Blue Label” bags (only available in Japan).

We had not less than 10 Burberry bags in the tour bus! I too bought a Burberry bag (not blue label) for mom. My largest spend in Japan.

Impression on Japan

• Clean environment. The streets, rivers, air, toilets… are all clean. No rubbish at all! (but you hardly find a rubbish bin?!)
• Good shopping experience. All items are fixed price. No bargain. No cheat. Sales persons are nice and polite.
• black stockings. Almost EVERY young Japanese girls are wearing the same, black stockings with short pants/skirt.
• Cabs for hire. There were many empty cabs parked along road side in a row to wait for customers. According to the tour guide, they were greatly affected by the economy crisis because taxi fares were no longer claimable to companies.
• Human beings are prioritized on road.In Japan, human has the priority. You crossover the road and the approaching cars will stop for you. That’s impossible in Malaysia. The cars might even accelerate if they spot you crossing the road!
• Japanese girls are not beautiful. Sorry, I rarely see beautiful Japanese girls but cute one. They tend to prefer “cute” than “beautiful”.

Will I visit Japan again? Definitely. Hokkaido, perhaps.

Photos? Still in process… GBs of them! All RAW! I am learning to use Apple Aperture to process the RAW images. I also geotag them using Maperture, an Aperture plugin.

(photo by skyseeker)

Guys, I will be away from 31 March to 6 April to join a Japan Sakura (cherry blossoms) tour with my mom. It is a 7 days 5 nights tour. RM6K+ per person.

We will visit many places such as Kyoto, Tokyo Disneyland, Japan Universal Studio, Mt. Fuji, etc. But the main purpose is cherry blossoms viewing.

I have get my shooting gear ready. Wish me good luck to get some nice shoots!

I made the first batch of charity donations of the year 2009. The donations are given to Tzu Chi, World Vision, and Agape Counseling Centre. RM500 each.

It has become my habit to make donations every two or three months. I believe that “the more you give the more you will get”.

I have registered myself as organ donor. How about you?

I wanted to be an organ donor for a long time since my elder brother showed me the green donor card to me a few years back.

I stumbled upon the website of National Transplant Resource Centre (Malaysia). The web design is surprisingly nice, much better than other government websites.

Be an organ donor

I downloaded and printed the organ donor form from the website, filled in, and faxed it back to Notional Transplant Resource Centre.

Done. I am now an organ donor. (I am expecting to receive a green donor card..)

Next, let your family know that you are an organ donor. Ask them to register too!

My two cents

There are many people who are still against organ donation and believe that we should keep the body intact.

I disagree. The body is left with only bones in a few months after burial. Why don’t we do a good deed and save others’ lives, at the end of our lives?

My first car, the new Honda City 2009, arrived just before Chinese New Year 2009. It has been over a month now and it has done its first service.

Here is it, my very first car — Honda City 2009. I love its “transformer-like” front.

The lucky number

I bid the license plate for RM1,000. The lucky number is chosen by my dad, but It sounds “One Night One Night” in English or “Play Milk Play Milk” in Chinese…

Talking about the lucky number, my friend bought the number at 4D for over a month and still no luck and started blaming me, the owner. Frankly speaking, even I myself don’t think the number will strike 4D!

Got a car? Time to spend more!

When you buy a car, you are not only spending on the car price but also more. I spend RM350 to install an additional security brake lock. RM120 for the interior carpet. Plus, RM750 to tint my car.

I would spend RM85 to install the door visor. Modulo full bodykit package? Hmm.. Maybe next time. I don’t think it is wise to spend RM5K to make your Honda City look slightly different. If there is a cheaper bodykit, I might consider again.

First car driving in 10 years

I didn’t really drive it around during Chinese New Year. As you might have already known, I have not driven a car for over 10 years since I got my driving license! I merely practiced 2 or 3 lessons (my elder brother was my trainer) in the first 2 weeks after getting the car.

I was very nervous when driving for the first few times. My right leg was shaking.. Brake? Accelerate? How much to press down? I couldn’t estimate the size of the vehicle.. couldn’t estimate the front and the back. Not sure if I was driving in the center of the road..

I am good in computing but I need more time to handle this beast.

According to my friends’ experiences, it’s all about “FEELING”. You “feel” the size of your car.. join your soul with your car’s.. (ok, this is too over)

Nice car, indeed

My friend drove my Honda City and sent me to Segamat (1 hour journey) to attend a friend’s wedding to showoff the new car. I quite enjoyed the attention given

According to my friend, it is a very nice car. It picks up speed very fast, smooth accelerating, quiet, and fuel efficiency.

Based on my 2 times fuel filling experience, it takes about RM60 (RM1.80/liter) to fill it full tank. The estimated millage of full tank is over 600KM, which means 1KM cost less than RM0.10.

Practice makes perfect. After driving for a couple times to town with my family or friend, I can now handle the beast alone and start to enjoy the driving experience. The only accident I had is “kissing” the side mirror with a car parked at road side in the night. Luckily, no damage done and no scratch.

The power steering is very responsive, not too soft and not too hard. The 6 speakers (Grade E) sound system is great. I am tempting to get an Apple iPod Touch to connect to my car. Yes, Honda City 2009 sound system is compatible with iPod and other USB flash drive.

I am another happy Honda City owner!

Here are some pics taken at my home during the past Chinese New Year.

Tidbits. We almost finished all of these during the Chinese New Year!

We have steamboat dinner for every Chinese New Year’s eveMy dad was born in Chinese New Year. So, we celebrate his birthday along with Chinese New Year. This year is the 1st year that he got a birthday cake. Thanks to the newly opened “Secret Recipes” at Kluang Mall, Kluang.

Dad lights the candle

Dad and mom cut the cake together.

Dad bought a bottle of red wine from the Indonesia airport. We enjoyed it very much! Dad and mom were half drunk.

Cheers!

After Chinese New Year’s eve dinner, it’s the Ang Paw Time! Every year, before giving out the ang paw, dad will give his speech to each of his children. Around 15 minutes.

Then followed by mom’s, which, usually, a much shorter speech.

Our Ang Paw in Dad’s hand

After that, starting from the youngest child, each of us will tell our parents about our revolution of the year before we can get the Ang Paw.

That’s the tradition of our family.

Surprisingly, we did not have to talk about our resolution this year! Lucky!

Every (and only) Chinese New Year, mom will cook the following dessert. Not sure what’s the name but it is very nice.

Happy New Year 2009! OK, I know I am late and January 2009 is almost past.

What I did in 2008?

I spent a lot of money in 2008 on:

• Traveled to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah with my friends
• Traveled to Hong Kong, ShenZhen and GuangZhou with my dad and younger brother
• Bought Canon IXUS 860 IS compact camera
• Bought Apple iMac 24″ desktop computer
• Bought Canon 450D and 24-105mm F/4 L IS USM Lens
• Bought a car, the Honda City 2009

Beside spending money, I also lost a lot in my investments (due to the economy crisis). The Net-Asset-Value (NAV) of my mutual funds dropped up to 50%, if not more! The same goes to my stock investments too…

One more bad news. My weight is nearly 90KG now, up from 85KG last year!

What to do in 2009?

After spending (and losing) so much money in 2008, I plan to save more money in 2009. No big spending allowed, if possible.

I want to buy my 1st landed property at 30s. Hopefully when I am 30 year old.

Anyway, I will still travel around while I can. I will accompany mother to visit Japan at coming March (her Korea trip in 2007 was abandoned).

My friends plan to visit Thailand for our yearly trip. I might visit China too… (am looking forward for Shanghai Expo in 2010)

With my new car, I might go traveling around in Malaysia too!

For my investments, I will continue my monthly mutual funds investments. Buy at low NAV now to get more units. As for stock investments, I will pick only a few of blue chips.

Also, I need to brush up my photography skills. Buy some photography equipments: speedlite, tripod, bag, lens… ($$$!)

My two cents

Although I don’t foresee any big chances to myself in 2009, but it is a difficult year for many of us.

The company financial reports will look bad. Many people will lose their jobs. Things might be only getting better at the end of the year or 2010.

Anyhow, do the best in your role, and be grateful. Good luck will come to those who don’t give up.

This is totally out of my calculation. I didn’t expect to spend so much this month! I have almost spent all the cash in my primary bank account!

I had swiped RM9,324.78 out of RM10,000 credit line of my credit card in December 2008! New record!

How did I spend the money?

I went to Kuala Lumpur for the PIKOM PC Fair 2008 (III) and stayed for 7 days. Some money was spent on meals, clothes, and gifts.

I helped my brother bought a netbook, ASUS Eee PC 1000H (~RM1900) at the PC Fair.

And, I bought Canon EOS 450D kits (RM2400, cash) + Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens (RM3900, credit card) at Sungei Wang.

As soon as I back from KL, I signed and confirmed the purchase of the new Honda City 2009, which cost RM89,980. Plus, a special number plate — RM1,000. I decided to pay more on down payment and it is most of the cash in my primary bank account.

I got new camera, new car… what’s now?”Now you have new camera and new car, you should have a new look too!”, my friend suggested to change my hairstyle. I have never changed it since I know how to comb my hair!

This is my new look.

What do you think?

Finally, I decided to buy the 1st car in my life! Yesterday I booked the new Honda City 2009, which will be available in Malaysia at the end of 2008.

Honda City 2009 (blue) (image: PaulTan.org)

The Honda City 2009 priced at around RM90,000. The car’s refundable booking fee is RM2,000. There are 5 colors available, if I remember correctly: gold, silver, black, blue, and “polished metal metalic” (like gray).

I picked blue because it is special and unique. Honda City 2009 is the first Honda car with the color. For your information, there is NO red color Honda City 2009 in Malaysia.

I have a driving license 10 years ago, but I never drive a car since then. I will need some practices of driving before receiving my Honda City 2009.

For the past years, my friends and family have been fetching me here and there. I owe them too much. It is my turn to be their driver to pay them back. Also, many friends are looking forward to sit in my car.

You may read more about Honda City 2009 at PaulTan.org.

I watched Quantum of Solace with my friends. If you like action movie, you will like this one too. The cars chasing, bullets shooting, building exploring… You won’t want to blink your eyes and missed the scenes.

The story? I don’t quite understand it until I read the synopsis after I was home. This is normal for me. I rarely understand 007 story line by watching the movies.

IMDB has summarized Quantum of Solace story in a sentence “Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country’s water supply.”

For the technology in the movie, none has surprised me. However, I like the “touchscreen table” (looks like Microsoft Surface) and the interactive glass when Bond is calling “M”.

I like the cute car (Ford Ka) drove by Camille (Olga Kurylenko), the bond girl. The phone is Sony Ericsson with fancy phone source tracking and GPS. By the way, Bond uses no gadget this time.

More Information:

• James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace (Xbox 360) listing at Amazon.com
• Quantum of Solace (Soundtrack) listing at Amazon.com
• Quantum of Solace [Theatrical Release] listing at Amazon.com

Happy Deepavali 2008, or the “Festival of Lights”! I have made another batch of charity donations for this festival. Hopefully the small money will light up some lives.

The beneficiaries are all multiracial non-profit charity organizations in Malaysia:

• Malaysian Red Crescent Society
• Buddhist Tzu-Chi Meris Society
• National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia
• World Vision HOPE Fund

P.S. I have got my first cheque book from UOB after rejected by Maybank.

I have a new interest — Photography. I am gonna buy a DSLR camera and it will be the Canon EOS 450D. My first DSLR lens will be Canon EF 24-105mm F/4 L IS USM lens. It is a great (and expensive) general purpose lens. As a beginner, I also ordered a few of photography books on Amazon.com.

The photography dream of a kid

I remember when I was a kid, I “played” with my dad’s SLR camera and lens when parents were out. I enjoyed the view of the world from the small viewfinder.

However, it is impossible for a kid to own a camera at that time. I own my first camera only at 2 years ago, when I was 26 year old.

I bought another digital camera, Canon IXUS 860IS, earlier this year. Now, I am gonna get my first DSLR — Canon EOS 450D.

Why Canon EOS 450D?

I like Canon. My previous 2 compact digital cameras are Canon. The images produced are high quality. Canon is also one of the top brands of DSLR.

Canon EOS 450D (dpreview review) is the entry level DSLR with an affordable price, yet produces pro-like image quality. It is suitable for beginner and amateur photographer.

The suggested retail price of Canon Malaysia is RM2,699 (body only) but you can get 450D at less than RM2,500.

Which Lens?

The major difference of DSLR and compact camera is that DSLR can do nothing without attaching a lens. A lens is just like the eye ball of the camera. Without it, your DSLR sees nothing.

The Canon kit lens is good enough for beginner. If you have the budget, you should buy a couple of better built lenses to have higher image quality.

After some researches and friends’ suggestions, I have chosen the following lenses to match my Canon EOS 450D:

• Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM lens — one of the best and most popular Canon general purpose lenses. This is the lens you want if you can only have one lens. (review)
• Canon EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM lens — Wide angle lens. Very high image quality, one of the best general/multi-purpose lenses available. (review)
• Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 USM Macro — Excellent macro lens. The 100mm focal length along with great bokeh (foreground/background blur quality) makes this a great portrait lens as well. (review)
• Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L USM — Telephoto lens, arguably Canon’s best value “L” Lens combining professional grade build and optical qualities. (review)

Of course, I don’t buy all of them at once! I am not that RICH!

I will buy the Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM lens first because it is a great all around general purpose lens. The 24-100mm lens price is around RM4,000. More expensive than the camera body!

Best photography books for beginner

As a wannabe/beginner, I need to learn photography from experts. One of the simplest way of learning is reading books by experts. Here are the top photography books on Amazon.com and I ordered all of them.

Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1 and 2 (Includes The Digital Photography Book Volume 1 and The Digital Photography Book Volume 2

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

What else?

I probably also need to get camera bag, tripod, flash, lens case, filter… seems like photography will dig a black hole in your wallet huh?

Your DSLR combo?

Do you own a DSLR? Which model? What are the lenses that you own?

Update: I got my Canon 450D and 24-105mm F/4 L IS USM Lens!

Today is the Blog Action Day 2008. The theme of the year is “Poverty”. For that, I joined Kiva and made a few loans.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Kiva helps people to fish rather than giving them the fish. The loaner do NOT get any interest but the biggest profit is that you changed a life by micro-lending.

I joined Kiva since 2007 but never been an active loaner before Oct 2008. Shame on me!

Blog Action Day suggested that bloggers donate their earning of the day for charity. I made 4 Kiva loans USD$25 each. Check out my lender page.

Kiva Piggy bank

Beside making a couple of loans, I also bought the Kiva piggy bank from the Kiva Store. The piggybank is cute, green in color, plastic. I will feed it with coins as the fund to lend on Kiva.

Join Kiva now and become a kind loaner. If you are Malaysians, please join the Kiva Malaysia Community.

Last year, I showed you my blogging workspace with Apple iBook and 24-inch LCD monitor. My workspace has been changed slightly after I got my Apple iMac 24-inch.

Here is my new blogging workspace with Apple iMac 24-inch next to Dell 24-inch Ultrasharp LCD monitor. Means, I have 2 x 24-inch monitor which make up a total of 3840×1200 pixels screen resolution!

Blogging workspace of LiewCF (2008)

Here are list of gadgets you see in the picture:

• Apple iMac 24-inch 2.8GHz
• Dell 2407WFP 24-inch UltraSharp LCD monitor
• Western Digital My Book Studio (500GB), as backup disk used by Apple Time Machine.
• Creative Inspire A200 speaker, free gift of buying iMac
• Nokia N95
• Cheap Microsoft mouse I used several years. The Apple mighty mouse (comes with iMac) is not as good as you might think…

The following is the picture of my previous blogging workspace. Beside the computer, the other things are basically the same.

Previous blogging workspace of LiewCF

How is your workspace?

How about your workspace? Not limited to blogging workspace, it can be your home workspace, office workspace, etc. Show us the corner where you work to earn money~

I applied for Maybank’s Premier Mudharabah Account-i (PMA-i, a kind of current account) but got rejected for no reason by Maybank banking system.

What is PMA-i account?

PMA-i is a current account for personal that pays dividends. You do not need an introducer to open a PMA-i account. It can be applied via Maybank2u online application.

Why do I apply for a PMA-i account?

I need a cheque book because I want to make offline charity donations and book/magazines subscriptions.

In order to have a cheque book, you need a current account. To open a current account, you normally required to have an introducer who is an existing current account holder. PMA-i does not need an introducer and you can apply online at Maybank2u website. That’s why I tried PMA-i

Why am I rejected by Maybank?

Currently, I have 2 accounts with Maybank. One is saving account (Kluang branch), another is Maybank Premier (current account) for Online Stock, which does not issue cheque book.

I applied the Maybank Premier account at Maybank2u via their online application with my Kluang address. But it is the Maybank Batu Pahat agent came to Kluang to open the current account for me.

Now, when I submitted my PMA-i application, the Maybank system detected that I have 2 accounts at 2 different places and thus rejected my application.

If I would like to open a current account, I have to do it manually at Maybank branch and need an introducer.

Maybank, Whose fault is it?

Dear Maybank,

you rejected me because I opened 2 accounts at 2 different places. When I submitted my forms, I clearly filled in my Kluang address. It is your Maybank Batu Pahat agent who came to Kluang, asked me to sign all the forms and then opened my Premier account in Batu Pahat.

Whose fault?

Your Maybank PMA-i account is a current account for personal that does not require an introducer. You rejected my application and required me to have an introducer to open my personal current account.

Whose fault?

Go for the alternatives

The general feedback from my friends about Maybank services is “suck!”.

It is good that Maybank started to redesign Maybank2u website but, at the same time, they need to improve the systems and services, too.

My friends have the same recommendation of bank to open a personal current account, that is Hong Leong Bank.

Please share your banking experiences?

Update: I sent this article to Ahmad Shareza bin Abdul Rahman, the head of Maybank Virtual Banking and received his reply at 5:53pm saying that he will check on this and get back to me.