Sunway Pyramid Tower Hotel: A Review

I’m sure many of you have had these calls from hotels trying to sell their hotel membership that always comes with ONE free night stay at their hotel. I have had tried a few of these membership but then I have wasted some too by not even taking that free stay. Now that I’m wiser (after being conned many times), I find it totally and ultimately ridiculous for anyone to sign up a membership with a hotel, in a town they’re staying in. Why would I, someone living in KL City, be signing up a membership with say Istana Hotel, or Renaissance Hotel, or other hotels in KL.

Think about it, I live in KL. I go for a free night stay in Istana Hotel. The next day I can go visiting, yay!! But visiting KL while I’m already going around KL even when I stay at my own house?! What for?? Paying like RM300++ just for a room, but no difference in environment. I do I think it’s fine to sign up with only ONE hotel, for special occasions, and that I have done with Renaissance as I enjoy the ambience and the food selection. So, Renaissance, free membership ah next year ok?! Since I advertised for you.

Anyway, because I’ve signed up with Sunway Hotel’s membership end of last year, my family and I had the opportunity to stay in Sunway Pyramid Tower for 3 days 2 night stay. This is one of the package that has a 3 days 2 nights free stay, as compared to other packages. At first I was also thinking, well, at least we’re staying outside of KL so places we can visit should vary just a little.

The stay turned out to be great. Due to its linkage with Sunway Pyramid, there’s no need to drive out. It’s a walk directly from the lobby to the mall. Also, from the hotel room, you can view nearly the entire Sunway Lagoon and watch people having fun there. It’s also a walking distance to Sunway Lagoon. In a nutshell, staying at Sunway Hotel is like staying in Genting Highlands where it’s a city of its own. Since Genting Highlands is soooo packed, it’s nice to be staying at Sunway Hotel for the enjoyment of a vacation. And to balik rumah after vacation is only 30 mins away, not hours away or the need to use airplane. :P

The room is nothing to shout about. TV, Fridge, Safe, Bathtub with showerhead and minimal furniture. If I were to describe the room in one word, it’s ‘TIDY’. Just enough for basic usage. Ironing have to be done in a separate room. Ice is free of charge, but need to get it from an ice machine somewhere nearby the lift area. Good place to stay for a vacation if you don’t want to travel so far or on a budget.

Encounter! The ironing room is rather large with 9 ironing boards. They are placed like the picture below. Forgive the ugliness of the picture.


The black rectangles are the irons. The gray rectangles are the ironing board. And the black quarter-circle is the door. I came into the room at 6:00am plus in the morning to iron some clothes, and there was no one there. Being right-handed, I’d have to use the irons on the top side of the room, unless I wanna face away from the door. So I stood at ‘me’ and started ironing. Ironed clothes I placed right behind me on the other ironing board so that I have space on mine.

After a short while, I heard the friction of iron and cloth coming from behind me and I turned around, nothing was there. Naturally not wanting to think of ridiculous things, I continued only to be disturbed with the sound of iron being placed back at the side, and clothes being moved. I turned around again and this time I see that my pants is still on the iron board behind me, but my shirt has moved to the ‘X’ ironing board, opened in such a way that it’s being readied to be ironed.

I scooped whatever that I have, grabbed my pants, rushed over to ‘X’ ironing board and grabbed my clothes, and then left the room. For all you know, the lights might just go out and the room door cannot be opened and I do not want to face that.

So, well, that summarizes my stay at Sunway Hotel for 3 days and 2 nights, and still we had a lot of fun eventhough we didn’t go to Sunway Lagoon. And that also summarizes up my fake encounter. It didn’t happen at all, just for show only. :D

Signs

A simple context will be as follows. Though I am tremendously careless in the things I do daily, I have never been this superbly marvelously stupendously careless in a documentation that I have to do regarding one specific tenant. I sincerely believe they are signs to show that getting the tenant in is not advisable, but what to do, my bosses are very keen on the big tenant and I can’t blame them. Let’s just hope the ‘signs’ I’ve been receiving are false.

All the signs are documentation related. From miscalculation (I hardly do this), to leaving out information (okay, I do this sometimes) to type error (I hardly do this), to calculating wrong dates (I hardly do this) and lastly, to have three pages not in order during binding (Have never done this). And this is not from the first draft of the documentation either. It builds into the second draft, and then things happen again in the third draft, and so on and so on. The amount of mistakes just cannot justify that I am *THAT* careless.

Anyway, how many people in this world actually believe in signs?! Not Zodiac signs or the Chinese horoscopes, but more to things that happen that tries to give you some kind of message. If I were to recall signs in relationship. Let’s see… for my first ex-gf, there were some signs that it will not work out. A bracelet I gave suddenly broke during normal usage and a helium balloon (the plastic kind) bursting, is that a sign?? I really don’t think so. My second ex-gf is a sign of her own. She’s the sign! Enuff’ said.

If you were on the way to attend an interview, and suddenly you ripped your shirt somewhere, or get splashed with puddle, is that a sign? How about intending to go to the mall, and your car can’t start, and next day you read that there was robbery at the mall? How much would you relate to your car unable to start be related to the robbery at the mall? I believe there are signs that we receive regarding some big decisions that we are going to make, but on a daily basis, they are just coincidences.

To recall if there was any ‘signs’ that happened to me on big decisions, hmm… I received no signs on my decision to marry. I received no signs on the decision to work out of state for a year. I received no signs on going into a bad relationship. Haha… practically I did not receive any signs at all on important decisions I have made in my life! If there was one, which I will not consider it a sign, is that I stopped my decision to study in UK in 1997 and instead stayed back in Malaysia because my college suddenly had that same degree introduced the very next year. But duhhh… that’s not a sign.

Modelling Agency Business

One thing good about being part of the building management team is that I'm able to understand some of the businesses of my tenants. I've read a few grudges by some girls (and guys) to being cheated by a modelling agency that they have to buy stuffs at crazy prices and still do not get chosen to be a model. Who's at fault? Is the agency conning them?

This is how the model agency works. They collect to-be-models information by hiring a scout. The scout will go to shopping complexes, parks, cemeteries and the likes to find interesting people. Then they will lunge and attack these people and ask them to have a model audition with the modelling agency.

So that's where the person will make a choice, to either go to the agency or not. Are they being conned or not?! Anyway, the scout will get some commission when the to-be-model comes to the agency and sign up. What happens at the agency?! Basically, the agency will get the particulars and the photographs of the model, and say that training is free. Here's the catch!... to register as a model of the agency, they'd have to purchase something, and in my tenant's case, a set of make-up that can cost anywhere between RM300 - RM800. It's not really the make-up that's expensive, they'll also teach the proper way to put make-up and give training such as cat-walk and what other things models should know.

A few weeks later, they'll get a call from the agency for a casting shoot, or a shooting cast, or whatever. When they turn up for these shooting lesson using a sniper rifle, I mean, for the casting, they'd see themselves with several other models as well. Usually only one or two models will be chosen. What happens to the un-chosen models?! Well, looks like they're not Neo of Matrix, the chosen one. Seriously, they'll leave to their car disappointed, sit down in the car, sulk at their bad luck, call up a girlfriend or the mum and complain about how stupid the agency is, and that they wasted their time, bla bla, not realising that another hour is added up to their parking ticket time.

This is the time the agency gets attacked a lot! "What stupid agency! Call me up, ask me to buy make-up and then train me and I get nowhere! I wish I wasn't found in the first place by that stupid scout!" What really goes on behind the agency business?!?

Modelling agency gets money from the make-up and training and of course, the hiring of their models for any media or tv shooting or catwalk or leapfrog. A company will call the agency saying "Hello, I'm doing a new commercial for a new 4G phone that can teleport through time, we're looking for a model with the following description: bla bla, height, bla, weight, bla, bald, bla". The agency then gives a looooong list of model names and photos and the company will cut down the choices to anywhere between 3 to 15 or 100 for all I care! Then the casting begins. Models are called for casting, and the company then tells the agency which model they've decided upon.

So there. That's how the industry works. Human nature shows that once the model gets connected to the company, future modelling is done between the model and the company hush hush and the agency loses out. So, for those models who are unhappy that they're not in the Chickadees or Tora advert, they must understand that Modelling Agency is just a stepping stone (with some investment), more like a match maker. Agency does not exist to con models, unless you see some really-cannot-be-model-one type of people coming for registration with the agency.

Current Interesting Song: You're Beautiful - James Blunt

I was thinking of putting "favourite" instead of "interesting", but to me, favourite means something that will last quite some time, like how my favourite songs amongst others are "Stay Another Day - East 17" and "Anak - Freddie Aguilar". Gosh... I sound so oldy. Anyway, those are really old favourite songs of mine. Of course there are current ones.

Back to the topic. I find this song very interesting in its most basic and pure form of being attracted to someone. I will not go into the over-analytical or being matured part to comment "Wah, this guy can fall in love just because he saw someone so beautiful. How shallow!!". It's a very simple song about love at first sight, no, more towards seeing someone beautiful that you want to get to know better, but you can't, coz' she's with someone else.

In case you readers do not know the gist of the song, it's the singer, seeing this girl in the subway with her boyfriend. The girl did notice him, but because meeting by chance like that, and the singer being logical, he sings about that 'short but special' moment of meeting the girl, and mentioned in his song "And I don't think I'll ever see her again, But we shared a special moment that will last till the end." Sounds nice. The last bit of the song is "But it's time to face the truth, I'll never be with you."

Reminds me a lot of college days when you just chance by someone attractive, someone you really adore from far even in that 5 seconds timeframe, and wish to get to know her. She might also notice you, and you might or might not try to make a move to get closer to her, even to just have a short talk with her, but problem is, she's with her boyfriend, or with family, or whatever. A friend of mine has followed this girl who notices him looking at her, and she smiled at him. He followed her trying to get to talk to her, and she on the other hand tried to creep away from her mother in the shoe shop.... but well, it just didn't happen. They're both 16 at that time. :P

Me? Let me think of a moment where the 'song' kinda happened to me. Trying hard as I can, I really cannot recall anytime meeting someone and adoring the girl at the same time the girl noticing me and giving me green light to befriend. If such a thing DID happen, it's the girl noticing me looking at her and she smiled back, and I befriended her the next day since I know where she works. Haha... that's hardly the way the song goes, so well, I'd say "The song didn't happen to me." But I'm sure it did to some of you.

p/s: Because I've not seen the Music Video, I may just misintepret this song, but I cannot be that 'duh' to misintepret it huh?! But why did he used "F**king high" on one of the verse?!

Congratulatory Ad To Ownself

I think people in big companies as well as people in the media are quite aware of this practise. I only found out about it last week, and in my honest opinion, I find it rather awkward and it puts people in a dilemma. While big corporations may find it as an opportunity for smaller companies to show goodwill, I find it a direct extortion of small company's money.

What the heck am I talking about?!? It's about putting up congratulatory ad in the newspaper. You know, you've read "Congratulations to Mun Mun's Furniture Shop on achieving ISO9002." or "Congratulations to Ahmad's Grocery Story on the opening of a new branch in Sentul." When I read those thingies, I at first thought it's the vendors' nice thoughts of putting congratulatory ad for their big client so that they can gain further support from them.

The real news is this. Murugan's Chee Cheong Fun Restaurant is just about to open its 5th branch in Selayang. So this is what Murugan does. He calls up the media (The Moon, Old Straight Clock or The Chinese Letter) and tells them that he wishes to put up a congratulatory ad one full page in the newspaper. He then gives the media names of his vendors, including Pak Cik Mat who supplies the kuey teow, Muthusamy who supplies the fishballs and other fish related stuff, and Kheong Ho for his sauce.

So, the media then contacts these vendors saying "Hey, your client Murugan is opening their 5th branch, so I'd like to know how much you want to contribute to the congratulatory ad. It's RM5000+ for quarter page black and white." This puts the vendors in a difficult position. They are actually asked on their goodwill to take out money to pay for a congratulatory ad by Murugan to congratulate Murugan. Errr... I just simply don't agree with this picture. Yes, I understand that under the page it will say "From: Pak Cik Mat (logo), Muthusamy (logo) and Kheng Ho (logo)".... still, it's like trying to sell a direct selling product to a good friend hoping on his goodwill as a friend to purchase the stuff from you. Not ethical.

But I guess that's how the world works. Sigh....

How To Be Rich

There are many self-help books on how to be rich. Some examples are like "How to make money in your pajamas - written by a Malaysian" and then there's that Robert Kiyosaki who writes that purplish books. I seriously think Robert Kiyosaki got rich by writing "How to get rich" books. If he didn't write that book in the first place, he won't be as rich as he is now. Making money in your pajamas... wait, that sounds totally wrong. Anyway, ya, there are those who understands the market and created a supply for that demand.

Here's a story of Ali, who made is rich, by saving an ant.

Ali works as a sandwich seller. He's 23 years old. One morning, after he's done making his sandwiches and started walking about the village peddling his sandwich, he saw an ant stuck in a pool of water. He decided to fish the ant out, and placed it on a rock nearby the pond. Then Ali walked away happy.

Unbeknowst to the ant, gasp! Jeng jeng jeng.... (too many dramatised sounds lah pulak)... what the ant don't know won't hurt him, but it did. The tongue of the frog snapped it off the rock and into the belly of the frog. Now, froggy has not eaten in days, and being able to finally eat something, it hops off across the dusty street to another pond nearby.

Unbeknowst to the frog, ribbit, ribbit..... a snake swallowed it whole! And the snake, so happy that it finally get to makan, went to visit his friend nearby the town area. While slithering across the pathway like the Slitherine of Harry Potter, a chinese restaurant owner saw it and took it away, to serve at his restaurant.

Happily carrying the snake in his bag towards his car, he didn't noticed the drunk driver of a Mercedes heading his way. Crash Boom Bang - Roxette.... the driver hit the chinese restaurant owner and killed him instantly. A month later, the driver who was so guilt-ridden with well,... guilt, decided to throw away all his money. He decided that he'll pose as a beggar and try begging and see who have a kind heart.

While begging, he chanced upon a young man selling sandwich who approached him, and gave him not one, but the entire load of sandwiches that he could not sell in the morning. That's about let's see... 10, 12... 15 sandwiches in all. The Mercedes driver was so proud of this young man that he gave him a cash cheque of RM1,000,000 to his good deed. Doing so, the driver feels better that well, he thinks by giving away RM1 million, his spirit can soar again despite his mistake for killing the chinese restaurant owner.

He took Ali to the bank, have Ali cashed the money and then he sent Ali back to Ali's house, and gave his car keys as well as all the proper handover of the Mercedes to Ali. Feeling happy, the driver walked to the nearest bus stand to get a bus home, and while waiting, he opened the sandwich and started eating.... only to bite through quite a bit of sand. With the krap krap krap khorb khun krap sound and the sand hurting his teeth, he threw the sandwich away.

On the other side of the picture, just few hours before, while Ali was selling his last 16th sandwich, his basket handle broke and the sandwiches all rolled on the sandy path of his village. Still determine to earn his money, he decided to cheat by selling the sandy sandwich. While looking for his victim and slowly succumbing by guilt, he saw a beggar, and he decided to just give the sandwich away. Beggars aren't choosy if they're too hungry.

So that's the story of how to be rich. How To Get Rich: Save An Ant and Give Away Your Sandwich.

You Know You're A New Parent When....

Eventhough I'm only nearly in my third month as a parent, there are differences I have noticed from being single, to being married, and lastly to being a parent. Here are my own experiences in differences in being married and being a parent. They are not an exhaustive list at all, just what comes to mind.

You Know You're Married When....
1. You are not afraid to sleep in the dark anymore.
2. The toilet door opens in the middle of the night and you don't jump in fright.
3. Your closet has her clothes, her closet has your clothes.
4. Eh, who's shirt is this? Yours or mine?
5. Staying in hotels together don't get your families reaction.
6. There's someone to go home to.
7. You fight for the tv programme. Well, not really since I'm not a tv person.

You Know You're A New Parent When....
1. Watching movie in a cinema is something rather impossible to do.
2. You hear the crying of a baby in the middle of the night and you don't jump in fright.
3. Your baby's luggage is as big as yours and your wife's luggage combined.
4. For someone so little, the car space taken up is rather large. (ie car seat, stroller, baby bag)
5. You eat alone quite often, as when you were single, since your wife or you is holding the baby while the other eats.
6. Your parents call you up to ask about the baby first, then about you, that is if they remember to ask about you. :P
7. Strangers seem to warm up on you.
8. Baby poo, vomits, and saliva on your skin is highly acceptable.
9. You start singing nursery rhymes even when you're doing house chores at home away from baby and while working at the office.
10. If you're alone with the baby, taking bath and doing "big business" is a racing sport.
11. You speak baby talk and don't mind making funny voices in public.
12. Your baby lies on your lap more often than your wife does.

Tahu, Takpe!

For some unknown reason, I have been hearing a lot of "Tahu, takpe!" in my company that it's driving me nuts. I think it came from some kind of malay show, and people started using it as a common 'words to use'.... such as the sickness with "Kenapa? Tak percaya?" (Why?! Don't believe?), "Mereka dan keluarga mereka" (They and their family.).

"Tahu, takpe" (Know, nevermind) I believe is practically used to reply to someone saying something that already has an answer. Such an example would be "I'm tired today,... maybe due to the long meeting this morning." "Tahu, takpe!" My staff uses it, the maintenance staff uses it, even an indian admin staff uses it!! Now I'm just waiting for those words to come out from managerial position-ed staff.

For those of you who wishes to incorporate "Tahu, takpe!" into their vocabulary, just wait for anyone to talk to you, and mention something (more towards themself actually) in which they're questioning why, and giving an answer to that. At least that's how I think the words are used. In this case, I tak tahu, and I tak kisah.