DiGi Advert - Lovely Day

Incidentally, today is a lovely day for me.. because

i love easy driving
i love smooth traffic
i love saving <--- due to easy driving and smooth traffic, so i kinda saved on fuel
i love good food <-- after the talk today, we were served with some delicacies
i love meeting inspiring people who are positive and bubbly <-- i met many today
i love resting <-- since tomorrow is holiday
i love peace <-- no more mosquitoes after we removed their breeding haven

although some roads are closed for the incoming merdeka celebration, some roads are still open

today i took the risk of going through the roads that i thought would be closed, but luckily it was not closed and not many people are using that road. so an evening that i thought i would be spending quite some times in jammed turned out to be just the opposite.

then i switched on the tv and stumble upon the DiGi advert - Lovely Day by Bill Withers

so here is the lyric to Lovely Day -

When I wake up in the morning love
and the sun light hurts my eyes

And something without warning love
bears heavy on my mind.

Then I look at you
and the world’s alright with me

Just one look at you
and I know it’s gonna be

A lovely day
lovely day.. x8

A lovely day
lovely day .. x8

**When the day that lies ahead of me
seems impossible to face

And someone else instead of me
always seems to know the way

Then I look at you
and the world’s alright with me

(and)
Just one look at you
and I know it’s gonna be

A lovely day
lovely day.. x8

A lovely day
lovely day .. x8

....

repeat**

hmm... lovely day indeed to end a busy week. but nevertheless i do have to some homework during the weekend to finish em by tuesday, i suppose, since monday is a holiday.

AKLEH - Ampang Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway

I have been using AKLEH for a while since the start of AKLEH is just a little drive from my home which is in Ampang. With AKLEH I can reach KL i.e. the Jalan TAR area (where the SOGO and other nearby attractions) in less than 15 minutes. Thanks to AKLEH, I can start my car as late as 7.30 in the morning to be able to punch in before 8 am.

Toll is RM1.50 one way flat rate for cars but i believe it's worth every sen for me since I use AKLEH from one end to another end. It is smooth except in the toll collection area when cars are too many and the lines are long. But with Smart tag one does not have to wait for long. After and before the toll, the roads are clear thanks to understanding and caring drivers who do not drive too slow on the highway.

It is called a highway because it is high from the ground. One could jump and die. Cars could go from the sides (if they are crazy enough) and explode. A daredevil can jump and dive to the infamous river of KL. How high it may seem, the LRT track is higher than the highway.

AKLEH is in fact parallel to Jalan Ampang but without the traffic lights. Jalan Ampang is horrible even during the non-peak hours. There are just too many intersections with traffic lights. The only time I think is suitable to use Jalan Ampang is at night after 8. Hopefully, cars aren't that many.

A way to capture the modern Kuala Lumpur is to go through AKLEH. You can see all sorts of modern buildings especially the KLCC. There is in fact a special exit from AKLEH to the KLCC parking.

A little while ago, some hard knocked motorcyclist were seen using the AKLEH even though it is forbidden. I was thinking of complaining because the motorcycles disturb the harmony of the traffic since AKLEH has only four lanes, with two lanes respectively at each direction. However, at the toll collection area, the roads are wide enough with few more lanes to smooth the flow.

BTW, the thick blue line is AKLEH in the image shown above.

Life in Kuala Lumpur as a fresh grad

Let us assume that Daniel has just graduated from any college with a degree of four years.

Generally, the starting salary for fresh grad working in Malaysia is around 1800 - 2800 (after deduction due to epf and socso). Quite a big range so depending on where Daniel chooses to work or in this case, where he will be accepted to work since his result is not that good. However, he is a sweet talker and may be able to "dillusionize" the interviewer.

I believe with all my senses that working in the banking industry offer the highest pay for fresh grad in malaysia. higher than that is to work for international company like slumberger but the work is hell. you will not be staying anywhere for too long and for the first year you will be put into rigorous tests and exercises. once you passed everything, you will be posted just anywhere in the world. a friend to told about a friend of his who has to work in the middle of a dessert in sudan in a contenna for three months, then off for few weeks.

so back to salary pay, here are some that i know for new exec inclusive of allowances:

• petronas - 2500
• tnb - 2200
• powertek - 2200
• govt - 2900
• cimb - 3100
• Motorola - 2600
• audit firms - 1800++ (not sure)

so lets say daniel chooses to work in powertek, because the office is in menara maxis, which is very close to his home in jalan ampang, and he got to see chicks in KLCC. with 2200, the pay is quite low.
before he even touch the money about ~300 is deducted from his salary which is for epf and socso. the epf requires that 11% of your salary to be deposited into your epf account. so now at the end of month, daniel will receive 1900 for the month pay.

since daniel has no family in KL, he has to rent a room at about 300 which is ok and comfy. not too grand but good enough for single like daniel. he also has to pay installment for his car which he bought just after graduation, well, his father sponsored the deposit of 10% and now he has to pay the installment at 400 a month. for a month petrol, he has to pay about 300 since he likes to go out in the weekends, see some friends, make some loves and watch some movies. additionally, everyday he spent about RM15 for food, i.e. 4 for breakfast, 6 for lunch and 5 for dinner or in other possible combinations. but in average he need to spend about 15 a day for food. thus, for a whole month, 15 x 30 will equal to 450.

the basic spending will be = 300+400+300+450=1450
with 1900, he is left with = 1900 - 1450 = 350

so 350 left to spend, what about weekends? one could easily spend extra 50 every weekend. say you want to treat those special friends of yours, or just watching movies, play pool, bowling, buy new clothes, etc.. man i have no money left... what about the bills you have to pay? the phone, utilities, and so on. the bills may easily reached 100.

so basically, to live life comfortably as a fresh graduate living in kuala lumpur, 3000 is a good start for salary. some people just dont have a choice because he or she is bonded by contracts due to the sponsorship during their study and now have to work at a particular company for a certain number of years. poor 'em.

Life in Kuala Lumpur (exploring)

Once arriving in KL sentral you can just go anywhere from there. in the building itself you can access the following modes of tranportation:

• Putra LRT --> the line goes from Terminal Putra in Gombak all the way to Kelana Jaya. Interesting stops with this line are KLCC, Masjid Jamek, Bangsar and Central Market (Pasar Seni). Beware, on public holidays, Central Market is full of immigrant workers loafing around. So they squat here and there thus creating a scene which does not feel like KL. I think this LRT line has the most advance Train with most frequent availability. The only set back is that you can only use the machine with exact change. Since I have a TouchNGo card, going in and out trains is fast and easy.

• KTM Komuter --> by far always showing me how bad the service can be. Always not on time and very crowded. If you are lucky you will get the seat because there are plenty of them, but since the frequency is low, the trains tend to get very crowded, and if you are only in for few tops you should better not sit as getting out of the train will be very hard once it is very crowded. I guess because KTM uses the old style of commuter trains which are not very practical nowadays. Btw, the line goes from sentul to port klang and another line goes from Rawang to Seremban and vice versa. By far covering the longest distance of all the commuting trains.

• ERL --> Express Rail Link, yes, it is the fastest way to go from KL Sentral to KLIA. It takes only 28 minutes and cost RM35 one way. Another type is ERL transit which also goes to KLIA but will stop at first Bandar Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya, Salak Tinggi and finally KLIA. List of fares are available at their website.

• and of course taxis and buses going all sort of places. buses to Genting Highland is about Rm15 and to KLIA LCCT is RM8/9. You will need to be very familiar with the bus system to appreciate all the routes available.

If you are wiling to find the way around, a few minutes walk outside the building will lead you to the KL Monorel station. It will go from KL Sentral to titiwangsa through the bukit bintang/imbi area where the famous bintang walk is. So the complete map is available through www.kiat.net website or you can just download the pdf map.

Life in Kuala Lumpur (arriving)

Arriving with AirAsia

most people living in KL do not come or exist in KL previously. people who love their money will not spend on MAS just to fly to KL so those people including me with go with AirAsia. AirAsia is a great way to travel to KL from Sabah or Sarawak or other places where AirAsia choose to operate. AirAsia is usually (or rather most of the time) RM200 cheaper than MAS. So let us assume that some dude in Kuching decides to come and work or study or go holiday in KL.

Firstly, he will book the ticket online which payable through online banking or credit cards. please ensure that you put your contact number so that AirAsia will be able to contact you in case of flight delay or cancellation. they contacted me once to inform about a delay which is rather thoughtful because you can then make other plans.

Then, on a particular day he set the time he will have to go the airport to check in. AirAsia counter opens two hours before and closes 45 minutes before departure time. please be prepared with some money if you are going to check in bags in to the cargo. each bag will cost RM5 and the overall weight limit is 15kg. if in any case, the total luggage exceeds 15kg, then you will have to pay RM15 for every 1kg you exceeded. so he will just need to show his ID (IC) in order to check in. bla bla bla he will go to the security check point then finally the terminal building where he will wait for boarding. boarding is usually 20 mins before departure.

Then, he boards on the plane. since AirAsia is practicing free seat concept, he will just seat anywhere where he likes where there is no one on the seat. there is no need to hurry unless you want to seat at a particular spot or want to seat together with friends. but this guy is alone so he does not bother to stand first in line and just waits till the line starts moving only then he boards the plane.

flight to KL from kuching is about 1 hour and 45 mins, no matter what type of company he chooses to fly with. in this case, MAS and AirAsia are the two choices to fly from kuching to KL and vice versa. During the flight the stewardess are set to sell foods and souvenirs, but he refrains from buying anything since the stewardess are not that hot up to his standard.

the plane touches the ground 9.05 pm but he only touches the ground at 9.15 pm. he rushes out and go into the SkyBus (owns by AirAsia) to KL. The ticket is RM9 for one way from LCCT KLIA to Kuala Lumpur City Sentral. There is this another bus company offering RM8 to KL sentral but since each bus will only move once it is full and the SkyBus seems more crowded, he chooses to pay RM9 instead of RM8 so that he may reach KL sentral earlier, since somebody is waiting for him.

the bus moves at about 9.25pm and reaches KL Sentral at 10.35pm. Thus the journey is a little more than one hour. so he looks around that somebody who is waiting for him and they both run towards one another with arms wide open and finally they kiss. :-P

so with AirAsia its a rather cheap journey to KL, only RM8 or RM9 depending on which bus you choose.

missing the feeling

when i encounter people at the service points, such as cashiers, ticketing counters, bus drivers, etc i always wonder why people in malaysia are not as friendly as those in the western country...

i missed their wonderful expressions, i.e.

"Hey, how are you today?"

"How is it going boy?"

"Nice weather eh?"

"Good morning dear, what can i do for you today?" --> i was greeted whenever i go for shopping in walmart.

or even a simple smile.

so is it true that Malaysians are lacking of courtesy?

Mont Kiara vs Bukit Kiara

recently, i discovered from a friend that Bukit Kiara and Mont Kiara are referring to two different area. i used to think that Mont Kiara is the english translation of Bukit Kiara, boy i was wrong.

Bukit is the place where the Security Commission, INTAN and Pusat Sains Negara are situated, whilst Mont Kiara is the place north of Sri Hartamas and just before Segambut.