Reviewing my telco plan

Phone bills can feel like death threats. The routine is the same at the end of every month. First, I'm surprised to see it in the mailbox. Ripping the envelope slowly. Unfolding the paper inside gently. Gasp at the total amount required to pay. Then brainstorm ways to cut back on waste-of-money handphone habits. I enjoy gabbing with love ones or just sending adorable cat images via text. 

Guilty as charge and I will do it again. Its a lifestyle that this cat lover embrace whole heartedly. 

Source : Society6/Tobe

Today, I stumbled upon dontbodoh.com that reviews your phone bills for free and tells you whether you're in the smart or stupid category of Malaysian handphone users. The whole experience takes less than two minutes.

Its actually a quiz that will asses whether your current telco plan fits both your budget and lifestyle. Anyone using a Malaysian number should take this quiz. 

Don't bodoh site 

When I say lifestyle, this refers to your internet usage per month alongside the amount of calls and texting (SMS) that you do on average. 

The website reviews your plan and gives suggestion

The website will then take all that into a consideration and compare it between four mainstream telco; Digi, Celcom, Maxis or UMobile. 

It then specify what type of  plan you should be using out of the four telco companies mentioned above. 

Results will show your current plant as to 'Veli Good' , 'Good', 'So So Jer' or 'Boo'. Mine turned out to be so so jer (while is like neither here nor there) 

Ever since I subscribed to an internet plan for my phone, life has been good. I remember the days of cari free WiFi at McDonalds. Purchase sundae cone and hang around until my handphone battery is flat. This was also life before powerbank.

Now with the internet postpaid plan , I can fully utilized apps like Whatsapp and Skype. Although there are times when I accidentally left the phone to roam and that is expensive business!

Every once in a while, review your phone bills. Take full advantage of the fact that telco companies are competing for customer loyalty. We are royalties and should be treated like such. 

My first Eye Spa

My beauty regime has always been brown sugar and moisturiser. Spread the mix and leave it on for 30 minutes while I watch Big Bang Theory. So far, pimple population - zero. I've been lucky. Today is truly life changing as I go through my first ever eye spa. The experience itself is so bizarrely relaxing that I can see why ladies of leisure and working women mark spa time as top priority on their to-do-list. 

Eye-spa is a treatment that includes massage techniques for the face in which it would be able to reduce redness, wrinkles and puffy eyes. The idea is to specifically treat and relax the eye area as oppose to getting a full face facial. 

I love it. 

First, you are ask to lie down. The flat surface is comfortable enough but reminds me almost like a hospital bed. You may request for as many pillows as your heart desire.Then the lights are switch off and just a dim sparks in the corner. It made me feel drowsy already although the outside world was 11am and hot as ever. 

The 45 minutes sessions included various technique of massaging that was deeply relaxing. I didn't realize there were so many points on the face that can trigger relaxation. It was like the masseuse literally pressed all the right button. My favourite part was when she placed hot herbal packs on my eyes and it just released a smell that reminds me of Chinese medicine. It was like putting your nose near a hot broth cooked to perfection. I like it. 

The session ended and you can really feel all the puffiness gone. My face felt a little oily from the facial product that they used. That's quite normal even from previous spa trips. Bare in mind I have received less that five spa treatments over the years. 

There was also a part whereby cool gel is slush onto your eyelids and cover with a wet-tissue like material as you sit still for 15 minutes. I think that is the cooling part that comes before the awesome hot herbal packs. Its almost like balancing the cool and hot treatment. 

This eye spa was done at Wan Ling Beauty Academy on Burma Road. The shop itself is so small that you can easily miss it. Just look out for a model with gold on her face and a small brown sign with Wan Ling on it. 

I am now a believer that we all need spa treatment once in awhile. I feel really rejuvenated. If you read this, go ahead and give it a try. Request for Josephine. Tell her Entan sent you. 

For more information login http://wanling.com.my/ 

Welcoming strangers into my home

I don't know you, but please come into my home. Take off your shoes and join us for dinner while I prepare your bed for the night. Oh, you forgot to bring toiletries? Don't worry, here's some shampoo and soap. 

That's the concept of couchsurfing.

Imagine welcoming a person of another nationality with different sets of culture and opinion, who is not related to you in any way and giving him or her the hospitality that you would to a guest like a relative or a family friend. 

I've heard of www.couchsurfing.com from friends. Its a website whereby locals can offer accommodation to travellers for free and vice versa. In exchange you as a host are able to enjoy the experience of culture exchange and make new friends. I suppose if you're into that sort of thing, then its a win-win situation. 

Recently I offered to host JP from Philippines. After reading his profile, I felt like he is someone I could welcome into my home. He seem well travelled and interesting. Sure enough, my instinct was spot on. 

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, JP was not able to stay overnight with us. I managed to bring him to a few sights and we talked about travelling and compared many things between Malaysia and Philippines. We explored the walls of Kek Lok Si Temple on a Sunday afternoon and walked back to the car in rain.  

I find it very refreshing to spend time with a person who is equally curious about my hometown as I felt really excited and proud to be tour guide for the day.

Later that day, I introduced him to my family members. Then we had  dinner in the company of my sister-in-law with her baby. We introduced him to Thai food - favourite among Malaysians. A culture that I embrace whole heartedly.

The next day we stroll around Georgetown and I showed him the various lorong and jalan with all the adorable cafe and hostels that merge along side the famous murals done by street artists over the years. 

In that moment, I realize how little I knew about Penang. On a usual today, I would just zoom by in my car leaving no care about the beauty that has attracted so many tourist from around the world into my country, particularly Penang. 

Towards the end I made sure JP had a ride to the bus station as he would be taking a 12 hours van ride to Thailand.crazy. 

Now I am a believer that you don't need to travel to far ends of the world to make friends as there are so many people out there who are willing to do all the travelling to your place. 

You might say that all this sounds crazy? I agree. Give your precious time and money (gas, meals and etc.) to a stranger and what do you get in return? Well, expect nothing. That's the beauty of it. You cannot claim for any expenditure and risk inviting a freeloader into your home. 

So what. 

I remember when I was in Philippines and a family friend welcome me into their home and shared with me culture, food and their thoughts of the world from a very personal point of view. I think that was the best holiday experience. Bare in mind, I have never met them prior to the "couchsurfing" experience. 

I think that if a person who makes the effort to plan his or her travels and is pleasant enough to be invited out for a cup of coffee, then why not welcome him or her with open arms?

The great thing about the concept of couchsurfing is that you have a choice. You can reject a request if you feel uncomfortable or provide an outing with the traveller instead of letting them into your home. 

I see it as an opportunity to network and meet new people in the comfort of a snoopy shirt and Hawaii shorts. There is no guarantee that you will secure a lasting friendship but one thing for sure, you'll get a life-changing experience if you decide to host a traveller. 

For more information login to https://www.couchsurfing.com/

Dear 2014 : Old Year Review

Start the year with a resolution. That's what we're suppose to do. Sit down and write three completely crazy dreams which failed to be achieved by the end of the year. I decided to rediscover my 2014 and write a letter to it to say that I will kick butt in 2015.

Dear 2014, 

How are you? Do you miss me? I think its over between us. I am now with 2015 and we're making a lot of plans to be together. I think there is something missing between us. I really felt like there was no commitment to be serious.

Initially it was really stressful as I had to finish up my last semester as a senior in university. This meant lots of late nights, countless meal skipping and last minute assignments. It was as if every second of the day was committed to completing the academic writing. Do you remember that? I forgot the title of the report but I remember it was thirty pages of quotes from boring text books and useless statistics. Then I remember spending almost two hours at the printers queuing up to request for a perfect binding. It was good money used for something so unimportant.

I felt that I was so stress out and unprepared that I didn't enjoy the rush of working under pressure. Few months after that I started looking for places to do my four months attachment. There was a lot of rejection. That was not easy. I remember attending one interview 20 minutes late. It took me almost two hour by bus and train to get to the interview. I walked as fast as I could that day and ended up sweaty and out of breath throughout the session. This was the first time I learnt the importance of time management. Thank heaven that a newspaper company later took me in as an intern. That was great time for rediscovering my true passion.

I realized that knowledge gap is common among human beings in general. There were moments when I got back to the office not understanding the press conference. I improved over time. After that, I got on a plane and spent 6 weeks in the Philippines. It was like a dream come true.

Best trip e-v-e-r, I met so many young people who are equally lost but hanging in there because of faith. It was really like a story book almost fictional experience. I think that was the time when I felt most creative and also less lazy than ever. Since then I could only think about my next travel adventure.

I discovered that so many people pack their bags and get on the plane to travel for whatever reason they can find. I think during this time I lost one of my best friends to Europe. Boyfriends come and go but when good friends leave, it breaks my heart a little.

By the end of the year, all my friends went their separate ways. School is over. I had no more gossip buddies. This has forced me to find new friends. Oh my, that was a really difficult transition. Small talk is horror and you have to be courteous and aware and use your common sense and bla bla bla...Exhausting.

I have now adapted a new way to make and keep friends - via social media. Towards the end of the year, I realize that my blog is empty and no one had offered to sponsor me on holidays yet. I am jealous of bloggers with their awards and press junkets to Thailand and wherever else. My empty blog is just me rattling on for hours about well - myself. By the time you know it, 12 months have gone by. Oh 2014, this is why we need to break up. I am not my best when I am with you. Now I am with this new year and fresh hope. By the end of it, I want to pursue a career in blogging and organize travels in my spare time. I will always love you but I love me more. Muahahaha. Take care 2014, I know you'll be okay without me.

xoxo

Entan