They say, whoever "they" are, that we turn a year wiser with every year we age. Well, to be honest, I could really use with the getting wiser without the aging part.
You see, with age, people changed. Not for the better, but for the worse. Your health fails, your memory goes, your looks are gone... If you ask me, it's a whole lot to be sacrificing for an annual gain in wisdom.
I really get those who wanted to celebrate this "happy" occassion with me, but to me, happiness never last. My self-thought best relationship turned out to be built on a bunch of lies and ended up in betrayal, my self-thought best job cost me the relationship between me and my mom, my self-preceived best life needs me to put up a front and smile at the people around me so that I won't have them worried about my condition... Happiness, it comes with a price. There are no free lunches in the world.
If I can do anything to see the people around me happy, I'd do it. I really need to see them happy, to remind myself that I could still do some good in this world, that there is still a meaning to my existence.
In less than 24 hours, I'd be turning another year "wiser". For someone with a huge case of Peter-Pan Complex, this is a HUGE thing. I used to enjoy keeping to myself on my birthdays, buying a small piece of cake for myself the day before, locking myself in my room, light a candle, sing myself a birthday song, make a wish... Ok, fine. I admit it. It was pathetic and I certainly wasn't enjoying any bit of it. I really detest the sense of getting older. Aging really is my biggest enemy. But there is no way of stopping it now, is there?
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 08, 2011
Tensed
You can literally feel the tension in the air. The whole rakyat is tensed. Not by the rally, but by the way we are treated. To be honest, I really don't see how having roadblocks everywhere will be "the public interest". Did they even ask "the public" whether we wanted roadblocks before deciding on our behalf?
On the bus to work, we saw a roadblock on the opposite side of the road, where all the cars are at a standstill. Sitting very close to the driver seat, I can hear the driver telling the conductor that today is going to be a long day, "I wonder how long we are going to be stuck in that block on our way back."
I wanted to stress, that these blocks ARE NOT the "public interest"! When are they ever going to learn? The bus drivers wanted to have a smooth journey, the passengers wanted to get to their destination on time; they don't want to get stuck in a road block. And I for sure don't want to be stuck in a roadblock on my way home later as well!
Sigh... Why is something that is already greenlit by the Agung still causing so much stir? Shouldn't the blocks and tension be gone, now that the biggest man in charge has already spoken? I'm confused.
~ a concerned and tensed citizen © 20110708 ~
On the bus to work, we saw a roadblock on the opposite side of the road, where all the cars are at a standstill. Sitting very close to the driver seat, I can hear the driver telling the conductor that today is going to be a long day, "I wonder how long we are going to be stuck in that block on our way back."
I wanted to stress, that these blocks ARE NOT the "public interest"! When are they ever going to learn? The bus drivers wanted to have a smooth journey, the passengers wanted to get to their destination on time; they don't want to get stuck in a road block. And I for sure don't want to be stuck in a roadblock on my way home later as well!
Sigh... Why is something that is already greenlit by the Agung still causing so much stir? Shouldn't the blocks and tension be gone, now that the biggest man in charge has already spoken? I'm confused.
~ a concerned and tensed citizen © 20110708 ~
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Celebrity Fitness Scam
~ Originally posted on Facebook. Feel free to share the post and spread the word.~
We were told by a self-proclaimed person in charge at Celebrity Fitness 1Utama that we can "make all the fuss (we) want" about this matter. Since we have nothing to lose, here we are making a "fuss".
To mark our year with a positive start, three friends and I decided to join a gym. In mid-January we went to Celebrity Fitness to enquire on how to join and become a member. Now one would think that they will have their prices clearly stated in black and white, but no. They have nothing of the sort and we ended up having to negotiate for hours on the amount to pay for their monthly membership fee, with their sales representative – Maggie.
When we were about to sign the contract of agreement, we noticed a clause on the contract saying that "Celebrity Fitness has the right to increase the membership fees without prior notice". At that point, we decided not to sign and asked Maggie about the clause, which all of us clearly disagree with. She verbally promised us that there will be NO increase of membership fees, and even mentioned that even if the fee does increase, it will not affect any new member signing up this year. To further convince us on how sure she is on this matter, she told us that since she works in the gym, we could always go to her should any matter arise, and she would help us solve it,.
That was a month and a half ago.
Yesterday, when my friend and I went to the gym, I wanted to pay my gym membership fees for March. I was told by the girl working at the payment counter that my membership fees had been increased! Needless to say, my friend and I were puzzled. Immediately we requested to speak to Maggie.
When we asked her about the price increase, she said it was because of the increase of government tax. As much as we would like to believe her, the ruling to increase the government tax had already been implemented and started on January BEFORE all of us signed up. Yet, she did promise us that there will be no increase of membership fees. Moreover, the increase of government tax is just 1% but we were asked to pay 4%-5% extra monthly, of what our current monthly gym membership is right now.
After a slight negotiation with Maggie, I asked to speak to the branch manager or a person in charge of the branch. However, she told us that she is the biggest of ranks in that branch, and impolitely told us that we will have to "go to Jakarta because there are no managers or the likes in Malaysia."
When we question her about what that we can do, she told us bluntly that we can make all the fuss we want, but we will still have to pay the amount they are asking for, and started a lengthy speech saying that ALL fitness centers in Malaysia are increasing their membership fees. However, when I asked a colleague of mine who is a member of another gym center earlier this morning, she told me that she hasn’t heard of such a thing from her gym center.
We also questioned Maggie how many times they can/will increase the price in a year; she kept quiet. When we told her that we wanted to cancel our membership, we were told that we will have to pay a penalty of RM400 if we wanted to do so. She also reminded us that the contract we signed clearly states that they are allowed to increase our membership fees without prior notice; contradicting to what she promised us verbally when we refused to sign up for the package a month ago.
I wonder how many other unknowing consumers have they tricked into signing up using this tactic, and how many have kept quiet and just pay whatever the fitness center is asking them to pay from time to time. I know verbal contract is a valid contract. But right now, she is in-a-way backing away from her words and forcing us to pay the amount, which might increase again in the not-too-distant-future!
Since we were so nicely asked by their self-proclaimed person in charge to make all the fuss we want, we hope that this message will manage to reach everyone out there and be aware that Celebrity Fitness is scamming people in such a way to join their gym and ‘extorting’ money out from its members. The price increase of a few ringgit is not the main issue here, but the way they are doing business is.
If the "real" person in charge is reading this, we really do hope to hear from you: On why the sudden increase of price; on your staff who gave us empty promises and scammed us into signing up; and how you can compensate us.
On the other hand, if there’s anyone out there who knows what we can do about this, and how can we go about doing it, please do advise.
We were told by a self-proclaimed person in charge at Celebrity Fitness 1Utama that we can "make all the fuss (we) want" about this matter. Since we have nothing to lose, here we are making a "fuss".
To mark our year with a positive start, three friends and I decided to join a gym. In mid-January we went to Celebrity Fitness to enquire on how to join and become a member. Now one would think that they will have their prices clearly stated in black and white, but no. They have nothing of the sort and we ended up having to negotiate for hours on the amount to pay for their monthly membership fee, with their sales representative – Maggie.
When we were about to sign the contract of agreement, we noticed a clause on the contract saying that "Celebrity Fitness has the right to increase the membership fees without prior notice". At that point, we decided not to sign and asked Maggie about the clause, which all of us clearly disagree with. She verbally promised us that there will be NO increase of membership fees, and even mentioned that even if the fee does increase, it will not affect any new member signing up this year. To further convince us on how sure she is on this matter, she told us that since she works in the gym, we could always go to her should any matter arise, and she would help us solve it,.
That was a month and a half ago.
Yesterday, when my friend and I went to the gym, I wanted to pay my gym membership fees for March. I was told by the girl working at the payment counter that my membership fees had been increased! Needless to say, my friend and I were puzzled. Immediately we requested to speak to Maggie.
When we asked her about the price increase, she said it was because of the increase of government tax. As much as we would like to believe her, the ruling to increase the government tax had already been implemented and started on January BEFORE all of us signed up. Yet, she did promise us that there will be no increase of membership fees. Moreover, the increase of government tax is just 1% but we were asked to pay 4%-5% extra monthly, of what our current monthly gym membership is right now.
After a slight negotiation with Maggie, I asked to speak to the branch manager or a person in charge of the branch. However, she told us that she is the biggest of ranks in that branch, and impolitely told us that we will have to "go to Jakarta because there are no managers or the likes in Malaysia."
When we question her about what that we can do, she told us bluntly that we can make all the fuss we want, but we will still have to pay the amount they are asking for, and started a lengthy speech saying that ALL fitness centers in Malaysia are increasing their membership fees. However, when I asked a colleague of mine who is a member of another gym center earlier this morning, she told me that she hasn’t heard of such a thing from her gym center.
We also questioned Maggie how many times they can/will increase the price in a year; she kept quiet. When we told her that we wanted to cancel our membership, we were told that we will have to pay a penalty of RM400 if we wanted to do so. She also reminded us that the contract we signed clearly states that they are allowed to increase our membership fees without prior notice; contradicting to what she promised us verbally when we refused to sign up for the package a month ago.
I wonder how many other unknowing consumers have they tricked into signing up using this tactic, and how many have kept quiet and just pay whatever the fitness center is asking them to pay from time to time. I know verbal contract is a valid contract. But right now, she is in-a-way backing away from her words and forcing us to pay the amount, which might increase again in the not-too-distant-future!
Since we were so nicely asked by their self-proclaimed person in charge to make all the fuss we want, we hope that this message will manage to reach everyone out there and be aware that Celebrity Fitness is scamming people in such a way to join their gym and ‘extorting’ money out from its members. The price increase of a few ringgit is not the main issue here, but the way they are doing business is.
If the "real" person in charge is reading this, we really do hope to hear from you: On why the sudden increase of price; on your staff who gave us empty promises and scammed us into signing up; and how you can compensate us.
On the other hand, if there’s anyone out there who knows what we can do about this, and how can we go about doing it, please do advise.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
1.1.11
While the rest of the world is stuck in a traffic jam/making their way back from the New Year countdown, here I am in front of my desktop, looking back on the year that just ended.2010 has been a roller coaster ride for me: Things were rough at work, my grandmother passed away, had a huge fight with an asshole housemate of mine, my laptop died, Mom's bag was snatched... But of course, there were also a few good things that came in between such as my other housemate and I managed to get rid of that asshole housemate of ours, my brother got engage in Macau, my godbrother's wife got pregnant (the baby is due April, yay!), I managed to organize a couple of gatherings for the gay forum I'm active in (which most of them turned out to be pretty successful), my brother bought a house, my cousin brother got married... things seem to be picking up.
And since it's the New Year, it would be wrong not to make another one of those New Year Resolution thingy... which I seldom manage to achieve. >.<
Well, c'mon I'm sure it happens to everyone... right? ~diffident~ >.<
Actually, the question to ask would be: Does anybody out there still do New Year Resolution?
Anyways, here's mine. Let's see how many I can get done by the end of 2011:
01. Family
After the passing of my grandmother in June, I told myself that I need to spend more time with my family, and I'm gonna stick to that promise and at the same time control my temper, since I constantly/easily get into arguments with my Dad. Also, since my brother has now settled down in Macau, I think I should plan a trip there with my parents to visit him and my sister-in-law.
02. Social
After joining an online forum for gay Chinese two years ago, I've been actively organizing/co-organizing gatherings, with an aim to encourage gay teens to come out and meet more friends instead of staying at home and stare at their computer screens. That has been going pretty well so far, and I think I will keep it going in 2011 as well.
03. Health
I’ve been constantly sick last year. It seems that with age, comes sickness. In fact, I caught a bug so bad last November, that I not only missed the World AIDS Day Carnival, which I religiously go to every year, I also missed the chance of meeting up with an online friend who came all the way from France. (I'm so sorry, Mark.) So I think it's time I take better care of myself. Maybe I should join a gym and I can stop worrying about that belly of mine that comes and goes at the same time? And while I'm at it, maybe it's also time for me to get a proper insurance with a proper health card, just in case... ~touch wood~
04. Personal
This is the one I needed a lot of work with! I need to cut down my spending, save more money, learn something new (I'm thinking Rubik's cube since it'll help in making my brain tick), curse less, cut down on the bitching, travel (I already have two overseas trips planned out so far – Phuket in February & Taiwan in October), and last but not least I really should come back to the wonderful world of blogging and bore you readers out there at least once a month. =þ
05. Environment
Since I'm Cina, plastic bags play a very important part in my life! Tapao = plastic bag. Grocery shopping = plastic bag. Trash = plastic bag. I think it's time I cut down on the usage of plastic bags and start bringing my own container whenever I tapao and bring along my own bag whenever I go grocery shopping. As for trash, well, I don't think the garbage men would want to get their hands dirty on scattered dumps, so let's not go there just yet.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. We'll see how all that turn out at the end of 2011.
Happy New Year everybody!
~ jessism © 01012011 ~
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