cats

Customer Service Review: MPH

Business: Bookshop
Location: Nationwide
Website: http://www.mph.com.my

The Situation:

I am looking for my CFA-certified calculator. After asking around, I found out that they had it in Border's. Went to Border's today with no such luck. Of course, because as it turns out, 2009 is just as much of a bitch as 2008 was. Then I found out that they had it in MPH, and instead of making the same mistake as I did with Border's, which was to go all the way to the store and get annoyed at salespeople, I decided to call them.

Him: Hello, MPH.

Me: Hi, I'm looking for a calculator, the Texas Instruments BA II Plus.

Him: That's B for Bangkok?

Me: Yes.

Him: The 'plus' is it the symbol or the word 'plus', ma'am?

Me: It's the word.

Him: Ok, ma'am, is it a financial calculator or a graphical calculator?

Me: I'm not sure, but it's CFA-certified.

Him: Ok, ma'am, I'll check with our department here and see if we have this calculator on stock and call you back.

Me: Great, thank you!

The Verdict:

This, my friends, is what good customer service is. I told him the name of the calculator and he immediately wrote it down without asking me to repeat. He checked when he wasn't sure, and he was damn fast at it.

The verdict? I'm super happy with MPH's customer service.

Confused?

Are you confused about what day it is? There's so many of them! 7! How do people keep track?! Sometimes you think it's Monday but no! It's not! It's Saturday, your weekend has begun, and here you are wasting your time being awake in the morning!

Well never fear, because the internet has once again saved our lives and given us a solution to our problem. If you can't tell whether today is Saturday or not, bookmark this website immediately: http://isitsaturday.net.

That's right. Never again miss precious moments of your weekend. Thank you, internet.

Accident? I think not

From Reuters: Rare goat accidentally hangs itself in Canada zoo:

OTTAWA (Reuters) - An exotic goat in Canada's Calgary Zoo accidentally hanged itself after it became entangled in a rope and then fell off a log, CTV television reported on Sunday.

Home video of the accident on Friday showed the Turkmenian markhor hanging lifeless from the rope in its enclosure. Later, keepers could be seen trying to resuscitate the animal.

The zoo said in a statement that the goat had been playing with a ball on the end of a rope -- a toy designed to stimulate the animal.

I don't think it was an accident. I think the goat got tired of life and decide to off himself. The zoo is just in denial.

You're kidding

From The Star: PAS plans to stop Rihanna concert:

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS wants to stop R&B star Rihanna from performing here on Feb 13.

Its Federal Territory Youth chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad said inviting the Barbados-born singing sensation to Malaysia was “akin to insulting eastern culture, belittling local artistes, intentionally causing losses to the country’s economy and supporting Israel’s war policy, which is supported by America”.

The PAS wing said it also found the Grammy award winner to be unsuitable because she often performed suggestively and wore skimpy, sexy outfits.

He said Rihanna’s appearance here would result in an outflow of local currency to the United States, and in turn, cause loss to the country and suffering to the Palestinians.

He reasoned that the United States supplies arms to its ally Israel from contributions and taxes collected from Americans.

“Whether Rihanna realises it or not, we know that the taxes she has paid also contributed to the war in Gaza,” Kamaruzaman said.

He wants the permit issuers, including police and City Hall, to reject the organiser’s application.

The PAS wing would submit a protest note on the concert soon.

Seriously? Please, stop embarassing Malaysia/Malaysians with ridiculous statements and demands.

And before I get flamed and someone goes to the papers with remarks that 'bloggers should watch what they say', allow me to qualify as to why those are ridiculous statements and demands.

By the very self-same logic that En Kamaruzaman uses to justify the boycotting of an R&B singer with no intention of supporting warfare, insulting eastern culture and belittling local acts, the Americans could actually ban all products originating from Malaysia and cite 'support of terrorism, insulting American culture and belittling American laborers'.

Do you get it?

The Rules of Shotgun

I felt that I had to do an entry on this because this matter is pertinent to the advancement and survival of mankind. A set of standardised Shotgun rules are vital to creating and maintaining an advanced and civilised society. I hereby present the International Rules of Shotgun:

1. You must say the word "Shotgun" - You must say "Shotgun" clearly and loud enough to be heard at least by one other occupant of the vehicle to legitimately claim Shotgun. If no one hears you call Shotgun, it's still fair game.
2. The Deed must be done before Shotgun may be called - Shotgun may only be called after the Deed (any activity or objective that directly precedes the ride in the automobile) is done. The Deed establishes the Shotgun-calling time frame.
3. You must be outside to call Shotgun - Once the deed is done and you have exited the building, the time frame to call Shotgun begins. Not all passengers need to be outside for you to call Shotgun, but someone must have heard you for a legitimate claim. If the Deed is outdoors, the Deed must have been agreed to be completed for the time frame to begin.
4. The Barefoot Rule - You must have put on your shoes to call Shotgun. Grabbing your shoes and jumping in the car is an illegal move and does not apply.
5. The Re-Entry Rule - You must not re-enter the building. If you have re-entered the building, your claim on Shotgun becomes void.
6. The Line-of-Sight Rule - You can only call Shotgun when the vehicle is in sight.

Miscellaneous:

• You cannot call Shotgun once someone's hand is holding the shotgun door handle.
• You cannot call Shotgun if someone is already sitting Shotgun.
• If you try to open the locked Shotgun door while the driver is unlocking the door and so cause the door to remain locked, you are deemed to have voided the ride.
• If the vehicle is in a garage, then the Shotgun time frame is deemed to have begun when you enter the garage.
• If there are multiple vehicles, then Shotgun must be called by succeeding the word Shotgun with the driver's name, e.g. Shotgun Nick.
• If the Shotgun occupant exits the car, Shotgun is once more up for grabs.
• If a discrepancy ever occurs, it can be settled by rock, paper, scissors (or 1-2-jus).

Exceptions:

• A significant other gets automatic shotgun privileges.
• The owner of the vehicle gets automatic shotgun privileges.

(Source: http://www.shotgunrules.com/)

CFA Update

So it's been exactly 4 months and 1 day since my last blog entry about my CFA escapades, and because I'm sure so much of my audience is riveted by my attempt to pass the notoriously difficult CFA, I felt the need to update you. Especially since it's currently my study session and this is something that will distract me from the monotony.

After conversations with a colleague who's passed his Level 1 on his first attempt and just sat for his Level 2, his advice was to start studying after NYE because any earlier and you'll forget it anyway by exam time. And of course, I thought this was brilliant reasoning. Come January and obviously I've been too lazy (and caught up with certain unmentionable situations) to start.

So now, I'm stuck with 6 extra thick supersized textbooks and 2 exam workbooks to get through by June 7. Suffice to say that my previously posted highly positive exam timetable won't work out. At this stage, what I'll need is:

1. A miracle;
2. To not be distracted by the internet, the phone, certain unmentionable situations, work, the 2 highly adorable kittens which I will obtain ETA 5.5 days; and
3. To get through 1 and a half 530-page textbooks (which translates to on average 20 pages a day with 40 on the weekends).

Actually, when I break it down like that it doesn't sound too bad. I could do 20 per day. I think. I hope.