I'm not Unemployed

The questions never strike me, but a quite few have asked me these...

1. Can you still get a loan? You're unemployed
2. Why are you still looking at cars at these price range? You're unemployed.

Firstly, I'm not unemployed, I'm self employed.

Secondly, while I may not have a stable flow of income, I still have sufficient income to support my current lifestyle and commitments, otherwise I won't be able to sustain for the last 1-2 years.


Still, applying for a loan is quite different.  It was so much more simpler then, being a salaried worker, where all you need are last 6 months pay slips and bank account statements to prove your steady income flow.

Being self employed, especially smaller business with lesser transactions, 6 months bank statements may not be enough to prove that there are have sufficient income flow to service the loan.  Basically, the bank will evaluate your overall financial status eg other loans, credit cards, property ownership and/or rental income if any, etc.

I had to submit prove of my company registration, company account statements, personal account statements, other relevant documents to prove that my other loan commitments are taken care of.

My loan was approved :)

So, what it means is, the criteria of getting a loan doesn't solely depend on one's employment status.  More importantly, we should maintain healthy repayment habits.  I.e. Pay loan repayments on time, clear credit cards bills every month and on time, etc.


*Touch wood* I'm still able to maintain those habits so far :)



As for, why I didn't opt for a more economical option eg a lower price range car? Hmm..I think I 'll have to address that in another post.  It's complicated.  Think..in between, comfort, safety, money and err...of course status and / or style.

It's a matter of which is more important. The accident is still very fresh in my memory. The loud and strong crash, the impact, the pain, the shock.  I still jump at the slightest sound of honk or when a car comes too closely to my car.  While many may argue that life and death are beyond our control, I don't mind spending more on a better car even if it means letting go of some other luxuries in life.

The Necessary Art of Subtraction

By Leo Babauta

The tendency of our lives, businesses, art, is to keep adding: more furniture, clothes, gadgets, tasks, appointments, features to websites and apps, words to our writing.

Continual addition isn’t sustainable or desirable:

• Too many things to do means we’re always busy, with no time for rest, stillness, contemplation, creativity, time with loved ones.
• Overwhelming customers with choices means they’re less likely to make an actual choice. They’d prefer that we curate the best.
• Too many possessions is clutter, visual stress, cleaning, maintenance, debt, less happiness.
• Too many tasks makes it harder to focus on any one thing or get anything done.
• Too many things we want to learn means we never learn anything well.

Subtraction is beautiful: it creates space, time, clarity.

Subtraction is necessary: otherwise we are overburdened.

Subtraction can be painful: it means letting go of a child.

Subtraction is an art that improves with practice. Subtraction can be practiced on your schedule, task list, commitments list, possessions, reading list, writing, product line, distractions.

What can you subtract right now?

Source - http://zenhabits.net

Freelancing

Last night's message from a friend goes something like this - "Need you to accompany this Friday, can? Help me to read map while I drive to xxx"

I paused for a while after reading it...it was close to midnight, brain was shutting down.  Well, we've shared some adventures together taking leave and going out together.  There was a time when she was taking a break from the workforce, she came to pick me up from while I was waiting for my car to be serviced.

Those were the days.. we've not done that for some time..


So, my next reply was - "Er, I got work la"

And, her innocent reply was - "Eh, I thought you freelancing"

Lol..I think there are some misconception to the term "freelancing"


I was guilty too.  Before I started freelancing, I imagined myself, spending a lot of time working and/or relaxing leisurely at cafes. Unfortunately, that didn't happen often enough

1. Going out means cost eg petrol, parking, food, drinks all translates into cost
2. Going out also means time eg being stuck in jam, looking for parking
3. And it costs even more at places with wifi!
4. Oh, at home, I can work in my most comfortable shorts and sleeveless top  :D

So, realistically, it's always more realistic and efficient to stay indoor.   Well, once in a while, depending on work load and urgency, I do give myself a treat - hanging out with a latte cafee at my favourite, using my flashy Asus, with my sunglasses on the head, lol. Not often though. 

FREELANCING is a very broad term.

• It doesn't mean freelancers are free all the time, in fact, Free time means No Income for us!

• However, the no. hours worked vs. income earned very much depends on the type of work that a freelancer's skill set, and this can vary greatly from professional consultancy related services to mid-executive support roles to less professional but more hours-intensive desk job

• It can be quite different from those with a passive income.  Yes, if one had worked hard enough to establish the base to get sufficient passive income, yup, these group can idle and yet have some form of income in-flow

Unfortunately, the third point doesn't apply to me.  So, I gotta work my ass off when there jobs.   The only difference is I don't have to report to work on a fixed time period everyday.  And I get to control how much I can take on.  Eg I can choose whether I wanna work 20 hours a day to earn more or less.

Some jobs are relatively easy, eg just monitoring, hence, I can afford to be away from the desk, as long as I respond when needed.  Some jobs requires me to be glued to the desk 12 hours a day, like now. 

In conclusion, Freelancing is not a bed of roses.  I believe many freelancers work their asses off  in one way or another.   Especially, when there are more than one job, and we only have ourselves and no one else to do the work.

The nice part is we can opt to take a rest during quiet times.  But remember, the expenses bills continue to run when we rest, ya :)    As opposed to being employed, one can have paid leave anytime.

So, which side would you like to be on?

How I ended up buying the Polo Sedan

I was so tired of all the waiting and back and fro considerations.  I've reached a point of fatigue.  I woke up this morning with one mission - I Must Decide TODAY!

It was between the regular Ford Fiesta, which is already available or the newly announced Ford Fiesta Ecoboost, currently on display and open for early bookings only at the KL International Motor Show (KLIMS) but will only be available in Feb/Mar 2014.

What about VW?  My plan was to take a last look at its Polo hatchback version at the motor show before making a final decision to go for Ford.  I wasn't happy when told that the hatchback will only have two air bags instead of four, no arm rest, no back air cond blower and yet it will be more expensive.  And, I wasn't keen on the much more practical Polo Sedan at all.


Hmm..that was in the morning.

At approximately 11am, we began our journey to the motor show at PWTC. Thank God I wasn't the driver of the day, so I could browse on my phone.  Guess what...my FB newsfeed had a posting from the KLIMS announcing a major power outage at the venue and will be closed to public till 2pm!  Wow....


"This can't be happening..!!" "I must make a decision today"  -- I rambled on and on and on.

We detoured.  In a split second decision, we decided to make a visit to the Ford showroom instead, hoping that they can offer some advice to me on whether I should spend more and wait longer for Ecoboost.


Guess what...the showroom was closed.  Well, the gate and barrier was down. We assumed it was closed. Once again, dissappointed, we made a u-turn, decided to stop by VW instead, although after making the u turn we saw the gate and barrier of the Ford showroom was up.  wtf.


Are all these divine intervention? Someone up there doesn't want me to get a Ford!


Long story cut short:

We ended up in the VW showroom.
I sat in the Polo Sedan for the 3rd time, somehow it felt really good this time, it was comfortable, and most importantly - it felt really SAFE.

The sales consultant this time was somewhat better, offering some very good information that helped me re-weigh my consideration.

He let me take a look at the current hatchback which is quite similar to the new one.

He took me for another test drive, with him driving and explaining some of the features especially in terms of safety of the car compared to others.

I drove it for the second time.

I was sold.

I no longer care that the Sedan is old fashion and uncool.
Safety is more important.  Polo Sdan comes with 4 airbags, and the body is much more solid, etc etc,

After sales service..yes, worrying, but Polo is a relatively more basic car...hopefully, fingers crossed..I won't have any problems.

Maintenance cost?  Service interval is 15K once, compared to my previous car 5K once.  They have a chart that shows the cost at each service interval.  Looks reasonable.

5 years warranty.

And, 5 years Mobility Guarantee for emergency support eg towing, tyre puncture, etc

Oh ya..there's a RM4k launching discount for Polo Sedan, so OTR price is attractive and more affordable at less than 90K.  In house V-kool  tinting available with 1k discount given.  How convenient.  These are the additional perks, that may have helped trigger the final call.


May be, I was tired of waiting and waiting..I just wanna get it over and done with.
May be, I've finally realised and accepted that safety is more important that being stylish and flashy.

Yay..will be getting my new car in December :)

Save the Tigers!

I signed up for the Wild Tiger Run without knowing much about Tiger Conservation.

It's a new run, it's for charity, it's for the love of animals (something close to my heart), the tee design looked quite nice, so I signed up.

The Wild Tiger Run 2013 was the first of such event.  Organised by MYCAT (Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers) - an alliance of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia Programme and WWF-Malaysia. 

Main objective of the run is to raise funds for future projects and activities.  More importantly (in my opinion), it has helped to raise awareness on Tiger and wildlife conservation.

I learned some important points at the mini expo on the race pack collection day.
There are only 500 wild tigers left in the whole of Malaysia.


What can we do ? 

Stay away from:

1. Wildlife based traditional medicines
2. Wildmeat dishes e.g. bear paw soup?
3. Wildlife souvenirs e.g. tiger claw? Ivory?
4. Wildlife pets e.g. Star tortoise, Tockay gecko

Report wildlife crimes to : 

019 356 4194 (report@malayantiger.net)

Information needed:

1. What is the crime?
2. Where? eg Name of shop, address, etc
3. Date & Time of Incident

Meanwhile, we had a good time at the run.  I'm proud I ran 10km for them Tigers :)

Those who didn't run can purchase it for RM10.

Even my cat loves it...

Lovely air brush painting at the event

Haiyan

Many ways we can help.  Here are two:

Via World Food Programme (WFP) Online Donation:

https://www.wfp.org/donate/typhoon-philippines-a

At the Embassy of Philippines

The Embassy will be open until 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends until November 25 (Monday) to receive your in kind donations. 

Donations can be in the form of cash or other key necessities that we take for granted like blankets, sleeping mats, tents, mosquito nets, new clothes, foodstuffs (water, rice, biscuits, noodles, canned goods, etc.), toiletries and hygienic products (diapers, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitary napkins, etc.), cooking utensils, medicines, first aid kits, etc.

Joy Johnson

She was 86, only started running after retirement in her late 50s, and completed countless Marathons since then.  A Full Marathon is about 42km in distance, an average regular Marathoner takes about 5-6 hours to complete a FM.  Slightly more ambitious ones will aim for sub 4 hrs.  Professional runners? Probably 2-3 hrs!


Joy Johnson completed her 25th New York City Full Marathon in closed to 8 hours at the age of 86 a few days ago.  She fell when she was half way through but insisted on completing the run despite suffering a knock on her face and head.

She woke up fine the next morning, attended a brief interview at a morning show - something she had been doing annually after the race.  She went to rest after the event but never woke up.


"I want to die running" she once said.
I think she had no regrets leaving this world.  She had lived a full life.  "Many people my age are in wheelchairs, I'm just so thankful that I can still get up and run everyday" she said in a recent interview.


And here I am, don't even have any guts to try completing Full Marathon and I'm already thinking about slowing down, I'm not even half her age!

Read more about Joy Johnson - http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2013/11/05/joy-johnson-86-dies-after-finishing-new-york-city-marathon/

Letting it go

There may not be a WSL ### version 2.0 after all :'(

The insurance company only received one tender so far, they need minimum three to complete the process.
Assuming it takes another 2-3 months for three tenders to come in. And another 1-2 months for the new owner to repair the car.  Then, another 1-2 months for inspection process.  In total, I may have to wait for another 4-6 months!

That's too long a wait.


So, I'm gonna let it go, for now.  Meaning, I'll go ahead with a new car and a new plate, meanwhile, scout around for anyone, preferably within the family, who is planning to get a new car or motorcycle in the next 3-6 months.  If there's one, I'll make a deal to use his/her car to do the transfer to get back the WSL plate (that is if it's ready by then).  After that, we will do another transfer between ourselves i.e. WSL ### comes back to my car and my new 4-6 months plate goes to his/her car.  It's complicated, I know.


But, it's the last chance to get back the WSL plate.


Well, will see how it goes..will leave it to fate.

Meanwhile....what car shall I get huh?

Currently..it's still between Polo and Fiesta.  Surpirisngly, after sitting on the pros and cons for sometime...I'm starting to believe that Polo is a better car.  Probably due to all the pressure from family members.

I still dislike the Sedan ....BUT...they are launching the Hatchback version in mid-Nov, probably at the same price.  I shall wait till then...

Carbonara Spaghetti

I really think my cooking has improved so much lately :P

How does this look?

Cooked up in 30 mins.

And I think it's quite yummy too.  Soon, I will not ever pay exorbitant prices for pastas..soon..I hope.

Quite easy to make actually...created and invented based on what I remember seeing on TV and bits of what I was told from various people.  And of cos trial and error, whenever I make one.

Somehow, this one tasted the best.

30 mins steps to a simple meal:

Boil some water and salt in pot

Put in spaghetti to cook

Cut chicken breast to cubes

Marinate with some salt, tiny bits of sesame oil & some parsley flakes

Chop some garlic and yellow onion, mix with chicken cubes

Dish out spaghetti, leave behind some salted water if you prefer a watery over dry version

Stir fry chicken cubes in some butter till fragrant (more butter more tasty - to ignore calories content)

Add some olive oil

Add cheese (I only used sliced sandwich cheese)

Add fresh milk

Cook for a while in slow fire and pour on to spaghetti and mix.

Add more parsley flakes before serving!

Knowing me..

My sis and I went to a road side mamak stall today.  As we were sitting down, she asked :

"Why is everyone staring at us when we walked in?"

Guess what was my spontaneous answer?

1. Cos we are dressed shabbily

2. Cos we are pretty!

3. Cos we don't look like someone who will come to mamak stall



All three reasons came up in the conversation, but I believe the first and spontaneous one depicts my personality or mindset.  Somewhat.  Well, at least at that point in time.


First one - indicates some sense of inferiority complex? Quite sensitive and concern about what others might see and say.

Second one - a free and happy and care-less personality..  Somewhat confident.  Don't really mind what others think of him/her.

Third one - similar to first one...but thinks more highly of oneself..?




Take a guess?  Which answer do you think as my first?