A Day in Life

I don’t know where to start. And I’m not certain if we’ve seen the end of it yet. Two of my little turtles are missing now and none of us could explain how a stray fish appeared, disappeared and reappeared in our backyard. The electricity throughout the neighborhood was out for hours and of all times, this happened.

Feels like I’m in my own episode of X-Files. Here’s what happened…

It’s been at least two months since the last time I came back to Johor to see Mom and Ashley. And 3 nights ago on 1st August, the electricity throughout the neighborhood was out and we were in pitch darkness by surprise.

We lit candles inside and outside the house. I asked Mom how often this happens and she recalled this is the second time it ever happened; first time it happened was last year.

It was the start of the Ramadhan fasting season and the neighborhood security guard was not around. Call me paranoid but I felt it all to be too good a coincidence. So vigilantly, I set up my powerful flashlights outside the now dark backyard.

For more than an hour, I sat outside in the backyard, surfing on my Iphone. When I entered the house for a few minutes, this was when the first freaky thing happened: Ashley found a fish in the drain… still alive! She called me out and in a hurry, I went to check it out too.

I was surprised but I quickly fetched the fish net, scooped it up and put it in our grotto to save it. It was flopping around and it took a bit of effort to scoop it up. It was upside down when I put it into the pond.

Ashley and I turned to each other, and we looked around. How the heck did a fish get there??

It’s not one of ours (it looks like your average fish you’d see in a morning market).

No one else could have thrown it there (we stay in a corner house and we have a clear view of anyone or any car passing by).

And it’s definitely not the work of a stray animal (there are no cats in my area and even if so, the fish would have been dead). I must add that when we found the fish, it was dry.

What transpired next was further unexplainable: in the less than a minute we both looked away from the grotto, we came back only to find that fish disappeared!

NOW, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY F-R-E-A-K-Y. We turned off the valve to the little fountain to have a clearer view on inside the grotto, and we couldn’t find the fish at all… it just VANISHED!

We looked around the pond as maybe it jumped out. But it was nowhere to be seen. Again that’s highly unlikely – no fish or turtle are strong enough to jump out of the grotto, let alone a dying fish. The night was quiet and still and we would have heard it anyway.

Was there an intruder in the house compound? No, our dog Auwlithe would had been the first to know.

I was already uneasy with the whole episode that just transpired in the window of time when the electricity is out.

While Mom and Ashley had to go to sleep because they have to start their next day early, I remained outside and highly alert, with a baton resting by my side… just in case. I already had a bad feeling about this whole shit.

I also paced back and forth the grotto and backyard in search of the fish that disappeared without a trace. The electricity came back at 1 in the morning and with all the lights in the backyard on, I still found nothing. I went to sleep.

The next morning when the maids came over to clean the house, they found the fish in the backyard, near the drain where we first found it – it was already DEAD and teeming with flies.

I was shocked again. I spent most of the previous night in the backyard and didn’t find it, and mysteriously it reappeared there! I text Ashley to let her know before I disposed it into the bin. All of us were still surprised and could not explain it.

Then another shit happened: later that evening, I fed my turtles in the grotto as usual. But when I counted my turtles, I noted that one of my baby turtles was missing!

I love my turtles a lot and of course, I panicked. I quickly scanned the backyard again and couldn’t find it.

There’s absolutely NO WAY it could leave the grotto (even the big ones couldn’t do that).

Work of a stray animal? Nope, there are no cats in my area. And red ear sliders are known to be deceptively fast when approached by a prey as they slide into the water.

Or did someone intrude the house compound deliberately? Nonsense. Auwlithe is a trusted guard of the house. And if there was a thief, he wouldn’t settle for stealing just one baby turtle.

I was growing distraught about the whole episode. I was to drive to PJ that night and as I was driving home, I already felt in my guts that my next baby turtle could be the next to go.

And… I was right.

Just this evening, my sister phoned in to inform me the next baby turtle is now missing without a trace! The other turtles seemed unharmed or untouched, probably because they are big. Our grotto fishes are fine too, and their numbers are correct.

So some random fish appeared, disappeared and reappeared in my backyard. And then I have two baby turtles that vanished without a trace from the grotto. And we have no explanation as to how it happened.

I’m feeling angry right now and probably the worst part is, I have no idea what or who is doing all these. And I’m not certain that the episode is over yet.

It’s been more than a month since I moved into my new place. I am so glad that all the dust has settled finally and end of this month, I’m throwing my housewarming party! 🙂

So what do I think of my current place?

Granted, Puncak Damansara is not as classy as Casa Tropicana. However my new place of stay made up a lot in convenience and to me, this carries a lot of points.

Let’s start with…

The Pros

Number one: I’m paying a lower monthly rent. 🙂 Today’s real estate climate in the Klang Valley has gone insane. Properties that used to cost RM350K last year is now going for RM450K.

While many reliable sources claim there will be a rest estate bubble burst, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting.

My real estate agents came back with disappointing news, telling me that rentals are now going for RM1800 a month – usually unfurnished. I might as well be buying my own property, only problem is I didn’t have the time needed to do so.

So my objective to was to find a place to stay for at least one more year, enough time for me to scout for a new property to buy and renovate.

After a series of disappointing results from my real estate agents, I decided to take time off my Internet Marketing projects and look for my own place. 3 apartments later, I found this deal through iProperty.com.my.

Now I am paying a few hundred RM less every month compared to my previous apartment I was renting!

Number two: convenience. This is of BIG, BIG, BIG importance to me. I live alone and while I enjoy great privacy, doing chores on my own make me wish I was staying with my mom.

But check it out… I’ve got a washing machine in the kitchen that I can use and wash my own clothes. And if I want to use the laundry service, it’s just downstairs.

I must add, I’m now staying at a lower floor here compared to back at Casa Tropicana! So going in and out is faster.

There is a wholesale market within walking distance where I get my groceries from. I am gradually moving towards cooking from home so I buy most of my ingredients and items here.

Car wash? Right outside my apartment for just RM8! There’s also a bay within the apartment area I can use to wash my car if I choose to do it myself, something that wasn’t available in Casa Tropicana.

And how about meals? There are mamaks and Chinese restaurants within walking distance.

Speaking of which…

Number three: location. Leaving this place is faster now since I’m only a few turns away from the NKVE. 🙂 I can just walk to Centerpoint (which I did on a lot of occasions by now).

Totally eliminates a huge need for driving around most of the time. 🙂

Oh, and an extra bonus:

The previous tenant overpaid the electricity bill so I don’t have to pay any of it for the next 2 – 3 months. YAY 🙂

Of all I’ve mentioned, this has got to be the most convenient place I’ve lived on my own to date. I feel so lucky to be able to get this place!

But of course, it’s not without its downs.

The Cons

Security. Now you would think this should actually belong to “The Pros” but I personally think security here is too tight beyond reason.

It was one week before I would get my own resident access card. Since I need the card to enter AND exit the building, I often had to wait for the security guard or a resident to open the door for me.

Security here is less friendly too, though for obvious reasons. The apartment is surrounded by squatter housing area.

This area actually has a high potential to become a prime land of properties, but prices here are hampered by the less flattering squatter houses. (which turned out to be good for me in getting this deal) However I suspect in a few more years, even that will change if not sooner.

The car park is small too. When I first arrived, I was so sure one day I would scratch my car. I didn’t realize it would happen so fast – Day 3, that is. I hit the side of my Toyota Vios when leaving the car park one day.

The turnings here are so small and ceilings so low. On top of that, I have to drive my car up 3 floors so I am not really compelled to drive out.

In response to the problem, I traded cars with my mom. I am now driving the Myvi, our first car whereas my mom took over the Vios. Had no problem since as I am now driving a smaller car.

The convenience of food, groceries and common necessities nearby really helped so I don’t drive out unless I have to or I want to go on a date. 😉

So yep, I’ll be here for at least one year. I wonder where I’ll be next!

Haha, great news! Mom and Ashley got a contractor to build us a grotto at the backyard in our Johor house 🙂 Took a few weeks to complete as the workers had to resume work before and after rainy days.

Finally our beloved Red Ear Sliders have a bigger home! We don’t have to keep buying a bigger tank from now on.

Mom also wanted to put a Mother Mary statue.

All the kuras need is a bigger platform for them to bask, as they cannot be in the waters all the time.

We had a problem though: the water level was high enough and surrounding rocks low enough for the bigger turtles to possibly leave the pond if they wanted to. Case in point…

So as a temporary fix, we placed the fences and plants surrounding the grotto.

Here are some more pictures of our kuras in their new home:

Am so happy the kuras have a bigger, nicer home in our backyard now! 🙂

PICTURES by Ashley

Las Vegas, to be exact. 🙂 I don’t know how to put it in words better than how I feel right now.

When I was having my late lunch, I kept looking at my passport. The page plastered with the Visa to US. To think that I waited 4 years for this!

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You see, back in 2006, I wanted to go to the US to attend a JV Alert seminar in Philadelphia. I was year one old in the Internet Business, and I wanted to meet other Internet Marketers in the US badly.

I was staying in Johor Bahru and I didn’t have a car at that time, so I took a bus down to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. I was to go back the same day.

Imagine the horror when the officer told me, after rushing to get the documents down pat for several days, six hours of getting here, and two hours of waiting before the interview…

The American officer said to the effect of:

“Young man, I am sorry but I cannot approve your visa. You failed to demonstrate strong ties to your country. Your business is so virtual you can just operate from Starbucks and not come back to your country.”

I did my best to assure the officer I would come back to Malaysia, then he went on to say:

“Your visa application is declined and that’s final. By the way, please don’t try again next month. Don’t come back the next 6 months. Don’t even try again next year.”

And I let those words sank in. Those words kept playing, over and over again in my mind, on my way back to JB. I was despaired.

Problem was, I was a total nobody on paper. Granted, I was doing somewhat okay financially.

But I was not a student.

I was not an employee either.

And as a business owner, I didn’t have a company registered at all.

To add, I didn’t have anything else to back up my proof that I would return to Malaysia. I didn’t have a house or even a car to my name to prove that!

I went home, dropped an email and told the people in US I had to give up my seat at JV Alert. It totally SUCKED.

But I was very sure that one day I would overcome this.

… And that day actually came! Albeit a really long wait.

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It’s been a while since I last heard from Dylan Loh. And when he messaged me on Facebook, he asked me, “Hey Edmund, wanna follow me to Las Vegas?”

There’s an Affiliate Summit 2011 going to happen soon. There will be the big shots and giants of the Internet from companies like Google, Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, etc. going. There will be a ClickBank party too.

I had been spending unusually a lot as of lately – the recent Egypt trip being one. My mother was to go for operation to remove a thyroid from her neck which is going to cost a bomb.

But I knew I cannot pass this up this time. FOR REAL.

So I hurried to apply for my Visa to the US for the second time – paid the processing fee, get my visa-sized photo done, and went through the tedious application form on the Internet.

“This has got to work!”

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Yesterday, I drove to the embassy. It’s been 4 years since. Cold. Impersonal. Nothing at this place changed.

I surrendered my car keys, hand phone and IC to the guard house before entering. It was less than two hours before it was my turn to get interviewed.

While waiting, I heard the American officer booming through the glass window at some of the applicants.

Vietnam guy didn’t make it. A lot of discrepancy in his application.

Iranian woman was feared that she won’t return ever, even though she already has a family there.

Then… my turn.

And I was more well prepared than I was years ago. My company is registered. I have a house and 2 cars to my name. And a healthier bank account. I’d also like to think that I was lucky to be interviewed by an officer with a more positive attitude.

“Your visa application is approved, Mr. Loh. Collect your passport from Wisma MCA tomorrow anytime from 3.00 to 4.00 PM.”

YEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

Las Vegas baby, here we come! 8)

This is like a dream come true for me. I’m going to be meeting some of my marketing heroes face to face for the first time ever – two of them being Jeremy Gislason and Simon Hodgkinson!

I hope I can meet up with Stephen Luc too, though he stays far from Vegas. All these years of communicating online, I really can’t wait to meet face to face. 🙂

Also, another reason why I really want to go for this is so I can meet up with new joint venture partners for my business. I have no connections with the ClickBank marketers at this stage, and I have a launch coming up that is going to use ClickBank as the main platform.

I’m looking forward to this – 5th January 2011. I’ll be back in Malaysia again on the 18th. 🙂

YAY!