Malaysia Money Matters

This is dedicated to Mah Sing Properties and their Aspen Gardens development. Now I believe I must have given my name and phone number at one of their property launches ages ago... most likely at M-Suites. But lately, I've been bombarded with almost weekly SMS messages - and usually the same message is sent twice for their Aspen project. The first few I ignored but then it started to get quite frequent. And the promotion was not about discounts or whatever but for some rather tacky or unrelated activity - just to attract people to go there. And it has become increasingly bizarre of late:  - Today: a Cosplay party  - Last week: Zumba classes  - Earlier: Medical talk  - Months ago: Think a Feng Shui talk... I wouldn't have thought much about it if the SMS's hadn't been so frequent but they were so persistent that it was becoming very annoying. So I did a quick check on this Aspen Gardens - ehmehgerd - they are charging RM3.8million (starting price) for hu...

Hands up those who got all excited about the concept of Groupon and other similar websites that offer seemingly impossibly high discounts on goods & services? Frankly, I've always been wary of these deals. Unfortunately, I have friends who love this kind of thing and want to drag you along on whatever 'deal' they've gotten. Sigh... So what happens is that I go along and invariably, it sucks. Here is why: Experience 1: Buffet, supposedly. It was a small pub / bistro in PJ. Well known for their BBQ lunch. This time, they did a Groupon deal for a buffet and free-flow of alcohol. Really got such a big frog jumping on the road*, meh? [* - literal translation of Chinese saying; meaning 'seems to good to be true', ie it (the frog) would have been caught and eaten a long time ago ] Holy crap, I tell you, it was the most painful experience EVER. The drinks were watered down and you can tell it was not a good brand that they used, very harsh tasting. I...