Last week, someone close to me went to pump petrol at a Shell station on Tanjung Tokong road. There, she was asked to join the Shell RM2 million cash contest. She filled up her particulars (name, mobile number & IC number), and asked where the box to drop the form into was. The cashier pointed her to it. She dropped the form off and didn't think much about it.

Today, she received an SMS saying :

From SHELL!! Tahniah anda telah memenangi hadiah contest SHELL 2,3 MILION

Sila hubungi talian:
0178632489

Later, she got a phonecall from the number above, asking for her account number. She didn't have her bank book with her at that time, so they asked for her ATM number instead, and asked her to go to the nearest ATM machine to key in some pin that they will give her.

You see, because she actually did join the contest, she really thought that she had won something. However, she wisened up and told them to call back later. They didn't.

So the thing is, she joins this contest at the particular Shell station, and 3 days later she receives this scam call. A coincidence? I highly doubt it. Someone at the station must have gotten hold of her information and given it to the scammer, or the person at the station was in fact the scammer himself. This is very scary, and I am going to avoid that Shell station like mad if they employ such untrustworthy scammers.

One thing I don't get is people writing 'I miss you grandma/grandpa/relative,' 'Hope you are happy grandma/grandpa/relative,' 'I still miss you after so long grandma/grandpa/relative' in their blogs/FB/MSN for their said deceased relative. If said deceased relative is indeed deceased, no way on earth can said deceased relative read whatever it is that the person has written/posted. I mean, I can't imagine my granny's ghost sitting in front of the computer trying to access my blog or whatever.
I repeat, I don't think that there is any way that said deceased relative can read what you posted. Yea they're probably lookin down at you from heaven, one sweet day, yadda yadda, but unless they have superman eyesight, I doubt that they can view your computer screen from up there. Unless, unless you believe that said deceased relative is constantly hovering behind you, then in that case, they prolly would be able to see it. But then again, that is quite a scary thought.
So people who write/post such stuff, go to your said deceased relative's grave/apartment lot and light a few candles, say a few prayers. I think it means a lot more than blogging about it. It just shows that you are gratifying yourself personally, and you should be ashamed of yourself for using your said deceased relative for this purpose.
However, writing 'I miss my grandma...' is a different story. You're telling other people that you miss said deceased relative, and you're not trying to make contact with said deceased relative. Geddddddit?
Just my two penis. Pennies.

So last weekend I followed Larry to the dentist. My mom recommended this dentist in town, and we made an appointment and went there on Saturday morning.
When we saw the place, he was a bit apprehensive, as it looked like it was stuck in the 70'. We saw pictures on the wall of this guy in his late 40's, and I assumed that he was the dentist, Dr. Lee. A lady greeted us and asked Larry to get on the electric chair, so I thought I was wrong, she must be the dentist. She started doing checks on Larry's teeth, saying that one of his teeth must be extracted. That was expected, as he had been having toothache caused by that particular tooth.
Then this old man came from the other room, this old, withered, shaky guy who I realized was the Dr. Lee in the pictures. The pictures on the wall must have been taken like 20 years ago! This guy had white, wispy hair and was slightly bent over. His hands were a bit shaky as he prepared the injection to numb Larry's gums. If he wasn't worried, I was.
After injecting Larry's gums, we had to wait a while for it to take effect. We chit chatted a bit, whilst Dr. Lee sat down and started reading the papers in the other room. After a while, he came back in and started prodding poor Larry's mouth again with steel pliers and whatnot. I heard some clinking sounds of metal against tooth, and I thought that he was performing some routine checks.
I was wrong. Several seconds later, he took something out of Larry's mouth - the rotten tooth. It was wham, bam, thank you m'am, I see, I check, I extract. Really fast.
My misgivings were uncalled for, as this old guy clearly still had it in him. It takes strength to pull a tooth out, especially a molar-thingy. Despite his shaky fingers, when he holds those pliers, he's steady as stone. Best thing was, we were there for no more than half an hour. So for those who are scared shitless of dentists (like me and basically everyone else), if you want a fast and relatively painless job without all the dawdling and toothbrush recommendations, go see Dr. Lee. Don't be put off by his age, he's example primo uno that experience kicks youth's ass.

It was one big yawn in Penanti

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/1/nation/4021046&sec=nation

More disagreements with The Star regarding the Penanti by-election. Sloppy, biased writing. Tch. It's common knowledge where they swing, but this article is just shite.

"PKR knew the turnout would be poor but they did not expect it to be this low. Only 7,101 people voted.

It was very disappointing for the PKR leaders who had hoped for better figures to augment their claims of overwhelming support in Penanti and, by inference, Penang."

Please provide proof. Quotes, maybe?

"The Barisan Nasional lost face by staying out, but they can claim some satisfaction here for denying PKR the bragging rights.

The most obvious reason for the low turnout is that everyone knew who the winner would be and did not think that their vote would make much of a difference."

Sore losers! A win is still a win. Imagine if it had been the other way around. This would have been written way differently. The headline would have stated, "Big win for BN!"

"He has a serious demeanour and on polling day, an argument he had with a reporter over some nitty-gritty detail grew so tedious that DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, who was beside him, could be seen massaging his own forehead as though he had a headache.

Mansor can certainly do with better people skills. One reporter complained that interviewing him was “like trying to claw gold from his mouth”."

Shouldn't reporters already realise that not everybody is willing to open their mouths readily for them? That if they do open their mouths, their words can be twisted to mean something entirely different, therefore some public figures are very careful about what they say? I don't think this statement is worth newpaper print.

"It was little wonder that independent Aminah Abdullah stole the thunder from him and his party.

She was the undisputed newsmaker of Penanti. Aminah was not a polished act and she had few clues about being a candidate but she was street-smart and had the PKR on the defensive with her allegations of bribery."

Bla bla bla, she still lost in the end.

"She was nothing to look at. In fact she looked rather masculine, what in English literature would be known as “handsome woman.” But the media could not get enough of her and she was the most photographed of all the candidates."

Was this shit written by an asshole? This to me is insinuating that ugly people should not be photographed. And what the hell does it matter that she looks like a man? I have my own eyes to see!