So the day came and it was time to prep my car for a ‘car ownership transfer’. Instead of sending my car to the typical ‘runner’ who would charge a hefty sum to take care of the puspakom inspection, followed by a name transfer at the JPJ office, I decided to do everything on my own with the new car owner.

Oh Em Gee… I’ve got TINT! Will they tear it???
The first thing that came to my mind was my car window tint. When I got it installed, I was told that my tint adheres to JPJ’s regulations – which is a minimum of 50% VLT (visible light transmission) for side and rear windows while you need a minimum of 70% VLT for the front windshield.

That said, I’ve heard of nightmares from various forums saying how scary the experience is with the less than friendly Puspakom officers and how pitiful some witnessed owners of vehicles tearing their own tint for the entire car – that could potentially cost thousands of ringgit; depending on how much your tint costs. Then there are also other people who claimed that they had the smoothest experience with Puspakom inspection – their car was tinted but the car passed all tests and he just got the ‘fit for car transfer ownership certificate’!

I literally had nightmares thinking about it.

It’s good to go for a tint that has so called ‘JPJ guarantee’
I immediately called up my tint company, told them what I was about to do and they told me not to worry. I was like “WHAT? NOT TO WORRY???? I’ve got to PULL OUT MY TINT!”. According to the guy in charge, there’s a chance my windscreen tint will not pass the test but my tint has some form of guarantee ensures a free replacement should my car’s tint gets peeled off! YAY!

The journey began…
I drove to Puspakom Padang Jawa in Shah Alam, went through the guard post who directed me to the non-commercial vehicle lane… this was around 2pm… I was expecting a loooooooonnnng line.

To my surprise… I was car number 2!

After the uncle infront of me got into the testing zone, I went to the counter, got a form that looked like this…

Filled it up… paid 30 bucks and headed to the inspection zone…

That’s where I was told to stop taking pictures because cameras were forbidden in the area…

It was a SUPER pleasant experience!
The rest of the journey was surprisingly SUPER pleasant! I was immediately greeted by a friendly inspection officer, he took over my car and asked me to wait at the ‘customer zone’. 15 minutes later, he came back and said all my windows passed the VLT test except for the front windscreen (apparently some windscreens come pre-tinted so combined with the added tint, far exceeds the VLT requirement) and started apologizing saying that he would love to help me peel the tint off but it was their policy to not meddle with customer’s car. All he handed me was a screwdriver which was a REALLY useful tool for the peeling process. Trust me, it does sound brutal but you will NEED the screw driver – it won’t damage your windscreen, just do it gently…

I suppose I wasn’t shocked as I was kinda prepared and the overall experience was… pleasant After peeling half my windscreen, my car was certified for transfer and got the certificate. All done in 45 minutes.

So remember, bring 2 things when you want to do this sort of inspection…

• Your original car grant
• 50 bucks – the change can be used for teh tarik

Oh yeah, just one more thing, if you plan to remove the tint before dropping by Puspakom, you can always do this at home…

Would I want to go through another experience like that?
No. Was Puspakom really that scary? No. Just follow the rules, respect the system and all will go well. Trust me, I’ve done it.

Also known as the KLIMS 2010… I remember the last time I went to this show was eons ago… when I was just a little kid… I visited the show with my dad… gawking at the fancy cars… the one that remains in my memory till today is the fleet of Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches and Ferraris in the last hall…

What to expect this year?
There was quite a bit of raves in the newspaper… the whole green angle of the automotive industry… the cars that are more and more futuristic looking incorporating more touch screens, more buttons, more LEDs… the 2 major highlights of the show were the Batmobile and Bumblebee from Transformers…

I didn’t manage to catch the batmobile but bumblebee sure looks gorgeous!

Over 400 horses of raw power baby!

Then there’s the one Proton concept which really caught my eye… come on Proton… produce it! I REALLY REALLY REALLY would love to own one… reminds me of the Smart car I used to own

Hyundai was around as well… with a similar looking concept…

Then I saw this mean, green looking Toyota concept which just shouts SEXINESS all over..

And then of course, one of the most talked about hybrid cars that was recently launched… at a price tag of below 100k, it’s the Honda Insight!

And that’s when the excitement dipped… the moment I walked out of the Honda & Toyota hall, I expected to see at least that one last hall with loads of luxury sedans but all we saw was the EXIT sign… and a REVISIT sign… was that it??? I asked around and true enough, it was IT. I spent a grand total of 1 1/2 hours at the motor show… a tad disappointing… none of the major german brands like BMW, Mercedez or Volkswagen were there…

Should you visit it? For 15 ringgit? Yeah, why not, it’s a quality show… if only they had more halls & cars to checkout… perhaps my expectations where brought high through memories of my childhood visit…

This is a continuation of Part 1. So the question is, who won the Nerf Challenge brought to you by Parkson @ First Avenue Penang & Hasbro? … it was MEEEEEEEE! Yeeha! My team won… Hafiz’s team came in second and you know who got last… PREM muahahhaa…

And the rest of the gang… look at all the NERF gear!!!

Our peeps from Parkson & Hasbro

Okay okay, everyone worked hard, it was loads of team effort but I must say, this Nerf thing isn’t just for kids… adults will LOVE it too. Regardless of what position you got, everyone picked up prizes… of course the most prizes came to my team… Yeah!

Drama begins… the return trip from Penang
The event over ran a little – we were supposed to end at 5 but it ended much later. I only managed to have dinner around 7-ish. Right after dinner, we departed for Kuala Lumpur.

Firstly, the road conditions were really bad… it was dark (typical of highways), the rain was just crazy, there were crazy cars tail gating, I was getting really really tired… especially after hosting Fly Club Access Platinum the night before and leaving early in the morning for Penang… Good thing I had my wife Stella with me.

I drove about 1 1/2 hours and handed the wheel to Stella… I just couldn’t take it no more. It was still pouring outside, visibility was quite bad… I took a quick nap…

That’s when it happened…
All of a sudden I felt my car swerve to the left… the movement was so sudden that it shocked me out of deep sleep… I woke up, saw the sign “tapah” and there was Stella struggling to keep the car straight… all she said was “I dunno what happened, it was a straight road, then I was pushed violently to the left”… I said well, maybe it hydroplaning… that happens when there’s a film of water on the road and if you’re traveling too fast, the tires might ‘skid’.

I went to sleep again… few minutes later… it HAPPENED again… at this point, I was getting a little concerned. I looked at dash, checked the status and no error was shown… Stella claimed she didn’t see any of the ‘safety’ systems activate. Stella was driving really really slowly now… she was shaken and honestly, so was I. I didn’t want to show it – macho mah…

I asked to take over the wheel and drove the rest of the journey back to KL.

It was 1:20am….
Upon arriving at my neighborhood, I had to go through a few humps. I went up the first one and my entire front suspension made loud strange sounds – it sounded as though the entire suspension was loose or came off!

The car was still moving, so I went on the second hump, this time it was REALLY obvious.

Since it was late… I went home, slept and went to the workshop – spent literally 8 hours here…

I was told that my ‘bush’ – nothing hairy, suspension etc for the front has been suspected as being faulty… it’s under warranty so it will be replaced for FREE… phew!

Question is, did the little drama Stella & I have anything to do with the faulty front suspension system? According to my mum, the Tapah area has been known to have cases of cars being completely out of control… some claim it was supernatural, some claim it was cross-wind… which would you like to believe?

Here’s part two of my Petronas Formula BMW Experience with the person who claims I drive like an ‘auntie’… if you missed out on the first part, click here.

So here’s where I last left off… Prem was in the car… and this dude had to climb over him like that…

First I thought… “REJOICE! my competitor is being strangled”… but apparently not, you see – these cars are rated to accelerate from 0-100 km/hr in about 3.5 seconds… safety of utmost importance… this dude literally needs to climb over you in a strange manner and strap you down using not 1, not 2, not 3 but 6 safety belts!!!

So anyway, Prem got to go first…

To be really honest, all that excitement and wanting to beat each other up on the track was just the ‘macho’ bit, we were really really confused and scared… and I’ve got video to prove it…

Minutes after going for the official run, Prem spun, almost hit the wall, entered the gravel and literally STALLED the entire race! 3-4 cars got back to the pit… and I found out it was Prem’s fault… tsk tsk tsk… * cue evil laugh * …

So it was my turn…
Sorry, I have no pictures here coz I wasn’t allowed to bring the camera with me but if you were to ask me to describe the experience in 2 words, it’s painful & exhilarating! Why pain?

The “racer scar”

That bruise / scar / whatever you wanna call it was made even with me wearing super thick gloves that Formula drivers wear! That was caused by the constant rubbing of the palm against the gear shifter – it was one tough fella to pull and push… it’s a combination of speed, accuracy and force! Before you start going… ala… gear shift also can get hurt – I’m proud to say that all Formula drivers get it… check the palm of each driver… and you’ll see what they call the ‘racer scar’ fooiyoh…

Here I am with my German trainers… hair all messed up because of that condom looking head cloth thing I had to wear…

So who won?
That seems to be the golden question isn’t it? Ok, since we couldn’t race each other – due to safety concerns, the Petronas guys got Prem and I into two separate groups – and we were tested for fastest lap around the track…

Prem

• His group only had 1 red flag – which meant that the race only stopped once caused by the 1 ‘accident’ that was him
• Translates to a longer run on the track
• More time to feel the track
• Fastest lap was 1:21.62 mins

Ben

• My group had 3-4 red flags – which meant that we stopped many many many times caused by other cars (not me )
• Translates to a shorter run on the track
• Less time to feel the track
• Fastest lap was 1:25.33 mins

Officially, Prem won but hey… it looks like an even round doesn’t it??? He had more time on the track… Come on… you know the truth deeeeep inside… * cue strange evil laugh *

The event that got Phat Fabes extremely jealous because he is kiasu like that, the event that got Prem from Fly FM Rush Hour & I into a challenge to see who is a better driver, the event that got Prem & Fabes spreading a dumb rumour that I drive like an auntie… it is The Petronas Formula BMW experience BABYYYY!!

How it all started
So it was Flyday and I got an email from our BIG boss Seelan Paul saying that our BIG BIG BIG BIG Boss En. Ahmad Izham Omar hooked up both Prem and I seats to participate in the Petronas BMW Experience! To be honest, I had no idea what it was until I was told that it looks exactly like an F1 car, just brought down in size and of course has lesser power but the adrenaline kick it’ll give you is phenomenal – if I’m not wrong, imagine 0-100km/hr in 3.5 seconds!!!

After announcing on air, Prem called up and called me an “auntie” and the “war” began.

Monday came…
So it was the Monday where Fabes came back after 6 weeks of Medical Leave while Nadia had 2 weeks of Hari Raya leave… they came to the studio, we did the show and at 8am, I threw them a shocker! I left the studio with their faces looking like a family of Shrek looking-humans and went for the Petronas Formula BMW Experience!

The journey…
It was jammed… 8am… work day… not surprising… so I arrived a little later than Prem who was coming from Klang and had nothing but plenty of highways ahead of him… again I was called an AUNTIE.

Arrived and the suit up BEGAN!

Some people say I ended up looking like a condom… I kinda agree.. the suit was fine looking but that head thingy – a little strange…

Then the cars were REVEALED.. Aarrrrggghhhhhh… excited-nya saya… they REALLY REALLY look like F1 cars… just 30% or so smaller!

Fooiyoh… who’s that handsome boy next to the car?

Checkout the fleet of cars!

Training begins… here you see Prem and our Izham listening to the instructions… trust me, they were confusing… there’s the blip, flip, trip… dunno wat…

Then just when we thought we’d take a picture before the gear shift training begins, this happened…

And finally, the picture was taken…

Then training began, checkout the cars in action!

BUT… those cars didn’t have Prem nor myself inside… find out why this dude was climbing over Prem in my next entry…

More soon…

So if you haven’t heard… I enjoyed watching Despicable Me – yes, the movie starring those strange looking yellow minions BUT I didn’t enjoy the movie as much as I enjoyed seeing the strange minions… so much so that I have decided to ‘adopt’ them… not the single-eyed one but the one in the picture below, holding on to the strange can that makes ‘moo’ sounds.

To proclaim my love for the minion, I’ve changed both my Facebook and Twitter profile pics to that of ‘it’. If you REALLY REALLY REALLY wanna see my minion in action.. here it is…

Then there’s a weekend of bugs…
That’s just the nama manja for the ‘old beetle’ yes… Fabes and I were at an event about a weekend ago at Summit USJ – they had something like 250 beetles in display! All sorts of colours and sizes and modifications… some even had scissor-style ‘Lamborghini’ doors! Check it!

The creation of a new term…
You’ve heard of short stories… here’s something similar… a compilation of small little things of note to talk about… This day forth, I shall create a new term… it’s called… “short bloggies”

A celebration…
It’s amazing how people have taken advantage of the fact that the iPad isn’t available officially in Malaysia yet. Some people have purchased units from all over the world… US, UK, Australia… brought the units and sold them a massively inflated prices! Imagine this… an iPad 32GB 3G + WiFi model which costs roughly RM2650 after conversion roughly sells for RM3800 here. It’s insane…

My kiasu self got a unit from a family friend in Australia… and my other kiasu partner a.k.a Phat Fabes decided to tag along… so TADA!

A con…
Just last weekend, Jules from Fly FM’s Rush Hour and I were invited to lunch at the Grand Dorsett in Subang (previously known as Sheraton Subang)… it was LOVELLLLYYYY… but we had a few colleagues who were jealous for not getting invited (namely… NADIA) – to add more salt and pepper to the wound, I took a picture of the most scrumptious looking dish and sent it to Nadia…

and YES! She got conned… she said it was taken from the “menu”… she was wrong… I took it from the BROCHURE muahahahah….

A Malaysian ‘Knight Rider’
No, David Hasselhoff wasn’t in Malaysia… but someone was soooo inspired… that the owner created his / her own version of the car… check it!

Comment away and I shall reply… Till my next blog entry!

Here’s one blog post that wouldn’t contain many words. I’m gonna let the pictures speak for itself. Just to give you an idea, Fabes and I were recently invited to a midnight launch (yes, the car was revealed at 12 midnight) at the Ingress Auto Showroom (opposite IKEA). Was it nice? oooh baby… take a look…

the car was gorgeous… to BMW fans, it’s called the F10 – replacement of the outgoing 5-series – to the rest of the world, lo and behold… the all NEW BMW 5-series. It’s a beautyyyyy… then of course, there was the food… that was VERY VERY lovely ole’ chap… everyone was getting into the cars, hitting all the buttons… while I just chomped away…

Above is one of the dishes… (from the many lovely ones) but this was weird. It’s jelly like… has rubbery like texture and it is sweet-ish… apparently, it’s made to look like it’s got jelly caviar topping on it… (the orange bits). I just call it… “blob ala’ rubbery jelly balls”…

As for the car? I like it… I really really like it…

So I was traveling on the highway… heading home after dinner when I saw this ‘moving platform’ ahead of me. It was raining so I wasn’t too sure if it was a moving platform or some truck…

Moving closer, I discovered it was one of those car carriers – dunno what’s the real term – but you know what I mean… the top bit of the truck was brought down… a platform for any car to take off! It was like a scene from Die Hard 4.0 or something… check it!

Houston… we’re ready for take off… alright flying-car-wannabe… take route TRUCK and fly to the sky… OVER…

Been meaning to blog this for awhile but I was just too busy the whole of last week… now that I’ve got some time, here it goes…

Vandalism…
It was just a week back when I was at Solaris Dutamas – a row of shop lots cum mini shopping centre near the Solaris Sri Hartamas area… left my car, parked it right in front of the car park security post, right next to a 360 degree rotating security camera – it couldn’t be safer – or so I thought…

Guess what? Some no use son / daughter of a plant came by and stole my car’s towing cap! To make it worse, they had to leave some scratch marks… @$$ hole.. <- please pardon my language…

Good thing is, that cap isn’t all that expensive… 70 bucks was a damage and the sales dude who got me the car brought it down to about 50 bucks (he paid for the paint job)… but still… what in the world were these people thinking??? and what the HECK WERE the security guys doing???

On another note…
So anyway, I recently got a place of mine and YAY! I can finally determine how it’s gonna look like with NO ONE telling me, naaahh Ben, that colour looks ugly… or that fridge doesn’t match – coz it’s MY HOUSE

That weekend had a rough start but it didn’t deter me from the kitchen & household appliance scouting escapade… I checked out this new thing called INVISIBLE GRILLS!

It’s just fine lines! Doesn’t collect dust & comes with a built-in alarm system – so the moment a thief cuts any part of the grill, the alarm will sound…

Entering womanhood
Then I entered the world of womanhood – jeez, never in my life have checked out sooo many household appliances, fans alone there are gazillions to choose from, airconds, washing machines, dishwashers… wow… I really felt like a woman… and they WERE NOT CHEAP! It’s 1499, 2499, 3999, 7299…

A cup cake that says EAT ME!

After a day of hard work… looking at the different specs and crunching the high prices of household appliances… Stella and I decided to forget the diet and went… TADA!

It was GOOOOD but simple… and that was what happened 1 weekend ago in a nutshell… more soon! How was your weekend?