end of the year again ???

I was sitting last night, getting ready to watch a movie and suddenly I realized that it was the end of the year already. Christmas is just round the corner and I have not even started my Christmas shopping. So what's been happening at Armanee this year ? 1. We have a "power crazy" JMC that wants and feels the need to control everything including the activities of the Residents' Association. It's probably some inferiority complex thingy that few of us can understand. Their approach is not one that is the least friendly but that of a dictator. I am fed-up and so is everyone else (at least those who have stepped up to voice their unhappiness). 2. Armanee is getting to be one huge rubbish dump. I park my car at the basement carpark and many times I've noticed the amount of litter around. I know it's convenient but it really looks ugly. Problem is there are many "ugly" people living in Armanee now. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, likewise ugliness should be notably the same. These people are UGLY and have no respect for others. The dump their rubbish from the car onto the floor, they pee and puke anywhere they want. These are people I do not wish to be my neighbours and share the same home as I. 3. While I continue to pay my monthly maintenance charges, I cannot understand why damaged property is not repaired or replaced. In conclusion, I've stopped paying and will not pay until the main lobby door is fixed ! Well folks if we ever want to sell our property one day we need to buck up and take some lessons in cleanliness. The stairs that I use to the carpark now smells like puke and urine and it makes me want to gag each morning. Morons !

the durian test

taken for a fool

Is the developer the brainless idiot or are we the fools ? While I try to look at the positive side of things, there are times when negativity gets the better of me. Recently I complained about the fire fighting system in Armanee and I was given the same old excuse. NO MONEY ! So...I also got no money so does that mean that I can stop paying for my loans or how about if I stop paying my monthly service charge ? And does it mean that NO MONEY means putting our lives at risk ? As far as I'm concerned, I am paying for a home that certified fit for occupancy and not one that I could possibly perish in. All the developer is good at is owing money and master of excuses. They've nothing but brush us aside and it's time someone puts a stop to all their bullshit !

my england so good !

This is what we have

This is what I've become

It is not my intention to be mean or disrespectful. Sometimes talking to our security guards is no different than talking to yourself or to the wall. Their blank looks tell me more than their replies. Their most common words are "Yes Madam". Oh yes...I don't deny my age but they really DO make me feel OLD ! This morning, when I realized that we were experiencing our 3rd blackout day, I decided to ask the guard stationed at Block B. I struggled to make sense of half of what he said and the other half was something to the effect that the electrical trip had been re-set more than 10 times ! He made it sound sooooooo serious and I decided that I'd best sent an SMS to our JMC Chairman. So far....the silence has been somewhat elegant ! I'm pretty certain that if this had happened at the block where out JMC Chairman resides, all hell would have broken loose. No ?

it's really dark out there

It has been dark for 3 mornings now and I would never realize if I were walking right into a hole ! Duh...the stupid person who did the electrical wiring actually lacked intelligence. Who would actually place an electrical junction box below road level. It has been raining and now the junction box has flooded and cause the blackout. What sort of brainless fool is this person ? I am wondering he there are more surprises in store for us. Only time will tell........

this is new and unique complaint !

This is the 1st time I've heard of someone complaining that their neighbour engages in loud sex ! I'm still laughing and I feel mean laughing at another persons predicament. It seems creaking beds and screaming could be heard. First of all, if any person intended to engage in an over zealous sexual relationship, please please get a sturdy bed and if either of you are the screaming or groaning sort, again, please please keep the windows closed lah ! Ever heard of sound proofing ? Have some consideration for others mah. So malu lah ... can you imagine how many others have heard you ? Do you realize how clear your expressions of ecstasy can be heard in the middle of the night ? So please .... we only want to hear the sounds of a gentle breeze and chirping birds, not you !

litterbugs be gone !

Has anyone noticed that lately Armanee has attracted hordes of bachelors and youngsters ? Partly to blame is the cheap rental and the lack of restriction in our House Rules. Rumour has it that rent is as cheap as RM1,200 per month. With 4 rooms in each unit, just imagine how many persons can have comfortable accommodation ? Assuming we have 4 to a room for the bedrooms upstairs and 1 at the utility room downstairs, that's already 13 ! If they're hard pressed for cheaper accommodation, they could easily fit another 4 at the family hall upstairs and the total would rise to 17 persons to a unit. That would work out to be only about RM71 per person, per month ! Lately, I've noticed a lot of litter around our common areas. I've seen plastic bags, ice cream wrappers, drink packs, tissue paper and cigarette butts. And they are loitering all over the place. Hmmm...if only we had some form of control over rental rates !

our guards have forgotten

Not even a month has passed and our security guards have forgotten ! They have forgotten that because of their negligence and their "tidak apa" attitude, 2 residents became victims of theft. Last Friday, I asked my colleague to pick me up from home. I never mentioned anything to the guards about the arrangment. When my colleague arrived, I asked if he registered and I was shocked when he told me that he only mentioned my first name and unit number and he was let through ! OK so I am passed shocked but am feeling very frustrated because if a visitor is allowed to make such references without registering, could any of us be suspects of thefts ?

I am busy !

Doing what you may ask and who am I referring to ? The guards ! So many of them has been pissing residents of for so long. These are some of their bad habits and mind you, we have been paying for these habits.....

• Sleeping on duty
• Allowing visitors to enter without registering
• Talking non-stop on handphone
• Socializing with cleaners and other guards (talking)
• Mysteriously disappearing from their post

I am certain that many of you could keep the list going on and on but does it matter even if we do ? How many times have we complained to the management and how many times has management brought this issue up with the security company ? Need I say more ?

registration not required !

Our security guards will never learn ! Yes, it has happened. Yesterday morning, just before 9am, my colleague came over to pick me up. When I got into the car, I asked him if he was required to register and he said NO ! Everything seems to be a joke to our security guards. It doesn't mean that if a visitor is able to mention my name and unit number, he's a legitimate visitor does it ? It just reduces the probability that he is a robber. What's the point of employing security guards that allow every Dick, Tom & Jane to pass through ? I did not question the guards when I left yesterday morning. I was late, in a hurry and super pissed !

cleaners

Yes...I can't stop complaining. Someone once told me that even if we don't receive a response, we should not stop otherwise it will seem as though everything is fine. Armanee is NOT fine. Most (not all) of our cleaners are lazy. About 2 weeks ago, I asked management to install lighting at the stairway behind Block B that leads to the basement carpark. They were absolutely wonderful and immediately arranged for it. During the installation, Zam & Wan left a piece of cut wire on the floor and it remained there until yesterday morning (last I saw). And as I walked down the stairs towards L2 that same Sunday morning, I saw mineral water cups that were there since Saturday morning(can't say if it was there before then). Do residents need to keep complaining ? What are our cleaners doing besides yakking whenever they have a moment to spare ? Have you also noticed that our lifts are never polished; just wiped and how dirty the bottom edges and corners are ? The proper polishing agent to use is a foam based stainless steel cleaner but I doubt that our cleaner's have this. Cleaners...either do a proper job or GET OUT OF ARMANEE !

what security ?

This is what we have

This is what we've become And this is what happened yesterday

Yesterday evening, I received and email from a friend and neighbour asking if I may inform the JMC and residents that his brother's home was broken into. Here we go again, I thought to myself. Just when we were beginning to feel safe once more. I was swearing to no end ! I am so darn pissed off that we are paying for security guards that are useless. I recall the security company told me once that we were paying peanuts so I guess we got the monkeys ! If what we could afford to pay was not an amount acceptable to the security company, then they should have just told us NO, right ? There have been times when I noticed guards that we either old enough to be my grandfather or young enough to be my son ! What's the point of having the guards clocking in really. They will walk with their eye on their shoes as if they were expecting to see their own reflection. Otherwise, I suspect that they are doing it for the sake of doing it and without reason. It's a 5 minute race between clocking points. What shocked me even more this morning was news that another unit was also broken into. What are you doing lah security guards ? And in the night, the night guards will be fast asleep !

And what did our JMC chairman reply when I informed him about the 1st break-in ? Politely, he thanked me and went on to mention that he will discuss with JMC when he returns on Saturday ! Hellooooo chairman, your elevator lights not on or what ? Do lah something... call security and management to make sure that the investigation is conducted properly. No need to act so "cool" wan ! So unlike the RA (Residents Association) who almost immediately called for a meeting. Chairman, if you continue like this ah, residents will be spitting at you when the pass you lor ! Better be careful because too many residents getting fed-up.

cheapskate or cheap thrill ?

When a few or us first saw this, we laughed so hard we could hardly stand upright. What's that ? So ugly ! Then we said that it must be temporary but it isn't ! Look at it... it looks so our of place and somewhat obscene, no ? Earlier, there was no capping water just shot out from the opening. Last week, we noticed that someone had put a cap on the top with 3 little drilled holes.l So cheapskate lah. Can't even afford to give us proper one. It's funny how the developer places so little value on their reputation. High end condo my ass ! What do we call this thingy ? It's a "lan ciao pakai condom" (penis with a condom)!

Look at this. Isn't it lovely ? I took this photos when I sent my car in to Cycle & Carriage in Jalan 219, Petaling Jaya. This pond is also exposed to sun but the water is clear; unlike the water lily ponds in Armanee (the one's behind Block B).

The management is now considering conversion of the water lily ponds to landscaping. Errrr....when I suggested it last year, I was not spared a lengthy lecture on how it would affect the developer's application for our Strata Title ! We've been having so many problems with the water lily ponds; first it was mozzies, then it was sludge (algae) and then it was the smell. And it is about the most horrible sight in Armanee. Should have just converted the water lily ponds in the beginning and save on the asprins !

shame on you developer !

Imagine our developer having the gall to handover this type of sloppy finishing to owners ! They think we are blind or what ? I know that the cost of construction materials went up but this is ridiculous. Are we just gonna keep quiet and take it ? Oh...this photos were taken just last week. It's at the stairway leading to the basement carpark behind Block B, closest to the convenience shop.

it serves us right !

There's a very common saying, "if you say nothing people won't say you're dumb". I honestly do not believe that there are stupid people. Even stupid ideas could mean something if these ideas could be developed.The people who really piss me off are those who claim to know everything and say the darndest things just because they need to show that they are superior when compared to others. In simpler terms, they are power hungry or the more commonly used local phrase is "gila kuasa".

Oh yes, I am referring to the latest elected JMC Chairman. As a Chairman, he should be leading the team with facts and not the fancies that have left me totally flabbergasted. Here I was, telling the developer that I was holding them responsible and our Chairman, like a hero about to fall from the sky, replies my email with this ... "No agreement or permission shall be given by Medan Prestasi or MKLand respecting that Armanee Condo now has a registered Joint Management Body & Joint Management Committee. Any self-erected signages not approved by JMB and JMC shall be taken down". This short sentance was enough for me to blow my gasket ! Does he actually know what he is talking about ?

And here is my reply to our Chairman ...

Dear Sebastian, And so will JMC agree to be held responsible if another fire happens when both my cars are parked at my assigned parking bays ? This means that I will be blocking the only access to the pump room (please note that this is a repeated incident). So if there is another fire and the fire brigade needs to access the pump room and any of my cars are damaged, who do you suggest I look for ? You are missing the whole point of this email and the earlier email that I sent regarding the breach in owner information ! My point :- 1) I requested for an investigation on the breach in owners information and not about who parks where 2) My parking bays are defective as there is a likelihood that my cars may be damaged if access is needed and I am not available to move my cars 3) I was not informed to move my car last night even when L2 was smoking away ! So what is the purpose of registering our vehicles ? 4) No safety element as an access where an emergency may happen (like last night) is blocked ! There are larger issues affecting Armanee other than parking. Since you have responded as such, I shall then hold you responsible for any damage to any one of my vehicles parked at my designated parking bay. For your information, any scratches or dents on my car cannot be repaired and requires a complete panel replacement that will cost no less than RM14,000 depending on the currency exchange rate. Where issues are with regards to the Sale & Purchase Agreement (the unit also known as the parcel and the parking bays also known as the accessory parcel), the JMB and JMC DO NOT have a say. You stand corrected as any changes to the Sale & Purchase Agreement can only be decided by the developer and not JMB or JMC. The JMB or JMC only maintains common property but cannot allocate or control the allocation of property considered to be personal (parcel and accessory parcel). the JMB is an interim body meant to provide limited rights to purchasers and until such time when Armanee receives its Strata Title and the Management Council is formed, common parking bays (excluding accessory parcels) will be under the developer. JMC will only assume a role to maintain it. And for your further information, I have an ongoing issue about my allocated parking bays and do not choose to park anywhere else for no good reasons. The JMC should be supporting my request instead of condemning it so that safety may be preserved ! "No agreement or permission shall be given by Medan Prestasi or MKLand respecting that Armanee Condo now has a registered Joint Management Body & Joint Management Committee." This statement alone is sufficient proof that I may hold the JMC accountable for any damage sustained to any cars parked in my designated parking bays, including any cars parked with my prior permission. I have committed my time to assist the Residents Association on an ad hoc basis and am not able to commit to the JMC in any way.

I just couldn't stop myself anymore. Beh tahan lei !!! Dare to ask me to wait summore. What ? Wait until the next fire ? Wait for durian to drop on his head ? Wait for what ? So he want to be responsible, so be it lor. I mah hold him responsible lah ! How to be a JMC Chairman when don't even know the role of the JMB. Bodoh kia (child) thinks that his authority can supercede a Sales & Purchase Agreement that has nothing to do with JMB or JMC. Ex-JMC or not, he can forget about me contributing anything to the present JMC. I will die from knocking my head against the blardy wall leh ! Want to show power ... no problem. But don't talk rubbish with me. I have got better things to do. Want to make a statement also ah, allow some room for compassion and negotiation mah. What's the difference if he just tell me to go and die right after I attend a funeral ? Sensitive mah ! I said urgent and he said wait. What the fuck man ! If he thinks that it's a small issue, then why not swap parking lots with me. Ah...then I see whether he can sleep or not at night. Lucky for me, my other car delayed by the workshop so the giant MPV was parked in between the 2 lots. Otherwise sure kena scratch already. No wonder so many residents are telling me that he is so lansi (arrogant). And all I have done was to support this dumbo who is more worried about where visitors are parking instead of the cause and consequences of a fire ! Need I say more ?

fire at L2

What the heck ! I thought that I was only fighting to save my cars from being scratched but now I need to fight harder for a seriously justified reason. In a way, I am lucky that my other car's repairs were delayed otherwise my MPV would have been parked right to the front and would have blocked access to the pump room. Just to let you know, I have been "fighting" with our developer for just this very reason ! And I have been doing it since March 2006 when I got my keys. Maybe they thought that I was fooling around or an idiot for thinking the worst. Who cares lah what they think. Call me anything but my concerns are justified and have eventually been justified ! Our dear developer, as always, think we are clowns amidst their circus and what I find most irritating is the elegant silence they choose to practice. First it was the balcony roof that they took away without even having the common courtesy to inform us, then it was the money they owed and the defects and now this ! What next ??? There is a whole lot that I could say about them and very little of it would be good. Actually none !

This morning, I wrote an email to all the Yang Berhormats (pun intended) at MK Land, marked urgent with photos. Here's a copy of my email:

Last night at about midnight, it happened ! The fire alarm triggered and this time it was not a malfunction. It happened at Basement Carpark L2 Pump Room. The access to the Pump Room is right in front of my parking lots L2/33 and L2/34. Fortunately, there was ample space for the maintenance personnel, security guards and fire department personnel to access the Pump Room as I only had 1 car parked at my parking bays from last Saturday. If both my cars had been parked at my designated parking bays, access to the walkway leading to the Pump Room would have been blocked and my cars may have been damaged or scratched. I cannot say for certain if there was actually a fire but there was definitely dense smoke that permeated the basement carpark and I could even smell it from my unit at Block B, Level 15. The burning smell was so strong that many residents showed up to investigate the burning smell. Without any doubt, the fire alarm was triggered by the smoke and a resident who did not want to take any chances called the Fire Brigade from Sungai Buloh. Encik Hafiz, our Resident Manager, was present as soon as possible and was in attendance. The transformer that was just replaced earlier last week was damaged again, possibly from a power surge. With all these taken into serious consideration, I will not risk any form of damage to my vehicles parked at parking bays L2/33 and L2/34 and will arrange to remove them this evening after I return from work. I have been complaining about my defective parking bays since March 2006 and yet it has not been rectified. While I wished that last night's incident was a "false alarm" as what happened recently, it was not ! The condition/situation of our fire fighting and safety equipment are questionable. There are no "maps" (that I am aware of) showing the locations of fire extinguishers in the basement carparks in case of such emergencies. What concerns me the most is that throughout last night's incident, nobody came up to my unit to alert me about the possible danger or to ask me to move my vehicle. If I had not heard the fire alarm or smelt the burning smell, I would never have known about it. My 2nd car will be returning from the workshop this afternoon and I am requesting the agreement of Medan Prestasi Sdn Bhd to temporarily allow me to secure two (2) visitor parking bays fronting Block B until such time that my parking bays issue is resolved and proper (and safe) parking bays allocated to me, with my approval and initiated at your cost. Please note that while I could obtain permission to park at another owner's parking bays at L1, the ceiling is leaking from the swimming pool ! This is definitely another risk that I will not take ! For whatever reasons, if I do not receive a reply before the end of the working day, I will assume that I have reached an agreement with Medan Prestasi Sdn Bhd and will secure the assistance of the management staff to erect a "reserved" signage at two (2) visitor parking bays fronting Block B. In case some of you may assume that I am creating a big issue, I am taking the liberty of enclosing photos that I took of the incident last night. That is my MPV that you see in the pictures (ample access created as MPV was parked in between front and rear parking bays). Note the yellow division lines of the parking bays. I urge the parties concerned to look into providing proper access to this walkway and to other walkways at the basement carparks so that safety in all aspects may be preserved at all times and especially during emergencies. Are my reasons justified enough or do my cars need to be burnt to a crisp to get some serious reaction ?

our own management ?

I've been thinking ... After the formation of the Joint Management Body (JMB), I've heard that a few JMB's have decided to manage their own condominiums. Evidently, we are tired of errant property management companies who often do not do a good job and charge an exorbitant fee. This are just problems on the surface. Who knows what lies beneath. I was wondering if it would be effective in Armanee. Park Avenue and Saujana Apartment are both managing their own places. For me...it really comes down to legality and exposure of the committee members. Act 663 clearly states that committee members are personally liable and answerable towards any negligence. Is this something that can be solved easily ? Will personal indemnity insurance cover this and will it cost too much ? What happens if a residents decides to sue the management for whatever reason ? Instead of suing a property management firm, the legal suit could actually be against your own neighbour ! How much exposure would committee members be up against ? It seems to be a great idea if we could manage Armanee on our own wouldn't it ? Imagine not having to deal with 3rd parties...what a blessing !

irritating noisy neighbours

When we have too many young people living in a condo it becomes a problem. The problem becomes monumental when there are NO parents to supervise them. They forget time and disregard their neighbours. It happened on Saturday night. A neighbour below my floor had to call the guards up at 2.30 am. Her young neighbour was having a party with many noisy visitors. Doors were banging, people were singing loudly, things were breaking. It was absolutely traumatic for my poor neighbour since she had to work the following morning. At 4.30 am I heard a door bang the last time before I went off to la la land. I was just too tired to move anymore. So neighbours, if you intend to have parties, please be considerate. You are living amongst a community now so the time limit is midnight. If you decide to ignore this, you only have yourself to blame when the police are called.

what next MK ?

First you show us an absolutely beautiful show unit, promise us heaven and deliver shit. To most of us anyway.... Now we find ourselves in hell. Home is wonderful. It is exactly where my heart wants to be but whenever I think of you my dear developer, I suddenly find myself in this murderous mood. Personally, I feel that our developer is nothing better than a con man. When I got my keys, I was overjoyed. Then I was angry when I was asked to pay for a month's maintenance fee for a place that I had never set foot on. Why ? Because my Letter of Vacant Possession was dated 9th February but I was only allowed to collect my keys on 5th June ! Why again ? Because our dear developer issued the letter when they were not ready. Anyhow I was too excited to argue and I am not "orang kaya" but I didn't want to make a big issue of it. I did mention my dissatisfaction though. Just so you note. That same day, I inspected my unit, submitted my 1st Defects List and after that...what a holy mess ! This I will post separately. Back to you my dear developer... Then you give us (and in some circumstances don't give) shitty things. What security was that you mentioned in our S&P (Sale & Purchase Agreement) ? OK let me go through point by point as I look at my agreement...

• Swimming pool - Tiles falling off and poolside slabs that were of such inferior quality that they should never ever have been used. These were replaced at OUR cost !
• Games room - What's that ? Oh you mean a location for a games room, right ? As far as I am concerned, there were never any games available except for "feed the fish and see which one explodes first". There is a difference between a facility and a location !
• Gymnasium - You mean that small, stuffy, unhealthy room ? Come on lah ... the equipment look like our developer took a quantum leap into the past (1942 yes ?) and came back with the stuff they call gym equipment !
• I.T. Room - Oh you mean a location again ? I haven't seen any I.T. equipment ???
• Spa - Oh yes..that room where we used to have a BIG fish swimming in and out of the spa ? Ever heard of privacy, safety and how about some ventilation ???
• Library ? Where ? Where ? Where ?

What our developer has provided us with is a complete joke while what we are expected to live with is not ! They keep promising and promising and nothing ever materializes.

What about our fire-fighting equipment ? That "break glass in case of emergency" whatever is a complete joke. I tell you all something. This is what you do in case of an emergency ok...

1. Stay calm
2. Walk to square red box on wall nearest to you
3. Place hand on wood
4. Say a prayer for luck - pray for survival or easy and fast death

I challenge Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal to spend just a year living in Armanee and I hope that if he does...

1. May his unit rain shit
2. May be constantly have popping tiles
3. May his water supply be constantly dirty and smelly
4. May he always have electrical sockets that are lacking electrical wiring
5. May be lose his fortune because he had to spend all his money replacing light bulbs that kept fusing
6. May he always have clogged drainage
7. May he have lots of holes in his umbrella when he returns home during a downpour
8. May he be given a parking lot far away in L3
9. May he slip, fall and break both legs when he leaves for work at 6am because it was just too dark and he missed his footing
10. May his unit be infested with ants that will crawl up his pantleg during meetings and eat his brains when he sleeps
11. May he be trapped in the lift with rotting fish
12. May he need to use the toilet and access card don't work and the guards are not around

Tan Sri and other developer staff, you better hope you don;t end up living in Armanee one day. This could happen to you !

And njow with this recent rumour about visitor parking lots, we should actually invite Tan Sri for a visit ! I am sooooo mad. Imagine our future party invitations reading like this...

PARTY INVITATION

Please bring:

Umbrella

Spare shoes and a change of clothes in case of a downpour

Bottle of water - it's a long walk

Snack - you may need the energy

AND A GOOD STRONG PAIR OF LEGS

THOSE ABOVE 50 YEARS OLD NOT INVITED FOR HEALTH REASONS.

All guests agree to indemnify the host against everything and anything should they agree to attend !

visitor parking woes

What's going to hapen next ? I have heard rumours going around that soon visitor parking lots will be concentrated to 2 areas. Site 1 will be located at the far end corner of Block A where the car wash is located. Site 2 will be at the far end corner of Block C. Helloooooo...what about Block B ? Are we invisible or what do we need to do to get noticed ? You blind or what Medan Prestasi (that's our developer). You built 3 block but you only have 2 visitor parking sites ??? Will you be engaging some jockey parking services for us then 'coz we'd gladly accept. First you build a block consisting of over 250 units and then you forgot that we'll have visitors. When we made noise, you provided us with no more than 10 visitor parking lots. Slowly you took these away one by one. Owners that did not have parking lots assigned to them, you took from our visitor parking lots. When Tan Sri's and whoever else that came with a grand prefix to their names, you gave in to them. Again, you took away more of our visitor parking lots ! Excuse me...but where do you expect our visitors to park or do you actually expect them to cycle or walk to Armanee ??? As it is you developed a residential property thinking that we are orphans and social recluses. Residents of Block B....we should make sure that our visitor parking lots are never taken away from us ! Fight for our right.

confused

This is a follow-up to my earlier post and I wonder this morning, as I am typing this post who's the more confused party; me, the JMC of the management. On Tuesday, I reported that my personal particulars (name, mobile number and car registration number) was released to a disgruntled and obnoxious owner. That was the nature of my complaint...a breach in the security of owner information resulting from an observation that an owner had put up a signage to reserve a parking lot assigned to a unit that did not belong to them. Is it soooooo complicated ? Now the issue has taken a turn and now it is about who is allowed to park where. Geez...which is more important ? Our personal information floating freely amongst everyone or parking ? Common guys and gals. Please see clearly where the priority and urgency is lah !!!

nasty neighbors

Sunday morning, as I was about to park my car, I noticed that someone had placed a "reserved" signage at one of the vacant parking lots. Just last week, there was a similar incident and the person was asked to remove the signage. These "illegal signages" are mushrooming ! There is an unspoken understanding amongst residents that as long as these parking lots remain vacant and these owners have not moved in, we have the convenience of using these parking lots on a first-come-first-serve basis. If it's not yours, don't claim it as yours. I enquired with the guard at my block and he bravely approached the owner of the car (coincidentally she had just returned and was parking her car too). He told the driver that the lot was a vacant one and the signage must be removed. They had quite a lengthy conversation but I did not wait since I needed to cook. I stayed home for the rest of the day until about 9.30pm when my neighbors called me for a drink. When we returned, I noticed that this person had not only NOT removed the earlier signage but had ADDED another one ! We (my neighbors and I) asked the guard and this time he said that this person claimed that he had permission to use the parking lots as the lots were assigned to a unit that belonged to his relative. The next morning, I called the management office and asked them to verify this. I told them that while the ground and first floor units seem to remain vacant, the reserved signages were mushrooming. I left it at that and the very next morning (yesterday), I received a very rude call from a man. When I asmwered the call, the first thing I heard was, "Who are you" ! He said that I accused him and that he was the unit of a corner unit and with payment of "additional" monthly charges, was entitled to the parking lots fronting the block. Meanwhile, management had told me that the parking lots assigned to this owner was located at L3 (Level 3). By then I had totally lost it and ended up shouring back at this man. I was a breath away from calling him a f****r ! He told me to mind my own business and to stop being a "busy body". Who gave this man my phone number and whoever informed him which car I drove remains a question that I have asked the management to investigate. I will be writing to the management, Joint Management Committee (JMC), Pro-Tem Residents' Association and the developer this morning. The breach in security is alarming and MUST be addressed immediately !

last night, a barking dog

Just as I was about to have my shower last night, I heard the familiar sounds of a dog's bark. I must be dreaming, I thought to myself. At that very moment, I received a text message asking if I had heard a dog barking. So I knew I wasn't in la la land. The dog was closeby but where, none of us could be sure. The barks were becoming frantic and at some point I heard the dog whining. I love dogs and I do not oppose dogs or pets in high rise residences so long as the owners are responsible and considerate to others. This is a mixed community we're living in. We have not only to consider the religion of our neighbours but also those who simply have a fear of animals.

Definition of Fear of Animals Fear of animals: An abnormal and persistent fear of animals termed "zoophobia". A phobia is an unreasonable fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques. In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy. "Zoophobia" encompasses fears of specific types of animals such as of spiders (arachnophobia), birds (ornithophobia), bees (apiphobia), etc. It is literally a zoo-ful of beastly phobias. (extracted from MedicineNet.com)

Somehow, a neighbour managed to locate the barking dog and a group of us congregated outside the unit in an attempt to calm the frantic dog. It was just a puppy of small breed not more than 3-4 months old. The owner had left the puppy in the dry yard and being such a young fella, he must have been lonely and scared. Somehow our voices managed to calm the puppy and he stopped barking and whining.

While there are guidelines by the local councils on pets, it's really all about being responsible and knowing right from wrong. While many residents won't mind so long as the owner keeps the pet quiet and the area clean, there are others who will. So how do we strike a balance ? How will the management address the issue ? Will the resident be forced to abandon the pet ? Nothing seems kind anymore !

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Many mistake Armanee Condominium for Armanee Terrace. For starters, we are not the same. Armanee Condominium is in Damansara Damai, a fairly new township located beside Bandar Sri Damansara. Some others ask why I choose to live so far away ? But it's not ! I leave work at about 6am every morning and it takes me about 20 minutes to get into my office located along Jalan P. Ramlee. I use the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and it cost RM1.90 per way. If you travel between 12 midnight and 7am, you'll get a 10% discount so getting to work actually costs me just RM1.70. In fact, I find travelling from Damansara Damai a lot more pleasant and easier if compared to where I was living before. The Kepong-Kuala Selangor road used to be a driver's worst nightmare and the traffic jams used to be kilometres long. Like I said, "used to be". Traffic flow these days are pretty smooth except for the ocassional unexpected incidents. No doubt, I miss (and always will) the convenience of the LRT. Now, it's "have car will travel". Gone are the days when public transport was something I took for granted. Maybe one day soon....... To know how to get to Damansara Damai click here