My Careless Daiso Purchase

We've all experienced those moments when we make a purchase that leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief. Today, as I strolled through Pavilion Bukit Jalil after Cass successfully passed her figure skating tests, I found myself in one such situation – a tale of a seemingly innocent Daiso purchase that turned out to be quite a costly lesson in assumptions.

The day began on a high note as Cass triumphantly conquered not just one, but two figure skating tests. Celebratory spirits were high, and after a fulfilling lunch at Grand Harbor restaurant, I decided to make a quick pit stop at Daiso to pick up some household essentials. Among the items on my list was a new stainless steel bowl for my beloved cat, Haru. Little did I know that this seemingly straightforward purchase would lead to a lesson in mindfulness and attention to detail.

Our sumptuous lunch at Grand Harbor, Pavillion Bukit Jalil

As I perused the array of stainless steel bowls neatly displayed, one particular option caught my eye. A double-layered, lightweight, matte-finished bowl seemed like the ideal choice for Haru's dining needs. Pleased with my find, I made my way to the checkout counter, paid for my items, and continued my leisurely stroll through the mall.

It was during this leisurely stroll that reality came crashing down. A nagging feeling prompted me to review the total on the receipt against the number of items I had purchased. To my dismay, the numbers didn't add up. Panic ensued as I closely examined the Daiso receipt, and that's when I discovered the source of my mistake – the stainless steel bowl I had chosen for Haru was listed at a staggering RM17.70, not the RM5.90 I had assumed.

The RM17.70 double-layer constructed stainless steel bowl from Daiso. It is heat-proof on the outside, which makes it perfect for putting hot soups.

At that moment, my heart sank as I realized the gravity of my carelessness. The bowl intended for my furry friend, which I had purchased without properly scrutinizing the price, was now three times more expensive than I had anticipated. My initial assumption that all Daiso items adhered to the familiar RM5.90 price point had led me astray.

Although I contemplated rushing back to Daiso for a refund or exchange, time constraints and a husband eager to depart held me back. As I weighed my options, I decided to chalk this up to a lesson learned. This wasn't just about an unfortunate purchase; it was a reminder to never underestimate the importance of clarity and attention to detail.

Toilet selfie, as usual 😁

Upon reflection, it became clear that my lack of reading glasses had played a significant role in this mishap. As age has caught up on me, I now need reading glasses to read small prints. But I don't bring my reading glasses out. The seemingly ambiguous digits on the price tag appeared to resemble the familiar "Yen" symbol rather than the Malaysian Ringgit. This experience underscored the value of taking the extra moment to ensure I had the proper information before making a decision.

In the end, the stainless steel bowl that was meant for Haru has found its place for my own use, serving as a tangible reminder of the importance of mindfulness in all transactions. The bowl will always make me chuckle to myself each time I use it, reminding me of my oversight.

So, the next time I find myself amidst the charm of Daiso's aisles, I'll be armed not just with my shopping list but also with a renewed commitment to careful consideration. And I must remember to bring my reading glasses out or just use my phone's camera function to enlarge small prints 😛

Sherilyn's Break Before She Starts College

Sherilyn's 5-month break is coming to an end.  Before embarking on another new journey next week, she took the ETS train to Ipoh on Wednesday to visit her grandparents. It's also to celebrate her koong koong's 80th birthday, which falls on 19 August 2023.  

Sherilyn will commence her Foundation in Natural and Built Environments next week at Taylor's College. And if Architecture is for her, she will proceed with the Bachelor of Science in Architecture. If not, she can opt to study Business, Quantity Surveying, or other courses.

On Tuesday, Alycia followed her grandma, aunty and cousin from England to Penang and then to Ipoh.  They celebrated my dad's birthday at the Mun Choong Restaurant in Ipoh yesterday.  Too bad Cass, hubs and I had to be in KL as Cass has to go to school while hubs has been busy with work.

School holidays will only begin in another week.  Cass and I will only make a trip to Ipoh on 28 August by ETS train to have another round of celebration with dad.

This super chill girl gave me a panic attack on the day that she was supposed to take the train back to Ipoh.  Her train was at 3pm but she went out for lunch with her friend at the cafe that she works at, collected cakes from the cafe for her grandparents and even gave Haru a bath.  Then she had a stomach upset and was stuck on the throne until 2.30pm, when I hollered at her incessantly to hurry up or risk missing the train. She only left the house at 2.35pm! The traffic in KL is unpredictable and the traffic jam is almost perpetual. I had to help her lug her luggage to the Grab car as she was still hobbling after an injury sustained while bouldering with her sisters, cousin and second cousins on Sunday. I asked the Grab driver to try his best to send Sherilyn to the Sentral Station before 3pm.  Yup, I know it wouldn't really help to tell the driver to try his best coz if the traffic was bad, there's really nothing much that he could do. But I wanted the driver to drive a little faster and be aware that his passenger had a train to catch😂

With only 25 minutes left before the train takes off, will Sherilyn reach the station on time?! Even if she did, she had to walk down to the platform and search for her coach. It's Ok if she could walk briskly but she was hobbling and had three bags with her!  This is SO Sherilyn, my middle child who loves challenges and thrives in a complicated and challenging environment 😑

I was so worried that Sherilyn won't be able to cope with lugging so many things with an injured ankle.

While Sherilyn was in the car, I frantically went through the ETS app to check what time the next train was. There was a 3.30 pm train and I messaged Sherilyn to take that train if she missed the 3pm train.  Thank God Sherilyn managed to hop onto the train in the nick of time and she gloated to me that she was already inside the train 10 minutes before the train went off! 🙏😬

Super yummy banana walnut bread from Front Room, the cafe that Sherilyn works at, for my parents.

Sherilyn and my parents visited Mirror Lake (Tasik Cermin) yesterday.

With granny at Kin Loong Valley.

My SIL from England treated everyone to a sumptuous dinner at Mun Choong Restaurant to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday.

May God bless my papa with many, many more happy birthdays.

The Unfortunate Damage of a Homemade Blueberry Cake

Sometimes life has a way of adding a sprinkle of unpredictability to our best-laid plans. Such was the case for Sherilyn, who found herself caught in the whirlwind of a cake catastrophe that she never saw coming.

Sherilyn was recently commissioned by her aunt who resides in England to bake a cake for her grandaunt’s birthday.  Despite her bustling schedule of work and dance classes, Sherilyn accepted the job and was determined to rise to the occasion. She decided to bake a blueberry genoise cake. With three punnets of fresh blueberries, the finest whipping cream, and her heart full of dedication, she embarked on this baking project.  

Sherilyn spared every available moment to craft a cake that would be remembered and enjoyed by her grandaunt. She meticulously sourced fresh blueberries and quality whipping cream for the cake. She made a luscious blueberry compote and the genoise cake a day earlier.  On the morning of delivering the cake to her grand-aunt, she woke up early to meticulously decorate the cake before leaving for work.

The beautiful blueberry cake before disaster struck.

As the final strokes of creativity were laid upon the cake, Sherilyn was ready to present her masterpiece to her grandaunt. In a twist of fate, however, the universe had a different plan. Entrusting her colleague, a part-time delivery driver with the responsibility of transporting the delicate creation to its destination turned out to be the turning point of this tale.

In an unfortunate turn of events, the cake's top layer succumbed to gravity's pull, resulting in a heartbreaking collapse. The news of the mishap reached Sherilyn through her delivery driver friend, leaving her with a mix of frustration and sorrow. The cake, a labor of love and dedication, lay in ruins, unable to be salvaged.

The damaged cake :(

While it was evident that the mishap occurred due to the unintended actions of the delivery driver (he may have driven too fast or dropped the cake), Sherilyn found herself in a challenging position. The delivery driver is her friend and this made it difficult for her to place blame and to express her disappointment, despite the financial loss and frustration she had to bear. 

After disaster struck, Sherilyn only remembered that his friend's car's air-conditioner was not working! It was truly a lack of foresight on both parties.

Sherilyn transformed the cake scraps, extra cream and blueberry compote into a yummilicious Cake Crumb Trifle.

To add to the complexity, the cake had spent too much time outside the fridge, rendering it unfit for consumption. Sherilyn thought that she could still salvage the cake for our own consumption but the cake had turned bad.

Despite the setback, Sherilyn showed remarkable maturity by swiftly arranging an alternative solution – she asked her delivery driver friend to purchase a cake from a nearby bakery as she had earlier informed her grandaunt that she was sending a cake to her. How could she tell her grandaunt now that the cake is damaged? 

It's a lesson learned to never underestimate the fragility of transporting a cake, even when it's in the hands of a well-meaning friend.  And even with the best of intentions, can sometimes result in disappointment and setbacks.

My advice to Sherilyn is to never send a fragile cake to anyone again using express delivery service.  We should instead deliver the cake ourselves or get the recipient to collect it from us. And if both parties are too busy to make a drive, then send something that's not fragile to the recipient.

I also found out after the incident that one of the items that will not be delivered by Grab Express is fragile items like cakes, although her friend is not attached to Grab.

The Scam That Taught My Daughter a Valuable Lesson

Today Alycia had an unfortunate encounter with scammers that left her feeling vulnerable and taken advantage of. I’m sure she had read about such a modus operandi masterminded by scammers yet she got lured into it.

This morning, while I was out, Alycia received an SMS claiming to be from J&T courier, stating that there was an issue with her delivery address. Coincidentally, Alycia was expecting some parcels to arrive. The message requested her personal and bank details to verify her identity as the intended recipient of the parcel. Without realizing the potential danger, Alycia clicked on the link provided and unwittingly shared her personal information with the scammers.

Fortunately, I arrived home just in time, and Alycia confided in me about what had happened, realizing that she may have been lured into the scammer’s trap. Recognizing the signs of a scam, I immediately assured her that she had indeed been targeted. We wasted no time in taking action to protect her finances. First, I advised her to call her two banks to cancel her debit cards. It took some time and patience, but she successfully canceled both cards before any significant damage was done.

After canceling the debit cards, Alycia visited the bank branches to obtain new cards, incurring a fee of RM12 for each replacement card. Though she was fortunate that the scammers had only managed to make a minor purchase of RM4+ on something from Google using her card details, this incident served as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance in the face of increasingly sophisticated scams.

Unfortunately, scams have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, targeting unsuspecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Even the savviest of individuals can fall victim to cleverly orchestrated schemes, as demonstrated by my friend, a seasoned businesswoman in her 50s, who lost RM7k to online job scammers. Her daughter had applied for some part-time online jobs after her SPM  exam and she deposited over RM7k into the scammers’ accounts!  Even my own mother, a cautious individual, was scammed recently (albeit for a very small amount) while attempting to purchase a piece of cooking equipment on Facebook which requested her credit card details.

For Alycia, this experience was an eye-opener. She has now learned that scammers are relentless and use various tactics to exploit innocent people. We cannot afford to be complacent in the digital world. It is vital to educate ourselves and our loved ones about the common tactics used by scammers, such as phishing emails, fraudulent calls, and misleading SMS messages cleverly orchestrated to lure unsuspecting victims.

While the incident was disheartening, it provided an essential lesson for my daughter and our family.  As parents, we must continue to educate and support our children in navigating the digital landscape safely. Scammers may be getting smarter, but with awareness and caution, we can protect ourselves from falling into their scheming traps.