XRoads

The saga began more than a month ago, when the first erroneous Optus bill I received was issued on 14 February. The total amount due was $600+, and was auto-debited by Optus from my bank account.

The majority of that sum comprised erroneous handset payout charges and an unusually large GST fee of $56.32. As a result of Optus' auto-debiting, I was left with only $100 in my bank account at the time.

Despite repeatedly chasing Optus' bill enquiries over the phone for the past month (Optus' bill enquiries are, strangely, only sorted out over the phone), I have yet to receive the promised cheque refund of $600+ which should have arrived weeks ago.

Since then, I have received another erroneous bill (issued in March). The amount of $55 was supposedly for cancellation fees. I rang up Optus immediately after receiving the bill to dispute it, and was reassured that it was just another billing error. However, 2 weeks later, Optus auto-debited the $55 from my bank account without any notice.

I am also waiting for a refund for this amount.

It's really quite frustrating that whenever it comes to auto-debiting funds from my bank account, Optus is outstandingly efficient. Yet, when it comes to refunding my money, it's a completely different story!

Equally frustrating is the fact that I've had to repeatedly chase Optus' representatives myself, and over the phone, to sort out the matter, even though Optus is the one at fault in the first place. The problem with this is that not only do I get put on hold for anything between 10-20 minutes each time I call in, I also have to repeat my story all over again as it's usually a different representative I speak to each time.

All this leaves me wondering... had I not brought up the issue at all in the first place, would Optus have had the dignity or competence to come forward and take the initiative to refund my $600+ on their own?

I highly doubt so.

I'm not exactly an Arsenal fan, but it was nice to see them beating Italian powerhouses Juventus 2-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

I mean, Eboue, Senderos, Cesc, Flamini, and Hleb (not exactly very big names) beating the likes of Vieira, Emerson, Cannavaro, Ibrahimovic, Buffon, and co.? Way to go underdogs!

With Juventus' former Arsenal captain and star player Vieira ruled out for the return leg due to suspension, things are looking good for the Gunners. They could even go all the way and bring the trophy back to England for a second consecutive season (and I emphasise that, they could).

As usual, much will depend on the form of Henry and Cesc. But from the way they're playing at the moment, the signs are certainly positive.

This has to be the shortest news article I've seen in ages:

Whoa... wait a minute here... genetically modified pigs that produce omega-3 fish oil? What's this world coming to?!

If a new kind of pork makes it to the dinner table, diners worried about fat and heart disease might finally be free to, well, pig out.

Scientists using genetic-engineering techniques have produced pigs rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a kind of healthful fat abundant in fish but not naturally found in meat. [The Seattle Times]

While the idea sounds cool (imagine, healthy bacon and pork chops for a change), aren't we playing God a bit too much here?

And, hold your horses... it seems that after experimenting with the pigs, the same wacky scientists are planning to develop a similar concept with cows and chickens:

Dr. Jing X. Kang, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the new paper, said pigs were only the beginning, adding that he was also developing cows that make omega-3's in their milk and chickens that have the fatty acids in their eggs. [New York Times]

Seriously though, what's the point when omega-3 is already in abundant supply (in fish meat and dietary supplements available over the pharmacy and supermarket counters)? Shouldn't we instead be concentrating our research efforts on areas that have more genuine potential health benefits, rather than instant financial ones (e.g. by the unnecessary marketing of such pigs)?

Come on, the world doesn't need omega-3-producing pigs (no offence, pigs). The world needs a cure for AIDS, cancer, and Alzheimer's!

With yet more bird flu outbreaks detected in Malaysia this week (Penang on Monday and Perak again yesterday), the Agriculture Ministry must have some nerve to ask Singapore today to reduce its ban on all poultry imports from Perak:

After working nearly 3 weeks (casual) at the bakery, this is the daily task I've come to hate most about my job (apart from sweeping and mopping):


Step 1: LOTS of bread, delicious bread.


Step 2: A garbage bin.


Step 3: No more delicious bread.


Step 4: A garbage bin full of delicious bread.

Don't blame it on my employers - it's the Australian law.

I can't believe it's already Monday after a busy and happening weekend in Melbourne, with the Commonwealth Games still on, and the Festival Melbourne2006 being held in conjunction with it. I tried uploading some of my photos from the festival, but my handphone's Bluetooth doesn't seem to be working (forgot to bring my camera for the event).

Anyway, one of the performing acts which caught my attention at the festival was the 13-member percussion group, Wicked Aura Batucada, who hail from Singapore. Their unique fusion of Brazillian samba music with funk, afrobeat, and local Singaporean ethnic rythms, combined with their infectious beats and positive energy, certainly brought about much life and groove to the festival's beach party on Saturday (the beach I'm referring to is the much hyped-up artificial beach in front of the Arts Centre, with lots of sand but no water!).

You can find out more about the group, which was formed in 2003, via their homepage.

While Man Who Ate Dog Suffers Blurred Vision was a catchy headline, I find it hard to understand the relevance of the latter part of this story on Malaysia's The Star:

On the home front... quit rent for land in the Cameron Highlands had increased from RM300 to RM800 a year.

Are we forgotting that a dog has been killed, and eaten by its murderer? Surely the culprit would have been prosecuted had this happened in another country.

As a dog lover, I'm appalled to say the least.

Following up to my previous post, here's more information regarding the online job scammers who have, for some time now, been enticing job seekers into becoming a part of their elaborate international online auction scam.

Dubbed postal forwarding or reshipping fraud, the scam involves Eastern European-based con artists recruiting unsuspecting job seekers in the US, UK, and now Australia to act as the middle men in their online auction transactions.

The con artists would impersonate the recruit to fraudulently purchase auction items (including electronics, jewellery, and collectibles) using stolen credit cards, and have the items shipped to the recruit's address. The recruit would then be instructed to repack the items and ship them to an address in Eastern Europe, with the promise of a 10-15% cut of the resale price.

Auction bidders are also targetted. The con artists impersonate the recruit and place auction items for sale. They then tell the winners to wire funds to the recruit's bank account, avoiding any suspicions aroused by the mention of overseas wire transfers, without ever shipping the items to the winners. The recruit, of course, is then instructed to wire the funds to a Western Union office in Eastern Europe. Since no ID is required to pick up the money, it leaves the con artists pretty much untraceable.

The recruits meanwhile eventually start receiving calls from angry auction winners and are left to deal with the embarassment and possible legal action relating to theft, falsifying government documents (in declaring the packages as gifts on Customs forms), and income tax evasion.

While it seems that such online scams are easy to detect, thousands of job seekers are still caught up in the con annually, unwittingly helping the con artists steal up to an estimated US$500 million in merchandise thus far. Much of this is down to the fact that the job ads posted by these companies seem innocuous enough, while most of the companies pose as ordinary courier service firms and even have their own legitimate-looking websites like the one below (formerly located at Postforward.org) to avoid suspicion.

More info here, here, and here.

Be careful if you're looking for a job online. A couple of days ago I was offered a part-time position as an administrative assistant by a company claiming to be involved in internet auctioning on reknowned sites such as eBay, Amazon, and QXL among others. My responsibilities were apparently to enter data, make reports, and maintain a database for the company using Excel. The offer also stated briefly that I would be required to receive payments from buyers, but it was unclear how this would be done.

At the time, the offer of a $2200-$2700 monthly salary for a 10-15 hour-a-week job seemed too good to be true (I mean, that would more than cover my living expenses, while still enabling me to study full-time). The fact that I had no means of traceable contact with the company though, other than by e-mail with a dodgily-named correspondent ("Holly Hooper") with a dodgy-sounding e-mail address (holly.hooper@ponymail.com), seemed rather suspicious.

The company claimed to be based in Maryland, US, but did not provide a full address, city, zip code, or even a phone number. I tried to do a background check on them via the internet but came up with no results. They weren't even listed in the US Better Business Bureau. After contacting SEEK (Australia's number one job site/the site where the job ad was posted), my suspicions were confirmed - the company going by the name of Douglas & Berns Int. were just a bunch of scammers.

Given that providing personal information such as full name, address, and phone number is mandatory during online job applications, it would be preferable if such job ads could be screened out more promptly in future (especially in leading Australian job sites such as SEEK and CareerOne) so as to prevent applicants' personal details from falling into the wrong hands, be it for fraudulent or harassment purposes.

For some time now, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has insisted on providing student discount fares to only students holding a Grads card. I have a problem with this system though, and here are my reasons:

1. Redundancy - Why should students have to be identified by means of the Grads card and be subjected to the annual Grads membership fee of RM25, when they already have hard documentation and proof that they are indeed students (eg. certificate of enrolment, student card, student visa)? Not only is it an inconvenience for student passengers like myself to have to go through the tedious Grads card application and waiting process, but also for MAS' administration, who have to process the applications.
2. Outdated application methods - The only method of application for the Grads card is by post, while the only means of payment for the annual membership fee of RM25 are by money order or bank draft. MAS seems to be lagging so far behind in modern day technology where modern day applications can now be carried out online and paid for via internet banking, credit card, or even cash.
3. Inconvenient annual renewal process - Every year, when my Grads card expires, I am required to "renew" my membership by sending in a photocopy of my IC/Passport, student matriculation card, 2 colour passport-size photographs, and a letter of acceptance from my university yet again. Shouldn't these documents only be required for first-time applicants, since previous members like myself have already been sending in the exact same documents for each of the previous 4 years?

Quite frankly, I see the whole thing as more of a deterrent to put off students seeking discounted airfares, rather than a programme that is genuinely aimed at benefiting students.

Check out the contradiction in the last 2 lines of the following job advertisement placed by Crown Limited for a casual usher position:

Candidates who are not Australian Citizens or Permanent residents need not apply

Crown is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Erm, equal opportunity? Yeah... right.....

My AMS thesis may be due in 2 months, but I'm definitely lacking the motivation to work on it just yet. Maybe it's time for a new challenge... time to get a paid job of my own so that at least I know that my efforts aren't going to waste!

The search began last week (I never knew that searching for a decent part time or casual job would be so difficult - guess it has to do partly with the fact that I'm an international student). Anyway, for the moment at least (having met with much frustration after enquiring with several cafes and restaurants), I'm putting up with the first offer I received - a store assistant position at a bakery, where the hours are average (5pm - 9.30pm, 3 days a week) and the pay fairly miserable ($8 per hour).

Work began Friday, and continued this week. The working conditions are pretty good I must admit (I get to help myself to free orange juice once in a while), plus the colleagues have been really helpful and friendly, but I'm still hoping that a better opportunity, in terms of salary, might arise in the near future.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see...

I contributed something here. This blog has been left pretty much static since New Year's Day when I, impulsive as I am, decided out-of-the-blue to start up my very first blog, XRoads (Crossroads), only to leave it rotting with neglect ever since. Guess I was pretty busy back then, but now it seems I've got way too much time on my hands...