Biometric Confusion

It has been a hectic morning in the household with the commotion created by mother-in-law concerning the foreign maid biometric registration. She had been raving about it since last night, short of ordering us to head out to the Immigration Office to clarify things. She actually did it a couple of weeks back at the Immigration office at Setapak but got a confusing reply from the Officer there and was told to take her query up at the Damansara Immigration Office.

We renewed our maid's current permit about two months ago, and during that particular visit to Putrajaya was not clued into the fact that this current ruling was either coming or would effect our maid. So, when the biometric plan was first announced, we thought that it would not apply to them, or they should just do it during renewal. So, who did I turn to for answers? Twitter of course.

Greatful for @ervanj for providing us with this snippet above. It was a great help. I was sure I was not the only one needing clarification or reassurance. The snippet was taken from the Immigration Office website.

Staying In

Well, we decided against going out today. With the boys having their Ustazah dropping by for lessons in the afternoon, and Anita and I spent the whole morning out and about, we decided to cook. Anita prepared nasi ayam. So, there won't be any complaints from me! It was my favourite when there were just the two of us living in the UK.

We might take the boys out later on after iftar, as they have been kind of restless. Maybe just a drive after prayers. They would be back to school next week, and to be fair, they deserve another outing or two before then. We shall see where we got to ….

Baju Melayu Time

Anita really like the to shop for Hari Raya at Bac Medacena, a traditional Malay boutique at Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. We had been going here for a number of years, and I still think that the place was overpriced. Not helped by the attitude of the workers there who tended to pick and choose who they gave their service to. Unfortunate really. Usually, I just let Anita do the shopping. After a few incidences where I was ignored, needeing to practically beg for assistance, I really couldn't be bothered to enter the shop. Even today, I just stayed in the car. There was no parking space anyhow, so I might just as well.

But to be fair, they do provide quality garments, and the service in terms of product is reliable, but you have to book early for Raya, unless you prefer to pick the shirts and dresses off the shelves. The location of the shop was also quite tricky to get to and parking could be difficult. As I said, I tended to stay in the car, so no real problem there.

I must warn you that the clothes there was not exactly cheap, but you get what you paid for. The clearance sale after Raya tended to be very good if you were into bargains. They had the whole stuff there, from songkok, Baju Melayu and accessories, even footwear. Anita loved to go there because they also make cute garments for children, and she tended to be able to pick everything on the same visit. You can click on their Facebook page here if you wanted more details.

 

Ready to Go Out

Getting ready to take Puan Anita out for the chores. First stop should be Bangsar for the bank, followed by TTDI and lastly IKANO/Curve. Should be a productive day, and plenty to blog about.

The boys were still asleep and hopefully they would behave themselves. Better not to upset their Grandmother who has been feeling a bit down since my brother-in-law left for Turkmenistan on Sunday. Then, there would be the small matter of clearing up my table from all the junks I have accumulated in the last few weeks!

Beta testing

I was invited to beta test the new Android app for my blog platform SquareSpace. After using the service for the last two and a half years, I'm certainly very familiar with the system, and for the last year or so, I have more or less exclusively been using the mobile app for blog entries - explaining the typos.

I usually used either my iPod or iPad. The app made entry in the fly very easy. The main issues I have with it was the photo upload. My blog width on the website was 750 pixels and the maximum width on mobile photo uploads were only 600. The other issue was integration with html scripts for my adverts and other blog elements. I would still need a PC to do adjustments afterwards.

The Android app appeared robust. It has yet to crash so far. The stats panel looked more extensive compared to the iOS app. Photo upload also appeared quite fast. I plan to blog on the fly using this app regularly for the next couple of weeks.

Blogged using my SquareSpace Android App.