Casa Riana Family Day

Last weekend we had a little family day here in Casa Riana apartment where I live. It was organized by the Joint Management Board members and the cool people of Casa Riana.

Like any Family Day, we had fun & games and many activities throughout the day. In the morning we started off with a coloring contest and then some games for the children.

Most of the kids were very eager to participate in the games. So much that we didn't have enough places for everyone.

One thing for sure, my neighbors took this Family Day games seriously. Looking at their competitiveness it's like they're playing in the Olympics or something. Nevermind that the prizes are some hampers or usually some cheap plastic containers.

But that's okay. From another perspective it shows that the people of Casa Riana are generally very sporting and supportive of communal activities such as these.

In the evening we had a little karaoke singing contest. My heart yearns to join this contest and sing in front of everybody but my mind said "are you kidding me? In front of all those judgemental people? I'd rather die and go to heaven!".

In the end I just sat there enjoying the show with my neighbors. Some of the contestant were quite good actually but the others are mostly crap. There's a reason why most of us don't sing for a living. Still I must say at least they've got balls to be singing in public.

We also had some barbecue dinner on the park courtesy of the organizer and the sponsors. Of course since there were so many of us, we could only sample a little bit of the chicken each. Still since we didn't contribute a single cent to the event, we couldn't complain.

I must commend the organizer and the committee members for their hard work and effort to make this inaugral Family Day a success. It's nice to see my neighbors getting to know each other since in normal circumstances we barely have time to say hi to each other. I hope the committee would organize more activities like this in the future so that the citizens of Casa Riana would become one harmony & close-knit community.

The Case for TuneTalk Mobile Prepaid

Like so many of us, I've been a postpaid mobile plan user for ages. It's reliable and convenient and you'll just wait for the monthly bill to come and you pay. Most of these telcos charges a fixed commitment fee for the 'privilege' of using their network. That means every month, you pay a minimum of RM20 whether you make any call or not. For me that is just not right. Apart from the minimum 20 ringgit, I am also charged a different rate for every call or text that I made. That is daylight robbery to me.

That was until I tried out TuneTalk mobile prepaid. I know some of you cringe at the thought of using prepaid mobile service. Isn't that for students/kids who has no fixed income you say? I beg to differ. Prepaid mobile plan makes perfect sense. You pay for what you use, no more, no less. And with TuneTalk you enjoy the lowest rate in town at 16 cents per minute, 5 cents per SMS to any network.

One thing I like about TuneTalk is I get to choose my own number. Well, at least most of the numbers. Just head on to their website to register and choose your preferred last 4 digits. If you're lucky, you might just get your favorite numbers. And thanks to number portability you can even keep your existing number if you convert to TuneTalk. Just visit any authorised TuneTalk dealer to register and port your number.

Before this, I paid like 50 bucks every month to one telco after another. And what do I get in return? Nothing! Some were even super-efficient in barring my number if I skimp on my bill payment. With TuneTalk, I get points every time I reload. The more I reload, the more points I collect and I can redeem those points for AirAsia flight tickets or other TuneTalk promotions like free concert tickets and stuff. If you top up an average of 50 ringgit a month, you'll get like 2000 points in less than 2 years which will fly you to Alor Setar for free. What's more these points, they never expire!

So what about data/Internet usage? For some people, including me, mobile Internet is something more of a neccessity than a luxury. I get restless without Internet every day. The good news is, TuneTalk has just introduced their mobile Internet Datatata plan. For just 88 cents daily you get 50MB of data usage (now RM38 for 1,5GB). That's about enough for anyone who tweets or surfs regulary on their smartphone. The bad news is, I usually used up my 50MB quota in like half an hour. Don't even think about tethering your phone to a computer. So obviously TuneTalk has got to come up with something better in this department. Still if you really need to use the Internet, 5MB per cent is not that bad if you have money to burn.

Of course no telco is perfect and TuneTalk does have its downside like the measly 50MB daily data plan. Who knows, one day they'll come up with a better, more awesome plan then I'll have a rock-solid reason to stay on with TuneTalk. Get your personalised TuneTalk number now at their website. Each SIM card costs just RM7.00 with 5 ringgit credit inside.