Finally, after weeks of campaigning with posters, billboards and ceramahs in abundance, the 12th Malaysian General Election culminated in results which truly echoed the sentiments of the rakyat. Indeed they have spoken, and the ruling coalition party, who has been denied the 2/3 majority this time round, had better sit up and listen, as opposed to resting on their laurels. I just had a chat with Rinnah this morning and she asked me if there was anything different in the state which is now governed by the opposition. I told her there was nothing much that I could see yet. Well… I look forward to the following four years in eager anticipation of what Barisan Rakyat has to offer.
This election also marks the first time my hubby and I are voting together in the same constituency, as husband and wife. We had our voting addresses changed last year, and are glad that it was well in time for the change to take effect, especially since our seats in our constituency are the HOT ones contested. That morning, we decided to drive to the polling center, just to see if there was a parking space near it, so we didn’t have to walk that far. And we were blessed to have found a spot right next to the school. We took Ethan along with us too, so we had to take turns queuing up to vote and taking him for a look-see around the school. Fellow bloggers Angie & Bart were also in the same boat, bringing little Julian along to the voting center.
It didn’t take too long for the entire voting process to be completed. We already had all our details from the internet, including which room we were supposed to go to (indicated by Saluran), so we didn’t waste time getting that small slip of paper with the big number on it and headed straight for the room. After my age was announced to the entire world by the lady manning the registration counter in the voting room (she stated my name and IC number loudly maa), I went into the booth, marked an X on each of the ballot sheets and doubled check to see that the X was where I wanted it to be. Then that was it. On a separate note, I was wondering why they had to make the colors of the ballots so similar. I think mine was like pink and orange…had to make sure I put them in the correct box afterward too. If it were me, I would have chosen contrasting colors for the state and parliamentary ballot sheets. Anyway, I digress.
After the voting, it was dim sum for breakfast, Queensbay Mall for quick shopping and then the two boys went for a hair cut. Alas, when we were on our way to lunch after that, we were involved in a minor accident. The black Vios in front of us braked very suddenly, and hubbs had to swerve a little bit to the left to avoid hitting it. However, a motorcyclist who was travelling a little too fast could not stop on time, scraped the left side of our car, where Ethan and I were sitting, hit the side mirror, resulting in it dangling away on the side. We were shocked, nonetheless, and after some negotiations, both parties agreed to part ways amicably. Thankfully no one was hurt, although the motorcyclist was rubbing his wrist for a bit after the accident. Of course, we took out car to the mechanic to ascertain the damage and repair costs, which comes up to around RM200+ for the side mirror and RM1800 for the paint job of the car. As a temporary measure, we had the side mirror taped up so it could still be used, but it looks like the masking tape was not strong enough to hold the mirror up because after a few hours, the mirror was dangling yet again. And we have been driving like that ever since.
My hubby just called the mechanic who said that the new side mirror would only arrive tomorrow, so that’s one additional *handicapped-driving* day for us. The paint job though, will have to wait because it will take a week to complete, and we need to find a solution for our “lack of wheels” situation during that time first. Still in the process of finding out if the price quoted is within the reasonable range – does anyone know?
Well, in more ways than one, the recent General Elections will certainly be one we will never ever forget.
Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love
oh my….your car has been in a few adventures of late…people not knowing the story may look at the dangling mirror and think “gosh…election sure is hot and vicious in penang..heh”
The Giddy Tigress says: Yeah, our car has got stories to tell, you know… 🙂
Erm… the winds of change were too strong yes? 😉 At least you and your family were ok the rest is “only” money. Remember… remember… the 8th of March erm… doesn’t rhyme hor?
The Giddy Tigress says: Yup, at least no one was hurt…
It is certainly a historical day. I wonder if this is how the early Malayans felt on the first Merdeka Day?
The Giddy Tigress says: Ask the older folks and I am sure they would be able to tell you.
Waaaah! Talk about having something to remember the day by!
Haha, yes, we were chatting about it this morning! Lawl.
The Giddy Tigress says: Yaloh….another thing to remember this day by is that I chatted with you briefly at night too!
Yes, certainly unforgettable, in more ways than one! Lormaikai? Where? Yeah? Ok, deal!! Shake..
The Giddy Tigress says: SIGH…hehe..you and your lormaikai… finished the one I gave you for your birthday or not?
That’s an expensive lunch. Fortunately no one was hurt. My hubby and I also bought the children to vote. We took turns too.
The Giddy Tigress says: I think it is a good way to start educating them from young about their responsibilities as a citizen, hoh?
Rm1800 for the paint job is oso quite expensive hor..
The Giddy Tigress says: That’s the price that was quoted for the whole car.
wahh!! totally unforgettable. damn annoying lor all these tiny lil accidents esp when it isn’t your fault..
The Giddy Tigress says: Well, hard to pinpoint whose fault it was really. Sigh..
eh they say its safer to place the kid behind the drivers seat. Last time my car also kena like that before when I went for a automated car wash and at the same time i was selling cling wrap for food. So i used the cling wrap to wrap the side mirror. Can last very long leh…..try la
The Giddy Tigress says: Cling wrap huh? I didn’t try but I trust what you say la. Anyway, we’ve already fixed the side mirror 🙂 Never heard the one about it being safer for the kid to be behind the driver though…but I guess it makes sense, cos the co-driver has the highest risk, huh?
A lot to pay for the paint job. I just had mine done (I banged the front fender until paint scraped off) and it was less than RM500. Even then, the price included banging out the fender again. May I ask, you went directly to your car service centre (as in not a panel beater)? If you did, they usually out-source paintjobs and panel-beating out so they might be taking a cut for it. You could get the side mirror replaced and then send it to some bengkel. A lot more trouble but may be worth the $ saved.
The Giddy Tigress says: Actually, I think many people might have misunderstood me. The RM1800 quoted is for the paint job of the entire car, including banging and knocking. And he’s also giving a 1-year warranty on the paint. We figured we might as well paint the whole car because our car has been through quite a lot in the past couple of years. And no, we didn’t go to the car service center, instead we visited a center that specializes in knocking and spray painting, one which we had gone to before and are quite familiar with.
Oh my. Thats horrible. Can you reclaim the cost from your insurance company? They must pay you for that type of accident, no?
Anyway, I hope you have figured out something to use as transport means for the time being.
The Giddy Tigress says: I could claim it from insurance, but it is not worth sacrificing my NCD (No Claim Discount) for this repair. We haven’t figured out a solution yet….still thinking 🙂
Well, it’s certainly a great price to pay, esp it’s not your fault. The paint job is really expensive, that’s why until now I didn’t repaint my car when it was knocked by a motorcyclist 5 years ago, and I’ve lived with it till now 🙂
The Giddy Tigress says: Yeah, but I heard that the price for repainting is around there.