Thursday, August 28, 2008

Mystery Phone Call Finale

After 1 week, the mail which is supposed to carry my prize money still has not arrived... Just when I was dead sure that this is all a scam, Xiao Tong called.

She was very surprised why I did not contact her when I did not receive the money after so many days. I told her I have forgotten about it (Though the truth is that I don't even believe this whole story!). She panicked and asked me to contact their lawyer from Huan Yu International (环宇国际).

Their lawyer, 何正宇, told me that I have to collect my prize money personally as the amount is huge. But who in their right mind will travel to HK for a prize money?

Ok... side track a little... the 3rd prize which I have won is a Mercedes Benz E350 worth HKD 486K. Which works out to be SGD 86,700. But I have to pay 3% tax (福利公益税) which is about SGD 2,500. Well... after tax, it is still a lot of money to me!

To cut the story short, after calling Xiao Tong and the lawyer a few times, they said that there was a case where a person from Malaysia also won the same prize, but did not have to go to HK to collect it. And he got his money within 1.5 hours.

When I asked the lawyer to process my case in the same manner, this is what he told me...
First of all, you need to make payment to HK xxx dept for the 3% tax. Once that is cleared, you can give us your account number and we will credit the money directly into your bank account.

Tada!!! There you have it! The answer to my curiosity.

So the question is: will you risk $2.5K, in return for $85K?

My reply to the lawyer and Xiao Tong: Thank you so much, I am not going to claim this prize money! =)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mystery Phone Call Part 2

Four days ago, I wrote about the mystery phone call which I have received back in end June. Well, the same caller, Liu Xiao Tong, called me on that day again.

She asked if I have attended that special event back in early July... Nope, I said. She went on to ask if I have watched the event live on TV... Nope, again I said. Oh! What a pity, you have missed out on an exciting event! Blah blah blah...

Finally, she came to the most important part... She asked if I remembered my lucky draw number... You must be kidding! I did not even believe that I would be given a chance to participate in a lucky draw for no good reason, why would I even remember the number?? Well... that part, I didn't really say it. ;-p

She went on to repeat my lucky number and then, she broke the unbelievable news to me... Miss, it is a pity that you did not watch the event that day, as you have won the 3rd prize! And the 3rd prize happened to be a car... A CAR??? Ha ha... Great, I bet she will go on to say that since I am in Singapore, the prize will be donated to charity...

As soon as the committee realised that the winner is a foreigner, they have converted that prize into its cash value and we will be sending you the amount thru mail soon... Har? Did I hear that correctly? Did she say I will be getting some money soon? Ha ha... All the more I am sure this is a scam. How can I be so lucky? And I have never been lucky before...

When I shared this piece of news with my colleagues, only one of them thinks it may be true. Well, do you? And will I really get that huge amount of money that the caller has said? I really do not know and do not think so.

If I do receive the letter, I will certainly share the news with you thru my blog. So, do look out for part 3 of this post. =)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Mystery Phone Call Part 1

The past 2 months, I have been so busy that there are some things happening in my life but I have paid little attention to. Just like this incident that happened in late June, which I have almost forgotten about it until I received a phone call today...

Someone by the name of Liu Xiao Tong called me around the last week of June. She told me that I have been selected to participate in a lucky draw for an event which is held to celebrate the opening of Disney Land in Hong Kong. Or was it that Disney Land has been opened for x number of days in HK? Anyway, can't really recall already.

Anyway, she went on to ask me to tune in to a particular channel a week later to catch the event. And she also reminded me to look out for my number when it is time for the lucky draw, just to see if I am the lucky one. Blah blah blah...

Frankly, if not for the phone call today, I really cannot remember most of our conversation on that day. Anyway, who on earth will bother with such a phone call? I also could not understand why I did not cut her short that day and just hang up.

So... what's is it about this phone call? Why am I sharing about this seemingly unimportant incident in my blog? Well, look out for part 2 of this post. =)

Monday, August 18, 2008

12 Lotus Concert

9 August 2008 - 12 Lotus Concert

On National Day, I went to attend a church event at Singapore Expo. Prior to that day, I have not slept well for the past few days as I was busy preparing for this church event.

It was during this event that I got to know a sister-in-christ better and she asked whether I am keen to watch a concert with her after the event. At first, I was rather reluctant as I badly needed to catch up on my sleep. However, she kept persuading me to go as she said that they were front row tickets and she is attending it alone.

Furthermore, they are tickets to the concert for the up-coming movie '12 Lotus'!

Err... ok... since this movie is so popular, maybe I should watch the concert to find out what is all the hype about.

See... Row 4... really very near to the front row already!



So whom did I see at the concert? The lead actress, Wang Xin(王欣), herself of course!



Liu Ling Ling(刘玲玲) is ever so impressive in her dressing... In fact, she appeared in all sorts of different outfits through out the entire concert! And this is the most wayang outfit of all!



Chen Zi Qian(陈子谦), the young and handsome director, figured that he should not lose out to Liu Ling Ling... So he stole Qi Yu Wu's(戚玉武) costume in the movie - The golden cowboy suit.




So who else were there in this concert? Surprise! Project Superstar 2 contestants - Sun Wen Hai (孙文海) and Carrie Yang (杨佳盈).



Carrie also appeared in a very wayang costume which she is obviously very uncomfortable in. She kept having to adjust the head gear through out the song.



Finally Qi Yu Wu(戚玉武) appeared at the end of the program... after we have all waited so eagerly.



I have bought my Panasonic Lumix TZ3 for slightly more than a year now... it is only during this concert that I get to appreciate the 10x zoom capability! See... all the celebrities look as though they are standing right in front of me! =)



Frankly, this concert is nothing fantastic... it is just something to get everyone curious and eager to watch the movie itself.

Hmm... Have you watch the movie yet?