Paypal Power Up – Scam?

December 9, 2009
spinzer
Raving Rants
20 Comments
3 min read

So I received this e-mail one day, and RSVPed immediately. I thought to myself how interesting the event was going to be, and somehow I suspected anyone with a Paypal account in Malaysia will be getting this invitation.

I was right; after asking around on both Facebook and Twitter, there were many responses and all were eager to find out what Paypal would be surprising us with in Malaysia.

From Facebook:

From Twitter:
 
pir8by: RT @kruel74 @sotongzai Ini pasal PayPal Power Up? @spinzer @saadkamal @sotongzai @saimatkong @thechannelc @xescx looks like a tweetup

thechannelc: @icednyior Paypal xmas party. @kruel74 @sotongzai @spinzer @saadkamal @saimatkong @thechannelc @xescx apakah itu Paypal power up?

icednyior: @kruel74 @sotongzai @spinzer @saadkamal @saimatkong @thechannelc @xescx apakah itu Paypal power up?

lightyoruichi: http://twitpic.com/rns3r – Is this the one? RT: @dustyhawk: @lightyoruichi Paypal Power Up Event

blogjunkie: anyone heard of this PayPal Power Up event? what’s it about?

 

Mind you they are all prominent social media figures with certain expectations.

 

Soon after, I got this:

 

… wait say that again?

 

Please do not make arrangements to come to the event as we’ll not be able accommodate your attendance.

 

3 words: what on earth?!?
 

FIRSTLY: there SHOULD be a “TO” between ‘able’ and ‘accommodate’, it’s MISSING in that sentence and it reeks of POOR english! (yes I’m anal like that)
 

SECONDLY: why the hell are they thinking we would gatecrash the event? Well excuse us, but in case you didn’t already know, a few of us cancelled on other events on that day so we could always go where we are wanted. Honestly, it wouldn’t do us any harm just by telling us that there’s no more space, so WHY insinuate that we WOULD come anyway?
 

It is honestly really disappointing to many of us, no offense to those who DID get their invitation accepted.

The response on Twitter speaks for itself:

icallitart: @BervinCheong Mine too. I’m pretty chissed at their unprofessionalism about it. Think other’s got rejected too. @spinzer @kruel74

icednyior: @icallitart @BervinCheong @spinzer @kruel74 @spinzer @thechannelc the Paypal Powerup email was just DOWNRIGHT RUDE

kruel74: @icednyior @icallitart @BervinCheong @spinzer @thechannelc I was just saying to another guy PayPal now appreciate Msia. Yeah, rite

lightyoruichi: @joshuaongys http://kimag.es/share/36690069.png @icednyior @icallitart @BervinCheong @spinzer @kruel74 @spinzer @thechannelc

ICallItArt: I sent an email complaining to them ady. @icednyior @BervinCheong @spinzer @kruel74 @spinzer @thechannelc

theChannelC: @kruel74 @icednyior @icallitart @BervinCheong @spinzer @spinzer who’s the event company behind Paypal is what I want to know also.

ICallItArt: @thechannelc @kruel74 @icednyior @BervinCheong @spinzer @spinzer They also pulled shit on @Bakizainal who was supposed to host.

Kruel74: RT @icallitart @thechannelc @icednyior @BervinCheong @spinzer Also pulled shit on @Bakizainal who was supposed to host

Spinzer: Okay, something’s definitely wrong here. Gonna blog this. RT : Almost everyone I know got rejected. It’s a hoax people!! #paypalparty

SotongZai:: @spinzer @arzumy I think @dustyhawk got invited.

Dustyhawk:: @sotongzai didn’t get it apparently its a hoax @spinzer @arzumy

 

The. Worse. Event. PR. Ever!
Not only did it create bad publicity, it actually spun off in all those confusion to create the perception that this program is a hoax, done to collect data from everyone who RSVPed for God knows what purposes they have in mind.

 

Seriously, these guys got a lot to learn if they want respect from us. I’m not dissing Paypal itself, mind you, but come on… Basic courtesy calls for a polite rejection, can you not even do that?

 
Updates:
Geert Desager of PayPal’s Senior Marketing Manager, SEA has apologized in @icednyior’s post. Visit her site to read the apology comment. Just being fair.

Wanna say something?

A Cut Above :: BSC Grand Launch

December 8, 2009
spinzer
Events & Travels
8 Comments
4 min read

media_web-use

When I got the invitation I thought to myself, damn I’m going the right path here! I don’t represent any other kind of media except myself, and to be included in an event where there will be more than 40 celebrities shows that this is going to be an exciting start to this blog of mine.

Of course this is all thanks to my friends especially ICallItArt @ Erin here who happens to be a talent manager and also the founder of Twitterati, ie usage of Twitter media to cover events LIVE. If you don’t believe me, follow me at @spinzer and you’ll see 😉

posterize1

The event was, as expected, first class. The venue was superb, each guests will get  to walk down the red carpet and get hounded by the many media who were present to hog you down like a paparazzi amok!

posterize5

VIPs include Winnie Loo, founder of A Cut Above together with the other bosses and partners in the business world, and of course their multimillionaire friends.

The MCs were none other than Baki Zainal and Aishah Sinclair, the former now a friend who’s not just down to earth but also an avid environmentalist :p Beside Baki is Soo Wincci (Miss Malaysia World 2008-09), and so he says “who says you have to be tall, dark and handsome.. eh?” – I completely agree with him :p

Finally featuring our very own Erin, the blondie (hehe) together with Jonathan Putra and Justin Hoong, well known in the high society group. Terror la this Erin lol!

But of course it is mostly thanks to Xavier Mah, the main PR guy for successfully putting this together and inviting us! Pictured here is him alongside celebrities you should be able to recognize: Anita Sarawak and her husband, Mahathir Abdullah.

posterize2

Friends were all present there, so it was pretty much a lot of fun. Elena from Maybelline New York, Erin, the gorgeous Manne Chen who managed the event and of course, popular lifestyle blogger Jessica from Benjicajess.com and Malaysian No. 1 Beatboxer, Shawn Lee. It was going to be a fun-filled elegant event 🙂

posterize4

As the stream of celebs arrived, the event was set to go off soon. We had Miss Malaysia World exes, we had popular singer Syafinaz Selamat and actors as well, it was crazy!

P1040768

But of course, who could miss out Dennis Lau, violinist extraordinaire who just sealed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment, something which rarely happens. His passion burns so much that we instantly connected and now we’ve been helping each other out, because deep down inside really do want to believe in local talent, and here he is: Dennis Lau.

P1040848

And his performance was no less powerful, the quality intense as he performs Makhota with Syafinaz Selamat, whom Dennis calls the voice of tomorrow. Do check out their music here.

posterize3

Anyway the event goes on with free flow of good wine and great beer, as the Fashion Show starts. Funky as it is, I almost mistaken some as mannequins when they were in fact, humans! Cute eh they all, I particularly like the one at the bottom left!

P1040952

The models all together with their out-of-the-world dresses and funky hairstyles!

P1040983

Performance ensued and we had Nikki, a former Malaysian Idol finalist belting out a powerful number with her equally powerful dancers. It was amazing!

posterize6

But of course it had to end with Shawn Lee‘s amazing beatboxing. It was soooo good that all the celebrities took notice of him immediately, so much so that he’s been so busy performing for exclusive events, earning lots of $$$ on the way! Even Winnie was impressed, pictured here, but nothing can be as impressive as her ability to expand her business line even as many are saving for the worst. That alone, I believe demands respect 🙂

ps- Shawn Lee’s manager is Erin herself. Contact her for more information 😉

P1050074

The amazing people 😀

Anyway we soon went back, taking along our goody bags… and boy was I surprised to see what’s inside!

posterize

There must be at least RM500 worth of stuff in there, including FREE coupon credits for Spa’s, massages and even RM100 worth of discount when you cut your hair at A Cut Above! I was really impressed and I’m definitely looking forward to attend more events like these… could do with more facial and hair products, thank you haha!

So what can I say really? I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure…. It can only get better from here 😉 Thank you all for reading, and do pay a visit to the all new Bangsar Shopping Centre.. The Christmas decor is awesome and you wouldn’t want to miss out on it!

Wanna say something?

Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur & The Legendary 10oz. Burger!

December 6, 2009
spinzer
Food Galore
17 Comments
5 min read

P1240204After a successful company trip the committee invited me along for a fully sponsored lunch session at Hard Rock Cafe located along Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, a beautiful place I haven’t been to since umpteenth years ago as a celebration to a successful A Midsummer’s Night Dream production back during my younger days at Dataran Merdeka!
 

It was really an experience to behold, with the really cool waiters chatting with us but most of all, the food that came to us in full glory… *drools*

P1240231

O God, I can even hear you drooling on your side lol! This was my Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, basted with Hard Rock Cafe’s special Hickory Bar-B-Que sauce and smothered with caramelized onions, topped with crisp seasoned bacon and melted Cheddar cheese. I can has some nom nom noms? :p

P1240206

Anyhow before the food porn comes in, this is how the place looks like, and the waiter you will notice carries lots of badges around him. It’s EARNED! 😀

P1240209

A little salad to go before our main food arrives. Side casear Salad – romaine lettuce with garlic croutons, Romano and Parmesan cheeses and tossed with Caesar dressing.

Side casear Salad
Romaine lettuce with garlic croutons, Romano
and Parmes

P1240210

Soon more of the appetizer arrived to make a flourish of colours on our table, which includes:

Santa Fe Spring rollS- Stuffed with spinach, black beans, cilantro, corn, jalapeños, diced red peppers and Jack cheese. Served with fresh homemade Hard Rock Salsa and guacamole Chipotle Ranch dressing

and

P1240214

Hard Rock Nachos- Fresh corn tortilla chips piled high with Jack and Cheddar cheeses and seasoned pinto beans. Served with sour cream, chopped green onions, pico de gallo, jalapeños and a side of fresh Hard Rock Grilled Salsa. Big enough to share. (The above is just a small portion)

P1240215

One order of Twisted Mac, Chicken & Cheese came for one of our colleagues, which really looked interesting. It’s really a piece of grilled chicken breast tops off twisted Cavatappi pasta tossed in a lightly spiced 3-cheese sauce, with garlic, roasted red peppers and Romano parsley bread crumbs. Served with a side of garlic toast to complete the wholesome meal (which I found was a little too big a portion for one person!)

P1240218

For some added oomph there was also the Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Chicken, Hard Rock’s famous Southern-style half-chicken, rubbed, grilled, and basted with our authentic Hickory Bar-B-Que sauce. Served with seasoned fries, ranch beans and fresh coleslaw. It was am-az-ing!

P1240220

When in a US-based eatery, a MUST is to order the Hand Breaded Onion Rings. Unlike other fast food restaurants, Hard Rock Cafe’s is hand-cut and breaded fresh daily in their own kitchen before being deep fried, then served with Hickory Bar-B-Que sauce on the side for an added zest.

P1240225

It was then, when the “Legendary Experience (TM)” came. The mother of all burgers (may I add, GOURMET BURGERS, not our beautiful Ramly burgers okay :p) turned out to be Hard Rock Cafe’s Legendary 10 oz. Burger. Famous the world over: topped with seasoned bacon, two slices of Cheddar cheese, a crisp fried onion ring, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Sounds simple no? But more than often, simplicity is what makes a truly great taste, just raw 10 oz. of fresh meat patty cooked perfectly to your liking (I like mine medium well).

P1240233

Mine came thereafter, a burger that was recommended by the coolest waiter I’ve ever met: the Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Described at the top of the post, there wasn’t really any need to go further than those yummyliscious crunchy bacon bits fused with awesome melted cheddar cheese on top. A single bite on this monstrosity sends juices jumping up and down your throat, juices from the freshly grilled patty that is!

P1240235

Other monstrosities not pictured here includes the S.O.B. Burger, The Big Cheese (Legendary Burger + 3 thick slices of cheese of your own choice), the Red White and Blue Burger and of course, the famous Caramelized Onion, Mushroom & Swiss Burger which needs no introduction really. Just visit their site here to read their descriptions, but beware of doing this at the am and especially not if you’ve not eaten yet haha!

P1240227

Thanks to the Company Trip Committee for the awesome time, it was really fun working with you guys! Thanks also for the opportunity to makan at this place which is PORK-FREE by the way, it says so on the menu PDF file- http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/PDFDocuments/Eats/hrc_nopork_eats.pdf anyone care to check?

Before I leave you to drool further, here’s a last gigantic pic of my lovely, lovely

breaded onion rings 😀 Toodles :p

P1240222

Wanna say something?

Pizza Hut & The Crunchy Cheesy Bites!

December 4, 2009
spinzer
Food Galore
15 Comments
5 min read

P1070790

Thanks to the great folks at Pizza Hut, we got invitation to savour their new products! I guess I have to say kudos to them for taking the initiative and explore the possibilities of social media using blogs (yes, blogs are considered part of SM too!), Facebook fan page among other things. Much thanks to Lawrence Ding for making this happen!

P1070795

As usual the usual peeps were invited, their post mentioned below (i’m probably the last one to blog about this, heh) so do pay them a visit for better pictures and descriptions. As for me, I prefer to make you salivate with my own personal angle at these yummylicious food, starting from yummy Honey BBQ Wings!

P1070799

Okay I think the pictures are everywhere but what the heck! Here’s the latest Crunchy Cheesy Bites to whet your appetite. The reason for the shape is so that you can stick in one finger-sized crunchy sticks into your mouth easily, and proceed to chew smoothly! If you’re daring, you can even eat the prawn shells, like I did :p

P1070807

God this is so awesome. Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings.

P1070809

You can definitely see the food piling up, they were pretty generous 😀

P1070817

The usual favourites were presented as well, no complains there. Beef Pepperoni Pizza

P1070826

To show that Pizza Hut wasn’t just about Pizzas and their famous chicken wings, we were also encouraged t o try their baked dishes, in which case, this is their cheese baked meatball dish. Pretty bouncy I must add :p

P1070830

Then of course they have the Thai Tuna Roll bites as well.

P1070839

And who can ever escaped the Tempura Calamari Rings, crispy in the outside yet juicy in the inside. A must have 😀

P1070841

In between, Lawrence setted up a huge ass flat screen TV to show us their new ads, and even described how it was made! What a documentary… but of course there was a reason for this: their latest competition to win laptops, flat screen LCDs and much more!

Check it out, more at their Facebook fan page.

P1070845

If you thought that was just it, you’re wrong! The Maju Junction Mall Pizza Hut team even prepared a few strips of the famous TRIPLE CHEESE STICKS just before they get melted inside the Crunchy Bites base! Made of three different cheeses; Parmesan, Cheddar and Mozarella, they were nothing short but HEAVENLY! What an experience 😀

P1070856

Jess showing how super stretchy it is lol!

P1070883

Ken showing how yummylicious it is, eating it just like that lol!

P1070867

Tasting the Triple Cheese sticks, everyone including our dear witch is full of happy face 😀

P1070851

Pizzas,  Chicken Wings, Cheese Bake,  Tempura, what else?

Pastas of course, this is their Prawn Olio.

P1070860

And the Chicken Meatball Bolognaise. Honestly I prefer the latter more than the former,  but that’s cause I prefer more tasty food! What’s your taste?

P1070893

Finally, the Creamy Carbonara which is the crowd favourite. Confirm la, it’s the most fattening of all ma :p

P1070882

Anyway the day also coincided with Wilson’s birthday, and though it was evil of me not to wish him throughout the day, it was part and parcel of the plan to surprise him that night. He was surprised for sure, and we were all happy for him.  Once again it was many thanks to Pizza Hut for being able to cater for a birthday celebration, very flexible of them to go through lengths to make sure we’re happy 🙂

So, happy birthday Wilson!! You definitely made the right choice to spend your birthday with us 😀

P1070899

This was all made possible thanks to the great hospitality at Maju Junction Mall’s Pizza Hut branch. I wish all of the others would learn from them, especially on the politeness and friendliness of the staff there. Besides that we also got to tell of our good and bad experiences with Pizza Hut from both delivery and eating in angles so that Pizza Hut could work on the feedback to make a better experience for us, and that was certainly a good way to start customer relationships.

P1070903

In the end, from coming to taste the latest products of what Pizza Hut came to offer, we left with a satisfied, all round great “Getting to know the bloggers” meet and I think all of us were very happy to receive free vouchers as well as a beautifully made 4Gb Thumbdrive from Pizza Hut for us to use. Now, tell me, what other restaurants would go through this amount of effort to make sure their customers are happy? KUDOS Pizza Hut, hope you will continue to support us as we will support you!

ps- Don’t forget to join the contest! – http://www.pizzahut.com.my/dining/highlights_oct_01_e.html

How to find Maju Junction Mall:

Related post:
Benjicajess.com: Up close and personal with new Crunchy Cheesy Bites Pizza
Iamthewitch: Pizza Hut Crunchy Cheesy Bites
Big Boys Oven: PIZZA HUT Crunchy Cheesy Bites
Food Point of Interest: New Crunch Cheesy Bites Pizza from Pizza Hut
Sloppy Chic (Prices all can be found here!): Why you should go to Pizza Hut
Places and Foods: Crunchy Crunch Cheesy Bites

Wanna say something?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...