I’ve FINALLY finished my part of the magazine today, so that leaves me some time to blog before I start next month’s issue as well as my assignments.

I think I am the public enemy among the journalists now. I’ve won two phones in less than 24 hours previously and they said I was lucky. I agree.

The other day at an HP printer event, there was a lucky draw. The boss of HP drew a card, gave it to the emcee and he said, “Today’s lucky draw winner will walk away with a HP Colour LaserJet printer worth RM1,499 and the winner is from Plaza Damas in Sri Hartamas.” I heard this and I knew it was me, because as far as I know, there are only two magazines in Plaza Damas, my magazine as well as another magazine that is not related to IT but just to make sure, I didn’t go up.

So he continued, “The winner is from CHIP magazine, Mr. Justin Koh!” So there, I won a HP Printer.

The next week, I was at a Motorola event and they were launching the Motorola ROKR E8 music phone. It was a very big event with plenty of foreign media present, about 200 people maybe. There were two rounds of lucky draw and 16 prizes to give away which included 8 Motorola ROKR E8 as well as 8 Motorola S9 Bluetooth headset. The winners will have to go to the emcee, which was Natalie from Hitz.fm and choose an envelope, so you’ll either get the phone or the headset.

First round of lucky draw, 8 winners were chosen. The seventh winner, was Justin Koh from CHIP Malaysia. ME AGAIN! I heard the people at the back saying, “Har? He won so many things already lah!”. So I went up, chose an envelope and Natalie asked me to read it. There were so many words that I didn’t know what I won. She told me to read the title. It’s the Motorola ROKR E8. So there, I won a Motorola ROKR E8 worth RM1,199.

After the event, a few of the journalists jokingly said, “Justin, next time when you attend an event with lucky draws, let me know, because I don’t want to waste my time. You sure win one!”

So this week, Nokia sent me an email and told me that I was selected as the winner of their N-Gage game for media a few months back. I was surprised because I played the game plenty of times but my times were not the best. My sales manager’s time was second best and Gary, Stuff Magazine’s editor was the highest score. So by right, he should be the one winning the phone, not me.

Today when I collected the phone, Nokia told me that they looked at their system and saw that my score was the highest, so they contacted me. So there, I won a Nokia N81 8GB. I don’t feel good about winning this phone as I didn’t deserve to win it but I am using it though! hehehe

On another note, I’ll be going to Taipei to cover Computex 2008, the largest IT exhibition in the world. I don’t really have time to explore Taipei as my schedules are packed. Will be there from 2nd June to 6th June.

On another note again, I attended an event by Happy yesterday at Mid Valley and I met quite a number of famous bloggers like Kimberly (will play the Wii with you next time..hehe..), KY and Suanie. I met Nicole there as well. The last time I met her was when she just came back from Vietnam and sick. I see her yesterday and she looked healthy. Take care ok!

Till the next entry, see you!

I don’t really have much time on my hands right now.  My schedules are pretty tight, so here’s a quick one.

I won an original Adidas Euro 2008 Football (replica) the other day.

I came back from Singapore attending an Adobe event the other day, staying at a BEAUTIFUL hotel.  Can’t reveal too much about the event, it’s embargoed until June 2008.

I won a HP Colour LaserJet Printer at an event the other day.

I came back from Langkawi the other day.

I won a Motorola ROKR E8 at an event the other day.  That marked only a Sony Ericsson and an LG phone not being won by me.  Not yet!

Details soon! Stay tuned!

UPDATE: I have updated this entry with comments from readers. Please read through it.

I recently renewed my passport for a trip to Singapore.  Prior to renewing my passport, I went to the Immigration Department’s website to look for a guide in renewing my passport, but I couldn’t find any.  So that sparked a tiny thought in my head, why not create a guide in my blog and teach the people how to renew it.  If the government department can’t do it, I’ll do it! This will also mark a new category in my blog, where I post up guides and stuff, hoping to benefit the readers out there, all 10 of you guys!

Renewing a Malaysian Passport

Things to prepare before going to the Immigration Department

• Photo copy of your MyKad, both sides (1 copy on a piece of A4 paper)
• Passport sized photo. Bring a recent one and most importantly, bring one that is different from your old passport.  (1 piece, bring more just in case, there is a photo booth at the immigration department)
• Your old passport
• MyKad
• RM300 in cash (for 32 pages)
• Your thumb

Go to the machine renewal counters, take an envelop from the counter, write your name, IC and contact number.

Go to the machine, put in your passport and slot in your MyKad then follow the on screen instructions.  You’ll be asked to select either a 64 page or 32 page passport.  You’ll also be asked to place your thumb on the fingerprint reader.  Pay the machine RM300/RM600, one note at a time.  After that, put your old passport, photo copy of your MyKad and passport size photo in the envelope, slot it into the machine.  The envelope will be very thick but just put it in nevertheless. You will then be issued a receipt that will tell you when and where (which counter) to collect your passport.

You’re done! The process usually takes about 5 minutes or less.  Your passport will be ready in 2 hours, 3 if the lunch hour is in between.

P.S. This guide is only for those with a working MyKad and also a working Malaysian passport with a microchip embedded at the back cover.

P.P.S. Neither me nor justinkoh.net will held responsible if you are stranded in a foreign country or miss your flight because of an expired passport.  Always renew your passport when you are expected to travel.

UPDATE:

One of my readers, Shasha, used this guide and renewed her passport.  I’ll also update this guide base on her comments:

This happened to Shasha at the beginning of November 2008.  So if you are reading this after a few months, it might not be valid.

Shasha’s suggestion: Renew your passport before you travel.  It only takes 2 minutes to do it and 2 hours to collect it.

Thanks Shasha.

UPDATE 2:

Another reader, A Syed, provided some very useful information. His comment answers the most popular question – If my passport expires in less than 6 months, will I still be able to travel? A Syed commented on 22 Jan 2010 and according to his comment, he traveled last month, which is December 2009. If this is too dated when you read it, it might be too old. So have a valid passport when you are expected to travel.