auyongtc’s blog

Hey peeps…

I’m now in Eatontown, New Jersey. Flew in on Monday night and it was a nightmare! Blardy hell, I had a connecting flight from Chicago’s O’Hare airport to Newark airport and my checked-in luggage got stuck at Chicago because of TSA (Transportation Security Administration) holding it up for closer inspection - wtf?!

I had my fair share of TSA (Tourette Syndrome Association) speak especially when my entire luggage was only filled with articles of clothing - the only thing metal inside the luggage was my belt buckle! Grrr! But nevertheless, it got in around 9 hours later, at 7am local time when I woke up to go to office. Realized that a plastic corner broke and the combination lock no longer works - *insert more TSA speak here*

Eatontown, NJ - quite a nice place - a suburb really. The weather’s nice, heck, any weather anywhere better than of Malaysia’s is nice. Had my first ever Philly Steak for lunch.. yummy..

I stopped by the mall last evening in order to get a padlock for my luggage case. Packed some dinner to go, and I went to call for a cab. While waiting for a cab, a chinese man of around 40 years old walked towards me. He was also waiting for a cab, and we got to talking - got to know that he’s Steven and he’s from Malaysia, Shah Alam specifically! What are the odds of meeting a fellow Malaysian in such a small suburb in the United States?! That was a pleasant surprise - we got to chat a lil bit about cars and all while waiting for the cab. We shared a cab since his destination was just a bit past the Red Roof Inn that I was staying in at Tinton Falls.

Alright - that’s all for now, tomorrow I’m headed for Ottawa, Canada for the weekend. I’ll blog again later…

Yeap, I’m back writing regularly about Formula 1. It is now at its own domain name - http://www.f1pitbuzz.com/. Go check it out now

Also, a forum is provided at http://forum.f1pitbuzz.com/

I went to apply for US visa for my upcoming biz trip there. It’s quite a procedural thing - one that you should follow closely for smooth application, otherwise you may end up getting rejected. I’m relating here my experience with regards to a visa application for business visit purpose.

First, gotta go to any RHB Bank branch and bank in RM 380 to apply for US visa. Just go to the counter, and say you wanted to pay for US visa - they’ll know what to do for you - you’ll need to safeguard the pink slip and bring along during your interview at the US Embassy.

Then, fill up the online form that can be found at the US embassy site. Then print it out, and schedule for your interview at the embassy online. You must personally come to the embassy for an interview unless you’re exempted. Then bring all the supporting documents - your financial statements, payslips, company invitation letter to US visit, flight itinerary and booking information, etc (as much as you need to prove to them that you’re financially capable to survive and come back here). Also, attach a 2inch-by-2inch photograph of yourself, yes, it’s a square photo! Also, don’t forget your passport!

Then on the day of your interview, go there and be sure you reach there 30 mins before your scheduled time. Else you’ll end up in a long long queue. Go in, submit your documents, and wait for your turn to be interviewed at the counter, they’ll take down your fingerprints and if approved, they’ll tell you to collect your passport in a few working days time, otherwise they’ll return your passport immediately if rejected.

During collection, you can only collect between 2-3pm at the embassy entrance. Today I collected mine, and found out that they gave me 10 years multiple entry visa - cool!

So I needed an International Driving Permit. In Malaysia, this can be done either at the JPJ state headquarters (the one in Setapak for WP, Padang Jawa for Selangor) or any AAM branches (only if you’re a member of AAM). All you need is 2 passport-sized photographs, a copy of your NRIC, a copy of your current driving license (must be valid for at least 1 more year from the day you apply for IDP), fill up a form at JPJ and part with RM 150 - in return, you’ll get your IDP processed in about 10 minutes and given to you on the spot. The IDP lasts 1 year - yeap RM 150 for 1 year. Cannot get more than 1 year at one go. For more details, you can visit JPJ’s website.

So I went to JPJ at Setapak yesterday to get it done and renew my license that’s expiring this coming October. Reached there around 11.15am, the number of people at the Driving License department weren’t that bad. Renewed my license and got a new copy with my new ugly photo in it, and then my IDP 10 minutes later. Not too bad in terms of service and wait time…

But the IDP looks very much like a school report card, you know, in those manila card cover!
Here’s the photo of my IDP:

The front cover

The IDP content - list of countries this IDP can be used, the marking of which vehicle class I can drive and exclusions from countries (if any, due to violations) - this information is translated to various foreign languages over the next few pages.

The inside back cover - my particulars and the ugly photo

So yeah, now I’ve the license to thrill drive in most countries around the world!