Jan 12, 2014

Fiverr: Promoted to Level 1


It's just so true that none of my friends in Malaysia and Singapore knew about this website called Fiverr, where you can create your gigs to offer online tasks and services.

So it goes like this, each gig costs a buyer US$5, and Fiverr takes a 20% commission from each sale so the seller earns $4 per delivered order. $4 is a small number to many people, but by getting promoted to Level 1, a seller gains extra features and is able to create gig extras, which brings gigs created to another level - a gig can be ordered at $5 or more by giving buyer the options of upgrading a gig.
Read more at Fiverr Levels.

To be promoted to Level 1, a seller has to

  • be active for at least 30 days
  • complete at least 10 orders
  • maintain excellent ratings
I started joining in mid November and offering piano playing/recording and translation services. In mid December I was very sure that I've fulfilled all the requirements to be promoted to Level 1, I was however still not promoted.

On 18 Dec 2013, I submitted a request ticket to their customer support, and the attaché informed me that Fiverr's levels feature is based off of a system that assesses my account to confirm if you're eligible for the features. He checked my account and it's not in good standing with their levels system as I had a violation of their terms of service. For God's sake when since I violated their terms of service?! As he couldn't override the system, he requested me to get back to him in a month and he'll see what he can do for me. Well, what can he do if he's not able to override the system, but I can do nothing than waiting for another month.

Fortunately, just an hour ago, I WAS PROMOTED TO LEVEL 1!!

I earned a Level 1 badge on my profile page.


So far I've earned $104, not a lot, but it feels good to have a little extra money to spend.

You might underestimate this kind of earning, but what if I tell you, there's somebody who bought a house with his Fiverr's income?
Seller Buys a House With Fiverr Income

My more popular gig is the translation gig (from English to Chinese and vice versa). The documents which I've translated before range from someone's private letter and some US legal documents. It's pretty scary translating these kinds of thing, I was grateful that I'm entrusted by the buyers to translate all these crucial documents. So far the translation orders are mostly for smartphone apps.

Thanks Fiverr for the promotion, and I shall look forward to a Level 2 promotion. :)

Javin Tham A master's degree graduate in engineering, a musician at heart, loves playing with soft toys.

Jan 11, 2014

Chua Kee Restaurant 蔡記海鮮 @ Gelang Patah


I've forgotten when's the last time we had gathering in 2013, but this was the first time in 2014 that we the ex-Temasekians had a dinner gathering, in Johor. ['Temasekians' refers to those who have stayed in Temasek Hall, NUS]

Wilsen searched for a few apparently famous seafood restaurants near Johor Bahru and found Chua Kee Restaurant 蔡記海鮮, located in Gelang Patah. We boarded bus CW4 ($4) from Jurong East Interchange at 5pm and headed towards Gelang Patah, Johor.

After crossing the Johor border checkpoint, having journeyed the Bukit Indah district, we suspected that we're on the wrong CW bus. Upon confirmation from the bus driver, we were right - we boarded bus CW3 which tours around Taman Bukit Indah, instead of the original bus CW4 which would bring us to Gelang Patah, and that all happened after we crossed the Johor border checkpoint.

Left with no choice, we alighted at Taman Perling where the bus looped back, and 8 of us had to flag for 2 taxis from there to get us to Gelang Patah. I got onto the 2nd taxi which was charging by mileage, coming up to a total of RM17, while the 1st one was charging a one-time fee of RM32, which was a bloody rip off obviously.

I could tell that the waitress who was taking our order was pretty hasty and sarcastic in an indecent manner, probably sick of us not making up our mind faster than she expected.


Located along Jalan Kacang Panjang, a southward turn from the main road Jalan Ulu Choh


Clams or lala


Kangkung (Water Spinach)


Deep-fried mantou, I love this dish and eating them dry without dipping in gravy is sufficiently savoury!


Cereal prawns


Crabs

We ordered fish as well, which I didn't take photo of.
The dinner costs RM306 (around RM38 per person) - marginally affordable. Furthermore, as long as it's in Ringgit, it's often treated as something inexpensive.

I believe some Singaporeans gave a pretty good rating to this restaurant, our rating however, would rather be average or somewhere which says 'acceptable'. Nevertheless, it'd be a nice spot to have seafood away from the island.

A sweet and short getaway dinner is great for reminiscing and catching up with old buddies. We see each other's growth as an NUS undergraduate turned working adult, apart from getting useful and relevant updates (eg. Wilsen and I learnt that we could actually shift our PR e-appointment to an earlier available date, LOL...).


Chua Kee Restaurant 蔡記海鮮
No 1 Jalan Kacang Panjang, Gelang Patah
81550, Johor Bahru, Malaysia


Javin Tham A master's degree graduate in engineering, a musician at heart, loves playing with soft toys.