Achik - Happy 27th Birthday

Achik shielding the candles from the attack of the 'Saliva Brigade'

My third brother, affectionately known as Abang Chik or Achik is 27 on the 7th September. An accountant by training and auditor by practice, he is perceived as the bean counter in the family. Always the one bullied during our childhood as he's the youngest son but somehow have grown to be the tallest in the family. Likes to 'menyakat' his younger sisters and nephews and niece and would end his bachelordays in this coming December.(his fiancee is the one in orange tudung).

Happy 49th Merdeka, Malaysia

As we all know, Malaysia celebrated its 49th anniversary of independence from the British on the 31st August 1957. So as part of our patriotic duty, a Jalur Gemilang was proudly hung in front of our house (actually after much pestering from Aiman and I think it will stay there until Raya much to the chagrin of the other half).

So far, Merdeka day for me meant sitting in front of the dumb box, watching the parades. I’ve just realized that I’ve never taken part in any Merdeka day parade. So somehow, it stirred the patriotic sense in my heart hence decided to visit the National Monument, or Tugu Negara. It’s been almost 15 years since I’ve visited it, and actually wondered whether anything has changed.

What I noticed is the new andscaping surrounding the monument and a new plaza was built to cater for tourists. There were quite a number of visitors around, some foreigners and some local. The inner area was the same, probably hasn’t changed since it was opened. Walking into the monument, you are made aware of the struggle it has been to keep our country independent. To most of us, the inscription on the walls represents just names but lest we forget, those were real human beings than and they gave up their life to defend the nation. They have committed the ultimate sacrifice and were given an honorable mention in the annals of the nation’s history.

The visit has somehow made me wonder whether I would have the ability to pickup a weapon to defend our nation in needed times. I honestly didn’t know the answer to it, but one thing for sure I would do everything in my capacity to fulfill my duty. To all Malaysians, please do not forsake the sacrifices that have been done. Together we could build a better nation for the next generation.

Total Makeover!!!!

Not me-lah, its my car. I’ve always maintained my cars’ appearance by doing the washing and detailing myself. Its quite a hard thing to do considering I drive a black car and my (former) office is very near a cement factory, hence once it’s nice and shined up o Sunday, it will be covered in dust on Monday. Also the other half parked her ride underneath some trees at her office for shade but ended up being bombed by birds (as if there’s a sign that says bird can poo on this nice shiny red car)

So whilst I was in Meguiars Malaysian office stocking up my detailing arsenal, had a chat with Johan Wong, the Meguiars rep about how to get a detailing clinic done for car clubs. He was pleased with the idea of doing one with my car club, hence when I mooted the idea to the club the outcome was very resounding.

Once all the details have been sorted, it was the matter of gathering the members on the selected date. The plus point is that my car has been chosen for a total makeover. She’s just being given a new coat of paint due to stone chips and now pampered for a total makeover. I had to give my precious to Meguiars for two days for them to prep and detail and only getting her back on the clinic day itself. How did it go?

The pictures speak for themselves. Only that I’m unable to take some before pictures, the difference to me was like night and day. Even though I could produce satisfying results when doing it myself, the ‘professional’ treatment was just outstanding. But from what I’ve been told, there still some more work could be done to it to achieve its maxixmum potential and I’m eagerly waiting for that time.

These are the ones I took.

For more fancy shots, here’s a few taken by zey. Bling! Bling!

To say I’m chuffed is an understatement.

The event was held at Carnauba Autospa in Glenmarie. 25 members made their way to the event. The itinerary and the activities are as follows :

Objective: to share and to foster the importance of car care techniques and tips with MyBenz club members.

· Presentation by Carnauba Autospa services and products. (Mr.Devan)

· Presentation by Meguiar's (Mr.Johan & Mr.William)

· Car Care 101 - Meguiar's 5 Step Paint Care Cycle

· Tips and Techniques

· Do's and Don'ts

· Q&A

· Tea Break (All)

· Car Wash Demostration by Meguiar's (William & Meguiar's team)

· Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner

· Extra All Tough Surface Cleaner (Tires)

· Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner (Rims)

· Meguiar's Gold Class Accessories (Wash Mitt, Wheel Spoke Brush, Tire Brush, Drying Towel and etc)

· Product Demostration by Meguiar's (William & Meguiar's team)

· Quik Clay Detailing System (Claying)

. Deep Crystal System - Paint Cleaner (Paint Cleaning to remove oxidation)

· Deep Crystal System - Polish (to create brilliant high gloss)

· NXT Tech Wax (the ultimate wax for the ultimate protection)

· NXT All Metal Polish (polish rims and metal parts)

· NXT Insane Shine (high gloss tire dressing)

NXT Glass Cleaner (streak free glass cleaner with anti-hazing properties)

· Lucky Draw (All)

· 18 x Meguiar's Retail Products

· 1 x Carnauba Autospa One-Off Full Exterior Detailing Services

·1 x Carnauba Autospa Car Wash Package

All in all, it was a memorable and knowledge enhancing session. A big thank you to Hypercoat(M) - Meguiars distributor in Malaysia, Carnauba AutoSpa and www.mybenz.org members for making the car care clinic a success. (hopefully would have a mention in CBT the following weekend)

Our Sabah Holiday Part 2

Our Sabah Holiday, part 2

After Tenom, we made our way back to KK to spend the night. I was told to minimize traveling from places during the night as a safety precaution and I would agree to that. The road condition in Sabah is not conducive for night driving to those unfamiliar with the place. Got back to KK around 5 pm and decided to freshen up before hitting the town. Dinner was at the Waterfront, after went for a stroll in KK night market.

Kundasang

The next day, had breakfast in KK before heading out to Kota Belud. Wanted to catch the Sunday tamu there but it was finished when we got there, hence retraced the route back to Kundasang. The drive up to Kundasang took about 1 hour, with the road condition about the same as the one heading to Keningau. With the lethargic auto gear, the most that I could get out of the car is 60 km/h. The view up in Kundasang is nothing short of spectacular, but Mount Kinabalu was hiding behind a veil of clouds. We can’t even see and guess where the mountain is as it was raining.

Decided to go down to Ranau for some late lunch, and managed to find a mamak for some mee goreng. After lunch, went back to the car and noticing there was two men standing near the car. They look the type that you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley and one of them approaches asking questions, and along the way I way feeling a little bit wary about the whole thing. Just imagine, somebody coming up to you and starts asking questions in a place that you’re not familiar with. In the end I asked him, what’s with all the questions only to be told that they’re working with a finance company and the loan on the car has been defaulted for four months. And they’ll be TAKING the car away until it is settled.

My mind was like OMG!! What to do? We’re in the mountainous heart of Sabah, with nobody we knew close by. Explained to the guy that we are here on a holiday and renting the car to get us around. Called up H, the guy who we rented the car from and he said that he’d sort it out as he has a friend nearby. Whilst waiting for his friend to come and rescue us, I started to chat up with the repo-guys. He told us that they’re were on the way to KK from Tawau, where the Repossession Order (RO) was issued on Friday, until they saw us in the car in Ranau and decided to have a go at it. What sheer bad luck to us!!! (they must thanking their lucky stars). They’re working on a commission of RM800 per car and wouldn’t let a car go until at least their fees and the two months of the loans has been settled. Credit must be given to them, despite their outlook they’re still willing to wait for the friend to help settle this issue, lets my wife and son to stay in the car with the aircon on with no threatening gestures at all. (I doubt that we’ll get the same treatment here, most likely we’ll be thrown out of the car and left us stranded ). In fact we talk and had a laugh about the situation. This is my first encounter with repo-guys and I hope it would be the last.

H’s friend E showed up, discussed with the repo-guys but to no avail. In the end, he said that he’ll put us up in his café first and would arrange for alternative transport to our accommodation. Seeing this couldn’t be settled here, we decided to take his offer. One of the repo-guy drove the car towards E’s café, let us take out our luggage and checked whether we have left anything in the car before driving the car off to KK. All we could do was wait for E to arrange another car, worst case scenario is that we would have to take a cab back to KK from Kundasang the next day.

He then sent us off to our accommodation for the night, Kundasang Pine resort with the promise of an alternative vehicle would be there for us before sunrise. Anyway, since we are all tired from all the drama, we decided to have a quiet night in and rest so that we could wake up early to catch the sight of Mt. Kinabalu.

Picture of the 'unlucky' Car

The Next Morning

After waking up for Subuh, E’s son called me and said that they’re at the hotel with the car. Went down to meet them and lo and behold, it was the same car that we had before. Upon asking them, they said that they managed to settle the confusion that arises in KK and were allowed to take the car back to Kundasang. Long about drive but at least we have a car back to be used.

The view from our porch was breathtaking. There she was, the majestic Mount Kinabalu, could bee seen in all her glory. The first light was just about to break and the cloud cover has gone away, revealing what we had come to see. It was like an illusion, underneath the cloud cover you would never guess that it’s there. We could also see hikers & mountaineers making their way up to the peak, trying to catch the sunrise. I’m lost for words to explain it, so better let the photos do the talking.

After breakfast, we headed to Poring, known for its hot spring. The drive down from Kundasang is about 40 minutes, and its located on the other side of Mount Kinabalu. There are the cool pools (water from the stream), warm pools for kids, medium warm pool for soaking your feet, individual baths (open) and private baths. Man, I tell you, the water is really hot that it could boil your eggs (pun intended) or scald your skin. Had a dip in the cool pool first, the water was icy cold and very refreshing to swim in. Them soaked my feet in the dipping pool, only then decided to soak in the open bath. Felt light after all the soaking session. Had lunch there (thanks for the tip, Nasir!) and after lunch, headed back to KK.

Seafood Session again!

Live lobster cooked to perfection!

The last night in KK was spent on a seafood galore, again. At this rate, I might have contracted gout. We went to Nelayan, where there was some stage performance to accompany dinner. The seafood selection was a bit lesser than Atlantis and the service also not on the same level, nevertheless we enjoyed the food.

Hope that we could do a return trip to KK. This time have to make time to explore the islands, maybe catch some snorkel time. Sabah, negeri di bawah bayu was truly an interesting and memorable trip! Thanks to Khairi, CJ & Ustaz for being the most accomodating hosts around.

The day I wet myself at the office

It happened to me in the office right in front of my colleagues. Imagine yourself just minding your own business when suddenly you become the center of attention, and everybody rushing towards you to see what the fuss is all about. Imagine the feeling of warm fluid flowing down the leg of your trousers, getting in your shoes and you can’t do a thing about it, just smiling sheepishly. Imagine the puzzled look on their faces on how the heck they’re going to help you in this situation. Imagine how do you want to explain to your boss that not only you managed to wet yourself but also managed to get carpeting wet. Imagine explaining it to the other half. Imagine that.

No, it was not about my diminishing bladder control or my incontinence. It was not about me not being able to make it to the toilet on time. It was not about how cold the office gets that you just couldn’t control the urge to let it go. It was not about hearing the sound of waterfall, urging you relieve yourself immediately.

It was the f**king water dispenser, whose hot water tap broke on me, spilling hot water onto me. If it wasn’t the fact at that I’m in the office, I might have beaten the h*ll out of it, probably returning the favour by relieving myself on it so that it could have a taste of its own medicine.

The said water dispenser with the broken hot water tap

Recurve or Compound ?

To the uninitiated, the above statement might have come from advance maths. Actually, the terms refer to types of bow used in archery. Why archery? Coz its part of my try-a-thing-once in a lifetime philosophy.

Hunting instincts have always been ingrained in humans. We’ve come a long way from the Stone Age hunter-gatherer to the sophisticated hunter with equipment that could scope out preys from miles away. Some might say that the hunt itself is more satisfying than getting the prey. Which made me think, how does our forefathers hunt with only some crude equipment? How does one progress from sticks and stones to spears and come out with the initial design of the bow and arrows?

Anyway, I’ve always been fascinated by bow and arrows. I could remember doing one during my childhood. It was a very crude design, with a piece of bent wood and a chord tied across it. And we would have grand time playing hunters or cowboys and Indians. Oh, and there were arrows with suction pads as the point and it would stick to most flat surface. Alas, as one grows up, these are soon forgotten and tucked away in the annals of our memory. Until recently…

A group of friends has arranged an indoor archery session and I gladly accept. As I know nothing about competition archery, the session has been an eye opener. I’ve done target shooting with revolvers before (without earmuffs as those are for wussies ;-) ) hence I found that the techniques of aiming and releasing are similar. But nothing beats the stealth offered by the arrows. Once you’ve drawn your arrow and released the chord, the whoosh sound of your arrow whizzing away and the thud on the scoreboard really makes you feel alive. No wonder they say that the hunt is more thrilling than the kill.

For the beginner, they normally suggest that you take up a compound bow initially as its friendlier to use. It takes a while to get accustomed to the equipment, and using a public bow means that your have to suit your draw-length to the equipment. The sights on public bows are also crude, with draw strength about 25 lbs. This is really light compared to the pros as they are doing 35-55 lbs, but being new to this it feels very heavy. For the pros, their bow is suited only for them, hence you can't pick any of their expensive bows and have a go. Also a word of warning, no DRY FIRING of the bow, meaning shooting without any arrows in place as it might damage the equipment.

So how did I fare that day? Suffice to say that beginners luck really do exists. After a few tries, I manage to get the hang of it and beginning to finish my arrows in the yellow section of the target ( 9 & 10 points ). Then my left arm than starts to feel the strain of holding the drawn bow and it went downhill from there. So my dream of packing it up and starts a new career as Robin Hood or William Tell will sadly, not become true.

Archery for Dummies

Modern day Robin Hood in the making

Not bad for the first try eh!

Serasi Bersama - Nurul & Ajai

semakin hari aku rasalah kita macam makin serasi
kau rasa tak???

semakin hari semakin serasi
bagai pagi dengan sinar matahari
bagai malam dengan kerdipan bintang yang berseri

terlintas saja hati belum ku luahkan
kau dah pun tahu bagai tiada lagi rahsia
antara diri kita berdua

semakin hari semakin serasi
bagai gelora dan laut air dan tasik
tak dicemari bagai puncak dan lembah lereng dan titi

terguris saja hati belum ku tangis ku
dah kau belai seperti sakit ku ini
kau yang terasa jiwa kita serupa

kita bagai satu permata
terbelah bercantum semula hingga langsung tiada terlihat garisnya
pemisah halus rambut dibelah halus

kita bagai satu jiwa
yang bercerai terpatri kembali hingga langsung tiada terlihat lainnya
di dalam hanya ada kekasih hati

ooo kekasih hati ku ooo

Most Compatible Coupe - Pasangan Paling Serasi

What makes a couple compatible? Do they need to be the similar in their appearance, finishing other sentences and dress alike? Of they have their own set of quirks, that complemented each other?

Anyway, attended one dinner with the family where they had this Most Compatible Couple game for couples, meaning they’re drawing names from a box and the ‘lucky’ couple has to be tested for compatibility by providing the same answers to questions asked in public. Lo and behold, our names were called up as the last couple to complete the group. (I believed it was a setup from the beginning)

Up to the stage I went, with dry throat, sweaty palms and pounding heart. This is a game where it could make or break the couple and wrong answers could be devastating for the husband. The wives got the easy end of the deal, as they just wrote their responses on a piece of paper and us, the husbands are expected to get it right. The husbands are expected to respond to the questions asked to the whole floor.

The questions asked, along with my response and the ‘correct’ answer :

Q : What is your wife’s toothbrush colour ?

Me : Orange

A : Purple

Argghhh…I got it wrong for the first q, and would expect to hear about this all my life.

Q : When is your weeding date?

Me : 13 February 1999

A : 13 February 1999

Ok! that was a life saver. Now onto the next question,

Q : What is your favourite food?

Me : Nasi Lemak Sambal Sotong

A : Char Kuey Teow

Dang, got it wrong again. How embarrassing to answer wrongly in front of the crowd.

Q : Where was your first date?

Me : C*******e

A : C*******e

Whooppee…got that one right again. At least I’m better than some of the husbands. Now the final question :

Q : What is the most annoying thing that your husband does ?

Me : Sleeping

A : Getting back late from work

Now that all the answers have been given, we were asked to go back to our places while they tally up scores, and surprise, surprise we are voted as the Most Compatible Couple w.r.t. to the others. At least the win have spared me from constant grilling about wrong answers, but I was still not let off by the first question.

So to the love of my life, from now on I will take note of the colour of your toothbrush.

Return of The King

The King has made his reappearance again. After a long hiatus, The King has finally made his way back to the public. Years ago you could time the appearance of The King by the month, but now The King sets his own schedule. The King is known by many monikers, but to me the names do not matter. What matters is that once he appears, he would strike me in awe.

I wonder what sets this obsession to The King, maybe since I was small I was exposed to his presence. The sight of The King always made me wonder, how something so humble and simple could be so majestic. Just one look at him would make you know that he’s a different breed than the rest. It use to be that only the privileged and connected could have a sitting with The King, but nowadays he’s approachable by all. You simply have to set aside your time and he’s always willing to accommodate.

If you have a private audience with him, you could see why he’s different from the rest. Underneath his crown and deep green robe, you could see the royal yellowish flesh. But the thing that you would notice immediately is his scent. The scent would slowly waft to you stealthily, before tantalizing your senses and made you want to bow in respect to him. The King is not much as a talker, but once you get him to open up he would never shut up. They say that The King would help you keep the cold away, as you would always be warm after an audience with him and I would vouch personally about this. But beware, too much of a good thing would also be detrimental to your health. With The King, one should remember that moderation is the key.

I could not say for how long he would stay this time around. Maybe a month, maybe two, but one thing for sure, his presence would be savored and enjoyed. Welcome back, The King of Fruits.

Angels - Robbie Williams

I sit and wait
does an angel contemplate my fate
and do they know
the places where we go
when we´re grey and old
´cos I´ve been told
that salvation lets their wings unfold
so when I’m lying in my bed
thoughts running through my head
and I feel that love is dead
I’m loving angels instead

and through it all she offers me protection
a lot of love and affection
whether I’m right or wrong
and down the waterfall
wherever it may take me
I know that life wont break me
when I come to call she wont forsake me
I’m loving angels instead

when I’m feeling weak
and my pain walks down a one way street
I look above
and I know ill always be blessed with love
and as the feeling grows
she breathes flesh to my bones
and when love is dead
I’m loving angels instead

and through it all she offers me protection
a lot of love and affection
whether I’m right or wrong
and down the waterfall
wherever it may take me
I know that life wont break me
when I come to call she wont forsake me
I’m loving angels instead

Na na na na na, 'ganu kite!

Map Of Terengganu

Part of my new portfolio was to keep track of performance of equipment installed nationwide. Hence when a problem crop up in Terengganu, I’ve to arrange a visit to the site affected. Also they need to conduct a ‘due deligence’ study on another site, hence I could kill two birds with one stone.

But I’m having problem securing accommodation for the visit, as every place that I called was fully booked up, some up to the end of the month (school vacation coming up next weeks for two weeks). Luckily I could find a room only for a night in some obscure place and decided that I could find accommodation for another night when I’m there.

The journey starts from home at around 7.30 am, after giving Aiman a send off to school. Reached KT around 2.30 pm with lunch in Marang. Managed to secure another night in an off the beaten path chalet in Marang, and also booked a quick trip to Pulau Kapas for snorkeling when the work is over.

Decided to do the ‘tourist’ thing by visiting a batik factory and seeing them manufacture batik. For those of you who don’t know what batik is, here’s a link to help you. Terengganu and Kelantan are major producers of handcrafted batik. In Malaysia, batik is considered a formal wear. The process starts off with djanting, drawing the pattern with the hot wax by hand or stamping, using a mould to draw the wax onto a white sheet of cloth. The pattern is then filled with selected colour and the fabric treated. It is then made into clothing. Browsed through their factory shop, but nothing caught my attention (also the price is a bit steep). I couldn’t remember the whole process but for consolation, I did it during my form three art class.

Noor Arfa Batik Factory

Batik Demonstration Area

Mek 'ganu using djanting technique

Abe 'ganu using the stamping technique

After the batik factory visit, I went to find the motel where I’m supposed to stay in for the night. KT is not really a hard place to drive in but you could get lost in it. Managed to find it only to find that the room is not ready yet. Decided to go to Pasar Payang to find some batik for my nearest and dearest. Managed to find one that fits the criteria – ‘deep and rich color’ and unique (well at least to my untrained eye it met the criteria) plus I’m paying so it shouldn’t matter much.

From previous visits, food in KT has always been off-the-mark for me, so prior to the trip, I’ve asked a few friends for pointers as what to do and where to avoid. For dinner managed to find somewhere decent near Gong Badak, where the catch of the day truly lives up to its name. Somehow my confidence in KT food is slowly regaining.

After spending the next day to work, have decided to take time off myself and enjoy what nature has to offer in Terengganu. Terengganu is blessed with pristine coastline, but being on the East Coastand facing the open sea, the beaches are somewhat more hazardous than the ones on the west coast. But they do have several Islands renowned for their snorkeling and scuba diving site and some of it have been gazetted as marine parks.

So far I’ve never tried snorkeling at any of the islands, but I’m taking the plunge today. So after a hearty breakfast at Marang Jetty, I set off to Pulau Kapas by a speed boat. I was somewhat surprised to see that there's lots of people heading towards Pulau Kapas, only to find out later that they're having an independence day celebration kick-off in Terengganu by a display of underwater unveiling of Jalur Gemilang.

When I got to the snorkelling spot, I was alone in the area. According to the boat driver, it's not yet the holidays and I might spend the whole day alone there. Also, there were loads of jellyfish in the area, hence he tried to persuade me to go to the other side of the island where the jetty was and have a swim there. But, I decided to have a go there and arranged for pickup about two hours later.

The secluded spot - all to myself

Gem Island Resort

Outline of a black tip shark - 10 feet from the water's edge

Fishes, big juicy fishes, - gollum, gollum

Friendly fishes not afraid of human contact, some even bit me

View of Pulau Kapas from the jetty

The dreaded jellyfish, appeared in throngs after a 4 year hiatus

For me the visit is worth the time spent. There you could see the beauty of nature in it's glory. But, from what I could gather, two other snorkelling spot was spoilt due to human's indefference attitude when snorkelling. The last spot was still ok, but way far from its previous glory. Steps have been taken such as banning flippers when snorkelling, but somehow I think more effort should be made to preserve the gift of nature for our future generation.

Of Mentors and Mentees

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve always had some subordinate under me, the ones that I could orders around and have them scurry with their tasks (evil laugh). But as much that I would like to see them suffer under all the work loaded up to them, I would also like to impart some knowledge and let them build good foundation for their career.

Some of them are under the impression that they’ve achieved well academically, they’re equipped to enter the work environment. With the 3.7++ CGPA’s, they think that they simply would have a meteoric rise once working. Wrong!!! University does not equip you to manage people and emotions. They do not teach emotional intelligence at uni which I personally think they should.

Hence as a mentor I would like my ‘padawan’ to develop the sense of wanting to learn and establish :

1. Good and Sound Technical foundation for running Daily Operations
2. Better Interpersonal Skill

So the two of you, don’t fret when you’re being scolded by your techs, customers or even your superiors. Take it as character building and build up your EQ. Even if your position warrants respect, you still have to EARN your respect.

To those things that I’ve asked you to do :

1. fence that I’ve asked you to climb (even thought there’s an opening nearby)
2. the tower wagon that I asked you all to climb
3. the endless switching and restoration
4. arrangements of gensets
5. fault locating, repairs and testing
6. attending meetings especially with local MP
7. handling complaints
8. endless questions about ratings, equipment, work methods
9. face a grieving family

are part of character building and should be taken as such.

At this stage, you need to cover the grounds quickly and keep the experience. You will draw a lot on your experience as you progress in life. You’re lucky that somebody wants to help and nuture, not like some old skool mentor where you’re thrown into the deep end and left to swim or sink. Even though I’ve lost in sudoku (ONCE! – I demand a rematch), couldn’t score in futsal or sing to save my life, I hope that I’ve set an example that you could utilize. To Z**d And A**e, all the best in your future undertaking and I know you could be one of the better execs.

Busy at work carrying out tasks ( or pretending to do work ? )

Master of All but King Of None

Firstly I would like to say ‘Alhamdullillah’ as I’ve been promoted to a more senior level management, hence my new job title would allow me to use the ‘Senior’ designation. So far in my working life I’ve been entrusted to be a manager, whereas there has always been some subordinates, ranging from 30 to 120. With this promotion, I’ve been pulled out of Operations and more into setting of policy for my division. But with the new portfolio, the task is expanded to nationwide whereas the number of subordinate become none, zilch, nada, kosong, big fat zero.

For the first time in my working life there’s nobody reporting to me…my realm has been expanded nationwide but I have to rule it alone. I feel so ‘alone’ in the sense that nobody for me to give orders to.

In my last post, I’ve been given two new execs to groom to my liking, plus about 120 of technical staff to manage. Hence I could just my orders have them executed, whether they like it or not. Granted that I still have a boss to report to (even now), the smaller units have their own leader to handle the daily operations but nothing beats the sense of power that you have over them. J. Now even though I’ve gotten a promotion, but in my new place I’m the second lowest ranking officer around. Even the clerks yield more power than me. I remember one Senior GM remarked that his PA is even busier than him as she was always MIA and he couldn’t do a thing about it.

So far I’ve been coping with it although there’s still no signs of PDS ( Power Deficiency Syndrome ), but along with the moves there’s some benefit especially on the family front. For the last year and a half, I’ve been commuting almost 100km daily to and fro the workplace, hence it was a 7am-8pm job. That does not include emergency where you’ll be called out in the middle of the night or on your day off. Now it’s only about 10 km trip to the new office. It’s great to have more time to spend with the family esp. the lil ‘un is growing rapidly everyday.

Happy Birthday Abah !

Had a birthday do for Abah last Wednesday...Happy 60th Birthday Abah!

Imagine what it must feel like reaching that number. It's going to be 28 years more for me. By then I hoped to lived up life as much as my father had. Great to see the family around, except for my youngest sister. She's gone off to 'Dunia Baru' doing TESL. (frankly speaking she should be doing japanese as that's the most material in her IPOD).

A bit about dad ... born on the 2nd August 1946 at Kg Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Had his primary schooling in Kg Baru while his secondary schooling at St John's Institution, where he was the sepak takraw captain & band member, a talent that none of his off spring inherited. Was fortunate to be sent to ole blighty for his degree in Mechanical Engineering, stayed somewhere in stratford but the house couldn't be located anymore, believe me we've looked for it quite a few times.

Favourite activities was doing the down the memory lane trip especially after some night out in KL. (even did that in the UK). Now still working as cannot stay still at home. Has two cats as pets ( but one was sadly being thrown out of the house as its committed the 'ultimate sin').

Anyway all the best to the greatest father on the planet, Hj Shamuri Amat Waridi. (p.s. not the Hj Samuri of Satay Kajang fame).

pics will be uploaded soon so for the time being just imagine some pics of people blowing candles on a cake just about here.

Our Sabah Holiday - May 2006 - Part 1

Sabah..negeri dibawah bayu. It all started with the "now everyone can fly" airline promo, where the tickets are f.o.c and you only pay for the airport tax. Managed to secure the dates and upon checking the price, it came to RM80/person, total RM240 for the 3 of us. SWEET.... so KK here we come....

The itinerary was as follows :
1 st night - stay in KK & had dinner with CJ & Ustaz
2 nd day - went to Tenom, where BIL stays- he's a teacher there
3rd day - Back to KK
4th day - made way to Kota Belud & Kundasang
5th day - Kundasang, Ranau & Poring
6th day - KK and flight home

Seafood Galore

For our first night in KK, our friend CJ & Ustaz took us out for dinner at this place called Atlantis. It was a nice place to dine in plus the seafood selection there was superb. Had 1 kg of live tiger prawns (half cooked/half boiled), 1 lobster abt 1.3 kg (very big), 1 coral trout plus sayur sabah. It was our first me trying out sayur sabah and instantly we're hooked. really had a great meal so much so that the little 'un declared that he wants lobster every day ( botaklah kepala bapak dia kalau macam tu )...thanks CJ & Ustaz, we owe you a treat when you're coming over. of course the seafood wont be the same but we still owe u nonetheless.

Tenom

We rented a car when we are there as we like to dictate our own place and like to stop in off-the-beaten-path places. Here's a view after Gunung Emas on our way to Tenom. The road leads up to the Crocker Range and this is at the top of the hill before we make our way down to Tambunan. The mountainous terrain really did our rented car ( Wira 1.5A) a challenge. The most that I could make of it is 60 kmh.


The view on the drivw up the Crocker Range was nothing but breathtaking. The winding roads soon made way to a lovely view at the top. After stopping to take some piccies, we made our way down to Tambunan, where we had our lunch.

Tenom's claim to fame was their Borneo Railway, their Agriculture Park in Lagud Seberang and their coffee. Do stop at one of the coffee factory and have a taste. Its simply superb, so much so that I started drinking coffee again. We took about 8 packets of various coffee mix home.



We truly enjoy the visit to the Agriculture Park. Aiman had all the space in the world that he could run until he ran out of steam. Khairy, being the ever gracious host proved to be a well known personality in town. There was never a minute that passes without anybody honking or greeting him. That's the advantage of being a teacher in TENOM.

Below are some pics from the Agriculture park in Tenom.

A rafflesia bud.
Maybe takes another 7 months to bloom. Once bloomed, will last only around 5 days.

Now Listening : Dealova by Once

aku ingin menjadi mimpi indah dalam tidurmu

aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang mungkin bisa kau rindu

karena langkah merapuh tanpa dirimu

oh karena hati tlah letih

aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang selalu bisa kau sentuh

aku ingin kau tahu bahwa ku selalu memujamu

tanpamu sepinya waktu merantai hati

oh bayangmu seakan-akan

Chorus :

kau seperti nyanyian dalam hatiku

yang memanggil rinduku padamu

seperti udara yang kuhela kau selalu ada

hanya dirimu yang bisa membuatku tenang

tanpa dirimu aku merasa hilang

dan sepi, dan sepi

repeat chorus [2x]

31st of the month…time to INDULGE into PASSION…

I used to wait for the 31^st of the month with abated breath. But for the last few years things have been hectic and priorities start to change. But it all changed yesterday, where the flame is rekindled again. Saw her in the news and couldn’t wait to be with her again.

Had to be away from the office for the day and been thinking about it on the outward flight. Managed to sneak in a few minutes online and hope to meet after the return flight. Rushed to the specified rendezvous point and there she was…so delectable after all these years. Still hadn’t changed a bit. Could still remember the smooth silky complexion, the icy cold stare but the touch that could melt away your sorrows.

The choice of place was understandable, public so no scene could be created. Wanted to be alone but after all these years, things are bound not to be the same again. Been watching from the corner to see whether things are what they used to be before deciding to pick up the courage to meet. Hard to make of things in the midst of all the chaos, so the reunion was not as what I expected it to be. Finally, managed to convince that it would be better to continue in the confines of my humble abode, away from prying eyes.

Didn’t speak at all on the way back, as my heart starts to thump and my throat feels dry, anyway it was only a short drive home. Upon reaching home, the feelings that have been contained all these years was flooding out of me, my senses have been lost in my LUST. To touch, to taste, to savour the moment as if none in the world have ever experienced before. She’s wearing her work standard issue uniform and it wasn’t long before it was removed. There it were, succulent and creamy mounds. The touch to the lips brings my raging lust into overdrive. There’s definitely touching, licking, things that are blurry to me then. I’m lost in my own sensation until the reality hit me, OMG what have I done? What have you made me do? Only then that I saw my wife and my son staring at me. What have you turned me into? I don’t want to lose them to you and I also don’t want to lose you. I had to make a choice now but you are soooooo gooooodd and I could have you anywhere, not just to the confines of my bedroom.

I have to set things straight with my family. I confessed that I still loved them but my heart is divided now. I can’t seem to let you go but I have to. Sharing the man she loved must have been a heartbreaking moment for my wife. But she impose that sharing has to be done to maintain our matrimony vows. You came out behind me, sheepishly smiling at my wife and son. In your ravaged and almost spent state. My shame has been to the moon and back. The secret is out in the open and I have to live with it. It must have been hard for them, but they accepted the fact that I have to be share. With a heavy heart, I……….

shared with the family my tub of Baskin Robbins.