Monday, 20 July 2009
Sunday, 19 July 2009
PK lahhhh
my father has been the general manager of a small developer company for 20 or more years. it was about time he retires and let his jr staffs take over. this developer company is a part of the PKNS developers. so whatever the company decides, it has to answer back to PKNS.
but now, since Selangor is under a new government, there are a lot of political disputes. even down to the part of who shall be the next GM of my father's company...
my father suggested one of his staffs. he knew him for 20 years, the way he works and obviously that particular candidate knows he's way around that company. my father knows there's a no better candidate than this guy.
but now, since Selangor is under a new government, outsiders are trying to lobby for the post. when i say lobby, they are doing everything in their will to get it - even if it takes to do a little evil.
but they should understand that my father knows who is best to replace him. the board should consider his proposal. the company has brought so much profit - they should be able to trust my father's judgments.
and on last wednesday, i was fortunate to be able to present a project to my father's company in his last few days at the company. for more than 20 years of my father working there, i have never seen my father playing a role other than a father, brother, son... this is the first time i see him in a much more superior state. and of all the scare of how shitty clients can be when i was studying was definitely not displayed with this company. even my boss became long term friends with the company exco. they gave constructive comments that i find very helpful and also lifted my spirits to design better.
it was a significant day for me - my first meeting with client and my father's last day as a client.
but now, since Selangor is under a new government, there are a lot of political disputes. even down to the part of who shall be the next GM of my father's company...
my father suggested one of his staffs. he knew him for 20 years, the way he works and obviously that particular candidate knows he's way around that company. my father knows there's a no better candidate than this guy.
but now, since Selangor is under a new government, outsiders are trying to lobby for the post. when i say lobby, they are doing everything in their will to get it - even if it takes to do a little evil.
but they should understand that my father knows who is best to replace him. the board should consider his proposal. the company has brought so much profit - they should be able to trust my father's judgments.
and on last wednesday, i was fortunate to be able to present a project to my father's company in his last few days at the company. for more than 20 years of my father working there, i have never seen my father playing a role other than a father, brother, son... this is the first time i see him in a much more superior state. and of all the scare of how shitty clients can be when i was studying was definitely not displayed with this company. even my boss became long term friends with the company exco. they gave constructive comments that i find very helpful and also lifted my spirits to design better.
it was a significant day for me - my first meeting with client and my father's last day as a client.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Authority-hopping!
hey this is my second post in a day. i was fasting today so i had to refrain myself from cursing and channeling out my anger until i break fast. now... the time has come...
I was on a mission on getting planning guidelines in Klang. This is my company's first project in Klang so we had very little idea what to do except finding the planning guidelines (different areas usually have different guidelines). so I embark on a journey of massive traffic jams, scorching heat and ended up getting lost. I missed a junction towards the town council and had to make a huge detour just to turn back. i would not have missed it if the signage is consistent. up to one extend, the direction to the town council was gone!
At the HQ, i was told planning department had moved! so i had to drive to the planning department to get the planning guidelines. when i requested it, they gave me their copy of the book and i asked if they sell it. it's the planning department! shouldn't they have planning guidelines with them?
but no... apparently Malaysians like to twist things a little. i was directed to the Town and Country Planning Department (don't know if i translated it correctly - Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa) in Shah Alam! Okay fine... i can go on the way back to KL. Then, since i am at the planning department, i thought i'd ask for submission forms for development order. it's the planning department! shouldn't they have the forms with them?
but no... it was at the OSC, which is at the HQ! well, yeah... usually forms are at the OSC but if you have one department five-minute drive away from the HQ, u ought to keep a set of forms in your department to avoid hassle.
okay, got my forms! off to Shah Alam... i'm not equipped with GPS so i decided to gamble and i got lost. i called my office mates, they were all weren't around. i didn't want to bother my boss so i called a friend, who is a resident there, for directions. After 1 hour of roaming around, i finally found it.
i rushed straight to the 15th floor. requested from this lady the planning guideline, she said that is on the 16th floor. fine... ran up to floor 16, requested for the book again from the lady at the counter. and she said it's on the 18th floor! hmmm... ok, i ran up to 18th floor and asked the guy at the counter, "Do u have the planning guideline?"
"Oh, you can go www.jpbdselangor.gov.my to get it"
At the time, it seemed like i was going, "......." but inside i was screaming, "ARGHHHH!!! #^%$#%%@#!!!!"
so... lesson of the day... when you had a core subject course named "Professional Study" for B.Sc. in Architecture, please pay a little bit of attention and never skip class :P
second lesson, don't put on high heels to go to authority. they make you run around... it's best to put on some cute olivias :D
I was on a mission on getting planning guidelines in Klang. This is my company's first project in Klang so we had very little idea what to do except finding the planning guidelines (different areas usually have different guidelines). so I embark on a journey of massive traffic jams, scorching heat and ended up getting lost. I missed a junction towards the town council and had to make a huge detour just to turn back. i would not have missed it if the signage is consistent. up to one extend, the direction to the town council was gone!
At the HQ, i was told planning department had moved! so i had to drive to the planning department to get the planning guidelines. when i requested it, they gave me their copy of the book and i asked if they sell it. it's the planning department! shouldn't they have planning guidelines with them?
but no... apparently Malaysians like to twist things a little. i was directed to the Town and Country Planning Department (don't know if i translated it correctly - Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa) in Shah Alam! Okay fine... i can go on the way back to KL. Then, since i am at the planning department, i thought i'd ask for submission forms for development order. it's the planning department! shouldn't they have the forms with them?
but no... it was at the OSC, which is at the HQ! well, yeah... usually forms are at the OSC but if you have one department five-minute drive away from the HQ, u ought to keep a set of forms in your department to avoid hassle.
okay, got my forms! off to Shah Alam... i'm not equipped with GPS so i decided to gamble and i got lost. i called my office mates, they were all weren't around. i didn't want to bother my boss so i called a friend, who is a resident there, for directions. After 1 hour of roaming around, i finally found it.
i rushed straight to the 15th floor. requested from this lady the planning guideline, she said that is on the 16th floor. fine... ran up to floor 16, requested for the book again from the lady at the counter. and she said it's on the 18th floor! hmmm... ok, i ran up to 18th floor and asked the guy at the counter, "Do u have the planning guideline?"
"Oh, you can go www.jpbdselangor.gov.my to get it"
At the time, it seemed like i was going, "......." but inside i was screaming, "ARGHHHH!!! #^%$#%%@#!!!!"
so... lesson of the day... when you had a core subject course named "Professional Study" for B.Sc. in Architecture, please pay a little bit of attention and never skip class :P
second lesson, don't put on high heels to go to authority. they make you run around... it's best to put on some cute olivias :D
Maid in Malaysia
The rationale behind the blog title will be revealed after you read this post.
My mom has a maid. The reason why my mom hires a maid because my mom needs help in running the household. There used to be seven people to look after (not including herself), with a huge house of 6 bedrooms, a living, a dining, a family, a dry/wet kitchen, a porch, a terrace and fifty sq meter of lawn, my mom just couldn't manage the house on her own. Hence, she hired a maid to help her.
The first foreign maid was when i was about seven or eight years old. she had come to our house as her previous employer allegedly abused her. we helped her and take her into our home and treat her as if one of our own. but as years passed, you slowly see the true colours. i remembered how bad-tempered she was, although she never did anything physical to us but i remembered the words and the tones she used with us when she's angry (of course behind our parents)... all hell broke loose, i tell u... but we were too young and too stupid to understand and not complain to our parents. but slowly, my mom saw it for herself. she was let go...
and we hired her niece next. she was only fifteen when she was hired. and she was at the age of raging hormones! i have to acknowledge that she stayed with us the longest and the best and most cooperative one we ever had. my mom even considered her as her own daughter. but when she got older, she decided to get married and start a family of her own. so we had to let her go...
the next maid we hired is through an agent. her documents said that she was 36 and married. so my mom thought, ok... married... no raging hormonal teenagers... and 36 so she probably know how to run a household :) so when she arrived, she hunched as she got out of the car... like an old lady! apparently, she wasn't 36 as mentioned in the papers... she was easily 50 something. hence, there are somethings that she couldn't do and also, due to she being older than my mom... she kind of has her own mind that really annoys my mom. after 4 years, she was let go...
our current maid is young, fresh and fast. although she doesn't really know how to cook but her skills in cleaning compensates her weakness. my mom bonded well with her as the rest of us. we welcomed her with open arms... until when she opens her mouth... i am not only trying to badmouth these people who has helped my mom but hers by far is the most intolerable.
not only does she talks loud, she gloats about how her mother's employer was so nice to her mother as if we are not being nice enough. as if we have not treat her well enough. she boasts about her life and i'm not saying i hate it just because she's a maid. the fact that anyone boasts just irritates me. she likes the fact that we beg her to come follow us on our picnics, our family dinner or just stay with us a little longer. but our family does not work that way. and when we don't plead or show some sort of desperateness of wanting her presence, she'd go off to her room and stay there, only coming out when we were upstairs.
just today, she tested me and my mom by saying, 'in a few months, i'll be gone'(in indonesian of course). but she already said that like a million times over, as if waiting for us to say, 'ohhh... please stay... don't go...'. but instead, we all rolled our eyes and silenced. my mom even asked, 'have you decided?'... apparently, she is still 'bingung' (confused and undecided).
we never scolded any of our maids or even raise our voice because we respect them as we respect any other human beings. she, as well as the next maid knows how bad other employers can treat their maids. it is all evident in the papers...
employers are the villains?? but maids aren't that angelic too...
My mom has a maid. The reason why my mom hires a maid because my mom needs help in running the household. There used to be seven people to look after (not including herself), with a huge house of 6 bedrooms, a living, a dining, a family, a dry/wet kitchen, a porch, a terrace and fifty sq meter of lawn, my mom just couldn't manage the house on her own. Hence, she hired a maid to help her.
The first foreign maid was when i was about seven or eight years old. she had come to our house as her previous employer allegedly abused her. we helped her and take her into our home and treat her as if one of our own. but as years passed, you slowly see the true colours. i remembered how bad-tempered she was, although she never did anything physical to us but i remembered the words and the tones she used with us when she's angry (of course behind our parents)... all hell broke loose, i tell u... but we were too young and too stupid to understand and not complain to our parents. but slowly, my mom saw it for herself. she was let go...
and we hired her niece next. she was only fifteen when she was hired. and she was at the age of raging hormones! i have to acknowledge that she stayed with us the longest and the best and most cooperative one we ever had. my mom even considered her as her own daughter. but when she got older, she decided to get married and start a family of her own. so we had to let her go...
the next maid we hired is through an agent. her documents said that she was 36 and married. so my mom thought, ok... married... no raging hormonal teenagers... and 36 so she probably know how to run a household :) so when she arrived, she hunched as she got out of the car... like an old lady! apparently, she wasn't 36 as mentioned in the papers... she was easily 50 something. hence, there are somethings that she couldn't do and also, due to she being older than my mom... she kind of has her own mind that really annoys my mom. after 4 years, she was let go...
our current maid is young, fresh and fast. although she doesn't really know how to cook but her skills in cleaning compensates her weakness. my mom bonded well with her as the rest of us. we welcomed her with open arms... until when she opens her mouth... i am not only trying to badmouth these people who has helped my mom but hers by far is the most intolerable.
not only does she talks loud, she gloats about how her mother's employer was so nice to her mother as if we are not being nice enough. as if we have not treat her well enough. she boasts about her life and i'm not saying i hate it just because she's a maid. the fact that anyone boasts just irritates me. she likes the fact that we beg her to come follow us on our picnics, our family dinner or just stay with us a little longer. but our family does not work that way. and when we don't plead or show some sort of desperateness of wanting her presence, she'd go off to her room and stay there, only coming out when we were upstairs.
just today, she tested me and my mom by saying, 'in a few months, i'll be gone'(in indonesian of course). but she already said that like a million times over, as if waiting for us to say, 'ohhh... please stay... don't go...'. but instead, we all rolled our eyes and silenced. my mom even asked, 'have you decided?'... apparently, she is still 'bingung' (confused and undecided).
we never scolded any of our maids or even raise our voice because we respect them as we respect any other human beings. she, as well as the next maid knows how bad other employers can treat their maids. it is all evident in the papers...
employers are the villains?? but maids aren't that angelic too...
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Breathe
Breathe (2am) by Anna Nalick
2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?,
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season"
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize,
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason
'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe
May he turned 21 on the base at Fort Bliss
"Just a day" he said down to the flask in his fist,
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year."
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it.
Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe
There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around.
2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to
But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand.
and breathe, just breathe
woah breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe.
taken from the album, Wreck of the Day and Grey's Anatomy OST.
If you feel like you've made a mistake, or feel like you're failing...
... just breathe ...
2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?,
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season"
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize,
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason
'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe
May he turned 21 on the base at Fort Bliss
"Just a day" he said down to the flask in his fist,
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year."
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it.
Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe
There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around.
2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to
But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand.
and breathe, just breathe
woah breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe.
taken from the album, Wreck of the Day and Grey's Anatomy OST.
If you feel like you've made a mistake, or feel like you're failing...
... just breathe ...
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Jane Austen and Her Legacy
The first jane austen book i ever bought was Emma... I've only gone through a few pages and that was it. I couldn't understand a single sentence without reading it several times all over. When i saw in the Astro program that they were showing Emma. I wasn't sure if it was the book adaptation. Apparently it is - eversince 1996, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. So i decided to rely on the movie instead :P
Emma wasn't the first movie I saw of Jane Austen's work. I've heard of her books every once in a while. Her famous 'Pride and Prejudice'. When the book was to be made into a movie, i quickly jumped at the chance to watch.
and i officially became a huge fan of jane austen afterwards.
After Emma, i came to see Sense & Sensibility and to which all three i fell in love with. Not just the storyline but the whole setting of late 18th century - the literature, culture and fashion and customs! They were so... proper :P
I saw Becoming Jane - an autobiography movie of the late Ms. Austen. And i immediately understood where she got her inspirations from. I thinks she places herself in her books that had happy endings that she could not have.
Later, i decided to dig in further if there are more adaptations of her book since my lack of English literature comprehension prevented me from reading her excellent books. I found out there was another movie just recently made... even more recent than Pride and Prejudice that starred Kiera Knightley.
"Persuasion"
It wasn't widely publicized as it was only aired in British television network. However, i find this movie/ book is my favourite before Pride and Prejudice and Emma.
There was this one part in the movie which i liked best - which is the letter that Captain Wentworth wrote to Anne Elliot.
Dear Ms. Elliot,
I can bear this no longer. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years ago. I have loved none but you. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. - Have you not seen this? I can hardly write. I must go, uncertain of my fate. A word, a look will be enough to decide. Tell me not that I am too late that such precious feelings are gone forever.
But in the book has perhaps a longer version of the letter. Back then, rather than finding love, the culture is to marry well. Perhaps that was what jane austen wanted... both love and marry well.
and which she has all successfully conveyed through her books - her legacy.
Emma wasn't the first movie I saw of Jane Austen's work. I've heard of her books every once in a while. Her famous 'Pride and Prejudice'. When the book was to be made into a movie, i quickly jumped at the chance to watch.
and i officially became a huge fan of jane austen afterwards.
After Emma, i came to see Sense & Sensibility and to which all three i fell in love with. Not just the storyline but the whole setting of late 18th century - the literature, culture and fashion and customs! They were so... proper :P
I saw Becoming Jane - an autobiography movie of the late Ms. Austen. And i immediately understood where she got her inspirations from. I thinks she places herself in her books that had happy endings that she could not have.
Later, i decided to dig in further if there are more adaptations of her book since my lack of English literature comprehension prevented me from reading her excellent books. I found out there was another movie just recently made... even more recent than Pride and Prejudice that starred Kiera Knightley.
"Persuasion"
It wasn't widely publicized as it was only aired in British television network. However, i find this movie/ book is my favourite before Pride and Prejudice and Emma.
There was this one part in the movie which i liked best - which is the letter that Captain Wentworth wrote to Anne Elliot.
Dear Ms. Elliot,
I can bear this no longer. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years ago. I have loved none but you. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. - Have you not seen this? I can hardly write. I must go, uncertain of my fate. A word, a look will be enough to decide. Tell me not that I am too late that such precious feelings are gone forever.
But in the book has perhaps a longer version of the letter. Back then, rather than finding love, the culture is to marry well. Perhaps that was what jane austen wanted... both love and marry well.
and which she has all successfully conveyed through her books - her legacy.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Utopia
I recently retreated to island of Redang in Terengganu. The ride to Terengganu was terrible. Just the day before, there was a headline about a bus express accident, 2 dead and 7 severely injured. What worries me even more, it was the same consortium that we hired and also it happened en-route to Terengganu, which is where we are heading. Plus it was a red-eye ride...
But if death is coming then it's coming. It's not like Final Destination, where you can foresee these things. I believe in fate - if it is my time... then it's my time, regardless of where it is.
Despite sitting at the front top deck and the fright of the double-decker bus overtaking other vehicles, the bus was shaking a lot so i couldn't sleep anyway. When we arrived, we were bugged by a persistent driver, we missed the 7am bus to the jetty, sat in a beat-up car with no a/c, seatbelts and it was raining.
In conclusion, it was one hell of a ride for us... Maybe for me, the least :P
The moment we arrived on the island, it was breathtaking... there was a gradient of blue. As the ocean goes deeper, the darker the blue is. At the beach, the water is so clear, you can see fish swimming underneath it. yadda yadda yadda... all those things that perhaps Tioman or even the Caribbean has better...
What amazes me is the culture and the life of the people who lives there. A beach boy probably earns little but his job is so rewarding. It is most rewarding when you get to experience the nature God created everyday and which no man can duplicate.
We talk of whose car is faster and whose house is fancier but these islanders are different. Instead of comparing which resort has the highest rating, they'd compare how much of relaxation and nature they could provide. You can stay at 5 star hotel and yet still visit the same places as the people who are staying in at unrated hotels. if the islanders would have gone through what i have experienced in getting there, they probably would not have complained... :P
view from mutiara beach resort, where i stayed (food is great, beach is private, cleanliness is superb, chalet is good)And it also lead me to thinking, how much i wish if there is a world without money and luxury. A world, where we all can sit in our rags, catch fish to eat, wash up in the sea or river, sleep under a hut with no walls or windows, no air conditioning. no vehicles needed, no fuel needed... we will just depend on what nature gives. and with all that, i imagined there would definitely be no stress, no debts, no crimes... and i was blessed to have experience a true utopia in Redang even for just 3 days and 2 nights...
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