Kristine's Moustache

Its one of those unexpected moments where Krisitne did something funny but cute. It was raining the whole day and therefore, quite cold. Kristine coughed a bit but for the first time, she actually wanted a bath! So, we gave her one but with a warmer temperature. Kristine was so impatient that she crawled into the bathroom while I was getting the water ready. After her bath, (she did not cry during shampoo nor try to climb out), I made some bubbles for her and also, this is also the time where she tries to drink the bath water. See what happened next...............

Tonight is a little cold but I want my bath!


Hmmm! The water is a little hot


But its comfortable!


After the bath, Daddy made some bubbles


Are the bubbles good? I am going to test it now....


How is that?


Nice goatee, hor?


Hee hee he he he!

Pigheadedness

Just now, my friend called me and asked me about my opinion of the Panda Antivirus. She has finally bought the (crap) Laptop from her friend and her copy of Norton tells her that it has detected some virus/worm which it cannot delete. So, she me asked if the RM120 Panda can do the job.

So I told her, I got Panda last time from a so-called friend and it has problems with the serial number given to me. (Rather than help solve the problem, he proved to me that it was not his problem and has notified Panda Software.) So, it was a bad experience.

And after much (time wasting) discussion, she assumed I hated Pandan because of that bad experience. And I told her that I cannot reccommend something to her which I have not tried it yet, so I asked around and got a few not so nice answers in return.

Anyway, I pointed her to Grisoft which has the free edition of AVG, their antivirus software. And then she asked me if this software can remove the virus or not. If not, she would gladly pay the RM120 from the computer vendor located below her office. So I told her, since its free, why not give it a try and if it does not work out, then get Panda. And I have dealt with the vendor before and again, I did not have any good experience when it comes to returning goods. Then she countered me with saying that of course everyone who sells you stuff would be able to help since it is their responsibilities. And I told her, she assumed too much.

Then the next thing I knew, she bombarded me with questions such as:

"How long would it download?", if you're using dial-up, it would be about 20 minutes or so, I told her
"What! How can! I cannot waste time like this! I go to the office and work! I have no time for this and the time can be used to make money!"

WTF!

"I am computer illiterate and I prefer convenience!"

WTF!

Indirectly, this is where she is trying to fish me to go over to her and help solve all her computer related angst. Before I was married, this would not be a problem to me. But now, I cannot commit to such because from past experience, there is always a follow up and they would keep on calling even for the most tiniest bit of problem. So I told her, there are things one must do things by themselves.

"No, no! I told you I am illiterate! You are different! All day you work with computers and this is easy foe you"

WTF!

At this stage, I am already very pissed off (again), so I cooly told her to go try AVG first. And she kept on about having to go to her office and download, which she has no time for, etc. And there is no Internet in her house, etc.

And I hate to say this but I am now starting to side with her ex-husband on why he wanted to go ahead with the divorce. And if you're so adamant about your decision, do not waste other people's time asking about their opinions which differes from yours.

Yeah, she changed a lot. Maybe its because of her two children. Then again, maybe this is how she is.

Lazy Cable Contractors

I was quite pissed today because we're falling behind schedule. There are so many customers more to visit and I need to clear them in time for tomorrow's next PABX installation. Unfortunately, right smack in the afternoon, there was a call from an unscheduled customer stating that they are experiencing a system down. So, we had to stop with what we're doing and rush over (which is great for a 15 minutes response time).

But the one which really turn me into a monster was the customer (He who shall not be named) in Puchong. Last week, when we're installing the PABX (The Brand which shall not be named), the guy told us that Terrokom has cut their cables short when they temporarily connected the phones for them to use. So, its not a problem, I told him. Just get the cable guy to patch it and make it longer and we will return when its done. (Because the System is so cheap, we're not going to waste money and time for this)

Fast forward to this afternoon. When we arrived, the cable guys were there, sitting and waiting for us. They offered their cables to us and asks us to do the patching ourselves with the excuse that they're not experts. In any sense, a cable guy worth his salt would be able to neatly lay the cable from one point back to the system, and also observe the proper cabling protocols.

Because the customer was there, I decided its wise not to scold them. Unfortunately, the cables they gave us is too thick to be inserted into those connectors and we wasted quite a lot of them. In the end, we spent two hours for a half an hour job. This means the customer we missed today will be brought forward to tomorrow and so on. Cheh!

Bird Fight

This is something which I wished I had a camera.

On the way to Sentral to pick up my Wife, I saw this amazing scene:

Two birds acting as a team, stood on top of another two birds, pinning them down so that they cannot fly away. They stood there, making loud angry noises as if they were in an argument. Even when cars passed by, they did not take heed.

Contended Life

I met a Lady just now. She is very tired and has experienced Life to the fullest. Time was kind to her too. Although she has experienced a lot of bitterness and hardship, she knows that Life still goes on. And if she could talk now, there would be a lot of stories to tell. I have known her almost seven years and still she looked as young as ever, albeit a little more graceful.

Her husband had left her only after a year and this is where her hardship began. She had to move from house to house many times due to the tragedies which robbed her of her children. Many times she has tried to get together with her husband but it only lasted for a few nights. And when we treated them to dinner, she would make sure her husband finishes first before she began. And she never did ask for more.

Some of her neighbours has realised her predicament and has started to cruelly take advantage of her when they please. Many a times I had to help her out. And many a time, she had to come knocking to our house for shelter. Sometimes they treated her so badly, she refused to come out at all. And sometimes, she has no appetite at all, after what they did to her lunch. She is now penniless and has no food.

But once in a while, when I can, I would treat her. And once in a while, she can stay crash in our place. This lady is well mannered and does not intrude too much in our lives. So much so, we enjoyed her company and she, ours.

Once in a while, we do see her with another and we hoped that they would get along fine but that is all we can do. Hope.

Still, Life goes on.

She is sleeping so soundly as our house provided safe heaven for her especially during heavy rain

One Leg Kick Company

This is so funny. I just got thie link from AutoWorld Forum. Its Jobstreet Advertisement:

Total Exact Consulting Sdn Bhd been established since year 1999 to provide Implementation/Consulting/Maintenance Contract on business application software.
We are mainly supporting KLSE Listed / MNC Companies and semi-government bodies for IT Accounting Solutions.

One Leg Kick Key Account Manager cum Accounting Solution Consultant
( Setapak,KL (90%) /Klang(Office) & sometime Outstation)

Responsibilities:

* Manage/expand key account business on existing customers base.
* Perform routine maintenance and first level of application support related to accounting software;
* Conduct product training and manage customer's expectations;
* Accounting software implementation and project management to semi-government bodies.
* Maintain excellent P&L based on existing customer base & contract signed.
* Fully incharge of selected semi-government account. (One Leg Kick Manager)

Requirements:

* Degree/Diploma in Accountancy or Professional Accountancy Qualification or IT Related Degree with Sufficient Accounting Knowledge
* Must be min 3 year(s) of working experience in accounting software support / software implementation industry.
* Finance staff that experienced in accounting software implementation are also encouraged to apply.
* Experince & familiar with key account management & business development.
* Entrepreneur & interested to develop own business in long term with company existing customer base. Business owner is willing to offer partnership after certain time frame of serving depend on performance which to be determine latter.
* Thoroughly familiar with processes and procedures within the finance department in particular and the organization in general.
* Flexible, proactive and ability to take responsibility for tasks
* Ability to build strong links between teams, Good team player
* Excellent people management and communications skills
* Must be highly-motivated, resourceful and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
* Preferably staying in KL area due to working place is in Setapak most of the time.
* Experience in dealing with semi-government bodies.
* Required language(s): English/Malay

If you believe you have the necessary qualifications, please e-mail to
chtew@tec.com.my with the relevant information
Only short listed applicants will be notified

Advantages of working with TECSB : Company only have < 5 working personnel, deal direct with business owner, Cost Centre Profit orientated & with good remuneration package (only if you are able to perform excellent)

When Mommy's away

She had to cuddle up with Mommy's clothes for comfort everynight. Just the smell of Mommy is enough to comfort her. Although she is still too young to notice much but you can tell that Kristine misses her Mommy.

Everynight, she cries and screams until she is tired, wearing all of us down. And you can see her face when she sleeps; no smiles nor contended face. Just a frown.

But Mommy cannot be there because she had to attend a course in Sepang. But Thank Goodness she is coming back this weekend for a visit.

She hates sleeping at night and already, this is hard for her

Skidding in the rain

One thing I can say is, Thank God I had my tyres changed the other day.

I was driving my colleague from Kepong to SS2 this evening in the rain. One think I always did was, when it rained, I would keep my driving speed to below or close to 70Kmh. Unfortunately, tonight was different.

I was talking with him and unconsciously, kept to the speed limit of 80Kmh. So, you'd think that the extra 10Kmh is not a big deal. But it does make a difference if you need to stop the car in a hurry. Just as we were approaching the tunnel, my colleague asked me to stop. As the tunnel curves to the right, I had to make a split second decision to trust him, because, by the time I could see what is ahead, I would not have the time to stop and banged into the car in front.

As it was still raining, I really had to do the Pump-The-Brakes braking because if I had stomped on the brakes and not let go, the wheels would have locked up and the car would go into a skid. The stupid yellow Honda Civic who had been tailgating me nearly knocked into us until he decided to quickly swerve to the leftmost lane.

My Heart skipped a few beats and I was a bit numb for the rest of the drive back home.

And If we did 85Kmh, I would be in a lot of trouble.

Accoustic Shock

I did not know how I ended up at 1-Utama today but since it was raining, I decided to pass the time by going to Eneos. After satisfying my itchy fingers, I have learnt a very important lesson:

Never ever press the test button for the car horns when you're standing in front ot them.

It so happened that the horns I was tested was from Stebel which is quite loud (For RM35, that is) Since it was the last one on the shelf, I asked them to test it out.

And my ears are still ringing from those loud horns.

I just can't wait to put them on my car, once I have the time, that is

Buffet Dinner

My brother decided to splurge a little and treat us to a buffet dinner. This dinner was due Saturday but because I was working late and he too had to return to his office for some emergency work, it was postponed to Sunday. Again, both of us had to go back to our respective sites today but we managed to clear the problems and still make it for the dinner.

The dinner was held at The Palace of the Golden Horses's Carousel Cafe. And we were not alone. The place also playing host for meeting of senior officials in COMINAC VI. In other words, our beautiful view outside the cafe was spoilt by these morons eating under big white tents. Anyway, we came here for food and despite Kristine's actions, I was able to eat as much as I can. Ha ha ha

Food-wise, once the novelty wears off, its normal food. But what selections! My favourite was the fried potatoes, smoked salmon, and the orange-carrto soup (really).

The front entrace was like an airport
everyone coming in was scanned and had their bags searched


I love the mirrrors on the ceiling and so did Kristine


First attempt:
Cold meats, jellyfish in a big onion cup, oyster, more jellyfish and smoked salmon


Second attempt:
Smoked salmon, fried chicken, salmon sushi, more sushi, fish in white sauce, stir fried lamb, gralic bread and fried potatoes


Third attempt:
More fried potatoes, stif fried lamd with asparagu, selection of cheese, fruit tart, jellyfish, salty kerabu, fried rice.


I wanted the take home this shell but on second thoughts, nah.


Kristine was getting hungry too


So we gave her some soft bread


Whoever sat there has a lot of power and most probably, a very stiff back too

Cleaning my car

Since I was working the whole day last night (up to 9PM) today was the only day where I really had some time to myself. After the cleaning and making sure Kristine does not break anything else, I decided to clean my car. For you see, after months of ferrying stuff to and fro, there are a lot of "leftovers" from every job. And worst of all, they didn't end up in any dustbins or storage boxes but in my car.

And I really had to do this because prior to my trip to Alor Setar a few days ago, I discovered some of the manuals at the back of the car seats had fungus, which I suspect must be from the water that leaked out of the boot (and dripped back into the car) when I opened it.

Lots of loose cables, paper and also other junk


And there's even more in the front seat


Oh, looky! My old boots which I stopped wearing 3 months ago


Because the soles broke and the boots lasted me four years
Which comes to about RM30 per year. Ha ha ha ha ha!
I am so cheapskate

Trip to Alor Setar

Just after our trip to Temerloh last night, our next destination was Alor Setar this morning (about five hours drive up North). One thing about these trips are that they're quite exciting for the first time. But after a while, boredom sets in. There is so much silence and sitting in a car for five hours. That's when those stupid cow jokes came into my mind. Yep, my colleague thought I was mad, laughing to myself.

Lots of Toyotas going up North


There was a roadblock which caused a long line of traffic


I thought it was the Airport's Control Tower but now I am not so sure


They have very scary chilli up here


Translation: Crash Road


I missed the sign but it advises you to be careful of low visibility due to open burning (read: Haze)


We stopped by Bkt Tambun


These are the boats which is the lifelihood for most here


I just love this shot


The sign of the times


Nice doggie which belonged to a lady the drunken guy was chatting up with.
He scolded me for taking the photos (a rule which forgot to abide)
After our meal he was still outside trying to chat up to the lady which was already trying to get away from him
And he was drunk by four-thirty in the afternoon
I wanted to punch him in the face but he could be a local big-shot.


The bill for this meal is RM41.60


Which comprise of crabs, fried cuttlefish, prawns, stir-fried vege.


Erm, I can't decsribe what it is, but in Cantonese, its called
Lai-Liu Har (Peeing Prawn)

I can't seem to upload pictures I took of my trip to Alor Setar today. Today's post would be what was in my mind when we were driving (for 5 hours) on the way there. So, I saw a lot of padi fields which got me into thinking about cows...........

So, i fyou have herd this before, moove on.

-If a cow has periods, how do we know its on PMS?

-If a truck carrying corn collides with a cow, do we get corned beef?

-Are we committing cowslaughter id we tell jokes to cows?

-If cows ate beef, do we call them cownibals or just plain mad?

-Can we call a sleeping bull a bulldozer?

-If a cow dies, can we just say that it has mooved on?

-Why is it so difficult to be bullish in a herd mentality?

-If rude chickens use fown language, would cows use horny words?

-Why is a horny cow not a bull?

-Would a cow be four times more alert to their gut feelings than a human?

-If cows have bells, what would bulls have?

-If a cow likes to eat Sea-Bass, is it because of the deep down feeling it would get?

Yeah, I know. I was traumatised because I lost my iPaq stylus during a highway stop when it (the iPaq) fell out of my waist pouch.

The King and Neo

The showdown was tonight at Al Kenchana, Subang where the two Forummers involved were going to chew it out.

One thing about the Internet is that things move very fast, almost at the speed of lunch. If you posted a thread that offended another, chances are, things would have snowballed into a big mountain and come back and bite you.

Making a beeline there once I came back from Temerloh, I would have expected a heated argument. But since I know the both of them, they settled it the Gentlemen way, apologising and shaking hands.

At the end of the day, every misunderstanding was cleared and also, everyone got to know each other better. Me? I got free drinks and enjoyed my first TT* of the year.

Friends lasts and lasts

TT - You hang out at the Mamaks with other friends or Forummers, Al Fresco style. You just drink and chat on anything about everything..

An Eventful day

Well not, actually.

Today was the day where we, as Management, sat down for our Annual Review and Budgeting. So, after our analysis, we are on track but there are certain areas which needs to look into.

Then, I was reminded to have my tyres changed since its already been one year. This time, I am going to fit back into the "50" tyres and not "55" as they keep rubbing into the car's upper wheel arch. All was fine until the tyre man came over and showed me other stuff. My car needed to have other things changed such as bottom engine mounting, steering cover (forgot what it was), gaskets, and air-con ball bearings. So, I had to fork out another RM200 or so. Ouch.

The bad thing was that the car would be ready by four in the afternoon, which means I cannot travel up to Alor Star (Five hours drive) by then unless I plan to stay the night at a Hotel (not again).

However, by three in the afternoon, we received a call from one of our customer in Temerloh that their phone system is out of order (Which we classified as System Down*). Since my car was not ready, my colleague decided to use his car while I get all the tools ready.

After one and a half hours drive, we made it and the customer was impressed that we responded so fast. Although we had dealers there, we decided to pay our loyal customer a personal visit.

And when we came back, it was almost nine at night and after clearing our stuff, its time to go to Al Kenchana. One the way there, my car drives woderfully, except for the rear wheels. Since it was from the front's "55", now it kept scratching the rear wheel arch when I corner or go through a hump too fast. So, I would have to get the mechanic to raise the height of the suspensions for another 12 months. Ha ha ha ha!

After the Meeting, its time for Lunch!
We have some cookies, lemang, Fried Noodles and the cake!


I mixed Wine with some Orange, drank a few glasses before someone tells me that its about 17%
Oh no! I get drunk at 7%!!!!!


Birthday cake for the two birthday boys

*System Down - Where the Phone System does not work at all. This is an emergency situation where we drop whatever we're doing, and whoever is the nearest to the customer must respond.

Escaping a Police Summons

I was driving along the North-South Highway, coming back from Klang.

There was this Waja Police car, which overtook me and then went to my left. After a few minutes, they blared their siren which caught my attention. I looked at the driver and he motioned me to "move on".

Which I did.

Then the siren blared again and this time, he horned me. Which means I have to stop at the roadside.

After I stopped my car, I waited for them to come over. And I made sure by safety belt was still on.

Did I speed beyond 110 Km/h?
Something wrong with my Road Rax?
Was it my license plate?
Or was it my gold window tinting?

No, no, no and no.

The driver then asked me for my driving license and he looked at my car from all angles. What caught his eye were the huge boxes inside. So, after walking around my car, he said,

Him: "What is this?" [He pointed to the boxes in the rear]
Me : "Empty boxes, Sir. I am taking it back to our office's rubbish bin, on behalf of my customer"
Him: "Where's your Office?"
Me : "In Kepong, just a few more kilometres, Sir"
Him: You should be driving a van instead of a car. Where is your van?"
Me : "My staff took it and since it was an emergency, I had to use the car"
Him: "This is wrong (the boxes) I can give you a summons. You want summons or not?" And he is showing his summons book to you.

[This is the opening part where, if you are scared of the Law and think you are in the wrong and want to "settle" it, you have the chance to reply by saying, "Tuan, how to settle?"]

Since I was rushing back for our company meeting, I gave him a cocky* "I dare you" look and cooly said, "Saman la". I mean, if I am going to get summoned for a few empty cartons, might as well make full use of it.

The Police driver looked at me for a moment and then said, "OK, I give you back your license and if tomorrow I catch you, I will summon you"

And I smiled and said, "Thank you, sir."

But seriously, it is an offense to carry all that stuff and tools in a private car. I should be using a van instead. So, do not do this.

* - Tilting one's head to the left and looking at the subject on the right through the corner of the eye. Something which the Indian fella did in the Top Choc advertisement ("I voted for it)

Greediness

"Please share this with everyone in the Office", I said to the clerk as I gave her the Cadbury's Chocolate bar I bought from the Airport on Sunday night. I walked away to catch up with the Office's status and the problem cases my technician encountered.

After more than 10 minutes, when I came back, the chocolates were literally gone. I was not happy how it was shared. You see, the big bar of chocolate has about 9 rows with 4 cubes each which is 36 cubes in total. So, the sharing was like this 2 rows (8 cubes) for each of the three girls and my tech and one row for me.

This leaves the Management with no chocolate.

I had to call them over quietly and ask them about the Management's and other staff's share. And all I got was that silent "Oops! You caught me with my hands in the cookie jar" look.

Maybe they're just young or really love chocolates. And this was not a test to see how they think.

But whaterever it is, indirectly, I now know how they think. Which is a big disappointment.

Trip to Sarawak Part Five (Sunday)

[This was a draft]
Last day in Sarawak.

Today is Sunday and I can't wait to go back home. Its not because I was tired going from place to place, waiting for planes and mostly, I missed my Kristine.

I took another morning walk about town and snapped some more pictures. Since my check-out time was 12 noon, I have nothing else to do but to read the Sunday papers again and again at the lobby until the Taxi driver comes at two in the afternoon. Luckily for me, he called up at one and aksed if I do not mind going to the airport earlier. Heck, I replied, "Come and get me now!"

This Hotel is good! I was wondering if I get Sunday breakfast today and then, this coupon appeared


My last breakfast, hard boiled eggs, kuey teow, and other things I forgot what it was


This guy just pulled up a chair while I was gone, ate his breakfast and left
He was so hungry, he did not notice me taking his picture


Damn! They scratched my luggage!
Then again, this is a Worldwide Disease

Dynasty Carty

[This was a draft] Forgot what it was but this was during my trip to Sarawak. Outside the Hotel, on a Sunday, they have this Carnival. I took some pictures before catching my flight.


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