The aftermath at 1-Utama

And so, after three hours in the Buffet, I think everyone has had enough. As my Dad has other plans, we split up since Wife decided to get some things for the girls. And yeah, it's going to be a long afternoon/evening. For you see, 1-Utama, the Shopping Centre was not what it used to be since the late 90's. It has expanded to almost twice (or more) its size. And so, yes, if you're wearing the wrong type of shoes...

Right in front of us, was this ECO activity for kids.
And one of the highlights was for the kids to abseil all the way
down. The thing is, the kid must do this when they are ready
and not forced. So, for every kid that went down, the crowd
clapped and cheered.

Next, we went to the Toys Department, or rather, I went.
We need to separate the girls since Wife needs to get some shoes
for Kristine without any interruption. And so, I dragged Kaelynn
away and got her into the Toys Department. Yeah, I sure do like
this NERF...

Peeking for panties....

After some traipsing around the isles, both of us were bored

So, we decided to search for Kristine and Mommy.
Because once you see a kid walking like that, it
means they're bored and mischief is not far behind.

Finally, she got what she wanted and the
next destination was... Sarah Wonderland
or something, which turned out to be the
video arcade next to the Jusco Food Court.

We had to relent because they were bugging us. And so,
Mommy changed for some tokens and away they go...
This was a wet one and luckily, the hoses had a limited
turning angle...

Most of the time, when they played, Kristine always wins
because Kaelynn's reflexes were very slow. She sort of just
stood there, smiling but this time, her defenses has improved.

This is a fun way for the girls and you can actually gauge their
hand & eye coordination.

Playing a bit on a broken machine...

With the tokens halfway gone, it was time to have some snack.
You would not believe how much they can eat as they're running
around like crazy. So, its time for some gyoza while Kaelynn is
asking very very politely for more tokens...

This machine costs a lot and also, well, its a little bit out of their
league. You can see Kaelynn walking off bored, but they have
not even seen it on 'demo' yet.

Tokens are running out and so, they need to find a machine which
allows for both to play and also, with only one token...

OK, this looks good and after some 'testing', they want to play...

And this is how they did it, by sharing...

With one last token, it was time to finish it off with another round.

Erm... she must be tired...

Another few laps on the escalator...

Then another snack time...

I bought some cream puffs for the girls which has durian
flavour. But I did not realise that it costs me RM12 or so
for two puffs... Kaelynn ate one and stopped.

And so, I had to finish it. What the server did was to take one
cream puff, inject it (yes, inject it) with cram of durian and that
is the cream puff. My mind was thinking, I got ripped off...

Bought this toy because I wanted the tires. Wife suggested I
let the girls have a go at it before I take the tires away. Yeah, and
they did it in less than 30 minutes... Not bad for their first time.

Shogun 01062013

With everything out of the way and not answering any calls (I was instructed not to, OK?), we are now free to have our lunch at Shogun. OK, so its a buffet but like the rest of the family, they love buffets. I used to but now, well, it depends on my mood... and stomach. To be honest, my weight right now is below 85Kg. Back in the days, high 90's were a common figure for me. But ever since working in the last company and the passing of my Mom, I began to notice that I am not the jovial/idiotic self anymore, but more towards the moody and 'let me be alone' type. I want to go back to my normal self but, it seems like the more I force myself, the more I am pretending. So, I guess, I'll just let it be for the moment.

Anyway, the reason we went for Lunch here was to celebrate my Dad's successful eye Operation and also because my Sister came back. Yeah, that's the cause for celebration. Really.

We were the first handful waiting outside.

Once everything was settled, we were Welcomed
(such as who's paying and all that)

Its very unusual to be the first because you need to realise that
everything is 'ready' for you and so, there is no need to rush like
mad and take all the food as if there is no tomorrow.

All the sushi I ever wanted. But this time, I do not know why
I did no go crazy for the salmon sashimi...

Anyway, here is my first selection.
No more words. Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Kristine. Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Their favourite biological Aunt. Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Girsl trying out something hot/spicy. Om nom.. nom.. nom..

KAelynn. Om nom.. nom.. nom..

Om nom.. nom.. nom..

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Oh oik.. oink.. oink..

Dealing with IT-Challenged personnel

I got a call from an outlet in Shah Alam saying that their keyboard is not working. So, when its not working, the barcode scanner is not working too. Fair enough.

But it quickly escalated to DEFCON 1 when she realised that tomorrow is the weekend where Sales would go nuts and they do not have temporary receipts or even time to write them. Plus, non of my Techs were available since they had other sites to take care of. And so, when I tell you that I got the call, I was already about 75% in reaching home in the rainy weather. So, I had to do a u-turn back to the office, get the correct keyboard and then drive all the way, in the drizzling traffic jam, replace the keyboard and then scold the shit out of the staff.

Seriously, I did not do that. In fact, I went home instead.

Before you all think that I am shirking my responsibilities even if its after office hours, I am not. This is because I remembered I had left a keyboard there when during the previous trip, Vee-Chai was too full. If I did not remember this, then I really have to make a U-turn, get back to the office, go to Shah Alam just in time to see all the shops close. And I am not in the mood to try this on the next morning since we had appointment with Dad for lunch. He just came out from his eye operation.

And this is the reason why it was not working... facepalm time.
And as usual, no one admitted anything apart from the usual,
"I don't know." routine.

Star Trek:Into Darkness

Once again, its time to don the Star Trek Voyager costume again. This time, its for the Star Trek Into Darkness's Premier Night located at 1-Utama's IMAX Theatre. Jeffrey and I got our courtesy tickets from Richard which was a nice gesture because these IMAX tix are not cheap.

(L-R) Richard, me, Alex, Kenny, Peter and King

Richard in his usual pensive mood...

Right before the show starts, there were some quizzes which I guess, only
Star Trek fans can answer.

 

 

But the ones after the show, was a little bit difficult since it was
so exciting, I more or less forgot about the details such as the
coordinates given by Khan.

Presents from Richard. A nice poster plus and very shiny key-chain

And well, Jeffrey and I had a lot of these Posters which Glows in the Dark.
There were given to us upon request but I did not expect the crew to give
us the whole box! Well it was late at night and after searching on the Net,
These are limited edition prints.

So, what did I think of the movie? Well, all I can say, was that its nice. I quite enjoyed it since prior to the showing, I ignored every advertisement and also 'news' from the Internet. So, it was more of a surprise when some of the plots revealed itself. But I was disgusted with the role-reversal and where Kirk sacrificed himself and the stupid thing with the tribble. The Wrath of Khan was a classic and although Cumberbatch did some fine acting, the excuse of being in an alternate reality does not justify such stupidity. Also, although it was censored out, Alice Eve's presence there did not do anything significant although she was supposed to be THE Carol Marcus. So, for the rest of the movie, I just concentrated on the 3D IMAX effects, the refit Enterprise and kept my brains in a box. No point nit-picking on a very expensive ticket.

But for new Fans, this is excellent!

QMx's TNG Commbadge

 And today, I can tell you that I am a very happy person. The reason being is that my USD19.95 TNG Commbadge from QMx has arrived! When QMx announced it months ago, I was already on the pre-order list and so, as you might have guessed, I ordered them asap.

Its not so much that the prices are reasonable but that I have an 'Official' prop eventhough for this item is 'glamorised'. Yeah, its gold and silver plated, which in the original prop was not. And their surface was never that shiny to begin with since its a resin sculpt. Where the silver meets the gold, its actually in two pieces.


I guess that I would need them to be casted in resin but I am mulling on this one. Should I get one from Roddenberry.com or use this as source? But fret not, its for my own personal comsumption, esp for the fridge.

Yeah, once I have some time off, I'll talk to the Caster....

Its the in-thing to use magnets for the Star Trek Badges nowadays since more than
10 years ago as those pins are really painful and if your badge happened
to snag on something...

The QMx's TNG side-by-side with my cast Voyager badge.
Its very heavy and so, if you put on a thin shirt, it will dangle about.
I think I need more fridge magnets instead...

Wasabi Crackers

This is the first time I actually seen such product and yeah, I bought it immediately. The price was OK, though and what I liked about this biscuit is that its very thin.

The wasabi flavouring was only on side and its not easy to see them. So, looking for the wasabi is 50-50. But once you tasted them. Whoa...

My Future has been Fingered

All it took was less than 4.25 minutes to decide the Fate of my Country. In the morning, the line was incredulously long. By lunchtime, it was even worse. The stroke of luck came when it started to rain which actually thinned the crowd. By the time I walked across, the line was virtually non-existent.

1. Walked in, went to the Counter where people with PCs were not playing Galaga confirmed my IC and told me to enter room #6.

2. I did as I was told but was stopped by a Policeman drinking 100Plus. Apparently, one cannot bring an umbrella into the room in case it contains hidden weapons of mass distractions.

3. After checking my details, the man starts to mispronounce my name loudly and I was then instructed to have my left forefinger blackened the controversial indelible ink. (you know, the idea that came from Ambiga. Unfortunately, many reported the ink can easily come off, could not, did, did not and maybe might.)

4. Then I was told to go to a private booth and cross out the difference. Luckily, one of them is of the gentler sex which made my decisions easier...
 

5. Then I folded and slipped my secret ballot into a TRANSPARENT Ballot Box and walked out.

 We need to do this every 5 years because going into the Parliament and kicking them out seems to be illegal. Oh well, I have done my duty and I hope, I will wake up to a brighter Malaysia tomorrow. I know it has to because tonight, I cannot look forward to digging my nose nor fingering my ears for wax...

Mars needs Moms

The girls and I watched this animated CGI last night and well, one particular scene made me quite teary-eyed. For those who have seen this movie, I am sure you'll know which scene I was referring to. It was when the Supervisor's shot caused Milo to trip which caused him to shatter his helmet. In while he was gasping for air, his Mom took off hers and gave it to him. She then broke off the helmet's lever so that Milo won't be able to release the helmet. In that very moment, Milo's mom sacrificed herself for him without even a second thought. Her love despite his naughty ways.

And that was very touching. Sure, the afterthoughts would come in such as why didn't they share the helmet together? Why? Why?

Although this is just a movie and being CGI and all, it will be ignore once the curtain rises. And on the Internet, I discovered that although it was a Robert Zemeckis film, it was the biggest Box Office Bomb in Cinema History. Sure the 3-D motion performance capture technology was great but there is something unsettling about it too. Still, that is another story.

To me, this is how a Parent would react based on the information and environment that surrounds them. When there is danger, whatever else is unimportant save for your Family. And if it means sacrificing your Life so that they may live or escape from danger, so be it.

No hesitation.

No regrets.

Just Love.

As Milo's Mom quickly puts on her helmet to save Milo, she knew the risk and what would happen. But to her, it does not matter as long as one of them is alive. Her Love.

The story so far...

I so hate office politics...

Really. It does nothing but create a negative atmosphere and saps productivity. After landing this job, seems that it finally caught up with me. And it was not pleasant at all.

What started it came when I first joined and somehow, got to know this person, A. He is a little bit abrasive and also talks a lot. Now, because I was new here, I have to be very careful in who I friend and who I do not. Since he's a long term staff, I lowered my guard a little but still, I was very wary. Because when it comes to some things, I realised that people used the friendship to cloud your judgement and/or force you to look at things their way.

So it happens that A was in charge of a project with a December deadline. Its a very important project which even the GM has emphasised the deadline many times. And so, in order to help him, I told him one of my ideas where we would help him by taking the system and deploying it on site while he installs the software in the office and also perform on-line maintenance when the systems are up. Not only would this lessen the workload but it could actually meet the deadline. However, as days turned to weeks, we waited and waited for the systems while he was 'busy' with other things. Finally, I took him to a corner and asked him about his project since I can see where he is going but I was rebuffed and also, I was told that everything is under control and there is no more deadline. Right, but I know this is not true since the GM has not said anything.

So, we sort of left him alone and went about our tasks until one day we received the email stating that we are now required to deploy the systems at certain locations. Here, I made a mistake of forgetting to inform him that my offer stops after December, and which he took as carte blanche. And so, after some terse emails from me, things around the office suddenly started to become hostile.

[Update 08042013]
OK, this is getting too long but suffice to say, the situation has changed. B is now gone, and A has lost his marbles. And I have been pulled out of my cosy Dept and into his, to help deploy those software as fast as I can. Something which is very out of my league but I was told, I am the most qualified person right now. And so, I had very limited time to learn how to install the software, deploy and perform on the spot training.

So, OK. Its not that difficult after all. But the most difficult was to glean information from A who doles out bit by bit. And in some cases, A will conveniently 'remember' how to do things/info once you found out the hard way. Me, I don't care about this anymore as I have my targets to meet.

But right now, I really cannot see where I am heading. And people are starting to assume I will be taking over B's post in which, I am actually not qualified at all. But I am not going to worry about these things right now, even if I need to use his room to install the software before I can deploy more. Yeah, people walk past, whispers and before you know it, they ask, "Are you really taking over his job since you're now in his room? Can you fix my printer/email/password, etc?"

Yeah, outstation trips, here I come!

Kaelynn's First Day

Today is Kaelynn's First day and this time, its a Primary school. Surprisingly, in her class, not many students were seen crying. But as for Kaelynn, she was OK with everything since she knows Kristine's class is upstairs and also, well, to be honest, she loved school.

One weird thing was, I have planned for us to leave the house early so that there would be ample parking space. Alas, even arriving before seven in the morning, the whole place was full. Its as if everyone had the same idea and decided to beat mine by coming even earlier...

However, early in the morning, she looked very lost. And not only that, like Kristine, she looked very small when compared to her classmates.

Recess time. Each class came and he students sat in their allocated places. When everyone was accounted for, they started on their Milo drinks and buns while the parents stood around the perimeter. Some feared that the light snack was not enough, bought them more food...

Nice little Diary

My Wife just passed two Diaries to me, asking me to pick one. I chose this one since this was the last Customer which I dealt with before my Life changed again. I am not sure if the customer has chosen more designs and this was part of their package but I am very happy that they are still with my Company.

Part of me wants to go back as I am starting to like the Diary Manufacturing or rather, the designing part. But part of me wants more technical challenges.

This time, I have noticed that they have used new material and also made the elastic much better. And the best part is, the paper is in the right shade of yellow with the faint Logo printed on.
However, you won't get this being sold on the street though. Its very exclusive.

My new Toolbox

With my new job, I felt that its quite appropriate that I have a new Toolbox with me. Oh, I can use back the old one but I want that to be the House Toolbox. And so, finally, yesterday, I was the proud owner of a Hilti case. Now, when it comes to tool cases, the Hilti, to me, is a very hard to get item. Not that no one is selling but it has a lot of conditions attached:

1. You must buy it with the tool, or
2. The shipping fees are horrendously obscene, or
3. Its always the wrong item.

And so, after so many years of on and searching, I finally got one. And the best part of all? It was a swap, well, more or less.

This is how it happened...
During my 'free' time for the past few months, I tend to end up at HHQ, esp on Saturday afternoons. As a result, I start to get to know more about the 'regulars' there and also, the owner Mr. Low, starts to get friendly towards me as well. (No, I did not buy the whole shop). And so it happens that one day, we struck a conversation about toll cases and I was looking for a Hilti. Although there was a member working at Hilti downstairs, it was not possible to get one. But this kind gentleman, I call him 'Kow Lou' menationed that he has a lot of tool cases and if he did find a Hilti, he will get one for me.

Fast forward three weeks later, when I came to HHQ, I saw one below the table and sure enough, it was for me! And so, after much pleasantries, I offered him something in return for his troubles but he would not accept. When that failed, I offered in exchange, my Army ammo case which I am using as a tool case. And he refused too. However, one of the regulars heard about it and wanted it. So, in the end, I gave it to him.

And here, we learn more about the ammo box-
A. At a roadblock, you can be detained for owning such item, pending on the searching person. As this is an Army 'item', he would like to know where/how you got it, you see.
B. Its a machine gun ammo box, which was made in 3rd November, 1985. (Oh-oh)
C. The seal is intact and if it was submerged, the items inside would still be dry. (Well, they're bullets, of course)

And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you, a Hilti case

Of course I cannot use it straight away since I need to remove some of the walls...

NERF Damansara 13102012

Just a stop-by for me as its raining and all. I was rushing to just meet up with the peeps and give a bit of support before heading off to ICW.

Billy with his broken running shoes

Taking shelter from the rain

Backlane action

So, why the sofa at the backlane?
Its definitely not for the cats, I can tell you that...

My new VISA card

Well, not really. Its a VISA Debit card. I opened a RHB bank account because my new job requires me to do so and not only that, it allows me to pay/receive money directly to my PayPal account!

Little Ms. Engineer?

As I came home from the temp work, what I saw shocked me. There, sitting at my usual place on the table, was Kaelynn, holding a screwdriver. She was opening the battery hatch of her Tamagotchi toy. The battery I gave her a few days ago has died and so, she found another piece and well, decided to replaced it herself.

The first thing you must know is that I did not teach her how to use a screwdriver. Nor did I show her where the battery hatch is. I asked my Wife and she too, denied teaching her. So, in conclusion, she did this all by herself.

After talking to my Wife for a bit, we speculated that Kaelynn could have seen and observed me working on stuff. So, this is where she picked up the knowledge.

I am both happy/proud but also afraid since I did not teach her about the dangers of mains electricity

Kaelynn's First tooth...

Now, its Kaelynn's turn...

Well, almost. Its juts little loose now...
Its the one on the bottom right, or fourth from the right

Things not to do on the plane...

The girls with the swing which they call it their plane

I am very confident that Kristine made the sign herself

Clockwise from top left:
No piping (No pee pee-ing), No Pupying (No poo-poo-ing), No climbing assep pilot, No vomiting, No drawing and No food/drinks

Kristine's first Monopoly game

Kristine bought a Monopoly set from her school yesterday for RM3.00. OK, I was a bit angry because she used her pocket money for it. But then, I realised that this is her first boardgame and well, for RM3.00, apart from the quality, its a steal.

And so, we played together for the very first time. And yes, Kristine went to JAIL on her very first dice roll. Then Kaelynn bought most of the properties and ran out of money. As for me, well... I just had most of the cash...

But I am going to get them a proper set since the Property cards and the money are all the same colour. Its very confusing and also sucks the fun out of the Game...