Weird dreams

Being sick having to lie on the bed for three days is so unproductive. Maybe it was the boredom or the medication but whatever it was, I have been having a lot of dreams. Even if it was a short nap.

Still, after waking up, I can only remember bits of them except for the last one, which is still a little vague but the main ingredient is still there, if you know what I mean. Anyway, the place is like one of those narrow buildings about three to four stories high somewhere in America. We are at war. Although the wonderful sun is casting agolden hue to the autumn leaves, as I looked further, I can see more and more buildings ravaged by war. For some reason, we're told to meet someone at one of the buildings.

There were only four of us, I think plus the Terminator robot (from Sarah Connor Chronicles TV sereis played by Summer Glau. Ha ha ha). After searching the whole building for the contact, we did not find anyone. Then we found another entrance and decided to break the lock to which I think, was the basement. This was hidden quite deep, behind shelves and shelves of books and what nots. There, the door was in the form of a metal gate with lots of fencing, just like those you seen on the movies. The whole place was dimly lit by a bulb.

Once we broke through, the room was just a maze of shelves. A figure came rushing out past us while we were searching the place. He was caught and he looked like a cross between Eddie Murphy and that Miles Dyson fella (The person who created the Terminator chip in Terminator 2). I forgot what he did but he pissed me of and was still trying to escape. So, with anger, I took my Magnum and shot him in the chest.

Only then did he calm down and told us who he was and as time was running our for him, he showed us all the ammunition we needed and the plans. And then I woke up.

I think I should have handled that situation better, don't you think?

Three day MC

Maybe it was the soft and comfortable bed at Westin.

Maybe it was my carrying Krsitine and Kaelynn for the past two days.

But whatever it was, I have twisted my back just as soon as I started work at three in the afternoon yesterday. It was a very simple act of picking up a small lightweight bag. And because it was light, I took it for granted and just picked it up by binding my waist........

Within hours, it was so painful at night that I needed my Wife's help to go to the washroom.

And by this morning, I could not even stand up. So, I spend the rest of the day lying there like a paralysed patient. And feeling very bored as well. My mobile phone kept ringing non-stop as this week, we had a lot of backlog to clear, and they're not simple customer visits either.

By the time my wife came back, we needed to go to the nearby University Hospital. And so, sitting in the wheelchair for almost three and a half-hours with no Notebook, comics or even a piece of A4 paper for me to do some sketching. This was the main reason why I did not want to go there in the first place.

After a stern lecture by the friendly Doctor, I was told to bend the correct way (which I usually do, with the back straight and knees bent), not to carry any weights for the next two weeks (Ha. Ha. Wei, I got a lof of work to do la) and gave me a three day MC.

She asked, "Why you wait so long to come and see me?"
I replied, This is 24-hour Hospital so, I have to wait for 24 hours ma"
So she replied with me getting a shot in the butt

She didn't get the joke and I don't think my Wife got it either.

Doc says, take these painkillers twice a day and use the ointment
to rub the back in case the pain persists.

A weekend at Westin

My work is taking its toll and as a result, wife is not happy. For the last few days, or exactly, nearly a week, I have been coming back home late again (like before) as we'd finish our work near midnight and sometimes, one in the morning. Added with the stress of taking care of the two girls, work from school, etc. my wife was not very happy at all.

Luckily for us, one her brother has a free one night stay at a Hotel and we decided to take it for some slight R&R. The Hotel was Westin and we're supposed to be there at three in the afternoon but because I was so wrapped up with work, I totally forgot about it. Until a very "nice" reminder SMS from wifey la.

And not only that, my Boss got me an assistant. Yeah, I have been working too much that a lot of projects have been piling up on my desk for months. The plan is simple, my assistant would be trained up to take over my post while I concentrate only on projects.

Anyway, staying at Westin was a nice experience because it was the first time for us, as a family, spending some time in a Hotel. And with the beautiful window view overlooking the Pavillon, it was a nice feeling. We did finally get the chance to walk around the Pavillon and have dinner there. On the next day, before we set home, my Wife agreed to go to Sungei Wang, which is another first for the family. We have not been there for almost one and a half years. But for the two girls, it was exciting because there were a lot of things to see.

The first thing the girls did was to remove their shoes
by themselves since it was carpeted.

Then it was time to explore the new place....

First, it was the stationery....

And luckily, no furniture were defaced. Phew

Then it was running and falling about the room

Before they settled on the switches, phones and the radio

During dinner time, it was the usual antics with Kristine
examining the dustbin and Kaelynn running on the seats

And since the place was almost empty, Kristine used
it to her advantage, screaming and shouting in there.

Kaelynn with her KFC Chicken rice's drumstick and soup

And Kristine's response to the F&N Strawberry

At the Food Republic, I wanted to try King of Pies
but since we ate at KFC, I did not get the chance

Kristine running about outside the Supermarket
while Mommy was inside buying some drinks for
tomorrow since no free breakfast was given

Back at the Hotel, it was time for their bath and they
really enjoyed it. Kristine filled the bathtub with a lot of
water and made it into her own personal swimming pool

The morning after where cleaners dreaded such scene....

While the girls were occupied
with the TV and eating their
breakfast, we did some quick
clean up of the room

And while we were cleaning the carpet, Kaelynn showed
her unique way of eating her bread without cutlery

And then, Mommy was splattered with Kaelynn's vomit,
(it was full of milk)

And so, we took both of them for another round of bath

Unfortunately, we also found out how the Coco Crunch
finished so fast as Kaelynn was throwing them into the
soapy bath while Kristine was eating them up

Hours later, it was time to go home

Since it was an executive suite or something, there were a
lot of sweet stuff as well. But notice the top left corner.......
Is this the way to encourage tired executives?

I was to tempted to jump through the hoop

Nice buffet setting

And just on top, this was very difficult to take
without any tripod and also with the kids here

On the way, we stopped by Sungei Wang

And had lunch at Esquire Kitchen

Kristine gnawing at the pork rib

After that, it was time for me to continue my work. By three
in the afternoon, I was already back at the site, working.
Saw one stall selling deed-fried stuffed tou fu
(Cabbage, carrots, etc). When mixed with the lekor
type of chilli, wah, dem stim la

The customer plonked not one but two containers
Trouble is, which container should we lay cables to?

This is my new assistant. For the next few months, I
would need to train him up to the best of my ability
and hope he does not run away from all the hard work

Road menace

Nowadays, its not just the motorcyclists being the menace on the road but increasingly, so are the motorists. Most of them which irks me are the ones who cut into lanes without proper signaling. And they way the did which really pisses me most:

1) The sneaky sneak
They will slowly move to the edge of the lane and then cruises to you own speed. Once you are one car behind, they will cut into the lane and more or less, forces you to slow down dramatically.

2) The standing still cut
Just like the above but they come out from a lane that has a lot of non-moving cars. And once they swerve into your lane, be prepared for Emergency Brakes.

3) The last minute swerve
They will definitely do this once they match your speed and then, with just a fast rare blink (read: one) on the turn indicator (they assumed they have the rights now) they will cut in.

4) The stuntman
Usually this belongs to luxury cars, taxis, lorries and even Bengmobiles but more and more mid-sized cars are joining the fun. It does not matter if the road is free of cars or just normal, they will cut into the lane as it making a turn. No signals whatsoever except your horn.

There are other species which I have yet to discover unless my nerves are shot. Just because I am driving a van which has lousy acceleration I am victim to all these. Ha. Once I go back to my Bengmobile, we'll see. Bwahahahahahahahaah!

This stupid lorry slowed down in front of me on a lane which
is supposed to turn left. I honked and honked and was about
come out of the van to take his photo, but the lights changed

You can't honk at this fellow because: One, he is bigger than
you and two, he puts out the hand gesture of "Sorry, la" or
something to that effect. So, horning him would be like you
punching a guy in the face when he smiles in greeting

You can say otherwise but lets see how you deal with it when
you are all alone............

Scenes from a construction site.....

Man #1: I can't get this @#$%& machine to start
Man #2: Ha ha ha ha ha

Man #1: Here, you try it then!
Man #2: No problem. Here we go!..... Oh F&%@!

Making light of things

Searching for a place to hide

Everyone was pissed when he switched the electricity on and off.

"Oh S#!T!" (No, it was not our doing). Just that the
Bangladesh guy took so long to measure and cut the
hole for the exhaust fan, he forgot to look behind as
there was an air-con conduit there.

We lay da cables, man!
But me tech not up de roof

Me tech down dere, man.

The problems of screwing too hard

Measure the cables before you lay, OK?

This is the second time I have seen this Hygrograph in my life
This is a quartz precision version.

I rescued this calculator from the bin only to find out
that its not working as well as it should. Oh well, maybe
when I am free, I will gut it. Hee hee hee hee

System relocation

The time is here and by hook or by crook, this system will be switched off and relocated to the new office. We have been laying cables for the past 10 days and today is D-Day. Unfortunately, because of other customer committments, my team were rendered ineffective almost everyday. I need to split my team to cater between ongoing customers and cable project. For example, Team A will be pulling cables while team B will do service calls in the morning. Come afternoon, both teams might be pulling cables while I handle the rest of the service calls or the other team would change places. And not only that, since I am the only person who can drive the van, I have to be at the site every morning and evening to ferry the tools and raw material.

But by doing this, the cable job took longer than it should. And some customers are not happy as well since our "response time" was delayed. I should have written down the job schedule for them to follow but I did not and this caused a lot of problems in the planning side. Telling them verbally is not as effective. Anyway, as promised, we would be shutting the system down at six in the evening since Telekom informed the customer they will disconnect the incoming telephone lines at six as well. By following Telekom's schedule, we do not need to waste anytime connecting the incoming lines to normal phones for the night shift staff to use. Still, we decided to wait awhile before doing it as they might still be some staff doing last minute orders.

We have to do this because come tomorrow, Telekom would be reconnecting the lines at the new office and the PABX system and wiring must be ready or else the customer would not have anything to use. And not only that, we must be 90% complete on Saturday as if there are any emergency on Sunday, the shops would not be open. Not only that, I now have an assistant to help me and today is his first day, it is so unfortunate for him to be working past midnight. Ha ha ha ha

This 10-odd year old Toshiba system is still in good
condition. Once we clear the dirt and gunk, that is.

This is its new place, which is perfect
and once it is fully installed, we will
have to install an exhaust fan

Instructions from a box.....

While my technician was installing the 200-pair junction box, I noticed the cardboard box which came with it has some instructions:
[Clockwise from top left]
1. Use the hook tool of your insertion tool to get rid of plaques

2. use the flat blade tool of your insertion tool to remove your false teeth

3. Never make obscene gestures when working

4. Do not remove your teeth this way

Guinea pig II

OK, althought in my heart I know its too good to be
true, but I would like to believe very much that my
wife made it. Its delicious!

Screwing around with the lights on

While we were at the site, my Boss and I saw a very unique portable drill. It has lights. OK, maybe its a novelty and it really does remind me of those early Made in China products where almost every item has a white LED light. Having a portable drill is nothing new. In fact, it is a great time-saver (and also a blessing when my hands has gout) and we're actually thinking of getting at least another two.

The light comes on when you pull the trigger

I like it because of the Sci-Fi look towards the rear.
The grip looks so promising and secure despite it being
straight and the top, where the vents are, looked like
some heat dissipator from a Sci-Fi ray gun