left or right, stay or leave ?

the impossible do happen .... things like tmnet actually solving my streamyx problems, import duty slashed for cars but car prices still going up, etc. ...

now, by professional standards, the impossible happened. i have been made a counter offer by my new boss. i was under the impression all this while if i had wanted to leave that these guys won't actually be in my way. i was surprised to hear that they are making me another offer to stay....

what to do? should i take the opportunity to jump from technical to sales? should i stay on and enjoy the regional work?

this is a journey i need to walk alone. i don't think anyone has even the slightest clue what i feel when given both choices. how? what do i really want to do?

on one hand, the regional work still has appeal for me, and there's something sexy about speaking mandarin with a taiwanese, like a taiwanese in a train in kl ... on the other hand, there's the stability and probable bright lights with the sales job.

decisions ... decisions ... i'm hoping for devine intervention, but that's probably more unlikely than unlikely ... what to do ?

streamyx sucks big time

my work is increasingly encroaching into my life, as is the case with many people who working in the corporate world out there. nowadays, midnight conference calls are not that uncommon, as are things such as overnight assignments, stand-bys, etc. etc.

my neighbour, who works from home gave me some very good feedback with regards to streamyx at one of our get togethers, so i was thinking ... hmm ... what if i can do some of my work at home, from the comfort of my airconditioned room, while sipping my favourite chinese tea .... not bad, sounds like an idea.

with that in mind, i finally subscribed to tmnet's streamyx service last week. after my service activation on 16/11, wednesday, i was able to start using broadband internet at home, which made my work and life so much easier. i thought i was finally able to get some work done at home without waiting for the tiny 28.8 kbps phone line to transmit the MBs and MBs of files i normally send and receive.

well, streamyx chose a fine time to show how 3rd world we really are in malaysia.

on 17/11, there appears to be a large scale authentication server failure ... no one could really authenticate, and thus, log on. the fine (*&)(*$#& at their call center first told me ... no problem, 1 hour sure solve ... just need to reset the password. (btw, what FUCKING rights do they have to ask me for my IC number and phone number to reset password. reset, reset la ... need password la, this la, that la ....)

ok lor ... wait 1 hour and 30 minutes. then ... ? cannot. call again to call center. this time, the girl said ... wait another 2 - 3 hours lor ....

ok. wait. then ? still cannot. still cannot authenticate. still cannot logon. don't care, postponed my conference call, and then went on to sleep.

next morning, still problem. still cannot authenticate. ** PISSED OFF **. still, no time to do much, just went to work instead.

then at night come home .... (this is 18/11 already) ... SHIT ... the dsl light not on, not blinking, actually, just simply not on. FUCK.

call call center. asked me to do stupid things such as plug modem straight into phone jack, test phone line quality, pinch my nose, close my eyes, bend down, extend my right hand and turn 5 times. still no work. how ?

call again. now, this fine fellow told me to be patient, he filed report already, must wait 24 FUCKED UP HOURS - 48 EVEN MORE FUCKED UP HOURS before can resolve.

HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO BE PATIENT ? OUT OF MY 4 DAYS OF *FUCKED UP* STREAMYX SUBSCRIPTION, 3 DAYS NOT WORKING.

at 25% success rate, i'd probably rate my internet experience when i was in sudan to be more reliable. SUDAN INTERNET BETTER THAN FUCKED UP STREAMYX SERVICE.

in thailand, where i worked for 1 year, i probably had internet problems for what ... 2 days in the whole year. no service interruptions, immediate support, no downtime because of upgrades, etc. etc.

i wanna know how i can wriggle clear of my 2 year sign up. the whole thing is just so FUCKING unreliable.

and you wanna know what's even better? no customer feedback hotline one, you know. you not happy ah ? write email or snailmail la. where can call one ?

TMNET STREAMYX SUCKS. TMNET SUCKS.

i'm sad to be a malaysian. we are nothing but a magazine with glossy cover, but no contents.

back in bangkok ... in STYLE

i had to come back to bangkok to support some very urgent project that is going to go live very soon. i was a little sad i didn't get to spend too much time back home before travelling again, which i would very much love to.

however, this time, baby, i was travelling in style .... don't believe me ? look at this ....

the seats on the thai airways 777-200 is RECARO ... wah ... expensive car seats in an airplane. but it was really comfortable ... and the covers were in colorful thai silk, not the boring boring stuff MAS or SIA puts out.

i like thai airways more than MAS or SIA becoz:

they keep giving you wine - at least they come 3-4 rounds. MAS kiamsiap .. only serve drink one time when they serve the meal.

they SMILE at me. even if sometimes that's becoz of my clumsiness and really bad color coordination when it comes to clothes

when i ask for extra beverages, they actually get it without any problems. MAS ladies put on a face ... like as if they don't get paid to do the job

and i was put up at ... jeng jeng jeng ... the conrad, which is quite nice, especially after 12 months staying in a mid end serviced apartment

the room when i came in ... HUGE. and with full amenities. no expenses spared.

the room was littered with nice decorations, and i especially like the wooden motive thru the whole room.

and here's the workdesk, mini bar and behind the desk is a walk in closet ... full amenities. i could have left my entire toiletry bag at home, and will still be well groomed to meet my customer. grooming set - check, shoe care set - check, hair care set - check, branded perfume - check .. macam macam ada

here's the washroom ...

i didn have a wide angle lense, so you couldn't see how spacious it was. how spacious ... ? it's sooooooo big you could put a few rumah kos rendah inside. really. there's a bathtub, a large standing shower - with rain style shower that has - check this out - pressure control *hooray*, and a large toilet and again, full facilities. luv the toilet ...i should have done this at home ... i love the wash basin.

and the bed .... heavenly ...

i wish i had a girl with me ... you can't see it, but there's a pillow menu - can even select your pillow.

now, let me see what i can do in the system to make sure i stay longer .... :-)

sheesh ... back to bangkok ... lagi + klcc view

sometimes, the harder you try to escape, the harder it is to escape. like me and bangkok. i was just getting cost here, with my ass warming my nice leather seat in my klcc office nicely when i got a call yesterday evening.

and just like that, i'm back in bangkok ... and will be there till the end of this week. which means i'll miss muz's farewell, and also miss my normal saturday routine. sigh. no driving range, can't pretend the golf balls are my boss and hit them into oblivion and beyond ... sigh ...

and this is what i will be missing this week ...

just because i have the view ... :-)

here's one view of kl, overlooking the jalan sultan ismail - jalan ampang junction from level 70 on petronas tower 2

the financial and shopping districts are all viewed from here. see times square? it's raining when this was taken, so the lighting is bad.

mbf tower, kampung baru and batu caves in the distance. jeles le ...

the infamous and always jammed jalan p ramlee and jalan ampang junction. if it's not jammed, it must be (a) chinese new year (b) hari raya (c) closed because got vip visit (d) in your dreams

first day back in office ...

it's my first day back in the office today in klcc .... not much have changed, except that my cubicle is like a mini store for unwanted hardware ... and my african violet is on the verge of dying ... tsk tsk ...

the first day back at work was a breeze, i didn't get much to do, not much in terms of phone calls as well, so maybe it was a slow way to break me in back to the rhythm of a desk job. i'll miss the fast and furious action associated with a job on site, but after the hustle of last year, i'm more than happy to get a little 'break'.

i took a whole week off last week, and people weren't informed - intentional - because i wanted to have real peace. if i was telling people, i'd probably had a busier week in bangkok. i was up to my neck with work, and i didn't even had time to pack until saturday. lucky for me i had been planning this home trip for a while now, so i had been bringing things back bit by bit.

still, i had to leave some stuffs in bangkok. dee was the lucky receipient of my in-house fountain, and my memo pad and the old iron. thanks to him for the 100 pipers box ... (just the box, but the immigration officer @ klia really tot that i'm bringing back a box of whisky) ... and for the ride to the airport. i've never taken so many stuff on my flights before. so i needed the ride ... thanks loads.

now, it's back to the grind here in msia, i hope. i don't expect to be travelling that much over the next month or so ... i hope to get some time to organize my house. traffic to work today wasn't so bad, got to work (albeit by breaking the speed limit) within 30 minutes, which is a record for a non public holiday. hope that will stay the same at least for the time being. my ageing car is starting to drink petrol like a hungry irishman drinking guiness.