My last beach vacation ...

I am currently working from home, having being in a conference call for nearly 4 hours already. I know, I know, you hear this every weekend.

You can probably see for yourselves that I'm not kidding when I say I don't have a social life. Or much of a life. And why I am changing jobs.

Anyways, I was bored out of my brains, and was digging up photos from the ol' Moz Monster archive when I came across this stunning one.

I was vacationing in Koh Samet, a small marine national park island off the coast of Thailand. I went for a long break with K Anukit and Ashish last year while I was still working in Bangkok.

I was walking on Wang Luang, one of the beaches in Koh Samet when I saw this orange colored bottle. I walked towards the bottle with the intention of picking it up to dispose it properly, when I realised the bottle wasn't orange - it was a plain plastic bottle, but it's all orange because there are all these shells growing on it.

It struck me that even on a barren place - such as a plastic bottle - where we don't normally expect life to exist, much less to thrive - shells can grow and thrive. Such is the hardiness of life that where there's a will - there will be a way. =)

Whoever made us all living things did a very good job. Thumbs up to You.

Click to see a bigger picture.

I need to organize my life ...

You know you're in trouble when ....

You work all the time, you don't play enough ...
You sleep very little, you still can't finish your stuff ...
You totally forgot to return like 5000 phone calls to friends and family ...
You don't remember it's Saturday and actually dressed up for work in the morning ...
You are in a conference call for 6 hours and you're not saying anything ...
You have a few ripe, juicy, mangoes in the fridge, but you can't find the time to peel and enjoy 'em.

I hate working on Saturdays, more so when it's from home. True enough, I don't have to travel to work, but I still have to work from home, and sometimes the temptation to just walk out of the room to enjoy the creature comforts of home is VERY strong.

Oh, well, 1 more week and it'll all be over. I don't think there's anything I need to overly worry about.

I'm starting to step back and review my life now, and I've realised how disorganized I've become. Gosh ... cannot be. Must reorganize back ... must get tidy, systematic and predictable again.

Taking Time Out ...

I've finally told my major customer and my colleagues elsewhere in the region about my resignation. I'm happy to say that they've all wished me well and while surprised, expressed support for my move. I'm glad to hear that. I've heard some stories where people get scolded for leaving, and some where people are trying hard to convince them not to leave.

I can see it in 2 ways - either I'm easily replaceable and would not be sorely missed. Or I'm a friend, not merely a colleague, and like all friends are, I get good wishes. Maybe it's a bit of both.

And I've decided to go it alone to Perhentian. If my cousin or mum decides to join up, they're in. Else, it's Moz hitting the road solo.

Most of my travels are ones I do by myself. There's no pressure to visit places I don't want to. There's no hurry if I like and overstay somewhere. There's no obligation to make anyone but myself happy. But most of all, I need to make peace with myself.

In a visit to New Zealand many years ago, I discovered the joy of being with myself. At the end of a quiet bike trail on the South Island, looking out at endless mountains on one side and the open ocean on another, I was all alone. In this sort of setting, you would have thought that it was supposed to be all quiet - just you and the natural elements.

Well, not for me. I realised now noisy my brain was - there was unending chatter in there. While there really is no noise except for the distant waves crashing the rocky shore and the strong coastal winds, inside my head, I can't stop talking to myself. It might as well have been a packed train station in downtown Bangkok.

There - I discovered the meaning of alone time - and the need to make peace with myself. In the breathtaking setting in New Zealand, all alone in the middle of nowhere, I settled some pressing issues I had then. I made up my mind, I consulted with myself. I made up with my conscience for some of my situations, and I moved on.

It was the start of many holidays alone, all in search of that one moment of clarity when everything makes sense. When I can speak to myself alone and be satisfied with my own decisions. When I can make peace with my inner self. I didn't stay very long at that spot in New Zealand, maybe 30 minutes. Maybe 1 hour. But it was the best time of myself, and all I did was sit and gaze out at the scenery while my mind synced up with my inner self.

I have at most another 2 weeks here in this current job.

Work's going to crescendo slowly to a big bang at the end of my stay in this job. I just heard another stack of paper and forms landing in my Inbox. Ouch, there's another memo I need to write and pass on to the team. And it's only 30 minutes past midnight. The night is still young.

Mix with that a few big activities around the corner and also an increasingly unreasonable boss (strange, he was perfectly reasonable before I handed in the letter), I don't think blogging around this time will be wise. I have to also handover all my work to someone (don't know who yet), since there's an ongoing project I'm handling.

I'm reducing my blogging activity for the time being, considering that my workload will most likely make me buckle over and die young. And you thought that people who don't smoke live longer, don't you? Not true. I don't smoke, but the job can kill too, if you're not careful. I'm so looking forward to starting anew at my next destination.

Maybe when someone makes me mad, or something important happens (like when they finally give in to overwhelming public response and approve the Rebat Kekecewaan Streamyx), I'll blog something. Otherwise, knock yourself out with the past entries. I particularly liked my own writings on Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. Do leave me comments or drop me emails. I'll reply when time permits.

How NOT to raise your child

As a young child many many many many moons ago, I was extremely impressionable. I learnt plenty by observing the adults around me. I absorbed quite a bit simply by watching other people. I'm assuming it's quite the same for a lot of people. Behaviour is something learned.

I can tell you now that I can identify habits, traits and behaviour that originate from me watching my parents. Some people tell me if I walk side by side with my dad, when people see us from behind, they can't tell us apart. Apart from the physical resemblance, the way we walk is even similar - I saw it myself from a few family get together videos.

I was doing the rounds in KLCC some days back, killing some time waiting for the traffic jam to die down and also because I really needed a new pair of golf gloves and also a new pair of shades. (Am NOT going to Perhentian without shades). So I was walking all over KLCC trying to find shades that would fit my budget and needs.

While taking the escalator up from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor, I was standing almost shoulder to shoulder with this woman, who looked a little anxious, and a little angry all at the same time. She had this jerkiness in her movement which suggested agitation.

The moment the escalator ended at the 3rd floor (where the Signatures Foodcourt is) ... she steamed ahead and walked quickly around a corner. I wasn't very far behind her.

"Tiu!! Lei sie jo hui pin? Tei ng to ngo lok jo hui ka? *", she shouted in course Cantonese, quite loudly in the direction of a man carrying a young boy, probably 3 or 4 years old only. It was clear why she was worked up - she was separated from her partner and child.

The partner did not respond, he simply walked towards her, and handed the baby over to the woman, who quickly took the baby in her arms.

* Translation: "F#ck!! Where have you died to? Can't you see I went down already?"

Probably 10 other diners seated within earshot looked in the direction of the woman. And I was stunned for a short second too. I recovered quickly and simply moved on to the 3rd floor escalator on my way up to the 4th floor.

In the corners of my eye, I could see the family moving towards the escalator, heading down.

OK. I lived in rough areas of KL where foul language is like the air you breathe. I lived in places where course and foul language is a way of life. If I had to (and I don't have to very often), I can carry my own foul language laced conversation as well. But never in the presence of a child.

Never

NEVER

N. E. V. E. R

Children learn from us. They observe and gather their own thoughts based on what they see, hear, feel and experienced.

I tell my friends to put out their cigarette when in presence of their young children. I tell them to keep their language clean when their kids are in presence. I always ask a friend to stop swearing on the wheel when driving his young son to school. I once had an argument with a friend (after he put his daughter to sleep) about how he should not be throwing rubbish just out on the street (it sets a bad example - she'll think it's ok to litter).

It's bad enough we're all flawed. Don't let them be. Don't raise your kids this way. Show them good examples. Show them by example how to conduct themselves. Let them observe and learn good things from us instead.

I hope the woman I encountered at KLCC represents a minority - I hope that most parents will be level headed enough to realise that they play a major role in the positive development of their young ones.

Top Ten Things That Should Have Tax Rebates ...

There is spring, summer, autumn and winter. And then there is tax season.

Like much of the seasons elsewhere on earth, it's all different according to where you are. In Bolehland, tax season happens to be about 1 week before the deadline to around the last afternoon before submission deadline. The most intense time happens around 3 days before deadline.

Anyways, enough with our nation of procrastination habits. I'm really sore this year because I didn't get much rebates for my taxes. Reason?

Oh well, apart from me spending nearly all of 2005 in Thailand and the fact that I'm not a very good receipt keeper, I'm also feeling hard done by the limited amount of rebates for people like me who fall in the middle. I'll admit I'm not poor, but I'm not putting myself in the rich bracket as well. The middle class - where most of us probably fall into - are screwed.

Anyways, I'm just indulging in my own little fantasy on items that should have Tax Rebates. Like really lame ones, but ones that would have made be really, really, happy.

• There should be a rebate for purchase of original CDs, VCDs and DVDs mah. I know it'll still be tempting to buy all those Petaling Street prints, but at least for people like me who support original, there's something in it for me, right?

• Bloggers like me should be given Streamyx frustration rebate - for all the phone calls, emails, time wasted, broadband wasted, etc. for complaining to Streamyx lah ... and then the garmen should charge the rebates to Streamyx. Then only they will feel padan muka and buck up.

• Drivers who don't kena saman in the whole year should take a lie detector test to check whether they have given duit Starbucks or not. If they pass (ie haven't paid any duit Starbucks) - then they should get a BIG rebate lah. Call it 'Rebat Anti-Rasuah'
  

• And drivers who failed the lie detector test should also get a BIG rebate lah .... and then charge the rebate to the police. Maybe then the duit Starbucks culture would stop. And hehe ... we can call this 'Rebat Anti-Budaya Duit Starbucks'
  

• I think we're all entitled to a 'Rebat Jambatan Scenic Terbelangkai' this year ... am I right, folks?
  

• Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol SMS Voting Rebates - damn some people I know spent like months' worth of salary voting for their idols, ok? I'm sure folks like Maxis and Digi pay loads and loads of corporate taxes already on all those SMS revenue.

• There should be a 'Rebat Jem Banjir Kilat' for all people who can prove they work in flash-flood prone areas. I mean, all that time, petrol and damage from the flash flood is paid out of our own pocket, you know.

• To encourage people to be more mathematically inclined, Borang BE should have a few sudoku puzzles. Solve those Sudoku puzzles - get a 10% rebate on your tax !!!
  

• For long suffering consumers of piped water, I propose we all get a rebates for all the water filter systems we have to buy on our own.
  

• Early Bird Rebate for all those who submit the forms at least 2 days before the deadline - break the last minute rush culture !!
  

Random Tuesday Notes

I had prepared another blog for today, but I'm keeping it for another day. I'm quite prolific with my blogging - I have around 50 drafts and most of them stay that way - draft. Heck, maybe someday, I can use some of the material when I'm rich, famous and desperately needing material for my book.

Plenty of work rant in here, so pardon me if it sounds drier than usual. Hey, even a Monster needs the ocassional rant.

Work - going down in a blaze of glory?
I had a chat with my supervisor today. But not before I first spoke to the HR person.

I sent my letter around 2 weeks ago. HR only heard about it .... today. Sheesh. Either these guys really don't want me to go, or these guys really don't have a clue where HR is. Or both.

I'm told my last day would be 10 May 06. In any case, I'm asking to get 8-10 May off - what's the point of staying from Monday to Wednesday anyways? That way, I get a little break too. Still not sure if I'll get those days off.

You normally don't take any leave during the first few months of a new employment - not long ones anyways. And I haven't had a decent break for a while now, so I want to take some time off before I start my new job. I'm gonna miss 2 week long breaks. I really do.

But guess what - even if my last day in the office is 5 May, what it means is that I'm going to go down in a blaze of glory !!! I have a MAJOR project cutting over on 6-7 May !!!

It feels like a footballer retiring right after winning the World Cup or some major trophy with his country or club.

Oh well, always had this image in my mind that I'd ride off in a Harley into the sunset. *Cue for Top Gun soundtrack*

But How ... ?
But it also bothers me that even with all these projects around me, there isn't any handover seriously happening now.

For a job like mine, there's probably no good time to quit the job - we're on call 24x7.

Which is why I'm concerned that there isn't any real communication and handover plans for this huge, regional account I'm handling. The irony of the situation is that I got this account because the previous person also quit, and the last time that happened, the customer nearly gave up on us.

I can see the signs that says this might be happening again. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it. Maybe it'll be someone else's problems soon, but still, I'd like to be able to smoothly transition this to someone else - because I like the customers - they are the nicests customers I've had. And because I don't want to see a lot of my good work wasted because management can't manage.

Stopover
Booked my holiday today.

Regardless of what happens, I'll be in Pulau Perhentian Besar on 11-13 May. I've got my chalet and boat ride booked. Now all I have to do is to find out what to do, and sneak sometime to play some golf in Awana Kijal and also drive up to Kuala Terengganu. Or maybe it's the other way ... someone tell me if I should play golf in Awana Kijal first or if I should go to KT first. Actually, coming from Kuantan, what is the order ... Awana Kijal, Kuala Besut and Kuala Terengganu, or how?

*Ask mum to help locate my Malaysian driving map*

Lonely ...
But just I had been since I started living out of my suitcase, I'd probably have to travel to Perhentian alone. *Sigh*

My best buddies are either on company trips or are not interested. Damn. I'll ask a while still. But I hope to find a buddy, otherwise, I'll still go alone and have a good time, but I'd love to have someone come along.

It's a drawback of not having many friends. But then again, I'm ok. I just wish I had some company on this trip.

Top Ten Lame Income Tax Excuses

Death and Taxes. The only things unavoidable in life - says someone to me. I can easily add a gazillion others, but I'm sure there's some truth in there.

In Bolehland, whether you Boleh or not, time's nearly up. It's time for you to go and submit your taxes. Have your checkbook ready. If you need to pay them, make sure you pay 'em up NOW. If they owe you money, well, look up Wikipedia for the accounting term "Bad Debt". It might help you to start accepting your fate now. Pay up.

But Bolehlanders being the strong optimists they are, always believe that we can finish our tax forms within 1 week and submit one. Some even believe it's ok to miss the deadline because it will be extended.

But the extreme ones are the ones who make up excuses, in hope of some form of respite. No respites la bro ... just do it like the rest of the rakyat lah .... anyways, here are the Top Ten Lame Income Tax Excuses ...

• "I mistook the form for Indah Water bill and simply threw it away."

• "But Daniel and Mawi told me if I spent lots of $$$ voting for them it would all be tax exempt !!" - Try at your own risk. Appears to be marginally successful if you are young female.
  

• "My ... sniff ... form .... sniff .... died from bird flu last week officer .." - Only pull this one if you're into the poultry farming industry.
  

• "It doesn't say anywhere on the form that a purple dinosour has to do taxes, Mr Officer" - Use only if the name on your MyKad is "Barney" and the Keturunan is "Raksaksa".
  

• "If I told you I'm allergic to Income Tax Self Assessment form, would you believe me?"

• "I can't pay any taxes because I pledged billions to the National Cancer Institute .." - Applicable only to self declared Lebanese billionaire
  

• "I know it's hard to believe - but Bigfoot promised to fill in the forms for me last week - but the damned fella disappeared and now I only have his footprints !" - sometimes successful for applications from certain parts of Johor.
  

• "I can't pay any taxes because my husband pledged billions to the National Cancer Institute .." - Please forge marriage cert to self declared Lebanese billionaire if you want to use this.
  

• "Your ... form .. cough .. printed ... with .. ack .. green ... kryptonite ink .. gasp .. I ... can't ... fill ...." - Applicable to Superman only lah ...
  

• "Aiks ... you not using the Chinese Lunar Calendar ah ?" - Moz Monster only
  

Just for fun, I'm second guessing what some other bloggers might say if they have to cough up a lame Income Tax excuse. Of course, I think some still lucky, don't have to pay taxes yet, while some have probably done better than me and already completed it. But, what the heck ...

• My dog Chester ate it ... Che-Cheh

• The terrapins ate it ... Pelf

• I lost it in an auto accident / The form got infected ... I.X.

• I used the form as rough paper to draft this Top Ten list ... Moz Monster

• KNN ... Linpeh where is my Incum Teks form lah ?? ... wingz

• omg omg I have to do income tax form already? *faints dramatically* ... cheng sim

• Damn. The freaking form makes me wanna down another shot of vodka spiked orange. And eat a baby. Tiu ... Fireangel

Top Ten Stupid Things To Say On The Job .

OK ... it's job time !!! I know so many people who're moving into the work force now. Guys and gals, welcome to the real world !! School, college and uni is nothing more than a honey moon.

If you thought that being put to the gun every semester when you're in school is stressful, working simply magnifies it. Pressure is constant.

Sometimes you have bosses who're simply anal. Or colleagues who simply get on your nerves. Or maybe just had a bad day. But whatever it is, somethings are probably not worth saying on the job.

No kidding. Sometimes, even in the heat of the moment, like when your boss insists you are wrong when he actually instructed you to do it wrong in the first place, when keeping your angry words with you help.

Anyways, here's the Top Ten Stupid Things To Say On The Job ...

• "Sir, I should really tell you that I didn't wash my hands after I went to the toilet because we're short here at the counter and in the kitchen." - Applicable to people working at counter in food outlets.

• "Look, sir, I know there's a fly in your soup. But let me assure you the fly must have been dead in the first place. We spray Ridsect in our kitchen every 15 minutes to keep the flies out ..."
  
  
• "I don't understand how a fat, balding, lazy loser like you can be my boss ..."

• "Wei, boss, how come you always come and disturb me sleeping one? Can't you see that people tired one meh?"

• "I ran out of red ink while finishing your bad ass skull, so I used pink instead ..." - Applicable to the tatoo man.
  

• "You mean it smells strange? Oh. Well, I ran out of shampoo, so I used the toilet bowl washer. I read it's got very good germ killing properties." - Please don't let me be on the receiving end of this in a hair saloon
  

• "I don't understand why you're so upset with me taking 2 hour long toilet breaks."

• "The food for the tiger didn't arrive on time, so I moved those rare Timbuktoo Mountain Goats into the Tiger Cage, just in case the tigers got hungry. You don't want the tigers to get hungry, do you?" - Applicable to animal caretakers working in zoos across the world. **Moz says: No tigers, Timbuktoo Mountain Goats or other animals, real or imaginary were harmed in the making of this Top Ten List, ok? OK?**

• "Wei, boss, you really expect me to do that ah? You pay peanuts, expect monkeys la you ..."

• "WOW!! Your daughter is ..." - go figure out the rest.
  

Back to my old routines ...

Before my days travelling around in a suitcase, and practically living out of it, I had a weekend routine ... I would sleep until the day's practically half over, then I'll wake up, meet up with the gang, do something like furniture scouting or crystal shopping or something equally and then adjourn for food and / or movies.

This job, even now, is not making it easy, but I think that routine is finally coming back to me.

Today, me, Taiko and Sean went antique shopping. Now, before you decide to start rumor mongering and accuse me of being siong dang again, we just went antique WINDOW shopping. Window shopping only, OK? Taiko did buy a chair, but it wasn't any more expensive than the IKEA ones.


After a few years overseas, it's amazing how much of the roads you DON'T remember. I was supposed to drive to the heartland of PJ, Jalan 222 ...


It just looks like a lot of factories to me ... and then i called up Sean ...

Moz: Eh ... I reach Jalan 222 liao ...
Sean: OK. Hold. You know, it's called Zi-Tan. It's further down the road.
Moz: ??? I survey the whole road liao, no such place lah.
Sean: Where are you?
Moz: 222 lor.
Sean: There's this little road you need to get into once you're there ...

So, apparently, the furniture shop is ON the way to Jalan 222, and I passed it. **Sheesh**



But I found it. It's on Jalan 225, which is before Jalan 222.

This place we checked out first was called Zi-Tan. Taiko had a chair he spotted - he broke his computer chair sometime back and had been scouting for a replacement.


Wah ... full of stuff I would have found in Thailand anyways ... but in Malaysia the price gets marked up a bit. Actually, a lot. Now I know why people go hunt their antiques or high end decor items in Bali or Chiangmai directly. Even with freight, it's probably cheaper.


Zi-Tan has a good variety of Chinese, Tibetan and Thai decor items and antiques. What you really have to be mindful of is that antiques really means restored, pre-owned furniture. I don't think I want that. But there are pieces which are modern, up-to-date reproductions, which seems more attractive to me.

Then we crossed the street to Chinatown.


This place have so much more pieces, and they're mostly Chinese pieces, with some Tibetan ones. But what separates this place with Zi-Tan is that the sales people are more friendly. Peggy basically helped us a lot and talked about each piece, the history and the nuances. Very helpful to the noobs like us.

I know it's really worth nothing ... but I took the world's smallest roundabout 3 times today. How small was it? So small it's a joke. I mean, let's just scrap it and turn it into a proper cross junction with functioning traffic lights, shall we? It's probably a meter or so in diameter only.


And we went to Leisure Mall to catch Ultraviolet. There's plenty of action - the fight scenes were great. But I was disappointed with the quality of the special effects - watch out for the motorbike chase scene at the start ... it's utter crap. You'd expect better nowadays. Or maybe you'd only expect those sort of effects in Hong Kong / Korean movies where the budgets are more modest.

And then, off to Yulik for hawker food dinner. I haven't had hawker food for a while, so I jumped at the chance. The famous yong tau foo stall wasn't open today, so we settled for the fish ball noodle, which wasn't too bad. It was too dark for any photos there - and I certainly didn't want to take the chance that when my camera flashes and takes the photo of whatever I'm eating a roach or some huge rodent will appear, so I thought I'd just assume everything is ok and eat.

I've gotta say - somehow it's true - you can make food as elaborately as you like - like how hotels and fancy restaurants do it, but the best ones are in simple road side stalls. Food, it appears is all about the simplicity and essence. Ever taken shark fin's soup in a roadside stall in Bangkok or Hong Kong? Sure beats the thousand bucks' bowls I've had elsewhere. (Of course, sponsored one lah .. )

Gua Caya Sama Lu, Streamyx ...

Last Saturday ... this is what happened to me ...

I was in the office. Level 70 KLCC doesn't quite sound right for hanging out on Saturdays ... since the aircond is off, I made myself comfortable in the Conference Room (which has a separate aircond unit) .... and drew all the curtains. (KLCC's twin towers is almost all glass ... so it gets really hot and bright if you don't have curtains / shades).


And down there .... I could see ... KL Convention Center ... PC Fair ... all the crowd walking from KLCC to KL Convention Center (hehe ... KLCC = KL City Center ... otherwise I would have to say "walking from KLCC to KLCC"). **Sigh** And I'm working ... all morning .... all afternoon .... all evening ... all night ....

But never mind that ... I was on conference call coordinating my project from ... day time (from around 9:15 am) ... yes, that's my work space on Saturday - this photo was taken around 7 hours into the conference call ...


And I didn't leave the office until ....


WaaaaaAAAaaaaAAaaay past my bed time .. I think by the time I left the office, all the ghosts haunting the conference room had went back to bed as well ...

Why? Because I can't do it from home?

Why can't do from home? Because Streamyx down.

Which is why today ... when I saw this ... (gasp!!! all my lights are on !!! DSL is ALIVE !!! )


and then this ... (I not only connected !!! I can browse the web !!!)



and then this ... (I really ON !!!)


I was estatic !!!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven !!!

OK. I'd like to thank TM Net Streamyx for the extreme dedication, preseverance and commitment to customer satisfaction and delight during the entire 20 days. Without their hard work, technical know-how and concern, it would have been impossible for them to solve a problem as complicated as mine within 20+ days only !!!!

I still can't understand how it is possible for them to only take 20 days to solve my problem. After all, my problem is extremely complicated - I could connect to Streamyx - all the hardware, connection and configurations were all correct - most of the 20 days - I later lost my DSL light as well. I could even ping any given websites out there in the big, bad Web. But I just couldn't surf to any websites at all.

I mean, how could it be possible to resolve a problem of this magnitude? And only in 20 days?

TM Net, I salute you !!!!

** Who am I kidding?**

Streamyx? Still In Progress

A TM technician called me about my Streamyx problem this morning ...

Technician: Mr. Moz, my name is Technician, I'm calling from Telekom.
Mr. Moz: Good morning.
Technician: Yah, good morning. Your problem ah ... how long since you have your problem?
Mr. Moz: I had it since 1 April. In fact, it's 2 days before that ... so I think I had a problem since 29 March.
Technician: OK. I will solve your problem today la ... Are you at home? What time I can go to your house?
Mr. Moz: Err ... I'm not home, I'm working. But my mother should be around in the afternoon after 2.30 ...
Technician: Ok lah. I will solve your problem today la ...

I'm hoping it will be true. I need to get Streamyx back in working order.

Here's a chronicle of my Streamyx problems ...

March 29 - Suddenly lost connection while browsing. Decided to call it a night and look into the day after.
March 30 - Still no Internet. Can connect, can ping, just can't browse anywhere. Went over all my own equipment to make sure it's not my own equipment's problem.
April 1 - Opened case #1258641 with TM Net. Informed that they will take maybe 24-48 hours to solve it.
April 2 - Held my tongue. Decided not to call TM Net and wait out the '48' hours and give them all the time to solve it.
April 3 - Called TM Net, informed that 48 hours doesn't include Sunday, since technician doesn't work Sundays. Asked to be really patient.
April 4 - Still In Progress
April 5 - Still In Progress
April 6 - Don't want to hear Still In Progress anymore - thrown my first tantrum.
April 7 - Officially informed that there's a Slow Browsing problem in Klang Valley and my area is affected. I have a sinking feeling all the cases are chucked aside and considered 'Slow Browsing' problems. But a duty manager promised to help me and follow up problem till the end.
April 8 - Slow Browsing problem still.
April 9 - No more patience. Thought I would shout at agent if I called, so did not call.
April 10 - Duty Manager still no call. Case Still In Progress. Slow Browsing Still in my area.
April 11 - Public Holiday. Duty Manager still no call. Moz complained officially to TM Net.
April 12 - Complaints officer called me. Still Slow Browsing. Case Still In Progress. Moz still angry. Moz getting VERY angry.
April 13 - Give up. One last complaint and I was still told that I would need to wait. TM Net very good at wearing people down.
April 14 - Still In Progress. Complaints officer still don't know what is happening.
April 15 - Working. But in office. Should have been working at home via Streamyx.
April 16 - Working. At home. But still no Streamyx - so no email and Internal server access. I soooOOooOOooO hate Streamyx.
April 17 - Didn't bother to check if Streamyx was up or not. Worked from home via dial up.
April 18 - Craps. Complaints officer told me to check - problem should have been resolved. Went home only to find the DSL light wasn't even on. Complained again to TM Net.
April 19 - Still In Progress. Waiting for technician update. Complaints officer not working.
April 20 - ..... the saga continues. Duty manager never called. Complaints officer not doing job. Technician call only after 20 days. Streamyx is soOOOOoooOOoOOo good - I'm proud to be a subscriber. I'll spread the word around ...

Sigh ... sometimes, you just give up. Even if the offer me a rebate, I'm not sure if it's enough to cover all the phone bill I'm chalking up to call them to find out the status. I must have spent close to 3 hours the last 2-3 weeks listening to the IVR announcement already.

Short Holiday ?

I have a very short gap between this job and the next, and I'm thinking of taking a short holiday.

After all the stress of handling Streamyx, and to give myself a logical break between the 2 jobs, I think a short break would do me wonders.

In keeping with the local theme, I'm thinking whether it would be better to visit .... Kota Kinabalu, the islands off Terengganu or stuff myself silly in Penang?

I love KK for it's more laid back atmosphere and the closeness of nature. And I get to play golf too ... =) ... and still visit the TAR Marine National Parks - I snorkeled very close to a whale shark last time I was there !!! =)

I want to try out maybe Perhentian Besar or Redang, since, embarassingly, I haven't visited those places. And I still probably can golf in Awana. And I can probably drop by and visit a certain blogger in KT.

And I love Penang because there's never a shortage of things to see and do. This time, if I go, I resolve to hike up Bukit Bendera and also visit some hidden beaches. And most likely, I'll go to Pulau Payar / Langkawi.

But where ??

Hitchiker's Guide to Complaining to Streamyx

Someday, when Alzheimer's has eaten away half my brain, and I'm still stuck in Bolehland with only TMNet providing broadband, this will come in really handy.

Just remember - your case 1258641 has been created on 1st April 2006- still not resolved today. Today 19th April 2006. Still in Progress. At this rate of daily progress, I should open betting to all of you - which one will come first? My EPF retirement fund payout or my Streamyx connection ??

What the hell is Streamyx?
Streamyx is a broadband Internet service based on ADSL technology that is provided by TM Net, a subsidiary of Bolehland telco giant Telekom Malaysia. Actually, its more like a monopoly. It's not really a monopoly. But you get the idea. It's one of those things where you're given a choice but don't have a choice. You know. It's like someone is asking you to kill yourself and you can die by poison, cutting your own wrist or jumping off a tall building. You get the drift.

Who is Customer Service?
The Customer Interaction Center (CIC) is at 1300-88-9515. You press 2 for English, then 1 for Streamyx and then 3 for technical problems.

You then exercise patience. It is mandatory to hear the IVR announcements about 50 times. It is important that you believe the IVR is sincere when it says that all the agents are busy, that you will attended to shortly and you are important. Listen. In the big scheme of things, if you live until you are 70-some, what is half an hour on the phone listening to the same, boring, dry announcement? Nothing. It is nothing.

Now. Eventually, the light at the end of the tunnel will appear. Do not let joy overcome you. That light is a train. Heading for you. Just lie down and let the train pass.

See, this is the part when your intelligence gets insulted. Is it your line? Is the DSL light on? Is it your modem's fault? Is there a problem with the power supply? Did you bypass the splitter? Did you reset your modem? Did you reboot your PC? Is there a problem with your phone line?

Go easy on the agent. I think they have to check off all these questions - otherwise the technicians will probably belittle the agent's intelligence.

Never Accept Still In Progress for an answer
The Standard Operating Procedure seems to be that "Still In Progress" is the best response ever. It appears that half of all Streamyx subscribers will drop the phone like a hot potato if they're told the case is "Still In Progress".

Don't accept that. What really is "Still In Progress"? Creating a case ID might be one. Just taking the case and keeping it on your desk is also progress. Be specific. Ask for details. Make them sweat. Make them figure out what's already happened.

Always Get a Supervisor
For some reasons no one can comprehend, the agents are super-protective of their supervisors. Ask to speak to a supervisor, and nine times out of ten, they'll ask you for the magic password. Here's an info nugget ... "Please .." is not the magic word. The magic word is not even a word. It's not even a sentence. It's more like a verbal diarrhea. You'll have to go and justify to the agent why you think he/she won't be able to take your problem to the next level and then have it all resolved.

And finally ... patience ...
Bolehland is really a paradox. You really think Bolehland is boleh? No way, jose. If we're really so good and everything is really boleh, then we don't have to call ourselves Bolehlanders. It would be something we will all understand. It's a given - Malaysians Boleh.

The only reason we're told Malaysia Boleh is because IMHO, it's to make people believe that we can. Really, we can't. If you have a Streamyx problem - complaining is essential, but it doesn't go anywhere because it's always "Still In Progress". And because this is Bolehland, you'll eventually see it solved. But don't count on it being resolved before global warming melts all the polar ice cap and each one of us live in underwater cities and travel to work in a submarine.

F*ck those guys. They called me yesterday to tell me that my problems' gone, and that I should try it out. So I went home and powered on the modem ... and guess what? Now the DSL light is off. I don't have DSL signal.

In solving (and I can't even confirm if the problem's solved) - they have created a second problem. TM Net might be private, but it sounds suspiciously like a government at work here ...

Top Ten Reasons I Wanted To Work in IT

I just had some time between a splitting migrane and a drug induced snooze yesterday to give some thought on my career so far. You know, with all this resignation on this stuff and with all the little things that have happened since, it has not been the easiest time for me this past week.

I was trying to search my past for clues on why I ended up where I am currently. It's like, why didn't I get become a fireman, a sailor or something else, maybe a race car driver. I mean, when I was around 3 years old, I kept thinking that a fireman is the coolest thing ever possible to be. Whatever happened to that?

Or when I was watching Knight Rider I wanted to drive a talking car and save the world from destruction by all these wicked bad people.

So, I really had to search quite deep into my old diaries and had some conversations with mu parents to uncover better some of those decisions I've made which set me on this course.

Anyways, this is really meant to be funny, they're not my real reasons for getting into IT, but here's the funnies Top Ten Reasons I Wanted To Work in IT...

• I really love long, unrealistic and hard working hours.

• I really have no idea how I'll spend my weekends if I'm not working.

• The data server room sounded like a place full of live and action at that time.
  

• I thought I would look really good in unifor ... opps ... that's my fireman fantasy.
  

• I had a funny, nagging feeling then that the world would be taken over by computers, so I wanted to be in the right industry. When computers take over the world, they'll need people like me to give them TLC, right?
  

• You think I wanted to be in IT? It was the only course that would have taken me in, that's why.
  

• If you get to be senior enough, you can work for TM Net, and then disable subscriber like Moz's Streamyx and re-enabling it at your pleasure.
  

• They told me the pay would be better in IT. Yeah, right.
  

• I had a choice of being an Investment Banker and an IT support personnel. At that time, it sounded sexier to be an IT support personnel.
  

• I thought I would be surrounded by chicks when I work in IT !! ** Of course I'm wrong about this !!! **
  

Top Ten Perks of Working From Home ...

You know, one thing I might miss from this job is the fact that I get to work from home if I have to or need to.

On the good side, I sometimes get to stay home on Monday if I worked over the weekend, and do the work from home. On the other hand, it's also because I can work from home that I got to work on the weekend in the first place. It's such a damn paradox. But it's nice, and it's sometimes a good way to release some stress. And stay away from the office during times when it's pretty inaccessible.

So, what's so nice, you ask me, about working at home? Here, don't take it from me. See the Top Ten Perks of Working From Home ...

• Have you ever worked in your sleeping clothes before?

• For my tea break, I had a nice cuppa tea while soaking in my salt bath.

• I might be telling my boss I'm working on the proposal, but what I'm really doing is reading Rojaks !!

• Instead of gossiping at the pantry, I've been gossiping with the vegetable seller today.

• The project review conference call was conducted from the comfort of my toilet.
  

• I finished a few sudoku puzzles while "working out a problem" if you get what I mean ..
  

• I was watching WWE while having a home cooked meal for lunch. Try beat that.
  

• When I'm short of inspiration in the office, I walk to the pantry and make a drink. When I'm short of inspiration at home, I walk to the bar and make a drink. =)

• Hungry? Mum will make you a nice bowl of hot noodles. **High 5 with Mum**

• You get to nap on your own bed !! How cool is that ??!!
  

What would you feel?

Ok. It's a beautiful Saturday this morning. And I had to work all day.

And I hadn't had any food since 9 am - when I had a McDonald's Breakfast. It's only 8 p.m. now. Only the odd plain H2O. Today it's been a true blue liquid diet day.

It's raining. I'm feeling miserable. I've been co-hosting a multi-country conference call that had been on for 10 hours now.

What would YOU do to pass you time?

And how would YOU feel?

TM Net. TNB. Weekend Work.

I really should be sleeping - I have a 12 hour work schedule tomorrow. Something big is happening in China, over 3 cities. And I'm the guy with the head on the chopping board. So I really should sleep, but I can't.

TM Net Streamyx
My patience when faced with this word is starting to thin. Whenever someone says Streamyx, I tense up. Heart beat increases, adrenalin courses through the bloodstream, my eyes become bloodshot, my pupils contract, and the hair in my belly button stands.

16 days without access. 14 days since I created a report. Still no progress. Damn those people who sit in the high echelons of power in TM Net. I subject you to a curse so horrible I can't publish on the Internet for fear of permanently being banned by PPS or whoever.

If everyday of those 14 fateful days I had to spend at least 20 minutes of my life speaking to 'agents' at the Streamyx call center, I'd already wasted 280 minutes of my life. It's like speaking to a piece of wood. Or some inate object like a metamorphic rock. I'd hear my own echo and then nothing else.

And no thanks to Streamyx, since I have to work tomorrow, and since I have no workable Internet connection from home, I'm forced to travel to the office. And stay there for 12 long hours.

If Streamyx was a small insect like an ant, I'd really like to torture it to death. I'd pull each one of it's legs out, one at a time. Then I'd pluck out it's antennae and blind it's compound eye, one bit at a time. I know I'm mean, but Streamyx really sucks big time and disappointed me beyond my wildest dreams.

TNB
For the entire night, the power at my home had been going out and then coming back on. My dad dismissed it as 'poor quality electricity', but when it happened for the 4th time, I became very concerned and checked some of the circuitry (just visual inspection).

And I heard some crackling noise coming from the electric meter. I called TNB, and was connected to a human agent on my second attempt (the first one resulted in a message telling me all the agents are busy and to leave a message and my phone number. I did what everyone else would probably do - hang up).

She took my address, and then around 40 minutes later, 2 technicians showed up and discovered the problem - I had a burning wire from the supply main !! Another 1 or 2 days unattended, and my home would probably be in the papers - "Rumah terbakar" according to the technician.

He made a temporary fix which he told me would see the weekend out. And I should get an electrician as soon as possible to rectify it ASAP. I wanted to take the replaced wire and parts out and photograph it, but he took it with him - he has to show that he had replace the part. Oh, well, ok.

I'm very happy with the response from TNB. And I'm also glad I don't believe in hocus pocus like 'poor electricity quality'. The characteristics of our power supply means that we should be getting constant power, without any flickering or power outage. Lesson: If you have unexplained power outage - and there are no dropped fuses, call 15454 - they're pretty good.

I think TNB acted quickly because they are charging based on usage. My dear Streamyx takes forever because we're paying by packages that usually bond us to long term contracts - there's no need to fix a problem quick so that they can start charging me again.

Weekend Work
I have a big pre-rollout test happening tomorrow in 3 cities across China. As you can imagine, the real job is the planning ahead of time, which I think we've done alright. And the real challenge tomorrow is to coordinate people.

Which is why I normally do these kind of thing from the comfort of home. However, since Streamyx is down, and I don't have a reliable means to access systems from home, I'll be in the office.

12 hours on Saturday in my office, which has aircond turned off. Damn. Maybe I'll work in the meeting room (meeting room has separate aircond).

And on Sunday, a previous rollout in China that got postponed is going ahead. Again, I'll probably be in the office unless I get Streamyx back again. Unlikely. I'm expecting my Streamyx problem to be resolved around the time I get to collect the retirement kitty I built up in EPF. It's Bolehland, where it's Boleh to let a problem hang around for 14 days and your escalation options have not been exhausted.

Just thinking ahead to the task tomorrow makes it impossible for me to get a good nights' sleep - there's so many things that can go wrong, and I'm rehearsing in my mind the whole days' activities again and again.

I don't feel like a lame duck anymore.

And now they know ...

Joshua Ooi !!11!!oneone!!oneone!!1111!!!!

He read my blog. And he found out about me leaving. And he had a funny dream too ... in glorious Technicolor. But somewhat faded color / dual tone kinda Technicolor. I'm thinking it's a bit 60s kinda Technicolor. Josh, please confirm if your dream was in full glorious Technicolor / faded Technicolor / Dual Tone / Monochrome / Black and White.

So here's how Josh's dream turned out ....

• Josh was walking into the office, and approaching his desk.
• He could see Linda, staring out of the Petronas Tower 2 glass pane directly behind his desk.
• As he walked closer to his desk, he could make out Moz Monster standing outside the glass pane (means I standing outside the building lah ... )
  
• He could see that the wind outside was very strong because the winds were blowing against my hair, messing it all up.
  
• And before he could do anything, Moz jumped off the building. Silently. Into the streets 70 floors below
• Josh was at a lost ... stunned into silence.
• Linda ... well, she probably just walked back to her desk and then carried on working.
  

Well, I found that reaction to me leaving ... just plain funny.

Some myths in his dreams:

• I gel my hair when I work. No chance my hair would mess, even in the face of Katrina-like hurricane.
• Since I know suicide would void my life insurance policy payout, I would never do such a thing. You think I stupid meh ?
• On Level 70, there is no way to get out of the building thru the windows lah ...
  
• Linda is usually so blur she wouldn't have noticed I was standing outside the window. She'd probably mistake me for a window cleaner or something.
  

I'm still around. I love myself too much to actually do things like that. I think his dream is just a metaphor.

OK guys, since you guys found out about this already, let me make things plain and clear:

• I do miss y'all. The people are the best thing in my job. You folks in the Malaysian office rawk. I will miss you all. Hell, I'm starting to miss you all already.

• I'm not doing it for the money. At least that's not the reason I wanted to leave. Every person needs to chart his own course; I'm no different. I looked out because I was frustrated with aspects of my job, and aspects of the company. Yes, $$$ is one. But it's not even factor numero uno.

• I really believe that I won't be able to reach that next step in my career here - not on my own terms, not own my own schedule. I know I won't have that sort of control anywhere anyways unless my father runs the country (he doesn't even run the household). But I think I can be proactive and build my strengths and make use of my skills so that when, and if, the opportunity comes along, I'll at least have a shot.

• And honestly guys, my frustrations have been made known for some time now to the folks up there. Some time = a few years. If I can't see a remedy in a few years, I won't find it in the counter offer as well.

• And lastly, I closed the door on counter offer because I don't want to be a hypocrite. I've always told everyone I know that if the counter offer doesn't address the reason one is leaving, there's no point taking it. I know from experience I won't get what I want.
  

Look guys - bottomline is that I love you all dearly, and I will miss you all equally. Think of me as taking a fork in the road - maybe taking the path less travelled. It's a small circle where we work, I assure you all we'll be in touch and we'll be friends - always.

Women who makes Moz go …

I’ll leave it to you to complete the title. Be imaginative. But keep it to yourselves. Don’t have to leave me a comment about it. Really, I mean it. But do so if you wish anyways.

I had 2 rather interesting chats over the past few days which led me to this entry. One is an actual face-to-face chat. The other is a chat over the Net.

Angel, who is now on holiday in Bangkok, Thailand, is my first blog-buddy – she left me tonnes of comments and keeps the conversation going, took me to Alexis in Bangsar Shopping Complex for Tiramisu on Tuesday. And there we had a little chat.

pic ripped from -cristine-.blogspot.com

And just yesterday, Daisy, a mysterious Chinese music lover who leaves the occasional comments and humors me once in a blue moon on my blog had a rather interesting chat.

Both had one thing in common – women.

No, my mirror is not defective. And no, I think my face doesn’t morph into another face everytime I turn away from the mirror. I don’t think I look all that bad, so I don’t know why I don’t have a girlfriend now. I blame my work, but I think it’s probably something else. After all, I don’t put all that much emphasis on how a girl looks myself.

Angel asked me about the type of girl I liked. She asked me to look around the restaurant and see if there’s any girl who fits my ‘profile’.

And Daisy chatted about me and my lack of a current girlfriend.

I think both Angel and Daisy are wondering why I don’t have a girlfriend. I think, but I can’t confirm. I’m quite bad at reading women’s mind (that’s assuming daisy IS a girl – I’m positive but I can’t confirm).

So here I am, writing about me and the type of women that makes me go … [go ahead, be imaginative].

For the record, I don’t have a girlfriend currently. My mother believes I’m married to my job. Angel supports that. My friends think I love myself too much and I suspect some folks believe I’m averse to women. Again, for the record, that’s all not true. And just FYI, my last girlfriend I had was when I was working in Thailand. We broke off – rather – separated, because she didn’t want to follow me to Malaysia and I didn’t want to stay on in Thailand. We still keep in touch. I still hope we can be together, but I am realistic and practical about the situation.

I really don’t have a ‘profile’ in mind for the perfect gal. I never thought a girl should be so-and-so height, have so-and-so appearance, look like this, act like that or whatever. I’ve said that all my life. And I don’t think differently otherwise at this point in time.

Daisy thinks I’m choosy. I don’t know. Maybe yes, maybe not. Maybe my guy-gal blogs created that impression. Don’t know. Doesn’t matter.

Since I don’t have a ‘profile’ for a girlfriend, I simply recall the previous relationships I’ve had and look for things I like in a women. I think that’s about the best I can do.

I enjoy the company of people who can keep me engaged in a conversation. The ability to talk and feed off the conversation is important to me. I think I have a wide range of conversation topics and would gladly speak at great lengths on quite a number of things. I hate that feeling where I look at someone and she looks back at me and we’re both lost for words – just like uncomfortable silence often experienced in a crowded lift. So chatty girls are in. But I’m not discounting quiet ones either. Maybe I can communicate by non-verbal means with the quieter ones. Who knows?

I love free spirits – people who don’t enjoy the confines of closed spaces. I like people who love to be out in the open. I put a hike in the hills over a shopping trip to KLCC or Mid Valley. Women who love sports nowadays are becoming a rarity, I think. Girls who golf (like my last girlfriend) gets extra brownie points. But if they can hit the golf ball further than me, maybe, just maybe, I would be a little scared.

Adventurous and unpredictable girls get many extra brownie points too. I’m a bit unpredictable myself. I could, for example, decide to drive to Ipoh because I want a shot of white coffee. I’ve driven to Genting just because I wanted fresher air. And I like girls like that. Imagine the drag of a routine – meet for lunch at a shopping complex. Then go to a movie. Then browse around looking at clothes / watches / books / shoes / whatever. Then when shopping complex closes, go to either expensive coffee house or some watering hole. Send her home. That’s so not what I want. It’s like you’re already in a 20 year old marriage when you have that sort of routine. I might grow into a routine as the relationship progresses, but not at the dating stage for sure.

A sense of humor would help immensely. One girlfriend I had (had = ex) nearly broke up with me over a joke I made about her in front of her sister. But it’s a joke – and it’s meant to be funny. I can understand she might have felt insulted or lost some face in front of her sister, but it wasn’t a mean joke I was telling, and I still think there’s nothing personal in that joke. So my radars are always on the lookout for women with humor. BTW, we eventually broke up over something I can’t remember. I just remember that Tom Hanks was involved. Heck – pass me the Gingko Biloba please, I’m getting old.

Physical appearances don’t score much. I don’t have a thing for uber-slim girls. But I don’t have a preference for any particular physical attribute – curves, cute, big-eyes, legs, long hair, fair skin, etc. – these things don’t mean anything on their own to me. There are some very generic rules – hopefully she wouldn’t be taller than me. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have "bigger bones" than me. And hopefully she’ll be younger than me. But that’s about it.

What really matters is the total package. A pretty girl with little personality won’t do. And all personality but super geeky look probably won’t cut it too. It’s difficult to put into words what I have in mind. I think you get the picture now when I say there’s no ‘profile’ I have in mind.

The closest TV personality I can think of that I think would be a close fit would be Globe Trekker’s Megan McCormick. And then if you guys watch MythBusters, there’s this girl called Kari Byron. I'm resorting to TV personalities since it's a quick way to explain what in general appeals to me. But I don't know these two women personally, so ... well, you draw your own conclusions.

In my conversation with Daisy, I told her I never really thought about what sort of girl would make the ideal girlfriend because I never really thought of girlfriend as a necessity – someone I must have to complete me or to make my life fulfilled. And like many if not most people I’ve spoken to about this, she asked why. Why?

First and foremost, I love myself. It’s unconditional. I’ll never abandon myself. I’ll always honor and respect myself. It’s a deep, abiding and lasting love. I think a lot of people don’t accept and love themselves – or at least love themselves enough. I happen to believe these are the people who believe they need someone to complete their life.

When Tom Cruise said that “You complete me” line in Jerry McGuire, as good as it sounded, it’s not true. No one completes you but yourself. A good companion complements you. A good companion walks alongside you through the journey of life. Your companion would cry with you, laugh with you, toil with you and smell the roses besides you.

I have always thought of a girlfriend (and maybe later a wife), as a companion, a best friend.

It’s a person I would care deeply about and share the best things in my life with.

I would give her first dibs on my free time.

I would speak to her always, and more importantly, listen to what she has to say.

I will share with her my ambitions and problems and let her share her ambitions and troubles with me too.

But I would respect the fact that we would still be 2 individuals with our own spaces, needs and wants. And that we still need to find our own fulfillment and still support each other.

No two persons should be together because they have to. They should be together because they want to.

But does that make me want a girlfriend? No. But make that a qualified no.

I don’t have a 3 year plan that say something like – “Moz must get girlfriend. Moz must get hitched”. Heck, I don’t even have a 10 year plan for that. I had plans like that when I was a teenager, but I really don’t have any now.

I’m not going to go out there and seek a girl because I want a girlfriend. That’s so … shallow?

I’m happy to get to know more people, guys and girls, and enlarge my circle of friends and acquaintances. I’m sure in the midst of all the mingling, there would be people whom I would like and maybe fall for. And hopefully some girls out there would like me too. And I want these people to know me and accept me too before they make up their mind.

And if I can find a girl whom I care deeply about, who has a great sense of humor, adventure and surprises me always and at the same time accepts me, I guess I found myself a girlfriend. Believe me - it’s not all that rare to find girls like that.

As for why I don’t have a girlfriend now, it’s a question that is similar to “Why did the chicken cross the road” kind of question. There’s really no answer for that. I’m really not in the market for a girl, if you know what I mean. And I think most girls don’t think of me as their type. But that’s my opinion anyways.

And there – Angel and Daisy and everyone else – my thoughts on girls and girlfriend. I hope it answers your questions to some extent. But I’m sure it’ll create more questions – that’s ok – we can talk about this till the cows come home. After all, that’s what I really enjoy – a good conversation.

Oh – an oddity. All my girlfriends so far have one thing – no, make that two things – in common. They all wear spectacles. If you’re a girl and you’re making a mental note now to remove your glasses when you next meet me … =) … you’re doing fine – I know many who do that. The second thing is that they’re all females.

Top Ten Signs You're A Lame Duck at Work

So, one day, you hand in your resignation letter. You decided you have had it. And you're ready to move on.

And if you're like 99.999% of us who have to serve our notice period, you officially start your lame duck period. I mean, when people know you're about to leave, do you really think that what you do matters?

Your office mates start casting their eyes on your desk to see if there's something they can take once you leave. And they will start drawing up lists of all your belongings that will be recycled so that they can chiop (RSVP) it.

If you create a new process - what makes you think someone will follow? If you create a brand new product - do you think your boss won't suspect it's sabotage? If you start taking interest in a customer problem, do you think you are going to do your company a favor? Who knows, but probably not.

So - you're a lame duck. And it's only going to get worst.

And here are the top signs in case you're too busy working to notice ....

• The cleaning lady has been told to stop cleaning you cubicle.

• All those unwanted brochures, unwanted print outs and unused laptops they are putting on your desk ...

• From now until the end of your stay, you have been given the coffee making duty.

• Your boss already forgot your name.

• Your phone has been removed, and replaced with an old condensed milk can with a string attached.
  

• They replaced your office LAN connection with a Streamyx broadband connection. Actually, it's Moz's Streamyx connection you're getting.

• The tea lady / cleaning lady has started to put the dish washing liquid under your table. And they have already started using your chair to dry their cleaning cloth.

• In the monthly executive meeting, your seat was outside the meeting room.

• Your office mates have stopped asking you out for teh tarik.

• You have to start brining your own toilet paper because the office admin won't dispense it to you anymore.

I have to stay that I'm already feeling a bit like a lame duck already here. I hope they'll let me go soon ....

Random Notes Again. Streamyx Down Again.

There is no more breath. I totally lost my stamina …. my totally crap and unreliable Streamyx is still down … maybe I should just keep a countdown timer to remind myself how long it has been down. I’m losing count. I may need to start using my toes to keep track.

So that’s how they do it … they wear you down with their daily show of incompetence and tidak apa attitude. I haven’t met the guys who work in the Call Center yet, but I’m sure their face skin must be so thick it’s all skin and no brains.

Streamyx is such a shame to Malaysia. Can I motion to the government to pour in all the RM 4.4 billion and then some more to help TM Net improve their broadband infrastructure? After all, if Streamyx fails, all that will happen is either we get no broadband altogether, or the government will use our EPF money to pay another monopoly to do it all over again. Sigh.

****

I may have handed in my resignation letter today, but no one’s told me whether it’s accepted or not. Is it because no one is empowered to do so or is it because they are still checking with HR why I’m still on payroll? Maybe they thought I just turned up everyday on my own free will without accepting any pay for the work I render. No wonder I’m not bothered by my big bosses – I’m probably like that RM 1 that fell down into the gap behind the sofa – too small a lost to worry about, and too much trouble to dig out too. Hmmm ...

But my boss was nice enough to leave the door open for my return anytime in the future. Let's hope I don't have to use that card.

****

I took one long big lungful of clean, forest reserve air and then shouted at the top of my voice towards the construction workers near my house.

It was around 10:30 pm and I was enjoying my Discovery Channel program when suddenly, the rumble in the jungle begun.

There’s a construction site diagonally opposite from where I lived. Some new double storey terrace houses were being built. And when you get that, there’s obviously the foreign workers who build them staying in the same area.

It’s bad enough they brought the mosquitos with them, and stray dogs and stray cats. It’s barely tolerable that they sometimes play the funkiest dangdut music on Sunday morning to best wake me up on my one day of rest. I appreciate their good work enough to not do much but live with that.

But at 10:30 pm with drumbeats so loud my glass of water was vibrating? I had it.

“WOOOOI !!!! DIAMMMMM !!!!”

The music went on for another 30 seconds and have died down since.

Thanks guys. When in Bandar Kinrara, watch out for Moz. Shut up and sleep if you have nothing else to do.

****

Anyone care to volunteer advise to me on how to actually fix my Streamyx problem?

Success will be handsomely rewarded.