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.