Bye Bye Penang

[This is typed on 07.02.2012]

Strangely enough ... this is the weakest CNY I have ever spent ... seriously there is no ambience at all and it's not because I was sick the past few days ... not enough fireworks ... no one to booze with ... and no visits to any house ... what's the point? Sad ... imagine if I have kids ... how bad is that for my kid! Ugh!

So glad to be heading to Penang airport tonight ... and I was praying that there be no delays and thank goodness there wasn't ... what was even better was that when I arrived ... staff was still around ... so we all had a beer at my room before going to bed ... crazy as it sounds ... or bad as it sounds ... I actually looked forward to returning to my room at GPT!

Was there any cuties at the airport? Not in Penang or KLIA ... not in the restaurant for dinner or hotel lobby ... sigh! Weak weak weak ... pathetic! Ahahahahaha!

I was hoping that the hotel was overbooked as per systems ... so that the Case would be sleeping in my room ... but Reservation screwed up ... and this wasn't the case ... ARGH!

Happy Lunar New Year ...

[This entry is typed on 07.02.2012]

[This batch of "artwork" is done on 22.02.2012]

23.01.2012 - is GONG XI FA CAI day - Water Dragon year - supposedly an auspicious and strong year because water is fortune and dragon is always bold - so does that mean that after all those years ago with HPL, will I find a company that I can "tahan" and work with for a long long long time now? And not just pack up and leave? Sure hope so!

I woke up early this morning and came down to do a wee bit of exercise and watched some TV ... o yes I haven't forgotten the need to lose weight - Jan is 90kg - and I am hovering between 89 to 90 or so depending on how full of water and food I am ... hehehehe!

Then me and dad went out for a bite while mom and Anne went to the temple for some vegetarian ... we spent the rest of the day relaxing at home ... except when mom decided to go to the memoriam hall for grandpa n grandma ...

Apparently this year there is no one to visit us ... and in the evening Jee Kim came by with her hubby, Herm and his wife and their 2 adorable sons!

And that's it. That's how we spent CNY. Quiet quiet quiet ... better to go holiday instead no? Hahahahaha!

So in this batch of sketches ... I decided if I continue in the same vein there will be no growth and decided to take the Unknown Soldier comic and give it a try ... more miss than hit ... still after so many years of less than serious drawing ... for me this 2 days is a good warm up

No reunion dinner!

[This is typed on 06.02.2012]

[The artwork is from 21.01.2012 ... did 4 on 21st]

Waaaaugh ... woke up this morning and the masuk angin was so bad ... hoping that I could recover in time for dinner ... mom and dad are meeting the relatives at Cititel ... yet again! It's not cheap but it's not good ... still whatever they like, just do it, right?

Then in the afternoon we went shopping ... and I decided to buy some last minute clothing before all the shops closed ... just in case we go visiting ... because the one I bought in KL I left it in KL. Smart, eh?

So guess who I ran into? Ho Kok Loon! I heard his voice while choosing my clothes and there he was with his parents and brother and brother's family ... wife and son not there though ... and he said he can get discount because they bought over the shop! How nice. 10% is nearly RM40. Hehehehe!

And to end the day ... I decided to order? McD fried chicken delivery meal for dinner. Finally a chicken that I can eat the whole piece because for the past few days ... the chicken in Penang has a smell like too long frozen or something!

Goodnight world and Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Tragedy ... dammit!

I woke up ... had big plans ... went out to breakfast ... and BANG ... felt sick ... felt like fever ... and the horrible case of masuk angin ... so got little energy ... and had to back out of my original plan to go shop and buy stuff for orphans ... spent the entire day sitting around reading comics ... clearing room ... rest ... and eat half a meal each time ... and 2 rounds of exercise ... in short, quiet day!

Hoping tomorrow I get better in time for reunion dinner, eh?

And that is why I am now BACK BACK BACK with artwork ... be it gay or regular, sketch or paint ... this sick day has allowed me to start doing my artwork seriously ... hope you enjoy it! This is the first two of a more than two I did in a single day!!!!!! See? I. Am. Back.

At lunch, as my sis didn't come back yet (she took the bus on this of all days!), I tried to pretend I am okay ... so I took my mom and dad out to lunch ... dad suggested Sushi King as the other Jap place had a queue ... I am not a fan of Sushi King ... but glad he chose cos there is a HUGE CUTIE ... Chinese lad by the name of Li Xian ... from his name tag ... he is not the thin type ... but young, fair, glasses and full ... nice shape all around from his face to his bod to the way his butt wiggled when he rushed around a bit with his hands dangling at 90 degree angle ... potentially gay? But he was not totally softie ... so am not sure ... there was another chap ... thin and sharp feature ... but somehow Li Xian ... is such a cutie that all meal I kept on looking at him ... sigh!

O yeah my sis arrived at night like 9 hours or so instead of 5 hours!

[This is typed on 05.02.2012]

MAS ... u f****r

[This is typed on 04.02.2012]

Okay ... the day started bad ... thanks to the Cher woman ... we continued to have issues with the bonus pay out ... people are still pissed off regardless of what she has assured us that she has calmed the masses ... and I was so busy ...

The French head honcho was in a French function for the second straight day and was managing via SMS etc ... and not opening himself to anyone ... so I was the one who had to bear the brunt ... and I was running across to the new Xtreme to make sure things are doing fine because me and my team are going to be away ... finally ... after missing X'mas and New Year!

Anyway ... I had the insurance chap over as well ... and then the Dare who had gone off continued to try to manage ... like the French ... SMS while I was so busy ... to the point that it seemed for everything I do I had to write to 2 people constantly ... ugh ... no fun I tell you ... and then I had Wong See Fu ... apparently he was here with the Gun ... and when the Gun left the staff came and bitch about the bonus ... so he requested I settled it ... by then it was almost 5:00pm and I was supposed to be running to the airport soon ...

So I called for the 2 people who complained badly ... they came and to my surprise it was a straightforward explanation and they said they were pleased ... then when the Bay woman left ... the Yipps told me he never complained and was surprised ... and I said his name was quoted ... an hence I had to clarify ...

Now that wasn't the worst of my day ... I literally rush to my room, sweated, rushed out with my stuff ... rushed to Unker Airbird's car ... and we rushed to the airport ... I made it on time ... and the Naza girl is supposed to be there ... thank goodness I didn't follow her because even at 8:00pm she wasn't there ... so I was waiting for them and had an Old Town from KLIA ... I thought they would be there and so I didn't eat ...

Then I checked in ... followed the gate ... at the gate ... they changed to another gate ... literally from 1 end to another ... why o why?!?!?!?!? So I walked there ... and when I reached there ... guess what? More delays but they didn't say what time ... when we finally boarded ... the plane rumbling ... and then finally moved ... and then stayed further away on the runway ... unbelievable ... so instead of arriving to Penang at 9:20pm or so ... I reached at 10:30pm and starving like mad until I felt like masuk angin again ... so THANK U MAS ... wish I had gone via Air Asia u f....r!!!

HRD = Horrible Relationships Demons?

There are days when the above title is what it feels like ... I know in reality it means Human Resources Department but honestly in all the years I worked ... I rarely know a single decent HRD Manager or Director be it in the hospitality industry or outside ... if you know any, write to me ... I would love to recruit one who is sincere, works hard and not all the time playing office politics

So ... in my current place of employment, when I joined, well ... the incumbent had already tendered resignation ... not even sure if was confirmed and was serving time until we could find a replacement! We were told to be patient with her ... and after a painful 3 months or thereabouts, a superstar was discovered ... or so we were led to believe

Well three months have passed by yet again and the superstar? Super Start maybe? Hehehe!

So why am I pissed off? Well, we are supposed to be paying the bonus but you know what? She makes so many mistakes ... round after round after round ... 6 or 7 or 8 times we changed ... even last night ... evening ... we discovered a computational error ... of nearly RM100k ... I mean, give me a break here!

And today after all signed off ... I was actually briefing individual managers ... and we discovered yet again so many people who have already resigned ... and still in the list ... some even left the company already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!

Okay ... let's skip that ... cutie hour.

Who is a cutie? Well, in the hotel, we have a few more people ... the new staff or maybe trainees ... first up, there is a guy in housekeeping had the spiky hair with the fringe in front slap down slick flat ... like one of the senior staff ... then the next is the front office chinese boy ... and that to my absolute surprise he greeted me this morning as I walked past ... he is as cute as a dew drop nice skin, cool glasses and nice demeanour ... then let's talk about the skinny housekeeping guy that looked like Malay but I am not even sure ... super slim super cute in a square kinda way!

Thank goodness for that little uplifting moment!

5 in the morning

What's up with this? I mean seriously ... saturday I woke up around this time ... and Sunday ... same shit and this morning Monday ... same shit ... I even forced myself not to nap on Sunday ... hoping I can fall asleep and sleep for 6 hours but ... aaaaaarghhhh ...

Now that I am back in the hotel ... let's see if the sheets and AC can help me out a bit ... keeping fingers crossed yes?

Okay so for 2012 I am going to up the ante in terms of valuing people ... and what did I do for this weekend? Saturday night I went to a movie with N-G (sis' friend) followed by dinner before we wished each other good night

On Sunday I met up with "Su" and his wife ... and we had pizza (over ordered as usual) ... followed by Starbucks before we said goodbye and Gong Xi Fa Cai ... 2 for 2 ... so it was good overall ... and right on target ... next weekend or rather this forthcoming weekend? Penang and so there should be some reunions coming up

On the cutie front ... no one really stand out ... there is some decent looking chap over the weekend obviously like some of the security at Tropicana and 1 waiter at the Vietnamese ... but none at the cinema or Borders ... and even the cute guy at our apartment block's security is not there ... sigh! CRAP!! !!!

Will ... Yam ... Cheating Spouse?

It is 6:34am as I am starting to type this ... why the header? Because I have had an odd half-awake dream for the bulk of my sleep this morning ... I cannot remember the details ... all I remember was the Will man appearing ... I remember bits and pieces like discussing about cheating on spouses ... married men doing it with other girls or prostitutes ... and he was acting like it was the most natural thing to do in the world which in all honesty, it probably ease

And towards the end ... I so wanted to tell him ... just in case he didn't know ... that I didn't cheat ... he was the first one ... I ever had a crush on ... I mean, a serious crush not just wishful imagination ... and I was a coward for never having dare to tell him openly and risking everything ... because if he freaked out, then even friendship wouldn't exist, right? I have always been a coward ... me ... sigh ...

So for one of those rare times ... I become slowly awake with him still in my mind and actually tossing and turning around in my bed with a hard on ... hahahaha ... too much details?

Odd yes? For me to remember him when in my mind is the fact that it is time to settle down ... and obviously not with him as he is a bloke ... and a married man with 2 kids to boot!

TV Missing ... again ...

and again ... and again ... and again ... fourth time in this resort ... third time since I joined and best of all ... second time for the second month in a row ... last month 1 unit and now 1 unit!

When GM told us while I was in Sepoi with Dare and MC, we didn't show upset or anything ... he was confused ... but what did he expected? We knew his daughters were sick until one had to go for dripping ... and we knew his standard answer ... I don't know what to do anymore ... so no more point, right?

When I said I was expecting this just 3 days ago ... and it happened ... and explained slack control giving some examples ... he immediately defended ... but missing the point ... one area slack ... means other areas we did not see are slack ... department heads are not switched on!

Anyway aside from that ... it was business as usual ... we do work ... nothing else happened except a short meeting in Sepoi ... where we talked IVC concepts ... and all the boring stuff ...

So who else is cute? Honestly ... the Front Office Malay chap with glasses ... tall, thin and seriously looking ... need to find out his name ... him I would gladly spend a date with ... hahahahaha!

Head ... Neck ... Shoulder ... in so much pain ...

Deja vu ... that's what today felt like ... late afternoon as the daylight was fading into evening ... I suddenly developed neck and back and head cramps/ ache ... while I was in a stressful meeting ... and you know why deja vu? It reminded me of when I was in high school ... every time we have a critical exam ... in the midst of answering those questions ... I would develop this and the only solution is to take panadols ... eat some sugar ... and lie down after the exam ... guess I am just not good at stretching my brain muscles? Hehehehehe!

So what was so bad today?

Stress ... the usual rush of work that seemed to be norm these days with tons of problems ... then we had the Lard here ... and it started generally okay as we focused on issues ... then Dare jumped straight to the end game where he said we are not pinpointing anyone but then kept on shooting the Call ... what was that all about, right?

Then Fall came over ... and it started a little tense but there was no stopping the Dare ... and we whacked it home! Incredible, seriously!

And if you thought that was it, it wasn't. Our radio DJ the MC came in and he was even shorter on words and whacked the whole matter home yet again. I was trying to act normal yet discreetly studying Fall and Lard to see their reactions and the sincerity from their body language ... odd is that they actually know about this ... except that they were hoping if no one pushes they can get away with it for a longer period of time ...

So I have to wonder what is next!

Stressful days ahead!

A break ... finally ...

Honestly, each change of job in the past few years ... I kept on feeling like it has been a long time since I have to work so hard ... but the next job is even more challenging .. and more challenging ... so what does this mean? I have been coasting along for the past ... several years? Maybe? Hmmm worrying at my age when I am just going to be 40. I mean, if I have been coasting along ... think of all that I could have done? Ugh! And I cannot even say that I sacrificed it for raising a family ... when all I have been raising is painful relationship with the Core ... hahahahahahaha!

Anyway after a breakfast with Justin ... went to office for a bit ... and then took the bus down to Mid V ... so to celebrate 2012 properly ... I have started it well ... in terms of friendship ... I mean, I kept up with Justin Chew ... and now Karyn ... Anne's friends ... hey look ... I am typing real names now ... hehehe! We met up and saw jack n jill the movie together ...

And after walking around ... we ended up at Gardens for this Indian restaurant that is ridiculously expensive but I have to admit the Mutton Briyani is probably the best I have ever tasted! Yummeee!

I thought I would have more time ... but not really ... for once I didn't buy a book or a comic (YES) ... I bought only a pair of sock, a bottle of Coca Cola ... and a small Christmas pudding from Marks n Spencer ... because it is after Christmas ... so cheap cheap cheap! Hehehehe!

Tonight?

Will order room service. I have had a good day. I actually walked from 3:00pm to 5:00pm in the mall as in quick walk too until I sweat ... so hope I get somewhere with this weight loss thing in 2012!

Finally, let's talk cuties - none of the security at mid-v though which is surprising considering my taste of men in uniforms, right? Hahaha! But the pale, tall, thin or slim chap at Snowflake dessert shop was there looking as delicious as "shaved ice" hahahaha! And today on the same floor there was one of those optical shops ... and there was a young man on duty ... tall, slim and looked so good in his black uniform that had red stripes ... he was behind the glass display and you can just his his super slim legs ... what we called chicken legs ... from his crotch downwards ... disgusting? Too much detail? Sucks to you ... this is my "blog diary" ... night!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching up on old times ... new annoyances ...

What's the annoyance? Head Office led by the Dan and the Will ... the former is elderly and respectable ... except that the longer I am with this company, the more I find out about his character ... reminds me of the E-woman ... do not like to make decisions ... takes all info ... and then goes behind our backs to get things done ... by back-biting ... and then tai-chi the real work ... sickening! And the Will ... 100% tai-chi and blame only ... none of them interested in getting the work done ... sigh!

On the brighter side, the Chew-ing came over ... he stopped by to see the Dare ... we met for late lunch, walked a bit ... then just now over dinner ... he chatted with Dare ... I think Dare really likes him ... because at the end, he not only said things like let's keep in touch ... or visit in Jkt ... but asked for card, mobile number, skype etc ... and even asked things like if you are here as GM etc ... so who knows? Come Jun or late Aug ... let's see!

A Ho Hum Day ...

I woke up early and did some comic reading ... and read some more ... hooked ... hahaha ... I am back to Marvel.com ... great stuff ... got up to date on Daredevil ... last night ... and now trying Uncanny X-force and this is so good!

Other than that, didn't eat properly ... probably the nasi lemak is the root cause ... my stomach feels so quesy now ... sigh ... then after some discussion on bonus etc ... Dare asked about car ... and I think he will plan to help me out in terms of payment for my car! Hehehehehehehe!

Other than that ... I am so sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy

Impiana KLCC and Concorde KL

Isn't it nice to have something nice and interesting to share that is added with a touch of bitching? Okay. Let's start with the bitching. I woke up at around 6:00am after nearly 7 hours of sleep. For other people, no big deal, right? For me, big deal. 7 hours is a lot for me and I am glad!

Then after shower and change, I called for a cab. No one wants to go to KL for metered rate even though it was early and before any kind of jam! Talk about old world thinking. After another 15 minutes, still nothing. So I asked what if I offered extra RM10 and immediately someone agreed. And here you thought you call head office ... no bargaining right? So much for that law!

What's next?

I met up with Chef Sam ... at Impiana KLCC ... service was good all around and I was surprised to see the half-cute waiter still there all these years and still as slim and still as nice in that uniform ... hahaha ... the food was a disgrace though ... poor choice, poor cooking and pathetic attitude of chucking things onto plates ...

After this, we walked down to Concorde KL ... and immediately you can feel the difference ... less posh in appearance but jam packed full of people that in the hour we were there ... they did 2 rounds of service ... the food is more attractive and I really wanted to eat the chicken murtabak! Hahahaha!

Aside from that, nothing else of major significance happened ... WMC called for some work ... so instead of taking off, I headed back to office ... sigh so what else is new? The Dare felt guilty when he found out but I said it's okay ... if it's an emergency I will do it ... then take off maybe next week ... sure hope can go for CNY though

Tonight is the staff annual dinner ... surprised that some of the ladies in my dept dressed up ... good for them ... me? Too tired. Going home to eat room service (nasi goreng) and sleep!

01.01.2012 x 3

Yup and here's the final entry before bedtime ... so I went to Sg Pelek with Case and met up with Eye-Sac ... at the chicken rice shop and it is still good! After that, we bought a bag of goodies for whoever turned up to work ...

Only to hear from the Punk ... that cutie pie, Mr Baby face Jay-Vee ... had an accident early in the morning ... apparently he was coming home with the gang and someone threw a stone at his car ... and he is hospitalized! Shit! Poor lad!

Other than that, for lunch, we went to the BKT shop ordering BKT soup, fried rice and fried noodles! Yummy!

Tonight, I had lamb chop followed by red wine and fruits sitting next to Eye-Sac and Case in their room ... hehehehehehehehhe!

01.01.2012 x 2

Yup ... second posting ... is there anything monumental to share today? Any ground breaking, earth shattering philosophy? Nah. But the good thing is I have time to think things over in the evening ... sort out matters in my mind ... and clear on what 2012 is going to be about ... so if Entry #1 is a list of all the things that happened in the past 12 months ... Entry #2 is about targets!

#1 - Weight
#2 - Health
#3 - Finances
#4 - Family
#5 - Artwork
#6 - Writing

And somewhere amongst all that, it is my current job - that's straightforward!

GPT - Find a replacement FC, find new dept heads all by Feb. Set the tone by May and achieve
Restaurant - In Feb set out proposal, Apr pre opening, May launching
Eye-We-See - if they permit turn this into a service oriented model

Kick @$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Farewell 2011

Yup ... it is the final day of this year and so much has happened ... let's sum up the highlights shall we?

Jan to Jun 2011 - stuck in Medan and getting unhappy because I am not achieving anything in terms of career and wasting time talking to the boss who just doesn't understand and cannot focus ... and the family ... and missing family occassions ... worst than being in Maldives and Seychelles ...

Jul 2011 - got a job and went to Hong Kong for a holiday and got to enjoy the Macs cake and ribs and awesome lasagne ... hehehe ...

Aug to Oct 2011 - joined GPT ... and sweated through the unbelievableness of its opening ... after a year ... still so many things need to be done?!?!?!?!?!? Just unbelievale

Nov 2011 - confirmation ...

Dec 2011 - promotion or rather re-designation to owner's company as owner's rep ... so what's 2012?

Well, let's wait and see, eh?

Okay ... that's the big picture ... the small picture? Today I was out of mood to work ... which is normal because it is a Saturday and I cannot have time off ... but heck at least we had a nice time exchanging gifts, eating KFC and Kati made bubble tea minus tea ... hehehe ... kid you not!

Then ... thanks to overbooking ... we gave up the IT room ... Eye Sag went home and Case spent the night at my roooooooooooooom ... not even house ... I woke up after a few hours ... on the couch ... and went hunting for blanket only to find him using ... hehehe ... so I touched him once, twice and three times to get the blanket ... yes touched him on his bare leg ... hehehee

What a nice new year's eve eh?