Upin & Ipin ... Yes yes yes

[Another photo from the Hotel room in Bandung - loved the idea of putting the lamp on this little piece of carved item]

It is now almost 8:00pm in Medan (9:00pm to all of you in Penang). I am in my room in Sarimas typing this while getting perpetually annoyed at how slow and unreliable the internet service is ... one would think that 15 years down the road ... internet in this part of the world would have improved, right?

Aside from prices skyrocketing through the roof, Medan is Medan. Tired, drab and left behind - there is a lack of energy to the city even though everyone is always rushing to go somewhere - and the streets are jam packed with cars!

Why am I at home on a Friday? It's because I am now addicted to the 2 bald headed kids - Upin and Ipin. I kid you not. I remembered the first time I came across their movie ad while I was still working in Langkawi. I thought I would never watched it and I didn't even though our Sales Manager, Sue recommended it

Then one day, here in Medan, with next to nothing to do and my tv on, I chanced upon it ... and BANG ... I was hooked. The storylines are interesting ... indeed a slice of childhood ... with kids using their imagination while at play and often imagination run wild ... how sad that as adults many of us lost this ability ...

Aside from that, the other thing I found nice is the graphics - plain and simple focusing on how cute kids are ... and the twins especially Ipin - who loves saying any word three times fast - his fave phrase? TRUE TRUE TRUE - Hehehehehehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One more minute to go .... good night out there on internet world ... time to tune in to Disney Channel Asia

New Start ... 6th October 2010

What do I mean by New Start? Well, basically I am back to my blog. And this time, I will do it every single day when there is anything to share, big or small because this is supposed to be MY BLOG ... BY ME ... FOR ME ... and I don't care if there is anything deep and meaningful ... if it is funny and make people laugh out loud ... NOPE ... this is a slice of MY LIFE ... boring, confusing, bitchy ... whatever but it is just my life ... one life to live and all that, right?

So this photo is from the first room at Hotel Sukajadi in Bandung. I was there in September 2010 with Cory during the Raya holidays. It's a poorly kept room. Oddly enough they have the nicest arts-n-crafts pieces like this that was placed on the wall next to our bed. Really nice and charming and I will be posting a few more in the days ahead

Anything to share today?

Yes, the frustration of work. We waited for the car to work - lots of miscommunication. Then the fact that there was no breakfast made it worse. Waiting at home for transport, waiting at office for transport to go up to Berastagi, half way there we had to wait for others to join us! But once there, thank goodness everything went like clock work and we finished everything on time

The trip down was the usual nightmare. I forgot to take any sugar the whole day long and was feeling sick. Thank goodness Deny had some sweets. I took one and survived the trip down without feeling like I was going to throw my guts up. Still I had to sit down in the office for 30 min before everything settled down to a steady rhythm

Then I thought that since I had forgone food, I wanted to indulge in a little fried chicken. We drove to McD and there was more than 10 cars in the queue to the drive through. Ugh! Went home, went out and bought 2 half-packets of rice w condiments. Deliberately spooned out a quarter from each pack so I don't overeat. Then did stretching exercises for 30 minutes which was a good thing as I was feeling guilty. I still REALLY WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE - hehehehehehe

Other than that, was today a really horrible day? Nah! Thanks to ILOVELABELS, I got the surprise that I finally won a bid for an important item. Dell Netbook. I am so glad I decided to bang in another 50 bids. So for an item of about RM1k, I paid a total of about RM300. That made me happy. Can't wait to receive and test it. I may give it to Cory for his year-end surprise gift. He will definitely be surprised, eh? Hehehehehehe

Cheers and good night from Sarimas, 4M, Medan, Sumatera, Indonesia

A Nice Surprise?

Ok ... so today is my birthday ... on the eve I had a call from my folks who wished me which was nice ... and then started the number of SMS; emails; facebook postings ... which was of course nice and this continued the next morning with well over 100 wishes ... thank goodness for modern communications, right?

Better I was feeling out of sorts because I had no plans to celebrate except going out to McD for takeaway or something ... not much of a birthday plan ... the few people I know in Medan are either stuck in the mountains (thanks Volcano!) or not available (sick in Medan or gone home to Singapore/ Malaysia for holidays already) ... so it was going to be a dreary depressing kind of event ... unless I go hook up with a prostie or gigs ... whichever strikes my fancy, yes? HAHAHAHAHA!

Anyway in the office, our HR this week has started daily emails of anyone's birthday. So you can just imagine the number of emails and phone calls continuing ... at around noon, I had a meeting with my MD before her flight to Singapore ... I thought for sure she was going to be another well-wisher like everyone else ...

But to my surprise she didn't! Why? Because she doesn't carry a notebook and her BB had gone MIA. So that was a relief. As the meeting wore on until near 2pm, we covered a lot of issues which was great but since I was getting hungrier and thirstier by the minute ... I was starting to fidget ... (yes, I am like that, childish at times) ... and then the clincher!

She said she realized that I should be due for my 3rd month soon, right? I nodded pretending no-big-deal because HEY I am thinking of looking around for another job ... (thanks airport construction plans and Mr Volcano!) ... when to my surprise she said she had advised payroll to give me a little $$$ ... I acted non-plus and nodded ... then she pressed on with the amount and it was a WOW MOMENT!

Literally a WOW MOMENT!!!!!!

So now I have to wait and see if it materializes in end Sep or Oct yes? Fingers crossed and all that! Hehehehehe! I was not expecting this since they have a mixed reputation but to my surprise without me opening my mouth this came. I have only been here 2.5 mths and was not expecting even 1 cent until appraisal next year. Hehehehehe!

So what did I do last night? I overate of course! HAH!

I know. I have to lose weight. Sigh!

Damn those becaks ...

[This photo is from my holiday in Langkawi just before I actually ended up working in Langkawi ... coincidence? Think so ... anyway it has nothing to do with this particular posting]

I have been ill for the past few days ... as those who know me know ... and today the pain has somewhat subsided except for the left side of my head ... at the top and lower back ... so feeling like I wanted to go out and get some food without having to walk 30 min in darkness ... I hailed the local transport called becak ... it is different from Malaysia ... here it is an old carriage attached to a motorcycle ... I have no problems paying for a taxi but it is difficult to find one

Anyway, this chap was fairly nice n friendly ... didn't overcharge and I had no need to bargain with him ... the only thing was when we came across a small speedbump ... instead of slowing down, he just went over it at full speed ... I didn't see it as it was night ... and BANG my head hit the top of his carriage's roof that unfortunately had a wooden beam ... it was already low until I half bowed my head ... I didn't expect a BUMP ... and it hit where I was still feeling ill

DAMN THOSE BECAK ... I am right in that, no?

I am in pain

Physical pain, literally ... do you know what is worse than being ill? It's forgetting what it felt like when you were ill ... I mean, I know I have a regular record being ill ... but each time, it is like a complete nightmare

So what am I suffering from? Neck ache or whatever the right name is ... it started yesterday when I was in Brastagi ... weird ... it was late afternoon ... I was having a discussion with the General Manager ... then I was going over to the Human Resources Manager and this pain started creeping up on me ... by the time the night ended, I was in pain

I tried this oil they gave me that had the wintergreen smell ... but it had none of that burning sensation ...

But wait ... there's more ... I made the mistake of having 3 strong coffees ... and for the first time in a long time ... probably a few weeks only actually ... see how forgetful I am getting ... sign of age? Geeez sure hope not!

So anyway not only was I in pain but I couldn't sleep. And the weather was crappily cold ... I literally lay down straight like a log in pain from 1:00am to 6:00am ... salvation came in the form of panadols

The entire day of today was one of constant pain ... the worse part was the 2.5 hour drive home from the mountains ... every single turn n jolt in the road ... a stab of pain through my neck ... I felt like I was running a fever ...

So tonight, I have just popped another 2 panadols, rubbed some Swiss heating balm or other on it and put on two pieces of chinese koyo - sticky pieces of stuff that is even now burning on my lower neck ... and I wrapped a towel around my neck ...

I really am hoping and praying that I will be generally fine tomorrow ... pray for me too yes, please?

[The photo is of the street in my little "neighbourhood" here in Medan called Sarimas]

I remember now ...

Today is Sunday ... I shouldn't be griping because it is the sort of day I like ... a little overcast ... good for an outing ... however, as I sat in my room for the past hour ... it hit me ... why over the past years, whenever I work overseas ... I always chose a resort ... because though it is remote and far from cities etc (generally) ... the good thing is that you are always surrounded by a mass of human bodies ... I kid you not

This is because all the other expats are living in the same community ... so you always have people to hang out with ... in some places, even the locals are living there (example - Maldives) ... so there is definitely a sense of immediate belonging ... and friendship is up to us to decide how fast or slow we want to be part of the scene

Now that I am here in Medan, Indonesia ... a city teeming with well over 2 million people ... I find it sorely lacking of that human warmth ... in my office, I am the only one who is not a local ... everyone else is not only Indonesian but also from the city of Medan ... the clock strikes 5 and everyone buzzes off home ... nothing wrong with that ... if I am in my home town, I guess if I stay around long enough, I would do the same

But this is sort of an awakening for me ... to remember what life can be like ... and to decide ... do I get off my heavy butt and do something ... or do I stick around?

I will have to ponder that for a little bit longer ...

[The photo is taken from Anse Boileau in Seychelles. I was on my final outing with the Barrengers and Mrs was with me while Mr was with his big bro and the lads]

3rd weekend in Medan ...

Today's yet another one of those days ... I had a blast at my job ... tons of things to do ... but what can I say? I AM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy not doing Finance. Crazy thing to say, isn't it? I will not deny that I am not making as much $$$ as I could be ... but what the heck ... I am not making as little as all that either ... at least I am happy even though the work is stressful ... so enjoy it while I can

After work, we went to shop for "oleh oleh" ... local term for gifts as my neighbour is going home to visit his wife and daughter and after he purchased 1 round ... the mrs said it was not the brand that is famous! He said that's women for you ... oooops ... sorry to all the ladies out there

So what did he get? What is famous here? Apparently sponge cake rolls ... called Bulu ... and another type of cake made from slightly fermented coconut milk/ juice ... not too sure about the explanation ... called Bika Ambon ... I tried a bit of both ... nothing spectacular there ... though the 2 shops were certainly crowded ... so the driver took us to the right place

At the Bulu shop ... they had a ton of other Medanese produce ... including fruit extracts like ... terung Belanda (reddish pinkish thingie) ... strawberries ... passion fruit ... etc and 2 Satpam! One young and cheery; and one old and lumpy ... hehehehe

Nothing else spectacular happened ... I started my exercise program today again ... 2 rounds of arms stretching ... and a 2 hour walk to the further mall and back ... then over-indulge in McDonald's ... HAH!

Okay ... time to go to bed ... nite all!

Meeting Dewy and her effeminate younger brother ...

So ... after wasting time hanging around in the office and just getting f-ing annoyed ... because inspite of whatever stupid post they give me ... they didn't tell others ... so no one was quite sure where I was supposed to be seated, what I was supposed to do ... and I had no laptop and internet ...

I made a new friend ... a house mate who takes the same car as me ... except that he goes to a different office in the city ... he is from a banking background and engaged to work as an IT project manager for my wonderful boss' arrogant brother ... he asks me to call him Jo ... and he is a married gentleman with kids ... nice chap ... a bit tight on the budget but not surprising as he has kids ...

So after a day or two in the office but boss officially decided to show up and asked me to meet her at her brother's house ... her brother is a graduate from USA and supposedly screwing around there for umpteen years until she was asked to go and bring him home ... to keep him occupied she got him involved in the hotel in-charge of IT ... except the hotel is so small ... and he runs the hotel IT as if it is an MNC ... imagine for a 140 room hotel with theme park ... he needs 20 people in IT ... no wonder we run at a loss!

Anyway ... we arrived and waited and waited ... then boss shows up ... and she was asked to wait as he is getting ready ... I was shocked ... his house is his office and he lives in the whole house with all sorts of gadgetry to lock the actual house from the garage ... where he has converted the garage into office for his staff and the garage looks like a garage ... so much for a good boss ... ugh! I guess being Indonesians in Medan they tolerated this ... and anyway they cannot all have much to do ... seeing as there is 2 person for every single task and no one is the back-up for another task ...

When I first saw him ... he seemed like a decent enough guy ... he is certainly intelligent ... and honestly if he has a real job that keeps his brain occupied ... I think we could even be good time hanging out friends ... but since he is huddled away there with no future to speak off ... I cannot blame him for creating work for himself ... as otherwise he would go bonkers and slit his own wrists ... hahaha!

He has so much big plans ... he criticized all known software and instead prefers to work with untested software for other industry and customizing for the hospitality ... but why bother? Why re-invent the wheel? And waste tons of money? Just doesn't make good business sense ... and the obsession with SOPs and what-nots! And then telling me things like SBU and SMU ... they all read too much of these management books and jargons and just wanna use the latest buzzword! And they appointed me SMU head ... whatever that means in their minds ... all I know is I make things work. That's it. Plain and simple.

Weather has been fine ... will probably hang out with Jo for some take away dinner!

[This is typed based on memory on 8th Jan 2012]