Malang Tidak Berbau

Terlebih dahulu saya ingin memberitahu keinginan saya untuk menulis dalam Bahasa Malaysia sejurus setelah membaca blog rakan karib saya di sini. Mungkin juga ramai yang akan berkata bahawa saya ini suka meniru. Saya cuma ada satu jawapan sahaja untuk tuduhan itu; “Peduli apa saya!”

Hari ini merupakan hari yang agak sederhana di tempat kerja saya. Hampir kesemua tugas biasa seharian telah dilaksanakan dengan sempurna oleh saya dan kakitangan saya. Setelah hampir tamat berkerja untuk hari ni, di dalam lengkongan masa 5:20 petang, tertimbul hajat saya untuk membuang air no. 2. Alangkah terperanjatnya saya setelah menyedari bahawa saya terlupa untuk membuang air no. 2 seharian. Dengan pantas saya membuka langkah dan menghala ke tandas.

Hajat saya tidak kesampaian. Saya dipanggil semula ke meja saya setelah salah seorang kakitangan saya membuat liputan bahawa ada seorang rakan sekerja menghadapi kesulitan menerima mel eletronik dari salah seorang pelanggan syarikat kami. Saya berasa sungguh hampa. Saya dipaksa memeriksa kesulitan tersebut dan membaikinya dengan segera. Tidak perlu saya memberi ulasan seterusnya dengan penuh teliti. Cukuplah dengan saya memberitahu bahawa saya tiba di rumah pada pukul 6:30 malam (di United Kingdom, waktu 6:30 petang dikira malam pada musim sejuk sebab ianya agak gelap seperti waktu 9:00 malam di Malaysia).

Perut saya mula bersuara, “GROKKK GROKKKK GROKKK”, tanda-tanda awal kehendaknya untuk mula memberontak. Saya diberitahu oleh kakak saya (yang sedang bercuti di UK, menginap di rumah saya) bahawa makanan di dalam peti sejuk telah hampir habis dan perlu diisi semula pada malam ini juga. Pada mulanya saya rasa mungkin kami boleh pergi ke pasar-mini pada keesokan malamnya, tetapi melihatkan keadaan kakak saya yang sedang sesak menghadapi PMS pada tahap kemuncak maksima, saya tidak sampai hati. Kami terus berangkat ke ASDA yang terdekat iaitu di bandar Southgate.

Setelah kami memenuhi troli kami dengan telur, roti, sayur kobis, air jus, sabun basuh pinggan dan bermacam-macam barang lagi, kami pun beransur ke kaunter bayaran. Agak terperanjat saya melihatkan bahawa barangan di dalam troli kami tadi itu bernilai lebih GBP£60.00 termasuk cukai, sedangkan pada amnya kami tidak pernah berbelanja lebih dari GBP£30.00 untuk barangan mingguan.

“Tak apa”, saya fikir dalam hati. “Makanan jangan berkira”, saya cuba untuk menyedapkan hati saya.

Setelah mengisi barangan kami ke dalam kereta dan saya mula membuka langkah untuk memasuki tempat duduk pemandu. saya telah lalai untuk memeriksa sesuatu yang agak penting.

“PRAAAAKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!”, saya mengeluh dengan penuh syahdu.

Saya tidak menyedari bawah seluar saya telah lusut dari aras pinggang saya membuatkan tahap langkah maksima saya terbantut. Seperti jantan dewasa biasa, saya membuka langkah yang agak besar untuk memasuki tempat duduk saya. Agak besar juga lubang pada seluar saya. Terasa angin dingin malam United Kingdom mengalu-ngalukan kehadirannya dengan sendiri di bahagian punggung saya. Semakin perit jadinya melihatkan kakak saya terbahak-bahak tergelak di sebelah saya.

“Bagus lah”, saya berfikir. “Kurang sikit PMS dia tuh”.

Sejurus setelah kami sampai di rumah, saya berlari-lari anak ke tandas untuk memenuhi hajat saya yang telah lama terpendam seharian. Di tengah-tengah “perusahaan” saya itu, saya mengimbas kembali malapetaka yang telah terjadi pada saya malam itu.

“Malang tidak berbau”, saya berkata dalam hati.

“Agak kerap juga terdengar/terbaca pepatah Melayu itu…”

“…kalau ianya tidak berbau, kenapa busuk sangat dalam ni?”, saya tersengih sendiri.

You Have Two Choices

My ex-supervisor, Sharad, sent me this PowerPoint Slideshow via e-mail (can't upload a .ppt file so I've converted it into text for my reader's benefit). Eventhough he's left the company for over four years now, he still makes the time to give me a quick phonecall and see how I am doing. You see, he was my mentor. He is the most positive human being I have ever met. Even when things looked very grim, he would always see the positive side of things. I'd like to think that I have taken onboard the things he taught me, and shared my little positivity with the people I have come to know and care about.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Sharad [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 29 November 2004 10:36
Subject: MUST READ

You have two choices
----------------------------

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood.

When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply,

"If I were any better, I would be twins!"

Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant

Why？

Because Jerry was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day,

Jerry was always there, telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him： "I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood.

I always choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life."

"But it's not always that easy,“ I protested.

"Yes it is," Jerry said.

"Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk every situation is a choice.

You choose how you react to situations.
You choose how people will affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
It's your choice how you live your life."


Several years later,

I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business.

He left the back door of his restaurant open

And then ???


In the morning, he was robbed by three armed men.


They want?
#123*+!@$%&*~

While Jerry trying to open the safe box,
his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.

The robbers panicked and shot him.


Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care,

Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.…

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was,

he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied.

"Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?“, I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.

But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.

In their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man.'

I knew I needed to take action."


"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything."

'Yes,' I replied.

The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.

I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'

Over their laughter, I told them,

'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'.

"Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.

I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.

The only thing that is truly yours -- that no one can control or take from you-

is your attitude,

so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.




Now you have two choices to make:

1. You can delete this message or

2. You can forward it to someone you care about.

I hope you will choose #2.

I did.

Just Another Mundane Monday

Nerd-Talk
-----------
Went into work. Checked the system logs as usual. The mail-filter server didn’t look too good. It could barely process any work over the weekend. It can’t cope with the flow rate of our incoming/outgoing emails any longer. It’s blowing its gasket. My prognosis: R.I.P.

I’m a Techie. My speciality includes building desktop PCs and servers (among other things). I have been building them since I was twelve years old. I can build them with my eyes closed and hands tied behind my back. Nothing special really. I'm sure there are gazillions of people out there with similar skills.

Today, one of my babies died. I called it ICF (Internet Content Filtering). It was a Pentium Pro 200 running with 256Mb EDO RAM and 4Gb HDD. I built it from spare parts. Two years ago, it was running quite happily processing an average of 700 emails per week. Today, it struggles to process roughly 2,000 emails per day. I had no choice but to decommission it.

Today, another baby was born. I called it ICF2, after its predecessor. It was built from spare parts as well, consisting of a Pentium III 650 with 512Mb PC133 RAM and 18Gb SCSI-2 HDD in Raid-1 array configuration. It runs quite happily now. We’ll see how it gets on for the rest of the week.

I’m such a nerd.




******************************


Typical-Male
-------------
The Admin Assistant was looking rather quaint today, with her bright pink jumper and tan trousers. Lisa is your average Essex-girl; average-height, quite waif, blonde, blue eyes, strong facial features, etc. speaks Lazy-English.

“What’s Lazy-English?”, I hear you ask.

Let me set your mind at ease. Instead of saying “computer”, the T is silent i.e. “compu’er”. Another example is “nutter”, becomes “nu’er”.

Sometimes you even miss a few words; instead of “Hey let’s go to Nelitos”, you say “Hey’s lets go Neli’os”.

Do you follow me so far? Nevermind.

“Ahmad, you still haven’t told me what you want for your Christmas Dinner”, she gave me a glare for across the hallway.

“And you better not say you’re not coming this year. You’re definitely coming!”

“Oh.. err.. Sorry. I’ll tell you by the end of the day ok Lisa?”, I gulped.

She just rolled her eyes, and walked away. You could definitely see her baby blue eyes from here.

In my head I was going, “Take me with youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!”

I’m such a typical bloke.




*******************************


To Sigh or Not To Sigh
-----------------------
Edward, my first assistant (or Number One as he likes to be called), walked into my office with a very disconcerting facial expression.

“Ahmad… err…”

“Yes Number One?”

“I think the Linux server in Hoddesdon just packed. Can’t seem to control it on remotely.”

“*SIGH* I’ll leave in about ten minutes. Let the users there know please, Ed.”

“Okay, cool.”

As I packed my equipment and walked out of my office, I saw Lisa again across the office handing out this month’s payslips to the staff.

“Hi Ahmad! Here’s your payslip!”, oh those lovely blue eyes.

“Errr.. my hands are a bit full at the mo…….”

“No worries. Let me put it here…”, she walked closer, slipped the payslip into my shirt pocket, brushing her soft hands against my chest.

“Oh-Errr.. thanks Lisa”, came out rather high-pitched for some odd reason.

She smiled and swiftly walked away.

Too bad she’s engaged. *SIGH*

I drove off to Hoddesdon for the day. I could feel my chest still tingling.

I’m such a sad git.

Bleemin 'eck!

It was extra cold this morning as I woke up. In fact, it felt colder than usual. I went straight for the hot shower in need for some warmth. I later checked on the news that it was three degrees this morning! BLEEMIN 'ECK!!!!

"Signs of a dreaded winter", I thought to myself. *SIGH*

Open House @ Whitcome Mews

Open House @ Whitcome Mews

It seems that my Hari Raya officially ends today *sob* *sob* with an Open House at Icha's old housemate in Richmond. Thank you to Kak Aidah and Amir for the lovely cuisine and for inviting us into your beautiful home!

More pictures in my Fotopages.

Bizzare Sunday Morning

Talk about weird biorythm, clock-cycle or whatever you call it. I went to bed quite late last night.. nearing 1:00am. I don't exactly recall the state of my head before falling to sleep, the last thing that went on my mind was how I wished a dear friend could join me for the Open House in Richmond later this morning.

I woke up two hours later, at 3:00am exactly. "Wot tha???", I thought. Had a strange urge to get out of bed, so I did just that. Went to the kitchen for a glass of water. @$£%#@%%£!!! somebody forgot to re-fill the Brita Water Filter. I filled it up with tap water from the kitchen sink, waited a while... and had a glass. Went online... hey dear friend is still awake! Had a quick chat.. she said she was going to finish a book.. one which I have been trying to read myself for a while now. "Well if I don't read it now am never going to read it at all!", I thought to myself. Might as well try to read a few chapters. Perhaps will get sleepy later. Book turned out to be really interesting and funny. Very glad to have bought it. Found new cool words to use in daily conversations and writings e.g. G.T.D.S.B.S and Carrecloughnarrerragh. Barely could keep eyes from opening at 5:00am. Decided it was time I head for bed again.

Blink. Blink. It's 9:20am. "Wot tha????", I thought to myself again. What's wrong with me? Why can't I sleep longer? Hmmmmm..... got up, had another glass. Bladder felt a bit full. Sat down and started this entry... Turned telly on to keep me company.

Hang on. Ah... I didn't do the mile run last night. Could that be it? That would be strange since I've only got back at it for.... about two weeks now. Had never had any trouble sleeping before that. Hmmmm.... maybe it's something else. Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing. I just felt it was a bit strange, that's all. Maybe, it'll get better later. Time for a shower.

Saturday!

Well... Saturday didn't go as originally planned. Couldn't get the tickets for Mama Mia! nor One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. So very the frust.

Anyway, we did have a fallback plan and headed for the UGC Cinema in Enfield at 6:30PM. Lo and behold, we came across this massive queue as can be seen below:

Queue at UGC Enfield

Tick tock tick tock... we missed the 7:00PM show... tick tock tick tock.. we arrived at the ticket counter at 7:35PM and got the tickets for the 7:45PM show. After a quick hot drink at the Premenade (or bar if you prefer) we queued again for Screen 8. The female usher (very hot looking Eurasian by the name of Sonia Wong) told us that the theatre was not ready yet and that we had to wait by the side. I forgive you Sonia. Anyway, ten minutes later, we were slowly making our way into the theatre along with what seemed like a hundred other movie-goers. Oh-er.. lots of teenagers and children... with parents! Thank God!


The Incredibles

I think the film was a bit over-hyped. I couldn't find anything so special about it, although I did enjoy it. I was blown away by the quality of the animation (do I sound like I'm contradicting myself?). They have paid extreme attention to detail. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't seen Shark Tale yet, so I couldn't compare between the two. However, I did find The Incredibles to be very entertaining and would recommend anyone not to miss it.

Good morning!

Fried Rice

Made some fried rice this morning. Decided to improve a bit on presentation. Errr.. could look better I guess.

Jemput makan!

Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind

Eternal Sunshine

Decided to watch Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind tonight. Various reviews from film magazines and newspapers stated that it was good. I was very curious to find out for myself.

Much to my reluctance and finding myself absolutely guilty, I must say that I find the film quite entertaining (sorry NKA!). I thought this was going to be another typical Jim "Superfluous Overacting" Carrey film. I was completely blown away by his indifference character; it is totally not him! Next was Kate Winslet. If you compare her to the character she played in "Finding Neverland", opposite Johnny Depp (an actor also I respect coz he's cool), I find her very sexy, adorable and cute in this film.

I'm not going to bore you with the details or spoil it for you, I would suggest that you give this film a go yourself. Rent it or borrow it. However, if you enjoyed "Being John Malkovich", get it.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Running Under The Moonlight

Bright moon

The moon was strangely bright tonight. Apologies for the quality, as it was only taken from my mobile phone. The moon was so bright, it lit my entire route ever so clearly, I could avoid the nasty dog poo which I miraculously have been fortunate enough to not step on the past week. It was kind of eerie though (the moon, not the dog poo) as if somebody put a 100W light bulb by mistake instead of the usual 60W.

Anyway, the mile run went fine. I feel fine. I can't believe how I let a few remarks in the last few days get to my head. Mind you, my head had always gotten me into trouble in the past. You see, I learn things the hard way, unlike those of you who are blessed with better common sense. Some people need the extra time to learn and adapt to new things, especially things that concerns them the most. I must admit that I for one am one of the unfortunates. Perhaps we have too many things going on our mind, perhaps we unnecessarily over-think, perhaps even, we are just plain unfortunate. Even so, we do try our best and we never give up. Above all, we are very very eager to learn and improve ourselves... even from our own mistakes.

p/s: To my dear friend whom I spoke of earlier, I apologise for not taking the hint much sooner, and I sincerely hope you have a good rest. Enjoy your weekend.

A Time For Concern

Just had a very brief conversation with a dear friend. She'd been working the late shift the night before and hardly had any sleep during the day. This I learnt after having spoken to her. I thought I'd just give her a call from work just to say hi and see how she was doing as I haven't spoken to her for a few days. Anyway, the conversation was kept short as she politely excused herself to catch up on much much needed sleep. I apologised of course (silly me!) and told her that we'll talk another time.

What concerned me is that during this very brief conversation, she asked me how I was. I wasn't sure if it was just common courtesy (and perhaps I should have returned the favour come to think of it), but the last few days I have been bombarded with similar questions from my colleagues at work, the cleaners and even from my Dad during a long-distance telephone call. No, no, this was not the usual, "Hi Ahmad, you alright?" with a smile. It was more along the lines of, "Ahmad, are you ok?" with a very worried look.

Ok so I don't look at the mirror very often nowadays. I used to look at the mirror to comb my hair, but now that there's nothing left to comb, I pretty much use it for mundane things like making sure my tie is straight and.... err... that's about it.

Alright, so I felt like I was coming down with something a few days back, but I was pretty sure I've fought it off. Even my new IT Assistant, Joanna, was so concerned about me, she forced me to have honey and lemon in warm water, something about the natural anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant properties in them. I didn't want to dissapoint the girl and she genuinely looked like she wanted to help, so I drank it till the last drop, much to my bleargh and ughhh. But that was two days ago. Today, as we were about to leave for the day, she even said, "Ok Ahmad, hope you have a good rest during the weekend and feel better on Monday."

"Excuse me?", I replied. "What makes you think I need a good rest?", I asked. Boy that sounded rude, but I felt I needed to know what was going on. Will have to buy her lunch later.

"Well you just sneezed three times and you were quiet the whole day!", was her response.

"Oh. Thanks Joanna. You have a good weekend too. I'll see you first thing on Monday."

So we have Joanna, a few of the ladies, the cleaners, my Dad and my dear friend... are they able to sense that there is something wrong with me? I was beginning to feel unwell again. The joints in my body started to ache. Suddenly, I felt tired. Am I really unwell? I thought I was ok.

Perhaps those who are close to you, knows you best (is there a saying?).

A friend in Australia suggested that I was somehow telepathically linked to someone very close, and that I was going through the same thing he/she is right this moment. Who is it then? I know my mum is ok. Who could it be?

My head is feeling a bit muddled. Pardon me if I don't make any sense.

Oh dear, I just had another couple of sneezes. This is a bit worrying.

Maybe some fresh air would do me good. I shall attempt to do the mile run tonight, but perhaps at a much slower pace. Ok now I'm coughing. Maybe just a short walk.

And I've got the weekend all planned out!!!!

Do Men Get PMS?

It's true that men don't get PMS, but we still can still get really, really, really cranky. For some of us, it's a way of life.

I came into work today feeling agitated and irritable. My staff kept popping in and out of my office for small talk, which was obviously not helping. I gave subtle hints that I was not in a good mood, but some people are just oblivious to what is infront of them. I had no choice but to give them strict orders not to bother me unless its an emergency or they are really really stuck with a problem. I felt no remorse.

This continued until it was time for Friday prayers. For some benign reason, the traffic was very poorly at 12:30pm. I could feel a dark cloud looming over my head. After prayers, I came back to the office and had some packed lunch and coffee.

Lo and behold, I no longer felt cranky! I felt quite good and quite eager to get on work with my staff.

CONCLUSION: Men really do have a lower threshold of pain than women.

NOTE TO SELF: Never work on an empty stomach. And take staff out for lunch ASAP.

OUTCOME: I have the upmost respect for the opposite sex.

Motorists that irritate me

AAARRGGGHHHHHH!!! Why do we have such a variety of loonies on the road? Maybe I'm just feeling a bit stroppy today but there must be at least three different motorists I came across this morning that should be banned from driving!!

Let's see what've got:

1. Drivers who never use their signal indicator (they just turn whenever they please)
2. Drivers who frequently hit the brakes (when there is clearly nothing ahead of them)
3. Drivers whose brake lights do not work (and you come very close to running into them)
4. Drivers who can't make up their minds which lane they should be on (and hog both lanes)
5. Drivers who cuts infront of you and brake (forcing yourself to frantically hit the brakes)
6. Drivers who are obviously too elderly to drive (pacing at 5mph)
7. Drivers who furiously chat on their mobile without a hands-free (and drive like a drunkard)
8. Drivers who are really drunk!

Any more?

If you fall into any of the categories above (yours truly included), please please please PLEASE be more considerate to others! Stay off the road!

Plans for the weekend - part III

Revised Saturday:

• Must catch a musical. No way gonna queue up at Box Office from morning. Gonna try luck at the Half-Price Booth. Possibilities include; Mama Mia! and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next
• Failing that, catch The Incredibles and/or The Manchurian Candidate

Revised Sunday:

• Japanese DVD Freak Fest i.e. Ju-On (aka The Grudge, audience permitting, of course).
• Yet another Open-House, this time in Richmond. Menu includes Nasi Briyani and Satay

Thursday at work - part II

Here's what actually happened:

08:45 - Crawled into work and went straight for coffee

09:00 - Received a very cheeful "Hi!" from Sarah. Strange. Never had that before.

09:05 - My staff arrived and started pestering me for work

09:10 - Spent some time with staff to help plan for the day

09:25 - Read comments left by people on own blog and respond to them

09:40 - Checked backup logs and network system status. Ran a few diagnostics and test system performance.

10:00 - Go through hundreds of email and delegate low-level tasks to staff. Flag high-level jobs to self for later.

10:30 - Check pigeon hole for posts and deliveries.

10:45 - Remembered about meeting at 11:00 and started panicking and printed off notes for discussion

11:00 - Meeting with nice chap from Ramesys. Talked about recent Citrix implementation and server upgrades. Talked about hardware and software maintenance and support. Talked about possible future paths. Talked about MCSE and Citrix Accreditions. Looking forward to January. Forgot to talk about spam. Must flag that for later.

11:55 - Went back to department to check up on newbie staff. Make sure she is not panicking on her own.

12:05 - Left for Hoddesdon to join another staff waiting to start with network upgrade

12:50 - Arrived in Hoddesdon (M25 was awful)

12:55 - Received phone call from home, Dad was upset his computer was not working. Had to help him troubleshoot the problem. Problem still not fixed. Dad was still unhappy. Felt sorry for Dad. Must call him back another time.

13:05 - Apologised to staff for being late. Went straight to work to upgrade the network and roll out new Citrix software.

14:20 - Still rolling out Citrix software. Making backups of everybody's documents onto laptop.

14:35 - Helped self with some coffee.

14:45 - Received compliment from mid-aged secretary on weight-loss appearance. Made her a cuppa as well hehe.

15:00 - Going around giving everybody a preview of their new desktop interface. Doing a bit of handholding for those who are frightened of major change.

15:15 - Getting a headache due to missing lunch. Went to nearby Sainsburys and got self Tuna and Roasted Veg Sandwhich (blegh).

15:55 - Once everybody was happy, scheduled a different day for complete migration to new desktop interface. Headed back to Enfield.

16:30 - Reached Enfield. Received SMS from Sis. Called Sis. Sis wanted to see a movie. Sis sounded a bit low.

16:35 - Go through emails for the day.

16:55 - Discussion with staff of what had gone through the day. Discussion for tomorrow and next week's tasks.

17:30 - Headed for cinema to meet Sis.

17:50 - Reached UGC Enfield.

**********

Sis was feeling a bit low. Took Sis to see Bad Santa. Took Sis out for Chinese. Got Sis new Empire magazine. Sis seem happy now. Bro is happy too.

UGC Enfield - Lounge


UGC Enfield - Escalator

Thursday at work

Here's what I got scheduled for today:

09:00 - Network system diagnostics and checkup (yawn)

09:30 - Brief meeting with my staff about what is happening today

09:45 - Check and respond to e-mails (groan)

10:30 - Coffee and read up on technology news

10:45 - Prepare for meeting with hardware/software supplier

11:00 - Meeting with Ramesys to discuss hardware/software support and training

12:00 - Head for Hoddesdon and do some handholding with the users

13:00 - Network upgrade / Initial new Accounts software roll-out

14:00 - More gentle handholding

15:00 - Lunchbreak (hopefully) and head back to Enfield

16:00 - Touch base with my staff again

16:30 - Coffee and respond to e-mails (groan)

17:00 - Read up on technology and world news

17:30 - Head home (if I'm lucky!)

Plans for the weekend - part II

The Incredibles

Almost forgot!! Must also watch The Incredibles!!! People have said that its much much much better than Shark Tale, which I must shamelessly admit I haven't had the opportunity to see as well... BOOO!!!!!!

Plans for the weekend

Saturday:
Must catch a musical, possibility - Mama Mia!

Sunday:
Yet another Open-House, this time in Richmond.
Menu includes Nasi Briyani and Satay WOOHOO!!

Oh-er my head hurts from all this excitement!

The Root of All Evil

An ex-flatmate and close friend interrupted me on an online chat service this evening while I was leisurely surfing the Internet and checking my e-mail. Her storage locker has been broken into by thieves. Now I know that she and her hubby just moved into a new apartment, and I've only been to their place twice. To be hit by such a dreadful incident so soon, they must be devasted, and so am I.

I recall another dear friend who was living up far north, who told me that her car (back then) was broken into and all her belongings, shoes, DiscMan, CDs, etc. were stolen. The thieves managed to inflict so much damage to the door, it wouldn't even shut afterwards. She had to send it for repairs, which proved to be costly, only to have the car completely stolen a few weeks later. She was completely devastated by the incident, as was I.

It saddens me that we live in a world that revolves around currency:
To live, one must eat.
To eat, one must obtain food.
To obtain food, one must have money.
To obtain money, one must make a living.
To make a living, one must find work.
To find work, one must find someone to hire you and pay your salary.
Well, you get the idea. It comes down to needing money.

Now in this day and time, employers seek transcripts which translates into one having spend most of one's youthful life into reading and studying i.e. degree, masters, phd, professionalship, etc. Not everyone is lucky enough or worked hard enough to gain scholarship to the finest academic institutions. Some dropped out. Some never even seen the light of the day of being in a school. Some experience complications like family matters or relationships. Let's just admit it, some just can't be bothered. The fact is, one must have some form of qualification or experience to work, and some of us have neither of these.

So how do the unfortunate ones stay alive? How do they eat? Where do they get the money? Some resort to begging. Some resort to charity. And some unfortunately, resort to stealing.

What about you? You need money right? Tell me, what are you doing right this instant? Are you studying? Are you planning your work for tomorrow? Are you thinking of a pursuing a course or furthering your studies? Why? So that you can make more money? So that you can be sure that you and your family is well taken care of for years ahead? Why do you ask for a payrise? Are you not getting enough to get by? Not enough to pay your bills? Not enough to enjoy a few little luxuries like new clothing or maybe that new car you always wanted? Maybe you can take a loan with the bank. That means you would definitely have to make more money.

My dear friends; MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!

Slow down!

Received this in my work email this morning. Christmas already? I'm still not over Hari Raya yet!!! Bring back Hari Raya please!!!! Not a good sign. Time is moving too fast! Father Time, slow down please!!!

Err... soup looks good though... Not a lot of choice for the main meal.. looks like I'm stuck with the vegetarian dish.. what the heck is a filo?


Menu for Christmas Party

Feel pretty much the same today. Body still aching slightly. Head hurts a bit. A very dear friend told me that an aching head is a good sign, as opposed to a non-aching one. It is just a sign that your body is reacting to an abnormality in your body, like fatigue or stress. It's a healty sign. A person with a brain tumor normally have several more signs rather than just headaches. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, vision or hearing problems, problems with motorary functions, loss of sensations, behavioral and cognitive problems. That doesn't sound very pleasant. So the next time you have a headache, you should count your blessings.

Groan

I overslept today. Got up at 7:30AM instead of the usual 6:00AM. Must have missed the alarm. Rushed in shower, shower felt good. Skipped breakfast. Ironed my shirt. Where's the other half of my socks? *GROAN* Rushed to work. Got in at 8:50AM. Logged on the network. Inspected last night backup logs. All OK. Next, network systems inspection. Firewall.. OK. Email server... OK. File server.... OK. Pre-historic UNIX Accounts server... failed backup. Felt a bit of pain in the neck.

Emailed to assistant: "Please block all users from manky Accounts and re-run the backup".

Made coffee. Coffee good. On with emails... 15 new messages.

Message 1:
"Ahmad, could I have access to the new Accounts software please?"

Message 2:
"Ahmad, when do we get to play with the new Accounts software?"

Message 3:
"Any idea when we'll have the new Accounts software?"

Message 4:
"Ahmad, the other offices would like to know when you'll be able to provide them access to the new Accounts system"

Message 5:
"Hi Ahmad, I've just had the training yesterday and would like to play with Accounts again from my machine please"

Message 6:
"Could my secretary have access to the Accounts system please?"

etc. etc. etc.

Added to task list: Start work on giving people access to the new Accounts system.

A pleasant scent registered in my groggy head. What is that? I got up from my desk and walked out of my office. Sarah, the Junior Secretary just got in and booted her PC up.

"Good morning, Ahmad", she smiled.

"Uh, hi Sarah. How are you today?", I responded sheepishly, trying to confirm the pleasant smell came from her.

"I'm okay thanks. And you?"

"Err... so-so... probably need another cup of coffee...", yes, yes.. enough with the pleasantries...

I took a shot in the dark here and just assumed she was wearing perfume, "Errr.. Sarah.. may I ask what perfume you are wearing?"

She gave me a stare, paused, smiled and whispered, "Ralph Lauren Polo Sport".

"Ahh.. it smells really nice",

"Thank you hehe", she grinned and continued to start with her work.

Walked back to desk and just as I was about to get on with my tasks for the day, I received another visitor...

"Hi Ahmad, you alright?", it was Lisa, the Admin Assistant. I wonder what she wants now. Head felt a bit heavy.

"Have you got Renuka's card with you?", she asked.

"Eh? What is she getting on about?", I thought. To which then I recalled yesterday my assistant passing me a Get Well card for a secretary who broke her leg in a car accident. We try to treat our colleagues at work like family and that is what made working here more enjoyable.

"Oh yes sorry! I completely forgot about it. Here it is, I've signed it."

"You look a bit tired Ahmad, are you alright?", she gave me a stare.

I must have looked horrible. I did remember to shave this morning. Do I look that bad? It's always not good when people say you look tired. Note to self: must never tell anyone they look tired again.

"Ermm.. I overslept.. the strange thing is.. I went to bed quite early.. around 10:30PM.. and I still don't feel like I have had enough sleep.", I tried to explain in detail.

"Ahh... well your voice sounds a bit muffled,"

Excuse me? Muffled? My neck hurts. My head hurts.

"It could be a sign that you're coming down with something. Anyway, I gotta rush. We ought to do lunch again sometime. See you later!", and off she goes.

Ahhh.. things are begining to make sense. I was barely able to keep my pace during my mile run last night, and it took a bit longer to finish. I was uploading some songs for a close friend and it was a bit of a struggle, something that I normally just whizz through. I gulped down what must have been like six litres of water in one night and I was still feeling dehydrated. A phone call with a close friend was kept short as I was having difficulty keeping track of the conversation. Even as I'm typing this entry, my head spinning around like a ferris-wheel.

Can't really afford to get sick at the moment. So many things needed done at work. My head hurts. Right, maybe some fresh air will do me some good. Will take a walk at lunchtime, weather permitting of course. No mile run tonight.

Cinta Tak Berganti

CINTA TAK BERGANTI
Iman Wan/Siti Nurhaliza

Biarkanlah resah sayang
Sukar ku lalui
Buat ku berduka

*Kenangkanlah oh semalam
Walau cinta dikunci
Janji tak ku lupa

**Tak daya ku halangi
Tak ku cuba jauhi
Tetap di sini
Terus menanti

Korus
Ikrar kita mengharungi badai sakti
Mencari sinar kasih suci
Walaupun nafas ku ini pasti terhenti
Jangan pula ada sangsi lubuk hati
Percaya cinta tiada ganti
Kau yang ku cari
Kaulah kasih ke akhir hayat nanti

Ulang* & **
Korus
Ulang** & Korus

Prasasti Seni

Alan and Marisa's Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2004 Open House

Went to my ex-flatmates Hari Raya Semi-Open House in SE London yesterday in their new apartment. Among the traditional servings include Laksa Johor (yumm!!!), Lemang (yumm!!! times infinity), Nasi Himpit, Kuah Kacang, Rendang Ayam, Sambal Sotong, Sayur Lodeh and a glorious variety of Kuih Raya. Did I miss anything? Oh ya, and the environment was so lovely! It definitely feels a lot better to be celebrating Hari Raya with loved ones. Thank you so much Alan and Marisa! (burp!)

Alan and Marisa's Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2004 Open House

More pictures can be found in my Fotopages (currently waiting for the registration process to come through *grumble* *grumble* lambat siot!)

The Mile Run... part II

Went for another mile run tonight... the weather is mildly cold... which is a lot better than yesterday... managed to do it in less than half-hour... must be getting better hehe.. oh yeah.. no sign of dodgy female-figure too... *phew!*

Ku Menunggu

Siti Nurhaliza - Prasasti Seni

********************

KU MENUNGGU
Aidit Alfian/Habsah Hassan

Ku begini seperti selalu
Membilang waktu berlalu
Entah berapa lama aku tak sedarinya
Berapa lama harus menunggu

Aku mimpikan suram cahaya
Bertukar cahaya indah
Semoga tiba hari bersinar ruang hati
Menyuluh arah jalan kembali

Korus
Ku tunggu angin perubahan
Barat utara timur selatan
Meniti doa malam dan siang
Teranyamnya semula ikatan
Sayang semua (nya) hanyalah mimpi
Kenyataannya langit dan bumi
Aku di sini engkau di sana
Sayup jauh terpisah
Entahkan kerana sayangku
Ataupun kerana sabarku
Kumenunggu

Airmata dan senyuman
Antara mimpi dan harapan
Adalah rindu semilu menghiris kalbu
Yang terlalu menyanyi
di akhirnya terkorban diri
Menyedari itu aku putuskan
Pasrah segala pada tuhan

Ulang Korus

Masih lagi seperti selalu
Membilang waktu berlalu
Semoga tiba hari bersinar ruanghati
Menyuluh arah agar kembali

Owww!!!

Found this rather nasty scar on my left palm. Have no idea where it came from or how it got there. I only realised it was there as I was washing the dishes this morning. Looks like quite a deep cut. Obviously this tiny scar is nothing compared to my... stature *cough*, but what puzzles me the most is what caused it? I went quickly through my dirty clothes for any signs or clues.. but nothing... Have I now come to a point where physical pain does not register in my brain anymore?


Ze Injury

The Mile Run

I just got back from doing the mile run... (I used to do it everyday back in 1999, when I was staying on my own in Cheshunt... then I moved to London Central in Y2K for psychological benefits and made some lovely new friends whom I still cherish until today... the running however, stopped...)

I've started running again this week after someone very close to me reminded me that one should always look after one's self, physically, mentally and emotionally. I ran in the past for a different reason... Even so, it became something that I enjoy doing... I grew to love running. I remembered in the past that when I ran daily, I sleep better, I work better, I breathe better, I think better (where the mental part comes in)... all which made me very happy (lo and behold, the emotional aspect of it). Above everything else, I was as fit as a wild horse! Rest assured I'm beginning to feel good again... with visible results! Hahahaha!!

Anyway, the reason I brought this up was that something peculiar happened this evening as I was near the end of my mile run. It a was public footpath, in a suburban area in the Borough of Haringey. The footpath was about three feet in width and covered with dead tree leaves. I could see a dark figure from afar... well about 200-yards ahead of me... heading towards me. "Must be somebody who just got home from work", I thought to myself. As I approached closer, I see what appears to be a female-figure. "Strange", my head whispered. She doesn't seem to be covering much in this freakin' cold weather. As I grew nearer, I was forced to slow down my pace as the footpath would be too narrow for me to just storm through. The female figure came into focus. She was about in her mid-twenties perhaps. Wearing a white, very short mini-skirt, a red, with very low neckline blouse, lots of hair, neck and ear accessories. She didn't appear to be wearing a jacket or coat of some sort. As I passed her, I looked up to see her face. She was caucassian, brunette with blue eyes. Come to think of it, the streetlamps provided ample lighting that evening. "Hi!", a high-pitched but yet soft-spoken voice was uttered. "Hi!", I replied and smiled. She smiled back with a bit of a twinkle in her eyes. She had a very clear complexion. Very little make-up. She was actually quite pretty. What comes next disturbed me slightly. Most of her front upper and lower teeth appear to be missing. "Where are you off running to?", she asked. At this stage I was increasing my pace again and running away from her. "Somewhere!", I shouted, not even glancing back.

As I got home, walking up the stairs to my flat... I couldn't stop wondering... was that... a prostitute? I have never been up close to a prostitute before. She had the kind of clothing/attire though. Did I assume wrong? Her missing teeth may be the result of a previous drunk or dissastified or even plain evil customer. Or she could have got drunk herself and fallen off a flight of stairs. OR, she could have just been a local resident, perhaps who just got back from work and forgot her coat. Perhaps she thought I would give her my track-top to give her a bit of warmth. Guilt gradually looms in. Should have I stopped and talked to her a bit more? Who she was? Where she was heading? If I could be of any help? Offer her a warm cuppa? A warm meal? I could have given her some money, but I hardly carry any cash with me while I run.

Why didn't I stop to help? Am I a bad person? Did she need any help? I do try to be good... should I be trying harder?

She Will Be Loved

Maroon 5

Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else

I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more

I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
And she will be loved

Tap on my window, knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore

It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want

I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved

I know where you hide
Alone in your car
Know all of the things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls

Tap on my window, knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful

I don't mind spending every day
Out on your corner in the pouring rain, oh
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved

Please don't try so hard to say goodbye
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye

I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain

Please don't try so hard to say goodbye

Another miserable day

Today is my second day this week that I have to be in our Cheshunt office. We have implemented a new desktop system whereby all staff do their work (i.e. letters, memos, faxes, wills, attendance notes, etc.) using a marvellous technology developed by the brilliant people at Citrix.

I would normally start early and be at the premises by 8:30AM, to allow myself plenty of time to plan for the day, sort myself out and possibly wake myself up to a nice cup of warm coffee. Normally I would set off at about 7:45AM, as you may see from the map below, Cheshunt is not that far off from my residency just above Wood Green.


Location of Cheshunt

However some lorry driver must have thought it would be hilarious to perform a fantastic stunt on a heavy downpour this morning and toppled over on the ever-so-popular M25. Queues built up for miles on all direction and yours truly in his chugging vehicle was crawling no faster than a turtle with chronic diarrhea for a whole two hours before reaching his destination, what would normally take less than a quarter of that time.

Added to that, it continued to rain like they wanted another town to join the lost city of Atlantis. I managed to park my car at the local Pay-N-Display (don't worry, I claim back for parking), drenched myself getting a parking ticket, and soaked myself running to the office. I was totally unprepared for the horrible weather today. It was only a bit after 10:00AM and it was already so MISERABLE!!!!

Got in the office, reminded everyone there who I was, located an available desk to set myself up, turn my laptop on, logged on to the network and away I go.... Everybody must be extremely busy at the moment as by this time one of the ladies would have offered me a warm cup of coffee, but I guess my agitated facial expressions must have scared them off...

Anyway, enjoy some nice gloomy/overcast photos of the town...



The Old Pond


Another view of the Old Pond


Such a small town

Puteri Gunung Ledang

PGL

setapak melangkah,

dua langkah ingatan kanda pada dinda.

adinda bersumpah,

jikalau kekanda tidak kembali,

adinda akan menyusul kekanda,

menginjak pada tanah yang sama,

bernafas pada udara yang sama.

belayar berbelok-belok,

sauh dibongkar di tempat tenang,

yang tinggal hati tak elok,

yang pergi hati tak tenang.

bila sampai waktu,

kita akan bersama.

dipetik dari PGL

Personality Type

At my first day back at work after Hari Raya celebrations, my co-worker and I got into talking about the different personalities that we have to face/bear/suffer each time a new staff joins the company where we work. As part of our many many MANY responsibilities, we troubleshoot problems when someone reports it. Sometimes we get really nice people who are calm and generally relaxed but a bit frustrated when a technical problem arises. That's fine and dandy. Most of the time, we get people screaming at us and cursing the technology that was supposed to make them work more efficiently. To make things worse, they even had the cheek to tell us that they are extremely busy and their work is horrendously important and that they need to get on with it ASAP. Oh how we ENJOY this kind of people. Anywayyyyyy, let's save that for another entry shall we?

Interested in finding out your personality type? There are plenty of personality tests on the Internet, just do a Google search.

I took the Temperament Sorter (The #1 online personality assessment) months ago at the following link:
http://www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/

Seventy short questions and ten minutes later, I found out that I am an Idealist. An idealist?? Me??? You can't be serious!!

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up between 20 and 25 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Several more mouse-clicks later and it narrowed down to me being an INFJ. The Empath. The Humanist. The Mystic. The Counselor. Interesting...

Which personality type are you?

Pain...

... you feel it.. I feel it.. everybody feels it... you never ask for it.. you never look for it.. you never want it... but yet, you can't hide from it... In whichever form it comes in... physically or emotionally...

It sucks...

Hari Raya tomorrow!

London Central Mosque announced that Hari Raya will fall on Saturday 13th November.

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin to everyone! To those in Malaysia, KAMI RAYA DULUUU!!! Jangan mare!

Junk Glorious Junk!! - part ii

Twelve bin bags and three boxes later... the place is finally clear!

Confused? Don't be...

There are more confused people back home than you think!

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/11/9/nation/9355369&sec=nation

Buang masa aku jer...

Received this in my mailbox today....

----------------------------------------------------------------
Temubual seorang pemuda dengan pakcik gembala biri-biri...

Pemuda : Baguslah ternakan biri-biri pakcik. Boleh saya tanya beberapa soalan tak?
Pakcik : Boleh aje...
Pemuda : Berapa jauh biri-biri ni berjalan setiap hari?
Pakcik : Yang mana, yang putih atau yang hitam?
Pemuda : Yang putih.
Pakcik : Kalau yang putih berjalan lebih kurang enam kilometer setiap hari.
Pemuda : Yang hitam?
Pakcik : Yang hitam pun sama...
Pemuda : Berapa banyak plak rumput biri-biri ni makan setiap hari?
Pakcik : Yang mana, yang putih atau yang hitam?
Pemuda : Yang putih?
Pakcik : Ah, yang putih makan lebih kurang empat kilo rumput setiap hari.
Pemuda : Dan yang hitam?
Pakcik : Yang hitam pun sama...
Pemuda : Berapa banyak bulu yang mereka hasilkan setiap tahun?
Pakcik : Yang mana, yang putih atau yang hitam?
Pemuda : Yang putih?
Pakcik : Aaa...yang putih menghasilkan sekitar enam kilo bulu setiap tahun.
Pemuda : Dan yang hitam?
Pakcik : Yang hitam pun sama...
Pemuda : Kenapa pakcik membezakan biri-biri pakcik yg putih dgn yg hitam, padahal jawapan semuanya sama aje?
Pakcik : Mestilah...sebab biri-biri yang putih itu pakcik yang punye.
Pemuda : Ooo, gitu ke...abis tu yang hitam tu sapa punye?

Pakcik : Yang hitam pun sama...


SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR BATIN!

Holy Sh|te!!!

Right after sahur, as I was "doing my business" quietly in my cozy 2"x8"x8" W.C. (the convenient one upstairs), somehow or rather, I came to ponder upon this popular phrase to express disbelief and/or scepticism, amongst other things.

What makes it holy or even sacred in any form at all? It stinks, looks disgusting and have the kind of scent you wouldn't want to leave in your head even for a few ticks. It is abusive in single form and even more vulgar when travelling (or left) in... err... packs? They come in different forms of shapes and sizes. If you are lucky (or unlucky, whichever way you want to look at it), you might even be able to see historical landmarks, farm animals, common household objects or even famous characters from staring at them a bit longer (not too long though)... something that an individual should not practice over lengthened periods of time...

Going back to my original question, why on earth is it holy? Perhaps they meant, "holey"... you know... coz sometimes they have holes in them? Much like the holes you get in cheese perhaps? So shouldn't it be "Holey Sh|te!"? That sounds more be-fitting... is it not? Am I thinking or talking nonsense too early in the day? Or maybe I have inhaled the fumes too long in the W.C.? Am I that gross and disgusting? Can anybody shed some light in this matter please?

If you think this is bad, have a look at some of the more popular phrases below:
1) Don't give me any of that sh|te!
2) Don't you start that sh|te with me now!
3) What's all this sh|te?
4) That is some serious sh|te!
5) Sh|te happens!
6) Eat shte you sh|te-head!
7) I don't really give a sh|te!

... and the list goes on... scary isn't it?

The Shower... part V

I have officially used the new shower... The shower base is freakin' solid. The shower door is freakin' cool. The tiles are freakin' good... what can I say? It's freakin' brilliant!!! For £930, it has to be!!!

Junk Glorious Junk!!

This morning I took a step back, a rather deep breath... and look at all the stuff that I need to clear out before Hari Raya... *MOAN* 'nuff said..

It was only two years ago before I actually live in an actual flat all by myself. Prior to that, I have always been living in `a room' and have flatmates. So obviously everything that you own stays in your room (the good stuff that is). Today, I have three bedrooms, a galley kitchen, a dining room that also serves as my work area, a living room, a bathroom (complete with brand spanking new shower) and a small W.C. upstairs (for those long cold nights tee-hee). Now compare that to the space of a small bedroom that you have been used to all those years as a student! I'm completely spoilt! Strangely enough, in that two years, I have completely filled it up!!! *GASP* "With what?", I hear you ask. JUNK!! Lots of junk! (actually piles of computer hardware, DVDs, CDs, magazines, etc. just the usual run-of-the-mill guy stuff :P)

Enter, The Loft... not very big.. but roomy enough for me to stack all the "loved" junk in it... Yes, I'm going to have to get rid of some of them.. I know... so sue me :P

Its Saturday!

After the brief sniffing of fresh sealent of my brand spanking new shower cubicle, I decided to get that loft ladder that I always wanted. Over the years of residing in the UK, one has obviously accumulated a lot of belongings and earthly possessions (one can't help it!). I have always tried, but failed miserably to not buy stuff I don't need. Anyway, to keep a story short.... I have a lot of freakin' stuff! A short trip to B&Q and £50 later, I got myself a loft ladder.

My loft (or the attic as you Yanks call it) is not very big.. You can't stand in it.. you'd have to get down on your knees.. however, its quite a wide area.. so would make an ideal place to store boxes..

The Shower... part IV

"... it's finished", the plumber mumbled. Finally, the shower is all complete. "As I said, you should be able to use it by tomorrow." Hallelujah! As I part with a cheque for 930 squids, I can't help but to think how much plumbers make on a yearly basis. Hmmmm... an alternative choice of career for me perhaps? It could happen... yeah roite!!

The Shower... part III

"I'm terribly sorry.. but the shower door is too big. I must have brought the wrong one.." WHAT NOW??? Can't you do anything right? AARRGGHHHHH!!!! "I apologise for this, but I will have to come again in the morning with the correct one... I'm really sorry..." Oh sure, you're very apologetic now.. you're not the one having to expunge £930 from your rectum do you? "I'll be over at about 9:30am..." Great! That's just freakin' great! Not only is the shower too rich for my blood, now you expect me to be awake at 9:30am on a Saturday??? *groan*

The poor plumber.. not poor financially though.. I sympathise how he's able to put up with a lot of angry customers.. not because of him.. he does an excellent job... I've seen his work.. masterful craftsmanship.. angry customers who become frustrated having to spend a lot of money for his services... they know it needs to be done.. and they know he's the man for the job.. and they know plumbing does not come cheap.. hence, they get upset... like yours truly. So should I slap another £50 ontop of his final bill? FREAKIN' NO WAY!!!

p/s: I'm missing somebody... Happy Guy Fawkes Night.

The Shower... part II

Shocking shocking news about my new shower... the total bill ended up to the amount of........ frickin' £930!!!!!!!! AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! The old shower had done more damage than what the plumber initially anticipated. He had to change quite a lot of tiles and replace wood paneling around the shower cubicle. AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

"Will the be alright then?", he muttered over the phone. NO!!! Of course its not alright!! But what choice did I have? The shower was broken. A neighbour injured. Expecting guests soon. Not to mention the end of Ramadhan. It needs to be done. I gave him the green light. "Ok dokey.", he murmured. "It'll be finished by today. You should be able to use it by Sunday." Great. Another frickin' day before I get to experience a £930 shower. It better be good...

Cruelty

Watched a documentary on BBC2 called Horizon. In tonight's episode, we were told the sad and tragic story of David Reimer, who was born a male but brought up as a girl. The psychologist who brainwashed the boy is a very sick sick man and should be burnt alive. At the age of 14, David decided to return to being a man and ended up marrying and having children of his own. Despite that, it all got a bit too much. David took his own life in May this year. Man can go to such lengths, for his "experiments" and "discoveries"... even if it involves destroying an innocent child..

The Shower...

So I've had my shower replaced today... no not the thing you hold in your hand and soak yourself with.. I'm talking about a whole shower.. the whole cubicle.. the tray.. the door.. Why, you ask? Well, the previous owner was probably very budget-concious when putting it up. Cheap tiles, cheap shower tray, schloppy workmanship.. and the result, something that didn't last very long... and ended up with the neighbour downstairs having ceiling plaster falling on her head while she was cooking in her kitchen! Thank God she was very understanding and cool with it.

Anyway, to make a long story short.. one of the secretaries where I work told me that her husband can find people to sort out odd jobs where necessary.. and I really need a working shower.. So a few phone calls later, a site visit and a quotation for £850 (Ouch!), we're on our way... The plumber has been at work since this morning, and when I came home from work, he was already gone. The new shower is looking good.. the tray looks sturdier.. the tiles have been redone.. but where's the frickin' door? Oh, it's not been put up yet.. the plumber said he needed to wait for the tiles to dry out a bit and having a door in place does not help it much... That's pretty understable.. hopefully the door will be up by tomorrow and we'll have a brand spanking new shower ready for the weekend! Yippeee!! By the way, I tried to claim back the expenses from insurance, but they said, "...the shower is not covered by our insurance.. only the plumbing and building structure...". Duhhh.. I guess that's just part of owning your own property... much like that of a car.. It's all part of being a grown-up.. the older you are.. the more bills you pay LOL!