One's happiness could be another's misery

I looked out my window and rejoiced delightfully at the rain and the dark clouds
Then it came to my mind

There must be people out there who are starting to take out their basins and pails
Sitting there, shuddering at how the water is going to leak from the rooftops
Or how high the water level is going to get to flow into the floors of their low-leveled houses?

As I start to feel happy, I also empathize with their fates

I pray that happiness is everywhere
There'd be no pain, anxiety or worries that put a frown on one's head
It's hard to achieve I know
But I do wish it will be true....
Perhaps if we all prayed hard enough?

Raining..on Saturday

It's raining..on Saturday...
Life just is a bliss...
(tune from Grease's "It's raining on Prom Night")

It's been a really hot and humid week (though I was feeling cold most of the time since I was sick)

It's really a relief that I woke up to the delightful sounds of rain pattering on the roofs and on the tar road this morning

The best part is, it's a SATURDAY!!
Lovely lovely

No work and it's SATURDAY

It's just pure bliss

Curl up with a good book or blog?
There seems to be tonnes of things to do
Yet I just feel so content with the weather
Although at the back of the mind I am still worried about the issue at work

Sighs....

But it's SATURDAY
and it's raining

LOVELY!!!!
I gotta stop thinking about work
No work, I can't be such a workaholic!

I have recovered

After all the commotion at work; when I am NOT at work, I decided that I have recovered

No medicine, no doctor needed

Miracle, isn't it?

I think I don't need doctors in the future
Or sick leaves

This is much better than nebulizers or cardiac resuscitation!

A good way to recover, don't you think?
I don't feel so weak anymore....good to welcome the lovely weekend?

A MIScommunication?

After all the big hoo-ha while I am sick, I found out that it was all due to a miscommunication, which is due to one missing email???

Oh MY!

Nobody could make any decision and no one bothered to even lift a finger to do anything

Nobody bothered to find out the detail

All kept waiting for me to do it

Yesterday, all I did was just to pick up the silly phone and make that call and ALL was sorted out right!

The best part is, my colleague is aware of that missing link
They mentioned that they saw the answer in the email
It's just they were copied in the loop and it was a corresponding email

The email sender did not specifically address it to her although she was copied
And that's why she cannot proceed
She needs an email which is specifically directed to her name to inform her on the instructions before she can proceed

GOSH!


This issue only involves an amount of tax and charges of about RM3,000++ to RM4k and guess what?
They have sounded the alarm all the way to my boss (VP) who cannot decide, then on to the department head who cannot approve and they got back to me by saying that only the CFO can approve?

WHAT?
They suggest that I'd talk to the customer on my end
WOW......just for this amount?

I got it sorted out in less than 15 minutes
There's always a solution
I figured out 2 options; which probably do not need any authorization, even if I may need to withstand some cursing and scolding

I am telling you, you cannot fall sick or go away on vacation
Because believe me, the operations really DO cease when ONE is not around

This is definitely not a joke
And it does not matter whether it is a huge or small amount which may not be at your level of authorization

No joke, I must remember to stay intact to the office or my work 24/7, 365 days a year
Better still, maybe I should be on call at all times?

End of the Month

I can't believe that in a blink of an eye it is once again the end of the month
Wow, July is over already and now heading towards August

I can't wait
I really can't wait

How many more months are there?
It is finally the last quarter

I am crossing my fingers in anticipation

Each passing month is slow these days
I used to think of them as flying past me

Now, maybe I am tired?

Whatever...it's already the 31st and it's also Friday!
I am recovering too...I am happy now~

No Point...

I am exhausted by this no-coverage work now
It seems like there is no one else doing anything
No one else cares
No one else is willing to help out
No one else is concerned
No one else will volunteer to pick up things from where they are left

Everyone is just in their own world
Pushing things off at their arm's length
Saying no to everything that is not theirs

Have you ever been in this kind of situation where you are even called non-stop and continuously when you are seriously ill?
You can't even breathe a minute without being bugged for this detail and that

Perhaps this is a norm everywhere
But I have to say I am tired

I have had enough!

There is no teamwork at all
What is the point to do anything?
Don't go fooling people by painting such a beautiful image of your organization when you are hiring
When you clearly know that rundown shack behind it

People are just way too self-centered
Can't wait to see others suffer in their self-destruction

Do you see any point to do anything for people like that?
Is there any point to even do anything at all?

Yeah, it's great when you mess up something
And you ask for help

And all you get is, you need to do it yourself

I think I should run my own company
And do my own things
Since clearly, I am already on my own right now

There is NO POINT, no POINT at all...

Sad...

I am very sad

I am always a cheerful and optimistic person

Glooms and sadness do not go with me most of the time as I tend to like to be in a cheery mood

I am upset with all the things happening around me recently that I find no reason to smile anymore

Why do things all happen at the same time?

I want to smile; but it doesn't seem right to anymore...

My not-so blissful Friday...

Just when I thought my Friday would be a break after all the hectic craze throughout the whole week, boy, was I wrong!

I came into office and was immediately hoarded by tonnes of paperwork and documents for submission and then I was rushing through the websites and systems in my PC to configure this and that and checking for this and that

I barely had time to breathe for the whole morning

Furthermore, I had to assist my colleague who flew in from KL on his project and that added more to my workload!

Great, maybe I should not have even dream of having a blissful day after all....I'd probably jinxed it myself

Gotta do that un-jinx spell with my knuckles now!

A H1N1 fever~

The A H1N1 endemic is really creating an outbreak as we continuously hear about quarantine cases and how schools in a few states are being closed down after testing some of the students positive.

My colleagues were also discussing this in a pretty heated-up mode and of course, everyone is really concerned with the arising number of the cases reported in the country.

The funny thing is when one of the colleague started sneezing and then he coughed while he was at the photocopy machine.

One of them immediately teased him, "A H1N1 ah?"

Then another continued, "If yes, then come nearer but not face to face!"

"HUH? Why ler?"

"So that, we can be quarantined because we are in the proximity of a suspected patient but we won't catch it ourself!
Weiii, 1 week quarantine at home....no need to work, YEAYYY!!"

That's the episode of my crazy colleagues....:p

Two destinations

I need to make a decision soon; whether to stay here or stay there....

It was a surprise and something which awakened me following a phone call earlier

seems like it's judgement and decision call time....

It's a pretty hard decision when I also have my own personal thoughts in the way at the moment

No matter how, I still need to make a decision very soon....


How ar....how how how....

Shivering in the Cold...

I just feel so cold since last night; it was really windy

Even throughout the night as I was sleeping underneath the blanket, I could feel the cold seeping in to my toes which I curled under the socks and blanket

Today, I still could not help feeling cold....


NO, I am definitely not sick, no worries and it's just the weather which, I hope, is turning for the colder climate....

Hopefully, it will rain again soon too.....

What's the Rush?

I am tired of being rushed by everyone
Everyone says, "This is TOP priority", "Can you help me with this first?"

Oh myyyyy, what about my life?

I need a break also, okayyyyyyy

The Chinese proverb also tells us, Even a person who wants to hang himself to death needs to take his last breath first!

Goshhhh, what's the hurry?

Cursed...by a woman

What did I do?

I was just driving on the right way; coming straight and heading straight on a 4-lane road and there was this woman; a plump and stocky woman of about 5 feet 2 who was crossing the road.
I already saw her from far and she was taking her own sweet time crossing the road when I saw her.

As my car was approaching, I was already slowing down and she sort of stopped, in the middle of the road.
I had to BRAKE and as she was confused as to move left or right, I had to steer my car out of the way. She stood there and I just drove past here; leaving her pointing and shouting at me loudly.

(I could hear the shout; although I cannot make out what she was saying but I don't think it's anything good anyhow)

Sighs, what a bad day huh, I had to be cursed...
I just hope she got over her anxiety...and learn to cross the road properly and look out for cars when she is crossing the road.

Who's wrong or who is right, well, most important is no one is unhurt

Calculative People

Have you ever encountered people who are just very very calculative?
They are so specific and to the dot that you find yourself just shaking your head at them?

Well, I have and there seems to be endless of them.
I don't mind them that much; as long as they don't mind me.
However, what happens when you encounter these at work?

"Erm, can you do this please?"
"Haaahhh, I am sorry, you need to look for this person wor..."

Some people may have the information; but they will choose to wait for you to come back to do it; even if it means rushing it at the very last minute.

So, if you think you have coverage during your absence (be it for meetings, on leave, sick leave, out of office), well, you think wrong!
Get yourself back here and do it yourself, because you ain't got nobody to help you out at all... and the work or task cannot be completed without you and you alone.

Without you, life may not go on.....what can we do about people like these?

Crane Collapsed at Southampton

I opened up my inbox in Outlook this morning and found the memo sent by my Logistic colleague on the collapse of the crane in Southampton

This piece of news mean nothing to me at first until I read about the man/driver who was trapped and suffered really heavy injuries in the incident



Besides, the relevance is this crane happens to hold in it most of the goods and may cause delay in delivery.
Investigations are going on and the EHS officers will be working to determine the root cause of the incident.

Well, to me what matters most is the safety of the workers, I pray that they will be fine!
It is a risky job they had to do and I think they have often been the unsung heroes behind all the success in the industry as well.
I shudder to think about the hefty weight of the crane upon a fragile human body.

Who cares about the delivery anymore anyway?

SOMEBODY, PUT out the FIRE!!!

I woke up to yet another blanket of haze above me on Saturday morning; thus spoiling the start of the lovely weekend after a whole week of work.

Oh yes, I do need to stay indoors despite the errands and chores I have to do (is it me or are we all especially busy when it comes to weekends compared to those working days?)

Not that I have to complain, since I have the company of my good books and movies/dramas with me but still, it's good to get out once in a while to take a look at the world out there.

I just hope my breathing is normal, and that my magical menthol crystals are going to work in controlling the sinus.

I thought it rained briefly yesterday; and it did looked like the visibility improved but then this morning?

I am getting tired to even blog about the haze anymore....

Somebody, PLEASE PUT OUT THE FIRE and STOP the open burning!!

A Meeting on....a SURVEY???!!!

Oh, following from the last post, as I was laughing over the Live Meeting incident, I forgot to mention the topic of the meeting.

I wondered what was so urgent about the meeting that they need everyone to attend; they mentioned something about our Employee Performance system which required all of our attention.

When we tuned into the meeting, it was actually about this new Employee survey thing set up for us to provide feedback on our managers!

Oh my, first time doing this?
Why do we need a briefing or a training on how to answer 10 questions on our boss?

It seems that they launched this 2 years ago, and then they stopped last year and this year, they decided to revamp and do it all over again.

So guess what, we all had to endure the staying back in the office on Friday (of all days) to listen to how to do a survey!!!

Sometimes, this company just never fails to surprise me......oh my

Live Meeting 101

Yesterday, we were invited to attend this meeting or so-called briefing by our Corporate HR at 4.30pm.
(Boy, I hate it when they hold meetings at this hour and on a Friday!)

Anyway, it is going to be a tele-conference between three sites; KL, Penang and Johor.

As I have mentioned, our telephone went out of order early yesterday but thanks (and no thanks) to the engineers, we managed to hook up the line again (they replaced the capacitor and tweaked the cables here and there) to make it in time for the meeting.
(that's why I said no thanks, else the meeting would've been cancelled!)

They then started to set up the computers and projector used for the conference; and I was busy with my work out there.
As I entered the meeting room past 4.30pm (past the meeting time), I realized that they were still in a mess; trying to set up their Live Meeting and some were complaining that they should be using NetMeeting.

They kept complaining that they were only seeing a blue screen/grey screen even after they have joined the meeting and figured that something was wrong with the pc used to share.
They then got another guy to get his laptop; but that guy had not even set up NetMeeting at all!!

Gosh!! I could've laughed out loud to see their messy states!

I tried explaining to them that they won't be able to see anything unless the other parties have started sharing but in the middle of the fuss, they seemed to not notice what I have said.

As the third guy sets up his laptop, they were wondering how to invite the third guy to join the meeting as they could not find the Forward mail button in the mail they opened.

I taught them, "Go back to Outlook, to your Inbox, right click on that mail and Forward"
They thanked me for that...LOL!

It took them a while to get everyone settled as everyone was very new to Live Meeting and finally they saw something when HR started to share (I've already told them that nobody shared anything, SIGHS)

Anyway, I guess nobody knows tele-meeting through Net or Live Meeting like the previous bunch of people I used to work with, HUH?

I missed those days....hahaha...

Almost Denied access...by 0.2!

Two days ago, I was heading to a customer's site for a meeting and upon arrival, as usual, I need to report to the guardhouse and register my details.

This time, I had to fill in an additional form for the factory; and it's the A H1N1 compliance form.

Oh well, basic questions, whether I have traveled to affected countries, whether I have the following symptoms.
Of course, I understood the need for that and obliged

Well, that's not the most embarrassing part; to fill up the form.
The guard suddenly appeared next to me while I was filling up the form.

I was surprised to see him but he just smiled and said, "Can I take your temperature, miss?"

He was holding this device in his hand which reads from a short distance without the device making physical contact with my skin.

I was too stunned then!
Wow, to this extent?

He then exclaimed, "Wow, very high temperature! Miss, you demam ke?" (Are you having a fever?)

I laughed and told him in return, "Encik, it is so HOT out there, anyone could have high temperature!"

As I filled the form, he guided me, by telling me to tick 'No' for the columns on Cold, Sore Throat, Difficulty in Breathing (you call that health check??)

When it came to the fever column, he told me to write down my temperature; which was 37.8 degree Celsius and the passing point is 38 degrees.

He laughed and told me, "0.2 degrees only, and you will be denied access!"

Now, that's one funny thing....I was almost denied access by 0.2 Degree Celsius!!

Anyway, I think that's a preventive measure taken by the factories and MNCs these days.
However, I think the security guard should have put on a mask and gloves as well since he is in contact with most of the visitors.
If one of the visitors is actually suspected of A H1N1, don't you think he's the one at risk?

Time to take a closer look at those preventive measures to make sure they are effective too, and not just denying access by the temperature..LOL!

The final element is....Earth!

Following the post on the series of unfortunate events in my office; today we are surprised by yet another discovery.

After careful analysis, I have divided this whole week's events into the following categories; associated with the five elements

1. Fire (Admin's computer burnt; with smoke emission from the monitor and the CPU)

2. Wind (Electricity went out and the air-cond malfunctioned)

3. Water (on Wednesday, the water dispenser leaked and wet the pantry carpeted floor)

Today, we came to the office and found that the phones are not working.
Our engineer assisted and found that the PABX malfunctioned.
The engineer tried to dismantle to find out the root cause; and guess what....

the capacitor melted onto the PCB board....
which brings us to the 4th element; Metal!

Now there is only one left; no prize for guessing what it is going to be...

Are we going to be faced with earthquake soon here?

Even the maintenance/service contractor we called threw their heads back and laughed when they heard of our complaints again this morning....


What could the element of earth be?

It must be the Feng Shui....or some curse....jinxed.....

Harry Potter is back!

Tonight is the world premiere of the 6th installation (based on the book) of the Harry Potter series!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

The kids are no longer kids this round; they have all grown up to be adults and there's more action packed into this chapter.

I've heard good reviews from the Hitz.FM deejays who've had the wonderful opportunity to watch the sneak preview on Tuesday.

A word of caution, we do need to do a bit of homework before watching this chapter...read up on all the previous books as this installation will bring back most of the past into action.
So, unless you have a spell or you are a No.1 Harry Potter fan, you may miss some of the cool things in the movie (by not being able to recall).

In fact, for those who have not read the book nor watched the previous installation, it may be a bit confusing now...and perhaps you may not even understand what is going on!!

From the sound of it, I can't wait to watch this installation soon!


Let the action begins....Expelliarmus!!!

A Series of Unfortunate Events in the Office

It's funny how one thing come after another in my office!

First, the admin's computer blew up in smoke on Monday

Then the lights start to flicker (following effect, of course from the computer which caused the trip in the electricity)
The whole office was in a haunted house state; with flickering lights effects (for free!)

Then yesterday, the water dispenser leaked; and water spilled onto the floor in the pantry.....in a way, newspapers need to be spread out on the carpeted floor to dry out the water...

Fire, water....what next?
Earthquake? typhoon (air-cond overblew?)....I do not want to think of the continuation of the series....

Listen to the Burstin' Pipe!

Tick tick tick
Tock Tock Tock...


That's how it all started...No, it's not the clock ticking away the time BUT.. a small leakage on the pipe underneath the sink in the bathroom inside my bedroom
Initially, it was just trickling down and I just put a basin underneath it, thus creating that tock tock sound when it hits the hard surface

I had to sleep with this soft rhythm; and as I was about to travel on a business trip two weeks ago, I thought that I shall contact my landlord when I am back

When I came back last week, whoa, I found that all the pails and basin nearby were filled with water, bringing me to believe that it is no longer a small leakage

That's when I started listening to a leakage which sounded like a rainforest at night and I had immediately contacted my landlord

During the weekend, however, the pipe burst...as I saw the source of the sound!

(Picture is illustration from web; not from the actual pipe)

Gosh, that's when I felt like I was listening to gushing waters from the sea....

It felt like I was in the sea or something
I had to call for help; and obtained number of a plumber from the guardhouse while waiting for the landlord to come over

The plumber came earlier; and we had to wave him away as the landlord is on his way and then to our surprise, the Indian guard who brought him in; started to scold us!

WHAT ON EARTH is wrong with him?
He started complaining that we should not have called; that we are playing around and that we should settle with the plumber!
The plumber, on the other hand was a very nice guy who was willing to wait for our landlord to see whether his service is needed.

I was really annoyed by the guard's attitude, seriously!

My landlord arrived soon enough, and then he decided that he'd be able to fix the problem himself and claimed that the fees charged by the plumber is too expensive for him (well, who could blame the plumber right, it's after all a Sunday and he had to come all the way from his place which was quite far. To be honest, I think his fees are quite reasonable)

Well, whatever, as long as it is fixed before it became this...


Now, I can finally sleep in peace everynight....I mean as in quiet environment.... :D

The Haze is back..even after the downpour?

I am surprised that the heavy downpour during the weekend did not manage to clear away the dirty looming haze!

It is still back; and thicker than ever today....it's like snarling and snickering at us; mocking us at how they will never leave us and how powerless the rain and sun is against them

I can't stand the haze; it's just so annoying...
When will they ever stop burning and burning??
It's so frustrating that there's so many irresponsible people out there who just burn into the open space and yet, having the cheek to believe that they are just polluting their own air and is nobody's business...

At the same time, while many are suffering from the hazardous haze, there are still those back at home who burns their rubbish in the open space, adding more to the damage

Do we really need to seat these people down in classrooms and start telling them about the definition of haze and the negative effects it has on the environment?

Just when I thought I could open my windows to sleep at night and put away those menthol crystal beads....

Lovely Weather...has ended!

Friday evening was covered with dark clouds in the sky as it approached late evening and I was anxiously anticipating showers.
It did not disappoint me; as the light showers soon came and stayed through the night and I was in for a surprise the next morning when I woke up to the heavy shower!

Guess what, Saturday was filled with rain....it rained the whole day and the weather was just LOVELY to me!!
It is my birthday once again (remember how I used to say that rainy days are like my birthdays because they make me happy?)

It was cool and just dreary to look into the pouring rain, listening to the rhythm as it pelts again the window panes and the roof....oh, it was just bliss...

This is the best time to curl up in bed with a good book and have your toes snuggled into a warm blanket, don't ya think so?

It continued to rain and flood the island....and it soon came to a stop on Sunday morning....too bad it ended so soon, but Sunday continued to be a cloudy day....

Come Monday, and all the traces of rain have started to vanish as the sun comes into the picture...

Sighs, guess I shouldn't ask for so much as there are people out there who are probably anxious and dead worried about the rain...

But oh, for the lovely weather....I do so love the rain soooooooooooo much!

MJ buried without a brain?

MJ's funeral and memorial service probably topped the world's charts of being the most viewed; and maybe even in history!

It remains a mystery to this day where he is buried; and it was even more surprising when I heard that the legendary pop star is buried without his brain.

Apparently, his brain was still being held for autopsy to determine his cause of death and to rule out foul play (or any other reasons suspected).
It seems that this is a common practice in the States; to carry out a full-bloom post mortem following one's death to ascertain their cause of death.
The brain will be returned to the family members after the process has been completed.

Well, it's pretty interesting how things like these occur all the time in the world around us, ain't it?

Brain or no-brain, it's just temporary...and everyone still hails the King of Pop who is still a genius to us; may he truly rest in peace.

Do not put your bag on the seat!

I've just come back from a business trip (training) on Thursday and upon my arrival at home, I was greeted by this news from my housemate

'She fell prey to a snatch thief on Wednesday morning'

Location: Sunway Tunas new development area, Bayan Lepas

I made up a mental picture in my mind; thinking that she was probably carrying her handbag and was walking on the five footway or the road when a man just snatched her bag from behind or something like that.

Then she told me how it happened

It seems that she was driving in her car; with her bag sitting comfortably on the passenger seat.
She was trying to park her car or something and was winding down her window to pay the parking attendant when a Malay man; in his twenties, held his hand and grabbed her bag from the seat and then took off.
It happened too fast; according to her, and he escaped using those man-holes along that area that made it impossible for her to catch up with him.

She was left stunned; and with a string of reports to make at the local police station on her lost documents. She even had to call up her banks to cancel/freeze her credit cards....all the trouble she had to go through, the poor girl!

I'm actually really shocked with what happened; especially since it is here in Penang.
Previously, all such outrageous cases happened only in the city (KL) and other states are still mild in their crimes.
However, this incident serves as a wake-up call to all of us...for not taking things for granted.

I grew up in the city; and therefore I have always been living with paranoia. It is not a bad thing; especially for us ladies, to be always on the watch out for any suspicious characters.

It is so ironic that the day I was leaving from home, my mom was just telling me not to put my bag on the passenger seat. When my dad said to put underneath the passenger seat, my mum argued that it is safer to put it underneath my own seat (driver's seat)

When I discussed on the incident with my housemate, she said the same thing. It is safest to have it beneath our own seats.

This round, my Mummy said it's best not to carry any bag around. Keep my carry-around-belongings to the minimum; and try to put them all into pockets to avoid all these nightmares.

I think my Mummy's right, at least their advices are not without reason...and at the right time.
I think it's always best to listen to our elders, they know best:)

So to all the ladies out there, do be extra careful.
If you have to carry your handbag, try to avoid putting your valuables in it...I know it sounds absurd to be carrying your handbag for nothing but it's a sacrifice to make than to lose everything and going through all the nightmare, right?

God bless all of you, and be safe!

Yet another is leaving...

Just when things are getting cloudy, I found that one of my colleagues from my own team is leaving by the end of the month...

Oh boy, yet another one leaving.....

Then I've been hearing complaints here and there about work...

Is there anyone out there who is happy with their job at the moment? Or is it the economy which is creating such an unhealthy environment these days at most offices?