Patches

Patches
Originally uploaded by megat eL.

This is one of the cats we have at home. His name is Patches. My niece found him near her school one day, years ago, and decided to bring him back home. Then, we didn't have any pets, so my parents let her keep Patches. From the size of my palm, to a full grown cat. He doesn't like anyone he doesn't know. He'll bite them, and scratch them. Cute, huh. Well, just don't get too close.

Of Murakami and Oracle10G

Haven't written in a while. Lots of things happened during that time. Where should I begin? Well, on Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended a seminar entitled Oracle Database 10G, New Features Overview. It was educational, to say the least. But two days wasn't enough. Even for an overview, it wasn't enough. Have to go for the real course.

Am still reading Mr King's Desperation and it is a seriously good book, although I still haven't finished it yet. Went to One Utama the other day. And went into MPH. Was looking for Mr Murakami's books. And only saw a meagre collection of his books. Was so dissappointed. So I went to the customer service centre and asked about that. And she said that that was all they had. She even checked the other outlets, but to no avail. Shucks, man.

So, went to Kinokuniya a few days back, thought of buying one of Mr Murakami's books. Thought of getting A Wild Sheep Chase. But lo and behold, the book wasn't there. It was gone. Didn't bother to go to customer service. So, went out of Kinokuniya empty handed.

But I still didn't give up, at Amcorp Mall, went to Pay Less Books and another bookshop. They didn't have that book too. Actually, they didn't have any of Mr Murakami's books. Will still be searching for it.

Am not in the best of moods, at the moment. And haven't a clue why. Let me think. Hmmm. Nope, still no clue. Maybe I'll be ok later today. Hope so. Am not in the mood to be not in the mood.

List of Books that I want :

1. A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
2. Pinball, 1973 - Haruki Murakami
3. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami
4. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
5. The Algebraist - Iain M. Banks
6. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

What else? What else? I can't think of any right now.

Of Floods and Authors

The East Coast is flooded once again. But this is the worst in decades. And I am worried. My beloved is somewhere in the East Coast, and she told me that at her house, the water level's up to her neck. Luckily she lives in a two-storey bungalow. So, her whole family is living on the second floor. I pray the flood will end today, InsyaAllah.

On Saturday night, went to my sister-in-law's parent's house for their annual raya open house. I know I could just have said my brother's parents-in-law's house, but it amounts to the same thing, right. Anyway, the food, as usual, was fantastic. I had nasi beryani, my all-time favourite dish. Then had a few slices of chocolate cake, brownies, and cheese cake. I mean, what else do you need when you have all that. Nyum!

Yesterday, went to a mamak restaurant with my best buddy. Now that he lives very far away from me, we seldom hang out like we used to. So, it was good to hang out with him. As usual, we would make stupid jokes, and laugh like crazy. I think I noticed some of the customers looking at us. Though I can't be sure. Hmmm.

Currently reading Stephen King's Desperation. Just started reading it yesterday. And as usual, can't put it down. Thanks dear brother. Went to Times the other day, and read a bit of Iain M. Bank's latest novel, The Algebraist. I think that's how its spelled. Anyway, I think that will be one of the books I would like my cousin to get for me. Besides a few books by Haruki Murakami. The books by Mr. Murakami is a must! Definitely!

Of Kings and Weddings

I am currently reading Mr King's Night Shift. And it's a seriously darn good book. I only have one problem with it. I can't put it down. Seriously. I can just forget everything else. But only at home, though. Not in the office. So much has happened since the last time I wrote an entry. 2 weeks back, I think, on Saturday, after work, went to my boss' raya open house. It was nice. Then after maghrib the same day, went to a fellow blogger's open house in Subang Jaya. I've known this blogger and her husband since uni. And that was the first time I've been to their house. It was fun. Met another one of my uni friend. A blogger-wannabe. Hehehe. If you are reading this, just kidding, blogger-wannabe. So, anyway, at that house, met up with a daughter of my mum's friend. She looked up at me and said, "Hey there, recognise me?". I looked down and smiled. "Of course I recognise you. What are you doing here?" I asked. She pointed to a guy next to her and said, "I came with him." So I asked the guy whether he knew my blogger friend and he said, "Yeah, I'm her brother." Okay, I thought. It was really good seeing her again after all these years. After that, my friend and I went to Kota Damansara for another open house. There, we were the only two friends. The rest of the crowd was family. But it was still fun, since I knew the family well. It was my best buddy's house. After that, my friend and I went to yet another open house. This time it was in Taman Cempaka. It was another blogger's open street. Had a wonderful time there.

Then, the next day. Went to a family meeting in Titiwangsa. After which, my aunty and I rushed out of the meeting to go to two weddings. It was fun. I ate like crazy. By the end of the day, I was stuffed. I could barely move. The next weekend, went to Taiping for our family gathering held once every two years. It was a blast. Met with lots of cousins, aunties, uncles, grand aunties, grand uncles, nieces, nephews, and their respectives spouses. Taiping is the place where my mum grew up till she was ten, then she moved to KL. I was in KL almost all my life. Well, up to now, anyway. Taiping is really a nice little town. It's so green and beautiful. But I can't imagine myself living there. I mean, I'm so used to KL. Although, I can imagine myself living in Cameron Highland. Weird, huh!?

Of Meetings and Little Polite Kids

Yesterday was quite hectic for me. Started the morning going through some points with my boss to bring into the meeting in Bangi. Wait, let me start from the beginning. On Monday, I was busy doing some work in the server room, with a few vendors. I was in there almost the whole day. We managed to finish the installation and testing around 4.15 pm. Then I went to my boss' personal assistant's place, can't remember why. Anyway, she looked up at me and said, "You know about the meeting, right, in Bangi? Has the boss mentioned it to you?". Then I said, "What meeting?". She answered, "You are suppose to represent the boss for the meeting, because he has another meeting at the same time". I was like, what?! So, she gave me the minutes for me to go through. Then I went into my boss' room to ask him a bit about the meeting. It was the next morning when I went into my boss' room again to ask him about the things I was to present at the meeting.

So, in the morning, went into my boss' room. After that a vendor came and presented a product to be used with web applications. It was too good to be true. But Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Amazon.com are using it. So, what they said must be true. I was quite impressed. And so was my boss, I think, because he wanted to try out the box for a month. After the brief discussion, I went straight to Bangi. There, met up with an old friend of mine who's currently doing masters in UKM. We updated each other on our mutual friends. It was nice. Then, had to excused myself to go to the meeting.

The meeting was ok. I had to report on the status of my department's latest project. And the feedback was ok. After around 1 1/2 hours later, the meeting was adjourned. Luckily it was a short meeting. I prefer short concise meetings, rather than long irrevelant meetings with no end in sight. The meetings I chair, especially with vendors, would last less than an hour. Which is what I like. Hehehe.

Last night, my mum's friend came to our house to beraya along with her children, their respective spouses, and their respective children. It was really good to see them again after all this while. The last time we saw them was at the youngest daughter's wedding. One of my mum's friend's grandson approached me timidly, pointed to the piano, and said, "Excuse me, abang, can you play that instrument?". When I answered in the positive, he then said, "Can you play something for me?". I was quite taken aback by this polite little boy. I smiled and said, "Sure thing, but let's eat first", because I was setting the table when he approached me. But in my mind I told myself I wasn't going to play anything for him, beacuse I haven't played in ages, and I'm quite shy in front of this crowd.

After dinner, the boy asked me a bit more about piano mechanics. And I explained the best I could. Then suddenly, some of them said they wanted to hear me play. I declined politely saying that I haven't played in ages. But then one of them said something which really broke my defences. The person said, "Please play for someone who's pregnant". She was referring to herself, of course. I don't know why, but I was quite touched by that statement. So in the end, I played. And of course, I was terrible. But that didn't stop them from exclaming who wonderful I played. I just smiled politely. Like the brother of the pregnant person said, "Don't worry if you make a mistake, we wouldn't know the difference".

Of Friends and Breakfasts

Last Friday, after leaving the office, had a craving for Burger King's French Chicken. But in the end, only went to McDonalds in Desa Pandan to eat a double cheese burger. Brought along James Lee Burke's Cadillac Jukebox. So there I was, eating a burger while reading a book. The only reason I did that was to while away the time before my parents got back home from Cameron. I kind of enjoyed myself, actually. I mean, I seldom get the chance to eat and read without being bothered before. Well, rarely, anyway.

Then, on Saturday morning, went for breakfast with a friend living in Pandan Indah. After having a piece of roti canai each, we went straight to Serdang, to our friend's house. From there, we went to Melaka and Johor to beraya. It was fun hanging out with my old uni friends. We left Johor around 5pm, actually almost close to 6pm, and we arrived in KL less than 2 hours later. The road was quite heavy with traffic, but a moving traffic, so it was ok. Before saying goodbye to each other, we went to one more stop, which was in PJ. We stayed there till around 10.30pm. For my friend and I, we had to follow our friend back to Serdang to get my friend's car. So I reached my house close to midnight. And my friend arrived a few minutes later. It was truly a tiring day. But it was fun.

The next morning, while still tired from the other day, my phone, which I placed next to my ear, rang. I was startled awake, and luckily for the guy on the other end, I was awake and alert, well, sort of alert. Anyway, it turned out to be my best buddy. He said he was in the neighbourhood, and asked whether I wanted to have breakfast. 20 minutes later, I was in front of the mirrow, combing my hair, after a shower, and even managed to wash my hair. Though my eyes were still red from sleep. Anyway, went to get yet another helping of roti canai, though this time I had roti sardin. It was filling, to say the least. And yummy of course. My best buddy had roti telur bawang. Or 'eggs and onions bread'. Well, something like that.

Of Doctors and Cousins

7.50am

A cousin of mine came to the office yesterday with his girlfriend. The girlfriend is trying to get a job here. So, we went to the cafe on the seventh floor, and had a chat. She's very talkative. Extremely talkative, actually. But it was fun, hanging out with them. This was during lunch. But none of us ate since they just had their brunch while I still felt bloated by the nasi lemak I had for breakfast. Around 10 minutes to two, they went back home. And immediately after that, well, almost; a vendor phoned me to cancel to appointment we had at two. So, since I had some free time, a few minutes worth of free time anyway, I went to the Emergency ward to look for a friend of mine who's a doctor there. After asking a couple of people there, I found out that the doctor I was looking for was on leave and will be working tonight. So, there I was walking away from the Emergency ward towards my block, when my phone rang, well, it didn't actually rang, it belted out a tune by Evanescence, which means my parents. My mum phoned to say that my auntie asked my parents to join them at Cameron Highlands where they have this really lovely apartment. And my parents was guilty about leaving me alone at home. But after I assured her that it was ok, and that they deserve the rest, she said she'll think about it and would get back to me later. While on the phone, I saw a medical student walking towards me, intending to go the emergency ward. And as the student passed me, the student nodded and said "Doctor," to me. I smiled back. I wonder why people think I'm a doctor. I don't mind that they think I'm a doctor. But still... it makes you wonder, doesn't it.


2.30pm

Went back home for lunch. Since my mum wasn't back from Cameron Highlands yet, I ate whatever there was at home, which was fried egg and beef rendang from the raya open house. Then went for Friday prayers. After that, managed to take a bath. I was extremely hot by then. Changed my office attire, then went back to the office. And straight into the server room with some vendors.

Of Colonies and Fluorescent Pink Socks

Colony - Rob Grant
They're on a century-spanning mission into deep space, a mission to save humankind. Unfortunately, they're idiots.

A GENERATION-SPANNING EPIC SAGA OF TREACHERY, REVENGE, AND FLUORESCENT PINK SOCKS

The human race is facing extinction. Global warming and overpopulation have rendered the Earth virtually uninhabitable. The only hope for the survival of the species is to find a new planet. Crewed by the cream of humanity, the gigantic ship Willflower sets off for the stars on a voyage that will take many lifetimes to complete.

But by the tenth generation, things have gone wrong. Badly wrong. The captain is a spotty adolescent who names planets after disgusting bodily functions, the security team have the mental agility of pond life, and the science officer is a religious nutball, who responds to danger by beating herself naked, with a whip.

And the only man who can save them, the last hope of humankind, is made up of the bits even the most ravenous cannibal would leave on the side of the plate.

And worse yet, someone is trying to kill what's left of him.

Of Raya and Cramps

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, everyone!!! As usual, we had our open house on the first day of Raya. It was fun! Seriously. People started coming around 12.30pm. We went beraya'ing early that morning. And as usual, it was up to me to make sure that food was enough. The plates, the drinks and all those things related to food. Some of my old friends came over. It was really good to see them again, after so long. One of them was shocked to see how big I've become. I'm not that big. Or am I? Oh well, as long as I'm happy, right? Right?! I am trying to lose weight, you know, although the only thing I'm doing to achieve that, is just by willing my tummy to shed some fat. Think it'll work? Heheh? My brother, on the other hand, is thinner than before. He's seriously losing weight. By the end of the month, I bet he can even hide behind a lamp post. But it must be a really really really thick lamp post. Heheheh.

Back to my story about our open house. It was really fun. I said that already, right. Well, anyway, remember my fractured toe, it was getting better. So there I was, running to and fro, getting food from the kitchen, and taking empty plates back to the kitchen, and once in a while, would go down to the guardhouse to allow my sister and brother to park their car in the compound. I didn't mind. Because the raya mood was there. Then, later that night, my left foot hurt. It hurt like crazy. And it was curled up. Seriously! Luckily it didn't affect my fractured toe. I couldn't walk properly for the rest of the night. But it was worth it. We had so much fun entertaining friends and relatives.

The second day of raya, we went to my auntie's house. And as usual, the food was superb. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long because some relatives were coming over to our house that evening. I wanted to meet up with my cousin's friends, since they were my friends as well, but alas, it was not meant to be. Maybe next year, then. Then that night, went to my other auntie's house. We stayed there till midnight. There, we had some turtle's eggs. Fantastic! I love them. The eggs, I mean.

Just finished reading Rob Grant's Colony. It took me I think around two days to finish the book, during raya. So you can imagine how good the book is. I went to Kinokuniya yesterday searching for Mr Grant's other books, but I didn't find any. Have to find his books! Will write more about Colony tomorrow. Am currently reading James Lee Burke's Cadillac Jukebox, courtesy of my brother. Thanks, bro.

Today is my first day of work after the raya holidays. And the streets are still empty. Thank goodness for that. Even the office is kind of quiet. Well, not that quiet, but still...

Of Books and Friends

On Saturday, went to Alamanda in Putrajaya with my parents. We broke fast at Penang Village with my brother, my sister-in-law and their 4-year-old daughter. That was the first time I went to Alamanda. Actually, that was the first time I even heard of the place. So it was quite a suprise to me when it seems like a much bigger version of KLCC. But we didn't have time to actually walk the length of the mall, because it's quite huge, although not as big as MidValley. The food at Penang Village was nice. We had buffet. The selection was quite good actually. I especially like the 'pineapple rice'. Yummy! We arrived there slightly earlier than my brother and his family. And as we were sitting at the table, we asked a waiter about the selection for buffet or ala-carte. He then explained that if we decide that we wanted buffet, then the whole table must have buffet, and vice versa. We said we would rather have buffet. But after that, everytime he came to our table, he would repeat the statement, that we can either have buffet or ala-carte and not both. We were like, yeah boy, we heard you the first time. I mean, either he thought we didn't get it the first time he explained it, or the second time, for that matter, or he's forgotten that he just explained that to us, a couple of times before.

The next day, broke fast with my ex-uni mates. We went to a place called Yankees Hut. It was in Bangi. Immediately after the Kajang toll. The place was nice. We broke fast on top of this platform. Yes, we had to climb a short staircase to reach the platform. And on the platform was a big table with really short legs. We had to take our shoes off in order to get there. It was fun, meeting my old friends. And as usual, if ever we meet up for anything, it would be a fun. Fun and noisy. Hehehe. After that, we went to the surau, which was on a platform higher that the one we were on. After that, we celebrated two of our friend's birthdays. We ate the cake and stayed to chat till around 9-ish. Then, we went back home. It was a fun weekend, to say the least.

I am currently reading Stephen King's Everthing's Eventual-14 Dark Tales and it's a really good book. Obviously, since it's written by the one of the greatest story teller of our time. I mean, seriously. He can write just about anything, and make it a bestseller. But I seldom read his books, because I tend to watch the movie-version. Hehehe. I think this is the second or third book I've read. My first Stephen King book was called The Eye of the Dragon, I think. I read that book when I was in my teens, and even then it was a compelling read. I couldn't put it down. It was about two brothers. Their father, the king was murdered, and the younger brother was declared king when his elder brother was framed for the murder of their father. Fantastic book. This book belongs to my brother, by the way. Once in a while, I would go over to his house, and borrow a couple of books to last me a couple of weeks. Before this, I was reading Lawrence Block's Ticket To The Boneyard. Now he's another good writer, but only in his genre, unlike Mr. King's ability to write a whole range of topic and era. This is the last book I have of my brother's. Have to replenish my stock soon. Hehehe...

Of Singapore and Fractures

It's been almost a month since my last entry. And I think I need to write about things before I forget about them, or forget about the finer points in the stories. Went to Singapore to attend a conference with a colleague of mine. We stayed at the YMCA Hotel at One Orchard Road, if I'm not mistaken. And the conference was held at Raffles' Convention Centre. The conference was called 'Health Informatics Asia 2004' . It was about information technology's role in healthcare and the problems that comes with it. There were speakers from Malaysia, Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, and some other places. Most of the speakers were medical doctors. There weren't many IT people there, but we got to know some very interesting people from all over Asia. My colleague and I would attend the conference during the day, and would go out for dinner and shopping at night. It was fun. The last time I went to Singapore was 2 years ago.

At KLIA before leaving for Singapore, had trouble at the boarding gate. I don't know what happened, but we had to shift to another boarding gate, and had to wait I around over an hour before we got to board the plane. An Italian guy started talking to us. He was saying how the delay happens everytime he tries to board a plane to Singapore. Poor guy. Hehehe. So anyway, we arrived in Singapore around 1 1/2 hours late. From Changi Airport, we took a cab straight to our hotel. We were so tired by then. But we manage to contact our loved ones before we said goodnight and slept till morning. Breakfast was ok, I guess. I mean, my colleague and I were quite worried about the food there, being halal or not. So we only ate bread and cereal for breakfast.

After the Singapore trip, went to Cherating for a workshop. The workshop was for the developers to design the input output interface for the HIS project we are currently in. On the second day we were there, we had a game of beach volleyball and beach soccer. I played two sets of beach volleyball before I joined in the fun in the beach soccer. But lo and behold, a few minutes into the game, I accidentally kicked my colleague's shin. The impact was great because we were both swinging our legs into each other's path, in the hopes of securing the ball. To keep the story short, I came out of the fray with a fractured toe. Hehehe. Yup. But I wasn't aware of the fact yet. I thought I'd sprained my foot. So, there I was, hobbling everywhere I went, till I arrived at home on the third night. That night my dad and I went straight to the emergency ward to have it checked. The doctor that was on duty took one look at it and said, "It's broken". I looked down and saw that half of my left foot was sort of blue in colour, and it was swollen. So after the x-ray, and the confirmation that my toe was fractured, I was put in a cast and given 2 weeks leave. The bright side of that was I got to start the first week of the fasting month at home, lying around, watching dvds', reading, and most of the time, sleeping. Hehehe.

Then, something happened in the office that really shocked me. Actually, it shocked a few of my colleagues as well. The shocking thing happened on the day I got the cast. But I only found out about it the next day. After some discussion with my colleagues and my boss, we managed to come to a decision. And the decision was to strike back!! Hehehe. I will keep it crypted, you know. Hehehe.

Of Lectures and Knives

Yesterday had to give a lecture on "Accessing the Database with Servlets", and "Using Advanced Techniques in Servlets". The latter of which I did with a colleague of mine. I was quite nervous, actually. But once I started talking, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The people I was lecturing to was my colleagues, so that helped a bit. Will have to give another lecture this Friday on "Managing Persistent Data in the Business Tier". I know the titles sounds weird. But there you go. The thing I try to do when giving a lecture, or a presentation for that matter, is to keep it as short as possible, while giving the audience the important facts. The lectures I gave yesterday took me around 15-20 minutes each. After which there was a question and answer session, and immediately after that, was the practice session. I hope they understood what it was I wanted to convey to them. Hmmm....

This morning learned something I didn't know. Well, till now! Not learned as in knowledge-wise, but am starting to get a clear picture about some of my so-called friends. It all started with a simple status written on YM. For those who knows what YM is, then good on you, mate. But for those who doesn't, then too bad. Just try to follow the story, kay. Anyway, a close friend of mine wrote something about back-stabbing friends, and so I asked him whether he meant anyone in particular. And as I have guessed, he was. Then he asked me to write a status pertaining his status. (am I making sense here?) Anyway, so I did. And lo and behold, that person vanished from the small world of YM. But that wasn't the only suprise I got. Because shortly after that, an old colleague of mine asked me what my status meant. The colleague thought that I might offend someone by writing that. So I went back to my close friend and asked for his opinion. And he told me that that colleague of mine was in cahoots with the other person. (I really do hope you people can understand what I'm on about). Anyway, as I was saying, they had formed their own little group, which my close friend wasn't a part of.

Let me start from the beginning. We had this aquaintance from uni. And this person had a knack for stabbing you in the back. I kid you not. At first, I wasn't aware of it. But after being stabbed in the back quite often, I soon realised the errors of my way by being friends with this person. So, I started to avoid this person. And it became obvious by my colleagues that I didn't want to befriend this person. At first, they couldn't understand the reason, but after a while, some of them realised that person's traits. But as with most back-stabbers, they have a way with words, and so the rest of the world are still deceived by this stabber-in-the-back person. The back-stabber's friend said to forgive and forget. And that we shouldn't just hear one side of the story. But the thing is, I have first-hand experience with this person, so I know what I'm doing. But sooner or later, I will beg forgiveness from this person for being like this. Because, I will not feel comfortable having this little angry thought in my head. I don't like to hate people, even though I feel they deserve it.

Oh well, on with lighter things... can't think of anything right now. Hehehe...

Of Snakes and Friends

Saw Anacondas the other day. Used the free movie passes I got from my sister-in-law. Thanks sis-in-law! Anyway, the movie was mediocre to me. I mean, I didn't see the first one, so I can't actually compare the two of them together. But like my buddy said, it's simply an action-packed movie. You don't have to think about the plot or whatnot. You can leave your brains at home to watch this movie. Seriously.

I've been thinking about something lately. And I've discussed it with a close buddy of mine. You never know who's hating you. And at the same time, you never know who's loving you. But I wanna talk about the hating part, ok. Anyway, just found out that a friend of mine, well, I thought he was a friend of mine, doesn't like me. I don't mean to say, everyone loves me. But the thing is, I never had any problems with this guy. Well, not that I know of. But unfortunately, I did do something that he disapproves. Although I can't, for the life of me, figure out what it is!

The moral of the story is, no matter what you do to make people feel good, to try to be civil, to be pleasant, there will always be someone who hates your guts, for whatever reason. Oh, well. Too bad, huh. I'm not going to apologize to that person until I know what my wrongdoing to him was. I'm not even going to ask him. I'm going to keep on doing what I do, and ignore the fact that he wants to karate-chop my head off. Hehehe...

Recently, got a message from my friend, who I thought was in Ireland. She was doing medicine there. She was my bus-mate back when I was in Form 1. Dang, that's like 12 years ago! Anyway, she was wondering whether I was still working here. Because, suprise, suprise, she's going to work here as well!! So, we had lunch the other day. It was good to see her again. We haven't seen each other for quite some time now. So, most probably she'll be starting work at the end of this month. But I doubt we'll get to see each other often, since she'll be up to her neck with patients. On another note, another friend of mine, who is working here as well, will be moving to another hospital.

"Freedom!" shouted Mel Gibson in Braveheart

Anwar Ibrahim is free. I heard that from my colleagues the other day. I was like, "What?". Then I heard it at home. And finally, I saw it in the news. I'm happy for his family. I mean, no one wants their husbands and fathers to go to jail now, do they. But Anwar Ibrahim as a politician, I'm not happy. I read in a friend's blog, somebody commented about Anwar's "Perjuangan yang bermakna". Now, what's that suppose to mean? I mean, at that time, they were fighting for his freedom, and for Tun Dr. Mahathir to step down. Now that Pak Lah is the PM, and Anwar is free, what are they going to fight for now? I have no doubt that Anwar will find some excuse to go on fighting. For what? I don't know. I don't doubt the political scene will be much more interesting now that Anwar is free. But I don't see the relevant of his party. At least, UMNO fights for Malay rights, PAS fights for Islam, DAP fights for equal rights, and so on and so forth. But what does KeADILan fight for? Justice? Justice for only one man? But now he's free! So what next? We'll just have to wait and see.

I know many of my friends and colleagues are Anwar's supporters. But this is what I feel. I seldom blog about politics, but this time I'm making an exception. I'm asking Anwar's supporters, what else do you want from Malaysia? Wait! Don't answer that. One of the things you guys want is to make Anwar, the PM, right? Let's see. What else is lacking in our country? Justice? Well, he's free ain't he. You guys have food to eat, clothes to wear, money if you work for it, the freedom of speech, other countries the world over knows where Malaysia is, and lots more I can't even begin to write. Alhamdulillah for all that. So what is it you guys want? Speak to me, people!!

Independence

31st August 2004. Our independence day. My plan for that night was to watch the celebration on tv in the comforts of my own home, while sipping hot Nescafe and eating junk food. But it was not to be! Earlier that night, had dinner with Sagaff around KLCC. Just wanted to see the crowd. It was packed with people. I've forgotten how pack it can get in KLCC. Well, anyway, before we decided to have dinner in KL, the plan was to meet up with Sagaff's girlfriend and her friends around Bintang Walk, but she called earlier to cancel the date. Now, while we were in the midst of finding food for the night, Sagaff was busy talking on the phone with his girlfriend. It turns out, she was in Uptown, with two other people. And the guy with them was planning on leaving them at an LRT station around 2-3 in the morning. Sagaff was furious, naturally. So, while having dinner, we decided to go back to my house, get my car, and drive to Kelana Jaya LRT station to pick them up, minus the guy.

So there we were, on the Federal Highway, driving towards Kelana Jaya. It was almost 10pm by then. Suddenly, I was informed by Sagaff, who was on the phone, that they were headed towards KLCC, and that we should pick them up there. But we were from there! I was quite suprised. But for the sake of my friend, I relented. And so we turned back towards KL. By the time we were approaching KL, it was already jam-packed. It took us over an hour to reach a place where it normally just took us 10 minutes. Finally, we arrived at KLCC at exactly 12 midnight. As we were walking towards them, they were somewhere in the crowd, the fireworks started. It was lovely! Fantastic! Magnificent!

By the time we reached them, Sagaff was quite angry. But he managed to subdue his emotions. I mean, in front of the one he loves, naturally he cooled down. So, we took the both of them to her friend's house. After that, went back home. It was around 1am by that time. What a way to spend Merdeka, eh. Hehehe.

Of Burgers & Reunions

On Saturday morning, we had a family day at a field next to our office building. My department participated in selling food stuff. We sold burgers. So, early that morning, we arrived at our stall to start setting up the place. We had on our department's collared t-shirt, which was navy blue, by the way, with our own names on it. Cool huh! Heheh... Anyway, we started selling burgers at around 8am. My first job for the morning was to hang our posters all over our little stall. We had a few posters with pictures of huge burgers on them. My friend who did that did a wonderful job, since people noticed it right away. After the people started coming for our burgers, I became the replenisher. If we were low on veges, I would get fresh veges from the back of the stall to their respectives containers at the front of the stall. I even replenish the chilli sauce. Then, after a while, when some of my colleagues went to participate in matches, I took over the ordering job. I would take burger orders, shout it out to the burger-grilling-person, and put perfectly assembled burgers into different plastic bags, then passed it to the eager hands of the consumers. After a while, it started getting hectic. Everyone wanted their burgers immediately. Everyone was hungry, and everyone wanted more than 2 burgers per person, on average. So I was quite flustered until we ran out of burgers, and we started selling only egg banjo, while waiting for the arrival of the burger-buying-person. At that moment, I went in search for food and a drink, since I hadn't eaten anything for breakfast.

After meeting my mum, her friends, my niece and her friends, there, went back to the stall to resume work. I became the burger-packing-person. It's quite fun, actually. What I do is, I would put the bottom bun on the packing paper, then put some veges on it, then some chilli sauce. Then, I would spread a good helping of mayo on the top bun, then would wait for the burger patty to be put in the middle of the two buns. When that's done, I would squeeze another helping of chilli sauce on top of the burger patty. But my work is far from finish. After that, I would try to wrap the burger into the packing paper. It was fun. Seriously it was. I like to do those kinds of things.

On Sunday, went to my cousin's thank-you party. It was for her wedding. Anyway, it was held at the Palace of the Golden Horses. Went with my best buddy. Suprisingly, we found the place easily. The food was good and the place was nice. Very pleasant. Since we arrived there quite early, we took the furthest table from the stage, and the nearest table to the buffet table. Heheh. So we had a good view of everyone coming in and going out. So, there we were, looking at guests coming in, when we spotted a woman in a dress. It was the type with no straps. And her shoulders were bare. So the dress was clinging onto her, well, her, whatever. Anyway, she came with a group of her friends, obviously. And they started making their way towards the table next to ours. As I was watching her approach, she suddenly turned towards me, and I realised that she was a friend of mine. A long lost friend, whom I haven't seen for about 4 years. And she realised the same thing. She came straight to my table and we chatted for a while. It was good to see her. I've been seeing her on the television for quite some time now. And when I asked her about that, she said she's just doing it part time.

South of the border, West of the Sun

August 15, 2004 - 12.59am
"I'm sleepy. No, I don't mean the dwarf. I mean, I'm sleepy. Real sleepy. If you haven't guessed it already, I'm in the office at the moment. Work as usual. This evening, to prepare myself for tonight, I slept for almost an hour. That was at home. I was extremely tired today. And I don't know why. Well, lets recap, shall we. In the morning, we had a meeting which lasted until lunch time. But I was dragged away from the meeting to attend to a vendor trying to troubleshoot one of the servers in the server room. We did that till after one, then we proceeded to have lunch. After that, we continued till about almost three. Then, I continued with my normal office work. And at the same time trying to inform users and colleagues about tonight's exercise. "
- This was last week's entry, but since I didn't publish it then, I will publish it together with today's entry.

My brother gave me a book to read on Sunday. I finished it yesterday. It was brilliant. The book, South of the border, West of the Sun was written by none other than the great Haruki Murakami. The book is about a man... nuff said. Hehehe. Well, anyway, as I was reading the book, I can't help imagining the same scenario applying to me. I mean, I could actually put faces I knew on the characters. It was an odd feeling, thinking about that. Hmmm.... I think I might actually read it again.... and again... and again... hehehe...

After the meeting at Colmar Tropicale, I went to Amcorp Tower to attend an Oracle training. It was Fundamentals 2. I've gone through Oracle - Introduction to SQL, then Oracle - Fundamentals 1. Now I'm left with Oracle Performance Tuning. I find it interesting, actually. Oracle, I mean. This month has been quite hectic for me. Because, we have training every week. From morning till evening, then at night, I would go to the office to do some office work. In fact, last night, I was at the office till around 1am. After which I drove home, slept, then woke up a few hours later to attend the training I am undergoing now.

At this moment, I am currently in UKM, taking a crash course on Java with my colleagues. UKM, it does bring back memories. I bumped into some lecturers, and staff here. And some of them still remember me. And that's a nice feeling. To come back to the uni you've gone to a few years later, and still be remembered by the people there. :)

Colmar Tropicale

I haven't updated for a while. For a long while, actually. Not that anyone would notice. Except for those few people out there. Thanks guys... and girls. So where did I left off. I think it was quite a while ago, actually. So, let me start on the 31st of July 2004. That was when I went to Bukit Tinggi for a meeting. It was the Advisory Panel for the development of the Hospital Information System meeting. I was there to present my paper on 'Data Migration'. I was nervous, naturally. But it went well enough. I mean, they listened, then they commented, for quite a bit. But in the end, they made some decisions, which actually lightened my burden on the migration bit. At Bukit Tinggi, we stayed at Colmar Tropicale. To say that the place was perfect, would be an understatement. But don't take my word for it. It's probably because I haven't gone travelling around the world much. So my reference is kind of limited. So to me, it was a remarkable place, in Malaysia, except for Pulau Mabul, in Sabah, that is.

Anyway, for those who hasn't heard of Colmar Tropicale, it's a resort, sort of, with a French Village theme going on. I went there with my boss. We took the official car and driver. Since everyone else drove their own vehicles. Once we were there, we pulled our luggage to the reception area. After getting our keys, we went our separate ways. My room wasn't in the same building as my boss. So I naturally assumed that the building I was heading for has very small rooms. So, there I was, pulling my luggage through the crowd, trying to find the building where my room was. I found the building easily enough. Now to go find my room. It was situated on the third floor. Key in hand, I inserted it into the lock and entered my room.

It was huge! I couldn't believe my eyes. It has a mini kitchen, a breakfast nook, a living room with a huge tv. Then, into another room was my bedroom. There, was a king sized bed, or is it a queen sized bed. I wouldn't know. Anyway, into another room was the bathroom. And even the bathroom was huge. This room isn't for me, I mean, this room can hold more than 4 adults comfortably. But I was grateful for the room. Once there, I unpacked and went down the the French village. It isn't that big. But the things they have there are interesting. They have shops, a small games arcade, some restaurants, and small shops selling caricature drawings, little animal shaped toys, hand-shaped wax and others.

Besides that, the food was good. We had breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. And since it was a buffet, I took my time eating almost everything they had to offer. Everything was superb. I felt bloated after each meal. I was amazed I could stand and walk around after everything I stuffed down my throat. Hehehe. But I really felt bloated. And that's one feeling I don't like. On the whole, it was truly a worthwhile meeting. But, believe it or not, Maxis doesn't have any coverage that. At all! I was like, uh'oh. Luckily, I found two public phones, one of which wasn't working.

We went back the following day. The meeting was continued after breakfast. After the meeting, we had lunch, then we headed straight to the office. The following day, I had a training at Amcorp Tower. But that's for another day. For today, I think this is enough. :)

The Reason

I am currently listening to Hoobastank's The Reason. Am liking to hear it very much, at the moment. Although I still like to hear Three Doors Down's Here Without You. My next door cubicle mate is currently happily listening to Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Vallie. Went to the clinic this morning. My blood pressure is normal, Alhamdulillah. And I got my blood result today as well. The doctor said everything was ok, so I didn't need to go there anymore. Alhamdulillah. So that's that. My mum will be relieved to hear that. So will my beloved. She said she was worried when I told her that my blood pressure was high the first time around.   

After seeing the doctor this morning, rushed back to the office since I had to attend a training. The training was for Oracle's Recovery Manager or RMAN for short. Nothing much to write about that. I mean, it wasn't that interesting or anything. Just your normal everyday training. So tomorrow we'll be implementing the RMAN on the Sun E3500 server. Now, that should prove interesting, and successful, I hope. After that, we need to implement RMAN on a production server. That will be done while everyone's asleep. We might start at midnight. Because the ritual needs to be performed with the blood of a living chicken. I mean, you can't get blood from a dead chicken, can you. Duh! Hehehehe...   Just kidding.

Saw Shrek2 again last night. My sister bought my niece the DVD. So after the credits, I asked my parents to keep watching, because I heard that there was an extension to the movie. And lo and behold, there was! But I'm not gonna write it here, since it would spoil everything. So, go watch it yourself! Hehehe. I've watched Shrek2 over and over and it's still funny. Seriously! I seriously need to watch other movies, huh. Can't depend on Shrek2 can I. Well, I might watch Van Helsing tonight.    

The Body of A Man

My body is aching at the moment. To be precise, my arms. To be even more precise, my biceps. Yesterday it was worst. It felt like my whole body was aching. Took a couple of Panadols to alleviate the pain. It all started on Friday night. A very good friend of mine gave me the chance to get a free trial of a gym somewhere in KL. So I went with my best buddy. The place was seriously huge and full of equipments, and with lots of sweating bodies. Male and female. Went on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then went on to try the upper body workout. Must have exerted myself. That was the reason for the pain. But it was the good kind of pain. The kind where you feel you can't move, but after a while you develop some serious mucles. Hehehe... I wish!!
 
Am currently reading Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance and Iain Banks' Whit. I've read these two books before. A couple of times. But I still love to read these books, over and over again. And besides, I don't have anything else to read. Well, actually, I do, but I don't feel like reading non-fiction at the moment. I don't think I'll ever get bored with Dance Dance Dance. Although I have to get Murakami's other books. Maybe I'll go to Kinokuniya this coming Saturday or Sunday to get it. I think I've written about Murakami's books, but I have to say something here as well. His books are surreal. Seriously. I really can't explain it any better than that. When I read his books, I can actually feel the atmosphere of the place he is describing. I mean, it's seriously fantastic. I know I sound like a bludee nerd, but that's the truth (not the nerd part, the surreal part).
 
Am planning to watch King Arthur this weekend. But I heard it isn't as good as I thought it would be. I heard they took the epic straight from the history books. So none of those magical folks or heroic deeds that blows the mind. Just your factual epic brought to life on the silver screen. Nothing much to look forward to. If I'm in the mood, I might want to see Spiderman2 again. Yup, I really enjoyed the movie the first time I saw it. Or, what else is playing? I'm not sure. Hmmm, have to check the local listing.

Under The Weather Am I

Am not feeling well at the moment. Flu with a pinch of headache. Had a discussion just now. And it was seriously uninteresting, but it had to be done. As a formality, so to speak. A colleague of mine actually fell asleep in the meeting room. Me, I asked questions. That was the only way I could think of to keep myself from falling asleep. And it worked, for a while. After that, I started feeling sleepy. Luckily for me, another colleague of mine passed me a note, although we were sitting side by side. Hehehe. So that perked me up quite a bit. After the note passing, we managed to chat with each other without actually using our voices. Isn't that amazing! Hehehe. A few minutes after that, the discussion ended. Much to our delight. Hehehe...

The Way It Was

I was deep in slumber when I heard my name being called. I chose to ignore the voice, since I was too deep in slumber, and anyway I couldn't find my way back to the land of the living. So I kept on sleeping. Only to be called again. This time is was more persistent. I tried to wake up but to no avail. I struggled against the dark cold place I was in. Finally, I managed to be the victor. And as I shaded my eyes against the sun light, I heard my mother's voice saying, "It's almost 8 o'clock, aren't you going to the office?". What!? 8 o'clock?! I start work at 8 o'clock!!!

That was how I started my day on Saturday. But it went well enough, since I managed to get to the office by 8.20am. Amazing, huh! And none of the bosses were asking for me. Hehehe. The big boss did a short presentation on CVS. Don't even ask. Anyway, after that, went for the department's bowling tournament. It was a fun activity for us to get to know one another better. After that, went to TTDI for a wedding. I was the pengapit. I wonder what they call pengapit in english. Hmmm.... Well, anyway. Yup! Me! Pengapit! Hahahah!!! But I was. Seriously! Anyway, it was the second time for me. And my brother was the MC. It was the umpteenth time for him. And he's getting better at it.

Now about me being the pengapit, we started the procession from outside the hall. There were 10 of us. The married couple, both the pengapits, the two flower girls, and the bride's 3 brothers and a cousin. So there we were walking towards the hall, with the kompang group right behind us. Right before we started moving, one of the flower girls asked me, "What are we suppose to be doing now? I didn't go for the rehearsal!" Well, neither did I! So, there we were, moving slowly towards the hall, not knowing what to do next. Hehehe. But it turned out ok, in the end. The flower girls were safely at their respective places, which was in front of us pengapits, and we were doing pretty ok, if anyone was paying any attention to us, that is.

I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn't. Because I knew people were there to see the bride and groom, and not the pengapits, although, who can resist hairy face. Heheheh. Just kidding. Anyway, after the ceremony, we stayed back to chat with the relatives. Me, I was chatting with my brother and his wife for a while, then I went on to chat with my brother's sister-in-laws's friend. After that, I took my parents for supper at NZ, the place I hang out with my friends. We had char kuey teow, satay, ais kacang, and carrot juice. Slept around 1 o'clock.

On Sunday, woke up early to wake my beloved up, since it was her first day at the new school. Then continued sleeping, only to be woken up by a phonecall from my beloved around 9 am. Then continued sleeping till 12 in the afternoon. Woke up, had lunch in Kl with my parents, then went straight to KLCC with my best buddy. Believe it or not, everytime we go out to KLCC, it's for my buddy to get phone numbers from girls. And he has managed to get a couple of them. But on that fateful Sunday, it was not meant to be, since he picked a fiesty young lass. Hehehe. He told me later, he was taken aback by her response, because she wasn't responding to his charms. And in the end, the girl got his number, but he didn't get hers.

By the way, I saw Shrek 2 the other day. And it was hilarious. I mean, it's actually better then the first one. And I love the first Shrek! It's about how Shrek adapts to Fiona's parents and vice versa. Throw in another cute talking animal, a couple of bad guys, a funny dialogue, and you get a fantastic movie. I love Puss in Boots. He's so cute when he does his googly eyes routine. And donkey, he's still the annoying ass from the first movie. Well, if you haven't seen it, then go watch it!

Bladerunner

I haven't much time to write what I'm about to write. They are coming after me. They said they'll be here by 9.00 am, and now it's 8.47 am. Another 13 minutes to go. Only 13 minutes for me to tell the world about the things they need to know. It all started on Thursday night. I went to see Spiderman 2 with a bunch of my uni friends. There were 10 of us. Had a snack at Burger King before entering the cinema. The movie was excellent, seriously. I recommend it highly for anyone who loves action-packed movies. The fight scenes between Spidey and Doc Oct are simply amazing. It seriously takes your breath away. During the movie, I would find myself holding my breath till the end of one of the many amazing fight scenes. Fantastic! Go watch it!

Oh no! It's 8.51! Another 9 minutes to go! Have to continue. Then, on Friday evening, went to the Wilayah Mosque to attend my cousin's akad nikah. It was quite a big affair, actually. The akad nikah took place after the Asar prayer. It went smoothly enough. Although the groom had to say his line twice before it was given the thumbs-up! Met up with some of my long lost relatives. It was good to see them. My cousins mostly. The mosque itself is huge. Actually, it would be an understatement to say that, because the mosque is extremely huge! It was a chore just to walk from one end to the other. Besides that, the insides of the mosque is beautiful. Don't take my word for it. You ought to go and check it out yourself.

The wedding reception was on the following day, Saturday. Now, that was a grand affair. I enjoyed myself there. The reason being, I met lots of cousins and nieces whom I haven't seen in ages. They looked good. Very mature looking. Very very mature looking. Well anyway, we had to rush through that one since my parents had to attend their friend's birthday party. I was invited as well, although I didn't feel like going since it'll be full of old people and kids. No many people my age will be there. But since I had nothing better to do, I followed. It was in Ulu Langat. Quite far, by my standards. We were late, but luckily we came just before they were about to sing the birthday song. So, after the song, we had something to eat (yet again!), and I was introduced to a very charming tourist guide which they met while they were on holiday in Sabah.

We started talking, but once they started the karaoke session, she invited me to go to someplace quiet where we can talk in peace. So, we went to the dining room which was on the first floor. But still the noise from downstairs managed to be heard. So we had to sort of shout to listen to each other. She turned out to be very adventurous and very independent. I'm glad I went to the birthday party. At least I made a new aquaintance. :) What time is it now? Oh goodness! It's 8.59 am! They'll be here any minute now! I don't think I have much time to continue with today's blog. I hope you have understood what I wanted to convey to you.

This is the last few seconds, but I need to tell you what the significant of Bladerunner is to today's blog. Well, I have just gotten a Sun server named SunBlade 1500. And I named it Bladerunner. Oh no! They are here. I can see the door to my room opening slowly. I can see one of their heads peering into the room looking for me. I have no choice but to submit to them. Because if it weren't for me asking them out for breakfast this morning, they wouldn't have come looking for me now. Well, ladies and gentleman. I bid you farewell for now, for I have a breakfast appointment with my colleagues.

Chronicles of Riddick

Saw "Chronicles of Riddick" on Sunday with my best buddy. The movie was a disappointment to me, actually. I mean, it was darn full of action packed stunts, cool looking spaceships, weird animals, and other stuff worthy of making it one of my favourite movies of all time. But... It's not! The story line was lame. Seriously. It reminded me of "Scorpion King". If "Chronicles of Riddick" was shown first, then maybe it could have made it into my 'favourite movies of all time' list. But it didn't. Sorry Vin Diesel. Among the movies in my list are "Braveheart", a Mel Gibson movie; "The Professional", a Luc Besson movie; "Pulp Fiction", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Reservoir Dogs", all three directed by Quentin Tarantino.

While in KLCC, read Whoopi Goldberg's book entitled "Book". I'm serious, it's called "Book". Anyway, it's quite funny, actually. And I spent a few minutes reading through some chapters. In "Book", you'll find out why she's called 'Whoopi'. I'm not sure whether it's true, but it's funny, nonetheless. And although I've only read a couple of chapters of "Book", I think I like Tim Allen's "Don't Stand Too Close To A Naked Man" better. Another book I like is Michael Caine's autobiography called "What's It All About?" (the title referring to his first monster smash, Alfie). He wrote the book himself, and he's darn witty.

Bumped into some old friends in KLCC. Well, can't really say friends, since I don't know them that well. They were in the same college as I was back in uni. They were my seniors. Do you realise that whenever you bump into people who used to go to the same school or the same university (although you barely knew them), they will act as if you've known them well during the period of time when they were in your live? I do. And I think it's to do with a familiar face. I mean, a person looks at you and say, "Wait a minute, I know you from [insert university name here], don't I?". Then the person will update you on people you barely knew as well. I find this flattering, actually. Since they obviously still remember me, although I've grown a beard and gained a good couple of pounds. Hehehehe...

Last Man Standing

Came to work last night. Arrived at the office around 9.40pm. Then waited for the vendors to arrive. We started work at 10.40pm. Had to wait for the main person for last night's exercise. (Note: Exercise here means the activity that needed to be done last night; and not those exercise where you have to get into darn tight leotards, although if I wanted to, I could have gone to the office wearing leotards.. but then again, the guards might actually arrest me... heheheh....) Anyway, the exercise last night was to complete the shadow image we created that evening. It took a couple of minutes, all in all, it took us roughly 40-50 minutes, this plus the discussion, the scribbling down notes, and the 'what was that again' from us who wasn't as good as the main guy.

After that, I went straight to 7-11 to get some snacks for my parents and for the birthday celebration today. I'll talk about that a bit later on. Anyway, bought two bars of Cadbury chocolates. Bought the type without nuts or raisins or whatever else they put in chocolates nowadays. I love the plain type. Fantastic. Seriously. Breaking a piece, putting it in your mouth, savouring the taste, letting the chocolate melt on your tongue, then playing around with it in your mouth, getting the taste of it all over the insides of your mouth. Then licking it clean. Fantastic....

As I was saying earlier, today in the office, we had this big birthday celebration. This party was for everyone whose birthdays are from January till June. And I was one of them. We got mugs that says "Selamat Hari Lahir", and "PTM" on one side, and my name on the other side. It's nice. I really like the mug. Thanks guys. Although I know none of my office mates reads my blog, except for one person. Thanks, this one person. Heheheh...

Am currently reading "Last Man Standing" by David Baldacci. Darn good book. Darn right it is. My uncle passed me the book through my cousin, who was suppose to read it, then pass it to me. But then she said she couldn't go on reading the book because she found it boring. Well, not to me! I can't put the book down. It's so action packed and interesting. Haven't finish reading it, though. Am taking my time with it, so I can enjoy it more. And am also currently reading Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men". It's funny, but I sort of stopped reading it the moment I got Mr Baldacci's book.

Weird huh...

Yesterday, my ex-colleagues came to my office for a demo. They showed my colleagues and me the wonderful world of IBM. Or more specifically, IBM's WebSphere Studio Application Developer (WSAD). It was good to see them again. My ex-colleagues, I mean. I invited them over to do the demo so that we can decide on what development tools to use. So far, our boss has decided to use Java. So now it's up to us to know as many developments tools there are in the market as possible, then to choose the best. In other words, the easiest to use. After the demo, (which took about 2 hours to finish, this plus the question and answer session and the eating and drinking session... hehehe), I went out for lunch with my ex-colleagues. Just the six of us. Just like the old times. Sometimes, I still miss them, the old office, the environment, the friendships.

Alas, now I am in a whole new environment, getting to know new people, getting to know the workings of a hospital, and getting to be called 'doctor' once in a while! Heheheh... I think I should start wearing a stethoscope and a white doctor's coat and walk around wards and clinics just for kicks. Then, when somebody ask me a medical question, I'll quickly put my hand to my chin and say "hmmm... interesting question... I think you should refer your [insert ailment here] to [insert a doctor's name here], because I feel he/she is more experienced with that kind of thing". So, what do you think? Can I pull it off? Hehehehe...

Yesterday had a chat with a friend of mine, and I commented on her blog. Well, actually, it was more a comment on the things she didn't say. And I said, if it was true, then I'm happy for her. At first she denied everything, saying it's not true. Then after a while she became defensive. And started being angry, although she did it in a joking way. After that, I logged off because I had to go home then. Then in the evening, before Maghrib, I think, she called me up and asked whether I was hurt by what she said. Of course not, said I. And we started talking on the phone. She was, at that time, driving home from work. Hands-free, of course.

Anyway, the reason I brought that up is, I don't know what's going on. With her, I mean. She's a really good friend, but I don't know why I made her angry. No, let me rephrase that. I don't know why she was angry with me. And this morning she was angry with me still. She said it was because England lost. If you are reading this, dear angry friend, I apologise. Hope we can still remain friends.

On a more cheerful note, a friend of mine just called me up. A few minutes ago. She just arrived in Malaysia from Australia. And she sounded so happy. She said she's been calling everyone and telling them that she's back in Malaysia, and she was suprised that everyone was excited that she was back. She said it made her feel like the Prime Minister. Hehehe... I was excited as well. I was darn happy to hear from her. We used to be colleagues. And her other half is my junior from school.

On a more wonderfully cheerful note, my beloved just called. She's still in bed though. It's so good to hear her voice. Although we call each other up every single day. Hehehe. Am missing her so much. She's at home at the moment, her classes starts on Sunday, since she's studying in Terengganu at the moment. How I wish she is here with me now. Don't want anyone else. She is all I'll ever need. I pray our 'jodoh' is strong since ours is a long distance relationship. InsyaAllah. Miss you, my love.

Blackouts!

Early in the morning, planned to have breakfast with two of my colleagues. A normal routine for us. I would usually wait for one of them to arrive to work, then the both of us will be waiting for the third one to arrive. So, this morning, we were all in the office, getting ready to go, one of us has to put on some makeup first. Anyway, as I was in the gents, my boss came in and asked me whether I've had breakfast, and he asked me to join him for breakfast. I was obviously felt guilty. So I went to see my colleagues to ask them to join us, but they declined. So it was just my boss and I.

During breakfast, we talked about work, naturally. So I'm assuming he did ask me to join him for this purpose. He asked for any updates on what I'm doing. And he informed me of certain things that I wasn't aware of. And in the end, he paid for the meal. Heheheh. Then while we were having breakfast and discussing about work and stuff, I got a call from the office. And it was my immediate boss. Apparently, there was a problem in the office and she needed me to come in as soon as possible. So, I rushed through my 'roti canai' and iced tea, and we sped to the office.

The problem was a serious one. And she needed me to liase with our vendor from Australia. As of now, around 5 hours from her phone call, the problem has been settled. I hope! Thank goodness for vendors. Heheheh. I used to be a vendor in my previous job. And I can tell you, it's sometimes painful if you have a difficult client. So now I try to be pleasant to the vendors. I try. Really I do.

Just today, we had two blackouts! One in the morning and the other one around half an hour ago. It's so annoying, especially when you are busy updating your blog, and chatting at the same time! I mean, when you are busy doing work! Heheheh...

Lunch today was provided by my department, since we had a meeting around lunch time. We ought to have more meetings around lunchtime. Then we wouldn't need to go out and look for food. And the food was suprisingly good. Because I actually thought about having seconds. It was a good meal, and now I'm sleepy.

Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance

I want to explain why my blog is called Dance Dance Dance. Well, the name is actually a book by a Japanese author. His name, Haruki Murakami. I first learned about him from my brother. The first time I read his book, I was enthralled by it. I don't think I can explain the atmosphere of the book. It's just so surreal. I'm not sure I can explain it so that you can understand the intensity of what I've just said. You have to read it to understand what I mean. I like the book so much, I just bought a copy of it for myself. Before this, I would read my brother's copy over and over again. I intend to collect Haruki Murakami's entire collection. A book at a time.

"Dance dance dance continues the extraordinary adventure of an ordinary man. At thirty something, Murakami's nameless hero lives in a hi-tech, high-rise world where old virtues die fast and success is all that matters. He has shared in the glittering city's spoils, and while he has not sold his soul, he knows that something is lacking in his life.

Now, in dreams, a mysterious woman weeps softly - for him. Yet, even as he tries to understand why, the voice that beckons is not hers. And still he dreams. Bizarre dreams that propel him down byways of his life in search of ... ?

His is a strange odyssey: en route, a thirteen-year-old girl, distressingly beautiful and clairvoyant, is his constant companion; a classmate, now oozing charm on TV soaps, grapples with murder; a lady of the night becomes his guardian angel; and an eccentric Sheep Man materializes to counsel and cajole. What's a fellow to do? Dance. You gotta dance as long as the music plays. And dance is what our hero does ... in the most unexpected ways!"

Thinking About Things

Just had a discussion with a user. A little background information before I start today's ramblings. Heheh. We are currently developing the Hospital Information System for our dear beloved hospital. So, we need some information from users, naturally. Just now, we had a long discussion on the user requirements. The thing is, the discussion could be very brief. If it were up to me, it would have taken, the most around 45 minutes. And this with question and answer session. But our discussion lasted almost two hours. And I'm exhausted. Seriously!

This morning, I read in a friend's blog about user support and how the user was extremely inept at searching for things on his computer. In my case, however, he is the master of his subject, so we were in the user's shoes, so to speak. So it took him almost two hours to finish lecturing us. If it weren't for the fact that it was almost time to go home, I wouldn't be suprise if he still wanted to continue the discussion.

Enough of that. Had a rather tiring day today. I'm not sure why, actually. What did I do today? Hmmm... Well, in the morning, I had a discussion with a vendor from Australia via MSN Messenger, then another discussion with a vendor from Malaysia via phone, then yet another discussion, with a colleague, this time face to face. Have to settle a few matters before the week ends. Then, after lunch went to see the user.

On a more brighter note, a colleague of mine received flowers today. She was so excited when I told her about it, since it was I who received it from the messenger. I started to pass it to my colleague's staff, but then thought better of it, and deposited it straight into her room.

Before lunch, I went to see someone at the ICU. He just had his operation yesterday, I think. Anyway, I saw him and we talked for quite some time. He seemed bored with having to be in the ICU. I hope I cheered him up some. He had six holes in one of his lungs. So that lung completely collapse, causing him serious pain and difficulty in breathing. So the operation yesterday, the doctor stapled the holes. Then, as we were talking, a senior staff came to see him, then acknowledged me. The thing is, he looked at me, smiled and said "Doctor" while extending his hand timidly. I smiled and took his extended hand. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'm not a doctor. Hehehehe....

Things To Do

Today is a Monday. Nuff said!!

Am not feeling too good about today. Am missing my beloved. Today is her first day of classes, for three weeks, then off to do her practical training. *Sigh* So far away we are from each other.

Work is work. My big boss sent me an SMS yesterday to call for a meeting this morning at 8.30am. This morning, as I was entering his room for the discussion, he stood up and said he was hungry and asked me whether I was hungry as well. Before I could answer, he said "Let's go to level 7 for breakfast". So we did, with another colleague of mine. So we had the discussion there.

Didn't do much over the weekend. Just sat at home, either reading, walking around, looking for food, or watcing dvds'. Just lazed around. So not in the mood. I wonder when I'll snap out of it. Maybe it's taking longer because the time we spent together this time was longer and more fulfilling.

Saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Quite a good movie, actually. And like someone said to me earlier, it's not like the first two. The first two is, for lack of a better word, childish. This movie is quite dark and forbidding. And it's so illogical, but then again, that's the appeal, huh. I don't know, I think I like the first two better.

Saw "The Patriot". The one with Mel Gibson. Saw it alone on Saturday. Then when my parents came back from somewhere, saw it with them. In the end, my parents saw it again. I like the movie tremendously. Almost as much as "Braveheart". It's almost the same, isn't it. I mean, the hero loses someone he loves. Then he avenges their death. But darn good movie, nevertheless.

Saw "Desperate Measures". Andy Garcia and Micheal Keaton. Yes, I was bored that weekend. That's why I saw so many movies. Saw it with my mother, then my father and niece joined us. In the end, I was bored with the movie. So I started reading a book. Heheheh...

Can't seem to concentrate too well these days. Actually, I can. But when I'm not doing anything, then I'll feel it. The emptiness, the boredom, the loneliness. It's not as bad as it sounds, trust me. Just need to get over this thick sense of loneliness enveloping me.

I can't believe I actually wrote all of that. I am seldom open with people. I do sometimes, but not often. I'd rather listen than talk.

The First Step Is Always The Hardest

I hereby officiate this blog to be mine. To be the property of eL. To be written in and to be edited however I seem fit. Hehehe. Nothing much to write about at the moment. Just that I am still in the office at the moment, and am about to leave.

Am feeling quite tired. I may be catching something. A fever, maybe. I've been surrounded by sick people all week, so maybe finally I'm being infected by them. Hmmm... Reminds me of the movie "28 Days Later". But those people were infected with rage... and it's a darn good movie. Go watch it!