Living Life In The Slow Lane

This week at work things were a little more interesting. So much so I am tired out after work. A vessel in the plant ruptured, spewing out gas. The tear was about a meter long. So we spent most of work time trying to sort it out.

Lately I have also started to slow things down a little, enjoying life a lot more. For example, at night me and the missus will go out and have a nice meal sampling the various cuisines on offer. Sometimes I would also be eating by the beach enjoying a freshly fried fish dipped in flour while sipping on a coconut drink (okay I made that up! I usually have coffee black KAW).

So I would like to share a few spots in around the area should anyone happen to pass by. If I manage to get the pictures of the places I will repost this again.

Breakfast to Dinner

Usually nasi lemak, nasi dagang, nasi minyak. Currently I have 4 places I normally go to. 3 in Dungun and one in Paka. There is also the market where we have breakfast most Fridays. I really want roti telur though.

I have put some of those places on the map of Dungun below.

We also have dinner at Lotfi’s tomyam place called Ria Tomyam and Batu 48.

Map of Dungun

In Paka and Kerteh we of course have

a) Awie Tiram Bakar – seafood

b) Kelab Desa Rantau Petronas – all kinds of food

c) JR’s – Chinese food

d) Sawasdee – Siamese food

e) Gerai sotong goreng near Meraga Beris – Obvious really

In Kemaman we have

a) Bukit Kuang – Seafood

b) Hai Peng Kopi – Err Coffee

Of course there are more places we have been, but it has been some time that I need to go again to resample the food to see if they are nice.

Market

Today me and KKL went to the market and had Sup Tulang for breakfast. It was fantastic! Something different from what we are used to. Basically they plonk down a plate of white rice with cucumber, a fat slice of fried egg, ikan kering and sambal belacan, together with a bowl of steaming sup tulang. After the meal we went and bought some of our groceries.

To commemorate Muhaimin’s 29^th birthday, we made Nasi Tomato Special and Daging Gulai Special ala BCT (That’s Bukit Chatak for those who do not know what BCT is)

Gulai Daging Special

Nasi Tomato Special

The Sweet and Sour Prawn we made last week for my birthday

So to Min… Happy Beddey Man.. the food was really nice!

Regards

Another Festive Week

Okay.. so I find myself in a holding cell, most of my equipment stripped from me. Suddenly an old guy and a group of guards appear at my cell door, telling me to step away from the door as they enter the cell.

Once in the cell the old man goes to a section of the wall and lo and behold! A secret passage. Once he and his guards are safely down the passage I silently followed.. thus began my adventure in Tamriel. Along the way I picked up a fire sword, managed to crawl out of the dungeons and barely made it across the the opposite shore alive.

Yeaps. I installed Oblivion on my laptop, and this time I am going through the game slowly.

Last week has been an exceptionally tiring and long week for me.

To begin with, it was the first full week of work after the festive season. Thursday looked a million miles when looking from Sunday! Any way, I managed to get most of my work done despite my room now being occupied by five people. During the week, We received three people from KL who are seconded to the plant for the next two years. With them is also my friend from a different project who needs to use my pc for his work.

So The weekend could not have come any sooner!

On Friday me and KKL went to the market to buy some meat but unluckily (or luckily) the market was packed so we had to go find our meat somewhere else. We ended up at a stall by the side of the road where we got a kilo of fresh meat and a kilo of lamb! Yay!

So that day I cooked lamb stew... unfortunately again, the stomach is faster than the trigger fingers so there are no pictures of the stew. (Picture taken from the Net)

On Saturday I cooked 'Sup Tulang' Mexican style, complete with tomatoes, chilli peppers and all sorts of "Mexican" spices. The soup was divine, but once again no pictures.

On Sunday Ikelah and DITH paid us a visit. I had a half day at the office and went home to help KKL in preparing the house. For lunch (at 3 pm) we had Laksa Assam and Keropok Lekor. Later we agreed to meet up in Kerteh for our dinner. We had crab, squids, oysters, a stingray and drinks.

The Feast

Ikelah in action

It was a very fulfilling dinner. My good buddy Jamil also joined us that night. He was on the way to KT for a four day course. So before he left we made sure he had an excellent dinner.

Oh Crab!

Hmm so which one will I choose first?

Pari Bakar

On Monday my plant tripped. Man! So today it has been a busy day getting things organised. At least this week will be interesting....

Regards....

Dear all,

It has been ages since I last set pen to paper here (figuratively speaking). It has been a busy month, with the Eid festivities, going to Kuantan and starting work again.

Luckily today I have some extra time to put in a short one.

I have been struggling to think about what to write, especially as I read other people's blog that are so much more interesting than mine. Mynn with his shooting practices, Ikelah and DITH with their dinner intrigue. I wonder what I can talk about that can add to our discussions and give some meaning.

Any way, I have given up trying to think of meaningful topics to talk about so I am just going to shoot from the hips.

First is on the US mid term elections. I really wish Bush gets handed a defeat. However, the Republicans are spending billions in their campaigning so we will see today how it goes.

Secondly I feel there are not many worthwhile movies this year compared to before. Maybe the creative juices have gone out of hollywood, remaking old classics instead with the hope that the new younger audiences are fooled into buying recycled goods. How many remakes like Texas Chainsaw Massacre can one take? Apparently a lot as I think they are on number three now.

I have this craving for beef stew.. so hopefully we will get the proper ingredients to cook one soon.

At the moment I am excited about how to plan the kitchen at the Kuantan house. If there are any good kitchen designers in Kuantan please shout up. We really want to use you. We are also getting excited about when we can start furnishing the house. Hmm what styles would be great?


What games are cool now? I have a sudden desire to spend some time building armies and crushing the enemy hehe..

Regards

Kubang....

Break… It has been so long since my last real break that I have forgotten how it feels to be on holiday. Considering that the plant had problems way back in May, it has been four months since I have taken a break.

Alas this blog is suffering from lack of writing and inattention. Sitting back and relaxing I realised how much my mind has been preoccupied about thinking about the problems in the plant as well as the potential solution. So when I sat down in front of the screen to update my entries my mind drew a blank.

So I grabbed the first idea that comes to mind.

My TV show list:

a) Eureka

b) Heroes

c) Studio 60

d) CSI

e) How I met your mother

Items cooked at home during Ramadhan:

a) Nasi Lemak

b) Bubur Lambuk

c) Ikan Assam Pedas

d) Udang Goreng Special

Later on will try bubur Arab and Persian rice. KKL is an excellent cook. Me, I need guidance and some special secret recipe.

Last night had a wonderful dinner with P5, Jimmy, KKL and myself. We had two kilos worth of crab, fish, sting ray, oysters, calamari and tomyam. It was really delicious and satisfying. We spent about 3 hours at the shop.

Looking forward to Raya when we can savour more delicious seafood. I hear from P5 that there is a good restaurant in Kuantan near Tg. Lumpur mosque. Will definitely scope it out when we get there.

I have one more week of solid work left before the long holidays. We are planning to cook for the Raya festivities. I for one am looking forward to the barbeque and the Persian rice. Bubur lambuk can also be made where needed as we can easily find the required ingredients at the market.

Of course it will be a slow drive down to Kuantan and I plan to buy stuff along the way such as lemang, kopitiam and keropok.

Yummy.

Contemplating Ramadhan

Words can't describe how happy I feel this year that Ramadhan has arrived. Previous years have been a bitter sweet affair, especially since my wife was away. It is always sad breaking fast away from family. Sweet that I also got to hang with my good friends and break fast with them. Most notably the first day was with P5 and Jimmy, both from the Nikon DSLR club.

I remember our simple fair, we bought milk, kurma from the office and some condiments. Dinner was later.

This year, the first four days I will be either breaking fast with friends or alone, no biggie there. Then off to Kuantan to break fast with my inlaws. Then on Monday it will be with my wife. Yes, she is finally coming home.

I pray and hope that this Ramadhan will be a Ramadhan for me to contemplate and improve myself, especially now that I finally will take up my responsibility as a husband. We have been away from each other for so long and have grown in our own right. That uniqueness in our relationship I do so wish to cherish and at the same time start to create beautiful memories together. There is so much that needs to be caught up on, though knowing me I will most likely find it most difficult to express how I feel verbally. Like Jason Mraz (tq MDah) I find solace in words in writing.


I also pray that Allah gives me the strength to change for the better and become a better person. If there is any time in our lives that we have a chance to change, Ramadhan is the best chance. During this time we are free from the whispers of Syaitan who will be locked up during the entire month. Our motivations will be our own, our sins will be our own, our darkness will be our own. So if we need to cleanse and purify ourselves, this is the time. As Picard says in First Contact, "The line must be drawn heeyah (here)!"

Luckily for me I have my wife to help me through this journey, my sisters, my father, my family and my friends.

So dear friends, please pray for us in our never ending journey to seek His blessings.

W'salam

Long Hiatus

The Cat Is Back

Well folks, I have been away long, as long as a month now from last count.

Finally the plant is up and running, though to be honest it is limping a little. So there is still some work to be done.

During my long working hours I have had the chance to contemplate many things, some of them life changing, others not so dramatic. One of the realisations I had was how much I miss my free time, not just my weekends but also my time outside work. There are days that I hardly see a landscape outside the four walls of the plant and by the time I get home it is too dark to enjoy.

So I have decided to dedicate more time to myself, especially since I believe it is a better stress reliever as well as much better for me in the long run. I need to get back to a time where I can enjoy my reading as well as playing around with my latest toys.

The House

Regards

OK

Happy Birthday To My Wife!

Over recent years I have been working so hard that come this time of the year I tend to forget what day it is. This year luckily we have come oout of a very tough shutdown at the plant just before KKL's birthday.

I have been debating about what entry I should put in here for her B'Day.

PMS suggested I put pictures of flowers as a romantic gesture... however to me that seems a little old fashion... no offense PMS.. in a recent study in Malaysia, it was found that most women preferred Plasma TVs to Diamonds!

So as a BDay picture present I present (haha no pun intended) this lovely picture


To my Dearest Wife, Happy Birthday!

Short Update!

Well folks, I have just came back from watching Superman Returns and I must say, I really liked it. I have read online reviews at reputable sites on how it was not so good, that Kate Bosworth is not good in this etc.etc... However I believe that Bryan Singer crafted an excellent yarn. The story really flowed in my opinion. Of course the question of Superman returning from where was not really answered, along with the question of what was out there and what did he see, but the movie quietly brings us along.. everything that happens on screen is relevant.. there are no wasted frames, from the scene back home in Kansas to the aeroplane scene (no spoilers as I am sure most people have watched the trailer)

I for one can't wait to see the next installment and see where it goes from here. Overall, Bryan Singer has created a worthy sequel to the first two superman movies which would soon erase the crap that was the third and fourth movie.

Next is Pirates! Bring on Captain Jack Sparrow!

Plant Life

I noticed that I write this blog like writing a letter. Others have a story-teller way of spinning their yarn.

I am not really that good at telling stories, maybe it’s because engineers are more used to handling facts and figures, so what little imagination we have has been eroded from lack of use.

Unlike in TV shows where they show the glamorous lives of doctors, models and lawyers, the engineer tend to be relegated to the background, serving in the capacity of supporting actor rather than the lead. With the advent of 911, the work of firemen started to become major movies. Of course engineers may or may not have the same box-office pull now or in the future but real life stories of bravery, hard work and dedication are abound in our daily lives. So I have decided to share some of the real life (and over dramatized for TV) stories of engineers.

11.55 pm January

The pressure in the line spiked suddenly. In the late night air a sudden rumbling started from deep within the bowels of the steel labyrinth. A solitary alarm beeped on the panel in the control room. From the operating chair the pressure spike read only as an anomaly that disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

Elsewhere the field operator who felt the line vibrate stopped his routine checking, figuring instead it would be more interesting to see where the vibration came from. There was no scheduled pump change over that night which usually led to such occurrences.

Walking down the gantry slowly he turned into the steel superstructure that led deeper into the plant. The air was humid from the steam that gushed out of the steam trap. Above, the lights were flickering signaling it was soon time to change. The sound of his safety shoes on the steel walkway beat in rhythm with the sound of the diaphragm pump, pumping below.

Reaching the area housing the complex exchangers that work tirelessly to cool the plant during operations the operator froze. A single bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and neck.

Slowly he reached for his radio and spoke, “Panel-man, come in. We have a problem. A very big one”

End of Part One - jeng jeng jeng

About the Weekend

Well folks, it's the weekend and I am still stuck at work. Still waiting around for stuff to finish. I am currently updating the schedule to see where we can trim down on excess. Truth is we may need the extra time as the work quality for the mechanical work this time around is very poor.

I have also been experimenting with Skype (TM) on new lappy toppy. It works great! There was absolutely no echo heard even when I was using the speakers, plus the web cam is real time despite being a slow internet connection.

My Cooling Tower

Tried several movies and played around with the photo software. What caught me by surprise was how rich all pictures look on the screen. Really really beautiful! I also rewatched Advent Children to test the DVD capabilities... fuuh.. the start of the fight sequence with Sephiroth was mind blowing!

I also tried out the two carry case... I really like the back pack.. it has a solid feel to it.

On the home front my ADSL modem is kaput. But that really is a blessing in disguise as I have been spending more and more time reading. I have finished three books in the last one week, books that I have been getting around to finish in ages. I have also started to reread the photoshop books I have bought, trying out the various tricks.. cool...

But what I really want to do in my free time is brush up on my visual basic and C++ language. It has been years since I last used them. I know the book is lying around in the house somewhere.

So all this waiting for maintenance to finish their work, and no modem at home combined has really made this week one of my most productive in terms of learning.

For this I would like to thank God for his eternal blessings and my wife for graciously allowing me to buy the VAIO. Yes dear you can borrow it anytime you need it ;)

My plan for the coming week

a) Clean the living room
b) Clean the car
c) Pay my bills - car loan, electricity, phone, credit card etc.
d) Finish off two more books while start reading a third
e) Startup the plant
f) Write the VAIO review

Currently listening to

a) Anything on the radio and on the hard disk

Currently reading

a) 13 Fatal Errors
b) How to Get Rich Your Own Way
c) Bonehunters
d) Startup Procedures

VAIO

The ultrathin VAIO

Dear All,

This is my first posting since a long time and my first using my new VAIO. I must say the laptop is more than what I expected. Be sure to hang tight while I try out all the possible things I can do with it and have a review soon.

I know out there there are plenty of technical reviews and benchmarks already so I will do nothing of the sort.

More like I will try to see how it fits into normal everyday life.

At the moment weighing under 2 Kgs it is really really portable. The only drawback is the AC adaptor that weighs like a brick. At least while walking to the plant I now have something to throw at the wild dogs roaming around.

Tonight I will be driving back to Kerteh. Accompanying me will be my good buddy from CUF, a neighbouring plant. The plan is to take off from KL around 7.30 pm.

I must say it has been one very very interesting trip. I met a senior of mine from my A Level days, reminiscing with him and all. I was able to talk to Ustaz's colleagues and get to know them better. I was also able to install MS Office, Lotus as well as get to test run the new Vista! Guess what, the Vista feels like running LINUX under the bonnet. Oh yeah, Ustaz gave me a program that enables me to run Vista, LINUX and windows at the same time! How cool is that!

The next project is to turn my current PC into a media centre. And before KKL says anything.. no, it will not cost a thing.. Just reformatting the hard disk putting in Windows Media Center software etc. It would finally turn the PC into an entertainment system that it has been destined to be!

Regards

SZSeriesOverview


The Keyboard

The LCD Screen

My Wife

Hiya all,

I guess I have been very inactive in my postings. To be honest I have been working now for the last 20 plus days so by the time I get back home I fall asleep.....

But that's not what I want to talk about today..

You see I have not always been the way I am today.. My friends from back in the days would remember me as someone very very serious. I shun the public as I felt really really uncomfortable in crowds, preferring instead the quiet intimacy of close friends and family. In fact to this day I still retain some of these 'anti-social' like behaviour(s).

Nowadays I am more relaxed and confident in my dealings with people from all walks of life, enjoying the interactions a little more and definitely able to see the funnier side of life.

So what made me change?

Well as the title says, it's all about a girl, the person who has my heart in her hands, who makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world.

My Wife.

To be honest, nothing I write can ever compare to how much she means to me and how much I miss her. My long hours have only served to remind me how much her presence in my life is missing (for now).

Dear if you are reading this..know that I dream of of you...

Regards

A Walk in Richmond Park

This is KKL writing in for O-K. :)

DinahJee AapaJee came over one weekend to take us lucky girls in style (in her brand new shiny black Toyota Yaris) to Richmond Park! DinahJee had received inside info that the bluebells were fantastic at the moment, so we decided to close our books for a bit and enjoy the day out. This sounds a bit similar to the Japanese custom of viewing the cherry blossoms when they come out, I guess. Last year I went to Epping Forest with DinahJee to see the bluebells, as well as Kew Gardens, and so I was determined to see them again this year.


Richmond Park is huge, and I heard one can even see deer here. But we headed straight for Isabella Plantation, which sounded to me like a woodland with some planted shrubs. Or even ladang. Hehe.


















Here are some bluebells, on the left a closeup, and on the right what they look like on the ground. They can look somewhat purplish when viewed from a distance. But hang on a minute, what are those glorious yellow flowers?

A friendly lady explained to us that these are azaleas. The yellow ones, she told us, seem to be fragrant, unlike the other ones further up in the plantation.

You mean there are more of these?

Yes, she said, and in more dizzying colours than these. Just head straight down the path.

Bluebells forgotten, we eagerly made our way down the designated path.

And was rewarded with this:

































Anyone know what the flowers below are? They don't have any discernable fragrance. On the right are the leaves of the same tree.



















And a bonus pic for O-K:



Penat sungguh nak letak gambar ni! Must do as Mama Sarah does and use Picasa :)

4 Weeks old!

I remembered an old song from my younger and slimmer days:

I'm on the top of the world
Looking down on creation
And the only explaination I can find
Is the love that I found
Ever since you've been around
Oh you've put me at the top of the world

So why all of the sudden this song? Well April seems to be a month where most of my family and friends are having their birthdays. Everyone seems to be excited about the birth of the twins, the birthday of our doctor/photographer, and all.

In a way, everyone's life has been enriched in some way or another by having those that we love around us. (Yeah sounds cheesy doesn't it, especially coming from a hardcore blue collar guy!).

So let me tell you guys about a special something that has lifted my spirits somewhat over that last four weeks.

As you guys who have been following my posts knows, The last few weeks have been very hard for me because

a) KKL is not with me
b) I have to do the difficult task of giving my guys a rating

During these trying times God has helped me see things through by

a) KKL calling me almost daily for support
b) Blogs! - Reading KKL, Ichi, MS and Gang has kept me laughing and smiling
c) CeeVee!

For the first two, thank you all..

The third, CeeVee is now 4 weeks old! And what a good friend it has been. Nowadays I can't wait to finish work so I could just sit in it. I remembered how driving was such a chore. I used to be able to drive everywhere, but I had lost the passion. The roads made me sick. I would dread the white lines... made me nauseous.

With CeeVee I have rediscovered my passion for driving. I would even go back to Dungun from work, take a shower and drive back to Kerteh to see my friends just because the drive is so good. CeeVee has become such a big part of my daily life that I find it hard to remember how life was before.

I remembered feeling especially down last weekend, KKL suggested I drive around. At the time the idea was not too appealing but KKL can be very insistent at times. So I drove around. Within minutes my head was clear, just enjoying the feeling of the car under me.

So this entry is about CeeVee... May you drive safely into the sun....

Rediscover the passion

Saladin TV Series

I have a dream . . . . . .

Ello all!

Thanks for all the comments for my earlier posts! I have been very busy yesterday and today that I was not able to reply to most of them.

Last night I slept at three and awoke at six. After a quick shower went off to work... Things were going okay until I was called to a meeting to prepare for a meeting.. Wasted two hours of my life. As you guys can imagine by now my head's spinning from lack of sleep. So drank coffee....and went back to work.

Today is a Thursday so at around 4 I got in my car and drove to Kuantan. I arrived at five thirty, as the traffic was okay. My wife greeted me at the door warmly.. Hmm it's great to be married! Any way, as she just got back home from work we decided to go out for dinner. The MIL and FIL are still in KL with the small babies. We plan to go to KL tomorrow once KKL finishes work.. Any way went to this wonderful cafe that iKelah brought us to once. Yummy.. KKL drove as I was too sleepy.

After dinner we drove around town for a bit then drove home. Got back home at 8.30 pm. So at the moment I am just getting ready to sleep... ahhh.. It's great to be home!

Regards

15 minutes

A lot can happen in 15 minutes. We can cook maggi 5 times, we can take a shower three times, we can eat lunch.

On the way home I got a call from Honda saying they wanted to do a customer survey. I agreed. The lady on the phone then launch into rapid fire mode.... questions were flying left and right like missiles. I tried to slow her down as outside it was pouring... so the line was not too clear. But she continued any way.... must be trying to get the world record for number of questions in 15 minutes! Very efficient.

The whole thing reminded me of a scene I saw in a movie where two guys were interrogating a prisoner. no chance one..

So back to the meat of the OK work story (hmm kinda like Dilbert)..

Today was a bit better than yesterday. Not too stressful. But I had a headache the whole day. My SM called me and said "I'm sorry but what I am asking you to do will most likely take up so much of your time until tomorrow morning. But we need to get this in by tomorrow morning!" Then he proceeded to outline to me about this gentlemen who would be getting a 1 rating (best rating there is) and his justification needs to be great, greater than anyone can imagine. Of course world's cheapest spin doctor is available...

So I answered no problem. I said I could turn crap into gold and fart into perfume!

To work then...I was scratching my head... looking all busy and stuff... by 2.30 pm I was done.. hehehe... What a masterpiece it was (I can't show it here as it is private and confidential) but I tell you I am esp proud of all the padding I put in. From one page the entire thing became 3 pages! From 7 points it became 20.

KKL is right, I should be concentrating on my fantasy writing career as all I seem to do is writing fiction day in and day out.. hehehe.

Regards

First Official Entry

Cyberspace... the final frontier....

Okay enough of that... As some may know I have been posting very5 long comments on Ichi's blog as a means of venting... sometimes the comments have absolutely nothing to do with the main post. Hahahaha!

Of course as many can see I am really crap at this... a blog with no pics.. A friend put in pics of young girls to attract the crowds and make money. My sister writes about making money on the web.. me.. I have no idea where this will go.

Dear if you are reading this.. don't link this page to yours.. same goes to Ichi.. same reason you keep your blog private from the parental units.. It's a place to vent out.

So today I will tell a story of what happened to me at work.

Yesterday I posted on Ichi how I was not given any orders to do anything so I poked my nose in everything. Well today I still poked my nose around but I got very litle done..WHY???

Well for starters I have no real authority...

I am told that I will be the Asset Owner, but no authority has been given yet.. many technical reasons behind this. Any way, because of this people are not obliged to follow. Yesterday I joined a meeting discussing about the plant shutdown. I observed that there was something lacking in the planning.. ie.. thought..

I told the guys that the plan to have people work from 7 to 7 for 16 days is wrong and illegal. I thought that they listened but I was really angry when I found out that they proceeded to continue on what they planned. So I printed out the labour law gave it to them and let loose a barrage. In fact I think I may have called them stupid and arrogant for not following my advice and not using their heads.

Any way, today I was in no mood to be nice so I gave several broadsides to their plan. So far I have been very patient even when they made mistakes giving them the opportunity to correct it. Today I got tired.

I issued several statements making it clear what the (my) requirements were. I blasted them for not having a proper approved organisation. I fired on the fact that they let the cooling water condition go bad despite indications showing them the fact. I sarcastically remarked that they should take care of their subordinates better as one guy had been absent for three days without anyone even knowing. And I gave a scathing remark on how some people were saying they deserved a good rating when the company made more loss in the last year than the previous.

I told them that they think they are so good and were doing well when the reality is that the company was doing badly. They should feel ashamed for even asking..nay thinking that they deserved a good rating.

Felt really good..had a good laugh with the SS. Today they listened.

So the lesson here is:

Sometimes you just need to get tough and throw your weight around. If people percieve you as weak they will not respect you.

Regards

Errr...

Hello Ichi and all,

Well I seem to be suffering a little bit o the sleep hygiene thing.. just got back from Kerteh..

Any way, at the moment my teeth are killing me.. I think i need to go see a dentist this week. I have been putting it off for some time.. maybe there are a few hoels that need plugging.. another sure sign that time is catching up on me...

any way, on the way back I was thinking about my song compilation, the one i made for the ride. I observed how funny it was that on the way to work the last song to play is radiohead's creep and on the way home its usually Steve Miller's Band song The Joker.

Any way, I still need more songs to do a second compilation.. maybe I will choose better driving songs if i have a biggr sample.. one god one i heard just now was Cardigan's My favourite game.

At work today did plenty of stuff

a) redesigned a way to track staff performance over a period of one year

b) compiled all the financial data for both VCM and PVC plant

c) Discussed cooling water issue with Engineers with work instructions

d) Discussed about the Turn around as well as the organization for TA.

e) did some reshuffling of the personnel.

f) studied the plant

i would say doing things old school does help a little bit hehe

Okay then.. i'm going to try to sleep.

Regards

4:49 PM

Definition of a Geek

Hehehe.. some of my random thoughts :

So what do you call geeks that are not really geeks..

Calling someone a geek is like easily pegging someone to a sub group, marginalising them.. people I believe are more complex than that.

One can love reading, computers and studying but at the same time like sports, outdoor games as well as physical activities.

What actually is a geek livestyle? The health problems listed could easily be related to someone working two jobs trying to feed his/her family.. lack of sleep, headaches due to mounting medical bills, back pain due to heavy lifting and physical exertion, poor attention span due to lack of sleep and worrying about the bills. hehehe

I guess Americans (yeaps I am generalizing)like to stereotype people as it makes them feel comfortable when they can label something.. they rarely go out of their comfort zone and challenge the status quo. Uniqueness is not celebrated in their culture, conformity being the big buzz word.

For me everyone is a unique individual. More headaches as I need to treat differently but it is the only way to be fair.

Regards

PDA in Memory

Feel a bit upset as my PDA has died on me.. damn.. Dear, macam mana nak buat ni.. any way, rasa kena gi KL to get it fixed..

Really love that PDA as it has got all my appointments and stuff.. Now need to go back to old school style... paper..

Been trying to get some good shots but failed.. i had one good sunset scenery butI was rushing to get home so could not stop (needed to answer the call of nature) ah well.. maybe next time..

Had a conversation with a friend yesterday, asked me what I wanted to do.. I said out of the blue.. maybe jaga lorry.. The friend was appalled.. he said "with your skills why go and do something obscure like that?!"

I smiled and answered "Number one.. I would be going home to my wife (jaga lorry di Kuantan). Secondly, bukan jaga lorry bodoh2. I want to create a network/consortium of lorries, using Kuantan as a commercial hub... bla bla bla.."

So i outlined a plan where lorries would be based in Kuantan and used to send products to the west coast, but instead of coming back empty (as thy usually do), it comes back with goods for other companies, I would charge cheaper than what they had previously as I would be backhauling. I would have a workshop for all the lorries as it would be expensive to fix outside.

There is money to be gained from that... now all i need is a financial backer.

Hmm one can always dream....

Regards

11:06 PM

---

Ahh Ichi... still the bad rest hygiene I see.. much like my KKL nowadays.. all alone surrounded by pristine clean lab equipment.

Hehe..

I had to come in early today.. had to "berleter" to a supervisor who let his subordinate write a malicious email.

Not the best thing to do in the morning and not something I enjoy.

However, when we are working as a team malicious email of that nature is detrimental to the cohesiveness of the family.

Thus I had to take drastic action so that no drastic action was taken on the guy.

Let me explain. My Sr Mgr wanted to get rid of the guy (yeaps he sent it to the SM). I intervene as I knew the guy had some redeeming qualities. So as I compromise I had to move him to a different shift. (Bila tak tahu lagi)

hehe..

To MS.. thank you for the nice comments.. will take everthing into advisement.

Yeaps.. my laptop gone (muntah nyer pasal)... tapi tak nak beli as KKL dah ada laptop (one is enough - for now). Then my desktop rosak.. fixed it (RM 250 - new mboard - I was quite good not getting a new AMD 64 FX60 hehehehe), now the XDA IIi dah rosak... it was serving me very well, keeping me up to date on all my meetings.. and tasks..

Then it went kaput.. kept on crashing -damn you Bill Gates! - and now mati langsung..

Kalau zaman student dulu dah menangis gila2... i still need a PDA... and i loved my XDA...

ah well..

hehe another looooonnngg comment..

gotta go back to work now..

Regards

12:50 AM

---

Dearest OK,

What happened to your old Palm? Is that not still useable?
Anyway this lorry business is something new yea? I thought the plan was for me to become a career woman (sarari-wooman) while you become a stay at home hubby-cum-long-haired author of blockbuster fantasy novels. Once you hit the New York Times Bestseller list, I move into part-time hours so that we can homeschool our kids. I can teach them self-defence while you can teach them the rest, heheh. I'll do all the cooking by then.

I think I am learning a lot about management just listening to what you have to go through each day.

BTW what is bad rest hygiene?

Mynn and Mama Sarah
The phone and the PDA were one. I guess that's the caveat with having combined gadgets.

BTW when I dloaded the new iTunes, it couldn't find my playlist. Noooo. Does this mean I have to construct a new one? Argh.

You Hoe

In Dungun there is one place calle, You Hoe.

Where in the world do they get these names?

Regards

---

Hahaha.. picture You Hoe ada ngan KKL.

Midnight entry

Well folks,

Here I am midnight... in Malaysia at least.. writing an entry..

sometimes there are is some attraction of writing a blog or co-authoring one.. however, my busy schedule does not permit me too much time to do so. So what's diffrent about tonight? Well for one I slept soundly during the day, and secondly, I am loaded with caffiene.. Yeaps I am not giving that up... tried it.. my headaches were there.. caffiene relieves me, and calms me.. instead of making me hyper.. maybe because without it I am lethargic??

I have been doing a lot of thinking (my best thoughts are when I sleep btw), thinking about work, my family, life in general..

Well I decided to share some of my thoughts.

Life is seldom fair.

However, as long as we are fair to ourselves and our loved ones, that should be enough for anyway. Expecting more is being optimistic, so be prepared to be disappointed if we do so.

Currently watching "How i met your mother" A new comedy featuring people 28-32 yrs old. It is told in flashback form by the lead character Ted in 2030.

Pretty funny hehehe..

Listening to many things now.. from Andy Williams, to Queen, to Nikelback to Jap Pop.

I remember when I was younger being brought up with a healthy dose of Carpenters, ABBA, Lionel Ritchie, Boney M and Mike J.

My dad had Donna Summers, but my mom I think discourgaged us to listen to her as her front cover on the CD was way too sexy.. the irony was we listened to Madonna... hmm go figure..

Currently compiling some tracks for the car.. BTW.. car is gorgeous.. I mean both the looks and the ride. The sound system though not the best is immersive..there is even an aux jack for ipod.. and it plays mp3/wma.

At the moment listening to Destiny - Vanessa Mae.. hmm maybe a good overtaking song.. or should that be Storm?

Writing while listning to violins really do stimulate the brain..

down side is I am not sleepy at all.. hmmm

Also tried goblin bashing in Dungeon Siege 2. Played for three hours.. after that sick of looking at all the blood. Need to get Oblivion.. I here the graphics and sound are great. The story is also good.. so I read.

Now playing...
Rie fu - Life is like a boat

Okay for now... looking at my picture collection... maybe will try playing around with some photoshop... cool..

Now playing
Vanessa Mae - Storm.

Regards

Nikon vs Canon

Lens Canon mahal... hehe

Nikon murah sikit, plus backwards compatible..

Either way, kat Msia banyak second hand Canon and Nikon.. hehehe

So apa lagi.. beli dua2 sekali ler..

Kalau Canon.. kalau tak mampu yang mahal try the 350D

Kalau Nikon ada 2 choice D70s or D50.

D70s is superior but guna CF card ler
D50 tak jauh beza harga ngan D70s, but adavantage guna SD card.

If the stock was available at the time I would have gone with the D70s..

heck if I had more money i would have gone for both Nikon AND Canon....

so don't listen to me lah...

1:09 AM

Justification

Dear guys.. have you ever had to do something or been told to do something that ethically you feel is wrong and the entire fibre of your being is at a moral crossroad wondering which path to choose?

Well today I have been told to do just that. Remember I posted (hehe) before that I was doing some rewriting of some of the people in my company's justification.. Why me? Well I can turn some piece of Cr#$ somebody has written into something smelling like a bunch of roses.

Any way, today I had to do or redo a justification for someone who deep down inside I know did not deserve the two rating. When i completed the rewrite i compared the two, one the original written by the bas#@$% himself and the second was my rewrite. Essentially they were telling the same story but they were vastly different. The original implicated other people as being incompetant and the guy being some big hero. The rewrite paints a picture of a benign person who's only care in the world is to ensure everything runs smoothly and everyone is happy.

So i did the only thing I can do. Scrapped the rewrite and resent the original.

As the original was written by the person himself it is a reflection of what goes on in that person's soul. At least let other people read his story and judge for themselves. I for one will know that tonight I can sleep with a clear conscience.

Regards

4:49 PM

The reason people dont tease me at work is

a) I am bloody serious
b) I am the bloody boss - hehehe

The point is not really that we need to keep quite.. the trick is not to have a reaction (like Kuroyonagi).

Most of the time if people make a teasing remark me I pretend not to hear.. when there is no reaction, well... newton's law man...

10:42 AM

---

Hmmm Maybe for Itchy that look doesnt really go..

sometimes the best bet is to throw more fuel into the fire like say..

"Yeaps you guys are right.. I am looking for another wife.. i still have three more to go so are you guys interested (looking directly at the female friend who asked the question)"

That will definitely throw some people off kilter.

Another rebuttle would be "How can you say that when all I can think about is you."

Of course the all time killer would be.

"I am sorry she's not my type. I am really into guys nowadays"

Talk about an A-Bomb dropping....

If you had a D50... well the expression would be... priceless.. for all others there's mastercard

Regards

12:39 PM

Uncle De said...

OK, I agree, attack is the best defence...tapi kalau backfire mati la. imagine Muh face if suddenly the female friend pun balas balik "I've been feeling the same way about you too". haha, another priceless D50 moment there.

1:03 PM

On Food

Haa saw one ramen shop at the mines.. maybe next time i am in KL can visit that shop.. Remember dear... the one where we decided in the end just o go for the nasi ayam hehehe..

of course i was short on cash that day so me luvly wife belanja... hehehe..

next time round no worries..

Regards

11:44 AM

---

Ohio!!!

last time I was saying how much i missed things like

a) lontong
b) nasi ayam
c) ABC
d) ikan goreng bersalut tepung

any way, I had my chance so I had eaten all of them over the last one month. i also had that nice lamb thing at secret recipe. i think it is irish broth or something

my next target will be more different

a) sushi (at saisaki sushi)
b) len chee kang sejuk
c) some nice ice lemon tea
d) iced blended coffee
e) pizza
f) a steak or two

Hmm as for co-authoring blogs hehehe.. I am not that consistent when it comes to these things...

maybe when me wife is back i will.. looking forward to staying in the new house once it is complete.

Regards

1:29 PM

Using your brain

No matter what the camera.. again it is the brains and vision behind it that makes the picture great..

so practice with he POS until you feel that it is an extension of yourself..

when you upgrade upgrade big.. as to upgrade in small steps is a false economy...

however, save up.. do not use credit cards to buy it... unless you can pay back immediately.

once you embark on slrs.. first things first...

lens (start with a stock lens)
filters
tripod
memory cards
camera bag

once you have mastered the use of the basic eqm.

then go with your passion.

always good to have a decent set of lenses

a) macro
b) wide angle
c) telephoto

flash - only if you feel that the mounted flash (if there is one) is not sufficient

photoshop is a MUST esp photoshop CS.

It helps a lot in terms of workflow

However.. i cannot emphasise this enough.. no matter how state of the art your gear is.. the one behind the lens is what makes or breaks the picture.

Regards

Missing KKL and Protoculture

any way... I just went away to have a drink.. was talking to kkl... hehehe long talk as tomorrow I am not working.. really miss her..

i was just wondering where life has led us.. or where we have led ourselves... are we passengers aboard the riverboat called life or are we the captain that steers the ship..

I met Muhaimin in 1990... and that was 16 years ago! Who would have thought it figures. Life has a funny funny way... hehehehe... could not resist

I remember at the at time we were so into robotech and protoculture.. did you know jack mckinley was actually two guys??

Any way, the amazing thing about robotech was there really was a story and a reason behind the things that happened. Much like my entry on transformers where we actually cared about the main characters, in robotech I was always cheering Rick and lisa on as well as Max and miriya.i mean the guys were all for exh other... hehehe..Of course if someone was to ask who I would have chosen as an avatar I would have said max.. hehe... specky guy ;)

if you read one blog by a friend of panglima.. i forget which one, she lists down if we were the child of the late seventies early eighties we would have the following.....

I mean there was Gaban, mask rider black, lagu Isabella etc..

At the same time I cannot but think and imagine about what my kids will be going through in the future.. note of advice.. save now for their university funds as in 10-15 years there will no longer be sponsorships as we know it. Only those from need to do families will qualify. these are the ones earning less than 1000 per month which at net present value is around RM 300, more or less.

the internet will be more accessable on the go.. ie in the car, train, plane etc.. computers are as thin as papers and the screen and keyboard are holographic. but the feedback feels so realistic...etc..

FPS will actually be FPS. you wil virtually see from the eyes within the game.

strategy games will be more complex as future games will be played at squad, platoon and army based... the largest being able to cammand an entire nation and send troops attacking each other.

i have many more ideas, but some have been taken, for example VR.. I envisaged VR in 1987.. but was too young to develop it. hehehe.. my idea was a game we booted on a helmet like device and the graphics were on the visor.

Regards

About many things

i know pro guys love canon for all it's extras, like more lenses, better tech etc...

I wanted to go for the 350D myself when I was studying up on dslrs. In fact I had brand loyalty to canon as when I grew up my father used to take the most beautiful pics with his old canon slr. it was the old film model. I remember the beautiful lakes and mountains he used to take.

A favourite of mine was a picture of my late mother under an apple tree as the flowers were blooming in spring. the flowers were pink, the sky blue and my mother had a pink blouse on. A perfect picture with all the right ratios for the composition

Until now I could not find a picture of equivalent beauty.

Been doing many things lately. some are sobering, others just a pain, but had to be done.I have also tried to dload other anime just to see if any are good.

One anime Zegapain is very2 beautiful but sadly to me the story is ...hmmm... what story.. just did not make much sense to me.

Trying out first eps has made me realised some things. Some jap anime are really sick. I mean there is a ixation on young girls with really huge...

Even if it is a small scene it is as if it is obligatory...

ah well

any way, have dloaded Nana also so will see if it is good... or not

BTW... I also dloaded Reboot.... back to the old days!!

1:32 PM

Ultraman by Kazuya Konaka

Another great film is Ultraman by Kazuya Konaka.

The film has everything that makes ultraman great, monsters, ultraman dyeing (twice!!!!), fireballs jest, cheesy costumes and yes oh yes, the bluetooth device on Ultrman's chest!

The movie is 97 mins long but whatglorious 97 mins that was. It feels like 3 minutes in real time!!!(I fast forwarded!!)

Everything looks so realistic that I even missed the large zippers on Ultraman's suit!!

Available in 5.1, DTS and anamorphic widescreen, ultraman is truly a visual masterpiece and a fest for the eyes and ears.

Highly recommended 20000/5 stars!

Boys will be Boys

Yeah.. i know...

What else can boys talk about.. i mean girls is out of the question.. clothes.. hmmm nope.. not metro enough.. houses... bought one..

gardening? Hmmm
Kambing? Hmmm

Tech stuff.. yeah....
Games.. hehee.. nowadays not much time to play games.. prefer reading..

Today they spruced up the control room pantry.. did it in corn yellow... err... dear.. not a good colour...

i still want The Fridge if you know what I mean..

I have been watching greys anatomy though.. hahaha... not really a good poster for surgeons.. hehehe

Hmm need to fine so me cool tunes to put in the car.. can play mp3 so joy! BTW, did I tell you it has an aux jack for ipod.. so dear.. just need to buy the cable.

Regards

1:09 PM

Inventive Ads n LCD Screen

My sister pushed me to go to youtube website. At first she asked me to look at brokeback mountain parodies. they were funny for a time, but the real kicker for me were the funny ads.

i loved the why men shave ad as well as one ad from sweden about the most read newspaper. to tell about it would not do it justice. one has to see to believe.

Actually the most inventive ads come from toyota as well as beer manufacturers, for some reason.

I loved the Rav4 ad about the couple who set traps for each other to see who gets to ride the car.

some beer ads are just plain funny..

my all time fav though is not amongst the ads on offer. It was an alka seltzer ad. There were two guys on a lifeboat and the ship just sank. They had no food and supplies.

the next scene we see one gy on the lifeboat smiling and drinking a glass of water.

fade out.. and the message reads, Alka Seltzer, for all kinds of indegestion.

classic.

I have not done much today, mostly emails and meeting. I am reading te magazine though, looking up tips to improve my photography and I had a small session on learn more on the process of the plant.

i plan to go back early today to do some washing as well as some reading.

sounds boring.. I know. Oji-sama and Budak SPM will be coming for the weekend. K Lina Neechan is stil in Trg.. good for her.

Any way, I still recommend Zoid genesis. curently at eps 19. I believe there are 50+ eps. It is really interesting and good clean fun.

On the projector issue. That is why lumens comes in. The higher the ANSI lumens, the brighter the image. plus, at higher lumens we can watch movies even if the lights are on.

the site projectorreviews is one of the sites i often visit.

the more i read about the tech te more i want it.. hehehe.. nafsu. but I know it is currently out of my price range.

the sim2 c3x is amazing...

the other option is to put lcd screens in my car. so we can watch movies as we ride.

regards

7:24 AM

A Bad Day

Hello,

Hmm it seems you had a good result at the end. May the experience make you stronger.

Me well i have two hd... one is 80 GB the other is 200 GB.

The 80 GB is partitioned to three, 20:30:30. 20 is for Windows.

The 200GB hdisk is totally data ie anime and series + movies

I am still thinking of going to the projector route. DLP not LCD.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/


My april fools was not as eventful. Further, this week has been terribly slow for some reason. I feel really2 bored aqt work... no one is giving me any real work so I am starting to do things on my own... sigh..

I have arranged to have classes next week everyday to learn about the plant.

other than that drinking lavazza hehehe...

Regards

6:50 AM

---

www.projectorreviews.com

12:09 PM

---

Not feeling really happy at the moment

Had a terrible dinner. The mee was too salty could not eat. The soup was the same. Felt like I was drinking the ocean. Yukss...

Paid the bill, complained to the owner and left.

Now my mouth feels dry, my head feels heavy.

The worse part I am still hungry as i could not eat the food, but too tired to go someplace else. Before dinner I had to make a choice, to go for the western (KFC) or go for a proper meal. Decided to go healthy, mee and soup..what a bad #$%#%#%# idea that turned out to be. Wallet lighter, head heavy, stomach growling. Man.... It really does suck here... suckier than an industrial vacuum cleaner going at full blast.

So going to make myself a drink and go to sleep...

Regards

April Fool

On 1 April 2006

Hmm in the few hours I have been away there have been many postings.. ah well..

Just came back from Kuantan, an old schoolmate was getting married, plus I needed some groceries.

The day was okay but the sun was not always out. Been trying out my camera. Was not really satisfied with any of the shots.

the good thing about being in Kuantan is that there are plenty of books stores and magazine shops. Bought digital photography malaysian edition that had 50 tips to improve my pictures. So yeah.. will be reading through them

hoping that my pics are of good enough quality to share.

Regards

---

Today things are going really2 slow..

Hmm can't wait to go home.

any way, latest dev on the home front. the big-sis (BS) wants to stay at my house. Says that she is afraid that some people may send jin and what not her way.

Oh well. Don't really know about that. The good thing is at least the house will be clean and I need to prepare the PC for her. Create another profile, clean up the room etc.

I want to learn another language. Any good sites to dload the mp3s? Can put it in the car on the way to and from work.

Wasalam

5:04 AM

---

Ohh.. I see.. so now no TV, no PC and out of luck... hmm..

Nampak gaya the most conducieve atmosphere for study... hehehe

Looks like Sumpahan telah mejadi.. kalau habis exam sure semua okay balik...

Me well, my stuff are okay. The camera is doing fine, the pc now okay, my kaptop still busted but will not buy new one as - no point - my video camera masih cari charger baru.. (man!) and my PDA phone jam so back to using the nokia. I will be concentrating on fixing the phone. I have many things that I need to do with it. Not least is I need the organiser function as I gave my organiser book to budak SPM. Nak buat macam mana.. dia cekup dulu... damn..

this week it is not as busy as last week so I can spend more time reading at night.

Regards

11:39 AM

On Essentials and Bad Influence

Berjimat cermat tu bagus.

Kena build up buffer.

However, ada a few essential items kena jaga

Food, shelter and clothing

Food - kat Msia insyaAllah terjaga
Shelter - I am working on it
Clothing - My wife helps me in this dept.

Other essential items are like

Transportation - That's why I bought the car. In the future I will be driving Kuantan-Kerteh - and where possible this may be daily

Other nice to haves - entertainment - nowadays i don't buy dvd, or go to wayang. Heck i don't even watch tv. So all of this comes from the PC. THat is why I buang astro. Jimat duit sikit. I don't buy DVDs either nowadays so mmg byk jimat. Used to spend RM 200 per month on them.

Another nice to have - camera - but it has kept my imagination alive when I use it. It somehow makes me see the nice things in life. However, my pics are not that good (shaky arms) so I dont post them much. My fav subject matter. Kids

hehehe

So apart from all this I dont really spend at all. I hardly travel, preferring to travel only when paid (ie meeting). This also saves on fuel.

10:29 PM

---

Hmmm if i post ni will this be considered as a bad influence?

Me and KKL have discussed this before.

Since I have very little requirement for TV, I am not interested much in buying HDTV or stuff like that. what I am interested in are projectors, in particular the Darckchip 3, DLP projectors.

I figure, the house in Kuantan can use one of these as well as a surround sound system. So I am saving up for this maybe by 2007 or 2008 (most likely 08). I will keep my astro unit just in case the MILFIL comes over and want to watch AFUNDI. hehehe. So all they need to do is bring over their astro card.

For sound system me and Ustaz have gone to look at the Jamo system. It is really really good for movies, but for music may not be too good.

I still have a few years so not too concerned.

Of course all this can change kalau ada anak. Then definitely without a doubt the funds will go to them. Hehehehe. Like I said, all other stuff are nice to haves, our chuldren, well no contest when it comes to resources. ;)

10:55 PM

Coffee

On 29 March 2006 ;

Hmmm.. yummy.. .nothing beats a good cuppa........coffee.. hehehe

I am addicted to coffee... the bitter the better..

sugar who cares.. give me that caffiene rush anytime..

yummy...

Why do you think my car is black.. with black leather seats.. hahaha.. so when I spill coffee in my car it will not show up.

9:05 AM

---

Curren fav coffee..

Kemaman Kopitiam... yummy vietnamese coffee.. far better than Starbucks drivel that they sell.

Costas is far better than SBuck any way.. I wonder why they dont have a coffee shop called Apollo or Adama?

3:49 PM

Car Review

Akum guys,

Ok latest update. i have been driving non stop for the last three four days... I must say... wow.

I dont have a blog and I have not yet been home so I could not yet post any pics... but initial impressions are as follows.

On the day I got the car... wow... nice lines, cool leather interior... mmg susah nak control riak.. I was that excited... my car is car number 24 in Malaysia... wow..

The interior is done in black leather... everything is V kool. took a short spin on Friday.. but the real test was Saturday

Saturday....Melaka..

Drove the car to Ayer Keroh Melaka.. at 120 Kmph the rev limiter was at 2000 RPM!!!!! mak ai.. so low one! memang jimat minyak.. the crazy part was that it felt like it was going 60 kmph... there was more drive yet in the car.

On the flipside the goodyear NCT 5 tires were $#%$#%#@ noisy. So it was decided that the tyres had to go.

On the way back from Melaka went for a go kart ride.. that was fun but i burnt my backside from the engine and went to Nilai3. Nilai 3 is fast becoming the golok of Malaysia... my God. So many cheap imitations. Barlie Doll anyone?

Went back to USJ then made a quick trip to Shah Alam.. time to showcase the car to the father inlaw..oops.. hehehe.. to my dad.. He loved the car.. went for a spin that ended in a tyre shop in Klang. there we haggled the price for a brand new set our tyres for the Civic and the Camry. After that it was back home to USJ. Malam tu went shopping to Giant.. so the car has really been put through all "Malaysian" stress test and passed with flying colours.. except for those darn tyres.

On Sunday.. woke up, showered, drove over to Shah Alam, convoy with the Camry to Klang and spent three hours at the tyre shop. After that the driving was even better! The tyres were quiter... did not sound like a hurricane, now a lower intensity sound. The grip is amazing! 140 kmh in the rain with one hand and half a brain...the other half was on the phone with my wife... wow! and the car was as stable as a rock..

Later that evening drove back to Kuantan where I stayed the night.. driving was so effortless.. I wish we had cruise control... would have been handy in the highway.. this morning drove to work at 5.40... arrived in Kerteh at 7.00.. hmmmm maybe less traffic... who knows..

a good buy rating

9/10 - not an average ...hahahaha

On Assessment

The car is great.. however, the car is only the blam for what has been the lousiest week in my working life ever..

For the last several days i have been busy rereading and grading the assessment of the inidividuals in my department, and the worse part was to remove all those who initially had been given a good rating and downgrading them to fair.

What irks me is that i have been given the task of doing this and some other guy is enjoying his meetings with Taiwanese visitors and the bosses.

But at times one must swallow the bad along with the good. The exercise has made me more serious when looking at these assessments. I am already thinking of ways to make it better and more objective driven. Last year I have tried with KPI cascading and the introduction of IPCs. The guys were not willing to follow as they were afraid that the numbers will catch them out. As a result they use more qualitative means to give themselves ratings. This actually is even worse as in the eyes of the management, because the plant can't run a qualitative way of looking at the workforce is that they all did not perform.

With IPC, it is possible to see the vast improvements that have been made as it also tracks the performance in the previous year.

So i find myself at 4 pm looking at the watch wondering when can I leave and start driving..

Any way, i will post the pics soon. Just need tot ransfer them to the pc.

~OK~

11:05 PM

Maintaining a blog

Truth is I am too lazy to maintain a blog

The first two comments I made

On 22 March 2006;

I remembered when Karak jam time cuti dulu. Me and Makdah was watching Big Fish on my laptop... she vomitted on the keyboard... man! A few weeks after that the laptop started to go hay wire.. Tried to do CPR and mouth to mouth to toucpad... nothing worked! Had to call it at 5.32 pm..sob sob.. Waiting for cheaper tech to come out before replacing.. BTW... I get my car tomorrow! Alhamdulillah.

1:15 PM

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On 23 March 2006

The new NAP came out yesterday.... however I dont think it will effect the price of my car that much as it says drop in 10% only for cars from other ASEAN countries as stated in the article below:

"The 5 percent tariff is for completely built-up vehicles brought in from any of the nine other ASEAN countries. For completely knocked-down vehicles, there is already zero import duty."

My car is made in the Malacca plant at Batu Gajah (what a name - Elephant's balls). So no such luck. However, will try to wrestle some discounts from the SA.

9:44 PM

Welcome