Friday, October 29, 2010

a ramble of an update...

sooo...it's been more than a month since starting my term here at putrajaya. despite what everyone says about how dead this place is or how boring this place may be, i think i like it here alot hahaha. frankly, there's nothing much for me to complain about living here.

come tomorrow, saturday 30th october 2010, i will be moving into my own pad (which my big sis is anxious to help me do the touching ups haha) about 15minutes away from my workplace. it's nothing fancy, just a modest place for a single guy to live in. and since i just bought myself a new ride (my white rider! haha), everything seems to be going the way how it should be. i mean, i am excited to finally have my own place after living with a bunch of untidy guys who couldn't even keep the place neat for a minute!!

unfortunately, my mom doesn't really approve of me living alone (owh crap, i'm a momma's boy haha). her only worry is that i would be left vulnerable should anything happen to me. i don't blame her though, she's a mom..my mom after all :). and it doesnt help when i keep things to myself even when i do get sick :).

okay yeah, i do miss my mom, dad and my dog poco back home (as for my sisters...you guys are old enough not to be missed haha), and i do miss hanging out with good friends and having a blast with them. but i'm not regretting the least of choosing to expand my experience elsewhere :p.

i've been asked on several occasions on when am i coming back home, and truthfully, i have no answer to that. one thing about working in the hotel industry is that, our working schedule tend to change at the last minute...but i have every intention of returning home sometime in December, but till then i'll just enjoy my life here until that time comes haha.

owh, before i forget. a few weeks ago i was head hunted by an employment agency to work with a leading oil and gas company to lead the communications department somehwere here in west malaysia. they were looking for:

a) a guy
b) with experience working in the hotel line
c) preferably in the communications field
d) good looking

okay i made up d) hahaha. i never applied for the job and i was flattered to have been offered the position. i dare say that it won't be easy for them to look for a guy with the above criterias (i would know, been in the field long enough to know the market haha). but i had to turn down the offer since (as usual) i just started working in a new place and i love working with the current brand. but who knows, if i do get bored one day, the head hunter has given me his calling card to look for him should i ever 'decide' to try out greener pastures :).

there are a bunch of other things i'd like to write, but the moment i start putting my mind into words...everything that wants to be said suddenly goes blank hahaha. figures, maybe it wasn't as important as i thought it was :).

till then, ciao haha

Saturday, September 25, 2010

monkey on the wall...

what did i do today?....

well...i had fun today because i tried out wall climbing.

it was fun, the only downside was that...my arms are now hurting and all my 10 fingers feel all wiggly. i couldn't even hold up a pen to sign my dining bill, it kept falling (i meant the pen haha) and when i did manage to get a grip on it, my handwriting was all different and awkward, it's like i'm just learning how to write. just imagine writing on your non-dominant hand (unless you're ambidextrous than that doesn't apply) hahaha.

why did i enjoy it?

climbing is quite a second nature to me. i could practically climb up on anything with a sturdy foothold (except for coconut trees, it's impossible for me to climb up on one of those..and yes, i've tried it haha).

but one thing about climbing compared to then and now is that...back then when i was a looooot younger, i had no problem lifting myself up, stretching my legs to reach the corners or any crevices or protruding foothold was a synch but now...it feels like my body was made of lead and stretching my legs far out feels like pulling a ligament...hmmppphhh, the beauty of aging haha.

not to be a superstitious lad, but i think being born in the year of the monkey has its pros..and climbing is one of it...and jumping and being mischievous, sly, cunning, smart, playful, etc etc hahaha (yeah okay, i sidetracked a bit and i know, self praise is no praise...i get it hahaha).

will i be doing it again anytime soon?


hell yeah! haha (once the sensation starts coming back to my arms and hands haha)

so that's what i did today on saturday...in the afternoon. and right now, i'm holed up in my room (as usual) doing nothing (as usual) and might probably put on my reading glasses and pick up a book (duh, to read..what else?) hahaha :D.

i'll tell you what i did last saturday in my next entry hahahaha. ciao peeps :)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

ramblings...again :)

when i first decided to come over and work here in Putrajaya, most of the people i know told me that this is a dead city..dead as in there aren't anything much to be done here, not even karaoke bars or pubs. and my answer was something like 'that's my kinda place'. obviously i got the 'yeah right' response because in their perception of me, i am an outgoing person who likes to go out, socialize and have fun. well, they're partly correct hahaha

as much as i like company in my life, i'd rather spend my time alone doing things that i feel like doing. yeah i know, it's a bit selfish but that's just who i am. so when they told me that i would die of boredom over here, i figured that they don't quite know me well enough hahaha.

i love the fact that this is a quite place, and i love the fact that there's no temptation for me to go out and treat myself to drunken stupor and personally love the fact that since this is a 'dead' place, i dont feel guilty of missing out on the happening things which are going on elsewhere hahaha.

take today for instance, after finishing work i could just stay in my hotel room until it's time for bed but instead, i decided to go out and spend some quality time with my youngest sister who is in cyberjaya only because i had a feeling she might be bored doing whatever she was doing. we had dinner, went to the arcade, did some minor shopping and sent her off in a taxi..and then it hit me, doing all this made me feel OLD, not the elder brother kinda feeling but the old-uncle type brother kinda old hahaha. nevertheless, it does feel good doing charity to someone in need (hahaha, sorilah Joy hahaha).

i am now in the midst of looking for an apartment but damn, the rent here are quite expensive and to make things worse, i haven't gotten a car yet! so moving around is quite a hassle and finding a reasonably priced apartment is quite challenging. but i'm not worried, because somehow rather, i'm pretty confident that everything will work out just fine :).

Monday, September 13, 2010

First Day Embarrassment....

just had to share this story with you peeps....

"knock.. knock..". a tapping sound was made on someone else's sliding door at the balcony, not to hard but loud enough to awaken the sleeping resident in the room...

"eyy, bleyyy..yada yada yada!!", or something similar sounding was uttered...

"sorry, but i need help.." came the response to the startled mumbling. but instead of feeling sorry and face the intruder, the indian guy went straight to the phone and made a call, most probably to the duty manager.

expecting the door would be opened the moment he hung up the phone, he went to his friend's room next door leaving the intruder who was clad only in his boxers wondering why he wasn't being attended to yet. probably the indian guy, fearing for his dear life of a man clad only in his underwear standing outside his balcony clouded his judgment and the plea for help fell on deaf ears.

about 7 minutes later, the door was finally slid open by not one but 5 men, all staff of the hotel. and the first thing the intruder asked for was "can i have something to cover myself up, like maybe a robe?".... no response by anyone, and the intruder rephrased his request, "may i use your clean robe please" and only then did the duty manager come out of his stupor (or more like stupidity) and offered a robe.

before any questions were asked, an explanation from the unfortunate guy who had been locked out from his room for the past 1.5 hours came out with the answers of what they might be thinking, "i was locked out from my room when my balcony door's safety feature failed me...". okay, not exactly an explanation but clear enough to explain as to why someone would be standing outside another person's balcony in his underwear.

the guy whose slumber was disturbed then asked, "why didn't you just call for assistance, you know..just press zero?".

the intruder was about to roll his eyes and said "yeah, maybe i should use telepathy to call them up. I'M OUT OF MY ROOM YOU IDIOT!", but it seemed like the sentiment was shared by the staff as well and i wasn't gonna be an arse at 1.30am :).

just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I, the writer of this entry was the unfortunate boxer-clad intruder hahaha. it took me about 1.5 hours (after the fruitless calls for help) to make a decision of whether to climb on someone else's balcony to ask for help.

at least i took into considerations of the 2 possibilities:
1) climb over and expect a no ruckus involvement from the staff
2) the opposite of number 1

one of the staff even said, "wow, you can even climb over to the other other side?", of which i replied "i may be big but still agile" hahaha.

this is an embarrassment on my part simply because, i haven't even started my first day of working at this very hotel and i've already made a scene, to make it worse, the rank and file staff saw me in my boxers hahaha. this will definitely be shared in the morning briefing with the rest of HODs! on the other hand, i now have something to complain such as:
1) the weakness of the safety feature (i just hope i wasn't the first person to report it)
2) the absence of security guards on the hotel's perimeters.

okay, if you wanna laugh it off go ahead, because it is laughable and i'm finding it humorous as well hahahaha.

ciao peeps...owh man, this is really really embarrassing! maybe i should buy the guy dinner hahaha.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

the Q&A...

"aren't you sad that you'll be flying off?", a sudden question broke the silence...

"huh?"

"aren't you sad that you'll be leaving your friends and family?"

"no, why should i?", it's not like i'll be dying anytime soon (not that i would know) i thought to myself...

"so, when are you doing your farewell?"

"what farewell?", aaahhh...finally the question came out. geez..can't anyone come up with anything subtle like, 'hey, let's have lunch/dinner and just hang out',.if they had addressed it this way i would've said 'let's go' in an instant..

as in my previous post, my profession will bring me to Putrajaya on this Sunday, 12th September 2010 and honestly, i dread the totally all new environment. okay, not exactly dreading it, it's a mixture of both excitement and nervousness and whenever i think about my new place, i have butterflies in my stomache hahaha.

but in my opinion, moving to another state doesn't constitute for a farewell party or anything remotely close to implying that i won't be back ever again...heck, it's only a 2 hrs flight to home hahaha.

i know i shouldn't be pissed at anyone for wanting to hang out with me before my departure, but come on people, please do it subtly or be creative because i get bored and turned off easily if i see what's coming hahaha (maybe that's why i'm good with what i do...anticipating what will happen next :p).

speaking of which, the reality of independence is finally setting in and after calculating my living cost budget, i realized that for me to live comfortably and save enough at the same time, i could only get a second hand vehicle around RM12k max (yeah, iswara should do it haha) and an apartment at RM500 max a month hahaha.

since i'll be eworking in putrajaya, i'm pretty glad that i wont be tempted to go out drinking as often as what i've been doing here in kk. been meaning to minimise my sessions but having friends who enjoys drinking with good companies, it's kinda difficult to say no haha. then again, we'll see how it goes...

cheers haha

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

dreamcast...the ramble haha

what is it about dreams that fascinates us? is it the fantasy of being able to achieve things that can't be done in the real world or is it the fact that we know it's only temporary so whatever bad things that happens in it wouldn't have a lasting effect in real time.

there's this one particular cousin of mine that whenever only the two of us are drinking, we rarely (very) talk about each other's personal life including work because we believe that no matter how much we talk about it, nothing's really gonna change unless we make it happen. but what we do talk about are stuff which would pique our interests, like the occults, paranormal or parapsychology or some other random weird things and we try to relate the topic on discussion with any scientific findings, whether proven or not, that we've come across which may explain it.

so, last saturday we had another session of random unplanned drinking session which he initiated at my place and after covering several topic, we got to talk about dreams. a dream, as we all know it is an intriguing experience, and so far in my opinion there isn't exactly any definite explanation on why we dream.

well, i wont be wasting any time on explaining to you in details what a dream is all about, here are some links to browse through for your reading pleasure on the topic:


and finally, my own theory from my previous entry hahaha

anyway, what i'm more interested in now is that, why do we sometimes feel like that time is thrown off balanced in certain dreams. for example, a 5-minute dream can rejuvenate a person as if having been asleep for full 3-hours or lethargy as if having been only asleep for less than 3- hours when in fact a full cycle of 7-hours has been completed.

what i can gather is, for time to be thrown off balance, space and time has to play a role and it would be much easier to deduce that the difference in the space time during our R.E.M cycle and real time could be because a dream state could be equivalent to being in another dimension. sounds a bit farfetched and straight out from a science fiction movie doesn't it haha. well, i have yet to come up with a reasonable argument on this but, when i do (or if i ever! haha) figure it out someday i'll definitely share it hahaha.

anyway, in case you guys haven't watched the movie 'Inception' yet, i strongly advise you to! but a word of warning, it'll take much of your imagination and and understanding to figure out the movie hahaha.

been awhile since i last rambled like an idiot haven't i? haha. ciao :)



once an asset, remains to be one...

In about a months' time, KK would soon be a place of a distance as i embark on a new journey on another Malaysian soil. The idea of starting over in a new place offers somewhat of an excitement where new experiences will be gained but most importantly, a self re-invention is in line.

It's not so much as saying that KK isn't offering the thrill or fun that i need, but deep down inside me, the adventurous part, is dying to live a life of independence somewhere away from the comfort of home.

When the opportunity from the group of company which i left a year ago came knocking, i needn't have to think twice of saying yes when it was recommended to me. although at first i didn't have much confidence of ever getting the post since knowing how the group works, they would only choose the best of people for the post and frankly...i never put myself in the same league to those who are holding the same post at the other properties.

For one thing, i don't exactly have the social finesse to hold the post. when the rest are well dressed and groomed, i on the other prefers to have an unkempt hair as i like it to be free and untouched by any hair styling products. another thing is that i much prefer practicality over style or fashion and from my observation, those who hold the position has an air of class with knowledge of what's in and what's not.

Surprisingly, i had a good recommendation from my previous employer. i know i had a good working relationship with her but most of the time, i'm more of a headache to her as my opinions and working style are more often than not contradict with hers. so you would understand how surprised i was when she recommended my name to the other property.

Maybe being myself isn't that bad. maybe people do listen to me regardless of how non-nonsensical i may sound, or maybe people saw other things in me...the potential in me to make a difference even though i highly doubt that's the case.

As i looked back at my previous post 'the outcome...' which was posted sometime last year when i decided to leave the brand, i am now certain that despite my flaws and lack of confidence, the management did care a great deal about me and all the strict directives and exposuresthrown at me were all about to train me in the field.

Even when i made the decision to leave the brand and move to another company, it was always my goal to get back to the group which had taught me so much and gave myself a time limit to gain outside experiences for at least a year before looking for ways to get back into the group. probably i was meant to be with them because right after a year, the chance came knocking even without me looking for it.

Honestly, i'm not quite sure how i would fare with the new property, but if everything was as difficult as i first started with them or if their system are more or less similar to the previous property i worked for, i'm pretty sure that i will advance through it unscathed, although i do still worry that i won't be able to live up to their expectations.

A skype conversation with my previous employer brought a smile to my face:

x-boss: so, have you gotten the reply from them yet?
me: yeah, i got the job (smiling ear to ear even though it was obvious she wasn't able to see me)
x-boss: great, its payback time! (* it took me awhile to figure this out. after awhile did i realize that she was referring payback time to the time when my current company took me away from them hahaha).
X-boss: hope you will be loyal to SLP this time (the initial for the property)
me: nope, i wont. i'm just going to be loyal to SLA (the initial for the brand name)...

Now, moving to the new property requires me to get an accommodation and so far i have yet to find one which fits my budget. so i'm going to use most of my time searching for a place to live while staying in the hotel for two weeks as that's only how long they're letting me stay there hahaha. owh, and i'll be car-less for the next three months until i get my confirmation letter which is required for a car loan (yeah, the big boss had 'advised' or sounded more like stressed for me to get a car as it is vital for me to get around..though not sure to where haha). so, if any of you out there whois staying in Putrajaya and has a room to spare, do look me up! :D

Hopefully a chance would present itself for me to work with the KK properties after two years . But in the mean time, i just can't wait to leave the past behind and start anew...:D