The Powers that Be (updated)

Finally the famous Attendance system has been updated and what is the final result..........
late again for a minute. That's right folks, 1 minute. If it could display the second, it might even be less then 60 seconds. But the system captured my attendance at 9.01am. Dammit, all that effort and struggling all for nothing. If you're late for a minute, you're just the same as the person that comes at 10 am or after. As far as the system is concern, you're late for work today. It's a machine. It doesn't have that compasionate and humanity feeling. It changes the font color to red.

Sample ASP coding
"< if time >9.00am then font color = red >"
<% response.write "late late late" %>



So this month i have gain 3 points for being late. Not at the top of the league yet. Wuhooo. Not so bad i guess. Average of once each week. Guess old habits never die no matter what time you come in to the office.

The Powers that be

It's Monday again, and what would one expect??? Monday blues and monday traffic. I got up from bed the same time as usual, and got out to work nearly as the same time as usual. Firstly as i travel downhill just besides Jalan Jelatek, i will ask my wifey to look at the traffic situation at Jelatek. Fair enough she said that the cars were moving. But, for the past few days, i had also tried to use the Semarak inner road (jalan dalam) to get to work and since it's nearly 8am which means that the policeman guarding the entry into the police office will be off duty, so one would expect the path to be okay. Right? Wrong!!!!


So i chose to use the Semarak road to get to work. The usual from Sri Rampai towards the IKS plus using the new shortcut to bypass the queing up to cross the road. Things were going smoothly until i chose to follow the path at the Indian kampung. Things were looking ok for the moment until all the cars stop moving. Damn, hopefull it's just temporary, but Nooo, it was near permanent. For some reason the road was jammed pretty bad. What could anyone do besides trying to "cilok" here and there. But how far can one go. The roads were really jammed up. So reached at rumah Kent at around 837am. Damn, too late for breakfast now. Put on my shoes, drink my coffee and the way we go.


But what's this, Jalan Tun Razak seems to be jammed up as well. Luckily it was moving but rather slow then usual and then the normal speeding at places that i can floor my car.

So finally, the last leg of the mission is to park at Block C entrance first, then go park the car. See, simple as that but then again, it was not the case. The truck carrying Kontena Nasional a.k.a Lori duit was blocking the way and all cars were halt. So there i was, just 4 minutes before the clock strikes 9, infront of Block D but i was not quite there yet. This is what they call so close yet so far. After a few minutes, the traffic was moving again. Parked the car at the basement and rushed towards the elevator. But then again, it was not as simly as pushing the 5th floor and arriving it straightly. It just had to stop at the m, 2, 3 floor before reaching the 5th floor. I ran like hell hitting the door glass and the system did not detect my attendance card. Waisted a few seconds. Damn. I look at the clock and it has already pass the 9 o'clock.


I kept on checking the attendance system but did not even see my name there. I was on the list of staff not in the office. Sheesh... So, currently i am not sure whether i did beat the clock or not, but i felt that i did not catch the clock on time.


So this is it, i guess if u are destined to be late today, there's nothing u can do about it. Go out the normal time, extra traffic jam. Speed to Jalan Tun Razak, the road was jammed. Drive fast at the Bukit Tunku zig zag, a makcik's Kancil infront. Speed up to 100km/h infront of the office, the lori duit is taking it's own sweet time to reverse and enter. To run up to the elevator, so many makciks stopping by at other floors. Oh well, i guess if u are destined to be late today, the powers that be has already commanded it and i guess there was nothing one could do... except go out really really early in the morning which i don't think i can do... wuuhuuu

Parking Oh Parking !!!

Intruder alert, intruder alert !!!

Just as i was rushing home to catch the new season of Heroes, suddenly my old arch nemesis appeared just right besides me. What's worse, he has already invaded my space. That is, my parking space of course. Before this, the car was parked outside due to unpaid maintenance, but i guess he must have got a lot of bonus to enable him to pay the maintenance fee and park his car back in the compound.

So just as i was about to park my car, the car was already on my line and not properly aligned. If i were to invade the next parking space, it will create a chain reaction, thus the parking problem will not be solved. Therefore, without much option, i parked my car nicely inside my parking lot box, which made me hard to get out of the car, but i was not going to give in. Sorry to my neighbour if my door had hit yours. But you leave me no choice.

I thought he / she had learn a lesson or that was a hint to park their car nicely in their box but to no avail, i guess they did not get the message as they still park very close on my parking line box for the next few days. It's either that or they just don't know how to really park a car. Come on, it's just a sedan car and not a mammoth tank for god sake. How hard can it be with power steering assisted mechanism.

Remember the 80's Atari game, "Space Invaders"

What i'm saying is, i pay the maintenace fee just as much as they do. ( infact they still owe the management a lot more from what is displayed on the notice board. So hopefully they could at least not invade my space in the parking lot and park properly. Pleaseee!!!

The BIG House has been sold

The BIG house

The huge gigantic house that we went to view last Saturday was sold last Sunday. The agent Rahman contacted papa and told him that the buyer, after viewing the house agreed to buy it for the price of RM 930,000. So i assume he paid 10% which is RM93,000 for it... That guy must have been a very rich guy to afford such a house.

The entrance

The living room

So, there goes the house that has been the topic of conversation for weeks. It's very rare that an offer such as this comes to you. Eventhough it is cheap for it's class, still we can't really afford it without any capital injection from PAMA....hehehe.... So long house

Proton Saga and the BIG house

Friday 18th Jan 08 was one date that i was looking forward to. Why?? It's been said in the net that the new Proton Saga was going to be launched. So at exactly 530pm i opened up the normal website that i get my sources from and read through their review on the new saga. So after 6pm, i went home straight to fetch my wife at home and go to the showroom. It was already crowded by the time we got there. Previouly i like to visit a alot of car showrooms when they have a new launch but this time i guess it was overwhelming. Even the Myvi's showroom was not packed as this one went i went down to take a look at the car.

Aiman, Sofea and wifey with the new saga

Aiman, wifey and Sofea tag along to see the car. Well, we couldn't quite see it clearly coz there was a lot of people gathering around the car. But finally managed to enter the car and take a closer look at it. I'm not gonna review the car here coz there are a lot of reviews out there and one can also go to the showroom and judge for themselves. Overall for me it was a great car for the price of it. The most expensive line was around 39xxx on the road and the middle line or B-Line was priced around Rm35k. If we were going to choose a 2nd car, then this would be it. It's better then viva in many terms, especially price and size. Compared to a MyVi, i would say, internally the cabin size of the MyVi seems a bit more wider and taller, but the MyVi does suffer from boot storage space and it is also priced higher. So this car would be a value for money if one was buying it.


Unfortunately this was not the case for us coz we already have a Gen2 for our second car. So no plans of purchasing one soon. But it would be great of owning one but i'm sure in a few months time, it's gonna flood the streets of Malaysia just as the Waja and MyVi has. So for the new owners, hope they have a great time with their new car. Hope the saga lives up to it's name. I used to own one and it was a very economical car to run. Good job Proton.

The new definition of big is this house

Saturday evening we had set up and appointment with Rahman, to view a bungalow house. This house was promoted by my dad as he seems to like it a lot. The build up size is around 5500 square feet. That would be equivalent to 2 of our link house in Alam Budiman and the current condo that we live in....that's how the size is if one would want to imagine how big it is. I think the living room alone is bigger then our house now....Shheeesshh....It's a 2 1/2 storey with 6 rooms and 4 bath room if not mistaken. It was damn huge until we wouldn't know how to decorate it if we lived there...

The asking price was RM 950, 000. If agreed, a 10% deposit would have to be paid first....Hmmm, the 5k out of the RM95k i can try to help out, but the balance RM9ok, well.... good luck with that.... For me if i had the money i would probably buy it. It's a good deal actually.... but i couldn't afford one. So it's up to Jie if she wanna purchase it.... Monthly payment would be around RM 5700 over... hahaha

After viewing the house, papa took us all for a treat at Pha-pha Garden Seafood Restaurant at Melawati.... Oh well, since we couldn't buy a new Proton Saga and afford the big bungalow house, at least we got to fill our stomach with Ikan masak 3 rasa, sotong goreng garing, tom yam, telur dadar, daging masak merah, tempura, sayur kangkung (ggggrrrrrrr, stomach already making noise :-D ) and my drink, the ice blended Soursop Guava....

My Car, The Waja

My ride, the Proton Waja 1.6M 2003

Could my waja really transform to this bumblebee robot?

As nothing much has happen today except for a cold and a fever like feeling, i would like to jot down a little bit about my current car, the Proton Waja 1.6M. The car was purchased by me on August 2003 as a result of the falling apart of my ex-beloved Proton Wira Aeroback 1.6xli WJL140. I've done some background check and it seems that my ex has migrated to the North of Malaysia, Kedah. I hope the new owner takes good care of it as i have tried my best in maitaining it for 2 years which i have spent nearly RM1ok for it (overhaul, gearbox, air cond....) I first test drove a waja 1.6A which belonged to my bro in law, Zekri. At that time, man it was awesome compared to my 9years old wira. The handling, interior, bau kereta baru (new smell) and the feel of it was just ummmphh. At that time i considered it as luxurios car. (come 2008, "everybody's has a waja"). I thought hard about purchasing it and did hundreds and hundreds of calculation whether can i afford such a car. The price was nearly RM60k. My budget the max was only around RM50k. Finally, decided to maintain the wira as long as i could. The wira did serve me well up to the North, Cameron & Genting Higland, east coast and the everyday KL to Subang drive. As months pass by, so was the maitenance getting higher. Temperature rising, tayar benjol, ac compressor not that strong and the usual wear and tear. But the turnaround point was when i was driving to Shah Alam and suddenly the car died. After towing it, it seems that the CAM of the engine has broken into 2 pieces. I mean, how can a cam breaks?? I thought it was life time thingy... So finally, after repairing it and doing all the calculation, i was really maitaining it at the average of RM 411 per month and still ending up not even at par with the waja. So one fine day me and girlfriend(now wifey) drove to a showroom and asked about the waja. At first it was just a suka-suka thing. But the SA, Fai was very keen in selling me the car. He even made an appointment between me and the 2nd hand car dealer to check how much is my old wira worth. After inspection, the dealer (Sam) said he could take the car for Rm19000. So again to the drawing board. The monthly installment for the new card would be RM584. Minus the cost of maintaining RM 411 is equivalent to only an extra Rm167 and ending up with a new car. Could only afford the manual transmission though. So finally took the deal, traded my old car and got the waja on 24 August 2003. Come 2008, the car has clocked nearly 60000km after 4 1/2 years of service. Still has that good feel of driving it though i think it has sounded a little bit louder inside the cabin (engine noise). So far it has not broken down. But it does suffer the common problems that the wajarian face: So far these are the stuff that i have faced:

• Power window (driver) failure
• Side mirror paint peeling off
• Power window switch (have to press hard)
• 2 broken door handle (both rear)
  

Other then that, it just works fine. Just the usual servicing cost. The car has taken me, wifey and Sofea places and places where we could go. Hehehe... Though last time it was a very clean and tidy car, it seems to have lost it's reputation especially after the presence of Sofea (hehehe, jangan marah ye).. It now carries food, baby's milk, stroller, and other stuff... noo to mention a couple of water spill and food droppings... There was also once when another waja had hit me from behind and left a scratch.. still have not repaired it... So finally what i can say about this car is that it has served me well for the past years and hope it continues to do so in the future. So far it has lived up to it's named by going very fast in the morning just to catch that one minute before 9am coz that is when the attendance system will turn red and that's not a good thing, especially where i work.. So waja, thank you for all these years and looking forward for many more years to come. I will try my best to bring back to your prestigious years :-) Tabik spring !!!!!

Sofea vs Japanese doll vs Gohan

Sofea before the haircut

Sofea

Japanese doll

Gohan
(notice the similarity in pic 2-4??)

Came home from work yesterday at around 7pm. Saw wifey playing "cak-cak" with Sofea behind the curtain. At first i thought she wanted to hide Sofea from me and then suddenly she appears behind the curtain. So i did not suspect anything. Went on my normal routine. Opened up my shoes and socks and then suddenly as expected, Sofea appeared behind the curtain. But to my shock, she was different.

Jeng jeng jeng, her fringe (rambut depan) has been trimmed. Hehehe... Luckily she was still cute like before. She looked like one of those Japanese doll. She crawled towards me and took her for jalan-jalan at the entrance door. Mama told me that Nasiah had cut her hair when she was asleep in the trusty old batik lepas. (Nasiah is like the indonesian version of a female MacGyver). I don't think Sofea notices that her hair has been trimmed. Nadia says now Sofea looks like Gohan fron Dragon Ball. Come to think of it, there is a similarity....hehehe

So overall we were happy with the outcome and managed to save a few ringgit rather than going to the KID's spa at Great Eastern Mall which was featured in MHI the day before or go to the saloon with her cousin Nadia and Auntie Jie for a teknik rebonding

Happy Birthday Zekri!!!

Caramel Orange cake by Secret Recipe with 4 small candles

Yesterday, 14th January was my bro in law's birthday (abang dlm undang-undang). My sister messaged me and told me that it was on the 14th. The way to remember this is 1 month before valentine's day. So next year hopefully i can remember this and answer mama's question with ease. It has been the same old question in early january every year " Man, bila birthday zekri??? 14 ke? " and there will always be a few answers which is 14th or 16th or 18th...hehehe. So thanks to Jie for that easy reminder

My sister brought back a Secret Recipe cake. Caramel orange cake with 4 small candles... hmm, care to guess 1 candle represent how many years??? So after having dinner, we all sang the happy birthday cake and finally ate the cake. The cake was yummy... it lived up to it's name which taste like caramel and orange with the marmalade orange skin (kulit limau)...

Allah selamatkan kamu,
Allah selamatkan kamu,
Allah selamatkan Mohd Zekri Husain,
Allah selamatkan kamu!!!!

Sofea had a taste of it from almost everyone who ate it.... Luckily she was not becoming hyperactive that nite... Mama and Papa gave Zekri a so called glass paper weight with lights and a Kl Tower clock.... makes me wonder maybe i'll get that for my birthday this year since papa has already given me a KLCC clock last year :-) For zekri, sorry coz we didn't get u anything yet.... Maybe if we find something, we'll give it to him ok

Sofea: "Mmmmm, must have cake!!!"- macam Homer Simpson

So finally, Happy x0th Birthday Zekri and may your wish come true!!!! Amin...

2008 Family Day and Goal Setting @ Port Dickson

Last weekend was the weekend for my dept's family day. Scheduled to be held on Oct 2007, it was delayed to 12-13 Feb 08 on various reason. Luckily i resigned as one of the committee as at 2008.

Me, wifey and Sofea finally departed from home around 10.45pm. Arrived at the PD resort around 12.30am after making a quick stop at the office to withdraw cash and reload the touchNgo. The one room apt was nice, with newly refurbished furniture and makeover.

The next morning we head down towards the chalet area and had our breakfast. We managed to participate in a few couple games and also won...hoorayyy!!!!.... felt like a kid again. After all the games were played, it was a free & easy session until 2pm.

Wake up dad.. Nanti lambat!!!

Then at 2pm came the tough part.... Lectures and discussion. My eyes were open though i was looking through the sliding door and wished i could have gone outside to play. Hehehe...But well, i have to bare with it just a little bit longger. After the session ended, got upstairs, transformed into my swimming attire and took sofea along for a swim... After spending almost 45min, we went back to the apt to get ready for dinner.

Budak naughty duduk dalam bakul

Went for the bbq dinner. Finally had to bring out the big gun (a.k.a stroller) because sofea was out of control. After sitting down in the stroller we managed to get some food into our mouth. But it did not last long and finally me and wifey had to take turns. At 9pm the prizing ceremony commenced and i managed to get some of those prizes. Until now i am not sure what they are coz it's still in my car's boot. The final event was the karaoke session. There were quite a number of good singers + dancers. Good to know what the malay like to say" Sporting". For the 1st time also me and wifey contributed one song, Dua insan by M.Nasir and Yusnizar something..The song was one of the songs featured in my wedding montage video .... It was a really ear opener for myself that i did sound good at certain part and also sounded awful at the other part. But hey, that's what Karaoke is all about right????

Sofea posing with mommy from the apt's view

The next morning we head down for breakfast and waited for the DG to arrive to close the ceremony. After then we left the PD complex and headed home. Stop by at Nilai 3 and Carrefour Wangsa Maju before reaching home. By then i was already exhausted but had enough strength to watch Heroes and Smallville season 5 finale. After then my battery ran out and off to bed i go.... zzzzzzzz