sukku

The template design at blogger has improved a lot and my blog looks pretty professional. And whatever I post here, you would see it at facebook too, but then you wont be able to see the actual blog if you don't visit my blog at blogger. Yesterday I was at a wedding, my cousin's wedding and next week it's my other cousin's engagement, looks like  it is a good season for weddings and other auspicious stuff for Hindu's and for the Chinese I am not so sure as it is the Hungry Ghost festival that is being celebrated. And for the Malays, it is their fasting month, and I guess there isn't any wedding bells for them for this month. So I guess different culture, different views and on 31st August all of us would be celebrating our Independence day. And on September 10th & 11th, it is the muslim festival of I'd or they call it Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, well that would be a long break for everyone in Malaysia,as it is a long weekend. Things will be out of gear for a...

How time flies and it is already November now and we have just another month for this year to end. I know some of you would be thinking, what it's almost that year of the time, where you have a choice of finishing your holidays or leave that you have accumulated from the beginning of the year. Take my advice, life is short and spend the well deserved time with your family and loved ones unlike me, where I worked through out the year and what do I have as a reward....a triple CABG bypass. Not that I am angry or regretting it, but I am just advising some of you who feel that career comes first above all and everything else...well it doesn't if you know what the trade off is. It's always lecture time from me when I blog, why can't I write something different. Think outside the box....sukku.... Ok make a list of what you have achieved this year and what impact it had on you and did you learn anything from it...go ahead just make a list....or make a list of 10 items or t...

Sounds like a restaurant or a shopping mall? No I was talking about my blogs and I don't see many bloggers commenting on what I write. I do see a lot of visitors but they could be window shopping or they must have wandered into my blog accidentally. So what does it really takes to pull the crowd? I guess by now you must have been sick of reading stuff about my heart attack and all the minute details that I am giving you. Now who in the hell would actually have a heart attack and have the time to blog? Beats me!!! So can I list down my suggestions to get the crowd in and not that I have so many of them at my blogs that I don't have time replying. Write controversial articles. Visit other bloggers and leave your comments. Have an interesting template. Update your blogs on a regular basis. Post a lot of photos. Be as witty as possible. Think before you write. Have a camera handy so that you can take candid photos for your blogs. I am out of ideas....at this sta...

I was going through my blog on what I was doing at about the same time last year. I was with Ho Hup Construction Company Berhad and was in charge of Bukit Jalil project. I came back from India by the end of July 2008 and made a few trips after that to sort out the litigation with the Housing Board. Was I dissatisfied with my work? I guess so and being stuck at a housing development project was not my cup of tea. Now the excitement came back into my life when I left Ho Hup and joined Econpile and took charge of a project in Johor and the pressure was really exciting and I got my adrenaline pumping back. Maybe the problem was that I was pushing myself very hard and wanted to complete the job in record time with savings for the company. Now that I had my heart attack on site and I am to take rest until middle of November 2009, I have to relook at all my options. Where would I be next year from now? The answer is very simple, I wouldn't know. But if I have my way, I would like to b...

Ever since I am recuperating at home, I am looking at various ways whereby I can work on my blog and I always felt restricted when I work on blogger web page. You can do the blogging on Microsoft Word by pressing the Microsoft Button and open the new blank document and blog template. After that you have to register your blog i.e. mine was blogger and I keyed in the username and then the password and voila I am in for business. I am waiting for a special day that is one week from today and it is when Nokia N97 releases its latest upgrade software V 2.0 which would bring the phones performance on par with iphone. Now if the upgrade is so important, why in the hell did they market the phone with version V 1.0 in the first place? Maybe it is to take suckers like us for a ride. I have tried everything possible to make my stay at home as comfortable as possible and I just don't want to think about what is in store after November 15 th . I know something good would happen and I am goi...

Sorry I couldn't write as often as I wished I could, like the good old days when I was in Hyderabad India. Being home is fine but time is a rare commodity and what with the way the work is going on in my site/office and thanks to my nerdy boss who keeps loading me with work without realizing that the company is so lean that at days we have to make our own coffee in the office. and clean up after that. I was in the supermarket this morning and I was standing at the 10 or less items queue but what I saw was a lady with a trolley full of stuff. I asked the counter girl, what happens if someone has more then 10 items, she told me that she would ask them to go to a regular counter. I reminded her that she didn't do that and made us wait. So much so for rules. Just finished reading the book "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It was a good book and there are some good points that we can pick up from the book. It's like when you know that you only have a couple of months...

I guess it is one of those days where I won't forget as I had the pleasure of meeting up with a car repossessor. It was a cool affair, he was waiting beside my car Nissan X-Trail (Company Car) and informed me that I haven't paid 3 months instalment, I told him that my company must have forgotten as there are some new guys in the accounts department. But he was polite and I told him that I want to drive the car to my office which was close to the site and then talk to my accountant. He told me to sit down next to him as he had the keys and he drove me to my office. At my office I informed them about the car being repossessed and so I was told to negotiate with them and finally we agreed to a certain sum, for them not to take the car and I assured them that the company would pay up the amount owed to the Bank. In the evening, my accountant got the cheque prepared and had to look for my Director for his signature and tomorrow after another signature on the cheque and he will be i...

It's been awhile since I had written anything on my blog and since today is Chinese New Year, I am on leave today until Wednesday. So before I forget I would like to wish all the Chinese readers "Happy and Prosperous New Year" on this year of the Ox. On Saturday I watched "Slumdog Millionaire" on DVD, don't ask me how I got the the copy of the DVD. My take on the movie is that I liked it and the soundtrack was good. What I liked about the story line was that it was based on the experience of Jamal who is from the slum and how he learnt everything that one has to know through the harsh reality of his existence. Whenever I was flying into Mumbai, I can see the slums (Asia's largest) which shares the common boundary wall of the Mumbai Airport. I have also seen beggars in Hyderabad carrying babies in order to beg for more money based on the sympathy from the public. And I knew that these babies were actually for hire and the beggars are part of a syndicate ...

The New Year is just around the corner and I am sure 2008 has been a rather hectic and memorable year as many things had happened globally. A lot had surely happened for me and I am back home for good after spending many years overseas. Now here is my wish list and I am sure you too have a wish list or a new year resolution. Here goes nothing: 1. To look for a new job. 2. To reduce my weight and hence my tummy. 3. To take a vacation with my family this year. 4. To do up my house. 5. To stay cool with my staff at office. 6. To drink plenty of water. 7. To stay away from fried food. 8. To smoke less. 9. To drink less. 10. To unwind and de stress quickly. I have picked only 10 items that I want to work on and they may seem trivial but I guess I have to start somewhere. So would you care to share your New Years resolution with me.

Yes it's been awhile since I had updated my blog and I have to say that it has been my fault as for the past week I was so busy with my work. My wife came back from her holidays from India and she flew out from Chennai and I as usual miscalculated her arrival, thinking that the flight would land as per schedule but the Malaysian Airlines landed 15 minutes ahead of schedule and also she cleared the immigration and customs very fast and I was 15 minutes late. By the way the flight landed at 5.15 a.m. instead of 5.30 a.m. and I was at the airport at 6.10 a.m. So am I to be blamed? Well since she is back, the home front seems to be in order now but my work front is crazy. I was promoted minus the pay increment and now I have double the work load. Oh...God how I wish the last interview that I had gone to should materialize and I then I can kiss goodbye to this present company. Everyday I am runnng in circles trying to get things done and I don't have the right people nor the "p...

I guess it is an apt title on what I am going to say. Time flies and I have actually lost track of it ever since I came back from Hyderabad and I have been as busy as a bee. I know I had a tough week after coming back from Hyderabad as when I was away, the evil gossip mongers had started their trade and the worst thing that I hate is when it happens within your organisation. I know we had a new contractor taking over our scope of work as directed by the Ministry of Housing but when the new contractor came in and I had made all arrangements for a smooth transition but there are those who would like to find faults in everything that has been done. I received a nasty email from my HR on telling me what and how do things but I had send my reply back to the HR Department telling them not to interfere with the operations part of the work. You see the HR Department was acting on gossip that was spinned from my site and what I was pissed of was, why can't the HR Department call me even tho...

Yes I am back to work after a hectic week in Hyderabad and all I can say now is "Thank God" I am back home. Now why do I say that is very simple, I have closed down my office, gave up my residence and sold the company car as all these items were bothering me for the past few months. But now I have completed my transition from Hyderabad and it's back to work. I had a lot of things to sort out in Hyderabad and the biggest headache was the office files, but I have somehow managed to pack up all my files, 15 big boxes and placed them at my accountants office. I know I still have to go to Hyderabad but this time I would stay in a hotel and don't have to worry about such mundane things like my breakfast and what not. Anyway I hope the need doesn't arise for me to leave for Hyderabad in the next couple of months. Back to work and it's like a hell hole here with a lot of uncertainties and I am really pissed out with the global meltdown, it has affected all of us and I...

Seems like I am stuck on what to write and where is my tea to perk me up? I am sitting in my cabin at my office and wondering what I should write. So far nothing interesting happened to me as it has been work, work and work. I was appointed as a Director for one of our subsidiary as a corporate nominee from my company. But the catch is, I am appointed as a Director with all the liabilities minus the extra cash. Am I being foolish? I leave that as it is and now I have to unblock my writer's block. Come on ideas, flow. Looks like it is dried up and maybe I should meditate and something might creep in while I am in bliss meditating. But then again, meditating in my cabin is not a good idea as it would construe that I am sleeping on my job or they might think that I have turned into a zombie. Yeah, I got my trip to Hyderabad on 09.11.2008 approved by the Directors and I am going to be there to wind up my residence and office, I would be there for a week (aha...paid vacation). Well that...

Have you ever got up in the morning feeling all drained out of energy? What do you reach out to rejuvenate yourself? For me I guess it is a strong cup of tea brewed by myself as I like it no other way. Now after the strong cup of tea I am ready to face the morning and I have also started on my multi vitamin and mineral supplements too as I feel it has helped me to feel alert. And what sort of breakfast do you have? I prefer my two slice of wholemeal bread with a thin spread of margarine. Would listening to music perks you up? It does sometimes for me depending on my mood and right now I am listening to REO Speedwagon " I can't fight this feeling" and I know it is helping me fight this day. So tell me what gets you going?

Yes I had my 2nd round of interview yesterday afternoon with the Managing Director of the company that I intend to join and I spend about 1.5 hours with him. He went through my resume and we chatted about old friends in the industry and it so happens that one of the person that he had in mind was my ex-Boss. Half way through the interview he had called him and after he had spoken to him he had passed the phone to me and it was nearly 10 years since I had spoken to my ex-Boss and he still recognised me. Now I am wondering whether this was part of the interview where he was checking or verifying what I had told him on the people that I knew. Anyway I had a small discussion with the Director too and he had some problem that his Engineer had posed and he wanted me to have a look at it. So there I was looking at the problem and joining in the discussion. It looks like they want me on-board but they have not confirmed on anything yet. The Managing Director had informed me that he would let m...

Guess you must be wondering how Monday could be cheerful, what happened to the Monday morning blues? It was raining very heavily last night and the weather is cool this morning and I had to wipe out the dew from my side mirrors on my car which I had parked outside as my wife parks her car in the porch. But somehow I woke up today with a nice feeling as I know it is a special day for me. I have my second round of interview at 2.30 p.m. with the Managing Director which I guess is a formality. So you see that's why I can't wait for the morning to fly past until lunch time and after that I can leave for the interview and hopefully get the deal signed off by today. There are so many things that is going on my head, like when I should leave my present employment and I am eager to start 2009 with a new company as I know things are not very pleasant here with the corporate war that is going on and we are being dragged in. What better way to start my morning then by listening to Baby Fa...

This is the follow up to my series on interview and I got a call just now for an appointment to meet up with the Managing Director of the company that I had attended an interview yesterday on Monday at 2.30 p.m. and it sure sounds promising. Just thought of letting you know as I can feel that the job is within reach and it's just a matter of sorting out a few glithes.

Don't have much time to say anything but what the heck I might as type a few words. I have a management meeting at 10.00 a.m. and God knows how long it will go on. This time they have changed the venue of the meeting from Head Office to our Development Office which is about 10 minutes drive from my site and it is toll free too. Day's are flying fast and nothing concrete has been firmed up with my company yet. I am sure you have noticed that all my blogs are somehow connected to my predicament that I am facing now and I bet you must have got bored reading my stuff. I believe our mind is a very peculiar thing as it dwells on the problems that we have in hand and it looks for a way out by looking for solace and sympathy. I have an interview tomorrow morning and hope things work out well and this time I shouldn't be asking for a fat pay. Just have to find a way to get out of this rut and maybe grab whatever that is being offered. I am still fine here sitting in this sinking shi...

To my friends who enjoy a glass of beer or wine.. And those who don't.. As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, In water there is bacteria. Very wise man, this Ben guy. In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli (E. Coli bacteria) found in faeces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of of human and animal shit. However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, Whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting. Remember: Water = shit, ...........Beer and wine = Health Therefore, it's better to drink beer and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit. There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service. This...

It’s really hot outside and I had just finished my lunch and taking rest in my cabin cooled by the air-conditioner and listening to music from my laptop rather than being in the scorching sun at my work site. But my rest is always interrupted by that phone calls from my sub-contractors and also again from morning my connection to the net is off thanks to the heavy rains last evening. My mind is always wondering and I just made a call for an interview for another job and I have got one coming up this Thursday at 9.30 a.m., could be a power breakfast chatting over a job prospect. I am really fed up sitting and waiting for things to happen at my work site as I have to be where the action is, in the midst of work, pressure and adrenalin flowing. Is that really asking for something too much? The other alternative that I would rather be doing on a hot sultry afternoon would be sitting under the trees on an easy chair, with my iPod and a chill glass of beer with my favourite book. Now t...