TGIF

Yes, thank God it's Friday. To those of us who belong to the sad group who actually have to work for a living, it means the end of a work week and the beginning of two days of rest. In case you may be wondering, there are two other groups.

One is the equally sad group who does not have to work because they do not have a job. Ideally you should not want to find yourself having a membership to this group. Although there could be many reasons why you find yourself belonging to this group: downsized, retrenched, made redundant, etc etc. The final group is, conceptually, similar to the second group; but with a twist. This is the group who does not have to work because they just have so much money they don't know what to do with it. There are literally fields of trees in their backyard. In the morning when they wake up from their slumber, they head out to these fields to pick up money that fell off the branches during the night. But hey don't get me wrong, it would be nice to be part of this group. Though not permanently, but perhaps an extended membership.

Yes, an extended membership would be ideal. First thing i would do is head over to the neighbourhood Aston Martin dealership and pick me up a DB9 Volante. Then it's back home to pick up the wife after a quick drive round the block...yes on the NKVE for a quick 300km/h cruise to KLIA and back. Why? Well....because the DB9 is practically begging you to floor it. Yes, why? why the hell not? Oh yes, back home to pick up the wife.

The wife also need a set of hot wheels. In this case a sleek and sexy BMW 3 Series Convertible complete with an i Phone docking station and leather upholstry by Tods. Once done we need to make one more stop....your friendly Bentley Outlet to pick up the Bentley Arnage Final Series. This is a must have car to be drive around by Alfred, the british chauffeur.

With both cars safely deposited in the air conditioned, humidity controlled garage, it's off to the boatyard, driven by Alfred the british chauffeur no less. A 240ft Nobiskrug Mega Yacht to be parked at the Port Dickson Yacht Club.

These are the tools of the trade for the rich and famous. Ah...brings back memories of the classic tv series "Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous" with Robin Leach toasting "champagne wishes and caviar dreams."

And as always, it is at this point that the kids wake you up just as Robin Leach is about to toast you !!!!

But did you know that as of 11 March 2009, Bill Gates is still the world's richest person albeit with a declining fortune according to Forbes. Yes can you imagine that Bill Gates' fortunes are declining !!! and after the massive decline, he is still worth $40BILLION

Anyway, the point is that it's Friday and i am going to enjoy the weekend with my lovely family. After all, a rich man is nothing more than a poor man with money; according to W. C. Fields

Blast from the past

I must apologise to the thousands who follow my writings religiously for not writing more often....oh, ok, i know, fine. I must apologise to the 17 people who follow my writings religiously (thanks Honey, I love you too). I didn't realise over a year had passed from my last entry. This is clearly unacceptable. I therefore have to make it up and write lots more. You can now expect about 2 articles a year :)

But seriously, lots have changed since i last wrote. It is sometimes fun to look back at change over the past 12 months. For instance, i was in a different industry all together !! Yes, it has happened. I took a leap of faith and transported myself away from the world of Information Technology, or IT for those abbreviation-spewing techies. I am now in the world of telecomunications, mobile telecommunications to be exact. Yup, i went and joined a celco.....apologise for the abbreviation. Some things never change. After well over a decade in IT, old habits die hard. But now, there is a whole new world of abbreviations to learn and start spewing....3G, HSDPA, ADSL, AP, ARPU, CDR, and on and on and on. And not to mention the new internal abbreviations that were created by this celco which i am professionally prohibited to pen for fear of identification.

Which brings back fond memories of my previous place of employment, IBM, where there were lots of abbreviations...there were really lots of it. There were so many of it, a special department was created to supervise it's creation and usage (DoACU) which stands for Department of Abbreviation Creation and Utilization. This also brought about plenty of standard responses from people upon official introductions (gazoontite was quite common). But seriously, IBM (note that even the official name is an abbreviation), was quite a fun but complex place to work in. It was so complex, scientists found an extinct species labouring away in front of a computer in a back office in basement 17 of the Almaden Research Centre. Peers called it a Manager.

In fact IBM was so big and powerful in its hey days that it announced at one point that it would outsourse 200% of its workforce to India and China. They have devised a strategy to reduce costs and provide IBM with a backup of every person in the company. Every job in IBM will be duplicated in India and China.

But seriously, my time in IBM was fun and most educational. A lot of people say others who leave IBM for other jobs become very successful. Now when did i leave IBM....

So, where was I......oh yes, i left the comfort of IT and took a leap of faith. Joined a celco. Didn't know what to expect (yes yes, everyone who moves to a new industry says that but scientists recently have proven that it is indeed a blatant lie).

Now it has been 6 months since i came on board and i feel very at home. I hope my other colleagues feel the same. However i do miss my IT abbreviation-spewing days. Now, i spend many hours trying to master celco specific abbreviations. Here is where i am at moment:

"we have ALU equipment as proposed by Jim Bates before (SDP by ALU). As such we need to remove ALU NODE B inside the COW"

haha, eat your heart out Dilbert !!

Away for the past 2 months

Alas work has gotten the best of me and i have not been able to sit and pen my thoughts. And with all things, one has to prioritise. So i am back. With a vengeance? maybe not, but at least i am making time to write.

My old mates from KPP days organized a get together last month. Consisted of dorm mates from 51C, also known as Darul Jimbet (don't ask). It was great to catch up with all the old friends, most of which i have not met for quite some time. It is also good to know that some things will never change. Practically all are now professionals in some vertical or another. One even published 3 books. I am envious for that is one goal i have had for a long time. To say i have writers block is not quite true for i have not even begun to write. Why haven't i? I'm really not sure. Perhaps with time spent at work, the hours i have at home are more valuable than petrol, personally.

But i digress. Friends are like diamonds. Though external forces will try to shape it, on the inside nothing much changes. Thank God. Friends are also like a time portal. Not meeting many for a long time gives one a peak into the past; when times were less complicated. I do often wish for complications to not play a part in life but then again, life would be boring without it.

What else is new? nothing much. Our political landscape is about as predictable as episodes of Heroes. Maybe behind a desk in a deep dark basement of Putrajaya, a script writer sits by a candlelight pondering the next twisted plot....influenced by past episodes of General Hospital. But then again, politicians and government in most countries are not that different after all. Though personally, i would pay a large sum of money to get inside their heads. Hell, what am i saying, i would pay money to get into the head of Munirah Bahari. What in God's great earth would possess a person to say that girls' school uniforms are too sexy? Will wonders never cease. Could this be another ploy to divert the public's attention from the current political turmoil? Funny how there always seems to be some mind boggling statement coinciding with interesting political times. Perhaps Munirah wants us to adopt the ways of the Pashtun where women are encouraged to stay home, toiling in the kitchen and managing the corporation known as home sweet home.

Whatever the reasons, i strongly believe one should think carefully of the implications before making such statements. One i believe is pointless, short sighted and leads people to wonder about her ability to lead such a group.

I end this ranting with this "Syurga di bawah tapak kaki ibu".

I take my leave

The aftermath

Votes casted, many recounts, final results. Surprise, shock, expected, pleased are just some of the feedback i've received and overheard. Perlis had to get in on the action too, being the smallest state can be a disadvantage in terms of securing front page headlines but make no mistake, front page it was. And Shahidan? Que sera sera. Nuff said.

I waited anxiously for the announcement of the new cabinet and frankly was quite surprised at some of the drop-outs. Overall though, i was quite pleased. The rebuilding has begun. The foundation has been laid as the new government representatives take office today.

But life at the office continues....election or otherwise. The work-place eco-system is an interesting beast and in many ways is similar to the government. Office politics happens in all organizations. Just to what extend. Ever since Machiavelli set out the principles of princehood, the public has been hoodwinked into believing that with the right advice on swimming with the sharks, managing in one minute, searching for excellence, looking out to the big blue ocean, practicing 7 or 8 habits, accompanied by the application of reason and logic, success would be theirs. If you've worked in the business world for more than ten minutes, you know it's an immense exercise in the absurd. What we need to do is accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. What we need to do is tip the scale in favour of the pigeon !

As the dust settles

I am reminded of the United Nation saga, formed soon after the second world war based on the balance of power at the time: USA, USSR, UK, France and China became permanent members of the UN with veto powers. However the balance of power dramatically shifted during the Cold War era: Japan and Germany emerged as ‘economic superpowers’; UK and France became more ‘ordinary powers’; new power areas appeared, like Asia-Pacific. The Cold War competition curtailed the need for structural change, yet with the end of the Cold War, the new ‘actors’ demanded more rights in the UN system. The 5-big have resisted the reform calls in the 1990s. However the Iraq War clearly showed that the current UN System cannot provide dialogue and co-operation between the big economic, military and political great powers. In another word, the UN cannot properly play a balancing role. The US will resist and bargain will possibly last more. However a UN reform is a matter of time. Japan, Germany and some more states will receive the seats they seek.

Sound familiar? ok well maybe not exactly but it makes for a dramatic entry :) Back to the UN. The veto power needs to be removed. Why is there a veto power granted to each of the 5 permanent members? Who died and made them the umpires on this playing field we so fondly call mother earth? At one point in human history, the veto power was needed due to the instability of man. The world was at war. Some powers that be may be somewhat more responsible than others. That was then. This is now. When USA was going to invade Afghanistan, everyone agreed? disagreed? They all had the veto power. Would it have done any good? The US went ahead anyway...yes that is definitely showing all other countries how to do it....lead by example.

But i digress. Back to my last point. Lead by example. This is about the most difficult thing on this planet to accomplish. I'll continue tomorrow but leave you with this thought. Never take the voice of the people for granted and never ever underestimate them.

Election Is Fast Approaching

How time flies when one is having fun. Today is March 3 and the Malaysian general election is fast approaching. I must admit that while i view elections very seriously and i will be there on voting day, bright and early, to cast my vote, i would pay money to listen to the local pre-election debate; similar to the verbal jousting of Obama-Clinton, but on a higher more intellectual level: coffee-shop consultants. No where can one get the latest, most accurate, rumours at these stripped down starbucks, where the coffee is guaranteed to stain your teeth, and everybody knows your name. You don't pay 10 bucks to a yuppie behind the counter for a latte but a buck eighty to the "boss" who hollers your order for all to hear. But i digress. The news that comes from these square table discussions are so varied and so hot that Al Jazeera would pay money to get these hot-off-the-press news. Though they may not hold water if digested to get to the source, nevertheless these tales are so enticing that one cannot help but get drawn and lending an ear.

If you have never been involved, do so. Stop by your local mamak stall or in my younger days, lovingly referred to as "maple" and order drink. Coffee with Karan could only wish for such hot topics. And have a roti tissue while you are there....

Into the light

Today is an historic day for me for yesterday night i gave birth to my first blog. I have ventured into the world of blogging, rather hesitantly, out of curiosity. In standard human years, i can be considered young....middle age.....for i am not even 40 yet but in the world of information technology, some may call me a relic. I am not entirely sure about what to write, or even if anyone will be reading my blogs. But it matters not. For i write because I can. I write because I enjoy writing. I have always wanted to write my own book and i am confident i eventually will but the time is not right. What is the right time? I don't know. Perhaps i never will.

I take my leave for i am now committed. This vessel has to be filled with words, stories, tales of little nothings. Gobbledygook perhaps. We shall see