Wish granted!

I finally got it. I was granted 5 days plus 3 extra days leave after our official holidays to spend in Kuching and Miri. A total of 8 days of leave (Nov 9, 10, 11… 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Kind boss he is.

The fact that I am taking a week’s leave (5 days straight) is heavy enough an issue for me to take extra 3 more days to accommodate my confirmed trip. I’ve already bought the flight ticket at cheap fare with Airasia to Kuching. Then I plan to spend another week in Miri. What was left to do was apply for 8 days leave. I only have 5 days left. Three more I hope to get as a favor. The end justifies the means they say. I was supposed to have this discussion on Friday but he was busy running all over the place.

“Ah, I could text him about this on Monday. I will come in on Monday, Oct 31, Wednesday Nov 2nd and Monday Nov 7th, take care of things when no one is in the office and take leave when everybody comes back from their holidays. A replacement of sort.” I thought.

We’re actually closed for business from October 31, 2005 through November 8, 2005. That’s a long break for Deepavali (1st Nov) and Aidilfitri (2 & 3 Nov). So, it is a lot to ask for 8 days leave right after. Replacements sound sensible enough to me. Besides, I’ve done whole Saturdays and Sundays before. A long break for me is not dificult to consider, I hope.

It’s complicated and I’m sorry. But my sisters and family will be in Miri starting from 14th Nov; school holidays. With me there, it’s a family reunion. And I would very much like to spend some days visiting friends in Kuching a week before that.”

And so I text-ed

“Mr. Boss, I need 3 extra days leave apart from remaining 5 days annual leave. So, today, Wednesday and next Monday I am in the office. I need 2 b in Kch and Miri from 9 to 18 nov. Up to 8 days leave. I will be available and online throughout my leave 4 urgent matters n clarification. Hope u’ll consider and grant this favor. Thank you.”

I hesitated before pressing send.
“He has responded to my messages before. He’ll think of something. He’ll call,” and I waited.

After a while Mr. Boss called.

“I got your message,” he began.

He asked about urgent matters at hand, pending issues and unfinished business. After reassuring him that everything has been arranged and I will be in touch during my vacation, he gave me the OK. Such excellent outcome. I wished him a good Aidilfitri Celebration and hung up. My heart raced with joy. My day in the office on Halloween and Deepavali eve just got sweeter. I am thrilled with partial disbelief.

Initially, my worst case scenario was to result in three days of unpaid leaves. A considerable amount of money. But in the end, all is good. My boos is good. There has been times when I thought of leaving but today is certainly not the day. For I am going on a much needed break. Yay!

Fiesta!

Great week this is. Halloween, Deepavali and Aidilfitri. Fun fiesta holidays celebration. Soak it in!

kawanaku.com

It has been weeks since I revisited my early school days. Today, I’m on it again. There’s this great site that I find very exciting in tracking long lost friends, school friends, in Malaysia. It’s http://www.kawanaku.com/. Sort of like friendster.com but here you get to find childhood friends. I immediately signed up and started looking for friends. Sadly, only one friend from my primary and secondary school each signed up as members. Both of them I am already in contact with. This site has been out there for quite a while now but I only got to it today. There’s no telling when the rest of my friends will find out. No wonder there are just 2 of us in the class list.

I was also looking for my primary school’s website but with no luck. How I wish I could get in touch with my primary school friends and maybe have a reunion some day. That would be so cool. Reminiscing the old crazy times we has as crazy careless kids. SRB Saint Columba’s Primary School. There, that should do it. Let’s just hope someone out there will Google up this school name and find this link. Let's give it several more.

SRB St. Columba’s Primary School

SRB St. Columba’s Primary School

SRB St. Columba’s Primary School

Alright. We’re all set. The last thing I need to know is that it doesn’t work this way. Shhhh!

Oh my!

Click this link and get an earfull. This is said to be a real conversation recorded by the angry Singaporean. Phew! For your ears only. Don't sue me.

ABC...

In anticipation of the upcoming Harry Potter movie, Goblet Of Fire, I watched The Sorcerer’s Stone last night. I tickles me a little to see the young Radcliff with his squeaky little voice. And now he’s all grown up in the GOF trailer. How we grow.

Seeing young Potter’s reactions on his first school days, looking amazed and puzzled at everything, kinda reminds me of my own first few days in primary and secondary school. Though not at all magical, they were somewhat strange, scary and amusing.

I was seven on my primary school registration days. Boys wore white shirts and navy blue shorts. Girls wore white blouse under navy blue overalls. Parents busy running around getting forms signed and paying fees. Kids looking around, screening for prospect friends. I spent one year in kindergarten and though the number of new kids was not unusual, I was delighted to see so many new faces. At the same time I worried how I was going to get by, all alone. Some kids obviously knew each other and some even wasted no time chasing one another playing ‘police and thieves’ or ‘tag-you’re it’. I, on the other hand, had to start from scratch. *Sigh*

Most of the teachers looked friendly but some seemed transparently not amused. I soon learned that they were not to be messed with. I also learned that some kids were thick enough to give this fact a frightful demonstration. I was the mild mannered kid, naïve and fearful.

Senior students would walk by and take an examining look.
“Lets see who’s the lucky punk this year…”

Some of us caught a glimpse of their piercing stare and quickly looked at other random directions.

“All right now. In pairs, make two lines. We’re going to tour the school” a teacher said and we all gleefully lined up.

.
.
.
.
.

Do you still remember your first school days?

Cuckoo...

It has been three days since I got this nagging flu. Nothing major really, just annoying fluid running down my right nostril. It did my left nostril yesterday. My workstation is full of tissue paper trash. Wet ones. If there was no sniffing sound coming from me, others would definitely think I can’t stop helping myself on porn. How many times a day can a man get it good?

I could just let it crawl slowly down my nostril but I’d be tickled to death before it touches my lips. Wouldn’t want that either. Notice how easy it is to just let your tongue out and lick any savory juice on your lips. Mmm…salty. What juice did you say it was? Tomato? Oh, naughty!

I go to bed with a blocked nose. I wake up with a blocked nose. Sometimes breathing takes more effort. When I blow, my ears get muffled. Sniff…sniff…slurp.

There are times when I sneeze up to 10 times in succession till my eyes get swollen and watery, my face feels thick and puffy. Rubbing my palm against my face vigorously feels good but most of the times it makes me look worse. Kinda like having a terrible itch. Feels damn good to scratch but gets worse at the same time.

Does this sound more like an allergy attack than a flu? Either way it sucks!

I can’t possibly have bird flu. My daily close encounter is only with chicks with hooters, or some indication of sort. Besides, I should have body aches and feverish body temperature. But how much longer should I sniff! This is driving me crazy.

Sniff…

Blur me up!

Lately life’s feeling like a roller coaster.
Days gone by and it keeps on getting harder.

Work, it feels heavier on my shoulders.
Parties left me to be less than sober.
And I’m so broke I should be a beggar.

Does it help that I don’t have a partner?
The only sure thing I’m getting is older.
Oh well, such is the world’s order.

But I won’t give up, I won’t surrender.
I play my part in this great big theater.
And like art, not everything has to be crystal clear
Sometimes it just feels good to be this blur.

For sure...

Lights, camera, azan!

Scenes at KLCC Mosque on the first night of Ramadhan.

Praying space....

Praying in perspective.

Lunch up...

“I’m hungry…no breakfast” said a colleague beside me and the rest gave a brief laugh.

Why is that funny? It's just breakfast...

As they continued giggling I realized that it’s the first day of the fasting month for Muslims. In a month, Raya will be upon us again. Celebrations and merrymaking. Food everywhere.

But for now, it’s fasting time for Muslims. No lunch for most. For me, I’ll have to find an outlet for lunch without anyone giving me that incriminating look. Where no restaurateur will ask if I’m a Muslim or if I’m supposed to be fasting like everyone else. Where I won’t be rounded up with the rest of the fasting offenders during an ambush by the Islamic Department Enforcement Squad.

Hmmm. Where could I get lunch today…

Why so blue?

What is it about that blue screen stop error in windows. That bone chilling thrill that we get every time it slaps our monitor blue. The feeling that we would never see our faithful desktop any more.

***STOP

It goes on to say

If this is the first time you’ve seen this STOP error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps.

Check to make sure any new hardware blah blah blah….

There has been no new hardware added recently. And there are no new software installed. And I’m not geek enough to learn troubleshooting the error that summoned this Blue Screen Of Death, linked here. Neither do I have the time for it.

So, next time you decide to go blue on me, why don’t you follow these steps for a change.

Check to make sure that you have your foot up your arse and go funk yourself!