One Upmanship Game

I was having woefully days since the site 'closed-down' order by the consultant. I am not going to get into the itsy-bitsy details of it but personally I would think my consultant bungle-up big-time and is trying to make-up their initial deficiencies at the onset of this project.

On lighter note, this whole episode has made some of my fellow colleagues realised how inter-departmental dependencies was there for a reason. The sentence that I was used to hear - "no one can tell me what I can or cannot do" and "don't be more Christian than the Pope" or "in house acting consultant" when trying to point out my concern on some questionable practices now rang hollow. Added to the most ubiquitous mantra "This is how things get done, here!"

However, this incident took the whole cake.

We were having a walk-around of the site to identify the safety and quality issues that are impeding the works progress. As we were nearing the end of the walk-around with the consultants and the PMCs, someone queried in a light-hearted manner that being a Malaysian entity, were these the normal standard of quality to be expected in Malaysia generally? As the question was posed to the highest rank managers which happened to be non-Malaysian and have never worked there, they redirected the task of answering it to me. In my most diplomatic smile I retorted that these kind of quality was also not acceptable and should not have gone past first floor level of construction. However I could sensed that my honest assessment was not taken too likely by my non-Malaysian superiors and other multinational (from a specific country).

After the walk-around ended, one of the multinationals (whom I would love to have a banter with) came to me to show his displeasure of my 'low blows'.

"If Malaysian constructions were of high quality like you said, how was it possible that in the movie Entrapment starred by Sir Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones, there was a scene when the a lady pulled down a ceiling panel and the entire floor ceiling fell down with the wires and ducts dangling down?" in his most animated manner.

Suffice to say, I proved my point!

Reunion thingy

There was an informal reunion gathering at my old high school last week (31st March).

Some of my batchmates made it and send group pics to those who didn't made it (yours truly included of course) In my jovial mood (and mostly nostalgic) I just replied with a single comment - "WIDER SHAPED" - to the pics.
Yeah, most of us now looked wider on the waistlines. But somehow, when looking at the pics I could only see them still in their school uniforms; young and ambitiuos and 22 more years of life to be filled. Forget the waistline and the sleuth of modern sickness to follow. To me, whenever we meet, they will still be that 18 years old buddies whom we had shared time, space, moments and adolesences together. For a while, the memories flooded in and temporarily brought us to that moments, away from the current mid-life tribulations.

My Personality Test Result

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Once Upon A Time.... Attitude Hasn't Changed

Year - 1994
I was waiting for an appointment to meet a Local Government Department Officer for a building approval matters. Had been sitting there since morning waiting for the ubiquitous fellow to show up for work. I was seated next to a photocopy room where staff would come and go for document duplicating works, and also gossiping (second best to the most popular gossip center - the pantry).
Two ladies walk in apparently to make duplicates, but since two is the main ingredient for small talks, the task took a while. The loud whispers were bearable because it was non-juicy stuff. Then walked in a lone SYT, which apparently still new to the place and that explained why she was alone doing her jobs. She entered the room, and of course the whispers stopped, small formal pleasantries between them, then off the SYT went back to wherever she came from to continue with her other tasks.
The following was my recollection of the ladies juicy commentaries;
Lady 1 : She is new here?
Lady 2 : Yeah! She works so fast that made everyone else looks bad.
Lady 1 : Where she's coming from? DO you know?
Lady 2 : No. But she must be from 'SWASTA' company.
Lady 1 : Is she? No wonder.....
Lady 2 : She must be, didn't you noticed? She didn't use new paper for copying.
Lady 1 : You mean she recycle the paper?
Lady 2 : Yeah, she re-use the clean face of the paper for copying!! Hi hi hi
Lady 1 : Hik hik hik

I left soon after, realizing that the officer might not turn up for work that day. I still am 'SWASTA' to till this day.

Site is Closed - For Now

Hey, I am not talking about this Blog Site. I am talking about my work site. We were officially informed by the consultant that due to our failure to heed their advices regarding Safety and Quality of works, the site will be 'shut-down' until further notice. Actually it was related to the 'Bug' notice we received from the Local Authorities.

First thing that came to my colleague's' mind was a subdued elation since it would be less or no work at all to perform. Unfortunately for me, that was where my workload became exponentially expanded. Suddenly everyone became interested in my 'vinyl LP collections' ( figuratively). Everyone now wants me to recall minute verbal conversations that took place eons ago. If I said I have no recollection of ever hearing or participating in those banters, that individual(s) would look at me as if I am a traitor in their midst.

So much of the importance of taking small notes and reconfirm officially on any matters! There you go, as far as I am concerned, my responsibility ends the moment an acknowledgement is denied. Sort of like, 'Caveat Emptor' in inter-departmental relations.

Want to know what am I actually doing now?

Repairing the Method Statement for Repair of the Repaired Elements. How's that for a new tongue twister.

This Site is not Closed - Forever.

PS - I watched The Departed. It would be on my all time list.

Sweet 16 - 2007

ESPN.com - NCB - 2007 Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket
I was glancing through the passing of Pakistani's cricket coach after the hoopla around me since being surrounded by cricket fanatics (I don't even quite understand how it is being played much as compared to baseball or 'bola lisut' - softball).
Since normally this time of the year - as an American Football fan, the news are pretty tame after superbowl and college spring training - my doze of sports from the -8 time zones were suddenly awaken by the flash of my alma matter in sweet sixteen ncaa basketball tournament -aka March Madness.
I guess this the fruit of building a state of the art event center back in 1992. From tha famous line in Field of Dreams - If you built it, they will come.... I don't know whether it can be compared with our latest hoopla on that sports facilities near London. Whatever happen to our Titus James.

Pages of My Blue Book

I found this piece written in my old blue book. I guess the year was 1988?
----------
Feb 28th
Salam pada masa hadapan
(Greetings to the future)
Setingkat lagi mendaki tangga usia
(Another climb on the steps of age)
Dalam menduga tinggi mana perginya nanti
(Wondering how high the climb might be)
Takat manakah akan ku tiba pada puncak hidup
(Where or when would I reached the pinnacle of life)
Buat masa yang akan tiba untuk ku melihat ke bawah
(To that time when I would look below me)
Pada anak-anak tangga yang telah ku daki dan tinggalkan
(Those steps that I've climbed and left behind)
Melihat pada detik detik ditarik napas-napas kepenatan
(Recalling the moments for breath of tiredness)
Ketika usaha maju dalam pendakian
(There were times during the climbs)
Ada terasa mahu sahaja turun pada tangga mulanya
(The feel of wanting to slide down)
Sedang tangan memetik buah-buah usia
(As the hand plucks the fruits of age)
Yang segar, yang hitam, yang pahit, yang manis
(Fresh, blacks, bitter or sweet)
Pada bahu yang memikul bakul bakul igauan
(The shoulder that carries nighmares)
Berlekangkan panas mentari membakar pedih-pedih pengalaman
(And the hot sun burning the stinging experinces)
Pesankan pada diri
(Reminding myself)
Agar dibekalkan keredhaan
(Hoping for God's grace)
Mencari hasilan terbaik biarpun sukar dan perit
(Finding the best no matter how difficult)
Meredah onak dan duri masyarakat
(Going through the thorns of community)
----------
An amature attempt I might add. I am still recalling from memories the feelings I had while writing those. Was I melancholic? idealistic? or just ramblings. For context, the page preceeding that was the lyrics from Chirstopher Cross - Think of Laura
Every once in a while I'd see her smile, And she'd turn my way around
A girl with those eyes could stare through the lies, And see what your heart was saying
Think of Laura but laugh don't cry, I know she'd want it that way
A friend of a friend, a freind to the end, That's the kind of girl she was
Taken away so young, Taken away without a warning
I know you and you are here, In every day we live
I know her and she's here, I can feel her when I sing
Hey Laura where are you now, Are you far away form here
I don't think so. I think you are here, taking our tears away

Cut and Paste

One of my reader commented on my 'cut and paste' post lately. He/She was expecting more of my original postings instead of cross linked articles and other blogger posts.

In my defence, I tried to wriggle out by saying, "sometimes those posts are better the way it is than I would have written and also as guides to the style of posting I would have liked mine to be". Anyway, the current blogging mental block is preventing me from writing other than the technical subjects I am doing nowadays.

Did I get away with it? Fat chance!!!

Part of my current job is to decipher the incoming information, disseminate it to right parties, compile feedback and provide responses or formulate course of actions to be taken on issues arising from the original information. However problems would be compounded whenever the original information is blurry or misrepresented, thus would caused the subsequent responses way off targets. Tell me how would I approach and resolve an urgent and highly sensitive and costly issue based on information I received very late.

I am going to give you an example below: (original communique, no editing)
------
Subject: Project Carried On
Regarding the above subject and after checking the project by our department engineer's and regarding the clear non-obligation from your work side towards Local Order #3 regarding organizing the building works in this country and it as follows:
First: There is very bad handy making in executing all columns and slabs which causing these technical bugs which reduce the designing ability of columns as follows:
1-Honeycomb widely found in most structure elements.
2-There is sway in most columns.
3-Columns not located on vertical axis & there is horizontal displacement for most columns.
4-The columns on the slab perimeter are shifted outside by 10cm.
5-Columns sections are not organized at the casting expansion which result in non-homogeneous in casted concrete.
6-No enough supporting for some columns which causing swelling in some columns ans non-regular of prismatic cross section.
7-Bugs were found in the covered protection ply.
8-Project system interactions are not valid.
As a result the following are requested from you:
1-Apply technical suggestions to recover the mentioned bugs.
2-Present promise concerning non repeating these bugs again.
3-Pay fin (100,000.00) before noon today.
And in case of no obligation from your side the necessary procedures will be taken against you.
------

Well, I just could tell you that we only managed to pay the 100,000 penalty (fin?) by noon yesterday. Now to find those BUGS....

I don't think I did well with this post

Came across this entry in The Star Blog;

The Star Online: View Post

I don't think I did well with this post

Posted by: thejason

Are you a student who is always getting weird alphabets as your final grades?Do you think F stands for Fantastic?Are your marks always less than 0?Do you find it difficult to circle the correct answer on a multiple choice question paper?Do you find it difficult to circle?Do you want to get the best out of your edjukashun? If you answered with an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ to any of the above questions,then pay attention for this article will give you some hard,honest advice on how to really get the best out of exams. Let’s face it,exams are tough.But if you are always finding yourself being stressed over exams and actually feel physical pain when an exam looms near,take a moment to be grateful.Grateful that at least you have the opportunity to actually HAVE exams.Be grateful that you are part of an education system that annually churns out redundant degree-holders in courses that were only relevant in the Stone Age.Be thankful that after many years of sweat,tears and studying,you will come out of this experience all geared up and ready to be retrenched during the next economic crisis.Do you want to be like those dropouts who never finished university,never had a degree to their name and were forced to call upon their creativity and resourcefulness and ventured into business or entrepreneurship and then making millions of ringgit?Do you? I thought so.Now listen up. Many a scholar do not know this,but to be truly successful,you have to adhere to a secret code of conduct when dealing with exams.Only the best and the brightest know of this mysterious mythical code and now,YOU will have access to it.It is a bunch of unspoken rules,each one draconian in nature but innately powerful in turning the tides of the cosmos to your favour.The sum of all the rules is called : - The Law of the Exams In preparation for the upcoming exams,you must of course,study your butt off until it actually develops a series of purple rashes on top of a series of red blisters.You must study as if the Devil is behind you, with a 6-ft pitchfork ready to sodomize you the instant you slack off.Sleep 2 hours a day.Abandon all social life,ye who art sitting for exams.Eat sparingly,for munching time takes up cramming time.Your books are extensions of your eyeballs.Your books cannot leave your eyes,in the same way your love handles and fat thighs cannot leave you. But that is not the essence of The Law.You already know you have to study hard.The trick behind it is to never admit you are studying hard..That’s right.Students who score A ++++ in all their exams,major,minor or even monthly, will never ever say they are studying hard.Heck,they won’t even admit they are studying.Here is a typical application of this rule : - Background – Ah Chong has been studying 17 hours a day for the past few weeks in preparation for an exam next week.He has covered all the relevant material 30 times over and just for kicks,he has even covered the irrelevant material “just in case”.He has flipped so many pages that facts and figures are imprinted on his fingernails.He has absorbed his textbooks so thoroughly that he can recite long paragraphs of information on cue.Backwards.In his sleep.On a few occasions,he has actually called up the authors of several textbooks and reprimanded them for slight mistakes in their presentation of the subject at hand.The constant rubbing of his elbows against his wooden table have produced two indentations which will soon become actual holes.He has giving up vital tasks like showering and defecating to free up more time to study. Muthu – So Chong,how long you studied last night? Chong – Aiyoh I didn’t study at all lar!I haven’t even started reading the first few chapters! Muthu – Hah?Really ah? Chong – Yalah…somemore I don’t understand all the concepts that Mrs. Goh thought us. And when I try to study ah,everything also cannot masuk!! Muthu – Eh don’t stress brother!Tell you what,let’s go mamak tonight.I belanja! Chong – Errr..mamak ah?I er…cannot la…because the… Muthu – Aiyah why so shy?You yourself say you never study what! Chong – I know…but tomorrow night…cos…a bit too.. Muthu – Ah okaylah okaylah no need la. They then part ways.Ah Chong returns to his books,and Muthu also returns to his books,for he too has been studying as hard as Ah Chong and played up the whole mamak routine to fish out information on his enemy…whoops,I mean…friend’s progress.Confident that his friend has been slacking,Muthu decides to actually bathe and sleep an extra hour,bringing the grand total of hours he will sleep tonight to : One. This brings me to the next rule of war.Always ascertain the progress of fellow exam-sitters.This can be done simply and discreetly by proclaiming loudly that you can’t grasp a certain concept or that you are unable to memorize key elements of a chapter.Of course,at this point you are lying shamelessly,as you by now have not only grasped everything that is to grasp,but have crushed them into fine powder and can actually build a small sandcastle with all that powder.Be alert as to who offers you help,those are the ones that will be a threat.When a friend of yours offers competent help in answering all your fake queries and thoroughly satisfies all your fake academic inadequacies,thank him by patting his back with the sharp end of a knife or by offering him cyanide in the guise of some delicious soup.Have you heard about cases of school canteen poisoning?Yes,your daily newspaper can give you some good ideas too. Thirdly,one must always guard oneself from practitioners of the second rule.You must not give your own progress away,for that will only embolden your friends to study harder and become better at the subject matter which you previously have understood so well.So,my young Padawan,the third rule is, Only offer help to weaker students.Why?Because weaker students don’t give a hoot if you do better than them,they are just thankful they are getting Cs and Ds.Weaker students will not affect your position in the official Top 10 ranking in your class if they score an extra mark here or there.But,if you commit the cardinal sin of helping your fellow Top 10 friends,then behold, out of your own effort, you will be demoted down the hierarchy of greatness in less time than it took you to help your friends.Do not voluntarily become academically inferior.Rest assured,your friends are working hard day,night and twilight to do exactly that. The exam is approaching near,and with the impending inevitability,you must possess about you an aura of pathetic incompetency.To do this,always wail things like , “Aiyoh die la die la die la exam coming and I haven’t touched a single thing!!!” or the always classic , “ Oh my gawd no more time already!I played games too much,and now I cant finish this chapter and that chapter!”.Facial expressions and body language are of paramount importance.You can alternate between blankness to sheer depression leading to panic and fear.Feign an epileptic seizure or two.Faint every once in a while.This will make your act more convincing.Again,the idea behind this is to ensure that your friends lay down their guard and assume you won’t be a thorn in their side in this particular exam.So remember, always appear as if you dread the exams. Then comes the actual exam.You sit the exam,you do your best,you say a small prayer and pass your exam paper to the invigilator.It’s all over.But WAIT!If you want to be a truly successful student,it does not stop at just writing down your essays exuberantly or circling the correct answers on a sheet.You may think now that your papers are passed up,theres nothing you can do to physically change your wrong answers or to improve your correct ones. That is not the case. This is perhaps the most crucial phase of exam-taking.The time when your exam lies in a plane of suspension,a state of limbo.You think your exam papers are sitting at your teachers’ desks,waiting to be corrected with red pens and computers? That is not the case. No one knows for sure where exactly your papers will be at this point.Some have speculated that they mysteriously disappear into the night and appear the next morning all marked and ready to be handed back.The teachers are already in the know,and they act as mere mediums to a higher power that governs your grades.We shall go with the most accepted theory that all exam papers are transported into the 4th Dimension,where they are arranged on a massive pile in front of a gigantic,universal concentration of endless energy.This is known as The Cosmic One and its purpose is to mark your paper.It is not an objective evaluation.Instead,several factors are weighed into consideration. How does it do so?It works on a basis of cause and effect,karma,yin and yang,the delicate balace between morality and spirituality.For example,if a student upon completion of an exam states that he is confident he did well in the exam,he will upset the cosmic balance and piss The Cosmic One off.This will cause his exam results to be significantly lower than his confident expectations.It wont matter whether he actually felt confident of the exam or not,as long as he verbalizes it,the cosmic rule will be flagrantly broken.So,the rule here is this, you must NEVER admit that you think you will score well. Instead,you must always say that for this particular exam,you are definitely going to fail miserably.Research has shown that the more a student denies that he performed excellently,the higher his marks will be at the end.It does not MATTER if you actually know you are going to score 780%,you MUST NOT SAY IT OUT LOUD.Remember,the Cosmic One is very unforgiving. You are by now well equipped to face the harsh uncertainties of exams.Go with peace,my friends.Study the rules and learn them by heart.Apply them daily.Do not merely understand the rules,but live through them as if they are organic,as if they have taken over you and are now part of your personality,your very existence.Do all the above,and you can finally say with absolute and utter confidence that you will do extremely well in your exams. But for heaven sakes,don’t.

How to judge a person's REAL character

I am posting this blog entry from Freelunch 2020

Watch how he/she treats/talks to a nobody.
That's what and who he/she really is.
And remember that cos that's what they will turn into under stress.
People become themselves under pressure.
Try it.
Push their buttons and see how they react.
That will reveal more than all the lovely chit-chat and back-rubbing during good times.
Find out as soon as possible.
So you won't be fooled by wolves in sheep's clothing.
Especially in politics.
Everyone is a great actor/actress.
Especially if they have something to gain.
But when you have nothing to offer yet he treats you like a decent human being.
That's a decent person and you should cherish that friendship.