After came back from photomarathon, our branch office turning headless… 17th October was the duties handing over coz our head is going to head a new section… so more duties for me…

Then more duty craps came… on 20th till 22nd October, have to attend office workshop at Beringgis Beach Resort… and I have to present my 2011-2015 plan… which I put it so simple and short… only 3 plan for five years… Anyways, I did enjoy myself while at the resort…

Then came the ultimate energy buster… the Mount Kinabalu expedition by our office from 26th to 28th October. And I’m very thankful that I did train a few months by climbing the Bukit Padang during weekend… and also the exhausting one day photomarathon… This was my 3rd climb to Mount Kinabalu… the first time, I manage to reach the peak… the second time, I only manage to reach the Gunting Lagadan… the middle part of the mountain coz I encounter muscles cramp at four places… both my thigh and both my calf… But this time is different… we used the new and longer route… the old route is called Timpohon… this new route is called Mensilau route… and it is longer by 2KM… according to those who use this route before, it is easier… but man… they are so wrong… it took me almost 12 hours to reach Laban Rata… We started around 8.30am… and I reach Laban Rata around 8.20PM!!!… man… I run out all my energy… but will talk about it next time…

Then after came back from Mount Kinabalu… legs are all hurt for the next two days… and more crappy works in office… was attending meeting almost everyday… I really hate management works… And there are few wedding invitations… but can’t see all the engagement rings coz some of the date and time are clashed… have to say sorry to some…

And today, when I woke up around 9.30am… my left eye was hurting so much… the pain is linked from my left eyeball to the top of my left head… there seem like a wire or hose… it hurts like hell… and it’s still hurting… especially when I cough. By 10.30am, I went down to take my breakfast… but everything seem not all right… my stomach started feeling uncomfortable… and I started getting nausea… in fact I vomited twice… but not much… then I just knock down my self at the couch after taking 2 active fast panadol… which I brought to Mount Kinabalu and I never use it… around 2pm, I woke up and took some food… And becoz of this pain, I did not go train at Bukit Padang for my next Mount Kinabalu climb in 2 weeks time… hope it will be a success…

We reach Tawau around 4pm on 24th, and booked into Heritage Hotel. And this is the first time I have to change room. Before we went out around 6pm for dinner and ‘work’, I checked the windows to make sure it is locked, and it was not… and I can’t lock it. The latch is locked but not hooked… I decided to report it later when I come back coz need to rush for dinner… ‘buka puasa’ actually since my two colleagues are fasting for the Ramadan. But we were only back to the hotel around 10pm something… coz after dinner we actually went to install and configure the server and troubleshoot the network that night at our branch office so that we will not be rushing the next day… after all we are still excited with the journey I guess… and it is ‘puasa’ month, easier to work at night.

I called the room service and reported the window problem, and they sent two maintenance guys. They tried and said, they can’t unlock it coz they don’t have the key and the person in charge of the key has gone home for the day. The other guy assure me nothing will happen… it’s safe he said. I scolded him… I asked him what happen if someone kill me tonight?… the other guy was more professional and said, they will find a solution, they need to talk to the manager or something and they left. A few minutes later, the reception called and inform they can’t unlock the window, and the only way is for me to change room… So change room from 312 to 212

The next day after troubleshooting at the Tawau branch office, around 2pm, we started our journey back home by staying a night at Lahad Datu. Lahad Datu town roads are in the mess… I can say it’s a cowboy town… worse than Kota Belud. Then we continue our journey around 9am the next day.

Travelling through this path is a bit comfortable… the roads are all sealed… only a few section under maintenance… but that’s not a big problem compared to the Kalabakan road. But this road are busier… either overtake or trail a long traffics. There are many big size vehicles like lorries, trucks and buses too… and they are speeding like mad man when the road is not climbing but crawling when they climb the hills… Just have to be careful…

The 6 hours journey was great… except for one accident at Ranau. A lorry tanker felled on its side at a corner. When we reach the accident area, it was already quite a long queue and we can see a crane was trying to move the lorry. The smell of the diesel fuel plus donno what chemical from the lorry was giving me stomach ache… feel like vomiting, so I stayed inside the car with the air-cond while my colleagues went outside. After like 30 minutes, the crane manage to shift the lorry to the side of the road so that traffics from both directions can continue their journey.

And along the journey, there were many big buses ferrying passengers to and from Kota Kinabalu to east-coast like Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau and Semporna. And frankly, I never seen double-deckers in Sabah… A couple of few weeks before our journey, I did read on the newspapers about a bus operator which just acquired 3 units of double deckers bus which cost about a million ringgit each. And surprise… surprise… I saw 3 units of double deckers bus… Two yellow colour and a white colours from two different operators. Bus service business along this route must be good… maybe can start bus renting service like the Arizona bus rental… Yeah why not… not necessary the big bus… it can be the small luxury bus… or motor home… that will be cool… driving your rented motor home at your own sweet time… don’t have to worry about hotel or changing rooms…

Some photos…

Lahad Datu old shops.

You really have to squeezed between large vehicles sometimes… they stopped at the road side coz there are Police road block or probably they just feel like parking there…

See that guy on orange shirt?… He simply park his lorry there and walk to the other side of the road to meet his friend…

Previously we thought we were in Florida beach and saw a convertible… this time we thought we saw Transformers…

You want to go to Paris? Don’t sweat it… just come over to Lahad Datu, there is a place called Kampung Paris…

This bus was traveling like beatle… virtually it tried to overtake everyone… sometimes 6 cars at one time although there are incoming traffics… crazy!

Bus… and many of them too.

The first double deckers bus we cross…

Somewhere in Ranau… Mount Kinabalu… Gonna climb it next month.

Maintenance of slope somewhere in Ranau.

Accident in front…

The lorry tanker overturned… lucky the crane manage to put it to the side of the road.

Another double deckers bus.

… and yet another double deckers bus… but this one seem to be broken… or resting?…

Although I can use airplane to Tawau, I prefer to travel by land coz I can enjoy the scenery along the 400km journey. Furthermore time is on our side if we use our own vehicle… we don’t have to rush… we can drive slow or fast… We can stop anywhere we like to relieve ourselves.

Not like travelling by air, have to be on time to catch the flight… I really hate it when the schedule is tight… that’s why I usually take flight in the afternoon if I have to fly… coz I hate getting ready early in the morning. Travelling for official duty and non official like travelling for Las Vegas holidays are two completely different loads… yes loads… for official, the loads like the garments must be neat and well taken care… but for holiday, I can simply chunk my cloths into the luggage without worrying if they get crumple or not…

OK back to our 400KM++ journey… we use the Kalabakan road which cut through the Crocker Range and pass the Meliau Basin… the Lost World. As everyone know, 140KM of Kalabakan road is still in gravel… and it being used by logging truck. When the road is well maintained, although it is gravel, the ride will be still smooth. I’ve been using this road many times since 2008. But unfortunately the condition of the 140KM seem to be getting bad each time we use this road. And this time it was the worse experience… it is raining season… although it wasn’t raining that time. We did not know that there was notification issued early of the week that the road is not passable for small vehicles…

The road was a bit muddy… but some are dried… the logging trucks left two deep tyre tracks at some areas where it is impossible for small vehicles to go through… lucky our Toyota Fortuner is tall enough. But there is one path where our 4×4 almost stuck in the mud… although the mud was not deep, it was slippery. The car can’t move forward… and the deep logging tracks made it difficult to reverse. While we tried to rave through the mud, suddenly the car… slammed… skidded… turned… by the mud almost 90 degrees… the car is no longer pointing towards where we going but pointing to the edge of the road… its no longer parallel with the road but across the road… but lucky all are OK after a few tries. It was a memorable experience… quite an adventure journey

Some photos…

I thought we were in Florida beach holidaying when we saw this convertible from afar…

It turn out to be… we were LOL. This is somewhere in Kalabakan road where there are lots of palm oil plantation.

Common… passing each other with logging truck filled with fresh logs.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to go through here… this is the logging camp and not the road itself. But we were stuck in this kind of mud.

Logs felled into the drain…

Fresh water… very cool… washing my face with the water is very cooling

My duties was to design, embroiled and purchase t-shirt for the workshop participants. It was decided that the shirt will be green polo t-shirt. Sound easy… all I have to do is design the logo, the shirt and then get the number of sizes before sending to the shop. Boy… it was not easy… especially getting the sizes from the participants… Luckily I received the final sizes just enough time for the shop to get the shirts ready before the event. So all together I have to get:

12 – XXXL
11 – XXL
62 – XL
74 – L
82 – M

if I was to prepare for petite clothing, I don’t think we can get the cloth ready on time

Getting ready the t-shirts is not the end of it… we have to distribute it during the registration. And during the distribution, problem arises… some did not agree with their sizes… but sorry, I can’t entertain for size changes coz I have to follow what on the list given to me… but at the end, we manage to swap some sizes… and everyone is happy… except during the day, the second day, when all of them wear the shirt… they said don’t go to Giant Supermarket wearing the shirt… LOL… it turn out the colour looks similar to the Giant staffs shirts And except for one guy given XXXL which can’t fit on him… I think he needed XXXXL… and I suggest to him to try next year Biggest Loser Asia Season 3

And the worst part, all the big shots and important staff in the office are not around for the past two days… they are having conference and seminar… two events at two locations for two days… and I really need to complete my work… I need their signatures… comments… dang I just hope they all come back tomorrow and don’t take leave… else I will not enjoy my trip… Only one more day tomorrow for me to settle all my work before I fly on Saturday… So tonight, I don’t want to stress out… I want to forget about these for a while… I just want to relax… don’t want to think about all these… I’m going to the gym… errr nope… I went last night… so tonight I just want to play games… wish I have Sony PS3 or Xbox 360 to play games on the big LCD TV… My nephews also have been pestering me to buy them a Sony PSP… I myself also need one PSP…

I’m going home now… need to buy something for my aquarium… the thingy to suck out water… donno what is the name… siphon  I think… I have not change my aquarium water for more than a month… lucky the water filter is good…

Since I can’t sleep on my chair, I tried to finish some work during lunch time… and went back the moment the clock hit ‘time to go home’… at home I just dump myself on the bed… without sleeping pills, I fell asleep immediately.

I woke-up after like… two hours… feeling fresh… But now, sure I will not sleep early tonight… will stay awake late… probably till 2.00 am… but not coz of insomia … maybe I’m gonna need sleeping pills now…

Usually when I received a call from someone with a thick slang, I get very tense coz sometimes these people are promoting things like bond, fund, share… bla bla bla… all kind of investment scheme from neighboring countries… which I’m not interested and can’t afford. If it is about online affiliate marketing, I will consider it for my blogs…

Anyway, the funny thing is about the prize… the overall prize for the online competition. When she said the prize is a 5 day all expenses paid trip to Kota Kinabalu…. I almost bust into laugh… but not to be rude, I kept quite… but laughing inside…

So many office works need to be completed… backlogs are so much… meetings here and there… to get specifications… to prepare reports… to do technical drawings… going outstations… attending courses…

So many activities coming up… paintball training… paintball competitions… photography outings… donno want to go or not…

So many favors need to give away… lucky no one asked for wedding favors… helping others to prepare reports… digging for information… specifications…

I don’t think I like to do all these anymore… work so hard… at the end nobody appreciate you… well, not all… but some…

I need a break… I need to go for vacation… how nice if I strike the Jack Pot… nothing to worry about… just spend… do charity… travel…

WOW… that’s like working 4 hours and 12 minutes only a day from Monday to Friday!!!

The foundation claimed in its report that the reduction in working hours would help ease unemployment and overwork… cool… less people will get stressed-out or gets nervous breakdown… but too bad to those selling mechanical breakdown insurance

The foundation is aware that by reducing the working hours people would earn less, but said they would have more time to carry out worthy tasks. They would have better scope to look after their children or other dependants, there would be more opportunity for civic duties, and older people could even delay retirement, the foundation said.

Well, I’m ready for that… but wonder when it will be implemented here…

On the first working day of this year, 4 January 2010, I received a call… through my office extension phone.

I pick-up the phone and answer ‘Hello’… A lady voice on the other end replied… ‘Is this extension 13xx?’… I said ‘Yes’… then she replied… telling me her company name and location… then asked, ‘How do we register with you?’…

My mind was saying… ‘What the heck is this lady talking about?’…

So I asked her what she wants to register?… and her replied was she not sure… her boss asked her to register… shoot man!!! Is it April already?… I told her I can’t help her if she not sure what her boss want…

Then she asks me what my office business is… I told her it is the ICT section… then she asks me again what is ICT… OMG!!!… I told her it stand for Information & Communication Technology… then she asks me again what it do?

What the heck!!!! O_O

I told her it’s about computers… then she asks me if I can tell her more about ICT… Farkkkkk!!!!… (ok… ok… I don’t like that word to be in here… but that was really what in my mind that time… and it was written with font size 1000 in my head!!!)

I told her I can’t help her if she not sure with everything she asks… I told her to Google the ICT word herself… then she asks me how to do it!!!!! FARKKKKKK… dammit!!!!… This time the word is written with zillion font size!!!… Come on man… This is not an inbound call center… not a sex-call center… not a psychiatric call center… not a psychiatric hospital… not a mental hospital…

I told her to find out herself coz I’m busy and I have a guest in front of me… then I hang up the phone before more stupid words comes out from her mouth…

Dammm… that was really… really… really… I don’t know what word to describe my feeling… what I went thru… at that time… dammm…

HP ProCurve switch with 24 UTP ports and 4 dual-personality ports for fiber connection.

So, 2010 is going to be a challenging year… to keep up the speed demand… or is it speed demon… speed hungry applications… But we can only speed up the LAN… for the LAN applications… but there is no way for us to get a better WAN speed… hoping 2010 will give us more WAN speed for us to reach the world out there…

HP Mini GBIC for fiber connection.

Mounting kit for the rackmount switch.

First, to celebrate one of our staff achievements who received an excellent award this year… second to celebrate our boss and another colleague belated birthday… and third to thank our two trainee, college students, who have been with us for the past six months.

We had our small party in our multipurpose room… a training room, a store room, a meeting room… it can be any room you like it to be anytime… we don’t have much office furniture inside the room but probably you might say it is full of junk if you see what inside the room…

And I really hate it when some people don’t understand that doing important support job is a stressful job… we can’t just leave things behind… and this ‘people’ simply call for unnecessary meetings… for the sake of trying to complete their own unimportant work… if the lame meeting is not conducted this year, no account will be unclosed you see… but when system don’t work, the whole administration and accounting will collapse… I think the luggage sets I bought in KL during WCA last month will not be going anyway soon… probably till next year…

I really hate it when insurance agents call me and try to sell me insurance policy!!! When I asked them how they got hold of my contact number… they say from my colleague… dang colleague!!!… and these insurance agents always talk a lot… sometimes I just talk straight to their face telling them that I’m not interested buying anything.

They don’t have to waste their time and my time explaining something that I’m not considering buying!!! If I ever need any details about a particular insurance, I can always read it online from the internet… and I also can buy life insurance online without going through them!!!

It is 7.30 am and I’m still packing for my trip to Tawau… working trip from today till Friday… have to go troubleshoot some network problem there…

Every time going outstation to the east coast side like Tawau or Sandakan, the first thing that will come across in everybody mind is seafood… yes load of sea foods… and they are damm cheap down there…

Yesterday, colleague over there called and promised to feed us with sea foods till we vomit… man… need to take appetite suppressant pills… ok, need to stop here… have to get ready for the trip…

Sleeping and waking up late are more fun… no worries.

Roaming around doing nothing also fun to do… no worries… no hurry… no datelines… no meeting…

Well, work is work… no job, no monies… so what ever the hassle I have to go through every morning and throughout the day… I still have to face them… I need to eat… I need salary to buy foods…

In the office, after leaving it for sometimes, there are many things to be done… everything are piling up… reading emails… replying emails… attending meetings… troubleshooting… ordering office supplies… completing reports… completing systems…

I wish I strike a jackpot and don’t have to work for the rest of my life… just travel around the world… vacations throughout the year… after year…

During the month of August, there were two family wedding receptions… first was my brother’s on the 8th and then my cousin’s on the 29th.

For my brother’s wedding reception, I guess there was no choice but to be fully involved… all the way up to the stage.

And lucky it was only reception since they have married in church last year outside the country…

As for my cousin’s, involved for the hall preparations… you know… carry chairs… carry tables… more on physical kind of work… and during the reception which started at 6pm, I turn myself as a bar tender… a bar tender who doesn’t know how to take liqour

Well it was fun handling the alcohol when you yourself don’t like to drink it… Me, brothers and cousins was handling the hard liquor and drinking water… and other brothers and cousins handle the beer… handling the beer is much more easier than handling the hard liquor and the drinking water… the request for the drinking water was non-stop… way before the reception started because we need to provide drinking water to everyone especially to those fasting for their breaking fast at around 6.30pm.

Then there are also futsal games… which I have not played… either I watch only or never go at all… friends must be mad at me… they have started using their new futsal shoe… but mine, it still wrapped in plastic and kept inside the refrigerator… Then there are birthday parties…

 
Updating facebook…

Wokay… now, it’s time to recover… there are many works to be done… in the office and home… but because I took so many leave… I feel like not going back to work… I just feel lazy… I just don’t feel like working… I don’t like waking up early in the morning… I wish I strike the jackpot and don’t have to go to work any more… just travel around the world… eat… and sleep…

Then Tuesday was busy troubleshooting and answering all kind of craps… and I skip lunch. And man… my stomach was so… donno how to describe.

But I also received great news about my order from the net on Tuesday night. I ordered some stuff almost 3 weeks ago

Wednesday, skip breakfast… and almost gone berserk becoz of the mail server… it was not transporting the internal mails out since donno when… probably Monday. Lucky luck is around… nothing serious.

And was also busy filing the eTax… damm… there is so much tax to pay… lucky some of the incomes are non-taxable.

If I keep on skipping my important meals, I sure will get thinner soon… no need diet pill… but heck… eating is obligations to me… don’t want to get colon cancer or anything… palis palis…

And I’m getting hot… not hot what… but becoz of the stupid power supply… it keep on blacking out since last week!!!

Can you imagine there gonna be power-shading for the next 3 months!!! Tats what someone told me… I already lost 2 server’s power supply last week… damm. SESB!!!

According to the news, the power-shading is unavoidable… becoz SESB have to do major maintenance at the Tenom’s Hydro, their big generators, and also the Independent Power Producer (IPP) generators… shoot man… I don’t buy this… how come all need to be serviced at the same time!!! Sound very fishy to me…

My parcel was confirmed delivered to me on morning Wednesday through PosLaju… will receive it on Thursdays coz their tagline is ‘sure receive next day’ LOL… but when I call PosLaju, they said it will take 2 days for P O Box delivery… and since Friday in holiday, I will only get my camera stuffs on Monday… damm… but I will force myself to the Central Post Office at KK, Thursday.

And starting next Monday, I have to spend extra 5 hours after office… have to attend a part time MCSE course from 6pm to 9.30pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next 6 months!!!

Really pack lah after this… hope will not get thin… must eat… must eat…

We have to prepare some flow charts and a few standard letters to be presented in the next meeting with the committee which is tomorrow. Me and the two colleagues have been meeting and discussing about this stuff since last year.

All these need to be presented and accepted by the committee… and since tomorrow is going to be our first presentation, I don’t expect it to be accepted 100% tomorrow. I’m sure there will be some changes to be made.

But once everything are OK, the higher authority will stamps all the documents as valid and legal using their custom rubber stamps… Once all these documents are stamped, our future works will strictly follow the procedures we have outlined in the documents, and hopefully it will improve the service quality and performance.

And today, someone caught using pirated or illegal AVG… were slapped with this message… You may not be aware that you are using a pirated or illegal copy of AVG!