Stupid Things On The Net: Party (Huh, Really?)

Oh, but you did attend the party. 

Remember a few months ago,

 when you did the horizontal tango?

The ties that bind!

I recently acquired a new staff to replace another that was about to leave. Did the screening as per usual and ending with an interview session. The kid seemed like a suitable candidate. Correct previous work experience too. The first few days he was sufficiently capable. Then one day he did not turn up for work. When I contacted him, he said he was unwell and on medical leave. He did seem under the weather the few preceding days.

The next day he came back to work and was again in the swing of things, as we were neck deep with a group based handling. When I asked him about his Medical leave documentations, he stated he did not have one. Apparent he was so ill he could not go to the clinic (then why did you tell me you were on MC?). Disciplined him accordingly and let him continue his work.

Then a few days later, he was absent again, the next day as well. On the third day of absence, I contacted him to ask him if he was interested in continuing his employment.  Alas, my calls went unanswered.  Wrote him off as absent without leave and prepared a motion for dismissal due to absence for 3 days.  I also left him voicemails and SMS so that he could respond in case there were mitigating circumstances.

I also contacted his next of kin but they too did not answer my calls or respond to my voicemail/sms. Submitted the motion for dismissal back to HQ and he was let go. On the 4^th day of absence, suddenly at 7.30pm, during Maghrib prayer time, his father contacted me appealing for his son’s continued employment with us.

Somehow, the kid and his family got into a tiff and he had not returned home for 2 days. Dad also asked me to, in his own words, to ‘Tarbiah’ the kid when he returns to work, which I understood as give a dressing down on work ethics. He went further to state that the Kid’s brother had been recently thrown out of their home due to ‘Ketegaq’. His voice suggested to me that he seemed proud of doing so, as if it made him an accomplished disciplinarian. He did not know however that I have already filed for his other son’s dismissal.

Reading between the lines, I made the assumption that this staff of mine may have a hard time at home with a peculiar disciplinarian. I texted the kid to come in and present his case to me and we will see how to proceed from there and to collect his pay due.

The kid dropped by 3 days later and after careful questioning (I have my methods); I came to know that his dad had already kicked him out the first day of the tiff. He had gone out with a few friends and slept at their place, waking up really late for work. He had rushed home to get cleaned up and rush to work. In his haste he had been questioned by his mom and dad and some regretful reactions occurred. Being young and hot-headed, he lashed out and unfortunately, so did his dad, throwing him out.

Despite my mind screaming out not to care, my heart pitied that this kid is like a lost lamb.

I probably should not, but I want to give the kid another chance so that by acquiring a job with us, he can prove to his family that he wants to change for the better.

I have a bitter taste in my mouth, as what kind of father would kick out a 19 year old onto the streets like that, along with his 22 year old brother before him. Both kids have not returned home since. What sin would cause a father and mother to do such a drastic move like this?

What happens if your kids fall into even worse kinds of people and start abusing drugs? Or start committing crimes due to hardship? Or they fall ill or get involved in horrible traffic accident? What would your tears mean by then Dad, Mom? There is a host of possible bad things that can happen to young people of there without supervision, care and love. Sure, stay positive and hope no bad thing will occur. I would rather be prepared and be sure.

And the Darwin award goes to......

I am sure there are many more layers to this story than was implied. I still would err on the side of caution.

So, to parents, if you are not ready to become real parents, stop doing the horizontal tango and burdening yourselves with the responsibility and honour of raising a child. The world will be a better place without you breeding and transferring your pathetic notion of a parent’s infallibility to your progeny.

Don’t hide behind the religious duty of procreating and cultivating humanity when you can’t even understand the flawed, yet fundamentally innocent mind of a child.

Buat malu Mak Bapak saja nanti!

I pray to God I don’t do this to my own kids in the future.

BR1M = Bagi Rasuah 1 Malaysia?

At first reading, the twisted 'Bagi Rasuah 1 Malaysia' wordplay on BR1M elicited a snicker from me. But then after a while, I realised what a cruel statement it actually is. 

So you say the Government is bribing those are entitled. Your statement also by default suggest those who receive the BR1M are corrupt and love receiving bribes.

So if you have an Aunt/Uncle, Granny/Atuk, or who ever, or the poor,or a lonely Anak Yatim who is eking out a living in receipt of the financial aid to also be pemakan rasuah? 

Tolonglah orang melayu ku. Jangan lah mulut jahat sangat. Ataupun adakah hati kita dah jadi terlalu hitam hingga semua yg berbeza dari kita layak di hina. 

Kadang kala rasa macam Melayu semakin mundur. 

Ke, sentap kerana permohonan bantuan untuk diri sendiri ditolak? 

Go and stab yourselves in the eye and rid us of your idiocy!

Sod It!

So here I am, working in Langkawi, enjoying my new life and learning new things.

Then I get a message from a friend (and former MAS mate) that new things are happening in MAS and they are interested in setting up a new F&B Product Development Department in MAS. They have already appointed a new VP and things are moving along fairly quickly.

My friend then asks whether I would be returning to MAS after I complete my 1 year Leave-Without-Pay this coming 30th October 2013. I am flattered really, that a few close friends and colleagues had suggested and supported my return.

About 2 months back, a different former colleague and ex-Uni mate contacted me and offered me a position in his department.

A month ago, the new boss of my old department, also suggested my return.

Now, despite what people would say, flattery does win influence over people (and I admit I use it like a useful weapon sometimes), but I can't shake off the feeling that I will be yet another tool. A mere cog in the scheme of things, where people who have no real inkling of what it takes to conduct Food & Beverage Service well, lord over the people who actually win and keep customers.

Strange really because I miss my KL life and MAS Colleagues terribly, some of whom are very nice people. The date is looming closer by the minute, yet I really can't honestly say whether I will come back to MAS. Oh, the irony of it, the return of the prodigal albeit rant-y, son!

Right this very second though, I do feel like fucking screaming to those who let it come to this. After all the insult and ignominy you put me through, you finally realise I was actually adding value to the team and company? That I added a special esprit de corp to the team? After years of downplaying, to the point of running me to the ground financially, you expect me to happily skip back to square one? And you finally think I had made several excellent developments, and had vision?

Sod it! Thank you very much.

Come back with a good offer and then we'll talk. Sure, it ain't all about the money honey, but it pays the bills.

Driving & the Average Malaysian: Parking Habits

We Malaysians have a knack of pissing off others when we are behind the wheel. We sure do have an ability to do whatever we want, both on the road and when we are not.

I note with dismay some of our bad habits:

1) We love to Double Park (and on occasions, Triple Park).

2) We love to drop people off at road shoulders, without signaling others on the road of our intention to make a stop.

3) We love to park our cars in lots not meant for us – i.e. commandeering the lots meant for disabled or less able and/or for families with baby strollers, or even the registered lots.

4) We take more than one lot for our vehicles, just because we are too preoccupied with parking our cars right in the middle of the designated box.

And the owner of this car proves my argument in points number 3 & 4!

He or She is most probably mentally 'cacat' to park in this spot in this manner! 

5) We park at roadsides with the single solid white or yellow lines on the road shoulders

6) We park at roadsides near our favourite haunts (fill in your choice of club, shopping mall, building, etc) despite the existence of a voluminous covered or non-covered charged parking lot nearby.

7) We stop at road shoulders in the highway/expressway without any real emergency to do so.

8) We stop at areas despite the no parking sign.

9) We receive such joy when we quickly zoom in an empty lot, never mind the fact that somebody may have already been waiting patiently for the exact spot to clear.

And of course there would be more parking offenses to be found! Drat!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

What to do when life throws you lemons:

1) Make lemonade (the old standby),

2) Peel the lemon and wrap the rind around a cinnamon stick for a good cupboard freshener,

3) Carefully segment remainder and eat dipped in salt,

4) Squeeze juice into minor wounds to check if one is still alive after a bicycle tumble (and Scream),

5) Squeeze juice onto oysters on the half-shell to check if it is still alive (and watch oyster Screaaaam!),

5) Zest and add to your best Sugee Cake recipe,

6) Clean your toilet floors,

7) Hand them to somebody else,

8) Work into damp hair to be rid of  pesky dandruff,

9) Cut into chunks and toss into your bottle of olive oil,

10) Juice and use it to scrub limescale off stainless steel bathroom fixtures,

11) Slice open and stuff liberally with salt before bottling it for pickled lemons for Tagines,

12) Bonk your buddy's head with the excess,

13) Stud with cloves and jam in rear of roast whole chicken,

14) With salt and warm water, turn it into a sore throat gargle,

15) Donate them to your favourite charity,

16) Pile high into a large bowl to place on your dining table as decoration,

17) Combine juice with sugar and eggs and a whole lot of stirring over a stove for Lemon curd,

18) Pass some to your friends, to share,

19) Make ginger lemon syrup, yummmm,

20) Use slices in the shower as soap replacement (the acidity and astringency is great for exfoliating),

21) Make food acid clocks (you know, as rudimentary batteries),

I guess one can do quite a bit when life hands you lemons. It all takes the correct frame of mind. Now where is that bottle of lemon curd again?

Hot Can: Self Heating Hot Chocolate!

This looks really fun I thought when I first saw the product a week ago, but circumstances really didnt allow for experimenting. I finally bought it today, at RM6.90 a can, to partner my lunch of crispy BBQ Chicken wrap.

Looks innocent enough I guess.

I soon did what the instructions said I should do and giddily awaited the end result while I nibbled on my lunch.

I got instantaneous results! The can started to immediately heat up, no doubt thanks to the exothermic chemical reaction of the heating element. Steam vapours were venting out of the can bottom! Woohoo!

 

After a 3 minute wait, I opened the can and then poured into mug to give it a try. The can's lid attachment thingy (I imagine it was designed so that one could sip the hot beverage without scalding one's lips on the now seriously hot can) really isn't properly designed for good pouring. My hot chocolate was like sloshing everywhere because of the tiny opening.

And now the Hot Chocolate, yes, hot it was, but there was something wrong when strong acid aromas permeated the air. Chocolate should smell dark, deep, mysterious and with a slightly bitter alkaline undertones, hallmarks of good quality chocolate. The taste test was altogether a disaster. Now close your eyes, imagine drinking sour milk with really really bad, cheap chocolate powder diluted in it. Uh huh, it was exactly that cringe worthy! Hell, even those automatic vending machine hot chocolate drinks taste better than this poor excuse of a drink (proudly made in Malaysia, nothing less!)

Hot Can? More like Hot Can-NOT! Try this at your peril.

Driving & The Average Malaysian

This morning I woke up with more purpose than usual, having secured an appointment to service my Persona at the Proton Platinum Service Center, to have the faulty Thermostat finally replaced.

 Woke up early today, despite being on leave, so that I wouldn't miss my time slot at 8 o'clock. Left home at approximately 7.15 and as dumb luck would have it, got stuck in traffic. The journey should only take in the region of 25 minutes from where I live, but today, I arrived at 8.45, almost a  whole hour later than intended. Of course I should have taken into consideration the office bound crush, but oh well...

Anyways, the delay was acceptable I guess, on account on my own buffoonery, but let me tell you, the ways Malaysians drive is worth blogging about. No, we are not a respectable and law abiding gaggle of drivers, we metamorphose into something else altogether. Somehow, immediately behind the wheel, our inner beasts are unleashed.

Good God! There are slow drivers, fast drivers, hard drivers, aggressive drivers and the median types - comfortable between slow and fast. But what is wrong with us that we forget all modicum of budi bahasa and kindness and just look out for number one when we drive. Lane Changers, Queue Jumpers, Red Light Gunners, yeesh, and to me the most abhorrent of em all, those Let's-Ignore-Using-The-Turn-Signal-Lighters. To me these typify the worse in all us Malaysians, where we automatically abandon our usual timidity and 'Asian' values (does it even has any meaning anymore this day and age?) blatantly disregard the simple 'Excuse me' request by using the signal lights? Men, Women, Young, Old, Malays, Indians, Chinese, it really all goes out the window.

Nah lu!

So, why does it cause an uproar every time a foreign publication or announcement declares we Malaysians are a horrid bunch of drivers? Come on, accept it already. And let us try, taking baby steps, to reduce queue jumping, lane switching, signal forgetting, etc.. etc.. ad nauseam and strive to be a little courteous on the road. After all Malaysia Boleh what?