Where Have All the Blogs Gone?

First they banned wikipedia.

Now I can't view my own blog page in this foreign land. I can't get my daily fix of reading other's blog (on blogspot) and leave my two cents worth of comment.

Later I also found out that I cannot view the photos on Flickr.com. What's going on here, man?

So, sorry guys and gals. Though I could not comment on your blogs, I am able to view them via Google reader, a God sent tool.

P.S. This is an old blog which was not published on 27 June. I got fed up since no point if I can view my own blog and the comment from others. However, here it is in its original form.

Slumber

I could doze off standing.

It was non-stop action from the moment I stepped down from the MAS airbus at Pudong international airport. I managed to catch 40 winks on flight between 4am until 6:30am before it started its descend.

After freshening up at the hostel apartment, off I went with another colleagues to meet the big bosses at the hotel. It was meeting the entire morning until we went back to office for lunch. I have to keep myself awake through out the afternoon until 6pm. Back at the apartment, I could not go to sleep yet until a quick shower and a late dinner. No mood to go out so we had delivery of fried rice.

It is already summer in Shanghai. The day time temperature can be as high as 36 (degree) Celsius. Luckily we have company car and all offices are air-conditioned. If you walked on the street during high noon, you would inevitably be drenched in your own sweat.

Time is Up!

CHINA - Shanghai
Picture by Franck - フランク - 法兰克

So this is it.

The time is near.

The plane will take off at 0140 hours from KLIA heading north. It will bring me back to where I came from exactly a month ago.

This is the land of hope for her people. This is the place where super power will emerge. To me, I am only a passenger, watching my life path intertwined with those. Maybe it's fate that we met, maybe it's fate that brought us apart.

Hopefully this will be the final trip on work. As they said, it is hard to mix pressure with pleasure. The work comes first and it is hard to relax.

Wish me well.

Next Trip

Airplane window with a view
Picture by Peradventurous

Bad news!

The call came when I least expected it.

I was counting the days since I left Shanghai and came back to KL. Two days, one week, 28 days...

First came the email, followed by the call from my boss from Australia HQ.

He was in Shanghai last week. He called and asked if I could be in Shanghai for at least a month to help settle some critical issue. There is no way for me to say "NO". I don't think he would take a rejection.

Oh! Well, come what may! Maybe it is unfinished business since my departure. I just need to go back in and settle it once and for all. Hopefully this would be a good trip.

My worry is that my mom would be on her own again. She would be alone one more time.

Answer to My Prayer?

What is the best way to beat the traffic jam blue in KL?

What offers you air con, comfy seat (ok, not so comfy after all), stress free ride through the thick jam during peak hours in the morning and evening?

While you could enjoy light music, reading pleasure and let the driver brings you to work and back to home, safe and sound? Too bad it does not come with ice blend mocha. Am I asking too much?

Today I took my maiden ride on the brand new revised RapidKL network (it is considered new starting from 21 April 2007 as stated on the official website) to work. I paid RM2 for the 'all-day ticket' on the the Utama (Trunk) bus network, I could have unlimited ride for the day on the same network. Rapid probably figured out that on average each person only takes 2 rides in a day.

This system benefit commuters in a few ways:
1. Spread the fare across and share the burden;
2. You only pay once and then show the same ticket stub to the bus driver for all subsequent rides on the network (provided you don't lost the ticket). No more fumbling with small change and coin.
3. Saving for me from having to drive and to park my car for RM5 per entry.

It is only 20 minutes ride from my neighborhood to Sentral Station. Due to the rain and heavy jam in the evening, I spent 30 minutes waiting for the bus and another hour in the bus. However, I could now sit back and relax, (pretend) to read and listen to my MP3 player.

The annoying things are:
1. The bus is never on time, and it does not keep to the frequency stated;
2. You have to brave the elements, like today's sudden downpour starting at 6pm;
3. Massive jam at stops like the one on Jalan Tun Sambanthan in front of the monorail station.

Joy is about discovering alternatives in life!

Ocean of Knowledge

I used to like browsing the bookstore.

There are so many to choose from. My favorites include the MPH at Mid Valley City and 1 Utama; Kinokuniya at KLCC; Borders at Berjaya Time Squares.

I would stoop high and low to thumb through books that caught my attention. Mostly it is the catchy titles, the glossy finish of the cover, the smell of it. Well, you are not supposed to judge a book by the cover anyway.

I used to enjoy window shopping at the bookstore.

As always, I would end up buying books which I read a few pages and lost interests quickly. I would always say to myself: one of these days, I will spend all my living days reading those books.

I used to love scouting for surprises at the bookstore.

I could find exotic coffee table books at Hong Kong's Page One at Harbour City, Tsimshatsui. There are photo books by Adu, M1, Tom Bianchi, glorious male body in its best form.

Today, I was at the MPH MVC briefly. Alas! Life's little pleasure shall not be denied.

The 'Lift' Man

Have you seen him before?

Who? You asked.

The 'Lift' man. Not spiderman or superman, just the Lift man.

He would be there in one of those lifts in the morning when I arrived, diligently wiping every bit and part of the lift cubicle, all six of them. Then the sliding door on each level of the building, from the basements to all the floors. He's there when I take the breaks or leak. He's there when I leave. All he needs is just a small pail with a wet cloth, a dispensing bottle with detergent.

Day in day out, he does the same routine over and again, scrubbing imaginary stain on the wall of the lift. He's probably from Bangladesh, the exporter of laborer of the world. I wonder how long he has been at it, and how much longer he will be doing it. Is he with his family? Has he ever felt homesick?

He probably has seen all the faces who work in this block, people who go up and down the floors using the lift day in day out.

Our life paths cross everyday yet we know nothing about the other person. A lonely city of lonely strangers.

A New Beginning

I think I would like to start blogging.

I hope that you would chance upon my blog and tell me what you think. It is lonely living in this city and having to keep the darkest secret all the time. Through this blog, I will share my inner thoughts on anything that cross my mind.

Life, friendship, sex, dreams, disappointment...