The expanse of space is largely used on behind the desks/counters area and left empty. There is hardly anyone applying for anything. The officers mostly just sat behind their counter and surf internet and chat on msn or QQ. You turn up at their counter and you’ll think you see Justice Bao because of how black their faces turn.
Those that I encountered or observed, service was at minimum, good service was almost non-existent.
My colleague told me many wished for this type of government job. Pay is relatively high and work is practically little. They go to work (is it even considered work?) and get to surf the internet, piss off people and knock off on the dot. These people don’t clamour for career progression, just an easy job. I won’t be surprised if some of them go by the entire day just surfing and not attending to a single customer.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Who's There
Last night, as I came out of the toilet, I heard the doorbell rang. ‘Hmm’…I thought, ‘who could be looking for me and at such late timing?’ I went to the peephole and looked out.
There was nobody. I squinted. Still nobody. A prank perhaps?
I turned and started to walk back to my room (in the dark). The doorbell rang again. I quickly turned and looked through the peephole. Nobody! And I didn’t hear any footsteps running away! Crap, I started to wish I was religious.
Then it came to me. It was my handphone message tone.
…………..
I should stop myself from such bowel inducing thoughts. Come to think of it, I have never tried my doorbell before I didn’t even know how it sounds like. Maybe I should try it someday. When I have that extra ounce of energy to lift my finger to press it.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Outage
It seems to be a lucky sign because there was a power outage at our temporary office today and everyone, for once, ended work early at 5pm. Looked like somebody forgot to pay the electricity bill.
I took the opportunity to run (not literally of course) to a familiar megastore, Carrefour, in Suzhou West to purchase some other items. Not that I’ll be using them soon, since some of my basic appliances are not fixed yet. But well, there’s no better time than tonight with my weekend burned. Needed to fill up the apartment a little to make it look less empty.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Popsicle Man
It rained last night and the temperature just plummeted. I had my aircon on blasting at 30 degree to give me comfort but at midnight, it just stopped. No matter how I adjusted the remote, it won’t work.
I have no thick clothing and I had no quilt or even a blanket. I piled on my jacket and slept a couple of unfitful hours before I woke up again and fiddle with the aircon again out of desperation. It didn’t work. I was resigned to turning into a human popsicle.
At 4am, I woke up once again to fiddle with the aircon yet once more, on my relentless pursuit for happiness. Then I heard something. Following, I felt something. Ahhh…the bliss of hot air. Was the weather so cold it needed 4 hours to heat up the air? Or was the aircon just lousy? I didn’t care. I took whatever sleep I could get like a hungry jackal with a dead moose.
Today, right after getting back home from work, I rushed to the neighbourhood supermarket to get a quilt before it closed. At least if I become a popsicle, I come wrapped.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Good View
I went to check out the guest bathroom. Wah, lagi better view. The window's even bigger. Luckily, there’s a screen. Otherwise, I’ll really have to start wetting the toilet paper.
Moving In
Despite the lack of heating, TV and internet, I moved in. It’s not really that cold actually and I have my books and laptop. My apartment is in Suzhou East, East of the Jin Ji (Golden Chicken) River. Don’t ask me for the origin of the name, because nobody I asked seems to know.
It’s a new town that’s still building up. Infrastructure wise is still not as developed as Suzhou West. But it’s quiet and peaceful and I love it. Oh, did I say I love my apartment too? It’s so new the plastic wrappings are still over the sofa, TV and beds. Quite a nice décor as well.
While waiting for them to clean up and fix the water meter, I spent the time buying stuff (pot, pan, cutlery, beddings) for my apartment with the company driver at Auchan in Suzhou West. Auchan is like Carrefour (which they have here as well), and it’s almost endless (think 3 times size of a floor of Suntec’s Carrefour all on a single floor) and needless to say, thronging with people.
It was almost 5pm by the time I moved in. Spent the next 2 hours plus doing the dreaded task of unpacking and arranging my items. Oh, why did I have to pack so much? And now, I still have lots of clothes to iron. Well, maybe I’ll just iron one set for tomorrow will do.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
My Valentine Day
The flight has been just ok. Poor ratings are given due to the poor selection of on-demand movies available. Could have used better entertainment. Free kisses from the stewardess for flying on Valentine’s also did not materialize. The only kiss someone wants to give was from CB who’s intending to propose to his girlfriend. Wrong target, my friend.
After a 5 hours flight to Shanghai, I had to keep on flattening my butt in a car for another 2.5 hours from there to the office at Yang Cheng Lake. Now, I’m sitting in the office, void of people because they all went out for a meeting.
So here I wait, twiddling my thumbs, stomach growling, typing this out to post later (can’t connect to internet via my laptop) and itching to play some computer games. Of course I didn’t dare. My back is facing the entrance. Won’t want to risk the GM, various directors and all other staff to return and catch me doing such brain stimulating exercises. Not a very good impression when they find out I play better at a game them they do, right?
First day in office, I’m continuing to make my butt flat, waiting for my pep talk before getting shuttled to my apartment in Suzhou. Thank goodness tomorrow’s Sunday.
Update: 3 hours wait and they finally back. Well, at least I get to stay at a hotel tonight. That means INTERNET!
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Defunct
While it's true that standalone cinemas have limited capacity and entertainment variety (as most have maximum of 2 theatres, hence maximum of 2 films shown at any point), I do find them to have certain allure.
Rex, Ruby, Majectic and Kargo
Being in a standalone building kind of makes it exclusive entertainment. The leather/PVC bound seats and wide leg space are luxury of the times.
I remember going to one of these standalone cinemas when I was young. There was no such thing as electronic ticketing and once you queued up, you select your seat from a big ledger of seating plan for that particular movie or a particular time slot. Occupied seats would be crossed out.
Seat numbers would then be written on the tickets and torn from its perforated edge. To get into the theatre, you hand your tickets over to the usher who would tear off a portion. Then you would be allow through the thick black velvet curtain into another world.
If you were late, the usher would lead you in with a torchlight to your seat. Talk about good service.
At the carpark gantry to Pasar Besar Ipoh. Why would someone want to hang laundry on a carpark gantry bar with pigeons? Unless to make the perching point more comfy. Guess only 2 pigeons can afford the VIP spots.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Sand* + Castle
I was given a tour of the sand factory next to the family house by a lady with a yellow umbrella.
From the Introduction to Sand Factory course given on site, sand are imported from overseas and seived and sorted according to their grades (super fine, fine, coarse) at the sand factory before sale.
Despite the ancient machinery, things are pretty automated and there were only 2 workers around.
From what we could figure out (a missing chapter in the introduction), the imported sand is loaded into a container which slowly trickles the sand onto a belt. The belt will move the sand and deposits it into a revolving drum with water.
After getting tumbled within the drum, the sand gets filtered and wala, coarse sand gets filtered out (in this instance). The graded sand is then put in a bag and left out to dry. Interesting.
The Lady with a Yellow Umbrella Sand + Castle*
Picking Jacq and our chaperon (don't ask further) up, we visited Kellie's Castle, located between Simpang Pulai and Pusing. As a child, whenever my family visited my granduncle and grandaunt in Sitiawan, we would drive pass this castle in the middle of a plantation. Ghost house, some of the locals call it.
I always wanted to visit it, but never got the chance. My mother would say, if I want to see a ghost, all I had to do was look into the mirror. Then I'ld see a lazy ghost.
..........
After 20 odd years, I got my chance.
Kellie's Castle was built by Kellie Smith in 1909 as an extension to his bungalow on his rubber plantation near Batu Gajah. It has Islamic influences on its design as visible from the onion shaped windows.
According to the a tag, the area above was supposed to be a rooftop tennis court if the castle was completed. I know, Scots (Kellie's one), the wind must have blown too much up their kilts to have such fancy ideas.
360 degree view from top of Kellie's Castle with a calefare thrown in.
What was to be a lift shaft. Kellie died in Lisbon while there purchasing the lift.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Simpang Pulai
7 minutes walk in later, I'm settling into my room at my aunt's place. My aunt's house used to be similar to the one shown below; clapboard, tin-roofed house. Few years back, it was concretised and now has one less worry of termites.
What my aunt's place used to look like
Many houses in the village have also renovated over the years into concrete buildings. The most obvious one is adjacent to my aunt's house. It used to be built like a timber log, with chopped firewood lining the front and side of the house. I used to play hide and seek, firecrackers, flies hunting etc with my childhood friends there.
Now, it's another imposing, cold and unfriendly building. I'm not sure if my childhood friends' family still lived there, but I've lost touch with all of them when they started moving away to study and subsequently work in cities.
As a city child without friends to play with anymore, that place became boring. However, on this trip, I found I like the simple and calm life here. Waking up to the cranky rooster crowing, going to the bustling village market and slurping up my favourite ipoh chee cheong fun. Sedap!
This area near the basketball court behind my aunt's house is a watering hole for the elderly to trade gossip during the day. According to my aunt, these days at night, the village committee turned the area into a KTV 'lounge'. For RM1, you get to take turns with others who paid and sing till you lose your voice. Very happening eh.
Luckily it was raining both nights I was there. Otherwise, I would have gone there, paid my RM1 and attracted the entire village with my singing. Yes, Prince of Squeaks, Flat Notes and Out of Tune has grown up and came back to visit!
This is the security system probably left over from my grandpa's time. Cheap, long lasting and no maintenance. Who needs Cisco? Anyone who attempts to climb over the walk will risk getting shredded.