Diary: 20 & 21 January 2005

It’s a Thursday but I feel like it’s a Friday. Everything is very lose, I wanted to come in to work with jeans and a T-Shirt but I couldn’t as I still had the Pakistan guys to take care off. I had breakfast with Caroline and Jennifer. Most of the staff was on leave as it would be a long weekend holiday break. It’s quite sad that I have to work on Thaipusam day. The company wants to follow the KL working standard when we obviously should be following Kuala Lumpur. I wonder if there is a labour law saying we have to follow the holidays of the state.

There was nothing much I to do in the office just to make sure that every operation ran smoothly. My marketing manager Hasmida is suppose to over see Content Management, 1 is because we work hand in hand with Marketing and 2 she has the Manager title with her. My position right now is technically the head of Content Department. I take care of Content Development and Content Management. I have a very independent crew which I like to believe runs like clock work. Well Hasmida wants to have full control of Content Management under her but she doesn’t know that the team lays quite loyal under my command (sounds very movie like in it). I don’t intend to give up my position without a fight. Both of us put up facades and we work for the best of the company. I honestly love my crew their jovial bunch.

I saw the Pakistan colleagues come in and I welcome them, today would be their last training day and it was open day question. I made sure they were all prepared for their journey home. The knowledge they brought back with them should be sufficient to begin work. I have a feeling inside me that Pakistan will be great and racking in the cash ASAP. Before the day end the Pakistan staff surprised me with a very special gift. A comic art book, It’s from DC Comic it has paintings of Alex Ross. It was such a thoughtful gestures. In the book it has painting of famous characters like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and many more. The Pakistan staff left early to do some shopping around KL town.

We meet up again at BSC Chilies the place was swamped with people after work. I and Lenny got a place at the smoking section as we waited for our Pakistan guest to arrive. They were half an hour late. They were stuck in traffic. I, Lenny and Shahbaz had Triple Play where Raza had Country Fried Chicken. During the meal time we talked about Pakistan and the cultures of their people. Shabaz comes from a fishing village where his dad is into politics and is a well know man in his field. His dad is trying to get him into the politics feel but till today he has tried to resist it. He has a fiancé back in Pakistan who is an anomaly herself. She is a banker. Why an anomaly because woman there are not encouraged to work.

He tells us that there is an island near his fishing village when men and woman go yearly to meet their future wives and husband. Men ogle at women as they take their bath behind bushes. Both parties know what’s going on but they pretend that they don’t know a thing. Shahbaz has invited us for his wedding. He said we should join into the festivities, apparently a day before the wedding all the man have like a stag/bachelor party. The woman have theirs too with their songs and other boring things.
Men have liquor, belly dancing gals and more liquor. He said that we should come over and feel the spirit. He was telling me also that he was reading the companies profile before he 1st came over to Pakistan. He knew were listed in the 2nd board stock market and we have over 400 million ringgit capital. He also knew we had the expertise to market Pakistan. So he said when he 1st meet our team he was quite taken a back on how youthful we were. After dinner we said our farewell to Shahbaz and Raza, we wished them a safe journey home.

My body apparently wasn’t informed that Friday was a holiday. I woke up at 5.30 am and after that I couldn’t go back to bed. When I was just falling into sleep my brothers alarms started to ring they had tuition at 7. You must me wondering what tuition starts at 7 well its Radha. Both of my brothers attend to his tuition classes now. I couldn’t go back in bed so I laid in bed tossing and turning. I slept back at about 7 ish and I woke up back again at about 8.30. I decided to wake up. I noticed my dad was sleeping on the couch. The man only came back from work at 5am. Mum woke and then woke dad to ask him to sleep inside but he didn’t want to. He started praying. The man never changes. He already has booked a place in heaven.

I was channel surfing when nothing much was on TV. I miss the old days when if it was a holiday they would put special TV shows and programs on. They don’t do that anymore. It’s just another day. I watched a Tamil movie, I borrowed it from Lenny. It was called 7/G Rainbow Colony. It was a nice movie talks about of Indian guy falling I love with a Punjabi girl. Apparently it is based on a true story. The story is about this guy who is a dead beat till he meet this gal which he falls in love and tries to change him to a better person. Yes, yes its so cliché but it was a nice story. It made me think of me and Sharon and how she changed me to be a better person as well. She taught me to be classy as well and to never settle for nothing but the best. Ya I know you guys must be saying he still isn’t over here yet. The truth is I am over her when it comes to our relationship but it’s the good times that you hold on too. There is a saying in Malay which I think goes like, ‘ambik yang jernih, buang yang keruh’. I hold on to the good memories that we have and the good values she ha passed on to me. Although these days whatever I feel tends to come out the wrong way.

I had a nice short nap in the evening, I woke up took my bath watched Simpson and headed to the night market for lil browsing and a bit alone time. Staying cooped up in the house can drive me mental. I got some small oranges and some pohpiah. I plan to go back have a wonderful dinner watch lots of TV and enjoy my weekend.