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How I update my blog

September 8, 2003 by HB

This is the view from the break room window of my workplace. I
cannot take photos of the interior to avoid violating the non
disclosure agreement I signed.

We had a TGIF monthly meeting at my company last Friday and someone
raised the question about how I have the time to update my blog. Just
to make things clear, I DO NOT use company time to write. Since I don’t
have net access at home right now (going to Telekom now to sort that
out), I write the posts BEFORE going to work (usually at night) and do
post production on the photos then, so I just need to cut and paste and
click Publish on MT and I do that during lunch hour or in the mornings.
I have made short posts in real time though (like the cereal giveaway
one) and that just takes minutes, plus it was before working hours (I
came early). For the readers, this is only a temporary measure due to
my lack of net access, all posts will be real time (or as close to real
time as a blog can be) once I get my net connection up (probably a
couple of days, depending on how efficient Telekom Malaysia is).

I’m sorry I have been kinda neglecting the comments and daily visits
lately, my apologies, I have a lot of work to do and by the time I get
home it’s time to sleep. Anyway, that would get better once I have a
net connection, I will reply every comment and mail soon. Thanks for
your patience!

P/S – sixthseal.com is expanding. New domain up within the week. 🙂

Photos of Jalan Sultan Ismail – Jalan P. Ramlee – Suria KLCC – Bangsar

September 5, 2003 by HB

Here are photos of my trip back from work. I took these set of
photos yesterday coz I left the office at 7 pm which is early (I left
at 9 pm the day before) and still bright so I decided to take photos of
the route I use to get home:

This is what it looks like when I step out of the building I work in. The KL Monorail currently only runs limited hours.

Walking down the street – it’s Fitness First. There’s always some sort of program going on.

This is Warp Disco, I hear it’s the place to be if you don’t
like pretentious “trance” clubs. 😉 It’s just a 3 minute walk from my
work place. Kananga International is just beside and interconnected to
Komplex Antarabangsa if that helps.

Walking into the intersection, there’s this mysterious metallic structure.

This is the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan P.Ramlee, where there’s a string of entertainment venues.

The metallic structure is Nouvo – it’s the sister club of Salt (Melbourne) if you’re wondering what kind of club it is.

Next up is Chakri White House.

Modestos and Bar Ibiza is opposite it.

After that, it’s Suria KLCC – the shopping mall beside the Petronas Twin Towers (tallest building in the world as of now). You can catch a glimpse of the girth of the twin towers beside it.

Walking through Suria KLCC to the KLCC Putra LRT station.

Still walking…

It’s straight down the left of the main entrance. Head right into the station.

Here’s the ticket vending machines.

This is the train pulling into the KLCC station. It runs once every 7 minutes.

I get down at Bangsar LRT station.

and take the Ecstasy bus home. Triton 02. It’s a yellow tablet with
a smiley face imprint. Didn’t test out as anything with Marquis or
Simons. Suspect bunk, but when I take it, it brings me where I want to
go. Home, that is. Enough stupid jokes, I’m going back to work, I have
to stay back tonight to finish up a project that’s going live on
Monday. By the way, I don’t have time to apply for a phone line and an
ADSL connection at home yet due to my work hours, so I won’t be posting
until Monday. Please don’t refresh during the weekends ok? 🙂

I have to use the lifts to take a piss…

August 29, 2003 by HB

I was confronted by this sign and a locked door in the male toilets
of 16th floor Kenanga International (where XM is)…I got my digicam
and went to take a photo of it and then this guy came along and looked
at me one kind. Heh. I told him the toilet is locked so he’ll have to
go down to the 15th floor to relieve himself.

Here’s a photo of the 15th floor toilet:

A leaking roof…dripping what is very possibly water from the
toilet bowl upstairs. It flowed down the mirror and dripped dripped
dripped into the sink, where my hands were. Right…

Incidentally, I saw the very same guy who gave me another strange
look but didn’t say anything. Perhaps toilets and digicams don’t mix.

Anyway, I’ve got stuff to do so bowling photos will be up tonight
ok? I’m supposed to be working now, so comments would be replied
sporadically starting from now when I take breaks. Thanks!

The ATM fiasco

August 28, 2003 by HB

I keep my Commonwealth Bank (Australia) bank ATM card in my wallet –
it’s still valid, the account still has money inside, but that’s not
the point. I USED IT TO WITHDRAW CASH FROM A MALAYSIAN ATM MACHINE! I
don’t even know how that’s possible and the conversion rates + service
charges must be really something. I shouldn’t even be keeping it in my
wallet, but I’m going back to Melbourne at the end of the year for my
convo and so I keep it around. I have a Public Bank (Malaysia) ATM
card, that’s what I use here, but I don’t know what I was thinking at
that time…for some reason I just inserted the Commonwealth Bank card
instead of the Public Bank one. Blur like what…

Anyway, I was about to go out with my co-workers for lunch, but
suddenly remembered I have hosting and billing issues to settle so I
headed back and got lunch downstairs instead and ate at the office in
front of my workstation. It’s currently empty except for me and two
other programmers. That’s steamed rice with chilli prawns, chicken
stomach in sweet sauce and some kind of vegetable. Excuse me, after
lunch coma…

Oh right, we have an inter-department bowling session at 8 pm
tonight, so I don’t know if I’ll be updating later. Take it easy on the
bandwidth guys. 😉

It’s what’s for lunch

August 27, 2003 by HB

I stayed back instead of going with my colleagues for lunch because
I needed to find out where the nearest Western Union outlet is (for my
excess bandwidth bill, what else), re-check the convocation dates and
ask about leave so I can actually attend the ceremony – that would
happen after lunch though. Oh yeah, I asked the technical director
about taking photos inside the office and yeah, it would violate the
non-disclosure agreement if I post them, so er…that front door is all
you’ll see of my work place. Sorry. 🙂

I guess that means I’ll have to write a thousand words to explain –
it’s a rectangular room with a joined desks around the corners, and
there’s currently 13 people in the room – 1 technical support, 2
quality control, 1 temp and the rest are programmers. 1/4 of the staff
is female, the rest is male. Opposite us is a room with a somewhat
similar configuration, that’s the creative team work place and that’s
not a thousand words, but I’ve got other stuff to do during lunch hour.
Oh and btw, it seems that we have 2 hours for lunch – 12 pm – 2 pm.
Anyway, I’ll reply the comments when I get back, the Western Union is
really up there on the To Do List, I will pop out if it’s near. I’ll
post again tonight and reply all the comments, thanks!

XM Malaysia

August 26, 2003 by HB

XM Malaysia

I just started my first day of work today – it’s at XM (Malaysia) at
Kenaga International at Jalan Sultan Ismail. It’s quite a while from my
place, I took a taxi there, it’s about RM 8 but the taxi back was RM
10+ due to the horrible traffic jam at the Bukit Bintang and Jalan Pudu
area.

Kenaga International

First day at work was okay, got to know the staff and my colleagues
in the technical team. Surprisingly, a lot of taxi drivers doesn’t know
where Kenaga International is…deja vu from Melbourne where there’s
frequent stops to consult Melways (a map) and many questions for
directions. 😉

There is a nice, relaxing fountain at the bottom of the Kenaga
International building and my work place is located on the 16th floor.

Look at the vivid PURPLE BLUE of the brinjals. Is that normal?

Anyway, a bunch of us walked to Bukit Bintang for lunch at the food
court on top – it’s surprisingly near, I could have walked from my
hotel to the first interview. Oh yeah, I heard from my colleages that
there’s a Putra LRT station – the KL Central one, that’s only 8 – 10
minutes walk from the office. The nearest LRT station here is the
Bangsar one and that takes about RM 5 by taxi to Medan Damansara so I
thought that works out to around the same price, taking into account
the LRT ticket. Anyway, I won’t try tomorrow morning, but I’ll use that
to come back tomorrow night and see if I get home alright. It’s just
too much of a hassle to get back by taxi during office hours…my
grandmother could walk 50 times faster than the speed traffic moved
along the traffic congestion areas.

I waited damn near 1 1/2 hours for a taxi…no one wanted to pick
anyone up during the peak traffic congestion office hour period.

Anyway, I don’t have any other photos except of the ones outside the
office place…I signed a non disclosure agreement, and since most
monitors were displaying code of some sort, that might violate it. I
will have to ask permission before taking photos inside the work place.

XM Expanded Media (Malaysia)

August 25, 2003 by HB

Yes, I’m off the unemployment line. :p I will be with XM Malaysia
starting tomorrow. I got a call from HR while I was having lunch with
my gf and her room mates. Anyway, the job means I’ll be engaged from
8:30 am – 5:30 pm (at least). This would probably not affect the
frequency of the posts if anyone who’s aquainted with the KL public
transport system could be so kind as to tell me the easiest way to get
from Medan Damansara (Jalan Setiabistari) to Jalan Sultan Ismail (at
Hotel Mutiara). 🙂

The KL Monorail is not in service yet, or else I know there’s a
station very near the office building. Anyway, I’ll be taking a taxi in
the next few days to get to and from my work place, but it would be
nice to use a cheaper form of transportation considering I’m being
offered RM 1,500 per month. Well, I don’t even know what this road
connects to, but nevermind that, LRTs and buses would come later, going
to catch a cab these few days. I don’t have a car in KL.

Anyway, the photos of The Tallest Book Tower in Malaysia and The
Largest Jalur Gemilang made with push pins in Malaysia would be up
either later tonight or tomorrow, I gotta sleep earlier since I
probably would need to wake up at 7 am or something coz I don’t know
how far the office is from here. Now who’s up to enter the Malaysian
Book of Records? We could make the largest Jalur Gemilang with
er…Panadol tablets or something.

[Edit: Updated with photo and explainatory text, accidentally pressed Publish without uploading photo.]