ode to the soapbox

i had conference call early morning. after japan hang up their phone, and i was all alone with my boss, my boss asked me..

if, touch wood, the company were to implement 4-days a week scheme, which day would i prefer to be off?

dang. there we have it. i knew it would come to this finally. i mean, our japanese branch and our italian branch already implemented a shorter week work-time as a pay cut measure to get through this economic downturn. what are the chances that singapore won't get hit too?

i asked my boss, if this is for real? but of course he said that nothing has been confirmed yet, that he was asking just in case.

yeah right. if he was asking just in case, he would be asking about all sorts of other stuff, wouldn't he? like what if the government refused to reduce the transportation fare, or what if i won that 1 billion toto. see? but he didn't.

recession sucks. i tell you, never have i been in this period so gloomy, that everyone that i met, sighed during work. a big, loud sigh that sounded like, god i wish i were somewhere else.

but you know what? there's no place left to go during this downturn. i heard 2 of my ex bosses are now still unemployed since the expansion plant was shut down. and there are many people in the interview fighting for that few empty spots.

so if i think about it, still having a job is still a bless. the point is, there's always people that fare worse than you. at least i can still go to work and bitch about the conference call or the bosses at night.




...adie

ok i figured i must write this now. it was getting harder to write nowadays. i don't know, maybe because it was due to the holiday season from christmas last year all the way to the recent chinese new year, making me abandoned all my routines. then even after that i had to go through holiday withdrawal phase, or HWP as i called it, so awhile more after that until i could come back to my senses.

..like now. so.. what's up with me nowadays? well nothing's up, all down. nothing much really. work has been neither here nor there. but still, i have to wake up early tomorrow to attend this conference call with japanese branch at 8am. deep in my heart, i wonder, what's the use? we always communicate through e-mail anyway, and it's not like we have big issues to discuss. plus, it's a dinasour-period device i'm handling as far as i'm concern. what the conference call means to me, is that i will miss my daily breakfast in office canteen.

but i guess, the boss has his own means. so i will have to be there before 8am. which means i have to try to sleep early tonight. which is kinda impossible since i have to write this, and then watch star wars the clone wars new episode after that. before i knew it, it will already be 6.30am and i have to curse and swear to wake up for work.

at least, my body seem to be holding fine after tennis just now. like every monday, it was a tennis day today. the only thing different was, one of our usual partner was hit by flu, so my another friend asked her husband to join our session. the thing is, he was so good at playing tennis. he striked the ball with ease and he could do spins and stuff. i was in total awe. if you must know, 2 things that could get me drop dead envious, are people who can play guitar, and people who can play tennis. i mean, good tennis. because i'm so hopeless in those things. for all i know, i have 2 left hands when it comes to playing guitar or tennis. so in the court just now, i was a bit stressed-out.

by the way, have you seen the moon tonight? while i was in the office today, my colleague told me that the moon tonight is going to be the biggest viewed in about 50 years. i searched for that news in yahoo news but couldn't find it. he must have got it from some chinese news websites. he surfs the chinese news a lot. it's amazing things that he knows from reading those chinese sites. anyway, i already happened to know that tonight is a full-moon night. so when we were at the tennis court just now, we got the chance to have full view of the moon. it looks like this.

of course i didn't take this while i was on the court. after my friends went back after the game, i went up my house, took my camera and my tripod, came down and shot this using my telephoto lense. some people walking by must have thought that i'm a moron who never seen the full moon before. because for one thing, it didn't look that big to me. it looked pretty normal, i'm sure i've seen the moon bigger before. it was very bright than usual though. still i couldn't see chang-er from the photo. maybe she was at the other side of the moon.

ok it's already almost 1am. did i tell you the clock always tick faster after midnight? one glance it's 12am, and another glance it will be close to 1am. and i haven't even start watching my clone wars.

so later guys...




...adie

aku kat KL LCCT nih, waiting for my flight to singapore (wah seems lately asal aku tulis blog, mesti kat airport haha.. very the mobile gituh). it will be another 2 hours before departure. it's my first time here, tu yang punyer kiasu datang awal. yelah KL ni unpredictable. mana tau LRT breakdown, or traffic jam, or jalan banjir kilat, or bas sesatt...

but everything was smooth until now. in fact, i think LCCT nie not bad at all. very convenient and not too shoddy. comparable if not better than bangkok suvarnabumi yg waiting room seats dia ala2 puduraya punyer seat. service ermm.. not too bad. even kakak2 kat kedai coklat dok mengumpat time aku lalu pon aku tak kisah sangat, at least sempat aku pasang telinga.

few days in KL rasa macam lama jek. enjoyed sangat main with my cute nephews, and then tengok tennis Australian Open with my whole family. very fortunate laa, my whole family are into tennis, even though my dad tak suker nadal dan aku ngan my sis suker giler. at least all of us tak suker serena williams dan kalau boleh nak buat voodoo doll biar dia kalah.

and we all sempat brainstorm kat mana nak arrange this year's family trip outing. last year KK trip was very succesful until we all tak sabar nak buat trip lagi. our requirements :-

1) tempat tak penah pergi.
2) go with flight, not too near dan murah.
3) top notch hotel (halal) breakfast, sedap dan byk pilihan
4) ada tempat shopping (for my mum)
5) maybe beaches to snorkel (for me and my siblings)

so yg memenuhi kriteria2 tuh, are those are east malaysia borneo cities, bcoz my mum kata indonesia ada bird flu (ye ke?). nephew2 aku tu pulak sumer kecik2 lagi, so maybe borneo is more suitable. lagipon takde tsunami, or errupting volcano.

so in the end, we kinda chose pulau labuan. none of us, or those that we know been to labuan before. yg dengar dari kawan, family member sumer kata boring. ermm.. ok lah.. we all jenis yg sukar bermalas2an, takde laa nak explore city tu sangat pegi night club or bermesra2 ngan local ppl. it's a gamble really. as long as we have each other, dan ada nice food, dan maybe a day trip to brunei pon dah ok.

(look at watch) ok it's one more hour to go. sekejap jek dah sejam. aku dari tadi pulak terlekat kat kerusi nih godeh2 facebook (see.. even KL LCCT ada free internet. not bad at all). one of my junior masa zaman sekolah dulu online, so we all chat this and that. it's very cool really.. i'm very thankful for facebook, byk jumpa kenalan2 lama.

isk byk pulak announcement kat airport nih.. bising. panggil orang yg tak reti2 nak boarding biler dah sampai masa. hello, susah sangat ke nak standby depan pintu kapal terbang? tengok macam aku, 2 jam lepas dah sampai.. ek?? kalau ada award penumpang misali, dah lama aku dapat.

ok i got to go now, cafe espresso kat sebelah tu nampak very inviting.. battery laptop pon tinggal seconet jek. so later...



...adie

aku kat changi airport nih.. nak balik KL. waa ramai orang ok.. mostly foreign workers kat airport nih.. nak balik negara masing2 kot.. aku rasa macam kat dhaka airport laa pulak.. haha..

aku lupa nak print out sky bus ticket air asia yg aku dah bayar kat internet.. sky bus nie transport from KL LCCT ke KL Central. terus aku tanya airport information counter, ada tempat print out tak.. sebab aku nak print ticket sky bus airasia yg aku dah beli ikut internet.

wah! ada! bayar 50 cents untuk sekeping.. ok lah.. thank god! kalau tak, kena aku beli ticket lain. impressed aku kejap. yelah.. airport lain free internet pon tak ada hehe...

cuma aku breakfast kat toast box airport nih.. cashier dan pekerja2 situ cakap english ntah hapa2.. saitei lah.. tak paham.. macam org pekak aku tanya, hah? hah? org tanah besar. agaknya yg local sumer cuti, tinggal foreign workers jek keje time raya2 nih. spoil jek.

the rest.. hmm now tunggu boarding time jek.. harap2 flight tak delay.

cya in KL!



...adie

faizal tahir - bila sampai syurga (AJL 2009)

dah berpuluh2 kali rasanya aku tgk video nie.. hehehe.. overr tak? time dia tarik suara tinggi tu, aku dapat goosebumps.. meremang bulu roma ok... biar sampai syurgaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....




vs


ziana zain - dingin (AJL 2009)

yg nie pon banyak kali aku tengok, sampai boleh bilang laa berapa helai bumapal ziana zain.. err.. bumapal tu singkatan untuk bulu mata palsu ok.. time ziana tarik tu pon aku tepuk tangan sorang2 kat rumah ahahaha.. nasib baik takde orang nampak.




aaaaaaaaanddd the winner? faizal tahir.

faizal dapat best vocal dan best performance. tu laa lain kali tak payah laa pakai bumapal kan, lepas basuh muka terus jek nyanyi atas pentas pon boleh menang. tak payah pon bukak2 baju cat dada sumer.

lagu satu, lirik ziana zain, 'ku tak bisa.. juarai...'.. hah.. terus langsung tak menang. bad luck laa.. dulu asal ziana nak memang jek, ada siti.. now ada faizal tahir. hmmm...

ok laa nak layan 'sampai di syurga' one more time....



...adie

last saturday we all pegi melawat aishah kat JB. aishah ni is our friend, baru lepas bersalin last tuesday. citernyer, the birth kena buat c-sec sebab bayi tu songsang. bukan songsang atas bawah, ni jenis kepala dan kaki kat kiri kanan perut. bolleyy?? ntah apa si aishah buat sampai bayi tu terpusing 270 darjah...

hmmm aku sebenarnya still tak sangka aishah yg dulu pakai cheongsam pegi kelab malam kat madagascar tuh, dah pon jadi ibu. hmm time flies huh..

me and all the participants, including yg imported dari bangkok.. upss.. surabaya tau!

nak tau sebelum we all datang visit, siap singgah plaza angsana nak beli hadiah, sampai berlawan2 hadiah saper paling mahal ahahaha.. tapi sorry.. ringgit malaysia mana lawan hadiah singapore dollar kan hehehehe...




ni anak dia. sebijik rupa bapak dia ok.. sepanjang we all kat situ asyik tido jer.. aku belai2 pipi dia, time org tak nampak aku nak ajer aku picit sikit biar menangis so boleh tengok mata dia tapi still tak jaga2 gak laa .. isk..

nama dia hairunnis@ tapi panggil lisa. elok laa tuh.. nanti jadi pandai ala2 lisa simpson.

welcome to the world, lisa!
.. from abang adie.. NOT uncle adie ok.



...adie

Bukan Di Sini (Sofaz)
first, apa kejadah nama sofaz?? bahasa arab ker? aku nie first time dengar sumer lagu2 juara lagu nie. lagu sofaz nie.. errmm ok laa.. ada irama tertentu.. tapi suara tak keluar laa. overall persembahan biasa jer..

Lagu Kita (Aizat)
wah.. dia ni buat lagu, buat lirik dan nyanyi sendri..siap main gitar pulak tuh. masa mula2 nyanyi tuh aku dengar dia gementar.. agaknya first time atas pentas besar kot.. tapi lepas tu suara best jugak. crisp clear suara aizat nih, cuma tak flexible note2 dia, takde goreng-goreng sangat orang kata.. kalau ada chorus ulang 10 kali, 10 kali laa dia nyanyi macam tuh.. tapi kan.. aku still suker laa aizat nie.. berbakat.. dan not bad this ballad. boleh menang ke? maybe...

Dusta Berkalang (Aiman)
errm apa tema kostum aiman dan penari2 dia nih? nak kata arab.. macam raja majapahit pon ada. yg pasti pada aku, over acting. err terus aku turned-off, tak berminat nak follow up everything yg berlaku atas pentas.. lagu dia pon.. forgettable.

Cuba (Faizal Tahir)
ok ni first time laa aku nak dengar lagu faizal tahir nih.. glamer aku dengar dia nih. 2 lagu dia masuk AJL. aku ni sekali imbas, tak suka tengok rambut faizal nih.. gatal jek tangan aku nak carik gunting. dan lekuk kat dagu tu original ker?? lagu Cuba nie boleh tahan, tinggi nada dia.. suara faizal nie impressive. tapi aku tak laa terkinja2. lagipon persembahan dia nampak plastik pon ada.. nampak arrogant. aku prefer lagi aizat tadi.

Hanya Di Mercu (Ayu)
eh aku pernah dengar lagu nih. last year masa pegi kota kinabalu, dalam teksi on the way to kota belud, lagu nie keluar dalam radio. dolly tanya aku, eh sedap.. siapa nyanyi nih? aku kata, ntah.. tapi dari sebutan dia, macam indon.. lagu indon nih.. terus pemandu teksi tu betulkan, eh ini ayu, dia ni pemenang one in a million (aku still tak tau amende program one in a million nih?).. orang SABAH!! laaa.. hehhe.. padan laa pemandu teksi tu marah. tapi kan.. betul, macam oprah winfrey laa Ayu nih. suara dia best! very soulful. aku ingat dia nie mesti practise tengok video misha omar nyanyi lagu bunga2 cinta. cuma ayu nie pon tak pandai goreng2 suara laa.. kalau teran2 sikit suara tu mesti lagi best. dan next time, buang laa penari2 belakang tuh. menyemak.. terkinja2 sangat. mengganggu fokus. (mental note: harus aku check out album ayu nih).

Doa Dalam Lagu (Zahid & Heliza)
patutnya mawi nyanyi tapi dia sibuk honeymoon kot. terus zahid ganti. aku pon terus tak berminat. kalau penyanyi asal tak berminat nak attend, aku pon tak berminat laa nak dengar. lagu dia pon tak menarik perhatian.

Persoalan Cinta (Farawahida)
masa masuk pentas, aku nampak pempuan2 bersanggul pegang kipas. eh nice mixed up malay dan chinese theme. patut laa, lagu nie ada elemen2 muzik cina. aku tengok farawahida, macam janet jackson. rambut dan make up dia laa.. rambut palsu dan bedak tebal seinci. suara farawahida key tinggi tapi biasa jer.. pentas sibuk dengan kibaran2 kipas cina. chinese new year comes early! overall ok jek persembahan dia. bosan pon ada.

Sampai Syurga (Faizal Tahir)
satu lagi lagu faizal tahir. aku rasa dia nie mesti sibuk.. nyanyi dua lagu laa katakan. tak sempat nak bersiap so atas pentas sambil nyanyi tu orang tukar baju dia, dan set rambut dia. very efficient! tapi.. best nyanyian dia!! very very high note faizal nie tarik. aku pon siap teruja. yg aku musykil, kenapa tiba2 tengah lagu tu dia lari belakang pentas basuh muka? nak kata kena tempias penyanyi2 latar, takde pulak.. kalau faizal tahir tak menang vokal terbaik aku tak tau laa.. dan lagu nie memang best!

Bila Naik Saksi (Spider)
biasanyer persembahan. mmacam satu segment dalam hiburan minggu ini kat rtm jek. boring.

Dingin (Ziana Zain)
aku excited tunggu ziana nyanyi. dia ni jer penyanyi veteran dan kita semua kan suker dengar ziana jerit2 atas pentas sambil buat acrobatic kening.. dan.. dan.. apparently pernantian aku tu very the worth it bcoz... BEST persembahan kak ziana! waaaaahhhhh very tinggi dia tarik. siap goreng sana goreng sini.. this is how it should be done, girls.. now aku rasa ziana patut menang the best vocal. ok antara ziana dan faizal tahir. yg lain tak payah laa mimpi2..

Lagu Untukmu (Meet Uncle Hussien)
hah? meet uncle hussein? hahah aku suker make up clown separuh muka tuh. so penyanyi dia ala2 cebek bila menyanyi heheh.. nada suara dari A sampai Z tinggi. so bila dah tinggi tuh, aku tak dapat grab rentak lagu nih..

Yang Pernah (Estranged)
alamak, tak trendy langsung rupa penyanyi estranged nih.. macam baru keluar time machine dari zaman 70-an jek.. rambut gerbang. lagu pon forgettable. band nie ker yg memang juara lagu tahun lepas?? macam tak logic jek.

Aku Stacy (Stacy)
sekali imbas.. eh miley cyrus? sampai aku ingat aku terbukak disney channel, tapi rupa2nya betul laa stacy nih. tapi waaaahhh impressive dia nie menari sambil menyanyi.. tak mengah sangat pulak tuh. fauziah latiff mesti makan hati. sampai aku pon rasa nak berdiri sama.. very entertaining. tapi kalau dah tajuk lagu dia 'aku stacy', tak logic laa menang lagu terbaik kan.. ada pulak faizal tahir. dapat kemenangan moral jek laa dik ek??

Kalis Rindu (Elyana)
macam japanese paper doll punya theme. err.. mengarut laa.. suara pon tak keluar.. dan tak padan laa, aku nampak macam mak budak pakai baju cute.. lagu pon aku tak perasan sangat macam mana.. next.. upss.. dah abis ke??


so pada aku laa..

persembahan terbaik : faizal tahir (sampai syurga)
vokal terbaik : ziana zain (dingin)
juara lagu : faizal tahir (sampai syurga)



..adie