Category: Daily Whatevers

I have always loved this song by the late Ray Charles…it is about an unrequited love. Painful:

You give your hand to me
And then you say, “Hello.”
And I can hardly speak,
My heart is beating so.
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well.
Well, you don’t know me.
(no you don’t know me)
No you don’t know the one
Who dreams of you at night;
And longs to kiss your lips
And longs to hold you tight
Oh I’m just a friend.
That’s all I’ve ever been.
Cause you don’t know me.
(no you don’t know me)
For I never knew the art of making love,
Though my heart aches with love for you.
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by.
A chance that you might love me too.
(love me too)
You give your hand to me,
And then you say, “Goodbye.”
I watched you walk away,
Beside the lucky guy
Oh, you’ll never ever know
The one who loved you so.
Well, you don’t know me
(For I never knew the art of making love, )
(Though my heart aches with love for you. )
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by.
A chance that you might love me too.
(love me too)
Oh, you give your hand to me,
And then you say, “Goodbye.”
I watched you walk away,
Beside the lucky guy
Oh, you’ll never ever know
The one who loved you so.
Well, you don’t know me
(you don’t love me, you don’t know me)

Yesterday there was a Gathering of the Damned after office hours, to celebrate the graduation of DITC a.k.a Azlan Chao from being an employee of The Nation’s Most Favoured Multinational Company (TNMFMC) to being a pursuant of a permanent membership in the EWL Alumni Club. By my count yesterday, TNMFMC should have around 28 employees left from a high of about 95(?) some three years ago. It was a good gathering…alumni members like myself and James the Stormrider were there, other locals like Mohanan, PAS Life Member, Shaklee Salesman, Jai the Bhai.

It was also fun to watch guys like Tom, Kumaran walk up the street…even Vijay can now walk straight. Tom and Kumaran are among the better guys there. I just hope they secure their personal belongings as some stoopid boy likes to enter other people’s office when they are away. It’s a hard habit to break. Those days, back in the dusty heartland, entering other people’s premise was to snatch goats and so on. You know what they do to goats in rural areas!

Anyway, today, another local has tendered his resignation. I believe another one will soon tender, too.

I love this. On my Yahoo! Messenger tray, I have three special categories: Current Employees, Alumni Members and Baddies. The “Current Employees” list s getting smaller while the “Alumni Members” is growing. Baddies remain the same. They’ll always stay bad.

Here are some pics:

The Executive Committee of the EWL Alumni Club welcomes Mohanan as a permanent member.

I meant to post this yesterday…but, Happy Birthday, Babysetan. I love you!

To my Malaysian brothers-in-arms who sail the seven seas, happy 73rd Anniversary. Get more fighting craft!

It’s been an eventful day. Spent time with the present and future EWL Alumni members for tea when I received a text message informing that I had to give a speech at another location in Ijok. So I rushed back home. As I was driving, a call came in from Ijok to inform me of the issues I had to tackle and the venue. Suddenly, I saw the figures of traffic policemen, frantically waving me to a halt. So, the usual routine commenced. I took out my driver’s licence and NRIC and passed to the officer. He read my name on the licence and asked me how I am, how my father is, where I work and all that. Then he let me off.

I arrived home at 6.30pm, quickly rushed to shower. By 7.30pm, I left home…this time in my Proton Saga again. Traffic outbound from USJ was crap. I sent a text to my friend, Jim Penn, telling him that the road was filled with f**kwits and pu****s while I sped to get onto the northbound highway.

Initially, this Honda VTEC was in front of me and refused to yield. He accelerated. I tailgated him. Then it was an uphill climb after the Kota Damansara junction..time for me to change down, accelerate and change up again. I left him smelling my smoke. I passed the Sungai Buloh junction doing 170km/h. Then in front of me was another Proton Saga…all souped up, with its arse 5 feet above the ground and an exhaust that I can put both my legs into. I had to slow down…and this guy refused to give way. I went to his left, accelerated, and he did the same. I went into the slow lane (left most) and slammed down the pedal…leaving this guy behind as he frantically tried to keep pace with me but to no avail.

As I passed this lorry on my left, I looked into the rear view mirror and saw the silhouette of a Proton Waja giving me a chase. I floored my accelerator pedal. For more than a minute this jerk tried to keep up with me…then I saw the flash of two blue beacons on its roof. Still I sped, thinking they were after someone else. Then the patrolman hailed me on his loudspeaker asking me to pull over. I complied.

Both of them got out..the driver extremely furious. Maybe all that training and he still couldn’t match my skills, I thought to myself. The driver asked me if that was how I was trained to drive. I said Yes. He couldn’t believe his ears and asked me which bast*rd taught me to drive like that and I told him my instructors did when I underwent the VIP Close Protection Course when I was in the Air Force. He asked me for my NRIC and driver’s licence, bellowing to me that this is not a compoundable offence and it means I would have to go to court. I just said OK.

His partner took my NRIC and started writing the summon. The driver read the name on the licence. Then, as if in disbelieve, put the liecence near the patrol car’s headlight to read my name. Then his tone changed and asked me where I was going. I told him I was on my way to Ijok to give a speech. He immediately told his partner to make my summon a compoundable one and to write quickly as I had to go to Ijok. He apologised because his partner had already begun to write the summon and there was no way he could cancel it. I reminded them they were just doing their job.

Summon in my hand, I shook their hands and thanked them for doing their job and got back into my Saga. They went off. I followed a few seconds later, and later, sped, overtook and left them behind as I turned off at the Rawang junction.

Last night was the second night I had to do a political speech. This time it was at Jaya Setia, a grey area. Turnout was good, and as usual I allowed Q&A’s…I could see the UMNO Youth members cringe when I allowed that to happen. I noted all their complaints, no one seemed interested in national issues: they were more concerned about their village roads, amenities, drainage etc. After that, I called the respective officers to come and meet the people and listen to their grouses.

So today, several of those complainants had had visitors from the various agencies to rectify the matter. I seem to act faster than the local assemblyman and the mainstream politicians. I know some people will not be happy.

Anyway, paid a visit to my division’s operations center and lots of sour faces there…especially from those who probably thought I was dead. But many supporters came to greet me, especially from the Wanita and Youth movements.

After that, the usual race…this time I was in my Naza Ria. Thundered down the road (like driving a tank – noted one Youth member) at 170km/h. I did not hammer the pedal this time as both my rear tyres have lost traction and thread. Made a stop at Sungai Buloh to buy a burger, then straight to Bangsar (Telawi) for a quick date.

I finally reached home at 3am.

I now feel tired, and am waiting for 4.30pm to celebrate Daddy In The City a.k.a Lan Jiao‘s imminent resignation from the nation’s most favoured multinational company.

The race for the title of “The Last Local Employee Standing” is getting hotter now…hah!

170 kilometers per hour.

That was the fastest GPS speed clocked by my 14-year old (soon 15) Proton Saga Megavalve. I raced with a BMW on the Kuala Selangor to Sungai Buloh road on my way back from giving a political speech in conjunction with the Ijok by-election.

Yes, I know. It’s been three years since I got myself involved in mainstream politics. I have been asked to get involved since the news of the passing of Datuk K Sivalingam, the former state assemblyman for that area, but I declined all efforts to bring me back into the scene. However, at around 5.30pm yesterday, I got a call from someone close asking me to give a speech at 9.30pm. Initially, I declined. But he was adamant to have me. I tried another excuse saying I have not been registered as the candidate’s agent, and therefore I cannot campaign on his behalf. I was shocked to be told that my name was already on the list of guest speakers, all legally registered, and that they were sending a car to pick me up from home. I declined the car and told them I would drive on my own. Had I accepted the ride, I could still be in Ijok at this very moment.

Dive Buddy initially disliked the idea since I told her I do not like politics. But after hearing that I was badly needed, she wished me luck and asked me to drive safely.

So at 8.15pm, after making sure the kids had eaten their dinner, I drove my trusted Proton Saga through the Guthrie Highway towards Batu Arang (exit at Rawang). I did around 160km/h then. I had to pick up an old friend, Encik Mat Jaiz, from Batu Arang, to show me where I was supposed to deliver the speech. I arrived at Batu Arang at 8.50pm. By 9.15pm I passed the Sungai Rambai area, where another old friend, Tan Sri Md Isa Samad, the former Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan and former Minister for the Federal Territories, was delivering his speech. At Simpang 3 Batang Berjuntai, the police blocked the road towards Kuala Selangor as the Federal Reserve Unit was trying to disperse an illegal assembly organised by the Opposition. I was stuck there for about an hour before I was allowed to pass.

In the end I delivered the speech, BUT I allowed a dialog to take place. Some people thought that that was suicidal. Several questions were fielded but I managed to answer them smoothly. And to think I had put politics aside for the past three years and relatively out of touch.

Anyway, my Political Intelligence team quickly went into action when asked by “the people up there” for our latest assessment of the situation. I reported the figures ten minutes after collating the data.

At 11.32pm, I SMSed Dive Buddy that I was leaving the Ijok constituency. After passing the junction near Ijok town, a BMW started driving menacingly behind my car, giving its high beam and spotlights. I pulled my handbrake causing the BMW to take evasive action to avoid the tow ball on my rear bumper that would have cost him a new radiator. I changed down the gear to second, slammed on the accelerator and red-lined the engine before shifting into fourth, then fifth. The BMW gave chase but couldn’t keep up with me. It may have a good straight-line speed, but along the zig-zagging road, skill counts…especially if you’re doing 170km/h.

I arrived home, changed, washed my face, and SMSed Dive Buddy to inform her that I had reached home. The text was delivered exactly one hour after I had left Ijok.

Boris Nikolayevitch Yeltsin is no more. He passed away just now. He was 76 years old.

And people ask me why do I go or think of Thailand often…

Today is the 19th of April, 2007. That would mean it was exactly 31 days ago I was enjoying the tranquility Pulau Perhentian could provide me. In four days time, it would have been over a month since my last dive. Hence my cranky mood right now.

Yes, it is my version of the female PMS; but instead of calling it Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, I term it as Pathetically Missing Scuba.

I am lucky to have made it this far, probably due to that trip in search of the 20-year answer. During that brief but meaningful period, I had gained some form of sanity. I found brief but meaningful joy, although the question now remains: “What now?”

I am still awaiting some payment that I will use to purchase some diving equipment, and should complete my working paper for some funding soon.

There is also that plan for the resort that my dive buddy and I are planning to run; hopefully that will fall into place soon.

I have to keep myself busy. I’m rottingbadly here. Spazm has asked if he should start digging now for me. I told him to run a stake through my heart while at it.

I need my sanity.

Help!