Chinese New Year in Karachi

It's the first day of Chinese New Year. I am pissed because the hotel stll hasn't solved the problematic internet connection. Have to go to the executive lounge to connect to the internet. 3 days already. But I know what's wrong. They have too many users or they have put us other users in the lower list while giving the internet connection to others. The Indian cricket team is here. The other time the same thing happened was when there was some convention going on and the hotel had many guests. Coincidence? They think I don't know eh...when it's the low visitor season, everything seems to work. However, I am not gonna let that spoil my mood. It's Chinese New year. And I am happy.

Well, this is the second time I am missing Chinese New Year (CNY). The last time, I was working on a project in my main office in Cyprus. It was fun then. Not fun now but that's life especially with work commitments. Nothing much. I went out for dinner with my colleagues and another friend who is attached to an office in Karachi. Small celebration. Went to some chinese restaurant, owned by a Chinese National. The food was OK, localized mainland chinese food. Too much pepper though.

I am looking forward to the challenges in this new year. It's the year of the dog according to the chinese calender. Lots to do and lots to achieve. Lots to aim for. Keeping up with a positive attidude.

Here's to the New Year. And also looking forward to Hoegarden beer. And liquor...whiskey. I miss my old friend, Jack Daniels. I guess all this makes the heart fond of home. Also missing my family and partner. However, I am not the kind of person who has home-sickness, but I do remember home and the good times back home. Maybe I can be a real globe-trotter, when I find the right job which allows me to travel but not be stuck with the current tasks that I am doing right now. Too idealistic? One must try. My sister gave me a little book on quotes. One quote goes something like this. Forget the reality for the moment and dream about the possibilities. What is life without dreams. What is life if we let reality chain-up our hopes and aspiration.

Cheers and I need a drink.

Early Bird vs Night Owl

I slept earlier last night. Somehow during the night/morning, I keep waking up. Dang. Anyway, I was reading this thing in my complimentary copy of Time magazine. Ahh...the perks of staying on the executive floor. It's talking about ways to sharpen your mind. And there was a section on getting the best out of yourself. Whether you are a morning person, someone who starts work early in the morning or the night owl, those late startters who skip breakfast. By the way, the article did say breakfast is very important for both types of individual. I am an Early Bird. And this is how I should plan my work. Early in the morning, it is the time for doing creative stuff, stimulating the mind. Later part of the morning, trouble-shooting. Afternoon, the most inactive time of the mind, so let the mind rest. Mid Afternoon, troubleshooting tasks or mundane tasks. Late evening, recuperating and soon rest. OK, the early bird starts the day at 5.30am till 10pm. I can't wake up that early due to the long working hours while being in karachi. So I start my day at 8 am, work starts from 10am. Makes sense. So that's what I am doing now, creative activity such as blogging and job search/updating resume details. Hehehe....

Soon, it's back to the grinding stone. Also, they recommend taking short naps in the afternoon when the mind is temporary not willing to do anything. I use to do that back home in Malaysia. Afternoon naps, but some jack-ass always disturb me while I am taking my power-nap. Dang it.

This morning, the room-cleaner knocked on my door and gave me more bottles of drinking water. Complimentary, on the house. Well, don't expect any tips from me, I only tip the room-cleaner when I am going to leave the hotel. For good.

Cheers.

Tips, tipping and the week that passed

An incident during the weekend left a psychological scar in me. The taxi driver who drove us around for a day trip, rejected my tip by saying "It is not good enough". You know what I did? I just kept quiet, shook my head a bit, and put it into his pocket and left. I agree the tip is small, but at least it's a tip. I do not consider myself a generous tip-per but in some circumstances I do tip well. Such as for food delivery and other instances where the person or staff helped me in some ways. Comon, we're not all rich here you know. I know that the driver doesn't earn much but hey, I've giving you something ok you know. By the way, it's just 50 rupees, less than 1 USD. OK, small amount but it does mean something to me. I don't know about the driver, maybe he doesn't need the 50 rupees at all. My colleague says all of them here in Karachi things foreigners are rich farts. Everything has to be tipped. You know what, I recall at the airport business class lobby, being new in town because it was my first time in Karachi airport, I allowed the waiter at the lounge to serve me. And he has the nerve to ask me "My tips, Sir". What the heck !!! I guess that's life and you just have to put a thick face and ignore them.

My tips, Sir - what...what do you mean tips, you just bring me a drink and you expect me to tip you??? Here, you can take back your drink, I'll get one by myself.

This is not good enough - ok fine. If it is not good enough, why don't YOU give me some tips instead. By the way, I accept USD also.

And did I tell you, there's no alcohol for public consumption in Pakistan. Alcohol is illegal. However, I remember seeing a gwailo in the hotel carrying his laptop bag. Since he was quite close to me, I could see what's in his case - Absolut Vodka. Man...I need that now. We went sight-seeing in the city of Karachi, nothing really much. I can get most of the stuff back in KL. Unless you're into traditional suits or dresses. My sports shoe is a bit ragged with peeling soles. I fixed them by using glue. Saw a nice pair of Adidas sneakers here with that climacool thingy but changed my mind of not getting it. There's much more choices in KL. Besides, for workout I normally wear Puma. Don't ask me why, but Puma seems ok for me because of it's pricing and somewhat lack of technology. I don't need any hi-tech shoes. Not Nikes. Even Reeboks don't seem to appeal to me. Adidas..hmm..maybe if I have the extra cash, I'll get those climacool. They have vent strips and air-holes to keep your feet comfy. For a price of course.

2 weeks have been spent in Karachi. I'm warming up to work, there's lots to do. And I will do it. Kitty told me to treat my work as my own biz. Good idea for motivation especially when things are difficult.

Ya baby!

Difficult times

Facing some difficult times now. At work and personal. Now, when does a day pass without difficulties? I guess I will just have to blog on something which will make me happy. It's normal to have difficult times and of course the good times. The salts of life (loosely translated from Malay).

I have been downloading some videos when I have breaks during work. During my free time back in the hotel, I will watch and learn some nifty climbing moves. This reminds me that I have to complete Leanne's questionnaire which is part of her dissertation. Atta girl! haha.

I feel a bit better in Karachi now. Exercising in the gym helps I guess. Sweating it out. Tryiing to eat the right food also as it's mostly spicy stuff over here. I think it's the entire region nearby. I was eating a few chicken tikka. It tasted great. Until one day when I saw how the guy prepared it over hot charcoal. Then I remembered, too much of this won't be good for my throat. i also recall articles saying that it is carcinogenic to cook over open fire. Dang! This is gonna be difficult. The other staple food around here is briyani. This is the equivalent to chicken rice over in Malaysia. Certainly can't eaat too much of briyani, because it's spicy. So what's left? Nan? Chapati? This sucks.

Really dunno what to eat. But at the moment, sticking to nan and chapati until I can figure out something else that is ok to eat.

It's a long road ahead until the month of march.

Cheers.

Ambitions

Since I've been upgraded to a better room in the hotel, I've been receiving complimentary copies of Time magazine. Yay... I like these magazine. Last week's issue was about The Secrets of Ambition. The main article was about the lifes and backgroud of successful personalities. Quoting from the magazine it was "A surprising look at what separates life's go-getters from its also-rans". Most of these successful personalities such as in sports, Tiger Woods; in politics, Bill Clinton; in entertainment, Oprah were among those whom they wrote about. All of them showed early promises during childhood. Of course, there's the usual talk about human genes. But all these personalites showed great ambition when they were young up until today.

Am I lacking ambition? What is ambition? I am no big shot, but I feel I am in the rut. What if I were in a higher position with greater responsibilities? Would I succeed? Am I having a mental block? What is stopping me from pursuing the things that I want? Is it fear that is stopping me?

I havent really thought about these things related to ambition. I not asked myself what are my ambitions. That could be my problem. where do I want to go from here. The other thing is how am I going to achieve my ambition, what are my concrete plans. I have lots to think about. And of course, I want to overcome my stammering. The other thing is I am pre-occupied with work. Being distracted by the happenings of work. On the other hand, if you think about CEOs or successful business personalities, they have so much things on their hands and minds but they get things done albeit the long working hours. But they get things done. I work long hours but achieve nothing until later on. Different work maybe? Maybe that's all part of climbing the ladder. You get more difficult responsibilities and the long working hours is invested in getting more important things done.

I need to move up.


Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land amongst the stars - Les Brown

Ya baby!

Reflections

It's the first weekend spent in Karachi. Relaxed during the weekend. Had to work half-day on Saturday. Went to the gym and worked on my upper body. Hehe... like a real pro. No, not really. Just trying to get some exercise and keep the body actively working. Learned how to use the treadmill also. On Sunday, went to the gym in the morning and worked on the lower body. Think I hurt one of my legs. Hmm..not too sure. Now I am with body aches. Well, I guess that's better than sitting down doing nothing. Trying to keep myself fit so that I do not fall sick easily especially when I am away for assignments.

I have been reflecting and thinking about my future. So much to do. Need to find a place of my own. Need to sort out my career path and being away doesn't seem to help either. So I guess I have prioritized on 3 things. Property, career and family. I guess if i get the first two sorted out, which find my own place to live and sort out my career, I will have more time for family. Sometimes when thinking about these things can really make me feel down. And sometimes it makes me happy especially when one feels there are things to look forward too.

I guess I haven't sorted out my career. I am at a cross-road. I remember Kitty telling me I have to admit I have a career crisis. Staying on my current job won't help. I like to travel as part of the job, but this kind of travelling during projects really doesn't add any quality to myself. I just tell myself get the job done and leave. And then what? Sometimes you can feel really lost. Read a few career related articles. List down your strengths, list down what you would like to do, list down what you can do and compare with the reality.

And the reality doesn's look that so appealing. I guess I just have to try and try. Try harder. Get out of my comfort zone. Go reach for the stars. There's more to me than this. I am not finish yet. There is more to me than what I can do now.

What I need is action! Good time management and most importantly, sniff out all possible opportunities. Time is short. It's better to try than just to sit down and wish that things could be different.

That is what I want to do now.

I am here now, let's begin work.

Reached the airport in Karachi about late afternoon. The plane ran out of auxillary power (whatever that means) and we were stuck halfway on the runway. As usual, uneducated passengers or rather impatient passengers quickly jumped off their sit and started grabbing their luggage from the cargo section overhead. Aiya, the plane stalled on the runway. Unless these people were going to jump off the plane and rush to the terminal, it's better just to sit down. Tsk tsk...amateurs. Incidently or rather unfortunately, the plane belongs to our beloved national carrier MAS. Oh well, we landed safely anyway. We waited for the cabin doors to be opened and a bus came to ferry us back to the terminal. More delays I thought. Finally got my luggage and thankfully it was intact and ok. Went back to the hotel at roughly 4 something. The ride was terrible. The driver was speeding and it was jam as usual. Felt sick and wanted to vomit. Reached hotel in one-piece. No problem.

Found out that the floor which we wanted to stay was full. So they upgraded us to the higher floors. Smart towers as the hotel calls it. Bah! it's the same. Just that the furniture is different. And one thing that I never like when staying in a hotel is poor lighting. It was dark. Woi people, gimme some lights for heaven sake. At least the study table was bright enough. There were little lights above it. Good. Cos I have to do my readings. I am losing my memory on all things that I have learnt last time. Reading would surely help me.

Went to work today at the client's site. The same. As usual. Small. Lots of production issues. Well, am use to this already. A vetaran? Feels like so old over here. Only one aim ... get the job done. Do it to the best of my ability and return home. To search for other opportunities back home.

So I am here now, let's get our hands dirty. Time is an essense. I do my best.

Which reminds me, I haven't completed my development fully. Need to buck up.

It's cold here. Below 20. Damn kau freezing.... The other thing that I need to do is to exercise. Keep myself trim and fit.

So much for the 1st working day here.

Grooooowwwwwwwwwwlllllllll

The road ahead

The road ahead seems bumpy. Need to get me a 4WD to overcome. Spent the whole evening packing my luggage for my trip to Karachi. I think I brought too many shirts. Have been checking my list. Seems all is there...plus a bit more clothes. Just needed to comfort myself, so I threw in another t-shirt to make me feel .. better. Next time I'll stick to my list. NOthing more but always less.

All done. Very tired. Very sleepy. THought I'll just blog something. The project team is taking a direct flight to Karachi this time. No more stopovers at Bangkok airport. Boring place. Damn kau long transit sometimes also. Direct flight is better for shorter distance.

Well, all packed and ready for action. I need some sleep.

Until then....cheers!

The next trip to ...

... Karachi begins this Thursday. I've made the necessary booking for my taxi to the airport. Gonna pack some stuff for the trip. Few things that I must remember :-

1. Thin sweater.
2. My little pampering stuff like moisturizer, etc.
3. Lots of moisturizer cos my skin gets dry and start to peeling when I stay in the hotels because of the air-conditioning.

And lots of luck, perseverence and tolerance to get through the project. Maybe not so much tolerance. But lots of quick thinking skills. Hahaha...

Somehow, it feels exciting. Why? I guess I know this is going to be a difficult trip and a difficult project. The people and the software....really gets on my nerve. The only thing that I look forward to is the trip back home. Only 2 things on my mind. Get the job done and do it to the best of my ability and also the team's ability. And get home.

My fingers hurt a bit now because of the climbing yesterday. Not to mention the bruises all over my hands. One word of advice to other climbings, wear longer clothing. I've gotta put on my track bottom the next time I climb at Camp5 at 1Utama.

Gotta pack now....

Cheers!

A New Year begins ..

It was pouring profusely during New Year's eve 2005. People were like flowing like water into the city. I know because I was there in the city. My partner and I checked into a nearby hotel in the city center just for the fun of new year's eve. We went to Sg. Wang and Low Yatt just to browse at stuff and see what's going on in the city during the eve. Nothing much really except for the crowd. And the over-burden or badly planned public transport. The monorail station was just outside our hotel. Getting on one was easy. Though I thought that the crowd should be more courteous to get inside the train so that other passengers can get into the train. Comon people, get in. I remember the old mini-bus days where the conductor would keep pushing passengers into the very back of the mini-bus. The other thing is that the monorail service was slow. I really wonder because my impression was that during festive season when there is a huge crowd, the monorail service should be more frequently. But no. It's slow like a tortoise. Maybe the rail operators were trying to max their utilization of the trains. Very funny. Very dumb. Woi...there are lots of passengers waiting to board the train!!!!

But I did enjoy my new year eve small holiday. Met up with my buddy, David who's here for a short holiday from Vietnam. I think he should be back in Vietnam...I can't remember and I should be writing all these down in my organizer. Yea..another new year resolution. Saw the fire works. This time it was great because we were actually near the fireworks. Not bad. Too much smoke though. Had a few beers before meeting up with David. Yay! Felt really tired after that. Couldn't stay up late nowadays.

The next day, my partner and me went to the new climbing gym at 1 Utame. Went as early as 10 something. Left at about 5. The car park cost about 5 bucks. I guess it's ok since we were there for so long. Climbed and climbed. We saw the usual group of climbers. And yup, they recognized us. Seems like if there's any great climbing spot or party, these guys will always be tere. Hahaha....that really felt great. Said hi to each familiar face we met over there. Some of the routes were tough. I guess tough for me actually cos there was another friend of mine who said he has done most of them and he felt that it wasn't challenging enough. Man...some people are really that good. Tried leading on the simple route. Quite high. Just needed to complete 1 more section before I get to the top. And I didn't. Fear was the factor. Really gotta get over this fear thing. So close yet so far. Dang!!! Cut my middle finger somehow. Didn't realize it until I got down and my finger was all bloody. So macho!

So that's the new year bash I had. It's simple and nice. My body as usual is aching. But no hangovers and that's cool.

Welcome to the new year, 2006!!!!!