After many conference calls with American and European customers at night for months, i am finally diagnosed with stomach ulcers in early March. And after taking the medicine which is very expensive for 2 weeks, i cannot see much improvement. Although i do not feel nauseous anymore, i can still feel the pain every day at 11 am and between 4 to 7 pm punctually. And it so happens that i am always engaged in conference calls with those customers from 6 to 10 pm. Till yesterday, the gastric pain is still killing me sometimes while my customers were blabbering over the phone, and i cannot stop them from going on and on about the issues they were unhappy about.
This has been the case for months, and finally i decided to give up and force the management to give me 2 weeks of no pay leave. I am not prepared to negotiate as i know it is what i should do at all costs to take good care of my health, even if it means I have to tender my resignation on the spot. The management certainly will not pamper me and tell me to rest more and that I do not have to do anymore concall after 5 pm. I have to press the emergency button myself. I was quite upset that i have to convince the management that I need this recuperating period when i raised my request. I certainly do not owe the company my life, and neither do they have the right to stop me from taking emergency leave after i have damaged my health because of work. I am quite happy that i finally woke up and have stopped doing harm to myself.
After getting approval for the leave which i fought for firmly, I immediately arranged for an interview in Shanghai next week. I am quite disappointed with my current department and decide to resign for good, although there is another job offer from the manager of my ex department (who is quite close to me) after she heard about my case through "tabloids". I know i should recover first and i rejected her offer, and was grateful. It is not that bad, for this company and for my past performance.
Darby
2008年3月21日星期五
2008年3月8日星期六
Mr Wong Kar Wai
I went to Hongkong during the weekend last week to do a medical check up on my stomach and was diagnosed to be suffering from stomach ulcers. After the check up, i have some spare time to move about in HK island itself to explore more from Central to Shang Huan.I went to H+M at East Queensway to see if there's any ongoing sale and was disappointed to find there's nothing I fancy this time. Actually i did not spend much time in this boutique before either , but I just find that it is rare to have a medium range boutique this large in Hongkong.
I then went to TaiCheong Bakery, the famous egg tart house on the Island for a bite and passed by the Din Tai Gai (Elevator Street ), where Wong Kar Wai shot Chungking Express featuring Faye Wong sneaking into Tony Leung's house.
As a passer by, I find that Hongkong Island is always full of exciting moments. There are plenty of good food from the ever popular dim sum in teahouses to more exquisite food in restaurants, good shopping from local to international brands, and uniquely Hongkong building and public transport such as Din Chey (tram ), night life at Lan Kwai Fung. People in general live in a small match box like apartment but they are full of creativity and emits lots of energy to give this city a buzz and keep the excitement going on everyday for the city. The pace in Hong Kong may be stressful and hectic, just like Singapore, but Singapore is lacking in excitement. There is only 1 director who is able to capture the real Hongkong people successfully with an artistic touch and he is Wong Kar Wai. I will think of Faye Wong everytime i pass by the Elevator street, and God knows I might stop buying CD once she ends her singing career for good.
I got a call to attend an interview for the Shanghai job tomorrow, and when piggy learned about it, HE COVERED HIS FACE WITH HANDS. I know he is in a dilemma. With my presence in Singapore, he will not be able to play mahjong , but without my presence he is lonely in Singapore. Let's see how things go from here.
Darby
2008年2月23日星期六
My first 10km Std Chartered Marathon
Today is saturday and i have been working from 2 pm till 9 pm. After the stupid paper work were all done , i decided to spend some time to update the blog. While i am typing this, the pig is having fun on the mahjong table. He has probably forgotten his lover is working late and feeling stressful, altho not too long ago he just called and said that he is worried about my gastric problem.
In between work , i managed to check my first marathon result from internet. As expected it is 1 hour 27 minutes. I think it is not a good result as i had a few trainings before that, well not too many, may be just 6 or 7 times in the 3 months after I have registered for the run. I am not happy with the result but i can only blame myself for I did not go down to HK earlier the day before the run. The run was on 17 Feb, to and fro btwn North Point and Causeway Bay. My colleague and i reached the HK apartment on 16 Feb at 7.30 pm. I went to bed at 11 pm after dinner but only slept at 1 am due to my gastric problem ( i ate curry beef rice from Fairwood) . I have been having stomach upset recently due to poor digestive system and it was the same for that night. In the end, i slept for 2 hrs before i woke up at 3 am to wash up and took a bus to go to Causeway Bay, the 10Km run starting point.
At 6.10 am , the run started, and we were all like sardine fish in a tin can, running slowly towards the starting point. Not having enough sleep the night before caused me to have back ache as usual. Despite the awful feeling for the first 2 km , i managed to run non stop for the first 4 km. The view along the way was good as we were running on an expressway by the sea side and the cold winter air was soothing. By the time i reached the U turn point, i was both hungry and thirsty as i did not eat and drink much since i woke up at 3 am. Luckily, the organisers began to supply water in paper cups and I managed to drag myself further for a few more kms. When I reached the 6 km mark, i had lost my stamina and started to walk. The funniest thing is i can see handicapped/visually impaired/fat/old runners all ahead of me, so paiseh. I started to run on and off along the remaining distance. When i finally reached the last km, many ppl cheered for the runners. I imagined i am Liu Xiang ( China's #1 sprinter ) and pushed myself to run non stop for this last km and that was it.
After the event, my colleague and I went back to the apartment to catch up the sleep , we went to bed at 11 am and woke up at 3 pm, without bathing. hehe...
Despite the fatigue and aches after the run, the 10km run was quite an easy and comfortable distance to cover, and i will do it again whether i am in HK or Singapore next year. For the next 2 days, i was walking like a crippled man. Everyone who saw me asks : " Eh, what happened to your legs?" :-)
Darby
In between work , i managed to check my first marathon result from internet. As expected it is 1 hour 27 minutes. I think it is not a good result as i had a few trainings before that, well not too many, may be just 6 or 7 times in the 3 months after I have registered for the run. I am not happy with the result but i can only blame myself for I did not go down to HK earlier the day before the run. The run was on 17 Feb, to and fro btwn North Point and Causeway Bay. My colleague and i reached the HK apartment on 16 Feb at 7.30 pm. I went to bed at 11 pm after dinner but only slept at 1 am due to my gastric problem ( i ate curry beef rice from Fairwood) . I have been having stomach upset recently due to poor digestive system and it was the same for that night. In the end, i slept for 2 hrs before i woke up at 3 am to wash up and took a bus to go to Causeway Bay, the 10Km run starting point.
At 6.10 am , the run started, and we were all like sardine fish in a tin can, running slowly towards the starting point. Not having enough sleep the night before caused me to have back ache as usual. Despite the awful feeling for the first 2 km , i managed to run non stop for the first 4 km. The view along the way was good as we were running on an expressway by the sea side and the cold winter air was soothing. By the time i reached the U turn point, i was both hungry and thirsty as i did not eat and drink much since i woke up at 3 am. Luckily, the organisers began to supply water in paper cups and I managed to drag myself further for a few more kms. When I reached the 6 km mark, i had lost my stamina and started to walk. The funniest thing is i can see handicapped/visually impaired/fat/old runners all ahead of me, so paiseh. I started to run on and off along the remaining distance. When i finally reached the last km, many ppl cheered for the runners. I imagined i am Liu Xiang ( China's #1 sprinter ) and pushed myself to run non stop for this last km and that was it.
After the event, my colleague and I went back to the apartment to catch up the sleep , we went to bed at 11 am and woke up at 3 pm, without bathing. hehe...
Despite the fatigue and aches after the run, the 10km run was quite an easy and comfortable distance to cover, and i will do it again whether i am in HK or Singapore next year. For the next 2 days, i was walking like a crippled man. Everyone who saw me asks : " Eh, what happened to your legs?" :-)
Darby
2008年2月14日星期四
Valentine's Day
I returned to Shenzhen last night, and today is Valentine's Day. How much agony do i have to bear with when i say good bye to piggy and family? i now know I will get a mood swing everytime i have to leave piggy and I don't like that feeling.
I started the day by finding that I have lost some important bank documents as I was unpacking my luggage. Then during lunch, the waitress just cleared my food without asking me if she can do so. Following that, I was not able to find the USB cable to download photos from my camera to my laptop. Then my company's laptop could not access Internet suddenly. It is a bad start for me after the chinese new year holidays but luckily I listened to piggy by staying at home and not going for work today. The pig has earlier read a forecast on which days are bad and good days to start work for me. The pig is a bomoh in disguise. And here i want to say to the pig, Happy Valentine, Baby.
My body is aching due to the cold again. The warming effect of the hot tropical sun is gone a few hours after i reached Shenzhen and I am beginning to freeze again. Well, i hope it would not be long before i return to my homeland for good. One of my colleagues from KL told me so too.
And a small advice for my best friend, Alien, on his dilemma : Do not live your life based on other's expectations. It is your life ultimately so ask yourself what you really want. You have the chance to fall in love so count yourself a lucky man. Whether it works or not, just leave it to God after you have done your part. If you are left on the shelves after trying , we will open an old folks home for all of us and you can be the chairman :-)
I started the day by finding that I have lost some important bank documents as I was unpacking my luggage. Then during lunch, the waitress just cleared my food without asking me if she can do so. Following that, I was not able to find the USB cable to download photos from my camera to my laptop. Then my company's laptop could not access Internet suddenly. It is a bad start for me after the chinese new year holidays but luckily I listened to piggy by staying at home and not going for work today. The pig has earlier read a forecast on which days are bad and good days to start work for me. The pig is a bomoh in disguise. And here i want to say to the pig, Happy Valentine, Baby.
My body is aching due to the cold again. The warming effect of the hot tropical sun is gone a few hours after i reached Shenzhen and I am beginning to freeze again. Well, i hope it would not be long before i return to my homeland for good. One of my colleagues from KL told me so too.
And a small advice for my best friend, Alien, on his dilemma : Do not live your life based on other's expectations. It is your life ultimately so ask yourself what you really want. You have the chance to fall in love so count yourself a lucky man. Whether it works or not, just leave it to God after you have done your part. If you are left on the shelves after trying , we will open an old folks home for all of us and you can be the chairman :-)
2008年2月2日星期六
Home trip for CNY
I guess i am the only Malaysian left in the hostel now, as all the Sporeans /Msians i know have flown back for Chinese New Year holiday today. This year, we have the coldest winter in a decade according to the locals. I can see hot mist coming out from my nostril when I am outdoors. My hands are frozen even if i am now indoor typing this blog before my flight tonight.
I need to wrap myself from head to toe before i get to the air port, listen : 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 pullover, 1 winter coat, a pair of glooves , long johns underneath my jeans. Everyone on the street looks like an Eskimo now, but may still be trembling due to the cold. But as soon as i reach Singapore tonight, i will have to strip to t shirt and jeans and let my skin breathe. For 3 consecutive weeks , southern china has been badly affected by heavy snow weather (even Shanghai is snowing now ). Many were killed, and millions are not able to go home as the public transportation is not able to reach those places covered by snow. I am luckier as the flight is going towards south, no snow! And i will get to eat my fav local food soon.
Happy new year to all the fans.
darby
I need to wrap myself from head to toe before i get to the air port, listen : 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 pullover, 1 winter coat, a pair of glooves , long johns underneath my jeans. Everyone on the street looks like an Eskimo now, but may still be trembling due to the cold. But as soon as i reach Singapore tonight, i will have to strip to t shirt and jeans and let my skin breathe. For 3 consecutive weeks , southern china has been badly affected by heavy snow weather (even Shanghai is snowing now ). Many were killed, and millions are not able to go home as the public transportation is not able to reach those places covered by snow. I am luckier as the flight is going towards south, no snow! And i will get to eat my fav local food soon.
Happy new year to all the fans.
darby
2008年1月27日星期日
Shanghai Photos (3) - Huai Hai road / XinTianDi
Back from Hangzhou, we went to Xin Tiandi/Huai Hai Road/Duo Lun Road (had a good massage). Below is XTD's Liu Li Gong Fang ( Glass workshop)
Huai Hai Road Area old houses, we spotted a rich tai tai with Poodle hair style staring at others.
Tong Tai Antique street nearby , where piggy glued its pig trotters on the ground watching the local playing mahjong games.
The little girl at Duo Lun Road ( Residential area for famous authors in 30's )
We saw this Railway Station sign everyday near our hotel before we enter MRT station, kind of miss it.
Finale for the Shanghai Trip.
It was quite a wonderful trip , we had a good time. Our understanding of Shanghai might be superficial , but it is good that we keep it that way.
Shanghai Photos (2) - Hangzhou
One of the most beautiful places i have ever been to, Hangzhou - West Lake. Almost 50% of the pictures were taken here.
Ready to set off on boat to the island
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