Sunday, November 30, 2008

Houses With Big Compounds But Small Rooms













I have been looking around for houses for the past few weeks because our landlord wanted to increase the rent of our current house.

We had to look for other options but most of the houses in the Kedamayan area do not have any spacious living room (one of the necessities for my 2 year old son to play).

Here are some of the photos that I took of a corner house that has a very big compound. However, the living room and bedrooms are pretty small compared to our current house.






Thursday, November 27, 2008

What A Job!



















I have not been feeling well after returning from my KL trip. That's why I was a bit behind on my posts. I came across this advertisement on the internet that states the following job requirements:
  1. Need to cater for production needs 24x7 - this is still ok (meaning on-call 24 x 7).
  2. To be prepared to relocate and live on site at the factory??!!!
This is a real ad. I guess with the economic woes like this, people will be happy that they could get a job. But for sure I know this is a "china-man" company ad!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

To KL & Back

Time flies when you have so many things to do in 3 days & 2 nights. In just a blink of an eye I was in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and back in Palembang again!

Total of 7 of us left Palembang on Thursday noon time. I brought along a fellow Malaysian, 2 Indonesian couples and one 4 month old baby. KL was pouring when we arrived.

After checking in we had some time to browse in the Sunway Pyramids shopping mall before heading for an international buffet dinner. They served fresh oysters, salmon, sashimi, fish and fishes. I was also glad to be able to catch up with some old colleagues from Port Klang, Sandakan, Bintulu, Pasir Gudang and Surabaya. After dinner came the group meeting where our director gave his speech about the company outlook, impact to our company from the current economy crisis and strategies to move ahead in these difficult times. The speech was followed by a motivational video session on "paradigm shifts" and a 15 minute group brainstorming / work session on the application of "paradigm shifts" within our company.










[photos from left: my room in Pyramid Towers (actual), view of Sunway Lagoon from my room, my maintenance supervisor and his 4 month old baby]

On day 2, my Indonesian staff went to visit the Petronas Twin Towers while I had my technical meeting with our General Manager. We had Chinese-style lunch in Sunway Hotel. After that came my shopping opportunity at Sunway Pyramids where I bought the following items:
  1. 2 160Gb external hard discs - for my many photos of my son
  2. 2 pairs of shorts from FOS (Factory Outlet Shop)
  3. Chinese character picture charts for my son
  4. Gladwrap - bought one just for the "cutter strip" on the box because in Palembang we can't find plastic wraps with built-in cutter strips.












[photos from left: Sunway Pyramids shopping mall, xmas decorations, a restaurant with a familiar name]

After my shower, I went for the Port Klang factory's 10th anniversary dinner. Met more old staff and chit-chat until it was time for dinner. They had lucky draw & 10 years long serving employee awards plus entertainment sessions by some local comedians. After dinner I was invited to one of my old colleague's bachelor's party in a nearby discotheque. I have not been "partying" for ages and I felt a bit awkward joining the group of "young people" (most of them are under 30 years old). Luckily I am only the 4th senior guy in the crowd of 15!

After the late night and early breakfast, we left from KL and now I am back in Palembang blogging again!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

How Packed Is My 3D/2N Trip?

At first I was a bit excited to be able to leave Palembang for a 10th anniversary factory function in Petaling Jaya (Malaysia).

I thought that on the first day upon arrival, I would be able to do some shopping then have dinner with one of my cousins. Then the next day morning I can go visit my former workplace (factory) and colleagues in Klang. After lunch come back and do some more shopping in the adjacent Sunway Pyramids mall, followed by the dinner celebration. On the 3rd day I will need to leave at 8:30am to the airport to catch my 12 noon flight back to Palembang.

But here is the itinerary that was emailed to us:

Day1:
3:30pm - arrive at KL from PLM.
4:30pm - check in at Hotel in Pyramid Towers (Sunway)
6:30pm - group dinner
8:30-10:30pm - group meeting!??

Day2:
10:30am - technical meeting
12pm - group lunch
7pm - 10th anniversary dinner

Day3:
8:30am - depart to airport

Let's see if I could slot in some shopping time on the 2nd day between the group lunch and dinner function!

Monday, November 17, 2008

2009 Wish List - Wii, Clavinova or Oven

Tonight my wife sent me her wish list for 2009 in Palembang. The options are:
  1. A Nintendo Wii
  2. A Clavinova Electric Piano
  3. An Oven (for baking)
I have been trying to figure out whether our LG TV had the capability to play Wii because it does not have any S-Video Cable slot! I looked up the internet and here's what I found:

No S-Video cables required!! We only need a normal video jack, audio left and audio right jacks (that all TVs have).

As for the Clavinova, I am trying to find a second hand one that will last us another 2 years but I doubt Palembang has any used electric pianos.

As for the oven, our house will not have enough capacity to support an oven. We are only limited to 2200W for the whole house. Currently we can't even turn on 2 air-cons + the microwave at the same time. This will cause our breaker to trip.

Seems like the Clavinova will be our likely choice but I will still need to look around for the piano.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Pyramid Towers Hotel (Sunway City) - My Next Destination

I will be traveling to Kuala Lumpur to attend a company dinner function coming Thursday.

The company booked us for 2 nights in a new hotel called Pyramid Towers in Sunway City, Petaling Jaya.

A total of 5 persons will be attending from Palembang.

I hope the rooms are as nice as what they show on their website.

I am also trying to overcome flu-like symptoms (sore throat, head and back aches) by pumping myself with vitamin-C and Echinesia (supposedly very effective for cold prevention). Hope I get better before my trip on Thurday.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Photo Of The Week - Palembang Wedding

I have been to many of my staff's wedding ceremonies in Palembang. This is the first photo from the wedding day that I have ever received.

This photo was taken on the wedding day of my weighbridge foreman (or fore-woman I should say). I went with my Logistics Manager who brought along his visiting wife from Malaysia.

Can you see the melting make-up of the bride under the mid-day heat??


Green Fingers (Part3) - Our Garden After 2 Months




















Here are some photos of our flourishing garden after a whole month of rain almost everyday.
Our papayas are growing very big but still a bit greenish.
Our four angled beans are creeping on our fence.















Below are some long beans and four angled beans in drums.






Friday, November 14, 2008

Ampera Bridge - Palembang





























The Ampera Bridge is one of the main landmarks of Palembang city. The bridge that spreads above Musi River was built in 1965. Ampera Bridge has a 78m high tower that resembles the SanFrancisco Golden Gate Bridge. It used to have a special feature of being able to open and close for vessels to pass through. It was the only bridge with the open-and-closed mechanism in the history of Indonesian bridges.

The word Ampera is short for "Amanat Penderitaan Rakyat". It means mandate of the people's suffering (referring to the anti-Soekarno era in 1966).

These are night shots of the bridge taken when some visitors came from Jakarta. Flickering and different coloured lights decorate the edges of the bridge at night. Palembang does not have any good night scenic places - Ampera bridge is the best that you could get.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Mi Pangsit of Palembang

Yesterday I went to the market at Pasar Buah to buy fish. Decided to go there for some fresh fishes since the market at our place here does not seel any good and fresh fishes.

On the way home I had breakfast at this chinese style coffee shop called Restaurant 888 - what a typical Chinese good luck number to name the shop. 8 = prosperity in Chinese.

I had Mi Pangsit (in Malaysia it's called Wantan Mee or wanton noodles). It comes with a bowl of dry hand-made noodles and another bowl of soup with Pangsit (wanton or meat dumplings) and Bakso (beef and fish balls). One type of their beef balls is very chewy - texture that bounces back when you chew on it, but not as hard as "rubber"!

I was too embarrassed to take direct photos of the shop, so this is my best shot! You can see that the decorations of the shop are still very Chinese despite being in Palembang. All the people in the shop are Chinese because this Mi Pangsit that they serve is non-Halal (forbidden for Muslims - contains pork).

I plan to bring my wife and kid here next time since both of them have not tried Mi Pangsit yet. Damn, I feel hungry already after writing this post!





Saturday, November 8, 2008

Porsche & Modern Talking

Songs can trigger memories. I was listening to Modern Talking's Cheri Cheri Lady this afternoon and it reminded me of the time when I was in primary school.

My uncle had just bought a red Porsche 944 back then and he decided to take me out for a spin one day in his new car. He put on his shades and told me to hop in. The tape that was playing in his car was Cheri Cheri Lady (Modern Talking's number one hit in 1985).

Wonderful car + Wonderful song: No wonder I never forgot about Porsche and Modern Talking whenever I think about the 80's. When I searched for "Porsche" on the internet, it came out "Porsche - the ultimate mid life crisis car"....LOL! I guess that's why my uncle bought the scarlet car.

If you are too young to remember the song Cheri Cheri Lady, here's a retro MTV of it. When I saw the cellist playing until his cello caught fire towards the end of the MTV, it almost made me burst into laughter. I also like their "so-80's" hairstyles and lead vocals Thomas Anders wearing his "Michael Jackson wannabe" jacket.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Bad Luck Week

This week was an unlucky week for my driver because of the following events:
  1. On Monday he had to report to his boss (the person that rents the car to our company) that the wiper's rubber had gone bad & needed to be replaced - it actually made scratch marks on the wind screen.
  2. On Tuesday he scratched the side of the car bumper while turning - got an ear full from his boss again after the incident was reported.
  3. On Wednesday the car's tire burst and he discovered that the spare tire has no air! It was raining and we were on the way back from work. We had to leave the car in front of a shop 10 mins walk away from home.
  4. After he walked home with me, he realized that he left his bike's keys in the car. He had to ask for a lift from the security guard to ferry him back to the car from our house and back again.
  5. On Thursday he brought the burst tire to the shop to fill up with air but the inner tube was badly damaged, so he had to get it replaced. But he was too afraid to call his boss again until I had to step in and convince his boss that it was not the driver's fault. I had to pay for the inner tubes and deduct it from his boss' rental rates next month.
  6. He missed his morning school session due to having to fix the car.
  7. When he came back to put the receipt for the job on the magnet on my fridge, he dropped the magnet and broke it by accident. It was a Las Vegas souvenir (magnet with clip) that my wife got - but it was broken into pieces and could not be glued back anymore.
This is really a case of continuous bad luck days for my driver. I hope things would be better for him starting Friday.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Triumphant But Yet Heart Broken - Brazilian F1 Grand Prix

Ferrari's Felipe Massa passed the chequered flag in the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix yesterday thinking that he had won the 2008 championship. However seconds later, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton overtook Toyota's Timo Glock at the final corner to clinch 5th place and this puts Hamilton 1 point ahead of Massa and became the youngest ever driver to win an F1 championship.

Massa broke into tears as he drove his Ferrari to the base of the podium. Triumphant but yet totally heart broken because Massa won the Brazilian race but could not be crowned 2008 drivers champion.

Massa made a flying start in Brazil by taking pole position in the qualifying rounds and leading the pack all the way to the finish line. However, Ferrari's fuel hose blunder in Singapore really cost him precious championship points.

Ferrari still managed to win the overall 2008 constructors' championship. This is the second year in a row Ferrari won. Looking forward to another exciting F1 championship in 2009. Viva Ferrari!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

English Mass

Today I attended English mass in the evening. In Palembang all the Catholic masses are in Indonesian except for this once a month session in English at the St Joseph Church (largest Catholic church in Palembang).

Not many people attend English mass in Palembang. Normally there are 10-15 persons attending but today there's only me, another lady and 3 sisters. So the males vocalists for the hymns are only the priest and me...LOL!

In today's sermon, the priest touched about Jesus being the shepherd having to separate goats from sheeps before nightfall. Sheeps represented "the good" while goats represented "evil"...therefore, bad and unlucky ones are called scape-goats. Goat-like beings are often depicted in mythical evil characters. I never really realized this until today's sermon. Maybe I have not been reading the bible enough!

After mass I had a quick chat with the priest, Fr. Edi, who happened to be one of the first persons that I met when I first came to Palembang 2 years ago. He went to Malaysia last month for some lung infection treatment but the doctor did not give him enough medication. It is difficult to get certain prescriptions in Palembang so I volunteered to help him get some when I go back end of the month.

When I was walking back towards my car to go home, I saw the 3 sisters that were in church just now. One of them was Sister Marta from Brazil. They normally come by bus. But out of courtesy I gave them a ride back to a house bought by the arch-bishop of Palembang.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Poverty & Pain

Today I took my driver, Iwan, out for a meal in one of the shopping malls. He told me that he did not feel comfortable eating in a restaurant inside a mall. He claims that his "status" is not the same as others. Iwan believed that he is poor and would not walk into places that he might think others might look down on him.

Another example is at Novotel hotel. I often asked him to wait around the back lobby area while I go for my gym sessions. That location has very few people but he still refused. He claims that staff at Novotel had given him "condescending looks". Perhaps it was coincidental, Iwan also said that every time he wanted to use the hotel toilet the door is locked.

His lack of self-belief and self-confidence is so bad until he had to ask his friend to accompany him when I asked him to check out second hand car prices in the car studio one day! His friend was forced to close-up the shop just to accompany him to the car studio.

My maid, Aeni, also comes from a not-so-well-off family. Her father was ill one day and I asked her why she did not bring her dad to the doctor. She suspected that his dad had some gastric problems until he was bed-ridden. She has 2 elder brothers and 1 elder sister but they refused to come back to attend to their father. Aeni said sometimes she would avoid going home whenever she knows that her father was sick - claiming that "people worry less if they know less"! She also said that if she brings her dad to the doctor, they might discover that her dad might have some other illnesses that might require additional medical expenses.

After I threatened her that her father would die if his gastric was not treated, she finally agreed to take her dad to the doctor's. I really can't believe how people can behave like this??!! Maybe this is how people who live below the poverty line live? That's why we always remind ourselves to do more charitable things for these people and treat them well. God brought us to Indonesia for a reason and we have to make the situation better for 2 Indonesians if we can't help them all.

2009/10 United Squad

2009/10 United Squad

Kings of Europe 2007/2008 - Manchester United

Kings of Europe 2007/2008 - Manchester United
UEFA Champions League & English Premier League Champions