Short Trip Back To Malaysia

Finally I left Palembang (the place that I used to call home for the past 3 years) and headed back to Malaysia for a short trip before leaving for Brisbane.

My wife was a bit upset when she got to know that I had my "holiday" in Malaysia while she had to manage my active toddler son at home. Anyway, I got to meet up with many childhood friends (up to 25 years of friendship) and former colleagues.

I spent most of the time with my dad as I stayed with him. We had almost every meal at Penang's famous hawker food stalls nearby my place. I managed to slot in afternoon tea and supper with friends while major meal sessions were "reserved" for my dad and my relatives.

"Brisbane" will be the beginning of my new chapter in life where I shall become a dad for the 2nd time and go back to school to further my studies. I am still anxious to be unemployed and had to stay with my in-laws (not that I've never done it before but this time is for a longer period of time). Will I be able to turn on my "study brain" after so many years? Will I be able to cope with studying, take care of a toddler, take care of a newborn and manage a good family relationship at the same time? It looks as if I have too many balls to juggle at the same time.... Nevertheless, I am still positive about my new life in Brisbane and what lies ahead of 2010.

Interesting Indonesian Language

After 3 years in Palembang, I could speak and write Indonesian "dikit dikit" (a little bit). Here are some of the alphabet pronunciations that are different from English:

A - ah
B - beh
C - chey
D - day
E - er
F - eff
G - gay (no kidding!)

H - ha
I - aye
J - jay
K - ka
L - el
M - am
N - an
O - oh
P - pay

Q - kee
R - ar
S - ass
T - tay
U - ooo
V - fey

W - way
X - axe
Y - yay
Z - zet

Try to sing the ABCD song in Bahasa Indonesia....LOL!

When I first arrived, I was pretty "bingung" (confused) when somebody mentioned to me that he drives a "Fey-Way" car (VW = Volkswagon)!

Despite the fact that Indonesia was never colonized by the British (30 years under Dutch's rule), the Indonesian language has a lot of terms similar to English (just to name a few):

1. Halte (hall-ter): bus stop, from the word halt.
2. Helm (hell-lem): helmet.
3. Amplop (aam-plope): envelope.
4. Baut (ba-oot): bolt.
   

Some slight difference between Indonesian and Malay terms (just to name a few also):

1. Karna, Karena - Kerana (Malay) - Because (English)
2. Bisa - Boleh (Malay) - Can (English)
3. Butuh - Perlu (Malay) - Need (English)
4. Becak - Beca (Malay) - Trishaw (English)
5. Wewenang - Tanggung-jawab (Malay) - Responsibility (English)
6. Sendok - Sudu (Malay) - Spoon (English)
7. Cangkir - Cawan (Malay) - Cup (English)
   

I guess that's all for my limited Indonesian translations. Tomorrow will be my last day in Palembang.... # leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again #. Palembang will always have its place in my heart despite all the power problems. I am sure that sometime in my life, "I'LL BE BACK"! Adios Palembang!

Geisha - Indonesian, Not Japanese

For the past month that I was in Palembang, my cable TV was disconnected and I was forced to watch local Indonesian TV. I discovered this band called GEISHA that has very nice songs. The female vocalist's voice reminds me of the group HEART. My friends kept saying that I am intoxicated by Indonesian music after 3 years here but I still love it.

Here are some of my favourite songs from Geisha with their MVs:

Jika Cinta Dia - If you love her


Takkan Pernah Ada - Never Have Been


Selalu Salah - Always Wrong
(this song does not have the original music video)

Leaving With A Price

I have submitted my resignation from the company last month but the company did not have any replacement identified for me until earlier this week.

I was glad that I was finally able to leave Palembang since my family is already in Brisbane. Thanks to the internet, I was still able to chat using Skype and Windows Live Messenger with my wife everyday and also see them via video once in awhile.

It has been tough for my wife to take care of my energetic son by herself. I decided to request for an earlier departure. My employment contract states that I will need to provide 2 months advance notice prior to departure. Therefore, I have to stay until mid Dec'09 which is too long for me a wait.

I talked to my GM and also MD in a nice manner about this dilemma. My MD did not get angry during the conversation and said he will discuss the matter with my GM. Later that day, I received a call from my GM saying that the company has given me permission to leave by middle of this month but will not be paying me 1/2 a months salary because I broke the employment contract. However, I need to work until middle of the month. He said that the company could have taken legal action against me for my premature departure and should take on this "small penalty".

At first I wanted to appeal but in the end I figured that the company needed a way out and they need to do something in order to prevent people from leaving the company at a short notice.

Is 1/2 a month's work without pay justifiable for earlier freedom?

A Baby's (Not Mine) Day Out

Last weekend I invited my driver Iwan and his wife Ida to visit the museum in Palembang. Iwan did ask me whether it is ok to bring along a 6 month old baby and I agreed. He told me that this baby belongs to Ida's aunt who has 7 children. Every weekend Iwan and Ida will babysit the 6-month-old boy overnight. Iwan said that that baby is very easy to handle and does not REWEL (make a fuss).

I was also anxious to see how a 6 month old would not make a fuss if taken out for a day.


The baby's name is Satria (aka warrior). The couple dressed him up in a thick furry jacket on that hot Sunday morning. Satria also had a singlet covered by a red and white shirt. Iwan was dressed in black (2 layers) while Ida was in tudung (head dress) plus a jacket. I could not understand why they mentioned that they are afraid to catch a cold in this hot weather!


We spent approximately 2 hours visiting 2 different museums at the Ampera bridge area (both within walking distance). They fed the baby milk in a bottle (mixing sachets of milk powder with normal temp water). Satria did not make a lot of noise, only soft grunts and burps. He does not like to wear shoes. So he often kicks his shoes off.

After the museum, they smelt something foul but realized that they did not bring any spare nappies! Iwan said, "he normally poops in the afternoon". It shows that they still need some training before they get to know how to handle babies...Scout's motto, "Always be prepared"!.....LOL!

Therefore, we had to drive to a sundry shop to buy PAMPERS for Satria. Nappies in Bahasa Indonesia are called Pampers irregardless of whether it is Pampers brand or not. After Satria was cleaned up in a public toilet nearby, we headed out for lunch.

I took them to the famous MI CELOR stall in Palembang. Mi Celor is a noodle dish with thick coconut gravy. Iwan held Satria with one hand at the side but the baby kept wanting to pull the plates and spoons from the table. In the end, I finished up my mi celor quickly and temporarily baby sit Satria while the 2 dug into their noodles.

After lunch, we headed home. The A/C in the car was so comfortable that Satria fell asleep. As you can see from the photo, his arms were bent like a bow facing upwards as he snoozed throughout the way home.

It was an interesting day out for us. Not so much of the contents inside the museum but because a 6 month old baby was tagging along. The weekend stay for the baby should serve as good practice for Iwan and Ida but I warned them not to expect the same of their own newborn when Ida delivers sometime in March next year. Every baby is different.

Until now I still have Blog formatting problems: everytime I insert photos, my formatting will get screwed up. I have looked in the FAQ sections of Blogger but could not find a good solution for my formatting problems yet. If you have any ideas on how to resolve it, please let me know.