Whiny World of K.S. Lee's

I was doing 60 kmph along Jalan Pantai in Port Dickson on Friday, 10 October 2008. It was a 2-lane 2-way road for most of the way but this incident happened in a stretch where my travelling direction has double lanes to allow overtaking. Around 500 meters from a herd of cows on the side of the road, there was one that I spotted: it was attempting to cross the road. Here goes the joke: why does the cow cross the road? To cause a traffice accident!

I stopped in anticipation of the beast to attempt crossing, and I was on the faster lane on the two. Three cars tailgating me from behind attempt to overtake me from the left side, thinking I was an idiotic imbecile trying to make a right turn without putting on any indicator light and stopped in the middle of the road. Little did they know that the first of the three cars screetched to a halt as the cow appeared from the blind spot covered by my vehicle, and the rest is history: a screech following by two loud crispy sharp crumpling bang!

A spectacular pile-up indeed, teaching them a lesson not to overtake from the left and not to tailgate!

Man, I was away for work since 18 August, and it has been 6+ weeks for me! Worse is not these 6 weeks because contractually, it is supposed to be 6 weeks with 4 weeks of break following. However, there is a special job lined up for me in mid October, meaning I am going to get 1.5 weeks of break only in the best case, not good... I hate to whine, but they're really pushing me! Damn...

• After I completed leading a job in Dubai, I went offshore in Qatar, working solo as the single MWD engineer onboard, cramming 30+ hours straight...
• I was told that I would get off home early to rest, because of the important job lined up for me in mid October, but diverted to another rig to save a nast situation there, setting me back by 1/2 week...
• That job got prolonged by 1/2 week, and add the helicopter scheduling problem, got back to town and unable to leave as there is no exit stamp
• Might as well work if I can't leave, sent to a land rig but diverted back again to an offshore rig to save yet another situation (no one else have offshore safety certification, and guess what? I am again the single MWD engineer onboard!!!) And so here I am now - still fucking waiting to get home!
  

Had a tough time at Dubai Airport today. Tried checking-in three times! Well, apparently under Qatar's immigration laws, one cannot enter the country without purchasing a return ticket. This is really troublesome!!! What a pain in the a**!

Policeman: Jadi macam mana? (So, what shall we do now?)
You: Saya tak tau tuk... (I don't know)
Policeman: Mau saman dan court ke? (You want a ticket and a court appearance?)
You: Kalau boleh, tak mau laa (If can, I wish to avoid them)

And the conversation repeats itself again and again for the next 20 minutes until you either get a ticket, or pay the bribe!!!

now costs RM 3 !!! I have receipts to proof it, so? So, we will be suffering the same fate as Zimbabwe soon!!! Great, then Najib cannot put us as lightyears ahead of Ghana!

Came back from Taipei a couple days ago. It was a great trip, a fun one too. My wife has been loading up stuff, mostly her skincare stocks while I have been loading up beers. Wide variety at cheap prices! Tried Heineken regular, Heineken dark lager, Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin, Hoegaarden, Chemay, Warsteiner, Warsteiner Dunkel, Bitburger, Tsingtao and of course, the local fanfare Taiwan beer! Had a hard time staying sober in public, and my wife had an easier time shopping as an effect!

On the flight there, it was delayed from 8 am to 5 pm, due to the major typhoon that struck Taiwan. Met the national bowler on that flight too, Shalin Zulkifli. On the returning leg however, it was the innkeeper who gave us a ride to the Taoyuan airport. I was a heck-of-a-ride and my wife and I both worried about our safety. The least I would say was that the innkeeper's driving is reckless and he is not in shape to drive at all!

We found that electronics can be a real bargain there in Taiwan: Garmin GPS starts at RM450, Nintendo Wii at RM500, Sony PSP at RM550, steamer iron at RM500 and HTC PDA phone (mid-range line) at RM1200! Food wise, don't miss out their pastries and yes, SUSHI! It's on the cheap, and to fill out two person on sushi, it takes less than RM30! On the contrary, the most amusing part of our journey is when we met with a local municipal's garbage truck doing its collection at night. It plays a gay-ish melody nursery rhyme tune! We had it captured on video, priceless!

Well, enjoy the photos...

Nifty little spot, outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, at the confluence of Kajang-Cheras, Pandan and Ampang districts where you can view the skyline of KL... Wonderful place to lay back, chill out and bring your girlfriend/wife along to dine... For those with GPS, coordinates are: N 3 deg, 7.780 min, E 101 deg, 47.71 min.