A bank, 6 migrant workers, an ATM & I......

A title like that without a doubt sounds as if it wont make it to a great success, it being a movie or a novel is of little relevance. At certain times you come across people who are very helpless in figuring things out due to a battery of reasons. The countless number of reasons are at times innate or otherwise caused by their new environment into which people is trying to adapt. Whichever reason it may be, I think, if one were to come across such a person(s), help should be forthcoming.

During my lunch hour, as usual, I ate whatever there was in the cafe and came off after paying the bill. Noticing that I was short of cash, the obvious thing would be to get some. It was a blessing that next to the cafe there happened to be a bank. I made my way to the bank, and got ready to take out the cash. As I thrust my card into the ATM a group of 6 guys streamed into the same place. There were about 6 machines, but this lot was sticking together like in a action scene from "tour of duty". Wow.... that film is ancient as I can recall, but very entertaining, but I only realised later its underlying reality as I came to be a bit older (actually when studying literature in high school). Moving on, i was punching in my pin number and entering the withdrawal amount. While doing this I sensed one of the six leaning over my shoulder unaware of the implications of his actions. He then said something to the other chaps who whispered to each other, and I was thinking "what the fuck is going on?!?". After the cash came out of the machine I was getting ready to leave the bank when one of them made a bold move.

That guy came up to me with a confused and helpless look on his face, while I was trying to move towards the door. He cut me across, and extended his hand towards me, which had an ATM card in his grasp. He gestured from his hand pointing at the ATM and mimicking the manner in which a card is entered into the machine. I realised that this lot needed help to operate the ATM in order to withdraw money. Believe it or not, I taught the procedure to all of the 6 guys individually so that they would remember. Some could not understand English, but there was one chap who knew a little bit and he made the rest understand the entire scenario. One particular guy had written his pin number on a piece of paper. When his time came, the guy whisked out the small piece of paper and started to punch the numbers like a child would do. At that point I signaled to him in a non-verbal manner. I put my palm over his piece of paper and shook my palm at a fast pace over it, and I shook my head simultaneously. Then when he frowned at me, I pointed at the piece of paper and then tapped my head with my finger. He seemed to get the idea so it was good enough for me. I withdrew the money for all of them and sent the guys on their way.

The 6 workers were from Bangladesh who had come for employment. How I knew their origins was from the language they spoke. Since I had associated quite a number of Bangladeshis' in my campus it was not hard to identify the lingo. It is guaranteed that those chaps have never been exposed to technology of this sort, thus all the commotion and confusion. I think my good deed for the day was quite very well done.

Another "new" start

The "new" start that I am referring to here is not some promise or any sort of pledge. Rather, its the start of another new semester, around which my life has been revolving for the past few years. It so happens that the management in the hostel had decided to shake things up a bit, but in our case the impact was tremendous. These people were expecting us to switch to new rooms, the objective of which is beyond my comprehension. After staying in the same room for the past 3 years, these nincompoops want me and my friends to shift rooms. This was only the tip of the iceberg because 3 years of stay certainly accumulates a lot of things. Packing them up into boxes is hardly a simple matter, and just thinking of it makes me tired. We made up our minds to complain about the administrative move and we did so in the morning. Surprisingly, the person in the office took it quite well. Thus, my friends and I are still in the same place as before.

On a more action packed "kung fu" note, the weekend took us to watch the new film, 'forbidden kingdom'. The plot of the movie is not so elaborate as to make a persons jaw drop or having the viewer at the edge of the seat. But the action scenes are very well choreographed and done to perfection. There was also a slight touch of the orthodox Chinese aura in the film, while the Hollywood influence played a major part trying to create glamour as always. I would say the film will fair well with the action loving crowd and not forgetting the Chinese community who are addicted to Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Tomorrow is another day that I dread a lot because of having to start my working week all over again.

Walking in the rain

I have always imagined what it would be like to just walk in the rain. Today, I didn't go to office because of a stomach pain, which resulted in me getting up late (2.30 pm to be exact). Hunger cannot be ignored in the slightest and I went to get some food from the canteen - the canteen that is run by a money obsessed and greedy old woman - to eat. When coming out it was raining quite hard, but I had seen worse. Being in a geographic area surrounded by mountains, I am often a victim of unexpected rain may it be small showers or heavy downpour. The only thing I like about rain is one thing, and that being it's beautiful to watch. In any way it occurs I always liked to watch the rain. I think rain is a natural phenomena marvellously orchestrated.

There is a small pond near my block and every time it rains the pond fills up. The water level rises to such a level, watching it gives me a pleasure. Anyway, after lunch I was stranded at the canteen thinking how to get back to my room. The rain was not going to stop anytime soon and neither any shelter along the way. Waiting for 15 minutes was not doing me any good while my level of patience eroded gradually. At this time it came like a flash and at first I was a bit hesitant. I was thinking "should I" or "should I not", but it took only a few minutes of deliberation. In the end I stepped out into the rain and started walking as would normally to the nearest shelter from the canteen. It was about 25 feet to the nearest shelter. Walking in the rain was very unorthodox, but why not just for a moment??? I mean as long as it doesn't go against any major moral or ethical issues it should be fine, I think?!? I mean to do it again very soon, but don't know how soon it would be.

I felt carefree and light without any troubles just for a moment. A moment such as that come by rarely to a person since life now is complicated and fast paced. All of us are trying to beat an apparatus -knows to as a clock- that has 24 hours making our life a mere synchronized movie. It's alright to let yourself "free" ones in a while to feel lighter and happier than the earlier moment.

A sense of accomplishment ....my quantum leap

Monday dawned like any other day, but it held a sign for my future. Today was to decide my ability in regaining the lost prestige that eluded me in the previous semester. The previous semester seemed like a mirage, in the sense that you felt being deceived by your lecturers. It started on a good note and before finals held the same sway, but did not deliver the expected results. Regaining ones lost glory is no easy task and nothing is left to chance, and i mean nothing at all!!! Morale was definitely flagging because of my dismal performance, and the will to carry on was but a mere flickering candle that could have been put out with the slightest breath of air. In spite of all that mum was a real sponge and took it all in her stride as always. She said "Don't worry, its a good thing that you got through in one piece". It was very reassuring, but I was not willing to accept it thinking there had to be more to what I could have done. I was pretty sure God did not like my conduct last semester.

This time around the tables have changed and the sky is brighter than ever before. I can feel the warmth of the sun spreading all over my body and heating me up inside. Oh!! the feeling to able to regain your lost form is beyond words and simply spectacular. The results were at once sent to the motherland, the prompt replies were received within a short span with hearty congratulations. I felt like screaming my lungs out, but my other two buddies didnt make it due tough subjects and lecturers who happened to have idiosyncratic marking schemes.

I have to thank God for the blessings since before checking the results my state of mind was not cool, calm and collected. Rather, it was close to being choked at the thought of seeing substandard results all over again. It would have felt utterly miserable to go through another experience of the same sort. This indeed feels like I am on cloud nine and just drifting away without a care in the world.

Lazy Saturday

I was elated at the thought of not going to work today because of my ability in persuasion. In order to celebrate I slept at 6 am, which I thought was very fitting. The time that I awoke was just fine since it was already time for lunch. It dawned to me that in a years time I would be engaging in the same routine that did not appeal to me now. Pulling up my socks and getting to business is not too far off.

The thought of continuing this process seems like a ritual in a way. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored or discounted as a worthless exercise because everything that you ever wanted to have depends upon it. One wonders the amount of motivation that must be galvanised into a person in order to carry on for such a long time. I have more appreciation for my father now since going to work everyday is not any longer a joke (especially in my opinion). Rather, it seems to me as a duty being fulfilled by many people in order to obtain something better than what they already possess. The wants of people are unlimited (as thought in an economic outlook),while the means to procure such wants are very limited. I fathom different people are driven by numerous needs thus involving in an amplitude of activities that fulfill them.

I came across a story of a math prodigy who has turned, or shall we say willing become an escort –the type that you pay in order to have a bit of amusement and sexual intercourse discreetly- for wealthy men. This I found very appalling because she is not using her intelligence and neither doing something that is morally right. The following link will bring you to light about this matter in detail http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0604_hooker.shtml. Making matters worse, she is a Muslim and I say she should be stoned. I blame her for the decisions that she took and not for the abuse inflicted upon her by the father. Its so sad to see that people who you perceive to be intelligent make such sinful and myopic decisions.

A 'Royal' Friday

How this came about is a surprise to me as well since it was told by my taxi driver . As I was waiting for the bus to take me to the mosque (after all it's a Friday) there was a very long procession of vehicles getting closer and closer. The convoy was headed by about 8 policemen on motorcycles and the person at the head was having a microphone in his helmet. He was instructing the cars on the road to make way or otherwise move to a side of the road. I noticed a car carrying a gold colour flag and it all made sense. In Malaysia, only the king is allowed to use the colour gold in any activity, unless there is a couple getting married, which entitles them to be know as 'king and queen for a day'. Behind the kings car there were a few other cars following and this would have made our president look like a MP.

After I got into, the cab the driver reinforced my theory and said the king also comes to the mosque to which I was about to enter. I was kind of enthusiastic about the whole deal, but its a not a matter to light cracker now, is it? The best was yet to come as I was going to pay the driver who happened to be a very elderly gentleman. I had only a RM. 50 note with me while the fare came to around RM.2, thus creating a dilemma. I had no spare change and neither did the driver so both of us ended up looking at each others faces with blank expressions. Then the driver tapped me on the palm and said "it's ok la, no problem" to which I said, "are you sure?". He nodded his head and I went into the mosque, not forgetting to thank the old chap for his kindness. After mosque I was about to get lost in the surrounding area when the kings convoy passed by with much pomp and the sound of sirens wailing (he is so important to this country, even though he is just a figurehead). Assuming he is taking the same route to and from the mosque, I decided to follow suit, which lead me back to my company.

I have a bone to pick with the Malaysian rain since it just wont cease. When it starts to rain it tends to continue in that manner for hours (the longest I have experienced is close to 3 hours), which hampers the movement of people. I had to get soaked just to get a taxi and missed my scheduled train at both the stops. I was not too mad because I had managed to coax my supervisor into letting to take leave on Saturdays until the end of my practical training. What a relief!!! traveling for 3 hours up and down just to work for 4 hours on a Saturday is quite pointless really.

Sleepy Head

The whole idea of doing an internship at a company is to be more familiar with the actual thing. The part I didnt realise is that people like us have no job description. This somehow makes us 'jack of all trades' within an office setting. My situation is quite ordinary as in work being delegated at intervals, but they are mostly minor tasks. It would take less than an hour to get it done on my part while the entire process may take a bit longer.

Yesterday i was chewing gum to see if it prevented me from falling asleep. It did work for some time and was quite effective until the air-conditioning was turned a bit high. It so happens that the air-con is just above me a few degrees to the right. Apparently, things don't always go according to how you plan and eventually your wrapped up in a veil of momentary snoozing that is hard to push away. Believe me I tried to blink my eyes and focus on different things that turned out to be fruitless. I even resorted to a few quick push-ups on the office floor, good thing no one saw me.

Sleepy Head

The whole idea of doing an internship at a company is to be more familiar with the actual thing. The part I didnt realise is that people like us have no job description. This somehow makes us 'jack of all trades' within an office setting. My situation is quite ordinary as in work being delegated at intervals, but they are mostly minor tasks. It would take less than an hour to get it done on my part while the entire process may take a bit longer.

Yesterday i was chewing gum to see if it prevented me from falling asleep. It did work for some time and was quite effective until the air-conditioning was turned a bit high. It so happens that the air-con is just above me a few degrees to the right. Apparently, things don't always go according to how you plan and eventually your wrapped up in a veil of momentary snoozing that is hard to push away. Believe me I tried to blink my eyes and focus on different things that turned out to be fruitless. I even resorted to a few quick push-ups on the office floor, good thing no one saw me.

Its clear that my worst enemy now is sleep, and not to mention I have only been sleeping close to 5 hours or less since monday. The fight is on and I am having a sinking feeling about the whole scene because I adore sleep like crazy.

I am back

It seems a long time since my last blog, somewhat 2 years ago. I wonder why it took so long for the second one to occur. Is it the many strenuous routines or the times that too many things were trapped inside my head without a way for them to be released. Many things have happened between those two years and all of it cannot be mentioned, simply because it is too hard to recall all of it.

Why not I resume from the present and move on and in the process try to recall snippets of my exploits whenever possible. As I am currently doing an internship as required by my university, many things are in motion. One aspect is the early morning rush to catch the bus and trains that take me to my destination. The work place is quite interesting and things are pretty smooth without any extraordinary incidents. The atmosphere is laid back and really takes a slow pace, which is intriguing to me. The commute takes quire some time, actually one and a half hours and thats just one way. In spite of it, I get to see a lot of things and determined to take it in a very optimistic way. I guess its better to be familiar with the hard and rigorous way so that adjustments are easy to handle.

I got my own workstation with the pc and internet connection that I have been abusing since yesterday. It feels nice to get know the procedure in doing various activities in a company. I am even asked to write a report on how the company can improve its operations. That was chills going down my spine. I have to really wrack my brains for this one or otherwise my pride will erode into the gutter. High expectations are already being conveyed by the management in their little talks while I am working.

The other things is working is tiring and takes a lot of effort. When one has to wake up at 6 am every morning, the schedule is very tight and no room for unplanned trips or lazying around. My gosh look at the time, better hit the sack.

Good night people, sleep tight