Ths entry is specially dedicated to .. you know who you are..hehehehe
Setiap kali nak Board Meeting mesti aku bergaduh besar dengan partner kita kat sini. Bosses aku tak tau betapa susahnya aku nak deal dengan the “appointed” person. The owner of our JV partner is a very nice guy, senang to deal with him and always provide full assistance whenever needed. Aku memang tak pernah komplen about him. After all, he has been our trusted agent/partner for more than 20 years. So u ols mesti tertanya sapa la yg suka menyusahkan hidup aku.. Sapa lagi kalu bukan employee2 dia yang bila dah ada pangkat sikit mula la rasa macam dia ler yang paling terrer, paling betul and rasa macam boss besar.
Seriously, setahun aku dok sini pun tak larat, if more than that, mesti macam2 penyakit aku dapat nanti..yelah asyik nak ter vomit blood saja cakap dengan depa yg perasan pandai nih. Boss suruh extend.. no way. I would rather resign dari continue kat sini. (Of course, rindu kat husband etc etc pun menyumbang to the decision ler)
Back to my board meeting, macam biasa mesti bergaduh sapa nak prepare board papers. Yuppp..nak prepare board paper pun kena bergaduh.. sebelum tu let me introduce you the actors (no other actresses, heroin only aku sorang saja. company ni ada gender bias, at senior management level sumernye lelaki )
The bad guys (penjahat la ni)
Viraj – the GM of the JV, Sri Lankan. suka accept credit but push the blame to others (esp to the previous GM yg memang bagus and disukai due to his no nonsense attitude). Aku paling marah bila dia suka cakap, “i didnt know about this, nobody tell me”. But being me yang never let myself been bullied by others, memang aku tak bagi muka. Well, it’s different from not being told to simply refuse to listen kan.. Satu lagi, degil and bodo sombong. Ini memang aku tensen.
Tapi the thing yang aku betul2 tak suka is he will do things which is convenient to him and push the responsibility whenever dia x suka buat kerja tu.
He always upset when Chakravarthy or Dev making decision on financial or business matters since he’s the GM. Tapi when comes to reporting or budget or macam board paper ni, he push it to Chakravarthy to handle. Ehhh hellllloooooo..if you want to take responsibility, take it all. If you think anything about ths JV shud be within ths JV, jgn la push things yg not so convenient to you to others yg x der kena mengena. When u said one thing, it shud be applicable to all, mana boleh pick and choose yang mana ko suka jer.
Pelakon pembantu (Yet to be decide geng penjahat ke geng hero)
Chakravarthy – the group accountant(bukan the JV punya acct tau). Indian.
Viraj memang tak suka kat dia ni sebab dia rasa Chakra ni penyibuk and x respect his authority. Tapi sebenarnya for me, aku rasa Chakra ni OK saja. it’s only logic, Chakra work for the group, he’s reporting to Dev not to Viraj. Of course la dia akan buat apa yg Dev suruh dia buat. Viraj selalu upset bila Chakra x nak buat kerja yg x berkaitan dengan finance when he asked. Tapi for me, those things shud be prepared by us la, the JV team since we are going to determine on how we want to run the company. Takkan la ko nak suruh accountant decides on this..
Dev – the group financial controller. Indian. Director (acting) of the JV
Viraj ni memang tak suka sesangat kat Dev. Tapi yg peliknyer depan Dev dia bukan main baik lagi, belakang dok mengutuk.. kalu tak suka or setuju just said so la. everybody is entitle for their opinion. Jgn la depan semua yes, belakang dok mengata. Anyway, Dev ni aku x boleh nak judge sebab he is extremely nice to me. So from surface nampak ok ler. But tak tau la kalu dia dok mengutok aku kat belakang which i doubt so la (sebabbbb.. he had spoken to the owner and the owner had offered me a job with them at a higher position and very very VERY lucrative package..hahahhaha now pecah rahsia. Anyway, i had politely reject. eventhough the money seems too good to refuse but aku rindukan suami akuuu..
The good guys
Your truly la of coz. Since this is from my point of view, of coz aku la hero nya. So of course aku rasa aku yg paling betul kannnnnnn...
Wah panjang nyer lepas geram aku.. and in fact aku pun dah terlupa what i wanted to write earlier. But after read back the story above conclusion nyer ialah it’s only 1 person that annoyed me and i hope my replacement nanti will be wise enough to handle him...kalu x mesti sakit jiwa. Kesian ko Aznal.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Magnificent Persepolis
- Persepolis entrance
Persepolis is a result of the vast skills and knowledge gathered from throughout the Achaemenids' empire. The architecture and artistic execution are superb. While largely ruin, it remains the greatest surviving masterpiece of the ancient Near Eastern civilisations. You can google it for more infos..
Each steps of the Grand Stairway was shallow so Persian in long robes could walk gracefully up into the palace.
Look closely at the photos and you can see that bas-reliefs are amazingly well preserved and each of it tell a different stories..
The ruin that left today are a mere shadow of Persepolis' former glory. Sitting on the top of the hill, i can see the enormous scale of Persepolis and the ruin leaves me breathless .. (and i keep on teringat the film - 300; the battle between Spartan and Persian God-King Xerxes where the movie portray Xerxes so like monstrous .. and of course, the Spartan warriors with manripped abs, toning and overall bad-ass muscles LOL)
Friday, December 12, 2008
The road less traveled - Part I
Shiraz, Iran - The home to splendid gardens, exquisite mosques and ancient sophistication
We reached at noon and had to que for almost 2 hours to pass the immigration. Once thru and get our bags, we tried to find a taxi counter. None !!! Then an old man asked us if we need a taxi..well kind of.. just imagine when u are in a country where most of the people didn’t speak English..you just have to figure it out yourself.
By the time we reached the hotel, it’s already 4++ and after check-in, we decided to walk around the town. Not that Shiraz is big anyway..
The huge Citadel of Karim Khan. The Southeastern tower has a noticeable lean, having subsided into the underground sewerage system that serve the citadel's bath house.
Iranian is super friendly. Those 2 guys are trying to help us to find a restaurant that was suggested in Lonely Planet, eventhough they didnt know where it is. Shiraz at nite, the road is almost empty.. The night is extremely cold and since we did not find the restaurant, we decided just to stay in the hotel - drinking tea like Iranian..
Next morning, since i’m super punctual, had breakfast at 7am sharp. Rao and Putri is yet to come down (as expected). Baxter, an American that sitting next to me in the flight from Dubai is staying in the same hotel, so had breakfast with him. He told me that as an American, he need to travel in group with travel agent. American was not allowed to travel independently in Iran. I didn’t know that.. Anyway, i don’t blame the Iranian government to implement such rules, those crazy Americans(i should say American since it was that stupid Bush that said it) are the one who says that Iran is an axis of evil. And Baxter did quipped that he didn't see any evil yet but he’s only there for 1 day... i found that statement hilarious..LOL
We reached at noon and had to que for almost 2 hours to pass the immigration. Once thru and get our bags, we tried to find a taxi counter. None !!! Then an old man asked us if we need a taxi..well kind of.. just imagine when u are in a country where most of the people didn’t speak English..you just have to figure it out yourself.
By the time we reached the hotel, it’s already 4++ and after check-in, we decided to walk around the town. Not that Shiraz is big anyway..
The huge Citadel of Karim Khan. The Southeastern tower has a noticeable lean, having subsided into the underground sewerage system that serve the citadel's bath house.
Iranian is super friendly. Those 2 guys are trying to help us to find a restaurant that was suggested in Lonely Planet, eventhough they didnt know where it is. Shiraz at nite, the road is almost empty.. The night is extremely cold and since we did not find the restaurant, we decided just to stay in the hotel - drinking tea like Iranian..
Next morning, since i’m super punctual, had breakfast at 7am sharp. Rao and Putri is yet to come down (as expected). Baxter, an American that sitting next to me in the flight from Dubai is staying in the same hotel, so had breakfast with him. He told me that as an American, he need to travel in group with travel agent. American was not allowed to travel independently in Iran. I didn’t know that.. Anyway, i don’t blame the Iranian government to implement such rules, those crazy Americans(i should say American since it was that stupid Bush that said it) are the one who says that Iran is an axis of evil. And Baxter did quipped that he didn't see any evil yet but he’s only there for 1 day... i found that statement hilarious..LOL
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Cuti & Pesta..
These few weeks are very the busy one. No blog entry, no shopping, no lepakking. All energy has to channel to works related activities only. Now, that time had ended, i can enjoy life again.. YAYY!!!
Yesterday is UAE National Day, so it is a public holiday. Taking advantage of the holiday, there’s a Karnival held by SMG(Singapore Muslim Group) & MyUAE-PRO(Malaysian in UAE). I always wonder why the Karnival was called Asian Football 5 a side when it was not only footballs played...hmmmm
None of my business, nanti komplen banyak kang, kena marah la pulak..dah la tak participate, banyak la pulak nak complaint..hahahaha. Anway, i had great fun yesterday, even though rather disappointed that our women team did not won the Captain’s ball. Malaysia team A is very very good. Just not their luck i guess. Its OK ladies, next year with a little bit of practices, i’m sure you gals can win. Team B, even though kelam kabut but it’s OK, you gals have potential LOL..yang penting, everyone enjoy....
Yesterday is UAE National Day, so it is a public holiday. Taking advantage of the holiday, there’s a Karnival held by SMG(Singapore Muslim Group) & MyUAE-PRO(Malaysian in UAE). I always wonder why the Karnival was called Asian Football 5 a side when it was not only footballs played...hmmmm
None of my business, nanti komplen banyak kang, kena marah la pulak..dah la tak participate, banyak la pulak nak complaint..hahahaha. Anway, i had great fun yesterday, even though rather disappointed that our women team did not won the Captain’s ball. Malaysia team A is very very good. Just not their luck i guess. Its OK ladies, next year with a little bit of practices, i’m sure you gals can win. Team B, even though kelam kabut but it’s OK, you gals have potential LOL..yang penting, everyone enjoy....
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Has the bubble burst?
Excerp from The Economist..
As the sheen comes off glitzy Dubai, the other Gulf states are getting nervous too
"THEY said you couldn't create islands in the middle of a city," shouts a property advertisement over a jammed Dubai motorway. "We said, what's next?" The range of answers has become gloomier by the week, as the debate moves from whether the Dubai property bubble will burst to just how bad it is going to get.
Some nervous bankers think property prices could fall by 80% or so in the next year or so. A few months ago, rich foreigners who had bought villas in Dubai were complaining about the quality of the sand on their artificial beaches or the difficulty of getting water to circulate around the twiddly fronds of the man-made island shaped like a palm. Now prices for some smart developments have been cut by 40% since September, shares in property firms have lost 80% of their value since June, and big developers are laying people off.
The region's banks will suffer too. Gulf policymakers are still making cheery statements about the region's limited exposure to subprime loans but are quieter about heavy investments in inflated local property markets by regional banks, particularly Islamic ones. But worried banks are sharply reining in their mortgage lending. A series of arrests of senior businessmen as part of a fraud investigation is also making people twitchy. There is even talk of a coming "Gulf Enron".
While the stunning opacity of government economic data is increasing the air of uncertainty, Muhammad AlabbarMuhammad Alabbar, who heads EmaarEmaar, a giant state-controlled property developer, took the rare step of telling people how indebted the country is. Together, the government and state-owned enterprises owe $80 billion--148% of GDP. Dubai still has a far larger stock of assets, at least some of which are likely to be sold, to cover the debts, to Abu Dhabi or the federal sovereign-wealth fund of the seven-state United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two richest.
The rest of the Gulf has met Dubai's phenomenal boom with a mixture of envy and emulation. Now there are hints of pleasure at the idea that the epicentre of bullishness may be humbled. But there are worrying questions for the others, too. Could the Dubai property slump prove contagious? Will the Gulf Co-operation CouncilGulf Co-operation Council pull together to protect the region's economy? Should its planned monetary union be set aside as governments focus on protecting their own currency? Who do we listen to now?
Since everyone else has been trying to copy Dubai, it is unclear how economic policy should be reshaped if the model has to be rescued. Advisers who have been preaching free markets and foreign investment will have a tougher time as economic power shifts back to the more conservative, oil-rich governments such as Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Political stability may be affected too. A worsening economy may encourage political reform, on the assumption that people can be more easily bought off in times of plenty. At a recent BBC debate in Doha, Qatar's capital, on whether Gulf Arabs value profit over people, young Qataris said critics of their countries' poor treatment of foreign workers should look on the bright side; local citizens benefit from large gifts of land and free university education. Since the oil boom began in 2003, mega-rich Qatar has ramped up public spending by an average of 28% per year; the less well-endowed states have had to make do with annual rises of some 15-20%.
Several GCC economies will go into budget deficits next year for the first time since at least 2002, including Saudi Arabia, whose budget is based on oil at around $50 a barrel but excludes the cost of Saudi Aramco massive programme of capacity expansion.
Unemployment will rise as thousands more young people, many of them graduates with high expectations, enter the job market. Social unrest is likely to brew. The question is whether governments will meet it with repression or political concessions.
© The Economist 2008
As the sheen comes off glitzy Dubai, the other Gulf states are getting nervous too
"THEY said you couldn't create islands in the middle of a city," shouts a property advertisement over a jammed Dubai motorway. "We said, what's next?" The range of answers has become gloomier by the week, as the debate moves from whether the Dubai property bubble will burst to just how bad it is going to get.
Some nervous bankers think property prices could fall by 80% or so in the next year or so. A few months ago, rich foreigners who had bought villas in Dubai were complaining about the quality of the sand on their artificial beaches or the difficulty of getting water to circulate around the twiddly fronds of the man-made island shaped like a palm. Now prices for some smart developments have been cut by 40% since September, shares in property firms have lost 80% of their value since June, and big developers are laying people off.
The region's banks will suffer too. Gulf policymakers are still making cheery statements about the region's limited exposure to subprime loans but are quieter about heavy investments in inflated local property markets by regional banks, particularly Islamic ones. But worried banks are sharply reining in their mortgage lending. A series of arrests of senior businessmen as part of a fraud investigation is also making people twitchy. There is even talk of a coming "Gulf Enron".
While the stunning opacity of government economic data is increasing the air of uncertainty, Muhammad AlabbarMuhammad Alabbar, who heads EmaarEmaar, a giant state-controlled property developer, took the rare step of telling people how indebted the country is. Together, the government and state-owned enterprises owe $80 billion--148% of GDP. Dubai still has a far larger stock of assets, at least some of which are likely to be sold, to cover the debts, to Abu Dhabi or the federal sovereign-wealth fund of the seven-state United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two richest.
The rest of the Gulf has met Dubai's phenomenal boom with a mixture of envy and emulation. Now there are hints of pleasure at the idea that the epicentre of bullishness may be humbled. But there are worrying questions for the others, too. Could the Dubai property slump prove contagious? Will the Gulf Co-operation CouncilGulf Co-operation Council pull together to protect the region's economy? Should its planned monetary union be set aside as governments focus on protecting their own currency? Who do we listen to now?
Since everyone else has been trying to copy Dubai, it is unclear how economic policy should be reshaped if the model has to be rescued. Advisers who have been preaching free markets and foreign investment will have a tougher time as economic power shifts back to the more conservative, oil-rich governments such as Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Political stability may be affected too. A worsening economy may encourage political reform, on the assumption that people can be more easily bought off in times of plenty. At a recent BBC debate in Doha, Qatar's capital, on whether Gulf Arabs value profit over people, young Qataris said critics of their countries' poor treatment of foreign workers should look on the bright side; local citizens benefit from large gifts of land and free university education. Since the oil boom began in 2003, mega-rich Qatar has ramped up public spending by an average of 28% per year; the less well-endowed states have had to make do with annual rises of some 15-20%.
Several GCC economies will go into budget deficits next year for the first time since at least 2002, including Saudi Arabia, whose budget is based on oil at around $50 a barrel but excludes the cost of Saudi Aramco massive programme of capacity expansion.
Unemployment will rise as thousands more young people, many of them graduates with high expectations, enter the job market. Social unrest is likely to brew. The question is whether governments will meet it with repression or political concessions.
© The Economist 2008
Layoffs Mount In Dubai Property Sector
DUBAI (Dow Jones)--Layoffs are mounting in this city-state's property sector, with one of Dubai's most ambitious government-owned developers announcing big job cuts Sunday.
Dubai-based developer NakheelNakheel said Sunday it shed 500 jobs, or 15% of its workforce. In a statement Sunday, the company said it was scaling back work on its projects "to accommodate the current easing market conditions."
"We have the responsibility to adjust our short-term business plans to accommodate the current global environment," the statement said. The company didn't specify where the job cuts were being made or which projects were being scaled back. The company previously said it was looking at slowing work on one of three palm-tree shaped island developments it is building.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Also on Sunday, Morgan Stanley (MS)Morgan Stanley (MS) said it had let go of 10-15 staff from its roughly 110-person Dubai office. The banking layoffs come just months after several big Western banks started beefing up their staff here. International banks had hoped to mine the region for deals and fees that have become hard to come by almost everywhere else in the world.
And last month, another big developer Damac GroupDamac Group, said it was shedding 200 staff, or 2.5% of its workforce.
A layoff in Dubai can be much more problematic than in other places. The United Arab Emirates has a population of 4.4 million, but less than 20% are estimated to be citizens. Expatriates do most of the work - filling everything from low-paid construction jobs to midlevel and senior management positions. Expatriates are required to find new jobs within a month or leave the country.
Dubai authorities are looking at options to extend the grace period for expatriate employees that lose their jobs before they're forced to leave, a senior government official told Zawya Dow Jones last week.
While the oil-rich Persian Gulf once appeared protected from the financial turmoil swirling around it, a number of factors have combined to cause real pain for governments and companies in the region. Falling oil prices mean lower revenues to pump back into the economy in the form of big infrastructure projects. Banks have been cut off from foreign borrowing lines amid a global credit seize-up, making lending difficult. Meanwhile, in Dubai, the once-red-hot property market is weakening.
Analysts at HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) said prices had fallen 4% in October from September, the first drop in the six years the market has been open to foreigners.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Dubai-based developer NakheelNakheel said Sunday it shed 500 jobs, or 15% of its workforce. In a statement Sunday, the company said it was scaling back work on its projects "to accommodate the current easing market conditions."
"We have the responsibility to adjust our short-term business plans to accommodate the current global environment," the statement said. The company didn't specify where the job cuts were being made or which projects were being scaled back. The company previously said it was looking at slowing work on one of three palm-tree shaped island developments it is building.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Also on Sunday, Morgan Stanley (MS)Morgan Stanley (MS) said it had let go of 10-15 staff from its roughly 110-person Dubai office. The banking layoffs come just months after several big Western banks started beefing up their staff here. International banks had hoped to mine the region for deals and fees that have become hard to come by almost everywhere else in the world.
And last month, another big developer Damac GroupDamac Group, said it was shedding 200 staff, or 2.5% of its workforce.
A layoff in Dubai can be much more problematic than in other places. The United Arab Emirates has a population of 4.4 million, but less than 20% are estimated to be citizens. Expatriates do most of the work - filling everything from low-paid construction jobs to midlevel and senior management positions. Expatriates are required to find new jobs within a month or leave the country.
Dubai authorities are looking at options to extend the grace period for expatriate employees that lose their jobs before they're forced to leave, a senior government official told Zawya Dow Jones last week.
While the oil-rich Persian Gulf once appeared protected from the financial turmoil swirling around it, a number of factors have combined to cause real pain for governments and companies in the region. Falling oil prices mean lower revenues to pump back into the economy in the form of big infrastructure projects. Banks have been cut off from foreign borrowing lines amid a global credit seize-up, making lending difficult. Meanwhile, in Dubai, the once-red-hot property market is weakening.
Analysts at HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) said prices had fallen 4% in October from September, the first drop in the six years the market has been open to foreigners.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Sunday, November 23, 2008
My New Favourite Thing
Wah wah, today feels like Lara Croft. First time in my life i saw, touch and used guns. Lepas Shiela cakap that they are going to menembak, dengan tak malunya i told them that i wanted to tag along hahahaha.
When we reached the club, the manager told us that for beginners, we have to take a lesson before we can start shooting. Alamak so leceh one. Thought once there i can just start shooting..LOL. So experience shooters started first and us beginners, despite our eagerness and nervousness to start shooting, we have to sit for explanation on safety and proper way to handle guns. But it’s allright, the briefing is only about 20-30 mins and really informative.
So the result is as below picture.
After the 22mm, the trainer trying to talk me to try 9mm. First not keen but after i see the gun, OK why not.
When we reached the club, the manager told us that for beginners, we have to take a lesson before we can start shooting. Alamak so leceh one. Thought once there i can just start shooting..LOL. So experience shooters started first and us beginners, despite our eagerness and nervousness to start shooting, we have to sit for explanation on safety and proper way to handle guns. But it’s allright, the briefing is only about 20-30 mins and really informative.
So the result is as below picture.
This is the first session. Using CZ 75 kadet 22mm from Czech Rep. This gun is light and after a while, i find it quite easy to use. 2 shots are out of range and 4 headshots..hmmm
After the 22mm, the trainer trying to talk me to try 9mm. First not keen but after i see the gun, OK why not.
It's Beretta 9mm. The gun is actually quite large and i have a problem to pull the trigger as my finger can't really reach it. I conclude that ths gun is for someone who have big hands..hmmmm
Eventhough i find it very difficult to hold and shoot this pistol to the fullest of my ability, but the result is not too bad rite ??? Almost all shots goes thru the heart.
Using 9mm is quite an experience. It's really an adrenaline rush. A bit scary too.
Since i have problem with the Beretta, the trainer change it with CZ 75B 9mm (adik beradik CZ 75 Kadet)
So this is the result.. what say you ???
Overall not too bad for a first timer rite ??
Think i might get addicted to this sport. Who knows i can make a living by becoming a contract killer..LOL
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