18 December 2015

Remember your 11th birthday when you’re feeling meh that only a few people remembers or even wishes you on Facebook? Well I did wish you on Instagram and later on your Facebook. You see, you did have multiple Facebook accounts apart from the one I created for you so I didn’t know which one you actually use. But you mother did pull a surprise later that evening when she invited a few of your friends (the Iyad brothers and Sayed) and celebrated your birthday at Aeon Equine park with that delicious tiramisu cheesecake. Not to mention that lovely wristwatch that she bought you. I hope this one will last a lot longer than the previous one.

In case you’ve forgotten I already bought you a present, the mountain bike which has a saddle that’s too high for you to get on? I’m sorry that you didn’t inherit much of my genes in that department though I’m sure there’s enough time for you to catch up. But the highlight of the day must be the moment when I brought you to watch the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awaken at MBO Spark Desa Petaling. I bought those tickets a month in advance in case they are sold out (the hall was only half full though). We departed an hour early that evening but your dad was an idiot and didn’t do his homework beforehand and we took a long detour before finally reaching the cinema. I have no idea there’s only one way to get to Desa Petaling which is via the left exit from KL. And just our luck, it poured 30 minutes before time and we were soaking wet by the time we reached Desa Petaling.

Actually we stopped near a building next to highway and I contemplated whether to wait for the rain and miss the movie and take a rain check on it. But I thought, we’ve got to watch the movie rain, storm or shine so I wrapped my phone and wallet in a plastic bag and we braved the rain to get to Spark Desa Petaling. Sure we’ve got a few odd glances from people watching us dripping wet, walking into the cinema hall. And the fact that we were literally shivering cold throughout the entire movie couldn’t dampen our spirit to catch the first of the new Star Wars sequel after so many years. After the movie we rode back in the biting cold night air but made it safely home. Is it the best birthday ever? I don’t know, you tell me. But I did had a good time with my favorite son. Heh, only son.

17 August 2015

Have I told you that we’ve got a new Senior ICT Manager? After decades long tradition of hiring expats for the position, the management decided to try a local one this time around. First impressions — she was very different from the previous senior ICT managers. More livelier, chattier and more inclusive in her management style. She didn’t waste time bringing in a wave of changes and naturally not all are happy with the new things that she introduced.

Me, I was not spared from the revolution that she’s bringing. A few weeks into her reign, she asked me to get involved with the school’s Google Sites webpage. I hesitated at first thinking of the extra burden to my already busy work schedule but after much persuasion, I relented and accepted her offer. So far it’s been good the project. Sure I had to squeeze an extra hour or two every other day of the week for the webpage but they’re quite manageable, at least for now. I’m that kind of guy who doesn’t easily quit when facing a challenge (unlike John hu hu).

One thing I noticed, my new manager likes to eat. A lot. She regularly treat us with lunch either at the office or at the restaurant next door. And she paid it all with money from her own pocket, not a penny from the school coffers. How noble and generous of her. Today we had a little christmas luncheon at a hotel in Seri Petaling. The initial plan was to have dinner at a fancy Thai restaurant somewhere in Ampang but after half of the department staff bailed because of various excuses (mainly the remote location), we changed to Seri Petaling. The food was nice and we had secret santa sessions, lucky draws and goodies bags. Yes everybody got all the items showed in the picture above thanks to our new boss and also the director of Learning Technology. I don’t know whether they got some vendor to sponsor or pool their own money but we are surely touched by their generosity and thoughtfulness. Of course there’s a little note at the goodies bag that says we were to return all those nice gadgets should we ever leave the company but I don’t care. It’s the thought that counts. Thanks boss!