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It has just passed 5 in the morning. I have just completed an “assignment” and am wondering what I should do next. I have two options right now — to jump in bed or to stay up and go straight to work in a couple more hours. I am blogging now so it is quite obvious which option I chose.

The past two weeks have been quite hectic for me. One morning right about this time, I was awakened by a phone call on my mobile phone. My girlfriend was at the other end of the line. I wasn’t expecting an “I miss you” call at 5.30 in the morning so I asked her what’s wrong. There was so much fear in her voice she sounded like she saw a rat in her room.

Well, actually she did saw a rat in her room. She woke up when she heard some movement in her room. When she switched on her table lamp, she saw a big black “thing” jumping out of the dustbin and probably ran under her bed. She was terrified and didn’t know what to do. That’s when she called me.

Ahhh…hero saving the day. Hah!

Cat killing a rat

Anyway, that’s when the hard work started. I spent the whole of the following evening cleaning up her room. Sure enough, there were some rat droppings found under her bed. She made sure I check every single item in her room to make sure the rat wasn’t hiding in it. When I said everything, I do mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. *sigh*

So, her room is rat-free but (at least) one rat is still hiding some where in her house. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to be too bothered with it. That is when the rat hunting began.

If there is one thing I learnt from this episode is that rats aren’t stupid. In fact, rats are really, really smart these days. Not only are these rats able to detect a trap, they seem to have ever mastered the human language. Well, at least city rats, that is what I was told.

**********

“Where should we put this poison?”

“ShhhHH!!!!”

“What?”

“They will hear you!”

**********

We tried trapping the rat with a cage. That didn’t work. Later, we were told by some more knowledgeable individuals that our trap didn’t work because it was brand new. It is believed that new rat cage couldn’t trap rats because it still has that fresh metal smell to it.

Before using it, we were supposed to leave it out in the sun for a day or so. On the other hand, once you’ve trapped a rat with a cage, you must wash it with hot water or else the rat will be able to scent the previous rat’s odour.

Snake killing a rat

Anyway, they tried trapping the rat with those “sticky boards”. It worked on the second day. Everyone was happy at last but not before having to spend another hour or two to clean up the mess left behind by the rat. They found bones, maggi mee and yes, more rat droppings behind a kitchen rack.

And they live happily ever after? Not quite.

One of her house mates heard some noises downstairs one night. The house seems to have turned into a hangout place for a group of rats now. More work in progress to try and get rid of them. Better get rid of these rats quick before they start inviting their neighbours and have party all night long.

Any tips to share on what is the best ways to get rid of rats?

It is easy to lose one’s mind while running through this rat race, chasing after fortune, fame, power and what not. As if that isn’t enough, there is also the political (in)stability in the country to top up the list.

Pak Lah or Najib?
Pak Lah or Anwar?
Anwar or Najib?
BN or PR?

The thing is, not everyone gives a rat’s ass about it.

Yeah, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. However, greener doesn’t necessary mean green. I know, I know. It’s better to have greener pastures than to stay with infertile soil.

Anyway, when the pressure starts to build up, it’s important to release it as soon as possible. Keeping it to oneself may be bad.

I have a few ways to de-stress myself. One of the ways that doesn’t involve destroying my body and the things around me is by listening to music. Not just any kind of music, mind you. A Metallica-type of music is sure to aggravate the situation.

The video below featuring Louis Landon with the piano solo Peaceful is a good example. I’ve been playing it over and over again. If only I can rip it off and play it offline.

“Peaceful is a song that I wrote for inner peace and outer peace in the world that has to do with my mission of creating a peaceful world by writing and performing music from the heart.”
– Louis Landon

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

Note: If the video isn’t showing, refresh the page and try again.

It’s quite strange to go off for dinner and to return into an empty office at 8.30pm. Usually, there will be at least a handful of people still hanging around doing their thing.

Then, I chuckled.

When I was out for dinner a while ago, I saw a banner hung out on the first story window with Chinese words written all over it. There were only two things that I understood – “14/8/2008 to 15/8/2008” and “hungry ghost festival”.

I guess everyone must have gone back home early because of this. Either that or they are rushing home to watch the Olympics. In fact, my girlfriend warned me and told me not to go home too late tonight. “Before 12 midnight!” was her order.

I don’t know much about the hungry ghost festival but I know that this is when it is believed that the gates of hell opens and the dead will walk with the living. I remember some Chinese shows I used to watch when I was much younger. Those movies used to scare the shit out of me.

There will also be these performances held to entertain both the living and the dead. If I am not mistaken, the front row seats are always “vacant”. Well, at least to us humans of course. I wonder if anyone has ever seen an occupied front row before. Have you?

Then, there is the big question — “Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?”

Hell yeah I am afraid of ghosts. Who said Christians aren’t afraid of ghosts? Since young, if you were always scared and threatened with ghosts or little “invisible beings” (by friends, elders or television), do you think that has no affect on one’s mind when they grow up?

So am I shivering in my pants now? Not really.

Why should I be any more afraid than what I already am of these two days when the gates of hell opens and all the ghosts are let loose? What can they do? Appear out of a sudden beside me with their 4 feet long hair covering their head? Climb out of the television set while I am watching the Olympics? (5 rings. Get the joke?) Knock on my window on their motorbike asking me directions to the nearest hospital when I am living on the 10th floor?

I am not making fun of anyone/anything. Those that have moved on onto another life deserve the utmost respect. Individuals’ believe deserves as much. The thing is that we are living in a world 24/7/365 where some deem to be far worse than hell. I have been literally living in fear for the past few months. Although the intensity of fear changes as each event evolves. What are these two days compared to that?

I believe I don’t need to elaborate on that point.

Happy Hungry Ghost Festival!

* Note: I couldn’t find any suitable photos on flickr with the ghost theme. Those two are what I found searching for “ghost”. Anyway, ghosts shouldn’t always be portrayed as bad looking and ugly. We have enough of those smoking cigars dressed up in suits.

A few months ago when I started working in PJ, I had a strong urge to go to the gym. My body is really out of shape (was it ever in shape anyway?) and I really had to do something about it. I must have looked like I am a couple of months pregnant with my belly sticking out. I need a solution quick before my “water breaks”.

The True Fitness center at Jaya 33 Petaling Jaya is nearby where I work and the place looked really amazing from the outside. I was very much tempted to have a peak at the inside. One day after work, I drop by the fitness centre to have a look at their facilities and what packages they have to offer. The place is truly amazing. They even have an open air swimming pool on the forth floor. There is also a spa there. However, Homo sapiens with scrotums are not allowed in it. Damn it.

After the tour, I sat down together with the counselor and discussed about the packages. I was offered quite an affordable deal but I still wasn’t sure if I really needed/wanted it. I do not want to tie myself down with a contract and end up not fully utilizing the gym. I told him I will think about it and left.

A few weeks later, I was fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on a coupon with a 1 month “free” full-membership access trial. I bought it from a friend for RM30. I wonder why they call it FREE. KNN.

Moving on…

I packed my bag and headed to the gym happily knowing that I will be able to try it out for one month before signing anything. Little did I know what was waiting for me.

I was served by a different counselor this time. After showing me around the fitness centre (again — it is their procedure), I told her I did not want to sign up yet and wanted to try it out for a month before deciding. She excused herself and went into the office, only to return with a more senior employee. That was when I started feeling extremely uncomfortable — very much like having something stuck up in my arse.

This guy was very pushy. “Shooting” me with all the sales talk he must have learnt from the “Sales Talk Boot Camp”. Even after 10 to 15 minutes of saying NO, I was still getting no where with my membership trial. It felt very much like being cheated into thinking I was getting a free shag but only to be told to sign a commitment letter while having to pay for the service monthly. Well, at least I am guaranteed of several humping sessions per week for the next 12 months, right? F…

After deep consideration between tearing the free 1 month True Fitness membership coupon and signing up for a 12 months package, I decided on the latter. I really needed and wanted to workout. The bitterness I felt was simply due to how I was coaxed into signing up.

After getting home, I didn’t feel any better after finding out numerous complaints about True Fitness over the Internet. I felt miserable. I then called one of my best butt friends whom have been a gym-goer for the past 3 years or so. I told him about my experience at True Fitness and this was (more or less) what he said.

The tactics used by the sales people is common. They will try their best to push their customers to sign up. Since you had a 1 month free pass, they will be multiple times more pushy on you.

The tsunami feeling I had in me suddenly disappeared. I was enlightened. “No wonder that fella was so damn blardy pushy lah!”, I told him. After that conversation, I no longer have the bitterness I had earlier on.

It is now over one and a half months since I started working out at True Fitness. I have to say that apart from not being able to save a little more each month, I have no regrets in joining this fitness centre. There aren’t any hard feelings between me and the “pushy guy”. In fact, he is a pretty nice guy whom I have had a few good chats with in the past few weeks. I even thanked him for being pushy on me.

I wouldn’t completely write off the complaints targeted at True Fitness though. When there is smoke, there must be fire. To be fair to them, I am sure other fitness centers such as Fitness First, California Fitness etc do have their critics and complaints as well.

Some of the things I learnt from this experience include, read and understand the damn contract before signing it, never tell them that you have a credit card (if you do not want to sign up) and just be thick skin and tell them straight in the face that you are just there for the free trial, nothing more.

I did my very first business presentation yesterday. Before I was assigned this task together with several other colleagues, I was asked the million dollar question — “Have you ever done a presentation before?”

I sheepishly replied, “Errr…yes…back in my university days”.

Naturally, that wasn’t a very comforting reply. Nevertheless, I was given the chance to shoulder the responsibility and was given between 10 to 15 minutes to finish my part of the presentation.

All these while, I have only been involved in the development process behind the scenes and meeting up existing clients for support and further enhancements. Therefore, this is a totally new experience for me. Needless to say, I was very nervous.

I only had a couple of days to rehearse my slides. Since most of the slides weren’t prepared by me, I needed to do some research on the things mentioned in the slides. The last thing I want is to get caught with my pants down not prepared during the Q&A session.

I started rehearsing my slides only on the night before the presentation. I did a few more rehearsals with my colleagues a few hours before it and that has helped me in preparing a lot.

My presentation went O-K. Well, there were one or two minor hiccups in between but very much acceptable to me. I have learnt a lot by observing how others conduct their presentations. Maybe I should have searched for some tips on how to conduct a successful business presentation first to better prepare myself. Oh well, maybe next time.

At least I know that I survived my first business presentation.