This is probably the strangest thing to have happened to me in 2009.
I woke up this morning to the alarm bell and went on to brush my teeth, shower, groom up etc to prepare for work. I drove to the station earlier today hoping that I won't be parked-out of the place by the time I arrived as the school term had just begun this week, making it more packed as it used to be. Got my car into one of my favourite few lots, thinking that things should get better by the time they clear off the parking lots next to the crossing bridge.
I was checking all the receipts that I got from my site work and found a few to be missing, presumably because some that were kept in the wallet so probably might have been taken out with the rest of the transaction receipts e.g ATM, cheque deposit etc out as I do every month to reduce the amount of paper in the wallet - except in terms of monetary notes. Well, I decided to submit them tomorrow instead on Friday as there is still one more day.
Whilst walking to the other side of the platform to wait for the train, I noticed the (cute) lady I see every morning at the same time is dressed in t-shirts and jeans rather than the usual office wear. I thought, heck is this not too early to be on the weekend mood since there's still work day tomorrow.
Then on the train and on my walk to the office I noticed more and more people dressed in casual wear and was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to check the date.
"Fr [9]".
...
It's Friday. It's FREAKING FRIDAY!
Man, the entire day yesterday I thought 'tomorrow is Thursday' and 'today is Wednesday'. Even throughout the whole evening when I walked to the station with my colleague there's a lack of certain mirth that precedes Friday - I still felt like tomorrow is another one of those days.
How or rather, where did the 24 hours go? How did I suddenly 'skip' through 24 hours?
I asked a colleague if I was at work yesterday, his answer was equally tongue-in-cheek, nodded and said, "Maybe your soul wasn't here".
I really hope this is not the first signs of problems to the brain or the head.
Or meet a guy who makes soap from liposuction fat.
Showing posts with label KTM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KTM. Show all posts
9 January 2009
25 September 2008
Certain Things In Life That Are Not
There are certain things in life such as taxes and death but definitely not the arrival time of the KTM trains. I'm typing this entry from the comfort of my home because this morning's train service had a major disruption that caused only one single train from Sentul to Port Klang and one from Port Klang to Sentul, meaning that there only be one to each destination for the next one hour or so from end to end.
This is not the first time. In fact the disruptions before were much less severe this. Earlier last month there was a disruption to the power line at Pantai Dalam causing the track towards Port Klang to be unusable but the response was quick enough by diverting them to the next track with all trains going in one direction. As most people are actually going towards KL to work rather than the opposite, I suppose 3/4 of the passengers managed to arrive just slightly before 9. I feel sorry for those going to Port Klang though - they were definitely late to work that morning.
At the end I decided to go to *TPM by myself to help my colleague out with his presentation today because the scheduled time was at 10.00 am and it will be quite impossible to arrive at office by 9.30 am, the latest when we have to leave.
*Had a call from him been told that the meeting place had been moved to God knows where.
As I walked away to my car shaking my head, the number of people waiting increased three-folds, so you can imagine how these people would try to get in to the already jammed packed train from the previous stations. I decided it was not worth the wait even when it was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes by the time I reach the turnstiles, as the next one would be there in probably an hour should I miss it.
These are such things that make people vote for the opposition regardless of who they are as the discontent with the present government gets magnified by daily essentials getting disrupted. I said it many times to my friends and colleagues that I don't really care who the Prime Minister is as long as the KTM arrives and departs on time as I partially depend on it to get to work. The hike in fuel prices is already bad enough as it is and here we have the the public transport working in sketchy condition.
In short the KTM deserved all the bad reputation it is having.
Just a couple of weeks ago I had a colleague from Singapore who took the train with me from Subang to KL Sentral, taking the 1:36 pm train. I told him that ever since the price hike the trains had 'miraculously' arrived on time (subjectively 'on time' meant no more than 5 - 30 minutes that is previously was notorious for). Well what do you know, it came almost 9 minutes later. I told him that such things are still expected as the consortium is currently having its train sets upgraded.
To be honest with all of you, I am not sure if I actually believe that anymore.
Old facilities and equipment? That is no excuse as the KTM Berhad is under the jurisdiction of Prasarana Nasional which is in control of the Ministry of Finance. Let me repeat that slowly: Ministry-of-Finance.
Surely they don't transport Bank Negara notes on KTM?
The Prime Minister himself just took a ride and saw for himself how 'amazing' the whole experience of the train ride to work the morning was and I could only wonder if the service would improve if more big wigs are forced to take it work daily. The scenario is endless. The only reason why things remain as it is because the consortium had no reason to since people depend on it and there are no competitors - "What will you do if you don't take the KTM eh? Drive or take the bus then". If another private train system were plying the same route you'd imagine KTM Bhd bosses sweating to see people no longer lining up to wait for their trains and having the ministers breathing down their necks to explain the red figures in the accounting books.
I don't blame the Prime Minister, his Deputy or the Minister of Finance or Minister of Transport. The daily operations of the KTM train service has been delegated as per required to the people who actually run the service. The ministers have no time to go down and ask if the coupling at Stesen Serdang is working or if the toilets are in good condition at KL Sentral or to check if train arrived on time this morning at Rawang.
BN kah, PR kah, Anwar ka, Badawi ka - who the hell cares - where is the damned train?
Blame the people who run the operations.
Why are there technical problems?
Where are the backups?
What will KTM do to ensure this doesn't happen in the future?
Yeah yeah, Murphy's Law and all that, even Singapore's famed MRT services experience disruptions once in a while (yes, my Singaporean friend told me - I didn't make that up) but the difference in terms of the punctuality and the amount of disruptions is incomparable.
I'd be embarrassed if I were the person in charge.
The first heads to roll should be those who manage the operations as stated above.
Even the public announcement this morning had problems (not grammatical as mine isn't perfect either):
"Due to technical difficulties at Sentul Station, the train service to all destinations had experienced delays. KTM Berhad would like to apologise for any inconvenience cause".
It should have been:
"Due to technical difficulties at Sentul Station, the train service to all destinations had experienced delays. KTM Berhad would like to apologise for all inconveniences cause".
Don't spam me with the rakyat this rakyat that malarkey as the MPs and ADUN from both sides don't take the public transport themselves to the assemblies or Parliament.
This is not the first time. In fact the disruptions before were much less severe this. Earlier last month there was a disruption to the power line at Pantai Dalam causing the track towards Port Klang to be unusable but the response was quick enough by diverting them to the next track with all trains going in one direction. As most people are actually going towards KL to work rather than the opposite, I suppose 3/4 of the passengers managed to arrive just slightly before 9. I feel sorry for those going to Port Klang though - they were definitely late to work that morning.
At the end I decided to go to *TPM by myself to help my colleague out with his presentation today because the scheduled time was at 10.00 am and it will be quite impossible to arrive at office by 9.30 am, the latest when we have to leave.
*Had a call from him been told that the meeting place had been moved to God knows where.
As I walked away to my car shaking my head, the number of people waiting increased three-folds, so you can imagine how these people would try to get in to the already jammed packed train from the previous stations. I decided it was not worth the wait even when it was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes by the time I reach the turnstiles, as the next one would be there in probably an hour should I miss it.
These are such things that make people vote for the opposition regardless of who they are as the discontent with the present government gets magnified by daily essentials getting disrupted. I said it many times to my friends and colleagues that I don't really care who the Prime Minister is as long as the KTM arrives and departs on time as I partially depend on it to get to work. The hike in fuel prices is already bad enough as it is and here we have the the public transport working in sketchy condition.
In short the KTM deserved all the bad reputation it is having.
Just a couple of weeks ago I had a colleague from Singapore who took the train with me from Subang to KL Sentral, taking the 1:36 pm train. I told him that ever since the price hike the trains had 'miraculously' arrived on time (subjectively 'on time' meant no more than 5 - 30 minutes that is previously was notorious for). Well what do you know, it came almost 9 minutes later. I told him that such things are still expected as the consortium is currently having its train sets upgraded.
To be honest with all of you, I am not sure if I actually believe that anymore.
Old facilities and equipment? That is no excuse as the KTM Berhad is under the jurisdiction of Prasarana Nasional which is in control of the Ministry of Finance. Let me repeat that slowly: Ministry-of-Finance.
Surely they don't transport Bank Negara notes on KTM?
The Prime Minister himself just took a ride and saw for himself how 'amazing' the whole experience of the train ride to work the morning was and I could only wonder if the service would improve if more big wigs are forced to take it work daily. The scenario is endless. The only reason why things remain as it is because the consortium had no reason to since people depend on it and there are no competitors - "What will you do if you don't take the KTM eh? Drive or take the bus then". If another private train system were plying the same route you'd imagine KTM Bhd bosses sweating to see people no longer lining up to wait for their trains and having the ministers breathing down their necks to explain the red figures in the accounting books.
I don't blame the Prime Minister, his Deputy or the Minister of Finance or Minister of Transport. The daily operations of the KTM train service has been delegated as per required to the people who actually run the service. The ministers have no time to go down and ask if the coupling at Stesen Serdang is working or if the toilets are in good condition at KL Sentral or to check if train arrived on time this morning at Rawang.
BN kah, PR kah, Anwar ka, Badawi ka - who the hell cares - where is the damned train?
Blame the people who run the operations.
Why are there technical problems?
Where are the backups?
What will KTM do to ensure this doesn't happen in the future?
Yeah yeah, Murphy's Law and all that, even Singapore's famed MRT services experience disruptions once in a while (yes, my Singaporean friend told me - I didn't make that up) but the difference in terms of the punctuality and the amount of disruptions is incomparable.
I'd be embarrassed if I were the person in charge.
The first heads to roll should be those who manage the operations as stated above.
Even the public announcement this morning had problems (not grammatical as mine isn't perfect either):
"Due to technical difficulties at Sentul Station, the train service to all destinations had experienced delays. KTM Berhad would like to apologise for any inconvenience cause".
It should have been:
"Due to technical difficulties at Sentul Station, the train service to all destinations had experienced delays. KTM Berhad would like to apologise for all inconveniences cause".
Don't spam me with the rakyat this rakyat that malarkey as the MPs and ADUN from both sides don't take the public transport themselves to the assemblies or Parliament.
21 July 2008
More KTM Stuff
If I were to note down everything there is to say about KTM Berhad this place would be called the KTM Blog instead of the sumptuous noodles that I am currently craving so much for (note to self : get some this coming Saturday). Besides, being new to the whole environment - I began taking the train two months before the fuel hike - there's bound to be new things to write about until I get bored of it eventually.
I already am considering that I am taking it on a daily basis to work so my input on the matter is just as valuable as the veterans and newbies alike who squeeze in and become part of the proverbial sardine community every day.
Canned Sardines
There's something about Friday that makes causes an unexplainable surges in the number of passengers who try to board the train home. On normal days, by 7:00 pm the rows of people who wait for the train at the KL Sentral platform would normally thin down to two until eight. On Fridays however, it stays at four until 8:30 pm.
One feasible explaination that I can think of is possibly the coming of the weekend. Nobody is in a hurry to get back so everybody decided to arrive around 6:00 pm or so.
I was caught in one of those last Friday and sufficed to say the word 'packed' doesn't do justice to the situation in the train. People kept pushing in when there is already space so much so that I could actually hold on to nothing and not fall forward/backwards when the train stops. Everybody is caught in the 'wave', especially those in the centre without support so when the train stops, everybody become everybody's cushion.
It came to mind that I pity the ladies on trains of such. There is pretty much no protection for them from men who think of taking advantage as they have little choice but get squeezed to the person in front, beside or behind them. Of course there are guys who only care about getting off at their destinations but I could only imagine the risks the women are taking when they get on the train as such.
In Japan they have women-only coaches to help reduce the number of incidents and better protect them and I do feel like such coaches would be useful here considering how much more conservative we are in this country.
And then you have women who either enjoys it e.g they push closer - yes, I was the 'victim' a couple of times, considering there is actually space for them to stand away from me; or they really don't bother and use taller guys as their 'pillar of support' by leaning in.
As a normal heterosexual guy, I would be expected to enjoy this but there's just this little voice inside that appeals to the gentleman in me, so I try to always have a bit of a space between me and the women in front of me (sorry about those at the back and the sides - you are the one(s) pushing me around).
Hard to believe I know, yeah, like what Roy of the IT Crowd bellows into the phone, I am from the past. I can only imagine the thoughts going through the heads of their parents or husbands.
The ride home was pretty bad but being a Friday evening, everybody were in a good mood as perfect strangers were actually joking with one another. The loose cannon was a KTM Officer who was hitching a ride to Pantai Dalam, making fun of the situation. The first stop at Angkasapuri had him joking about it being the stop for future artistes and the second at Pantai Dalam being the destination of future Prime Ministers.
Then it was all up close and personal all the way to where I got off. It was so 'up close and personal' that half of the train would probably be certified married by the time it reaches Subang.
At least the air-conditioner was strong though as the heat generated from the masses of sweaty bodies and breath would have caused it difficult to breathe.
Got off 30 minutes later and the number of passengers thinned down by almost half, giving much respite to those on their way to Port Klang.
You could almost hear the collective sighs of relief when the door opened.
Scatological Stories
... is but a scientific term to describe topics related to... solid toilet by-product.
One advice to prospective commuters: make sure your bowels are not acting, in the process off or not well dealt with before hop onto the next ride to wherever you are going.
Imagine having something threatening to push out from your backside, coupled with being squeezed from every direction and the knowledge that a proper toilet is still 15 minutes away - you will literally feel like the weakest person on earth hoping for deliverance to come. The train would also stop at times to allow another one on the same path to leave, so that few minutes of waiting will make the most atheist of us a believer.
It happens to me (to everybody, in that matter) once in a while, thanks to my 'toilet training' that seems to pretty accurately have... things... waiting to be expelled around the period of 7:00 - 7:30 am and 9:00 - 9:30 am.
Sounds amazing that you can actually control and tell you bowels when to act up, but it is true. Even if you don't feel like going at all, try going to the loo, sit on the throne or squat, try to ... push. At first it would be ridiculous to be doing so without nothing coming out, but in time your body will start to adjust itself and become regular.
Enough of this crap.
Thank You
... is still pretty regularly heard nowadays in these times no thanks to the advent of political correctness, but how many of them actually comes from the heart rather than from the head (of the departments) ?
Imagine my surprise and amusement (in the good way) of being greeted with a thank you by an attendant of KTM at KL Sentral this morning after touching the TnG card to the reader. He seems to be in a good mood and thank every single person who presented him with the ticket.
I don't know whether it all came from his heart or head, but to do so will need more than an instruction from the departmental leads to keep doing amidst hundreds of people passing through.
I salute you sir.
I already am considering that I am taking it on a daily basis to work so my input on the matter is just as valuable as the veterans and newbies alike who squeeze in and become part of the proverbial sardine community every day.
Canned Sardines
There's something about Friday that makes causes an unexplainable surges in the number of passengers who try to board the train home. On normal days, by 7:00 pm the rows of people who wait for the train at the KL Sentral platform would normally thin down to two until eight. On Fridays however, it stays at four until 8:30 pm.
One feasible explaination that I can think of is possibly the coming of the weekend. Nobody is in a hurry to get back so everybody decided to arrive around 6:00 pm or so.
I was caught in one of those last Friday and sufficed to say the word 'packed' doesn't do justice to the situation in the train. People kept pushing in when there is already space so much so that I could actually hold on to nothing and not fall forward/backwards when the train stops. Everybody is caught in the 'wave', especially those in the centre without support so when the train stops, everybody become everybody's cushion.
It came to mind that I pity the ladies on trains of such. There is pretty much no protection for them from men who think of taking advantage as they have little choice but get squeezed to the person in front, beside or behind them. Of course there are guys who only care about getting off at their destinations but I could only imagine the risks the women are taking when they get on the train as such.
In Japan they have women-only coaches to help reduce the number of incidents and better protect them and I do feel like such coaches would be useful here considering how much more conservative we are in this country.
And then you have women who either enjoys it e.g they push closer - yes, I was the 'victim' a couple of times, considering there is actually space for them to stand away from me; or they really don't bother and use taller guys as their 'pillar of support' by leaning in.
As a normal heterosexual guy, I would be expected to enjoy this but there's just this little voice inside that appeals to the gentleman in me, so I try to always have a bit of a space between me and the women in front of me (sorry about those at the back and the sides - you are the one(s) pushing me around).
Hard to believe I know, yeah, like what Roy of the IT Crowd bellows into the phone, I am from the past. I can only imagine the thoughts going through the heads of their parents or husbands.
The ride home was pretty bad but being a Friday evening, everybody were in a good mood as perfect strangers were actually joking with one another. The loose cannon was a KTM Officer who was hitching a ride to Pantai Dalam, making fun of the situation. The first stop at Angkasapuri had him joking about it being the stop for future artistes and the second at Pantai Dalam being the destination of future Prime Ministers.
Then it was all up close and personal all the way to where I got off. It was so 'up close and personal' that half of the train would probably be certified married by the time it reaches Subang.
At least the air-conditioner was strong though as the heat generated from the masses of sweaty bodies and breath would have caused it difficult to breathe.
Got off 30 minutes later and the number of passengers thinned down by almost half, giving much respite to those on their way to Port Klang.
You could almost hear the collective sighs of relief when the door opened.
Scatological Stories
... is but a scientific term to describe topics related to... solid toilet by-product.
One advice to prospective commuters: make sure your bowels are not acting, in the process off or not well dealt with before hop onto the next ride to wherever you are going.
Imagine having something threatening to push out from your backside, coupled with being squeezed from every direction and the knowledge that a proper toilet is still 15 minutes away - you will literally feel like the weakest person on earth hoping for deliverance to come. The train would also stop at times to allow another one on the same path to leave, so that few minutes of waiting will make the most atheist of us a believer.
It happens to me (to everybody, in that matter) once in a while, thanks to my 'toilet training' that seems to pretty accurately have... things... waiting to be expelled around the period of 7:00 - 7:30 am and 9:00 - 9:30 am.
Sounds amazing that you can actually control and tell you bowels when to act up, but it is true. Even if you don't feel like going at all, try going to the loo, sit on the throne or squat, try to ... push. At first it would be ridiculous to be doing so without nothing coming out, but in time your body will start to adjust itself and become regular.
Enough of this crap.
Thank You
... is still pretty regularly heard nowadays in these times no thanks to the advent of political correctness, but how many of them actually comes from the heart rather than from the head (of the departments) ?
Imagine my surprise and amusement (in the good way) of being greeted with a thank you by an attendant of KTM at KL Sentral this morning after touching the TnG card to the reader. He seems to be in a good mood and thank every single person who presented him with the ticket.
I don't know whether it all came from his heart or head, but to do so will need more than an instruction from the departmental leads to keep doing amidst hundreds of people passing through.
I salute you sir.
11 July 2008
Anomalous Materials
Quoting from Half Life might not be the right thing but the second installment of the HL universe began with a train ride that was heading towards City 17 with nobody but you (Gordon) and two guys, all three presumably on their way to becoming thralls to the Combine overlords.
Anyway, this morning was somewhat weird in itself that the KTM train that arrived at Subang looked almost like that. Well, an exaggeration that seeing that KL is nowhere near as bad as City 17 and we are only becoming thralls to our careers.
I missed the 7:37am train thanks to my tummy that has been trained to let go at that kind of time in the morning, so I sat down and waited for the next one that will arrive in 20 minutes' time. In between waiting I read the Malaysian edition of *The Sun left by somebody (I left it to the next lad or lass to read when the train arrived).
* Lest I am branded a clueless Red by my fellow Kopites - the publisher for this one have no connections to the UK version bar the publication name and I don't really like it anyway.
As usual, the commendable improvement in KTM's delivery saw the arrival of the train right on time (or slightly late - as Capt Price of Call of Duty 4 said, "It's not hard to improve on garbage"), I stood up and waited for the door to open and suprise surprise - it was almost empty. Of the 6 x 9 rows of seats, an average of two are filled per row meaning that to some of us regular commuters God decided to throw some sunshine to our morning.
Took my seat uncustomarily, wondering what was going on as the train would normally be some 75 - 85% filled up by the time it reaches Subang station and that wasn't the end of it.
It arrived at Setia Jaya, another one of the busy stations along the way and only three to four came on - into the coach that I was on.
Huh?
Seri Setia, maybe two to three.
Hmmm.
Kampung Dato Harun, same amount of passengers like Setia Jaya - NONE.
Hmmmmm.
Jalan Templer, a little more than Setia Jaya - NONE.
Petaling, same as Jalan Templer - three or four.
Pantai Dalam - six to seven. For the first time every single one of the passengers there managed to get on, and sit down.
Angkasapuri - as usual NONE.
So what's going on today?
* Fuel prices fell dramatically thanks to the kindness and generosity of OPEC and G8 members that people decided that it's cheaper to drive than to take the public transport? (Hahaha, that was funny. Come on give us another one).
The PM announced a holiday at 3.12 am this morning?
(He may have to work like a bull as the Prime Minister but that will be ridiculous as nobody watches TV at that hour of the day).
Half of the working population taking MC or going to an Opposition sponsored rally?
(I wonder what will they take off this time).
Alien motherships hovering over the Petronas Twin Towers? (I wonder over which one as there are two).
Answers on a postcard.
Anyway, this morning was somewhat weird in itself that the KTM train that arrived at Subang looked almost like that. Well, an exaggeration that seeing that KL is nowhere near as bad as City 17 and we are only becoming thralls to our careers.
I missed the 7:37am train thanks to my tummy that has been trained to let go at that kind of time in the morning, so I sat down and waited for the next one that will arrive in 20 minutes' time. In between waiting I read the Malaysian edition of *The Sun left by somebody (I left it to the next lad or lass to read when the train arrived).
* Lest I am branded a clueless Red by my fellow Kopites - the publisher for this one have no connections to the UK version bar the publication name and I don't really like it anyway.
As usual, the commendable improvement in KTM's delivery saw the arrival of the train right on time (or slightly late - as Capt Price of Call of Duty 4 said, "It's not hard to improve on garbage"), I stood up and waited for the door to open and suprise surprise - it was almost empty. Of the 6 x 9 rows of seats, an average of two are filled per row meaning that to some of us regular commuters God decided to throw some sunshine to our morning.
Took my seat uncustomarily, wondering what was going on as the train would normally be some 75 - 85% filled up by the time it reaches Subang station and that wasn't the end of it.
It arrived at Setia Jaya, another one of the busy stations along the way and only three to four came on - into the coach that I was on.
Huh?
Seri Setia, maybe two to three.
Hmmm.
Kampung Dato Harun, same amount of passengers like Setia Jaya - NONE.
Hmmmmm.
Jalan Templer, a little more than Setia Jaya - NONE.
Petaling, same as Jalan Templer - three or four.
Pantai Dalam - six to seven. For the first time every single one of the passengers there managed to get on, and sit down.
Angkasapuri - as usual NONE.
So what's going on today?
* Fuel prices fell dramatically thanks to the kindness and generosity of OPEC and G8 members that people decided that it's cheaper to drive than to take the public transport? (Hahaha, that was funny. Come on give us another one).
The PM announced a holiday at 3.12 am this morning?
(He may have to work like a bull as the Prime Minister but that will be ridiculous as nobody watches TV at that hour of the day).
Half of the working population taking MC or going to an Opposition sponsored rally?
(I wonder what will they take off this time).
Alien motherships hovering over the Petronas Twin Towers? (I wonder over which one as there are two).
Answers on a postcard.
4 July 2008
One Thing After Another
I was off work yesterday for the reason that I woke up with a splitting headache. The feeling was that of a post-migraine attack (they are known to happen sometimes when one is sleeping), the throbbing pain at one side of the head that moves from one point to another. It felt like having little people in the head hammering at the wall of the skull whilst the eyeball felt like it was threatening to explode - sleeping does little to alleviate the problem as you can hardly sleep with the pain!
Got an MC and some painkillers from the doctor, took some and eventually managed to get some rest at around 10:00 am, waking up some six hours later feeling like I've never went to nap.
And thanks to this sleeping stint I stayed awake until 2:30 am or so, making waking up this morning at 6:40am a gargantuan task to undertake. Nevertheless I managed to drag my carcass off the bed and prepared myself for work, knowing that it won't be longer before I get to rest again for the weekend.
Went to the station early I normally do with the increasing number of people taking up parking space ever since the fuel hike, visiting the toilet in the process as I had a rather big dinner the night before due to skipping lunch. Timing it right, I was ready to leave to take the train only to find the (most elementary) bidet to loosen its grip on the water pipe.
Voila, water splashing to my feet resulting in soaked socks and shoe.
Things couldn't get any worst eh? Well, I missed the train by mere minutes. The next thing you know my belt gave way again as I walked to the office from KL Sentral and it began to rain (albeit droplets). Oh, did I mention that I forgot to bring my MC and claim slip too? Ah yes, I also forgot to bring my TnG card.
Stopped by the GME Factory outlet to get three pair combo of socks to change with the wet one that I took off at the station (so I rode the train without socks - how funny that would look).
Ah, what a nice start to the morning.
Note to self - secure rubber hose to pipe before using.
Got an MC and some painkillers from the doctor, took some and eventually managed to get some rest at around 10:00 am, waking up some six hours later feeling like I've never went to nap.
And thanks to this sleeping stint I stayed awake until 2:30 am or so, making waking up this morning at 6:40am a gargantuan task to undertake. Nevertheless I managed to drag my carcass off the bed and prepared myself for work, knowing that it won't be longer before I get to rest again for the weekend.
Went to the station early I normally do with the increasing number of people taking up parking space ever since the fuel hike, visiting the toilet in the process as I had a rather big dinner the night before due to skipping lunch. Timing it right, I was ready to leave to take the train only to find the (most elementary) bidet to loosen its grip on the water pipe.
Voila, water splashing to my feet resulting in soaked socks and shoe.
Things couldn't get any worst eh? Well, I missed the train by mere minutes. The next thing you know my belt gave way again as I walked to the office from KL Sentral and it began to rain (albeit droplets). Oh, did I mention that I forgot to bring my MC and claim slip too? Ah yes, I also forgot to bring my TnG card.
Stopped by the GME Factory outlet to get three pair combo of socks to change with the wet one that I took off at the station (so I rode the train without socks - how funny that would look).
Ah, what a nice start to the morning.
Note to self - secure rubber hose to pipe before using.
30 June 2008
Kindess To Strangers
This morning I took the train like any other workday, pushed between people but it isn't as bad as the later train that I normally take as many people have probably just left their homes or woke up. There was space all the way until Pantai Dalam when it really becomes full but that is not what I am writing today about.
An unusual number of people embarked the train from the Petaling Station which would normally add less than three or so per coach. The shuffle in positions meant that I ended up two places deeper into the coach though for the better as I can now breath easier without the need to actively keep a space between me and the young lady in front of me who seem to have no problems falling into a guy, hence not holding to any of the bars.
Anyway, a middle-aged man came on and eventually stood behind me in which he tapped gently on the my shoulder. I turned to look at him and took off my right earphone which was nearest to him*. He spoke gently asking about where to take the train to Nilai. I answered him a short 'KL Sentral' of which he ahh-ed in understanding, saying that there is where he should take the next train. I nodded and he thanked me.
Now, perhaps that is nothing new to all of you but somehow I felt like I was being impolite to the man for just giving him a short 'KL Sentral' answer without telling him which way would the train be going.
Throughout the rest of the trip, I wrestled with the thought that perhaps I have been pretty aloof and decided to explain to him better once we get off the train. It eventually arrived at KL Sentral of which he asked where are we of which I answered him again, 'KL Sentral'. This time I pointed to him that he should take the train going towards Mid Valley and Seremban, whilst we waited for the stuck door to open (everybody ended up going out using the next door).
As I walked up the stairs, I couldn't but help to look back and search for him. The man stood at Platform 4, probably waiting for the train which would bring him to Rawang instead or for the mob to go up the escalator before taking it. Either way, I stopped at the stairs, beckoned to him to go to the other side of the platform where 5 and 6 were, of which the latter would go to Seremban, hence the direction he was heading to. He seemed to have nodded though the look on his face seems to be somewhat slow in registering.
As I queued to touch my TnG card to exit the platforms, I heard the announcement that of the arrival of the train to Seremban and I wondered if he managed to get on it.
To many of you, perhaps this story is nothing but a boast of my supposed 'kindness' but every time I think about it, perhaps it's the least that I could do to pay my 'debt' to people whom had been kind to me in the past.
Or perhaps the following verse in the New Testament was what that prompted me to care if he got on his way to Nilai or not:
No one knows for sure in this cynical and impersonal world of ours but personally, I would like others to show me the same kind of consideration should be in the same shoes.
It's not about trying to get Brownie points from the Big Man Upstairs, either.
Somehow I just felt like doing it.
An unusual number of people embarked the train from the Petaling Station which would normally add less than three or so per coach. The shuffle in positions meant that I ended up two places deeper into the coach though for the better as I can now breath easier without the need to actively keep a space between me and the young lady in front of me who seem to have no problems falling into a guy, hence not holding to any of the bars.
Anyway, a middle-aged man came on and eventually stood behind me in which he tapped gently on the my shoulder. I turned to look at him and took off my right earphone which was nearest to him*. He spoke gently asking about where to take the train to Nilai. I answered him a short 'KL Sentral' of which he ahh-ed in understanding, saying that there is where he should take the next train. I nodded and he thanked me.
Now, perhaps that is nothing new to all of you but somehow I felt like I was being impolite to the man for just giving him a short 'KL Sentral' answer without telling him which way would the train be going.
Throughout the rest of the trip, I wrestled with the thought that perhaps I have been pretty aloof and decided to explain to him better once we get off the train. It eventually arrived at KL Sentral of which he asked where are we of which I answered him again, 'KL Sentral'. This time I pointed to him that he should take the train going towards Mid Valley and Seremban, whilst we waited for the stuck door to open (everybody ended up going out using the next door).
As I walked up the stairs, I couldn't but help to look back and search for him. The man stood at Platform 4, probably waiting for the train which would bring him to Rawang instead or for the mob to go up the escalator before taking it. Either way, I stopped at the stairs, beckoned to him to go to the other side of the platform where 5 and 6 were, of which the latter would go to Seremban, hence the direction he was heading to. He seemed to have nodded though the look on his face seems to be somewhat slow in registering.
As I queued to touch my TnG card to exit the platforms, I heard the announcement that of the arrival of the train to Seremban and I wondered if he managed to get on it.
To many of you, perhaps this story is nothing but a boast of my supposed 'kindness' but every time I think about it, perhaps it's the least that I could do to pay my 'debt' to people whom had been kind to me in the past.
Or perhaps the following verse in the New Testament was what that prompted me to care if he got on his way to Nilai or not:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).
No one knows for sure in this cynical and impersonal world of ours but personally, I would like others to show me the same kind of consideration should be in the same shoes.
It's not about trying to get Brownie points from the Big Man Upstairs, either.
Somehow I just felt like doing it.
4 June 2008
Double Bogey
It was a long day today for me as I followed the Technical Consultant and the Business Development Manager to a POC (Proof of Concept) demo downstairs from our office to an ISP to showcase the ability of our network appliance to do traffic shaping and probably help to develop new subscription package as well.
Came home around 10:30pm - thought I've missed the last train but the next one came at around 10:06pm at KL Sentral, giving me just some 7 minutes of waiting time. They were also showing Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children on the telly, probably on TV3, making it la rather 'enjoyable' waiting period.
Arrived at Subang station around 10:30pm and was looking forward to that McDonald's Mcvalue meal as I was hungry like mad and just plain relieved that the day is over.
Got into the car, strapped in my seat and started driving home.
Or rather, tried to drive home.
You see, the front two wheels of my car suffered punctures again. Came out of the car and had a look and I can't believe myself. How exactly did a puncture happen to both tyres at the same time?
I suppose that's nothing unusual being that sometimes it does happen to the best drivers out there. Nails, screws et al, get punched into the tyre and voila, flat.
Now here's the bit that got on my nerves:
Both my left sided tyres were also punctured on Monday evening. Noticed this after going out for a dinner and on my way back to the car, a guy who was also walking to his parked next to mine pointed to the wheels, mentioning that it was flat.
I pumped some air into the tyres using the portable pump, thinking that it was probably a case of being my luck to have the tyres go flat like that. Drove all to the nearest petrol station to have the tyres filled to the correct amount of air pressure and went home.
The next day, it was flat.
I was going to be really late for work anyway and you can't trust the KTM to arrive right on time, so I called in to ask for an emergency leave. Being still under probation, it will be an unpaid leave. Damn.
Drove to the nearest tyre service centre to have the tyres checked and hopefully fixed. The mechanic took out the tyres and knew immediately from experience what to look for. They found two nails some 10cm long embedded into the tyres, straight down.
Honestly at that point I could only consider the probably of foul play.
Surely my parking outside the kerb of the housing area has nothing to do with this - it was out of the driveway's... way and was away from the house.
Well then, finally got it fixed, parked at Carrefour and arrived at the office at 1:30pm.
And just now, again.
KTMB, if you're reading this, you have one angry customer here. Probably not your fault since you don't hire people to go hammer nails into tyres (trying to keep the station running is already hard enough) but that wasn't supposed to happen. Add that to the 'sterling' effort of keeping to the travel schedule, who can't be more pleased?
And to whoever did this, your comeuppance will come.
Came home around 10:30pm - thought I've missed the last train but the next one came at around 10:06pm at KL Sentral, giving me just some 7 minutes of waiting time. They were also showing Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children on the telly, probably on TV3, making it la rather 'enjoyable' waiting period.
Arrived at Subang station around 10:30pm and was looking forward to that McDonald's Mcvalue meal as I was hungry like mad and just plain relieved that the day is over.
Got into the car, strapped in my seat and started driving home.
Or rather, tried to drive home.
You see, the front two wheels of my car suffered punctures again. Came out of the car and had a look and I can't believe myself. How exactly did a puncture happen to both tyres at the same time?
I suppose that's nothing unusual being that sometimes it does happen to the best drivers out there. Nails, screws et al, get punched into the tyre and voila, flat.
Now here's the bit that got on my nerves:
Both my left sided tyres were also punctured on Monday evening. Noticed this after going out for a dinner and on my way back to the car, a guy who was also walking to his parked next to mine pointed to the wheels, mentioning that it was flat.
I pumped some air into the tyres using the portable pump, thinking that it was probably a case of being my luck to have the tyres go flat like that. Drove all to the nearest petrol station to have the tyres filled to the correct amount of air pressure and went home.
The next day, it was flat.
I was going to be really late for work anyway and you can't trust the KTM to arrive right on time, so I called in to ask for an emergency leave. Being still under probation, it will be an unpaid leave. Damn.
Drove to the nearest tyre service centre to have the tyres checked and hopefully fixed. The mechanic took out the tyres and knew immediately from experience what to look for. They found two nails some 10cm long embedded into the tyres, straight down.
Honestly at that point I could only consider the probably of foul play.
Surely my parking outside the kerb of the housing area has nothing to do with this - it was out of the driveway's... way and was away from the house.
Well then, finally got it fixed, parked at Carrefour and arrived at the office at 1:30pm.
And just now, again.
KTMB, if you're reading this, you have one angry customer here. Probably not your fault since you don't hire people to go hammer nails into tyres (trying to keep the station running is already hard enough) but that wasn't supposed to happen. Add that to the 'sterling' effort of keeping to the travel schedule, who can't be more pleased?
And to whoever did this, your comeuppance will come.
5 May 2008
Of Sweaty Shirts and Fair Roses
I started my new job some two weeks ago at a network security firm in KL Sentral and had been taking the KTM Komuter to work instead of driving downtown as my job doesn't require me to go out and meet or service customers. This comes as a good thing as I stand to save as much as RM10 per day from commuting to work, allowing for some buildup in the bank accounts. Modest as it sounds, every little bit counts for that little bit of security I'm afforded.
Timing, Watson, Timing
I must commend however on KTM Berhad's ability to keep time despite being a public funded transportation network although it leaves much to be desired. The trains are normally in within 5 minutes of the scheduled timing, which is fine with me since I am often early to the station anyway.
What is complainable (if there is such a thing as 'complainable') however is the problem of delays or cancellations. Being that the public commuter network is so well utilised by the city folks, any such disruptions are definitely going to be a problem to those who needs to be in time for whatsoever. Good thing my parents taught me well, telling me to be early for every thing - wait instead of being waited. (In practice that's easier said than done).
Oh, don't forget about the crowd - one missed train means more people will try to board the next train, making it the proverbial sardine can. God knows how much I 'enjoy' getting squeezed from all directions inside the car, with smells ranging from dry sweat to fading perfumes filling the air. And that is if the air-conditioner is strong enough to help cool the temperature a little.
Aye, you win some you lose some I suppose - you're as cheapskate as everybody else so share their space. Get in line kidda!
Roses Amongst Thorns
If there's something that I should try to be more adventurous about nowadays is to see if I could chat people up on the train. Right, with everybody being rocked left, right and centre in a train full of people who can't wait to jump off at the next station, they would love to talk to strangers and share a laugh. *rolleyes*
Well, maybe since there are always a fair share of fair maidens in the car within speaking distance, why not eh? I'm single so I'm in the market.
For instance last Friday I stood in front of a young woman who caught my attention for the whole of the trip back home in the evening. Like all normal males would, I looked at her reflection on the train window to pass away time as she struggled to keep awake throughout the journey.
The funny thing was that throughout half of the journey I felt a certain bit of familiarity as I looked at her in such surreptitious manner (yeah kid, as if she doesn't know eh?). I thought, "I don't think I've met her before, but she seems familiar for some reason?".
As the train halted at the Seri Setia station, it came to mind like a slap in the face. It was no wonder I thought she looked familiar; anybody around Subang would know too if they saw Hannah Yeoh's campaign poster throughout the General Election's campaigning period ...
Anyway, it's quite unlikely that she's our Subang Jaya's own MP as she did not disembark at the station when I did and besides, they have travel allowances as MPs. I mean, it doesn't even connect all the way to the Parliament and she's a busy woman.
Samaritans too, some of them women. One of them tapped my shoulder this morning to tell me that my bag's zipper is open. Bless. There were backup tapes that I wanted to return to my ex-colleague as well as a few items used to keep notes and losing them might not be a good idea. I thanked her and pulled the bag's zipper up, wondering if I should whip out the phone and ask for her number when we came to stop outside the Sentral station awaiting the exit of a train to Singapore.
As the old Chinese saying goes, there goes another flower on my horse ride.
Miscellaneous Amusements
Speaking of good people, we often get cynical in such a big and impersonal city. Everybody's rushing to where they want to and pushing their way against the tide of more people, racing like rats to the top. Paints such a poor picture, this urbanisation lark.
Of course it's easy to be such a cynic - city dwellers lack the kind of genuine warmth found in towns and villages, but it is most unfair however to dub everybody a witch/warlock-in-waiting. It's not really completely absent, just that not many people feel like showing it to complete strangers all the time.
Of course at times we do get something that puts a smile on those weary heads on the way home from work and they normally come in small packages ie. children. The trip home last Wednesday was all right except for the delay that caused a sardination (I coined another non-existing word again) but it was Labour Day holiday the next day so nobody complained. Too much.
As usual the ride home was as uneventful as it normally is as people are either downcast or eyes out the window or at other people but some colour came into the train when two kids, no more than five or six alighted with their mother. They stood one person ahead of me with sling bags bigger than their torso and hands holding a lunch basket. Being that the train was crowded, the people suddenly backed off and opened up a small space around them and their mother.
With all this Sharlinie and Ooi Ying Ying horror stories in the papers no one could be blamed for feeling pity to their mother, a little woman who had to keep an eye on the both of them in a crowded car filled with strangers. As more people hopped on for the ride, the little girl was separated by one person from her mother but a Good Samaritan held her free arm to make sure that the girl doesn't fall when the train rocks. The lady who held her arm looked with such a smile that said, "Careful little one, hold on". Her mother asked for her often and she replied with a little worry in her tone.
It was small thing this, but to many around the little spot where we were all crammed in the careless laughter between the siblings and their mother had our attention and brought a bit of a change to the normally monotonous and boring ride home - almost all lips were curled up into a smile, looking at them.
I, for one was glad that they finally got off the crowded train at the SB station. I took a glance as I passed by after touching my TnG card at the exit aisles, asking the heavens for a safe passage for the rest of their trip home.
Timing, Watson, Timing
I must commend however on KTM Berhad's ability to keep time despite being a public funded transportation network although it leaves much to be desired. The trains are normally in within 5 minutes of the scheduled timing, which is fine with me since I am often early to the station anyway.
What is complainable (if there is such a thing as 'complainable') however is the problem of delays or cancellations. Being that the public commuter network is so well utilised by the city folks, any such disruptions are definitely going to be a problem to those who needs to be in time for whatsoever. Good thing my parents taught me well, telling me to be early for every thing - wait instead of being waited. (In practice that's easier said than done).
Oh, don't forget about the crowd - one missed train means more people will try to board the next train, making it the proverbial sardine can. God knows how much I 'enjoy' getting squeezed from all directions inside the car, with smells ranging from dry sweat to fading perfumes filling the air. And that is if the air-conditioner is strong enough to help cool the temperature a little.
Aye, you win some you lose some I suppose - you're as cheapskate as everybody else so share their space. Get in line kidda!
Roses Amongst Thorns
If there's something that I should try to be more adventurous about nowadays is to see if I could chat people up on the train. Right, with everybody being rocked left, right and centre in a train full of people who can't wait to jump off at the next station, they would love to talk to strangers and share a laugh. *rolleyes*
Well, maybe since there are always a fair share of fair maidens in the car within speaking distance, why not eh? I'm single so I'm in the market.
For instance last Friday I stood in front of a young woman who caught my attention for the whole of the trip back home in the evening. Like all normal males would, I looked at her reflection on the train window to pass away time as she struggled to keep awake throughout the journey.
The funny thing was that throughout half of the journey I felt a certain bit of familiarity as I looked at her in such surreptitious manner (yeah kid, as if she doesn't know eh?). I thought, "I don't think I've met her before, but she seems familiar for some reason?".
As the train halted at the Seri Setia station, it came to mind like a slap in the face. It was no wonder I thought she looked familiar; anybody around Subang would know too if they saw Hannah Yeoh's campaign poster throughout the General Election's campaigning period ...
Anyway, it's quite unlikely that she's our Subang Jaya's own MP as she did not disembark at the station when I did and besides, they have travel allowances as MPs. I mean, it doesn't even connect all the way to the Parliament and she's a busy woman.
Samaritans too, some of them women. One of them tapped my shoulder this morning to tell me that my bag's zipper is open. Bless. There were backup tapes that I wanted to return to my ex-colleague as well as a few items used to keep notes and losing them might not be a good idea. I thanked her and pulled the bag's zipper up, wondering if I should whip out the phone and ask for her number when we came to stop outside the Sentral station awaiting the exit of a train to Singapore.
As the old Chinese saying goes, there goes another flower on my horse ride.
Miscellaneous Amusements
Speaking of good people, we often get cynical in such a big and impersonal city. Everybody's rushing to where they want to and pushing their way against the tide of more people, racing like rats to the top. Paints such a poor picture, this urbanisation lark.
Of course it's easy to be such a cynic - city dwellers lack the kind of genuine warmth found in towns and villages, but it is most unfair however to dub everybody a witch/warlock-in-waiting. It's not really completely absent, just that not many people feel like showing it to complete strangers all the time.
Of course at times we do get something that puts a smile on those weary heads on the way home from work and they normally come in small packages ie. children. The trip home last Wednesday was all right except for the delay that caused a sardination (I coined another non-existing word again) but it was Labour Day holiday the next day so nobody complained. Too much.
As usual the ride home was as uneventful as it normally is as people are either downcast or eyes out the window or at other people but some colour came into the train when two kids, no more than five or six alighted with their mother. They stood one person ahead of me with sling bags bigger than their torso and hands holding a lunch basket. Being that the train was crowded, the people suddenly backed off and opened up a small space around them and their mother.
With all this Sharlinie and Ooi Ying Ying horror stories in the papers no one could be blamed for feeling pity to their mother, a little woman who had to keep an eye on the both of them in a crowded car filled with strangers. As more people hopped on for the ride, the little girl was separated by one person from her mother but a Good Samaritan held her free arm to make sure that the girl doesn't fall when the train rocks. The lady who held her arm looked with such a smile that said, "Careful little one, hold on". Her mother asked for her often and she replied with a little worry in her tone.
It was small thing this, but to many around the little spot where we were all crammed in the careless laughter between the siblings and their mother had our attention and brought a bit of a change to the normally monotonous and boring ride home - almost all lips were curled up into a smile, looking at them.
I, for one was glad that they finally got off the crowded train at the SB station. I took a glance as I passed by after touching my TnG card at the exit aisles, asking the heavens for a safe passage for the rest of their trip home.
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