Goodbye 2013

Right.

Another year is about to end.

Many things have happened this year.

Some were good.

Riding a Ferrari sportscar for the first time in my life.

Watch race cars live in action on the streets of KL and nearly going deaf.

The amazing internship at Mercedes-Benz.

Attending my first ever motorshow, indulging in cars and girls alike.

Get up close with a whole generation of Formula 1 race cars.

And of course, spending time with my second family, my second home, the SJBA Youth Section at the many events they've done.

---------------

But with all things good, there were not so good things as well.

Car battery got stolen.

Car window got smashed for an unknown reason.

Discovering my offered job at Mercedes was taken over by another trainee/intern.

Ongoing family struggles.

But well, whats life without some ups and downs. There's bound to be some year in year out.

So with one chapter done, here's to another. One that's filled with more of goods and less of not so goods.

Tiring weekend in KL City

Before that, some updates with life after my internship.

If you remember the admin desk job I had during my last 3 weeks, my manager had offered me to continue working there as a full employee temporarily while they looked for a permanent replacement. I took the offer, and after filling in the employee application form (and being confidently told I would be there for at least 3 months), I waited for my manager's call. 

3 weeks with nothing from him I decided to call him. He told me that the HR department still hadnt replied to him, and that I should "look for a temporary job elsewhere". Being confused as to how I went from job-confirmed to look-elsewhere, I sought some advice and concluded that I should try looking for a permanent job instead of waiting for them.

And exactly on that day as well, I was told my brother's car was hit in the side by a blind driver who didnt see his car while reversing. So while my brother's car was being fixed, he borrowed mine for about a week which meant I wouldnt have any transport to go for any interviews if I had started job hunting then. So thats the whole month of November doing absolutely nothing at all.

After our cars were back, I went back to my workplace to return the locker key given to me during internship. When the admin ladies asked why I returned it so late, I told them about my job application predicament. 

That was when I learnt that another university intern had taken my spot. I was told he would be at the company for 6 months like I did, but not how long he would be at the desk. And then I was told how some of the technicians with contracts leave the company at the start of each year when their contracts expire, which means there should be vacancies coming soon.

So should I wait for another month, or keep looking? Hmmh.

********************************

So, on to my weekend in KL.

If you have an Facebook, is a car nut, or both, you would definitely have known  about the three Singaporean Lamborghinis that caught fire on our highway on Friday. I'm not here to blog about that but instead my trips to Majestic Hotel KL, near the old KL train station where the rest of the convoy were staying. They were on a charity drive organised by Lions Club Singapore and the Sin Chew Foundation.

On Saturday early morning i.e 6am I packed up my bunch of stuff and made my way there by bus and KTM. Reached there at 7, then hanged around for about 4 (!!) hours thinking they would depart and not return. Then I found out they would still be staying there until the next morning, so I left and headed over to Pavilion. First stop, Puma. What most of you may not know is that the Puma outlet in Pavilion is the only one in the Klang Valley (there's another in Queensbay Mall Penang) with the Bring Me Back bin, where you can dispose any unwanted clothes of any brand for them to recycle. 

I brought an entire backpack full plus another plastic bag and dumped all my clothes into the bin, happy to have finally relieved my wardrobe from all things unwearable and unfashionable, saving Earth by that tiny little bit and not needing to lug around a heavy bag for the rest of the day. After that it was on to the Pikom PC Fair at the KL Convention Center where I met up with an online friend. We walked around, collected a library of pamphlets, flyers and booklets and declined all the offers from all the determined promoters.

Then we walked back to Pavilion, hung around for a couple of hours, before I left at about 5.30. 

When I boarded the monorail at Imbi station which was spilling over with commuters, I witnessed the aftermath of a pickpocketing incident. A young girl was panicking and asking around when she realised her phone was missing. This same thing happened to a friend of mine when he boarded the KTM during rush hour and realised his brand new (at the time) Nokia X6 was no longer in his pocket. Not only that, it was his reward with his own savings for getting 8A+ and 2As in SPM. Since then we both learned the art of: 

1) Putting all our valuables in our bags, carrying it in front instead of behind, and clutching them

or

2) Keeping our hands in our pockets where our valuables are kept

Reached back at KL Sentral at about 6, waited for the bus for an hour (!!!), and finally returned home at 8. The fatigue of being out walking around the city for more than 12 hours then sank in and I crashed onto my bed, just before my aunt from the UK came over to visit. Went for dinner at Asia Cafe, stuffed myself silly with foooooood, came back, washed up, and off to bed at 12.

Fuh~

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY. At 8 me and my brother went back to Majestic Hotel hoping to catch the departing convoy. When we arrived I noticed some of the cars were missing. Then I learnt that they had left about an hour before we came. From now on any convoy from Singapore must not be taken lightly in terms of punctuality. I stuck around for 3 hours (!!), eventually disappointed by the low-key departure. Then I went back to Pavilion to meet an old secondary school friend, hanged around for another 4 hours before going back home and reaching at about 6. 

Straight off the bus I went over to my car to run it after being unused for two days, worried the battery had run low. 2 days before I got my car back apparently my brother had trouble starting it, and kept cranking the engine until the battery was completely flat. Until today I still dont believe how he managed to achieve this. It seems to be a bit weaker when starting but even so I still managed to get the car going. *phew* After that I changed my headlamp bulb which blew, most probably because this happened:

Dont worry, I drained the water a few days ago.

So with that, I had spent a total of around 24 hours out in the city. I'm still a little tired now.

I sign out with photos of the convoy at the hotel, which you can view after the jump

Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow 2013

Greetings!


Yesterday marked my first ever visit to KLIMS, which was held at the Putra World Trade Center. Now then, before I get on to the business end of this post, let me share my experience in preparing to get there, because I have never been to PWTC before. Those like me would find this bit most helpful.

How to go to PWTC by LRT (for utter newbies and dummies)


I'm being specific because this is so far the only way I know. Buses and driving, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. Sorrwy. =(

First, I wanted to know where the building is. Yes do have my phone's GPS but I thought it was more convenient to take public transport so as to not worry about jams and parking by the roadside and getting saman-ed. I searched on Google Maps, and I got this:

Something didnt seem right because the KLIMS website says its within walking distance from the PWTC LRT station  (as you can see, thats a really long walk based on the search result). If I scroll the map up north, I then found this:

Aha, that bright orange-roofed building. Much closer to the LRT station isnt it? Alright, settled!


NOT.


If you google images of PWTC, notice it has a triangular roof. In the map shown, that's the building labelled as Dewan Merdeka. For those who dont know (like me initially), Dewan Merdeka is part of PWTC.. As you can see there's a bridge from Dewan Merdeka joining the  building across the river. That second building is also part of PWTC. The bigger bright-orange-roofed building isnt part of it. Just for confirmation, I looked at my Nokia Maps and it showed PWTC at where Dewan Merdeka is marked in Google Maps. It seems the people who labelled PWTC in Google Maps didnt do a good job.

So, for those going to PWTC by LRT, just get down at the PWTC station, follow the signage and pedestrian walkway right to the main entrance (at Dewan Merdeka).

Just a little extra info, if you're worried about food and drinks when visiting KLIMS 2013, there's an A&W stall just outside Exhibition Halls 1 and 2. :)

With that done, on with the motorshow; featuring the only two things that make a motorshow:

Cars and GIRLS! :D Photos after the break!

End of internship

Well.

It's quite hard to believe 6 months, half a year have already passed by. And how my internship period at Mercedes has already come and gone. So what exactly have I been doing for that time?

As you may have read in my early posts, I was in the workshop area with Alvin and Steven as my mentors for the first to months.

In mid-July me and my other two intern friends were sent to the pre-inspection bay to work with the service consultants in checking the cars before sending them to the workshop for servicing. The mornings were adequately busy but the afternoons were always empty and downright boring. At least I got to watch how the consultants did their work in handling customers. I also had Uncle Mahyiddin to share his life stories on some days to pass the time. Most of them made for great listening... :)

At the end of my stint down here we worked with our German supervisor with a 3-day service clinic (you may remember I mentioned this clinic at the beginning of my internship but it got postponed to a few months later) to give free 30-point checks on customers' cars.

2 months later I was brought back upstairs where I had my own desk, office phone and computer

Actually I was filling in for the colleague here who suffered a major stroke and was paralysed on one side of his body. The last I heard he has been discharged from hospital but still cant move one of his arms, and is undergoing treatment. My job here is pretty much admin work; filing documents and recording them in the computer. When I'm free there's internet access, but sometimes I got flooded with paperwork and phone calls from within the service center (mainly consultants asking whether the cars they handled are ready to be delivered). I spent my last 3 weeks here. Some exposure to admin work is a bonus I guess.

So on the last day, we had our debriefing with our manager after work. It was a really really long one. The first part took about two hours.

He talked about all sorts of stuff. Talked about how we have to justify our paper qualification with possessing ample knowledge and skills, something he had highlighted with the other two interns.

Talked about how life isnt all about money. He used to have RM3 dinners shared with 2 friends but still be happy with it. He had helped problematic technicians change for the best and prove his superiors wrong, and how the satisfaction of helping others to succeed is just as good as yourself succeeding.

Talked about how we should do everything whole-heartedly and not give half-baked efforts. One of the things he stressed was using free time to research online further about understanding cars and parts and stuff if we are really into this line because of the interest.

After the other two had left I sat down for a one-on-one talk. I asked if there was any vacancy for me and if I would be fit to join them. Unexpectedly (but also not so surprisingly) the answer was inconclusive. My manager will have to discuss with the big bosses if they think its feasible to bring in another technician. However from his ownself he did say that if there was an opening he would have gladly taken me in. 

Not to be boasting (prolly still am), but he was most impressed with my performance compared with the other two; better knowledge, strong English, good discipline and attitude. In fact in his two years in charge at the workshop (before that he spent several years running another branch in Ipoh), he found me to be the best intern of all those from my college. I guess in the right aspects of the job I do stand out from the others.

After that we talked a bit more, mostly chit chat albeit meaningful ones. By the time we shook hands one last time it was 3pm. And I hadn't have lunch yet.

So there you have it. Now I'm a bum.

Back in business

Lets play badminton! :D

Welcome, October

October started with a dead modem. I was left internetless for almost a week, but thankfully my treasure chest of Top Gear episodes kept my sanity in check. Besides the re-runs, I had a jolly well packed weekend to write about.

Saturday. It was the last day of a 3-day service campaign organised by my workshop. Myself and 4 technicians worked alongside our German supervisor Mr. Randolf to carry out 30-point inspections on cars that have not been sent to our workshop for more than 2 years. After closing up at 12pm I had an hour's rest before helping the spare parts department with their annual stock check. Their inventory is.... HUGE. It's probably as big as the Kia workshop I had training at last year. About 20 of us went through every single nut, bolt and clip, counting and recording. It may sound easy but we had backaches at the end of the day. At least we're getting overtime payment. :p

I had to cut mine a bit short though. While the rest carried on until 7pm, I had to scram at 5 to get ready for that night's SJBA community project, the YS Soup Kitchen. We joined the Kechara Soup Kitchen for a night of going around KL city giving food to the homeless. It was something totally new to me and it was quite shocking to discover the various (mostly sad and painful) reasons why people can go homeless, even those who have previously led a decent life. 

It was a powerful way to learn to never judge people (although I think in some cases you may still actually be right about the person) and make you think that, if you with your soft bed, Adidas shoes and whatnot, your life sucks, FML and FTW, you're just wrong. We wrapped up at about 1.30am. It's that late because the homeless dont come out onto the streets until late at night.

Sunday. Having slept just under 6 hours, I woke up for my first ever visit to the Asia Klasika Autoshow at the Matrade building. Me and dad left 10 minutes to 9am, first heading to KL Golf and Country Club as I received a tip-off of a gathering of Lamborghinis which would convoy to Matrade. Realising the place was empty, something had to be wrong. Then we chanced upon two of the members who seemed to be confused about the gathering place. We followed them to a nearby coffee shop.

After about 20 minutes, they started their journey and we started following them. Of course, our car being a mere Myvi, its like trying to blow out a forest fire. That didnt matter too much as we were so excited in the moment, we made a terrible wrong turn on the highway (and also missing the U-turn which would have saved us) and ended up making a 8km detour with 4 toll booths. 

Once we finally arrived, we were welcomed to a wide array of famous cars from all eras, all over the world. See what's what after the jump.

"Happy anniversary"

It's been exactly 3 years to the day that fate first brutally drove a knife straight through the heart.

Almost a year since I've severed all communications after many failed attempts to reconcile.

I've gone through day-to-day living pretty much normal, enjoying what I do, chasing sports cars, hanging out with SJBA.

And yet thoughts still linger from time to time. 

I wonder how she's doing.

Life is Beautiful

At the beginning of the month, a friend of mine approached me asking if I would be free for an event organised by the SJBA. The event in question was Life is Beautiful, a day-long race around KL with the aim to make us realise that life isnt about where we want to go, but the journey there. Aimed to make youths learn how to embrace life one moment at a time, the race was filled with tasks that would make the event live up to its name.

So anyway, I was asked to be a facilitator to the participants for the race which took place yesterday. Since I didnt have anything else to do on a Sunday, I figured why not give it a go. Before the real race though, 6 other facis and the main committees (most of them happened to be from YDC 21) had a trial run to look for any flaws and problems that would arise in the real race. After a week of adjusting and finalising, we were ready for LIB 2013.

Crisis talks

I've just returned from my 4 day break from work in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Unlike previous trips back home, this one was a very important one for me and my family. Actually me and my parents.

During my 3 months interning here in Mercedes, I've been widely exposed to colleagues who stress on me getting a degree once I finish my diploma. All this has been conflicting with my original intention to start work and make a living for myself. I know they have their points in that it'll give better chances at better jobs and salary and bablabablababla. I wont deny that. But the fact is my family arent in a stable enough condition to support me going to university. And so I thought why burden them further, right?

So for 3 months my mind has been swirling and blending the issue day and night. Finally when I went back to Sitiawan I got the golden chance to sit down, all 4 of us and talk it out thoroughly. 

And so, after Chong Wei had defeated Du Pengyu in the semis of the Badminton World Championships last night, at about some time past 11pm, I began the long and winding discussion that took 2 hours to conclude. 

Some opinions were divided. Do I do a full time degree? Or do I do full time work and part time study? Mum supports the former, dad puts his on the latter. 

Blunt facts were brought up. Dad couldnt afford my college diploma, what more a university degree? Even if I do get a scholarship, I am not comfortable with the thought of depending on my dad who's already in his 60s. And mum isnt comfortable with me balancing studies and a part time job.

Well, worst come to worst, if it really is too difficult for me to get a degree, at least I can support myself with my diploma. Just that, nobody knows if I can have the stable, secure and comfortable life I want.

Because no matter what our ambitions are, ultimately we all have the universal responsibility of (if we do start) having a family, supporting and providing for them, having kids and making sure they get the education they need. 

I came to realise this before I even set foot into TOC, that my dad had probably cocked-up along the way and make things that much harder for me and my brother.

I also came to discover that, even in a company as big and established as where I'm working, or maybe even in this whole industry, what we earn is rather measly and feeble.

A degree would do much to turn things around and help me avoid doing what my dad has done. But could what my dad have done be too much for a degree in the first place?



I've probably gone off topic there with my thoughts and ramblings. At the end of the night, what my mum had advised me was to just work for a few years, and see if things can be worked out. My dad, well, he just kept quiet.

For sure I'll continue to be bombarded on this topic for some time, but hopefully my mind wont be spinning around because of it, now that this crisis talk has taken place and concluded.

Le dull weekend

Greetings minions~

So I had my day off on Friday, which was duly spent on sleeping, sleeping, and more sleeping. Except for the morning part where I went to Puchong to have my Datsu's leaking brake problem fixed. For about 5 months, every week I had to keep topping up brake fluid. Finally yesterday I had the time to find out what was causing it, and so........

Behold the disgusting gunk!

The wheel cylinder (the silver cylindrical shaped thingy at the bottom) had been leaking really badly, as you can see all the lausai-like browny goodness everywhere. The wet brakes might also explain why my parking brake wasnt so effective. Now that the wheel cylinder has been changed and the brakes washed down, it's time to check if there are anymore leaks, and if my parking brakes improve.

With Friday done, half-day work today, AND another afternoon of sleeping like a pig, I woke up feeling bad for wasting two days just like that. I feel like going out and doing something, but I'm not sure what it is I want to do... Hmm~

2 months in

HOWDY FELLAS.

I just recovered from a 1-day fever and stomach ache sickness package yesterday. I had the fever in the wee hours of the morning which subsided a bit when I went to work but once I got there I had a horrid bout of stomach aches which made me spend 3 trips and about 45 minutes in the toilet. Most grueling indeed. And then when I came back the stomach ache went away but then the fever came back, like some tag-team wrestling match. But thanks to some paracetamol and lots of water I woke up this morning feeling much better. :)

Right, it's been 2 months since I've started my internship with Mercedes Benz, and it's still going as good as ever. I've swapped trainers last month, from Steven who did mostly maintenance service and underbody work to Alvin the electronics and minor diagnostics specialist. I've learned tons of things under him, however he's quite restrictive in that he rarely lets me be involved with work, except regular servicing.

 It can get a touch frustrating but I have raised it to my team leader, maybe another friendly reminder will help. I really feel the urge to get out and start doing work on my own, not because I think I'm better than Alvin or Steven but I just feel that I am ready to tackle the jobs on my own two feet, with some consultation from time to time from seniors perhaps.

Actually, there was one day when Alvin was absent from work and I got to go all out on my own with my leader watching from behind. It felt great, the ability to do work unrestricted and knowing that my leader had the confidence in me to perform solo.

The two cars I did on my own :D

In two weeks time me and my two fellow TOC interns will be working with our GERMAN supervisor for inspection duties when our company will be having a service campaign for customers who havent been to our service center for more than 2 years. This should be interesting.

I ride a car.

How's your weekend? Mine was quite tiring.

After halfday work yesterday, I went out to help bring back my uncle's car from a workshop in Puchong. Later in the evening we went to visit my aunt who's come from Australia for her annual trip. We had dinner, spent time at home chatting and watching some TV, before going back at 11. And then after that I washed my clothes before finally going to sleep at 1am.

7 hours later I'm awake again as I got ready for the Blue Jackets' participation in Tasputra Perkim's charity fund raising event. As per title. Tasputra Perkim is a charity home for special needs children located in Ampang. Yeah, it's quite a distance.

About 40 members joined the event to help raise funds for the home. How? Well, knowing they're a supercar club, what other way than to offer the public a taxi ride around Ampang for a fee. RM20 for a random ride in any car, or RM50 to choose a car of your liking. 

Just after the cars arrived, the heavens opened, and opened quite widely as it rained for 1 and a half hours or so. And I chose to keep the umbrella at home. Blergh.

Meanwhile I explored the place a little, with foods, drinks, games and some other stuffs for sale. One of the supercar owners bought something like 2 boxes of cupcakes from a stall and then told the lady to give them for free to everyone. Charity couldnt be more awesome on a personal scale than that.

When the sun finally came out, the taxi rides began. RM20 is reasonable, but an extra RM30 to choose what car you want to ride in I feel is really quite steep. I stood in the queue thinking which option to choose. Finally one car came, and I just blurted out "I'll go in that!" and bye bye went RM50.

The car in question?

A Ferrari 430 Scuderia!!!

Indeed it was an exhilarating, and while I did say in the video RM50 was well spent, well, thats still quite an amount for a 12 minute ride. At least the experience was priceless I guess. I come back feeling drained, and it doesnt help that I woke up this morning with the early symptoms of another common cold coming my way. Gergh. Here's to a slightly softer week ahead.

One of those weekends....

.... which were more interesting than others.

Friday was Wesak Day, I had the day off from work and spent it at SJBA for their annual Wesak celebrations. We sang songs, we waved flags, we had Datuk Hannah Yeoh and Wong Chen drop by for a visit, then I hanged around lepaking with friends and help promote their upcoming Teen Dhamma Camp. TDC is a camp similar to the Youth Dhamma Camp which I joined last year, but for the younger age group of 13-19 year olds. I had lots of fun and thoroughly enjoyed the day!!

On Saturday after my half-day at work I went over to Stadium Merdeka to witness Porsche Club Malaysia's attempt at setting a record for the largest Porsche cars gathering in the country. Although they didnt reach their 200+ attendance target, they still managed to set a record with 152 cars. Later in the evening I went over to Dataran Merdeka where I would watch (some) of the Porsches join in the Citrawarna/Colours of Malaysia 2013 parade. Braving the slight rain, I managed to capture the entire convoy on video which you can watch below. It was quite the pity though because another convoy called Lady Bikers with their much much louder motorcycles made the Porsches look absolutely tame and timid. Cant wait for a gang of Ferraris or Lamborghinis to avenge this humiliation.

Then on Sunday I headed over to The Summit where there was a roadshow for the latest Fast and Furious 6 movie. There were some cars on display, remote controlled cars, and the one that caught my attention, a Gran Turismo 5 simulator complete with pedals, steering wheel and bucket seat. Since it was free and I had nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon I thought, oh what the heck, lets have some fun. So I registered my name (thinking it was to queue up to play), waited, and watched all these little kids who probably just started primary school making an absolute mess of crashing and smashing their cars. I know they are just kids but, as a (former) avid racing gamer it's just an utter cringe to watch.


So then came my turn, and despite never having myself play with a racing simulator, I managed to win the two-lap race against computer AI. I was very sure the difficulty was set to the easiest level when a guy after me still won despite going off track and hitting the wall a few times. Whatever, apparently because I had registered myself earlier, winning the race earned me a free ticket voucher to watch the movie! For the first time in many many many years have I actually won something! ANYTHING!!!!! Havent used it to watch the movie yet though. I might end up giving it to a friend since I've never been a fan of the series. Or perhaps I'll go watch with a bunch sometime soon...

I'm a winner!!

May Updates

HELLO EVERYONE.

I last left you with the dilemma I faced about my internship placement, and later deciding to just give it a shot at applying with Mercedes. Well, after passing my finals (just barely), I was called for an interview with 4 other guys; 2 of which are my classmates at their headquarters in PJ two Mondays ago.

Everything went smoothly, and two weeks (!) later I received the call that my placement had been approved. One of my classmates and another guy however got rejected.

So there you have it, I'm officially a Mercedes intern. More on my first day of work later.

WHILE I WAS WAITING for the results of my interview, last Thursday saw the superconvoy of Lamborghini supercars assembling for a tour of Malaysia to mark the company's 50th anniversary.

Sadly, tragically, majabashabaswabblly, I had completely forgotten about it when I was informed of the planned convoy about a week earlier. It wasnt until I was eating lunch in front of the computer when I saw a friend's photo of the parked supercars.

Not this one though. This is taken by ZeroToHundred.com

 I was left bitterly emo about it for a few days, and still slightly sour about it today. Gerh.

Now then, my first day of work in Mercedes. My friends and I came at 8, were assigned a locker to share, had our fingerprints scanned into the database. When it scans our fingerprint, it records the date and time of the scan which will serve as our punch card for the next 6 months. At the end of the month, the records are printed to be our attendance, uhm, record. Yeah, I'm typing using my 'punchcard', so to speak. We were given company shirts, had  a briefing with our manager, and finally assigned to our teams. 

There are several service teams here. Two teams handle the repairs and servicing, another team does overhauling, another does frontline aka service consultant, and so on. For me, I'm starting with one of the repairs and servicing team, and every month we will be rotated to different teams to get a broader exposure of working life. Within each team is a leader, and finally the technicians who report to their respective leaders. My leader just so happens to be a graduate from TOC.

Within the team, I will be guided by one of the technicians, Steven. Seems friendly and very willing to teach.

We have a 15-minute break in the morning and afternoon, as well as a 1 hour lunch break where we can go to the company cafeteria. Well, working on such advanced cars like Mercedes, I think the short breaks are appreciated and much needed, although we can choose to skip the break and continue working. Working hours are 8-5, and halfday on Saturday! 

Also, there's no need for us to mop or sweep the floor, but I think if we make a mess we'll be cleaning that ourselves.  Fair enough.

And there's no need for anybody to go out and buy food for colleagues. 

And there's no need for us to be sending customers whenever they leave their car.

And there's no need for us to be sent out running around for spare parts or whatever.

Basically lots of kuli work from my first year training which I no longer have to do. I think. Seems like it.  I'm feeling positive about working life here already. BUT, of course, given the standards and demands of such a company, I can foresee it wont be goyang kaki all the way either.

Anyways, I'm having my hopes up and motivations high to maximise my time here, given how it was to some extent, wasted in my first training.

Dilemmas

Occasionally, I tend to get indecisive. Given a situation, balancing the pros and cons, good and bads, why and why nots, sometimes makes me take forever to come to a decision. It can be a simple small matter such as a gathering with friends, or something more significant like buying a phone. But whatever the scenario I sometimes tend to twist and curl my brain to just choose an option.

This most recent one however, was more significant than any other. But still probably not all that big an issue.

At the beginning of next month, I am due to be starting my 6 month internship at a workshop or service center. Yesterday the draft placements were announced and I was assigned to Honda's 3S center back home.

First impressions, its not a bad place at all. Much better looking than my first training at Kia last year. And it's Honda! Imagine all the shiny Accords, Civics and Citys I'll (maybe) get to work on. Not some caplang mekanik workshop that does a mix of old and not-so-new cars. I'd be an idiot to throw away an opportunity like this one.

On top of that, going back to Sitiawan means I get to cut costs on transport and food; more over I get to be with my mum which will be increasingly rare. Why not right?

But the thing is, It's been in my mind to have my internship in KL, where there are greater opportunities and with even bigger companies which arent found in Sitiawan, mainly European companies like Mercedes and BMW. 

A classmate of mine did his first year training at Mercedes in PJ and shared with me the great working life he had. Great not in the sense it's laid back, but he got to do and learn so many things and in a professional manner with high tech, sophisticated computer tools. When compared with the relatively mekanik-style training I had, I was completely sold on it. It's that kind of upper class technician jobs that I've always preferred.

As internship drew closer, he asked me and some other friends if they would be interested to join him. At that time however I had my sights on a third workshop, which eventually didnt materialise. As a result I missed the first chance to apply for a place with Mercedes.

So when the draft placement came out, I got stuck.

Going to Honda means saving costs, be with my mum, no traffic jams. And the place looks quite impressive already. My mum's friends say the technicians there are alright too. But my dad mentioned (many years ago) work life there was.... undesirable. And also the main language there is Mandarin, which, isnt my strong point. On a less concrete argument, pretty much all my friends have split up and left home, so it would be rather boring to just work and stay home for 6 months.

Going to Mercedes means having the chance to learn about the workings of a European make of car which are not only different to the Japanese, but more advanced. Such experiences are really, really valuable, and not everybody has the chance to lay their hands on Mercedes cars. Side note, it would look good on my resume too. However it means I'll (or rather, my dad) will still have to bear the costs of living in the city, probably traffic jams too. And I also kinda feel bad for not going to be with my mum.

In the end, I applied for a change of placement to Mercedes. However, should they not be available I would accept my initial placement at Honda as Plan B, if they are willing to take me in.

Well, lets see what happens next.

Cleaning out my laptop

No, no April Fools joke here. T_T

Its 11pm... Must wake up early for class.... This is gonna be my fastest post ever!!!

So, in recent days, weeks, months my laptop keyboard was, on some occasions, warmer than I felt it should be. And a lot of the time I can hear my cooling fan spinning at various speeds, ranging from "I can barely hear it, is it actually working?" to "Oh my god it's going to fly out from the casing".

So today, I took it upon myself to open up and tear apart my laptop with absolutely 0 knowledge and 0 experience with disassembling and cleaning it.

So for the first 30-45 minutes or so I went all caveman with my screw driver trying to pry it open (after taking out the screws obviously) but realising something wasn't right when one corner was still tightly sealed.

So then came the help of Uncle Google who gave me this and I was well on my way to successfully opening it.

And so, after about 40 baby screws and fingering with some ultra-delicate plastic bits...

I did it!!!! *Proud geek moment*

I then proceeded to dump out all the hair, dust, skin flakes and dead insects, as well as this great wall of dust which was blocking my cooling fan:

This is all it took to put my fan into constant, unnecessary over drive.

Now, after cleaning out much of my laptop organs, my fan has not made a single sound the whole day. Yes I can feel the air coming out so it is still working. So uh, if you have a laptop that needs cleaning...........

Hehee.

RIP badminton shoes...

Some time ago I had blogged about my shoes being on the brink of tearing apart, but thanks to the cobbler back in Sitiawan its lifespan was fairly extended.

Last night, I went out for a session with friends. While warming up, the stitchings from the cobbler's repairs gave way on the left shoe and the front half of the sole started flapping about. Not wanting my night to come to a premature end I ripped it out and kept on playing. Amazingly it mostly held on throughout the session but it did suffer. On top of that the right shoe was starting to fall apart as well.

It was only a matter of time.

4 years isnt too bad for a pair of badminton shoes I guess.

You've served me well. RIP~

Petronas Motorsports Demo Run 2013

Its Monday again? 

Its okay. Monday's almost over.

Anyway, yesterday I made my way to Suria KLCC for the P.M.D.R held in conjunction with the coming Petronas Malaysian Formula 1 GP this weekend. This demo run brings the experience of motorsports to the streets for the public to get a taste of. I reached KLCC at 2pm, as I saw the post on Petronas Motorsports' Facebook page. What I didnt know was the schedule details, which stated the demo actually starts at 4.30. 

So for about 2 and a half hours I derped around, not knowing when would the demo actually start. I sat through a "performance" by the traffic police squad, some motorcycle acrobatics by the army, and, uhm... yeah. Finally, the demo had started although by then I was partially drained from all the walking and standing. Good thing the sun was slightly forgiving.

It started with some runs on a supersports racing bike, followed by some Cub Prix bikes ( I think they call it), which sounds just like the modified Mat Rempit kapchais. After that was a Formula junior something race car.

Finally, the pièce de résistances, the Formula 1 and SLS AMG GT3 race cars. The Formula 1 car came out first. It was supposed to do 5 laps around the closed-off Jalan Ampang but after the second or third lap the run abruptly ended with the car being pushed back.

Oh noes.

While the engineers sorted out the problem (if there was one) the SLS GT3 came out and did 9 laps, shared equally by 3 drivers. Each driver change also came with an impressive demonstration of a pit-stop and tire change. 

After the SLS did its rounds, our young hotshot Jazeman Jaafar came out in the F1 car for a final run before the event ends. His stint was mostly burnouts and short accelerations, but since it was his first time driving an F1 car I dont think anybody would be complaining.

As always with such events like this, I had my camera on standby to shoot some videos, which you can enjoy down below.

A weekend

Happy Monday everyone!

Yes, even Grumpy Cat hates Mondays. Garfield isn't alone now.

My weekend was somewhat interesting. More interesting than most...

Started off by waking up at 7 (!!) on Saturday for what I was told a Ferrari convoy heading to Penang, leaving at 8am (supposedly). We reached the gathering point at 7.45 but not even one prancing horse was to be found anywhere. I know how bad Malaysian punctuality can be but this was unusual. I waited for about 15 mins until a friend told me they had changed their starting point to somewhere much further away and had already left anyway.

Lousy way to start the weekend isnt it.

Later at 10.30 I had YSG with my SJBA buddies. It was a station games session. In fact a lot a lot lot of their sessions are games. But I'm not complaining. Hehe.

The punishments were horrible! Duck walks duck walks and more duck walks! My thighs still sore a bit.

I'm a newspaper unicorn! Sort of.

After YSG I headed to Sunway Pyramid to use my 1Malaysia book vouchers. I walked out with Elton John's photo biography, the history of Formula 1 in photographs, and the complete history of Porsche. Not bad. And I still had RM100

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

Filled up petrol for the Datsu. I got a surprise when petrol gushed out from the petrol filler hole. TWICE. Probably a combination of putting the (longer than others I've seen) nozzle too far in and pumping at full pressure. Even stranger was that the petrol meter didnt go up as far as it normally would every time I pump RM50s worth. And driving it today, just one return trip to college saw the meter reach the halfway mark. I hope it's not a leak.

Went to SJBA's TQG session. Its like YSG but for the younger age group. I can feel my age when others still have "teen" in theirs. After that I went to... another bookstore to finish up my vouchers. And I finally found Steven Gerrard's biography! :D

Oh and while I was there, I saw this

After I was done I left and headed towards the bus stand. Two buses were waiting. I had to cross the road to get there, but I couldnt because the traffic light just turned green and cars were going by. While I waited the buses left. This has been the third time in the last month I've taken the bus that  I just missed it by mere minutes. As a result, I had to wait 1 HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTES for the next one. Shame on you RapidKL.

Fine. Since I had Stevie G's book in my hand I thought I'd go to the nearby mamak, get a drink and read a bit. Finally the bus came. It probably only took 10-15 minutes to reach back home. Haiz.

At least I got some really cool books to read :)

For the first time in my life....

...I've overslept tremendously through my alarm clock. I opened my eyes, wondering why on earth is the sky so bright. Why do I not remember my alarm ringing. One look at the alarm clock, 7:21am. A full one hour and thirty minutes past my wake up time. How on earth was this possible.

Okay, so I took a rather luxurious nap yesterday afternoon, which meant I couldnt sleep until 1am this morning. But this wasnt the first time I slept that late/couldnt sleep on a weekday. I've had it a few times even in my schooling years. 

But to sleep right through my alarm like as if it never existed, damn. A historic day indeed for me.

And yet, my  classmate thinks I can still reach college from Subang by 8am. I wonder if he's experience morning rush hour before. Well I think he should since he's also from Subang. With the rational and logical thinking of... a pack of sugar, I still washed up, changed up and tried going anyway. Pfft. 8.10 and I was still stuck in Subang. Screw it lah. Even if I reach college I'd be marked as absent, and tuapekkong knows how long would I be sitting in the jam. 

So, here I am. Wondering if lightning will strike twice.

Moving on...

Happy Chinese New Year 2013!

Yeap, that time of the year again. Back to Sitiawan for the reunion dinner

Going back BACK to KL to visit the relatives. Our first major gathering in... I think 2 years.

Just had a reunion with some of my ex school mates

Got itchy-fingered with my cousin's PS3

It was all nice and well. No really, it was. I enjoyed it.

But one morning, as I woke up but remaining in bed, thoughts circulated my mind. I have been mentioning more and more of my upcoming internship, due to start at the end of April and ending in October (hopefully). By the end of that, I've made my decision to start work right out of college. Get experience younger. Stop being a burden sooner. The earlier I work, the earlier I commit myself to the working life. No more semester breaks. Almost no more chance to go back to Sitiawan and see my mum. Chinese New Year might be the only time. Unless I get enough annual leave to make a trip or two back. Which I should I guess. And during this internship period, some of my close friends will be flying off to other countries to pursue their studies.

We're all moving further apart as we go along our own paths in life.

We're all moving on.

I see college/uni life as the bridge between the time spent in close company with family during our younger years, and the time we step out into this big world on our own two feet. Soon enough, we all will be leaving  these things behind as we move on to build our own lives. Nobody can run away from that. We all will have to face it. My turn is coming soon. Sooner than most of us. This next 7 months that I will be away from home, 6 of which I'll be working, will be the trial period of this third phase of life. 

I got out of bed that morning with a little lump in my throat and a "hati sebak" feeling. So did I when I wished goodbye to my friends this evening. So will I when I say bye to my mum on Saturday.

Time to move on.