YBC

Over the past weekend I lent my time and energy helping at SJBA's Youth Buddhist Camp (YBC). Similar to the Youth Dhamma Camp I joined 2 years ago, but now they've dropped the Dhamma aspect and have taken a new approach to organising their year-end camp.

I didnt actually join it as a participant or a committee due to working commitments, but after Guan Sheng (of GuanyGuan TV) and Pei Hao called me to drop by and boost manpower, I happily agreed to it even if it was only for a day and a half. 

Upon reaching the Srijayanti Temple in Sentul I received warm welcomes from all those I knew. That made me happy :) Not too long after their lunch break I was already called away from camp to help a new friend Leon whose car was having engine problems. I accompanied him to the service center, had it fixed, and there went half of the afternoon. Not that I'm complaining.

After that we went to a nearby field where I stood aside and watched the participants play Quidditch....

 Later at night I helped the committees set up the place for their Cryana Mitra activity which lasted well into the AM, and by 3.30 my eyes couldnt keep open anymore when the the others were (seemingly) well awake and energized~

3 and a half hours later and we're all up again and ready to leave for the camp's KL Race finale.

As luck would have it, Guany's car battery was completely flat that morning. Me and Pei Hao spent the best part of 2 hours searching for a shop that would open on Sundays, and finally buying a new battery. If only I had my jumper cables with me.

With that out of the way me and Pei Hao then drove over to KTM Kuala Lumpur station to standby our leg of the KL race. We made participants search the station for locations/landmarks and have them take a group photo with the marks.

Once all the groups had finished and left I had a 5 minute panic episode when I couldnt find my car keys. Thankfully Pei Hao found them hanging on the door keyhole. That pretty much was my story in YBC.....

*Might be continued*

The year of many things

I got my first job.

I left my first job, even before my probation ended.

But I dont regret that decision.

I rejoined my apprentice company at Mercedes Benz.

I lost my phone (a long wait finally ended for some).

Fell out of love. Again.

Discovered a bunch of special bros to go to in hard times.

Joined my first ever Youth Fellowship Games.

And recently in this past two months:


I experienced my first job transfer.

I experienced my first company appraisal.

At the beginning of September I was given marching orders to pack up my things in PJ and move to the Batu Caves office. That's right, Batu Caves. My new office is literally a 5 minute drive from the sacred temple cave. On the back of one of their consultants suddenly going AWOL, higher management decided the newbie would be the best replacement there.

Over in BC, I've been placed in the bodyshop/ accident insurance department. This means my job now pertains only to accident cars and insurance claims. Its a new and interesting world with so many things to learn and discover. I've been quick to settle down in my new place, although the traffic jams after work at times is.... lets say seriously uncool. At least I'm getting allowance for it.

That said, I quite like working here, or at least the honeymoon phase of it. My new manager seems to like me to. He persuaded me to stay on and even offered me a decent remuneration once 2015 rolls in and I get my first increment.

When I weighed the factors, it was quite hard for me to turn it down. And even without actually saying yes, the deal was already done.

So then, here's to a new year, a new start, renewed motivation  *kaching* and new challenges.

Dear Home.

For 25 years you were our shelter, our warmth, and more recently our getaway from the bustling city life. You witnessed the growth of two little boys,  now young men out in the working world with a decent income. You may not be the biggest, most luxurious, or nicest looking, but we would always be happy to make the 3 hour drive to feel the comfort that you never failed to provide us, and which could not be felt anywhere else. After all, you're our one and only true home.

But now, the landlord would no longer let us enjoy your coziness. That's the problem with renting. Living at the mercy of somebody who can ask us to leave at anytime and there is nothing we can do about it. Your warmth and comfort will soon be at the pleasure of his son.

Back in 2010 my English SPM essay was about home. 4 years on, I dont think I'd be able to write an equally-long 350-word post about you. But that's okay, because now I only need 11 words :

Thanks for everything.

We'll miss you.

We'll never forget you.

Goodbye.

Life Updates

It hasnt been as long as I thought since my last write up here.

Ten days after my previous posting , I lost my phone at work. I suddenly realised it wasnt in my pocket anymore, and a frantic morning's search wasnt successful. By lunch time I had conceded that my phone was no more.

Which was somewhat.... I dont know, a silver lining of sorts because shortly before that the phone had trouble maintaining a steady signal; fluctuating from zero to full coverage almost anywhere. Then one time the alarm didnt ring, and another one time it suddenly turned off by itself. On the side, I've been consistently poked fun at for "not having a smartphone".

I got a replacement Lumia 525 the next day. I've always been eyeing the Lumia series as the next step, although I didnt think it would come in this manner.

Yeah, the Nokia family photo will never be complete now sadly.

That being said, I'm quite happy with the 525 so far. Lack of camera flash to double as a handy torchlight my only gripe at the moment, and even that's not a major issue. :)

*******

Yesterday evening I was called to my boss's room. I was told I would be temporarily transferred to Batu Caves to assist with the lack of service advisors there. 

It had to be the new guy eh.

I dont mind transfers but the sheer distance is more than enough to make me cringe. I will be reporting there starting Tuesday. So I was told that temporary transfers there would wind up being permanent.

I hope they have something to help balance out the traveling costs.

Mid Year Updates

Hello everyone!

It's been quite some time I know. Been busy with my new job at Mercedes, but not (yet.) as overwhelmed as at VW. Mainly because for this 2 1/2 months I've been attached to my senior consultant, helping him with his work most of the time. From time to time I did attend customers on my own, but starting next Monday I'll be officially out on my own two feet once again. And with Raya just around the corner my gut tells me it'll be a crazy week, but as I have experienced here so far, it's not a daily situation. So I should be able to (hopefully) hang in there for a longer time.

Next up in my updates is my 16th Teen Dhamma Camp which was held last month. Similar to my YDC21 camp but for the younger age group. I joined as their security committee (just like YDC21), so more of the same of first aid treatment, controlling participants and backing up in activities where needed. It was something new to be around a bunch of teens 5-7 years younger than me; a whole different generation. I did get along with a some of the kids during the camp, and a few more during the recent camp reunion dinner.

The thing I noticed from both camps was that, in YDC21 the impact of the camp mainly came from the end because of all the new and wonderful friends I made. In TDC16 I felt the impact, also at the end of the camp, but mainly because the whole journey from planning to executing the camp strengthened my bonds with the other committees.  (Jeeves, Tung and Rylee, here's to you (; )  That being said, I still have fun with the new bunch of kids I've met. All in all another great program from the folks as SJBA.

Sadly I couldnt stay till the very end of camp because it clashed with....

 Graduation day.

Seeing my family walk into the registration hall was the moment where two things hit me:

1) This is it. I'm finally officially ending my college years. a 2 1/2 year journey is finally ending.

2) I've been very fortunate to have a family that loves and supports me. Especially seeing my mum who came all the way up from Sitiawan just for those 4 hours of the ceremony. That really hit me in the soft spot.

My bunch of goodies for being one of the outstanding students of the 2011 batch. :) Loving the Ferrari mug and keychain, although I wished the keychain was thinner so it wouldnt make such a bulk in my pockets. But still. :D

And so.... that's about all my updates for this two and a half months. Till then!

Dear Datsun...

You've been my main means of transport since I moved down to KL in 2011, effectively being handed over from dad. You're officially my first car.

You've been mechanically solid and reliable during these 2.5 years; your only malfunction was the fuel pump, and that wasnt changed since it came out from the factory 31 years ago.

We've been through some interesting times. You had your battery stolen, your window smashed, and how can I forget that accident that left you with a broken door. Or that time dad ran you over the curb and ruined both right-side tires.

And yet, you carried on rolling, day after day, getting me where I want to go, when I want to go and never put a foot (or, wheel) wrong. I'm most happy and thankful for that.

However, your moodiness in refusing to start during cold weather recently became the headache of the family. How would I go to work? Its so troublesome to get help in the wee hours of the morning from others, especially on short notices. And with the rainy season in full swing, you've been giving that problem easily once or twice a week.

Sure, if I were back in my hometown I can just use my bike. But what about in KL? When my workplace is some 15 kilometers away? Am I going to be riding a bike along highway?

Eventhough you've been 99% fail-free under my use, your troublesome starting has become too much for us to  handle. Today, I hand over your keys to mum. She's still learning the technique on trying to get you started and warmed up in the mornings. Do give her your best co-operation and keep the breakdowns clean-sheet going for many more years. 

You may be slow, noisy and creaky and have some minor niggling problems, and have side mirrors on the front instead of by the door, yet you've positively appealed to a number of people and even my friends (I think). And I liked that; it sort of gave you a character, a personality. I'm gonna miss that. I'm gonna miss driving you.

Goodbye Datsun, thanks for all the miles you've served me.

And hello....

Post #200

I mark this blogging milestone, with my official resignation from -----.

Exactly 2 weeks ago I received confirmation of my offer to rejoin Mercedes as a frontliner (whoa). That same day I printed out my resignation letter which I had drafted another 2 weeks earlier. Presenting it to my manager, I saw the look on his face and hearing the tone of his voice saying "Oh shit this cannot be happening".

Despite needing only to give 24 hours notice as I was not a confirmed staff, I offered to clear off as much outstanding jobs as I can. I didnt do much clearing for the first 1 week or so due to the massive pile of paperwork I had to go through before closing the jobs. It was only on Tuesday that I managed to close off the bulk of my work, totaling about RM40,000 or so.

So, on my last day.  I parked a customer's car too close to the concrete curb (holyshit). The bumper (which was very newly painted) just barely cleared the height of the curb but the exhaust pipe took a little scraping. And to think I'm handling cars 2-10x more expensive next month. Gugh. Thankfully I have liaised with the customer several times before so I hope he lets us off without needing to answer to the big bosses.

After shaking hands and exchanging well wishes with the workshop guys, I went out for a farewell drinking session (first time everrr!!!). We had a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label (!!), some beer, pizza and potato wedges. I actually felt the buzz in my head after about 3 small glasses, so I decided to go easy after that. Good thing I could still walk straight and drive home safely.

My manager was full of praises for me. From my punctuality to my inquisitiveness, my attitude to being able to ask solid, logical yet unanswerable questions (i.e having intelligence), he expressed his regret how he was not able to retain me in the team. In fact, I was claimed to be the first ever departing employee from the branch under his charge to be treated to a farewell drinking session, because that was how much he valued and appreciated me.

However, amongst all the words he said to me last night, one phrase will forever be engraved in my memory; a confidence booster, a symbol that I am worth more than I thought. This, from a manager to his 3-months short subordinate:

"I know, that you will make it big one day; and when you do, I will be very proud enough to say that I had worked with you."

Ferrari Racing Days 2014

This post has been overdue for over a month. Gosh.

So on February 21st to 23rd Ferrari S.p.A (as in, the main Italian company itself and not our Malaysian dealer) organised a weekend trackday event at Sepang, called Ferrari Racing Days 2014. The event was mainly in conjunction with the Ferrari 458 Challenge Asia Pacific championship with round 2 being held here, but Ferrari decided to bring many many extra toys along.

And then there were two...

Saturday morning.

A week after my formalities interview back with C&C, I decided to just call up Mr Chung and asked how's the process of my application.

"Yeah, I was just speaking to Abang Muz (overall aftersales manager), he says he would want to put you in the frontline (service advisor)."

"Oh okay (In my head thinking omgwowwowwow), but... it's not confirmed or final decision yet right?"

"I'll let you know next week"

So, the wait continues then.

******

Two days earlier, I called up the manager of another company, +++++ which interviewed me at the end of last year, but by the time they said they wanted to hire me, I was already taken by -----. During that phone call I asked him if he still had the vacancy, to which he said yes and still looking for candidates. When he asked why, I said I was just asking........... and looking at my options.

That second phrase set off the alarm bells in his head and on Saturday he dispatched his assistant to talk to me about what their company had to offer, how the work life is better than at -----, and so on. The service advisor over at +++++ still carries almost all the responsibilities as those in -----, albeit less overall workload, and also being located quite near to where I stay.

If you've read these two recent posts you should be able to tell by now I'm almost set to jump ship.

 Which ship though, not even I can tell right now.

The Call

Thursday, 4:52pm. My handphone vibrates to an incoming call. An unfamiliar number, which almost never do I receive, and almost always I feel semacam before answering. I answered anyway.

"Hello Deric?"

"Yes speaking?"
"Chang here."
"Chang?"
"Chang ah, PJ."

"PJ?"

"PJ branch, Cycle and Carriage"

And so the plot thickens. There can only be one reason why your former internship company would call you 5 months after you left. Indeed, they've approached me with an offer to rejoin them as a technician. In a heartbeat, my mind was screaming to say yes. But of course thats not how things are done. So I told him I'd consider it. And to help with my considerings, we arranged for a formalities interview which took place this morning.

Formalities interview? Yup. No testing on technical knowledge this time, since I already went through it before my internship. Instead it was more of a sharing session of my current work life and comparing it with C&CB. As the "interview" progressed, hints were dropped of me possibly being placed as a service consultant just like what I'm doing now. 

I've been with ----- for 2 and a half months now, and to be dead frank with whoever is reading, I have not been happy at all working here. Not once have I had a day where I put a genuine smile on my face, but many a nights and mornings I get anxious, racy thoughts and unusual heart beats. Unhappy customers lashing complaints left right and center. Workshop still overflowing with cars, many of them not being touched at all, some of them being mine, and its very not nice knowing no work is being done at all. 

On top of all the various responsibilities we advisors are carrying, feelings of being overwhelmed are getting increasingly noticeable. Besides earning upwards of RM2,000 per month, I dont have much good to say, no matter how positive I try to be. I feel my goal being to just make it through each day more than anything else.

It might be just the stress or the overload, but at times I've wondered if this is the path I actually wanted. And almost all of those times, my answer wasnt a solid yes.

If C&C never called me, who knows what I would want to do next. I can sense sooner or later I'll snap if I carry on. Now that they've come into the picture, that might not be the case.

If they offer me as a technician... well. Taking a step backwards in every aspect from the career headstart I already have, yet going through the vital foundation of this field which I skipped. That's something like going straight for college without SPM/Pre-U/O-levels/whatever. But this foundation which I were to go through might just be what I really need to propel myself towards where I want to be.

If they offer me as a consultant.... well. Maybe the different/hopefully much better work life there will correct my negative thoughts and perhaps show me something much better than what I originally wanted.

I'll be waiting for that call.

The end of the storm?

It's almost 2 months into my first real job. 2/3rds of the way through the roughest, toughest, most punishing period of this position, or so my manager says. Considering I havent broken down yet, I supposed I'm doing fairly well right?

February has been rather testing. Overflowing customers, warranty department suddenly dumping their work onto us, customers making fusses, the list goes on. I dont know how I managed to put up with all this, and how much longer I can.

Well, hopefully I wont have as much rubbish to handle from next month onwards, as we will have our game plan to control the workload and give us some breathing space. I really look forward to this strategy and seeing it benefit us.

But before that, I have an issue on my hands which may cost me 1/4 of my salary.

Wednesday, a customer went to our body-and-paint department supervisor. Lets call him Mr Piah.

Mr Piah was asked to provide a quotation to replace a front windscreen, inclusive of parts, labour and tinting. So give the quotation he did, the customer left.

Thursday, the customer came to my desk to check the car in to replace the windscreen, without tint.  And so I registered the repair order as such, complete with stipulated price.

Friday, I went to Mr Piah to check on the progress. Mr Piah told me the job was done and I can send the car for tinting.

"Hah? Tinting?"

"Yalah, faster go make appointment for tinting. Faster faster!"

Confused and blurred, I went ahead and sent the car for tinting.

After the tinting was done, I rang up the customer to come and collect the car. When he asked how was there an increase in price, which so fittingly was the price of the tinting. that was when the lightning bolt struck me hard. Mr Piah had tried to persuade the customer to pay for the tint (which would eventually be reimbursed by his insurance company), but he insisted not to pay for it.

Fortunately I removed the charges from the billing system, which has bought me some time to sort out how to cover the cost for the error. What doesnt sit well with me was that Mr Piah refuses to acknowledge his part of the error, and pushed away the topic of considering both of us bearing the cost of the tint in the worst case scenario. In fact, he had told me that I'd have to bear the costs if no other solution works. Seems to me like he's trying to get rid of any accountability he has in the case, even if he peppered me with his nice words of trying to help me and other unrelated things.

 I smell something fishy about the way he's behaving in this situation. But I wont care if this can be settled without any of us having to pay up. At least this time.

My baptism of fire

Working life.

Its been 2 1/2 weeks since I've forayed into the big man's working world. I find myself in the biggest service center in Malaysia for ----. ---- is the name of the company which I've decided to censor to keep myself free from people who are hunting down our company. 

My job involves receiving customers, recording their service/repair requests or problems and relaying them to the workshop. After that I would have to keep track of the jobs and update customers when necessary, preparing invoices, then finally delivering the cars back to them once its done. This is the bare basics of my job. But of course, that's only the basics of it. Some jobs are simple, straightforward servicing. Some require all sorts of documents and paperwork. Some need to have a test drive arranged with the customer.

In between, there are warranty claims, answering random calls which come in a myriad of enquiries, figuring out what to tell customers when work has been delayed, and so on.

Each day I handle 6-10 cars, not counting pending jobs from previous days. This doesnt seem like a big number and it probably isnt. Some of the managers I've talked to used to do double that amount. And yet, on some days I find myself dragging my feet through the door at the end of the day, energy sapped to the minimum. The earliest I've reached home from work is 8pm. Handling unhappy customers, having multiple customers waiting for you to attend them, . They say if you can survive working here, you can survive pretty much anywhere. This is about as pressuring a workplace can be.

Probably all this pressure is what's making me be short of words to blog now. Hmm. While other young 20ers are still enjoying uni life, here I am in the one of the biggest pressure cookers in the country...

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.