my poor brain

i had a good tennis match with randy yesterday. considering that i haven't been playing regularly this summer, that was a pretty solid display. of course i could be exaggerating for a little bit here, but, hey, bite me hehe... i need to work on my serves. i need a coach. i know i've said this before but just stating the obvious. perhaps two things that have been preventing that happening are, 1) the cost, and 2) no time. it does take a lot of effort to better yourself. i'm just not very committed at this point. maybe i'll change in the next couple of hours.

i've lived in tanjong malim for about 4 years. tanjong malim is a lovely small town situated in southern perak, a beautiful state in malaysia (fyi). i basically grew up there during my formative years (well i really don't know what 'formative years' means.. it's just that i learnt a great deal of the facts of life there during my junior high years). one of the best things associated with the town is its famous 'pau' (steamed bun, typically with fillings of red bean, kaya, or meat). now, having lived there for some years, i can say that i've never had pau there... hmmmmm. i don't know why. however, the best pau that i've had ever is from kubang kerian, my hometown. they're being sold in front of the usm hospital campus. i can live on pau alone! anyways, i've been getting my fix of red bean paus here from this korean supermarket in denver. they're selling these frozen paus in packs of threes. and all i need to do is steam them for about 15 minutes and i'll have a slice of heaven right here in colorado.

Till then, stay safe and don't miss yer meals ya!

wind cries mary

this is the third draft that i've written up for this entry. for some reasons, i couldn't make it sound that i'm truly busy right now. i've got so much things going on at the same time right now. multitasking is something that i suck at.. big time. among others... my ankle's really sore from my indoor soccer excursions on sunday and monday nights, completed the self-evaluation for my performance review (if i don't get the promotion and/or the big, fat raise, then i don't know what else to do), and, oh, i took up another job within the company. now the latter's kinda interesting. i've been doing the same job for the last six years that i've been with the company. that's 2 years in the factory in perai and 4 years here in colorado. the job's really cool.. failure analysis. think csi or something like that, but instead of investigating crimes, i investigate why our products suck! and i'm not bored or anything predictable like that... it's an opportunity to move on. plus, the position's for staff engineer, which would be a step up for me (heck, i'm already drawing up plans for world domination by the time i turn 40! muahahaha!!). we're still negotiating terms since the new management seems to be not willing to promote me just yet (i guess i have to go talk to some veeps then). regardless, it's gonna be an exciting prospect for me. kinda nervous still but i think it's time i get out of my comfort zone and lay down a challenge to myself. okeh for now. later!

this love

i must say that blogging has fast becoming a weekly update thingy, instead of a daily or once-in-a-coupla-day thingy. kinda disappointed with the progress, but it really has taken a back seat to work. i've just been informed by the management that my business trip to temasek has been delayed further to early july (tsk2). very well then... you gotta take all these adversaries with a grain of salt.. you know, looking at the glass half full, rather than half empty kinda thing. hmmm what kinda of optimism(s) that i can think of till then...?!

i've been doing some part-time tennis coaching here since a couple of years back. hard to believe isn't it? but yeah.. for the love of the game. i've been looking at a few websites that offer coaching certificates, but haven't decided on any one yet. figure if i'd be spending (urm, 'investing') my money into this, might as well go all the way. plus, i'm lining up this gig as part of my 'back-up' plan, in case, a) i get laid off, b) side income, c) an opportunity to meet people (ok, girls), and, d) really haven't thought about (d) yet. so, you see how smart and visionary i can be sometimes? oh, my friends have been 'financing' these lessons with meals. not too shabby, huh!

i was browsing through the company's internal job posting yesterday when i saw a vacancy in a group that i think is cool. ok, that didn't sound too technical and/or professional. anyways, that position would offer me an opportunity to get into a project management role while still being involved in the technical side of proceedings. not to mention, a possible promotion (now that is cool!). i actually had a hallway discussion with a guy i know from the group and he encouraged me to apply. my failure analysis experience would be invaluable, he said. i have to admit that the thought has stirred a sense of utter excitement inside. one flip side though, i don't think i'd be traveling to the far east as much as now if i do get into the group. how ahh? it's nice having options sometimes even when they mess with your head a little bit! what do you think?

i'm getting into the habit of sleeping late again (then complaining about not having enough sleep and endless, merciless headaches). like last night.. i was gonna go to bed at 11pm (seriously) until i tuned in to mtv and saw a special on coldplay's new album. heck, they even had a small discography-concert at mtv's nyc times square studio, playing music from their upcoming third album 'x&y'. no reviews from moi so that i don't spoil it for you coldplay fans. then goltv showed a repeat of the south american world cup qualifying match between brazil and paraguay from porto allegre in brazil at midnight. apart from ronaldo, who i understand got 'time-off' from the team, the rest of the who's who of the current crop of brazilian stars were on display. ronaldinho, kaka, robinho, adriano, emerson, ze roberto, belletti, lucio, roque junior, roberto carlos (c), and dida, started the match. i mean, come on, that's almost the world's starting XI for you! true to form, they easily beat paraguay 4-1 and well on their way to germany 2006 for the right to defend the world cup. up next, a titanic battle with argentina! mouth-watering indeed.

okeh-kokeh.. i think i've written enough for 3 entries. hope the day's been kind to you. take it easy and stay safe ya!

alive

i've never realized that my birthdate is exactly one week away from my late brother's birthdate. (mohd. aiman bin omar - june 2nd.). he was the seventh and the youngest among us and he would've been 19 this year. as it stands today, my sister's the youngest one and from what i'm hearing, she's having a blast in plymouth! but she's far from being a demanding, spoilt brat, typical of any youngest child that i've met along my historied life (hehe). and i'm sure adik aiman wouldn't have turned into a spoilt brat too... his many abang's and kakak's would make sure of it hehe!!

and i'm supposed to complete a set of goals for the year's performance review, which is due today (i'm a professional slacker). the company introduced this funky new review system that is so confusing, to me at least. the management has been insisting that it has got little bearing on our performance review and raise, but apparently it has got everything to do with them. we're supposed to key in goals for the fiscal year that would align to goals set by our direct management which in turn align to their management and go all the way up to the executives. it takes a lot of creativity.. something that i've been lacking of for awhile (don't ask why). i'll probably start working on it after logging this entry in. then hopefully i'd wooed my management enough to nominate me for another promotion, and better still, a gigantic pay raise beyond my wildest imagination.

i can't wait to go to singapore! the more i think about it, the anxious i get. i should be hearing something from the product core team about my imminent trip 'home' very, very soon. keep you posted. with the coming weekend, just wanna wish you a great one! stay out of trouble now! ciao!