Well, the real reason is that I committed to losing 10kg by my next birthday. If I don’t take off the excess weight, I’ll have to hand over a hefty sum in cold hard cash to the missus. The clock’s ticking. It’s already two months in and instead of making any headway, I think I’ve actually gone backwards. Not proud of it, but I’m blaming it on the season holidays and the intermittent vacations.

Anyway, unlike California Fitness which is not as strategically located as it was previously. Gym sessions has dwindled down to a once monthly affair. On the other hand, the Fitness First centre I signed up with is just downstairs from my office. With luck and a little will power, I aim to hit the gym with higher frequency and start chipping away at the excess weight.

Wish me luck…

nataliedee.com

gbyeow:	hi boss
boss:	hi
gbyeow:	i’m resigning
boss:	whoa april fool eh
gbyeow:	lol on a serious note who’s our guy for project XYZ? i saw A’s name for XYZ in the resource plan
boss:	yup it’s him apa on a serious note? :-P
gbyeow:	expect my resignation letter lor
boss:	sure or not
gbyeow:	haha you say leh?
boss:	i’d say no lo
gbyeow:	if you say so
boss:	hmmm so what’s the deal if u’re serious?
Wait 10 minutes
gbyeow:	sorry. interuption where were we?
boss:	u were resigning?
gbyeow:	right.
boss:	and what’s the reason?
gbyeow:	not much fun anymore work getting repetitive
boss:	and why u didn’t come to speak to me sooner? u’re driving/leading change
gbyeow:	sorry. B’s here brb
Wait 10 minutes
gbyeow:	ok. back
boss:	ok gbyeow. as you’re serious about this can u call me on my mobile use one of the discussion rooms
gbyeow:	lol don’t have time la can’t play this. just April Fools too many interruptions it’s no longer fun
boss:	gbyeow .. not funny
gbyeow:	okie. i expect pink slip from you
boss:	which one u want from TNB? from EndahWater?
gbyeow:	erm… pay your own bills
boss:	ok time to get back to work it’s long enough for my heart to be on the floor time to pick it back up

I wonder what would have happened if I had called him up to continue to prank? I was initially trying to convince all my colleagues to tender their resignation. Too bad everyone wasn’t keen on it. No sense of humour?

Have you pranked today? Tell me about it. Maybe I’ll steal your idea for next year.

Anyway, don’t take today too seriously. Happy April Fool’s Day!

Unfortunately for me, the overheat signal glowed an angry red again not five minutes into the journey. I wasn’t even half way back to my parents’ place which was midway between our (WL and mine) new home and the office. I decided that it was best if I got the car checked by my usual mechanic. Since I didn’t know how long it would take, I called my boss to let him know I would work from home.

I dropped by my parents’ place hoping to get my dad to give me a lift from the workshop. The house was deserted. Both my parents were out and I didn’t have the house keys with me! There was nothing left to do but to head on over to the workshop and hope they could fix the car quick enough for me to get back to work.

The good news was that the problem was minor. There was an air pocket in the radiator which was blocking the flow of water. The foremen showed me that parts of the radiator pipes were cold to the touch indicating that the heated fluids were stuck somewhere instead of being routed through. They would need to pump out the air pocket to clear the blockage. They would do it for free. The bad news was that it took an hour, having to to wait for the engine to cool. By the time the car was ready it was already past noon.

I really wasn’t in a mood to head back to the office and I couldn’t get into my house. So I found myself a nice cafe with WiFi connection and worked from there instead. The jalopy is definitely getting old. My dad suggested trading it in for a new car. I don’t know. I’m not sure I want to invest in another car before I buy a property.

Lesson learned. Remember to top off the radiator before each trip to avoid those pesky air pockets.

During my leave of absence, I’d forgotten how horrendous early morning rush hour traffic could be. I’ve also nearly forgotten how to drive. Needless to say, it will be a few days before I get back into the groove of working.

Speaking of which, I was a little worried that I had a job to come back to. I haven’t been keeping up to date with the going ons in the office. Last I heard, someone had gotten a promotion and someone else was leaving. I haven’t seen the boss yet, so I assume he’s on leave. It’s either that or I’m reporting to a different boss now. I think I better go find that out.

Oh yeah! Happy Belated 2008 New Year BTW! Cheers!

At any rate, I’ll be away all that time. While I’ll still have internet access, I very much doubt that I’ll have the time nor interest for updates. So to my two or three readers, forgive my extended leave of absence.

To everyone else, season greetings, happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

If you have browsed the said gallery recently, you would have noticed that the images are from a wedding studio shoot. Since I am in the images, it would invariably imply that I’m getting hitched. I proposed to WL, my companion for oh so many years (I’m sworn to secrecy on the actual number of years), a year back and now things are finally coming together.

For the record, organising a wedding is no simple feat. I’ll be the first to admit that I am inept at the task. Kudos to all you wedding planners and wannabes out there. You’ve got more (proverbial) balls than I do.

I guess I’ve said all there is to be said. Now this Romeo will have to scoot and will probably be away for another month or so. So don’t say you haven’t be told and don’t be surprised.

Spent slightly more than an hour in traffic this morning. It reminded me why I usually choose to leave the house later. Over the years, I’ve realised that the there is little point to commute during rush hour. It’s either you get up very early for work or leave your house real late. There is little point in taking the middle ground.

The nice thing about commuting in the morning is that you practically own the road since there are fewer users. The air is also fresher for that reason. A leisurely drive to the office in the wee hours may take less than 15 minutes of the usual hour. The drive is often stress free, unless you meet some idiot who’s still half asleep.

The down side is that you’ll reach the office way too early to start work. Think about it. You’re leaving earlier and the drive is shorter. So if you leave an hour earlier than usual and the drive takes 45 minutes less, you’ll be arriving at the office nearly 2 hours earlier! If you work 9 to 5, you’ll be at your cubicle by 7am.

Despite popular belief, getting to work early does not mean starting work early. There is a difference. You usually only ever start working as early as the last person to get into the office. Or at least that’s the observation from my previous job. They tell me that I’m the marker for when they start work since I’m usually one of the later ones to get in. I don’t blame them. If you’re getting into the office at seven every morning, chances are, you’ll be snoozing too.

Leaving after rush hour will yield slightly less in terms of time saved in the commute. It will take half the time. That means an hour’s drive will be over in 30 minutes. The downside is that the sun is up and there are a lot more motorists on the road.

Estimated time of arrival at the office follows the same rules as before, except applied in reverse. If you leave an hour later to avoid the traffic and the commute time takes 30 minutes, you’ll arrive an hour and a half later. If you’re usually in the office by nine, you’ll now be getting in at 10.30am. That isn’t a good time to arrive either since you’ll end up idling for two hours before heading off for lunch.

I think by far the best plan is to save yourself the pain and simply not work. How? Now if I knew that, I wouldn’t have been stuck in the traffic for an hour this morning, would I?

- Paul Potts Sings Opera -

Paul Potts has since gone on to release an amazing mixed language album titled One Chance. The album contains 10 songs in English and Italian:

1. Nessun Dorma
2. Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirt)
3. Amapola
4. Everybody Hurts (Ognuno Soffre)
5. Caruso
6. Nella Fantasia
7. You Raise Me Up (Por Ti Sere)
8. My Way (A Mi Manera)
9. Cavatina
10. Music Of The Night

Each and every one of them is incredible. Switch it on at high volume and just let the sounds wash over you. While I don’t understand Italiano, they never fail to cause a shiver down the spine and bring on the goose bumps. Especially when this amazing guy hits the big big big notes.

Cartoonist: Don’t Jump To Conclussions

Original video clip and more are available from Charges.com.br

I’m sure you’ll do a double take the next time you see a cartoon or comic strip. Still think it’s all innocent fun? You tell me.

The temptation is growing. I have a few tokens left over from my last visit to the arcade and now’s as good a time as any to spend them to brush up my shooting accuracy. With the long Nuzul Al-Quran weekend coming along, my colleagues and I are planning a Sunday Shootout for some good old competition on the shooting games. We’ll be hitting the Time Crisis 4 and House of the Dead 4 machines.

The kiasu side of me doesn’t want to lose, so I’ll have to scrape the rust before then. My accuracy rate has been holding steady at 40%+ over the last few visits but some of my colleagues are talking smack and boasting of 50% to 60%+ accuracy. That’s just godlike in my books.

That’s it. I’m going home.