Smarting Jack

SMART: Build nice hotels in and around Putrajaya.

SMARTER: Build nice state-of-art convention centre in Putrajaya.

SMARTEST: Hold meeting in said convention centre. Host participants in hotels in KL and close major roads at peak hours so the most-honored participants can travel to meeting in time.

Jack Track

Jack spends the weekend at the race track, for the Hong Kong Classic Car series. The boys got down and dirty while I sat amongst the towers of tyres doing what I always do on weekends - reading. =)

Crawl, Jack, crawl

Mileage : 36777

Home - KL stats :

Home - NKVE - Jln Duta - Jln Parlimen - Jln Kinabalu - Office [30 km, RM2.60]
Office - Jln Kinabalu - Federal Highway - NPE - Home [22 km, RM3.60]
Office - Jln Kinabalu - Federal Highway - Home [21 km, RM0.00]
Office - Jln Parlimen - LDP - NKVE - Home [26 km, RM1.00]

When you spend so much time stuck in your car daily you'd come up with ways to pass the time too. I'm an avid mileage meter reader now. Sigh.

Jack Optimax

Jack makes a few trips to Optimax at TTDI these past few days as I get my eyes fixed. I'm typing this post through newly lasered eyes, AND without any optical help. No glasses, no contact lenses. =D

This morning I woke up to my life long dream of waking up and SEEING without having to first reach for my glasses. =D

So how was it? The first visit to Optimax was for a 2 hour eye examination. I went through about 7 eye test machines as they tested for sight, cornea thickness, refractiveness, acuity, etc etc. After confirming on suitability (25% of patients get turned down for unsuitability, for example too thin corneas) and degree of short-sightness and astigmatism, I went back with blurred vision from the pupil-dilating drops they administered for the test.

Second trip...

Surgery day. Register, get pupils dilated for surgery and dressed in hospital gowns (very classy one, got cloth cuffs. Fuyoo). The nurse explained the after-care routine, then the doctor personally sat with each patient and talked about the upcoming procedure. I remember one line he said - "If you hear any zzz zzz sound ignore it, thats the laser doing its work. If you smell barbecue, ignore it, thats the laser..."

I was not nervous at all going into surgery, after all its a 30 minute procedure and I'm getting my eyesight (!!!). The three hours leading up to the actual surgery was a tad boring, especially with a fellow patient yapping away with anxiety beside me. Then it came my turn. Yeahoo, I thought..

The first thing the doctor does before we go into surgery is mark two dots in each eye, with a blue marker. That totally freaked me out. How come in the gazillions of counselling and information they provided they failed to mention this? Since I shrank back (come on, he's touching the eye with a marker!!) and the marks he made were not visible enough, he had to do it again and touched up the marks in my eyes twice. EEeeuuwwww.

Then we go into the surgery room and the procedure begins. During surgery a ring is fixed around the eye so you can't move it; then the cornea top is sliced open, lifted, the laser applied, and the cornea top put back in place, smoothed down and that it.




While the surgery is under way there is a lot of bright lights hovering over the eye, and the first instict is to blink, right? The ring over the eye prevents this, and although I was desperate to close my eyes agaisnt the lights invasion I can't. At that point of time I remember feeling extremely extremely horrified. That feeling I'm not keen on going through ever again.

Then the cornea slicing part. Haha the thing is you're awake throughout the procedure, and you have to maintian your eye looking at a given guiding light. So.. you get to SEE you cornea lifted, SEE it returned to position, SEE the doctor smooth it down with whatever instrument that is. Damn geli. Eeeee. My hands are going weak just typing this out. Eeeee...

If you're thinking to laser your eyes (Sorry Juon I hope this didn't scare you), go for it. The results are worth it. But be prepared lah, don't be hero like me. It's not a walk in the park, its shit scary actually. :p

* Thanks to the current wave of O% credit card installment that made this surgery possible.

KL KL KL Jack

Mileage : 34875 km

Jack and me gets a lifestyle change. Earlier mornings, new routes, more walkings (me) and more sun (Jack). I'm now based in KL and currently surviving the change, with a LOT of complaints. Sigh.

Foiled!!

Jack goes back late from office, waiting as we (my specially gifted colleagues and me) work into the night completing our very special project.

If you work in my office, it is not advisable to turn your back on your evil scheming colleagues; especially if it is your birthday. Otherwise you may get this:

Microsoft Jack

Mileage: 34512 km

Jack goes to Sime Darby Convention Centre (huh? haha yes I didn't know this existed either) for Microsoft's ISV Summit 2006. It was the usual subtle Microsoft propaganda, well-done as usual.

Matthew Hardman presenting Windows Presentation Foundation

Special Note: Aaron Tan Dani is an exceptional speaker. If you attend any MS events in the future lookout and try a topic by him. He's got the experience + that special something that makes his talks extremely alive and interesting.

How is the seminar? many has asked. If you're a work-related person I'll give you the standard 'OK, some good presentations on new products' answer. On a more personal note I've achieved my main objectives in attending the event.

1) Meet people aka Build Bridges
I was a bit disappointed to discover my ex-company no longer runs the event, they lost the contract to another events suite. I was looking forward to meeting the old bunch, but another day/event then.

I met some ex-colleagues and some ex-schoolmates, so we traded stories and work-situations as usual. Completely bored waiting for the event to start, I struck up some conversation with some equally bored-looking persons. More stories and work-situations. Ha, now I have friend in the online banking system business.

2) Catch up aka Staying Current
Good to know the newest things around, since IT is a business that goes out of date very fast. Got a good look at Microsoft latest newest freshest developer tools.

I was quite curios about the Microsoft Team Systems, having come across this many times in stalking that blond-haired demigod of my past. (Hehehe. An obsession is hard to rid of). Now I know that Team Systems is the best integrated software development platform to build the mission-critical applications that businesses depend on. It combines powerful new role-based tools, customizable processes and guidance and an integrated server to help teams drive predictability, visibility, and control into their software development process.

3) Learn new things
I learnt... to make sure to remember the floor you parked your car at. I remembered the location but forgot to note the floor. Had a fun time visiting all 3 levels of car-park looking for Jack. Thank goodness there's only 3 floors overall!

Service Jack

Jack spends the day at the mechanic while I mope at home nursing an inflamed eyeball writhing with conjuctivitis. (Sucks to be mc-able sick on Saturday AND Sunday)

I want new eyes!! Since these are not readily available on the market, I had to console myself by getting Jack new tyres instead. His back tyres were in pretty bad shape, exhausted on one side each. They were causing quite a racket (anyone riding in the back seat of Jack can tell) so its time to get some new wheels, figuratively. At RM194 per piece, Jack left me quite broke.

Service Bill
Engine Oil RM 85
Oil Filter RM 18
Labour Free (friend friend ma)
Filter and Complete Check RM 12
2 Tyres RM388
2 Tubeless Valves RM 10
Wheel Balancing RM 10
Alignment RM25

Total - a wallet-emptying RM548

Vacated Jack

Jack stays at home while I go off for a 4-day vacation around Kota Kinabalu, with a choice bunch of colleagues. Bliss....
(We emptied half the office btw - teehee).

1) One day in gallivanting around KK town.

2) One day shivering in the mountains at Kinabalu National Park.
3) One day salting and burning in Pulau Manukan.

*natives will notice there is something really wrong with the first pic.

Jack?

Mileage: 34005 km

What's this long awful silence??!! Either Jack (and me) is too busy enjoying life to have the time to blog, or having a no-life too dull to blog about.

KL commute Jack

Jack experiments what working in and traveling to KL entails. Sooner or later (sooner, more likely) we're getting displaced to KL office, seeing that the benevolent company has bought a whole building, so this Monday we took a trial run exploring the option of taking Star LRT to work.

I'm pampered. I hardly ever take public transport (unless you count airplanes). The prospect of taking public transport daily to work is something new and not at all exciting. Much as I prefer driving (ah - the personal space), I'd rather keep my blood vessels intact than drive out of USJ in the mornings.

Trashycan has outlined the available options of getting to work in KL from Subang. This is the route Jack and me tried.

7.20am leave home
7.50 reach Star LRT Bukit Jalil. Actually I didn't realize until I was at the station platform that I was actually lost. I meant to reach Star LRT Sri Petaling station. =P.
8.02 Finish U-turn, leave Jack in open-air parking (RM 1.50 per day), walk across big drain to station, zap TouchNGo and wait at platform.
8.25 Reach station Sultan Ismail.
8.26 Got scared by the rush of people hurrying out of the station. What's the emergency? All the otherwise wonderfully dressed people were rushing head forward, legs trying to desperately catch up. Like chickens running across the street hahaha.
8.27 Finish gaping at the chickens running across the road. Begin walking to office. Getting acquainted with dirty diesel-ly KL air.
8.40-ish Reach office.

Not a bad daily commute. The traveling time can be cut down quite some, since I not that familiar yet.
Not bad, leave at 7.20am daily as opposed to currently leave at 8.20am...

Malacca Jack

Jacks goes down to Malacca for the weekend, for Lou Peng's wedding.
We bunked in with Anah for this trip - Thanks Anah!


Having had a relatively tiring week, I had expected to be wasted and tired and moody by Sunday. With a KLIA trip on Friday evening, another KLIA trip on Saturday morning, after which I drove back to Subang then on to getting stuck in Sunway jam (construction, construction) in the ghastly afternoon heat and THEN drive down to Malacca... I was expecting to be tired and was a bit afraid of being bad company.

But the drive to Malacca is awesome. GRIN. Once past Seremban it is a pleasure to drive drive drive. Jack and me had a fun time cruising along on the nice road, taking in the beatiful scenery. I agree with Anah, once past Seremban the scenery turns very pretty. Having promised Car-man I won't take Jack pass 130 km/h, we kept a steady speed and it still was a beatiful beautiful drive.

Haha, plus we discovered Malacca is not that far after all.
Satay celup within reach. Woohoo.

I meantioned I expected a tiring weekend rite? I hadn't expected the place I was sleeping over at. I've been to Anah's house pre-renovation and during renovation, but the post-renovation home is - wahliao. I left the house and Malacca extremely calmed and rejuvenated - take a look at these pics to see why.

Once again, Thank you Anah!

Jack up the petrol price

This blog is running for just a year and already there were two posts on petrol price increase, a 10 sen jump on May 5th '05 and another 10 sen jump on August 4th '05

Now we have a third jump at 30 sen to 1.92 sen.
30 sen.

There's not much to say that's not already been said, no?

Haha...

Jack's colleague get's a sticky prank on his master's last day of service at my workplace.

Jack Around

Jack's been out out out so there was not much time to blog. Here's the short excerpts on what he's been up to.

1) MPH Sale
Jack brings me and Anah (yippee I got her to come down from Malacca) to empty our wallets at the annual MPH Warehouse sale. Jack then had to lug back our stacks of purchases teeheehee.

2) Ikea
Jack visits Ikea with me and Anah. Then Jack had to lug back that absurd thing we both bought teeheehee.

3) NUPW Hall
Jack checks out NUPW Hall for wedding venue. Me and Car-man got a proper tour of the place and people running them, so this is where we're going to tie the knot. Yippee.

4) Bugs
Jack drives head-on, full-speed into a swarm of bugs and thwacked them all. Jack got a screen full of disgusting semi-liquid splotches. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

5) Kuantan
Jack takes a day-trip to Kuantan for the wedding dinner of Car-man's colleague. His colleague, an Aussie, got a duo of musicians performing folk tunes with guitar and banjo and accordion. Funky.

6) KLIA
Jack goes to that place again, this time to get my parents. Together! They were actually kind enough to come down in the same day and same flight this time. Hallelujah.

JACK TURNS ONE!!

Mileage : 28088 km

Jack turns one today. Congrats! All four wheels intact, body slightly dented but still able. Cheers! Here to long life and health (please don't deteriorate into a write-off before I finish paying for you in the next four years). Cheers! Only 8000 km above the standard mileage average of 20k km a year!

Jack's in a bit of a spot though. I've collected his new road tax yesterday but forgot to paste in on.. Oops. Jack will be creeping around silently with his dead road-tax today. Ssssshhh...

Errand-Monday Jack

Monday. Jack and me do what we usually do on Mondays - run around doing errands that can only be done during certain hours because everybody works the same days and times. Lunch-time errands is out for us Cyberians (there is nothing in Cyberjaya). This Monday, among other things Jack went to check out two more halls for wedding venue.

We have a hall booked but due to certain reasons we're looking at some alternatives. Don't ask, I won't answer. So this Monday Jack went to Thean Hou Temple at Jalan Syed Putra and MPPJ's D'Klana Hall.

The D'Klana Hall was abuzz with activity when Jack and me stopped for a viewing. They were setting up the place for the upcoming MPH warehouse sale. Boxes and boxes of books sprawled acroos the hall while the staff unpacked and got them on the shelves. Eeeeeee...... It was a lot of work ignoring the excitement buzzing in my pores (ok. yes. I'll never be a poet) and actually notice the hall.

What was more disturbing than the stacks of books was the atmosphere. Pre-event setup. So much activity, staff in t-shirts running about co-ordinating. Beyond that I saw the long-hours on the feet, the tapao lunches, the actual event day of people people people. The smile smile smile for the crowd and the 'can you believe this guy' at end-day. The teardown after event, demolish and pack and post-mortem back at office. Sigh...I miss doing events.

Different combinations of eyes nose mouths, different temperaments. Beats the different snippets of code code code I'm seeing daily now. But would I trade back? Haha.. the grass is always greener on the other side.

Anyway this Monday ends. This will be our next to last errand-Monday, I'm back to full-week work next week. Well that's a trade-off, and I hope it is a good choice.

Valentine Jack

I love you too...

Taxing Jack

Jack is approaching his birthday, so its time to cough up cash to keep him legally on the road.

Getting his insurance and road tax renewed was an unexpected adventure. Previously for Baby Knacil was a straight-forward process - on road-tax-die day go Kurnia renew insurance, then go Post office renew road tax. Done in 2 hours or less. Simple.

Jack just had to be difficult. For a start his birthcert is with the creditors, which means I can't renew his road tax directly. Usually insurance companies can liase with the banks to do this for you, so that one less headache BUT....

I renewed Jack's insurance at a branch of P&O Orient in Taipan. Service is excellent, the sole lady in the office is from a past generation of cheerfullness and politeness. It's like conversing with a teacher from those days. She regretfully informed me that since Jack's birthcert is with his creditors in another state therefore they will not be able to help liase with the bank on the road tax. Hai. She was very kindly, giving specific people and things to do to get things done at the creditors branch down the road.

Jack's extra-steps process - one week earlier go to P&O Orient renew insurance, tehn go to creditor branch get road tax renewed (remember to mention inter-branch transaction), then one week later go collect road tax. A bit less simple.

Jack just had to be extra difficult. It turns out the company who dealt with Baby Kancil/Jack trade-off botched some things. Jack's road tax expires on February, but his insurance expires in May (???. I also don't know. Tu lah, tak check). This mismatch is bad because your road tax and insurance MUST match, so the alternative was to extend Jack's insurance 3 months and renew road tax for 6 months so they both are due for renewal in August. Canggih.

Then in August there will be a repeatorama of this process, will less one hassle of mismatched documents. Hai. Another thing, after holding the insurance policy thus far, I just noticed that my address was recorded wrongly. House number 55 instead of 58. Goodness.. so folks, forget the fine print. Remember to read the whole bloody thing.

Ka-ching!
Insurance extension : RM 335.47
Road Tax : RM 63
Road Tax Processing Fee : RM 10
Road Tax Inter-branch courier : RM 5

Jack's Perak Tour

Some photos from Jack's CNY dash across Perak.
All photos taken outside relatives's homes,
whom kindly hosted Jack and passengers.

Sitiawan

Taiping

Ipoh