Finally, the final week.

So, this is the final week of this year schedule to Vietnam. Finally!!! Finally i do not have to work with absent minded engineers, blur faces and somebody who do not understand what i want. Whether i am not clear in asking or they have trouble understanding my request, which i strongly believed is the latter.

What happened today really makes me think it is not my problem at all. We were at a big factory, this factory have few gates and there are few labs located at different gates. At each gate there is security post. After we finished calibrating the machines in the first gate, we went on to the second gate and so happened that it was lunch time. We were not allowed access till the lunch time finished.

So, we were told to wait. As i was not hungry and my back was really aching till the point that i have to walk like a hunchback old man, i decided to wait and asked the engineers to go ahead to lunch. Before that, i requested that I'll wait at the guard post. I talked to the engineer so that he can pass the message to the guard because guards here don't speak or understand English.

He went, talked to the guard and came back to me. He said the guard said cannot wait in the guard house. OK, fair enough, so i will wait outside the guard house. But i had another request, can i borrow a chair as my back was really pain. So he went and talked and came back to me. He said the guard said NO. Well, wtf? NO? OK, i told the engineer to go for lunch, i will stand outside the gate and wait.

After the engineer left and i stood there for few minutes, the guard handed over a chair to me. I don;t understand him but by the gesture, there you go, take the chair and sit outside. Right then, i was thinking, what the hell did the engineer said to the guard and got a NO as an answer?

Apart from this, there are many other cases where the answers you get from these engineers are ridiculous. For example,

1. When i asked them, why do you use the Air Re-freshener to clean the machine?
 They will say, well, it smells good and the customer like it.

2. Can you ask the customer where is the location of the lab?
They will looked at you with blur face and smile and just look around for the lab themselves.

3. You can't knock it that way it will get stuck.
No No No, if no knock cannot come out.
So they went and knock and it got stuck, they will then find other tools to knock it harder, a hammer. And it got stuck harder. Still do not ask for help and keep knocking. I can't just stand there and look, that's what my Malaysian colleague did. So i offered assistance. After i got that thing out, and explained to them why and what went wrong, again, the same blur face and this time a little disagree with my method. Cool huh?

And the list goes on.

I am so glad that this is the final week for Vietnam trip. I don't have to endure the local engineers attitude and behaviour. Also, i do not have to listen to nonsense in the car while travelling. Most of the conversation, lead by my Malaysian colleague, has to be related to some sort sexual activities and vulgar words.

I have never heard so much before and i am going to share it here.

What The F*ck, F*cking idiot, Masturbate, I cum shot Ur face if you don't shut up. Big tit, So Hai, gang bang, penis, blow job, hand job, suck my di*k. Imagine listening to all these words in a conversation, its amazing whats in his fu*king brain. Rite?

So, there are 3 more days and i am free from all these. But one thing i am going to miss here, is the coffee!!! Gonna buy few packets with me this trip.

OK, i am going to continue The Big Bang Theory. I am now at season 5 episode 7. Cheers!

Saigon Revisit

Its been a while again since i got the mood to blog. That's because i am just too bored and tired of watching The Big Bang Theory. Yeah, that's the sitcom i have been watching every time i am in HCMC. I am at Season 4 Episode 3 at the moment.

Just to blog some experience here in HCMC. Every year, for some work related schedule i will be here for about 2 months. Travelling has since bores me, getting here on mondays and leaving on fridays for two months continiously is not fun anymore.

Furthermore, everyone who have been here knows that the traffics is a mess. Not to offend any of my vietnamese friends, but really, its just too packed on the road. The travelling time is then pro-long by the speed limits which is 50km/h. If i am lucky i can hit 60km/h on some other highways. Not that i am driving, the agent here hired drivers to drives me and my colleagues around.

Drivers are very obedience to the traffic law here. So, no matter how my colleagues requested them to drive faster, it is being ignored. Imagine this, everyday, travelled distance is about 50 to 60 km and we have to spend at least 4 hours in the car. Thats boring and the car is not comfy at all. But it is still better than the indonesia car that we travelled in when i was there. No complaint.

I tried to blend in with the culture here but it is just not as easy as i thought it would be. The language barrier is at the ultimate level, at least to me. Ordering a cup of coffee on the street requires some hand signals. And i am getting used of being cut at the throat for a cup of coffee which locals can get it for 10000 VND while i am getting it for 15000 VND or sometimes 20000 VND. Its ok though cos the coffee here is nice!

"There are so many things happening by the road side everyday, so many things to observe" thats what i told my colleague last year when i first came here. Now? i think i seen it all... i mean nearby my hotel. I am staying at District 1. The main district i guess... what i have seen so far are...

1. Ladies carrying a child asking for money with a sad face.
For this, i was drinking the weeks before and this lady came to me, not the first time but most of the time and she asked me for money. Maybe i was on the high side and i handed over 2000 VND... and to my surprise, she looked at me with a mean and angry and mad expression and didn't take the money i handed to her and then just left. Then waitress saw the event and told me that i should not have given the money to her, its like drugs to her, she will be encouraged to continue asking money around. And when i told my friend the next day, she just laughed. She said, if i wanna give, not 2000 VND which doesn't have significant value. But hey, back in my country, beggars just take what is given. :)

2. The man on the bicycle with a home made hand bell made by coke bottle caps loitering in the middle of the nite.
This is actually a prostitute hustler. They will approach you and straight to the point... "You want girls? boom boom? happy massage? cheap cheap, 18 years old, nice boobs, you want i bring to your hotel, look, no good no pay"... WOW! Still i don't get why the word boom boom is used here.

3. Children selling lottery tickets.
They are very persistent and will follow you quite a distance to just sell one ticket. It cost 10000 VND for a chance. Well, i bought some and guess what? i didn't hit the jackpot. LOL

4. The Shampoo Girls.
There are few saloon nearby my hotel. It looked like  a saloon but i guess it is just a covered place for getting special treatments. Why? Cos, they dress is sexy dresses, revealing their curves, their boobs and short enough to see their underwear.. My locals engineers told me that customer can negotiate for boom boom in this kinda saloon.

and many more which i am now getting lazy to type and the Star Movies is playing Scream 4. So i gonna stop here and continue next time...

cheers!

4 years past

It's been four years now. I am missing you grandma. Love you always!

Traffic @ Saigon

Of all the offices for my previous company, Saigon is the only place i have not visited when i was with them. Simply because i left before the Office in Saigon established.

So, this time, with the new company, i am here for the first time. One thing that amazed me, not that i didnt know of, is the traffic! I saw clips on Youtube about how heavy, messy and noisy the traffics here, but it is nothing compare to see it live with my own eyes... AMAZING!

Motocycles are all over the place, it seems that there is a common understanding among motorcyclist that they rules are to keep going the direction that you wanna go and give way if you think you cant make that turn at the junction. Space between motorbikes are as close as shoulder to shoulder and bumper to bumper.
Every space that one could find on the road, it is accesible by motorbike.

The traffic light here takes me a moment to understand on how the orientation works. Say its a Cross Junction, when the light turns green, both side can go straight and turn left at the same time, so just imagine, it will be a swarm of motorbike moving straight and from right to left in both directions... can you imagine? hahaha, try harder...

Crossing the road is not as tough as what i saw on Youtube, one thing to keep in mind is that, don't avoid the bikes, let them avoid you. But mind you this only applies to bikes, not car as what my colleague reminds me. I was crossing the road and a car was coming from my right, i just keep walking but was stopped by my colleague, i asked him why? You told me let them avoid me rather than me avoiding them, he simply replied " True, but only for bikes, you don't do this when you see cars" :)

And everyone seems to like to sound their honk! Honk... Honk Honk... all the time you can hear this sound. Its very annoying but i guess this is one thing that locals used to do while on the jam packed road.

Really, seeing it with my own eyes... its really opened up my eyes when crossing the road here... :)

It was alright till I opened the door...

It was my last day with my previous company, everything went well and we shook hands, wished everyone the best. Packed my stuff and talked to the boss, he wa alright, good mood, smiling and even invited me to come back some time when I am free for coffee.

So I thought everyone was happy, I never burnt the bridge, and leave in as good manner as I could.

But when I was about to leave, my boss, was talking to another colleague, looked at me across those desks and said "hope your new boss is better than MH Tan"

I guess everyone was shocked over his statement or everyone treated it as another sacarstic words utter from his mouth without being processed through his brain? Well, to me it's just another comment from the self thought best in everything egoistic person.

If, you are so good, or the best, explain the 21/24 turnover?

One funny thing, my ex colleague, who was facing me and boss was behind her, show me a funny face Over his statement...

Self praise, do not earn you respect! Thanks for your wish, I am sure there are better bosses out there!

Leaving job...

Few more days to go, i am leaving this company... a company where systems works but didn't really had one since the first day i joined two years ago.

Leaving is not as easy as i thought because i am a kinda person who doesn't like to burn bridges. I preferred a gentle exit as how i first joined.

But few things that pissed me off was i am being ignored in someway. WTF? OK, so now i am no longer involved in any follow up of jobs that i was in charged in. Including the one that has been dragging for few months.

And now the problem is solved. Funny, am i not competent? in a way maybe yes but i did mentioned that i needed support from the principle regarding this issue. And till the day i tendered my resignation, there was no support from the principle at all. Why? Because according to the management, it is not necessary. If every time an engineer cannot solve a problem, and principle is called to support. Why do we need engineers.

Well, in a way yes, thats true, but engineers are also human. And human need to be trained to carried out jobs. With no training, how can one carried out jobs efficiently? OK, some of you guys might think, no training, you still can refer to Service Manual. True, but where the F*CK is the service manual?

And how the problem was solved eventually? It takes one engineer from principle, two engineers from my department and a boss. That how it was solved... talking about efficiency and system.

Its a chain reaction leading to my resignation... i wouldn't take this step if i have enough supports, especially for this one and only machine in Malaysia. One thing lead to another, being labeled as Changineer, no appraisal, no increments, works environment according to your mood and no appreciation.

System Works! It Does, But we don't have one here!

When 21 in and out in 24 months. Something need to be done!

system works...

yeah, i know system works, but where the hell is the system? and what system are we talking about here?
if a system can be modified, change, alter or reshape anytime of day is not a system OK!!!

furthermore if a system can be modified with emotions based decision is still not a system... everyone has to consider your emotion, mood before they do something is not fun at all... remember happy?

so i hope that a system can be finalized or at least the structure is completed soon so that i can follow the system and not emotions. 9.00 to 5.30 is not a short time, so i don't want my emotions is ruin by following a systems that does not works...