Nation’s Shame

As Part of my work commitment I am now traveling quiet frequently from Singapore to Malaysia and gotto stay in different hotels. So far the experience was not so exciting being in Kualalampur and the main reason being the Errant Taxi drivers.

Eye wash message (Drivers never cared this)

I always use the Taxis or Office shuttles to commute from hotel to office to hotel back and every time I get unique experience. Some of the taxi drivers are quiet generous and honest when they charge. Believe it or not, last week I happen to stay in a hotel close to the office and I paid taxi charge from 3 Ringgits to 15 Ringgits at different times. When I try to wait for the rite person, I am the looser (loosing money and time) ahhh !!!

This week was the ultimate experience. The hotel I stay is quiet far and I had 2 incidents nudging me to quit the country as soon.

Incident 1:

I need to go to hotel from office. None of the call taxis are ready to go there and so I have to take a round tour. So, I called a taxi that goes to KL Central (which is like a center hub where any one would agree to go) thinking I can get another taxi to my hotel from there as they got prepaid taxi counter over there. Once I got in to the taxi, I just wanted to try my luck if the taxi driver agrees to go the hotel straight but he pretended that he don’t know English and so I kept simple English communication to make him understand that I need to go hotel. He refused with a plain ‘No’ insisting that he got the call only to KL Central. ‘Fine’, I said gesturing to go ahead to KLC. On the way the driver asked me ‘You want to go Jalan Ampang (the hotel place)’. I said ‘Yes’….’Can you ?’ I asked him with curiosity. He didn’t answer and kept thinking. I thought no point in askng him and I din bother to make any more attempts. We reached KL Central. When I was about to get down, the taxi driver sed ‘You want to go Jln. Ampng. ?’ … I was surprised ‘Why the hell he is asking now’… I have to get another taxi anyway so I told him ‘Yes’. He then left me in the hotel. Later realized that this guy wanted to make money by touring around the place with me. Such a prick who irritated me a lot with his so called smart behaviour (saala Kaamchor !!!)

Incident 2:

Yesterday again I wanted to go back to hotel from office. This time I got our office shuttle to reach KL central as I have no choice. Again from KL central I went further to Indian eat outs to have my dinner. Again I was waiting for a taxi for a long time. At last, I got one. The driver was a old Chinese. I asked him 'Jln. Ampang ?' and he said 'yes'. I felt lucky and got inside. All I saw in the vehicle is a motor and 4 wheels. It’s a total crap and the car is in a pathetic condition. ’25 Ringgits’ he said and I was shocked as the destination wont be worth of 5 Ringgits. I said ‘Its too much I give u 10 ringgits’. He was angry as if he is the only driverin whole country. ‘Give me 20 Ringgits .. most of the straight roads are closed and I have to go around’…since there was heavy down pour and I am extremely tired, I said ‘ok go on.. but, you give recipt right ?’ I asked back.. ‘Yes, no problem’, he replied and kept driving.. as I expected, there was no road closing.. infact he took the shortest route to reach soon…I thought doesn’t matter as I can claim this from my company with the recipt…. I askd for recipt and that so called smart cheat gave me a folded ‘House rent recipt’ thinking I wont notice. AS he folded the doubt sparked and I happened to chk to confirm he is fooling around. I asked him to give me the taxi recipt and he refused telling ‘This is all I got’….A***le !!! I got pissed off… argued with him with vain… I even threatened him that I will call police and he just din give a damn on that… I was helpless (I was cornered) ;) and got out with complete disappointment…. Thinking arguing anymore is like mud wrestling with pig…..

I then researched on the taxis in Malaysia and I found that it is one of the worst taxi lots country. The country is beautiful and the places are lovely but taxi drivers are the key locals who are turning the impression to other way (specially with the tourists and expats)… So friends, bear in mind if you happen to visit KL. Beware of Taxi touts and also be aware that you cant do anything about it as n number of complaints already registered and the govt. very well knows the situation and never bothered to change this pathetic 'Nation’s Shame' image.

Hey Saala !!!

‘Hi Vasanth, Welcome to the Performance appraisal meeting’, the manager greeted his next team member. ‘Hi Vas’, the lead gave a crocodile smile (u got any idea what a crocodile smile ??? just refer to my friend Prashanth’s JR blog in my favourite links) ‘Hi Narendar (Manager), Hi Chander (Lead)’ Vas. accepted and returned the same.

‘Ok, here we go’, the manager on his sarcastic voice. ‘Lets discuss on the projects and responsibilities that you have taken for the whole last year’, the usual dialogue he sez in all the appraisals to all the members. Vas(anth) was quiet worried this time coz he went under severe tough year as he had few health related problems, got married and inspite of that he managed to deliver what he could. He had good review last time and won accolades. However, the management haven’t offered much monetary benefits as the company haven’t collected big revenue previous year. This year was ok in terms of overall revenue and no wonder Vas is expecting a good returns.

The talk went on for 30 mins or so where Vas explained almost everything he did for the whole year and then concluded like this. ‘Naren, I feel that I was not best of my potential due to personal problems however I don’t think it was a bad year looking at the work , facts and figures. So, I hope this year I would get back to my best’

‘That’s good’, Naren again with his sarcastic voice. ‘Chander, your comments on Vas?’ he ordered. Immediate reaction from Chander like a dog wags his tail when the owner throws a biscuit. (I think the above sentence is appropriate as Vas hates Chander for some reason due to work and other personal issues. Apparently, the author (me) scripting the story with Vas. As the hero. ; ) so its ok to project Chander as baddie) ‘Naren, ya Vas did a great job but as he said he was not at his best and for me he haven’t met my expectations’, even chander was sarcastic this time. Vas was a bit shocked as he never expected such a chilli coated sentence straight away which almost sounded like a paradox (means first part of the sentence contradicts with second part). ‘A*****e’ Vas murmered deep inside. ‘Why the hell he is talking like this ?’ thousand questions inside Vas.

‘I am sorry’ , Vas interrupted. ‘The figures are correct, the customers are happy, most of the projects went fine except few hiccups’ Vas told in a disturbed tone. ‘I know but these projects haven’t been on time’, he displayed a paper printed with those worst moments he had with the work. ‘But these are only 10% of the work I did during the whole year’ , Vas mind voice speaking to himself. However, he kept silent as he thought arguing with superiors are like mud wrestling with pig (means at the end u will be dirty and the pig would have enjoyed the fight)

‘So I think Vas haven’t met expectations’, Chander continued. ‘Why the hell should I bother about his expectations.. I did my work fair enough’ again Vass’ mind voice. ‘In that case I can give him a rating of 5/10 as he also managed to deliver few. Vas was angry ‘Why Why Why should I get only 5 for the 10% of the work I did messed up’ All the time he was quiet in front of the others to know their final call. ‘Yes, Naren I guess 5/10 is apt’ , Chander agreed with Naren.

Few more formality talks but the end result was clear to Vas. Not a pleasant talk for him. Too many things happening in his mind. Why the F**K this Chander behaves so strange in front of the manager ? Is he being hypocratic to save money to the cost center or is he trying to build a profile for himself at the cost of my dignity ?’ Vas tension increased. ‘I need to think… Think Vas… Think… I cant take this… no way…’

The above scene is not so uncommon. Many Soft Engineer faces this. Inspite of good work they still don’t get the recognition and benefits they deserve. How we react to this ?

Angry man’s approach (Rather F***D up dude’s approach):
Normally stay quiet. Come out and search for other company and put the papers soon as he could as there is no point in staying back to prove his worth whole year which mite again get messed up due to 10% errors which is not sure too.

Wise man’s approach (I can still take more S***T):
Take the feed back in positive manner and work harder forgetting family and friends and social life to erase even that 10%. Try and organize team outings, butter manager/lead, laugh for sick jokes of superiors, spend time often with team in coffee corners even though you hate them… All for a better appraisal.

Ok. Lets forget the above and go to an imaginary reaction that every one loves Vas to react in the end of the same meeting. Lets continue the Scene……

’10 minutes left Mr. Vasanth, Any questions/comment from your side’, Manager once again showing his attitude with the commanding sentence. Vasanth was on the edge of his seat until that time and got himself relaxed. Moved back to occupy the complete chair. Leaned back. Gave a slow rotataion to his shoulder. Raised his chest a bit and lowered again. Stretched his arm so that every one in the room heard his knuckles breaking sound. Once again breaking his neck-knuckles by agitating his head. ‘So’, he sounded like a Vice president of the department. ‘Its all decided by now I guess’, Vasanth commented with a smiling face.

Naren and Chander showed a puzzled face as if they peed in their pants. ‘Hmmm’ Vas didn’t bothere about their reaction. ‘I can see Mr. Chander took some pain in drafting a paper on How to S**T with me’, Vas. Never bothered about his language. ‘Vas, I guess you gotto mind your language’, Chander reacted angrily. ‘I know what I am talking Chander, After all you want to make this whole meet as a formality when you both have decided on what to feed me’, Vas. Was organized when he said this. ‘Feed you ?’, Manager was showing puzzled face again. ‘Ofcourse, the peanuts you gonna feed me just because I messed up a bit and you gonna blow this as if I got your whole business down’

‘No.. No Vas, that was not the intention’, This time Naren was lowering his voice. However, Chandar still pretending to be an angry man as if he was insulted. ‘Your intention my foot. Now listen, I don’t care your intentions here. My opinion is straight forward. You don’t care me and I don’t care you I mean the company’, Vas yelled. ‘Vas, I guess you are crossing your limit’, Chander interrupted as if he is Naren’s boss. ‘Hey my friend, I guess your job is done for this meet up and thank you for your so called observation and analysis. Now, let me talk to the manager while you can keep quiet or leave the room’, Vas. Really enjoying the situation. Chander wasn’t sure on how to react. He was just sitting dumb with confused look.

‘Ok, Naren let me tell you what. You guys are real losers. I might be harsh but you guys deserves this and I don’t care if you escalate this to take action against me’, Vas on top of his voice. ‘Why you say that ? You can take this in a positive way to work better and show your potential’, Naren tried to convince Vas. ‘Positive huh’, Vas smiled again calmly ‘You mean just accept what ever you say with a f***g smile on my face go back and hope that I get my straw berries atleast next year.. My A*S’, Vas angry again. ‘I think you need a coffee, may be we can discuss about your concerns later’, Naren was diplomatic again as if he face 1 million situations like these. ‘Concerns ??? does that have a value here ? Listen Gentlemen do you think am still gonna chase you wasting my time to get what I deserve in a place of professionals with fulla attitude ? you got it all wrong my dear colleagues’ Now Vas. Is enjoying it doesn’t he ?

‘What do you think you are up to ?’, Naren trying to calm things and Chander showing worried face all this time. ‘What else ? Consider this meetin as notice to my resignation. Reason: Non professional attitude by Lead and Manager. I am ready to talk to any one any time on this and further I don’t want to discuss with you guys’. Naren was quiet all these time Bursted out saying ‘Fine. If that is your decision we can not stop you’. ‘I bet you cant. I would prefer changing the field altogether than working under morons like you guys’ Vas exited with a Crocodile smile on his face.

Hope you enjoyed the above hypothetical second part of the post ; ) Now, don’t ask me what made you to write this… Where you one of the victims and bla bla bla….

Hey… Guess why I chose this title for this post ???? nothing la, I was just listening to the Ajith’s latest movie song ‘Hey Saala’ (the one playing in this page) and I thought that will be apt. C ya in next post : ) Now listen to the song again before you click CANCEL.

F1 Fever

All i know about F1 is its just a 'Help' Key and nothing else but now i got to know further more. I never ever followed any F1 races until the one I watched in Singapore. Initially this whole sport is an absurd to me as lots of money are wasted than most of the sports in the world. However, in the recent First ever F1 Street night racing changed my intentions. It has actually turned out to be a treat to watch.

The Track:

Its no special reserved track. Its just the normal public road which I almost use everyday to commute to my office. I was amazed to see the government well organized and worked on their toes to construct the whole track and got it ready with in such a short period. There was around 150M spent on the whole event and the govt. claims it as ‘Well spent money’ as it has drawed the whole world’s attention to the Singapore tourism. The Singaporeans don’t complain on the problems caused of this to the normal traffic and they are totally proud to be the new host for the F1 spree. For me, what excited me was the view of the track from my office and for the first time I saw a car going around 280kmph live jus few yards away.

The players:

Until that point I never followed any races or know about any players. All I heard was these 2 chaps Felippe Massa and Lewis Hamilton are competing each other for the top spot and this race is gonna be crucial. Then I slowly started to observe the actual rules of the game and all. Though I haven’t completely got, I can still manage to enjoy with what I know.

The Race day:

I haven’t planned to get a ticket and when I thought I want to, the tickets are sold out. I left with no choice but to watch from home. It was still exciting 1.5 hours with all dramatic scenes happening. For this particular track the pole positions was considered as key factor and according to that Massa supposed to be there finishing the formalities for his competence. The crash of Piquet which got the safety car in changed everything. Further, to rub salts on the Ferrari wounds,

- Massa taken off from pitstop before the refueling person took his pipe off from the tank resulting in additional 10 secs penalty

- Kimi Reikonnen of Ferrari team who had a good lead messed up in last 10 mins resulting in no points to Ferrari team which unfortunately pulled them down to 2nd rank with 1 point difference with Mclaren-Mercedez.

Lewis Hamilton can still be happy as he showed some character and managed to stay top in the ranking even though he finished 3rd. His main competitor was Massa who had a worst nightmare that Sunday.

I am now excited and looking forward to watch the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix this Sunday. As of now, I am still not a fan of any particular player but the Hamilton and Roseberg’s skills was impressive looking at their consistency for all the 61 laps. You can check http://www.f1.com/ for updates on F1. Further more I am quiet happy that I got one another interesting sport to follow from now on ; )

Sony H50

Ok. Finally !!! I got it… The camera that I was waiting for… The brand new Sony H50. I was so damn waiting for it and finally got it… I already know its amazing features and this semi professional camera is just the perfect one I wanted….



Here are some pics taken from it right away on my first family vacation to Malaysia

The lovely street on Putrajay town (Malaysia's Legislative capital)

How is it?

The cool Genting Cable Car (Must visit one)

Another view of 1 million Ringgit Tamil Lord

Array of other gods in the temple

Mind blowing Kualalampur view from KL Communication Tower