Just a Load of Blahs

It’s been too long since the last update. I guess I made another trip the the land of Flat-Toners where I have nothing to say and experienced a complete “system shutdown” in so far as my blogging is concerned!

Oh, speaking about being a Flat-Toner, I have to inform, especially to those who know me but have not seen the real Flat-Toner in me, that I spoke to a friend (a blogger) a few weeks back. There I was trying my best to keep the Flat-Toner me at bay, when barely 10 minutes into the conversation she stopped me mid-sentence and said, “Anedra, you ARE a flat-toner!!!” Aiseh…so much for trying aye?? Honestly, I thought I was on top form, meaning not flat-toned, trying to vary my tones and all…and I was beginning to think I was doing it well, but alas, she saw right through me! Nasib baik she’s one blogger that I sayang and all..kalau tak..!!

SO, what have I been up to this week?? A lot. Work wise that is. It’s really funny how work tends to pile up at year end, when things should be slowing down and we should be wrapping up our year’s worth of work. Instead, for the past few days where I claimed to be spaced out in the Land of Flat Toners, I have found myself in one too many negotiation meetings and swamped with preparing what seemed like a never ending pile of proposals. I wish I could tell our clients to give us a break, and also send the same message to our management. After all, the last time I checked, we’re not machines plus Raya is just around the corner!

Oh, oh…and just to share this is what was said in the meetings with our Clients yesterday.

Us : You guys asyik nak potong aja. (In relation to cutting our proposed price for a job)
Client : Of courselah, nak kawin kenalah sunat dulu. Kan??

I’ll remember to use this line someday with our contractors!

Anyway, I have also decided to finally send some of the guys from my department off to highseas. They were supposed to go earlier, but couldn't. They will be leaving soon, one at a time, and again I’ll be handicapped at the office. Bodoh ke tak? But anyways, it’s an exposure they need. Had things been different, I would have gone too. It’s been a long time since I went and there is still so much to learn.

that's me on one of the first trips in my orange Ultraman suit!

I remember the first time that I went. Mom was not too happy about it, what with knowing that I’d be the only female in a vessel of 265 other men in the middle of the South China Sea. But she really did not have much say in the matter, as I had made up my mind, and of course, it was work anyway. The trip, at that time, was an 8 hour bumpy speed boat ride to our site. Some of the guys with me spent half their time by the side of the boat puking their guts away. Minah sorang ni (ehem..that’s me) maintain je. Made of steel (ok lah let me masuk bakul and angkat sendiri on this one ok?)..must have been the nasi kawah at Tun Fatimah that made me like that.

In what we do, we often don’t see the hardship the crew go through just to get the work done. All we do in the office is complain, that our guys don’t know how to work efficiently, this lah that lah. Once you are with them you know, that the guys work their *sses off day and night, sweating and toiling just to get their day's worth of wages. And it cannot be easy being away from their families 60-90 days continuously, stuck in a vessel in the middle of nowhere with some other men they probably don’t even like, without much entertainment apart from the VCDs we send them monthly (don't ask what sort of movies ok!). And for this month, Ramadhan, things can’t get any easier for them.

That’s what I wanted the guys to see, apart from getting to know the technical part of the work. I want them to not take things for granted, and see the real people behind the work, the ones that make things happen. Not just see the fancy high and mighty, "I am God", hoity toity head office banter, where people criticize sometimes beyond reasonableness.

Actually, I also sent them just to torture them a bit!!! . One is possibly going over Raya! Haha!! No lah, there’s a better and less cruel reason for this. But he took it well, still very gung-ho. He’s new you see.

So, that’s that, and there you have my so not happening week.

Oh, I also flipped some old albums just now and looked at my honeymoon pictures. My heart skipped a zillion beats and I almost went into cardiac arrest. I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT! But this, I shall blog about later. In the meantime, to nurse my depression, I’ll need a dose of Zanax!

Stay sane everyone!