March 2007

So I am back in Penang again.

I wonder how those people who travels often can take it. The cramp airplane seats, the airplane food, the boring flight, how can they take it?

Or has it to do with age? The older you are, the more you want to stay at home. It is only when you are young that you want to travel, to see new places and new things. I used to feel happy to travel, but it seems like recently I prefer to stay at home.

Oh well, at least I am saving money here. I should really stop complaining so much and just go ahead and do my job.

There is a saying in my company that once you get 1 foot into a project, you will always be stuck in it. I have a colleague who was suppose to only spend 1 month in Singapore but ended up staying for 6 years and still counting. I have a colleague who was suppose to only spend 3 months in Singapore but ended up staying for 18 months and still counting.

And it seems it is also true for me.

I was suppose to be in Penang for 4 days, implement a rollout, stay for 1 day after rollout and then leave. Well I am still in Penang after 8 days. And I was told that my Sydney training next week is being cancelled and I will need to come back to Penang again next week. I was given a chance to fly home to Singapore tomorrow night, which I desperately needed. I did not bring enough clothings, I have bills that have not been paid, and various other things that needed my attention. After all, I was only scheduled to be in Penang for 4 days, and now it seems like I will be here for 12 days, provided there is no more extension when I leave next Friday night.

The thing about working in Penang is, it is boring. There is nothing to do but then again working till 9-10pm every night does not give me much things to do. Having not enough time means I also cannot spend time looking for food, and usually dinner comes in the form of the hotel room service. Night is boring in the hotel, and the internet service, though not expensive, is relatively unstable. There was an interesting moment though, when I happened to walk past a prostitute opposite the hotel at night in search of a late dinner, and she called out to me, ‘Handsome’. I turned and blush almost immediately, seeing how warm she must have felt since she was wearing so little. I smiled and almost ran away. Since then I have been avoiding that part of the road as they have the tendancy to grab onto you and refuse to let go.

I am so hoping that I can finally get out of this project next Friday.

Logging this post in KLIA Domestic Departure hall.

Why is it that the food served in the airports’ food outlets are never nice? I just ordered a plate of fried noodles and a can of soft drink that costs me RM$20. It is so oily, so plain that I did not finish it.

Why can’t they serve food that is at least edible?

Anyway I went to the KL Central to check in. It is a check in facility right in city area itself, something like what they have in Hong Kong. After checking in, I bought a KLIA Express train ticket that costs RM$35. The express train went straight from the KL Central to the airport in less than 30 minutes. It was pretty comfortable, there was no jam and very convenient. I must make a mental note to use this the next time I come to KL.

So it will be to Penang in like 1 hour’s time and then work throughout the weekend and Monday before flying back to Singapore on Tuesday.

Somehow I feel a bit homesick. I guess that is what happen when you travel alone.

I will be flying to Penang tonight. I will be alone there. At least here in KL I have a few colleagues here whom I know to keep me company.

After work yesterday, my boss took me to eat a superb meal of cheese crabs and salted egg crabs. Excellent and very tasty!

It is tiring, but I really want to get the work in Penang over and done with.

How do you know that it is too far for any chance of turning back? How do you know when to give up? How do you know when to let go?

It is my first trip to KL in 4 years. After almost missing the flight because of work, I just managed to squeeze onto the flight.

The flight was delayed for 15 minutes but it still managed to reach KL on time. The ground was wet and the sky gloomy, there must have been a heavy downpour just before. Luckily there was not much jam and I managed to reach my hotel in less than an hour.

I am tired, especially since I worked past midnight yesterday night. Maybe I will turn in early. I hope I don’t get lost tomorrow.

An interesting article caught my eye this morning :

Singapore Karma Sutra

I think it is great for the Singapore Government to actually allow such a film to be produced locally. But the article have to include some Government Propaganda by putting the following lines in :

Going by the latest figures suggesting that Singapore’s total fertility rate has been steadily dropping since 2003, with only 1.06 children born per female, it certainly looks like couples need all the help they can get.

Why do they always think that the poor fertility rate of Singapore have to do with couples having sex problems? Why can’t they just accept that it is because Singapore couples choose not to have babies and not because they cannot? Does the Singapore Government thinks that having babies is a simple decision to make?

So it seems that I will be flying a fair bit this month. I have been told that I will need to fly to KL and then Penang for some work. They are pretty short handed up north.

After coming back to Singapore, I will be flying to Sydney a few days later. It seems like the training is back on again, and hopefully this time round it will not be cancelled.

Come to think of it, I have never flew so much in 1 month in my whole life.