Welcome home Mr. Nokman!

Well, well, well...after 15 hours of travelling, I finally arrived in my beloved country at 18.05 this afternoon. It was drizzling when I arrived and not forgetting the heat...but hey, do I care? NOPE! I'm really glad I'm home...

My best friend SAS picked me up at the airport soon after touch down... and it was a good feeling to be back! The journey home was a wee bit too much in all fairnest, coz we ended up joining the "RainyDay-RushHour-HolidaySeason" traffic on the KL-Seremban highway. At least it gave SAS & I the opportunity to catch up on things...topics like the day Siti Nurhaliza finally got hitched and also topics about the weather of course :-)

As we were already late, we decided to stop by Bandar Tasik Selatan to grab a bite to eat. I told SAS that I am despreate for some rice tonight! Who could stand 10 days of Creamy Pasta??? So we went off to Bandar Tasik Selatan and had Nasi Goreng Daging Merah... yummy!

SAS drove me home and we chatted a bit more while watching TV. Damn! Marzuki and his sister, whom I know personally (ex-girlfriend's cousins) lost to another couple in Explorace... but hey, at least they gave a good fight! SAS left my place about midnight, and told him I'd pick him up from his office about noon as my parents are expecting us in Taiping tomorrow afternoon, so SAS's taking half day leave. My brother-in-law's younger sister is getting married on Saturday. I was thinking I'd stop by University Hospital tomorrow morning to visit a dear friend who has been admitted to the hospital yesterday. I've just recieved a call from the brother telling me that he's been advised to do a bypass surgery for his heart and he's still at the hospital. I need to visit him at some point. :-(

But you know what? It's 7.38am right now... and I have only had a couple of hours sleep. I woke up as I just couldn't sleep after waking up about 2am. Urrgghhhh! Anyway... I'm off to Taiping tomorrow, and then to Alor Setar to visit SAS's family and will only be back at work on Wednesday the 30th of September.

I'll write more once I'm back. ES...you're in my thoughts! Peace!

Merdeka!

*** Originally posted on the 23rd August 2006

Having the fact that my fellow Malaysians will be celebrating our 49th Independence Day in about a week’s time, I thought it may be a good idea to touch a bit on this topic.

Last night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to have dinner with my fellow German colleagues. SK (My blue-eyed Manager) decided that it’s only fair to take us somewhere I’d be comfortable with the food provided. So we went to this place Italian Restaurant called Grissini in Schwabing, the posh part of town in Munich. We started off having starters which consists of Cherry Tomatoes with olive oil and herbs on sliced fresh toast. Then the main course followed, a yummy creamy seafood linguini…it was GOOD! Full of wonderful seafood including Tintenfisch (as the Germans call it) which is basically calamari/sotong basah. Sehr schön!!!

This blog entry is not really about the full menu I had that evening…but it was more about the things which we’ve chatted about throughout dinner. It was an opportunity for my fellow German colleagues to get to know Malaysia a bit more. They were charmed at the fact that Malaysians are far more patriotic then their fellow Germans. The situation changed a bit during the World Cup festival. Prior to the World Cup, if a German is seen to be carrying or displaying their flag in the public, they are looked upon as Nazis. Yep, it’s true. The World Cup has done good for them. They are closer and more patriotic if compared to the past.

Carrying a German flag is not a sign of Nazi-ness anymore. There’s a sense of belonging now and they are glad that this has happened. In the past, they are embarrassed at the fact that their ancestors have made a huge blunder during the World War II. KD said to me, she’d like to apologise for what we’ve done in the past. And obviously I was SHOCKED! Sorry, that’s the past…we can only make the future better. And it’s up to us to make it happen!

Now, looking to my own country, yes we love to show our patriotism with flags here and there. But, what does it actually mean when it comes to racial unity? When I first arrived at work 10 days ago in Munich, SK decided to play this DVD he got from the Malaysian Tourism Board on Malaysia using the Meeting Room AV system. I have to admit, it was one hell of a promotional DVD. IT WAS VERY GOOD! In fact I almost shed a tear after watching it… coz I was so overwhelmed, I can feel blood rushing through my body and the feeling of being proud… HEY, I AM PROUD TO BE A MALAYSIAN!

Now we bitch, we bicker and we squabble among each other…in our daily lives. I don’t understand why we need to do that. SK and I had a chat last night… about the fact that we continue to be busy protecting our own areas that we forget to take a step back and observe what the rest are thinking. I for one will try to change things for myself. I’ve had enough of being a victim for the last 14 months. It’s time for a change…it’s time to encourage togetherness. And it does take two to tango or maybe more...

So my dear fellow Malaysians, can we please do something about this? Call me sentimental, but I believe that my so called "enemies" have different and softer inner sides to them. I can’t wait to see it! Let’s make this Independence Day an excuse to start coming together and understanding each other better. If the Germans think that we are so fortunate to be able to live and work together… let’s prove them right and not just portray the look, but do not live by it. Let’s put our differences aside and make things better, shall we?

I’m leaving Germany in an hour’s time…and the experiences I’ve had being here will always be close to my heart. I left Malaysia 10 days ago being naive and impatient and now I’m coming back to Malaysia a different person, a better person I hope! See you soon!

Poem for the day...

*** Originally posted on the 23rd August 2006

Received this in my inbox... and I thought I'd share it with everyone coz I thought it's just plain sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Missing you is terrible but at the same time, a sweet feeling.
I will be sitting around wondering if u mean anything to me.
Thinking if you ever cared for me.

Rushing to the phone once it rings and hoping that it's you...

Sitting in front of the television but thinking of you.
Missing the final bit of my favourite show.

Laying on my bed, thinking of the last time we went out together.

Thinking of how nice it will be to sit at the beach again, talking about everything.

Logging on to the internet hoping to see you're online.

Anyhow, missing you is a way of growing up I guess.

It exposes me to loneliness but it teaches me of how to cope with it.

Munich Day 9

*** Originally posted on the 21st August 2006

A bit concern with my little sis, Fiza...not sure what's happen to her...but I'm very annoyed the fact she's annoyed...sis...tell me more!

Met up with an old friend...a senior manager in fact... YES MR LAMONT, I WANT IT! Move me over to Munich...at least after my "little plan"...I'm sure I'll survive, you know me! Hope that SK reads this :-) It'll be good for me and my future xxxx...

Had good meetings troughout the day...good lunch too. GOD, please hear me... I love the one and only...and I believe she will be the one...just point me the way!

Met up with an old friend of mine, Ingo after after meetingt Ian. Believe it or not, I was introduced to the one of the actors of Starlight Express...Papa, or rather Lothair... you're one impressive guy! I was so impressed of meeting someone so cool! Wished ES was here... :-)

Anyway... tired now...need to sleep. I am putting on weight I know... but hey, I am happy...ES is! ;-)

Munich Day 7

*** Originally posted on the 19th August 2006

Started the weekend with a leisure break from the work environment as I was getting a bit stressed with the work load ending up on my desk! Managed to persuade Mr. Not-So-Sociable UJ to join us at the Beer Garden to chill out and have dinner. UJ is known among his colleagues and bosses of being very anti-social...reason? Well, he's just a wee bit too SQUARE! hahahah Sorry UJ... I'm sure you knew that was coming your way anyway! hahahahah We had a long chat about work, his personal life and last but not least about our plans to take over the world! muaaahahahahahha

Woke up pretty early for a Saturday morning... the sun was shining, the temperature was in its low 20s...and it's A NON-WORKING DAY! have made prior plans with CS and MT, our previous German interns to join us in town for brunch. CS had to meet us a bit later as he's coming from Regensburg with his bike. MT met up with us about 10.30am...the sun was still shining but the temperature was getting a bit too hot, probably in its late 20s. Luckily I decided to come in my summer-wear!

We had our brunch in Marien Platz which is a 5 minute Tram ride into town from our hotel.I ahd one of my favourite West Bavarian dishes - Kasespaetzle, basically a cheesy pasta-like buttery dish with fried Onions on top. Managed to persuade GC to have it as well...but personally it was a dissapointment as the ones I had before was too good by any standards! Nevertheless, it was Halal...and my tummy's full! MT later took us around, the most expensive street in Munich, Maximilian Strasse. Took a number of pictures but nothing to shout out about. CS turned up about 12.30pm...to take over MT's tasks as MT had to run off to his Basketball training. CS decided to take us to another Beer Garden in Hofgarten Strasse. The place was pure beauty! It's one of those things which you go to and as soon as you get to it, it takes your breath away! Reminds me of ES for some odd reason :-) CS couldn't stay long as he has exams the following week, and the last we wanted to do was to be responsible for his exam failure... so we let him go do the right thing! :-D

As we walked towards CS's bike, we stumbled across one of my favourite cars... the Austin Riley 3000! God knows how much I drooled over it! Call me sentimental...but hey, this is ONE GORGEOUS CAR! If I could marry a car, I'd marry it! hahahahhah ;-)

We then walked towards CS's bike and said our goodbyes. He's suppose to move to Malaga, Spain at the end of the month for his new internship. He's looking forward to it, but I'm sure his girlfriendand parent's are not that pleased with it. Me being his one and only Malaysian ex-Manager, I wish him all the best and hope to keep in touch and would love to see him be successful! Adios, my friend! I've got an AVI of him riding into the sunset - so to speak....let me know if you want it.

We then deciced to walk over to the English Garden. It's one of the most famous gardens in Germany! Knowing it was summer, we were mentally prepared for the "tiger-show" we were about to experience. The reason is that Munich citizens love to sun-bathe in the English Garden naked! Regardless of how un-wrinkly their skin is, they'd do it openly...and for the pervs out there...this is your place! hahahahha I was a bit concern of the fact that you even have under 18s (over 13s) running around in the park naked! Yep... the perv's lucky day indeed! But hey, all in all, the English Garden was fantastic! GC and I even dipped our feets into the stream...it felt
almost like Bukit Belacan but cleaner! hahahahha I had to take the pictures of the English Garden secretly, just in case someone might be annoyed with my little activity of snapping away... hahahahah

We decided to move along to the Chinese Tower, where they had a really nice Beer Garden there. Stephan then called whether he'd be able to join us... so he did... as he managed to get a B Class Visa from the "government". He also offered us to take us to the "Baby Store" coz GC wanted to get a few things for Baby Herman. I tagged along of course...and even bought each and every single nephew and niece a little "something-something" just the way they would have put it! hahahahh. We got on SK's car, a 330ci (Convertible) which he claims to be his "little toy"! GOD that was fun! Imagine sitting in the back seat of a BMW convertible going at 160 km/h! What a car! I even managed to take snaps of SK for Fiza... with SK's permission of course! wink wink!

We reached the place about 6.30pm and managed to get what we wanted. SK got something for his daughters and the same goes with GC and I. SK drove us back to the hotel and passed by the Allianz Stadium, the previously hosted World Cup stadium. NICE! Also, we passed by the new BMW distribution centre building which was still in progress. It looks huge and impressive from the outside. So, to add the icing on the cake, SK offered us to take us to the competitor's so-called Distribution Centre. Apparently MB is not that happy that BMW is doing the same and making it even more glamourous. Here's what MB has... and so imagine what BMW can be very soon!

Anyway... that is the story so far...hope you guys like the pics and story...take care, be good and watch this space as there are more to come!

Ooo... what a day!

*** Originally posted on the 16th August 2006

Started the day on a rather happy note... the sun was shining and we had the fresh summer morning of Europe...*sigh*

Checked my emails and the usual messages on my Friendster site...and surprise surprise, two comments on my blog and a message relating to my blog! hahahahah Well a good start to a new day. Ain my loyal blog-reader, thanks for the cheeky comment... and Fiza my only fellow blogger in the office, thank you for making the suggestion of having nasi minyak...haven't had those for a while! hahahahah And last but not least, Fariz...I hear you loud and clear bro. Things can only get better at work...just hold on tight, as the ride might give you a fright! hahahahah Wow... I actually came up with that myself! hahahahah And to answer the questions my wonderful friends have asked me... I have to admit... I do miss my bed a lot! HONEST! hahahahahah Can't beat a queen size bed when all you have is a single-sized bed! Ok... it is comfy... but hey, I MISS MY BED LAH! And what's all this about nasi minyak and missing "her"... yeah you're right, I do refer my bed as "her"... ;-) hahahahah

Okay... it's 7.38pm right now in Munich and why the h*** am I still doing in my apartment? Well ok... I've got a valid reason...started off doing some work...*yawn*... and then I had to send off an email to my blue-eyed manager, Stephan....Fiza, wink wink. And I was so engrossed with what I was doing that I've forgotten the time...well for your information, I'm going out in a little while. My new best friend-colleague has asked me out... he's taking me out to dinner! Whoooppeee! Must be the eggs I've given him to cook with ... or was it the cup of salt I asked him this afternoon? Hmmm :-? Oh well, I really don't care. Gordon has proven to be one really nice guy... in all honesty. He might get on my nerves once in a while...but he's actually, a gentle person inside. That's it... I'll have to have trips with all my "my not so close friends" to get to know them! hahahahahah

Had a good meeting with my web support team this afternoon....I asked for the sun and the moon... and believe it or not, they're saying yes to it! Whoopeee! Did experience a bit of a back-stabbing session this morning though... but things got cleared out...I AM INNOCENT! God is almighty...and he's always been there for me...*Looking upwards*...Thanks GOD! You can do that again most definitely!

Err... what else...had yummy food for lunch... some spinach dumplings... vegetarian buttery lump of thingie if I have the description right... hahahahah in all fairness... IT WAS YUMMY! For under 2 Euros... I can't complain!

Anyway.... enough of all this... I need to get ready for my night out with Gordon...bless him! I'll catch up with you guys again tomorrow...hopefully if my schedules not taken up.

Still thingking of my "bed"...hmmmm....Take care and adios amigos!

Ich bin in München!

*** Originally posted on the 15th August 2006

I am in Munich, Germany right now... and have been here since Sunday, 13th of August 2006. It's a public holiday here in Germany today, so I thought I'd write a little something about what I've been up to since being here.

Left KLIA on Saturday night and after transitting in Bangkok and Frankfurt, me and my colleague Gordon finally arrived in chilly Munich (14 degrees Celcius) on Sunday morning.

Our Manager, Stephan was already there to pick us up when we arrived. :-) Stephan immediately drove us to the hotel, a hotel called Derag Hotel Karl Theodor. This is the first time I've actually stayed in this hotel, as the Renaissance Hotel, which I normally stay at is completely booked. Nevertheless, it does come with certain levels of comfort. This hotel is a studio apartment-like hotel ideal for long stays. Cheaper than the Renaissance, but it's obviously not as luxurious as the latter.

Took a short tram ride to the city centre. Sundays are normally a "Family Specific Day" for the Germans. They assign Sundays for the family and nothing else. Families wake up early and go to church together, and later have brunch and a leisurely stroll as they catch up with each others lives. I've been told that no matter how bad things are at work, Sundays will never be a working day. All shops are closed except for cafes, the gas stations and their watering hole. Went back to the hotel right after lunch (McD... hmmm yummy!) as Gordon and I were too sleepy after the long journey to Munich. We headed back to the hotel to have a little nap prior to making any plans for dinner.

We had our naps and and woke up by the sounds of rain outside. We decided to not go out and instead have dinner at the Italian Restaurant downstairs. Monday was a normal working day but most people were on-leave as Tuesday is a public holiday. Nevertheless, managed to do lots of things on Monday as what I normally do when I'm away from the Malaysia office, get things done! Went out last night with old friends from Munich, had a grand time! Had a long lie-in this morning and took it easy. Didn't go out at all.

It's 8pm right now, and the sun is still shining outside. I was glad the temperature has risen to 26 degrees Celcius today and apparently, it's going to grow warmer towards the end of the week. Something to look forward to heheheh as my Manager claims that the office is going to be like an oven as there are no a/c unit in sight. :-P

Well one things for sure...theres something missing right now...and I think I know what! *sigh* I just hope it's a two way thing...coz it takes two to tango! Watch this space... more to come when I can find the time. Peace!