May He Gets What He Deserves

Tomorrow my dearest Bie’s going to court. This is in relation to the condo/apartment we bought in Setapak about 3 years ago. The one which didn’t go very well. It’s just so sad. We spent about RM20k to buy the condo; about RM15k for the condo itself whilst the remaining RM5k went towards legal and stamp duty fees. My duit hantaran was totally exhausted towards the down payment whilst my dearest Bie added in several thousand RM just so that we can get our life on the track; you know, just being married and everything.

But the turnout wasn’t as we expected it. We met the owners. He was very nice. Seemed religious. Always puasa sunat with his wife. Always solat berjemaah at the nearest mosque. He even gave us marriage advice. We thought he was all right. Turned out, he was the devil in disguise. Just as when our sale and purchase agreement was nearing completion, he backed out. The reason he gave was that the solicitor didn’t act fast enough thus the bank was late in paying the differential sum to his existing financier or something. And to make matters worse, he DID NOT want to refund our money. He even had the nerves to ask us for compensations. We were shocked. I was in an emotional turmoil. I cried almost every day. We thought the new house would be the start of a happy marriage. But it didn’t.

That %&@#$ guy refused to meet up with us. My dearest Bie called him many times but he refused to talk. He asked Bie to speak to his solicitor. And when my dearest Bie went to the condo wanting to meet this orang tua tak sedar diri, he didn’t open the door. He kept quiet, konon takder orang kat rumahlah. When for actual fact, we knew that he was home. His shoes and slippers were outside. We were CONNED..!!

So, we took action against him, trying to get a court order for him to refund our money. Affidavits upon affidavits, court hearing kept on being postponed, and finally the day draws near. Tomorrow, my dearest Bie is going to court as witness to our case.

I truly hope that the Puan Majistret takes pity on us. I’m done crying. I just want that %$@* to refund our money. That is all.

However, I have to admit that this whole affair had its hikmah. Allah is after all the Most Knowing. We found another condo not long after the Setapak one was ditched. And somehow, with His help, we managed to korek sana and korek sini for the down payment and the legal fees, both the sale and purchase agreement and the loan agreement. Luckily we didn’t have to pay any stamp duty because at that time, the government just announced that for residences below RM180k, stamp duty waived. Ours was RM176k. And it is a much more wonderful place to live in. It is a low dense condo with just two blocks. Behind it is the forest reserve. So at night, the climate is kind of cool. We don’t even have air-conditioning. The fresh air is so much better. Yes, this is the hikmah that we got when the Setapak condo didn’t go as planned. Unfortunately with a very hefty price.

Whatever it is, I pray that things will go good tomorrow. I really hope so. Please pray for me.

Already Showing Power

The east side wing of the office is undergoing quite a renovation. Walls are being drilled into, dusts are flying everywhere, noises are heard at full blast, planks of woods can be seen all over the place, the ceilings are left gaping, a section of the wing is like a dump hole, and the list goes on an on. To make matters worse, people are actually working in this SO NOT conducive environment. They have to. They have no choice. All because a certain individual who has just joined the company is unhappy with the room allocated for him and wants to make changes. Huge changes at that. The thing is, these changes are not just for his room, but also the adjacent rooms. In fact, all rooms in which this individual has to pass when he enters his room. He wants standardized glass door for all the rooms there and same wooden panels. And which makes me most angry is the fact that he’s not joining as the MD; we have that already, recently joined as well, BUT as the head of Strategic Marketing. Just Strategic Marketing; all talk and no work. He’s only been with us for a month. Just ONE month and he carries himself like the head of the company. I guess my MD couldn’t do much because he was the one who pulled this guy in, in the first place.

My colleagues on the east wing have suffered since last Monday. Some of them were even on medical leave because they have asthma and other illnesses. Imagine having to breathe in the air full of dust particles and working in a condition like that.

I visited the east wing just now and not long, I felt my nose twitch and the impulse to sneeze was lingering at my nose. Imagine those who have been there since Monday? I pity my friends there. Because of one stuck-up, likes to curse, individual, everybody had to suffer. What even got me mad was the fact that he asked the head of admin here not to ‘layan sangat’ the people downstairs. He can say that alright coz he doesn’t sit there during all these renovation works. He has his room upstairs (the room which was allocated for him but he dislikes). He is still breathing cleaner air compared to my friends downstairs.

I hate people like this. They join here and just because they have the so-called relationship with the MD, he can do whatever he pleases. He hasn’t done anything for the company. At least perform first, and if you request these sorts of things, it wouldn’t be as bad. But you have done nothing. And yet you act like you own the company. Wanting everything to accommodate for yourself. This is NOT your company. You can’t simply use company’s money just like that. Not when we’re currently on the verge of financing a LOT of projects. We need all the cash that we have.

But then, that’s basically what all bosses think. Just because they’re the management, they think they have the rights over the company’s money. The heck with corporate governance and the responsibility to increase shareholder’s wealth. They’re usually employed on a contract basis, so when their contracts expire, they just stand up and leave. Leaving the company with a lot of debt, obviously not bothered coz they will say, “Let the new management crack their heads to resolve it”.

And this new guy’s probably the same. He’s not particularly friendly with the staff nor is he civil enough to smile at anyone who passes in front of him. And I heard that he’s also looking for a new secretary, preferably Chinese, single and willing to travel.

He’s definitely NOT in my good book.

Got Best Project Speech

I am a member of the toastmasters club, District 51. I have been a member since August 2003. Unfortunately, I haven’t been very disciplined on the delivery of project speeches. Nearly all my friends who became members about the same time that I joined the club, have all finished their ten basic manual speeches and obtained the title Competent Toastmaster abbreviated for short, CTM. As for me, I’m like a chocolate cookie. Now you see me, now you don’t. There was a time when I attend club meetings on a frequent basis. But there have also been times that I have not been attending at all. I was plagued by the usual disease; LAZY. The meetings usually take place after work and therefore, the LAZY streak suddenly crops into place whenever I thought of attending.

But now, we have a new president. My president is a very funny guy. And he’s quite cute looking as well, considering of his mixed parentage. Albeit he has a little tummy, I like him all the same. Lately, I haven’t been missing club meetings much. With the new president and the new exco members, the club seems to have been given a new breath of air. It is much more fun and the enthusiasm of the new members; make me want to attend the meeting all the time. The new members compete with each other to complete all ten speeches. And there I was, considered as an old member, still stuck at speech number seven. And to make matters worse, my president, in his closing speech always spare me some cute remarks reminding everyone present that I am stuck at speech seven and not moving forward. So, to take the challenge, for last week’s meeting I presented my speech number eight; To Beat Or Not To Beat, That Is The Question, something about if we love our children, should we hit them.

I was also the TME for the meeting. TME is Toastmaster of the Evening. I was in charge of chairing the meeting. Of course I applied my unorthodox way in chairing the meeting. The theme was music. I had everyone dancing and singing to REM’s Shiny Happy People and later conducted the Table Topic Session ‘ala’ musical chair. When the music stops, the person who was holding to the envelope had to give an impromptu speech. That got everybody excited. It was good.

When it was time for me to deliver my speech, I was a nervous wreck. Although I was the TME and thus got warmed up talking in front of people, but this is a speech that we’re talking about. I haven’t delivered one for ages. I saw myself stuttering in front of these people. I saw myself stuck, not being able to say anything. I walked to the centre stage and began my speech.

The next seven minutes, I had everyone listening to me tentatively. All eyes were on me. And when I finished my speech, I was given quite an applause. People were congratulating me saying that my speech was good, and that I didn’t look nervous at all. They even said that I was a natural and I was gifted i.e. not everyone can deliver a speech like I did. I smiled, taking into all the compliments with a very happy feeling. It felt good doing the speech. And I had to admit that it came to no surprise when I got the best project speech (macam bagus tak? Hehehehe...). I received excellent reviews in my basic speech manual and that made me feel good.

The next day, I received individual emails from friends and of course, my president congratulating me on my speech. And of course they’re looking forward to my ninth speech and thereafter the tenth and final speech. Hhmm… looks like I have to really think hard on something catchy for my next speech. Ironically, the project speech is skewed towards powers of persuasion. Now, what would be an interesting topic for me to persuade people on? Hhmmm…

By the way, a certain thank you for a good friend who gave me flowers about 2 weeks ago. It’s still on my table. I have thrown away the wilted leaves, but surprisingly, most of the flowered stalks are still green. I have just cleaned the vase and replaced it with fresh, mineral water. I truly appreciate it. Thank you so much.