I'm Internet-enabled!

i'm flying off tomorrow, to take an exam in the UK. hopefully it'll be the last one for some time, and i can then study to upgrade myself for fun, rather than a structured examination. :-) wish me luck!

**

the last 69 hours or so, i've had my Streamyx connection shut down. i thought it was me, and i went out and replaced a modem, but it didn't work either.

so i called 100, to try to settle the problem. they kept saying that it'll take 48 hours. and 50 hours after i made the initial complaint, two technicians were despatched to my place.

within 10 minutes and with 2 phone calls, they diagnosed the problem.

it was a wrongly-issued work order on Tuesday, to terminate my account. to solve the problem, their hands are tied - they needed a new work order to re-connect my account. it's just a matter of a few jumper cables, no sweat.

so today morning, i went to TMpoint at 830am, and stayed there for 50 minutes, to settle this problem. initially the people there said that i'll be reconnected within 24 hours, but i said that it was not acceptable to me, and i wanted to be reconnected NOW.

and i didn't budge until i got a reassurance that i'll get it by 12pm.

my issues are as follows:

1. it was probably a clerical error that led to the termination of the service. i have no problems with mistakes that happen, and there shouldn't be a witch-hunt for the person who made this mistake. i forgive this.

2. why do you need 48 hours to settle this issue? it needs settling NOW. AT THIS INSTANT. i made a total of 12 calls to 100 over this period of 69 hours, just to settle this, because this is a matter of principle. i will not tolerate third world levels of service, not when they advertise themselves as some big international company.

the first 4 calls kept telling me that it's 48 hours to a solution. it's also not their fault - their hands are tied and the company is telling them to tell the customer that it's 48 hours to a solution.

so i waited patiently, and when Hour 48 came with no solution, i can use the company's policy against them. and i did - with a further 8 calls between Hour 48-52 trying to diagnose this problem.

i just refused to budge. i was not rude at all, i was very reasonable, said thank you and sorry, told them it's not their fault, tried to get them to agree that we need to get a solution for me, and finally at Hour 50, two technicians came, who made two calls and inside 10 minutes, got the diagnosis.

see how important it is to have men on the ground? not inside some air-conditioned call centre in KL.

3. it turned out to be such a simple problem - issue a new work order, re-connect me the next working day, and voila! no problems for all concerned.

but why couldn't the technical assistance folks in KL handle this from their computers? what kind of archaic 1960s system that Telekom Malaysia runs? can't you check this from any PC?? that technician even got the number of the work order, all through a telephone call! an analogue call in a digital world - that solved the issue.

4. in TMpoint today, they said that i needed to wait 24 hours to be reconnected. this wasn't acceptable to me, and i told them in very certain (but very polite) terms.

what sort of company terminates immediately on receiving a work order, but needs 24 hours to reconnect, even after receiving a new work order? it's just a damned jumper cable - detach, and attach.

5. all this boils down to one thing - Telekom Malaysia has a virtual monopoly on telecoms services in malaysia. a lack of competition has made them bloated and too comfortable, and therefore ignorant of an individual customer.

we don't have first world infrastructure at all, so don't lie to ourselves. we cannot even ensure 1Mbps, and South Korea is already at guaranteed 10Mbps speeds.

and we definitely don't have a first world mentality either - and the way i was given a runaround is testament to that.

there are a lot of structural flaws inside the system. and it needs to change.

the technicians are the best - Mr Sufian and Mr Suid - both very professional and very competent. i'm impressed by them, and wish there were more like-minded people in Telekom Malaysia.

**

okay, i've finished ranting. now to have lunch, and then leave for Penang to see the LOML, and then to fly off soon.

i'm ready for it. i'm ready for this. i have an exam to finish! yeah!

there's no time!!

there's no time for anything these days, but i long for a day when i can make a trip like this:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/travel/20explorer.html

oooh i'm lazy!

to blog, i mean. but i still read newspapers, and i surfed on to one of my favourite blogs today:

http://london-underground.blogspot.com/

and found this:

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/august1/mind-the-staff

nice!

~ from The Madman, by Kahlil Gibran

How I Became A Madman

You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen -- the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives -- I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, "Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves."

Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.

And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, "He is a madman." I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, "Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks."

Thus I became a madman.

And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.

But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone...

Bill Withers, God bless him, got it 100% right - there just ain't no sunshine when she's gone. it's not warm when she's away. and she's always gone too long, every time she goes away.

i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know, i know there ain't no sunshine when she's gone! haha! funky song, ain't it? 

well, she's gone. to Boise, Idaho, 14 time zones and 13630km away. and i can't wait to have her back in my arms - come back soon! i miss you lots, and love you dearly. :-)

and another one about H1N1

we've seen daily statements by the Minister of Health, the DG of Health, the DPM, the PM, and various Ministers (one discouraged public events, at an event in which he officiated - what hypocrisy).

why aren't there any announcements by our Infectious Diseases Physicians from Sungai Buloh, our Epidemiologists from university hospitals, and Public Health Physicians from the ministry? i think that THEY are the ones more qualified to make announcements, and not politicians, who should keep quiet in times of crises and leave it to the well-trained.

hahaha!

how about a play in three acts? check this out:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/04/a_tale_told_by_an_idiot/

The Flu

tuberculosis. cancers. motor vehicle accidents. heart attacks. surgeries. pneumonias. HIV/AIDS. diarrhoeas. malaria. neonatal infections. strokes. tobacco. alcohol. heroin. cocaine.

these are some of the diseases that kill more people than H1N1. as of today, there has been 1446 deaths among the 199,146 confirmed cases worldwide. that's 0.7%. and most of them have got co-morbidities anyway, making any infection more dangerous in them. any infection at all, including the common cold.

why are we being hypocrites and wearing masks? shouldn't we also stop smoking, stop drinking, stop driving recklessly? shouldn't we also be alarmed by the epidemic of obesity and of tobacco?

H1N1 is a dangerous disease admittedly, but only in those at extremes of age, pregnant, and with other co-morbidities like heart disease, obesity, asthma, diabetes or low immunity. don't overkill ourselves please.

please, let's all keep calm and don't panic. please.

a surreal night

i was oncall on monday night. it was a busy call and i only managed to come home to have dinner (mom cooked) around 2am. it was the night where the racial riots took place in kamunting, and A+E was crazy mad with injured people.

i was a little woozy from fatigue, i was hungry and thirsty as hell, and as i sat down to dinner i figured i should watch some telly.

so that night, i had dinner at 2am, while watching The Simpsons, while being on call, while racial riots were erupting not far away from me. whoa. i think it was the most surreal night of my life.

costs and expenses

i think i spent maybe RM4000 in the UK, not including my airfare. this included food, overland transportation, souvenirs, entrance tickets, newspapers, bric-a-bracs, books, assorted snacks, some change for buskers, some tips for waiters, some handouts to beggars.

i think it was well-spent! i am a very happy man. but here are what i think are the best experiences for me (and their costs):

FREE:

1. walks around London.

2. playing football in Regents Park (and scoring 8 goals).

3. falling asleep on a park bench alongside the Thames, opposite Westminster, in the spring sunshine.

4. going to Parliament to watch the debates - especially during the whole expenses-claims saga.

70p:

1. unquestionably, The Guardian. almost every day. including Sundays, when it takes a small forest to produce the weekend editions (GBP2 weekends).

GBP2.50:

1. a jacket potato with liberal smearings of mayo and spicy beans - somewhere in Covent Garden.

GBP4.79:

1. The Guardian, a sandwich and a hot chocolate from Subway, a park bench and the spring sunshine.

GBP5:

1. ticket to Star Trek in Leicester Square, down from GBP13.50. i wandered aimlessly into the cinema looking for ticket prices, around 45 minutes before the show. a guy sees my aimlessness, makes for me and asks if i wanted to buy a ticket to Star Trek, that he doesn't mind selling to me for GBP5. so i buy it - and i had a wonderful show!

GBP7.99:

1. a three course Italian meal - minestrone, carbonara, icecream. i never knew Italian could be so delicious.

GBP8:

1. i bought a map of Canada for this price - from 1882. it's a new hobby - cartography!

GBP9:

1. KUNIYOSHI! the grand Japanese master of block painting had an exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts - i struggled for 2 days to decide whether or not to pay to see his works, which i can see for free online. i'm glad something in me was spendthrift!

GBP16.50:

1. free travel on the Tube and buses for a whole week!!

**big gap here huh? some multiple-items receipts amount to somewhere between 16.50-35.00, but i have no single items in this range - i guess i'm either in the cheapskates section, or the upper crust**

GBP35:

1. Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows, with my sister. fantastic smashing concert - and i'm very glad for the company of someone i love very very very dearly.

GBP38:

1. tickets to the Guiness Premiership Rugby Finals between London Irish and Leicester Tigers, and sitting next to a Scot who supports the Irish, and told me the history of that team.

GBP65.50:

1. Seat 942, Row 12, Block 125, Upper Tier - Arsenal v Chelsea (sigh... why did they have to lose 1-4?)

GBP200 (or what may have been):

1. a guy stopped me while i was walking along Baker Street, and offered me a brand new Sony VAIO laptop worth GBP990 for GBP200. instantly i smelled a thief. stupidly (or bravely), i followed him to a side road where he showed me a brand new Sony VAIO laptop with Windows Vista. i made an excuse and said no - though i would have been severely tempted by a MacBook haha!

***

the last time i was in London, i was a (semi)impoverished student going for debate tournaments and sleeping in people's dorms.

this time, i'm a working professional with money enough to spend. ahh the wonders of purchasing power!

funny how i don't write anymore

touching down on home shores brings chores rushing back to you - calls, patients, work, souvenirs, unpacking, laundry, sleep, re-synchronisation of body-mind-soul to pass another exam - phew.

it's back to sesquipedalian jargonistic speech - like encephalopathy, fronto-temporo-parietal haemorrhage and Addisonian crises. for two glorious weeks, i was living off a palette of beautifully sculpted monosyllabic words - lunch, walk, sun, newspapers (okay, fine, so that's three syllables), parks and sleep.

but hey i can look forward to another holiday at the end of this particular leg of my journey? perhaps three weeks in Indochina, riding elephants and motorcycles, eating beef noodles and fried crickets, witnessing cock-fighting and muay thai.

yes - i'd love that!