The Alien called and it sounded like a bad radio signal

This morning during the briefing for my Section, I had only one thing on my mind:

"Anyone who wished to work overtime from now on must send in his/her name to me on Wednesday regardless of whether there is any work to be done or not!"

Crazy, isn't it?

I guess it's just my way of getting back at the HR Manager (the Alien) for nagging me on the phone last Friday afternoon.

Since no one of the higher positions were in the office, the Alien asked to talk to me. Man, he could talk and REALLY talk! He complained about our Division sending the 'overtime' application too late and he wouldn't approve any of it without the Managing Director's approval.

Hey, was it my fault that the MD was out that day?

The Alien also didn't really want to hear my explanation that the Division Head and the Assistant Manager were not in on last Wednesday causing us to delay sending the application to Thursday morning.

The annoying part was he kept blabbing how I was unaware of HIS new rule that overtime application MUST be sent in on Wednesday. Then, he started nagging me about not following the example of the Production members who send in 1-month application every time.

"Ey, they're different! Those people have production forecast months before. We are the Quality Control team and our function is to deal with Quality problems. You do NOT schedule problems!"

Somehow I had this feeling that the Alien was just making all these noises to annoy me. The whole 'war of words' was like wearing an earphone picking very bad radio transmission that went on and on. The phone started to feel like a broken radio unit to me.

So, this morning I made that decision to let my Section members go for the 'overtime' opportunity as they like it. Sometimes, I'm tired of having to think about cost-cutting for the management in this bad economy when really none of them cares.

I'm a crime victim...DAMN...DAMN...DAMN the thief!

Due to rain and an accident on the way to work, I arrived late and had to park at a shady and secluded spot not very far from the factory's Main gate. This spot, although shady and comfy, is a feared spot as it has the history of car theft and intrusion as nobody can really see it. Not even anyone from the 3 factories surrounding it.

It just wasn't my day. Read along.

I was shocked when I walked to my car after work yesterday to find the door handle lifted up at the driver's side as I never left my car in that kind of condition ever. Then I noticed a hand mark there as the car was dusty from the environment. I was even more shocked when I saw that the door was unlocked. Then, I realized that my glove compartment was wide open and some of the Post Office utility forms I kept in there for convenience were scattered on the passenger seat.

My car had been 'burgled'!

I got in and checked around. As expected, ALL the coins I kept in the little coin compartment were gone. Not a cent left. I noticed that the driver's seat had been pushed back a little. So, the thief must be a man and NOT a small schoolkid. That coin compartment was full and I believe that it was worth at least MYR10 in there.

In my opinion, though the culprit was a man's size, he must be either young or inexperienced as the only thing he took away was the money. He was stupid enough not to try to get other valuables such as my car tools, my leather boots or any component of my sound system like the speakers or the hidden amp. Ok. My car stereo is old and unstylish and this is the reason why I've been refusing to replace it for an upmarket model. It's good that my car stereo is unappealing. If not, I'm sure it wouldn't be there anymore today. Oh, the intruder was also quite IT-blind as the pendrive I use to store my MP3s was safe in its place. The thief didn't even bother with my FM Modulator. Obviously he didn't know what it was. Not like that the thing is expensive but it was worth about MYR30. My biggest relief must be how the thief did not run off with my brand new car tyres. They're only 3 months old. That would make me scream.

I sat there feeling sad over the incident. My car is my life. It's a symbol of my independence. She was the only thing I could afford and I certainly do not have the money to buy a new one now. When some heartless monster forced 'itself' into her like that, I feel like a chunk of me had been stabbed and ripped out.

I called my colleague who was still in the office when I walked out and told him about the incident. He was sympathetic and it brought back the memories of some unfortunate members of the company whose cars got broken into literally. At least, this thief didn't smash my window or something like it. That would cost more dents in my already dented pocket.

I need to have the car locking system fixed again. I don't know what the thief had done to the lock as it was incredibly tight and squeaky and difficult to turn.

So, today, I had to choose a parking space at a very sunny spot where the guards from another factory nearby could see the car and I could watch it from the back warehouse of our factory. The only drawback is the car would be scorching hot when I get in after work but it is still a minor inconvenience compared to losing the car altogether.

Which celebrity do I look like...as if?

Found this cool website called My Heritage. Click to go there.

This picture of mine was taken more than 12 years ago on a very good day. I look so nothing like this nowadays.

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Of course I look nothing like her but it's so cool that somehow computers could work out some logic that I look like her. How COOL is that?

Kenwood Patissier MX270 and me......

The Kitchenaid dreamers' cheaper alternative, the Kenwood MX270 in full-metal body......and it's mine!

I did something kind of in a whim this month. I bought the mixer Patissier MX270 by Kenwood at the nearby Jusco Store.

OK. For quite awhile, I was contemplating on getting myself a home kitchen size heavy duty mixer for my baking adventures (more like misadventures). These mixers are expensive of course.

The ultimate for me is of course Kitchenaid but the cheapest price I can get is MYR2200. Then, I got interested in a Spar mixer from Taiwan widely used in Malaysian bakeries. There is one shop in town that offers the 2kg model for MYR1950 instead of the usual MYR2300. Yet, MYR1950 is still beyond my means.

Then, I walked into Jusco (originally to get an electric oven) and suddenly saw a promotional signage hanging at one of the promo areas that said 'KENWOOD Patissier MX270 for MYR1399 ~ Jusco Card members MYR1199'. Whoah! This was a bargain too good to let go. Problem was I couldn't see the Patissier at all. They had Kenwood Chef, Kenwood Major and the latest Kenwood K-Mix (beautiful but expensive!). The Kenwood Chef was priced at MYR1899 but even though the motor was 800w, the body was mainly plastic. The Patissier is more for smalltime home baker with only a 1/2kg dough capacity and a 400w motor but the body was ALL metal and that's what I'm looking for. A full-metal body.

After seeing me circling the Kenwood promo display for awhile, a sales guy approached me to help out. Turned out that there was only ONE Patissier left hidden at the bottom of the display and at almost 10kg weight, I was grateful that a guy came to help me.

OK, so that is another 'loan' on credit card and I shudder thinking about the payment I have to make but I like to stretch my payments into several months because I need to keep some cash in savings in case my car break down or whatever (which it did afterwards BTW). Besides, it's something I need badly.

So what do I think of it?

First of all, anyone who wants to buy this must be very realistic of what the machine can and cannot do:

1. The manufacturer already stated that this is a low-capacity home-sized machine with about 1kg of liquid batter mixing capability and 600gm of dough Max.

2. It was meant for home-makers and novice baking enthusiasts who want to upgrade from the small hand mixer to something sturdier, a little more powerful yet at the forefront when it comes to style.

3. This is NOT a machine for very large capacity nor is it suitable for serious bakers who need professional industrial-sized equipment.

My pre-requisites were:

1. A full metal body because I do not want a plastic machine that moves
around when kneading a fondant dough.
2. A machine with the basic heavy duty attachments of baloon whisk, a
paddle and a dough hook.
3. Looks like Kitchenaid.
4. Cost less than RM1500.

So, the Patissier was perfect for me. Of course it'd be better if I could get it in chilli red. I am not a fan of the colour red but this one particular machine looks amazing in red. They had only the white one. Well, I thought I could always spray paint it later. As if.

It would be nicer if I could get the MX271 in chilli red but they didn't have it.

The operation is quiet (well it's more of unobtrusive low sound) which is a nice break from the very noisy hand mixer. Yes, this definitely is a stylish home-maker only machine.

The standard attachments : the balloon whisk, the paddle, the dough hook

1. The balloon whisk looks a little less ballooned as far as I can see it.

2. The paddle attachment isn't the usual 'K' design but a little bit different with more like an oval hole at the bottom.

3. The dough hook looks a bit tiny but I think this is probably a way to deter users from trying to force more than 600gm of dough onto it.

I did read an awful review from someone who bought this to replace the Kenwood Chef model in a professional kitchen. For me, it was THAT person who was the fool. Everyone else who gave a glowing review was either a home-maker or a baking novice or a Kitchenaid dreamer who couldn't afford the price tag.

So, there you go. I got a perfect machine for my needs at the price I could afford.

March 8th is here again.......Ingo.....you are remembered

Never forgotten. A fallen star. We lost your smile 14 years ago today........

" 8th March....

The day that we wish we wouldn't remember it the way we do now

The day we wish was just another day

The day the world died for a heart was broken

The day our prayers started to live on....

The day comes again....

...and you are remembered...

...dear Ingo.... "

(Originally posted on MySpace - Ingo Schwichtenberg Official Memorial Page)

Monkey business in the warehouse.......

I got a shock early this week as I looked up from the computer screen at the office and saw a monkey perched on one of the boxes at the top pallet of one of the many pallets at the storage area in front of my Division.

Poor monkey! It was hungry looking for food.

It can usually be seen at the canteen area but this was the day it somehow got lost and ended up at the warehouse instead. We had to alert the Store staff when the monkey started chewing the box.

The scared monkey looking back at us. From the way it was behaving, it was obvious the poor animal was afraid we might attack.

I feel sorry for the monkey as in a way, it wasn't really its fault. When people started clearing up more and more of the 'green' areas, the animals naturally lost their homes.

Just think of it, who invaded whose place first?

As expected.......they'd never dare granting me that VSS

I should've posted this last Friday. That was when the VSS Application results were announced.

I knew they wouldn't let me go. It was no surprise at all when the HR Manager repeated the sentence he uttered to me the last time my application was rejected.

"As decided by the Management, your services are still needed in the company. Thus, your applications have been granted the status 'FAILED'. So, you can now go back to your office to resume your duty."

I pressed him on to disclose who the 'Management' consisted of this time. He wouldn't tell this time though.

As we left the room, he annoyingly said to us,

"Congratulations! The company still loves you. Technically, you should be proud, y'know"

I told him this ............

"Ey, Mr. H------! What love? Prove that love with 'adjustment'!' referring to my paltry salary.

That alien (I dub him the Alien as he's so inhuman) grinned back nonchalantly saying "You get your adjustment every year!"

Yo! That's the yearly 1% increment. We're talking 'adjustment' as in the 'topping up' of that tiny 1%

Told ya he's an alien from Planet Zeug. ......