Ortho Fix 1

Six weeks has passed since I had my braces on.

I arrived in the afternoon and was the first patient for that session.  In the room there was a reasonably huge Indian lady.  I asked the nurse if doc was in.  She answered in affirmative.  I later found out that the lady was an intern.

I told the Orthodontist to look into the wires which seemed to have somewhat dislodged from the brackets.  I could feel the Orthodontist remove some of the wires.  He then tightened the wires.  He is skillful.  His hand movements were quick, swift and confident.  That however did not stop him from accidentally hurting me when the tip of the wire poked the lips.  There was blood.

Now the wires are much tighter.  I was told by the person who can only be my friend that the tension of the wire will set in a few days later.  We shall see.

William in his post wondered how it feels during smooching.  The tongue would not get caught at the gaps between the teeth and the wires.  The gap is simply too small.  The other person may get to taste the food debris stuck though.  But one thing for sure, the tongue may get hurt.  The brackets are quite sharp depending on where your tongue is coming from.  The metal brackets at the wisdom teeth have hooks.  At the moment, the inner hooks are not used as yet.  Some of the porcelain brackets also have extensions coming out from the brackets.  

I can imagine.

During the height of the moment....  Lips locked.  Eyes closed. The warm tongue swirls and explores.  The feel gets more intense.  The rhythm of the heart races from allegro to vivace.  Blood in the body gushes towards the head making you feel hot. Your flag is at full mast.  All at the same time. The swirling continues. The two body convulses and the point of no return is almost reached.  Then all the sudden, the tongue gets pricked by the sharp hook at the wisdom teeth.

The Gym

I was at the gym early Saturday morning.  Normally I would not be up so early.  Well, it is already late morning to some people anyway.  It was already past 10 am when I arrived in town.  Normally I would go to another outlet.  I have a lunch appointment nearby later.  So the reason for the workout here.  This is the first time exercising here since it was relocated.

The changing room was big, clean and airy unlike the one that I normally go to.  A guy was at the locker.  He was in his undies.  It was like he was going to be there forever.  I think he must be waiting to be hunted.

I got changed. He was still there. Walking to and fro between the locker and the vanity area.  I got out.  Walked down a flight of steps.  I walked towards the internet area.  I logged onto FB and saw this tinny little picture of a mafia godfather asking to befriend me.  On a closer look, he was Leggie.  Yeah.  I have known him for a while since Savante introduced him to me.  It is only now that we are FB friends. 

I proceeded to the cardio machine.   A blue colored rectangular piece of  something was sitting neatly in the water bottle hold.  An iPhone it was.  Someone left it there.  I started on my treadmill.  A little chat ensued.  I was debating whether I should surrender it to the counter?  Or shall I keep the iPhone?  Don't get me wrong.  I do not intend to keep it for myself.  What if the counter staff pocketed it?  After a short debate I decided to continue with my cardio.  If the owner realizes, he will come back for it.  If he does not, I shall take it home.  Of course I shall let the staff know.  The rightful owner can come claim it from me.

Half an hour into my cardio, two guys walked towards the cardio area.  He counted the machines and walked towards mine.  One of them looked at the water hold on the left.  The iPhone was not there.  I had already moved it to the right water bottle hold.   They moved away looking a little worried.  I was too engrossed in my workout to stop.  I was also wondering what their next move was.

Shortly, they came back.  The friend was with a cell phone calling the iPhone no.  This time I waved to them and asked if they were looking for it.  I was pretty sure that the rightful owner is here.   First, he could identify exactly which machine he was on.  Secondly he knew exactly where he put it.  Lastly his friend is now calling the mobile no.

I could see the relieve on his face.  The owner was dumbstruck and could not say a word. He probably could not believe his luck.  His friend thanked me profusely on his behalf. 

I know exactly he felt when he found out about his loss.   The bloke was just the average Joe Doe like us.  It would be an excruciating heartbreak if he lost it.  I did not take possession of the something that was not mine.  Never mind the finders keepers rule.  I was pleased with myself for that.

After workout, I toweled myself.  I walked past the sauna and went into the steam room.  It was clean.  There was someone watching out from the sauna.  Next thing I knew, he came into the steam room.  He had a smooth and reasonably toned body and a decent face.  I know what he wants.  Since he was not in luck, he left for the shower. 

A short while later I went into the shower stalls.  Another person was waiting there.  He obviously had not worked out at all.   His body was dry.  His hair was too.  There was not a single drop of sweat on his body.  I showered and went back to the steam.  He followed suit.  He came in, sat down and let down his towel till you could see the hair.  An invitation. The RSVP was not forthcoming.  A while later after the final steam, I left.

Fixed

Recently some bloggers and visitors have complained that they were unable to view my blog or have not been able to post comments.  We'll it is not that I get an awful lot of traffic coming through anyway.  However I have also noticed that it takes an awful long time for my blog to load up.

A few months after I started this blog I installed a counter on my post to monitor the traffic to each of the post.  After a while I decided to delete the widget because it was not loading properly and I was having some problems loading my blog up properly.

I did not realize that other people were having problems navigating into my blog too.

With the help from the blogging forum, I believe the problem has been fixed.

Thanks for visiting my blog and do let me know if the problems still persist.

Dinner

Dinner today was at Favola.  Mains were Bolognaise, Aglio Olio and Lasagna while dessert was Casatta and Choc Pudding.  The food was tasty and good.  There was not a hint of the heavy cheesy taste.

This is my second time to the outlet.  The first was when they just opened for business. While the lighting during my first visit was very dim, this  time around it was a little bit too bright for my liking.  It made the ambiance looked like a family restaurant instead of a fine dining outlet.

The normal average household would be having an ala carte meal at the neighborhood coffee shop.  Here you witness the rich and affluent doing the same but at a fine diner.  They were all dressed up to the hilt.  A handsome young lad who walked in with his gal was in his finest semi formals.  I bet my last dollar his undies is branded too.  The ladies were in their evening dress and stilettos.  An Indian couple came with their son.  They ordered a bottle of champagne.  There must at least be either a doctor or lawyer at that table.
 
This outlet has a story to tell.  I remember buying an acquaintance dinner during the first visit. The next day he texted me if I could be his godfather!  When I told him that we could be friends, he declined saying that he already has enough friends!  I was bowled over.  My jaw dropped and I was stunned momentarily.  More than momentary really.   It shook  me to the core.  I was a little worked up for the rest of the day.   Hello, I am older than you but not old enough to be your godfather.  Just what are you trying to say and imply?

The doctor's prince was pretty amused when I regurgitate the story to him at the dinner table.  Knowing that he has bought a castle on the air and the doctor is on his way to his millions soon, I could not help but popped out the same question.  He laughed his head off.

Dinner was good.  Company was great.  At RM100.65 to be split both ways, it was a reasonably priced meal.

The AGM

I attended a telecommunication company's Annual General Meeting recently.  It was the first ever AGM for a public listed company I have attended.  I wanted to see and feel how it was like.  There was a bumper to bumper crawl to the hotel where the meeting was to be held. Coupled with the school holidays, traffic was bad.

Being a telco company, the door gift was a RM20 prepaid top up.  Haiz...I thought they would be more generous than that.  A voucher for the new iPhone would have been better.  The meeting started promptly and the CEO gave an insight on the Company performance and all the jazz of how good this Company is.  From time to time he actually had to make an effort to say " Your Company....."  This is his first AGM.  I think he must have got so used to saying the Company to everyone thus far.  As usual he and later the Chairman was telling shareholders how many no. 1s and milestone this Company has achieved.  I thought the Americans are more suave in this area.

Question and answer sessions followed.  I learnt something from this Meeting.  You better have your grounds covered less you will be shot.

The shareholders were waiting and even though the pot shots were mild , the Chair was getting a little agitated towards the end.  The session was suppose to be on the financial reports only but after a few questions, the floor was taken over by some disgruntled shareholders who were their customers.

The shareholders were not happy with their share price which was a laggard. Despite so many no 1s, how come the share price is nothing close to even no 2 or no 3?   Some others complaint on the drop calls while others lamented how they have had to put up with the bad internet connections.  The standard and neutral answers of "We will look into the matter" and "We will ensure that the company is run well and continues to pay good dividends" were the order of the day.  

Some silly remarks and questions were posed.  One person asked whether there will be food left after the Meeting now that they were already serving the food while the Meeting was still going on.  Others asked if food will be served.  Another spoke in Cantonese and Mandarin.  He wants to see the fairer gender sitting on the Board by the next AGM.  I thought the Meeting was getting draggy and decided to leave.  Well.  Actually I saw a hunk leaving and I thought I should to.  I went to the rest room to ease myself and he too was there. 

The were already many people outside.  One round of the food had finished.  The seconds were being replenished.  Meanwhile what I witnessed was completely unbelievable and totally embarrassing.  Some were piling two to three plates at a go.   One was piling two plates at one go and at the same time picking up food with his hand and putting it into his mouth.  Many others came with bags and literally scooped the food up to take home!   I was really taken aback.

The Meeting was adjourned.  I went in and talked to the Operations Head on some issues.  I came out had some finger food and another cuppa before leaving

What Goes Around Comes Around

I was invited for lunch over the weekend.  Along the highway I drove past this "monument" that will always remind me of what humility is all about.

Two and a half years back, we were engaged for some work at the site.  The accuracy required for the work allowed for a tolerance level of up to three metres.  The client without our knowledge, used our data for their works which required an accuracy where deviations cannot exceed fifteen milimitres.  All so that they can save some money!

One year later, we were summoned for a meeting.   The foundation of the building has encroached beyond the boundary.  Naturally we were held responsible for the mess.  I was staring at a big hole running into millions of ringgit.  I wondered what happened?  How could a simple job with such meager fee end up with such amount of liabilities.  Months of sleepless nights followed.  Whatever that was built over the years seemed to be crumbling.  I cannot see how we are going to get out of this in one piece.  We were heading for total destruction.

The owner of the building wanted a solution which were beyond all of our reach.  Even our client who was heavily connected could do nothing to appease the owner.  The client told me that if it was a temple or a mosque, a compromise would have been the order of the day.  It was no one's fault. Just pure unintentional human error.  The owner told the client to demolish the ten million ringgit structure and rebuilt it if they cannot have it their way.

The client could not comprehend how these Godly people can be so unreasonable.  He thought that they were suppose to be compassionate.  In this case, to forgive was not one of their doctrine.  The client was somewhat bitter.  He had used his connection to lobby for the approval of a project which in normal circumstances would never have been approved by the authorities.  Never ever will be approved!

I told the client to understand who the owners were.  These were real shrewd businessmen dressed up as God's children. However, not all God's child are like them.  I told the client how blessed I have been to know some real God's children and how wonderful these people were.

The client negotiated with the owner.  Both the client and us tried to use our connections to work a solution out.  It was an uphill task.  Meanwhile, the owner wrote to the biggest shareholder of the client.  The owner wanted to make sure that no stone was left unturned.  It was a sure way to  hold the client at ransom and demand for blood.  They wanted blood.  Nothing less.  All in the name of God.

Meanwhile, we received from the client letters which were crafted by their solicitors.  One look and I know what we are in for.  The client told us to reply accordingly.  There was nothing they could do.  Everything was out of their hands.  Every document was now kept under lock and key.

We co-operated with the client and helped them identify where the errors were.  During one of the meetings, something struck me.  We have always done work for the client.  Fees running into five figures were common.  Errors like this never happened.  This was just a simple job with meager fee which did not require that level of accuracy.  It then dawned upon me that the client had used our data.   They used our data for works which require a three decimal point accuracy.  Meanwhile our data had a error tolerance of three meters!

We were relieved.

We replied to the client accordingly.  On the sideline, I told the client that we would work something out so that his bosses would spare him.  We would help him out in whatever way we could.

Meanwhile, to resolve the issue, the biggest shareholder had to use his connection up to highest level.  On top of that they contributed a million ringgit of "donation" to the owner.  This "donation" term is a charade for ransom and harassment.  The owner is never shy to demand for this "donation" in the name of God.  I call this blood money.

Late last year, I found out from the newspaper that the very people who had been so unreasonable was now in the limelight.  All for the wrong reasons.  I was really surprised.  I cannot believe that these God fearing people could behave in such a manner.  In corporate, this would have amount to criminal breach of trust and corporate misdemeanor.  The guilty party would be staring at a jail term and whipping.

I am reminded.  I try my best to be good, and live up to it to the best of my ability without giving any excuses for my weaknesses.  Maybe for that I have been spared, so to speak. 

I looked at the owner and felt pity for them.  Maybe if they had been more humble; less arrogant; more compassionate and humane, they too would have been spared as well.  Maybe this is all karma.  Maybe this is God's way of teaching all of us a lesson.  This lesson is for their learning.

What goes around comes around.  As I pass the highway, this "monument" will always remind me of what humility is all about.  Heaven has a way of teaching us what we need to learn.

ps. If completed this structure can admit a congregation of at least five thousand people.  Today it remains abandoned.  The languishing concrete structure is an eyesore which can be seen from as far as Pantai Hillpark.  To start with, the owner never had enough money to built it.  They now owe the contractors millions of ringgit in unpaid work.

Flashback

J texted me weeks earlier telling me that he has changed his contact no.  I have not met him more than five times in the entire four over years I have come to know him.  I met him up again recently.

J is a fine young lad.  Matured in his thoughts, he is reliable and dependable.  This I can seize from the several meet ups we have had.  Our conversations are always intellectual in manner and I find them thoroughly stimulating.  I know that J had always liked to get to know me better.  He has dropped countless hints which I have either skirted or just ignored.  So much so that J thinks either I am not interested in him, he is not my type or he is not good enough for me.  The truth is that I think J deserves a better person.  I am not ready.  Maybe never will be!

One question that always pop up when we meet is whether I have been seeing, are seeing or have seen anyone.  Since J is already seeing someone and is moving down south to be with him, I told him what happened eight months back.  Somehow this world is really small.  I told J what they work as and he told me what their names were.  He knows one better than the other in person.

J was really surprised at the extent I went to woo my friend.  I think he was dumbstruck for a few moments. So much so that he asked what his shortcomings were.  He questioned why the engineer was not good enough.  I smiled and told him everything is about timing.  I was ready at that point in time and I was willing to let my guard down and let my heart rule.

We talked about many things.  All circling around relationships and about my friend and his other half.  Flashbacks on those events eight months back appeared.  I know for a fact that my feelings for him is real.  I want to let him have what he wants.  To let him be whatever makes him happy.  So deep in my heart and soul,  I am at peace.

I am happy for the person I met eight months back.  He is well taken care off.

Investment

A close friend called me.  He is very learned but risk aversed. The character of a person who thinks and operates by the books.  I have known him since we were in secondary school.

He was complaining about how he felt cheated.  He invested in some equity funds three years ago.  It will mature early next month.  The return on his investment was almost zero.  If inflation was taken into account, he would have made a lost.  To add salt to injury, it can take up to two months after maturity for the cheque to be out.  He then told me he learnt a lesson or two.  Lessson One: always listen to your mother.  His mother was against him investing through the insurance company.  Lesson Two: Never ever invest in with the insurance companies.  They all cheat people.

Late afternoon on the way home, he called again.  This time he went further.  He mentioned that even PNB and EPF pays out more.  He will now go back and eat his shoes in front of his mother for not listening to her advice.

On both occasion, I explained to him.  The equity market took a beating from the US sub prime mortgage crisis.  The world financial markets was in turmoil. It was a year of annus horribilis which continued over the next year and a half before it was contained.

I told him the payouts from EPF and PNB were profits from IPOs issued to them.  Any equity fund given that privilege would be making much much more than what ours are.  I also told him that he would have made eighteen percent per annum if he had cashed out two years before maturity.

They cannot pay you immediately after the maturity because the accounts need to be audited. Everything here follows BNM guidelines and rulings. 

I advised him to invest in properties.  At the right location and right time, you cannot go wrong with what is up in brick and mortar.

I perfectly understand where he is coming from. I know him well enough to understand how and why he reacts that way. 

Whatever we get ourselves into, we know the risks and repercussions.  We know but we choose to tweak and ignore the hard cold facts.    We choose to see and hear what we want to. So when things go wrong like it sometimes will, we blame others and everyone else for our own misdemeanor.

Where is it?

Early yesterday morning I received two missed calls on my mobile.  The second no looked familiar.  I then realized the Bank tried to call. Twice.  Normally a call at this odd hour means you have a cheque to cover.  I then tried frantically to return the call but to no avail.  I only managed to get through at 9.45am.

I was told that I have issued a RM3500.00 cheque out from this particular account but there was no funds available.  I need to cover the it by 10.00am less it will be returned.  The penalty as we all know is a RM100.00 fine and you could be blacklisted by the Central Bank if it happens on two more occasions.

I wondered how could I have drawn the cheque.  I only issue cheques from this particular account to my other account.  How could I have made such a blunder. I checked.  No cheques were banked into that account.  No returned cheques. Time was running out.  I just need to cover it first.  Luckily I was still home.  So I made my way to the Bank.

At the back of my mind, I still have some unanswered questions.  But I need to cover the cheque first because the time is up.  I checked a few details to get some clue as to what happened.  The answers were not forthcoming.  Based on my mode of operation, I decided to let the case rest because I was pretty sure that I must have banked it into my account as I have always done.  I must have mistaken that I had that amount in the account.

Today I came home early.  I decided to check my bank account.  I realized that there was no RM3500.00 banked into it.  So the cheque was issued to someone else.  There was nothing written on the cheque butt.  My bills have been accounted for and paid out correctly.  So it was not possible for me to inadvertently issue this  cheque out for bill payments.  I felt a little uneasy.

I called the Bank again.  They do not have the cheque image.  They would have to request from the HQ.  I had no choice.  That will be RM10.00.

I am wondering where the RM3500.00 went.  Maybe I should have just stopped the payment yesterday because I actually do not recall issuing out that cheque. 

I will have to wait for tomorrow to know the outcome.  It is a lot of money to lose if indeed it is fraud.  If it is, I can kiss my money good bye.  It is not going to be easy to get it back.

One lesson to learn is to always write the details on the cheque butt.  Always. Even if you are in a hurry or have no time.  I have this bad habit of not writing it when I am in a hurry.  In this case, I did not write it because I only issue cheques out to myself from this account.

RM3500.00 is a lot of money to lose.  What more in a manner like this.