Fighting for a Fortnight

For the second time, I was part of a task force to dissect the problems being faced by my client. What's the difference with the first time you may ask? The whole exercise was spearheaded by someone with different expertise and covered a broader scale. And of course, the ulterior motive was also different. The funny thing was, the first task force wasn't even closed yet, and here we were, part of another. Troublemakers coming in to 'save' the day. Anyway, the original schedule was two weeks, but we finished it in half the time. I was supposed to stay on anyway, but my CEO suddenly didn't like the idea of me being there. In my mind, its probably for strategic and budgetary reasons. I applied to get my ticket changed pretty late on Friday afternoon, so the ticketing department basically just ignored me. But my amazing GM actually managed to get things done. Believe it or not, I received my ticket after midnight. They must hate him so much. Since it was so late, my flight was at 3:30 PM.



Woke up at 8:00 AM, did some exercise, and went for breakfast. I ate with a female colleague who was on her first overseas trip. Very noob, as my nephews would say. Both of us had nothing better to do, so I suggested that we visit Tamu Kianggeh. Although its so near, I never once visited it. Back in 2011, the market had more soul. The vendors sold their wares along Sungai Kianggeh with lots of colorful parasols. Today, all the vendors have moved into an open-air structure built by the government. Looks just like our pasar with vegetables, fruits, and other groceries. The only difference I detected were the dried sea products and ketupat daun nipah that they sold. The only thing I bought was their super-sized dried shrimp. Quite a steal at BND5. We finished our visit in less than twenty minutes.



From the market, we hopped over to Teng Yun Temple. By that time, the sun was shining so brightly that the temple seemed like a welcome refuge. According to their website, they seem to be the only Taoist temple in Bandar Seri Begawan. It was very quiet with just one caretaker and one other person praying at the side altar. I didn't take many pictures and my colleague had no interest in praying, so we walked back to the hotel.





I packed up all my stuff and double-checked to see if I had left anything behind. While waiting for the driver to come at 1:30 PM, I watched TV. Suddenly, there was the loud wailing of sirens. I thought that a patrol car was passing by, but it just got louder and louder. Moving to the window, I spied a bunch of people congregating at the side alley. At the far end, I caught sight of a fireman working at the valve of a fire hydrant. I pushed open the window to get a better look. Smoke was billowing out of the multi-level car park behind my hotel. Obviously nothing to be alarmed about since the hotel staff were just standing around.



My flight back to KL was uneventful. Just a little annoyed that the Malaysian Airlines aircraft did not have in-flight entertainment. KH picked me up at the airport, and we went to dinner together. I was alone in KL as mum and the Tribe were already in Melaka to attend my SIL's wedding. Our dinner venue was a random choice in Taman Kinrara-- Mimi Nguyen Cafe. Judging from the packed dinner crowd, it was not a wrong choice. We chose an assortment of stuff from the menu-- grilled scallops, grilled lamb, Vietnamese CCF, and lemongrass clam soup. Overall, the taste was good and our food was served pretty quickly.





KH didn't just drop me at the my front door, I invited him in for coffee. I really needed that session with KH. He pounded a whole week's worth of stress out of me. Gosh, I spooged all over my abdomen. Hahahaha.