Meetings Meetings Meetings... Life of a Vendor

This morning at 9:30am, I had received a phone call from a pengarah at the Maps Department requesting for a meeting with me.  He had mentioned over the phone in a very nice way that there is a problem with our High Definition Scanner and the problem is now escalated to him.  Though we are sharing the works on this contract with our sister company, my immediate reaction was to ask him what time would I be able to come and see him.  He told me at 11:00am.  

I got out of bed, called my Technical Manager and asked him to call the Engineer in charge of the scanner to ascertain what are we doing about this issue.  Then I had gone to the toilet and sat on the "throne" to figure out what I needed to say to the Pengarah to solve the issues.  I realized that this was an exercise of managing expectations.  Though the sister company is providing very little commitment and the issues are all part of their areas of responsibility, the contract was still under our company which means we are responsible for it.  After coming up with a solution on how to manage the flow of the meeting I was out of the door of the bathroom.  Really, this throne thing works. 

I was out of the door at 10am sharp, and the driver was there waiting for me and ready to go.  Tried to call my counterpart at the sister company but he was in a meeting, so I had sent him an sms.  Talked to my Technical Manager and he briefed me and said that he and the Lead Engineer for the scanner would be there.  Arriving at the Maps Department at about 10:45am, I went to the canteen and waited for everyone to arrive.  I had received a phone call at 10:50am and the sub-pengarah requested for a postponement to 11:30am.  Upon the arrival of the Lead Engineer we discussed and came up with a Plan of Action as well as a timeline for us to present to the Pengarah.  This is all part of managing the expectations. 

The meeting went OK, there was a lot of sarcastic remarks about the scanner and we as the vendors just kept quiet and presented what we needed to say.  After the meeting, several other meetings were set for the next week.  What a week it's going to be.  At least there is a plan to implement certain things, and I hope it will go through. 

Upon returning to the house, I fell asleep for about 1 hour and left for office.  The total travel time from the house to the office is about 2 minutes and then I was told that there is progress on our Military Submission.  Now it seems that there is a meeting called for Monday, 8th of April for a presentation of our products.  I am now in a quandary whether I should attend to this meeting.  Well decisions must be made. 

what...... no wifi !!!!

today i had confirmed a meeting with some people that supposedly wants to help us in venturing into different business areas. i know 1 of the person but not the other.

so we are meeting in subang jaya at pelita and i cant believe there is no wifi available in a shop that is so overpriced. but what to do it is the place they want to meet to convince that they can help. so lets hear what they want to say.

PRU - 13... General Election 13

What an auspicious number, with the number 4 being the most prevalent number for this General Election.  The announcement was made today, 3.4.2013, which is the 4th anniversary of our PM being in power.  At the same time, being that it is the 13th General Election, with 1+3 = 4, and it was done on the 4th month of the year.  Wow lots of 4.  

Now that the announcement is finally made the country will begin its countdown till polling day.  In what is expected to be a bloody and intense battle for Malaysia.  It is time for the population to make their voices heard.  Also it would be time for me to stop being a hypocrite and vote this year.  It would be something interesting.  

Now we just sit back and look at the circus, flag wars and speeches that will start and begin almost immediately.  Have fun and be safe to everyone that is involved. 

tender or direct award???

for the friendly skies projects, i believe we should be grateful for what we have gotten and pursue the projects as a responsible vendor. even though the other players in the game are spewing out lies and statements which are detrimental to our pursuit, that had to be expected because its business.

even when confronted with such blatant lies we would not stoop to their level. always talk about the positives on your solution and never bad mouth the competitors as others had done. ofcourse we feel the frustration because we have put on the table the most economical and low risk solution, but i believe if it is meant for us it will be given to us. try our very best.

maps, maps and more maps

i am sitting in the parking lot of jupem having a smoke whilst waiting for our monthly project meeting. the meeting is envisioned to be the same as every other month and hopefully we would be done within the time frame.

i hate to be in kl after 4pm due to the notorious traffic and weather. at the same time i received news that there are still more complications on a project that we are currently pursuing. the only thing we can do is to sit back and see.

P.Tioman Family Dive Trip....

Overall it was an excellent time that we all had while on the island.  We saw how helpful everyone was and how concious everyone is towards the preservation of the environment.  And after seeing the underwater for the first time, I am certainly looking forward to dive again with the family and friends.  Thank you Nizam Dive Team for a wonderful time.  Thank you Datin Ju, Datuk Roy, Uncle Chot, Lan (for taking care of my baby daughter) and Faiz for all your preparation and planning for this trip. 

My wife told me that she has booked Nizam for our baby's OWD certification in 9 years time.  So happy diving to all.   Thanks baby in getting us involved in this activity.  Love you. 

Sunset on 1st day

The beautiful beach of Salang Village, P. Tioman

Our wonderful chalets at Salang Pusaka (Highly Recommended)

My view from the Chalet every day

Can't beat this life... 

There is a nice wreck at the tip of that outcrop.. (I was told)

Serving in Paradise

My Dive Story

Little Mermaid we are... P. Tioman Day 3

After a great night sleep, Day 3 is upon us, and we knew that it was time for the boat dive.  The anxiety that was felt during the preparation and the walk to the jetty to board our dive boat was scary.  I hadn't felt as nervous as I did that day since about 15 years ago, on the 4.9.1998, when I had my akad nikah ceremony with my wife.  

1st Dive..... Open Water.... 

As we loaded all the equipment and ourselves on the boat, my sayang had said that how remarkable all these divers were in their spirit to help everyone.  It was kinda like a gotong royong getting all the equipment in and how they were pumping everyone up for the dive.  After taking off our dive master provided an excellent briefing and remarked that the visibility and the sea is so calm and it would be to our advantage.  He mentioned to us that we are heading to Pulau Labas.  So off we went and headed straight for Pulau Labas and upon our arrival everyone was excited with the visibility (or viz) of the area.  We prepped all the equipment and it was time to put into use the skills that we had practiced.  Again, with the giant stride off the boat and we were again underwater.  It was great.   

I had to constantly equalize throughout the dive but upon arriving to the bottom about (11m) deep, it was simply breathtaking.  Again, we did our exercises and after about 15 or so minutes we were guided through the site and the leisure dive begins.   Awesome.  It is certainly difficult to describe, the only thing I can say is go and dive.  

The seabed ... unreal

A nudie branch... another variation

Another nudie branch

peek a boo.. I see you

Little Nemo, we found you....

After the dive, I was dreading the climb up the boat since the ladder looked a little flimsy, but no problem and we were up and ready for our break.  The dive was about 1.5 hours and we were so ecstatic describing the things that we saw underwater.  I had my daughter's hand (buddy) in my hands throughout the dive, and I was very proud of the whole family in making this dive.  It was a great feeling. 

We had a lunch break at Coral Island, and where we saw the water was like glass.  It was absolutely clear and also rubbish free.  We were joined by several large iguanas which made me nervous but otherwise it was awesome. 

2nd Dive... Batu Malang

I was concerned that we were diving at Batu Malang, why would anyone want to dive at a place that is unlucky.  Upon arriving at the Dive Site, there were lots of people there snorkeling, and we readied ourselves for the dive.  This time, the divemaster in his infinite wisdom decided that my son and I was to roll backwards into the water from the dive boat.  So I sat on the side of the boat and rolled myself off and created a massive splash.... it was fun.  

For this dive, it was pure leisure.  We had done all the exercises and we were told to just enjoy.  I decided to carry the underwater camera and take some shots whilst we are diving.  It took some getting used to carrying the camera but after much equalizing I was able to descend and enjoy the environment down below.  Another site, and another adventure.  It was great with lots to look at.  

This was the dive that I truly lost myself in the dive, I did not realize the morrey eel that was in the hole within the corals as I was diving above it.  It was the 2nd divemaster that pointed the eel out to me.  Thank you Faiz for that.  But overall it was great.  

What a beautiful creature... 

The forest underwater

Same guy, escaping I think

Nemo's Daddy

A Blue Spotted Stingray...

Almost got me

After about 1.5 hours, we were again up on the boat and went back to the Dive Centre in Salang Village.  Upon arrival we cleaned all our equipment and as usual our conversation was all about the dive and how great it was.  Then we saw our Divemaster take out his folder and a bunch of envelopes.  After a de-brief of the dive and what we had accomplished he proudly took out all our certificate and gave us a dive card.  WE HAD PASSED....  Awesome and thank you to all that participated in our adventure.  Lets do it again.