Fight

Yesterday, my friends and I nearly got involved in a fight. The boss cheated his gf's salary (approximately 400 pounds). Finally, a chance to get involved in a fight in Britain.

No... I also wish i had a chance to have pillow fight with these girls.... I mean a real fight...

This is more like... At least it was how I felt. Cause when my friend asked me if I wanna beat up someone, I was holding the kitchen knife... Hmm.... Hehe...

But anyway, no fight broke out. The boss said he'll pay her back the money and everything is settled.... Haha... another close encounter.... Hehe...

India hotel bombing

I'm sure many have heard about the bombing in the Indian hotel. Killing and injuring many people.

There's something very suspicious about this bombing event. The newspapers here said the gunmen were equiped with automatic weapons and grenades, and they were aiming for British and American passport holders.

Hmm... With an automatic weapon and grenades, they could only kill 1 British and injure 13 British. Another strange thing is, they've killed and injured more Indians than British or Americans.

Either the gunmen are fucking retards or they don't know how to use their weapons. Or the local indians are protecting the British and Americans, resulting higher casualties. But this is still nonsense. I'm not convinced of what the newspaper said and I'm sure there's more dead British and American.

I think the British government here will try to do something, but i don't think they have the ability to go to war. They've got more things to worry about. A war against India will only make British poor, because of logistics and the war will last quite long.

Lost a Bid

Today is another sad sad day in the office. Everyone in the office is very depressed and most of the managers and directors are all worried. We lost a bid for a framework contract.... T_T

The client is Camarthenshire County Council (CCC), and we have worked together for more than 5 years. Sadly, we've lost in the tender. Almost half of the work/jobs in our office comes from CCC, and we've lost it!!! We even opened up a new office in Camarthen so that we're more competitive, but we lost it.

You see the bunch of roads in the west of Britain. That's where Camarthen is.

Loosing in this bid means most of the staff in our office will be redundant. Probably some staffs will move to other offices while some unlucky ones will be sacked. The recent increase amount of work from the Highways Agency will probably absorb some staffs from our team.

Everyone in the office are all depressed and worried. Our colleagues in the new Camarthen office is getting a little paranoid and have been ringing us frequently. Oh dear....



So what if I got sacked??? I'm not too worried about that, because normally they would aim for managers first, simply because they have higher salaries. Although pawns like me are dispensable, I'm not worried. If I got sacked because of redundancy, the company will have to compensate... Hehe... So please... sack me.... And if I really get sacked, I'll just get back to Malaysia and start my life.... because I'm not really having a good time here...

Everything is Temporary

Working and living in a foreign country is very different from living at home. Everything around me seems to be temporary. For example, the room I am staying is temporary. The warm clothings I wear are more or less temporary (not gonna wear them in Malaysia).

I rent a room here in Cardiff. Everytime the rental contract expires, I look for better deals elsewhere, and I move out. This works both ways to me and my housemates. Even if I stay, my housemates may wanna move out and new housemates move in. Everything in the house is temporary, because I've been moving houses every year. Whenever people move houses, people throw away lots of stuff such as plates, foods etc. What a waste....

The saddest thing is even the people around is temporary. Not because of arguements, but because the friends around move around. People move around for many reasons such as graduation, job offer in another city, back to Malaysia, back to China etc... I guess, living in a foreign country gives you the opportunity to meet lots of people, but you sacrifice knowing them well.

This mindset of 'temporary' is really killing me from inside... Everything that I've done and will be doing in the UK, are all worthless.... Because everything around me is in a temporary state and the stuff that I've done here might not be transferable/suitable in Malaysia. I am getting less and less motivated at work. The only thing that I have permanently is CASH!!!! Yes, I am a slave of money, because there's just nowhere to spend your money here in Cardiff...!!!!

Winter in Britain

Another weekend, another rainy day in Cardiff. It's getting colder and colder, and the temperature outside is about ranges between 4 and 8 degree celsius. It made the whole street quiet because nobody wanted to go out in the cold. The best part is, it gets dark around 4 o'clock today. Could you believe that??? I guess winter is coming, or it's already here.

So what is winter like in Britain??? Do you get to see these???

Frozen lake???

Clear white snows???

Pure white snows??

Dream on....!!! First of all, winter=cold. You can't see coldness... It doesn't snow very often here in Britain. Maybe 3 to 4 times in a year. And the snow you get in Britain are wet snow, not dry snow in other European countries. So what the hell is wet snow and dry snow???

This is wet snow... It's wet and the dirt sticks to it easily.... And when you pick them up, they melt and your hands/ gloves gets wet. You'll find this in UK.

This is dry snow.... It's dry and powdery... You pick it up and it's powdery. It doesn't stick to dirt that easy.... And you won't find this in UK...

A lot of ppl would wish that they are here in a cold climate country, rather than in a tropical country like Malaysia. But my experience tells me, being in a hot climate is definitely better than a cold one.

During winter, you won't even wanna step outside your door for even a 5 mins for a smoke. Let alone go shopping. You don't get big shopping malls here. Shops are normally opened along the high streets rather than in a big complex. So it's more freezing time...

For ppl who drive over here, it's worse. You get frost in your window every morning and you'll have to scrap them off or pour hot water on them. To make things better, when you're in your car (which is cold) you'll turn on your heater. Once you're driving, the windscreen starts to blur and you'll have to wipe it every minute... And when it snows, the road freezes and you'll be ice-skating with your car. Just how fun could that be???

Winter ain't no good thing. The photos and movies you see in Winter Sonata and other films tend to portray that winter is fun. Children playing snow balls... But it's not!!! It's totally fucked up!!! It will ruin your day or it'll make you wanna stay at home and do nothing... Not even going out to the market for groceries. So, you'll ended up hungry, dried and dead.....

Cigar & Ciggarettes

Today my backside got itchy and I went to buy a pack of Hamlet to try. Hamlet is actually a brand of cheap mini cigars.

Didn't really like it though... I did what every cigar smokers do. Don't inhale it, just let it flow around the mouth cavity... But I still don't like it.... I could feel the tobacco sting around my mouth, tongue and throat.

Anyway I still prefer ciggarettes. And I prefer Dunhill from Malaysia. So, anyone coming to the UK, could you buy me 1 carton.... I miss my Dunhill.... Ciggarettes in Malaysia is so much stronger than other countries. If I've not mistaken, we're ranked no. 2, and no.1 is Portugal. Haha... The Dunhill in Malaysia is not only two times stronger than the ones here, but it's so much cheaper.... Sigh...

Since I've got no Malaysian Dunhill for the time being, I've seeked alternative.

I know that smoking is very bad for my health and it will increase my chance of getting cancer and all sort of heart disease. I've tried quitting them, and I succeeded. But what's the point of quitting tobacco?? So what?? I don't feel better or worse... I've got money to spend on tobaccos....

There's just nothing to do in this damn island called Britain.

Recession in UK 2

It's happening now.... The British government are taking action to curb the recession. Apart from cutting the interest rate to stimulate the economy, the government here have also planned to beef up the infrastructure in the country. Infrastructure such as highways, high speed railways, power station, water treatment plant, etc.

The Highways Agency (HA)in UK (equivalent to Lembaga Lebuhraya Nasional) is responsible of maintaining the highways and the trunk roads in the UK. And they're big government organisations with lots of money and redundancy...


My company is involved in some of HA works in the country. We cover the whole M4 and M5(from Cardiff to London and Cardiff to Birmingham, M4 is approximately 280miles). This morning, I've heard a big news from the HA. They've decided to double our outputs to them. In other words, we have to produce twice the amount of work that we used to do with double the price (but the rates are the same).



So this is an indication that the British government is starting to pump more funds/money to stimulate growth. So how much have they've decided to pump? More maintenance works means more works to the contractors to stimulate other industries. For our region in the M4 adn M5, they've planned to spend approximately £25million pounds in a year!!!! Could you believe that?? It's like building 1/4 of the whole highway. Fucking hell....


Let me know what do you guys think.

Chavs worse than samseng

Today, I'm gonna introduce another side of Britain, the other side of Britain that tour guides will never see or even know their presence. It's the true Britian INIT!!! Haha...

I now introduce you to a "Chav". Or if you wanna call them in a polite way, you can call them "Commoners". That's what polite ppl refer them as, I don't know why.

Below are some photos of them possibly in a pub (not club because they'll be refused entry). These are the typical clothes that they always wear, tracksuits, cap and hoodie. They like posing as if they're in a brawl or something. The way they greet each other, is by knocking each other in the head... Haha... They are funny beings.




These chavs aged between 14 to 21. They're normally involved in those football hooligan fights and other crimes. But you can be sure that they're trouble makers. Haha...

This is another photo of a chav doing what they do everyday. Hang around in a playground or somewhere and have a spliff. So what's a spliff? Spliff= the bomb=the shit= weed= cannabis= marijuana= ganja= a joint etc.

If you guys notice the cap that he's wearing, it's not Burberry. It's a fake one. Chavs somehow like wearing fake Burberry caps and T-shirts. I don't know why, but it's very obvious. Look at him, him in his own world after his spliff.

Just to let you guys know, cannabis is very common in the whole Britain and is easily available. All you need to do, is just ask one of these chavs, or ask any university students who're british. It's so common that in every white students' party, you'll get ppl smoking cannabis. Sometimes, the host will put a glass full of rolled cannabis on the table for everyone. Haha... I bet you can even get them from your neighbour if you happen to run out of them.

Yes. Cannabis is a problem here and will always be a problem here.

The photo above shows a typical chav's girlfriend. Notice the similarity? They like wearing tracksuits... Haha... You can spot if a girl is a chav by noticing their hair. If they happen to tie their hair really really tight, you know that she's a chav, and YES she smokes cannabis too. Haha...

These chav girls often get themselves into big trouble. Look at them. Smoking when she's pregnant and even has a tattoo in her stomach. When the baby is born, you won't even know if she's the baby's mother or the baby's sister. Young mothers like her will always be a problem in Britain.

In Malaysia, we have a lot of social problems such as gangsters. But in Britain, they're no better than we are. These chavs do nothing but just get high with cannabis, knife ppl, hit old ppl and kill babies. Yes... it's in the news everyday.

Anyone wants to share their opinion?

Brecon Beacon

My friend Raymond went to a place near Cardiff called Brecon Beacon. Many thanks to him, we are able to share the photos below...

Clear blue sky....

Waterfall..... and the water is really cold....

It is not often that we get clear blue sky and sunlight....

A nearby small village

Sheeps.... Let's get them for dinner...!!!

Trees....
This is the Raymond by the way. I don't know what's thing behind him, but I think it's some fresh water reservoir...

Thank you.

Recession in UK

I've looked at the exchange rate today, and the currency is UK is really dying. When I first started my job last September, the exchange rate was 1:6, but today it's 1:5.36... What the fuck....

The Bank of England is really cutting a hell lot of interest rate. From 5% to 3.5% and still dropping. This is the lowest interest rate in the recent 20 years.... This is bad news for me.... Banks such as Northern Rock needed the government to bail them out last year. At the moment, even UK's 2nd largest bank (Royal Bank of Scotland) is at the brink of nationalising, what do you think about the smaller banks? Bradford and Bingley and Halifax will just follow Northern Rock's footstep.... Sigh....

Anyway, in the high street, Christmas decoration are up for sale days before Halloween. Yes, shops are selling christmas stuff days before Halloween. What the Fuck!!! I think, this is an act of desperation.... They were desperate for CASH... They wanted to sell the remaining stocks and also their warehouse, just so that they can return the money they borrowed.... Especially those that borrowed from Icelandic Bank.... Haha... The British are really feeling the squeeze of the Credit Crunch...!!!

As for me, my job is still secured. Simply because I'm a bridge engineer. I'm involved in government projects. Of course some of the government projects got cancelled, but it is safer than working in Buildings.... The projects that I tend to do are mainly maintenance work/ refurbishment and inspections of bridges. The local governments won't be building new bridges, but they have to maintain and inspect them routinely. So, I guess my job is relatively secured. Phew... But if I got axed, my company will have to compensate me one and a half year's of salary.... So please... axe me now!!!! Haha....

Rugby

Today is a big day in Cardiff City.... There's a rugby game in the stadium tonight... Wales vs. Canada...



The special thing about Cardiff and rugby, is that the whole city gets involve in it. The locals will wear their red jersey (for Wales) and start drinking in local pubs until they get really drunk. They then march to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff city centre, while singing their song....

The roads will then be jammed and packed with cars... Several roads will be closed so that the rugby fans can get into the stadium safely... Police will be around the city just to secure everything.... Bus services to the city centre will be cancelled for no reasons.... What the Fuck is going on this city...


Since the buses are not entering the city centre, I'll have to walk back home after doing my groceries... SHIT!!! I have to walk Bloody 2km with 2 bags of rice and hell lot of foods just to get back home... Argh.....


After the game, the rugby fans will start fooling around in the streets... Go to pubs for another round of beer, rugby tackle in the streets... fight.... get arrested by the police... piss on the street...etc.. (I hope you guys get the picture of how British really behave)
The streets is then left with broken glasses and urine. Ambulance will also be there, just to take care of the drunks, not that anyone got injured.... What a joke....

Dono what to write

Today is one of the many boring days in Britain.... same old routine schedule.... So today, I'm gonna write my routine in Cardiff...

7.00am.... wake up and shower

7.20am.... Check email and blog

7.50am.... Drink coffee and have breakfast

8.10am.... Smoke a ciggarette and walk to the office/ Take the bus if it rains

8.40am.... Reach the office and ask any of my colleagues the same question "Good weekend"

1.00pm.... Smoke a ciggarette and go to Cardiff Uni and order a budget meal (2.60 pounds)

1.20pm.... Return to office and read the news

2.00pm.... Continue with my work

5.30pm.... Smoke a ciggarette and walk back to my house/ grocery shopping and take the bus back

6.00pm.... Get change and prepare dinner

7.00pm.... Eat my dinner with my housemates and chat with them

8.30pm.... Write my blog

9.30pm.... Read a book/ watch a movie

11.30pm.... Go to bed

The cycle repeats itself over and over again until every Friday.... I'm trying to beat the cycle cycle everyday by trying to invite friends to come over for dinner, but not everyone is free or willing to come for dinner.... Sigh.... Things are so different from Kepong...

Sometimes I wish something will happen to me.... whether it's good or bad... at least something....

Anyone mind sharing your routine lifestyle???

Strip Club

Recovered from my illness on Friday... It's nice that I to be ill once in a while, since I get paid for taking sick leave.... What a weird policy in UK.... In fact, I did actually got a flu on purpose, in the Halloween party... Haha....

Anyway, on Friday, I had steamboat at my friend's place. The funny thing is, we actually have rice for steamboat... Haha... First time ever.... Although I didn't eat much, but the food alright... By the way, I actually prefer having rice for dinner rather than steamboat and BBQs... Simply because I don't have the patience to wait.... Haha...

After dinner, suddenly the girls suggested to go to a strip club.... I don't know why, but I'm guessing they're either curious or they wanna learn or they're attracted to girls??? Hmm.... At first, I thought it was a bad idea... the entry fee is gonna be expensive... the drinks are gonna be expensive... the place will be crowded with men... We're the only asians in the club.... and my friends might be treated as dancers.... All sort of thoughts just rushed into my head... But anyway, we went to the stripclub....

It's actually my first time going to a strip club, let alone going there with female friends... There are rules in these clubs.... No touching, no wanking, no cameras, no phones.... Blah blah blah... And entering the club (5 pounds entrance), I was shocked.... the whole club has less than 25 customers, and there are more dancers than there are guys.... What a shocking.... Guess the British guys are feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch....

Then the dancers started dancing on the stage for a duration of 2 songs (depending on how long the songs are)... Normally, in the 1st song, they'll just dance around on the pole. In the second song, they'll strip their bikini/bra or whatever, leaving their panties only...

After that, other dancers approached us and ask if we want a private dance or a lap dance (2 songs for 20 pounds).... Of course, I didn't ask for it... The girls (my friends not dancers) then started asking me if I want one... I told them, "I HATE WHITES".... Haha... I then gave one of the dancers a funny stare.... the same stare that White Thrash gives to Asian women.... The dancer then got pissed off and went away.... Haha... Take that you fucking White Slut...

In the club, I didn't really enjoy myself, (except for the staring bit)... It's not because I was shy going to a strip club with girls, but simply because I don't fancy watching fake tits swinging around.... I don't know how my friends feel, but I don't think they enjoy themselves either....

So, there's my experience to a British stripclub... Will never go to a British stripclub.... Anyone care to share their experience in a strip club??? :D

Really ill

I'm ill today... Been forced to take 1/2 day leave today... My colleague started making noise of me spreading all the germs in the office.... Fucking hell....

I'm fine working as usual... just that I'm feeling a bit tired and keep on sneezing... But I'm still capable of carrying out my job... How can my company force me to take leave... Fucking hell.... My colleagues should understand that I'm different from them... I can 'tahan mati'... not like the brits here.... Taking sick leave even for some fucking paper cut...

Even if I take leave, it's not going to make me feel any better... I'm just going to stay at home doing nothing... I'm not gonna see a doctor... because doctors here don't have ethics... Even if you're sick, they'll still need you to make an appointment with them... What the Fuck is this....

I think the best thing for me to do is just get some rest and eat more ginger. Anyone has any recommendation??

Underbridge unit

You guys may laugh at me for being childish... But I think this is a cool piece of machine... This unit here is called the Moog 230X.... It's an underbridge unit... This heavy mother fucker weighs 33T...

Check this out...

Arrival on site...

Starting to deploy...

Looks more like a SCUD missle launcher....

It's deploying the platform....

Me climbing down the ladders to the platform... Looks just like the game show 'Fun House'.... Haha...

Anyway, I was surprise to know that the operator to this machine can actually steer and control the whole vehicle remotely... How cool is that... He steers the whole truck while we're underneath the bridge by using cameras only..... His visibility is only 3m....What the fuck!!!... Haha... I like this machine....