A light at the end of the tunnel
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Gosh....this thing called life sure has a funny way to prove you wrong...after what I said in the previous post about my job, today's work was an absolute blast (relatively speaking, I know some of you might not find what Im just about to say fun).
So the day started out as usual with....*drum roll*....filing...Ive been doing so much that Im actually getting quite good at it now, I might open my own company: Cheah Filing Ltd - We do the Filing, so you will be Smiling- . Oh!!....before all that, I woke up 5 am this morning to watch MU and chelsea, and I must say, what spirit and vigour we showed during the first half...absolutely smahsing...however, I was absolutely raging when chelsea scored the equaliser, not only did it stem from a lackluster free kick from our own half but how the ref failed to book DOGba for his elbow. Furthermore, that knucklehead Ashley Cole should be strapped to a gurney and castrated with fishing knifes for all his challenges on Ronaldo. Gimme a break...
Anyway, where was I...yeah, work....so work begin as usual and suddenly, as if from the heavens above, an angel, in the form of a senior architect/engineer came up to me. "Hey fella, you got some time to spare??" he said. " I sure do" I answered, dropping my file for project 31625/2 which was gonna be place in row 2, column 1 under the Master files. "Come along with me to Albany for some site inspection” he said with a voice so angelic. Oh, what sweet words, thank thee kind soul, may God bless you all the days of your lives.
OFF I WENT....to Albany!!!...passing the harbour bridge, entering SH17, passing the roundabout where I did my survey work for SKM (good times ay Sean), passing the North Harbour stadium, passing Totara Restaurant which according my fellow colleague, henceforth known as Collin The Saviour (CTS), is a great place to dine (so take notes guys, next time we are in the shore, we should try out this place). One could not write the script any better, it was a lovely, sunny day, birds chirping, bees buzzing, flowers blooming and CTS and I chat while driving along about everything from rugby to concrete.
We soon reached a road called forrey quarry road which is located in some rural area with large farming pastures. Upon entering the house, CTS gave me a brief lowdown and what we are going to do. "Right Alex, we are going to investigate this house and take some measurements and photographs. It recently caught fire and we are here to inspect the extend of the damage and report it to the insurance company with a valuation on cost for remedial."
Sweet...A burned house....WOOHOO,this is getting better and better....We walked along the driveway and was greeted by an old chap. He showed us around the house while regurgitating past events leading to the fire. I tagged along with CTS, holding the camera and measuring tape. With our hard hats, I was consistently poking and stomping the walls and flooring acting as though I was a professional investigator when I knew next to nothing. Wanting to impress my fellow colleague, I walked along the fire place (which is where the fire started, unsurprisingly) and knocked on the gib-board with my knuckles, peer up the ceilings, inspect the timber flooring, took a bit of the ashes and smelt it, feeling the steel column supporting the fire place, shining the torchlight into some random places....basically doing all the shit I watched on CSI....AND IT FELT SO DAMN FREAKING COOL...i even had rubber gloves and those tapes that surround the site that said "Do not enter without authorization" to give that real CSI taste.
All was well and good until CTS asked me.."so what do you think?"..CRAP...after seeing me doing all the hardout "investigation" he probably wants me to give an assesment. "The fire started here, spread northeast, damaging the main panels and ceilings. Funny thing is, the curtain on the eastern wing of the house was intact and the ash distribution is inconsistent with the damage of the timber struts. Also, reinforced concrete column should show signs of yeilding due to small slenderness ratio but instead buckle along its major axis. I deduce that the owner started the fire himself, knowing full well he had the insurance cover, in order to claim the damage as he wanted a new living room so he can have friends over for a tea party." That is what I probably should say but instead I settled for the more abbreviated version which was "This fire look real bad. Guess we better started taking some photographs."
5 hours past like lightning. After measuring distances, taking photographs and sketching the plan, X-section views, we went home. After reaching headquarters, I felt satisfied and wouldnt mind more filing. But things got even better, they gave me my very own desk, equipped with pens, diary, sticky pads, a stapler, roller chair with ARM REST, 17 inch CRT monitor (not flat screen, but whose complaining), highlighters, a health and safety manual, telephone ( A TELEPHONE!!...believe that) and a wall planner. Furthermore, tomorrow and the day after, I am scheduled for more site inspection in massey and posonby. YEEHAA!!!!...bring it on!!!..more forensic work!!!......not quite, probably soil sampling and effluent disposal.
Alex
5:54 PM
Holidays!!!...or is it??
Friday, November 24, 2006
OK....im not the kinda guy who makes excuses so the reason I didnt blog for so damn long is coz:
- Exams was around the corner and I had an awesome idea.....STUDY!!...why not...
- I had to pack all my stuff coz Im shifting AGAIN (nomadic lifestyle me have)
- Got started on a new job in this company called FRASER THOMAS
Busy ay....I know....BUT FINALLY....im settling down. New house is preety cool. I must say, I love it. The best part is the shower, its much wider than the previous house which means I now get to do some dancing in addition to my singing performance.
As for my job.....well, it has its moments but sometimes I just feel like pencilling a visit with the angel of death. Mundane, shitty jobs like filing, stamping, labeling, buying stationary, more filing, archiving, data entry, more flippin filing makes up a huge chunk of my day. 2 years studying hard out bending moments, water treatment, differential equations just to do some job that my 10 year old bro can probably handle. Should have joined Malique when he offered me that trafficking job...damn....could have score a free ounce of amsterdam's finest as well.....Nevertheless, I did some preety cool stuff as well like collecting contaminated soil and groundwater samples *nerdy snort*. I also learned some AutoCAD and now can successfully draw/erase straight lines and curves with ease.
Adding to my dismay, the majority of staff consists of these dorky, white melanin, bald bafoons that is probably just as exciting as watching Gigli with Chris Smail on commentary. A typical conversation would be:
Guy 1: So..the other day, I was fixing this stainless steel grating with M type bolt connection and was wondering whether the cross section could be reinforced to prevent excessive deflection at mid span.
Guy 2: Yea....theres lots you can do...blah blah...concrete....blah blah...joist...blah blah...post tension
Me: Hey guys... whose watch Borat??
* staff room turns silent, people halt and stare blankly at me *
Me: um.....pass the tea please....
Also, the average age of farts working in my firm is probably 45 with a racial spread of 89% white guys, 10% pacific islanders (mainly in the surveying department) and one miserable token asian guy (yes....yours truly). Gender split is also very bias with alpha males dominating the vast amount of male staff present. However, in retrospect, this job sure beats those pak N save, bakers delight days where pay was crap and work was aplenty.
Anyway, enough bout work...I recently been watching loads of Ali G clips on youtube and my fav is the interview with the beckhams...you gotta watch this...his got some hilarious lines such as:
Ali: Now Beckham, do u reckon the better the footballer u is, the fitter the girl u get?
Beckham: *smiles sheephisly*....obviously
Ali: So u is the best in football and u get posh...so does sporty spice goes out with someone from scumford united?
Victoria: thats horrible...thats my fren and shes lovely..
Ali: But is u saying that scumford united is not a good team...thats horrible
HAHAH....classic....and this one liner...
Ali: So do you want your boy to grow up to be a footballer like his dad or a singer like Mariah Carey?
and lastly, my favourite...
Ali: Lets talk bout fashion..beckham, we all seen pictures of u wearing clothes that is making u seem well embarrassing and a laughing stock....why do u wear that england football shirt?
Watch it!! RESPECT!!!
anyway...me is signing out now and me wanna hear from my main man, sean...if you reading this, u better be arranging the trip, those homie in msia is havin a blast man...must not lose face....hurry, me gots the stash ready....
Alex
7:17 PM
