Month: May 2010

There are some things success is not.
Its not fame.
Its not money or power.
Success is waking up in the morning so excited about what you have to do that you literally fly out the door.
Its getting to work with people you love.
Success is connecting with the world and making people feel. Its finding a way to bind together people who have nothing in common but a dream.
Its falling asleep at night knowing you did the best job you could.
Success is joy and freedom and friendship.
And success is Love.

By this yardstick, I am a failure.

A small collection of pictures from my congregation-cum-holiday with my family.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

An ugly mark ended my short tour recently, and it happened after I had landed at KLIA. I shall relate this tale as a matter of caution as I think that many people have fallen victim to such things in the past. Anyway, the tale has to do with the official KLIA limousine service.

After exiting the arrivals gate, I went to the ticket counter to buy a ticket home. The ticket counter girl asked me how many people there were and how many bags. I told her that I wanted a ticket for three people with three regular sized bags. So, she sold me a ticket to my destination for about RM80+ or so.

So, I happily went out to the taxi queue and gave them my ticket. This is where things started to go south. I was told that there was not enough space in the taxi to carry my luggage. The reason is because they had an NGV gas tank in the boot. They said that they can only carry one of my luggage bags, maybe two but definitely not three. They suggested that I upgrade my ticket to a premium ticket for a larger limousine with a bigger boot. This ticked me off thoroughly and to people who know me, you can probably imagine what happened next.

I went back into KLIA while making a big fuss along the way. When I reached the counter I slammed the ticket on the counter and generally threw a fit. I told the girl what had happened and she told me that a premium ticket would cost me RM30+ extra! So, I got totally pissed off and asked her for an official complaint form. She gave it to me and asked me if I would like to lodge a complaint against the driver. I looked at her wide-eyed and said no, I was going to lodge a complaint against her for lying to me and selling me a false ticket. In the process I told the next customer not to buy a taxi ticket from them because they will lie to you and sell you a ticket for three passengers in a taxi that can only fit one luggage bag.

This got the attention of their supervisor who took me aside and took me out to the taxi queue again. The supervisor told me that sometimes, these taxi drivers were being a bit troublesome and did not want to fit the bags in. He called for another taxi driver and instructed the person to fit the bags in. So this time, all three of my bags fit magically into the boot without any squeezing or stuffing. Honestly, I did not have any big bags with me, just two medium sized bags that weighed less than 20kg and a small carry-on luggage bag that weighed 10kg only.

So, I got my bags into the taxi and got home. I promised the supervisor that I would not lodge and official complaint since the problem was taken care of. However, I thought that I should mention it so that others may know and not be taken for a ride if such things happened in the future.

If they had insisted that I upgrade, I would have told them to shove it and to give me a full refund. I can assure them that I can take any other taxi, including the illegal touts at KLIA. I came to the airport with the exact same bags inside a far smaller KL taxi for a far cheaper price of only RM50+ or so. I don’t see why I should pay RM120+ or so for a much larger taxi for the same sized bags.

On the journey back, the taxi driver related to us how the business works and I really sympathise with them. The taxi drivers have a really hard time and I think that they deserve to have a better deal. Let us open up our KLIA taxis to anyone who wants to provide taxi services, instead of being monopolised by certain companies only – since the monopolies will eventually drive their customers to the touts.

Well, after Paris, my next stop was Rome and it did not disappoint.

Firstly, my accommodations. I did not know which hotel to pick as there were literally hundreds of them in Rome. So, I just randomly picked one, checked the price and made the booking. Little did I know that I ended up booking myself into a 4-star hotel smack in the city centre! Luckily they were having their off-peak promotional prices and only paid 30% of the peak prices. The room was the largest hotel room that I have ever stayed in by European standards. The bathroom itself was as big as my first-year accommodations in Cambridge. The location was excellent as it was within walking distance from almost every major Roman tourist attraction.

Secondly, the timing. I flew into Rome on Tuesday and went to the Vatican on Wednesday morning in time for the Pope’s weekly public appearance. We got there just in time to listen to the ending of the English version but stayed a while to witness the thing in several languages. I was just glad that I brought my zoom lens with me and I got a few shots off. It was literally ‘people mountain people sea’ in St Peter’s Square. There were huge screens set up to project his face and there was a stage set up right at the entrace of the Basilica.

Thirdly, the experience. My dad got his pockets picked right in front of my eyes. I witnessed the entire thing. In fact, I already saw them gypsy girls come in at the metro station. Then, one of them got in between me and my dad on the train and made her move. All I could do was to drag my dad out of there and told him that his pockets have just been picked. He said that he felt someone touching him and he thought the girl was being nice in helping an old man get off the train. Luckily, I had the wits to get him to empty his pockets just before we got into the metro station. All our pockets were empty and we carried everything in a single bag. Like I told my friend – put all the eggs in one basket and protect that basket – was my strategy.

Fourthly, the food. Well, my friend in Rome brought us to a nice place called “Taverna Cestia” for dinner one evening (it is located near the Piramides junction). The food was excellent! I was told that the restaurant was quite famous and it seroved Roman food, not necessarily Italian. We got to try different things and the food was all good. We had asparagus, seafood salad, pizza (and some other bread like thing), lobster linguine, chicken ala roma and proper tiramisu. The waiter gave us a look when we asked if the tiramisu had any alcohol in it – turns out that tiramisu only turned alcoholic in modern times.

All in all, Rome was interesting.

Pics to follow soon.

I have just spent the day with a really good friend of mine, who acted as our tour-guide in Paris. I really appreciate her effort, even though she is feeling a little under the weather. Amongst the many places she brought us to, was this quaint little Parisian restaurant for lunch.

French food has always been good, and this one is no different.

We all had the formulae, which is French for ‘set’ and the food is still good regardless. I had this wonderful starter of cured ham, honey dew, and salad. Ensuite, I had cod that was extremely well done and well presented. My dessert was a cute little chocolate creme thing. Nice.

This place is located very near the Louvre where we were.

Anyway, I want to end this entry by saying that I really appreciate that my friend spending time bringing my family and I around Paris. Although I can half understand some French, I really cannot speak it very well.

So, I really need to find a way to say thank you when I get back home.

Yesterday was a really important day for me – some would say that it was the most important day of my life. I am really lucky to have had all my family and a bunch of good friends with me.

My mother commented that I had a lot of friends – most certainly the largest group of people gathered outside the lawn at that time. I totally appreciate the effort that my friends had made to come see me off for possibly the last time. For some of us, we will probably never see each other again even if we make an effort to keep in touch.

One of my friends, silly and forgetful as she was, actually got me a card but did not actually write anything in it. So, she had to borrow a pen from my supervisor to write her message in it, which turned out to be really verbose and literal. Well, I have come to expect such randomness from my silly friend.

And my supervisor, whom I think is probably the best supervisor I had ever had, was also there to see me off. That was extremely nice of him, since supervisors rarely turn up, and he had a short chat with my family and said glowing things about me. I have come to realise that it is extremely rare for me to find someone who can actually get along with me as a supervisor. So, I have to thank my stars that I was lucky enough to have had one whom I could work with.

Another friend of mine also turned up to take a couple of photos – and his photo was the one that I selected as the image in my previous entry. I wish him all the best in his quest to walk down the same path that I have. It is a long and arduous one but it is well worth it in the end.

Some of my friends are actuallyon the midst of their studies and studying for their exams but still took time out to come see me. I sincerely appreciate them sacrificing their time so that I would not feel so alone. I hope that they will do well in their exams and make something of themselves in the future.

There were also a couple of soon to be done people, who came as well. It is too bad that they would be walking down a white sating instead of scarlet – I prefer the scarlet and so do they! Borrow a scarlet one from another friend after you get out onto the lawn.

Obviously, there were others there whom I did not mention in this post – that does not mean that I don’t appreciate the effort – I would like to thank you all the same for turning up on the biggest day of my life.

Now, one chapter of my life is officially closed. I do not think that there will be any other chapter quite like this one in the future. That said, I am looking forward to tackling the next chapter in life and I sure hope that I would succeed in it.

Signing off from under the English Channel.

Au revoir, mes amis

My favourite part from the whole ceremony:

The person presenting the graduand holds the candidate by his or her right hand and says:

Dignissima domina, Domina Procancellaria et tota Academia praesento vobis hunc virum (hanc mulierem) quem (quam) scio tam moribus quam doctrina esse idoneum (idoneam) ad gradum assequendum (name of degree); idque tibi fide mea praesto totique Academiae.

(Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this man (this woman) whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of (name of degree); for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.)

The graduand’s name is called and they step forward and kneel. Clasping the graduand’s hands, the Vice-Chancellor says:

Auctoritate mihi commissa admitto te ad gradum (name of degree), in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sanctii.

(By the authority committed to me, I admit you to the degree of (name of degree) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.)

The new graduate then rises, bows to the Vice-Chancellor, and exits through the Doctor’s door of the Senate-House to receive their degree certificate.