Do well and you'll be rewarded. But not this year. Too bad you joined late, eh?

Yet another P1 issue (it's my company's speak for The Shit Has Hit the Fan Big Time type of problem) arose after I had dealt with one the day before. The pressure was on. Time was of the essence. We had a 4-hour window before the first of the UK folks come in. We all know what they're like when things don't work; confused, try again, still doesn't work, agitated, log a ticket, why is this not working?, explanation given with a workaround, still not satisfied, complain, solution found, send to user for confirmation, no reply, chase for closure, close ticket after 3 reminder emails sent. Along the way, expletives flew everywhere, tempers flared, hope raised high only to be dropped like a sack of smelly potatoes after initial solution doesn't work.

The UK folks can be a bunch of fucked up pricks.

Life in the support lane is nothing but a way of making ends meet. Us support people don't get enough love. When we do well it's only us that know it. It will take a lot of good work before a pat on the back is received. But the slightest blemish will taint your reputation like blood in water. The sharks will encircle you and tear out the very flesh out of you.

Let's be realistic. We live to work. That's how we Asians are. We work late hours because going home on the dot is perceived as laziness. We also say yes when a no is the right answer. We give away far too much but receive too little in return. Our UK counterparts have low opinions of us, thinking we're not capable enough, when it is they that are not the efficient ones. They can't even get their grammar right. And why is it us that have to adjust our way of talking so that they can understand us? Some of their accents sound like they've swallowed a rat.

A job well done means a whole lot of nothing these days. So why bother?

This is Chris, signing off.

P.S. Joining a company which changed its review and increment policies a few weeks prior just plain fucking sucks.

A welcome break.

It must be said that when you wear a favourite shirt your arms shouldn't feel like they're being constricted by a python. If that happens it means only one thing: your arms are big (duh!). It could be you're of the corpulent variety or it could be the product of doing heavy dumbbells curls and skull crushers. I'm in the latter category, naturally.

The same also applies to my legs, specifically my thighs. Everyone has a body part that responds well to exercise so well that even doing minimal work to them will yield results. I just need to run a flight of steps and I'm done. Built thighs that rival Beyoncé's in seconds.

Recently, I decided to take a week off from working out. (I was fully conscious of the decision I was making.) The last time I took such a lengthy break was when I injured my shoulder, which, was enforced rather than based on own volition. Prior to the break, I had been lifting pretty heavy weights, sometimes for days in a row. The reasons that necessitated the break were simple: 

• To ensure joint health. Lifting heavy puts an enormous amount of strain on the joints. 
• I was getting *gasp!!!* bored of lifting. 
• Muscle mass was acquired quite significantly so much so that I had trouble fitting into certain clothing items I had no problems few weeks before.
• I wanted to see if I could take the break and last one week of non-activity.

It's good to take a break once in a while. It is needed to recharge the mind, body and soul (some say booty as well).This applies to anything at all, from work to relationships. Sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back, reflect on the good and bad, and see where it will take you. If something unsavoury happened, talk it out (of course, if the parties involved were either in a straight-jacket or were the Hulk incarnate that would certainly cause issues) to find out the truth. Once the dust settles then things can go back the way it was and improve from there.

I feel stronger, mentally and physically, after taking the break. Fitting into your trousers back is a wonderful feeling. And very nice on the bank account.

This is Chris, signing off.

PS: The Malaysian Mega Sale is on. Yeah, with the lousiest of discounts seen. Pathetic and hopeless. 

Good friends come and go. True friends remain.

What's a football fan to do when there's no football on the telly?

Eat.

It's been a week since the Spanish defeated the Dutch in the just concluded World Cup. What an utter waste of time. Thankfully, I only watched the last half of the match. Sorry, the last half plus the extra bits that should not have been. Is it true the Spaniards the best team in the world? Yes and no. Yes because they are the World and Euro champions. No because they didn't beat their opponents with the utmost precision let alone conviction. The Dutch were absolutely brutal but a momentary lapse in defence saw them give away the game at the death.

But who gives a crap now, eh?

So here I am, still feeling full from ingesting 25 helpings of sashimi consisting of tuna and salmon with various side orders that ranged from deep-fried prawns to oily croquettes. My cholesterol levels have been better, that's for sure. But it was the company that made it all worthwhile. They say laughter is the best medicine, I agree, as I think that all the laughing we did helped us to somewhat curtail the saturated oils we consumed. The great thing about this group is that while 60% of us are no longer in the same office, we get along mighty fine with the other 40%, with no discomfiture experienced whenever there's a get-together. You know, sometimes when people have not seen each other in a while, they tend to get slightly edgy but that doesn't happen with this bunch. I am truly grateful that I can be a part of such company.

Sometimes you quarrel with a friend because of a disagreement. Sometimes it happens because one person does something that is hurtful to another but doesn't realise it. Sometimes friendships, even the supposed best ones, can break because of it. The most important thing to do is to talk it out. Get it out of the system and move on. The poison in you must be expunged from the soul. Then peace will come.

Just don't tell this to the Dutch.

This is Chris, signing off. 

P.S.: Mr Policeman, go and fark yourself. 

In football, we trust.

The World Cup is about to draw a close.

About fucking time.

Don't get me wrong, I love the World Cup. I love that you can use it as an excuse for a lot of things. Say, you're in a meeting, and you've got English folk in as well, you can break the ice by saying, "Go, England!" (Of course, I didn't get to say that many times, because, well, the English team didn't exactly go far enough for me to say, "Go, England!" more than once.) But it has been an absolute bore. I can only say that some games were very good but none will be remembered as classics. It's a big shame, really. Because it's the first one I've been following quite diligently in spite of its general insipidness and fanfare akin to a Malaysian concert where the people sit down and clap vigorously because if you were stand up a fat guard will tell you to sit back down.

I'm sure as hell going to miss it. But not much. EPL starts soon!

Go, Dutch, Go!

This is Chris Van Chiam, signing off.

PS: Congrats to the German team!

How do you say victory in German?

4 - 0.

Have a good week, people!

This is Chris, signing off. 

P.S: Finally, the World Cup ignites! Vuvuzelas be damned!