I hope I don’t’ jinx it, but I really like the people I work with. Sure I still have a lot of trouble understanding what a few of them are saying (and don’t stand a chance in one case), but everyone is personable and upbeat in and out of the office. The day started to steal my mood early as the training session on quality management ended up taking over 3 grueling hours; how long does it take to say “You need a system that makes you learn how to do it right, do it right, check to make sure you did it right, make sure the customer believes you’re doing it right, and write down if you did it right for future reference”? See, that wasn’t even a full three lines of typing. Not to mention the tedious task of intelligently and thoroughly answering the question “If you’re American, you weren’t scared to come here? I thought Americans hate Muslims.” It’s always a bit tricky because I have less undue fear and more awareness about propagated issues (such as the “all Muslims want are jihadists and want to blow up American: bullshit) than the average American, which also has to be explained when I’m giving my opinion. But my coworkers lifted my spirits at the wonderful and cheap Chinese/Malaysian restaurant we’ve already become regulars at. I had a filling buffet over a bed of rice for $5.50 Malaysian ringgits (about $1.75 USD). Then I get back to the office and get the news that the office is doing karaoke night tonight. Although I’m not a huge karaoke fan back home, this is something I simply cannot miss for several reasons. So after work and a trip to the accurately named superstore “Giant” to pick up some supplies, we head out to Neway Karaoke Box. I thought it would be something like the US, where it’s a restaurant or bar and they’re having karaoke night where people get on stage and sing their hearts out. Wrong. This is a karaoke establishment. You get your own wildly decorated and furnished room with a large karaoke machine with a big screen for music videos and lyrics. Check the pics below. The machine must hold millions of songs, as I know it holds tens of thousands of different artists. The waiters and waitresses come up and take your drink orders. Any point after 7:30 pm, the official opening chow time of Ramadan, you can walk downstairs and partake of the buffet and sushi bar and take it back to your room. Once again, another wonderful meal did not cost me a dime. I’m not even Muslim, but Ramadan is treating me wonderfully. I guess I expected karaoke to just be the ever-energetic women at the office and some of the younger guys. Wrong again. EVERYBODY came. Young, old, outgoing shy, Malay, Chinese, entry-level intern, company driver, and the business owner; Everyone came, everyone ate and drank, everyone sang and everyone had a marvelous time for all 4.5 hours we were there. My British coworker and roommate also arrived straight from the airport to partake in the fun; a little nerdy, but he seems cool too. It was almost magical. The unity in the office is amazing so far. Granted, all I’ve done is study the plans and specs so far and I’ve yet to be in a situation where a coworker and me don’t see eye to eye on something. But even so, I’m getting a great feeling about the staff I’ll be working with. So, today was positive. The walk to work felt shorter. It was overcast and a little rainy, curbing the heat some. Some vital supplies were purchased at a decently low cost. Today was another good day. Still need these phone, electronics, Internet, and access cards situations resolved though. But the ball has been put in motion. Selamat malam KL, cheers and hopefully seeing the jobsite tomorrow is worth all the hype. Stay tuned…
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