It's Bitchin' time..

I have more or less given up on this damn blog already what with the wonky download settings of photographs and all but alas I need to spew and it's inappropriate to do it on Facebook.

After a long delay I finally got around to getting a HSBC sales officer to come to the office and speak to me about finally opening a local bank account. Now I normally like to think I am a patient person and very forgiving but this sorry excuse of a sales officer from HSBC really takes the cake in setting me off the deep end.

1. He didn't bring his own pen so I had to let him use mine (expensive one you know).
2. He didn't bring his own writing pad so I had to pass him some (which is really no biggie)
3. His mobile phone kept ringing throughout our meetingand he kept taking them. His excuse was that it was a call from India (like I freakin care)
4. He had this annoying facial spasm/bad habit that saw him widely opening his mouth and eyes and sticking tongue out all at the same time! (EEeeaaargh...I know we all have our quirks but this was too much man!)
5. He seemed to rush through his entire "presentation" (using my pen and paper) on what different accounts were available to me.
6. He didn't seem to take the time to fully understand what my needs are.
7. He ended up misunderstanding what my needs are.
8. He called me "Pare" even AFTER checking my Singapore passport. (How stupid can you get man?!)

Ok this was yesterday. Then today.

1. He informs he'll come around 11am, he doesn't but at least he called and said he'll be here at 12 to 12.30pm.
2. Come 1 pm the fat ass still hasn't turned up or called so I said f&*k it I'm going for lunch.
3. During lunch he calls and says he's waiting outside, there isn't any parking so could I please come downstairs. I says I'm out of the office and having my lunch so he says okay then after my lunch then.
4. After lunch I foolishly went down to meet him, got into his grimy vehicle, signed a few more forms, and left. I heard him honking his damn car (apparently he forgot to get another signature) but i ignored him. If he needed something else, he had better get his fat ass up to my office.
Apparently he did have a parking lot but he just didn't want to pay for parking!
5. I went up...let off steam to the accountant.
6. Fats ass sales officer finally comes up and gets my signature. He then broaches the subject again about me transferring all of my salary from Singapore to Dubai (The fat f$&ker has not been listening all along) and I told him "Look, it's not going to happen! I need to maintain my salary in Singapore!"

After this entire episode of no confidence, why on God's green earth would I EVER want to place all my eggs in Dubai HSBC's basket? I would be a freakin' MAD!

Musandam Dive trip 8th May 2009

With the warm weather finally settling in, Heisham and I headed out to Musandam, Oman for a Dhow dive trip with Al Boom dive centre. I was pretty much psyched because this was the first time my Nikon D80 would touch water apart from the swimming pool test a few weeks ago.

After a 2 hour drive we crossed over the border into Oman and arrived at Dibba Port. We found our dhow and waited for the Al Boom people to show up and after about an hour and a half, we finally cast off for Musandam.

The waters around Musandam were a lot calmer than from I last visited last year. The Dhow in itself was nice and very spacious however in my opinion, not exactly built for diving from as it had a very high freeboard ie distance from deck to waterline.

Ok so the following are the first examples from my Nikon D80 and a Nikkor 60mm Micro lens housed in a Nexus housing and lens port. An Inon D2000 was also use. They were shot in RAW and then tweaked in Photoshop Elements and cropped where necessary.

I kept my eyes peeled for them Nudibranchs but there were none!!!!

Still No Nudis! And during the second dive I lost the protective cover of my lens port despite taking Clifford's advise to secure it with a cord. I am absolutely convinced that the sole purpose of that piece of plastic is for it to get lost!

Still no Nudi...sigh..

Have YOU seen any Nudis around?

Well overall it was a pleasant trip and Heisham and I rushed backed to Dubai to meet the gang for some sumptuous Mandi! (Fish of course)

Ramblings..

Its funny how I'm experiencing a different sort of stress right now. Initially I felt the stress of feeling inconsequential and unimportant and of how my efforts had no real effect, which is something I am not used to. I am used to seeing the results of my actions and gaining satisfaction from them.
Over here...satisfaction is eluding me. But now with Babu on leave (which is a sort of a blessing as well) I find I am just swamped and the only way forward is to put in extra hours even if it means working over the weekend, and as always I feel my efforts will have no real outcome.

To sum it up on how its like so far being Marketing Manager for the Dubai office, its a lot of work for almost nil gain. That's if until a boat of ours secures a charter as a result of my actions.

So I've spent a good part of the day going through a mind numbing contract while trying to salvage some form of job satisfaction from it. And the thing that keeps me going are pleasant memories from home that I force my mind to conjure up in between contract clauses.

It'll go something like this...

"Where an invoice is disputed, the Charterers shall in any event pay the undisputed portion of the invoice but shall be entitled to withhold payment of...

...Peninsula Camera shop window shopping...

the disputed portion provided that such portion is reasonably disputed and the Charterers specify such reason. Interest will be chargeable at the rate stated in Box 24 on such disputed..

...dinner and drinks with gf Geraldine or cousin Colin at Timbre/Paulaner Brahaus/Archipelago Brewery/Brewerks..

amounts where resolved in favour of the Owners. Should the Owners prove the validity of the disputed portion of the invoice, balance payment shall be received by the Owners within 5 banking days after the dispute is resolved. Should the...

..Sushi Tei

Charterer's claim be valid, a corrected..

..Bak Kut Teh..

invoice shall be issued by the Owners. In defaultof payment as herein specified, the Owners may..

Mos Burger.

require the Charterers to make payment of the amount due within 5 banking..

***censored**** (it involves the gf)

days of receipt of notification from the Owners"

Yes...something along the lines of the above....

The Doldrums

I used to think it was a real blessing and a great opportunity being sent here. Now I am feeling it is not all as I thought it would be and the obstacles to overcome are much bigger than I expected. These days I am just plain miserable at work. Perhaps I shouldn't have come here.

Finally...

Finally. Easter Sunday had been good to me. As you can see I finally passed the driving test and although I would like to think that it was because of my magnificent driving skills, I am inclined to believe that it is all pre-determined. I only drove for two (yes... as in the number 2) minutes and I already had a hunch that I passed. As you can see, the test checklist isn't really used. Nothing has been ticked off or marked. If the examiner wants to pass you, he will pass you.

So for the last week I have been comuting to and fro from work by the company's Jeep Cherokee. It feels kind of weird...not ever having to take the bus again. To some small (and I mean miniscule small) extend I will miss taking the bus. You can just sit and relax and let the driver worry about the driving.

Flickr ban, once again.

Once again, the web based photo sharing site Flickr has been banned by some Mr "know it all" here in this country. They must have found a way to disable the Firefox plug in/firewall thingamajig that fools the local ISPs into allowing access to Flickr. I cannot help but shake my head at this feeble attempt at protecting local values from the harmful influences of some content that can be found on Flickr (uTube, you're next!). You have teens raping their fellow classmates, drivers running over pedestrians, and a total lack of efficiency and sense in running the public sector and they want to ban access to a website like Flickr? It's all just an attempt at protecting a people that is just too stupid for their their own good (if that made any sense) and drawing attention away from their own glaring deficiencies.

Anyway I believe its only just a matter of time now that someone will find a workaround this problem. Smeone like that brilliant Iranian chap that came up with Access Flickr 1.11 for Firefow Mozila. 

Arab Summit in Doha

"Libyan, Saudi leaders walk out of Arab Summit after a spat
By Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor in ChiefLast updated: March 30, 2009, 18:45
Doha:

Another charade by maverick Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi almost spoiled the Arab summit on Monday, when what was initially thought to be an apology to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz turned out to be another insult. The Saudi King left the meeting hall angrily, but returned shortly following an appeal from the Qatari host. Gaddafi, meanwhile, stormed out of the summit but the two leaders later met to "clear the air". "I have been waiting for six years to tell you that you are the liar. You were made by Britain and protected by the United States,” Gaddafi said, addressing King Abdullah as the rest of Arab leaders looked stunned.
Gaddafi’s remarks followed the opening address by the summit host, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, who failed to stop the Libyan leader from continuing his barrage. Gaddafi was referring to a spat with the Saudi King during an Arab summit in 2003 in which King Abdullah described the Libyan leader as "a British-made and an American agent". This followed a comment by Gaddafi, saying Riyadh helped the US invade Iraq. The two countries have also had tense relations since the publication in June 2004 of a media report in the United States and Saudi Arabia accusing Gaddafi of plotting the assassination of King Abdullah, then crown prince, who was on a visit to the holy city of Makkah. Gaddafi on Monday said he was willing to mend fences with the Kingdom, despite the initial angry burst. "I am ready to visit you and for you to visit me," he said. The Emir of Qatar then managed to stop Gaddafi and offered a surprise apology; Gaddafi said he only wanted to apologise and open a new page with King Abdullah, who by then had left the room in protest. But Gaddafi went on to say that he was "the dean of the Arab leaders, the king of kings of Africa and the leader of the faithful,” before he himself stormed out of the meeting. Sources told Gulf News that he "went to visit the museum of Islamic Arts". A Qatari mediation managed to bring Gaddafi and King Abdullah together later in the day. Sources close to the proceeding said that most delegates didn’t consider Gaddafi’s remarks as an apology. "It will be another blow to the much hoped for Arab reconciliation," said the sources, referring to the absence of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Analysts said Mubarak stayed away from the summit because of differences with Qatar over Doha’s relations with Iran and the Gaza war coverage by Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel, which Cairo considers as anti-Egypt. - With input from Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor "

Classic example of why peace in the Middle East is elusive and a very long time in coming. What do you expect when folks can't even get their act together amongst their own kin?