Weekend in Doha

Yesterday, I walked along Doha bay shoreline called "Al Cornichi" all the way from my hotel somewhere at the right tip in the photograph to the point where the photo was taken. It was great!









On the other hand, the downtown Doha is beautiful authentic place represented by the iconic tower called "The Culture Centre". My work site for heritage conservation is located a 5 minutes walk from here.

I'm a day ahead of you working on Sunday here.

Iranian dinner

We went to Souq Waqif for Iranian dinner last night.

No beer, no whisky, no wine, no women, no guitar, no jazz, ...but enjoyed.

Ittekima-su

I forgot to pass photographs to Vivi, so post them here.

First is the garden bench in "Yumenoshima Park". It's nice with single legs and simple structure.

In the green house, there was wall behch also. Here is the photograph.

The park has flood control lawn as the main attraction to the users. Very effectivfe.

Also, let me inform Mano that I put 2 tags for new songs in the guitar book but couldn't pass it to you.

So, I'm leaving tonight.

See you.

I analyze what Vivi said, Mano said and other reacted. Maybe some of Aroma members want to take up music. But they are lazy to attend to a class or possibly no money to pay for a lesson.

So, I suggest a gathering in Aroma community. Maybe a guitar circle.

I'm not good enough to teach people, but OK lah, if your wish is just to learn how to start music in proper way rather than bath room practice only.

Through my poor experience, yet I know how one can be interested in music in casual nature, particularly in the guitar. Maybe once a week basis, I can conduct a guitar staff with some of you. What I do is to distribute copies of easy notes I recommend, and practice for half an hour at the back of Aroma office.

It's good to share what I might possibly be better than you, and in return you can teach me something you are better than me. In this way we all can achieve better than us today.

So I want to know who is interested.

Please post your comments on your interest, what day of the week you prefer, and whether you want to do it before or after Puasa.

Kashino

Some thing is not right

There are many things not quite right in this world. Here is another example.

The out side is over 40 degree Celsius, so air conditioning is very effective here. Very very effective until too effective.

It's bloody cold.

So this woman is using a heater. Mad, isn't it. But you don't blame her. It's really cold.

The other day, I sweat in the gym and came back to my apartment unit.

After running with my card key in my pocket, the magnetic went some thing wrong and I could not open my room when came back.

I walked back the corridor, damn cold, went down the lift to the reception, sneezing several times, asked to check the card, waited for a few minutes, shivering, then only managed to enter my room. By the time I reached, I became a piece of ice.

You go outside, it's 40 degree Celsius.

Crazy.

2nd weekend

It was my 2nd weekend yesterday.

Unlike last week, it was quite quiet. The outside was dusty with strong wind, and no one felt like going out.

Also, I did not have luxurious time yesterday, for the preparation of presentation that took place just now, leaving me quite a satisfaction, and now I'm rather relieved.

It seems there will be bowling tournament this evening among the project members, so I will pass time the remaining day for another task for the first time; the city's main street design.

Doha Downtown

The whole morning yesterday, we did the Doha town survey yesterday.

It's an old town just like our Kuala Lumpur old town, but worse. The buildings are not worth conserving for heritage status, and people living there are low pay labours from labour supplying countries.

But still, the building walls are nostalgic and streetcsape valuable. In order to add an interest to the town's value, I'm proposing a theme to be introduced, a theme just suitable for this town; "Alf Laylah Wa Laylah", or The book of one thousand and one nights, in other words "Arabian Nights Entertainments".

To see it really works, I am just about to go back to the down town again now.

Beach

There was a difficulty in internet connection in my apartment, so I'm posting it today, Sunday, the first day of working week.











It's the weekend here today, Friday, and Saturday.

We went to the north. The end of beach-like desert was the real beach. We dug to collect clams.

Mr. Shibata (the man on the left; who is the deputy project manager) was very good cook who prepared clam soup and clam spaghetti for lunch for 8 of us in his apartment once came back, and we all enjoyed with cold beer.

Kanekiyo went again for fishing this afternoon with Filipino group, promising to add items to dinner tonight. I will go to the gym later so that the dinner will be extra nice.

Let me now let you know, that I have been doing another blog for an introduction of tropical plants as my life work, some of you might have realized while I was studying plants in office. It's a king of practice to me, to express my sense and idea on a plant in a written form, and keep on doing on other plants every day. It's becoming a good reference for your plants selection in landscape design as well, so I let you know here the address of iy. One day I will make a plant book out of these.

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kasinoki_nao

Big lunch in Doha

Look at this, it's for one person!

Kanekiyo-san straight away ordered only for one person of meal for the two of us, and I thought in my heart; oh no, please, I'm very hungry, missed breakfast after arriving at 3 am and rested for a while, please order for two...

But the fact was... we could not finish even for one person.

2 nuns, 1 rice plate, 3 kebabs, salad was an extra order. I looked around whether a man was eating that much... yes. They are big eaters.

75% of people here are foreigners. I'm one of them. A country's master plan is drawn by all foreigners? That is going to be my dilemma through out this session.

I will be assigned to look into the downtown urban design in central Doha.

My first day was so far so good, we will attend to a party organized by Australian group this evening.

Feel like continuing my blog but no idea what to post.

Maybe just show how beautiful my guitar is for time being.

Came back from the family ski camp; my dream trip with both my sons, to the very place where I was born and grown up, to execute the very activity I had engaged so much for so many years.

It was just great, I feel satisfied.

We will move to Tokyo tomorrow. I may see Mr. Takano if both of us can make it.

Two young men want to see what Tokyo is about. After that we will head back to Malaysia.

My parents will be left alone again. That's the destiny which is very sad.

But I beleave I've managed to do something good to them. I encouraged them, I let them see their grandchildren, and I made sure that I would be always their child.

I was in a hot spring alone the other day for a long time and thought over things. I decided a few things how I sould do to my parents in the near future.

I will think about it over and over though being back to Malaysia.

Look, we were skiing.

Well you are not looking at us skiing, but looking at us just about to be skiing.

The very first trial is always tough.

When my second boy tried for the first time 2 years ago, he was near to cry before enjoying 20 menuts later.

My first boy's case today was about 10 menut shorter in suffering than the second one. He tried skiing for the first time in his life, but somehow still managed.

From tomorrow, we are going out station ski trip to Myoko mountains for three days.

The second day in Japan

All slept a lot, and moved a bit.





Visited my father in the hospital, hair cutting as one of my boy's hair so untidy and messy so was mine, shopping for ski stuff for tomorrow and big dinner at a sushi restaurant.





This sushi restaurant is good.


Sushi is supposed to be expensive.


Mainly because the sushi making skill is said to take years to be mastered.


They claim that the technique of sushi making is very difficult and need years to learn.


And those days, the master used to entertain the customers with personal attention that might have been a part of the cost.


The sushi materials were bought at fish market by the master himself every morning, that contributed to the high food price.


The one we went don't have those.





The restaurant we went equipped a long rotating bar that served so many people without keeping any personal attention.


The fish is supplied in mass distribution, so cheep.





So it's so nice.


All enjoyed, especially the one behind my wife who lost his heart with the food on the other side of him.

The right is my mother.
Her husband is in the hospital, dreaming of sushi.
Her left is my elder one who pretends not to have lost his heart with sushi just the very moment of photographing.

We are planning to go skiinig tomorrow.

The first day in Japan

Arrived very early in the morning.

Got to move on, no resting luxury.

One stop at the famous place where you can observe aeroplane so close flying above you.

Enjoyed, ...but tires.

Another 6-hour-ride on special taxi after 7-hour-flight.

Finally managed to reach home. My kampung. My parents are happy.

I'm OK.

I have studied all of your salary thoroughly with a help of Miss P W.

I've discovered that all seem to be justifiable except for the two technical practitioners, and I would like to look into them.
The said two produce more than they are paid today, so their original wages will be adjested accordingly from January 2009.

I'd like to give increment to all.
...Not now for all. Not stable enough.
But still, I'd like to consider for the three new staff (beside the aforementioned two), who strugled and tried their very best for the very first year of their working lives.
They are getting litt...ttle bit of increment from this month, that will surely make a big difference (please make sure)!
The rest of you, old people, please accept this.

Oh, a bad news from Miss P W...
One of our clients failed to bank in our professional fee on time today, so our financial statement will be at a "tak cukup" circumstance on January payday.
It can only make it on 3rd February.
Please do not go to the bank too happily to withdraw money. You may be disappointed.
I am so sorry about that.


The allowance of 100 or 200 for unclear purposes given to a few members did not work well, so we don't practice that any more.
Better to think of more practical appraisal method which is in progress in my head. I will slowly expose my concept of appraisal through here, so you better watch out.

It's not a perfect timing for me to travel now (since my salary will delay more than yours), but I have to do this as there will unlikely be any better opportunity for my old parents in Japan to receive their grand children from Malaysia.
So I'm going off to Japan tomorrow.

Next time I see you, you are very rich with no money spent during the long break.
I'm looking forward to seeing those prosperous faces.

A Happy Chinese New Year.

I was an ambitious boy, not for money but for professional achievement. So, I didn't bother much about the amount of salary I would get.

A small consultancy firm was never famous of a high wage. My first salary was slightly less than 100,000 yen, which could be more than 3,000 ringgit now, but was something like 1,000 ringgit before yen went mad. So I was not proud of my salary at all.

That neither means that I intend to set your salary low to repeat what I have had, nor that I regret myself in the past and willing to give you generously.

I am now working on a review of the very initial amount a new staff is paid, and will adjust the amount in accordance with his/her experience, qualification and the current market situation.

I'm also thinking of calculating how much that initial salary will become after certain number of years with a rate of annual increment, and see whether the current salary of senior members are justifiable or not.

Yeah, I'm talking about your salary right?
So, it's actually about the employment.

Employment.

Almost the same thing as marriage. It's a human relationship between the two.

In the case of marriage, it's you and your wife, or you and your husband. Girlfriend and boyfriend not applicable, because there is no commitment. Marriage is like a contract. You should do this and that, otherwise you would be out. I should do this and that, otherwise I'm not fit to the style of your family.

In the case of employment, it's you and the company.
You do good to Aroma Tropics, so I will take care of you. It's that simple, you see, same as you and your sayang.

The thing is
... the system how I appreciate your contribution to Aroma Tropics might not have been well spelt out in the current method. A suggestion of how you can improve your work is also not reflected in the structure of your wage.

Now you know, it's not that simple right?

I shall continue.

Dear Aroma members,

A happy new year.

For the fresh year, I have to begin this very important task which has been pressuring me to look into since last year.

It's about your salary.
I want to think about this.

So, I start from my own thing.
The entire aim of my life is neither to make a big success in business nor to become very rich (but okay to be a bit richer than now).
My aim is to do a good job and to leave a nice thing to the world.
So, it does not make sense if I pay you less.

But at the same time, I do not wish to pay you more than worth amount of work you do.
I prefer to gain for what I do, and the same should be applied to you. You should get for what you produce to the world, but not more than that. Also, not less than that.

That is the very principle.

I will continue again.