Better to be cunning than intelligent

Monday

Clever-cunning: Hey, whatcha doing?

Clever-intelligent: Boss has asked me to index all the files in Room A. 

Clever-cunning: No kidding. Boss has asked me to do the same for the files in Room B. When's your deadline?

Clever-intelligent: This Friday.

Clever-cunning: Same here. Got any bright ideas?

Clever-intelligent: Well, yes. I've come up with a formula that will enable me to index the files in half the time a normal person would take to do the job. If I stay back for an hour after work I should be able to finish it by the deadline. I can teach you the formula if you want.

Clever-cunning: Sure.

Friday

Boss: Have you both finished your tasks?

Clever-intelligent: Yes, here you go.

Clever-cunning: Boss, I've really tried my best, you've seen me staying back after work, in fact I worked even longer hours than any of my other colleagues. I've worked through lunch, and got home just in time to sleep. And still, I couldn't finish the task. It's just too much. I need just a few more days extra and I'm confident I can complete it.

Boss: So how come the task could be completed by your colleague in time?

Clever-cunning: Well, she came up with this formula and she was kind enough to teach it to me, but you know me Boss, I'm not as clever as her and so I couldn't fully implement it. 

Boss: How much more time do you need?

Clever-cunning: I think one more week. 

Boss: That's too long. It was due today!

Clever-cunning: If that is the case, since Clever-Intelligent has finished her task and performed it well, perhaps she could help me out and then it can be finished by next Tuesday.

Boss: Ok.

Clever-Inellgent: Wait a minute. She gets help because she can't do her work properly, and I get penalised with more work because I can do my work properly? Something's not right here.

Boss: Welcome to working life.

Clever-cunning goes back to her desk and resumes updating her Facebook, playing candy crush, and chatting with her friends, which were the real reasons she was apparently 'working' late.

Death comes as the end

Two people I sort of know have passed away within weeks. There is an Indian belief that death occurs in threes. I’m not superstitious but this is a bit too close for comfort.

Death. The end. But not for those who are left behind. For those who grieve, for those who mourn, for those who are left to pick up the pieces.

I suppose in a way it’s a blessing that I won’t leave anyone behind when I die. No one will suffer or be in grief because of me. It’s also a curse because I will die alone. No one will mourn for me. One of my favourite sayings when I’m especially sad is “I came in this world alone and I shall leave this world alone.” A blessing and a curse at the same time.

I will leave nothing behind. Except this blog. Which will forever be evidence of my existence in this world, once upon a time.

Moscow - Part 8

Saturday, 23 April 2016, 9.30 am

Got off at the right station. All I had to do now was to follow the map and remember the way. Easy. 

I got lost. I walked for about a kilometre before I decided the park can't be that far away. I could see the Moskva river from a distance but I didn't know exactly where to go to cross it. So I stopped at a cafe and asked for directions. I could see people staring at me (dark skin at work again - charm them, Sheila!). I was right. I was on the wrong track. Backtrack the same way until I see a bridge and go across it.

This time I got it right and I was in Gorky Park! The park opened in 1928, situated just across the Moskva River, named after Maxim Gorky, a Russian literary figure. Clean but trees were without leaves which although beautiful, were a bit too bare for me.  

After the park I walked along the Moskva river in the opposite direction, towards the statue of Peter the Great (1682-1725) founder of the Russian fleet, also founded the new capital of Russia - Saint Petersburg. This was when Moscow briefly ceased to be Russia's capital. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the capital was moved back to Moscow by Vladimir Lenin.

And then time to head back. I accomplished this without getting lost. Well done, Sheila!

Packed up and checked out at 2, then had a pint of Russian draft beer at the hotel bar (something Corona) which was good, although I still preferred Baltikan No. 7. 

And then it was 4 pm and time to go to the airport. Ms. Concierge hugged me goodbye and Mr. Doorman shook my hand. See what smiles and cheerfulness can do. 

My taxi driver, Urmud is a guy from Kyrgystan who was working in England and then decided to come back to Russia as his Russian wife wanted to come back home. He is temporarily driving a taxi with the hope of opening his own taxi company. I think he'll make it, too, he sounds extremely enterprising. We were talking about all things Russian, tourism, politics, government etc. 

Somewhere in this conversation I mentioned to him that I am truly myself when I travel. When I'm home I have to be someone else in order to fit in. And he told me, which is probably the best advice anyone could give me, that I should be myself no matter where I am. But this is of course easier said than done. At home, because you have to work with people or meet people you don't like for whatever reason, you have to be, to a certain extent, a hypocrite. And that is not being myself. This requires more thinking - why can't I be myself in my own country?

And then it was time to go home. Till the next adventure!

Moscow - Part 7

Saturday, 23 April 2016, 9 am

My last day in Moscow! My flight was only at 8 pm and I had to leave the hotel at 4 pm. So I could either just relax or go on another excursion. My worry was that since I was alone today, I would get lost somewhere (knowing me) and would not be able to make it back in time.

By now I was already friends not only with Mr. Doorman but also with Ms. Concierge who (wrongly) thought that I was very young, and therefore very brave to come to a foreign country alone. If only she knew. 

Of course I couldn't just sit still in my hotel. This is me, after all. So I did the Scorpions song:

"Follow the Moskva,

Down to Gorky Park..."

First, the horrid metro where everything is in Russian. To match the wordings in the map with the wordings in the metro, I had to literally match the shape of the words as the Russian alphabet is totally different and foreign to any of the alphabets I know. 

Luckily from the map, and from my enquiries at the hotel, the station I needed to get out at was only 3 stations away from the station nearest to my hotel, called Park Kulturi. And it was on the brown line so I didn't need to change lines. Good luck to me.

I went to the machine and the only thing I recognised was numbers so I pressed '1' hoping that it meant I wanted 1 ticket. Thank God that was correct. Next, to find the right train. Which means matching the name of the station I was going to, with the names in the metro. Feel like a kid again matching shapes. Luckily I chose Saturday to explore alone because there wasn't the usual rush hour / work crowd on the metro. 

It costs 50 roubles for a one way ticket anywhere on the metro, which is about RM3. 

Moscow - Part 6

Friday, 22 April 2016, 1 pm

In front of St Basil's Cathedral is a monument known as the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky which is made of bronze.  This monument is a tribute to Prince Dmitry Pozharsky (seated with a shield) and Kuzma Minin, urging the prince to fight on! They gathered an all-Russian volunteer army to defeat the Polish-Lithuanian invaders in 1612. The monument is to commemorate their success, and was unveiled in 1818

St Basil's Cathedral is made up of 9 cathedrals. The biggest is in the middle, surrounded by 4 bigger domes and 4 smaller domes. There is one odd pillar with a green roof, that is where (so it is said) St Vasily (St Basil) is buried. The cathedral was built in 1547-1561, commissioned by Ivan the Terrible. Legend is that he asked his architect whether he could build something more beautiful than the cathedral. The architect said yes, and so was blinded. 

After the Red Square we went to another famous church, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. This church was destroyed by bombs during the Stalin era (apparently only the third bomb destroyed it) but was rebuilt again in the 1990s. Standing at about 103 meters tall, it is the tallest orthodox Christian church in the world. Built to thank Christ the saviour for the retreat of Napoleon by Tsar Alexander I. 

I went in and lit a candle for all the good God does (yes, I'm being sarcastic). For me, it was reminiscent of some of the churches in Italy, although it is both completely different religions - Russian Orthodox vs Roman Catholic. But of course, all of the churches that I have seen so far (including this one and the ones in South America) are much more majestic and grandiose compared to the churches in Malaysia. 

Next stop - Arbat street. This is a street about a kilometre long and has been in existence since the 15th century, but destroyed by fire during the 18th / 19th century and was completely rebuilt in the early 19th century. It's one of the oldest surviving streets of the Russian capital. There used to be a lot of street vendors selling food, souvenirs, knock knacks but cleaned up by the government who was not in favour of street vendors. So now all the shops are in proper buildings along the street. 

There are a lot of souvenir shops here, cheaper than those at the Red Square. I bought some souvenirs, of course - a KGB t-shirt for Philip, matryoshka dolls and smaller stuff for distribution. Also had lunch in a restaurant called My My (pronounced Mu Mu). Some cabbage and chicken wrapped in something like a roll, according to the waiter in broken English is traditional Russian food.

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at a supermarket and I bought vodka (the locals recommended Beluga or Crystal but I couldn't find those so I bought Kremlin, I've no idea how it tastes and am not a fan of vodka) and Russian beers - Baltikan Nos. 3, 7 and 9 was all I could find.

Moscow - Part 5

Friday, 22 April 2016, 11 am

Guess what. When I went downstairs today Mr. Doorman greeted me, with a smile too! He probably thought it was best that he greeted me before I energetically yelled Good Morning to him. I was so pleased. Thank you Sun Tzu.

Today we had a guided tour to the Red Square. Our guide, Julia was an old lady with a low, mellow voice. I noticed that a lot of Russian women have this kind of voice, which is very soothing and pleasing to the ear. And I must say that most Russian women are beautiful. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the men. Oh, well. They can't all look like Putin. 

Anyway, Julia informed us that the tourist industry is not doing so well at the moment. Most of the tourists in Russia are British and American, but since there is a sanction against Russia now due to the dispute with Ukraine over Crimea - people have just stopped coming to Russia. This is quite sad because despite the lack of colour, the lack of warmth and the lack of smiles, I have a soft spot for Russia, don't ask me why. 

The Red Square again. I preferred it at dusk, it somehow looked more romantic. This place not only used to be a market place, but also for various public ceremonies, coronation of tsars, burial ground, executions, official government ceremonies. There are arched gates in front of and at the back of the Red Square.   

The original Moscow Kremlin was built in the early 14th century by Ivan the Great (1440-1505) and completed in 1495. The Kremlin's Great Bell Tower (situated nearer to St Basil's Cathedral) was built in around 1500 and heightened in 1600. Originally as a kind of fort for the tsars.  In the old days it was used for the coronation of the tsars, celebrations as well as funerals. It is almost a city within itself as it has monasteries, palaces, walls, towers and churches. You could go into the Kremlin compound but I didn't.

Every hour there is a changing of the guards. We saw the one at 12 pm. I had to expose my fingers to the cold to video the whole thing, and my fingers were so cold that it started feeling hot, if that makes any sense. 

The Lenin Mausoleum contains the embalmed body of Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately it was closed, it's closed every Monday and Friday.

Moscow - Part 4

Thursday, 21 April 2016, 7.30 pm

And finally, the Red Square! Here you can find most of the tourist attractions - the Kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum, Kazan Cathedral (to honour the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow) and the State Historical Museum.

It was late evening, and the wind was really cold but that didn't stop me from taking photographs, especially of St Basil's Cathedral. What a lovely, lovely sight. Quite a number of people wanted to take pictures with me, too. I think it's because I'm dark skinned and there's not many people of colour here. We're a rarity.

Oh and I figured out what was wrong with the scenery in Moscow. There is no green. It was the end of winter beginning of spring, so it is to be expected, but coming from a tropical country, I'm really not used to the lack of greenery. To the overall lack of colour here.

As it was getting windier and therefore colder, we went into the GUM Department Store. Thank God it was warm inside.

Bridged with metal and glass vaults, it has a steel frame with glass roof. The entire Red Square used to be a huge market place, but then the government decided to clean up the place and organise proper shop buildings. Hence the GUM Department Store was built, it is one of the largest and oldest department stores in Russia. 

It is really big and I suspect we only walked 10% of the area inside. You can find many of the luxury brands in here, I didn't see that many shoppers (not like our malls in Malaysia!) but maybe because it was a working day and I did hear that the things here were more expensive than usual as it was a well known tourist attraction.

We ate at the food court - traditional Russian food! For salad I had 'herring under a coat' (what a cute name!) which consist of layers of herring, potato, onion, egg, beetroot and topped with mayonnaise (the coat). For main I had chicken Kiev with rice and a kind of mushroom cheese sauce which was delicious! Also ate a traditional bun filled with chicken, onion, potato and egg filling. Not bad. Dessert is another traditional Russian dish called kartoshka, something chocolatey.

After dinner we walked around in the supermarket and I bought some Russian chocolates which I was told was very good.

And then the metro back to the hotel. 

Moscow - Part 3

Thursday, 21 April 2016, 6 pm

I decided to apply Sun Tzu's the Art of War and be extra cheerful to the Russians (do the unexpected), starting with Mr. Doorman. Yesterday I boisterously wished him Good Morning, Hello and Hi every time I passed him. No response at first. Then a slight nod. I'm getting somewhere!

Exploring day. Today I had someone local to take me around The Red Square, where most of the tourist attractions are located. We took the metro. Good time for me to learn. According to the map, the station nearest to the hotel is called Belarushka (but spelt in strange alphabets) and that is on the brown line. To get to the Red Square, we have to change to the green line and get off at the Tretyakovskaya station. Sounds easy enough.

The changing of the stations is done at the Belarushka station itself. It was a series of maze and  I tried to remember the exact route but somewhere in there I was totally lost. I'm not surprised. But I must say, the metro stations in themselves are a sight to behold. The stations are really big, the buildings are pretty old, with large pillars and tiles of olden days, lighted by soft orange lights. Gives me the feeling that I'm in the 1920s boarding the Orient Express at night. Kinda cool. Kinda romantic. And the stations are pretty deep underground, and the escalators are perhaps about 200 meters down. I didn't want to think how I'd go up the escalator if it's not working.

Out of the metro station the first building we saw was the Bolshoi Theatre. This is one of the oldest theatres in Russia, mainly for ballets and operas. The famous ballet 'Swan Lake' is performed here. Russia also has one of the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world - Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera.

On the way to the Red Square we saw the State Duma - Russia's Parliament, the lower legislative house. 

The building opposite the Duma, on the corner of the street used to be a hotel but has 2 distinct designs. The myth or legend was that Stalin commissioned some of the country's best architects to design a hotel in that place. 2 were shortlisted, and when Stalin signed off on the plans, his signature fell on both plans by accident. Too scared to get clarification from Stalin,  the building was built in accordance with both plans. 

Moscow - Part 2

Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 2 pm

Revolving doors at the hotel! How quaint. But of course, this is me. My bag got stuck in the door and while I managed to pull it through, the door was stuck so I just stood in the partition of the revolving door wondering what next. I saw the doorman trying very hard to stifle a disgusted look as he pushed the door to make it move again. I thanked him and got a stare in reply. Things are getting out of hand now.

The receptionists speak English, praise the Lord. Checked in and unpacked a bit, then sent all the 'I have arrived safely' messages to friends and family. It was 3 in the afternoon. Too short to go gallivanting, too long to stay indoors. So I decided to walk around the hotel area. 

Saw Mr. Doorman and avoided him like the plague. Walked for about 5 minutes and saw a church with a golden dome. Many people who passed crossed themselves as they passed it. I wondered if I should do the same. The shock effect. No, not a good idea. A metro station beside the church. Dare I use the metro? We'll see. Not today though.

Walked some more. All the shops are covered. Nothing is out in the open. Most of the glass walls are tinted so I couldn't tell what these shops were until I looked directly into the shop. A cafe. Office. Hotel. Restaurant. In Malaysia you will see the sign for a supermarket a mile away. Here I can miss it if I'm not looking carefully.

Finally a small sundry shop. I wanted water. Beer seemed like a good idea. Russian beer! I tried asking in English. He gave me Hoegarden. Carlsberg. Heineken. I said no, no, no, Belgium, Denmark, Holland. Russia? He brought vodka. Various types of vodka. This would take a while. This is what happens if you don't do research before hand and go in not knowing exactly what you want in a foreign country where no one speaks English.

However, it was a happy ending. I got my Russian beer: Baltikan No. 7. Went back to my room and drank it. It was good. This is the official beer for Euro 2016. They have No. 1 to No. 13, different alcohol content and different tastes from dry to smooth to spicy. Feeling tired, I lay down for a while and the next thing I knew it was 9 pm local time.

Had a shower and accosted the receptionist downstairs (whilst carefully avoiding Mr. Doorman) with a map of Moscow, and I got her to mark out for me all the tourist places that I wanted to go to, and the best way to go there. Looks like I can't avoid the metro. What fun.

Finished the beer which was only half finished as I fell asleep earlier. No need to put in the fridge, the weather is enough to cool it although there is no air-cond in the room. Thought I wouldn't be able to sleep but as soon as I finished the beer and lay in bed with a book I fell asleep again until 4 am the next morning feeling refreshed with no traces of head ache or jet lag.

Moscow - Part 1

Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 12 pm

I'm in the capital of the largest country in the world! Moscow is the capital and largest city in Russia, with a population of over 12 million people. 

After approximately 14 hours of travelling, unfortunately I developed a bit of a head ache I think due to jet lag.

The airport (Domodedovo) was rather small, and I immediately noticed that there were no signs in English, that the Russian alphabet is not Phoenician, and no one speaks English. I know I'll have a blast. 

Having cleared immigration with a lot of hand gestures, I saw a guy holding my name and I excitedly walked towards him, and excitedly presented myself to him. To which he replied with the most expressionless face I have ever seen, "bag please". And that was that. The people here are not the friendliest. Maybe due to language barrier, maybe due to the cold weather. 

He walked extremely fast. I thought he was trying to get away from me, but then I noticed many people here walked fast, I think it's their way of keeping warm in the cold weather. Oh and it was cold outside the airport! I think about 11 degrees Celcius. At first it was nice to have the cold wind on my face, sort of woke me up but after a minute it was too cold for me. Hands in pocket, face down. 

The car was warm, thank God. I tried again. I asked him if he spoke English and he brusquely waved no. My head ache got worse. There were bottles of water in the car and I asked if I could have one (hand gestures) and he nodded so I took 2 panadols and sat back and admired the scenery.

There was something wrong with the scenery but I couldn't quite place it. The head ache was clouding my brain. The journey took one and a half hours, the airport is about 50 km away from my hotel. Can't escape jams anywhere in the world.

Finally the hotel. I thanked him and got a nod in reply. No goodbyes. 

Life is not that short

Life is short. 

So. If I had a choice between being happy doing the wrong thing or being sad doing the right thing, what do I choose?

The problem with this 'life is short' business is, sometimes it's not as short as you would like it to be. Which means that if I do choose to be happy doing the wrong thing, chances are I will have to face the consequences of my choice. 

This is yet again one of those situations where my brain is pulling me in one direction and my heart is pulling me in the opposite direction. I don't know how I always end up in this mess. It sucks. 

"Every nation gets the government it deserves"

When I came back from my soul searching travels, I drove out of my house as usual and became agitated when I saw people driving the wrong way on the road - until I realised that I was the one driving the wrong way, because they had changed the routes to be one way in the opposite direction and of course, nobody told me this and there were no signboards.

Yes, I did see some road works but how was I to know they had changed the direction of traffic?

Anyway, that was in November 2014. It's now May 2016, and the road works are still on going. I really don't know how difficult can it be to change the roads from two ways to one way. And because of the on-going road works, the routes keep changing every so often, which causes massive jams at peak hours. I can only suppose the reason for the one way traffic is to alleviate traffic, but personally I think it's made it worse. 

And people can still ask me why I don't vote.

A funeral

I attended a funeral yesterday. A friend's father.

I don't think there is anything or anyone in the world that can offer comfort or solace to those who have lost a father.

As my friend kissed her father goodbye for the last time with tears of grief and anguish, her face showing the kind of defeat that comes from knowing that you will never know why, I cried too, as only a daughter can for her father. 

My secret

You are the first thing I think of when I wake up. You are the last thing I think of before I sleep. You are the most important person in my life right now. You know every thing that happens in my life. You are everywhere. You are everything. 

You are also my secret. And therefore, I am nothing to you.