Mr. Ant is back!

Hi everyone!

It's been 2 years since I last wrote a blog! My god! Time flies when you least expect it. Well, not much changes in my life but I did something different in 2006, compared to 2005.

In early 2006, I went on a holiday trip (which I have not done in years) to Cambodia to witness the magnificent monuments of Angkor. It was breath taking in the sense to think there was such a well organized civillization hundreds of years ago. Anyway, thanks to Airasia everyone can travel! =)

In 2006 was a transition year for me. I finally quit my job which I have disliked for many years. Now I am with the Automotive industry in sales! It is no doubt a tough challenge as the car market has been slow this year. Well, I hope it does get better this year. I joined in November last year and has since been working day by day in....RAWANG!!! RAWANG?!?!?! Yeah, people are asking me.."Are you serious???" Yes, I am. I have given up the luxuries and comforts of Petaling Jaya/Subang Jaya for the Cowboy town Rawang.

What makes me say that it is a cowboy town? Well, everybody breaks the rules. There is no such thing as one way street or driving on the wrong side of the road because you see it happening almost everyday. People take risks like this just to be convenient about crossing the road rather than taking the bridge or saving time to make that U-turn. You might ask me.."Is that all?"

Well, there is more than meets the eye! Do you know that the most vandalized item in Rawang are traffic lights! You bet they are! Because of all the lorries driving and speeding like maniacs! I kind of put my life at rish each and everyday just to get to work.

Apart from all the bad and the ugly from Rawang, there is also the good. What's good? Fish! Yes, I am not joking, Fish! To be precise, the type of fish would be errr..I'm not sure..let me get back to you all.

Anyway, there's a lot of food for taste in Rawang...not the usual fine dining kind of place that's for sure but somehow the food are delicious despite without the fancy surroundings. If it's an Italian looking for some Pasta, or a Swedish searching for meatballs, then I have to say sorry because there's not much western interest in Rawang.

It's still the old fashioned, malay..indian...chinese cuisine...home made in most cases but slowly gaining commercial recognition which would eventually spoil all the taste I'm sure. Perhaps I will go through with ya all some of the "places to eat in Rawang list". Well, if anyone plans for a trip to Rawang, it's not really that bad. You can golf around before you decide to try the food. Who knows you might like it.

Let me talk a bit about my job. I am currently working as a Sales Executive at Toyota Rawang Branch (Yes! There is a Toyota Showroom in Rawang!) Most makes have come and go but Toyota Rawang has prevailed for the last 10 years.

The showroom is not something spectacular but is a End lot shop. The working environment is pretty ok, I work with a bunch of very different characters, sales people. Yeap, the job that I am doing is all about managing them and maintaining the operations of the branch. My previous job was in IT and now this is an opportunity for me to learn about managing a business. The only person that I report to is my branch manager. So, it's not that bad.

After switching my job, I realized that no matter where you work, the most important thing are the people that you work with. They will determine if you will stay in the company long or not. It's not really about the money is it? Unless you're like a manager or the CEO of a company...perhaps that is a different story.

Anyway, the workload has been heavy since I joined. It's already 6 months up to now that I have been working in Rawang. Yes, I still have the dislikes and all but I am just trying to blend into the job. I have definitely a lot of the tricks and trades of the automotive industry that's for sure.

This has also brought to my attention that my social circle is slowly reducing. I don't really have much time on my hands to meet up with my friends or even go out on a date. For the past year, many have gotten married and when most people get married, they tend to concentrate more on family rather than friends. Despite all these obstacles, I still meet up for tea once in a while.

I don't even have much time for activities other than my job, which I think is a serious matter. Well, I'm still holding on. I'll hold on as long as I can before I make another switch. Being in sales, I get to meet quite a lot of people whom sometimes I tend to forget their names as well because there are just to many business cards to keep around.

Of late, I wonder if it is just coincidence or just plain unlucky, I have met with very nice girls (I'm still single!) You know, friendly girls whom I get along well at work as well as colleagues back in my HQ who visit me once in a while. I have actually gone beyond the friendly stage with them. You know, when we meet up, it's not just talking about work anymore. We share our life stories and all.

As I have always said to myself, getting to know someone is the best part of a friendship. And then from friendship it grows to something more. But most of the time it doesn't. You meet someone really nice, that you can laugh, have a good meaningful conversation, share a meal together and the next thing you when you dig deeper, they're either attached or married. Well, I have no problem with that, I just think to myself "How lucky her husband or bf is to know someone like her".

Yeah, it's envy you sensed there. I am not denying it. The comfort I get though is at least I got the chance to know them and they are still my friends =)I am not desperately seeking someone but it would be nice to get to know some girls who are still single and whom I fancy for a change! You know that the girl that you fancy most of the time would be hard to come by. You're not being choosy, don't let anyone say that to you. It's all whom is able to catch your heart from the start. I do believe that first impressions count! But then again people try too hard to make and impression and most would end up not being themselves and faking their personality!

I suppose if I am going to find someone, I should be able to tell them all the flaws of me, show it to them fully and if they are able to accept me for who I am (maybe change for the better) then I'd probably be satisfied half heartedly...the next half would probably depend on whether we can get along or not.

I do have one particular flaw that I would like to share with everyone.
This is something very new in Malaysia. I used to think that not many people suffer from this problem. I have known it for many years as I have done my own research and studies. It is definitely very satisfying to know that there are also a group of people whom have similar situations as we do that we can relate to each other.
The term that I am trying to introduce to everyone here is "Hyperhidrosis"
Hyper means extreme, Hidro is something related to water. So if you put 2 and 2 together it would be excessive sweating.

It's a symptom that I have carried with me most of my life since I was young. I use to make my exam papers all wet. The teacher would just think that I am just nervous but in fact I am not that nervous. I was just not understanding my own problems. My parents also didn't take much notice of it until I started going to secondary school. I began to do my own research and finally found the name for my symptom. It is not a disease, it is a flaw in a human physically.

Sweating is a normal thing but we tend to sweat more than usual. I would like to take this opportunity to share with everyone about this. Who knows your friends may be suffering from this and they do not know what is the reason.

http://www.wethandsclub.com

Probably now everyone know how hard that I have to go through to know someone who will accept my big flaw. Anyway, I believe that if you are a good person, eventually nobody will bother about it. They may give you comments or make remarks that will hurt you but you just have to ignore it and look the other side. The most important opinions would come from your friends because they are the ones that are worth listening to.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend? Have a nice day!

Ant