:: Life of a software engineer, and now a program manager ::

:: Saturday, March 23, 2002 ::

Yesterday boss asked us if we're going anywhere this weekend...well, he suggested a few places, and is willing to host us, really good mgr, how I wish my Msian boss is like him, don't need to be 100%, 50% will do..:P
Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tell what happened at Lake Tahoe. Well, no use mentioning the journey to reach there, all we did was sleep...hehe, pity the 'chauffeur' who drove for 4 hours...okay okay, he is the gentleman lar...
Anyway, it was snowing that day, so halfway on the mountain (I still wonder why it's called a lake when there are mountains and forests), we couldn't proceed as there was no grip on the tyres, so basically we were sliding down even when the gear was set to 'D'. In the end we had to turn back and headed down to buy snow chains. Yes, those chains are tied on to the front tyres to get friction. Wasted USD15 on this (can buy a pair of Esprit pants liao, oh, btw, Esprit is closing down, so they're having sale worldwide).
In the end we reached at about 12 something...went straight to get the gears (ski, boots, poles, waterproof pants) and bought a pair of gloves. The ski rental fees were about USD37 + USD10 for the pants...this package doesn't come with the coaching (should've gotten the coaching package in the very first place). Before that, we've brought our basic gears, the goggles and the little hat. So after snapping a few shots we headed for the ski lift. As usual, Mr. D, being a hero, did not wait for the others and went off by himself. What he did not realise was that Mr. G was still busy taking pictures, so in the end I waited for him. Mr. R dumped me and said he wanted to go with Mr.D. Mr.S was nowhere to be seen, and I shouted for Mr.A to wait for both me and Mr. G. Then the three of us went up, with me sitting with Mr.A.
The intermediate station was the one we're supposed to get down, unfortunately both of us didn't know about it till we asked the attendant. By the time I realised that I had to jump down there and then, Mr. A had already made his stunt. Btw, the right way is to just get up from the lift and slide down gracefully, not jumping down. Fortunately I did not jump down, otherwise both of us would've ended up in the hospital, coz I would've landed on him for sure.
The bad luck did not end there. I thought that since I've missed the first station, I might as well sit there and make one big trip down again. When I reached the advanced station, the attendant asked me to get down. Apparently there was safety issue if I were to go down thru the lift. So there's only one way to go down:- ski.
How the hell was I suppose to ski down? I didn't even know how to hold the poles properly!!! Fortunately Mr. G followed me to the advanced level as well. So in the end they called the ski patrol to bring us down, but after waiting for quite a while, I realised that nobody was gonna come and save us ...:P. And there was one 'kepoh' instructor who told me to make full use of my "Columbia" jacket. He pulled up the jacket zip, and "pak"! The zip came off just like that...nothing can get worst than this. And the wind was starting to blow vigorously, that's the best part. So I was left with a spoilt jacket, and a pair of skis that I didn't know how to use. We tried skiing down, but fell down a lotta times that we ended up walking. And don't think that getting up is an easy job, it is NOT easy at all, when you're wearing 5 feet skis with damn heavy boots. Nearly got frostbite, my face was so painful...words can't describe the pain.
Fortunately we met some ski patrols, who were willing to take our skis for us, so that we carried only the poles. Finally reached the lodge after about half an hour. Then Mr.A apologized for not taking care of me and just jump down. Deep in my heart I wanted to smash his head with a sledgehammer, but instead I said "It's okay". I didn't think he meant it anyway, so I did the same. Mr.D twisted his ligament or something like that, really unfortunate...
I wasn't satisfied with the luck I had, so in the end I went up for one last time and tried skiing down...had a few falls, but it was okay. Still had to train up on the getting up part.
Spent nearly USD100 for all the stuff, and yet I get this kind of experience...well, at least it's memorable...and of course I can tell my friends that I've gone up to the advanced level even for the first time. Hehe, they don't need to know how I came down...:)


:: Mich 3:53 PM [+] ::
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Never have I seen such kiasu person before. Copied my weekly, eavesdropped my conversations, and always try to beat me in everything. For goodness sake, he's two levels higher than I am! Each time boss calls me up, he will ask me who called. Even worst than nanny. He can be a good friend, but when it comes to work, his attitude sucks. If that's the case, he might as well work alone, don't need me anyway. The frustration builds up whenever he comes over to listen to what my other colleagues have to tell me. Sometimes I wonder if he knows when I go to the toilet, or when I have my lunch. I have a strong feeling he knows.
I'm suppose to write what happened at Lake Tahoe, that 'basket' really ruined my mood. Pardon me for swearing, I just can't help it when I see such...such....ah, forget it, I have no words to describe what a lousy colleague he is.

:: Mich 10:18 PM [+] ::
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