I just came back from my department retreat in KL.
Initially was concerned about the possible massive jams at the checkpoint no thanks to that JI fugitive, and the M'sia elections added to the concerns. Safety was of utmost concern in many of our minds ... but everything had been paid for and the big boss decided to go ahead ... so everything went ahead as planned.
Thankfully the jam at Tuas wasn't as bad as I imagined. It took a while for the coach to reach the checkpoint, but other than that, everything went smoothly and all was fine & dandy.
Talking about the coach, everyone was embarrassed about the quality of the coach we were in. While stuck in the jam at the customs, we were all comparing the other coaches lined up behind us and we could only laughed at our own "predicament" and the lack of class in our mode of transport :P We even joked about tearing away the tag pasted in front of our coach identifying our organisation to avoid further humiliation! Ok lah, it was fun just laughing at ourselves.
The retreat wasn't exciting ... there really wasn't much to do there (shopping was atrociously boring & the food sux big time - talk about spending loads on their restaurants, I think I rather have our own hawker food or cze char :P). But it was good to spend some time with colleagues and chat about stuff other than work. And good to use the opportunity to know some of the newer colleagues. Imagine there are some whom I don't even know their names!
The trip also brought back fond memories about the last time i was in KL - Pacesetters 2007. I still remember fondly the evening we were stuck in a massive downpour that came unannounced and got us drenched. We had to seek shelter in this little hut right outside a construction site! And guess what, I was just recounting this very funny incident to one of my colleagues (who is also a very dear friend) that i realised that this construction site is now a brand new shopping mall which opened like just 3 months ago! My hotel is very near to this mall so everytime I passed by this mall on my way back to the hotel, I will always smile to myself and recall the fond memories I had with this gang of good friends then. How time flies ....
We flew back on jetstar / tiger airways (yes, budget air some more!!!! *roll eyes*) and its my first time on one. It is truly no frills and the air craft seems a tad old but still ok lah ... nothing that got me very worried except when taking off when the plane rocked from side to side. It got one of my younger colleagues worried and my friend and I just laughed it off. As my friend said, if anything were to happen, it would be quick. hahahahah
Oh, and my group won the first prize in one of those games which earned us a $300 dining voucher! Yippeee! Can grow more bui! :P
All in all, a good break. Thankfully the streets in KL were safe (pretty quiet actually, we figured many have returned to their hometowns for voting?) and we didn't encounter any issues or scares there.
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