They were three main players in the systems development group -- me and another two friends. Our capital expenditure budget was never less than 20 million bucks a year. As the core group, we were the hive of IT activities in the oil & gas exploration company. The boss trusted us to run projects autonomously. We were kings of our own little hills. We had breakfast and lunch together almost daily. We played games together after office.

That was about five years ago. Then one guy left to head the IT operations somewhere in Borneo. Later on I moved to join the corporate arena with the holding company. Shortly after my move, another one was transferred to head the IT operations in the east coast. Our communication was sparse but the friendship, deeply intact.

Since the dispersal, I noticed that I was less strong to go through my crises as there's no one near to share. These two guys know me and my world. They may not have approved of what I did but they understood me. I have few friends, and those few I have, I really treasure them. And I treasure these two.

It's been a long while since we sat down and talked. Yesterday was almost a celebration. We met for lunch. We talked about the same topics, the same problem areas, but different stories.

The east coast guy has been transferred back here. I'm pushing and hoping for the Borneo guy to come back. Now older and having gone through the same crises (proving that we are none the wiser), I believe we are bound stronger. I foresee I'm going to have a bumpy ride ahead of me. I'll sure be glad if they're around me again. They are my emotional crutches.

Friendship Day is 1st August. To these two guys, allow me the pleasure to wish you a Happy Friends Day in advance.

Thank you for being my buddies.

some rare breed of people condescendingly say that petronas work culture is like that of the government. i call these people rare because they are blind and deaf but can still talk, albeit half-brainlessly.

these people may still choose to remain blind and deaf. let them be. for the rest of us who can see, listen and think i'm sharing with you all another view. sidek kamiso wrote in the star ...

"Petronas’ achievements show that even a government-linked company can be a commercial success, balancing its hunger for more profit with its role as a good corporate citizen."

"Petronas' hallmark is its corporate culture that enables it to respond to the changing business environment. For the past 30 years, it has demonstrated its capabilities, knowledge and skills to undertake major upstream and downstream projects in a variety of geographic and business environments."

petronas is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. it has made record profit as if to commemorate the anniversary. as a contribution to the nation and the people, it's paying billions in tax. well, numbers will explain it better.

i like orange. the colour, i mean. i started to like the colour a couple of years ago. before that, my favourites were blue and brown. my office wardrobe consists of white and blue shirts. i have an orange shirt. whenever i garb that shirt i feel light-hearted. but i can't imagine wearing orange pants. whenever i shop for clothes my eyes are always directed to the orange ones.

orange on a wall in the house is nice, too. not on all walls, but on a feature wall. orange on a mini (the original, not the bmw) looks cute, but not suitable on a merz. an orange mobile phone looks fun and delectable.

in fact, i like all shades of and similarities to orange, saffron and vermillion included. i consider vermillion as the more agressive orange. i like the spelling v-e-r-m-i-l-l-i-o-n.

i like orange because it's the colour of the sun, i guess. the bright saffron sun lighting up the light blue sky and the lightly scattered white clouds in the morning lifts my spirit high. the orange sun in the afternoon begs me to go out and play. sometimes the sun takes on the colour of vermillion when it is about to set. the sight of the vermillion sun against the grayish blue sky getting ready to set calms me down.

what has prompted me to write about my liking for the colour orange? the colour of the blogger(tm) logo reminds me of it.

i've got it! i've got it! i've got it! everybody wants one and i've got it!

i've got a gmail account! it is totally cool.

you want one? teee heee heee ... try your luck at gmailswap.

wooo hooo!

one morning eight months ago i walked into the elevator to go up to my office in the sky. my head was lifelessly wilted down, my eyes staring at the floor in between my feet. i ignored another man in the elevator until his deep voiced boomed, "you look devastated."

those words resonated deep into my chest. with tears building up in my eyes, i gathered my strength and looked at the vicinity of his face and said, "yes, i am."

the elevator stopped and opened its doors halfway up to the sky. i had to catch another elevator to reach the sky. i dragged my feet and he let me out first. as i walked away his voice boomed again, "take it easy." i just nodded without even looking at him. tears were already flowing down my cheeks.

devastated, i was then. it was a dark moment.

but, wait. it was then. this is now.

sunshine, i am now.

yesterday i had coffee with my good buddy. at the first sight of me, he greeted, "you look radiant! the weekend must have been great." indeed i was shining. indeed the weekend was great.

and of course, a song comes to mind ...

I'm walking on sunshine
and don't it feel good!

~ Katrina and The Waves

woooo hoooo