Brickfields 2

Brickfields. Some people shudder when they hear Brickfields. They give me the big doe eyes and like a scary mouse, they go.. you are going to work THERE? I was going WHY? What's wrong with Brickfields. There's YMCA... it shouldn't be all that bad ya? And so my journey with geeky man continued there.

First day i reported there, i was greeted by this thin girl with a big smile. I nearly ran out of breath walking up two flights of steps or was it three. The stairs are dark and dingy... and i reached a lawyers firm first before i reached our office. Our office was hidden in a backroom behind the lawyers firm.

Since the computer was hooked in the front room, they made me sit there. The old boss used to sit there. He is a very nice man. He said, you sit here. Don't you worry about it. There's no other available power point to hook up your system. It feels weird to be sitting in a room. I was just the artist.. *LOL* Everytime the main door opens, the suppliers will look my way and nod their head to acknowledge me. It was where the old boss used to sit. So they must be thinking i am the new boss.. hahahhahaa.. sometimes i run and hide behind the shelf each time i hear a knock.

There was basically just four of us working in that office.. later on we had five. The office was the main backbone of the company because our database is stored there. Come to think of it now, its a mighty dangerous place to put the database office. But as people say, the most dangerous place is usually the safest place.

When i first started working in Brickfields... Sentral was not even up yet. There was just this vast empty land up front from our office which is Sentral today. There were talks that something big was coming up right in front of our office. There was not even Monorial way back then. But today, the KL Monorial's last stop is smack right in between the shophouses few doors away from my old office.

We always come to work very early way back then. We would be in at about 7am... before the skies are bright, we would be in and with breakfast in hand. Sometimes we stop at the market and get our breakfast and walked happily to office. One of my colleagues will usually pack two half boil eggs and she'll come up swinging her half boil eggs. Sometimes the eggs will hit the wall while she is coming up and she'll come up with a bag of smashed eggs but she will still sieve thru the shells and eat it. *LOL* We'll only leave about 7pm or when its dark.. it was like our second home.

We had a new colleague that came one early morning to report to work. She knocked a few times, both my colleague and i was peeping at her from the peep hole and refuse to open the door for her. She started to look pissed. We both just giggled in darkness and peeped at her. After a while... we slipped A4 paper under the door to her... many pieces... she got pissed and started to walk away... Both of us rolled in laughter and finally open the door for her. First day of work for her and a bit of ragging from both of us. She never liked this office. But she stayed on with us. She hated this office because it was ugly.. hahhahahahhaa.. We did try to change her mindset but she never really got close to us and Brickfields.

We will walk everywhere all over Brickfields for lunch. Brickfields do have the best coffee with fresh cow's milk. The best coffee i tasted so far. The stall is under a tree and it is served in a steel mug with another steel plate under it. Maybe the environment lends an extra feel good feeling to that cup of coffee :)

Our office is not pretty. We just have the basics. Computers, microwave, water dispenser and a fridge. Old furniture... and dark stairs. hahhahahahahhaaa We never felt afraid. We have Dinty's Pub downstairs. But we never go drinking there.. hahhahahaa.. we sure don't want to get drunk near the place we work.

Once we had a dude who walked into our office and asked us where's the toilet. He used the toilet and promptly went out.. *LOL* He was at the lawyer's firm in front and came to the back to use the toilet. Funnily he thought our office was the toilet.. hahahhahahahahhaa.. Good thing he didn't give my colleague sitting in the main room 20cents for toilet use. We were all just as startled when he walked in and use the toilet and went out. He had a startled look too. hahhahahaha We had a good laugh over that and decided to lock the main door in the future.

We were usually poor and almost penniless before the month's end. Then we'll buy canned food and share among ourselves with a loaf of bread. They will follow me to KLCC to cash my paycheck every month's end and we'll have something nice to eat there... hehehhehee

The office was our sanctuary for many years. We do have another hoity toity office in another part of town. Nicer office with better furniture but we always loved our Brickfields. No one bothered us there. We just do our work happily.

We filled this big white wall with clippings and drawings of stuffs. People who open the door to the office were often taken aback by the stuffs we stuck on the wall.. hahhahahaha I learnt a few tamil words and some urmm.. swear words too.. *LOL* I wrote all the tamil words that was taught by my suster on the wall with pictures so that i remember. We have decorations for every festive season. We bought our first Christmas tree & fatty snowman for the office and my colleagues dragged it all the way from Petaling Street.

After working there for a good many years, we moved to another place. Sentral was coming up slowly when we left Brickfields. My geeky boss commented that my English was having a tinge of Indian in it. He said.. i put you too long in Brickfields *LOL* I think he doesn't realise Malaysians all speak like that.. hahhahahaa Its just Malaysian LAH.

I have many happy memories of Brickfields with my co-workers. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I am still working with two of them.