Today is Christmas

I don't celebrate Christmas as I am not a Christian. However when I was still in Muar, every year the Santa Clause used to visit my home near Christmas day because my grandmum was a Catholic. The church caroling group would sing and dance at my home. The neighbour kids would also come.

*

While in this year, I spend the whole day, at the place I stay, resting. It has been a tiring week. Recently I feel very pressurised at work as the work load is increasing. predecessor has left for field and I am the only one QC Engineer, overlooking four product lines now, in which three product lines are new and always give me problems.

*

I was on business trip to Penang to visit supplier from Mon to Tue to resolve some product quality issues with supplier. And I am having conference call almost every night. Hmm...although work load is heavy, but I like the working environment and the group of colleagues I have. There is no office politics and I can focus fully in my job.

*

December is a happening month... Some special events

1. Predeccesor has left...Pei Pei is now really alone to handle all the stuffs

2. Attended a Christmas Party at colleague's home

3. first time on business trip

4. Attended a one-week training

5. My Dear is going to sail with his ship

6. MAEAA successfully organised it's first activity

*

Anyway I wish everyone Merry Christmas.

The third weekend of October

I was back to office this morning. The new product line is going to have production in another two weeks' time. Getting more work to do as my predecessor hands over job to me. He is going to field in December and I am supposed to take over most of the things he is doing now, plus another new product.

*

These two weeks I am keep thinking whether I want to live in such a way for the rest of my life. I get a not-too-bad salary from a MNC. Most probably after 5-7 years, or maybe 10 years, I can be a manager after gaining enough experiences. I will always report to someone and rely on him/her to rate my performance. The money I have, definitely not enough to have a luxury life, but more than sufficient to get a "pigeon box" house and a japanese car...

*

That is not what I hope to be. No matter how hard you work for the company, the company eventually is not belonged to you. Most of the time, they will not pay proportionately to the effort you put in.

*

So I want to be my own boss. Anyway it's not going to happen soon because I have nothing now- no money, no experience. Learn as much as possible is what I can do now.

The 2nd weekend of October

Last weekend, it was great as I was able to meet 3 different groups of friends.

*

Friday night, I had dinner with Jeremy and Kuan Nee. We had so much things to talk about. We shifted from the dinner place to another coffee shop and continued to chit chat till mid night. I really like these two friends whom I could share many things.

*

The next day, finally the outing to East Coast Park was put into action. We spent the whole afternoon cycling in the park. That kind of activity is much more better than wandering in the shopping center or town.

On Sunday, it was reserved for my hometown friends. We had a ktv session followed by a dinner at Holland Village.

*

I will never be lonely to have so many friends around me ; )

CONNECT Nanyang Photo Competition

Tyng Tze and Pei Pei won a consolation prize in the photo competition. This is the winning entry.

A new challenge

I have taken up a new challenge recently. Pei Pei becomes the President of MAE Alumni Association and she is the first lady president of the association. Today I gave my first speech as President.

*

We have our first recruitment drive and it is very successful! We have almost 100% of the alumni attending the events to sign up with us as lifelong member. Even though the number is not a big figure, but it's a very encouraging outcome.

*

I like to work together with a group of friends in such voluntary basis. What we do, is really for the interest of the club and our discussion is meaningful. Not like what happened in the company, where people know it's not going to be good overally but they still choose to do that because of certain reasons. And you see how people playing "taiji" to push away what they are supposed to do.

*

There are a lot more things to be done to MAEAA. So I make a little advertisement here:

"For MAE alumni, pls sign up as lifelong member of MAEAA. One time membership registration fee of 10. You will definitely gain a lot of enriching experinces by joining us."

Still looking around

Initially I want to write this post in chinese, but realise that it is too time consuming to input the chinese characters.

*

Well, I think I have not find my direction yet, but it becomes clearer as days pass. I have been thinking a lot to try to understand myself. What do I really want? Even though I always say I want to live to the fullest in my life, but it is not easy in the reality.

*

The first obstacle is my laziness. I need a way to energise myself up after work. I am quite lucky that most of the time I could leave before 6pm (my working hour is till 4pm). How to spend the 5 hours (6pm-11pm) before I sleep? After work, I am always exhausted and don't even feel like moving around. Guess what's the thing I miss the most after work? It's my BED.

*

So learn how to motivate myself is important. But before that, I need to look for my source of motivation first. In the last 15 yrs, my source of motivation came from the academic achievements. So what's now? I am still looking for the answer. Hope I could share with you soon.

Bye bye Singtel

I have a new phone >> LG KF700

First time I use LG phone. The interface is quite similar to my previous Samsung but one special thing with this phone is, it has touch screen function. "Touch screen" is what is hip in the town, thanks to the trend initiated by I Phone.

I like the phone very much as I always want a slide phone. The whole design is cool, though functional wise it has nothing special. It has a 3 Megapixel camera which quite a number of editting functions are available.

Finally I am no longer using a Singtel line. Singtel, has the biggest mobile subscriber in Singapore has not live its name. The network is really terrible as it cause so much inconveniences to me. I think I will never go back to Singtel.

P/S: dear friends, my number remains the same

A boring engineer

Nothing special about my working life now.

630am Wake up

730-8am Reach company and breakfast

8-1145am Clear emails and do work

1145-1230pm Lunch at the same canteen

1230-4pm Do work and office hour officially ends at 4pm

4-5/6+pm Continue to work if I am happy

******

Now try to recall what I have been doing every nights.

1. Surfing net

2. Watching drama

3. Meeting Dear

4. Working (to clear urgent stuffs or make overseas call)

.

.

.

.

What a boring engineer. Seems like the focus of my day has been shifted to work and I don't have any meaningful activity (meeting my Dear is an exception) to look forward after work.

So I have decided to take up a position in the MAE Graduates' Club. Hope it will add sparks and values to my boring day.

Don't simply point your finger

Today is another day I am very angry with my landlord. I received his blaming sms in the early morning and I really hate that my good morning was spoilt by him.

*

I have a clear conscience that I do not overuse his utilities. I consider myself a good tenant as I close my door softly and keep all the places clean. I do not even utilise fully my chance to wash the clothes twice a week, never watch tv or bring any family or friends to his place. I respect them and yet they take it for granted and demand more. Occasionally (once a month) I forget to switch off main power of the washing machine or heater. That's really rare as I could not remember that much. Then they take this as chance to accuse that I contribute to the increase in utilities, b4 they remember how much I save.

*

Some people like to point fingers at others before they look at themselves. Not going to tolerate anymore as I really pay a lot for the room. I don't want to give my hard earned money to such people.

A poor fellow works late at night

Pei Pei is online now, using her company laptop at the place she stays (She doesn't call it home. It's just a place to stay). What's so special about today? She is still working...waiting for a conference call starting at US Time 9am or Sg local time 11pm. On normal days, 11pm is the time for her to sleep as the next day she has to wake up 6+am. Hope she won't fall asleep half way the meeting.

随笔

有多久没有更新了？工作才两个月，人就变得如此懒散，现在就已经怀念读书的好了。我终于知道，读书好，是因为觉得所有的时间都是自己的；工作呢，把一天自己超过三分之一的时间卖个公司，换取微薄的工资，到底是为了什么？说为了公司好，那简直是笑话。我需要重新找到目标，这样或许心理会平衡点。

*

发生了这么多事，好像过了很久，却原来只是两个月。我发现自己好残酷，一个抚养我二十四年，一个最疼我的人，在两个月前过世了，我居然可以在短时间内恢复了心情。阿婆走的那天，我人在吉打。接到消息的那一刻，我没有哭，只知道我要马上回家。看到遗体的那一刻，也没有哭，心里突然间好像没有了感觉。直到我摸到冰冷的她，我才惊觉，永远，她不会回来了。第一次，在懂事的情况下，我接触死亡。

*

少了一个那么爱我的人，生活却没有多大影响。我们都是出门在外的游子，在下决心到外地念书的时候，已经把自己的心变狠了。要到什么时候，才可以天天回家就见到家人？

*

我希望如果有天堂，我们会重聚。重要的，不是如何死去，而是，如何活着。

Pei Pei is on training

I received a bad news today. My Shanghai trip in September is canceled. Sien... most probably I will attend the similar training held in Singapore in November.

*

I am on training these two weeks. I never know training could be so stressful. There is a test every day and the instructor expects us to score 90 mark?! Crazy lo... The most stressful project is yet to come. Ya they may give you good food everyday, but they also squeze out a lot from you... I think I will gain weight. I just could not resist the nice food provided by the hotel.

Photoshooting at NTU Campus

I am always proud that I manage to study in a beautiful campus. These are the places that I left so many of my footprints on. I do have local friends who came to NTU just because they did not get a place in the other university. But if I have a chance to choose again, NTU, will still be my first choice. I cherish all the time I have spent within the university. Indeed it was my second home. I believe most foreign students who stay in the campus will have the same feeling as me.

The university, was founded in 1955

Leaving footprints is not enough--why not your "bodyprints" as well?

Surrounded by the green green grass and trees

I looked upon the sky and realised that it has no limit


I want to give you a hug

Special thanks to the Photographer

My Convocation 2008

My convocation was held on 24th July at Nanyang Auditorium. I could only remember I was too busy on that day, rushing here and there to take photos and the time was not enough even though I was there from morning to the afternoon.

The world awaits...

My Family and friend

The important person I meet in the university

"We are graduated!"

The MSA (Malaysian Student Association) Family

This graduation, will always be a memorable one, as I got the chance to represent the graduation cohort to sing the graduation song - "Friends Forever" >> As our lives change, come whatever, we will still be friends forever...

...My life has just begun...

Graduation Dinner at Swissotel Merchant Court

I have so many photos!! Still in the process of compiling the convocation photos. Here are some nice ones taken during the dinner.

The MSA Gang

Pei Pei & Prof. Chui

"Today I am most handsome!"

The MAE Design Stream

My Fussy Landlord

This is not the first time I stay with a landlord. While I was in KL, I stayed 3 different owners and I have no problem to stay with each of them. So I conclude that this time, the problem does not lie with me.

Let's see what are the funny theories initiated by the Fussy:

1. The washing machine must be covered by a piece of cloth. The cloth must be oriented in such a way so that the bamboos (used to hang clothes) do not scratch the machine.
>> Comment: SPEECHLESS... ; X

2. The volume of TV must be decreased to minimum everytime before switching off so that the TV would not spoil easily
>> Comment: I have been switching off TV without lowering the volume all the while at home. None of the TV has spoilt speaker

3. The intensity of the light must be changed to minimum before switching off so that the light bulb would not spoil easily
>> Comment: Consulted 2 EEE PHD students and none of them heard of this theory before

4. Mop the floor of bathroom everytime after showering so that the children will not slip down.
>> Comment: Reasonable. But the children never enter the toilet. But could you ensure every bathroom is dry?

.....

Many more little things that make me angry. Don't want to waste so much time write about it.

I must practise the "kungfu of tolerate" till end of Sept.

Back to internet

I finally has the access to the internet from the place I stay.

*

So many important things in my life occured in the past one month...

*

I lost my grandmother on June 20. She could not wait till my graduation. My convocation photo will always be incomplete without her.

*

I have my first job as a Quality Control Engineer. I started work and now already the third week I am in the company.

*

I had my first wisdom tooth removal surgery. The wound is healing and I already could eat as normal.

*

I graduate from NTU and my convocation will be in this week. Most probably that's something I should look forward after so many unhappy incidents. I get what I want the most and even an unexpected bonus. But once I think of my grandmother, I still feel the pain in my heart and how I wish she could share the joy together with me.

*

Life, can never be perfect.

Not able to update

The internet is not ready yet at the place where I stay. So far everything is ok except that I have to remove 2 wisdom teeth on coming Friday. It's going to be very scary I guess. So much things to share here. Let's wait till next weekend. The landlord promises to install internet by next week. Oh ya, now is morning 7.49am, I am in the office...

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE

Pei Pei lost the person who loves her most on 21 June. Her grandmother passed away peacefully at the age of 89.

Pei Pei is sicked

I have seen 3 doctors for the past few day.

*

Saturday morning >> I was rushing back to Muar while there was a big crowd at Singapore custom and Larkin Bus Station. I had fever, maybe due to the hot weather. After taking Panadol and having a nap in the bus, everything seemed all right.

*

Saturday night>> Fever again. The body temperature was increasing to almost 40 deg C.

*
Sunday>> Visited the first doctor. Sore throat and running nose.

*

Monday>> The medicine prescribed by the first doctor had no effect at all. Fever again. Visited the second doctor and had a blood test.

*

Tuesday>> No more fever and still having flu. Then I had cold sores. Visited the third doctor to treat the cold sores.

*

Today, I think I almost recover from flu but then it takes time to heal the cold sores. The anti viral cream is quite effective and I could see the bubbles on my lip are shrinking. I hope I could recover soon.

Updates!!

June 11 >> One third of the month has gone

*

Finally, I have decided to accept the offer as a Quality Assurance Engineer. I am going to start working on 1st July. Actually never think of this position before. All the while I am looking for design related engineering work. But then I believe QA Engineer will have good prospect since every company needs quality control and assurance. So I am looking forward to 1st July.

*

I am actively looking for a room. I viewed one yesterday. Everything is ok except there is no any hawker center nearby. Also a bit expensive. It will be good if they can include internet as well in the rental.

*

I have nothing much to do these few days. Oh so boring... Going to meet my boss on Friday and maybe going PC Fair with KK. Ya I should go back Muar this weekend. See how la, now most important is to get a place to stay.

Cambodia - where we stay

The places we stayed in Cambodia:

First 3 days, we stayed in a cheaper guest house - "Palm Garden Lodge". It only costs us USD15 per nite for a twin sharing air-cond room. The room is clean and cosy. But then the air conditioner in my room was not working very well and it took a long time to cool down the room.

It is quite near to old market and Pubstreet of around 10 mins walk. There is also a 24 hour convenience shop nearby. However part of the road leads to the guesthouse is bumpy and the condition becomes terrible if it rains. The guesthouse also provides services like arranging for tour guide and transport. The owner could speak moderate good english and all of them are very helpful.

Then we moved to a more luxurious 4 stars hotel - Somadevi. It is really worth the price to stay in this 4 stars hotel -SGD$53 per nite only! The room comes with balcony and pool view. It is really very comfortable and we have American buffet breakfast in the morning.

It takes only 5 minutes walk to center market. It is further away from the old market and pub street, but still within walking distance of ard 15 min. I tried to ask this hotel to arrange tour for us but I discovered that the price they quoted was quite high. Eventually, I still turned to Palm Garden Lodge for help. I was very impressed by the guesthouse because they were still willing to do it even though we were no longer staying there.

Overall, we have made the right choice.

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 5 - 19/5

The focus of Day 5, was the Floating Village on Tonle Sap Lake which is the largest fresh water lake in Asia. According to the tour guide, floating village is the poorest region in Cambodia. Those people stay in the village are mainly Cambodian and Vietnamese who run across the border.

Tonle Sap Lake viewed from the plane

On the way to the floating village, we passed by the rural area of Siem Reap. Look at the houses they stay. It is even smaller than the single room I have. But it is true, we saw it by our eyes where the whole family stayed in the little hut with no electricity and fresh water. They were still using battery to generate power.

The houses in the rural area

We were on the boat... Ready to go!

The school on the lake

While the boat was moving (we had not reach the central of the village yet), there was one little boy of around 5 years old rowed towards our boat in his pathetic basin. He managed to hold on to our boat (the boat was still moving!) and refused to let go. He asked for money. I only gave him candies. I am not sure if my friends gave him money or not. But personally I feel we shouldn't because once you give him money, you are encouraging him to do it more oftenly.

Another family who chased after our boat. Our boat was moving so fast using motor but the little girl used her hands to row. She was so skinny. How much strength does she have? Yet she did not give up. Eventually she reached us.

Another one. The brother was trying to sell us soft drinks. Look at the little girl. Do you see the python on her body?

I really felt very bad to see that scene. I did not even dare to go near to her because I was scared of the snake too. So I gave the candies to Wantan and asked him to pass it to the girl. Then Wantan held the candies and stunned for a while. I reminded him about the candies and he told me that he did not know what to do. I believe that everyone on the boat at that time, felt sad for this girl.

The colour of the water in the lake around that region similar to the "Milo" we drink. The people there throw their waste into the water. At the same time, they wash their clothes, rear the fish and cook using the lake water. SIGH.......................

The floating village is a must-go place if you go to Siem Reap. You know how how fortunate you are when you see them. Next time, if you really have chance to go there, please bring along your old clothes which you want to throw away to give to the people there.

My Birthday @ Cambodia - 18 May 2008

The midnight, we went to the popular nightclub in Siem Reap, Sok San. That was also where Dear and my friends celebrated my 24th birthday with me. Not only them, but some of the staffs in the club, like the girls and manager also joined in.

Look at the "cake"... It was a box of candies!! Dear said that they could not find a cake at that time ; )

U know who is drunk?

The next day in the hotel when Michelle was back to join us...

My birthday cake

The group photo

Million thanks to all of my great friends!! Haha I know you all have been working very hard to give me surprise. Indeed that was really a very special birthday where first time I celebrated birthday in nightclub and hotel; the first time I had a special "cake" and also the first time you guys celebrated birthday for me.

Also not forgetting my hometown friends - Sim Yee, Doreen, Khim Kee and Hwee Ting who never fail to remember my birthday and I still received your birthday wishes while I was overseas. Oh Ya... thanks Kuan Nee and Megan!! I got your sms too ; ) Lastly, thanks to Ker Peng and Yun Ying for the dinner treat!

I am glad that my birthday will never be a lonely one with all these friends around me. Of course, I also have a lovely boyfriend, my dear Tyng Tze who is always there to celebrate with me in the past 4 years. I am really lucky.

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 3 - 17/5

Temples again... Haha I sound a bit boring here right... Even though we have visited the most famous temples on the first day, but actually there are also some smaller temples worth seeing.

Vandalism! We pushed the wall down...

Neak Pean was the magical hospital where the waters were thought to have healing properties. The central temple is surrounded by 4 smaller pools where people can ask for power, wisdom, health etc.

East Mebon is a large temple-mountain-like ruin, rising three levels and crowned by five towers. Do you note the difference of this temple from others? No? See carefully... This temple was actually built with bricks instead of stones!!

It's bricks!!!

Model of the Year - Mr. Wantan

Banteay Srey displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art. The walls are densely covered with some of the most beautiful, deep and intricate carvings of any Angkorian temple. The temple's relatively small size, pink sandstone construction and ornate design give it a fairyland ambiance.

The beautiful carvings

The pink lady @ pink temple

On the way back, we dropped by at the Landmine Museum. Land mines, laid by the Khmer Rouge, the Heng Samrin and Hun Sen regimes, the Vietnamese, the KPNLF, and the Sihanoukists litter the countryside during the period of war. It is generally accepted that more than 40,000 Cambodians have suffered amputations as a result of mine injuries since 1979. That represents an average of nearly forty victims a week for a period of twenty years.

In the evening, we went back to the mountain near Angkor Wat. We climbed up the mountain and also the temple above the mountain in order to wait for the sunset. Who knows...

It was not easy to climb up...

Look at the sky...raining signs

JUMP!!!

to be continued...

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 2 - 16/5

We woke up early in the morning at 4am in order to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. However the driver was late! Fortunately we were just in time but due to cloudy sky, the sunrise was not as beautiful as I expected. Anyway it was still worth for us to wake up so early for the nice scenery around Angkor Wat in the morning.

The reflection of Angkor Wat on the water surface

Group photo (7 of us traveled together for the first few days as Michelle and Bernard left for Phnom Penh)

The children were playing at Angkor Wat Temple (6++am)

After breakfast, we went to Angkor Thom. It is a walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire. There are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the Royal Palace area. Each gate is crowned with 4 giant faces.

Picture was taken outside one of the gates

Bayon is situated at the middle of the Angkor Tom city. Bayon was the Jayavarman VII's state-temple. There are 37 standing towers, most but not all sporting four carved faces. The best of Bayon are the bas-reliefs on the exterior walls of the lower level and on the upper level where the stone faces reside. The bas-reliefs on the southern wall contain real-life scenes from the historical sea battle between the Khmer and the Cham. Even more interesting are extensive carvings of unique and revealing scenes of everyday life that are interspersed among the battle scenes, including market scenes, cockfighting, chess games and childbirth.

Bayon - the state temple

The blue shirt that Dear wore matched the scene prefectly

Terrace of the Elephants is an impressive, two and a half-meter tall, 300 meter long terrace wall adorned with carved elephants and garudas that spans the heart of Angkor Thom.

After that, we continued our journey with another temple which I forgot the name. However in order to see this temple, we had to climb up the very steep stairway. I was really scared at that time as the slope of stairway is definitely more than 60 deg and the height is around 3 levels.

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. The famous movie "Tomb Raider" was shooted in this temple.

First time I saw such huge roots

In the evening we were back to Angkor Wat. Look at the crowd...