Convocation is not just a ceremony, but an event to meet all your friends again. It is not something cheap. Robe rental, traveling expenses, accommodation fees, flowers etc can actually cost you a huge sum of money. In addition, there are several processes that you need to follow such as smartcard testing, robe collection and return etc.
It was so nice to meet my friends again during the rehearsal. Months is like years. We chatted as if we have not seen each other for years. The feeling is overwhelming. The campus was packed with people and we were like sardines in the tin, squeezing here and there to get our smart cards validate, collect our robes and invitation cards. If you want to see your friends easily during convocation, then you make a plan, telling your friends where to wait after the convocation. There will be a huge crowd, consisting of family members and friends, occupying whatever space there is near the hall.
The ceremony ended 1.5 hours later than the schedule. Everyone was hungry. Many people departed back shortly after the ceremony because they were too hungry. I was hungry too, but taking photos with my friends, perhaps for the last time, is more important.
Special thanks for the following people:
- Travis kor kor: Thanks for the sunflowers and the dog in the mug. The dog is currently sitting in the office already.
- Huwi Yin senpai: Thanks for the daisy and roses. I was about to buy that combination. Luckily I chose the all roses combo in the end.
- Sylvia: Thanks for the mug. Just nice for office use. All the best for the future! You will be fine.
- Jin: Thanks for the head rest. Will use it in the office.
- Bro: Thanks for holding the flowers for me.
Last but not least, I would like to say thanks to Gek Suan, Ee Ling, Ah Wei and many other people who attended my convocation. I am really touch! I miss you all very much now!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Sarawak Trip's Photos
Here are some of the photos taken during my trip to Sarawak:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Sarawak/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Sarawak/
Friday, August 18, 2006
My Convocation Photos
Below are some of my convocation photos. For the first time, the convocation is held at the new Convocation Hall in MMU Cyberjaya.
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Convo01/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Convo01/
The 2nd Day of My First Job
The first day of my first job does have much to mention as it is an Orientation Day. We do not play games during this day. Instead, we have many talks and the only interesting activity is the factory visit. Surprisingly, I met a lot of my high school friends there.
On my first day reporting to work, I was welcomed by my team leader, Cheah Chee at new employee entrance. She is very friendly but I still feel a bit nervous. My team is the smallest in the whole department. I am responsible for updating the data about Servers for different countries. My other team members are Cheah Jing (CJ), Lay Leng (LL) and Yean Hong (YH). Normally I have lunch with CJ, LL and Chris. Chris is previously a member of the team. He had just move to another department. All of us are around the same age. I am sharing the same cubicle with LL, who has work in Dell for 5 years. The first few days are rather bored as I am doing nothing. Then, CC teaches me on the system that we are using. I am the only newbie there, so there will not be any formal training sessions.
On my first day reporting to work, I was welcomed by my team leader, Cheah Chee at new employee entrance. She is very friendly but I still feel a bit nervous. My team is the smallest in the whole department. I am responsible for updating the data about Servers for different countries. My other team members are Cheah Jing (CJ), Lay Leng (LL) and Yean Hong (YH). Normally I have lunch with CJ, LL and Chris. Chris is previously a member of the team. He had just move to another department. All of us are around the same age. I am sharing the same cubicle with LL, who has work in Dell for 5 years. The first few days are rather bored as I am doing nothing. Then, CC teaches me on the system that we are using. I am the only newbie there, so there will not be any formal training sessions.
Trip to Sarawak
Let’s keep things brief. I took an Air Asia flight to Sarawak from LCCT, which is terminal just beside KLIA. However, you need to take a bus and make a small trip before reaching there. The terminal is better than I expected, despite all the bad comments I found online. Unlike KLIA, it is single storey. Shops such as McDonalds, Asian Kitchen and Coffee Bean are available there.
My host for this trip is Pei Jiuan. She was my “tour guide” around Kuching as well. Pei Jiuan has 3 younger siblings and they are cute. They have 2 dogs in their house, Jimmy and Bell Bell.
Kuching is a bigger city than I imagined. There are lots of cars. Some of the imported cars here are not found in West Malaysia. Sarawak car plates starts with Q. Kuching car plates starts with QK or QA. For Sibu, it starts with QS.
The most common dialect there is Hokkien. However, it is somehow different from the Hokkien use in Penang. Many of the local ethics here attended Chinese schools and can speak Mandarin. There are not many tall buildings around the city, but there are a lot of shop lots. There are nice handicrafts here. In fact, there are too many nice things that I was having a tough time deciding what to buy as souvenirs. I especially like the cravings and local patterns. There are many interesting and unique furniture, influence by the local designs. You can find many of those shops near Sarawak Waterfront. Sarawak Waterfront is a place that you must visit at night. It looks very nice when the lights along the Waterfront are lightening up. The clay pots there are very nice, comes in a number of designs and for different functions. Nonetheless, they are cheap!
There are several old buildings here which are built since the Brookes era, such as Astana, the General Post Office, Sarawak Museum, Texttile Museum and the old court. Most of museums are located near to each other. There are a number of old temples in Kuching, more than 100 years old. Sarawak Museum is place that you must go if you want to know more about the local ethics. Entrance is free. The temples are well maintained and you can still see the beautiful cravings on the ceilings and on the roof. Most of the ethics here are Christian. Wild boar is their favorite meat. As for new places, you can visit the new China-Malaysia Friendship Garden. It is a very nice garden with statues, a lake and a tea house just beside the lake.
Kuching is famous for its Kok Lo Mee, which is almost similar to Wanton Mee, without the wanton. There is a stall selling Kok Lo Mee with own made noodle. I like the vege noodle. It is delicious! The laksa there is different from Penang and is more to Curry Mee. In addition, there are many weird cooking materials which cannot found in West Malaysia. It is interesting to see them in the Sunday Market. Sunny Market is held weekly and ethics living in villages far away will come and sell their goods. They will leave only after finish selling them. Of course, the locals will also sell their goods and products. There are many stalls and the whole area is crowded. Getting a parking lot is extremely difficult.
The political structure and culture in Kuching is very different from in West Malaysia. The city is divided into North and South and there are 2 mayors in the city. The Malays normally stay in the North part and the Chinese normally stay in the South part. Thus, normally the North part mayor is a Malay and the South part mayor is a Chinese. The City Hall is another place that you should visit.
There are many illegal immigrants from Indonesia in Kuching and the safety there is not very good. Gas cylinders are being stolen from houses, but there are no serious crimes so far.
There are many caves and national parks in Sarawak, but they cannot be reached easily and normally the trip is expensive. Unlike the caves in Ipoh and Perlis where they have lights over the place, there are no lights around the area and you will need to bring along torchlight.
I will upload the pictures on my trip later. So, stay tune.
My host for this trip is Pei Jiuan. She was my “tour guide” around Kuching as well. Pei Jiuan has 3 younger siblings and they are cute. They have 2 dogs in their house, Jimmy and Bell Bell.
Kuching is a bigger city than I imagined. There are lots of cars. Some of the imported cars here are not found in West Malaysia. Sarawak car plates starts with Q. Kuching car plates starts with QK or QA. For Sibu, it starts with QS.
The most common dialect there is Hokkien. However, it is somehow different from the Hokkien use in Penang. Many of the local ethics here attended Chinese schools and can speak Mandarin. There are not many tall buildings around the city, but there are a lot of shop lots. There are nice handicrafts here. In fact, there are too many nice things that I was having a tough time deciding what to buy as souvenirs. I especially like the cravings and local patterns. There are many interesting and unique furniture, influence by the local designs. You can find many of those shops near Sarawak Waterfront. Sarawak Waterfront is a place that you must visit at night. It looks very nice when the lights along the Waterfront are lightening up. The clay pots there are very nice, comes in a number of designs and for different functions. Nonetheless, they are cheap!
There are several old buildings here which are built since the Brookes era, such as Astana, the General Post Office, Sarawak Museum, Texttile Museum and the old court. Most of museums are located near to each other. There are a number of old temples in Kuching, more than 100 years old. Sarawak Museum is place that you must go if you want to know more about the local ethics. Entrance is free. The temples are well maintained and you can still see the beautiful cravings on the ceilings and on the roof. Most of the ethics here are Christian. Wild boar is their favorite meat. As for new places, you can visit the new China-Malaysia Friendship Garden. It is a very nice garden with statues, a lake and a tea house just beside the lake.
Kuching is famous for its Kok Lo Mee, which is almost similar to Wanton Mee, without the wanton. There is a stall selling Kok Lo Mee with own made noodle. I like the vege noodle. It is delicious! The laksa there is different from Penang and is more to Curry Mee. In addition, there are many weird cooking materials which cannot found in West Malaysia. It is interesting to see them in the Sunday Market. Sunny Market is held weekly and ethics living in villages far away will come and sell their goods. They will leave only after finish selling them. Of course, the locals will also sell their goods and products. There are many stalls and the whole area is crowded. Getting a parking lot is extremely difficult.
The political structure and culture in Kuching is very different from in West Malaysia. The city is divided into North and South and there are 2 mayors in the city. The Malays normally stay in the North part and the Chinese normally stay in the South part. Thus, normally the North part mayor is a Malay and the South part mayor is a Chinese. The City Hall is another place that you should visit.
There are many illegal immigrants from Indonesia in Kuching and the safety there is not very good. Gas cylinders are being stolen from houses, but there are no serious crimes so far.
There are many caves and national parks in Sarawak, but they cannot be reached easily and normally the trip is expensive. Unlike the caves in Ipoh and Perlis where they have lights over the place, there are no lights around the area and you will need to bring along torchlight.
I will upload the pictures on my trip later. So, stay tune.
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