May 11, 2007 (Friday) – I departed to Pulau Perhentian with 14 people – my colleagues, and colleagues’ friends. The journey started off with some familiar faces and some strangers. However, we all mixed up well at the end of the trip. The bus departed at 9pm.
May 12, 2007 (Saturday) – We arrived at Jerteh, Terengganu at around 3.30am. Everyone was sleepy and surprised as the bus arrived much early than we expected. The van driver was still sleeping when we called up. We spent around 5 hours at a small shop near the jetty while waiting for the speed boat to Pulau Perhentian. It was a very long wait. At around 9am, we walked to the agent’s office. The speed boat to Pulau Perhentian departed from Kuala Merang at 9.30am. The speed boat was indeed very speedy. I felt wonderful as I rode on the boat; it feels like as if I was riding on a wild house.
The water in Perhentian is cleaner than the ones in Redang, even though the sea color is not as nice as Redang’s. The resort that we stayed was Cocohut. At first, we thought that it was a typo in the quotation and the correct spelling should be “Coconut”. But, Cocohut is the correct. I like the dining place and lobby. It looks a bit like Hawaii style. Our rooms were at the upper level of a 2 storey wooden building. Somehow, I felt that the building is not very solid. Our rooms are either dime or rather dark. There were 2 queen size beds for each bed, regardless of the number of people for each room. It was a better place compared to the resort that I last went in Redang.
The meals here were better too. Food was served according to the group of visitors instead of buffet style. We don’t need “fight” for our share of food. We had a snorkeling trip on the same day, shortly after lunch. As it was the first snorkeling trip, everyone was very excited. We putted on our sun block lotion even before the lunch and put more after lunch!
We went to 3 places for snorkeling. I was “too active” for the first round as I thought that that will be our only place for snorkeling. I used up almost all my energy, without any reservation. I was “half-dead” when reaching the second place. I was very excited to see the gigantic turtles that I swam with all my energy towards it.
Advise: Remember to make sure that you have enough energy for all the trips.
May 13, 2007 (Sunday) – We went to 2 islands for snorkeling – Pulau Rawa and Susu Dara. The second island has a lot of huge rocks and almost near sea level. Thus, it’s very hard to swim around without getting hurt. Things got worse when the waves were strong. After the rocky island, we stopped by at the light house before heading to the fresh water water spring. The sea is very deep at the light house and there are many corals and fish. It was fun jumping from the first level of the light house into the sea! Some of them scream with the all their might while we were waiting in the water.
It was already more than 2pm when we had our lunch. Most of us haven’t even bath. We were all very hungry! 2 of the girls joined another trip before the lunch. They were really too active! We took a nice and long bath after the lunch. Then, it’s photo session! We made a lot of weird and funny poses. It’s enjoyable.
We spent most of our free time playing Uno. Some of the beach boys even show us “magic”. The television in the lobby aka dining area is only available at 9.30pm. One of the guys was having a hard time catching up with his football games.
May 14, 2007 (Monday) – La Hotspring and Lata Tembakah, those are the 2 places that we went to after our Perhentian trip, while waiting for our bus back to Penang at 9pm. Those 2 places are far away from Jerteh, especially La Hotspring which it is located deep inside the jungle. It was named as La Hotsping because it is located in a village called La. It is a natural hotspring.
Before reaching there, we planned to hop into the hotspring and have a nice bath. However, the water was so hot that eventually, we only put our legs into the pond. Even though the hotspring is in then open air, we felt very hot after dipping our legs into hotspring. Our next destination is Lata Tembakah, which is located very near to La Hotspring. The highlight of this place is its waterfall. I was amazed to see such a tall waterfall up close. It’s a really wonderful scene! The place is not well maintained. Even though there’s a few changing rooms, some of the doors cannot be closed and some are too dirty. There’s hardly anyone inside the park. Leaves are all over the place. But, I like the scene of the tall trees, truly a tropical forest.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
2 Nice But Sad Drama Series
Recently, I have been watching 2 sad Japanese drama series. I haven’t really being watching any Japanese drama series for quite some time already.
1. Karei naru Ichizouku is a tragic story between a father and son. The story is set shortly after World War 2. Japan’s economy was focusing on heavy industries such as metal. Economy was not stable and there had been a lot of changes for all the industries. Teppei grew up in a wealthy family. His grandfather established the first family business which is metal. After the success of the metal industry, his grandfather founded the banking business. Teppei who has great interest in metal succeeded the metal business while his father succeeded the banking business. Teppei and his father had never been in good terms. There were a lot of family secrets and tragedy inside of this wealthy family, unknown to the public. What is the main reason causing Teppei’s father to dislike him so much to the extend that he wanted his son to disappear?
(Spoilers will not be provided. Go watch yourself!)
Throughout the story, Teppei has shown great values of a true leader. He never gives up while his company was facing obstacles. He fought until the very end. In addition, he is a kind person who helped out his subordinates regardless of the danger. Despite his status, he mixed around with his subordinates like normal friends. Because of this, he has gained a lot of respect and trust from his subordinates. This great spirit has inspire the people around him to work harder despite facing difficulties.
2. 1 Litre of Tears (1リットルの涙, Ichi Rittoru no Namida?) is about a girl who was diagnosed with a disease called Spinocerebellar Degeneration when she was 15 years old, and was able to continue her life until her death at the age of 25 years old.
The plot is based on the true story of a Japanese girl named Aya Kito, who died in 1988. She kept writing in her diary to remember her experiences until she could no longer hold a pen. Aya simply wished to live until the end of her life, and the purpose of writing in the diary was to remind herself to not give up. She shed tears many times, at the same time encompassed by the rich love and support from her family and friends. Her diary titled 1 Litre of Tears was published shortly after her death. It encouraged many people, healthy or diseased, because of its inspiring and courageous messages. As Aya wrote, "Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing."
– adapted from Wikipedia
From this drama, we can see the healthy and active Aya getting weaker and weaker, and eventually passed away. She has been struggling a lot after getting the disease. She has to give up her favorite sports, leave her school and friends, getting strange glance from people around her etc. However, despite all the struggles, she wanted to help others facing the same disease. Her diary has touches the hearts of the other patients, encouraging them to live on the remaining of their lives to the fullest.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Bukit Hijau
Recently I have been “adventurous”. 3 weeks ago, I went to Bukit Hijau with a few colleagues. It’s my first trip with most of them. Bukit Hijau is famous for its waterfall, it is located in Kedah. I haven’t been there for more than 10 years. I only have pieces of memories of the place when I was young. I still remember that I was very lazy to climb up to the top and my dad nearly drowned near the waterfall back then. We had a great time there even though I didn’t join in for the “water-fun”. Lunas is a small place, well known for its roasted duck. However, I was disappointed when I heard that they are not selling “pi pa” duck anymore, which is the one that I miss the most.
Click below to view some of the photos taken:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/BktHijau/
Click below to view some of the photos taken:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/BktHijau/
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Public Holidays
Today is a “supposing” public holiday declared by my company as a replacement for the Wesak Day that fell on the same day as Labour Day. Yet, I was working on both days. Many of colleagues came to work as well. After all, it’s month end and also quarter end. Thus, working extra hours is unavoidable (meaning working OT is not something optional as the workload is heavy and we need to meet the dateline).
In Malaysia, Labour Day is almost equivalent to supermarket sales. Many department stores will be having discounts on a variety of items. I brought my mum for a dinner at Secret Recipe and shopping in Sunshine Supermarket. It can be considered as an early Mothers’ Day celebration as well.
I will *try* to keep this blog up-to-date :)
In Malaysia, Labour Day is almost equivalent to supermarket sales. Many department stores will be having discounts on a variety of items. I brought my mum for a dinner at Secret Recipe and shopping in Sunshine Supermarket. It can be considered as an early Mothers’ Day celebration as well.
I will *try* to keep this blog up-to-date :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Yunnan - Day 8
Day 8, Saturday – It’s the last day of my Yunnan trip. It’s also shopping day! Our first destination of the day is a bazaar selling a variety of things, except food. It is called the Luo Si Wan Bazaar. It’s the whole sale market for other places in Yunnan. Things here are cheap even without bargaining. I bought some clothes and umbrellas. I was very excited to the huge soft toys hanging outside of some shops (taller and bigger than I).
Next, we went to the local food shop to buy some local specialties. The price of the food here is not cheap. It is advisable to shop at the normal supermarkets, such as Parkson. I bought a lot of tidbits, especially 乌梅 (“Wu Mei”). It’s a type of “asam-asam”, huge and black but not soul.
We had our lunch at a shop specializing in mushrooms. The supposing “nice” meal turned out to be bad. The wrong mixture of mushrooms caused me to have a bad appetite. Things became worse when I had a stomachache.
After lunch, we headed to the silk shop. The cheapest blanket cost around RM180, without the silk covers. The whole set of silk covers actually cost more than RMB 2K. There are other silk products such as clothes and handbags.
Our last destination is the flower market. In the market, there’re fresh and dry flowers. The flowers are very beautiful. After shopping in the flower market, we said goodbye to our local tour guide and flew back to KL.
Next, we went to the local food shop to buy some local specialties. The price of the food here is not cheap. It is advisable to shop at the normal supermarkets, such as Parkson. I bought a lot of tidbits, especially 乌梅 (“Wu Mei”). It’s a type of “asam-asam”, huge and black but not soul.
We had our lunch at a shop specializing in mushrooms. The supposing “nice” meal turned out to be bad. The wrong mixture of mushrooms caused me to have a bad appetite. Things became worse when I had a stomachache.
After lunch, we headed to the silk shop. The cheapest blanket cost around RM180, without the silk covers. The whole set of silk covers actually cost more than RMB 2K. There are other silk products such as clothes and handbags.
Our last destination is the flower market. In the market, there’re fresh and dry flowers. The flowers are very beautiful. After shopping in the flower market, we said goodbye to our local tour guide and flew back to KL.
Yunnan - Day 7
Day 7, Friday – Today we headed back to Kunming after breakfast. Our highlight of the day is West Mountain Dragon Gate. We went up there by cable car and came down by a “small car”. Things sold there are cheaper as there are fewer tourists. From the top of this mountain, we will be able to have an overview of Kunming city. The locals here will hike up this mountain on the 3rd day of CNY. I find it not very fascinating. I will just give an average rate for this spot.
After the mountain trip, we headed to a medical shop selling honey and different types of Chinese medicine. We have a trial on a special medicine for cueing sickness related to our legs. There’s free massage service for the leg as well. I feel much more after the massage. According to one of the massager, there are Chinese medical students. Of course, when there’s special service, we tend to give up to the sales person and bought some of their products.
We had our last dinner at a shop specializing in herb soups and wine. We had 4 pots of soups and I really feel a bit drunk after the meal. My face was red, luckily not as red as a tomato.
After the mountain trip, we headed to a medical shop selling honey and different types of Chinese medicine. We have a trial on a special medicine for cueing sickness related to our legs. There’s free massage service for the leg as well. I feel much more after the massage. According to one of the massager, there are Chinese medical students. Of course, when there’s special service, we tend to give up to the sales person and bought some of their products.
We had our last dinner at a shop specializing in herb soups and wine. We had 4 pots of soups and I really feel a bit drunk after the meal. My face was red, luckily not as red as a tomato.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Yunnan - Day 6
Day 6, Thursday – It was cold in the morning as I reached the Yulong Snow Mountain station to take the bus and then the cable car. I can some rain drops falling onto my face when I got out of the bus. To be exact, those were not rain drops but tiny little snow flakes! I was very excited as it shouldn’t be snowing at this season. There are jackets for rent at the station for 30 RMB. The view along the way to the mountain is very beautiful. This was my first time seeing real snow! The queue for the cable car was very long as the wind was strong. I waited there for more than an hour. There were many tourists, both local and foreign, queuing up for the cable car. We had prepared some oxygen tanks with us, just in case we need them. Every cable car can only fit in max 6 person. We were enjoying the beautiful view of the mountain in the cable car, shooting photos of here and there. There are different types of trees as we went higher and higher. As we reached the park, there is nothing but snow, rocks and the mountain. But, the view up there sure is simply marvelous. However, this mountain is not suitable for skiing due to its landscape.
Our next destination was Bai Sui River (“Bai Sui" means white water). After the snow of the mountain melts, it will flow down to this river. Its water is crystal clear. The reflection of the sky on the water makes it even irresistible. It looks like a perfect picture, with the snow mountain as the background and clear blue water. “Gan Hai Zi” (sweet sea) is not a sea as its name implies, it is actually a meadow. When it rains heavily, it looks like as if it is a sea. Long long time ago, this meadow used to be covered by water.
We were all very hungry after the snow mountain trip. We had lunch at “Yu Sui Zai”. It is the holly land of the Dong Ba Culture. This place has a very nice view of the rivers and mountains. (In short, I can say that in Lijiang you can see many nice views of water and mountains.) There is a small museum for stones here. In this museum, there’s exhibitions of natural stones that looks like food. The stones all look so yummy.
Our next stop is the Spirulina shop. Lijiang is one of the 3 major places in the world producing natural Spirulina. After this, we said goodbye to our Lijiang tour guide and headed back to Dali. After lunch, we did some shopping at night in the old town. There are a few bookshops there, selling only Chinese books. There are a lot of books there which you cannot find them in Malaysia, especially books on the different minorities in Yunnan. I managed to buy a book at less than RM20, which is price at more than RM80 in Malaysia.
p/s: Your bargaining power must be really good if you want to buy things at a cheap price in China. It’s better to make some surveys around first before purchasing.
Our next destination was Bai Sui River (“Bai Sui" means white water). After the snow of the mountain melts, it will flow down to this river. Its water is crystal clear. The reflection of the sky on the water makes it even irresistible. It looks like a perfect picture, with the snow mountain as the background and clear blue water. “Gan Hai Zi” (sweet sea) is not a sea as its name implies, it is actually a meadow. When it rains heavily, it looks like as if it is a sea. Long long time ago, this meadow used to be covered by water.
We were all very hungry after the snow mountain trip. We had lunch at “Yu Sui Zai”. It is the holly land of the Dong Ba Culture. This place has a very nice view of the rivers and mountains. (In short, I can say that in Lijiang you can see many nice views of water and mountains.) There is a small museum for stones here. In this museum, there’s exhibitions of natural stones that looks like food. The stones all look so yummy.
Our next stop is the Spirulina shop. Lijiang is one of the 3 major places in the world producing natural Spirulina. After this, we said goodbye to our Lijiang tour guide and headed back to Dali. After lunch, we did some shopping at night in the old town. There are a few bookshops there, selling only Chinese books. There are a lot of books there which you cannot find them in Malaysia, especially books on the different minorities in Yunnan. I managed to buy a book at less than RM20, which is price at more than RM80 in Malaysia.
p/s: Your bargaining power must be really good if you want to buy things at a cheap price in China. It’s better to make some surveys around first before purchasing.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Photos - Yunnan - Part 1
Here are the some of the photos taken during Day 1-6 in Yunnan: (correction)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dellachew/Yunnan1/
Enjoy!
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dellachew/Yunnan1/
Enjoy!
Yunnan - Day 5
Day 5, Wednesday – Today, we went to Lijiang. The journey is shorter this time. On our way there, we stop by at Shi Zhai Zi. It’s a village selling jade, crystals, local food and antics. What attracted me is the stone mountain opposite the village instead. We reached Lijiang a around 12.30pm. Our original schedule to go to Yulong Snow Mountain after lunch was cancelled as the wind was too strong. I was a bit disappointed as the mountain is so near, yet so far. There are 2 highlights today, Lijiang Old Town and Suhe Old Town. Lijiang Old Town is a very busy place with lots of shops and lots of people. We need to bargain in order to get the things at a cheap price, and this requires special skills and techniques.
Lijiang is famous for its water canals. The water here is very clean. Suhe Old Town is quite similar to Lijiang Old Town but there are not many visitors and the life there is more relaxing. The locals here like to play mahjong during their free time. The things selling here is also cheaper, even without bargaining. There are even more canals there and the water is really clear and clean. At night, there’s a place with fire and people will be dancing around the fire. It’s fun!
p/s: For Lijiang, ladies are address as 扮金妹 (“Ban Jin Mei”) while guys are address as 扮金哥 (“Ban Jin Ge”). I will continue on the "story" for Day 6-8 next week (hopefully...).
Lijiang is famous for its water canals. The water here is very clean. Suhe Old Town is quite similar to Lijiang Old Town but there are not many visitors and the life there is more relaxing. The locals here like to play mahjong during their free time. The things selling here is also cheaper, even without bargaining. There are even more canals there and the water is really clear and clean. At night, there’s a place with fire and people will be dancing around the fire. It’s fun!
p/s: For Lijiang, ladies are address as 扮金妹 (“Ban Jin Mei”) while guys are address as 扮金哥 (“Ban Jin Ge”). I will continue on the "story" for Day 6-8 next week (hopefully...).
Yunnan - Day 4
Day 4, Tuesday – We went to Dali by bus. The journey was around 5 hours. The wind is stronger in Dali and the air is cooler and dryer. Er Hai is a very huge lake with shape of an ear. Er Hai Park is a small park located at the South of the lake. There’s nothing much to see there. Dali Museum is another boring place located inside the Dali Old Town. Tian Long Ba Bu Movie Studio is an artificial place built for the filming of Jin Yong stories. Jin Yong is a famous writer for the martial arts stories. There are several countries in the studio, built based on the stories by Jin Yong.
The Bai minority have been ruling Dali for 50 years. For the Bai minority, we can recognize whether a lady is single, engage or married by their hats. The hat is known as 风花雪月 (“Feng Hua Xue Yue”). For single ladies, their hats are of ½ moon shape. For married ladies, their hats are of full moon shape. It is a tradition that any man who touches a ladies’ hat must work for her for three years, unless the girl shows no interest in the man. For single ladies, when they reach the age of 18, their mothers will give their daughter a jade. This jade has been passed down for generations and will be inherited by the eldest daughter of the family.
The 3 cups of tea by the Bai Minority is something unique. The 1st cup is a bitter, the 2nd cup is sweet and the 3rd cup is a bit spicy. This also represents the sweet and bitterness of our life. For proposal, the man must prepare 6 pots of wine, 6 boxes of cigarettes, 6 chickens and a jade for the lady being proposed. The wine, cigarettes and chickens are for her parents to show his sincerity. If a lady is married, there’ll be jade on both hands. During weddings, the bride will wear sunglasses. It is said to hide her tears on the wedding day. Villagers, passersby, relatives and friends can give their blessings to the bride by pinching her. For the Bai minority house, there are 2 levels. The lower level is to stay while the upper level is to keep food.
We stayed overnight at Landscape Hotel, which is located in Dali Old Town. The design of the hotel is of an old building and the room is very unique. It is classical. The blankets prepared are made of silk.
p/s: For different place, we will have a different local tour guide. This is their government policy. For Dali, ladies are address as 金花 (“golden flower”) while guys are address as 阿鹏哥 (“Ah Peng Ge”).
The Bai minority have been ruling Dali for 50 years. For the Bai minority, we can recognize whether a lady is single, engage or married by their hats. The hat is known as 风花雪月 (“Feng Hua Xue Yue”). For single ladies, their hats are of ½ moon shape. For married ladies, their hats are of full moon shape. It is a tradition that any man who touches a ladies’ hat must work for her for three years, unless the girl shows no interest in the man. For single ladies, when they reach the age of 18, their mothers will give their daughter a jade. This jade has been passed down for generations and will be inherited by the eldest daughter of the family.
The 3 cups of tea by the Bai Minority is something unique. The 1st cup is a bitter, the 2nd cup is sweet and the 3rd cup is a bit spicy. This also represents the sweet and bitterness of our life. For proposal, the man must prepare 6 pots of wine, 6 boxes of cigarettes, 6 chickens and a jade for the lady being proposed. The wine, cigarettes and chickens are for her parents to show his sincerity. If a lady is married, there’ll be jade on both hands. During weddings, the bride will wear sunglasses. It is said to hide her tears on the wedding day. Villagers, passersby, relatives and friends can give their blessings to the bride by pinching her. For the Bai minority house, there are 2 levels. The lower level is to stay while the upper level is to keep food.
We stayed overnight at Landscape Hotel, which is located in Dali Old Town. The design of the hotel is of an old building and the room is very unique. It is classical. The blankets prepared are made of silk.
p/s: For different place, we will have a different local tour guide. This is their government policy. For Dali, ladies are address as 金花 (“golden flower”) while guys are address as 阿鹏哥 (“Ah Peng Ge”).
Yunnan - Day 3
Day 3, Monday – The highlight of the day is Stone Forest. Long long time ago, this area was under the sea level. The Earth plates hit and this place surfaces as what we see now. Stone forest is popular due to its unusual formation characterized by hundreds of stone peaks jutting out from the ground with majestic grandeur and in different poses and various sharps. Inside the park, there’s a “5 star toilet”. There’s a mini LCD inside all the toilets.
The most popular tea in Yunnan is “Pu Er”. Unlike other tea trees, the tree for this tea is very tall. By drinking more of this tea, ones can become slimmer as the tea will wash away the fats in our body. Thus, it is known by some people as “slimming tea”. The longer the tea leaves are, the higher the value it is.
The most popular tea in Yunnan is “Pu Er”. Unlike other tea trees, the tree for this tea is very tall. By drinking more of this tea, ones can become slimmer as the tea will wash away the fats in our body. Thus, it is known by some people as “slimming tea”. The longer the tea leaves are, the higher the value it is.
Yunnan - Day 2
Day 2, Sunday – Everyday morning we will have buffet breakfast in the hotel that we were staying. There are 2 famous gates in Kunming called Jin Ma Bi Ji Fang. It is believe every 60 years the shadows of these 2 gates will meet. So far, no one has witness this phenomena and how true this legend is remains unknown. The main tourist spot of the day is the cave in Jiuxiang. This is also one of the shooting places for the movie, “The Myth” by Jackie Chan and a female Korean actress. This place is much more beautiful comparing to “Gua Tempurung” in Perak, Malaysia. It is windy inside of the cave and there are great views of the river and cave. We took a small boat ride around the area before exploring the cave. It’s a very huge area and we spent more than 4 hours inside. We took a cable car back to the entrance after exiting the cave. I was very worried while I was on ride as it was windy at that time and the seat was slightly shaking.
Along the way to the cave, we were able to see the long, solid and old railway track connecting Yunnan and Vietnam through the mountains. This railway was built by France around 103 years ago to transport the minerals of Yunnan to Vietnam and then to France by ship. France took 6 years to complete and repair the railway. Many people had been sacrificed during its construction, including several of its engineers. The train here is going on a very slow pace; the gap between 2 rails is relatively small compare to the usual standard.
Before that we went to an herb shop before going for our dinner at a special restaurant. The seats and table are very low; the floor is covered by pine leaves. For the locals, their floor must be covered with pine leaves from the day before Chinese New Year (CNY), till the end of CNY. They will change the pine leaves after several days, replacing the old ones with new pine leaves. The famous dish in this area is roasted duck. With the addition of a bit of salt, the roasted duck tasted good, but oily. A lot of vegetables were served. The fish served always contained a lot of fine bones, while the pork served always contained a thick layer of fats. The food is so oily that you can feel that your lips are covering by a layer of oil after eating. A dish of egg and big plate of bread with red bean sauce filling were always served as well and they were the children’s favorite.
We stayed overnight at the best hotel in a small town. It was a quiet town during the daytime and even more quiet at night. We had dinner at the hotel and it was terrible. The chopsticks and plates are not very clean. The local customers there sure have a bad way of taking their meal. The bones and food were all over the floor.
p/s: In Yiliang, we normally address the girls as 阿诗玛 and guys as 阿黑哥. 阿诗玛 is referring to beautiful and intelligent ladies while阿黑哥 is referring to honest and brave men. For dishonest men (playboy, lazy etc), they are known as 阿白哥. The wedding meal there normally starts between 3pm and 6pm. They’ll directly open up the presents given after receiving them. The “ang pow” given is quite expensive, ranging from a minimum of 480 RMB (around RM240) to a few thousand RMB.
Along the way to the cave, we were able to see the long, solid and old railway track connecting Yunnan and Vietnam through the mountains. This railway was built by France around 103 years ago to transport the minerals of Yunnan to Vietnam and then to France by ship. France took 6 years to complete and repair the railway. Many people had been sacrificed during its construction, including several of its engineers. The train here is going on a very slow pace; the gap between 2 rails is relatively small compare to the usual standard.
Before that we went to an herb shop before going for our dinner at a special restaurant. The seats and table are very low; the floor is covered by pine leaves. For the locals, their floor must be covered with pine leaves from the day before Chinese New Year (CNY), till the end of CNY. They will change the pine leaves after several days, replacing the old ones with new pine leaves. The famous dish in this area is roasted duck. With the addition of a bit of salt, the roasted duck tasted good, but oily. A lot of vegetables were served. The fish served always contained a lot of fine bones, while the pork served always contained a thick layer of fats. The food is so oily that you can feel that your lips are covering by a layer of oil after eating. A dish of egg and big plate of bread with red bean sauce filling were always served as well and they were the children’s favorite.
We stayed overnight at the best hotel in a small town. It was a quiet town during the daytime and even more quiet at night. We had dinner at the hotel and it was terrible. The chopsticks and plates are not very clean. The local customers there sure have a bad way of taking their meal. The bones and food were all over the floor.
p/s: In Yiliang, we normally address the girls as 阿诗玛 and guys as 阿黑哥. 阿诗玛 is referring to beautiful and intelligent ladies while阿黑哥 is referring to honest and brave men. For dishonest men (playboy, lazy etc), they are known as 阿白哥. The wedding meal there normally starts between 3pm and 6pm. They’ll directly open up the presents given after receiving them. The “ang pow” given is quite expensive, ranging from a minimum of 480 RMB (around RM240) to a few thousand RMB.
Yunnan - Day 1
Day 1, Saturday – My tour guide is a young and tough lady, Lili. This is the first vacation with my mum after I work. I departed with the 9am flight to KL and then another flight to Kunming. I reached there at around 3.45pm. There is no time difference. From a far, we could see that Kunming is a developing city. There are a number of tall buildings but most of them have the same design and color. At Kunming International Airport, we were welcomed by our skinny and humorous local tour guide, Kevin. Our luggage was transported to the hotel separately by a truck as our bus was too small for the entire luggage. The weather is not as cold as I anticipated.
Our first spot is the Grand View Park. On the way to the park, I noticed that there were a lot of cars and bicycles on the street. It was weird to see people dressing up nicely in coats and boots cycling on the street. The Grand View Park is a scenic park with many flowers, lake, bridges and the classical 柳树 (“Liu Su”) along the lake. It is a lovely park. I love the 桃花 (blossoms). They look a bit like Sakura. In the park, there is a building called 大观楼 (“Da Guan Lou”). This building is famous for its longest 对联 (“Dui Lian”) in the world, consisting of 90 words for each side. The first part described the beautiful scenery in Yunnan whereas the second part talked about the history of Yunnan.
We had a luxurious dinner at a grand restaurant with Siamese design, but serving local dishes. The highlight of the night is 过桥米线 (direct translation, “cross the bridge noodle”). There is a story behind the name of this noodle. To keep this short, I will leave out the story. First, a very hot bowl of soup with some oil on top of it is served. The oil is to keep the soup hot. Next, put in the slices of meat (normally chicken and pork) into the hot soup. Then, the noodle, follow by the vegetable is put into the soup. We need to wait for a while for the food to be cooked before dining. The noodle looks a bit like the white noodle for “laksa” but a bit different. It is the local’s favorite food as well. They can noodles for every meal, of course with a different way of cooking. The waiters and waitress are very polite. (For every lunch and dinner in Yunnan, there will be beer.) There was a short performance during dinner. Kevin commented that the performance is not nice. The weather in Kunming is much cooler after sunsets. I need to put on my thin jacket so that I won’t catch a cold.
After the dinner, we check-in for our hotel. The hotel is located in the middle of the town. Thus, it’s very convenient if we would like to do some shopping or walk-around at night. I visited the city park at night and it’s beautiful with all the lights. The McDonald there is a bit cheaper and offer more variety of choices. I heard that it’s more delicious than Malaysia’s but I did not try it out myself as the dinner served was too much.
p/s: In Kunming, we normally address the girls as 小姑娘 (“Xiao Gu Niang”).
Our first spot is the Grand View Park. On the way to the park, I noticed that there were a lot of cars and bicycles on the street. It was weird to see people dressing up nicely in coats and boots cycling on the street. The Grand View Park is a scenic park with many flowers, lake, bridges and the classical 柳树 (“Liu Su”) along the lake. It is a lovely park. I love the 桃花 (blossoms). They look a bit like Sakura. In the park, there is a building called 大观楼 (“Da Guan Lou”). This building is famous for its longest 对联 (“Dui Lian”) in the world, consisting of 90 words for each side. The first part described the beautiful scenery in Yunnan whereas the second part talked about the history of Yunnan.
We had a luxurious dinner at a grand restaurant with Siamese design, but serving local dishes. The highlight of the night is 过桥米线 (direct translation, “cross the bridge noodle”). There is a story behind the name of this noodle. To keep this short, I will leave out the story. First, a very hot bowl of soup with some oil on top of it is served. The oil is to keep the soup hot. Next, put in the slices of meat (normally chicken and pork) into the hot soup. Then, the noodle, follow by the vegetable is put into the soup. We need to wait for a while for the food to be cooked before dining. The noodle looks a bit like the white noodle for “laksa” but a bit different. It is the local’s favorite food as well. They can noodles for every meal, of course with a different way of cooking. The waiters and waitress are very polite. (For every lunch and dinner in Yunnan, there will be beer.) There was a short performance during dinner. Kevin commented that the performance is not nice. The weather in Kunming is much cooler after sunsets. I need to put on my thin jacket so that I won’t catch a cold.
After the dinner, we check-in for our hotel. The hotel is located in the middle of the town. Thus, it’s very convenient if we would like to do some shopping or walk-around at night. I visited the city park at night and it’s beautiful with all the lights. The McDonald there is a bit cheaper and offer more variety of choices. I heard that it’s more delicious than Malaysia’s but I did not try it out myself as the dinner served was too much.
p/s: In Kunming, we normally address the girls as 小姑娘 (“Xiao Gu Niang”).
Yunnan in General
Since there’s a lot to write, I will cut down on the details and go straight to the more “interesting points”. Yunnan is a place in China. It’s located above Vietnam. In Yunnan, there are many places like Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. Kunming is a spring city. The average temperature throughout the year is below 30 Celcius. There are a total of 52 minorities in Yunnan. Among the 52 minorities, 25 of them have more than 5,000 people. The culture of the minorities is different from each other, such as clothing, songs and dance. Most of them do not have their own writings. For different places, they have different ways of addressing people. In general, the toilets there are dirty, some of them do not have doors, the doors are unable to be locked or the doors are quite low.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wow… I haven’t been updating my blog for months. I guess the main reason is I am too lazy to get my hands moving after work. I received a very unique greeting card from Yushu shortly before Chinese New Year. Thanks a lot! I think that it’s an envelope to put money rather than a greeting card.
BJun had departed to Korea for her studies on February 21. She made a 1 day visit to Penang before her departure. It was great talking about the happy moments that we had during our training. Those are the great moments! We took a number of photos of our funny poses and in the toilet. They sure look very artistic, but I am not going to upload all of them here. *Else BJun is going kill me* Sorry for all the blabbing about Korea, I still haven’t get over the trauma of missing Korea. Eileen is going to be an air hostess. That is shocking news for us, but all the best! As soon as BJun arrived in Korea, I received messages from her. She said she miss us all and our beloved senior, Wei Shi. I wonder how it really feel, when I go back to the same place with different people, but with the moments of my previous visit. “Yesterday Once More”, this is such a nice song to describe my feelings now. This song also brings back a lot of memories. We always sing this song during karaoke session in Korea.
Many people have been changing jobs recently. Here’s a small advice here. It is better if you not change job frequently as it won’t look good in your resume. It will give a bad impression to your future employees as well. I am sure that if you are the boss, you wouldn’t want to hire someone who quits the next moment you hire him/her. To those who are facing doubts, just do what your heart say, but remember to listen to advice from people who care for you. Responsible for your own decision after you have made it.
Before Chinese New Year (CNY), I had been receiving SMS greetings from friends. ASCII art sure is nice. There are tanglungs and pigs. This year’s CNY is not so hot as there’s rain fall in between. I visited Fort Cornwallis on the first day of CNY. (Fort Cornwallis is the fortress that Francis Light used during the war with the Sultan of Kedah) It’s a great view up there! There are a number of performers from China as well. I was able to detect them from their Chinese slang. CNY always mean home visiting and this year is the same. As usual, we had steamboats at my uncles and aunties places. Unlike other steamboats, we had specially made “wanton”, nice ingredients, fried nuggets, herbal chicken and red wine other than the usual fish balls and soft drinks. My immediate neighbor invited us for a buffet lunch at their wonderful house. The house is even better than a hotel, very well designed and comfortable. He even gave us 2 huge packets of goodies!
BJun had departed to Korea for her studies on February 21. She made a 1 day visit to Penang before her departure. It was great talking about the happy moments that we had during our training. Those are the great moments! We took a number of photos of our funny poses and in the toilet. They sure look very artistic, but I am not going to upload all of them here. *Else BJun is going kill me* Sorry for all the blabbing about Korea, I still haven’t get over the trauma of missing Korea. Eileen is going to be an air hostess. That is shocking news for us, but all the best! As soon as BJun arrived in Korea, I received messages from her. She said she miss us all and our beloved senior, Wei Shi. I wonder how it really feel, when I go back to the same place with different people, but with the moments of my previous visit. “Yesterday Once More”, this is such a nice song to describe my feelings now. This song also brings back a lot of memories. We always sing this song during karaoke session in Korea.
Many people have been changing jobs recently. Here’s a small advice here. It is better if you not change job frequently as it won’t look good in your resume. It will give a bad impression to your future employees as well. I am sure that if you are the boss, you wouldn’t want to hire someone who quits the next moment you hire him/her. To those who are facing doubts, just do what your heart say, but remember to listen to advice from people who care for you. Responsible for your own decision after you have made it.
Before Chinese New Year (CNY), I had been receiving SMS greetings from friends. ASCII art sure is nice. There are tanglungs and pigs. This year’s CNY is not so hot as there’s rain fall in between. I visited Fort Cornwallis on the first day of CNY. (Fort Cornwallis is the fortress that Francis Light used during the war with the Sultan of Kedah) It’s a great view up there! There are a number of performers from China as well. I was able to detect them from their Chinese slang. CNY always mean home visiting and this year is the same. As usual, we had steamboats at my uncles and aunties places. Unlike other steamboats, we had specially made “wanton”, nice ingredients, fried nuggets, herbal chicken and red wine other than the usual fish balls and soft drinks. My immediate neighbor invited us for a buffet lunch at their wonderful house. The house is even better than a hotel, very well designed and comfortable. He even gave us 2 huge packets of goodies!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
December Photos
It may be a bit late to upload the photos now, here you go:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/2006/
Enjoy!
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/2006/
Enjoy!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Happy New Year '07!
Everyone,
Happy Belated New Year! Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time. I am getting lazy to online after getting back from work on Monday-Friday. I hope that everyone is doing fine. Let's clap clap our hands 2 times and make a wish...
*wish*
*wish*
*wish*
May your wish come true.
Happy Belated New Year! Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time. I am getting lazy to online after getting back from work on Monday-Friday. I hope that everyone is doing fine. Let's clap clap our hands 2 times and make a wish...
*wish*
*wish*
*wish*
May your wish come true.
December Events
Christmas and New Year is around the corner. Yet, I haven’t made my birthday wish. I ate a lot for this festive season; hopefully I am not gaining weight due to the overflow of food.
The dinner at Amandari, a Malay cuisine restaurant, with Sam Burg, who is one of my bosses, turned out to be great. I like the long curtains which are the main decorations there; it is simple, but nice. The set meal was rather expensive, around RM500 for an 8 course meal. Luckily I am not paying for it. There were a lot of gigantic squid dishes. They use the same ingredient (squid) but different ways of cooking it. We had curry squid, barbeque squid etc. Even though I like squids, but I do not want to have a squid party. So much squid at the same time makes me freak out!
I joined one of the fitness classes with my colleague, Queena. It is a weekly class held at the company’s fitness center with a payment. The instructor, who is in his twenties, sure is good in shaking. The class is fun, even though I am not good at dancing.
The Toastmaster speechcraft session at TK Mah’s house was a blast. The house is very spacious, with wonderful decorations and good food prepared by Mrs Mah. Mrs Mah is a good cook. She prepared a “western food buffet” for us. There were spaghetti, tomato soup, barbeque chickens, fried noodles, muffins, garlic bread, cheese cake and soya longan jelly.
The “department” Christmas celebration was held in Evergreen Hotel this year. The theme is “Jingle Dell”. The department is bigger than I thought it to be. There were many unfamiliar faces and of course, those whom I know. The ballroom was rather small and the buffet is not very delicious, but not too bad. But, we did enjoy ourselves with the games and programs, especially the santa/ santarina session. Yu Ming was our santa and he was weirdly decorated by us using red papers, cotton and a piece of brown paper. All the teams come out with their santa/ santarina and we sure were creative. With the same materials, we had come out with a lot of designs.
The Toastmaster’s Christmas celebration was held a few days after that in PSDC. We had buffet for dinner. Most of guys dressed in white shirt and black pants, with a red color tie/ santa hat. I think we should make the door gifts as santa hats next time, everyone looks so… cute in them. It was another enjoyable session, though it was not as crazy as Jingle Dell’s.
The dinner at Amandari, a Malay cuisine restaurant, with Sam Burg, who is one of my bosses, turned out to be great. I like the long curtains which are the main decorations there; it is simple, but nice. The set meal was rather expensive, around RM500 for an 8 course meal. Luckily I am not paying for it. There were a lot of gigantic squid dishes. They use the same ingredient (squid) but different ways of cooking it. We had curry squid, barbeque squid etc. Even though I like squids, but I do not want to have a squid party. So much squid at the same time makes me freak out!
I joined one of the fitness classes with my colleague, Queena. It is a weekly class held at the company’s fitness center with a payment. The instructor, who is in his twenties, sure is good in shaking. The class is fun, even though I am not good at dancing.
The Toastmaster speechcraft session at TK Mah’s house was a blast. The house is very spacious, with wonderful decorations and good food prepared by Mrs Mah. Mrs Mah is a good cook. She prepared a “western food buffet” for us. There were spaghetti, tomato soup, barbeque chickens, fried noodles, muffins, garlic bread, cheese cake and soya longan jelly.
The “department” Christmas celebration was held in Evergreen Hotel this year. The theme is “Jingle Dell”. The department is bigger than I thought it to be. There were many unfamiliar faces and of course, those whom I know. The ballroom was rather small and the buffet is not very delicious, but not too bad. But, we did enjoy ourselves with the games and programs, especially the santa/ santarina session. Yu Ming was our santa and he was weirdly decorated by us using red papers, cotton and a piece of brown paper. All the teams come out with their santa/ santarina and we sure were creative. With the same materials, we had come out with a lot of designs.
The Toastmaster’s Christmas celebration was held a few days after that in PSDC. We had buffet for dinner. Most of guys dressed in white shirt and black pants, with a red color tie/ santa hat. I think we should make the door gifts as santa hats next time, everyone looks so… cute in them. It was another enjoyable session, though it was not as crazy as Jingle Dell’s.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Thoughts About Work
Here are some of the quotations that I like, by my friends:
- The present does not matter, but it’s the person who gives the present that matters.
- We need courage in our life for making every single step
After working, I realize several things:
- We earn enough money to spend, but we often do not have enough money to give to our parents.
- Even if there is no work for the day, we still feel tired after getting home from work.
- By following the rules strictly, we will not be able to achieve our goals. Think of the box!
- Distance is not an issue. Even though I have friends working in the same company, we only see each other for a chat during gatherings. The company is too big and we often do not have the time to catch up with each other.
- People often give up a good job opportunity because of transport and location. As the saying goes, “no pain no gain”. Short term suffering is better than losing a good opportunity. I will definitely go for it, unless there are some other factors that I may need to consider at that time (eg: parents’ health).
- Many people let problems to make their life tough, instead of solving them. Problems are meant to be solved. If no actions are taken, a problem will forever remain as a problem.
- We were striving hard to get a “nice certificate” during our studies. But these certificates are merely the key to get for an interview. There are much more skills that we need to learn other than the facts from the books, and these skills have proved to be much more useful in the future.
- The worst part of a wedding is the wedding dinner. If you invite guests A, then you must invite guest B as they both know you. Then, if you invite guest B, then you must invite guest C. In the end, you will need to invite many people. However, can you afford to invite so many people? If yes, go ahead. If no, you will have a headache selecting the people to invite. Wedding is no longer economical. The wedding photos itself need more than RM3K.
- As we earn more money, we have less time to spend them.
- We like Friday and hate Monday.
- The present does not matter, but it’s the person who gives the present that matters.
- We need courage in our life for making every single step
After working, I realize several things:
- We earn enough money to spend, but we often do not have enough money to give to our parents.
- Even if there is no work for the day, we still feel tired after getting home from work.
- By following the rules strictly, we will not be able to achieve our goals. Think of the box!
- Distance is not an issue. Even though I have friends working in the same company, we only see each other for a chat during gatherings. The company is too big and we often do not have the time to catch up with each other.
- People often give up a good job opportunity because of transport and location. As the saying goes, “no pain no gain”. Short term suffering is better than losing a good opportunity. I will definitely go for it, unless there are some other factors that I may need to consider at that time (eg: parents’ health).
- Many people let problems to make their life tough, instead of solving them. Problems are meant to be solved. If no actions are taken, a problem will forever remain as a problem.
- We were striving hard to get a “nice certificate” during our studies. But these certificates are merely the key to get for an interview. There are much more skills that we need to learn other than the facts from the books, and these skills have proved to be much more useful in the future.
- The worst part of a wedding is the wedding dinner. If you invite guests A, then you must invite guest B as they both know you. Then, if you invite guest B, then you must invite guest C. In the end, you will need to invite many people. However, can you afford to invite so many people? If yes, go ahead. If no, you will have a headache selecting the people to invite. Wedding is no longer economical. The wedding photos itself need more than RM3K.
- As we earn more money, we have less time to spend them.
- We like Friday and hate Monday.
My Birthday
December 6 is my birthday, it is also Huwi Yin’s birthday. Birthday means that I have grown older. Does that mean that I am wiser now? I think it’s still the same. This year I didn’t get to eat any birthday cakes. Does that mean that I unable to make wishes and thus, my wishes won’t come true? I had dinners on the 5th and on my birthday. I feel that I am starting to hate food… I don’t want to eat anymore… Since it is a festive season, it is impossible to reduce “food load”. I received some presents from my friends and colleagues. Special thanks to Christine, Kim Sheng, Khim Foong, Kelly, Hui Shan, Khai, Pei Ling, Siew Ean, Yen Ching, Cheah Jing, Lay Leng, Yean Hong, Cheah Chee, Huey Sze, Queena, Jin and those names not mentioned. After living on Mother Earth for more than 22 years, I have many pleasant and unpleasant memories. There are so many things that I can recall now. When I reach the age of 30, there will be even more! Wonder if my internal memory will get overloaded by then.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
December~
December is here! It is the month that I am looking forward the most throughout the year due to several reasons. December is a holiday season and sales is available everywhere, one of the best seasons to shop other than the Shopping carnival around September. As Christmas is approaching, there are beautiful decorations in all the major shopping complex. I am always looking forward to see those cute artificial snowmen and well decorated Christmas trees. They always make me feel excited even though I have being seeing them every year around this season.
December 1, Friday – I rushed to the PC fair at PISA immediately after my work. A heavy traffic jam was expected to occur as there were many events occurring during the weekends. This includes the opening of the new shopping complex, Queensbay Mall. It was raining heavily as soon as I departed from my company. The traffic jam is not as bad as I thought. I met several high school friends there, working as part-time workers for the fair. It is their semester break now. In addition, I managed to get some goodies. It was a satisfying purchase. I spent around RM130 for a webcam, card reader, headset and 25 pieces of DVD+R. I was having a nice time playing with my new 1.3 Megapixel webcam on that night. The video is clear and there is not much lagging from my side.
December 3, Sunday - Last Sunday I took my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 2. I met some ex-classmates there, Lee Wei and (I cannot remember her name). They were attempting the Level 4 exam. The exam didn’t go well, especially Paper 2, the listening test. There maybe something wrong with the CD as there is a serious vibration for many questions in Part I. Perhaps they are trying to test our listening skills in various situations as well? Overall, I feel that I am going to fail for another time this year, even though I am able to answer more questions this time. God please bless me… After my exam, I went to the steamboat shop at Sg. Dua for a primary school gathering. It was a sudden gathering. Lay Fen message me the night before thru MSN messenger and I was a bit surprise. A total of 12 people attended the gathering. It is good to meet so many people again, after such a long time. Some I haven’t see them for around 10 years. They sure have change (appearance). We finished dining at around 10pm. It feels so weird after the exam, with nothing much to do. It is like losing a direction.
December 1, Friday – I rushed to the PC fair at PISA immediately after my work. A heavy traffic jam was expected to occur as there were many events occurring during the weekends. This includes the opening of the new shopping complex, Queensbay Mall. It was raining heavily as soon as I departed from my company. The traffic jam is not as bad as I thought. I met several high school friends there, working as part-time workers for the fair. It is their semester break now. In addition, I managed to get some goodies. It was a satisfying purchase. I spent around RM130 for a webcam, card reader, headset and 25 pieces of DVD+R. I was having a nice time playing with my new 1.3 Megapixel webcam on that night. The video is clear and there is not much lagging from my side.
December 3, Sunday - Last Sunday I took my Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 2. I met some ex-classmates there, Lee Wei and (I cannot remember her name). They were attempting the Level 4 exam. The exam didn’t go well, especially Paper 2, the listening test. There maybe something wrong with the CD as there is a serious vibration for many questions in Part I. Perhaps they are trying to test our listening skills in various situations as well? Overall, I feel that I am going to fail for another time this year, even though I am able to answer more questions this time. God please bless me… After my exam, I went to the steamboat shop at Sg. Dua for a primary school gathering. It was a sudden gathering. Lay Fen message me the night before thru MSN messenger and I was a bit surprise. A total of 12 people attended the gathering. It is good to meet so many people again, after such a long time. Some I haven’t see them for around 10 years. They sure have change (appearance). We finished dining at around 10pm. It feels so weird after the exam, with nothing much to do. It is like losing a direction.
November Events
Festive season is around the corner. It is also a season of food, food and more food. A week ago, I completed my second pot of clay flowers, Hyacinth Heaven. It is a plant that grows during the winter, a perfect tree for this season. The office now is filled with Christmas trees, snowman, penguins and other Christmas decorations. Holiday mood is in the air. I still remember last year, around this period of time, Christoph showed me snowing scene outside of his room using his videocam. The scenery out there is very bright. The whole are was covered up by snow. I felt like as if I had just seen Heaven.
As year end is approaching, there are many dinners. November 22, Wednesday - There was a dinner organized by an extended team as an appreciation of the support we provide throughout the year. It was a luxurious dinner at Prawn Village, a restaurant very near to my company. My favorite dish of the night is cheese and prawns. The first runner up would be the fish dish. The fish slices were “smooth” and delicious.
November 24, Friday - I attended the Waseda Brass Concert jointly organized by Japan Embassy and University Science Malaysia (USM) in Dewan Budaya, USM. Admission was free. The hall was almost full. I was not particularly interested in brass. Since the concert was free and I have not attended any concerts for more than a year, I decided to give it a try. It was raining heavily on that night and traffic jam was extremely heavy around the island, as a lot of places were slightly flooded and many people were rushing to go home on this last day of work for the week. I almost gave up attending concert, but luckily I didn’t. It was a wonderful concert and changed my perceptions towards brass. With only brass instruments, it is possible to perform very wonderful music. My favorite member would be the conductor. Besides being the youngest member of the band, he is a very spirited and funny conductor. I felt like dancing while watching him conducting the band.
November 26, Sunday – I went to Gurney Plaza with Queena. The main event of the day was watching the movie “Step Up”. It was a very inspiring and wonderful movie. It was all dancing, classical + modern. The opening of the movie is well down, showing the contrast between ballet and modern dance. It is movie worth watching! In addition, the soundtrack is nice. Before the movie, I had lunch at Food Loaf. We called it as the “high-class food court”. It is like a food court, there are many types of delicacies to choose from – Italian, Japanese, Korean, Western and local cuisines, everything under one hub. The atmosphere is very nice. The view from the glass is very nice. The price there is of KL standard and the servings are a lot. The waiters and waitresses there are very friendly. I am satisfied with my Manhantten Market Platter, with a big piece of fish and chips, mashed potatoes, 3 fried prawns, BBQ squids and some salad. It is a place worth visiting once in a while (unless you are rich enough to visit there for meals everyday).
Last but not least, I would like thank Yushu for wonderful pictures of Korea, especially the fireworks one ^^
As year end is approaching, there are many dinners. November 22, Wednesday - There was a dinner organized by an extended team as an appreciation of the support we provide throughout the year. It was a luxurious dinner at Prawn Village, a restaurant very near to my company. My favorite dish of the night is cheese and prawns. The first runner up would be the fish dish. The fish slices were “smooth” and delicious.
November 24, Friday - I attended the Waseda Brass Concert jointly organized by Japan Embassy and University Science Malaysia (USM) in Dewan Budaya, USM. Admission was free. The hall was almost full. I was not particularly interested in brass. Since the concert was free and I have not attended any concerts for more than a year, I decided to give it a try. It was raining heavily on that night and traffic jam was extremely heavy around the island, as a lot of places were slightly flooded and many people were rushing to go home on this last day of work for the week. I almost gave up attending concert, but luckily I didn’t. It was a wonderful concert and changed my perceptions towards brass. With only brass instruments, it is possible to perform very wonderful music. My favorite member would be the conductor. Besides being the youngest member of the band, he is a very spirited and funny conductor. I felt like dancing while watching him conducting the band.
November 26, Sunday – I went to Gurney Plaza with Queena. The main event of the day was watching the movie “Step Up”. It was a very inspiring and wonderful movie. It was all dancing, classical + modern. The opening of the movie is well down, showing the contrast between ballet and modern dance. It is movie worth watching! In addition, the soundtrack is nice. Before the movie, I had lunch at Food Loaf. We called it as the “high-class food court”. It is like a food court, there are many types of delicacies to choose from – Italian, Japanese, Korean, Western and local cuisines, everything under one hub. The atmosphere is very nice. The view from the glass is very nice. The price there is of KL standard and the servings are a lot. The waiters and waitresses there are very friendly. I am satisfied with my Manhantten Market Platter, with a big piece of fish and chips, mashed potatoes, 3 fried prawns, BBQ squids and some salad. It is a place worth visiting once in a while (unless you are rich enough to visit there for meals everyday).
Last but not least, I would like thank Yushu for wonderful pictures of Korea, especially the fireworks one ^^
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Thought of the Month
It’s been around 3 weeks since I last blogged. I am not very busy but getting lazy to update my blog. Many things happened since then and I have being doing some thinking. There are a number of farewells to attend to, including my ex-director and extended team member, Jessie Lim.
Several pregnant ladies around me are going to give birth soon or had already given birth. They shared some of their experience with me, such as their back pain when they try to stretch out when tired, their legs becomes swollen, their babies kicking them in their tummy, food that they cannot eat when they are pregnant, change in their eating habits while pregnant and things to take care of after giving birth. Pregnant can actually be so troublesome. I never think of that at all. The most I could think of is only morning sickness and food to take care of.
On the other hand, I am hearing news on people who passed away due to cancer. Cancer has become so common nowadays. I wonder if my friends or relatives will be leaving me suddenly.
After working, I begin to cherish my school days and the precious moments that I once had with my friends. There are many things that we had always taken for granted and only appreciate it when we lose it. I really miss some of the moments that I had during my university life. Working life can never be the same as university life, no matter how I think of it. I always wish that I could further my studies again so that I can enjoy the life being a student again. However, this doesn’t mean that I will be taking a course that I have no interest in. Perhaps, sometimes, memories are meant to be treasured. That’s what that makes them valuable. We must learn to move forward and enjoy the future, as how we cherish our memories.
I seem to be meeting people who remind me of some other people I know. Not because of their looks, but the way they talk and expressing themselves. It makes me feel warm because I feel like I have known them before that.
There are times that I feel that my “battery” is running low. After recharging, I feel full of energy again and move forward. Even for rechargeable batteries, they will be spoilt one day. But, I hope that all my dreams are fulfilled before it is not rechargeable anymore.
Several pregnant ladies around me are going to give birth soon or had already given birth. They shared some of their experience with me, such as their back pain when they try to stretch out when tired, their legs becomes swollen, their babies kicking them in their tummy, food that they cannot eat when they are pregnant, change in their eating habits while pregnant and things to take care of after giving birth. Pregnant can actually be so troublesome. I never think of that at all. The most I could think of is only morning sickness and food to take care of.
On the other hand, I am hearing news on people who passed away due to cancer. Cancer has become so common nowadays. I wonder if my friends or relatives will be leaving me suddenly.
After working, I begin to cherish my school days and the precious moments that I once had with my friends. There are many things that we had always taken for granted and only appreciate it when we lose it. I really miss some of the moments that I had during my university life. Working life can never be the same as university life, no matter how I think of it. I always wish that I could further my studies again so that I can enjoy the life being a student again. However, this doesn’t mean that I will be taking a course that I have no interest in. Perhaps, sometimes, memories are meant to be treasured. That’s what that makes them valuable. We must learn to move forward and enjoy the future, as how we cherish our memories.
I seem to be meeting people who remind me of some other people I know. Not because of their looks, but the way they talk and expressing themselves. It makes me feel warm because I feel like I have known them before that.
There are times that I feel that my “battery” is running low. After recharging, I feel full of energy again and move forward. Even for rechargeable batteries, they will be spoilt one day. But, I hope that all my dreams are fulfilled before it is not rechargeable anymore.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Deeparaya
When Deepavali + Hari Raya, it becomes Deeparaya. Deepavali fell on October 21 whereas Hari Raya fell on October 24 and 25 this year. I wasn’t really celebrating the festival but did visit a friend’s house. Most of my friends who are from other states rushed back to their hometowns. The atmosphere was in the air. I wonder how the celebration is over in Korea. Is there any party? Suddenly I miss the “bah kuh teh”, with a minimum amount of pork and a lot of potatoes. I did not miss the taste, but the fun when cooking the dish. It is like a tradition to have “bah kuh teh” whenever we are celebrating something over in Korea. This tradition seems to remain even after I leave.
The haze here is on and off. The situation is not so terrible in Penang due to the frequent down pour. It does not affect our view sight at least. Some people were still barbecuing despite the hazy weather. Some buses, motorcycles and trucks are emitting black smoke and I wonder why they are still on the streets, polluting the environment. The authority should really take some actions to improve on the current situation. At least, they should educate the public on their responsibilities to keep the environment free from more pollutants.
I watched “The Prestige” on the first day of Hari Raya with my brother in Prangin Mall.
The synopsis from Golden Screen Cinema is:
In 1878 two young stage magicians clash in a darkened saloon during the course of a fraudulent seance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another. Their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences.
There is a lot of suspense in the movie and a lot of flashbacks. Even though it is a bit confusing mixing flashbacks and current happenings together, we managed to get the whole picture of the storyline. The story is somewhat unique, about the life of 2 magicians, the sacrifices that they made for their careers and the ending is unexpected. This is a non-action movie. I cannot tell for sure if the ending is a good one. But, the morale of the story is, it is better to forgive than to revenge.
The haze here is on and off. The situation is not so terrible in Penang due to the frequent down pour. It does not affect our view sight at least. Some people were still barbecuing despite the hazy weather. Some buses, motorcycles and trucks are emitting black smoke and I wonder why they are still on the streets, polluting the environment. The authority should really take some actions to improve on the current situation. At least, they should educate the public on their responsibilities to keep the environment free from more pollutants.
I watched “The Prestige” on the first day of Hari Raya with my brother in Prangin Mall.
The synopsis from Golden Screen Cinema is:
In 1878 two young stage magicians clash in a darkened saloon during the course of a fraudulent seance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another. Their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences.
There is a lot of suspense in the movie and a lot of flashbacks. Even though it is a bit confusing mixing flashbacks and current happenings together, we managed to get the whole picture of the storyline. The story is somewhat unique, about the life of 2 magicians, the sacrifices that they made for their careers and the ending is unexpected. This is a non-action movie. I cannot tell for sure if the ending is a good one. But, the morale of the story is, it is better to forgive than to revenge.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Team Building at Traders Hotel
Finally, the annual team building is here. This year, we had seafood buffet in Traders Hotel, which is formerly known as Shangri-La Hotel. This buffet cost more than RM90 per person and was sponsored by the company. There are around 40 people in our department. We occupied a small area in the restaurant so that it will be easier for the games section later. The seats were decided by drawing lots. I was sharing the same table with Lay Leng, Ewe Chong, Ismah, Jacqueline and Chai. There were a few sections, such as the dessert corner with cakes, custard and ice-cream, sushi, fruits, barbeque food, “lok lok”, normal dishes and salad. Everyone was excited on the guessing game. Someone will read out the description of a person and the person with the paper of that person’s name must say out the name. Else, there will be a penalty of eating wasabi. The dinner met its objective to bring everyone together. Here are some of the photos taken during the dinner:
Photos
Photos
Friday, October 13, 2006
Quarter 3 Birthday Lunch Photos
Here are some of the photos taken during the Q3 Birthday Lunch at Cherry Blossom Thai Food Restaurant on October 9, 2006 (Monday). There are around 11 dishes, including the dessert. Too lazy to upload all of them. Thus, here are some of the selected yummies of the restaurant. Enjoy!:
Photos
Photos
Lantern Fest Photos
Here are some of the photos taken during the lantern fest in Penang:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/LanternFest/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/LanternFest/
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Pig Mooncake!
Mooncakes can be quite dull with the same old design and shape. However, this little pig mooncake is irresistable! Check out the pictures below, courtesy of Lay Leng sis:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/PigMooncake/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/PigMooncake/
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
September Weekends
September 23, Saturday – It was Japanese Film Festival. Kelly managed to get 2 free movie tickets for the film, “Heaven’s Bookstore” at Gurney Plaza. The movie is quite interesting. I like the piano pieces in the movie. It’s wonderful. I feel like as if I am attending a real concert.
September 30, Saturday – I had dinner with Kelly, Hui Shan, Khai and Xiao Chan in the seafood shop at Paya Terubong. Khai likes the barbeque fish there. He even plans to pay a second visit there next week. The steam fish here is not so nice though. Then, we went to the lantern festival in PISA, in the open air. There’s a lot of people and nice lanterns. The fountains were on. It’s a really great view. There’s stage performance was great. We managed to see the “change face” show. It was amazing. We couldn’t even notice when she changed the mask.
September 30, Saturday – I had dinner with Kelly, Hui Shan, Khai and Xiao Chan in the seafood shop at Paya Terubong. Khai likes the barbeque fish there. He even plans to pay a second visit there next week. The steam fish here is not so nice though. Then, we went to the lantern festival in PISA, in the open air. There’s a lot of people and nice lanterns. The fountains were on. It’s a really great view. There’s stage performance was great. We managed to see the “change face” show. It was amazing. We couldn’t even notice when she changed the mask.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
My Colleagues’ Birthday
Cheah Chee and Chuen Kar’s birthday is next to each other. We had a joined celebration with the transactional team last week. Chuen Kar is also an ex-MMU student, a telecommunication student in Cyberjaya campus. For Cheah Chee’s birthday, we had lunch at Ichiyo, which is near BJ Complex. As for CK’s birthday which was on a Friday, we had dinner at E-gate’s Sushi King.
Here are some of the photos taken:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Colleagues/
Here are some of the photos taken:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Colleagues/
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Busy Week!
This week is a very busy week as it is month end again. Whenever month end is approaching, all of us will be extremely busy. Our eyes will be glued to the screen and hands on the mouse, continuously clicking. Endless request keep on flowing into our mailbox. OT is not something unusual during this period of the month. I am basically working from day to night for these few days. My highest record now is going back at 11pm. Once in a blue moon, I will receive some lunch box from somebody or food from other team as a token of appreciation for our hard work. Even though the food doesn’t cost much, but at least, they are able to fill our empty stomachs while on OT. Thank you very much!
Today I attended a 2 hours training in the data center. It was my first IT related training. It’s great to see the real product (servers) that I am maintaining (data) for my daily tasks. I love those black racks with doors for servers. It looks cool. There’s a few tables and chairs in the room as well. It must be nice working in this room, with so much space and privacy. But, maybe it will be too quiet as well. I like the glass board in the room. It looks really stylish! Finally weekend is approaching again! Back to the good old days :)
Today I attended a 2 hours training in the data center. It was my first IT related training. It’s great to see the real product (servers) that I am maintaining (data) for my daily tasks. I love those black racks with doors for servers. It looks cool. There’s a few tables and chairs in the room as well. It must be nice working in this room, with so much space and privacy. But, maybe it will be too quiet as well. I like the glass board in the room. It looks really stylish! Finally weekend is approaching again! Back to the good old days :)
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Cameron Highland Photos
Here are some of the photos of my short trip to Cameron Highlands:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Cameron/
Enjoy!
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Cameron/
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Honey and Clover 2 Review
Honey and Clover season 2 has come to an end last week. Contrast to the every crazy comedy for the first season, the second season focuses more on moral, values and philosophies. The ever crazy Morita Shinobu shows his serious part of character. His thoughts for his brother are greater than what we imagine, from the illustrations of the first season. They also give a very good explanation on why Morita is always trying to earn money thru part-time jobs. I would say that it’s a good storyline. Hagumi’s comfortable life faces a dilemma when she was about to graduate, wondering where she will be heading in her life. Her desire to draw comes to a stop. While she is at her crossroads of life, unexpected things unfold. Seeing little Hagu-chan in the hospital makes me feel really upset. Yet, she has a strong spirit to stand up again. During these hardships, she had made a firm decision. She wanted to draw again as she loves drawing more than anything. The story did not end like any other anime, with a lovey-dovey nor a cry-to-tears ending. But, it is a meaningful ending. It shows us that love is not the only thing in our life, we have ambitions and things that we want to achieve. Loving someone and not getting our love returned is not something to be upset about. We learn something in this process. How things turn out to be, depends on how we perceive it.
August/September Updates
1 month had passed by. Many things happened within this short period. I met with a Yan Min a week after my convocation. I haven’t see her since form 5. She was back in Malaysia for her internship. She still likes to talk as usual, which is a good sign. Some people change so much that you cannot recognize them anymore. I do not mean appearance here, but the bond and character.
For weekends, sometimes I hang out with Kelly and sometimes together with Berry, her housemate. This world is so small. Berry is Wei Chung’s girlfriend. I went to Cameron Highlands for a short trip 2 weeks ago. I am so glad to see so many flowers again. 24 stalks of roses for only RM5! You will never get that price elsewhere. I like the night market there. The best place to get cheap vegetables and flowers. There is a new local product which I find it rather tasty – the dry strawberries. It tasted better than fresh strawberries and definitely much cheaper.
During month end, my job becomes rather hectic. Many things have deadlines to be met. But, it is getting rather interesting. My team members are quite helpful. I like the canteen there, looks a bit like restaurant in a 5 star hotel. I like the toilets with endless toilet paper supplies. All in all, I like the environment.
My primary school teacher passed away recently at 44 years old due to cancer. I was shocked and depressed. I even thought of visiting her during this coming Chinese New Year. Life is short. Humans are so fragile. Then, I begin think of the ideal way of dying, dying at where and when.
Yushu is now back in Korea for his Masters. Hoo Mun is there for his Masters as well. Yushu is so bad. He purposely showed me photos my favourite food and snacks and places that I went before in Korea. Staying in Korea with limited budget was a pain at that time but now it has become wonderful memories. The poorly planned Jeju Island trip turned out to be the most memorable one. I do not like soju while I was in Korea. But, I miss it now!
My desire to go backpack is triggered by a talk on trip to Yunnan. Yunnan is located at the far South of China, sharing borders with several other countries. I like the uniqueness of the landscape, weather and culture there. I know I have a bad stamina. Yet, I have this desire to conquer those mountains in Yunnan, just to get a better view of those snow mountains. “I want to get there! I want to see the water vessels. The mist makes the whole place looks so mysterious, so ancient.”
Huwi Yin is here for her training this week. I brought her to Gurney Drive to enjoy some Penang’s popular delicacies at the hawker stalls. Then, we headed to Gurney Plaza for the Japanese Cultural Performance. We were there late and unable to enjoy the event. We spent most of our time in the gift shops, admiring the art of designing. It is so hard to find someone sharing the same birthday as you. I am really glad to meet Huwi Yin who shares so many interests as I. It was a nice night out. Senpai, come to Penang more often next time!
Last but last least, I would like to congratulate my friends for getting a job already; Kelly for getting a place in Tokyo University and Makoto for getting a place in Yokoshima University; Sau Heung, Foo Chuan and Ms Tee for winning in the Malaysia around for Imagine Cup; and thanks to Sau Heung for sharing his wonderful photos in India (and extra photos) with us!
For weekends, sometimes I hang out with Kelly and sometimes together with Berry, her housemate. This world is so small. Berry is Wei Chung’s girlfriend. I went to Cameron Highlands for a short trip 2 weeks ago. I am so glad to see so many flowers again. 24 stalks of roses for only RM5! You will never get that price elsewhere. I like the night market there. The best place to get cheap vegetables and flowers. There is a new local product which I find it rather tasty – the dry strawberries. It tasted better than fresh strawberries and definitely much cheaper.
During month end, my job becomes rather hectic. Many things have deadlines to be met. But, it is getting rather interesting. My team members are quite helpful. I like the canteen there, looks a bit like restaurant in a 5 star hotel. I like the toilets with endless toilet paper supplies. All in all, I like the environment.
My primary school teacher passed away recently at 44 years old due to cancer. I was shocked and depressed. I even thought of visiting her during this coming Chinese New Year. Life is short. Humans are so fragile. Then, I begin think of the ideal way of dying, dying at where and when.
Yushu is now back in Korea for his Masters. Hoo Mun is there for his Masters as well. Yushu is so bad. He purposely showed me photos my favourite food and snacks and places that I went before in Korea. Staying in Korea with limited budget was a pain at that time but now it has become wonderful memories. The poorly planned Jeju Island trip turned out to be the most memorable one. I do not like soju while I was in Korea. But, I miss it now!
My desire to go backpack is triggered by a talk on trip to Yunnan. Yunnan is located at the far South of China, sharing borders with several other countries. I like the uniqueness of the landscape, weather and culture there. I know I have a bad stamina. Yet, I have this desire to conquer those mountains in Yunnan, just to get a better view of those snow mountains. “I want to get there! I want to see the water vessels. The mist makes the whole place looks so mysterious, so ancient.”
Huwi Yin is here for her training this week. I brought her to Gurney Drive to enjoy some Penang’s popular delicacies at the hawker stalls. Then, we headed to Gurney Plaza for the Japanese Cultural Performance. We were there late and unable to enjoy the event. We spent most of our time in the gift shops, admiring the art of designing. It is so hard to find someone sharing the same birthday as you. I am really glad to meet Huwi Yin who shares so many interests as I. It was a nice night out. Senpai, come to Penang more often next time!
Last but last least, I would like to congratulate my friends for getting a job already; Kelly for getting a place in Tokyo University and Makoto for getting a place in Yokoshima University; Sau Heung, Foo Chuan and Ms Tee for winning in the Malaysia around for Imagine Cup; and thanks to Sau Heung for sharing his wonderful photos in India (and extra photos) with us!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Convocation!
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!
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!
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.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
July Happenings
I started attending classes on making fake flowers using Japanese clay several weeks ago. The clay is not as sticky as I think. A lot of materials for the class are relatively expensive. A number of tools are needed just to make a type of flower. But, the product is really nice. After the clay is dry, it is not totally hard, which makes it unique.
After sending in my results and graduation letter to Dell, I received news from them a week later. My boarding date is August 7. I need to do an X-ray and body checkup at the company before getting the offer letter and signing the contract. The X-ray must be done in the company’s panel clinic in e-Gate. It is a new and expensive clinic - its waiting hall is like a hotel, with the nice sofa, plasma TV and Astro channels installed. The medical equipments there are advance. I was a bit surprised.
Since I will only start working next month, I bought some flight tickets for my trip to Sarawak. AirAsia is currently offering promotions for several flights. I will be staying in Pei Juan’s home during my 1 week visit there. Sarawak… here I come!
After sending in my results and graduation letter to Dell, I received news from them a week later. My boarding date is August 7. I need to do an X-ray and body checkup at the company before getting the offer letter and signing the contract. The X-ray must be done in the company’s panel clinic in e-Gate. It is a new and expensive clinic - its waiting hall is like a hotel, with the nice sofa, plasma TV and Astro channels installed. The medical equipments there are advance. I was a bit surprised.
Since I will only start working next month, I bought some flight tickets for my trip to Sarawak. AirAsia is currently offering promotions for several flights. I will be staying in Pei Juan’s home during my 1 week visit there. Sarawak… here I come!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Summary of Events
June 21, Wednesday – I went for my first interview in Dell, for the Database Analyst position. They called me up early in the morning and scheduled the interview to be held in the afternoon. I was not feeling well on that day, having a sore throat, running nose and a slight fever. I was not prepared and did not hold much hope for that reason.
June 22, Thursday – I went to Informatics at around 12pm for my Microsoft 72-228 paper on Microsoft SQL Server 2000. I did not pass on the first attempt. Luckily the second exam is free due to the promotion.
June 23, Friday – I received a call from Dell. I got the position! It was a surprise! I did not expect to hear such news from them so soon. Christine, Kim Sheng, Khim Foong, Wei Yau and I departed to Chia Chia’s birthday party in Alor Setar, Kedah at around 6pm. The party was not held at her house as expected, but in a restaurant called Swiss Garden. It was a buffet dinner with karaoke. She only invited several friends and relatives. The INTI gang were enjoying themselves with the karaoke. We reached Penang at around 1+pm.
June 28, Wednesday – I went for my second exam on Microsoft SQL Server 2000. I passed this time!
June 30, Friday – Hui Shan arrived in Penang in the morning. She will be working in Penang starting next month. She stayed in my place for 2 days before Ah Khai arrive. Jin and Thai Sin came to Penang on the same day. Jin was here for his Microsoft SQL Server 2000 exam. Thai Sin and he departed back on the same day.
July 1, Saturday – Hui Shan and I went to MATTA Fair, a traveling fair held in PISA. There was a huge crowd and there are many booths. Some of the offers are really cheap. I wish that I have more holidays now. Looks like I can just write down several destinations of my interest and aim for those packages next year.
June 22, Thursday – I went to Informatics at around 12pm for my Microsoft 72-228 paper on Microsoft SQL Server 2000. I did not pass on the first attempt. Luckily the second exam is free due to the promotion.
June 23, Friday – I received a call from Dell. I got the position! It was a surprise! I did not expect to hear such news from them so soon. Christine, Kim Sheng, Khim Foong, Wei Yau and I departed to Chia Chia’s birthday party in Alor Setar, Kedah at around 6pm. The party was not held at her house as expected, but in a restaurant called Swiss Garden. It was a buffet dinner with karaoke. She only invited several friends and relatives. The INTI gang were enjoying themselves with the karaoke. We reached Penang at around 1+pm.
June 28, Wednesday – I went for my second exam on Microsoft SQL Server 2000. I passed this time!
June 30, Friday – Hui Shan arrived in Penang in the morning. She will be working in Penang starting next month. She stayed in my place for 2 days before Ah Khai arrive. Jin and Thai Sin came to Penang on the same day. Jin was here for his Microsoft SQL Server 2000 exam. Thai Sin and he departed back on the same day.
July 1, Saturday – Hui Shan and I went to MATTA Fair, a traveling fair held in PISA. There was a huge crowd and there are many booths. Some of the offers are really cheap. I wish that I have more holidays now. Looks like I can just write down several destinations of my interest and aim for those packages next year.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Photos - Homestay in Japan - Batch 2
Here is the last batch of photos taken in Japan:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay02/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay02/
Photos - MMU Malacca, ISE
Here are some of the photos taken with other ISE students:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/MMU/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/MMU/
Photos - Homestay in Japan - Batch 1
Here are some of the photos taken during my homestay in Japan:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay01/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Homestay01/
Bye bye Japan!
June 10, Saturday –It was my last day in Japan. My host father and Satoe sent me to the airport. Most of the parking lots were full. It was hard finding parking space. As I arrived, all the other host families were there already. All of us took some group photos before going to the departure hall. All the host families waved to us as we entered. It was a touching scene… I hope that I can see them again in the future.
Day 7 in Japan
June 9, Friday – At around 8am, we departed to “Miwa Anjo” to take the bullet train to Nagoya. The train is really fast. We were all very excited to see the train. The trip to Nagoya took about 10 minutes. It will take about 45 minutes if we take the normal train. We bought a whole day subway ticket as we arrived in Nagoya. The subway system is very much like the one in Korea. They have a few special carriages for ladies only during peak hours. I think that it’s a good idea, to avoid being molested by guys. We took the subway to City Hall and walked for about 5 minutes before reaching the entrance of Nagoya Castle. Nagoya is famous for its castles. The castle is the same height as a 14 storey building. It was drizzling at that time. It was tough sightseeing with an umbrella.
At around 11.40pm, we departed to another place. We were able to see Nagoya Tower as we got out from the subway station. There is an amazing underground shopping complex near the tower. The architecture is simply fantastic! We had our lunch at one of the restaurants there. Nagoya is famous for “kisimen”, a type of noodle almost similar to “koay teow”. I ordered Salmon kisimen, it is very tasty. It cost 900 Yen.
After lunch, Pei Jiuan’s host mother brought us to some anime shops. It is like a heaven for an anime fan like me. I was excited to see all sorts of anime products, not sellable in Malaysia. I saw many “My neighbor Totoro” products in one of the shops, but the products are very expensive. The modeling shops are selling a variety of models, from the normal figuring to “Gundam” models.
At around 2.30pm, we headed to Osu shopping area. It is a very huge shopping area with many shops and the prices are reasonable. I did not shop much there. I came across a very nice shop selling much cute merchandise but the shop is not on business as they are renovating. There several small temples and a big temple near the shopping area. The Buddhist statues in Japan sure are nice. Malaysia’s one is much simpler.
At around 4.30pm, we departed back to Hekinan by train. We need to change train for a few stations before reaching Hekinan. My host father’s youngest daughter, Satoe, just came back from Kyoto. She is a business student studying in Kobe University. She had just graduated recently. It is nice talking to her. My host father brought me to a “yukata” shop to buy a set of yukata before dinner. The whole set, including bag and shoes, cost 3,900 Yen, slightly more than RM100. We also went to the supermarket to buy some souvenirs (food). My host father paid for them.
My host family sure likes Western food. Satoe likes spaghetti a lot. The restaurant that we went to for dinner have a variety of spaghetti, such as spaghetti fried with olive oil. It was tasty. They ordered some other popular dishes there. I like the one with the fried bread and cheese on top and rice in the bottom. It is really tasty!
My host mother helped me to dress up for my “yukata”. She even gave me a set of her old “yukata” as a present for my mum. That “yukata” itself cost RM600, it is handmade and the quality is good.
At around 11.40pm, we departed to another place. We were able to see Nagoya Tower as we got out from the subway station. There is an amazing underground shopping complex near the tower. The architecture is simply fantastic! We had our lunch at one of the restaurants there. Nagoya is famous for “kisimen”, a type of noodle almost similar to “koay teow”. I ordered Salmon kisimen, it is very tasty. It cost 900 Yen.
After lunch, Pei Jiuan’s host mother brought us to some anime shops. It is like a heaven for an anime fan like me. I was excited to see all sorts of anime products, not sellable in Malaysia. I saw many “My neighbor Totoro” products in one of the shops, but the products are very expensive. The modeling shops are selling a variety of models, from the normal figuring to “Gundam” models.
At around 2.30pm, we headed to Osu shopping area. It is a very huge shopping area with many shops and the prices are reasonable. I did not shop much there. I came across a very nice shop selling much cute merchandise but the shop is not on business as they are renovating. There several small temples and a big temple near the shopping area. The Buddhist statues in Japan sure are nice. Malaysia’s one is much simpler.
At around 4.30pm, we departed back to Hekinan by train. We need to change train for a few stations before reaching Hekinan. My host father’s youngest daughter, Satoe, just came back from Kyoto. She is a business student studying in Kobe University. She had just graduated recently. It is nice talking to her. My host father brought me to a “yukata” shop to buy a set of yukata before dinner. The whole set, including bag and shoes, cost 3,900 Yen, slightly more than RM100. We also went to the supermarket to buy some souvenirs (food). My host father paid for them.
My host family sure likes Western food. Satoe likes spaghetti a lot. The restaurant that we went to for dinner have a variety of spaghetti, such as spaghetti fried with olive oil. It was tasty. They ordered some other popular dishes there. I like the one with the fried bread and cheese on top and rice in the bottom. It is really tasty!
My host mother helped me to dress up for my “yukata”. She even gave me a set of her old “yukata” as a present for my mum. That “yukata” itself cost RM600, it is handmade and the quality is good.
Day 6 in Japan
June 8, Thursday – We were told that we were unable to get a bath in the morning as it was too early. Normally the Japanese do not bath in the morning. Around 6.40am, the bathing side was available. Zi Qi and I faster rushed down to take our bath. The whole hot spring was empty. We had breakfast at around 7.45am. They have a culture of mixing the raw egg and eat with the rice, which we Malaysians find it unusual. At around 8pm, we departed.
Our next destination is “Sanzen-in”, a temple near our hotel. This temple has a very nice garden, it is cooling and quiet. The monk there explained to us the cultures of Japanese Buddhism. At 10.25am, we departed to Nara. The trip took more than 2 hours.
At around 1pm, we reached Nara. As we were approaching “Todaiji”, a temple in Nara, we saw many deer along the way. They were running in the wild, almost everywhere in the park. As we approached the temple, we saw even more of them. The crowd was feeding them with special biscuits (only for deer). Many stalls outside of the temple were selling deer soft toys. Before touring in the temple, we had our lunch outside, in one of the stalls. The food there is more expensive than in Kyoto. I ordered a dish with a mixture of fried pork, half-cooked egg and rice. It was delicious. The meal cost 900 Yen. The place was packed with school children and high school students. The primary school students are very cute with their yellow caps on. Everything in “Todaiji” is huge, from the gates, statues to the building. It is amazing! I wonder how they built this temple in the ancient times.
About 3pm, we departed to Igaryu Ninja Museum. It was drizzling as we reached. They demonstrated some of the Ninja skills and techniques. It was interesting. Then, we explored the museum on our own. Ninja is like a special squad. Normally they work as farmers to hide their true identities. They worked in the dark, and not as bodyguards. Ninjas have 6 disguise to hide their identity when they are on a mission. Those special techniques in the animation, “Naruto” are merely a fiction.
At around 5pm, we departed back to Hekinan. On our way there, we stopped by a 100 Yen shop in a shopping mall. The gaming center there is really nice. The toys and prizes are fabulous. There is a lot of machines in which you can put in some coins, normally about 100-200 Yen and draw out an item. I bought quite a number of stuff in the 100 Yen shop.
My host parents brought me to a new Western café for supper. They ordered a tiny pizza for me. The decorations of the restaurant is very nice, it is based on the Disneyland theme.
Our next destination is “Sanzen-in”, a temple near our hotel. This temple has a very nice garden, it is cooling and quiet. The monk there explained to us the cultures of Japanese Buddhism. At 10.25am, we departed to Nara. The trip took more than 2 hours.
At around 1pm, we reached Nara. As we were approaching “Todaiji”, a temple in Nara, we saw many deer along the way. They were running in the wild, almost everywhere in the park. As we approached the temple, we saw even more of them. The crowd was feeding them with special biscuits (only for deer). Many stalls outside of the temple were selling deer soft toys. Before touring in the temple, we had our lunch outside, in one of the stalls. The food there is more expensive than in Kyoto. I ordered a dish with a mixture of fried pork, half-cooked egg and rice. It was delicious. The meal cost 900 Yen. The place was packed with school children and high school students. The primary school students are very cute with their yellow caps on. Everything in “Todaiji” is huge, from the gates, statues to the building. It is amazing! I wonder how they built this temple in the ancient times.
About 3pm, we departed to Igaryu Ninja Museum. It was drizzling as we reached. They demonstrated some of the Ninja skills and techniques. It was interesting. Then, we explored the museum on our own. Ninja is like a special squad. Normally they work as farmers to hide their true identities. They worked in the dark, and not as bodyguards. Ninjas have 6 disguise to hide their identity when they are on a mission. Those special techniques in the animation, “Naruto” are merely a fiction.
At around 5pm, we departed back to Hekinan. On our way there, we stopped by a 100 Yen shop in a shopping mall. The gaming center there is really nice. The toys and prizes are fabulous. There is a lot of machines in which you can put in some coins, normally about 100-200 Yen and draw out an item. I bought quite a number of stuff in the 100 Yen shop.
My host parents brought me to a new Western café for supper. They ordered a tiny pizza for me. The decorations of the restaurant is very nice, it is based on the Disneyland theme.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Day 5 in Japan
June 7, Wednesday – At 8am, we gathered at City Hall. With 2 cars, Ogasawara’s and my host father’s rented car, we departed to Kyoto. My host mother and her friend, and Janice’s host sister also joined the trip. We had our lunch at around 12pm, in one of the restaurants found on our way to Kyoto. The restaurant was relatively cheap and each of us can order anything within 1,000 yen. The girls’ table ordered a set meal each and several side dishes while the guys’ side was over budget.
At around 1.10pm, we arrived at “sanjuusangendo”, a temple famous for its 1001 Buddhist statues. At around 2pm, we departed to the gold temple, “kinkakuji”. Visitors are not allowed to enter the building. The building was made up of pure gold. Then, we visited Heianji. We saw 2 girls dressing up in “kimono” and dragged them for some photos. I made a draw for foretelling my luck and it is “good”. My host mother and her friend went for some shopping and took a train back to Hekinan after that.
Then, we headed to a hotspring called “Oharo no Sato”, which means inside the great valley. It is located deep in the mountains as the name indicates. But, I like it there. It is very peaceful. Our plan to go for shopping at night was spoilt as the place is very deserted and impossible to get public transport around there. It is not a natural hotspring and it is much smaller than I thought. Around 4 of us stayed in a room. There were uniforms in the form of “yukata” prepared for us. All of us were shy as we need to get undress before entering the pool. The male and female pools were separated. The guys seemed to be very excited.
We had steamboat for dinner. After dinner, we had a scroll nearby. It was spooky as it was not well lightened around there. We headed back to the hotel and gathered at Boon Kiat’s room, transferring photos, chit-chatting, eating some snacks and taking photos. I think we were quite noisy. Even from other rooms on the same level, I could hear the noise coming from Boon Kiat’s room. On that night, we all slept with our “yukata” on.
At around 1.10pm, we arrived at “sanjuusangendo”, a temple famous for its 1001 Buddhist statues. At around 2pm, we departed to the gold temple, “kinkakuji”. Visitors are not allowed to enter the building. The building was made up of pure gold. Then, we visited Heianji. We saw 2 girls dressing up in “kimono” and dragged them for some photos. I made a draw for foretelling my luck and it is “good”. My host mother and her friend went for some shopping and took a train back to Hekinan after that.
Then, we headed to a hotspring called “Oharo no Sato”, which means inside the great valley. It is located deep in the mountains as the name indicates. But, I like it there. It is very peaceful. Our plan to go for shopping at night was spoilt as the place is very deserted and impossible to get public transport around there. It is not a natural hotspring and it is much smaller than I thought. Around 4 of us stayed in a room. There were uniforms in the form of “yukata” prepared for us. All of us were shy as we need to get undress before entering the pool. The male and female pools were separated. The guys seemed to be very excited.
We had steamboat for dinner. After dinner, we had a scroll nearby. It was spooky as it was not well lightened around there. We headed back to the hotel and gathered at Boon Kiat’s room, transferring photos, chit-chatting, eating some snacks and taking photos. I think we were quite noisy. Even from other rooms on the same level, I could hear the noise coming from Boon Kiat’s room. On that night, we all slept with our “yukata” on.
Day 4 in Japan
June 6, Tuesday – At around 9am, we gathered at City Hall and visited Hekinan Aquarium by bus. I was delighted to see the sea angels from Hokkaido. It looks like a demon with angel wings. I lost my camera on my way to the aquarium. Luckily someone found it and handed it to the reception at City Hall. Then, we visited a small park with full of Japanese Iris flowers. It is really beautiful. Then, we headed to a primary school in Hekinan.
As we arrived, we need to take off our shoes and wore the slippers in the lockers. 2 of us were assigned to the same classroom and attend the class together with other primary school children. Jian Rong and I were assigned to the international classroom, designed specially for foreign students who are poor in Japanese language and following the normal classes. We were like stars of the day, distributing bookmarks, coins and stamps. Some students even asked us for signatures. We had our lunch at the meeting room of the school. Lunch set was served. I don’t like the milk there. It was terrible.
Then, we headed to Mizkan for a demonstration on the tea ceremony. We all had problems sitting on our knees. It was tiring and I felt that my legs were going to be broken. There are many things more than just a cup of tea. There are manners and procedures to be followed, such as the way we sit and greet as the tea is served.
After the tea ceremony, we visited a new primary school built less than 6 months ago. This new school sure is very advance. There is an elevator and other advance facilities. Then, we headed to a Toyata factoring, doing on engine parts. It is nice seeing the inside of a car factory but I don’t understand their explanation. Then, we visited a wide parking lot with different models of Toyata cars, ready for export.
At around 5pm, we shopped for groceries for our dinner of the night, “sukiyaki”. The main ingredient of this dish is beef. It is a bit like steamboat with less water. We prepared the ingredients before going for the Judo and Kendo session at 7pm. I could not stay there for long without having a nice meal and departed early. I only managed to witness the Judo session. Jian Rong, Masao, Patrick and Audrey joined the practice.
As we arrived, we need to take off our shoes and wore the slippers in the lockers. 2 of us were assigned to the same classroom and attend the class together with other primary school children. Jian Rong and I were assigned to the international classroom, designed specially for foreign students who are poor in Japanese language and following the normal classes. We were like stars of the day, distributing bookmarks, coins and stamps. Some students even asked us for signatures. We had our lunch at the meeting room of the school. Lunch set was served. I don’t like the milk there. It was terrible.
Then, we headed to Mizkan for a demonstration on the tea ceremony. We all had problems sitting on our knees. It was tiring and I felt that my legs were going to be broken. There are many things more than just a cup of tea. There are manners and procedures to be followed, such as the way we sit and greet as the tea is served.
After the tea ceremony, we visited a new primary school built less than 6 months ago. This new school sure is very advance. There is an elevator and other advance facilities. Then, we headed to a Toyata factoring, doing on engine parts. It is nice seeing the inside of a car factory but I don’t understand their explanation. Then, we visited a wide parking lot with different models of Toyata cars, ready for export.
At around 5pm, we shopped for groceries for our dinner of the night, “sukiyaki”. The main ingredient of this dish is beef. It is a bit like steamboat with less water. We prepared the ingredients before going for the Judo and Kendo session at 7pm. I could not stay there for long without having a nice meal and departed early. I only managed to witness the Judo session. Jian Rong, Masao, Patrick and Audrey joined the practice.
Day 3 in Japan
June 5, Monday – I have breakfast with my host father at a coffee shop at 8.30am. He ordered sandwich sets for both of us. At 9.15am, we went to my host mother’s shop as it was still early for the next gathering at City Hall. It was a lovely shop with a small garden. I like the atmosphere there. At 9.45am, we arrived at the City Hall for the meeting with the Mayor. It was a very formal occassion. We were on TV and interviewed by newspapers! We even get to visit some of the meeting rooms for EXCOs. At around 12pm, we had lunch at the City Hall’s restaurant. I ordered a small bowl of “tori udon” (chicken noodle).
At 1pm, we visited a vinegar factory. The factory is located beside a river bank. We watched a video clip introducing vinegar and the factory. We had a small tour around the factory after that. It was hard understanding all the explanations in Japanese. At around 3pm, we visited a “sake” (rice wine) factory located nearby. These 2 factories are like brothers, related to each other. I bought a small bottle of unknown “sake” at 390 yen, approximately RM12. At around 3.50pm, we departed to the workplace of the clay dolls by using the Kinuura undersea tunnel. Currently, he is the only person doing it. He will only work when there are orders. Normally there are a lot of orders as festivals are approaching. The dolls are not cheap. After the visit, we had a small visit to Mr Ogasawara’s house before visiting a Japanese dolls shop. The cheapest doll cost 6,000 yen. Normally the dolls come in a pair.
At around 6pm, my host father brought me to an electronic shop to get a pair of batteries before going for our grocery shopping. We had “omuraisu” (egg rice) for dinner. It is very much like “nasi pataya” in Malaysia. I helped out in the preparation as well.
At 1pm, we visited a vinegar factory. The factory is located beside a river bank. We watched a video clip introducing vinegar and the factory. We had a small tour around the factory after that. It was hard understanding all the explanations in Japanese. At around 3pm, we visited a “sake” (rice wine) factory located nearby. These 2 factories are like brothers, related to each other. I bought a small bottle of unknown “sake” at 390 yen, approximately RM12. At around 3.50pm, we departed to the workplace of the clay dolls by using the Kinuura undersea tunnel. Currently, he is the only person doing it. He will only work when there are orders. Normally there are a lot of orders as festivals are approaching. The dolls are not cheap. After the visit, we had a small visit to Mr Ogasawara’s house before visiting a Japanese dolls shop. The cheapest doll cost 6,000 yen. Normally the dolls come in a pair.
At around 6pm, my host father brought me to an electronic shop to get a pair of batteries before going for our grocery shopping. We had “omuraisu” (egg rice) for dinner. It is very much like “nasi pataya” in Malaysia. I helped out in the preparation as well.
Monbugakusho Interview
June 20, Tuesday – I went to KL with the 10.30am bus yesterday. At around 7.30pm, I headed to Japan Embassy for my Monbugakusho scholarship. I departed from Aunty Good Cam’s house to Taman Bahagia station. It was raining and the traffic was heavy. From there, I took the LRT to Ampang Park. Almost every train was packed like sardines in the tin. I was unable to squeeze in for the first train and need to wait for more than 5 minutes for the next train. It sure was scary. Most of the passengers went down at the Masjid Jamek station. I took around 20 minutes to reach the Japan Embassy from Ampang Park by foot. My luggage was getting more and more heavy. As I reached, I need to fill in a form before entering the embassy. Japan Information Center is located on the upper floor of the building. I arrived slightly before the appointment time. Another candidate was already there as I arrived. Another lady from the embassy was arranging her documents and performing checking on them. 9am stated in the letter is actually the registration time and not the interview time.
My interview started at 9.30am and it took around 20 minutes. There were 5 panels – 3 Japanese and 2 Malaysians. One of the Japanese can speak fluent English despite his age. The questions were relatively general, regarding to the scholarship application, such as “why choose Japan?”, “explain about your thesis”, “any university that you want to go to?” and so on. I was very anxious before that. Then, I headed to Ampang Park with the help of another candidate and stayed at McDonald’s for about an hour before going to Puduraya. I arrived at Penang at around 5.45pm.
My interview started at 9.30am and it took around 20 minutes. There were 5 panels – 3 Japanese and 2 Malaysians. One of the Japanese can speak fluent English despite his age. The questions were relatively general, regarding to the scholarship application, such as “why choose Japan?”, “explain about your thesis”, “any university that you want to go to?” and so on. I was very anxious before that. Then, I headed to Ampang Park with the help of another candidate and stayed at McDonald’s for about an hour before going to Puduraya. I arrived at Penang at around 5.45pm.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
"You are beautiful"
Here is something interesting from my senior, Tie.
It is a modified lyrics based on the song, "You are beautiful" by James Blunt (found somewhere in the internet):
My job is stupid,
My day's a bore,
Inside this office,
From 8 to 4.
Nothing ever happens,
My life is pretty blank,
Pretending that I am working,
Pray that I don't get canned.
My cubicle, my cubicle,
It's 1 of 62,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
Just a six by six board booth,
And I hate it, that's the truth.
When I give a sigh,
As the boss walks by,
No one ever talks to me,
Or looks at me in the eye,
And I really should work,
But instead I just sit here,
And surf the internet.
And my cubicle, my cubicle,
It doesn't have a view,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
I sit inside there too,
And sometimes I sit here nude.
It is a modified lyrics based on the song, "You are beautiful" by James Blunt (found somewhere in the internet):
My job is stupid,
My day's a bore,
Inside this office,
From 8 to 4.
Nothing ever happens,
My life is pretty blank,
Pretending that I am working,
Pray that I don't get canned.
My cubicle, my cubicle,
It's 1 of 62,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
Just a six by six board booth,
And I hate it, that's the truth.
When I give a sigh,
As the boss walks by,
No one ever talks to me,
Or looks at me in the eye,
And I really should work,
But instead I just sit here,
And surf the internet.
And my cubicle, my cubicle,
It doesn't have a view,
It's my small space,
In a crowded place,
I sit inside there too,
And sometimes I sit here nude.
Busy!
For visitors who are expecting my remaining posts on my trip to Japan, I would like to apologize for the delay. I think that I will only complete them by next weekend. This week is a busy one, busy filling in my scholarship applications. There are many unusual requirements for the applications and they are giving me a big headache. I have to write 4 essays in total for my ASJA application - 2 essays with 400 words and another 2 essays with 800 words. Today I spend my whole day on the road, going here and there to do a last minute medical checkup. From morning to afternoon, there is traffic jam almost everywhere. There are many examinations to it and it costs RM155 in total, you can see a big hole in my pocket now.
My mum is very anxious on the application. At 5.30pm, I rushed down to Victoria Road near the Ferry terminal from my house in Sg. Ara with my dad, just to send the application by post laju. We were 10 minutes late as we arrived. After much negotiation and begging with the officer in-charged, she let us send the letter by today. Phew~ The heavy traffic is still the same when I headed back to my home. It is a tiring day indeed.
My mum is very anxious on the application. At 5.30pm, I rushed down to Victoria Road near the Ferry terminal from my house in Sg. Ara with my dad, just to send the application by post laju. We were 10 minutes late as we arrived. After much negotiation and begging with the officer in-charged, she let us send the letter by today. Phew~ The heavy traffic is still the same when I headed back to my home. It is a tiring day indeed.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Day 2 in Japan
June 14, Sunday – Today is family day. There was no specific schedule for the day. It was up to our host families on where they are going to bring us to. Early in the morning, I had breakfast with my host father. He prepared the dishes. At 8.30am, Ogasawa-san and his wife arrived. As my host father was busy, I spent the day with the Ogasawa family instead. It was about 24 Celcius. We went to several places in Mie-ken. It took us around 2 hours to reach there. Mrs. Ogasawa was very talkative. Both of them can speak a bit of English, broken but understandable. I was riding on a new Nissan car which can take up to a maximum of 8 passengers. I like its automatic doors and navigation system. When the driver uses the reverse gear, the screen will change to the scene at the back of the car. It is very convenient for the driver. On the way, we went thru the Triton Bridge - 3 different bridges, with the same design but different colors (blue, white and red). They have ETC (Electronic Toll System) which is similar to SmartTag in Malaysia.
First, we went to Meiwachuu. There was a festival there called “Saioh Matsuri”. It was a traditional celebration. “Saioh” is a title given the princess chosen by the king. She will lead the other princesses and supports in the country’s administration. There were many stalls there selling food, goods and games. There was traditional musical instrument performance. Then, we headed to the Saioh Museum. There was a performance on “kamishibai” there. “kamishibai” is paper drama. As the narrators narrate about the story of Saioh, the pictures change to show different scenes of the story. The famous food for this city is dried Udon (dried noodle). I do not find it tasty. I still prefer the one with soup.
After lunch, we headed to “Saioh no Mori” (Saioh’s Forest). There was a demonstration on the Saioh ceremony there. The ceremony started at 1pm. It was a long wait under the sun. There was a huge crowd over there. The ceremony lasted for about 2 hours. We visited the Japanese Iris plantation after that. It was a small pond with some Iris flowers. Saioh is somehow related to Iris, which is once a commonly found flower in the area.
Then, we headed to Isejin. Isejin is the biggest temple in Japan. On occasions, the Emperor visited the temple. The compound of the temple is huge, covering rivers and mountains surrounding it. The river there is called Isuzukawa. They believe that the God that guards the jungle lives there and worship it. The architecture of the temple is also interesting. There is a tradition for this temple. Every 20 years, they will tear it off and build it at another location located almost beside it. There are 2 locations and the temple will be build alternating between them. This tradition is in order to preserve the knowledge of building temples so that it will not be lost. However, they have recently changed the tradition to 25 years instead. There has been more than 60 times since they destroy and rebuilt this temple. There will be another 7 more years to go before they rebuild the temple on a new location.
Then, we visited the small shopping area beside Isejin. There are many shops with old architecture there. I love it! There are many interesting things to be seen there, such as handicrafts, food etc. There is a very famous shop there for Akago, a sort of rice cake with red bean sauce inside. It is extremely tasty. It was wonderful enjoying the delicacy beside the river bank, with a cup of green tea. 3 Akago cost 280 Yen.
There was a traffic jam on the way back. The petrol stations in Japan use automatic payment machines to sell petrol and hiring minimum workers. A liter of petrol cost around 115 Yen in Japan, almost double the price of petrol in Malaysia.
Then, we headed to Sugiura Kazuhiko’s house for a party. It was Patrik’s host family. There were many people there and the place was crowded. Most of them were friends. As I arrived, most of the food had been clear off. At around 9pm, I headed back with the Ogasawa family.
First, we went to Meiwachuu. There was a festival there called “Saioh Matsuri”. It was a traditional celebration. “Saioh” is a title given the princess chosen by the king. She will lead the other princesses and supports in the country’s administration. There were many stalls there selling food, goods and games. There was traditional musical instrument performance. Then, we headed to the Saioh Museum. There was a performance on “kamishibai” there. “kamishibai” is paper drama. As the narrators narrate about the story of Saioh, the pictures change to show different scenes of the story. The famous food for this city is dried Udon (dried noodle). I do not find it tasty. I still prefer the one with soup.
After lunch, we headed to “Saioh no Mori” (Saioh’s Forest). There was a demonstration on the Saioh ceremony there. The ceremony started at 1pm. It was a long wait under the sun. There was a huge crowd over there. The ceremony lasted for about 2 hours. We visited the Japanese Iris plantation after that. It was a small pond with some Iris flowers. Saioh is somehow related to Iris, which is once a commonly found flower in the area.
Then, we headed to Isejin. Isejin is the biggest temple in Japan. On occasions, the Emperor visited the temple. The compound of the temple is huge, covering rivers and mountains surrounding it. The river there is called Isuzukawa. They believe that the God that guards the jungle lives there and worship it. The architecture of the temple is also interesting. There is a tradition for this temple. Every 20 years, they will tear it off and build it at another location located almost beside it. There are 2 locations and the temple will be build alternating between them. This tradition is in order to preserve the knowledge of building temples so that it will not be lost. However, they have recently changed the tradition to 25 years instead. There has been more than 60 times since they destroy and rebuilt this temple. There will be another 7 more years to go before they rebuild the temple on a new location.
Then, we visited the small shopping area beside Isejin. There are many shops with old architecture there. I love it! There are many interesting things to be seen there, such as handicrafts, food etc. There is a very famous shop there for Akago, a sort of rice cake with red bean sauce inside. It is extremely tasty. It was wonderful enjoying the delicacy beside the river bank, with a cup of green tea. 3 Akago cost 280 Yen.
There was a traffic jam on the way back. The petrol stations in Japan use automatic payment machines to sell petrol and hiring minimum workers. A liter of petrol cost around 115 Yen in Japan, almost double the price of petrol in Malaysia.
Then, we headed to Sugiura Kazuhiko’s house for a party. It was Patrik’s host family. There were many people there and the place was crowded. Most of them were friends. As I arrived, most of the food had been clear off. At around 9pm, I headed back with the Ogasawa family.
Day 1 in Japan
June 3, Saturday – We arrived at Chubu Airport, Nagoya at around 7am. Our host families should be waiting for our arrival. I was worried when almost all the host families had arrived and my host father was nowhere to be seen. He was a bit late. Ogasawa-san, the head organizer of this year’s home stay greeted us. Then, we introduced ourselves according to our numbering. Then, we departed with our host families. My host father, Shigeyuki Kurauchi is very friendly. Chubu Airport is something like KL Central, a center for several transportations. It is a station for train, ship and flight. We headed to Hekinan City, where I am going to stay with his Toyota Crown, Royal Saloon. It is huge and wide. I love the car boot. I sure can put a lot of things inside. There is a navigation system in his car too!
My host father is a politician. My host mother is the owner of a nurse care center, a sort of service center for disabled senior citizens. I heard that her business is very good. My host father has 4 children – 1 son and 3 daughters. His youngest daughter is the same age as I, a management student in a university in Nagoya. Hekinan City reminded me of Busan, Korea. There are a lot of small shops, the road is not spacious and the electric wires are messy.
It took us around 40 minutes to reach my host father’s house. It is located just beside a road junction. He parked his car at the parking space opposite his house. It is sort of weird for a Malaysian. His house is a traditional wooden Japanese house with a small garden. We quickly unloaded my luggage and headed to a nearby supermarket. All the host families are supposed to gather there and shop for the materials for food of the night. There was a welcome party at night at 2nd floor, Hekinan City Hall. We will be making some Malaysian food for the Japanese to test out. After that I went home with my host father, took a nap and then prepared for my dish, “tang yuan”. My host father helped me out with rolling some of them.
Some of the foods prepared were such as “bak kuh teh”, black rice, “tomyam” and some other desserts. We performed a Chinese dance, 3 songs (namely Negaraku, Permata Dunia and My Neighbour Totoro theme song), demonstration on a bamboo game and introduction to Malay language.
The weather was cooling at night. I should have brought along my jacket.
My host father is a politician. My host mother is the owner of a nurse care center, a sort of service center for disabled senior citizens. I heard that her business is very good. My host father has 4 children – 1 son and 3 daughters. His youngest daughter is the same age as I, a management student in a university in Nagoya. Hekinan City reminded me of Busan, Korea. There are a lot of small shops, the road is not spacious and the electric wires are messy.
It took us around 40 minutes to reach my host father’s house. It is located just beside a road junction. He parked his car at the parking space opposite his house. It is sort of weird for a Malaysian. His house is a traditional wooden Japanese house with a small garden. We quickly unloaded my luggage and headed to a nearby supermarket. All the host families are supposed to gather there and shop for the materials for food of the night. There was a welcome party at night at 2nd floor, Hekinan City Hall. We will be making some Malaysian food for the Japanese to test out. After that I went home with my host father, took a nap and then prepared for my dish, “tang yuan”. My host father helped me out with rolling some of them.
Some of the foods prepared were such as “bak kuh teh”, black rice, “tomyam” and some other desserts. We performed a Chinese dance, 3 songs (namely Negaraku, Permata Dunia and My Neighbour Totoro theme song), demonstration on a bamboo game and introduction to Malay language.
The weather was cooling at night. I should have brought along my jacket.
Depart to Japan
Almost every meal was like a feast for my 3 days stay in Banting.
June 2, Friday – At 8.30pm, all the members of this year’s home stay gathered in front of KLIA’s McDonald. The trip consisted of 10 members, excluding sensei. 6 girls and 4 guys from MMU Malacca campus. We will be staying in different host families in Hekinan City as we arrive. Like any other flight that we took before, we check-in our luggage and headed to the immigration, before heading to the departure hall. We took the 11.45pm flight to Nagoya, Japan by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), collaboration with ANAI. It was an air bus, A330. We had a mini hamburger and an omelet breakfast set. Before departing, sensei told me that my host mother is not friendly, making me a bit worry. I was unable to have a nice sleep for the night, not because of the previous matter. Nagoya’s time is 1 hour faster than Malaysia’s.
June 2, Friday – At 8.30pm, all the members of this year’s home stay gathered in front of KLIA’s McDonald. The trip consisted of 10 members, excluding sensei. 6 girls and 4 guys from MMU Malacca campus. We will be staying in different host families in Hekinan City as we arrive. Like any other flight that we took before, we check-in our luggage and headed to the immigration, before heading to the departure hall. We took the 11.45pm flight to Nagoya, Japan by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), collaboration with ANAI. It was an air bus, A330. We had a mini hamburger and an omelet breakfast set. Before departing, sensei told me that my host mother is not friendly, making me a bit worry. I was unable to have a nice sleep for the night, not because of the previous matter. Nagoya’s time is 1 hour faster than Malaysia’s.
End of Exam!
There were a number of gatherings to attend to after my last paper.
June 25, Thursday – ISE students had a small photo session after our TRQ paper. It was nice. I had dinner with Jin, my FYP supervisor, Ms. Tee Connie and Mr. Michael Goh at TC Spring, around 6.30pm.
June 26, Friday - I went to Security and Finance department to complete my Clearance Form. I wonder why we need to do it manually. They should be able to do them automatically since everything is online. Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I went to TC Spring for lunch and then headed to Mahkota Parade (MP). We watched “Da Vinci Code” at around 2.30pm. The movie is quite okay but too much information to be absorbed, much about Christianity. Then, we headed to Capitol Satay Celup for dinner. It cost RM0.50 per stick. Our last destination is Jongker Walk. As it was drizzling before that, there were not as many people as usual.
June 27, Saturday - We had a small gathering of 9 people among our gang at 12pm, TC Spring. We ordered 6 dishes. It was like a feast. I sent Soon Jin and Xiao Wan off to Melaka Sentral after that.
I went for a gathering at UA (University Apartment) at 8pm. There was not much food. The barbeque fire was up quite late. There were more than 20 people, fewer than I expected. Melvin invited me to Pure Bar after the barbeque. Ai Chin and I headed there with a few other friends at around 11.30pm. It was a 2 storey shop lot. The place was very crowded, barely able to find a place to stand and breadth. The disco lights were making me dizzy. Most of the girls who went there were dressing up sexily. Many drank liquor. I did not like the place at all. I reached home at around 3am after a long wait. It was raining heavily. I was soaking wet as I reached.
June 28, Sunday – I sold one of my 3 layer bookshelf to Ai Chin while Poh Kim sold off his computer table. We moved our stuff there at around 12pm. I last saw her at around 4.30pm with Danny. It was a busy day for packing my stuff.
June 29, Monday – I had dedicated my whole day to house moving. House moving sure was very tiring. It was hard to decide what to throw away and what to keep. There were way too many things! The whole house was extremely dusty and the living room was packed with things. I had use up much of my energy and was extremely exhausted.
June 30, Tuesday – My parents arrived in Malacca at 5am. I packed up the remaining stuff in the morning. My landlord came at 12pm to settle with us about the house deposit. He was very picky. He even brought along a checklist and deducted RM50 for our house’s cleanliness and RM2.50 for each missing keys. I had lunch with Cindy and my family at Family Heritage. The fried taufu with sweet and sour sauce there was nice. My father and brother headed to Cyberjaya first to get the house keys from his landlord. We departed to there after the lorry came and had all the stuff loaded. The lorry only arrived at Cyberjaya at 9pm, one hour after we arrived. Then, we headed to my grandaunt’s house at Banting.
June 25, Thursday – ISE students had a small photo session after our TRQ paper. It was nice. I had dinner with Jin, my FYP supervisor, Ms. Tee Connie and Mr. Michael Goh at TC Spring, around 6.30pm.
June 26, Friday - I went to Security and Finance department to complete my Clearance Form. I wonder why we need to do it manually. They should be able to do them automatically since everything is online. Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I went to TC Spring for lunch and then headed to Mahkota Parade (MP). We watched “Da Vinci Code” at around 2.30pm. The movie is quite okay but too much information to be absorbed, much about Christianity. Then, we headed to Capitol Satay Celup for dinner. It cost RM0.50 per stick. Our last destination is Jongker Walk. As it was drizzling before that, there were not as many people as usual.
June 27, Saturday - We had a small gathering of 9 people among our gang at 12pm, TC Spring. We ordered 6 dishes. It was like a feast. I sent Soon Jin and Xiao Wan off to Melaka Sentral after that.
I went for a gathering at UA (University Apartment) at 8pm. There was not much food. The barbeque fire was up quite late. There were more than 20 people, fewer than I expected. Melvin invited me to Pure Bar after the barbeque. Ai Chin and I headed there with a few other friends at around 11.30pm. It was a 2 storey shop lot. The place was very crowded, barely able to find a place to stand and breadth. The disco lights were making me dizzy. Most of the girls who went there were dressing up sexily. Many drank liquor. I did not like the place at all. I reached home at around 3am after a long wait. It was raining heavily. I was soaking wet as I reached.
June 28, Sunday – I sold one of my 3 layer bookshelf to Ai Chin while Poh Kim sold off his computer table. We moved our stuff there at around 12pm. I last saw her at around 4.30pm with Danny. It was a busy day for packing my stuff.
June 29, Monday – I had dedicated my whole day to house moving. House moving sure was very tiring. It was hard to decide what to throw away and what to keep. There were way too many things! The whole house was extremely dusty and the living room was packed with things. I had use up much of my energy and was extremely exhausted.
June 30, Tuesday – My parents arrived in Malacca at 5am. I packed up the remaining stuff in the morning. My landlord came at 12pm to settle with us about the house deposit. He was very picky. He even brought along a checklist and deducted RM50 for our house’s cleanliness and RM2.50 for each missing keys. I had lunch with Cindy and my family at Family Heritage. The fried taufu with sweet and sour sauce there was nice. My father and brother headed to Cyberjaya first to get the house keys from his landlord. We departed to there after the lorry came and had all the stuff loaded. The lorry only arrived at Cyberjaya at 9pm, one hour after we arrived. Then, we headed to my grandaunt’s house at Banting.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
One more paper to go!
2 subjects down, 1 more subject to go tomorrow. I wonder why I still feel tension after 2 papers. Perhaps I am worrying about unnecessary things. Hmm… perhaps all these are the “unnecessary scenes” according to Tie’s description.
It is almost a year since I last went to Busan, Korea for my training. Time flies. I miss my friends and life there. I did learn a lot of things and gained much experience. I miss the flowers there. They were so beautiful even though it was the end of spring. A list of gatherings and things-to-do are waiting for me after my last paper. I wonder if I will feel relieve after that. House moving is terrible. Ah… I have “collected” many things over these 4 years.
Good luck to all my beloved coursemates and final year students! Don’t give up, only a few more papers to go (at most). To all the people I know, I will definitely miss you all.
It is almost a year since I last went to Busan, Korea for my training. Time flies. I miss my friends and life there. I did learn a lot of things and gained much experience. I miss the flowers there. They were so beautiful even though it was the end of spring. A list of gatherings and things-to-do are waiting for me after my last paper. I wonder if I will feel relieve after that. House moving is terrible. Ah… I have “collected” many things over these 4 years.
Good luck to all my beloved coursemates and final year students! Don’t give up, only a few more papers to go (at most). To all the people I know, I will definitely miss you all.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Last Final Exam is Approaching!
Busy, busy, busy! It is the final semester and the last examination is approaching. Tension is in the air. Many people have started revising already. Early preparation is not a usual phenomenon for the previous semesters. I guess the last semester is special.
Here is something interesting written by my senior, Tie, about his point of view of the end of the final semester:
For the past 4 long years you have done what had to be done. For the next couple of days, your fate will be sealed. I will be virtually standing at the other bank of the river to welcome you to a whole new chapter of your life - your career life.
Thus there will only be five possible endings to you for this 'saga':
Quiet satisfying ending (No matter how hard you struggle, your fate is sealed. You're at 2nd lower and no way you can go to 2nd upper. Or you are 1st class and there is not sane way you can drop to 2nd upper. You are done! The climax is over. You are just dragging your story to make it end at 120min!)
Epic ending (With sheer hope and luck perhaps you can change your grade. This is the time of great expectation. If you are 0.04 to the next CGPA group, you are in for a heck of a time. No guarantee a satisfactory ending though)
Unnecessary scenes (You are in 2nd upper and somehow you want get a better 2nd upper...or perhaps you're in 1st class and you just wanna get 3.93. This is the type of sequence where usually never make it to the final release in cinema version. You will find this in 'deleted scenes' in DVD releases)
Evil-never-die ending (Somehow you have a dead serious feeling that you are going to fail a paper or so and get an extension. This is like you watch a horror movie where the evil dude just never dies. Imagine Freddy Vs Jason...those two goons can never die. Freddy spawns 7 episodes while Jason spawns 10 episodes)
Tear jerker ending (You slipped one CGPA grade...you finish your 'saga' but you drop a grade. Stuff just happens! This is like one of those movie where the lead character died...like that in the overly budgeted, over-earned, over-hyped Titanic)
So...life is a movie. I will be welcoming you to your new chapter of your life. Life where there is not definite 'final episode'.
Here is something interesting written by my senior, Tie, about his point of view of the end of the final semester:
For the past 4 long years you have done what had to be done. For the next couple of days, your fate will be sealed. I will be virtually standing at the other bank of the river to welcome you to a whole new chapter of your life - your career life.
Thus there will only be five possible endings to you for this 'saga':
Quiet satisfying ending (No matter how hard you struggle, your fate is sealed. You're at 2nd lower and no way you can go to 2nd upper. Or you are 1st class and there is not sane way you can drop to 2nd upper. You are done! The climax is over. You are just dragging your story to make it end at 120min!)
Epic ending (With sheer hope and luck perhaps you can change your grade. This is the time of great expectation. If you are 0.04 to the next CGPA group, you are in for a heck of a time. No guarantee a satisfactory ending though)
Unnecessary scenes (You are in 2nd upper and somehow you want get a better 2nd upper...or perhaps you're in 1st class and you just wanna get 3.93. This is the type of sequence where usually never make it to the final release in cinema version. You will find this in 'deleted scenes' in DVD releases)
Evil-never-die ending (Somehow you have a dead serious feeling that you are going to fail a paper or so and get an extension. This is like you watch a horror movie where the evil dude just never dies. Imagine Freddy Vs Jason...those two goons can never die. Freddy spawns 7 episodes while Jason spawns 10 episodes)
Tear jerker ending (You slipped one CGPA grade...you finish your 'saga' but you drop a grade. Stuff just happens! This is like one of those movie where the lead character died...like that in the overly budgeted, over-earned, over-hyped Titanic)
So...life is a movie. I will be welcoming you to your new chapter of your life. Life where there is not definite 'final episode'.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Week #13
Currently, I am still jobless. I am tired of looking for jobs now. Let me enjoy the rest of my university life.
3 more weeks to go and it is going to be the end of my university life. This week is another busy one.
May 1, Monday - 1st of May is Labor Day and it is a public holiday. For the first time, I went to Tesco this trimester. They are currently doing some extension renovation, meaning there are fewer car parks. I went there at around 10am in the morning with Pei Juan and my brother. The place was full of cars and there were traffic jams everywhere. It was terrible and the sale was disappointing. Shopping in Penang is still the best! After getting all the ingredients that we want for ABC soup and “tang yuan”, we headed to my house for cooking. Pei Juan taught me how to make “tang yuan” and it was nice when it was freshly served. Pei Juan’s ABC soup was a bit too sour because there were too many tomatoes. It was a nice day cooking together. My stomach was full of water.
May 2, Tuesday - After my class, Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I headed to Malacca Sentral to fetch Wan Chiew before going to Mahkota Parade (MP). It had been a long time since all of us go out together. Finally, the girl’s gang was on the move! We had our lunch at Shibaraku’s Teppanyaki restaurant. The shop’s design is nice, but inconvenient. There are no toilets in the restaurant and customers need to walk over to the original shop next door for that. We ordered the set meals. The chef will prepare the ingredients and cook in front of us. The salmon set is the most worthy one, despite being a bit more expensive. I still prefer the original Shibaraku restaurant. We bought tickets to a movie called “Fragile” as there are no other interesting movies listed. It is a horror movie by Calista Flockhart, starring as Ally in the series “Ally McBeal”. I did not expect her to perform in such a serious movie. Hui Shan and I were so scared that we hold on to our bags tightly as we watched. The movie is better than I thought. I got a call from my mum later in the evening. She received a letter from the Japan Embassy, about an exam for the postgraduate scholarship this Sunday. I was a bit reluctant to go to KL for that as I have being going to KL quite frequently recently, for various reasons.
May 3, Wednesday - Pei Juan, Jian Rong, Boon Kiat and I departed to KL with the 8am bus. We were going there to collect our passports and visa from the Japan Embassy. It was my first visit there. As we reached, we took Putra from Pasar Seni to Ampang Park. Then, we headed there by foot. Due to some mistakes, we were walking in round before reaching the embassy, which is located just beside the road. Along the way, we came across the Singapore Embassy, Vietnam Embassy and Pakistan Embassy. Some other embassies that we came across were such as America Embassy and British Embassy. It is indeed a day’s tour of embassies. The weather was too good, 33 Celcius. We had been walking under the sun for a few kilometers and around 30 minutes before reaching Japan Embassy. After collecting our documents, we went to Pizza Hut at Ampang Park for lunch. The lunch in the air-con room was simply delicious (I think everything is nice when you are hungry and dehydrating). I ordered a set of Express Combo for RM9.10, including tax. It comes with a personal pan pizza, breadstick, soup-of-the-day and a glass of soft drinks. The soup was too watery but the other dishes were okay. After our lunch, we took a taxi to Low Yat and then to PWTC. There was an exhibition there for machineries. Pei Juan was very excited about it. Each of us got some paper bags, pamphlets and “metals” back as souvenirs.
May 4, Thursday – I attended the “supposing” last class for Software Reliability and Quality Assurance and Human Machine Interface lecture. I think I am running out of mood to attend classes now, was not paying much attention to the lectures. I want holiday! I want vacation!
May 5, Friday – There was a dancing practice for all the participants of the homestay. I have not being dancing for the past 4 years. It was good to dance again in a sense. Suddenly, I miss my seniors in Rangers. They are very nice and one of them passed away already. She was the main instructor for the traditional dance which I first performed. She is always so kind and patient. Dancing is a good exercise and it a good activity for knowing each other better. It was a tiring day indeed.
May 6, Saturday – My brother and I went to the tyre shop to get his car 2 new tyres. Then, I began packing for my trip to KL. Jian Rong and Gan joined me for the trip. We were going to stay a night at Aunty Good Cam’s place in PJ. We took a bus there after reaching Puduraya. We had problem finding the right bus as there were too many buses and too many people. We took bus no. 6 there at RM2 each. An aunty from Australia welcomed us as we reached. We put our bags at aunty’s house before going out for dinner at the nearby shop lots. We explored ourselves around the area after we had our dinner. As we reached home, we had a rest and did some chatting with aunty’s youngest son, Yeh Ern. Uncle seemed to be very busy on that day. Yeh Ern lends us his room for the night while Jian Rong slept downstairs, in the reading room. It was raining heavily. I had problems sleeping nicely due to the coldness.
May 7, Sunday – Around 6.15am, we woke up and prepared ourselves for the exam. We called a taxi and headed to Puduraya. The taxi cost RM12, with RM1 as service charge. We walked to Confucian Private High School, which is very near to Puduraya bus station. As we arrived, it was quite early and only a few students were there. There were more than 200 students applying for the scholarship but at least more than 10 people were absent for the exam. According to the examinee, they will select 50 candidates for interview, based on the exam. From these 50 candidates, they will select 20-30 people for the postgraduate scholarship. The exam hall was freezing cold. I was silvering even with the jacket on. I was surprised to see some of my other MMU friends there, such as Chin Nee and BJun. The English for the English paper is weird. It is the Japanese-style of English. There are 3 Japanese papers, each with different levels of difficulties. A is the easiest and C is the toughest. Each paper takes an hour. Candidates with no Japanese language proficiency need not take the Japanese papers. Only around 50% of the candidates took the Japanese papers. The exam ended at 1.20pm. I met with Travis kor kor for a very short lunch at a beef noodle restaurant before heading back to Malacca at 2.30pm. The noodles were nice, recommended. The shop is just beside the street, on the same side as McDonalds and Nandos.
3 more weeks to go and it is going to be the end of my university life. This week is another busy one.
May 1, Monday - 1st of May is Labor Day and it is a public holiday. For the first time, I went to Tesco this trimester. They are currently doing some extension renovation, meaning there are fewer car parks. I went there at around 10am in the morning with Pei Juan and my brother. The place was full of cars and there were traffic jams everywhere. It was terrible and the sale was disappointing. Shopping in Penang is still the best! After getting all the ingredients that we want for ABC soup and “tang yuan”, we headed to my house for cooking. Pei Juan taught me how to make “tang yuan” and it was nice when it was freshly served. Pei Juan’s ABC soup was a bit too sour because there were too many tomatoes. It was a nice day cooking together. My stomach was full of water.
May 2, Tuesday - After my class, Ai Chin, Hui Shan, Mei Shin and I headed to Malacca Sentral to fetch Wan Chiew before going to Mahkota Parade (MP). It had been a long time since all of us go out together. Finally, the girl’s gang was on the move! We had our lunch at Shibaraku’s Teppanyaki restaurant. The shop’s design is nice, but inconvenient. There are no toilets in the restaurant and customers need to walk over to the original shop next door for that. We ordered the set meals. The chef will prepare the ingredients and cook in front of us. The salmon set is the most worthy one, despite being a bit more expensive. I still prefer the original Shibaraku restaurant. We bought tickets to a movie called “Fragile” as there are no other interesting movies listed. It is a horror movie by Calista Flockhart, starring as Ally in the series “Ally McBeal”. I did not expect her to perform in such a serious movie. Hui Shan and I were so scared that we hold on to our bags tightly as we watched. The movie is better than I thought. I got a call from my mum later in the evening. She received a letter from the Japan Embassy, about an exam for the postgraduate scholarship this Sunday. I was a bit reluctant to go to KL for that as I have being going to KL quite frequently recently, for various reasons.
May 3, Wednesday - Pei Juan, Jian Rong, Boon Kiat and I departed to KL with the 8am bus. We were going there to collect our passports and visa from the Japan Embassy. It was my first visit there. As we reached, we took Putra from Pasar Seni to Ampang Park. Then, we headed there by foot. Due to some mistakes, we were walking in round before reaching the embassy, which is located just beside the road. Along the way, we came across the Singapore Embassy, Vietnam Embassy and Pakistan Embassy. Some other embassies that we came across were such as America Embassy and British Embassy. It is indeed a day’s tour of embassies. The weather was too good, 33 Celcius. We had been walking under the sun for a few kilometers and around 30 minutes before reaching Japan Embassy. After collecting our documents, we went to Pizza Hut at Ampang Park for lunch. The lunch in the air-con room was simply delicious (I think everything is nice when you are hungry and dehydrating). I ordered a set of Express Combo for RM9.10, including tax. It comes with a personal pan pizza, breadstick, soup-of-the-day and a glass of soft drinks. The soup was too watery but the other dishes were okay. After our lunch, we took a taxi to Low Yat and then to PWTC. There was an exhibition there for machineries. Pei Juan was very excited about it. Each of us got some paper bags, pamphlets and “metals” back as souvenirs.
May 4, Thursday – I attended the “supposing” last class for Software Reliability and Quality Assurance and Human Machine Interface lecture. I think I am running out of mood to attend classes now, was not paying much attention to the lectures. I want holiday! I want vacation!
May 5, Friday – There was a dancing practice for all the participants of the homestay. I have not being dancing for the past 4 years. It was good to dance again in a sense. Suddenly, I miss my seniors in Rangers. They are very nice and one of them passed away already. She was the main instructor for the traditional dance which I first performed. She is always so kind and patient. Dancing is a good exercise and it a good activity for knowing each other better. It was a tiring day indeed.
May 6, Saturday – My brother and I went to the tyre shop to get his car 2 new tyres. Then, I began packing for my trip to KL. Jian Rong and Gan joined me for the trip. We were going to stay a night at Aunty Good Cam’s place in PJ. We took a bus there after reaching Puduraya. We had problem finding the right bus as there were too many buses and too many people. We took bus no. 6 there at RM2 each. An aunty from Australia welcomed us as we reached. We put our bags at aunty’s house before going out for dinner at the nearby shop lots. We explored ourselves around the area after we had our dinner. As we reached home, we had a rest and did some chatting with aunty’s youngest son, Yeh Ern. Uncle seemed to be very busy on that day. Yeh Ern lends us his room for the night while Jian Rong slept downstairs, in the reading room. It was raining heavily. I had problems sleeping nicely due to the coldness.
May 7, Sunday – Around 6.15am, we woke up and prepared ourselves for the exam. We called a taxi and headed to Puduraya. The taxi cost RM12, with RM1 as service charge. We walked to Confucian Private High School, which is very near to Puduraya bus station. As we arrived, it was quite early and only a few students were there. There were more than 200 students applying for the scholarship but at least more than 10 people were absent for the exam. According to the examinee, they will select 50 candidates for interview, based on the exam. From these 50 candidates, they will select 20-30 people for the postgraduate scholarship. The exam hall was freezing cold. I was silvering even with the jacket on. I was surprised to see some of my other MMU friends there, such as Chin Nee and BJun. The English for the English paper is weird. It is the Japanese-style of English. There are 3 Japanese papers, each with different levels of difficulties. A is the easiest and C is the toughest. Each paper takes an hour. Candidates with no Japanese language proficiency need not take the Japanese papers. Only around 50% of the candidates took the Japanese papers. The exam ended at 1.20pm. I met with Travis kor kor for a very short lunch at a beef noodle restaurant before heading back to Malacca at 2.30pm. The noodles were nice, recommended. The shop is just beside the street, on the same side as McDonalds and Nandos.
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