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.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
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.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Review on Honey and Clover
It is a 2005 anime by J.C.Staff based on comedy, drama and romance. The main characters are Takemoto, Morita, Mayama, Yamada, Hagumi (or known as Hagu) and Shuji (or known as “Shuu-chan” by Hagu). Takemoto, Shinobu and Mayama are housemates and arts students of a university in Tokyo.
Characters:
Takemoto is the main character and narrator of the story. He is a nice and considerate person and always takes care of others. He cherishes his friends a lot and easily gets troubled by things happening around him. He is always in doubts when it comes to trouble but find ways to solve it.
Morita is Takemoto, Mayama and Yamada’s senior. He is always skipping class, missing for weeks to do his part-time job mysteriously coming back with dozens of yen notes. He hasn’t been able to graduate due to his poor attendance and late submission of final year project. He is a funny and interesting character. Despite his care-free appearance, he cares for his friends and always in deep thoughts. He is not an expressive person, but has a sharp thinking when problems arise. He has amazing talents in arts and always performs the unexpected.
Mayama is Takemoto’s senior and Morita’s junior. He is a normal art student and taking a part-time job at Harada Design. He always feels pity towards Takemoto for what Morita did to him. But, touch when Takemoto did not give up on helping Morita.
Yamada is an arts student and at the same grade as Mayama. She is good and talented in making pottery. She has feelings for Mayama but she never confessed it. However, Mayama knows about it all along. She actually admires Mayama’s strength to move forward in his career path. She feels lost about it and easily give up when she fails her interviews.
Shuji is lectuer in the university. He is mature and funny. He is protective towards his niece, Hagu, whom he is fond of. He is once an arts student in the university as well.
Hagumi or known as Hagu is a Shuji’s niece from the countryside. Despite her age, the way she look, talk and act is much like a primary school children. She is a new arts student of the university. Her thinking is very straightforward and do not understand the complications of the reality world. Sometimes, she is unable to comprehend her own feelings.
Storyline:
The anime started off with the introduction of the main characters, Takemoto, Morita and Mayama who are housemates. The Hagu’s appearance triggers the love triangle between Takemoto, Morita and Hagu. It is love at first sight for Takemoto and Morita. Hagu is afraid of Morita at first, but her feelings changes for him after that. Takemoto notices Morita and Hagu’s feelings towards each other and is in dilemma on how to face it. Despite his anxiousness, he did not feel hostile towards Morita. Hagu is unable understand her own feelings for Morita but wanted to be with him. Morita’s actions are rather incomprehensible. He is always running away and do not face his feelings for Hagu.
On the other hand, we have another even more complicated love story between Yamada, Mayama and Rika. Yamada has feelings for Mayama. Yamada’s presence is precious for Mayama, but not as a lover. Instead, Mayama is in love with his boss, Rika.
Rika is Shuji’s coursemate in the university. She is fair and timid. Rika, Harada and Shuji are good friends and housemates back then. Rika and Harada are very talented. Shuji has always admired them. Rika and Harada got married and open their own company called Harada Design. However, Harada passed away in a car accident and Rika is unable to forgive herself for causing the accident. From a scene in the anime, we can see that Shuji has feelings towards Rika but he decided to hide them forever and he did it well.
Despite knowing Mayama’s feelings for Rika, Yamada did not let go of her feelings for Mayama. She is in the dilemma of giving up or not and always changes her mind. She is always upset and cries whenever Mayama mention about Rika.
Nomiya is Mayama’s colleague in Fujiwara Design. He is cool and steady. He is interested in Yamada and always observed her from afar. Mayama thinks that he is a playboy and tries to protect Yamada from him. Despite knowing Yamada’s strong feelings for Mayama, he stays by her side and supports her whenever she is upset. He is also a considerate person and view things from different aspects before taking any further actions. Yamada slightly changes her perception about him after that. There is some possibility that Yamada will pair up with Nomiya.
The story is not incomplete and there will be a second season. The story ended with Takemoto confessed his feelings for Hagu.
Characters:
Takemoto is the main character and narrator of the story. He is a nice and considerate person and always takes care of others. He cherishes his friends a lot and easily gets troubled by things happening around him. He is always in doubts when it comes to trouble but find ways to solve it.
Morita is Takemoto, Mayama and Yamada’s senior. He is always skipping class, missing for weeks to do his part-time job mysteriously coming back with dozens of yen notes. He hasn’t been able to graduate due to his poor attendance and late submission of final year project. He is a funny and interesting character. Despite his care-free appearance, he cares for his friends and always in deep thoughts. He is not an expressive person, but has a sharp thinking when problems arise. He has amazing talents in arts and always performs the unexpected.
Mayama is Takemoto’s senior and Morita’s junior. He is a normal art student and taking a part-time job at Harada Design. He always feels pity towards Takemoto for what Morita did to him. But, touch when Takemoto did not give up on helping Morita.
Yamada is an arts student and at the same grade as Mayama. She is good and talented in making pottery. She has feelings for Mayama but she never confessed it. However, Mayama knows about it all along. She actually admires Mayama’s strength to move forward in his career path. She feels lost about it and easily give up when she fails her interviews.
Shuji is lectuer in the university. He is mature and funny. He is protective towards his niece, Hagu, whom he is fond of. He is once an arts student in the university as well.
Hagumi or known as Hagu is a Shuji’s niece from the countryside. Despite her age, the way she look, talk and act is much like a primary school children. She is a new arts student of the university. Her thinking is very straightforward and do not understand the complications of the reality world. Sometimes, she is unable to comprehend her own feelings.
Storyline:
The anime started off with the introduction of the main characters, Takemoto, Morita and Mayama who are housemates. The Hagu’s appearance triggers the love triangle between Takemoto, Morita and Hagu. It is love at first sight for Takemoto and Morita. Hagu is afraid of Morita at first, but her feelings changes for him after that. Takemoto notices Morita and Hagu’s feelings towards each other and is in dilemma on how to face it. Despite his anxiousness, he did not feel hostile towards Morita. Hagu is unable understand her own feelings for Morita but wanted to be with him. Morita’s actions are rather incomprehensible. He is always running away and do not face his feelings for Hagu.
On the other hand, we have another even more complicated love story between Yamada, Mayama and Rika. Yamada has feelings for Mayama. Yamada’s presence is precious for Mayama, but not as a lover. Instead, Mayama is in love with his boss, Rika.
Rika is Shuji’s coursemate in the university. She is fair and timid. Rika, Harada and Shuji are good friends and housemates back then. Rika and Harada are very talented. Shuji has always admired them. Rika and Harada got married and open their own company called Harada Design. However, Harada passed away in a car accident and Rika is unable to forgive herself for causing the accident. From a scene in the anime, we can see that Shuji has feelings towards Rika but he decided to hide them forever and he did it well.
Despite knowing Mayama’s feelings for Rika, Yamada did not let go of her feelings for Mayama. She is in the dilemma of giving up or not and always changes her mind. She is always upset and cries whenever Mayama mention about Rika.
Nomiya is Mayama’s colleague in Fujiwara Design. He is cool and steady. He is interested in Yamada and always observed her from afar. Mayama thinks that he is a playboy and tries to protect Yamada from him. Despite knowing Yamada’s strong feelings for Mayama, he stays by her side and supports her whenever she is upset. He is also a considerate person and view things from different aspects before taking any further actions. Yamada slightly changes her perception about him after that. There is some possibility that Yamada will pair up with Nomiya.
The story is not incomplete and there will be a second season. The story ended with Takemoto confessed his feelings for Hagu.
Week #12
Finally! The first submission for FYP was over. I am feeling a bit more relaxing now. I was hardly taking any nice sleep last week and my eyes are a bit swollen, not very obvious though. I rushed to Digital Image Lab at 9am on Friday for my report printing and a girl was already there, printing. The HP laser printer there sure is fast. I finished printing more than 150 pages in less than 15 minutes.
I was invited as a speaker for the Technopreneur seminar last Saturday. There were far more attendees than I expected and they all dressed up very formally. This made me a bit nervous. Ryan and I shared the presentation session. Our presentation is not quite relevant to the seminar on that day and one of the attendees pinpointed us about this. It was Justin whom I know about 2 years ago. His attitude is still the same as always, going around looking for trouble. He could have asked the question in a better way, instead of being so harsh.
Last Sunday, all the homestay students and sensei went to JJ for shopping at 10.30am. There were 6 people in total for my car. We were like squeezing ourselves in a sardine can on our trip there. It actually took 3 hours to get all the “uniforms”. The scenario is really weird. A whole bunch of people, going there, and buy the same design of shirt/slack. Everyone’s taste and preference are different and it is really difficult to compensate for each other. Another problem face would be the size for the same shirt/slack. They are always running out of stock.
On Wednesday, I attended a BBQ party at sensei’s house to welcome the visit of Sugiura-san, one of the host families for last year’s homestay and perhaps for this year as well. Before the party, Gan, Pei Juan and I went to the children’s playground in the condominium. It is a very nice place as it is windy and there are no mosquitoes. I enjoyed myself playing the swing. I felt like flying in the air as the wind blew. Everyone was hungry before the party started. They aimed for the instantly available food such as “onigiri”, potato salad, “oden” and Japanese-style pizza rather than the BBQ food. Andy was busy indulging himself with the food. They arrived quite late and most of the food was already finished. Luckily we reserved some food for them. This meeting session turned out to be a mini autograph session. We got home quite late as we were lost after sending Gan home at Malim.
I was invited as a speaker for the Technopreneur seminar last Saturday. There were far more attendees than I expected and they all dressed up very formally. This made me a bit nervous. Ryan and I shared the presentation session. Our presentation is not quite relevant to the seminar on that day and one of the attendees pinpointed us about this. It was Justin whom I know about 2 years ago. His attitude is still the same as always, going around looking for trouble. He could have asked the question in a better way, instead of being so harsh.
Last Sunday, all the homestay students and sensei went to JJ for shopping at 10.30am. There were 6 people in total for my car. We were like squeezing ourselves in a sardine can on our trip there. It actually took 3 hours to get all the “uniforms”. The scenario is really weird. A whole bunch of people, going there, and buy the same design of shirt/slack. Everyone’s taste and preference are different and it is really difficult to compensate for each other. Another problem face would be the size for the same shirt/slack. They are always running out of stock.
On Wednesday, I attended a BBQ party at sensei’s house to welcome the visit of Sugiura-san, one of the host families for last year’s homestay and perhaps for this year as well. Before the party, Gan, Pei Juan and I went to the children’s playground in the condominium. It is a very nice place as it is windy and there are no mosquitoes. I enjoyed myself playing the swing. I felt like flying in the air as the wind blew. Everyone was hungry before the party started. They aimed for the instantly available food such as “onigiri”, potato salad, “oden” and Japanese-style pizza rather than the BBQ food. Andy was busy indulging himself with the food. They arrived quite late and most of the food was already finished. Luckily we reserved some food for them. This meeting session turned out to be a mini autograph session. We got home quite late as we were lost after sending Gan home at Malim.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Week #11
Less than 2 weeks to go before FYP (Final Year Project) submission and around 1.5 months to go before graduating. My final test ended more than a week ago. Thus, last week was quite relaxing, no test and assignment submission. However, it was going to be a very busy for these 2 weeks as FYP and 2 assignments submission is due on next week. Tomorrow I will be attending an interview for the position of analyst programmer at Datascan, an outsourcing company in KL. It was my last job application so far. I am a bit regretting about my application now, not because of the job position, but because of the company. Working in an outsourcing company is not of my preference. I am kind of hoping, not to get selected for this job. Well, if I get the job, at least, I am not jobless and able to secure a job before graduating. Things may have turn out better than I expected, who knows.
The hottest issue around now is about Unite. It is a prom night jointly organized by the 3 main faculties in MMU Cyberjaya. The ticket cost RM85 each. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir was invited as the VVIP of the event while several other ambassadors was invited as VIPs. I heard that last year’s was well organized but this year’s was poorly done. There are complains by attendees over several forums and forwarded message are circulating around. Complains include almost all the aspects, except the venue. There are only 4 dish of food served – bread, soup (similar to the Campbell’s one), chicken rice and fruits. The bread was expired and one of the tables has flies inside their fruits. The service was terrible. Drinks were served upon request, even after 1 hour. Food was not served until 11pm. There was a magician show during the night and many find the show lame, including the former PM, according to the observations of the attendees. There are still many comments and complains. Apparently, the head organizer was a foreign student, according to some source. Perhaps he/she does not understand how a prom should be conducted in the Malaysians point of view.
The hottest issue around now is about Unite. It is a prom night jointly organized by the 3 main faculties in MMU Cyberjaya. The ticket cost RM85 each. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir was invited as the VVIP of the event while several other ambassadors was invited as VIPs. I heard that last year’s was well organized but this year’s was poorly done. There are complains by attendees over several forums and forwarded message are circulating around. Complains include almost all the aspects, except the venue. There are only 4 dish of food served – bread, soup (similar to the Campbell’s one), chicken rice and fruits. The bread was expired and one of the tables has flies inside their fruits. The service was terrible. Drinks were served upon request, even after 1 hour. Food was not served until 11pm. There was a magician show during the night and many find the show lame, including the former PM, according to the observations of the attendees. There are still many comments and complains. Apparently, the head organizer was a foreign student, according to some source. Perhaps he/she does not understand how a prom should be conducted in the Malaysians point of view.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Photos - Trinite '06
Here are some of the photos taken during Trinite 2006 in Equatorial Hotel, Malacca:
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Trinite06/
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Trinite06/
Week #9 - Memories Recall
Time flies. It is Week 9 of the trimester already. This week, the event “Around the World in 3 Days” was held in CLC concourse. Even though they do not have booths on all the existing countries in the world, it is quite interesting. Most of the booths are on countries from the Middle East, such as Iran and Syria. There are people dressing up in their traditional clothes as well. All the projects and assignments have been released. Delta IT students are getting tension now, with all the due dates to be met.
It feels like everything is just like yesterday. Memories of my university days appear on my mind recently. Everyone is growing and changing within these 4 years. Around 4 years ago, I came to this unfamiliar place and stayed in an apartment with more than 10 other new students. Things did not go at first. But, we sure get along after that. It seems that Alpha is a separate phase in my university life. My classmates are quite close to each other. Sylvia, Yuya and Madhu - I miss you all! We are the multiracial front seaters!
Beta and onwards is like a series of war. Everyone is fighting to get thru every trimester. Everyone is getting eye bags at least a few times in a trimester, especially the last 2. I always wonder if it is due to the poor time management. Well, though it is not enjoyable as during Alpha, we have something to rejoice about.
My industrial training is like another phase. I went to a foreign country without any close to me. I do not know the other trainees before the trip. We are strangers who only know each others’ faces. Yet, we worked things out together, which is the best part. When in Korea, for the first time, I planned my own trip. I think, I am quite pro in it now. Holding a map and explore the city on my own is not something new to me anymore. These experiences can be useful when planning for trips in the future. I did not regret going to Korea for my training, although there are some opportunities that I must let go at the same time. This training has given me much, which include helping me to decide my path in the future.
I am really grateful for those who went thru all these together with me. Thanks for your companion and being a chapter in my life. Hopefully it is not the end.
It feels like everything is just like yesterday. Memories of my university days appear on my mind recently. Everyone is growing and changing within these 4 years. Around 4 years ago, I came to this unfamiliar place and stayed in an apartment with more than 10 other new students. Things did not go at first. But, we sure get along after that. It seems that Alpha is a separate phase in my university life. My classmates are quite close to each other. Sylvia, Yuya and Madhu - I miss you all! We are the multiracial front seaters!
Beta and onwards is like a series of war. Everyone is fighting to get thru every trimester. Everyone is getting eye bags at least a few times in a trimester, especially the last 2. I always wonder if it is due to the poor time management. Well, though it is not enjoyable as during Alpha, we have something to rejoice about.
My industrial training is like another phase. I went to a foreign country without any close to me. I do not know the other trainees before the trip. We are strangers who only know each others’ faces. Yet, we worked things out together, which is the best part. When in Korea, for the first time, I planned my own trip. I think, I am quite pro in it now. Holding a map and explore the city on my own is not something new to me anymore. These experiences can be useful when planning for trips in the future. I did not regret going to Korea for my training, although there are some opportunities that I must let go at the same time. This training has given me much, which include helping me to decide my path in the future.
I am really grateful for those who went thru all these together with me. Thanks for your companion and being a chapter in my life. Hopefully it is not the end.
Trinite '06
Trinite is a prom night jointly organized by the 3 main faculties in MMU Malacca – FIST, FET and FBL. This year, it was held on April Fool, at the largest ballroom in Equatorial Hotel Malacca. We have Amber Chia as the VIP guest, 2 Malaysia Idols – Daniel and Jacklyn as the performers and another local singer as performers. I was not very fascinated with Amber Chia but taken a photo with this celebrity. Everyone look gorgeous on that night. The food was served in buffet style. It tasted better than the previous year’s. Surprisingly, Huwi Yin came down to Malacca for a visit on that day as well.
Yushu: Happy birthday to you!
Wan Chiew: You look gorgeous on that day! Thanks to Siew Woan for the makeup.
Hui Shan: You look very sexy on that dress!
Ryan: Finally, you show us your partner! You should have done it more often.
Ee Ling: I like your dress very much, nice design.
Huay Peng: You look different and better on that night.
Gan-san and Chee Keong: Congrats on getting a permanent in Agilent before graduating!
To all final year students: Good to see you guys in your best outfit before graduating.
I will upload some of the photos later, within this week.
Yushu: Happy birthday to you!
Wan Chiew: You look gorgeous on that day! Thanks to Siew Woan for the makeup.
Hui Shan: You look very sexy on that dress!
Ryan: Finally, you show us your partner! You should have done it more often.
Ee Ling: I like your dress very much, nice design.
Huay Peng: You look different and better on that night.
Gan-san and Chee Keong: Congrats on getting a permanent in Agilent before graduating!
To all final year students: Good to see you guys in your best outfit before graduating.
I will upload some of the photos later, within this week.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Phone Interview with Shell
I had a 20 minutes phone interview with Shell at 2pm, today. I was very nervous before the interview. A lady from the Human Resource (HR) called me slightly after 2pm. Unlike other interviews, she did not ask any technical questions. Instead, she asked questions on leadership, achievements, problem solving and challenges. The weirdest part is the last one, about general knowledge. She asked me about National Park, its purpose, advantages and disadvantages. Even though it is not a face-to-face interview, I feel even nervous, maybe because I could not see her reactions on my answers. I will be notified if I manage to get into the last phase of interview in another 5 working days. According to the lady, there would not be any technical questions for the last phase as well. It will be a whole day session in Shell.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Interview for Programmer at Intel
I departed for my interview in Intel at PG12. It was drizzling again before I departed. It was easier to find the place compared to Agilent. I do not need to register myself at the guard house and headed directly to the lobby. The security checking only starts from there. They have a body scanner there, like the one in the airport. I called the interviewer, SM before registering myself at the counter. I would prefer this kind of security, at least everyone do not need to get stuck at the small entrance at the guard house. SM approached me shortly after that. He is a middle age man in his 30s and quite friendly. We went into one of the small meeting rooms for the interview. The interview is not very formal but there are some technical questions. He gave me a problem solving question but I think I took a bit too long to solve it. There are 2 branches for this application tool development team – one in US and another one in Malaysia. There are currently 6 members in the team. This department is currently expanding. Thus, they need to hire a few more programmers. He will inform me in another 2 or 3 weeks time about my status of application. FAQ: “Are you confidence in getting this job?”. My answer is no. I will just have to wait for the result in another 2 or 3 weeks time.
Interview for Customer Service at Agilent Penang
It was raining again this morning! I departed to Agilent at 8 am. The company is quite near to my house but it took me 25 minutes to reach there due to the light traffic jam. I entered thru the back entrance. The security check there is quite tight and the guards are doing their job well. I need to give them my IC, fill in a form and get a pass before entering the compound. I met with another interviewee as I entered. Both of us took the entrance and ended up taking a small walk around the factory before entering the lobby. We were required to fill in a form at the reception.
A staff from the HR department guided us to the Learning Center soon after that. We were then seated and took our tests before going for the interview. The Korean language test seems to be easier than I thought. Yet, I was unable to understand the meaning of it, even though I was able to read it. I spent the hour writing out each of its pronunciations, which is the best I can do. The interview was conducted by the HR manager, Ms Tan. It was a one-to-one interview. They were looking for someone who can speak Korean language to deal with their customers. The tasks of this position include giving out quotations and invoice, which I am not particularly interested in. After that, she invited a Korean staff to talk to me in Korean. I hardly understand what she said. I only understand a word or two in her sentence. Before the end of the interview, she asked me if there are any positions that I am interested in. Ah… finally she asks! The interview ended slightly before 11am.
I am thinking, “Am I wasting my time for this interview?”. Well, at least, I get a chance to see the inside of Agilent Penang.
A staff from the HR department guided us to the Learning Center soon after that. We were then seated and took our tests before going for the interview. The Korean language test seems to be easier than I thought. Yet, I was unable to understand the meaning of it, even though I was able to read it. I spent the hour writing out each of its pronunciations, which is the best I can do. The interview was conducted by the HR manager, Ms Tan. It was a one-to-one interview. They were looking for someone who can speak Korean language to deal with their customers. The tasks of this position include giving out quotations and invoice, which I am not particularly interested in. After that, she invited a Korean staff to talk to me in Korean. I hardly understand what she said. I only understand a word or two in her sentence. Before the end of the interview, she asked me if there are any positions that I am interested in. Ah… finally she asks! The interview ended slightly before 11am.
I am thinking, “Am I wasting my time for this interview?”. Well, at least, I get a chance to see the inside of Agilent Penang.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Back in Penang!
Yes! I am back in Penang already. It was raining heavily on the way back and it was freezing cold in the bus. I hardly have any sleep on the bus. I reached Penang at around 5am and it was raining as well. My parents were there to fetch me as I reached.
My home is even messy before I went back; things on the sofa, books and some other stuff piled up on the table etc. It seems that my parents have been lenient in teaching my little sister on the basic tidiness and cleanliness. Perhaps, it is because she is the only child at home now and my parents are quite busy. I seemed to be the one always doing the nagging part. Some of you maybe wondering, “since when you have a little sister?”. My parents adopted my cousin’s daughter who is having some family problems since last December. It is a long story. She will be staying with us for the next 3 years if nothing goes wrong.
Holiday mood is in the air whenever I am in Penang. Perhaps that it is too “comfortable” here or because my parents are around, I want to talk to them and do not feel like working on my tasks.
My home is even messy before I went back; things on the sofa, books and some other stuff piled up on the table etc. It seems that my parents have been lenient in teaching my little sister on the basic tidiness and cleanliness. Perhaps, it is because she is the only child at home now and my parents are quite busy. I seemed to be the one always doing the nagging part. Some of you maybe wondering, “since when you have a little sister?”. My parents adopted my cousin’s daughter who is having some family problems since last December. It is a long story. She will be staying with us for the next 3 years if nothing goes wrong.
Holiday mood is in the air whenever I am in Penang. Perhaps that it is too “comfortable” here or because my parents are around, I want to talk to them and do not feel like working on my tasks.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Job Interviews
I will be going back to Penang on Wednesday night for my 2 interviews on Friday. Everything comes in a sudden. My more relaxing schedule this week becomes a packing one.
The first company is Agilent for a position in Customer Service. I seriously hope that I do not become a telephone operator if I get the job. One of their HR employees called me several times regarding the schedule for the interview. It seems that they are keen on finding someone who knows Korean language well. Unfortunately, my level is not even up to the Beginners standard yet. Worse, they want to give me a written test before the interview, even after telling them that my proficiency in Korean language is very poor.
Another company is Intel for the position as a contract software developer in Kulim. It is a software tool development company. They are using C++ and my skills in that language is not good. I wonder if I can perform well during the interview when it comes to technical questions. Actually, I am more worry about my performance if I did get confirm for that position. Anyway, I will try my best! t(''t)
p/s: Thanks to Huwi Yin senpai for her support and Dr Andrew for his advice ^^
The first company is Agilent for a position in Customer Service. I seriously hope that I do not become a telephone operator if I get the job. One of their HR employees called me several times regarding the schedule for the interview. It seems that they are keen on finding someone who knows Korean language well. Unfortunately, my level is not even up to the Beginners standard yet. Worse, they want to give me a written test before the interview, even after telling them that my proficiency in Korean language is very poor.
Another company is Intel for the position as a contract software developer in Kulim. It is a software tool development company. They are using C++ and my skills in that language is not good. I wonder if I can perform well during the interview when it comes to technical questions. Actually, I am more worry about my performance if I did get confirm for that position. Anyway, I will try my best! t(''t)
p/s: Thanks to Huwi Yin senpai for her support and Dr Andrew for his advice ^^
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Trip to Cyberjaya
Everyone is quite keen on finding a job before they graduate. I also hope that I can secure a job before I graduate. Some of my friends are getting interviews from companies already. I only attended an interview at the end of the February and that’s it. All these jobs finding stuff has being getting on my head and taking much of my time. I guess I should have concentrate more on my studies now. With so many assignments, tests and classes lining up, I could not afford slacking off.
Today I went to MMU, Cyberjaya to attend the Career Fair there. Since they were providing us with free transport, I might as well take this opportunity to visit some old friends there. The bus departed at 8.45am from MMU, Malacca and reached the destination at around 10.30am. I went looking around the fair as I reached. The venue is smaller than the one in Malacca but there are more participating companies. I submitted some resumes but did not attend any of the walk-in interviews.
I met with Ryan, Bee Jun and Yushu at 11am. Yushu just finished an interview with Motorola. He dressed like as if he is a businessman, very formal and smart. It is the first time I saw him wearing like that. He had attended 7 interviews so far. Wow… that is a lot! Then, we headed to the fair together. We did a small chatting. I saw Corine and Chun Cheat passing by. Yushu went off earlier before we have a group photo together. Then, we visited the FIT building before heading to the cafeteria in the FOE building. I saw Sasi, Danny, Chai Hoang, Ai Chin and Mei Shin there. Chai Hoang was too hungry to wait for our reunion lunch at 1pm. Ryan and his friends seem to think that Cyberjaya campus has more beautiful girls, which I think that is not really true.
At 12.50pm, we departed to Street Mall to have our dinner. Sasi offered to meet the other guys in front of library and asked us to depart first as Jin Boone (JB) was waiting in the car already. I did not know that Jin Boone has a car. I must be too outdated. We had our lunch at a restaurant called Penang House. According to our Penangite, JB, none of the dishes there tasted like from Penang. The business is good because the shop is air-conditioned. The cheapest dish cost RM6, excluding of tax and service charge. Chai Hoang arrived with Sasi later, while Chee Keong (CK) arrived with Alex and Alvin at the very last. There are a total of 10 of us – Mei Shin, Chai Hoang, JB, CK, Alvin, Alex, Danny, Ai Chin, Sylvia and I. Sasi visited Malacca a few weeks ago and he looks more skinny and energetic now. Chai Hoang and JB is the same as ever. CK has gained some weight since Alpha but he looks better now. Alvin has changed his hair style. I think that the little pony tail looks weird on him. The previous hairstyle is nicer. Alex is slimmer than I last met him. Danny has changed his hairstyle; it looks stylish with the yellow highlight. Mei Shin and Chai Hoang are having fun playing with his hair. Sylvia is slimmer than I last met her. It is nice to see everyone again before graduating! Due to some mistake in ordering, CK actually have Nasi Lemak for both his breakfast and lunch! Luckily he have Alvin the Cat (because he is from Kuching) to help him out with the dish. Danny refused to help CK with his dish but helped Ai Chin instead. What a lovely couple... We took some photos outside before heading back to the campus. It was around 2.30pm already.
I quickly rushed to the front of the library to meet Madhu. I have not seen her since Alpha. Yuya was not able to make it because she is having a meeting. Madhu said that she was really busy with CCIP recently, looking for people to become the Culture Pageant. Madhu is much slimmer compared to in Alpha. It seems that she is having a heavy workload, taking 7 subjects this trimester. She is not following the schedule and the subjects are getting tougher, with more assignments and things to learn. It is always better to take them as soon as possible. I met Eileen and her sister shortly after that. She looks nice in her dress.
While heading to the STAD building at 2.55pm, I met Wei Chung and greeted him for a while. Then, I met Gin Bey, my ex-schoolmate. I have not seen her for years. Sylvia and Alex sent Mei Shin and I off at around 3.20pm.
Even though it was a short trip, it is nice to see everyone again. It reminded me of the good old Alpha time. We were the noisy and active Group 25! Sasi, Danny and JB are a whole bunch of humorous people. I guess I will next meet them during the coming convocation in Cyberjaya campus in August.
Today I went to MMU, Cyberjaya to attend the Career Fair there. Since they were providing us with free transport, I might as well take this opportunity to visit some old friends there. The bus departed at 8.45am from MMU, Malacca and reached the destination at around 10.30am. I went looking around the fair as I reached. The venue is smaller than the one in Malacca but there are more participating companies. I submitted some resumes but did not attend any of the walk-in interviews.
I met with Ryan, Bee Jun and Yushu at 11am. Yushu just finished an interview with Motorola. He dressed like as if he is a businessman, very formal and smart. It is the first time I saw him wearing like that. He had attended 7 interviews so far. Wow… that is a lot! Then, we headed to the fair together. We did a small chatting. I saw Corine and Chun Cheat passing by. Yushu went off earlier before we have a group photo together. Then, we visited the FIT building before heading to the cafeteria in the FOE building. I saw Sasi, Danny, Chai Hoang, Ai Chin and Mei Shin there. Chai Hoang was too hungry to wait for our reunion lunch at 1pm. Ryan and his friends seem to think that Cyberjaya campus has more beautiful girls, which I think that is not really true.
At 12.50pm, we departed to Street Mall to have our dinner. Sasi offered to meet the other guys in front of library and asked us to depart first as Jin Boone (JB) was waiting in the car already. I did not know that Jin Boone has a car. I must be too outdated. We had our lunch at a restaurant called Penang House. According to our Penangite, JB, none of the dishes there tasted like from Penang. The business is good because the shop is air-conditioned. The cheapest dish cost RM6, excluding of tax and service charge. Chai Hoang arrived with Sasi later, while Chee Keong (CK) arrived with Alex and Alvin at the very last. There are a total of 10 of us – Mei Shin, Chai Hoang, JB, CK, Alvin, Alex, Danny, Ai Chin, Sylvia and I. Sasi visited Malacca a few weeks ago and he looks more skinny and energetic now. Chai Hoang and JB is the same as ever. CK has gained some weight since Alpha but he looks better now. Alvin has changed his hair style. I think that the little pony tail looks weird on him. The previous hairstyle is nicer. Alex is slimmer than I last met him. Danny has changed his hairstyle; it looks stylish with the yellow highlight. Mei Shin and Chai Hoang are having fun playing with his hair. Sylvia is slimmer than I last met her. It is nice to see everyone again before graduating! Due to some mistake in ordering, CK actually have Nasi Lemak for both his breakfast and lunch! Luckily he have Alvin the Cat (because he is from Kuching) to help him out with the dish. Danny refused to help CK with his dish but helped Ai Chin instead. What a lovely couple... We took some photos outside before heading back to the campus. It was around 2.30pm already.
I quickly rushed to the front of the library to meet Madhu. I have not seen her since Alpha. Yuya was not able to make it because she is having a meeting. Madhu said that she was really busy with CCIP recently, looking for people to become the Culture Pageant. Madhu is much slimmer compared to in Alpha. It seems that she is having a heavy workload, taking 7 subjects this trimester. She is not following the schedule and the subjects are getting tougher, with more assignments and things to learn. It is always better to take them as soon as possible. I met Eileen and her sister shortly after that. She looks nice in her dress.
While heading to the STAD building at 2.55pm, I met Wei Chung and greeted him for a while. Then, I met Gin Bey, my ex-schoolmate. I have not seen her for years. Sylvia and Alex sent Mei Shin and I off at around 3.20pm.
Even though it was a short trip, it is nice to see everyone again. It reminded me of the good old Alpha time. We were the noisy and active Group 25! Sasi, Danny and JB are a whole bunch of humorous people. I guess I will next meet them during the coming convocation in Cyberjaya campus in August.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Education and Career Fair
Last week, there was an Education and Career Fair in MMU, Exam Hall for 3 days. I was a bit disappointed about the fair. There were very few booths and companies. The participating companies were such as Shell, Intel, Avago, Robert Bosch and Jobstreet. It seems to be more of a career fair than education fair, with only 1 booth on education by IDP. IDP is a body promoting about education in Australia. It is owned by all of the universities in Australia. They also provide consultation to students who wish to study in Australia. I did send in my resume before the fair but did not receive any news from the event organizer or company. Only a few students were short listed for interview by some companies. I am starting to doubt my skills or knowledge in the field. I managed to get an interview for Robert Bosch for the embedded system programmer. But, I think my performance is not good enough to convince the interviewee. I attended a career talk by Shell, an interesting one. I get to know more about the company and the job positions available.
My final year project is on the track now, which is something good. My class for Java started this week, which means I will have to attend more classes and have less free time. Microsoft SQL 2000 admin class will start on next Saturday. Though the schedule is a bit pack, it’s always good to be able to learn something extra. For those who do not know, there is an Education Fair in Century Mahkota Hotel, Malacca on this Saturday, 12-6pm. There is an IDP fair on the same day in Subang Jaya.
My final year project is on the track now, which is something good. My class for Java started this week, which means I will have to attend more classes and have less free time. Microsoft SQL 2000 admin class will start on next Saturday. Though the schedule is a bit pack, it’s always good to be able to learn something extra. For those who do not know, there is an Education Fair in Century Mahkota Hotel, Malacca on this Saturday, 12-6pm. There is an IDP fair on the same day in Subang Jaya.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
NOC IV
The second week of the last trimester is coming to an end soon. Holiday mood is slowly decreasing and everything is getting back on track. It was quite boring for the first week and things are getting very hectic this week.
I attended the Night of Celebration (NOC) IV on Thursday night in Main Hall. This is an annual event held by SPARC. It is a musical drama and the admission is free. It was my second and last time attending this event. My first visit was on last academic year. The entrance was crowded by people once it was opened. I was supposed to enter with Mei Shin and Soon Jin but they were not there yet when I arrived. I made a right choice entering the hall first as the front and middle seats were filled up very fast. I managed to get a seat on the right front. It was quite a nice view as I was not block. Beside me is my neighbor, Jason and Foo was sitting nearby. It was not as nice as last year’s performance but the door gift was nice, sponsored by Tupperware and some samples from a cosmetic company. The commercial section was a bit too lengthy and the emcee for the opening was not doing a great job.
The title for NOC IV was Chapters of Life. The story surrounded Abigail, a kind hearted girl who suffered from leukemia. When she was given hope to recover from her sickness, an accident happened and she passed away. Her friends and brother a lot suffered from her death. My favorite character is Chris, played by Justin Lee. His singing is the best and doing a good job for his role as Abigail’s brother. Even though Violet, Abigail’s best friend (played by Renee Tiun) is not a goody type of character, she played her role well. Sean, played by Aaron Liu’s performance is not bad. I had a hard time listening to his singing as it was unclear. Abigail’s performance is lack of emotion. Overall, the music, dance and props for this year are a bit disappointing. However, the flash show before the start of the event is something worth mentioning. It was about the training of the actors before the event, more to a comedy. Despite all the flaws, the event was a bit hit. The venue was packed with people and there were many spectators standing at the back.
I attended the Night of Celebration (NOC) IV on Thursday night in Main Hall. This is an annual event held by SPARC. It is a musical drama and the admission is free. It was my second and last time attending this event. My first visit was on last academic year. The entrance was crowded by people once it was opened. I was supposed to enter with Mei Shin and Soon Jin but they were not there yet when I arrived. I made a right choice entering the hall first as the front and middle seats were filled up very fast. I managed to get a seat on the right front. It was quite a nice view as I was not block. Beside me is my neighbor, Jason and Foo was sitting nearby. It was not as nice as last year’s performance but the door gift was nice, sponsored by Tupperware and some samples from a cosmetic company. The commercial section was a bit too lengthy and the emcee for the opening was not doing a great job.
The title for NOC IV was Chapters of Life. The story surrounded Abigail, a kind hearted girl who suffered from leukemia. When she was given hope to recover from her sickness, an accident happened and she passed away. Her friends and brother a lot suffered from her death. My favorite character is Chris, played by Justin Lee. His singing is the best and doing a good job for his role as Abigail’s brother. Even though Violet, Abigail’s best friend (played by Renee Tiun) is not a goody type of character, she played her role well. Sean, played by Aaron Liu’s performance is not bad. I had a hard time listening to his singing as it was unclear. Abigail’s performance is lack of emotion. Overall, the music, dance and props for this year are a bit disappointing. However, the flash show before the start of the event is something worth mentioning. It was about the training of the actors before the event, more to a comedy. Despite all the flaws, the event was a bit hit. The venue was packed with people and there were many spectators standing at the back.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Chinese New Year 2006
This year’s Chinese New Year is a very busy one. We were busy decorating the house and spring cleaning. Not forgetting, teaching my niece on performing some of the housework. We had our reunion dinner at my grandmother and uncle’s house. On the first day of Chinese New Year, we visited the “open house” at Fort Cornwallis for free food. There was still a lot of food available despite our late visit, specially the non-Chinese stalls. There were quite a number of Indians there other than Chinese. On the first 2 days of Chinese New Year, we had steamboat at my uncle and aunt’s house. 2 days of steamboat is more than enough to give me a freak about food.
My uncle’s house was robbed on the third day of Chinese New Year. The estimated lost is around RM 1K. It is a lesson for everyone. Do not put too many valuable things such as cash and jewelries at home during festive seasons. Do remember to keep your door lock as well!
On February 1(Wednesday), we had a small gathering at Coffee Bean, Gurney Plaza at 2pm. This is the first gathering after more than 3 years, since Siew Hoon’s birthday party in 2002. 14 people attended the gathering – Siew Hoon, Hui Ping, Yoke Pei, Hui Wen, Yoke Yen, Siew Ean, Yee Loo, Chiew May, Kae Wen, Siew Eng, Tian Tian, Ee Pheng and I. Yi Wen came quite late and Tuan Fern was unable to attend the gathering as promise. There was a kind of weird feeling when we saw each for the first time after a long time. Many of us stayed quiet for some time. Some of us are still quite close as we still keep in touch. Everything became heated up after the photo session. There were around 4 cameras. Many of us flipped through our graduation magazines before attended the gathering as there are some names which we had forgotten. The class gathering turned out to be another small gathering of friends when we saw some of our ex-schoolmates. Even though we do not know each other and have never talk to each other before during high school, it feels good to see them again.
Even though I did not reach my goal of seeing all my friends, at least I met some of them ^^
My uncle’s house was robbed on the third day of Chinese New Year. The estimated lost is around RM 1K. It is a lesson for everyone. Do not put too many valuable things such as cash and jewelries at home during festive seasons. Do remember to keep your door lock as well!
On February 1(Wednesday), we had a small gathering at Coffee Bean, Gurney Plaza at 2pm. This is the first gathering after more than 3 years, since Siew Hoon’s birthday party in 2002. 14 people attended the gathering – Siew Hoon, Hui Ping, Yoke Pei, Hui Wen, Yoke Yen, Siew Ean, Yee Loo, Chiew May, Kae Wen, Siew Eng, Tian Tian, Ee Pheng and I. Yi Wen came quite late and Tuan Fern was unable to attend the gathering as promise. There was a kind of weird feeling when we saw each for the first time after a long time. Many of us stayed quiet for some time. Some of us are still quite close as we still keep in touch. Everything became heated up after the photo session. There were around 4 cameras. Many of us flipped through our graduation magazines before attended the gathering as there are some names which we had forgotten. The class gathering turned out to be another small gathering of friends when we saw some of our ex-schoolmates. Even though we do not know each other and have never talk to each other before during high school, it feels good to see them again.
Even though I did not reach my goal of seeing all my friends, at least I met some of them ^^
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Happy New Year!
I would like to say "Happy New Year" to all the Chinese and Koreans in the world! While enjoying all the delicacies, remember not to eat too much! For those in overseas/not at home, just enjoy this festive season in your own ways. Even though the celebration may not be as grand as in your home country, it's another life experience worth mentioning in the future ^^
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Holiday - Week #1
It is holiday now! This holiday is different from the others, not because of Chinese New Year, but something else. My niece is going to stay in my home and sharing my room starting from January 17 due to some circumstances. She is 11 years old. She was in the hospital before that. After 7 years of having a single room to myself, I have to share my room with someone again. I am very peculiar person when it comes to tidiness. I do not like anyone to mess with my stuff; a strong holder of privacy. Luckily, things turn out to be better than I expected.
Unlike other holidays, in which I spend almost the whole day in front of my laptop/personal computer chatting, watching drama/movies/anime and surfing, I am helping out my parents to take care of my niece. As my home personal computer is broken, my brother is basically occupying my laptop to play Warcraft. I am able to online most of the time. The list of people online for my Yahoo and MSN messenger is always so few during holidays. As Chinese New Year is approaching, the list decreases to less than 10 people online for both messengers.
There are sales everywhere now. So far, I had visited 2 shopping complexes – Giant and Tesco. Giant is a newly open supermarket in Bayan Baru, located just beside Pantai Mutiara Hospital. Some of the shops there are still under renovation and the place is relatively small, only single storey and not very spacious. I visited Tesco yesterday and it was packed with people even though it was 11pm. There were many people and trolleys, barely able to move. There are some places selling clothes, for stock clearance(not in Tesco). It is not really cheap. But, there are some very nice clothes for girls around the age of kindergarten at PISA (Penang Indoor Stadium Arena).
Jin visited me 2 days ago. There was not much time, so I did not manage to give him a round tour around the island.
Congratulations to Huwi Yin for getting her first job at Intel, Cyberjaya ^^
Unlike other holidays, in which I spend almost the whole day in front of my laptop/personal computer chatting, watching drama/movies/anime and surfing, I am helping out my parents to take care of my niece. As my home personal computer is broken, my brother is basically occupying my laptop to play Warcraft. I am able to online most of the time. The list of people online for my Yahoo and MSN messenger is always so few during holidays. As Chinese New Year is approaching, the list decreases to less than 10 people online for both messengers.
There are sales everywhere now. So far, I had visited 2 shopping complexes – Giant and Tesco. Giant is a newly open supermarket in Bayan Baru, located just beside Pantai Mutiara Hospital. Some of the shops there are still under renovation and the place is relatively small, only single storey and not very spacious. I visited Tesco yesterday and it was packed with people even though it was 11pm. There were many people and trolleys, barely able to move. There are some places selling clothes, for stock clearance(not in Tesco). It is not really cheap. But, there are some very nice clothes for girls around the age of kindergarten at PISA (Penang Indoor Stadium Arena).
Jin visited me 2 days ago. There was not much time, so I did not manage to give him a round tour around the island.
Congratulations to Huwi Yin for getting her first job at Intel, Cyberjaya ^^
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