somewhere there ~~

Testing

2011-05-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

testing 1 2 3

hi 2011

2011-02-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

sorry for coming back to this blog after such a long time, even chinese new year has just passed by.

so, there have been a few revision to my resolution. the latest one is tending towards establishing more solid financial foundation.

the underlaying financial fundamental is the so called emergency cash. aiming to achieve the amount of cash that can sustain my cost of living for 6 months. why 6 months?1. unemployment can last for 6 months (i hope not) 2. recommended by many financial authors/writers. reaching this target requires discipline (something i am lacking) and proper planning without compromising too much on my current lifestyle. looks easy for an employee in an energy company but i do have car loan to service and several financial commitment, so it would take some time.

next is on putting money in proper investment vehicle. the emergency money aforementioned requires high liquidity therefore it would not be meant for investment and bound to 'depreciation' (kesian....). back to investing, this year, i am taking an examination to be a unit trust consultant (2 weeks from now) with hopes that I could allocate some small saving in unit trust and manage it myself. i believe that it is better to learn to manage own money rather than letting someone to earn and manage for you- definite transparency!

also, perhaps it is also time to start putting some savings, once in a while, in high yield stocks.
all in all, i am aiming to obtain 6% profit from my savings annually. EPF is currently giving 5.8% as of news today. FD is not even half of my expectation!

lets see how it goes....

NRD

2010-09-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

NRD- Normal Retirement Date
I am 1 year and a few days in service but my company has set my retirement date.
Seems like I have less than 32 years to go now.

are you happy with your job

2010-08-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

Are you happy with your job? Do you find yourself sighing or maybe swearing every morning you spread your arms waking up? Do you already feel sad on Sunday when you need to iron your clothes? And do you stare at the wall by your bed before sleeping on Sunday and mumbled 'here we go again'?

I have been self demotivated at times thinking about my career. As a young and active graduate, I am impatient, eager, charged and so wanting to do something much more challenging in the working world. However, the role that I am assigned currently is a little reserved and pace keeping. I find myself dissatisfied for picking up things much slower than anyone else, even time catches up on me. It's a year already.

I'm giving myself another period of time for the hope that things will change, get better or perhaps favors me. I admit I may be over ambitious at times but please don't kill it, I want to set to be somebody someday although I may not have the capability for such achievement. But what the heck, whenever there's a chance and risk, I'll grab it and seldom look back (I don't think I can never look back hehehe).

Anyway... what lies in the future...

Probably a retiree will have the best peace in mind, thinking each day is a day closer to paradise ( and also to 'eternity' >.<)

easier said than done..

2010-08-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

A recent conversation with a friend made me realise there are so much things, when said is ideal, when done might turn out to be less pleasant.

Well of course one cannot run away from continuously managing an activity or action so that it does not turn ugly at all. Continuous management is what human tend to call, commitment. And who the hell made that word up, I've missed an M the first time I wrote it!

As far as I lived to write this post today, I am 'proud' to still not tied down by the human-termed 'commitment'. I can have all the 365 days for myself, all my earnings for myself (of course I voluntarily treat my family which made me happy, and that's what I do for myself too) and all the time for myself. I can safely assume that I have almost zero commitment.

Probably as the level of maturity heightens with age, responsibility and commitment come into play naturally. Not sure if from zero to hero sounds great when it is about commitment to everyone but I guess without commitment for or to something or someone, there's nothing to strive for. Right now I am striving for self success all the way, nothing else, but maybe sooner I might look into something else. Afterall, the only thing that is certain is death, you don't want to struggle to learn your only goal is not accomplish. So, have a few (goals).

I'm not an irresponsible person nor I am running away from obligations. I'm just picking them up progressively. Patience and perseverence are what I probably need to uptake as I move along, for I know I am a typical Arian. Ever see a charging ram, similar but this one runs with 2 legs instead.

Happy Anniversary

2010-08-13T04:09:00.000-07:00

I am already working for a year. For a year, I have been earning, although income offset the spendings. Still, better than my younger days when I was a family credit guzzler.

A year working here has been a smooth yatch sailing regardless of the wind direction for a sailor. The sailor is not sure where he'll end up soon or whether he will have the chance to see which shore he'll land. Being a young inexperienced sailor, the only option for the moment is to observe the weather daily and do what is right for the day. Not any opportunities to peek at captain's telescope to see where he am set to go. At times, or most of the time, the sailor contemplates a lot about his role. Sometimes it's bright sometimes it's bleak.

The sailor hopes... someday when he knows how to read a compass, he will be able to clear his own path...

ah, enough of metaphore and personification. Have a great weekend!

we asked for it..

2010-06-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was surfing the internet for privileged banking criteria as I really hate queuing in the bank just to handle some small matter. Not that I am earning loads, but I am looking forward for the day.

... until I came across a forum where a person mentioned, with ebanking, transactions are done without even leaving your home. Ah, that's right. Most of the time now, I just manage transactions via online banking. Probably larger sum requires me to visit the branch but common people can just manage their account in front of their laptop.

So, I thought, probably 10 years ahead, there will be only 2-3 frontline bankers in each branch rather than the sum we have now.

Same to many industries, with expansive of specialization and automation, probably the world might need more maintenance technician rather than the person who once did the job before machines took over. Hahaha... sounds terminated? I'd rather say retrenched (similar terminated term in workforce hahah)

Similar to LEAN. LEAN is good if it is applied to simplify processes. But when processes is simplified, there will be lesser resources needed. And when there's no new value added to turn the redundant resources back into value, that's bad.

So, what lies in the future? Are we slowing down since the last widely known invention?

golf..

2010-06-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to try golf yesterday. My colleague offered to teach me some of the basics so we off to Miri Golf Club for a few 'noob' hit at the driving range.

Golf ain't easy eh..

We paid 5 bucks for 50 balls... that's 10 cents for a ball. Ok, I think it worth. If I make a bad hit, it's equivalent to throwing a 10 cents coin into the river. Hahah.

It's gonna be a while for me to train myself to hit the ball most of the time. Currently, I'm already feeling the after effect of swinging the golf club. Muscle aches...

Anyway, lets not stop halfway here...

What Am I Up To Lately?

2010-06-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

Happy fiddling with my Alpha 380. That's what I've been working on lately. I really need some practise before going for my trip to Taiwan in the next 2 weeks.

It's already 1 month since I owned this DSLR. So what's good and what's not about it? Good this about this cam is that it fits me well as a beginner (well that I mean I'm a beginner not the dslr), nicely size and weighted, at least for me. The bad thing is this dslr is not performing well under low light. With my shaky hands, night photos without a tripod look disastrous.

Learnt the very basic (errr. using the automatic mode all the way) on my own. Previous post is the very 1st self tutorial. And then, attended Sony Alpha Workshop in Miri.

The facilitator and I were the only West Malaysian there..

Love this effect.. i was snapping in BULB mode in the dark and suddenly someone turned on the light.... image looked luminence and surreal!

Learning to take details... better than before

A great workshop I must say as we're taught how to use our camera and followed by a trip to crocodile farm for practise. It's all free except for crocodile farm entrance!

as aforementioned... beginner photographer

Took photos during the punk make up competition. And outcome was bad. My photos were all blur!

That's right..

Wild is the 'theme'

Drooling already?

Even the narrator looks gorgeous!

Could have taken more if I'd charged my battery earlier..

Also, joined the Nexus (a graduate network in Shell and I'm also a committee there) to PDK Charity visit. Pictures looked ok, beginner level.

Loving team in loving area...

You don't mess with kids these days..

Cute adorable boy posing with gorgeous ladies

Well, honestly, I don't have the charity DNA in me. So really appreciate the group organizing these activity which I can tag along and contribute.

Hope that my photography skills are getting better. Else, it's all utterly waste of money. Susah payah I berjimat... also, always looking forward for interesting days...

Jumping into Photography Bandwagon

2010-05-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, I got myself an entry level dslr. It happened quite abrupt but it was planned, and since my compact camera (finally) gave way, there's no reason not to upgrade.

Now being a beginner, I have taken quite a lot of photos, as well as deleting them! Here I have a few shots, the best of so far (I know I am still suck at this!).

1st shot with the camera..loved the details..

Lacking the skill to make it more vivid..

A snap too ordinary..

Well, my compact camera will still stay, will be repaired and passed to my family. Need more practise...

Leisure Driving

2010-04-25T00:57:00.001-07:00

I've just returned from driving around Miri. From Miri Airport bypass to Miri-Pujut road. I stopped by a bakery to ease my stomach after paying so much attention on the road. (maybe it's the brunch, not the drive..lol)

When I returned home. I felt so wasted. The road is not twisty and I wasn't even in a fun hot hatch. I was doing a spirited driving in a TOWN CAR! Boring.

If I were to be relocated back to KL someday, bet that I would get a car that I could appreciate the thrill of driving up to Genting once in a while for a short getaway from the city. Well, Miri aint city... there's no my claimed 'getaway' for me here.

Nevertheless, my current car is a decent one, a nippy zippy town car. Just that sometimes it serves the wrong purpose. Tried hard to cope with my demand. lol. I'm not abusive of my car. I'm more of touge style that drag. I guess 2 more tyres are ready to go.

In short, the car is here to stay although it did not really meet my expectation. Well, the majority (weekday uses) wins.

Short of Something...

2010-04-13T06:06:00.001-07:00

Realised that I have almost everything except for my true hobby... hahahaha..speed..

Life update

2010-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

It felt so different since I return to Miri from Penang. Before returning to Penang, I find Miri quite an okay place to live, reasonable and edible food, slower paced life. But after CNY in Penang, I felt that I've missed the life on the fast lane. Good food, good entertainment and near to family (that minuses the freedom actually, lol)

My car front suspension noise now is getting worse. Perhaps it's time for repair, again. Found out that the car brakes aren't effective enough after driving only vios, a budget toyota. Harsh ride, bad NVH, terrible gear changes (auto unfortunately) and sluggish. But what could I expect for a 40k car with pretty low fuel consumption.

Visited Labuan for the second time. This time is a business visit to contractor site to familiarize on drilling and logging tools. I was so blur there as I'm from environmental team but luckily, colleagues and contractors clarified and explained me through. It was a good exposure and It actually helped me to decide/ consider which career path that I actually prefer.

What else can you relate to CNY other than food and card game. Had plenty of food since the eve of CNY. Quite a couple of card games at colleagues house. Won a couple but still could not recover the SAI LANG lost before the year of *roar.

Business as usual. Worked from 7 to 5 now.. not 4 any more. Happy with current life but could be better.

All I must say, it's a week well spent.

Gong Xi Fa Chai

2010-02-12T02:24:00.000-08:00

Kiong Hi Huat Chai

Gong Hei Fatt Choi

Gong Hii Fatt Choi

Selamat Tahun Baru Cina

Happy Chinese New Year

Loosing the Synergy

2010-02-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

I've worked in the current company for 5 months plus now. For the first 3 months, I have to admit that I really enjoyed chilling around office while learning about work. I've been to industrial sites, did small assignments and I am proud to say while chilling in the office, I still deliver the performance. Not sure how my superior felt about it but I think in general, I've gained a lot.

But lately, I find myself being very directionless. I don't see how the task will actually help to develop me to the extent acceptable to my requirement. I just felt like an ambitious person being held back down.

I have great superiors, they are friendly, easy going and give me the freedom; on the route I wanted to do; meaning to say I can plan my own development... but question is how do I do so?
Damn, there's so much in my head but in brief, I'm kinda lost now.

If this is to last longer, I afraid to say I will be loosing the synergy and what is holding me back from doing the right thing (i perceive) is my liabilities and current financial commitments.

So... damn, I'm hanging and stucked...

Looking back

2010-02-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

I had a silent moment all by myself and soon began to realize my immaturity.

I started my working life with resolutions and being so disciplined. But lately, I find myself being so carefree, playful and also being more and more materialistic.

So I looked back at how my life used to be...

and I never regretted being so immature lately.

muahahahaha.

Stray Dogs @ Pujut

2010-02-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

The female dogs aka bitches, are on heat again. So do the males (dogs only, read.. dogs only) are high. There were a few days of canine commotion at the street of Limau 2as.

Miri male dogs have taste for black bitches...

The afternoon I was cleaning up my car. The black bitch was humped by a foreign male (dog...erm butch?) while I was taking out my carpets.

It was such a gross to watch a canine pornography so I shoo-ed them away; and also not to get my carpets stained by you know what... my carpets don't make puppy anyway.

Don't cry for me Anjing Betina... Hopefully tonight I have a peaceful and silent night as lately my life is rather happening; and I am deprived of sleep.

Male dogs from the uptown, coming downtown for love...oooh

Office in Weekend= Library in Unim

2010-01-22T22:14:00.001-08:00

Spend some of my weekend hours in the office. Nostalgically, this scenario reminds me back at the days when I visited the library.

Spent the 1st 30 mins fiddling books, and the remaining hours chatting with friend, surfing internet while waiting for friends call to go for a short (like 40 mins) tea break outside the university.

And now, I'm waiting for colleagues' call to head for cinema.. tickets bought already anyway.

Life in Miri is much more easy going than in KL. Office is just 5 minutes away from my home, cinema/ town 15 minutes from office. No jam, more time, but lack of crazy funny stuff to do.

Hope my boss don't see this... ahaha..just kidding but hey, isn't today Saturday?!

Blog...

2010-01-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Lately, my blog has been active again..

Somehow, it appears to be a less positive indicator.. Frequent blogging appears to be proportional to my boredom and lack of activities along the day...

Somehow, I feel that many people around me do not start their 2010 in the best way. I heard of people getting sick, including me and also negative happenings...

I am still rather unhealthy despite already 2 weeks in 2010. Now down with cold and sore throat. Really, I need to start working out and sweat a bit since 1/3 of my time actually spent in air con office nibbling keyboard.

Let's start swimming this weekend... since my blocked nose have no problem resisting water from entering...

Test File

2010-01-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

Labuan Visit

2010-01-09T01:24:00.002-08:00

Visited Labuan for the 1st time several weeks ago for work purpose. Had to visit Labuan CrudeOil Terminal for familiarization on site and also the environmental monitoring work.

Was there for 3 days but did not have the opportunity to go around the island since the time was so packed. Anyway, a brief search on the net showed nothing much Labuan can offer as a tourism spot. Even the biggest mall, Financial Mall, is rather empty. Perhaps, Labuan is only all about tax-free.

Stayed at Labuan Waterfront. Albeit old, the hotel was quite well equipped and has its own identity. Overlooking waterfront and and a small jetty, the scenery is not bad, minus the smell of the breeze. However, the mood deteriorate if you looked at the water close enough.

Nice hotel, nice view, moderate cleaniness, bad hotel food. The food in hotel was way below par. Had my dinner and breakfast in hotel inevitably because there seemed to be no restaurant nearby.

Waterfront Hotel

Dated room but still retains classy look

but food suck

Waterfront Hotel #2

The waterfront/ jetty

The jetty #2

If you look closely

Anyway, visiting Labuan was a new exposure. At least now I realised that I am working in a better town.

Lastly, the barren airport of the tax free island

2010 Countdown Celebration

2010-01-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

KRP countdown venue

Countdown at Kelab Rekreasi Petroliam before moving on to Thai Bar for a drink.
Well, took a couple of alcohols before the countdown which was a bad move that lead to a bad start in 2010.. 2 days of hiccups and gassy stomach.

Learn my 1st lesson of the year. Do not drink wine empty stomached.

New Layout for 2010

2010-01-09T00:46:00.001-08:00

New year new layout...

open source xml template from http://yanku-template.blogspot.com.

theme is based on Need For Speed Most Wanted- one of the best racing games by EA..

Ron 97 @ Miri

2010-01-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

I purposely went to a Petronas station to pump ron 97 petrol for my car but turned out to be sold out.

It's so hard to get ron 97 petrol here I think I better stick to ron 95. Still useable although I could feel the car is a little bit more sluggish but anyway, it's a 1.3 litre car. Can't expect the car to be a 1.5L by pumping ron 97.

Anyway, it's almost time for the car to undergo servicing for the first time under my ownership. Another 1.5k km to go...

2010

2009-12-31T18:59:00.000-08:00

2010 is here and it was the first time I greeted the new year with a damn long 6 hours hiccups (on and off)

So a new list of resolution should come along. Here is the initial resolution.

1. Start saving- in the previous years, I've been spending a lot with every amount I gained, whether as allowance or salary. Most of the money goes to my car as I opt for shorter and lower monthly instalment. Not to mention settling in a new place without sacrificing some of the basic comfort. But air con to come this year... well that's this year's story.

2. Start investing- doesn't have to mean that I have to start putting money into some funds or stock. This is the time for me to start leverage knowledge on how to make money work for me, at least to offset the inflation.

3. Career- I should set a clearer target of what I want to achieve and continue seeking what I would see myself down my career path. Been in the company for 4 months already and with new organization structure, I hope I can see a clearer path.

4. Stay healthy- well, that's for every year..ahahahaha, maybe less meat during the weekdays, exclusion for the weekends. Don't worry, I know god did not create me to be a vegetarian.

That's all I can think of right now. I am afraid of giving too much resolution that I can achieve. Lol

Moments of 2009

2009-12-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

Another 9 1/2 hours to welcoming a new year.

I must say that year 2009 is one of the most happening year in my life, at least up to now.

Completed my degree and this also denotes the 1st time since 7 years old that I don't need textbook/ thick reference book sticking on my hands most of the time...

Graduated...

Landed my first job as an engineer in Shell. I must say god must have blessed me 9 9. Thanks.. although it was too soon that I have insufficient time for my holidays.

Start receiving paychecks.. and it's a lot better than monthly allowances during university time.
At least I started contributing financially to my family, pay for my car, living and more freedom on spending. That's why I have yet saved any. Maybe dimes...

Got my 1st car. Although it's not the car that I aim to get, but I am satisfy that this underpowered, harsh, floaty, low-quality interior with crappy ICE car is bought at a very reasonable price and appears to be lasting (if you minus the rattle, suspension noise etc.).

With lousy ICE comes great spending for ICE. Previously, I'm not planning to keep the car for long. So instead of the plan to change the whole audio system, I add in an active subwoofer. Result is satisfactory as I need more bass in my car to offset high pitch (cause from car rattles...lolz kidding). Nah, the sound still suck since the head unit is still original plus I'm using a modulator and the car NVH is below par with Jap. Continentals are still good in NVH nevertheless.

It seems that most of the happening are more of necessities rather than wants. But I am thoroughly happy with the big change in my life.

I bow to my temptation

2009-11-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

I always hoped to be able to fit my Logitech sound system into my car, and then bring it home again for use with laptop. Blame the crappy sound system in myvi. Proton wins this deal, yeah only this.

My desire to upgrade myvi sound system grew much much stronger today morning. Maybe it was the dream yesterday night. My only complaint (in audio section) for myvi is the bassless sound system, coupled with audible road noise.

So, I went to a shop near E-mart, Tudan, Miri, Sarawak (In case for those in the West Msia, it's not ulu here... I don't go ulu places to get my upgrades. Was looking for plug and play equipment ( I'm not faithful to crappy car) and found this active subwoofer, Alpine SWE-1000. There were other subs there as well but Alpine caught my eye (the other eye was looking at RM1k pioneer HU, but no no, no money)

This is it:-

A fellow in the shop recommended me to fit in a voltage capacitor, where the voltage can be tracked and can avoid drainage of battery. I took that up as well. But kinda regret now as I max out the audio, subs, high beam lights, full air con with hazard light. The capacitor recorded 12.0V compared to 14V. Shit, kena tipu.

Anyway, the bill was prosperous at RM888.00. I was very happy on my way home, took the longest route but was depressed to view maybank2u when reached home.

This is life. Got ups and downs.

I wish this is a tube subwoofer la, but too bad is a useless capacitor

This is the subwoofer, small but sufficient

Fits under the seat snugly

I love remote controls, and this sub come with 1!

Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan

2009-11-03T00:26:00.000-08:00

You often see this quote since Najib took over.

So lets review the meaning behind it.

What is dahulu? Dahulu is defined as firstly. But on the other hand, dahulu refers to the past.
Dahulu, saya sering melawat kakak di rumah seberang jalan it
Last time, I often visited the sister from the opposite house.

So, Rakyat didahulukan, Pencapaian diutamakan

might/ should/ could

mean

Rakyat to be made 'history', Pencapaian diutamakan...

What!

So Long Japan Imports

2009-11-01T04:58:00.000-08:00

Under the new National Automotive Policy, the import of used spare parts will be banned by June 2011. So, wanna get spare part? Order from authorised dealers, that is only if your car is not from grey market...

So, it seems kinda tough to get some sports car in the future. No more dreaming about Celicas, Skylines, Evos... Back to Impreza, ahahahaha, since Motor Image brings them in for decades in Malaysia....

The NAP is meant to design Malaysia to buy national car as one of their 1st cars, then upgrade to compact sedan City Vios Sentra. Then, stick to Accord Camry Cefiro till RIP...

Failed ICE Plan

2009-11-01T04:44:00.000-08:00

Lately, I am so in In Car Entertainment craze. Went to ask around several shops for quotation. In brief, those shops sell their stuff kinda expensive, if compared to online price. Finally, there is one shop that sells (only) their speakers competitively. Head units there are mostly months outdated.

So. this is my plan.. head unit Pioneer 7150; a pair of Sony 6" mid bass woofer (with tweeters) in the front and a pair of 6"x9" medium end woofer at the back. 6 speakers set up...

Alas, one salesperson, assuming that he's an ICE pro, advised me that this set up in Myvi would not produce much bass as I expect. The car interior design is such way that it's not as easy to set up a decent system like those in sedan cars.

One solution: add subwoofer. Okay, an alpine active subs there waiting for me. Costing almost RM800. I straight away bo mood (no mood)... and given that the factory Myvi sound insulation is bad, I was not as enthusiastic as before in Myvi ICE...

Sounds great but over the budget...

So that's my story... wanna insulate car but failed; reason: cost... wanna upgrade ICE but failed; reason: same...

Money rules everything...

DIY 1960

2009-10-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

Solve the noise problem at the back of my car today. I found out that the metal hitting sound from the boot of the car is caused by a loose metal which connect the handle of the 5th door to the locking mechanism.

It is a moving part so I can really tighten it so I have attached polystyrene and some bundled tissues near to the area so that it could dampen the vibrating metal. Will upgrade the 'custom made pad' with proper insulation once I manage to purchase some insulation pads...

Stripped 5th door

The pad is not even cap ayam- made of polystyrene and tissue papers... but it works!

Now the car is almost as silent as new. One more significant noise is from the head unit/ radio. Still assessing whether to change the whole aftermarket unit or to strip 'em down and insulate....lol. It's not cheap to set up ICE...

But as for now, I'm quite satisfied with the new NVH. Thumbs down to the Service Centre for not being able to sort this out. I had been to the centre to get it diagnosed. They claimed that it might be the air pressure stack problem. So they asked me to continue test driving but did not do any repair or replacement beforehand. So, what to test on? Bullshit..

My confidence on service centres for national cars aren't good. This just help me to decide that my next servicing would be outside Perodua centre...

1st Time @ Sarawak Offshore

2009-10-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

Day 1: I boarded a helicopter from Miri Airport. It was my first time in a helicopter and was amazed that a passenger helicopter can actually carry 20+ passenger. It took almost an hour to reach the destination, E11 platform. We stopped by a platform in the middle of the journey to pick up two passengers.

Immediately after arrival, we went to meet the medic, had a quick lunch and undergo safety briefing. Safety is very critical especially at offshore since it is isolated, and even significant since I'm attached to HSE department.

E11 crew was very busy for the whole day due to start up process. Therefore, me and another HSE manager had to stay in our room, waiting for tea time in the evening. Then we returned to our room, waiting for dinner in the late evening. Then we returned to our room again, waiting for supper. So it was all about food that day! Anyway, we were given reading material, the E11 HSE Case but that was not sufficient for the many hours.

Day 2: As a part of exposure, we were absorbed into the crew for daily toolbox meeting. From there, we will be able to know the activities that was held or going to hold for the day. Today was a day of exposure for me, we had emergency exercise. A scenario of fire incident with several injuries were created and I was there to assist in observing during the mustering process. Everyone was serious and dedicated to the drill unlike students during fire drill at school.

Day 3: This is the 'sweatiest' day of all. Finally, someone brought us out of the living quarter to walkaround the platforms. This is not for height phobia people as the flooring there are basically strong mesh steels so you can see the below to the sea. It was noisy out there we had to put on ear muffs so whatever they explain, I heard nothing! To me, it was purely sightseeing. Lolz. Next, we visited the control room to be briefed on the production process. Looked very similar to stuffs I had learnt from University but a lot more complicated. Then for the rest of the day, I watched Astro and read magazines. Also went to see the medic as I had cough and sorethroat.

Day 4: Well, there's nothing much today. We gained the neccesary exposure here already (assuming so since the crew was busy and there was no any program for us). It was a day of food, tea breaks, Astro, Movies, Magazines and chattings. I won't really mind this life since I was still paid!...ahahahahaha...

Day 5: Today was another day. Nothing much to do. Just wait for the helicopter to arrive and bring us home. Anyway, it was a holiday for Shell so I'm not sure if I could claim this holiday as well... ahahahah... sibeh paindai kira with kompeni. Although I did not do anything much for the five days, I could still feel tired. Nevertheless, I can conclude this visit a worthy one.

FC

2009-10-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Recorded at 12.4km/L. Usual driving without being petrol conscious.

Much Better..

2009-10-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

Things got much better towards the end of Month 2 since start work.

Started my 1st training which is an offshore survival training...

Going for offshore visit in a week...

Pay day in a week.... that's the best news...

It's pathetic to think that there's nothing else to think about here in Miri except for things related to work...

Saba Orchard Visit

2009-10-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Joined a group of colleagues out for durian feast @ Saba Orchard last weekend. Located next to Lambir national park means it's somewhere Miri country side and took around 30-40 minutes drive.

Everyone gathered at Lambir National Park entrance before being 'escorted' by brother of orchard owner who also happens to be Shell staff. The owner himself was also Shell ex-staff.

Man I began to feel that everything here in Miri is about Shell....Lol

How big is it? Circa 40 acre but we ventured maybe just 10 acre of it.

Waiting @ Orchard Entrance

The Shell influence is present even in the orchard. ' Life Saving Rules ' was briefed by the orchard owner, Mr Austin. Maybe HSSE should consider adopting the 13th Life Saving Rules, 'do not walk below dangling spiky object aka durian'. Hope I'm not being lame here.

13th Life Saving Rules: Do not walk below hanging durians

Still paiseh, everyone waiting for the 1st one to start eating...lol.. kidding

There's someone dedicated to open up the durians. What we do is just pick your durians and eat till you drop.

Other fruits also being planted here eg. rambutan (pic), dabai, pineapple, pomelo...

After 1st round of feast, we were brought for a short tour around the orchard. There's an orchid garden, and we were told that the 1st orchid in Piasau Garden is here.....

Orchids.... Theirs can grow flower, mine breed snails...lol

1st Orchid in Piasau Garden

Some just got hungry again after the tour and head up to a small (well built) hut for laksa..

Walau.. I saved my stomach for the next round

Well, I wasn't performing during the 2nd round. If I had challenged myself, I could have puked in my colleague's car. Hahaha. The gravel road in between the main road and the orchard was not pleasing. You don't wanna agitate mashed durians in your stomach...ahahahaha

Aiks, no more pictures. Nah, 2.0 mp camera phone is no fun. I left my digital cam at home, Penang....

That's all folks..

Bye Celcom 3G

2009-09-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

After using for a week, I could say I was contented with Celcom Broadband's performance.

However, I just fear that my phone battery wouldn't last long since I use my cellphone as the modem.

So, right now I'm sharing 1Mbps streamyx with my fellow housemates...

How does it feel? Nah, just the same as Streamyx. Maybe Streamyx is not so good here...

My company at Miri

2009-09-28T04:16:00.001-07:00

Reminds me of the good university days. Staying in the hot room, surfing net while listening to music. This time, my speakers are hung instead. Lol and the cooler is a tad too wide for a netbook...

Mod Shop in Miri

2009-09-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

I've looked around for car accessory shops around Miri, 3 of it in total, but neither any carry myvi products such as bodykits and even sports springs.

Cheap chrome accessory to bling your car in less than RM100 is very abundant but then again, that's not what I want.

Damn, it seems that it is easier to live with the default look of the car. Maybe I'll hold my mod plan till my warranty ends next year. (still got a year to go)

Celcom 3G

2009-09-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

I recently switch from Digi prepaid to Celcom postpaid. Neither did I know, it comes with free 30 days Celcom broadband. I realised this after a week of usage. So, another 3 more weeks to expiry.

I returned Miri today and started surfing. This is what I get:-

Reasonable speed

I was amazed by the speed and surfing is not bad.

But,

an hour later, I felt that the speed gradually decreased. Youtube was not smooth, sometimes blogger.com failed to connect but my phone is heating up.

I was a little disappointed. Should I insist on Celcom broadband or should I just share Streamyx with my fellow housemates. Anyway, there's 3 more weeks for decision making.

Can I Copyright My Quote?

2009-09-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've made up a quote. Pure original. No cetak rompak. It goes like this...

" building a career is like building a skyscraper, too fast it collapses, too slow it deficits"

- EddyHyip

So in a way, what I'm trying to say is - chill lah. Why work too hard till you age beyond age?

Work hard play hard makes us tired. Work smart play happily lah.

Btw, my data entry work earns me a lot! If you know what I mean

Sometimes, work hard play dumb works well too. Lolz

At KK now...

2009-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

I'm at KK to celebrate Hari Raya ahahaah.. not really.

Well, it is quite bored staying at Miri since so many people have left for either the festive, hometown or short vacation. My nearest spot is KK since a friend lives there.

It will be a 3 days trip, to commemorate Hari Raya (kononnya, tapi excuse lah) and tried something new today.

A fruit named Talap..

Tastes like 'not so fragrance' cempedak with mangosteen texture. I can accept it but not to my favourite list. Well, it's something everyone should try since it's seasonal.

It's unique that we should actually declares this SEA exotic fruit. Anyone wanna support my (our) cause at UN?

Talap

Re-settled

2009-09-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today I have checked out of the hotel and move my final luggages to my new settlement. It's a master bedroom of a single storey semi detached house in Pujut 5B.

Leaving the hotel suite was so heart felt. I'm gonna miss those priviledges.

Moving in the new area was not warm either. The house is rather empty, so is my room.

There has been so many transitions going on... In my company and myself.

Now I'm transiting from 4 star hotel stay to an empty room.

From a nicely equipped living room to a empty hall with a small tv in the middle

From a nicely furnished to an unfurnished ( but well equipped) kitchen

From a grand looking toilet to a barren toilet

A reminder to my Semenyih room (ex)

The same wardrobe material as Mervyn's in Semenyih, it'll tear in no time

But my car (in middle) enjoys the company and cosy environment

Well, what is there to be complained for a cheap room. 2 days of hotel stay will cover a month of the room monthly rent.

Moving out in 10 hours

2009-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

It is soon the end of my hotel stay. It feels like I've lost my money and forced to stay in a small rented area.

I surely gonna miss 24/7 air con, daily housekeeping and breakfast buffet. Needless to say, a mall within reach.

I should have taken the opportunity to try out other hotel. My advice to those who's gonna join Shell is to stayed at Imperial or Grand Palace for 2-3 weeks and then Marriott Hotel till the free stay ends. Then you experienced most of the hotel stay in Miri already.

Perhaps moving out is also a good thing. I get to wash my car every week or 2 and uninterrupted internet connection.

Anyway, accommodation and transportation are the least critical issue now. Career is a much tougher thing to deal with and it will take most of your lifetime. Man I feel like an working ant, what's the purpose, at the end of the day?

Infactuation

2009-09-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I grew fond of her. I wanted to see her everyday, be with her.

Today, I spent 3 hours washing her on the inside. Finally she's clean. I bet previously her master does not take care of her that well, can see from misalignment, poor hygiene etc.

Then, in the evening I took her to an accessory shop and present her an arm rest. It suited her rather well.

I've just kick started my career so hope she will bear with me. I promised to get her something nicer when I'm better off with my job.

demure looking

Man, I can't wait to see her in skirts.

Her 'future' skirts...

Don't swt...

Rediscovering Hobby

2009-09-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Just arrived hotel room, I decided to blog.

1 hour earlier, I felt so sleepy in my suite. no nice movie, no happenings.

I had a simple dinner earlier due to uneasy stomach.

So, I am bored and a little hungry and grabbed my car key and headed down to basement.

I drove up to Hilltop area and down to town and then up to Luak and down to Pelita where I ended up with Char Kuey Teow in my stomach.

It's fun to drive here at night. Empty, twisty roads, hilly slopes and smooth pavements and most importantly, I see no traffic police. That doesn't mean I'm speeding. I'm no speeder now. I'm more into appreciating conners and twists. I'm in a 1.3 Myvi and I was enjoying the ride. It could be better if the handling is more precise and encouraging. Power is not the priority for my ride now, it's the handling.

I figured what I need to have in my Myvi.

-A rear strut bar (I have one in front already)

- GAB/ Eibach sports spring

-15" light weight wheels

- All round diffuser

- and if kena loteri, I'll change the suspension as well

and that is purely for handling.

Power wise, I'm quite satisfy with Myvi. You don't hit top speed here in Miri. So it's much nicer to hear the small engine revving to catch up speed than the light grunt of a big cc engine building speed effortlessly. In Miri, small engined cars but with higher low end torque will give a smile to spirited drivers.

(big dick or small dick, you still pee)

But I think I might do something to improve the low end torque like:

- installing CAI (cold air intake)

To give a better feel of the car, I will need to soundproof the car a little bit and harness the car with stuffs like autofoam.

And I mentioned about Char Kuey Teow. As Penang representative, I conducted a QC on today's batch. It costed RM4.00 and was way below Penang 'ok ok la .. can eat la' standard. I completed my report (habis makan lah makna nya) and went back.

I think I need to set up a committee on CKTsd ( Char Kuey Teow Sustainability Development). To develop and expand CKT without compromising the taste bud and stomach of customer.

Anyway, I better start saving for my project.

1 Month @ Work

2009-09-18T02:45:00.000-07:00

Things have been going well.

Adapting well, eat well, sleep well... all for the compensation of living in a place.... far, far away from the world called West Malaysia.

Have set my Task and Target for this quarter so I will have something to do and a good probation report to write.

The problem now is... when to start. I am 1 month here already and for the whole next week, I won't have anything to do since my bosses are all on leave. Selamat Hari Raya!

So hopefully after next week, I will have some serious work to do.

oh oh btw, I learn to be more environmental friendly and aware of safety.

Transition Spectacle!

2009-09-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

My 1st photochromic glasses. I invested on a very good pair of spec, so I hope it will serve me for years. It is even lighter than my previous spec.

I might spend a lot on this but actually I have saved on buying another set of sunglass that might cost me a few hundred bucks.

Just 1 advice to those who also opting for a photochromic lens, don't go for a rimless as the lens are rather fragile (much brittle than normal lens). That's why I chose an almost full rim.

It can be a sunglass outdoor but not in car since cars nowadays have tinted film which filters uv rays. FYI, this type of lens rely on uv rays rather than light intensity.

I'm gonna 'sayang' this spec la...

Bye bye my old rusty spec ( uni friends, you all know la.... my old spec that served me almost half a decade)

My Car Steering Vibrated 'Until Hem'...

2009-09-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

Man I just got myself an Vibrating Function in my steering wheel..

Ogawa!

It just don't feel stable when cornering, maybe due to the unevenly worn out tyre.

Damn, my second maintaneance has just lined up.

Changing a new set of tyres... swt

My 1st Car

2009-09-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

Make: Perodua

Model: Myvi EZi

Displacement: 1300 cc

Transmission: Automatic

Year of Make: 2008

Mileage: 24000 km

Condition: Satisfactory with full service record

Previous owner comment: Please take care of her

New owner comment:

I replied ' Sure man, she's still in good hand ' and drove back to office. On my way back, I drove 60-80kmh. The car juggled like a moving train and the steering wheel had to tilt 30 degrees to remain on straight line. There were rattles here and there. Suddenly I have a sense of regret, 'Have I got myself a Lemon!?'

After work, I brought her for a medical check at a mechanic. The tyres were out of alignment and needs to be fixed. Part of the tyres are worn out unevenly, which caused the rattled. I got the car fixed and now the train effect is reduced.

Passion my ass now...

Leaving the Comfort Zone

2009-09-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

Picture courtesy of http://sweetanniesjewelry.wordpress.com/

There's only a few days to the end of my hotel stay, company car and free time in the company.

Next week, I'll be living at Pujut 5, renting an empty room there. Getting own car, meaning the need to bear maintaneance cost, monthly repayment etc.

And work wise, I think my boss is starting to hand some work. Gonna be involved in a Shell 'co-curricular' activities soon..ahahaha. You don't run away from extra work. Hahahaha! However, I'm still far from being crazily insufficient time like my fellow colleagues..

Guess I gotta be ready to step out of my comfort zone and work my career! I need motivation! As geeky as it sounds, I really need it...

It's Never Clear in Miri City,

2009-09-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

it's never clear in Miri City,

but (indon)girl don't they warn ya

It haze, man it haze.....

ToTo business diversity

2009-09-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

They supply 'jamban's hand flush in Shell

AirAsia replaces KTMB

2009-09-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

During my uni days, I used to travel back to Penang via train, KTMB. In the last decade, I've seen vast changes in KTMB. From normal CRT tele to Panasonic LCD TV, quieter ride, more punctual but ticket price has not changed much. Since travelling by train is tiring and time consuming, I travelled via train about 6 times a year.

Now, I am hunting for cheap airfare. By end of 2009, I'll be flying 14 times in total. Damn. That's where most of my savings will go. Half of the trip accounts for connecting flights since there's no direct Miri-Penang flight. Hope Tony Fernandez sees this. I represent the North Peninsular Malaysian citizens who work here...lol.

And in total, travelling by air now is only 2-3 hours faster than by train I used to prefer.

Week 2

2009-09-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's already 2 weeks since I started working. Things were going real fine. There are still so much to learn about the organization of this huge company, their businesses and their operation technically. Ah I just wish my brain has a memory slot just like my phone so that I can have 16 GB memory card containing all the info I need to be able to perform well. lolz

Started shifting some of my stuffs from hotel to my house after cleaning. Housemates were not around, one went oversea while the other might be offshore, I dunno.

Car purchase was doing well. Consulted a bank officer and found out the interest rate for 1 year old Myvi is 3.75%. That is exactly the same value of a new car, 7 years loan. Wow, now I'm getting a good bargain.

I appreciate the fact that I am now already got a job and working whereas globally, the economy aren't performing well.

Stupid engine

2009-09-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I was trying to go to E-Mart near to Curtin University area but on the main road, I went on straight instead of turning to the right. That made me heading to Brunei, ahahahaha. I obliged to speed limit, well it's a policy. But after 15 minutes driving on the road I finally found a U-turn. But that was my limit. I was frustrated that I let the car build up to 120 in 4th gear. To my horror, when I pressed the clutch to shift, the car revved to almost 6k rpm, before continuing to 140. Nice power but stupid engine. I think Proton owner can blame high FC on the auto-rev feature which come standard when you press the clutch.

I wonder how those supported can think of associating this engine characteristic to a V-Tec engine. Campro is far from V-Tec....

If I could have a Mini Cooper S to drive to Brunei...lol

1 Week In Miri

2009-08-31T03:06:00.000-07:00

So, I've started working since last Monday, went through orientation programme organized by Crown Relocation. Got a company car, though it will last for 1 month, 30 days to be exact and also 1 week through accomodation luxury in Imperial Suite.

I was fast indeed, maybe acted too desperate. In the one week time, I had also secured a room to stay after 1 month and also a personal car to drive. All in one week, I barely enjoy adapting to living in Miri, I rather say that I put my effort in Miri assimilation.

I've been through Merdeka in my suite alone, ah very peaceful, no accomodation research, no transportation research. It was all sorted out!

Tomorrow may appear to be my 'start' working date because my boss is back. I will have my roles and responsibilities explained soon!

A New Journey Has Just Begun

2009-08-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

Here I am in Miri, and doing fine since I have been researching about the place through miricommunity forum.

It takes two flight from Penang to Miri and finally I have arrived at 3.30pm. Was greeted by Augustus from Crown Relocation who also sent me to Imperial Hotel.

Ah, now I have the one month long hotel stay. Darn it, the agent claimed that many of those like me chose Marriot Hotel instead. But my room is not bad, it's a big suite, with a small living hall, pantry, a separated bedroom and a washing machine. Now I don't have to send my clothes somewhere for laundry.

Connecting the hotel is the Imperial Mall. It's a pretty small mall, so I managed to venture the whole mall in less then 1 hour, with essentials bought.

Had my dinner at Ming Cafe. Serve non halal asian food. Price wise, very KL like but tasted different but not bad. Maybe I was still full. Or maybe something different in terms of cooking style or the rice used.... or i was just too fussy!

Why I Won't Consider a Korean Car?

2009-08-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry if i am stereotyping, but after having driven a relative's car, a Hyundai Sonata 2.0 (A) for some time, I have come to a conclusion:-

won't be tempted by cheaper koreans.... err korean cars.

1. It is not a new car anymore but I particularly hate the crashing sound of the dashboard everytime i go through some minor road undulations. Even a similarly aged Proton Wira does not produce such pronounced effect.

2. I don't know about their current offerings but that car has terrible build quality. I must admit that the car has some soft touch panels that are nice but they are terribly fitted together.

3. Fuel consumption is quite high. I think I should not be the only one complaining. Ask some Hyundai owners and most probably they'll tell you the same.

4. Seats are not supportive. Your butt may slide away from turning direction if you make it hard, thanks to super slippery, flat leather seats. Your butt keeps moving but the seat belts forcing your chest to stay.... maybe this defines the korean cars, one of a kind.. "magnificient"

Maybe the only thing I appreciate is the size, i love big cars (can bully smaller cars...lolz..kidding) and its cool air con. That's all...

Acer Aspire One D250b

2009-08-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Introducing my new computing device, Acer Aspire One netbook. I have been using my Compaq Presario laptop for a while now and it's time to change to something lighter so I can carry it around whenever I travel.

Specification speaking, it is not as powerful as my good ol' compaq. What do you say to Intel Atom 1.6Ghz vs Core 2 duo 1.6Ghz? Lousy maybe but this netbook costs twice cheaper than the compaq that I've bought 4 years back. This Acer is upgraded to 2 GB Ram but still, I can feel slight lagginess whenever I run Media player, Chrome, Messenger and Words.

Netbook is capable of playing some online mmorpg games. Tried SuddenAttack and suprisingly, it is still smooth but 10.0" screen will demotivate your eyes to focus on the tiny crosshair. lol

Netbook is quite fantastic if you are a 24hrs downloader. It generates very little heat compared to my compaq, which I need a cooler otherwise it will auto shutdown. It's also very gentle on electricity comsumption.

What else? Oh yea, smaller keyboard so yeah everynow and then I create typos but should be able to get used to it. Small screen is pain in the eyes if you are deprived from sleep. What's good? It's very light, only 1.2kg, very thin (even thinner than some netbooks out there).

Actually when I bought the netbook from the store, I was quite amazed by dolby sticker on the palm rest area. Little did I know, it's dolby headphone certified. Kena tipu...

24.08.09

2009-07-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Long sleeved t-shirts and slacks will replace my current casuals

Moquito Art

2009-07-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

How to make one?

Let a mosquito suck your blood till it can't take it no more.

Next patiently wait for the lazy ass mosquito to land on the floor.

Get a cane, aim precisely and hit on the moquito.

Splatz...

There you go...

Bloody hell...

St Anne's Day

2009-07-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

St. Anne's Church

St Anne's Church appears to be the greatest landmark of Bukit Mertajam. If I am not wrong, they are one of the earliest church in Penang and also the biggest up to date.

Busses for visitors all over Malaysia

St. Anne's Day celebration is held annually around this time. Apology for not knowing the exact date but you can see from the road traffic around the church, very obvious.

Parking sibeh full, even at the back of

I am actually practising Buddhism and the likes (ie. whichever that requires joss sticks..lolz) but I'm quite liberal in religious views. So I've been to and prayed in churches (actually, St. Anne's is my only so far), Indian Temples, Burmese Temples etc. Well, I don't foresee any problem as there has no any 'clash of titans' that I have experienced so far...

In fact, I'm not the only one there with such view. There are quite some visitor who held their lit candles but treated them like joss- stick. I believe praying procedure/ methods should not be the obstacle to the faith we have in religions. In fact, most religions teach good things right. So what is wrong with adopting good practices from various faiths.

The newer side of the church

The fact that I go to St. Anne's Church for that occasion is because I am grateful to be blessed by 'god-ever is it..' with my achievements and life. So just wanna say thank you to god-ever is it.

Art features everywhere

Anyway, this does not mean I am converting. I may not a true Buddhist but I believe Buddhism runs in my blood and I am proud to be one.

Top of the church, back of the wall is a reservoir

Nice bell tower, taken with crappy camera phone

View of newer side from old church

Sydney House inspired..

On going contruction, this Church is rich in fundings
Good for BM Tourism.. and worshipping environment of course.

Click

2009-07-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

3 years ago, I bought a DVD (ehem ehem 1 of course) title Click starring Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale. Turned it on and off it back after 20 minutes as I found the movie to be quite stupid. How could someone make a movie based on a stupid remote control that can control life?!

Yesterday night, out of boredom, I turned on the TV and Click was aired on a local channel. Since there was nothing to do, I watched along. Suprisingly, it turned out to be rather interesting and I watched till the end. Kate was demure.....

So that was all about the movie.

Actually I have deduced something. Don't be a workaholic and screw up your life by working all day and night long, 365. Here I come, slackers!

I Miss KL...

2009-07-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna miss being in a manual car facing traffic jam in federal highway...
I'm gonna miss going from basement to basement looking for car park in Mid Valley...
I'm gonna miss stopping by every 10 mins, winding down window to flash Touch N Go card at toll plaza...
I'm gonna miss going back to Semenyih from 1 Utama using MRR2, the longer way...
I'm gonna miss driving 110kmh in 90kmh limit... Notts ppl know which road is this yea...
I'm gonna miss bulatan Cheras jam...

Damn ... I'm gonna miss many things that ppl bash about...

A H1N1 lose to D24

2009-07-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

I went to Miri last 3 weeks, taking 4 domestic flight in total, I met a friend who just came back from oversea last 2 weeks. I took a lot of D24 in between.

Then, I got fever for two days and it was D24's fault. If you have a choice to be with AH1N1 or durian, stay away from the latter. Rolf.

Picture taken yesterday, subject in picture also consumed yesterday. It was an attempt to save my family from fever. 3 bosses down, 4 more to go.

I think I'm immune already. Anyway, 3 clinics are within 15 minutes walk. Fret not...

A Lot of Laju These Days

2009-07-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've used a lot of Pos Laju these days, it seems that fast is good.

Work fast feels good, drive fast feels better. Even pets do feel so too... Bukit Mertajam pets are so fortunate..wakakaka... fast food!

Pet Laju, dijamin segar esok!

The Pursuit of Scholarship

2009-07-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

As some of you have know, I pursued my degree using education loan from Perkeso which covered everything including my living cost. That was also the reason why I studied up to 3 years BEng rather than another 1 more year for a masters.

Now that my degree is completed, I am going to appeal for converting my loan to scholarship.

An Appeal Letter with Hope

For those who is Malaysian and unfortunate like me but wanted to further your studies in a private university, give it a try at Perkeso. Go to their website @ www.perkeso.gov.my and have at look.

Right now, I feel fortunate but sometimes it felt like a compensation from god for what I've lost. Nevertheless, one should look to the front and learn to appreciate.

Use of Camera Phone

2009-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Lazy to remember...

Without auto focus + 2.0 Mega pixel, hands need to be firm to outweigh deficiencies.

My First Passport

2009-07-08T08:29:00.001-07:00

I have never been overseas. Across the sea I have which is very Penang Island. Pathetic.
So this time I'm flying further, to Miri Sarawak. Still Malaysia but a passport I am required. Limited Travel Passport the name is.

10kbps connection denying me from uploading photos. Streamyx sucks

Photo finally up after a week...

RM 5.00 the cost is and simply amazed I am. Why does Malaysian immigration loves mess and hassle? Seems to me that MyKad can't prove your citizenship but a 5 ringgit passport will do the job.

And finally, Star Wars suck.

W910i

2009-07-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

I had an express music in exchange with my SE K810 with my uncle, but it lasted for a month only cause he found it easier to type chinese characters in a nokia than SE.

Again, I swapped for a rather new SE W910. I always ended up with SE, like fated to. It was not bought but an award my uncle received for being the top seller for something (dunno what is it, but it's telco related).

So, it's not bad, still a slide phone, albeit much thinner and nicer to hold and look much more sleek and wanting and.... very much fonded by the aesthetic value. I used this phone for usual task ie calling, sms-ing and snapping photo (the camera suck big time, I just use it in car park).

Until today I decided to blog about it as I found a new feature. In walkman mode, shake it to the right/ left, you skip or return to the previous song. Shake it up and down, you reshuffle the song. Do it more often and you don't bother hitting aeroplane anymore... for the fact(fag) that your hitting a walkman phone... shit!

You can even play some games using motion sensor, but I'm not really a phone gamer, so forget about it. I will also utilize this phone by subscribing for Celcom broadband right before I leave for Miri.

So W910 for celcom broadband and an old school phone for daily work. Sounds wrong isn't it. Well, if the broadband reception in Miri is good, then I'll get Huawei modem and really make use of W910i.

Till then, I'll just shake shake shake it with my phone...wakakaka.

Don't be yellow...

SRD

2009-06-19T09:54:00.001-07:00

I am glad to be able to clinch a job in Shell through SRD. I did not give much hope in SRD beforehand because I took it as a challenge and more of a free test on my skills (can claim traveling and accommodation expensive*)

In my attempt to get jobs during my university time, no matter what the company is, I had been assisted by many people, my friends who offered me transportation convenience, interview and job advices, moral support and also those LYN forumers who shared their experience and attended to my inquiries on the net.

Therefore, I felt the responsibility to contribute some information that I have previously obtained both from exposure and enquiries. I hope the below information will help you to have a clearer picture of the SRD.

SRD is a one day event, which is design to assess the employability criteria set by Shell.
It begins with individual case study, followed by group discussion and a technical interview or a business case study if you are not from technical background.

There is a SRD pre-briefing a day before the SRD event so make full use of the day. Learn and try to identify your strength and weaknesses when practicing during the pre-briefing as it may be helpful in boosting confidence and also understand better what is expected during the SRD.

In here, I will not reveal or describe the task that I have done but I will share my experience vaguely. I believe that every person has his/ her unique way of dealing with problems.

Individual case study- You will be given many articles and pieces of information relating to several issues. You need to identify the issues from these articles and propose solution/ action to solve the issues.

Group discussion- You will be working in group of two to discuss on a certain plan or options that serve a certain stakeholder (maybe a few of them). In the end, you and your partner will gather with other groups to come out with the finalized options.

Technical interview- This appeared to be a much easier task to me. I had my interview done based on my Final Year Project. Try to understand your project well and try to be broader in the sense of technology involved, other direct and indirect issues, implication of work and constraints and also the people and stakeholders involved.

In overall you may need to consider/ give a thought on the following:
The stakeholders involved, not just who, but how, when and why
Timeline of your propose solutions/ actions
Linkages of identified issues and solutions/ actions
Relation of the case/project with reality
Thinking out of the box, think of how a certain action may solve not only the certain issue, but also developing other aspects as well.
Motivation, involvement between you and your group members

You may want to look at the criteria set based on CART:
Capability
Achievement
Relationship
Technical

You may need to look for further descriptions on these criteria on Shell website. Believe me, giving a deep thought on the CART criteria really helps.

Good luck to you and all the best in SRD.
* subjected to terms

SRD trip 16.6.09

2009-06-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

Morning, I woke up yawning before coffee and I can assure you that Dynasty Hotel is 'clean'. Believe me, I've been through the night in the room and nothing happened except that my bedside lamps kept flickering in a 'communicative' manner even when the switches were off.

Again, I shared cab with a friend to Piasau Camp, where the srd was held. My assignment was the earliest, starting with individual case study. Performance wise, I was just so so. Did not have enough time to elaborate.

Then, it was followed by group case study. Again, performance wise was so so. Did not do well in the press conference part tho.

A friend of mine, Yik Joo, took me and Qian Hui for short tour around the town. Actually both the ladies are closer friends that I am. But never mind, I enjoyed the tour and introduction to Miri town. The ais kacang was something special, well mine was named special.

Then, we went strolling around Luak beach before visiting a recreational park with suspension bridges and finally dinner. It was Yik Joo's treat, thanks, but next time it shall be mine. Hahaha.

So I left Miri for civilization at night ( not insulting Miri, but it is rather dead at night, really). Stayed awoke for hours before I can finally reach home, Penang, 8am on the next day.

What a day!

SRD trip 15.6.09

2009-06-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

So, it was 4am in the morning that I woke.
Took a cab to KLIA, charged a freaking RM80 (in the name of midnight ride, the driver claimed)
Reached KLIA in 30 mins, the driver was a racer in his previous life

Stay in the airport for good (dull) 2 hours before flight at 8.30am. Did not expect free meal with Fererro Roche in the plane. Wow, MAS service really does improved a lot, with the total ticket cost more than half of Air Asia's.

Reached Miri by almost 11, and next a cab to Dynasty Hotel. The stay was not bad, well, better than my experience in Oriental Hotel Penang..
12.30pm: Went for pre- srd briefing, meet an acquantaince, who happened to be my senior in Nottingham U. Took a cab to Piasau Camp together and also pissed a taxi driver off for ffk-ing a previous booking. Well, not entirely my fault, he called up quite late to confirm my booking. How can he call back to confirm at the same time I need to board a cab!

2-5pm: It's all about the SRD.. intro, briefing and some exercise regarding the tomorrow's event. Nothing much actually, many information can be obtain from their web but more sensitive (yet more interesting..) questions may be answered... erm, like salary, working style... and also gettinh to know the other participants. Also, met a friend who had attended the gourami pre-assesment in '08, here for SRD too.

7pm: Had dinner at a wet market near hotel, ordered chicken rice...sibeh salty, i guess must be Hakka territory here..lol. Went back after 30 mins and guess what, it felt like 12am in KL. Stand in the middle of the road and you won't be hit by a car. The town sleeps early (right after dinner wow). Will I survive the sanity of Miri lifestyle?

Silent night...

8pm: In my room now, watching TV and revising my stuff, waiting for midnight to come so I could sleep. Well, I can say that my room is not haunted.

SRD trip 14.6.09

2009-06-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

So the trip to Miri for Shell Recruitment Day began. I took a morning train trip from Bukit Mertajam to KL Sentral. It was the first time I took day railway trip in the 4 years as previously, I prefer the night train so I can sleep in there and resume my life on the next day at destination.

The train was rather empty but the commotion from other passengers really defied the environment. Anyway, it was a dreadful 8 hours trip without any sleep.

Reached KL around 3pm, took a cab back to Semenyih house. What an incident.. happened to stumble upon a woman breastfeeding her baby in KTM commuter..okay... it looked awkward.

Had my whole night at Semenyih without TV and Internet, just preparing for my interview and went for early sleep.

Nervous

2009-06-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

am very nervous...

will be having shell recruitment day this coming tues...

shouldn't be scary tho' but couldn't help with mixed feeling...

will be stopping by Semenyih for a night... am back again...lolz...

a lot of flight and taxis in 3 days...

hope I don't catch the flu...lolz...

New Phase

2009-05-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, I'm pretty much done in achieving one of my personal milestone.. a degree!

Time to proceed with career...

Scorching...

2009-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

it's so hot here in Semenyih...

begin to miss how it rained everyday back at BM...

took my shirt off already... sweat has yet dried off...

cant sleep, study and sit well with the current weather...

damn...

stay healthy

2009-05-08T07:53:00.001-07:00

maybe in the future...

the only thing that keeps you healthy...

from...

sars, ah1n1, bird flu...

is this...

earthling's life just got more and more miserable isn't it...

Music Express

2009-05-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

traded my old sony ericson k810 for a nokia 5610...

honestly said, loved features in se k810...

but buttons chrome started to chip off and some part rusted...

dead pixel also begin to surface, joystick is insensitive...

so better trade b4 it's 2 late...

sounds like the next owner just traded for a lemon hp...

the owner is my uncle....

hahahaha... god willing, he oso willing... lolz so be it...

btw, he owns hp business, so none of the hp is mine... i just borrowed for perma use...

still love this.... but have to go

good looking will have to cope with lesser function...

my new does not have (what k810 used to have):-

1. multiple alarm - luckily i'm graduating soon, but i still need 2 work...

2. notes as wallpaper option - i will be more forgetful now... damn

3. camera without features - 3.2 mega pixel sounds more like decoy now...

complain: organizing work in calender made harder....

but it has:-

1. look

2. sliding feature

3. express music feature- more organized media files

4. nice layout with lotsa self-defined buttons - love this...

sounds like i've just got a blondie... but no brainer...

Without Car Again...

2009-05-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

returned to semenyih without a car...

will stay here till end of may...

for exams...

pdc makes life miserable...

sorry wii

2009-04-27T21:51:00.001-07:00

it's so unfortunate that the no 1 wishlist has to go a few numbers aback.

a new laptop comes first.... a new compaq presario ... not for me but for bro...

Tabung Babi is gonna empty soon...

seems that wii is far from purchase-able...

no use stating my list here...

like ur gonna help me get them...

Back @ Home

2009-04-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back ma...

but just a short while ... 2 revise for exams and have foc meals ...

can save money muahahhaha...

aint that bad of me cause i'm doing something good, that's saving...

money come and money go anyway... but still need to save

Blogging...

2009-04-20T02:46:00.001-07:00

blogging makes me feel better....

cause sometimes speech don't work....

but aint no secret here...lolz

1997 - 2009

2009-04-20T02:39:00.001-07:00

looked back to the day when the skies were the greyest....

and looking at now how my life is leading to....

should i be grateful for all the stuffs that i have achieved all these years....

or should i say that i'm still missing many stuffs that i should deserve....

anyway, time really flies.... too fast that i'm afraid to think that i will have grey skies sooner or later...

will i regret for not doing enough....

maybe it's just me thinking too much....

but just don't wanna miss a thing....

all this leads me to only thinking... what is the purpose of life?....

-fin-

End of Vios Tenure

2009-04-19T07:35:00.001-07:00

am returning car back to mom...

will be freaking missing it...

hope will get 1 soon... whenever i get a job, wherever i work, whatever i earn (earn shit?)

my more realistic target car..... (project management revision lah)

is 4 door is not la la scissor door

is less than 2.0L is not v8, or with pseudo v8 badge behind

is turboed is not aftermarket la la surbo or turbo sound for god sake

is continental is not dodge viper, cadillac or bmw or those expensive ones

is sibeh big (wide) is not wide because of add those satria gti lala plastic fender

is hatchback is not ... errr (no comparison le) long lah

is peugeot 308thp! is not proton satria neo 1.6 cps kononnya engineered 2 exhilarate

Priced 115k... hoping by few years from now can find a used unit.

like it.. big, powerful, rare and most of all... i just like it...

no reason for likey something for 1st sight rite...

yeah.. this is 308 with tooboo (female pig in hokkien)

massive!!!

but the 1st stepping stone is most likely...

fugly

Post FYP

2009-04-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

felt a different perspective when i returned home after submitting the report...

omg, I'm gonna graduate soon. In fact, it feels like graduated already. Forget the exams....

damn... i'm so demotivated.

have books and notes arrange on the table to start revision but somehow I didn't see it...

damn...

will start.... eerrrr.... soon... enough

End of FYP

2009-04-19T07:29:00.001-07:00

- fin -

Children Song...

2009-04-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

When I have kids, in future, I'm gonna sing this

Liang Zhi Lian Ren

Shou Qian Shou

Yi Qi Zai Ni Shen Pian

Yi Qi Ai Dao Yong Yuan

Zhen Qi Kuai

an innocent song so corrupted by Gary....

Part Time Business

2009-03-09T06:43:00.001-07:00

I noticed a lot of my friends and buddies running their own small business. Be it web/ graphic or photographing freelancing to selling apparels, I really admire their ability to start earning while working on their degree in uni.

I've done something too. Kamsao, yeah that's the name of the T-shirt Mervyn and I designed and sell. Sold 50 of them thanks to support from friends and internet forumers.

A very good start but not as good as my friends selling dresses. Maybe girls shop more so dresses are appealing for virtual blog-shop.

Maybe I can do something unique. Men always have nice pair of Nike shoes, expensive watches, rugged and tough jeans but have they (we) forgotten something? This what I 'might plan' to sell. Pictures tell all...

Puma

Playboy

Calvin Client

Shit, I can't stand my own blog...

A Crawl

2009-03-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

Semenyih main road in the evening today was badly congested. Luckily for us, the path to dinner was not affected. It wasn't a good day afterall that I saw a cockroach's shedskin on my tea glass... a very good puking moment which I badly resisted.

Back to the jam, it was caused by a dislodged trailer in the middle of the junction.

Sportbike

2009-03-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

There's one thing that I regret for not doing, getting a B-license for bike.
I only have a car license and yes I'm driving. Well, car license is a real necessity but bike license is what I need for my future hobby!

Damn, when I graduate, I will go and learn to ride a sportbike...
Lets do a little day-dreamin...

Starters' Bike

Kawasaki Ninja 250R

The bike(s) that I wish to end up with

Kawasaki Ninja ZX6RR

Honda CBR600rr

Maybe my height limits me to 250r... or my money limits me to...

The mighty mat-rempit capable HONDA EX-5!

Distractions

2009-03-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

It's end of week 5 now and my design project is still at initial stage. Feels stressed up when think about it.
So much distraction from doing my work. Movies, games, sportbike fondness, work in Singapore research thingy... all taking up most of my time.

It's weekend now, so I should have more time to be distribute the time more on projects and studies.

PD-Malacca Trip ( 2 weeks ago)

2009-02-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

2 weeks ago, my housemates and I went for a road trip to Port Dickson (PD). We were joined by Jian Lim @ Ghost, Satoru @ assat, Joyce, Pauline and Belinda.

We left for the beach on Sunday morning, in 3 cars. It was sure comfortable journey since I drove and each passenger had more than adequate space. Halfway the journey, we stopped at Seremban for brunch at a dim sum restaurant. Surprisingly we had to queue for our turn to have our meals there. (Un)Fortunately, we stood a good 20 minutes for our turn outside the building.

Food was decent for the price we paid. Dim Sum was varied

what a queue
Finally... food

Then we headed for Seremban famous siew pow. Actually, I know a couple of place in Penang that serve siew pow as good as, if not better, than the ones we're buying. Anyway, it did not sound bad to buy something from its origin place.

We arrived at Port Dickson in the noon. Tried to check in our apartments at Sunshine Bay but was still 2 hours early. So we headed to the beach, without and sunblock lotion (the girls do). So sun burn is inevitable hahah.

The beach was low tide, so it has a lot of reddish spot. When we looked near, it was crabs. I know grammatically it should be 'they were crabs' yeah tiny little crabs, but they were enormous in quantity that we deemed 'it' uncountable. A picture may speak a thousand words.

A whole load of crab there on the sea side

Jason the original kamsao and Tommy @ Tom Ko

The apartment that we stayed, Sunshine Bay

We played and baked (or rather burnt) under the brisk (or rather burning hot) sun until we finally managed to move into our apartments. Ah, no pictures for events later on.

All under one sun

During the evening, we went down again for a swim at the beach. It wasn't clean but still bearable, but the saltiness there is just one of it's kind. Maybe it has too many 'variety' thanks to civilization... and us.
Later then, some played Banana Boat but I missed it. Well, it was kinda intentional because I didn't felt like it.

At night, we had BBQ and urm.... yeah BBQ.....
We played and drank a little but not drunk.... and off to bed... boring isn't it. But they were far more enjoyable that how I described them. Maybe I'm being least expressive or is it the missing photos?...

So, to day 2.

We visited Malacca, again we drove there using an old road. I almost bump into accident when overtaking a trailer. Man, that was one hell of a experience. So thrilled ! Hahaha, actually I was more scared that how I describe here. Am I a little bit too lively?...
Anyway, lets get back to the story.

It was a winding road and I was waiting for a chance to overtake the trailer. I was tailing the trailer which Merv had the chance to overtake earlier until I saw a long slope. The opposing side was empty and that was a long stretch of slope. So I pressed on the pedal as I drove pass the trailer. Suddenly, the slope came to an end and (un)fortunately, there were cars travelling with a 'built tough' Proton Savvy leading. I stepped on the gas pedal harder and the trailer slowed down and I managed to turn back into the road safely. Suprisingly, the car was only running at 3000rpm during the incident. Am I a little dramatic here? Fact is I was more freaked out than how cool it was desribed. Well, I was lucky and this is a very good real life lesson. I could have formed a caterpillar pile with Savvy head and made a hamburger out of my friends. Thanks Chui and Ghost for having faith in me. Hahah... I was just joking...err.. yeah...well... yeah..

Anyway, we reached Malacca in the noon. We went for the famous Chicken Ball Rice and have a short walk around there. Visited A Farmosa Fort which was overrated by the History book. It looked bigger in the text. And took a ride in a thrishaw. Wow, even a thrishaw has better sound system than my car!

Foooood!
Me in the shop

We went back late in the afternoon. This time going home by highway and 110kmh all the way. Too freaked out to speed after the near miss. Hahah... well, only 130/140 a couple of times and that's all... not lying.

We the Kamsao's

the overrated 'almari kerusi meja' fort

Oh yea, forget to tell that there's this ABC (air batu campur) shop that is quite nice. I don't know the name (I only go by food names lol) but it has variety of ABC. You may check it out. Here the picture.

The shop with ABC

The fooooood.. ABC

-fin-

Human Basic Instinct: Greed

2009-02-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

Money is never enough. We do the tough way of earning it by working but some rather gambled it, hoping that one day, more will return. However, truth is, cost of gambling outweighs the returns.

Most people buy lottery without understanding the probability of winning the number. Take a number 1234. The first number has 9 possibilities followed by10 possibilities for each subsequent numbers. Therefore, probability of hitting your number is 1/(9 x 10 x 10 x 10) = 1/9000.

So you can bet on number 1234 for 9000 times and if your lucky, you might win in some early rounds. Otherwise, I wish you best of luck. Hah..

The best thing is, even a temple is manipulated to aid in lottery number prediction. There's so much humans can do today in the name of god.

Lottery number prediction at a temple near my house. Fresh feed, updated daily.

Buddy

2009-02-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

We have a dog at Semenyih house, where I stay throughout the whole academic year of Uni Nottingham. It's called Buddy, belongs to Tommy, a housemate of mine.

Buddy was bought for RM300 from a lady who claimed that it was a Spitz. I thought it would be too general to classify a dog by Spitz because there are variety of dog breed that come under the term.

It turned out that Buddy appears to be a mix bred of German Shepherd and Labrador Retriever. We assume so. Nevertheless, my housemates and I adore him. He bites a lot and pee everywhere but time is all that we need to get all this fixed (as in trained).

Pictures of Buddy:

Bad Buddy, bad

burn after watching

2009-02-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

Watched Burn After Reading at night and it was a totally waste of time. Fooled by the cast and in the end, I didn't even get it.

Study progress: slow but still good. Managed to catch up on Process Dynamic Control but yet to work on tutorial 2. A little bit more on PDC before the tutorial.

FYP: Finished up to MESH calculation for the column

Throughout the day: Watched clips of Top Gear in YouTube. God knows I love cars...

I've just wasted my time, got into an argument

2009-02-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

As a final year student, time management is crucial and I know I don't have a Friday to be wasted. Revision-2-do piling up and a stuck final year project. But still, I am not motivated. I went down to wash my car, clean some stuffs rather than catching up with studies like I did weekly. The mood did not seemed to be there.

At night, I called back home to check out on my family. Got into light argument with mom. She disapprove me going for an island trip as soon as I finished my whole degree studies, by saying that I've enjoyed too much and not realized that so many people might not be as lucky as me. I agreed that I was lucky but the trip is going to be my graduation trip with my university mates which I really look forward to.

I gave in, and decided not to go further with the current situation, and emotionally replied to my friend to pull out from the trip. He was stunted by my answer but did not question.

I felt discouraged and disappointed.

But I will plan for my next step for my final year project before I sleep in about an hour.

The first post: About Me and The Blog

2009-02-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I'm Eddy. I'm 22 at the year of creating this post. Stay in Penang, Malaysia. I'm the eldest in the siblings of 3. I used to live in Kuala Lumpur until my father passed away when I was 11. Then we moved tp Penang to stay with my maternal grandparents. We started a new life there. I did my schooling in a small district in Penang called Bukit Mertajam. I managed to do well in the national examination, equivalent to o-levels and obtained convertible loan to do my degree at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. Today, I am exactly 4 months from graduation and am working hard for my final year project.

This blog is the story of my life and my past. I created this blog not only to share with you what a person like me have gone through but also to serve as an indicator. In the future, I can use this blog to view back my past and see if I have lived my life to the fullest or am I just as pathetic as a person whose family is not perfect.