Thinking With Thinkpads...

Everywhere you go, remember to keep your power adapter and water bottle...

I can't believe that it is already 1 month since I've started work at my new place. Before I knew it, it was time for the RBA (Royal Blue Ambassador) to make a call on us to find out how we are fitting into our new roles and work environment.

Yes, in the picture above, you'll see a lot of ThinkPads or TPs as we fondly call them. (^.^)

When I took that picture, we were stuck in the same room for about 2 days figuring out our direction. I have to admit that MR4 is like our 2nd home. Kekeke... Yes, we were doing a lot of "thinking" with them TPs.

It has been a while since I've worked in a client site and so, to adjust from having a desk of my own to being a mobile worker took a bit of time to adapt to it. In my 1st job, I was a mobile worker for 2 yrs but when I head back to the office, I always had a place. This time round, when I head back to HQ, I'll also be hot-desking.

My colleagues are great. We all understand that we'll be working together for a long time and so, we're adapting to each others working styles. I enjoy the camaraderie and teamwork. I've been "profiled" as a Rabbit - i.e. loved by all but tends to move too fast.

I'm also a workaholic. I'm the one who will still continue to work even though I'm sick because I've been brought up that if you can still move around - eat, sleep, shit, walk, talk; hence you can go to school/work. So, even though I'm feeling sick now with this cough; I won't stay home. If I do need to stay home, I'll still work.

Well, falling sick just 4 days into work has taught me the lesson to not take things too hard. Besides that, my colleagues now INSIST that I stay away should I feel sick. Makes sense right?

Mom's Birthday

It was a rather quiet weekend and we managed to celebrate Mom's b'day last night.

My mom is in her 60's and she's enjoying it. Ever since she retired from teaching, she has been taking things easy.

During the weekend, Mom and Dad went down to Singapore to celebrate a close friend's 70th birthday who happens to fall on the same day too! My Mom had wanted to spend more time but because of my new job, she can't stay for very long as I can't take much time off.

As for the birthday celebration, when they arrived home yesterday evening, we went to have a quiet dinner at Chilli's, Bangsar Shopping Centre. My Mom didn't want any cake or anything as she said that she had too much to eat while in Singapore.

Aside from the picture of the burger I had, there weren't any other photos taken that night since both my parents were tired and my bro-in-law looked sickly after recovering from a bout of food poisoning a couple of days before.

I gave my Mom a recipe book of her favourite cook - Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. She loves his recipes and often wants to give Western cooking a go.

I don't have that many nice pictures of Mom... I'd figured that one day, I have to sit down and take photos of her. My Mom is shy in front of the camera and it is ashamed as she has a lovely smile.

I don't say this very often and I think I should,

I LOVE YOU MA!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Dog Tired Days

I've been learning to adjust my body's "sleep" clock ever since I started my new job. I used to wake up at around 7-7:30am but these days, I tend to wake up at around 1-2 hours earlier.

Firstly, I was still trying to figure out the traffic timings on the new route to my workplace and so, rather being early than late; I chose to go to work earlier.

Secondly, I was not sure how the parking was going to be like and so, rather than lose a parking spot; I chose to go to work earlier to secure a good spot.

Work has gotten to be a lot more hectic with long meetings and discussions; leaving very little time during working hours to get some job done. In the end, the work spills over and I have to continue at home just to keep up.

At the end of the day, I just don't have the energy to do anything else except to unwind with the dogs - Snoopy & Rusty who comes up to give me lots of TLC.

I feel guilty because I've not been playing with them much and I would really like to spend time with them this weekend. *sigh*

Hopefully, I will have some time left over for that as I know that I will have to continue working on my deliverables. After all, there has to be some life after work, right? The PMs are stressing this as they know from past experience about burn-out.

I've been through that before and it is NOT a pretty picture.

Some Taiwanese Please...

Some weeks back, EV wanted to celebrate her b'day by going out to a lunch and movie. Her favourite X-men character Wolverine was playing and she had been talking about it for weeks.

I enjoyed the movie as it was entertaining and that is all. ;-)

We ended up at Fong Lye, a Taiwanese restaurant in Gardens, MidValley.

I can't remember if this is the Peach Ice-Tea or Passion fruit Iced-Tea, but it was refreshing on a hot day!! I usually like to go for Bubble Tea or Milk Tea but the weather being so hot, you just need something sweet or sour with lots of ice to quench that thirst!

The rice-sets at Fong Lye come with a reasonably large bowl of rice, with yummy minced pork. Most sets will come with 3 small side dishes and a bowl of soup.

This time round I decided to go for the chicken chop which was crispy and succulent at the same time. EV went for the Ginger Beef set, of which I didn't take a photo of...

As for the price, Fong Lye is reasonably priced for the portion they provide. This explains why there is always a long queue outside the restaurant during weekends. There is a complimentary lime drink for those who wait outside for their seat - which is great as it stimulates the appetite too. :-) Besides that, I find that to be a nice touch to welcome customers to the restaurant.

This is a restaurant that I will return time and time again.... Yum!

2nd Farewell - Shanghai Bund Style

Ok... This post is late.. LOL! The said farewell happened on 10th April and that was more than 1 month ago!

Well, April 10th was supposed to be my last day but it turned out not to be so as my boss delayed my last day and etc.

Gone were the days when a farewell in the company meant gathering 20-30 people at one go to have 1 big celebration. The last time that happened, we ended up at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen), where that 1 meal came up to RM1,000++ in total.

Here I am with the "leng luis" of the ECM team - above, me with Ai Wa and below, me with Linda. I've known Linda for 6 years!! Both already have MBA and so, wondering when the other "post-grad" options of babies will come....

Boss SH with Lee Hwa, Gwen and Chen Yen

This time, we had our lunch at Shanghai 10 @ Avenue K and it was with the SAP Support folks. Some of the SAP Delivery were represented by Lee Hwa, while support had SH, Gwen and Chen Yen. Although I didn't really work very closely with them in individual support/projects but being part of the bigger family; we often helped each other out - especially at the Team Lead level where some resource management were required.

All of us were so eager to just get to the makan and JY snapped this photo. Look at Kenneth, so eager to eat....

Finally, a "candid" photo of JY next to boss SH. Boss SH was soo busy that during lunch, he had to step out to make some calls. Well, being the Support Manager; he has a lot on his plate. I remember during that time it was a tough period too.

I didn't manage to capture any other food photos other than the vegetables... LOL! It was all devoured before I could take my camera out. What is nice at Shanghai 10 is the Avocado Rolls and Durian Pancake. Since there were so many of us, we had some dim sum and noodles to share.

The lunch was great as it was time well spent with close colleagues on my "supposed" last day.

Thanks to SH, Chen Yen, Gwen, Shoba, Lee Hwa and others who were so wonderful in providing me moral support and advice during those tough days. I do wish you guys the very best!! We'll have to keep in touch especially for those photography sessions!

Mother's Day

Ahhh... Belated post about Mother's Day this year.

Have you noticed that some places have started to re-brand Mother's or Father's Day as Parents Day?

Now, my Mom gets a little iffy this time of year as she does not see the relevance of having just one special day for moms. Everyday should be a celebration of parents... I couldn't agree more. :P

My cousins Matthew, Marcus and Malcolm decided to surprise my Mom, who happens to be their Godmother this year with some gifts. Besides that, they also wanted to surprise the expectant-mom, my sis too.

The boys gave my Mom a pink rose. I can't remember who presented it but my Mom was so touched by it. When we give flowers to my Mom, she would always scold us saying, "Waste of money. What to do when the flower dries up?"

They also baked her a cake... Chocolate cake, which is my Mom's favourite.

Actually, my aunt called up to let me in on a secret that the boys wanted to celebrate the day with my Mom. I let out the hint that my Mom enjoys Chocolate cake a lot. (^.^)

Anyway, the cake was lovely. I believe that Marcus must have baked the cake as he has great interest to become a chef. This is good practice for him and he has improved tremendously ever since that "interesting" recipe of dessert/salad some years back. Kekeke...

Thanks Matthew, Marcus and Malcolm for dropping by the house and presenting those stuff to Mom. She loved the thought and was talking about it for some time.

Back on Track, I Hope...

I've been missing for a few days as I had been sick since last Friday. After my quick post on the Pulau Ketam dogs, I've succumbed to the flu.

This time, the flu has taken me 4 days to recover with 2 trips to the doctor. The doctor even said that my immune system must be low. With the recent hot weather, my fever just would not go down in the 1st two days.

Snoopy is ready for the ride... Yee haw!!

Anyway, that aside, I'm now raring to go with the tasks ahead in my new job and project. I've basically met up with the team whom I'll be working closely with for the next 15 months.

It will be a very interesting time indeed...

Dogs of Pulau Ketam

I first read about this when I visit 5xmom's site. After I jumped the link, I read about the plight of the dogs at Pulau Ketam, I was moved. When I saw the puppy in the tree, it really reminded me of Oofy, my 1st dog whom my sis rescued too.

As a responsible pet owner, it is YOUR duty as the pet owner to provide the following basic stuff for your pet:

1. Proper shelter for your pet
2. Clean Food and Water
3. Medical care when your pet is sick
4. Spay/Neuter should you not want to breed your pet

These animals have no voice to speak out when humans treat them badly. It is up to us to give them a voice.

Please head to Pulau Ketam Dog Rescue for more information and updates. If you wish to donate, you can also find out more info there.

I Just Hate The FUD

It's the 4th day into my job and I suspect that I'm down with a slight cold. Got the sore throat, runny nose and general bodyache/weakness. I'll have to see if I can get that colostrum to build up my immunity. But meanwhile, it's plenty of fluids and some Vit C for me.

Anyway, was at the office for 2 days to go through some induction and to pick up my laptop before heading off to the customer site.

As usual, at the customer site, they only provide temporary seating; a.k.a hot-desking or "hotel-ing". I expected this as I'm involved in a project. If you're in the support line or dedicated development teams; it is common to have a permanent seat with a phone line so that you are contactable.

The project is starting to pick up as the requirements phase is underway which means I'll most likely be attending to a lot of meetings.

Now, why I hate the FUD or Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

Fear - Being assigned to some tasks which is a little unfamiliar and so, there is this fear of failure. This may stem from the fact that I set very high expectations of myself. I'm no overachiever but I would like to do my job well. So, the fear of failure is real.

Uncertainty - I'm still new to the organization. There are some stuff which I'm not sure about such as, in the event of me being sick, how do I go about to see the doctor and etc. I'm also wondering if I can work from home. Besides that, I have a fuzzy picture of the project and so, there are some uncertain stuff to sort out.

Doubt - Because of the Fear and Uncertainty, I begin to doubt if I had made the right choice. This is common as once you leave an organization, you can't help but compare your new place with your old one. Even if the previous place was bad, being out of the comfort zone; you will still make some comparison.

I just hate it when the FUD sets in. I'm working on getting over it and am trying to immerse myself in my job to get rid of it. Its just that working for so long, you would think that it would get easier, no?

1st Farewell - It Was A Secret

I'm supposed to be blogging about my brilliant first day but I don't think I'll do it as the experience for me was quite overwhelming.. mentally. Not that it was bad but just information overload. Kekeke... What to do, I'm back to working in a US-based company and as is the culture, they equip you with a lot of knowledge for you to do your job.

So, I was not surprised with all the policy and etc. which they "threw" at us. The info I absorbed today will take some time to digest and thank goodness, they have proper contacts so that we won't feel so lost. *phew*

Anyway, when I first tendered my resignation, my company had not decided to give me the last date yet (so typical of chinaman-run companies) but my colleagues decided to throw me a farewell first.

We had to arrange it on a Wednesday as it was the only day the entire team was in the office. This happened because we were already on that 3-day week rota thingy.. yes.. yes.. after we got that 40% paycut thingy.

Due to economic pressure, we went to Secret Recipe.. Hence, it was a Secret. HAHA!!

I don't have much photos of the food as it was not very good and we finished the cakes as soon as it arrived.

Thanks to the ECM APAC Team - Alvin, Ming Yaw, Huat Heng, Linda, Ai Wa, Boo, Kenneth and JY. JY, your photo is not in the montage 'coz you were busy photographing people. HAHA!

There were the few other people who joined, the Backoffice team - Janice, Sukh and Kelly who always got payroll and claims done on time; also helping to settle the SMART problems.. Thanks!

Patrick and Phoebe from the ABAP Team were also there - Thanks for your friendship and support.

Next up, another more elaborate farewell lunch...

Birthday Dinner @ Italiannies, Gardens MidValley

My farewell posts will be delayed slightly as I will need to post up something in conjunction with EV's birthday.

Yes, it is her birthday today. And no, I shall not reveal how old she is. Kekeke...

Seems that with each passing year, her "evilness" will increase in strength. I shudder in fear to think about how "evil" she will get when she hits 50 in about.... XX years time. (^.^)

Evil Queen Presiding Over Her Loyal Subjects...

I'm not allowed to post pictures of friends as they are awfully shy. So, I will have to focus on the food at hand. HAHAHAA...

Yes, I'm starting to think that this blog will have nothing but food and pictures... Kekeke..

No meal with our friends are complete unless we order some starters. Italiannie's does provide the free bread but whenever my friends head out to an Italian restaurant, the first thing they order is fried calamari. Ok, if you ditch the fancy term, it is just fried sotong-la. The sauce which came with the sotong was amazing. The calamari was cooked to perfection as it didn't turn out rubbery or the batter too greasy.

Again, my mates can NEVER escape from calling a pizza. Since most of the folks on the table were thin-crust fans, we ordered this lovely little pizza which had minced chicken, red and green peppers, mushrooms and cheese. Yummy for a non-seafood pizza.

Oh!! I have to mention that the food pics were taken with my 50mm lens. Love the bokeh and the aperture as it handled well under low-light conditions.

We ordered the roast chicken... again. I remembered my mates ordering this some years back for another birthday celebration and we enjoyed it. The sweetness of the chillies and onions really complemented the chicken and potatoes. The portion was large enough to be shared between the 6 of us.

No Italian meal would be complete without an order of pasta. My friends being fans of seafood, requested for scampi and this pasta was yummy!! Prawns were very fresh and plump and the pasta cooked al dente.

We could not leave EV without some sort of birthday cake. Someone in our group ordered this hazelnut chocolate cake which was not fantastic. I'd guess we should have taken that walk across the street to Delicious for that marvelous chocolate cake. This was a disappointment. I'm also surprised that they did not order Tiramisu... Hmmm...

EV's birthday dinner was fun. Our group had not caught up with each other in a very long time since after CNY and so, it was good to get together again.

Before I forget then....

HAPPY BLESSED BIRTHDAY EV!
May God Shower Blessings and Joy on your special day...

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I was very lucky to be able to take this photo last Friday, while having drinks with colleagues at Starbucks, KLCC.

It happened to be the last day for my team member fondly known as Abang Huat (Trex) and we decided to chill out for drinks there.

My colleague JY who loves taking photos of skies and is a very experienced photographer, gave me some tips to take the faint rainbow against the blue sky of the evening.

Looking at the sky, my mind and heart are only filled by happy thoughts; which reminds me of a post I did previously about my favourite song sung by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole.

I remember the Bible story of Noah, where God said that the rainbow he set in the sky will be a covenant between God and every living being on earth (Genesis 9:11-17).

So, when you see a rainbow, don't you feel happy that God is recalling that covenant between Himself and us?

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

It was a very tiring Sunday last week as I spent the entire day out of the house. =.=

However, it was a great day for me to exercise my hobby. After doing all the grocery shopping required, while having a short break, I turned to my friend and said, "We should try looking for that secret garden".

She asked, "What secret garden? I thought the Rainforest was the only garden here?"

One of my friends told me about this new garden and I was curious about it. It was by luck that we saw the signboard by the lifts while moving the grocery around that I finally knew how to get there.

We took the lift up to the highest level of the shopping mall. Once the lift opened, we were greeted by the lush greenery...

We dropped by the garden just 30 minutes before closing time. We were concerned that the place would be warm but with all the de-misters spraying mist, it made the air cool. Besides, we chose the right time to visit when the sun was about to set.

I was excited and quickly setup my camera to take some shots of the plants around. The air was cool and surroundings quiet. You were just transported to a different location... in a shopping mall.

We expected the garden to be small but it turns out that there are many small sections around the garden. Each section showcases specific type of plants which made the walk a gem for photographers.

No garden is complete without tropical plants and there were plenty of orchids planted. I can't name the orchids as I could not see the names of the plants.

I was surprised to find roses blooming in the garden especially during our recent hot weather. There were roses of many different colours and I had wished I have a nice macro lens to showcase those soft petals.

The layout of the garden is neat and planned very well. There was a small waterfall and some small ponds where some water plants were placed too. I couldn't find any fish but since the garden is placed on the rooftop of the mall, it would not be conducive to place fish here as the garden can get quite hot during the mid day.

I couldn't photograph all the flowers there and would like to return to the garden in the morning to take more photos.

The Secret Garden at the UR (Upper Roof) of the 1Utama Shopping Mall is opened during the weekends from 10am to 6pm. The garden is limited to 100 persons per hour and so, you will need to get tickets from the Information Counter before you head up to the garden. ;-)

After all that walking, we got thirsty and hungry and decided to adjourn to another "secret" Garden at the lower ground level of the shopping mall.

We both ordered drinks with some lemon in it and it was refreshing after a walk around the roof top garden.

One of the more basic salads - Caesar Salad with sprinkles of bacon and toasted croutons. The sauce was light and not too cheesy.

As for the mains...

We ordered one of the specials of the day which was fried dory fish in ginger butter sauce. The portion was just nice as we were not too hungry.

I ordered the Seafood Marinara Spaghetti. Don't let the picture fool you. The portion is much larger than expected as the pasta settled at the bottom of the bowl.

What a way to spend Sunday afternoon... (^^)

Tilting and Shifting

I've yet to blog about my visit to the Petronas Twin Towers Sky Bridge a few weeks back but I do have some photos I took from the bridge and have done some "effects" on it.

One of my last attempt was done using Gimp but this time, equipped with Photoshop, I was able to use the Lens Blur effect on the photos I had. The effect is just amazing!!

This other attempt was just awful. Not that Gimp is bad but probably I'm not good at using it. (^^)

After checking some of the "miniatures" at this Flickr group, I'm trying to see if I have any other photos which I can manipulate as well. Kekeke..

This shot was taken where the KL Convention Centre was. The park below is very pleasant and I did run the track a few times before the monsoon season hit. The image now looks like those miniature models which housing developers display at the housing development site, no?

The dreaded intersection of Jalan Ampang, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, and Lorong P.Ramlee... Yes, even during lunch time, the traffic along Jalan Ampang can be horrendous. Hehehe.. I like this picture alot as the cars look like those Micro Machines toys from my childhood.

As for tutorials.. I think you can google for it and there's a whole bunch of great tutorials to try out. ;-)

Comfort

First of all, I would like to thank my many friends for sticking by me, keeping me in their thoughts and prayers throughout the ordeal I was facing at work.

Truly, your support and encouragement brought a lot of comfort and blessings to my troubled heart.

During the run-up towards Easter, my colleague and I undergone a most harrowing time with our employer who not only was unhappy but very hostile towards us as we had both resigned at the same time. We had no choice, facing a 40% pay cut (we were forced to work 3 days a week), we had to go out and look for other jobs which were able to at least to provide not only work but to compensate us appropriately.

Anyway, our employer was very very unhappy and took things personally. He threatened and bullied us, using harsh language on us. We just kept quiet. We didn't want to argue with him as he's the kind of person who will not listen to anyone. So, rather than wrestle with a pig, we kept our cool.

So, my friends and colleagues hearing about what happened were curious naturally but also offered support and comfort during this time.

I met up with some good friends who had lunch and dinner with me during those 2 days last week to comfort and cheer me up. It was great. I left for home after that gathering feeling happier and comforted knowing that they were supporting me. God really does send His angels down.

I treasured the hours spent with these friends, especially meeting up with a friend who took the trouble to meet us despite her tight schedule during her trip home to KL from Melbourne. She had supper with us at Delicious and we had a roaring good time.

A departure from the norm, KS decided to go a bit unhealthy and ordered FRIED food with yummy cream accompanying it. She being a doctor would know what fried food can do to the brain - releasing calming endorphins to make us feel good?

The next day, I met up with some friends from work - SC and AS who wanted to know what was happening and etc. One has left the company while the other has been working away from the office and so, were curious about our situation. I wasn't in the mood to talk much actually but let out pieces of information. We ended up having delicious Korean/Japanese food for lunch.

We had a great time just talking nonsense and some serious stuff too. It was a great Saturday afternoon to spend with friends.

Anyway, thanks to the following folks - my team members (you know who you are - Linda, JY, AW, Boo, Alvin, Kenneth, Huat Heng, MY)... CY, Sharon, Chris, SH, HS, Shoba, AS, Phoebe, Patrick... To Shannon, Peggy, Joanne, Ah Guan for your contacts and support when I needed it... To the back office, you guys were great... I may have forgotten who to thank but the message is the same: THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS, ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT!

Waiting...

It seems as though that I've been waiting for a lot of things this week.

Waiting for the week to end.

Waiting for the dogs to finish pooping so that I can pick up after them.

Waiting for the dogs to finish eating so that I can pick up after them.

Waiting for my Dad to call us to pick him up from the train station.

Waiting for people to come home so that we can have dinner.

Waiting for dinner time.

Waiting for my camera's battery to charge.

Waiting for the right moment to capture the picture.

Waiting for a new beginning...

In that picture, Rusty is just waiting for the neighbourhood dogs to walk his way so that he can bark and growl at them.

Right now, he's practicing patience.

So am I.

Diarrhoea

A very short post.

I've been recovering from diarrhoea/stomach flu ever since Easter Sunday.

Not quite sure what I ate or drank... Perhaps it was the drinking water as it started to rain heavily over the weekend.

Thank goodness for charcoal pills and salt/sugar mix. It helps a lot!

Anyway, do take hot soupy stuff when you're out... (^_^)

~Psssttt... One thing good about diarrhoea - you get to lose weight!!! But it isn't that pleasant....~

From Darkness Into New Light...

Today is Easter, the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, conquering death.

It has been some time since I've gone for Easter vigil but since my parents were on duty, I decided to follow them. Besides, it was meaningful to attend the 1st Easter vigil mass at my church, which was recently made into a parish called St. Thomas More (previously known as CKK) in Subang Jaya.

The mass started with the entire church in darkness. When the priest has blessed the "new fire", the flame is distributed amongst the congregation. As the mass progressed, we are steadily brought out of darkness into the light. The scripture readings, prayers and songs were chosen to reflect this.

When the light was turned on, the glory of God was revealed in all its splendour.

Man reconciled with God.

It was a beautiful mass.

There were also some people being baptised and confirmed last night. For these folks, their journey in faith with Christ has just begun. Like what Father O.C. Lim mentioned, our journey does not end until the last nail is being hammered on our coffin.

Alien Eggs Within the Dozen?

When I was overseas, there were plenty of chocolate eggs and hot-cross buns sold for the Easter holidays. During that time, my friends and I would wait for Easter to be over to grab some cheap chocolates. One of the little luxuries we enjoyed was chocolate eggs. My sister wanted some caramel-filled eggs and so, I got it for her.

Bottles....

Since Easter is the start of new life, I am particularly quite excited this year too - for my family will be welcoming new life too. Actually, two new lives. My sister is expecting the twins to arrive in September. (^__^)

Easter is a time for renewal, reconciliation with God - a time to rejoice that our Lord Jesus Christ overcame death to save us all from sin.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. (Psalm 118:24)

Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed Holy Easter...

Easter is Almost Here...

It has been a long week and Easter is almost here.

It has been a very stressful week for me, a real test of faith - a test of fire. I just hope and pray that all will go well in the end.

Despite all that has happened, I am very thankful and grateful for all the support that I've received during this very trying period. These friends and family members stood by me, helped and encouraged me to do what I needed to do.

I believe it was God's plan for me to meet these people. Although there were times I felt alone and "abandoned" like Jesus did on the cross, He did send someone to help me stand up when I fell. For these friends, I call you my guardian angels. For this, I really thank God for this blessing and gift!

People say things happen for a reason and I don't doubt that everything that is happening now, is just part of God's grand plan. The only thing which irritates me a little is that sometimes, don't you wish that you can find out what God has in store for you? ;-)

I know God will do things in His time.

As Easter approaches, I hope that we will all rise in Christ and be renewed in our faith!!

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Luke 23:46)