New Year Resolution

This year, I celebrated the New Year by watching a movie alone today, for the 1st time. Since I watched the 1st film of this sequel (National Treasure), I've eagerly waited for the 2nd one, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The solving of puzzles based on cryptic clues & the rich culture & stories hidden in the historical objects are simply too astonishing & exciting! Although the plot & ending are similar to the 1st one, nonetheless I felt it's still worth watching for those who like adventure-type films. Really hope there'll be a 3rd one!

Looking back the Year 2007, much changes have taken place, whether it's appearance, emotions or life perspectives.

My New Year Resolution for Year 2008 :

#1 Good health for my family, relatives, friends & me

#2 To have better communication skills & more expressive

#3 To have better memory, coz my volatile memory capacity seems to be slowly increasing

#4 To be more decisive in everything

#5 To have better self-discipline, priority & time management

#6 To be more creative in thinking & doing things

#7 To gain weight, coz I'm too skinny

#8 To travel to overseas more, so as to gain wider exposure

Welcome Year 2008 - The Year of Hope

一个不一样的假期

So fast, the post-IA holiday is ending soon. For the 1st time, me acted as tour guide bringing poly pals, Aik Leong, Sahara & Aida (her sis) for a 3D2N Tanjung Pinang shopping-cum-sightseeing trip (14 - 16 Dec).

Here are some snapshots of it.

. Day 1

Me anxiously waiting at the jetty entrance for the arrival my VIPs. My uncle then drove us to Hotel Laguna @ Jalan Kampung Bintan to check-in. From there, we walked to my house at Jalan Gambir (near market area) to meet my family & the tour advisors for this trip, my sis & cousin, haha... Ooh, they also met my mischievious pet, Robert (a monkey). Then we walked to Putri Minang Padang Food Eatery for lunch! Yummy!

Next, the shopping spree began! We shopped from market area to Bestari Mall to Bintan Mall to Jalan Wisata for clothes, pants, caps, bags & shoes. After a tiring day, we went to Gerai Selera Rasa Restaurant for dinner. Haha, it's 历史悠久, existed since my primary school days. Oh, it's famous for it's delicious soya sauce chicken, rojak sauce chicken & BBQ fish!

Dinner @ Gerai Selera Rasa (Jalan Tugu Pahlawan)

Me, Aik Leong, Sahara & Aida

Herna (my sis), Melen (my cousin) & me

. Day 2

Haha, free breakfast at Hotel Laguna & photo-taking session at dining area & hotel's top floor.

Hotel's breakfast area, with a view of Tanjung Pinang town area

Part of Mesjid Raya at the background

Sea-view with Pulau Penyengat at the background

The island on the left is Pulau Penyengat, in which a yellow palace once resided by Malay Sultanates during the 18th century is located. It is said that the palace is made of eggs! But too bad we didn't have time to visit it.

Next, the most exciting of all... the resort! I booked a car for a day to ferry us around. The 1st stop is Bintan Agro Beach & Spa Resort!

The Vegetables & Fruits Plantation at the resort

The Fishing Pond

At the fishing pond, we saw a notice that horse-riding was available. So excited! We went to the reception & guess what's their reply? The horses weren't available that day as they are mating! -_-|||

Next to Mini Zoo

Me with The Hawks @ Mini Zoo

Pool-side view

Happily sun-tanning & enjoying sea breeze

Feeling high after sipping the thirst-quenching coconut juice

Practising how to kayak...

Hmm, you can see how strong the sun & wind were then

Under the shade of a coconut tree, with seafood restaurant behind

Having chendol & otak-otak at a stall @ Trikora Beach

On the way back from resort, we stopped at Kedai Pak Jenggot for a quick lunch of rice & chicken soup. Nice!

All looked tired while having lunch

After lunch, we headed straight to The Ramayana Mall! It's the largest shopping centre in Tanjung Pinang (although still small in comparison to the malls here). Here, they "borong" lotsa clothes.

After an amazing 3-hour shopping spree, we headed to Sungei Enam Seafood Restaurant for dinner!

Yummylicious seafood!

Saw the gong-gong on the right? It's a must-try seafood in Tanjung Pinang.

Happy faces after a tasty treat!

. Day 3

Early morning, we went to the market with my wet market adviser (my bro) to buy foodstuff, e.g. fish/prawn crackers, sotong snacks, kue lapis, Indomie instant noodles & cooking ingredients. It started raining soon after we're almost done. Luckily!

Then we rested & chatted at my place, while waiting for rain to stop. Next, photoshooting session at the jetty!

In front of Tugu Proklamasi (Proclamation Monument) near the jetty

Aik Leong, me & Herry (my brother)

Then it's time to say goodbye.

The VIPs & the crew who made this tour possible

(Back row, from left to right: grandma, aunt & mum)

After the tour, I've been helping out at the shop & also helping my auntie doing stock-checking for Christmas & New Year goods. What a busy 2 weeks back home. Tasted most of the wonderful delicacies by my mum & grandma. Shiok!

While in Indo, got a call from Pfizer colleague inviting me to his house for New Year Party. Yay! Haha, looking forward to it & also the ATP Chalet in 2008 :)

Post-IA Reflection

Finally, my IA @ Pfizer has ended today. It's such a unique experience, as I have my own projects to do & along the way, helping out colleagues with their work while learning things outside my project scope. The people there (esp my dept) are friendly, humourous & treat me very well, way beyond my expectations. It's a nice environment & I've really enjoyed my stay there.

On my last day of work, I transformed into a small Santa Claus, distributing thank-you cards & thank-you-cum-X'mas gifts to my dept colleagues & some others. I was so glad & 感动 from their wide smiles when they received the cards & gifts. Ironically, my sup was the last one to got it, as he was busy throughout that day & not around in the office. I waited, waited & waited until everybody went home. I looked around, feeling 舍不得 & slowly walked out of the office, praying along the way as I inched down the stairs, hoping I could bump into my sup & tell him about the gift & bid him farewell. Heaven answered my prayers! I really bumped into him at the door & say goodbye. I then went to wait for the bus. Surprisingly, I saw my sup rushing to take the same bus. He told me he has seen the gifts and liked them a lot. I was so glad. Chatting in the bus, we finally reached JE MRT Stn & parted. Haiz, 很多感触...

The biggest lessons learnt from this IA are :

[1] Good time management & task prioritization are crucial for successful & on-schedule completion of a project

[2] How we communicate with people is much more important than what we want to communicate

[3] Process automation knowledge, which complements process control

Hmm, not too bad, quite a fruitful experience. Finally got a taste of life in pharma industry :)