Reality of Life

Childhood days are often said to be happiest moments in one's life.
Play without worries,
Laugh out loudly when you feel happy,
Cry out your hearts when you feel sad,
Exempted from most obligations & responsibilities.

But, as it's always true, happy moments don't last forever.
The universe is ever evolving,
People's perceptions are constantly changing,
Emotions are also no exception to this law of nature.

Teenage days have seen particularly dramatic changes.
When one of the two things in life he values the most is shattered.
So sudden,
So forceful,
So heartbreaking,
That he couldn't believe it actually happened to him.

But what can he do?
When nothing he said would help,
When nothing he did would change the situation,
He can only watch helplessly by the side.

Life has been getting tougher in recent years.
Old problems still persist,
New problems become more daunting,
Responsibilities become heavier,
People are not what they used to be anymore.

No matter how much time he spent thinking on the solutions,
No matter how much energy he put in to salvage it,
The situation didn't change much.

When his closest kins choose to ignore the problems,
By immersing in their own worlds,
By avoiding their responsibilities,
By making others worry unnecessarily,
Someone else need to shoulder all these.

It's getting really tired
Physically
Mentally
To the extent that he's often misunderstood,
by virtue of how he appear to others.
But he really doesn't wish to end up this way.

He just wants to let his dear friends know that,
He realises his demerits & trying to change for the better.
However, in the process of adjusting & tackling external problems,
people may not be able to accept the changes he made,
or may be uncomfortable with the other side of him,
or may even further misunderstand his intentions.
But he'll try to be strong to face these challenges.

He has a few small wishes that,
His friends understand what he's going through now.
His friends wouldn't feel awkward in his presence.
He wouldn't be a burden to his friends.
He can be a friend whom others can share joys & tears with.
He can be a friend whom others can comfortably confide in.

Who Knows Me Best?

Got this from JY's blog. If you got some time to spare, feel free to try it...

http://www.truefriendtest.com/friendtest/856235


Create your own Friend Test here

My Character vs. Academic Major

Haha, thanks to JY. Hmm, quite accurate le..

You scored as Biology/Chemistry/Geology, You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, or related majors (e.g., Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, Genetics, Marine Biology, Zoology). It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal. Biology/Chemistry/Geology 100% Physics/Engineering/Computer 94% Mathematics/Statistics 75% Psychology/Sociology 69% Education/Counseling 69% History/Anthropology/LiberalArts 69% French/Spanish/OtherLanguage 69% Religion/Theology 63% Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health 56% Accounting/Finance/Marketing 50% HR/BusinessManagement 44% PoliticalScience/Philosophy 38% English/Journalism/Comm 31% Visual&PerformingArts 31% WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU? created with QuizFarm.com

Chemical Engineer vs. Automation Engineer

A very busy week. Frequent yawns, headaches, insomnia, eye-aches, neck-aches have been my constant companions since IA started. Did I strain myself too hard or was it purely lack of interest? I finally found the answer yesterday. Okie, it's like this. There are 2 completely different worlds just across 2 opposite desks.

My Desk

A computer nerd stares at the screen everyday, busy compiling & allocating I/O tags for field devices. No other visible activities, no obvious deadlines. Almost 800 device signal tags in 2 days! Feel brain really hot. So hot that yawning becomes much more frequent this week...

Opposite Desk

An angmoh stones here. Designing new plant equipments for the upcoming plant expansion, he calls up his colleagues in US to discuss ChE problems related to equipment design, almost everyday. Initially I was like "ic ic".. But later on, as I was listening him discussing more & more, it becomes 好羡慕啊! Initial IA plan is to learn some useful process control stuff. In the end realised I still cannot resist the great lure of "core chemical engineering". Maybe used to do hands-on chem. eng. stuff & now those are beyond reach...

I think I'd rather be a process engineer, focusing on core chemical engineering problems, like doing mass balances, tinkering with valves, distillation columns, reactors, troubleshoot process problems, etc.. Really miss the life as a production technician while in SOXAL, despite sometimes worked in rains & frequently under scorching sun, heavy workload, not-really-safe working environment, frequent OTs. Sounds mad? But it's one of few things from which I derive great fulfilment.

Haiz, life is like that. Most of the time, we gotta do things that we don't really like. But, if I didn't go through all these, I wouldn't realise what I truly like. It's human nature...

A Week of Surprises

# IA Surprises #

Yesterday, my supervisor came to my help on her own! Maybe she saw me "pek chek" looking at the screen, trying to remove warning messages, which I'd been struggling for the entire afternoon. So 感动! She also got me another larger project. Maybe to help me kill time, haha.. Similar to current one, but start from scratch. 有的我忙了! Too bad, she's resigning soon in Sep T_T. Another 2 contractor colleagues contracts also ending in Sep. What to say? Just hope things won't get messier @_@

Lately, I kinda have "He Bo" symptoms. While ordering lunch, I mistaken "rendang mutton" for "rendang chicken" & took a bowl of soup, which I also mistaken "ginger soup" as "chicken soup". Maybe staring too much at screen until blur. But in rainy day, it kept me warm. So sinful*, I ate mutton twice in a week! *Colleagues sometimes say these when eating unhealthy food.

Oh yah, I got Prof Diamond Ring as my IA Tutor. Hope I can meet her expectations. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the IA Tutor List yesterday. A lot of "gum" combinations, especially THAT ONE :)

* An Unusual Dinner *

Tue after work, I had dinner with CS, JY & CK (Chee Keong) at a 小印度餐馆. Mutton, Naan & miscellaneous spicy food made me miss Indo food. The food was nice & price ok, thou feel the portions a bit less, haha... With CS & CK, the next stop The Cafe Cartel @ PS. Initial plan was to "have a drink", but later became to "have a cake". I ordered a Jamaica Banana Rum Cheese Cake. Nice neh! Somemore, CK treated us. Haha, how nice of him. It's a fun & refreshing evening, catching up with friends after a very tiring working day.

~ A Once-In-A-Blue-Moon Thing ~

I don't know what wrong with me today. Not long after dinner, suddenly have a "very loud & weird-sounding hiccup". Luckily, only me was at home, haha... Till now still there. Tried all sorts of remedies, but all failed. Haven't had this thing for quite a few years le...

How I wish the logbook is as easy to write as this blog. Oops, it's coming again... "Hic... Hic... Hic..." Arrgghh!

Ups and Downs of Life

It's the weekend again. Sooo tired...

Talking about work, some sad things happened. My supervisor hasn't been around most of the time, similar to last week. But this week, she finally joined me & another 2 colleagues for lunch, for the 1st time! Hmm, she kept talking about work with the rest & didn't talk much to me. From the time she sat down, I didn't have a chance to interrupt their conversation, as she spoke a lot & rather fast. As I finished my lunch 1st, I waited for them & also rested for a while. When I finally had a chance, she said "If you want to leave, you can leave first. No need to wait here", in a rather cold tone. I was stunned! I don't think that I was over-sensitive or what. I really "SENSED" that she really has bad impression on me. Althou my communication skills really sucks, but my 6th sense for this purpose is quite accurate. Since IA started, she talked to me only a few times. I tried to approach her to ask her questions, if not, even lesser conversation. Usually, she can joke & laugh out loudly with others, but not with me. I was wondering it may have been my sulky/tired face that cause all these problems. But others treated me well, laughing & joking, much better than I expected it to be. Maybe she dislikes my personality or maybe she doesn't like the way I work or maybe just 八字不和. I really don't know...

How am I going to work under her for another 20 weeks? It's so sad. I wonder why she accepted me. I'd rather she scold me for doing sth not to her liking or just reject me during interview. Now I can only try my best to smile more & more (thou I feel tired most of the time, dun ask me why, coz I also dunno) & find more opportunities to talk to her, esp. non-work related matters. I really cherished the opportunity to work here & I want to make it a memorable experience, but not in a sad atmosphere. Haiz, I'd better stop here, if not it gets more & more emo.

Talking about happie things, today the manager drove us to nearby Pioneer Food Village & treated us lunch. The food was very nice & fresh, thou rather expensive, similar to restaurant price. But, I seriously recommend it to those who work around Tuas Biomedical Park area, it's worth it! Ooh, glutton me =) This week has been slightly more productive. I've started on my mini-project liao. It's so interesting. There's so many things I don't know, plenty of things to learn :) Okie, I just hope that overall, things will turn out better. Of course I won't unreasonably expect everyone in this world to treat me well, but at least let me know what really happened or what aren't ok.

God bless!

First Week of IA

Hmm, how I feel about this IA? Too excited, to the extent that I couldn't sleep well for 2 days!

Okie, Day 1 started out with me racing against time to catch company bus @ Jurong East MRT Station. Luckily, I managed to "petrify" it at the last minute. Phew! Similarly for the rest of the week. Too sleepy I guess...

Erm, 1st day got bullet-train briefings from HR, GMP & EHS. Walk walk see see & get-to- know-people session. My mentors are friendly & nice chaps, haha... Then also got a ThinkPad for my personal use & had my prescription safety goggles made. Oh my God! Thank you so much, Pfizer!

Most of the time I was reading manuals until seeing **(O_o)**. Most people are sooo busy, I didn't dare to disturb them too much. 真可怜, 一只苍蝇也没有! Tell me, how to kill time??? I WILL YAWN after staring at my manuals & screen after some time... Arghh~~

But yesterday, I attended a meeting with my supervisor, sth on 1 of my projects. Yeah! I finally got sth to do le. It's sooo informal... Every now & then, everybody would just joke & laugh out loudly. Such a 轻松的 meeting. But learned quite a bit of "Office Politics in Pharmaceutical Industry" & a crash course on "How to Survive in Pharmaceutical Industry", haha... After that, she briefed me on my IA programme scope. Yeah, finally!

IA PROGRAMME SCOPE

* * PROJECT 1 * *

Assist in the computerisation of hose-management system by compiling user requirements specs (URS), validation (validation plan, validation test protocol, IQ/OQ/PQ), commissioning & qualification (C&Q), final testing & launching the system

* * PROJECT 2 * *

I/O ports allocation, control-interface graphics & code development (i.e. control modules, equipment modules, interlocks), testing control system & writing test reports, loop checks & handover to production.

I like the 2nd project! It sounds sooooooo interesting!!! Hmm, today started a bit on Project 2 & read a thick GAMP Guide. Grr~~

Amidst all the boredom & excitement, somehow I felt lonely & lost, even thou everyday sooo many people accompany me to work & off work. Maybe I was the only IA student there. Hmm, then I also felt I somehow missed a few opportunities at work. Haiz, 我又胡思乱想了...

Okie, I'd better stop here. If not, it'll never end. 希望明天会更忙, so that I can FEEL myself more productive & efficient.

Nippon-philic Syndrome

Today I went support CS in The Japanese Speech Contest 2007 @ The Japanese Association of S'pore. The environment there was relaxing & people were very polite. Haha, when I reached there, just on time for the free buffet lunch! The food was nice, esp. the curry :)

The auditorium is not very big, Jap style, very comfortable. I only watched the Tertiary & Open categories. When the 1st finalist came up the stage & I was feeling "Oooh.. she looked like a Jap". Then when she started speaking, I was jaw-dropped. Sooo fluent & sooo Jap lor! Althou I didn't understand practically all of the speech.

Then after witnessing the rest, I realized it was so fun & cool speaking Jap. Haiz, I should have learnt it during poly time. Then now at least I'd be able to converse in simple everyday Jap. Now I can only try to appreciate it through self-interpretation of Ayumi's songs...

The Washi Paper

Interestingly, there was an Origami Session, explaining to us the origin of origami & a few origami artworks. Everyone was given 2 sheets of Japanese origami paper, known as Washi paper & an instruction sheet. The paper quality is very good ne.. We're shown how to fold an origami balloon. The origami teacher also showed us "Origami Fire-Spitting Dragon & Dinosaurs" & that took him 1 day to fold! But it looked so nice...

One of the most exciting part was the prize-giving ceremony. Weirdly, only 1st - 4th prize existed, while 5th & 6th ranked finalists received vouchers & a certificate.

4th prize >> Vacuum Cleaner [ sooo bulky! ]

3rd prize >> Portable DVD Player [ I want this...]

2nd prize >> A 20" LCD TV [ I want this too... ]

1st prize >> DVD Camcorder [ This is what I wanted most, haha! ]

But it's good to see at least CS got into the finals. He did quite well le, at least didn't forget his speech. Next year try again, we'll go to support you, haha..

Ganbatte!