Home sweet home

After experiecing the euphoria of my 1st snowfall, I hop onto the plane that very evening & was sleeping my way in mid-air for 14+ hours - with 2 intermediate stops on the ground.

I was so excited to return home (after being away for 86 days - to be exact :P); I started packing the very night the 'verdict' was annouced i.e. before the flights have yet to be confirmed - a week before the departure date.

From tomorrow onwards, I will be having a week off :D

Witness 1st Snowfall

God had answered my prayer - finally the snow has arrived! Now, I am in total awe and I am lost of words to describe the excitement I am feeling within me; at this very moment :D

As I was walking over to the opposite road snack bar to pack my lunch, I noticed tiny bits of ice crystals where flying in every direction, touching my face & hitting on my eyelashes, and some landed on my outer coat.

Now, I am sitted at my place having my sandwich & staring out the window, overlooking the fluffy white snowflakes drifting from the sky, occasionally sweep by whirling wind. It is just amazing :)

Looking that I am head over heels over the phenomenon, G teased me saying: "It is after all your 'virgin snow'!".

This first snowfall of the season has indeed lift everyone's spirit and some of them are already humming & singing their favourite Christmas tunes ;)

Dashing through the snow ...

Let it snow! let it snow! let it snow! ...

O, Frosty the snowman ...

A very BiG thanks ~ *smuck* *smuck* *smuck* ~ to G, who had captured the following photos - to record one of my milestone!

摄氏零度了!

Due to my habit of drinking a cup of water before going to bed & the cold sensation at night, I was left wide awake at 5+ a.m after answering the call to empty my bowel :P That explained why I am able to come in to work an hour earlier, sitting here to blog after missing for a few days.

While having coffee break with a few colleagues on Wednesday morning, Elaina - a very sweet & elegant Romanian girl from associate 'school' - was expressing her regret for not being able to witness the first snowfall of the season back at her home country. On the same day, as of reported on the morning news, snow had started falling in the moutains at northern part of Italy.

It had only been a week, and the temperature is dropping faster than ever - the electornic board shows -1°C! The weather forecast predict snowfall in Venice to commence either today or tomorrow :O As I have not witness snowfall in my life, I am definitely very anxious & hope that it better snow today :D

快下雪! 快下雪! 快下雪!

NoeL's Wedding Photos

As of mentioned in my previous post, I have been waiting patiently for my work-around-the-clock '师父' to upload his wedding pictures. Indeed, out of his busy schedule - juggle between work + wedding preparation, he kept his promise - as always.

After much conversation + 'negotiation' with him (it took almost 1 week :P), and with his generous time + effort, here I present the charming prince & princess :D

The mesmerizing bride in her vintage wedding gown ...



The prince charming sitted on a victorian mahogany sofa ...



The couple laying in dreamland ...



The Japanese oriental couple: Mr. Samurai & Ms. Kimono :D



The latest exotic + sophisticated fashion in town!



Naturally fun & loving husband-and-wife :)



That expression on your face is interpreted as ?

The 'VerDict' is announced!

Before the 'verdict' is revealed, first of all, an explanation of me going missing-in-action this few days. I am currently (or should I say, finally) undergoing 4 days training - to complete the ultimate objective of my 'mission' here.

Yesterday, I was requesting a tentative date from DPL regarding my stay here, so that I could notify the administrator to extend my accomodation; as it is only booked until tommorrow.

DPL just had a conversation with me. And ......

好新闻! 好新闻! 好新闻!

我可以回家啦 ^=^

Siew Fong's Wedding Photos

After receiving SF's wedding photos Part II last Wednesday, I was tempted by the idea to ask her permission to publish it on my blog. Upon obtaining her quick & without-hesitation approval via email this morning, please allow me to present the lovely princess's wedding photos:

The dazzlingly beautiful SF in her white wedding gown :)



The bride & the bridegroom in the studio ...



Out in the wilderness, comfortably sitted on straw-coloured grass field ...



Enjoying constant splashes of sea water & breeze by the beach ...



I - particularly - love this one! Makes me want to ????? too :">



SF: You look so natural - like a little AnGeL - with your long hair down ;)




祝你:

幸福快乐, 白头谐老, 三年抱两, 子孙满堂 ;)

Note:
Having noticed that I have posted only 3 photos out of my brother's wedding album, I have updated it with more!

~ My blog for this month is going to be a series of Wedding Album :)) ~

谈我

你问是否又伤心了
我心深处敲敲回覆
无论是喜是哀是怒
都想一一与你倾诉

你说没人与我交谈
异国异人离亲离友
言语不通人情淡薄
你比谁都更能体会

谈你

听到你开朗的声音
问你是否因星期六
你说闷热了好几天
终於下了一天大雨

冷冷的空气
令你感心情爽朗
没人的干扰
让你能专心思考

你说我恐岛無测雨
我更恐这冰冷气候
和晚间的一片宁静
不如来个时空交换?

你

有一双耐心的耳
时时刻刻乐于聆听
眼神专注 静静地听
等他完言 你给予几句

有一颗真诚的心
凡事先替他人着想
宽容他人 委屈自己
现实人性 你半信半疑

Lips bleeding ...

Along my way to work, after getting down from the bus, I have to walk a distance of 1 - 2 minutes, I will pass by a row of car rental + repairing garage, where one of it i.e. EuroCar has an electronic board reporting the date, time & temperature, alternately. I will slow down my step to read the temperature. Today, it shows + 9°! Only then, I noticed I was breathing out heavy clouds of white, misty water vapor :P

As I look into the mirror while I was about to clean my mouth after taken my home-cook lunch just now, I noticed there is a small, balloon-like, fresh red blood clot on my lower lips! Around the area, my lip's skin is peeled & dry. Only then, it alerted me that I have not been sensitive to the change of weather lately. Where have I put my lip-gloss?

PMS pain

Normally girls would not discuss PMS this openly. Forgive me - a male living inside a female's 'shell', it is no 'taboo' subject for me :P

Yesterday I was having one of those PMS pain, especially towards the night - temperature drop - the pain got severe. Usually I will drink hot beverage or eat chocalate, which will gradually alleviate the pain.

At home, to my own convenience, I will make myself a cup of extra hot + thick Vico or Van Houten cocoa drink. Whereas, in office, I stock up on packets of Cadbury Drinking Chocalate & pieces of Cadbury Dairy Milk miniatures in my drawer. And very often, I am always mistaken of being a chocalate-lover :P

However, I only manage to gulp down a cup of warm milk, and it did not make the pain any better :( As GL is flying back to SGP today, he came over to drop off his + the other 3 SGP colleagues left-overs at my place - in case they will return somewhere in Decemeber given if our business Visas are approved. I found this bottle of honey (Italy origin) very tempting ;;) So, before going to bed, I went to boil some water & make myself a stimming cup of HoNeY:D Wow ... it definitely works MaGiC! It did 'tame' the pain & I sleep in peace for the rest of the night ;)

An embarrassing encounter

Yesterday mid-afternoon, as I was sitted at my terminal - all eyes focused on the monitor - an 'ang mo lang' came over to my place. He said "Hai! I came by yesterday and you were not around. It's nice to see you again!". My mind went stagnant for a moment - "Who is this stranger ah?" :O

As he went on talking, in my mind, I was trying to figure & relate who is this person who seems to know me, and expect me to know him as well. After he finished (as my mind was too busy spinning to listen to what he have to say), there was a moment of silence; Gosh! I still could not call him in mind! So how? Finally with a wide weird expression I asked him "Excuse me, have I been introduced to you before?". In return, he gave me the wide-eyed with surprise look and said "I am Shay from SGP office! Don't you remember me?".

I was so embarassed - my face was blushing with redness - of not having a visual record of him at all! I think I should be humbly forgiven since I was in the SGP office for only once and I stayed merely for an hour:P Now that he mentioned his name, I could relate his name instantly; we have exchange 1 or 2 brief conversation via Skype. Getting to see him in person for the first time, he definitely looks smart & handsome even after married with a child ;)

Jon Kern: Software Is Easy!

It had been a while since I last visited TheServerSide.com, which was introduced to me by my ex-college mate + ex-colleague + ex-carpool mate, KW. Yesterday, after finishing my tasks on hand, I went to checkout for updates.

My attention was captured by the title: Jon Kern: Software Is Easy! located on the top-most of RHS panel - New Content of TheServerSide.com. At first, it was the MDA jargon under the description that sparked my interest.

The interview session started off with Jon Kern giving a brief introduction of himself. About his transition from being an aerospace engineer and how he end up in software development, and ultimately about OptimalJ i.e. MDA tool by CompuWare. The focal point of the session was having Jon Ken to illustrate how OptimalJ fits into today's crucial business world i.e. agile modelling of business objects & processes, and being able to deliver result quickly. But what he shared towards the end of the session left me pondering for the rest of the day.

Moderator: So, Jon where do you see software development going? You started off as a C Programmer, you then went into from a code centric view to now model centric, where are we going?

Jon Kern: Yes, I actually I started on FORTRAN.

Moderator: Okay.

JON KERN: That’s of course, as engineering right then.

Moderator: FORTRAN F77. Right?

Jon Kern: Yeah, FORTRAN 77 -- FORTRAN II on a super computer. Yes, I had some great mentors in my early days of software. Yes, the progress does seem to be going in the right direction. I mean, I think it's -- again, I've been fighting a good fight for a while in terms of trying to bring modeling to the fore, make it more powerful. That was one of the -- to me one of the things that I valued a lot about the previous tool I worked with in terms of being able to leverage my visual ideas into code and OptimalJ and MDA and DSLs all those things, but specifically OptimalJ I tended to hold in the highest regard for obvious reasons. But, the fact that it can help teams deliver results more quickly, I think is a key. I mean it's time that we pay much more attention to providing business value and sometimes it seems that people want to provide resume bullets for doing every new technology under the sun.

Moderator: That's right.

Jon Kern: Well, quite frankly there is not much new under the sun. People get really excited about XML, I think it's kind of ugly looking myself. People think that J2EE is the greatest thing since sliced bread over .NET, I mean we might as well pick on everybody. But quite frankly, the distributed model has been around for a long time. These are just two new incurring - well they are not so new anymore. These are just another incarnation of solving that common paradigm. SOA seems to be the latest buzzword, you could have done SOA 20 years ago. People probably did.

Moderator: Sure.

Jon Kern: So, call me a cynic or just call me an engineer, but in my mind the software direction needs to head towards being much more effective, much more pragmatic, much more able to build systems that can respond to business challenges and at the same time not be another Y2K because that's what I see happening more often than not because people are building Y2Ks everyday. And what I mean by that is people are allowing technology to override and trump business value. And unfortunately until there is ways for the industry to be introspective, I am not sure -- it's almost more a cultural problem than it is a technology problem at this point.

We've got a lot of good systems that can help build tools in the right hands, but at the same time we've got a lot of what I would consider broken cultures, in terms of one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing or, you know we see a lot of us versus them in terms of management versus the development team. And that kind of thing again, Agile is a state of mind, it's all about doing the best we can, with the resources we have and that means empowering everybody to understand the business goals and trying to reward people for moving the software towards where the business needs it to be, not being a bottleneck or not being some Technocrat. But really everyone needs to understand that we do software to solve business problems period. Unless you’re in school.

Moderator: I guess you kind of, answered the question for the future for software developers as well. I guess software developers have to show value to the business.

Jon Kern: I think so. Yes it's funny, just today - I guess the agile modeling forum, I tend to hang out there or the straight talking Java forum - but one guy was asking - turned out he was from Brazil, his first question was, hey, how do you do outsourcing? My only answer, the first answer was gulp and that was it -- and it's like no way that's a big question right. How do you succeed in outsourcing? It turns out that the young man is in college and he's thinking about providing outsourcing on the poor side of town to rich folks was kind of, how he put it.

Moderator: Okay.

Jon Kern: It's sort of interesting, he said so it wouldn't be out of the country. But he's wondering, he sees such trouble getting people results that he was thinking, hey maybe I can start up a firm. So his next question was, how do you find good developers? And my answer was you know, he's looking for traits, you know so, a lot of people are answering you know what to look for, skills and the other thing. I kind of said, and maybe I am probably biased. I said look for people with an engineering attitude and engineering mind. That’s who I hired in my companies for example, people with engineering minds. They tend to try to solve problems.
So, from a developer's perspective, I think that's real key is to be focused on solving the business problems in the best way possible. And being you know, ever conscious on, it's not -- can I use the latest and greatest technology that I read in Java Developer's Journal. It's what's the best way to solve this business problem now and to think of it from a long-term perspective as well in terms of maintainability over time. You know, this is the total cost of ownership is usually the killer, anyway as evidenced by what the cost of Y2K alone was in terms of nearly 100 billion or whatever it was in the US. So, the developers -- sure you need to understand technology and that why I always love young developers because they're willing to stay up nights and read all the latest and greatest, you need that. But the overarching requirement is to solve problems, is to understand the higher abstraction of this is what we are trying to do. And yes okay, today I got to apply Java, tomorrow I don't know what I have to apply. But I should try to solve the problems the same way regardless of the technology.

二哥's wedding pictures

I have just received the digital version of my brother's wedding pictures, sent via email to me by my lovely to-be-sister-in-law:D As I am aware that everyone back home get to see it before me, so when I spoke to Leng on the phone the other day, I reminded her - in quite a demanding way - to sent me ASAP:P *smuck* *smuck* *smuck* Leng Leng :">

My 2nd elder brother - Jason! Honestly, I did not realized that my brother looks so smart & charming until I see this:P




My sister-in-law - Leng! She is always the beautiful & feminine one:D




Finally, a few of my BesT PiCk of the LoVely CouPLe ;)





p/s:

Siew Fong : Thanks for sending me your lovely wedding pictures *) I will try my very best to be back for your wedding dinner :)

NoeL : I am still patiently waiting for yours to be uploaded ;) I hope that I would not be getting your 'surat saman' prior seeing your wedding pictures:P So, HurrY! HurrY! HurrY!

A typical raining Sunday

It had been a routine to check the weather forecast, whether it is through the web, the local TV news channels or the weather forecast chart displayed on the hotel's lobby desk, in order to be prepare for the unexpected - RAIN!

After having enjoyed a few weeks of what I would call the 'ideal' fall weather i.e. stable tempreature, the rain is back again - started at 3+ a.m. last Saturday:( It continue to rain ... rain ... rain ... continuously and stopped after the sun set on Sunday. I do not know whether it is merely coincidence, rain always tend to fall on a Sunday here!

So, imagine I was homebound from going to St. Juliana church in Venice, which is the one & only Roman Catholic church (that I have discovered so far) that have English mass - 9:30 a.m. everyday. And my weekly jogging at Bissoula park :(

I was devastated & completely pissed off! Anyway, where to go when all the shop & mall are all closed :P

A typical Saturday

As the sun 'shows its face' earlier this days, having the patch of sunlight shine through the window & curtain, I am forced to open my eyes & drag myself out of bed:( Having been a routine for me to call home every Saturday, but since I have called home last Thursday, so I decided to call my buddy, WF. It had been a long time since we have our 'girly chat' although we have been communcating through SMS, messenger & emails.

She is still the ever funny & cheerful WF, who makes up all kinds of remarks that sent me giggling, laughing uncontrollably & sometimes angry:P I enjoyed our conversation, as we could relate our thoughts in just a click of a second. We share our happenings in life, and continuously give each other the 加油! spirit & encouragement! Despite the obstacles encoutered along the way, she is still determined to continue her effort - believe she can do it!

After that, it is time for another Saturday's routine i.e. weekly marketing! As I was having this sudden crave for fresh seafood, my foot sent me walking to the wet market;)

VerY 'happening' at home!

Since Daylight Saving Time took effect, I noticed that the sun rise earlier i.e. around 6+ a.m. and set faster i.e. it is already pitch-dark at 5+ p.m. In short, the day is shorter and the night is longer - as it approaches winter.

Although I should have adjusted my watch i.e. reverse by 1 hour since 30th Oct, I did not bother to do so as I find that it do not affects me much:P Thus, I have the feeling of living 1 hour in advance e.g. going to bed earlier & coming to work earlier (so I have time for emailing & blogging:P), as to compare to others!

Having sleep late yesterday night - watching MTV Europe 2005 Award broadcast LiVe on TV, I woke up a little late this morning. As I would switched off my mobile to avoid being woke up by any SMS or call, I found that I have a voice message. Immediately I know that my little brother, David had called since I promised to call back yesterday.

When I call home, with 阿爸 answering the phone, I can instantaneously feel the 'HaPPeNing' atmosphere at home:D With all the background noise & voices, how I hope that I am a part of it :S

Since my nephew, LittleSkyWalker - the center of everyone's attention - had 'balik kampung' with his parents last Saturday, 阿爸 had started house painting work, as a part of the prepartion for 二哥 & Leng's up-coming wedding in Decemeber.

Eventually, 二哥 & Leng returned from Penang to help out - as it is for their BiG day! My younger sister, 阿嘉 had also returned from MMU. My paternal grandmother - 阿'妈' (pronouce with 第一声, 福建人的称呼) had also came to help 阿爸 with babysitting LittleSkyWalker (with his 'grand' return from JB when I was about to put down the phone:P), as 阿妈 (pronouce with 第二声) - my mother is going to SGP this Sunday to attend a week training. 叔公 - have play the role of my paternal grandfater, as my paternal grandfather had passed away when he is 27 years old - will be coming tomorrow to help out too!

Everybody is HoMe, except ME :((

有一点安慰 :">

Ever since I joined '社会大学' 2+ years ago, from time to time, I keep this practice of asking my team leader/senior (who I worked closely with) e.g. Hui Lan, Noel & Wei Cheak for a review of my work performance. This is such that their review can help me identify my strength & weaknesses - to improve myself.

Yesterday I was having a conversation via skype with GM - the Technical Architect (another GeeK ~ NoeL!), who had returned from Munich after the completion of POC's deployment. As I & GL have been working with him on the integration part for a few weeks, so I took the opportunity to ask him too.

The following is an extraction of our conversation:

Me : I need a frank feedback from you, since you have work with me.

Me : as I always ask this to my seniors, previously ...

Me : what do u think I should improve?

Me : my weaknesses ...

GM : Well, I have been working with you for few days. Considering that this was (I believe) your first time with integration issues, you did a good job. And you look like you know how to organize your tasks and to-do. You maybe worry a little too much. For instance, you wanted confirmation before committing the sources to CVS... From the personal perspective, as you saw in munich G and I, we like to joke when we work, especially when we are under pressure. And it was nice to discover that you were joking with us. Considering the new environment, technology, collegues, I think you are doing well. You lack experience, but that will come with the time

Me : thank you for your generous comment.

Me : I really appreciate it.

GM : by the way,

Me : yes ...

GM : you flew with me to Munich

Me : and G as well

GM : because when I was asked, I chose you and not GL

Me : :O

Me : I did not know abt this

GM : because I think you worked better than he did

GM : but please don't tell him

Me : do I?

Me : probably I talk too much :P

Me : and always offend ppl ...

GM : sometimes :-)

Me : and always interrupt ppl when he/she is speaking ...

GM : :-P

Me : btw, thank you for believing me in my work

Me : and giving me the opportunity

GM : do not thank me, you make me blush. Plus, the reason why I selected you is because I thought that that choice was giving us the better chances of successes :-)

I Will Be All Alone :-S

News have come today that I will be staying here all alone from next Friday onwards; and definitely until the end of November:((

The only one left SGP's colleague i.e. GL will be returning next Friday due to the rejection of his application for national service's deferment.

Although he is not much a companion - as he enjoys being by himself, I am the 1 and ONLY person left i.e. from SGP office:(

天啊! 为什么? 为什么?

在我心目中的外公

.. to continue

在我心目中的外婆

In general, 外婆 is a quite & low-profile person - with very few words to say. Very often, she will just sit at a corner, watch & observe. By nature, she is a sincere & friendly person once she is approached by others, and that is when she reveal her sharp tougue>:)

In her growing up years in China, she has been working in farms e.g. paddy fields, vegetables plantation & etc as she comes from a poor family. She had been through the hard days - working under the hot sun, both legs soaked in muddy soil, both hands are weared off by repetitive contact with rough working tools. But she did not complain a word as she realized that she is lucky to 有瓦遮头 & 三餐溫飽 as to compare to others less fortunate ones.

.. to continue

我的外婆和外公

Preface

外婆 & 外公 ancestral roots in China. After their blind marriage (外婆 is 3/4 head taller than 外公!) in China , they have been floating day & night in a crowded boat with the rest (also venturing out from China to seek fortune), crossing the wide ocean - for months - before arriving on the land, which we called Peninsular Malaysia today.

They are blessed with 11 children: 3 sons & 8 daughters; with my mum being the youngest daughter at the 10th placing. Since both 外婆 & 外公 are being brought up in China, they are instill with the typical Chinese mindset i.e. preference in always given to the son, grandson of the son & great-grandson of the son & great-great-grandson of the son - especially the eldest ones i.e. 长子. It is very much reflected in their ways of life too e.g. only stay with the sons, but not with the daugthers.

Their Struggles

In those days, it is a norm to have 10+ children for a family since there is no birth-control contraceptive available back then. To raise 11 children with only 外公 being the sole breadwinner - it is almost unimaginable!

I learned from 外婆 that 外公 is actually a scholar:O That explained why he is very well-versed in 中文 & most of all, I admired his 繁体 hand-writing;) He was once given the opportunity to study upon his arrival. However he gave up after his guardian's discriminatory treatment e.g. do not starched & iron his uniform while doing it for her own children - leaving him the laughingstock in school.

At home, 外婆 takes care of the marketing, cooking, house chores, the feeding of the young ones. The elder ones i.e. who is capable enough to take care of themselves is left to be 天生天养.

Partially it is due to 外公's typcial chinese mindset, on the other hand he could not financially afford to sent all of his 11 children to school. Thus, only the sons get formal schooling, whereas the daughters have to work outside e.g. tap rubber trees, wash clothes, pick peanuts & etc or to get married. However, it was an exception for my mother. She requests & insists that she go to school. Being the youngest daughter, and having witnessed what her sisters had gone through, she decided to choose her own fate.

Their Old Days

The question comes next: Which son should they spent their old days staying with?

外婆 had once told me, one day when she was resting and was sitted at the entrance of the cinema (owned by his eldest son back in their hometown in Sungai Siput, Perak), a young man - a total stranger - came up to her and wish to '赠' (in Cantonese) 外婆 a few words - to tell her fortune. At first, she hesitated by his proposal - looking at fact that typical fortune teller is of certain age, but a young man?. So, she went on asking him a few questions before buying his cards. To her surprise, his answer to her question somehow matched! Finally 外婆 give him the permission to tell her about her fortune.

With only a look on 外婆's palm, he told 外婆 that she had 3 sons (and he do not talk about daughters:P). Among this 3 sons, the youngest one will be most filial, who will take good care of both her & 外公. Thus, it explains why both 外婆 & 外公 have been staying with my youngest uncle i.e. 小舅父 ever since 小舅父 got married;)

All Saints Day

Yesterday it was a public holiday to celebrate All Saints day - 清明节. While back in Malaysia & Singapore, it was Deepavali festival which I do not see any sign of celebration here.

On this day, people will visit their deceased at the grave, which is similar to our chinese's custom i.e. 扫墓. While the locals went to church & grave, I went to the park again (as every shop is closed!); this time carrying the novel entitled "The Black Englishman", which I have not been reading for the past week.

On this special day, it brings me back to recall my maternal grandparents who had left us a few years back. I am blessed that I was able to be by their side until they exhaled their last breath.