So Long and Farewell, Singapore!

Tonight shall be the last nite I'm going to spend in Singapore.... Tomorrow afternoon, I will be taking a SQ flight out of Singapore, back to Malaysia (Penang).

Time flies. In a flash, I had been in Singapore for almost 13 years!!

I came down for tertiary education in NUS in June 1994. Alone, with only 2 suitcases, I took KTM train down from Bukit Mertajam to Singapore. Grand-auntie came to the railway station to fetch me. I stayed over at her place for a couple of days, before I report to NUS, Eusoff Hall for freshmen orientation.. I could still remember the room I was allocated, Room C211. That's where I first got to knowYP, we were room-mates..

Three and a half years later, I graduated. I had stayed in Eusoff Hall and in C Block the whole time. Went thru 3 IHGs (Inter-Hall Games) and 4 IBG (Inter-Block Games)s. Made lots of friends, but nowadays only kept in contact with two, YP and Irene.

Stayed with Irene for a while before renting her aunt's room in Khatib for about 1 year when I started working in SISTIC. I bumped into June, my secondary school mate from Convent BM, during one of the MRT ride home. We rented a whole flat and stayed in Khatib for almost 4 years, until the landlord wanted the house back. Then we moved to Sengkang, Compass Heights. I stayed there for almost 3 years. After which I moved to my current flat in AMK Ave 4 in Jun 2005.

Tomorrow, I will be leaving Singapore with two suitcases, although not the same 2 suitcases that I came over with. For the first time, I will leave Singapore without a set of house keys, without my bed/stuff to come back to. The sense of lost is overwhelming.

13 years ago, I came down to Singapore to start my undergraduate school life; 13 years later, I'm leaving Singapore to start my postgraduate school life in Japan. All the vacations I spent in Malaysia, during CNY or mid year holidays, could not have added up to more than 1 year. I felt that I feel more at ease in Singapore than Malaysia. Malaysia is where my family is, but Singapore is where my friends are... Malaysia is where I grew up; Singapore is where I wised up...

Farewell, Singapore!! I will definitely come back for a visit, every time I go back Malaysia... Take care of yourselves, my friends!! Stay healthy and well always... Till we meet again, adieus!!

First day of 'Unemployment'..

Today is my first day of not working.. :)

Yesterday was my last day of work in Visa. Really having problem describing my feelings, even at this hour.. Really 百感交集.

In a way, I’m glad that I’m out of the mad house, I no longer need to ‘entertain’ and handle all kinds of idiosyncrasy of the users and (esp) the managers. In another way, I feel sad that I had to leave such a good and fun bunch of colleagues behind. The last 3 years was really very fruitful, very challenging and very fun working in Visa. Although the downs are aplenty, but somehow the ups managed to compensate the downs, though not in terms of monetary means.

The camaraderie among the team was very strong and we really did stand up and help each other. That’s where I realized that there is indeed such thing as “All for one and One for All!” and it’s definitely not a cliché or a PR slogan. Every one of us knows what is expected of us and perform our part, just like a well-oiled machinery - each bots, nuts, wheels, etc know exactly what to do.

However, having said that, I am worried that with the new infusion of flesh blood, the team is having cohesive issues. The new birds are just not pulling their weights as they should be. Maybe I'm being too critical of them and measure their capability too much based on the “old birds" capabilities. But somehow, I just cant help but worry about the load of the team, especially now with Edmund taking on 2 team lead role and not having an assistant to help him..

Although I know that I'm no longer a part of the team, but I just can't help it but to worry for the additional workload of my leaving that is to be shared among the team. Looking at the past history and experience, my replacement might take a while to find. Here, I can only hope that Allan can get my replacement in asap, and take off the load from the team.

Makan Feasts!!

After I tendered my resignation, I've been busy arranging and/or attending dinners.

If it was just a resignation, then I would only need to have dinner with my current set of colleagues. However, this time, it's more than just a simple resignation, I will be leaving Singapore and relocating to Japan for my postgraduate studies! So, I need to meet not just my colleagues, but my friends and ex-colleagues!!

Other than Sok Fang's treat on 05 Mar, there was a couple of dinners and/or appointments the past 2 weeks..

01 Mar - HP CNY Dinner (Fatty Weng's Restaurant)
04 Mar - Went to temple (Saka Murni, Farrer Park) to pray
08 Mar - Watched movie (The Pursuit of Happyness) with Henny and Fitri
09 Mar - SISTIC ex-colleagues (at Sanur, Ngee Ann City)
11 Mar - Meeting Irene & YP (Marche, Vivo City)
13 Mar - Went to Kenneth's condo with Loreen and Patsy
14 Mar - Shopping with Irene (Marina Square)
15 Mar - Watched movie (300) with Fitri
16 Mar - Sophie's annual dinner treat (Le Meridien Hotel)
19 Mar - Meet up with Leongho and Yu Hui with regards to my CPF-OA investment
20 Mar - Colleagues' treat (Samba Brazilian Restaurant)
21 Mar - Meeting June & Roy (Thai Express, Bishan J8)
22 Mar - Meet Irene (Cafe Cartel, Bishan J8)

Almost every night there was an activity... :) And to think that I don't really have that many friends to begin with..

Bo-chap? or Bo-pian?

For how long can one still consider oneself as a ‘new’ employee?? After almost 6 months in the team, there is one engineer who still doesn’t know the processes…

Shake head… Vomit blood… Luckily, it wouldn’t be for long.

Really don’t understand how one can work without even registering what one is supposed to do…

Treat 01

Tonight Sok Fang treated Edmund, Handy and me to a dinner. We went to Buckaroo, an American Restaurant, somewhere in Sembawang.

The food was okay, not really fantastic, although the portions are almost twice bigger than the usual. Taking into the consideration of the hassle to get to that place (very not accessible, as it is located in the middle of a landed neighborhood which has only 1 bus servicing the area.), there are much better restaurants nearer to town.

We took a bus out of the place, but in the end, I still took a taxi back from where we alighted as I was very tired...

Good things to come??!!

Spent the Saturday looking through my things, deciding what to keep and what to give/sell away.

Went to the Saka Murni templet in Farrer Park to pray. It was the 15^th of the first lunar month, so it was kinda crowded at the temple. Went in, bought some offerings (joss sticks, candles and offering papers) to pray. After which I went to the little room behind the main Buddha statue to pray further. I like to sit and listen to the chanting and enjoy the tranquility the temple has to offer. It was very smoothing and has a calming effect on me. I like to come here to pray as the temple is not commercialized, not filled with smoke and it’s very quiet. I sat in a corner and observed the little crowd that formed. There was a wheel of fortune that is available to turn and predict one’s fortune. I hesitated for a long while and decided to pay $0.50 and took a roll.

And here’s the Prediction I received:

Prediction No. 7 (Assae)

No.7 The Wheel of Fortune says Rest assured money will be yours no doubt as you have surmounted your diificulty. Your fate is comparable to Pipeg, the auger, who suffered the ordeal until Rama destroyed all the giants and gave the conquered city to Pipeg. Your suitor, who until now was parted from you will rejoin you and all will end well.

第七号

夏将作喜凶化吉，功名成就贵人提。

正是洞房花烛夜，果然金榜挂名时。

解曰：

凡事勿疑，功名成就，劳心用智才得贵人，失物寻得，行人到，作事成，婚姻和合，时运远达。

Didn’t expect to get such a good 签, sure hope that it’s an indication that things are looking up for me.. :)

HP CNY Dinner

Had a HP Chinese New Year Dinner tonight.

Jeff, Edmund and Daniel did not attend. Almost all the Desktop Support and Helpdesk engineers turned up. Only APAO team was absent totally.

We went to Fatty Weng Restaurant next to the Spore Badminton hall. Food was average, but it was the company that made it a fun one. Handy was in his element, cracking jokes and teasing everyone on everything. There were 3 tables and I think my table has the most fun and was most enjoyable.

It would have been more fun if Jeff, Edmund, Daniel and Hawk had attended...