The pleasures of jap food....

Sydney has lots to offer in terms of authentic Japanese food. Wollongong is just pathetic for that matter.

We decided to try gourmet style food for the first time, in celebration of a friend's birthday. August is one month I dislike the most. Why are there so many August babies anyway?

However much I totaly enjoyed myself, the meals were shockingly expensive and small in portion (well, it's gourmet!). Overall, 3.5 out of 5 stars for this restaurant, losing out purely on size of portion. Haha there I go again.


Started out with some cocktails and sake. My new housemate is the one sitting at the head of the table.


Deep-fried soft shell crabs for entre.


The best Sukiyaki I've had so far. Beats Juju's by a mile.


As always, Passionflower ice-cream to finish off, though it was freezing cold that night.

To end it all, we played Risk until 3am in the morning before driving back to gong.

Oh and before I forget, Happy merdeka day!

Computer Abuse

Everyone in the office is still talking about the suspension. With my boss on holidays for 5 weeks, the decibel level is increasing by the day. Multitasking is what I normally do best - doing my work and eavesdropping on the conversation thrown loosely across the room. But yesterday, combined with Monday blues, I crumbled. A pulsating headache forced me to take the rest of the day off. Upon reaching home, I almost went mad with my neighbour hammering away - or maybe not. It sounded too constant and the tappings were too evenly spread out. I couldn't identify the source of the noise. Thankfully, it stopped after 10 minutes and I was able to regain my sanity and fall asleep.

Hot office news of the week:
1) Colleague insists he is innocent after another session of interrogation.
2) Said colleague is still suspended under full pay.
3) Illegal material downloaded was apparently porn.
4) A colleague in the same role 2 years ago was also suspended for using the company's server to support peer sharing of downloaded videos/mp3s/dvds, etc. The first incident of its kind.
5) Two similar incidents in the same department is going to warrant a stricter computer policy.

I have since erased all my history of website requests and emptied my recycle bin. Not that I have anything illegal, but I have a feeling the management is going to come down on us...hard.

LOL

Found this statement while net-surfing:

"In the beginning, God created the earth and rested. Then God created men and rested. Then God created women. Since then, neither God nor men has rested."

Things females do...

while waiting at a red traffic light
: eat yoghurt from a tub
: apply mascara
: pluck eyebrows
: shave underarm (this I overheard on the morning radio!)
: dig their nose, with tissue as a coverup

Suspended

The disappearance of a colleague for over a week was overlooked by many of us in the office. He used to be part of the automation group downstairs and have recently joined us under my boss's supervision. No one seemed to know where he went, most likely in our other office across the road.

I was caught reading Mun Keong's blog during my lunch break a couple of days ago. My boss peered through my shoulders and asked what I was reading. No where to hide. No hands to change screen. I was eating my chicken sandwich - messily.

My boss proceeded to advice me to read less of such articles on the web, particularly non-work related stuff. I nodded, with my mouth still in full action desperately pushing the food down my esophagus. Then, he walked away.

Ten seconds later, he reappeared behind me and I still had MK's blog displayed on my screen. CRAP! He wanted to rephrase what he said earlier and emphasized me not to do any non-work related things anymore. "Urm, what about news?", I asked. That was certainly everyone's routine during their breaks. "No" was his answer. And then, he left.

I was left stunned. Guilty.

Not long after, the senior manager came around to interview us about our missing colleague. I was shocked to learn that he had been suspended since last week pending investigations into a huge breach of computer policy that he supposedly had committed. Rumours have it that he might be sacked.

No more blogs. No more hotmails. No more news reading, though some were pretty unhappy about this.

Work time is for work. Guess I'll just have to stare out the window while munching my food. Maybe I would be able to see "snow" on the road, that is if another truck drops its cargo of white plastic cups again. I suddenly think of Austria where I saw snow fall for the first time. Memories of that place seem distant. I was only fifteen.

Work in progress

Bloggie's getting a new facelift.

The six females

are all officially employed. Five electrical engineers and one computer engineer. All separated by distances but tied together through virtual chat and online journals.

used to sit in the back corner of the lecture theatre. Depending where we sit, one can tell if the lecturer is hopeless in teaching. Why do we even attend classes?

liked to gather after class and decide how to spend the time before the next lecture. Also skilled in researching and duplicating(with some clever editing) lab reports and minor assignments.

survive work, day after day, by complaining and encouraging each other through text messages and online diaries.

should seriously consider if they should open a joint non-engineering company and stay away from heavy industries and semi conductors.

In Return

Over a chocolate macadamia latte and a spinach fetta quiche with my good friend, the topic of "How much out of my salary should I give to my parents?" popped up.

It's been a good seven months since I started work (okay, not including the 2 months I worked in the consulting firm and the 10 months in a cafe). The abovementioned question is seriously overdue.

Can anyone help me? please?

An excerpt from her journal

She was rather taken aback when an sms arrived in the phone inbox. A delayed message, thanks to a dead battery. It read:

I left a parcel pickup slip in your mailbox. Can you please make sure you collect the item from the post office? (edited)

She read it as a favour expected to be carried out, solely from the words "make sure". She absolutely dislikes people who would do that to her. How could that be? This friend was meant to be a good friend.

Thus she tried to wriggle her way out by finding some alternatives. A conversation over msn turned out something like this, and almost became ugly.
she: Why don't you find an alternative instead of me driving all the way up north to the post office to collect your parcel?

friend: Don't you finish work at 4pm? You can get there before the PO closes.

she: I don't leave work at that time anymore. The past weeks have been hectic. I usually knock off between 5.30 and 6.30pm.

friend: Then can you go during your lunch time?

she: (starts thinking of how that can be managed, the journey time from work to that said PO, and the work that's piling up on her desk. She didn't reply.)

friend: Aiyah if it's too troublesome, I'll just ask the parcel to be sent back overseas and ask my sister to keep it instead.

At this point in time, she was stunned. She never meant it to sound that she won't do it. Of course she would do this favour, but if a better alternative can be found, e.g. repost the parcel for a few extra dollars, wouldn't that be worth it?

And then, she found out that this friend was just posted to Perth for work the day before. Being informed at 3pm on a Friday meant preparation for work needed to be done, flights booked, and accomodation settled. She didn't know how chaotic the situation was for her friend.

And being away for a week meant her friend was unable to collect the parcel herself.

And finally reading the little note, left in her mailbox earlier in the day, meant she had misjudged her friend.

And being all grumpy and slightly cranky about the whole thing was absolutely unnecessary. If the pieces of information were put together in the right order, this wouldn't have happened. Great, she tried to justify herself again.

And being lectured by God during this morning's sermon knocked the living daylights out of her. The senior pastor spoke on the theme from Luke 10:27b which says: Love your neighbour as yourself.

She couldn't have felt more ashamed.

Diary of a Struggling Electrical Engineer

Wednesday
Coding

Thursday
Coding

Friday
Coding

5.30pm Friday
Still did not manage to finish coding past the first section

And the week ended just like that. It's a wonder what I accomplished as I struggle to pass the weeks. Weekends are my best friends now. I'm not sure what my boss thinks of me. Sure he gives me positive reinforcements, better alternatives to how I approach a task, etc. I've only got two projects in my hands and haven't been able to wrap them up. Will my pay increase be affected? I sure need that extra few percent increase in salary!

And we attempted Hainanese chicken rice for dinner tonight. Not bad for starters. The ginger & spring onion dip was good. Big pat on the back. Tomorrow it will be laksa for dinner...this will be a cheat, using ready-made laksa paste.

And I finally called home. Mum started complaining the growing infrequencies in the calls made, the last one being more than a month ago. Really? I said. And when I told her I'll be back end of January next year, she was ecstatic and did not dwell on the subject anymore.

And it was declared emergency in the Klang Valley yesterday. The API must have shot up the roof. My brother didn't mind, coz it meant being absent from college for a valid reason.

And it is decided. Dad will undergo surgery in October for his heart condition.

Updates (continued)

The miracle of bio oil
Or so I hope. A good friend has recommended this magical oil to apply on my burnt skin and to help remove any scar marks. That will be my mission to buy a bottle after work today.

My first drive to Homebush Bay
I volunteered to drive up to the Direct Factory Outlet(DFO) at Homebush, only because I had 3 other experienced drivers in my car and that they will be my eyes and my mind while driving. This trip happened before the "little car accident" I wrote about in the previous entry, of which I scrapped past a pillar while doing a 180 degrees u-turn in a mall car park. If you thought it involved other cars, you were WRONG! Shame on you. Damage: Huge indentation on the left passenger side of the car, just above the wheel.

Fourth consecutive loss
We are on a losing streak, losing AGAIN in netball. Partly due to me not scoring a single goal in the first half, but heck, I don't know how to. Our usual goal shooter was late and we had to reshuffle. Almost leveled in the second half at 13-12 but did not manage to pull through.

Runner-up supporters
I so wanted Rob&Amber to win the Amazing Race in the season that just ended. But I guess Uchenna & Joyce deserved to win the million bucks, after the head-shaving experience and a fair&morecompassionate play as opposed to the team that everyone despised. In the season before last, I supported Kris&Jon from the start, as I did for Rob&Amber, yet they emerged runner-ups. I'm beginning to think that I might have jinxed these teams.

Tingling sensation
Felt a slight pain near the ankle on my left foot last night, and it was about the same time same day last week I experienced a similar pain on my right ankle. Something mysterious is happening.

Finally here

It's a miracle. I've finaly forced myself to apply for broadband. After months and months without internet at home, my manager would be very pleased to learn that I would be doing more constructive things at work than spending time surfing the net and reading emails. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know I surf sometimes in between work times when I get bored or stuck on some calculations I can't resolve. My eyes frequently trickle back and forth in its little socket at high speed, looking out for anyone who might sneak out behind me and catch me at play.

It's been a while since I blogged. Don't really know where to start, what updates to write now, too many things have happened since my last entry. Let's see if this is the easiest way to go about it:

The Sewage Tank
My boss took me along to the waste water treatment plant nearby, passionately abbreviated as WWTP. In fact, every single plant or line or department is shortened around here. My colleague shrugged his shoulders and told me I'll get used to them, and then eventually forget what they actually stand for. The smell from the sewage tank was unbelievable. Imagine it spilling out onto the road, which was why we were there to do an environmental audit, and how bad the whole place must have smelt when it happened.

My first car accident
As careful as I was driving my first ever car I bought with my own money, I still could not avoid an accident. Maybe I really shouldn't be released onto the roads. I pose a great deal of hazard for people around me, however well I passed my driving test, twice with flying colours. Do not misinterpret that. I have never failed a driving test. Passed a Malaysian one without bribing, and got the thumbs up for the NSW driving test. I just don't have enough confidence and experience to drive.

My first accident at home
Burnt the side of my left hand with a hot iron. Tip: Never do your ironing at night before a working Monday and when you are extremely tired. I almost fainted when I woke up the next morning to find the toothpaste that I applied as a cooling agent on the burnt had turned into a fungus-coloured paste! The scar is too painful to even look at. I tried to cover it with a light bandage held by two bandaids, which also helps prevent the skin from bursting while in its healing process. At exactly the same side on my right hand, the burnt scar from a commercial toaster is still evident. I wonder if both scars will ever disappear.

Back to basics
Just started the Alpha course. I thought it was about time to reinforce my knowledge. I did not know how simply you can describe your relationship with God. It had to take an English reverend preaching from a video tape for me to see that.

My new housemate
I cannot thank God enough for my new flatmate. We've never seen or heard each other, yet she found me online with a house advert posted on the uni website. She's Singaporean, and the most important thing is, she can cook. She even prepares lunch for me, after I told her I usually bring lunch from home. She's awesome, and was previously working in the Singaporean immigraiton department. Interesting background. And I have a challenging task ahead of me: She needs to find God again.

More updates to come shortly. The last episode of Amazaing Race is on telly. The final result is going to be a shocker, or so I hope!