1st TMM

TMT decided to start the TMM (Technology Management Meeting) again to improve on the communications. It will be a monthly event for an hour. Hence, TMT will have another platform to meet the ppl and vice versa. TMT is meeting the direct reports for monthly target meeting already. TMM has even gone another level lower to include team lead.

The 1st meeting organised by Nathan stressed on Team work.

There were an activity to break into groups and put nails to sit on nails. This was interesting. And some team leaders were chosen to introduce themselves and on the tasks they were doing and going to do.

I reckon it was a good start with rooms for improvement. I am looking forward for the next meeting.

Cendol

It's been really hot and I have been craving for ice kacang. Since Boon Hwa, Alex, Karim and Sherine went out for lunch. I have requested them to pack 1 for me, if any, or cendol. I didn't expect them to pack as they normally don't.

Then, I received a MMS from them having cendol (still thinking they will not pack for me, too mafan...).

When they came back to office, they packed for me.. Hurray!!! I was so over joyed. Cendol with red beans and corn!!! Yummy... It was great!!!

(sorry guys and gal that I had a wrong perception of you...)

Macau - last day

The trip came to an end. We travelled back to Malaysia and back to reality.

Have I learnt anything? Yes. I supposed every trip makes me grow. :)

1. Everyone is unique and has different priority in life
2. Making new friends while remembering old ones
3. Do not visit HK or Macau in summer time. It's SUPER HOT!!!!! Anything above 25 degree is bad (for any country).
   
4. It's the journey/ process that's important, not the destination
5. Life is all about experience. Treasure it and do not take for granted.

Where's the next destination? I suppose I have something in mind already. It's the research and budgeting part now. hehehe..... I like to travel and experience local lifestyle. I do not just simply be a tourist, but, someone who experience the local lifestyle and that's experience for me. :)

Hong Kong/ Macau - Day 3

Didn’t do much today. I slept in and proceed to church. Crystal was there earlier with the kids. Very traditional Methodist style. The 2 boys were performing with the others after attending VBS (Vacation Bible School). The kids were doing very well.

Then, we went for another yum-cha, a much proper one. Haha… At least, they didn’t throw the cutlery around. :D

Then, I shopped for some local biscuits before heading back. It was a very hot afternoon. I literally felt so dizzy and thought that I might just fainted.

After packing and carrying all the biscuits, I went to Central to meet up with Hazel for her church service at 4pm. The Vine is more of an international type of church. It reminds me of OCF and churches overseas. For the first time I attended 2 Sunday service and I quite like it. :)

I headed back to Macau after the church service. The weather was gloomy and more humid. Later, I was told that there was some thunderstorm in Macau and hail in some parts of Hong Kong. Wow!!!

p/s: For the very 1st time that I literally carried 2 mobile phones. Ha... 1 was my Malaysia line and the other was the Hong Kong line which I had no idea on the number. It's for Crystal to contact me (if I ever lost my way). hahaha... pengsan.....

Hong Kong - Day 2

We went out as early as 7am to Lian Hiong, locatated at Wellington Street, Central, for a very authentic yum cha session. I took a free newspaper from the MTR for the yum cha session. It's a MUST thing. :) Eat and read and talked.

There were already a lot of ppl by the time we reached there. We had to ‘dap-tuoa’ (shared table) with others. Oh… the service here was typical Hong Kong style. They just throw the cutlery to you. (No wonder all the cups broke).

The weird thing happened after we sat down and half way eating. There was this lady sharing a table with us started knitting. She didn’t eat anything except a ‘dai-pau’ (big pau). Then, someone else pulled a chair and sat between us. (We were thinking if she would start eating our food). Then, someone left our table and she took over the seat. Oh.. She started to take out her own cutlery. And she put tissues on the table for her cutlery. Next, she had her own rose bud mixed into the tea. Wow…. 2 youngsters joined her later. Worse… They literally wiped the chair before sat down. We were so amused by all these. We recon all these were old customers. The food was not so good. However, it was not the food, it’s the experience. The place was really crowded. There will be always ppl standing by your side waiting for seats. For me, I felt uncomfortable initially, however, get used to that after awhile.

We moved on. We walked pass Lam Kwai Fong – a happening pub place at night.

Tung Chung Outlet mall was the next destination. I started comparing prices with the outlet malls in USA and ended not getting anything at all. For me, things were still expensive in HK. Eg. A polo t-shirt is still selling about HK$200 while I can get US$10. That’s my argument. Further, I was not in a hurry to get those clothes. I was thinking to wait till my next US trip. :)

I had McDonald for my lunch. The grilled chicken burger was yummy, small though. I didn’t feel my stomach at all. Hmm…

I met up with Paul & Hazel in late afternoon for a drink. It was so nice to catch-up with friends from Malaysia. Later they walked me to Pier 6 to wait for my friend to go to Victoria Peak. We took some pictures while waiting for him. It was IFC (International Finance Center), the tallest building in HK.

Chris came at about 6.40pm and we headed on to Victoria Peak. There were already so many people lining up for the tram to the peak. Well, I couldn’t remember how long I had waited; for sure I knew it was long. However, the wait was worth. It was magnificent Hong Kong night view that I had. There were so many ppl waited for the laser light up as well starting at 8pm. The weather was hot and humid. Gosh… I had to be quick to get a good spot for picture taking. Am I turning into one of the Hong Kong-er? I do not know. However, I think the weather; the pace had really tested my patience.

Later the evening, Chris took me to experience the ‘cha-chan-teng’- a typical local restaurant. I learnt that most of the cha-chan-teng open for almost 24 hours. And I even had the chance to saw the taxi drivers running out to talk to the police when the police were patrolling for summons. Life in Hong Kong – was what I have been wanting to experience.

The weather was so hot that I felt dizzy when I walked. I kept drinking and dehydrated. :(

Hong Kong - Day 1

Travelled to Hong Kong by ferry. It was a long queue at the Hong Kong custom. I think it took more than 30 minutes. Arhhhggg….. pengsan…..

Then, I met up with Crystal Lee and went to her place at Wan Chai. It was so nice of her that she let me stay in 1 of her studio apartment before renting it out. It’s just a small homey and cosy place. I like it a lot. But, really a bit too small.

Then, we went out. Went for this Manggo sago thing. It’s really hot in Hong Kong one really craved for cool drinks. Well, the desserts were really nice.

Macau - Day 1

I booked the ticket to Macau - Hong Kong in the beginning of the year. A lot of people told me to go this time as there will be great summer sales in Hong Kong. Fong told me it was not that cheap afterall. Well, I shall find out.

The flight was on-time (surprisingly)! We arrived at about 1.30pm.

We hopped on to 2 taxies, told the hotel name and the taxi drivers couldn't understand at all only kept asking for the Chinese name. errhhgg!! We didn't know. We booked from internet. The taxi driver from another cab called the HQ and finally... *cold sweat*. My taxi driver was rude when I told him the hotel name. He simply replied: I wouldn't be a taxi driver if I knew English. Alamak... kena pulak!! pengsan. Later, we started to chat about other things which was good.

After checked-in and settled, we started the day. I wanted to go to Ruins St. Paul. We walked past the New Lisboa Casino and a lot of other shops. The others were busy shopping and contributing to the local economy while I sat around and waited for them.

The fountain area was really nice. We went into one of the restaurant for food - fried noodles, porridge. The shop is also famous for Pork bun. I tried. It's alright. Then, we continue walking to Ruins St. Paul. Not as many people as I thought. We reached there in the evening and some lights were on. It makes the entire place even more attractive. I like that place a lot. However, I didn't manage to walk up as I wish. Then, I headed for some local famous biscuits and the rest continue to shop.

The weather was hot!!!

Discussion or Argument??

I saw this in the office today and it was quite interesting especially for someone who had got no idea on what's going on.

The three wise men went into a discussion room. At first they were paying full attention to Boon Hwa's explanation. Next, I saw them still talking/ discussing. After about 10 minutes, Karim and Nathan stood up as well. And I captured the scene where it seems like Nathan was in big trouble while Karim couldn't do much to help. I was sure it wasn't like that at all though the picture seems so.

Anyway, it was quite a moment to captured. :)

Rambutan

Mom's effort! The rambutan tree is bearing so much fruit this year.

Well, some near the fence got stolen 2 weeks ago. :( Yes. Even stole rambutan. Well, I said: Maybe they do not have enough to buy, just bless them. Or it could be the rambutan were too tempting and they fall...

There were some so near to the house (dining area) that we could just reach out to them. :)

Thank you, ma!!!!

Birthday - Nathan Paul

It's Nathan's birthday. That means another cake. But, there was some challenges in getting him a cake. WHY?? Cos, Nathan is very, I mean VERY, health conscious. Cake = sweet = NO for him. So, at 1st, we were cracked our heads for that. hmm... Finally, the day came...

We had just salad for him. Since no cake and it's healthy. Well, it's a celebration for him. haha.... And we gave him a pack of tea.

Then, came the mango cake. Wow... He was surprised!!! How could birthday without a cake... ;) Sure, there's cake, if not for him, it's for us then. hahahaha... :D

It's nice to have cake and company like TMT to celebrate and 'relax' from the super busy schedule. This week was so busy for a few of them, so many rescheduled meetings. pengsan... Well, at least, everyone has a break by celebrating Nathan's birthday.

Saturday

Mom decided to make curry noodle for lunch. It was so yummy... Really nice.


This reminded me of the curry noodle aunty Mei Ling make in NZ. There was once she even put lobster. Well, the lobster was too big to be in the freezer, so, we had to cook it. It's yummy...

Later in the evening, baba's friend took some durian from his orchard over. For me, durian is smelly. Baba told me there were a few not so ripe and hard one which they will throw away if I don't want (I will only eat those, cos no smell). But, for me, those were not hard enough and still so smelly... :(

hmm... No durian for me!!! Not even in the house. Either the durian is out or me is out.

And I discovered my shoes that went to Mt. Kinabalu with me were all dried. Not only that. They were so clean. Washed by the waterfall on our way down. I was so impressed with them. Like new. :) But, no! I don't want another waterfall experience just to make my boots so clean. Once is enough.

Role Change?

Who is who? This was on Friday afternoon.

Michelle is boss. Kjersti is PA. ???!!!

Talk & Lunch

Karim was giving a talk on Network Engineering Awareness. Basically to provide some knowledge to those who are interested with what's his department doing and contributing. Also, on how others can contribute to them. (he has a re-org effective 1st May)

I visited for about 15 minutes half way through his presentation as I was rushing for some work.

At the same day, yellow heart shape ballon can be seen everywhere in the office as there was a new launch of Postpaid package.

I took TMT out for lunch. Just an appreciation of what they have done and great support given. We went to Rakuzen @ Subang Jaya. It was nice food, nice company, nice...

While waiting for food, everyone was trying to figure out how to take the SIM card out from the HTC phone. aiyoo... pengsan... All engineers didn't know how....

Power Savings???

The power went off on Tuesday (8 July) afternoon. I was not sure if it was power tripped or power savings when I called up my colleague to check.

haha... too much power savings saying and activities till I was not sure what to ask... :p Gosh... pengsan.....

Mt. Kinabalu again - Day 4

I didn't arrange anything for today. It's free and easy.

I went to church with Dennis (SIB, KK @ Sutera Harbour) in the morning. There, I met the owner of Sutera Harbour, Datuk xxx. Cool.... Of course out of all, I met God. Sermon on Faith ('I say what God says' was what I could remember).

Then, I went back to check-out from hotel. Lunch with Sherine and friends. I went to Philipino market while they went somewhere else. Here, I met some Agapeans.

That evening we went to KK airport to come back to Peninsular. Yes, the Agapeans were in the same flight. Upon arriving at LCCT, the team thanked me in the flight for arranging the trip. I didn't do much. I only organised as best as I could. I don't think I deserve the gratitude from them as I complaint during the orginising part of it especially there were some changes required and things were as smoothed as I wanted it to be. :p One thing: I didn't complaint throughout the trip at all. Arh... Except bee seems like to follow me a lot which freaked me out a lot after the bee stung incident.

Personally, I enjoyed the trip very much. Thank you all (Sherine, Karim, John, Lydia & SPY) for being part of my life experience. It will be totally different if it's not because of you all. I have no regrets of the trip at all. Eventhough we didn't make it to the peak, the journey itself was very meaningful to me personally.

I went to work on Monday. Yes. Like last year. :)

On Tuesday morning, Sherine passed me a card. An appreciation card from Sherine, Karim and John. I was indeed moved and touched (nearly tears)...

This trip has drew us closer. Also, I had learnt a few things from this trip:

1. We can organise and plan, it is God's will and plan ultimately
2. It is the journey not the destination that counts
3. To share a common goal
4. Staying in a team and doing it in a team
5. Servant heart
6. Not my strength, but God's grace

The list may go on... and ask me again if I want to go again. My answer: very tempting, not sure. :)

Mt. Kinabalu again - Day 3

We woke up at 1.30am to get ready for the summit push. Departed our hut at about 2.30am. It was drizzling. Still, we walked. It rained on and off. And we reached the rope part which was about 200m. I couldn't stop for a photo shoot as it was still raining. We stopped for water and breath a few times. And to check on each other's condition. The rain was heavier and I had no choice but to put on my poncho. We reached Sayat-Sayat check point at about 4.30am. We were 1.7KM away from the summit.

The rain got heavier. A lot of climbers were waiting at Sayat-Sayat. All the shelters, including the highest telephone booth were occupied. So, we rested, waited by sitting on a rock under the rain a little further than the check-point. We were kinda soaked by then. I lifted my right foot and water came out from my boot. wow.. My feet were literally swimming in my boots. We got colder and colder as we waited for the rain to subside.

By this time, I saw some people turned back. Nizam told us that we could wait, he will wait with us. Or we could turn back. If we insist to continue the climb, he would go with us but at our own risks. Then, I was thinking it would be too dangerous to continue, so did Karim. Of course, I could understand how disappointed Sherine, Lydia and SPY were. It was their 1st time and the fact was we were doing alright, not reaching the peak?! I totally understood the feeling.

We were getting really cold and more and more people turned back. Finally we decided to turn back as well. We went back to the check-point hoping to get a bit of shelter. After about 5 - 10 minutes, we started to descend.

The water level was high. We were literally walking in water. The trail had turned into waterfall. Then, we reached the rope part again. Even with the headlights on, we were unable to see clearly. It was misty and the thought of having a pair of wiper for my glasses came to my mind. I was really depending on God's grace. The guide showed us the way to pull the rope, to hold tightly. I had been there and I knew how steep the other side could be.

After the rope part, it was again walking on rock and water. I fell once. Hitting the rockface and getting even more wet. Descending in the rain was even more challenging as it was slippery.

We got back to Gunting Ladangan at about 6am. Then, I wanted to boil some hot water, but, no more gas. Wow... And I was all wet. So, I had no choice, but, changed back to yesterday's clothes (I know, it's so yucky, but, no choice lar.. ). Then, we were all wrapped with blankets.

I advised them to get some rest before heading to Laban Rata for breakfast at 8am. Most of them slept. I couldn't. I just wanted to warm myself up. Then, I went out to check on the weather condition, it was still raining quite heavily. I only managed to take 1 picture. The wind was blowing with rain and it was cold.

(There's no photo at all though I would like to. The rain and the wet weather along the way stopped me from taking pictures as I did not want my camera to get wet. All the experiences were only registered in the memory up in my head.)

At about 9am. The rain kinda subsided. Then, we headed to Laban Rata for breakfast. The Agape group had left by then (I was told by John).

There, we went out to the look out area and took some pictures despite the chill.

Then, we started to descend. It was all the way down with big steps. We passed by Carson Fall. I took less than 10 pictures on the descending as:
1. I was on sandal (what a reason. I was not used to wearing sandal.)
2. Timpohon trail is kinda boring (no nice view). But, we said 'hi' to those who were going up and gave them some encouragement.

We reached Timpohon Gate at about 3.30pm. John struggled as his soles came out and he has a very bad right knee pain/ injury. Then, we proceed back to KK town.

Our bags weight 5kg extra on the way down as most of our clothes were wet. pengsan...

After a nice & hot shower, Sherine's friend (Vincent) took us for a really nice seafood for dinner. Gaya Spot was the place and the food were really nice. By this time, I was too tired to take any pictures.

Then, the team was saying to come back again for the climb. ( Will I come again? I don't know.) Initially, Sherine was so anxious of Mesilau trail until she experienced the Timpohon trail. Now, she appreciated Mesilau trail much better. :)

Later that night, Dennis and Irene came. We went out to waterfront. Has a drink at Atmosphere which was located at 18th floor of a building. The place was really cozy. Sweet as....

Mt. Kinabalu again - Day 2

I think we woke up at about 6am. 7am for breakfast as we planned to start early (8am). It's gonna be a long day (easily 8 hours walk). Each of us were given packed lunch from the resort.

We met up with our guides - Nizam and Ramun. Short briefing were given before the hike. Sherine kinda injured her left ankle (again) - even before the start. pengsan...

And the journey started. It was all the way up. Then, I remembered I vomited when I was here last year. I prayed, I sang praises/ worshiping God. I know everything with Him is possible. Lydia sang as well. She even quoted Bible verses. That was very encouraging.

We went *woohoo* whenever we came to see some spectacular view which really encouraged those who were behind to join us for the view. We saw waterfall from far in between the mountains. Just so amazed by the creation of God.

On and off Sherine would stop for a breath, she would start counting (giving sign language) and continued her pace. Karim was with her most of the time. John, Lydia and SPY were always together. Though we divided ourselves into 2 groups, we were always near to each other. The team spirit was strong.

Then, we crossed a suspension bridge, Kipuyut Bridge. The waterfall is still as breathtaking as I was there last year.

The scenery kinda change between 4KM and 5KM mark. There's no word to describe it. I have been longing for the awesome view since the start of the journey. The journey includes enjoying the nature. Time and again, I reminded them to turn back to look at the view. And 'woohoo!!!* Awesome!!!

It started to rain just before the junction joining with Timpohon trail. It's all the way up after the junction. The types of plants changed as well.

I met John (my last year's guide) on the way up which really excite me. :)

We reached Laban Rata at about 4.30pm - 5pm. I went to register ourselves for check-in. We will be staying at Gunting Ladangan which is about 200m further than Laban Rata. My hands were freezing cold that time. I was told to write down my name and sign and it was so hard for me just to do the simple tasks.

We decided to have our dinner before going to Gunting Ladangan so we could shower and settled down after that. Then, I saw the Agape Team. If not mistaken 15 of them summitted that morning of the 20 who went. And I got a headlight from William for Karim.

We talked to them for awhile and proceed to Gunting Ladangan. We were told the hot water will be out by 7.30pm. oh.. The rooms there were not heated room.

Well, it was not as bad as I imagined. There were only 4 beds in the room. 4 girls in 1 room while John and Karim in another. There were 3 shower rooms and we took turn. I went in. Maybe only 5 second of hot water, oh.. who cares, I just wanna be clean. Next, no electricity. haha... Since I was halfway, I have to continue what was started. Then, the electricity resume.

We were in bed at about 7.30pm as the next morning summit push will start at 2am. I slept only awhile as there were people out there talking. Then, John and Lydia was whispering to each other. They share a bed cos they were too cold.

Mt. Kinabalu again - Day 1

The day is finally here. After all the training and hiking/ walking on Saturday at Bukit Kepayang, it's all for now.

We (Sherine, John, Lydia, Peck Yin, Karim, Jimdey, Chris and myself) met at LCCT to depart to KK. Breakfast at McD.

Well, Air Asia got delayed - changed tyre. Yes. I started complaining and was saying AK promised no delay and will refund, and bla... bla... bla... The flight got delayed for about 45 minutes. At the same time, I called Faustine about the delayed.

The 2.5 hours seems like forever - kinda bored. 45 minutes to S'pore is consider long for me, and this is 2.5 hours without food and no entertainment..... Gosh... *HELP!!!!*

Finally, we got there. Faustine (the arranged transport) has been waiting for us. We jumped into the van and headed for lunch. We were already 45 minutes behind schedule. And we have to leave for Kinabalu Park by 2.30pm latest. Sherine went to hunt for Kampung Adidas (rubber shoes with good grips for summit trail, back-up (was wondering if this is the side effect of handling Mega Projects, all the mitigation plans)).

We stopped at Nabalu for some bananas (actually Karim bought LOTS of them). Pengsan... The journey to Kinabalu park took us about 2.5 hours. I headed for registration for the team and getting the guides while others were choosing for sticks.

After all those, the journey continued to Mesilau Park Resort which took another 30 minutes or so. After checking-in ourselves, we headed for dinner. There, Karim noticed some Ericsson's team which he was busy shaking hands and talking to them. Dinner was alright.

I realised there were more people at this resort compared to last year. When I was there last year, we were the only group (only 6 of us). Seems like more and more people is using this trail (maybe DiGi should have a site here with better coverage).

We took shower and re-pack for the next day hike. And the hot water only lasted for 1 minutes and changed into cold water. haha... exciting.

I went to bed at about 10.30pm and realised symphony was on from 1 of our roomates. This was even more challenging. :p At one point, Karim's phone was giving reminder which I felt so much of turning that off. But, I do not want to risk myself being punch by maybe mistaken of wanting to steal the phone. Somehow, I slept as well...