Lucky 7

15th December 2008. It has been 7 years but it feels like yesterday. We have walked a long way & the end stretches beyond the horizon. With the sun above our heads & your hand locked in mine, life has never been better!

Happy anniversary my love!

Philippines again & again...

On Friday after leaving Hitachi, I went straight over to TGIF at Mall Of Asia for dinner. I had the 12oz Texas Ribeye steak cooked to medium rare & mashed potatoes for sides. I also had 5 glasses of free flow Coke Zero to wash it all down. Never did I knew I could eat that much & yet not feel bloated. Damn, I am growing fat...

I proceeded to the hypermart to buy the dried mango chips that my other half wanted. Upon reaching the shelves where the chips are located, I called her up & told her the chips looked similar to those other dried mangoes. She said it was supposed to be more dry & crisp but I seriously doubt so. Thus, no mangoes for this trip because we still have about 10 packs back at home. I hurriedly made my way back to hotel after picking up 2 bottles of 2ltr Coke Zero, 6 pieces of Milo chocolate wafer & 3 cans of Coke candy. Hmm... I really love coke, now do I?

I spent the weekends rotting in my room other than going down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast & last night I actually left the hotel to Chow King for dinner. I ordered a Lauriat which comprises of plain rice, some fried noodles, some keropok, 2 siu mais & 1 piece of deep fried chicken. I had wanted to dine there but the staff packed it up for me. There were fireworks going off again while on my way back to the hotel. Gees, they must be doing very well to be firing it almost every weekend.

Today I did not go anywhere at all. I just had a pan seared ribeye steak with butter vegetables & garlic rice from room service. Not bad I should say, but I do not taste the difference from their grilled tenderloin steak. Anyway, I shouldn't be expecting much...

Kelvin from Crest called me earlier on & said that he will be taking the morning flight out of Singapore. He should reach Manila just after noon & after checking into his hotel it should already be 2pm or so. Should he intend to visit Hitachi plant it will be at least 4pm earliest so we stick to meeting up on Tues morning instead.

I hope he is able to finish calibrating the platform by Wednesday as I intend to change my flight to Thurs afternoon instead of the planned evening flight. I want to go back early to pack my luggage for the Genting trip on Friday! I want to visit my darling before I leave again. I miss her...

Mabuhay!

I am back in Philippines again! Yes, to finish up repairing the 3rd system & to assist Kelvin from Crest to calibrate the anti-vibration platform. I was told to take the 6pm flight home on 27th, meaning I will have to check out of my room early in the morning & bring my luggage to the customer site. As I have to check-in 3 hours before flight & the journey to the airport from Laguna is rather far, I can only stay at the site till noon. Marvellous! Most probably I will change my flight to 2pm & let Kelvin handle it by himself. Hahaha!

I hope the high-voltage feedthrough that I brought along can solve the vacuum leak issue. Otherwise I will have to change the entire Ion Getter Pump. But if even that doesn't solve the problem then this will be a half wasted trip. It is always tricky when it comes to high vacuum. Pray hard everything goes smooth.

What sports car are you?

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

The first time...

It has been quite a while since I last updated. Not that there was nothing much to post, but guess I had been too lazy to do so.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to a very special lady driver whom I encountered last night. I was riding on my big banana & approaching a cross junction on a quiet road at about 9pm. There was only a silver colored saloon car at the stop line. As usual, I will move in front of the car & stop before the pedestrian crossing line while waiting for green light. After coming to a complete stop, I checked the surrounding roads for cars. Before I could realise anything wrong, I was pushed off balance from the left. I was caught unaware & not alert enough to stop my bike from falling down & so it crashed. Along went my heart. Yes, the lady driver knocked me down. Sigh...

男人 女人

女:爱爱爱爱了几回
也明白其中滋味
付出的从来不会等于收回
我却还在等待着
谁能出现
男:伤伤伤伤了几回
也曾经为爱憔悴
爱情里好人总比坏人狼狈
我却还是学不会
狠心对谁
女:男人男人
多希望你是好人
多希望用你的真
让我不必再心疼
男:女人女人
我答应做个好人
我答应用我一生
来换你的快乐一生
女:爱爱爱爱了几回
也明白其中滋味
付出的从来不会等于收回
我却还在等待着
谁能出现
男:伤伤伤伤了几回
也曾经为爱憔悴
爱情里好人总比坏人狼狈
合:我却还是学不会
狠心对谁
女:男人男人
多希望你是好人
多希望用你的真
让我不必再心疼
男:女人女人
我答应做个好人
我答应用我一生
来换你的快乐一生
女:男人男人
多希望你是好人
多希望用你的真
让我不必再心疼
男:女人女人
我答应做个好人
合:不会再让我(你)心疼
一等再等
你就是我等的那个人
男:男人男人
女:女人女人
合:多么希望你是对的人

Surprise surprise!!!

This Philippines trip has so far been anything but short of a surprise. Nothing seems to be going according to plan, not as if it ever has. The 3 systems that I am suppose to perform a filament change on are all DOWN!

The 1st system that I had worked on is experiencing a minor leak. It can still pump down just that it cannot attain the required vacuum status. Now this is what I hate most because troubleshooting a leak takes a long time. There are many things to try & the worst of it is that you have to wait for it to pump for a certain period of time before you can conclude something.

The 2nd system that I touched on is having a major leak now! I've requested my manager to send some parts over since Monday but until now it is still somewhere out there. It is already nearing the end of the week, so I am left with exactly 6 more days to create a miracle. I don't think that is possible but I do hope to at least kick start 1 of their systems. Having 3 systems & yet none working is not a consolation. This is reflecting very badly on me. It makes me look downright incompetent. Sigh...

By the way, the 3rd system is down too because of a failed power supply. Now this should be easy to rectify right? Just change a power supply. Right. Except that this is a Pentium 1 & the power supply box is not the same as what we use on a P2 to P4. There are 4 more cables extending out of the power supply box to connect to a ON/OFF switch. Without this, the customized motherboards in our old system will not work. Such wonderful technology this is.

This is a real bad trip...

Decomposition

I had intended to visit the gym to sweat it out followed by a swim in the hotel pool today. But as always, nothing ever goes according to planned. Other than walking around in my hotel room, the only exercise I got was lighting up cigarettes.

I believe this is the kind of life many people wished for. Doing nothing just rotting away in a hotel with room service, laundry & make-up room services. You'd think it was great until you have a taste of it. It is absolutely downright BORING!

Thankfully there is still internet & PSP! Somehow or rather, I feel connected to the rest of the world whenever I turn on my MSN. Even though nobody is online, the feeling is still there.

Anyway, I had a late breakfast today as I intended to skip lunch. Doing nothing is already bad enough. Having 3 full meals a day will only make it worse!

I had initially intended to take dinner in the hotel but thought otherwise after I woke up from my evening nap. Was wondering what to have & hey! Why not have some burgers for a change? Mac Donalds isn't exactly that far away. Perhaps some 200 or 300m only.

I ordered 2 Fish Fillets & a 6pc McNugget. Does it sound too much? I thought not but I was wrong. I could only manage to finish the nuggets & 1 burger. Guess I'm leaving the other burger for late night supper.

Now that my stomach has been filled, it is time to carry on rotting away...

The day I wasn't there...

Today my better half is getting inked & I am not there with her...

Day 3 in Manila, Philippines

I had the usual breakfast in the hotel cafe before proceeding to the customer site. I made sure to eat my full as I intend to skip lunch there.

I started working on the 1st system as soon as I arrived & in less than an hour I was done. The engineers there seemed pretty shocked that it was all over in such a short time. Perhaps to them, dealing with such an expensive equipment requires many hours of delicate work. Not that I am being sloppish or unprofessional, but things move pretty fast once you get the hang of it.

I had also checked on the 2nd system & replaced 2 faulty parts. But the main work will only commence after the 1st system is officially up & running, that will be Tuesday according to schedule.

Thus I was done before lunch time & I checked with the engineers there whether is there any thing they would like me to check on before I made my way back to the hotel. Since they can't think of any so back to hotel I went!

It is a Friday night & I had nothing better to do. So after dinner & 3 bottles of San Miguel, I made my way to the massage parlour located in the basement of the hotel. It is a rather small place just before the entrance to the casino. No one was at the counter when I pushed through the glass door & I noticed there were a few ladies playing cards in a small room adjacent to the counter. 1 of them saw me & came out to entertain me. I made an appointment for the massage & retreat back to my room.

The counter lady called my room at the appointed time to confirm my booking & to inform that the masseuese is on her way up. I was feeling rather jumpy about this whole thing as it is my 1st time experiencing massage.

I skipped all the massage sessions the past few trips overseas with my delicate half. Maybe because the thought of having foreign hands touching me sends chills down my spine. But some things I have got to try to find out otherwise so here I am!

The door bell rang & I was greeted by a lady about 40+ of age. She was polite & the session commenced without any delay. Not that I know how to define a good massage but the initial feeling was rather soothing. Halfway through the session I even fell asleep! I was awaken by her & she popped the golden question. "Sir, you want special?" Huh? NOOOOO!!! I have no intention to be further molested by this foreign lady! It would be like asking my mother to masturbate me! Damn! I wasted no time in paying her & watch her leave the room.

This was 1 hell of an experience for me...

The 1st meeting

Officially I am suppose to start work only on Friday, 5th Sept but I've made arrangements to visit the customer site today to check on the 3 systems & the couriered spares.

This site isn't exactly near to where I am staying & there isn't any taxis going in either. I had to book the hotel transport to bring me to & fro & that cost a whopping $6,000 peso. Not that I am paying for it. Everything will be charged to the hotel under my company's account.

The journey there was uneventful but it did take me about 1-1/2 to get there. Upon arrival, the security requested that I remove my ear rings. WTH? I did not do so as he could not really speak english & it was like a chicken & duck conversation. Anyway I managed to get in & met up with the local staff for a brief meeting on what is to be accomplished on this trip & of course an introduction of myself as well.

The 7 ladies were extremely warm & welcoming. They were also concerned that I might not be comfortable working with an all female team. Not that I am bothered, I am looking forward more to seeing the 3 systems that I'll be working on.

I double checked on the spares that were sent over & did a thorough inspection of the 3 systems. Generally speaking, 2 of them were rather old but from the looks of it, I shouldn't have any problem with them unless some other problem pops up.

In fact, I also had another mission on hand. But that is considered confidential & that it is not possible for me to divulge it at the present moment. I hope I am able to dig out that information of which my company so desires.

Manila, Philippines

Today I'm visiting Manila, Philippines on a business trip for 21 days. I guess it is going to be something like BMT during NS but the only difference being I will be the only 1 here for that long.

Reservations have been made at The Heritage Hotel. I had earlier stayed in this hotel about 3 years ago. Not bad at all. They even have a casino of their own, just that I am not a gambler.

Even though I'll be staying here alone but I guess it beats staying Singapore. At least I will only be putting full focus on 1 customer here.

彩虹

哪里有彩虹告诉我
能不能把我的愿望还给我
为什么天这么安静
所有云都跑到我这里

有没有口罩一个给我
释怀说了太多就成真不了
也许时间是一种解药
也是我现在正服下的毒药

看不见你的笑我怎么睡得着
你的身影这么近我却抱不到
没有地球太阳还是会绕
没有理由我也能自己走

你要离开我知道很简单
你说依赖是我们的阻碍
就算放开那能不能别没收我的爱
当作我最后才明白

有没有口罩一个给我
释怀说了太多就成真不了
也许时间是一种解药
也是我现在正服下的毒药

看不见你的笑我怎么睡得着
你的身影这么近我却抱不到
没有地球太阳还是会绕
没有理由我也能自己走

你要离开我知道很简单
你说依赖是我们的阻碍
就算放开那能不能别没收我的爱
当作我最后才明白

看不见你的笑
要我怎么睡得着
你的身影这么近我却抱不到
没有地球太阳开始环绕环绕
没有理由我也能自己走掉
是我说了太多就成真不了
也许时间是一种解药解药
也是我现在正服下的毒药

你要离开我知道很简单
你说依赖是我们的阻碍
就算放开那能不能别没收我的爱
当作我最后才明白

Interesting article

This is an interesting article I just read in today's The New Paper.

THE COMING-OF-AGE TEXTBOOK
Your life is over. Now, just live. That's what lawyer Adrian Tan, who wrote the popular '80s novel The Teenage Textbook, told students at a convocation at NTU recently. Here are some excerpts:
August 28, 2008



YOU may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy.

We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino.

It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup.

Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap. That's why our life expectancies are so long.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom...

I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy. After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it...

Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today...

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.


DO NOT WORK
THE most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable. Work kills.

The Japanese have a term 'karoshi', which means death from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill.

But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. Or people who are employed to do something morally distasteful, or even plain criminal.

Such people justify their actions by telling you they are 'making a living'. No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful...

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself...

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. Wake up and know exactly what you want to do and why you want to do it.

If you don't, you are working.


BE WARY OF THE TRUTH
MOST of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth.

I'm not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things.

The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth.

Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.


BE HATED
IT'S not as easy as it sounds.

Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many.

That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it's often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one's own convictions.

It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role.

There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself.

Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.


FALL IN LOVE
THE other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn't say 'be loved'. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false.

Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings.

It is far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work - the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way...

Despite popular culture, love doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming...

You will find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Work work work... wet wet wet...

It has been a pretty slow week. Nothing much on hand, no work piling sky high. After a meeting on Monday with a particular customer, I spent that afternoon along with yesterday & today's morning in only 1 site.

It was only a case of system unable to pump down. After the tele-conversation with the customer, I deduced that the fault either lies with the turbomolecular pump or the turbopump controller. As of Monday afternoon, only the turbomolecular pump was available in our store. No controller. ZERO stock in our GLOBAL warehouse.

Upon dismantling down the turbomolecular pump, I found that the blades spin smoothly. Meaning the problem doesn't lie with this part. I checked the output supply from the turbopump controller & found that there was only a 5v reference voltage. 45v was missing. How unfortunate for me but vice versa for my customer. The turbomolecular pump costs approximately USD$13K whereas the controller is only a paltry USD$5K+ or so.

Although they manage to save on the parts but we had no stock on hand! I managed to locate a "used" controller from 1 of my colleagues & assured my customer that I will run up their system with the old controller first & replace it ASAP upon receival of the new set. But that will have to wait till Tuesday as it was already close to 5pm & my colleague was in the west while I was in the north-east. Even though we were only about 30km apart but peak hour traffic is a killer. It will take me at least 3 hours to go to & fro.

Tuesday morning was a surprise as a new controller ordered by another colleague just happen to come in. I made the call to him & hi-jack it with his permission as his wasn't an urgent case. After replacing the turbopump controller, the system pump down accordingly & upon hitting the vacuum threshold, the Ion Getter Pump kicked in. But the gun vacuum was too weak & thus an overnight bake-out had to be performed. I assured my customer that by Wednesday lunch time her system will be up & running without a glitch.

This morning the gun vacuum was a beautiful 1e-010mbar & I ran up the gun to paper specifications. After checking the extraction ratio & probe current reading, some minor adjustments were made to the filament current & extractor voltage. Gun & aperture alignments were done after allowing the beam to settle down 30mins later.

After handing over the system back to my customer, it started pouring elephants & hippopotamus. Damn it! The sky don't look like it will stop any time in the near future so I braved through the downpour back home on my trustworthy bike.

Even though the rain was pretty heavy but I still think that heaven is kind to me. Visibility & road conditions were still good enough for me to reach home safely. The only major upset is that I am drenched from head to toe. Even my underwear is not spared...

Moral obligation

There are things that I do & things that I do not when I am in a relationship. Keeping in touch with friends do not consider as immoral or a breach of trust. Think about someone I used to like but whom rejected me. There doesn't seem to be a problem staying in contact with her though. So where do we stop?

It is an extremely grey area with the line drawn only by our individual mindset & subjected to how far we let our imagination run wild on this.

The purpose of a cellular phone

Nowadays cell phones comes with millions of functions. Some we use, some we don't use. Some of the functions we know, some we don't even know it exists!

But seriously, what is the purpose of possessing one? Let me tell you all, it is to keep in a pouch (to prevent it from scratches), keep it in your handbag & to place the handbag so far away that when it rings you can't hear it!

Pain many many!!!

OoOoOoohh... I tell you, today I underwent some real pain. The magnum needle on the collarbone really hurts. But no, I'm not complaining! Because as always, no pain no gain!

It got my better half thinking about her second project too & during the journey home, she has a very clear idea what she's gona put next. Bravo!

Round 2

I'm going for my 2nd round of impulse today. Hmm... this appointment has actually been booked 2 weeks ago, is it still considered an impulse?

Anyway, I've been waiting for this since my 1st impulse. I guess there will be at least another 5 more rounds of impulse excluding today's.

Anger Management

I think my better half is right. I do need to attend some anger management course as I've just lost my temper again this evening. It is starting to affect my personality, although I was much worse during my teenage days. My better half claims it is because of the beef that I eat. I've never heard of anyone claiming that beef causes bad temper, except her that is...

But seriously speaking, I am beginning to find myself a disgrace to the people around me whenever I lose control. I think so only after I've cooled down, which is always too late by then.

You know what scares me the most? When I can't fight it anymore, when it takes over, when I totally lose control... I like it.

But I've got this bad feeling that someday this temper will get me into a heck load of troubles...

Damn fucking pissed!

I am so damn fucking pissed! I had wasted half the day at home waiting for someone's call to go out. That call never came. Ok, nevermind about that. I can always go out on my own. At times it is actually quite fun to go shopping alone.

Anyway, my mum called me & said my sister is asking our parents out for dinner to celebrate Father's Day & that I join them. Ok, fine. I tagged along as this is a rather special occasion as neither of us are their biological children. Yes, we were adopted.

We visited this coffeeshop situated in Keong Saik Road. My parents have been rather regular at this little outlet. The food that they serve I consider pretty decent so there we went again.

We ordered quite a few dishes today & surprisingly the boss treat us 古老肉 free! Perhaps it is because of my parents' frequent patronage that entitled us to this special treat. We had 田鸡炖汤, 泰式鱼片, 清蒸虾, 姜葱鹿肉, 芋泥圈 & a vegetable which I've forgotten what it was. The table was flooded with food. I had thought we wouldn't be able to finish it but I was wrong. We managed to clear the table even though my better half is not around. Hahaha!

When it was time for bill, I was caught off guard when the lady boss said my dad had already paid. I told her off that my parents do not pay for anything there. So she returned my dad his money & I paid for the meal. All the while my sister did not make a single effort to pay!

I have already been super pissed by her when she had dinner with our parents the other time. My better half & I had other plans so did not join them & later that night I found out that my dad paid for that meal too! End up I reimbursed him the money & I insisted he keep it. What the fuck? Why must a father who has been feeding & nurturing you for the past 42 years still have to pay for a meal??? What fuck logic is this?

I did not tell her off at the coffeeshop for I did not wish to create a scene & further embarassed my parents. But I'll get her. I'll get her for sure.

Upgrade for fuck?

I'm living on the 12th storey of a point block. This block has only 2 elevators. Our "kind" gahmen suddenly decides to "upgrade" 1 of the lift, even though both have not broken down once in the past 10 yrs or so. This upgrade started somewhere in March & is scheduled to complete in July.

Today the working elevator broke down. I had to climb up 12th storeys at 10pm. The Otis lift repair man was already here but I suppose he couldn't get it working again. Fine. Since the service guy has already arrived, I thought he would get it repaired soon but I was wrong...

I just climbed up 12 storeys again within a 2 hour time frame & that damn lift is still down! Now total there are 3 service guys below speaking their native language to each other, wonder if that will help get the lift working again.

For no FUCKING reason 1 of the lift is "upgraded", already causing so much inconvenience during peak hours & now THIS has to happen. Impeccable timing!

Damn the bastard who initiated this redundant upgrade. It is a total waste of tax payers' money & now we are STILL paying the price for it!

Quality Control

I am so tired. So tired of work. Not that my work is boring or what, but that there's no quality control in our products! In particular, 1 of my customers bought our equiment last April & faced certain operating issue. This dragged on for almost a year without a proper solution & our factory actually offered them a 1 to 1 exchange! That's a USD$500,000+ system!

The exchanged was done in early May & I was expected to complete the buy-off ASAP. But I guess I wasn't that lucky. The same problem arose. It has been about 1 month since installing the new equipment & this customer has been bugging me for a solution on a daily basis. I have done all that I could & have reverted all findings back to my factory. Even they are stumped & unable to provide me with a satisfactory solution for my customer. I feel so much like that piece of luncheon meat inbetween 2 slices of bread. I am obligated to protect & uphold my company's reputation & thus have been forced to lie to my customer. I can't possibly tell them my factory has no answer to their problem! I have been spinning absurd tales to them but seriously speaking, I don't think they buy it. Well now, should I give a damn about that?

Sometimes I try to avoid their calls but I can't do it too often. Eventually I still had to face the music & it is never a good feeling to be reprimanded for something that is not the cause of me.

I hope someone comes up with something real soon. Previously I still had contingency plans, to run certain tests to assess the situation. But now I've run out of that option. There is nothing else left to try. Only my factory can save me from this dire situation. Somebody save me!

By the way, we did mention to our caucasian Director Of Field Operations about this quality control issue. His response was excellent. "Quality control? It is good to have!"

I rest my case...

Living apart

My better half left for US today. I personally sent her off at the airport earlier on. I didn't realise it was that difficult until she pass through the immigration counter & out of my sight.

Frankly speaking, I hadn't expect that I will feel so lost without her. I miss my better half...

2nd Servicing

Today was the 2nd servicing for 大黄. I had already overshot by 300km. I could have pushed it further till next week to get it done but nah... I've gotta spend that time & money regardless when, so might as well today.

Engine oil, spark plugs & oil filter. All for $130 again. The satisfaction I derive from riding her over rides the amount of money I spend on her. The feeling is indescribable, perhaps because riding is my passion. You can have all the money in the world & yet not find something that can bring you pleasures beyond words. I have found mine long before & the feel is still strong. Live to ride, ride to live. Bad boys forever! Hmm... perhaps I should get a tattoo of my ride... NOT! Hahaha!

The entire session was over in less than an hour & I was back to work by 4pm. Work has been rather demoralising & tough as of late. Almost on a daily basis, I wake up dragging myself to work & thinking of switching jobs. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Life doesn't just end with a bad day. Sleep it over & move on to a new day!

At the very least, I get to ride everyday!

Hostile?

Today our service manager is back from his BKK trip. It was both a business & holiday trip for him. It is good to have him back for there are tonnes of matters which employees of my status cannot answer for. I briefly summarised the happenings of the past 2 weeks & going into details of the pending jobs.

As usual, his answers & instructions are very vague but at the very least he will point us in some directions. Then, my ex-boss stepped in. He used to own the company until he sold it to our principal & was made a senior sales manager.

Now sales & service people seldom belong in the same clique for some pretty obvious reasons. They are the front end guys who promote our stuffs, sometimes way beyond what our products can actually perform. We the service guys, on the other hand are the handful of poor souls who have to constantly keep up with their bragging.

At times I find it simply amazing that some of our customers actually believe the tales that my ex-boss spins. He is truly 1 of a kind. Perhaps that is what makes him a great salesman. But because of his ability to smoke the customer into believing, we end up looking incompetent because of our lack of skills to materialise his words.

Although I am the most junior in the company but I've had just about enough of cleaning up his shit. This morning he came questioning on a pending job that should have been closed long ago. But because this particular issue isn't on our products, I have been unable to provide our customer with a satisfactory answer. The vendor of this product has long ago claimed that he has fine tuned it to the optimum but the customer is still not willing to sign the buy-off. I explained it to him in layman terms but my ex-boss persistence in me giving him an answer to close this case greatly pissed me off & the only reply that came to my mind was "The vendor has said he has done all he could. He is the expert. Who am I to rebuke his claims? What more can I do?"

I think he was caught off guard by my reply & attitude that the conversation was abruptly ended by him just walking off. My fellow colleague commented that I sounded extremely hostile but I do not find it so. He is no longer signing my pay cheques so why should I bother? I may sound irresponsible to those who do not understand my work but I can only produce that amount of quality work. I cannot lay golden eggs.

I have been countlessly questioned by my customers when will parts that does not exist arrive at their sites only to find out that it was all empty promises made by my ex-boss. I had previously tried to play my part by trying to make it happen but I've had enough of that. The last customer who queried about his sand castle was pointed back to the asshole who gave him that dream. I distinctively told him that we do not have that particular product & it was never sitting in our warehouse. Please direct your questions back to that dickhead who told you so.

I know it reflects badly on our company but it sure as hell is better than making myself look bad! Am I being selfish, not sparing a thought for our company's path, not attempting to rally the rest of the company to make it come true? Or am I right to protect my own interest?

Whichever case it is, I am beginning to dread going to work everyday. It is a sign that it is time to change job but I am currently still under bond till Oktober 2008. Life has never been so miserable. I've tried looking for the pot of gold on the other end of the rainbow but instead I found a toilet bowl full of shit & it is not even my shit...

Rational

I have decided not to continue on my previous Impulse post. It is something personal & that I should not disclose it to the entire world.

Guess I'm being rational for once & that is suppose to be a good thing!

Impulse

I was thinking of changing my name to Xtreme when someone commented how extreme I am. Not in the sense of bungee jumping or sky diving etc etc. But as in doing things on impulse & shocking the people around me.

If I remembered correctly, the very last time I did something shocking was to snip off my long hair in the privacy of my toilet at 2am. It was about halfway down my waist then. I just tied it up & chop it off with a pair of lousy scissors. The only shock I received was what to do with so much hair on my toilet floor! Without even thinking, I scooped all the hair up & just dump it into the toilet bowl. It was only after that then I thought of the consequences the what ifs. What if the damn toilet bowl gets choked on my hair? Goodness!

Thankfully I have pretty fine hair & it all enters the sewage without any hiccups. Marvellous!

My mum got a shock when she woke up in the morning. So did my dad. But that's just me.

That should have been about at least 7 years ago. I have not done anything spectacular since then. Until last night, that is.

But last night's shocker remains a mystery for the time being. It is not the right time to blog it down just yet.

But I'll do so in due time

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me

*makes a wish & blows candle*

Change change change

I had wanted to change the chain & sprocket of my ride long ago but it wasn't till last week that I did so. Come to think about it, not that I can't afford to have it changed but I really cant find the reason why I waited until now.

Initially I had only wanted to change the chain & sprocket & to check on my front brake pump as it was kinda stiff & jerky. I ended up changing 3 brake pads, rear wheel bushing, front brake pump kit + a mud flap.

All in all I spent $400 in one afternoon.

Chain & sprocket -- $220
3 brake pads -- $75
Mud flap -- $15
Wheel bushing -- $38
Brake pump kit -- $50

Contrabands...

My heart ached when I saw this piece of news. To know that all the bright red & green boxes will be burnt in a bonfire really aches my heart. What a waste... *Sigh*...

The official news link

The Leap Years

Tomorrow is the day that only comes once every 4 years. For those fortunate enough to be born on that day, they will be forever young till the day they depart from this world.

But this is also the year where we have to work an extra day for free!

My darling's birthday

After reaching home & a short chat with my parents, I was out with my darling again. Firstly to start my poor 大黄 who has been dryclad for the past 2 weeks & secondly to pray at 洛阳大伯公. It took me quite a while to get her started & it was because the fuel lines & caburettor are totally dry. It needs time for the petrol to flow down to the pistons & even when the engine started up, it kind of sounded like a sick cat. But it soon roared like a lion after a few minutes of warming up.

I wasted no time climbing on & my darling hopped on behind me. First thing first, I had to get the air pressure in the tires checked so on to the nearest petrol kiosk we went. After 2 weeks the pressure was actually still quite ok. In fact, I don't think it leaked at all. The pressure was slightly lower due to the cold tires. After some riding it should go up again but I still pumped it to specifications.

Next we rode to Ponggol, to Wei Soon's place to check out his new Suzuki B-king! It was right in the same spot I parked the last time I went to his place. What I found odd was the bike cover. It was translucent! How kinky! Hahaha! We left for Changi after that.

We went through the usual ritual of prayers & then went for supper with Err at the teochew porridge stall near our place. We catch up on the on goings in the past 2 weeks & went home after that. It was 3am plus & my darling looked real tired although I was wide awake. Well, it was only 7pm back in Cambridge.

Our initial plan was to come back home, take a shower & sleep. But we decided to have our Inniskillin Gold Reserve ice wine in celebration of her birthday. We bought this bottle at the duty-free shop when we came back from Bangkok & had wanted to drink it on many previous occasions but never get to do so. This was an exceptionally expensive bottle. The few ice wines we had before cost about SGD$40 to $60 but this topped it all. At more than SGD$100 a bottle, 1ml of it cost SGD$3/=!

Not knowing what to expect, we got a shock on our first sip. It was sweet! Really sweet. To the point that we were almost feeling sick! Not sure about others who've tried it, but we had to add ice cubes to dilute the sweetness. It tasted pretty good after that & we took our time to enjoy the drink while watching cable tv.

It was already 6am by the time we were done. I'm just worried I'll waste my darling's birthday sleeping through it...

We woke up at 12 noon & I was still feeling the jet lag. My parents bought bak kut teh for us & after lunch, I felt drowsy & fell asleep again. By the time I woke up it was already close to 5pm! Damn it! I spent my darling's birthday sleeping! To be honest, I felt really bad about it. I rushed back home only to sleep through it & she had expected it. But my love is forever so forgiving & bear no grudges towards me.

We decided to have japanese food for dinner & settled on Sushi Tei in Serangoon Gardens. I was pretty disappointed we'd have to wait at least 20 mins for a table & I checked with my darling is it ok we go somewhere else to eat. She is always submissive to my demands & I suggested going to Outback restaurant in Suntec Millenia Walk. My decisionn to go there is because I wish to shop around abit with her after dinner. In Serangoon Gardens, there is no shopping available nearby & I don't know exactly what time we'll be done based on the crowd there. For all I know, all the retail shops in town might be closed by then. So off we went to Suntec City.

The Outback restaurant was only half full & we placed our orders soon. For starters we had some deep fried mushrooms & as for the mains, I had the Prime Minister's Prime Ribs while my darling had the Outback Rack which was lamb. She had cranberry juice while I had virgin colada which mainly consist of pineapple, mango & coconut. It was nice but a little too sweet. The mushroom was nice. It wasn't as oily as the blooming onions. The prime beef was great too. Although it was medium & not my preferred medium-rare but it was still good. Surprisingly the lamb rack was great too! We ate & chatted away & I really enjoyed every single moment of it. Not just because of the food but because I was there with her.

After dinner, I had a quick smoke outside the restaurant & headed off for some shopping. It was about 830pm only & there was still time to check out the various retail shops in Suntec City. She had wanted to get me some new clothes for Chinese New Year but I wasn't exactly in the mood for it so we ended up shopping for some bikinis for the Bintan trip on 11th February.

We chose 2 sets of bikinis, 1 of which looked really sexy. She looks great in both & I can't wait to see her on the beach in those 2 suits. Hahaha!

It was already close to 11pm by the time we got back to my place & we had a quick shower. I boiled water & brewed some chinese tea for us. We sipped through the hot tea while packing up her stuffs to bring home. It was already past midnight when we left our place & yes, I had spent the entire 24 hours of her birthday with her! Even though I was sleeping through the major part of it. But at least I was with her physically, awake or concussed. Hahaha!

Happy birthday my love! I hope you've enjoyed yourself today!

It is now 624am & I am still awake. I don't dare to go back to sleep for I don't know what time I'll wake up again. I think I'll just stay awake & go to office later, get my cheque, buy some chain lubricant, perhaps change back the sterling pounds to dollars & head back home. It is definitely not going to be a working day for me that is. Hahaha!

27th January - A very important day

My plane landed at about 1030pm & I was in a mad rush to the immigration counter. I can't wait to see my darling! But as usual, the queue was long & the automated counter was slow. Quite a handful of people did not manage to clear that part & was whisked away by a custom officer to another area to complete the procedure. I managed to get through that though.

Next up was the duty-free shop. My darling has requested for me to get her a bottle of honey flavoured Choya, a bottle of red wine & some beer for her papa. The queue in there was as long as the immigration counter. Everyone was buying liquor. Partly was due to the high taxes on alcohol. Since it was duty-free, buying liquor was the only right thing for a pure blooded Singaporean to do. I guess it took me about 15 mins to pay for my purchases before rushing to collect my luggage.

The queue at the conveyor belts was terrible too. It looked like nobody has gotten their luggages yet! I was browsing through the hundreds of people waiting outside for my darling while keeping vigilance on my luggage. Perhaps it was due to her new haircut that I couldn't spot her among the crowd.

Not long after, I saw my violet Eminent hardcase crawling out & I lugged it off the belt. I was going straight for the automated doors when a custom officer asked me over to screen my luggage. Never without fail. I get checked every time I had to pass through customs. Do I really look like a smuggler or drug trafficker? I seriously wonder why. The custom officer asked do I have anything to declare, like cigarettes? Without hesistating I said,"yeah, 2 packs". I guess after travelling almost across half the world, he was kind enough to let me through without having to pay tax for it.

I was still trying to find my darling while I was exiting the automated doors & there she was! With her new haircut! She looked gorgeous! I wasted no time in hugging & kissing her. It felt so damn good to feel her warmth again. I missed her so much & felt really grateful she was willing to travel all the way to the airport to fetch me. We made our way to the taxi queue & before long, was in a cab & on our way home!

In the taxi we chatted about my trip & I was telling her about my experience in Heathrow Airport & before midnight, I wished her happy birthday. That is the only reason why I rushed for the flight home from London the same day my course ended. Because it was my darling's birthday!

Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabhumi)

This new airport looks pretty much like Hongkong airport, just that it seems yet to be completed. Why do I say so? Because the walls have no proper finishing & there are no connecting bridge to the planes from the gates. The past few times that I've been in Bangkok, I've always been shuffled to & from the plane by buses. Is that how a 21st century new airport should be? Not so in my opinion.

It was barely 4pm local time when I arrived in Bangkok & I hurriedly check what time was my connecting flight. 730pm it was. I had 3-1/2 hours to get by in that airport! Not that I'm complaining but for a smoker like me, the smoking room sucks big time! It is small, pathetic, not enough seats & worst of all, extremely poor ventilation! I could only manage to have 2 sticks before evacuating from that room. I guess they don't really welcome smokers there.

I was hoping there will be free wireless internet access that I can connect to, hoping to catch my darling online so I sat myself down in a quiet corner of a food place. To my greatest disappointment, NO FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS that I could connect to! The nearest being Whittard of Chelsea which was supposedly a coffee house in the vicinity. When I tried to connect to that network, it prompted me to get the username & password from the counter. So I packed up & went in search for that coffee house.

It was just next to the food place that I was at. Yeah... Anyway, I ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea & asked the counter girl for the username & password for the wireless access. "$50 baht for half an hour" was the reply I got. What? SGD$2/= for 30mins of internet access? Oh what the hell! I just paid for it & quickly logged in. To my horror, my darling was not online! I whipped out my low-batt cell phone & was keying a message to her when she came online! Yeah! I cried foul of the charge for internet access & she concurred as well because Singapore airport provided free wireless access! But of course we should never compare, otherwise how can Singapore Airport be labelled "The number one airport". Yeah right...

I was happily chatting away with her when suddenly the connection was cut off. Damn it! 30 mins passes so fast when you're so engrossed! I was pondering was it worth paying another $50 baht or just to wait patiently for 3 more hours to see her. I guess saving the money would be more rational so I finished my tea & pack up. I still had some stuffs to buy for my office people as I did not get anything for them from London.

I was going through the various shops & boutiques & settled for a shop that was carrying local delicacies. I remembered my manager Alson buying some durian chips from Thailand in the past & decided to get those too. I was appalled to find out that a pack of the mentioned chips cost $410 baht! That's SGD$20 for a pack of chips! It's outrageous! I asked the lady why was it so expensive & she simply said because it is the best. Wow... Why was I not that impressed... Then came the best part. They had 2 flavours. Sweet & salty. Now which to get... I have no idea what flavour my office ladies actually like so left with very little choice, I bought both. That's $820 baht for 2 boxes of durian chips. Sigh...

After clearing the baggage screening area, I still had 1 more hour to wait for my flight back home. With no other entertainment in plain sight, I took out my PSP & carried on with my tennis game again. Soon enough it was time to board my flight. Was I glad I had a PSP on hand...

Now it is just 2 more hours to go. 2 more hours & it is home sweet home!

London - Bangkok

I was awaken by the thai stewardess for my order of drinks. I wanted a cola but she said she only had a Pepsi. I would have to wait if I wanted a Coca Cola. I was fine with that & she seemed pretty thankful I did not make her squeeze through the aisle just for my drink.

Dinner was served shortly & now I can't recall what I had but it was nice. Personally, I find that Thai Airways served better food compared to Singapore Airlines. That is just my personal opinion. I knocked out again soon after the meal.

When I woke up again, it was only because my throat was really dry & I had a few cups of water following which the stewardess gave me a 1.5 ltr of mineral water. Just for me. Hahaha! I spent most of the time sleeping as there wasn't anything else to do other than eating & drinking. There wasn't anything nice on the big projector screen so it was back to sleep for me.

Breakfast was about to be served the next time I woke up. That means I'm almost reaching Bangkok! Just another 6 more hours & I'll catch my darling at the airport! Hurray!

Day 14 in Cambridge

Today is my last day in Cambridge! I'm finally going home! I can't wait to get back home. I really miss my darling...

I woke up rather early today & packed my luggage as I'll be checking out before leaving for the factory. I ordered the usual breakfast & paid for my stay as well as the chinaman's. He is indeed a real big burden but thankfully that's the last thing I'll be paying for him.

I moved my luggage into Alex's room as he will only be leaving on Friday morning. He's flight home is a few hours after the chinaman.

It was a slow & relax morning as we had already completed the course. We were only waiting for Alan to mark our papers & hand us our certificates. Meanwhile he wanted us to remove the upgrades that we've done & revert it back to a basic system. We accomplished that in a jiffy & had our lunch in the training room. It was sandwiches again. But this will be the last time I'm having that for lunch!

John Craven came in to talk to us & I gave him my business card so he can look me up when he's in Singapore for the sales meeting in March. A meal & a drink with him will be nice. Maybe I'll get Jeramie to join us too as John is the person in charge for EVO systems. I foresee it will be for our good to get on his good side.

Alan handed us our certificates & David had the highest percentage. He got 94% while I had 91%. Alex was 90% & the chinaman got 85%. It was a good score for I had expected much less from him based on his understanding of the english language, but he has proved me wrong. Good for him! Now I don't see any reason why I should support him in China should he encounter any problem. Hahaha!

David drove us back to the guest house as I had a plane to catch in the evening & he offered to give me a lift to the rail station too. We all had our brief goodbyes & exchange contacts. I do kinda miss them in a way. It was overall a pretty good experience.

I managed to get on the direct train to Kings Cross Station & switched to the Piccadily Line to Heathrow Airport. All in all, it took me less than 3 hours to get there. I reached Heathrow Airport just before 4pm & my flight was 935pm! I was really early but it is definitely better this way than to miss my flight home!

I found myself a real cosy seat near to the check-in counter & whipped out my laptop thinking there's wireless internet access at the airport. I was wrong. So instead I took out my PSP & carried on with my tennis game until the check-in counter opened at 630pm. I got my luggage checked in & went about to get myself a bottle of water & a smoke outside.

It is funny how there isn't a single trash can visible inside & outside the airport. I guess it was because of the 911 incident in the US years back. Terrorism still creeps in their heart after so many years. There were cigarette butts lying all over the floor, empty cups & rubbish all over the place. It seems that littering is legal here. Back in Singapore, you will either end up with a heavy fine or made to sweep the roads (read: Corrective Work Order) or even worse, both!

I really wasn't used to throwing cigarette butts on the ground but what choices do I have? I still had at least 2 hours to go & I had nothing better to do than smoking. Well, I do have 3 more packs of duty-free cigarettes & our Singapore govt has a serious problem with that so I happily puffed away in the cold.

I made my way to the baggage screening area & queued for approximately 20 minutes before it was my turn. Next up was the immigration counter & I passed that in a moment. I was about to make my way to the duty free shops when someone called out to me. There is this section that screens just shoes! I was made to remove my boots for screening & I was feeling a little absurd over the mixed odour of everyone's feet. Real interesting.

Heathrow Airport's duty free section is a huge consolidated area before going to the gates. There are all sorts of branded boutiques & restaurants but I wasn't in the mood for any of those. I just wanted to get home real quick. Then the best thing happened. My flight has been delayed! Argh! I had to wait 1 more hour for some reason I chose not to know.

I did get to board the plane eventually & was already feeling extremely drowsy from the medication I took an hour before. It was to prevent my ear drums bursting from the pressure. I dumped my stuffs into the overhead compartment & plunked myself into the seat & knocked out before the plane took off.

12 hours to reach Bangkok. 4 hours transit plus a 2 hours flight to Singapore & I'll see my darling! I can't wait to see her!

Dinner

Alan was very punctual. He arrived on the dot at 7pm we hopped in quickly. He was driving a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso. It was a real spacious car with an excellent view all around. He paid £$16,000 for it after trading in his 5 yr old C4. Yeah, he bought the same model again. Hahaha!

We parked outside this huge Tesco mall & crossed the street to a place called Wrestler's Pub. Hmm... doesn't sound thai to me at all. It was half occupied when we go in & we each ordered a drink while waiting for David & Nigel. Alex & Alan both had ale while I ordered a lager. I wasn't too keen on ale as the taste don't really appeal to me.

They arrived just as our drinks were served & they ordered theirs too. As we sat ourselves down, Hubbard came too. We had some thai keropok to go along with the beers & chatted about our course. It was only then did I found out that Nigel has been with Zeiss for 40 years! My goodness! How can a person work that long for 1 company? But I suppose that is the mentality of the older generation. The people of my generation rarely spend more than 10 yrs in the same company or industry.

We ordered our food after finishing our drinks & I settled for a beef fried rice while the chinaman had the same as he couldn't really make out what was on the menu. As usual. Frankly speaking, I did not expect anything great from this thai kitchen but they really surprised me with it. The fried rice was really nice! It was fried till dry & it was extremely fragrant! The serving was big too. I had wanted to have another beer but my stomach is very private & limited. It had no space for anything else after finishing my food while the rest of them had another drink & the chinaman took photos of everyone. I played along with him & had 1 picture taken. Normally I dislike taking photos.

After the food & drinks, Alan sent us back to the guest house. I was feeling so full I could hardly climb up the stairs to my room. But it was a really good meal & I was very satisfied. Very.

Day 13 in Cambridge

I woke up real early today. 430am to be exact & I did not go back to sleep but logged into msn & found my darling online! But she did not reply me & I suppose she was having her lunch. She came back at abt 6am & I still had the time to chat with her for about an hour or so. It is always a good start for the day to chat with her.

I was down at the bar by 730 & had the usual breakfast. Alexy just turned up & the chinaman soon followed after. After that we called for a taxi & made our way to the factory.

Alan Randall showed up just after David arrived & he sought our opinion of whether did we wanted to have the test today so we can have the Q&A tomorrow & perhaps relax a little. I was all up for that since I wanted to end the day early on Friday. I had a plane to catch in the evening.

He came back with the test papers & told us to take our time to get it done. Although it stated 2-1/2 hours but I expected us to complete it in an hour or so. Oh how wrong could I be. I had expected a 10 multiple choice question only but it turned out to be a 10 page Q&A paper & we even had to sketch a diagram right at the end! Damn it! It would be a disaster should I flunk this test! Fortunately, it was an open book test & we were even allowed to try anything unsure on the system itself. We took 3 hours to finish the paper while stopping for pizzas inbetween during lunch time.

I was wondering will the chinaman but able to pass this test as I had serious doubts about his english standard. I encountered some questions that I was unsure of the answer & David was kind enough to enlighten me where to find the answers. We basically all helped each other & I guess we'll all pull through this.

Alan & instructed us to leave the papers in the room upon completion & we could all just go off from there. We had also arranged to have dinner together in the evening as the training course ends tomorrow. Alan was to pick Alexy, the chinaman & I at our guest house while Nigel will fetch David from his apartment.

I was pretty excited about it as I heard from them the thai bar & restaurant served real good food. It was only about 4pm when we came back to the guest house & Alan will only pick us up at 7pm. So it was still a rather long wait to have dinner.

Dinner

Alexy called me at abt 645pm & I hurried down to the bar to meet them. They were having another beer while David was checking out the menu. Alexy ordered the ostrich burger while David & I both had the steak on the stone. I was already very hungry & the thought of having beef only made me hungrier!

The waiter came shortly with a chunk of beef on a hot stone & he advised us it was nicer to cut it a piece at a time & cook it to our liking. To be honest, the stone was too hot! I really had to gobble down the beef before it was overcooked. It was really heavenly. The first half was really juicy & tender while the remaining bit was a little medium done. But overall it was still a great steak! I really enjoyed it!

In fact, I was craving for more of it but I know I can't possibly stomach another slab of beef. Too bad for me. As the saying goes, you can't have too much of a good thing. Sigh...

Day 12 in Cambridge

Woke up at 5am today. Think it was because I fell asleep before midnight last night. Manage to catch my darling online so it was pretty worth waking up that early. Chatted with her till almost 730am & I went down for breakfast before leaving for the factory. Had the usual scrambled eggs, sausages & mushrooms. It was filling.

Today was the first time our training started exactly at 830am. David Hubbard, the software guy who's name I failed to catch the other day was pretty much on the ball. But he was no where near snobbish. He too was quick & kind to point us in the right direction when we did not have a clue on how to write the macros.

He also showed us something called webex. It is basically a program that allows us to have remote access to a customer's equipment through a server in Germany. It is something like the Remote Desktop Connection in Microsoft Windows. Through this program, we can connect to the system & just takeover it & run everything like we are on site. Very handy if the customer is unable to describe the problem through the phone. But I don't think I'll get to use it in Singapore. Because we need to pay for the access & it is charged on a per minute basis. Great! I can forget it because it will only incur more cost for the company. Besides, most of my customer sites do not have internet access on the equipment as they are pretty wary of virus attacks. But I do hope I get that option.

Our training ended pretty early today. We left the factory by 4pm & David gave us a lift back to the guest house again. He was planning to have dinner at the bar where our guest house is. I stayed & had a beer with him & agreed to eat with him as dinner will only be served after 6pm. He went out shopping with Alexy after the beer while I retired to my room while waiting for them.

I had hoped to catch my darling online but it was already close to 2am in Singapore & she had to wake up early the next day. Didn't get to see my dearie online. Sigh...

Dinner

I was actually contemplating on just having a beer & skipping dinner. But I ended up having both. Well, it is only for another 3 more days so whatever! I had a Battered Cod in Chips. It is basically a deep fried piece of cod with chips, minted peas, tomatoes, carrot & lettuce shreds topped with a slice of lemon.

It tasted like the usual fish & chips we'd get back in Singapore. Nothing special. I had a Fosters to go with it & yeah, I couldn't finish the chips & peas but I certainly won't let that cod go to waste. It was kind of a good feeling to wash all that food down with a beer but nah, I'm not gona bring this habit back to sillypore.

Before I forget to mention again, I only had dinner with Alex. Not that I bother if the chinaman is hungry or not, he IS old enough to find his own food should he be hungry. Am I being mean? Perhaps so, in your eyes that is. But certainly not in mine point of view!

I did sms Jeramie during the day when I almost lost control of myself. I was really on the verge of smacking the chinaman. Why am I so pissed with him? Let me just mention a few petty issues here. During the training, sometimes we have to change position in order to get a clear view of the action. And this fucking yellow potato just steps in front of me & blocks my view totally. Again, absolutely no fucking manners at all! I was just that close to smacking his head when he stood in front of me. Then there is that fucking arrogance when out of good will, I check with him if he understood what was being told to him. Damn it! He couldn't even order a meal from a menu! Don't get me wrong, I am NOT looking down on him. I am just SIBEH DULANZ that when I tried to offer my help, he gives me that look as if he knew EVERYTHING! Well smartass, since he knows everything I shall keep my good will for myself in future! I am so glad I'm leaving on Friday. I might just wring his neck until his eyes pop out should I stay a day longer.

Day 11 in Cambridge

It has been 11 days! Just 3 more days to go & I'll be on my way home! Anyway, I woke up at 5am this morning & was wondering whether to stay awake or just go back to bed. I chose the latter & was jumping all over when I woke up again at 715am. I hurriedly washed up & rushed down to the bar only to realise that the chinaman was still in his room. Alex was up & early though. He was already at the bar & we ordered our breakfast soon after. While waiting for our meals, I went out to the patio to have a smoke & there comes the chinaman.

We had our full & called a cab as it was really too far to walk. I was having another smoke while waiting & the taxi arrived just as I finished my stick. The drive to factory was uneventful. I suppose Cambridge has really low accident rates as none of the cars seem to be speeding. Besides, they are much more considerate than singapore drivers for I've seen how easy it was for them to give way to other road users. Be it motorbikes, cyclists, pedestrians or even other cars. But back in Singapore, I would say 99.9% of the cars on the roads are just downright inconsiderate. Bastards!

Today's training was nothing unusual. We went through the full calibration wizard & Allan was quick to fill us in on the details of each procedure. The chinaman was as before, bull running into everything & everyone but shy of starting a conversation in english. Frankly speaking, I have no idea how much he has absorbed since day 1. I mean, he doesn't really ask questions & when I check with him on whether does he understand he just gives me that attitude "yeah yeah, I know I know". And I find it so damn rude to be looking elsewhere when someone is having a conversation with you. Are all china man like these? How fucking rude can they be? Isn't it just plain manners to be paying attention to someone who is talking to you? In a blunt way, as how I would put it in hokkien "got mother give birth, no mother teach ah?".

I am always quick to admit that I am a no-gooder. Because I really am! But respect is something that must be given to others in order to even respect your own self! Much less talk about other people giving you the respect that you yearn for! Then again, it could just be the culture there. My dad will skin me alive if he reads this. But as if I've ever cared.

I had the chance to meet up with 3 other employees of our company & one of them was really young & supposedly very high in appointment. Too bad I only remembered his name but not his job designation. John Craven is his name & he will be in Singapore for the sales meeting in March. From our conversation it seems that he was quite friendly & definitely not snobbish. I offered to take him out for a meal & drinks when he is in Singapore, if I'm free from work that is. Hahaha!

Next up there is Hidde Wallaart & he has a Ph.D, in what I have no idea & he is the Software Engineer for Research & Development. Yuppers! He is Dutch & I was very surprised when he said that he will be in Singapore for Chinese New Year. I was like, huh? Life on the little red dot almost comes to a standstill during those 3 days. Why? Why go to Singapore during those 3 days? "Because I have a Singapore wife" was his answer. Oh! That explains it all. Hahaha!

I did not manage to get the name of the last guy but he is in charge of the software for our equipments & he will be conducting the training for tomorrow. I will find out his name & hopefully a calling card as well.

Dinner

The Earl Of Derby serves dinner from 6 to 9pm so I arranged to meet Alex at 7pm. We've already checked out the menu during breakfast & I was more than ready to try the rump steak. I have no idea what that is suppose to mean & the guy at the bar counter was kind to enlighten me that it is just a strip of beef with a layer of fats along one side of it. Did I get that clearly? A layer of fats? Ooohh!!! That sounds absolutely marvellous! I wasted no time on ordering a medium rare of that. Alex ordered that too but a medium well-done.

We chatted briefly about what we've learnt today & was beginning to stray into the IT stuffs when our steaks arrived! Medium rare. The red juices start flowing the moment the blade cuts through it & I savoured each & every drop of it. It was good but I've had better. It wasn't exactly a disappointment but maybe just because it wasn't as good as the steak I had at Outback restaurant back in Singapore. So far, that was still the best piece of beef I've ever had!

Oh, did I forget to mention about the chinaman? Well, I did not.

Day 10 in Cambridge

We had breakfast at this new guest house. The serving was just nice for me but the scrambled eggs tasted much better back in AllenBell. The mushrooms were nice but smaller compared to there too. Overall, breakfast was still great!

As this guest house was pretty far from our factory, we called for a taxi & decided to share the fare 3 ways. But in fact it is only 2 ways, because I'll be paying for that chinaman. Yeah, he is indeed turning out to be a huge burden for me.

Anyway, it took only abt 10mins for the driver to take us to our destination & it was only 830am. David will definitely be late as he will be driving over from London. The traffic there was supposedly a killer.

I was having a smoke near the car park when I saw him driving in at abt 845am. He joined me for a stick too & I found out he wasn't caught in London traffic. In fact, it took him 45 mins just to get to the factory from the city center. But it will only be for the weekend as he's staying in a suite near the factory that's paid for by our company.

We carried on our training after that & today we were taught how to change filaments. I've had handful of experience on this so as usual, I let the rest of them to do it. I kept a watchful eye over them & discovered some rather interesting traits of their character. Firstly, Alex has a real good theory knowledge of how our equipment works & always like to be the first to try something new, but he will get his directions right before plunging into it. Next, David is very careful in what he's doing & although he is the biggest size amongst us, he does produce some real delicate work. Lastly, the chinaman is like a blind bull. Always trying to be the first to interfere, headbutting into other's work like a backseat driver & almost nothing but a plain destroyer. I mean, you've got to know the fundamentals of microscopy before you start instructing others. David was previously a service engineer with Hitachi & I seriously don't think he needs a blind bull to tell him what to do. Do you teach your dad how to fuck? It's pretty much the same thing. I really had to control myself from smacking him. It was just that tough holding myself back. Really.

Anyway, the day ended without much hiccups. We changed the filament back to a Lab6 from a Tungsten tip & managed to pump the system down to kickstart the ion getter pump. The ion getter pump needs to be pumping in order to run a Lab6 filament as it requires to be in high vacuum to function. To attain a high vacuum in the column, a bake-out is absolutely necessary so we performed that function when the vacuum hits the threshold & we called it a day. It was already 430pm by then & David was too kind to give us a lift back as his suite was in the other direction from the factory.

Although the chinaman was a real pain to work with, I seriously hope he'd picked up enough to manage the systems in China. I would dread travelling there just to support him. In fact, I hope I never see him again!

Hmm... I just realise up till today, he's only been known as "the chinaman". Well, his name is Jiang Wei Yao but all our fellow trainers & trainees call him Jiang. Caucasians tend to have this problem with chinese names. Me? I just like to call him the chinaman...

Day 9 in Cambridge

I woke up at 6am this morning & was contemplating on going back to sleep but decided not to as we had to move out by 10am. Yeah, this time we're moving to The Earl Of Derby. We had our breakfast at 830am & we settled the bill after that. I paid £$180.00 for the 2 nights stay for the chinaman & myself. He is becoming to be a real burden on my wallet.

We called for a taxi at 10am & deliberately requested for a mini-van type as we had 3 large suitcases which wouldn't fit into a normal salon car. The operator over the phone advised us that it would cost us £$11.00 per trip. Well, like we have a choice? Anyway I intend to claim this from my company because I did not wanted to move!

The taxi arrived & there was another unpleasant surprise. The driver told us it was actually £$13.00! Whatever! I just wanted to get this done & over with so we just hopped on.

Upon reaching The Earl Of Derby, there was more bad news in store for us. The lady told us our rooms will not be ready until 3pm. It was only 1030am! My god! What are we suppose to do for that 4-1/2 hours? Alex & I both had a beer while waiting & the chinaman did his vanishing trick again. It wasn't only after he returned that we found out he went to check out the distance from the guest house to the bus station.
It wasn't really my concern since I'm taking the rail so I didn't bother.

At abt 130pm the lady advised us that our rooms are ready. I have not been so happy before since arriving in Cambridge. We lugged our baggages up the narrow stairways & made it into our respective rooms. It wasn't really pleasant looking. In fact it looked kinda rundown. But the most important thing was that, IT HAD A WORKING WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS THAT I COULD HOOK UP TO!!!

Nothing else seems to matter at this point of time. As long I can online, check & clear my mails & see my darling online, that's it! I'm not moving anymore! Sometimes we beggars just cannot be choosers. It ain't exactly easy living in foreign land, even if it's just for 2 weeks.

Day 8 in Cambridge

We had our breakfast at the guest house again. The serving at AllenBell was bigger compared to Hamden & their sausages did taste better too. I really enjoyed my meal here.

We called for a taxi as it is quite a distance to the city center. The journey took us almost 20 mins, partly due to the heavy traffic in the weekends because everyone is going there.

We dropped off at St. Andrews Street, just further up of Regent Street & ventured into a mall along there. I've conveniently forgotten the name of the place. Nothing much worth remembering anyway. A mall is just a mall. Hahaha!

We moved along to another mall & I think it's called Lionyard Shopping Centre. Alex bought some PC games from a shop there & frankly speaking, there is nothing for me at all. There's nothing here that I can't get in Singapore in SG dollars.

The chinaman was pretty funny though. He disappeared for a moment & emerged later with 2 Disney plastic bags. He bought 2 little stuff toys! Was he out of his mind? Buying Disney stuffs in UK when everything is MIC (read: Made In China)? Anyway, it is his money so he can spend it any way he likes. But damn it! Why am I made to pay for his accomodation?

We continued walking around the area, all the while it was drizzling & luckily my down jacket has a hood. So I managed to keep my head dry all throughout. Both of them had umbrellas.

Somehow, we ended up along Bridge Street & that's when we decided to head down to Grafton Shopping Centre which was located along East Road. It looked kinda far on the map but it was ok. We headed out to Park Street & turned into Jesus Lane, down to the round about & crossed over to Maid's Causeway before turning into James Street. That leads us to the rear entrance of Grafton Shopping Centre. This shopping centre was pretty big. Just another typical mall & it is also the place where we had junk food! Burger King! I had a Royale Cheese, which was actually just chicken, cheese & some greens. I ordered the same for the chinaman too, obviously. Alex had a double cheese whopper. It was very filling & funny though, the chicken was quite salty. I had 2 cups of coke to wash the saltiness down.

We checked out the rest of the mall after lunch & Alex decided to get a cellular phone from a shop call The Carphone Warehouse. He bought a Sony Ericsson T250 for £$49.00. That's pretty cheap & it actually includes a £$10 airtime. A rather good buy I should say.

After that it was kinda getting dark & so we decided to head back to the guest house. We had intended to take a bus back but we just couldn't find a service that leads to Coldhams Lane. So we agreed that since it is early, we might as well just walk back to the guest house. It was actually quite a bad choice because it was drizzling & we don't really know the way back! But it was all good. We made it back to AllenBell in about an hour. Fortunately for me, I had my pair of Caterpillar boots on which kept both my feet dry but Alex's socks were soaked.

We did not go out for dinner after that as I was already pretty tired & furthermore we had to pack our luggage because we are leaving the following morning.

I had a cup noodle later in the night & quickly dozed off after packing my luggage. It was pretty much a hassle to be moving around so often in such a short time. I guess we are worse than nomads!

Dinner

We went out for dinner again & this time round we decided to try the indian restaurant. It was packed but we did manage to get a table. Although the menu was in english but we had absolutely no idea what they were serving. Anyway the waiter advised us on the various indian names on the menu & Alex had a chicken korma while I settled for a mutton biriany. The chicken korma was like curry chicken except the taste of coconut was really heavy. The mutton biriany serving was humongous! I could only finish 2/3 of it but the chinaman managed to gobble everything down. He had the same dish as me only because he could not understand the menu nor what the waiter was saying. Both Alex & I ordered a beer each. Kingfisher beer to be exact. It was supposed to be India's number 1 selling beer. The taste of it? One word says it all. Weird... I got myself a pineapple juice to wash the taste off my mouth. Yucks!

This will be the first & last time I'm having indian food in UK for sure.

Mutton Biriany -- £$6.95
Pineapple juice -- £$2.50
Kingfisher beer -- £$3.00

Total damage -- £$11.95

Day 7 in Cambridge

We had our usual breakfast at Hamden guest house before checking out. I had to raise the credit limit of my card in order to pay for the chinaman as well. Fortunately the credit company was willing to raise it to $10K, otherwise I think he will have to sell his laptop to pay off the bill.

David came to pick us up as usual & Alex packed his luggage in first while the chinaman & I left ours at the guest house, intending to pick it up during lunch time.

The training commenced & we stripped the column down to the elements. I've had countless experience with that so I left it to the other guys. They had their share of bloopers while I found out some interesting facts about the column from Alan. After stripping the column, we cleaned the internal parts & ultrasonic it. Assembling back the column was easy, just put back what we removed. We started pumping the chamber & column & Alan discussed with us about the software that is controlling this system. Currently this particular system is running on the latest version of the software so there were new functions that I was unaware of. The system vacuum had to reach 2e-005mbar before the ion getter pump will kick in to pump the column. After waiting for almost 2 hours, it was only 4e-005mbar & Alan decided we should call it a day since it was already close to 5pm. He did mentioned that by Monday the gun vacuum should be within specifications & so we packed up & move into the new guest house.

The AllenBell guest house is located a stone's throw away from our factory & it really looked cosy. I had the room on the 2nd storey & was shocked to find out that it did not have an adjoining toilet! I had to go out to the corridor to get to the bathroom! Damn! The pros was having a bathtub in that bathroom but I seriously doubt I will have the chance to use it.

I'd checked with the lady running the place about internet access & she provided me with the password to it but I just couldn't connect! Damn it! No internet access till sunday! Just have to live with it...

Day 6 in Cambridge

I woke up kinda stoned this morning as I was playing Battle For Middle Earth till 2am+ last night. I was a little worried I might oversleep today but I woke up at about 5am instead! Yeah, I told myself not to go back to sleep again & was pleasant to find my darling online! Yeah! Got to chat with her for an hour or so before I had my breakfast & left for the factory. I always love to see her online & talk about anything under the sun with her, especially now when I'm so far away in a foreign land full of white skinned people.

I was having the english breakfast since day 1 & so I decided to try the scrambled eggs. It was nice, accompanied with a sausage. I had alot of tea this morning though. Felt quite bloated but satisfied. I'd rather be bloated than hungry for a hungry man is an angry man.

The sky was pretty clear in the morning but there were signs of rain before day break. Heaven is still kind to me. I've yet to experience any heavy downpour. Choy! I hope I don't.

David gave us a lift to the factory again & everything was as usual. We continued the training & Owain instructed us on how to upgrade the system. Everything went pretty smooth & that concluded his part of the training as well. We break for lunch soon after & yeah, we had sandwiches again. I'm fine with it still & I hope I don't get sick of it any time soon. Hahaha!

Ken Robinson, the applications guy took over after lunch but he could only afford 1 hour to attend to us. You know the guys here, they've got the world to support. Hahaha! Seriously, no pun intended! Personally, I wasn't expecting to pick up much from him as 1 hour is pretty short & he intended to just briefly go through the various functions on the software. I was wrong again. I picked up some real good tips & discovered hidden functions in the software which I was totally unaware of! I guess my customers will really benefit from this UK trip.

Alan Randall dropped by after Ken was done & we had a small discussion on what we will be doing tomorrow. As we only had 2 hours till the end of the day, we unanimously agreed to start first thing tomorrow morning.

David & Alex were wondering where to eat tonight & I told them to go ahead without me. I wanted to come back early to chat with my darling! Also to pack my luggage as tomorrow we're moving to another guest house. 3 guest houses in 2 weeks. What an experience!

Oh by the way, the chinaman did not join them for dinner as well. I think he's having cup noodles in his room too. The currency exchange rate is a real killer for him. Poor kid... but he's still irritating!!!

Dinner

Before I forget, Alson, my manager called me this morning & briefly enquired about my training & how the chinaman was doing so far. He also mentioned about my leave application during the Chinese New Year period. It seems that there is just a window of 1 day when no one seems to be working & should any customer's equipment breaks down, no one will be available to service it. Not entirely a big issue as pretty often we do not turn up on the same day that a problem surfaces. But hey! Not that we don't want to go, but most of the time we are already stuck in another customer site!

Anyway, prior to his approval, I received wind that he did not approve it & I was exremely pissed due to various reasons which I will not specify here. I was prepared to go to extreme measures to get back at him. I told my better half that should anyone ruin our plans, I will make miserable for him! But all is in good faith, everything has turned out well & I'm all mentally prepared to go for a vacation with my darling! That is the happiest phone call I've received since arriving in Cambridge!

Right then, onwards with my dinner. David picked us up at 715pm & we were supposed to head down to Regent Street where there were supposedly many bars & restaurants. He kinda got lost although he has a GPS system mounted in his vehicle, but I wouldn't blame him. He's Irish. Not that being Irish means constantly losing his way, but he's as new to Cambridge as we are!

Nevertheless, we found an underground parking & walked about for 10 mins or so before chancing upon a bar. We decided to have some drinks before scouting around for some food. I had another Fosters lager while he had a lemonade. The chinaman had a lemonade as well for he isn't capable of holding his liquor well. Alex the russian kid had some ale too. I know that David wishes to drink too but he couldn't as he was driving. I guess the drink driving rule in England is as harsh as Singapore.

We finished our drinks & proceeded to search for a restaurant nearby. We went round & round, a handful of left & right turns & then we found ourselves in a dead end! But there was this restaurant pub located right at the end & we agreed to settle on this. The menu wasn't very enticing but it looked good enough. I had wanted to have another beer but decided to get a coke first. I'd rather finish my food first & if there's still room, I'll definitely have another beer!

I had some pork sausages with onions & mashed potatoes in red wine gravy. I was pleasantly surprised it tasted that good! But unfortunately, I did not managed to finish the potato. It was the Fosters lager fault. And thankfully I had not ordered another beer!

It was already 10pm by the time we were done & so David sent us back to the guest house.

Pork sausages -- £$7.75
Coke -- £$1.60

Total Damage -- £$9.35

That's almost SGD$30 but it is considered relatively cheap in Cambridge. I shall not complain about it anymore but I believe I will not be eating out again tomorrow!

Day 5 in Cambridge

I can actually see the sun this morning. The past 2 days were wet with rain & gloomy skies all throughout. But even though there's sun, it was still freezing. I think it was about 4°C in the morning & it was even colder at the end of the day.

Anyway, today we had a new trainer called Owain who enlightened us on upgrading the system from a HV to XVP to EP with & without H2O & the various detectors found on our equipment. We also touched on the CZ BSD detector which was relatively troublesome to install. All of us had our fair share of getting some hands on to upgrade the system & to install the detector. But as we deal with high vacuum systems, we break for lunch while waiting for the system to pump down.

Lunch. It was sandwiches again & I had the seafood flavoured with shrimps & crabsticks fillings. It was really nice although the bread was kinda hard. There was another which I think it was spicy chicken. That was ok but I'd rather have the seafood.

We carried on with the training after lunch & found the system was unable to pump down. We checked each & every portal that we had touched on & found 1 of the O-rings had some particles on it. Thinking that the system would be able to pump down after cleaning that, we found another problem. This time round the system was pumping & venting at the same time! It wasn't after much troubleshooting that we realise there was a leak valve missing! Thus the turbo pump was happily pumping away while another opening under the chamber was constantly leaking air in! We unplugged the controller & yes, FINALLY the system was able to pump down. But it was already close to 6pm by then so we decided to run up the gun first thing tomorrow morning. I've learnt much today but funny thing was that I don't know how to pen it down in my notes. I hope it all stays fresh in my memory for good...

I'm back in my room now & it is close to 7pm. We've arranged to meet David the UK engineer at 715pm & he will bring us somewhere for dinner & drinks. I guess I should get prepared now. Nah, I wouldn't wanna keep him waiting & besides, I'm hungry!

Dinner

Just came back from dinner. This is the very first meal I've had in a restaurant since touch down. The place was called Robin Hood & Little John. It was about a 10 mins walk away from where I'm staying. I wasn't really too excited about it as I wasn't sure if it would be to my liking.

I scanned through the menu & was wondering which to have. Beef or lamb? They were about the same price & I decided to give the lamb shank a shot. Back in Singapore, lamb shank was always nice with the spices but it was always kinda cooked. But this lamb shank that I've just had... ummmph... I had a real sense of satisfaction when the first piece of it landed in my mouth. I have NEVER tasted such tender lamb before! The serving was humongous for me but I had no problem clearing the plate & washing it down with a Foster lager. It was simply delicious!

Lamb shank -- £$10.45
Foster lager -- £$2.75

Total damage -- £$13.20

That's like SGD$40! But it was a really good meal. The first REAL meal I've had! But nah... I do not intend to do that on a daily basis. Tomorrow will be an exception as David the UK engineer wants to have dinner with us. I hope where he's taking us will be as good, if not better!

But for now, I'm satisfied.

Day 4 in Cambridge

Woke up before 6am today. Guess I'm still not adapted to the time difference here or was it because of that can of Stella Artois I had before I slept? Hmm... Ponderous. Anyway, the beer was ok. Right onwards, had the usual breakfast in the guest house & we proceeded to the factory. It was drizzling lightly & fortunately my jacket comes with a hood. So I managed to keep my head dry or I might fall sick again. Yeah, I'm weak...

Today we went a little more indepth on the system. Discovered the difference of the various PCBs & PSUs between the old version & the new & upcoming ones. Back in Singapore, I was induced with the impression that EVO systems were outdated & extremely troublesome but our trainer Nigel Stoten managed to change that, at least a little. I mean, obviously a conventional SEM cannot be compared to a FESEM. But from the looks of it, the newer generation of EVOs are built in such a way that it is easier for us service engineers to access each & every part. I've had a look at the new FESEMs & my god! The Germans practically stuffed everything in under the plinth & locked us out! I dread to service those new FESEMs. I hope nobody buys them...

We had pizzas for lunch. I had the hawaiian while the russian kid had something with alot of meat in it. I can't recall what the UK engineer had but our chinaman ordered the exact same thing as me, partially because he can't read the menu. Anyway, the pizza was ok. It was the garlic herb sauce that surprised me. It really brought out the taste of the pizza. Funny that the garlic & herbs were able to do that but I really love it! I managed to finish the entire pizza! Damn! I need to shed some pounds off of me...

Our training continued after lunch with me feeling all bloated up but it was very interesting & I guess that's why I did not feel sleepy at all. Normally I would have dozed off after a heavy meal. Or was it the weather?

Our training session ended after 6pm today as we tried some hands-on on a demo system. It was not exactly an eye opener for me as I've experienced that back in Singapore & that particular part is not something I will like to dismantle & assemble.

David, the UK engineer gave us a lift back to the guest house as it was drizzling & he offered to pick us up tomorrow morning at 815am. Great! We're gona have another free ride!

The russian kid wanted to take a shower first so we're still waiting for him to go for dinner. We decided on 730pm & it's almost 720pm now. Maybe I'll just go out for a smoke first. He should be done by the time I'm finished with my smoke

Day 3 in Cambridge

I woke up at 630am this morning & had breakfast with the chinaman & met up with another russian man who was attending this course with us. He arrived last night at about 7pm & is staying in the room right next to me only. We had a small conversation over breakfast & I found out that he is currently residing in Israel. Although he is from Russia but he isn't all that comfortable with the weather here too. Hahaha! Anyway, we made our way to the factory after eating our fill at the guest house.

It was just a 10 mins walk but the weather was really cold. Partially due to the showers before I woke up. The inside of the factory was warm, much to my liking & we met up with our trainer Alan Randall for the very first time. He is extremely friendly & helpful, thus I can understand why my colleague Jeramie spoke highly of him. We found out from him that there is another UK engineer who was scheduled to participate in this session with us but perhaps due to the traffic he will be late.

We were introduced to another trainer, Nigel Stoten who was as warm & welcoming as Alan. He was responsible for conducting the training for today & tomorrow as each individual module will be taught by a particular specialist. Not long after, the UK engineer arrived & we introduced each other. He was previously from Ireland & was with Hitachi dealing with SEMs too. He gave up the job & jumped ship to Carl Zeiss because Hitachi wanted to deploy him to Germany. He rather come to UK, I wonder why though. I briefly spoke to him about Hitachi SEMs & he concurred that it was better in certain aspects, or most of it other than being user friendly. I've never seen for myself how complicated the user interface was but I've heard alot about it. Guess I'm still pretty lucky to be working for Carl Zeiss. Hahaha!

Throughout the day, Nigel shared with us the history of Carl Zeiss & the equipment that we are to learn about. Before coming to UK, my ex-boss told me that coming to training was more of getting to know the people here only & that there's nothing much to learn here. How wrong can he be! I've found out things about the system that nobody could answer back in SG! It is only our 1st day of training & already I'm having a little difficulty digesting what I've learnt today.

During mid day Alan informed us that we will be shifting to the Allenbell guest house on Thursday night as the people running Hamden guest house will be leaving for Italy on vacation. But even Allenbell guest house was only available till Sunday after which we will again be moving to another guest house which was more expensive & located nearer to the city centre. It is about a 40mins walk to the factory so most probably the 3 of us will have to share a cab to & fro from the factory.

Just a 2 weeks stay in UK & I actually have to move twice! I guess there are pros & cons to that. Firstly I get to try out 3 guest houses at my company's expense on a single trip here but that I'll have to pack & unpack again. Nonetheless, moving nearer to the city centre has its good. At least we have more variety in terms of food & higher chance of having cheaper dinners.

Before the end of the day, Alan showed up again with a pizza menu & asked if we are fine with having pizzas tomorrow. Nigel asked why pizzas? He simply replied, "All kids love pizzas!" Hahaha! We had sandwiches & some spring rolls for lunch today. It was tasty compared to what I had last night. But I do not intend to eat out tonight. I'm happy to stay in my room & have my cup noodles. It is too cold to venture out. I rather enjoy the warmth in my room. Maybe tomorrow night I'll eat out together with the chinaman & russian colleague. Maybe...

Day 2 in Cambridge

My china counterpart arrived late last night but I did not know about. He was kind enough to leave me alone till this morning. We had breakfast together & chatted alittle about our journey to this foreign land. Not exactly sure what he was thinking, but he conveniently forgot to bring his shampoo & shaving kit. I was prepared to share my shampoo with him but shaving kit? Nah...

We made our way to the grocery store nearby where he bought a bottle of shampoo & shaving kit. He still claimed that he had remembered to pack it into his luggage but he just couldn't find it. I jokingly said he will find it later after buying a new one & true enough, he found it buried under his instant noodles. Hahaha!

After his purchase at the grocery store, we returned to the guest house to unload his stuffs & made our way to the factory. It was just a 10-15 mins walk from where we were staying. I tell you, the weather is COLD! I stuck my hands in the pocket all the time & that kinda kept it warm but my face... Argh! I can feel it sort of freezing. The beanie & scarf didn't exactly help as my face was still exposed. But it wasn't all that bad. It was still bearable. Guess this is what to expect for a man who was born & bred in the tropics.

We spent the rest of the time back in our own rooms & only ventured out again at around 4pm for dinner. We walked past a chinese take-away store but it was closed. Not sure was it because it was too early or simple that they were not opened on Sunday. Further down there was another Fish & Chips store & it was closed too! As we trotted along, the last food store we spotted was an indian restaurant & damn... it was closed as well. Since we did not wished to explore too far off, we made our way back & was prepared to settle for our instant noodles when we noticed there was someone in the Fish & Chips store. I tried to open the door but it was locked & the staff inside gestured to us that they open only at 5pm. It was only 415pm then so we came back to the guest house first as it was really cold outside. At 515pm we journeyed out to the Fish & Chips store again & this time we ordered 2 sets of Chicken & Chips. It cost £$4.05 per set. We had to wait for around 10 mins for our dinner & after which we quickly made our way back to the guest house. I noticed that the people running the food store spoke in cantonese. I could understand what they were saying to each other but they did not look friendly enough to start a conversation. Anyway, we left straight after our dinner was ready. The chicken was nothing much to brag about but the chips were simply tasteless. We could not finish the chips as the serving was rather large & partly because it didn't taste good.

After dinner I made my way out for another puff before retiring to my room. It is only day 2 in Cambridge & already I feel like I am falling ill. I guess I'm still not adapted to the weather here. I popped 2 panadol cold relief before my shower & I'm feeling slightly better now. I hope I recover fully by tomorrow as our training commences at 830am. Now I'm beginning to stress on tomorrow's dinner. What am I going to eat? Perhaps I'll settle for my cup noodles...