11th February of 2008? What day is it?

The 11th of February never had any significance in my life. At least, not till I met a crazy, lame - alike friend/twin in Sher Mayne. Yes, 11th of February is her birthday, and I want to dedicate this post to her.

Sher Mayne aka Jagung, isn't a typical girl according to my definition. Hehe, just joking. She is more like a she-male, not in terms of the physical side, but more on the mental side. She is the toughest lady that I have ever known, willing to take on anything, everything, even though it is very challenging just for a lady. I respect that virtue of yours. You are unique in that way.

Apart from that, she is also not a money waster. Rare gem. Lolz. She really amazes me with how careful and cautious she spends her money. I still remember how she managed to hold on when money was a scarce resource to her in Canada. Girl, you are real one tough person.

These are just two of many, but they are the significant ones, well at least, according to my perception. Mayne, you have been one great friend to me ever since our frienship got better through the games and training sessions. I want just want to thank you for the great things you have done, and will do for the time to come;

1) Driving me around when I need transportation. You are one "loyal" driver. Haha! Thanks for bringing me to Tai Ping, you cant bear seeing me carrying two bags of 25kg rice right?

2) Brought a strong sense of humour into my life. You are real one funny person. A person with so many funny thoughts, and a great laughter at my lame jokes. I laught at yours too. Haha.

3) Always willing to help me with anything if within her ability. I owe you a lot for this. Thanks for all the favours fulfilled.

4) Being a sports companion. My sports partner in netball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, touch, anything else ka? You wanna try table tennis??

5) Being a companion. Thanks for all the wonderful time and moments in the real world and cyber world. You are one great company. One who can share thoughts openly with another.

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY MAYNE!!

We are the "Terminators" - Rise of the Humans

H O M E A L O N E

While I am writing this, I am at home alone, all by myself, just myself and no one else. This will last for one week. Sigh, what a hell it has been already. Sigh. Mum and Dad have gone to Singapore to visit and my brother. And, what about me? I am here in Miri, working and looking after the house.

It's not fun at all. The feeling of emptiness when I come home from work. Just wish that there is someone that I can be with at this moment. but it ain't gonna happen. So, face it, Jeremy, you are alone for a week. What's the big deal? Didnt you want to try to live in a private studio all by yourself?

Guess it isnt a good idea afterall. Human needs one another. There is no doubt about that. Guess I miss my mom and dad so much now. Hehe. Luckily, I have got work colleagues and my aunt who cooks my dinner for this one week. Other than that, just me at home, whole night, aimless.

The computer is only my entertainment now. Dramas now fill my empty life. Notebook now is used for office work and report writing. PS2 is played more often now. TV is switched on more frequently now. Dishes are washed by me. Gates are locked by me. Cars are driven by me. Breakfast and lunch are made by me. Fridge is used by me. Microwave is used by me. Everything is just ME.

Life is so simple. I understand it now. You can't live by yourself. You need people around you. If not, you will not be able to enjoy life. This experience will certainly make me cherish the people around me more. My parents, siblings, other family members and friends, you all play important roles in my life, and I just can't thank you guys enough. Thank you!

Last few hours of year 2007

It is about 3 hours to the new year, 2008. Gosh, times have passed so fast. Another year has gone. 2007 is a year that I will not forget. Both wonderful and sad things happened in this year. As what people always say, keep the good and learn from the bad. With that mind, I welcome year 2008 with my open arms. Not knowing what the new year might bring, I am confident I am ready to face it.

I believe if you have strong confidence at the beginning of the year, it will be a smooth year ahead. Should you fear what is coming up, you will end up even worse than you have expected. So, let's all WELCOME 2008 with a smile.Hehe.

This is quite random. Haha. I thought it would be interesting to blog about the things that occurred on the last day of year 2007. Hehe. Well, for me, I was in the office practically the whole day, till around 6pm. I woke up pretty early today despite sleeping at only 3am. The first thing I did was to turn on the computer. I have been doing this almost everyday ever since I came back.

Hehe. Some of you might have already guessed it! Yes, it's http://www.1-day.co.nz/. To my shock, I saw N73 as one of the bargains for the day. Tempted as usual, I clicked on it. Sigh, it said currently allocated and asked me to wait. I said to myself, fine, I will wait. I kept refreshing the page but to no avail. In the end, I gave up. It wasted my precious 30 minutes. It was already 7.30am then, I visited the toilet for morning business and had a shower.

Time passed really fast. Without knowing, it was already 5 minutes to work. I was cursing as I knew I was going to be late. So, I rushed to work. Phew, guessed I was lucky. "8.00" was printed on my punch card. Hehe. Close escape.

Well, first task of the day was to measure the remaining dimensions of the gangway. So the other intern and I headed to the yard. It was pretty muddy, but we had no choice but to do it. My shoes was covered with mud, which I didnt realised. Guess what happened next?

Hehe. I conveniently walked into the office with that dirty shoes of mine. I walked around the whole office, coz I was so ke po with the other colleagues. Yet, due to my ignorance, I didnt know the mess that I had caused at that time. Not until someone asked me why was the floor so dirty. Omg. At that moment, I think I blushed quite badly man. I kept on saying sorry. Quickly, I went to find the broom. Thank goodness the mud was already dried, easier for cleaning. As a result, I swept the whole office. I was so embarrassed man. Other colleagues were wondering why was I the cleaner for the day. Haha. Ok. I was the "cleaner".

Hehe, an hour after that, I was given another task. This time, "driver". The company's driver went to Bintulu to pick up some people. So no was around to drive a pretty lady to another company. So, I took up the challenge. Haha. It was a huge challenge. Imaging first time driving the Toyota Ninja. Super huge, much bigger than 8 seaters van which I drove this year. Hehe, but it wasnt a problem. The journey was 100 percent safe. Lolz. So, I was the "driver".

Nothing much happened later in afternoon. I got a bit lazy since tomorrow will be a one day holiday. Hehe. Oh ya, I skipped both breakfast and lunch. It is that a success that I should be proud of? Haha. With that hungry stomach of mine, I came home with a face that was ready to devour anything that was on the dining table. Hehe. Gosh, I ate so much to make up for the skipped meals. I was so bloated. Hehe.

In about 30 minutes, I will be going to a park to have a countdown cum birthday celebration for a friend whose birthday is on the 1st of January. Guess, it's going to be lots of fun. Enjoy the new year guys! May it be another exciting year for all again. God bless!

Tastes of Seafood

Man, when was the last time I had a seafood galore. Don't quite remember now. Must have been ages ago. Hehe. Not to bother about the past. Moments ago only, I had some very wonderful seafood dishes. Any seafood you name it, I ate it. Haha. Just joking that. I ate the most common ones. As usual, pictures are proofs and they explain everything.

Sambal Eggplant

Tom Yum Prawns

Black pepper crab with egg gravy

Nikki and I

Dad and I

Lady fingers with belacan

Fried sotong

Fish with rice wine = perfect

Ikan Panggang

The people

p/s: Thanks mum for the great dinner!! They satisfied my craving tummy.

A birthday full of surprises ....

22nd birthday may not be as big as the 21st birthday. That, is not true. All birthdays are the same. Well, at least it is for me.

My 22nd birthday's celebration totally blown me off. Although simple, but it was very meaningful to me. Often, I ended up celebrating my birthday with my family and few close friends but this time, it was totally different. Wanna know the difference? You only need to continue reading...hehehe.

On the 28th of November, a Wednesday, I was on the computer. My bro went downstairs to have supper. I didnt join him, which was really strange, coz I was hungry too. But no, I stayed in the room, staring at the computer. Then, 5 minutes to 12am, my bro came in the room with an intention. Haha. His intention was to make sure that I don't get out of the room until after 12am. So, we played a game of Winning Eleven on the PS2.

Going into the 20th minute of the match of Man U vs Ac Milan, someone knocked at the door. As usual, I went to open. My my my. There, I saw my dad, sis and mum with the birthday cake!!! During uni days, it is quite often that we do this kind of surprise for our friends. But, with this coming from my family, I was stoned at that moment. Thanks sis for the wonderful idea. It was a perfect gift. Wouldnt want to ask for more.

My mom with the birthday cake. My dad was already sleeping at that time....

Family pic after a dinner at Golden Restaurant - see my happy face?

The celebration didnt end that night. Most of my colleagues knew about my birthday because my bro was such a good news broadcaster. They wished me happy birthday at the office. The following day, which is the 30th, a farewell gathering was arranged for my brother. (My bro was leaving the company for Singapore). Together, I went with my bro to a place called Sports Centre where we had a karaoke session. We were singing, then we came to this song, "Auld Lang Syne". At that very moment, Lorna (a colleague) took a cake. (At that moment, definitely I thought the cake was for my bro). However.....

To my surprise, the cake has got my name on it as well. I was lost for words, yet grateful for these wonderful colleagues whom I have only met for about a week only at that time. God's blessings really. So, my bro and I blew the candles together. The night continued with more singing, which lasted for 4 hours (pretty long eh). Most of them didnt have voice the next day...hehe, but not for me, coz I didnt sing that much...hehe

The cake

The wonderful people

Work as usual the next day. Then together with my family, we spent the Saturday and Sunday at Marriott Hotel. Thanks mum! We had so much fun, enjoying the facilities - the pool, gym, and many more. I shall let the pictures do the story-telling...hehehe

Me relaxing on the bed

I didnt forget to bring along the PS2 - handy when you are lazy..hehehe

Haha, challenged my bro table tennis - Guess who was the winner?

Dr Chris, I am doing my rehab...See see

Wish the volleyball gang were here....sigh

Pizzas for dinner!!!

The pool at night

The "frog" swimming....

Can I do a rejoice ad?

These pretty summed up my 22nd birthday. I am so happy to have so many wonderful people around me. : )

Tired day @ work

Phew, today was extremely strenous for me. Had to change from my formal clothes to coverall twice in one day! Never expected it. In the end, seemed like I only wore my formal clothes for 1 hour only.

In the morning at 9am, went to the shipyard to look at the vessel. My supervisor was called in because there were problems with the valves. Air and water were pumped in a pressure of 10 bar. With the valves closed, the pressure should remain constant but it didnt. There was pressure loss and leakages could be seen around the valves enclosures.

Moving on, went to engine room of the vessel. We inspected the fuel oil tanks, which are beneath the engine room. My knee wasnt that good so I assisted from the top only. My supervisor, Abbas was really good man! Experience really matters! He inspected and discovered the centreline of the manhole was wrong. He asked the person in charge to bring the drawing, and true enough it was wrong! Haha. I believe errors do happen especially with vessel construction when there are so many parts involved. Just wonder how much the level of tolerance is allowed.

Then, I came back for lunch. One hour break. After that, went back to the office and was told that colleagues are going to do maintenance check on a vessel that just arrived yesterday at the yard. Initially I was very hesitant, because I just bathed and changed into my formal attire. However, I went under the advice of my brother. Again, I changed into my coverall. Together with 4 colleagues, we did the maintenance check on the vessel. It took us full 3 hours. In the end, I think I was the happier person, given the chance to witness all the equipments and machinery that I actually studied for the past few days. Hehe.

I don't know what's coming up tomorrow. Everyday is a challenge! Hehe. Gotta sleep soon. Nites everyone

First day at work @ Ajang Shipping

Everyone dreads their first day at work. Not knowing what are the expectations put upon you, fear that your colleagues will treat you badly, fear the workload, fear the bosses, fear that you will not perform well and etc.

Well, today was my first day at work in Ajang Shipping Sdn. Bhd. I will be working as a temporary staff (intern) for 2 and half months in the technical department. Hehe, this will fulfil the remaining 300 hours of my practical work experience. Great stuff!

Oh my, I really enjoyed my first day at work. It's somehow special and unexpected, I would say. Haha. First day at work, already I visited the toilet for the ever so important business in one's life. I am sure you can figure it out. Thank goodness I didnt take too long or else what would my colleagues think of me? Haha. What would you think of me? Shermayne, I ate something wrong la, so it was automatic.

After that, I met up with the Admin manager. Was given a contract to sign in regards to the terms and conditions of being an employee at the company. What's important, all companies documents are strictly private and confidential. Not allowed to leak out anything. It's a great commitment man, hehe, I have no one to leak out also la...Apart from that, there are usual stuff like dress code, work ethics, and some regulations here and there regarding safety at work.

Moving on, he then gave me a short presentation of the company. What the company does, goals, assests and etc. To my shock, my ex-schoolmate Kenny Wong also started work today. He came in half way during the presentation, haha. I dont think he is in the technical department. Haha. Soon later, I was given a punch card. For what le? Haha, to record my time of coming to work and leaving. Haha. Tomorrow, my another ex-schoolmate, Lorna Munan will register my index finger print for access into the office. Hehe, that shows how high tech the security is eh...

Haha. There are so many employees in the company man. A girl by the name of Julie brought me around to introduce me to them. Gosh, I can only remember a few names. Hehe. After that, I was brought to my table. Hehe. With so many employees, I must say everyone is seated very closely to one another. Haha. It's good where everyone can liase without any barriers. I am sitting directly opposite to the technical supervisor, Mr. Abas. He is inside a room la. Oh my, he is going to see me everyday. Lol. Hehe, talking about supervisor, the other one is Mr. Liew. Haha.

The funny thing happened today was Mr Liew went to Brunei, hence his office was empty. My bro just came back from Batam, and he didnt have a place to sit coz he is going to resign by end of this month to pursue his career in Singapore. So, he was asked to sit in Mr. Liew's room. Haha. Everyone then called him Mr. Liu - sounds the same ma. Haha. Later in the afternoon, around 3pm, he came back and went to his room. You know what he said?He said," Wa, Lesley you want to take over my place ar?" Then he saw me, he then said, "wa, two brothers some more ar!" All the colleagues outside heard. Everyone had a good laugh. Haha

So far, I was asked a read a 100 page book that contains all the technical specifications of the new vessel, which the construction is currently in progress at Shin Yang. It took me so long to understand the terms man, so many which I have never come across before. Lucky for my bro, he told me most of them. Haha. So yeah, basically I did reading today only. I am supposed to do some readings now, but I am guilty of not blogging. So here I am. Lol.

Tomorrow will be a fun day. I get the chance to see the vessel with Mr. Abas. Cant wait actually. Colleagues have cautioned me about the dangers of visiting a construction shipyard. I need to be very cautious. I already have the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) - helmet, safety boots and red over all. Hehe. I will be the photographer also, was assigned the company's camera. Hehe.

So yeah, here is to TOMORROW!