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My very first business trip
A lovely article on Sunday Times, reminding us how...
As I was counting my expenses this month and think...
Bits and piece of consolation
I am not sure to laugh or cry for this: Angry woma...
The F1 season is here! It's frustrating to know t...
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Little Miss Chatterbox
Singapore Bay Run / Army Half Marathon 2009
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Saturday, October 31, 2009 @ 8:04 PM
My very first business trip

Excited, yet apprehensive.

Why?

1) Its a trip alone~ Adventurous, but scary.
2) Freezy~ Cool, but the winter clothes are hell costly.
3) Europe~ Lovely, but the exchange rate kills.
4) Great companion~ My dear friend who is on months-long Europe holiday is joining me there.
5) Very last minute~ Flight confirmed on Friday, Flight on Sunday.

Lastly, I'm fighting to get project done fast!

And this is how much SGD1200 get you.



SIGH~

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Sunday, October 18, 2009 @ 9:23 PM

A lovely article on Sunday Times, reminding us how luxury weakens man. Adaptability is a choice. Nothing is impossible. But whether man choose overcome luxury or to be overcame by luxury, is entirely a personal choice.

Enjoy the read.

No bed of roses for me, thank you
By Lee Wei Ling

In late May, I finally returned home after a prolonged stay in hospital, followed immediately by a trip overseas accompanying my father.

Both the hospital and the various hotels I stayed in had comfortable beds. My first night home after sleeping on proper beds for almost half a year was rather uncomfortable. I immediately noticed the minimal cushioning effect of my exercise mat on the hard wooden floor in my bedroom, and the next day I woke up with my right arm and right leg aching.

I had discarded my bed in 2002 when I moved a large desktop computer, a large laser-jet colour printer, a rowing machine and a cross- trainer into my bedroom, which now functions also as my study and gym. I would have had no space to move around if the bed had remained in the room. So it was removed and I slept on the floor on an exercise mat that was rolled up during the day.

I quickly got used to sleeping on the floor - till this May, that is. I had no difficulty previously re-adjusting to the floor after a trip overseas or a brief stay in hospital. But I had not been away from home for such a long period before and it was obvious that my body had got used to the luxury of a proper bed. It revolted when it was subjected again to the hard floor.

I have always chosen a spartan lifestyle both because it was in accordance with my philosophy in life and also because I felt that it would be difficult to do without luxuries once one had got used to them. Fine clothes and jewellery, gourmet food, luxurious furniture, expensive cars - these are things I could deny myself without feeling any sense of deprivation. But I had not expected to miss having a bed just because I had slept on one for six months. This experience further strengthened my conviction that once one got used to luxuries, it was difficult to do without them.

Whether or not you believe it, my lifestyle is considerably less lavish than that of most middle- and upper-middle-class people in Singapore. But if you can afford it, what is wrong with enjoying your wealth, you may well ask? Nothing - except that one's wealth may diminish unexpectedly, as many of us discovered during the recession of the past year.

Furthermore, what was considered a luxury when one first began enjoying it, may very soon be considered a necessity. My experience of sleeping on a bed rather than the floor confirms this psychological truth. I had not expected to become used to sleeping on a bed - but I did.

While I am not proposing that we adopt the lifestyle of a Hindu or Buddhist ascetic, I think frugality and a simple lifestyle are effective ways to cope, morally and psychologically, with the temptations of the modern consumerist world.

Ostentatious mansions disgust me. I watch with disdain sports cars that can accelerate from zero to 100kmh within five seconds. What use is such power and speed on Singapore roads? Similarly, extravagant banquets, expensive wines, designer clothes, shoes and handbags - all these things are wasteful. How many young children might we have helped if we were to use the money we spend on such luxuries to upgrade our kindergartens?

Perhaps I am idiosyncratic. My furniture is simple and functional. Indeed, my chairs are old chairs that my mother's former law firm Lee and Lee discarded. I don't even have a television set or radio in my room.

I was brought up to be frugal. As children, my brothers and I were chastised if we did not turn off taps completely, or left lights or air-conditioners on when there was no need for them to be. My parents decided not to live at Sri Temasek, the prime minister's official residence, because they didn't want their children to be waited on hand and foot by butlers and servants. At Nanyang Primary and later Nanyang Girls' High School, one of the virtues the school motto emphasised was frugality.

There is a Chinese proverb - wo xin chang dan - which literally means 'sleeping on firewood and tasting gall so as to undergo self-imposed hardship'. The story behind this proverb is as follows:

During the Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history (approximately 722-481BC) the State of Wu defeated the State of Yue, and took the King of Yue and his wife prisoner. For many years, King Gou Jian worked as a slave in Wu. When he was finally released, he returned home determined to take revenge.

For 10 years, so that he would never forget his humiliation, he slept on a pile of firewood and tasted gall before every meal. After careful preparation, he attacked and conquered the State of Wu.

The Bible too commends suffering. Romans 5:3-4, for instance, states: 'We glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.'

There is benefit to be derived from a certain degree of deprivation and even suffering. Many of the things we like in excess are bad for us - for example, fatty meat, chocolates and alcohol. Over and above denying ourselves such pleasures, outright suffering is not always bad, and in moderation, is good character training.

I have been through a fair amount of suffering in my life, mainly because of my health. If I had been given a choice to be spared the experience, I would actually have chosen to go through it because suffering taught me lessons no teacher or book can ever teach me.

As the ancients of various traditions knew, tribulation worketh character.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute. Send your comments to suntimes@sph.com.sg

A simple life

Frugality and a simple lifestyle are effective ways to cope, morally and psychologically, with the temptations of the modern consumerist world.


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It is such an apt material after knowing from yesterday's ST that there is 1 person dying of starvation every second.

I felt 'slapped' after reading these articles. I'm guilty.

After reading this article, it was signed off as director of NNI. You should know who she is. Even if you do not know, you couldn't not know who her father is.


Saturday, October 17, 2009 @ 12:12 PM

As I was counting my expenses this month and thinking that my pay is lacking for a comfortable life, I chanced upon this statistics that wipe out that thought immediately.


On average, 1 person dies every second as a results of starvation.

And here am I, still trying to shed off the kgs I out on due to food intake at gatherings.


Saturday, October 10, 2009 @ 11:38 PM
Bits and piece of consolation

The only consolation for my job is probably the appreciation from my customer and colleague.

*I replaced the details with some XXXXs

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From my very detailed customer:


Hi Jing Xian,

This looks very promising. I initially was a bit afraid that we would again face new issues, but it seems you have taken the right decision that allows to move forward and complete the OQ-validation. Great job !

Questions I have (of course ;-):

- Did you XXXXXXXXX ?

- Did you check XXXXX agreed upon specs (this is a rather sensitive issue here for our equipment guys in the perspective of the high speed filling line design) ?

I’m looking forward to the reels coming in by the end of next week or early the week after (given time required for customs I don’t expect them before XXXX), and will ensure that we can evaluate them asap upon arrival to provide you the necessary feedback (XXXX or XXXX).

Looking at the timeline, it seems the delay of 1 week will shift the audit indeed (at least) to XXXX (at latest), also depending on the signatures on the specs etc. I will work with XXX to try to schedule some contingency audit dates, in case we wouldn’t make it for the week of XXXX, so please try to keep these weeks available for now.

Thanks for the hard work !


Best regards,

XXXX

Project Engineer - Plastic components

Product Support

XXXXXX Manufacturing Puurs (Belgium)

Phone: XXXX



From my colleague:


Thanks JX for all your hardwork. You had a baptism of fire right after you joined BD. XXXXXX looks like a simple device; but producing it is a real challenge.

Having XXXXXX as well as a customer will boost XXXXXX big time. They are not an easy customer but is very reasonable. Being at the top of the pharma field, they have standards that are far higher than our usual customers. I commend them for their tenacity and it's only up to us how far we want to satisfy them.

I do recognize that your efforts are the ones that we pray will cross the bridge from what we (Lawrence & I) started and the commercialization with XXXXXX. It is not easy and it's just starting but, again, sometimes things happen for a reason. Lawrence did well in picking you.

Thanks.

Cheers,

XXXXXX


----------------------------------------------------------------------


I can only say, this project is really really not easy.


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Wednesday, September 30, 2009 @ 10:46 PM

I am not sure to laugh or cry for this:

Angry woman ate pet goldfish

PASADENA (Texas) - AUTHORITIES say a Houston-area woman who was angry with her former common-law husband fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them.

Pasadena police say it's a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.

Police spokesman Vance Mitchell says the man reported on Saturday that the woman took the goldfish from his apartment.

Mitchell says the two argued earlier about some jewelry the man had given her but took back. She wanted the jewelry returned.

Officers who were dispatched to the woman's home arrived to find four fried goldfish on a plate. The woman said she already ate the other three.


O.O''''''



Sunday, September 27, 2009 @ 8:38 PM

The F1 season is here!


It's frustrating to know that it is Monday tomorrow.

I have the urge to privatized the blog, probably shifting it to livejournal. But knowing that some of my friends still reads them and they are probably too lazy to create a livejournal account, I'll still keep my blog up here.

I can't get over that I'm working tomorrow.

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Monday, September 21, 2009 @ 9:09 PM

I'm a fervent fan of Yahoo Singapore flash images during festive season.

And this is for Hari Raya~

Cute!

Brought work home to finish, which completed quite a fair bit. Left some record sheets/forms to create tomorrow as excel on Mac is not the perfect tool. It can do the same job, but probably with a longer time. With my excel speed, I can probably finish within half a day.

Am currently contemplating if I should do M.Sc (BioMedical Engineering) or M.Sc (Mechanical) with my alma mater. Looking at the course content, M.Sc (BME) will be much tougher and more applicable to my current career path. M.Sc (Mech) will be like a repeated, more in-depth study of my undergraduate degree, but definitely poses less challenge compared to M.Sc (BME) given existing background.

I'm looking forward to 2010.

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@ 10:39 AM
Little Miss Chatterbox

At the rate I am going now, I'm seeing one blog entry per month. *sigh*

It has definitely been a eventful month, with the organizing of department outing, and the madness of work. But I've yet to get hold of pictures, so not going to go into details on it.

However, this cute little one surely allow me to squeeze time to post pictures on her. :)

And here she is:




So cute!! She can speak English, Chinese and some Hokkien. Occasionally she'll say, 'So funny..' She's always willing to share her stuff and volunteer to help us get drinks when we finish ours. *cute* She's the new 'Miss Chatterbox'.

5 months into my current job, my English level has deteriorated terribly. -.-''' It is no longer as fluent. :( Probably the lack of Emily, Alvin, Vincent and Yulli to speak with on daily basis. I miss them.

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Sunday, August 16, 2009 @ 10:41 PM
Singapore Bay Run / Army Half Marathon 2009

A good day with 3 guys cabbing down to my house and Vincent driving 4 of us to the run!

And so we were all up and in preparation by 5am.

Pictures! Looking good BEFORE the run!


It is my first 21km and it is a pretty good, yet grueling experience. To me, it is a good starting time, at least the sun won't catch up with the slow / first time 21km runners. A 5 mins early start is a bit weird for run events though.

The first 9km is going good for me. Pace is well, hydration is good with several water points, and many entertainment along the way. The new route is definitely good for a change. And jogging in ECP is entirely a new experience. And every km marking definitely helps in pacing ourselves. This is one important feature which Shape Run seriously lacks.

After the 9th km, my hand started to swell terribly. It is a common sign for me when I was running 10km runs previously, but it probably started after 4th km. To take precaution, I actually drank a glass of salt water (Sea salt) and fill my tumbler with salt water too. And these precautions managed to sustain me for a safe 9km. When my hands start to swell, I was pretty paranoid and it is pretty painful to even wriggle the fingers. And from then, I did and walk-stretch-run strategy.

Though completed past my target time of 3 hrs, I was glad to have completed it. The next 21km will be Singapore Marathon end of the year. I will need to solve my swollen palms issue by then!

Pictures! Looking tired but accomplished AFTER the run!



Well done to all who have struggled in putting your best efforts. In your own race, so run your best!

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Sunday, August 09, 2009 @ 11:18 PM
Happy Birthday Singapore



*waving the flag*


With great companionship!


Last but not least, fireworks for you!


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Thursday, August 06, 2009 @ 10:45 PM
Words of compliment

Receiving words of compliment seems to give assurance that I am performing well and am appreciated. Glad in a way, but if you ask me if I have given all out, I think I have given about 70% of my maximum effort. There are still room for improvement and there are still areas which I knew I can surpass what I am performing now.

Deep down, something is lacking.

Nonetheless, I am still going to work harder to reach my personal target of >4 (5 is full score) for my year-end appraisal.

Deep down, I am deeply missing some things.

3 months past fast.... so.....

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Monday, July 20, 2009 @ 9:04 PM
40 years of Moon Landing...

It has been 40 years since man landed on moon.

That man wore a watch to the moon.


In support of 40 years of Moon Landing, I fall prey to this naughty thing 2 weeks ago.


Men's. But I like, for its face and its value.

It is a highly addictive hobby I do not wish to start.
*tearfully parting part of my savings*

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Saturday, May 30, 2009 @ 10:49 PM
我们要加油!!

Work has been busy and challenging. Energy drained, but the momentum is still going on very strong. It marks the end of May and June is so important. It is do-or-die! Success of failure. GOD, ride us through this storm and reap the fruits of our hard work (more of their hard work though)! 

Toothache sets in and its another Root Canel Treatment sessions. And stretching the limits of my SGD at Msia is really amazing. 

Some random pics of meeting up a 'cyber friend'. She's actually a friend's sister and I kinda know her since NTU days. Just that, recently, we kinda..... click! HAHA!



I may not blog that often due to work commitments, draining a large portion of my physical energy. However, my friends, don't forget to keep the positive energy! You'll be amazed how positive energy transform you in a positive way!


Hope this picture which I think looks positive (Hey, its difficult to get that proper smile recently with the drained physical body. But didn't I say positive energy is amazing? ;p) and good sinful food can transfer some of the positive energy to everyone around! 

Thought of the day:

Love what you do, put your heart into it and you will be rewarded ~ 山不转,路转。路不转,人转。


Verse of the day:
Psalms 56:4 - In God whose words I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

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Sunday, May 10, 2009 @ 1:43 PM

Yahoo! Singapore never failed to amuse me with cute flash headlines for every festival or special occasion. 

I don't know how to reap the flash. So, I just print screen them. :)

For Vesak Day,



For Mother's Day,







Cute! :) 

Work week past fast like lightning. Millions of things to do, but life is on an upward momentum, with vast opportunities and growth! Praise the Lord.

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 8:39 PM
Fate

In engineering field, you always meet contractors. But most contractors are dedicated to focus on certain industry. 

So lets take a peep at this contractor, Ken. 

I first met him in my first job. I was then in an aerospace industry related company. He was helping in one of the projects.

At my second job (Hoya), it was coincidental enough to be my contractor too. He spotted me when I was doing some stuff along the driveway. (which is not frequent) I was then in hard disk media industry.

Today, someone came up to me and ask if I was from Hoya. And it was him again. I am now in medical industry. 

To meet the same person at 3 different companies of totally not related industry is what I call fate. *Amazed*


Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:52 PM
Miss Busy Bumble Bee

Life is getting on the busier side, but I am not complaining. As you all know, I love being busy. It is just me. :) 

Time zoom past faster than anything else. And if things go well, I am looking forward to July. 

2009 is a blast of great things! Praise the Lord. 

But work aside, I need to catch up on my books! Off to read for 1/2 hour before turning in early. 




Monday, April 27, 2009 @ 7:38 PM
Hello BD

After the goodbye HOYA, now its the hello BD.

It is tough to wake up as early as 545am. Surely, I can adjust. Give me a few days.

First day is good. Nice GL, nice colleagues, nice technicians, and many many nice ones. Steep learning curve and right attitude. A very good start.

I thank God for everything little thing that seems so right in place. And thank God for such a 'made-to-measure' job He has blessed upon me.

As usual, I don't disclose any job-related stuff on my blog, the only thing I show is probably my employee card. Since the id number is a global identification number, it has been blanked off. And the only sad thing is that I look damn 'chui' today due to bad hair day and lack of enough sleep. Of all days, they have to take a picture of me today and place it in my employee card. -.-''' Maybe I should have done a SK2 mask and look more glowy today. Or blow my hair to avoid bad hair day.

Hello BD!


I need a good sleep tonight for a stronger tmr!

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 @ 9:36 AM
New beginning~

All is well within 4 days, from first interview, to 2nd interview and to appointment letter. I am amazed at how God has planned all these. 

Thank you, Lord. 

I am looking forward to the new beginning. :) 

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Sunday, April 19, 2009 @ 8:31 PM
Is there more to life than this?

Somehow, this cute advert leaves a really deep impression! 

Enjoy~ 


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Friday, April 17, 2009 @ 11:11 PM
Contradiction of man

It is such a disgrace of man. 

When God withdraw something from you that you thought you might get, you grew angry with God. 

And when God finally gives you what you want, you compare. 

When you decides that you prefer another one, you ask God for another one. 

And when God didn't give an answer fast as you pleases, you can't find peace. 

Where will, God my Lord, bring me to? 

I ask, sincerely, your plans to prosper me. And I give thanks for everything that has happened. 

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