When you do not wake up for dinner for the three times someone tries to wake you - you are dead tired. Did not wake up til 6:15am today..... went back to sleep..... 6:30am..... dozed off again..... yeEeeArggGHhhh!!! 7am?!!

What went on the past week? Well... aside from being M.I.A. from blogging --- i'm still undergoing training; grandpa had been admitted into the hospital for a minor surgery to remove haemorrhoids last Friday; I've managed to collect Gill & Pearl from McD (hehe... I love lighting Pearl up in the dark)... in addition to... erm... yeah! Marlin and Squirt.

Oh well, I'll still be M.I.A. for most part of say.... the next 5 weeks or so? Yeah... that's about it. I'm still sleepy. Training class will begin in about 10 mins... I think...

My work computer was finally setup on Thursday the 12th. That's good in a way. I just find myself doing more walking more since I am mainly in the office. Lots of errands to run since almost everyone else is stuck in training. Later in the evening we had a small tea-time celebration for Angela's birthday.

My manager mentioned that he'd be glad once the trainings are done and people start getting back into the office so that he can finally delegate work out. Meanwhile, he and all the core team members are highly stressed and over worked. He seems pretty amused that I'm gonna flip through the 5 graphic-filled books (that weigh a ton to carry) I've borrowed from Angela, to scrounge for our department's intranet communication website.

Later that night, I joined Chris Ng and the lot at the Pulau Tikus' Cravan Cafe. I didn't really notice the time and ended up leaving only at about 1:30a.m. Crazy.

Friday night - I've finally gone to watch Finding Nemo & I absolutely adore it! ...and I just really love watching Dory (Ellen DeGeneres rocks!) - definitely the most hilarious full-lengthed cartoon I've watched in some time. I wouldn't have thought about that if Kok Keong didn't mention that right after the movie.

Back to work today! Monday was a replacement holiday... wasted much of my morning trying to get some ATM cards changed into the new ones only to be told at the banks that it's out of stock.

Sunday? Hmm... went for lunch to celebrate Shane's birthday with my college friends. Saturday? Attended a birthday party for a baby cousin. :)

About work so far? Still not doing any serious work but having to go through a lot of e-studies. My eyes are tired just going through the never-ending e-pages. I'll hopefully get a PC for real by tomorrow or else... no website for the department nia lor... and yet they want it deployed A.S.A.P. Nyahahaha... delays for website deployment is sOooooOOoo not my fault.

p/s: I'm currently using a computer from the training room. ;)

It's been back-to-back training sessions. Today is Day 2 of a 3-day session. At 4pm on Friday (tomorrow), I'll be having a 1-hr open book objective test, online.

On a different note, my colleagues and I finally got our employee badges, today, after frantically hounding the badge lady for the past 2 days. Let's just say it should have been completed nearly 2 days earlier... and she shouldn't have used a really lousy excuse... and making conflicting statements to us vs what she committed to our superiors.

Tue, 3 Jun: The Lobby Exhibition Display

I dropped by my old dept to check some mails and do a little housekeeping. After all, the trainer of the day gave us a long lunch break. On my way back to the auditorium, some 5 mins away, I noticed that Kelvin was at his desk and on the phone.

Right... Time to wash my hands off a small matter and I have only 10 mins before training resumes. Being late back for training is not a good idea when the trainer is bent to make latecomers sing, up on the auditorium stage.

And thus I find myself walking up to his desk and standing behind him for a few secs before waving my hands on one side of his face. Needed to get his attention coz I don't have time to wait around. Nice of him to ask the person on the other end of the line to hold for a while.

Me: Hi, Kelvin :)
Kelvin: Hi :)
Me: About the s/w u borrowed; when u'r ready to return it, could you pls pass it to either Suat Lee or Lyne? I've changed dept.
Kelvin: (Nods) Sure. U r in PCS?
Me: Ya, that's why I'm wearing this (points to temp. tag I'm wearing until my actual badge is ready) ... *pause* ... Btw, the posters in the lobby... is that u on one of them? (it's almost a life-sized print)
Kelvin: Yes *grins*
Me: Hmm... no wonder I thought it was familiar!
Kelvin: *Laughs-uproariously-in-obvious-amusement*
Me: I gotta go. Bye~ *walks-briskly-away-rushing-back-to-training*
Kelvin: *continues-laughing-as-he-heads-back-to-his-phone-call*

It's amazing that a simple statement like that can evoke such amusement in another person. But just maybe... the way we say stuff like that that makes it worth a laugh. Especially one from a cute engineer ;)

Wed, 28 May: A day of doing final backups and passing over anything that's worth to note about my soon-to-be ex-job to the replacement. Also gave Mariam a consultation on how to choose a computer/notebook based on her needs and budget... not everyone needs the highest end computer.

Later at night, I went to browse around Gurney Plaza to stock up my presents for birthdays and etc. Running out of ideas... I stocked up in some MPH vouchers. Sze Lin came by my house after her class (she's teaching it) upon my request... and I passed her her belated present (made into an adorable little parcel) and also one for her to pass to Ying Lai whom she'll be meeting in KL over the next few days.

Thu, 29 May: Woke up early as usual and chauffeured gramps to his office. Only difference is I don't have to take myself to work today. So... I took my time to go by some breakfast stuff (for tea break too) home for mum, the weekly cleaning lady and myself.

I later went out to have lunch with Rain. It was a nice and cosy little joint called Bamboo Tea Point (or something like that). Too bad Celine & Daws couldn't join in since they had a meeting to attend at that time. And.. oh yeah... I gave Daws an early birthday card and gift of MPH vouchers prior to lunch.

Fri, 30 May: Had yet another relaxing day! That's the life! ...and TV in the morning is much to my liking - cartoons all the way since it is after all the school holidays.

Sat, 31 May: Morning was quite a rush... had to go to my... let's see... by relational logic... oh! My god-brother's wedding at church. I must say that my parents and I were a bit late. It didn't seem like a wedding ceremony at first since when we dropped in... it seemed like yet another sermon from the speaker/pastor.

After what seemed like a millennium (and some cherubic tiny tots have been happily spending some time loitering round and round a block of chairs much to their mothers chagrin of whom they were trying to follow the ceremony without having to run after the kids) my god-bro and his wife recited their vows.

From there we went to get gramps from his workplace before moving over to the wedding's lunch venue. The pace of the course servings was slow... slow enough for digestion of each one. Total = 10 courses... longest course meal I've had at a wedding in a long while!

We went home after lunch where dad cleared off final details for his tax submission. Then it was off to submit them before 5pm. With that done, dad wanted to go to MPH (Gurney Plaza) so... that's my 2nd visit there in less than a week. He didn't find what he was looking for but he eyed something that could be useful to gramps. I ended up buying a book though. Next, we were off to stock up on Baskins... and I bumped into my old schoolmate, Su Ling, there.

Sun, 1 Jun: Hmm... dad tried looking for his book at the other MPH in Gurney Tower... but luckless again. He wanted to buy what he saw at the other MPH for gramps but its not here so... ding! My 3rd visit to MPH G.Plaza in 5-days. This time I ended up with CLEO magazine (it wasn't yet in stock yesterday though).

And at night... I found out much to my delight that Juan Pablo Montoya won the Monte Carlo F1 GP in Monaco! Other interesting news bits are like (a) Jenson Button who was ordered to sit out for this race had still badly wanted to race; and (b) Williams is delighted to win a Monaco race after 20 years. Had to tape it tho' coz I had to send my dad to the airport. Will watch it later. Gotta sleep early tonight.

Mon, 2 Jun: Much about a stressless day and nothing to do with computers. Let's see... first day of work... wasted time waiting to get all necessary papers filled and file for registration with the HR people... along with like 30 other people. And... an afternoon spend on introductions by the Agilent people... one couldn't ask for more on a working day - no essential work done in a working day. Icing? Nice to meet a whole new bunch of people too.

Don't be surprised if I am not updating for the next few days... I will be on off for a break starting this Thursday before coming in again into Agilent for my new job on Monday. Tomorrow will be my last day at this current post. Lots to clear out and files to backup. ;)

Let's see.... last Sat, my mum & I had a marathon viewing of the whole season 2 of Cardcaptor Sakura and the movie of that. Bummer. So cute!!! As off 2am today, I've finished 1/2 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Boy... my eyes sure have not been resting much over the weekend... books & DVDs... books & DVDs... books & DVDs...

My Day with Quizzes...

1. What Character From The Matrix Are You? brought to you by Quizilla

You are the Oracle. Grandmotherly (you HAVE been with the Resistance since the beginning, after all), you tell people exactly what they need to hear in order to get them to follow their destinies. Although not a combatant (as far as we know), your knowledge is just as powerful as Neo's arsenal of guns. "What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything."

2. Which X-Men character are you most like? brought to you by Quizilla

You are Beast! You are brilliant and extremely clever. You can handle almost any problem swiftly and efficiently. You are devoted to philosophy and are always up for a good discussion. Sometimes, though, your anger gets the best of you and you upset those whom you care about.

It's wonderful to see someone having fun while carrying out his/her job *grins widely* Today is the first in a long while since I saw a traffic cop that was quite happily controlling the traffic flow using dramatic gesturing methods. Maybe he should join the Actors Studio in his free time.

The Matrix Reloaded is action-packed (as expected)... but I do feel that the storyline is a bit slack... and the scene with "The Architect"? Boy! You might hafta be a math genius to understand what he's talking about. Probabilities... statistics...

Yesterday, I had a scrumptious lunch with my family and some of dad's guests at the PSC. We dropped by my aunt's place for dinner since she invited the whole lot of us in her extended family to her daughter's 1-year old celebration... Then I rushed home to watch F1.

The Austrian F1 GP Race was a rather disappointing one for me... so sad! Montoya had a good chance to win and then his BMW engine blew... bah! Also... both Saubers didn't finish... the only thing I'm content about the race is that Raikkonenen is still maintaining his lead in the driver's championship by a mere 2-points margin.

My car has been away from last Sunday til Wednesday evening... and I've gone to work on Wesak Day... just coz Agilent doesn't recognize it as one... so essentially - I did nothing interesting to date. I'm gonna drown myself in my workpile as I countdown to the hours... minutes... and seconds til the time I'm going to watch "The Matrix: Reloaded". Have a nice weekend everyone!

Mon, 12 May: The PBA has been replacing pipes along my home's street since Saturday. It's kinda fun to see some brainless drivers honking at the big mean metal machines that blocks off the whole street while they are working... only to turn down a street somewhat opposite my house - and then reversing out when they see that it's a dead end.... hehe... it really cracks me up!

Meanwhile, I can't believe Jenna won the 1 million in Survivor 6!! Like many others, I actually hoped that Matthew would win it. But anyhow, it was refreshing to hear Jenna commenting on herself as she reviewed the videos of Survivor 6 during the Survivor 6: Reunion - "I'm so annoying... and I've learnt a lot..." (p/s: they all look much better too and much more endearing after all the "carnality")

The biggest about-turn decision was definitely from an admirably strong character, Christy. She also proved one thing by being the first ever deaf person on Survivor - A handicap doesn't mean not getting far into the game - all you need to do is have confidence and play ball. ;)

And yeah... I had a good laugh too with the Reunion's cheesy start where the show host, Jeff Probst, takes motor ski to the marina and takes a subway ride before getting into the Late Show's theater. It's also an amazing thing that David Letterman loaned them the use of the theater...

... well... u know since Letterman especially loves to make jokes about Survivor. A very kind gesture indeed since the Survivor Reunion was originally set up out in Central Park... with just one problem... It's being hit by a strom. Another amazing feat is that the Survivor's crew managed to set up an elaborate set in Letterman's theatre within 12 hours!!

Fri, 9 May: Oh yes! Yes! Yes! One of the 2 (super...?) dumb bitches of Survivor 6 has been voted out. I feel it'll be an all guy last 3. If Rob makes it to the last 3 and doesn't get immunity - he should be the chosen one to accompany whomever gets immunity. Rob's no angel in the game and he's got a lot of people in the jury who's out to get him - so whoever gets immunity should take Rob to the final 2 to ensure a cool million in their own pocket.

And... oh yeah! Dad brought back some stuff from his trip to Houston... including a set of 4 Harry Potter books that costs him just an amazing USD16.99 (that'd be RM64.56) - there's no way we can buy 4 of those books here at that kinda rate.

Sat, 10 May: Can't believe I started playing Neopets again for the past week or so after giving it up about a year ago. Just gotta remember feed, groom and play with my online pet once in a while... and keep a check that I don't waste too much time with this.

Mon, 6 May: Don't quite remember what I was doing on Monday... can only mean that nothing significant happened... or maybe it's my short term memory failing me...

Oh!! Aha!! Now I remember... I went to watch X-men 2 at the Prangin MegaPav with Jase. It sure lives up to the first movie and maybe even surpassses it. Thumbs up to the hairdo makeover for Storm. Kinda shows that she has calmed down a little and more in control of her emotions.

Tue, 7 May: I was called to be given an official verbal job offer and asked to go for the routine pre-employment medical check-up in the morning. I joined my colleagues for lunch at a Thai Restaurant called Siriwan at Crystal Point. It's pricey but highly recommendable. Later I took a 30 min break from work to have the medical check-up done at the nearest clinic ;P

On my way to hand the medical report over to the HR rep, I stopped by to chat with one of the people who's involved in setting up this new team of people that I'll be working with. It's regarding transition and how I can manage my time to help them out as soon as I can with their web-buletin/communications. Ahh... I look forward to a new leaf!

Wed, 8 May: After being told that I'm medically fit (last hurdle of red tape) - I've officially signed with Agilent starting sometime in June 2003. Later at night, Joce joined me to go to Gurney Plaza. I had a few things to pick up including a Book/CD set for learning to speak, read, and write Japanese. After our evening out at Gurney, we went to get some tandoori chicken from Kapitan along Chulia Street.

At first when we got there, we sadly thought the shop was closed... only to notice that they've moved to a nicely renovated shop somewhat slightly further up the road. Ahh... lovely, lovely tandoori chicken and garlic naan with lots of mint sauce *slurp! yummy!!*

The F1 Spanish GP, Catalunya Circuit, Barcelona:

The race starts with a Bang! as Raikkonen hits into Pizzonia who's stalled on the grid. Other than that - the whole race didn't have much drama. The fallouts were mainly because of mechanical failures. Williams had a pretty good run considering the difficulties they've been experiencing... Sauber just isn't having a good weekend and have lots to work on... McLaren had a lousy day... while Minardi finally gets to see both their cars finish

...and of course an excellent run for Ferrari in their debut with the F2003 car and also for a good race by Alonso for Renault - an underdog team now much in contention for the championship

Fri, 2 May: Hmm... my watch ticks but the hands are not moving *raises an eyebrow* Looks like I'll go and buy myself one of those metal Swatch(es) way earlier than I planned to. Anyhow, looks like my trusty watch has marked 2 significant points of my life. It was given to me by a friend as a farewell gift when I was leaving college and it "dies" when I'm moving to a new job.

p/s: Oh yeah! I've finished watching the first set of CardCaptor Sakura! Just waiting to get the remainding episodes from Nick... and woohoo! Here I go again!!

Sat, 3 May: I've got work today... *bleh...* Anyhow, after lunch, mum & I went out to do some banking before heading to Gurney Plaza. The Nokia Roadshow was there... and I took some Nokia info-cards from their promotion kiosk. At Swatch... I took some time to choose between 3 watches and ended up choosing a black-faced Swatch Irony. It has a nice weight to it too. We later went to MPH where I told mum to choose a book and I'll buy it for her as her Mother's Day present.

Sun, 5 May: Nothing much happened today. I've finally gotten round to watch the VCD of "Chicago". Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger & Richard Gere sure looked spiffy doing their dancing parts on their own... and Zeta-Jones sure have a pretty commanding and dramatic singing voice for her part as Velma Kelly.

Other than that, I glued myself to the TV for the Spanish GP in the Catalunya Circuit, Barcelona... and my computer for 2 episodes of Smallville.

The Charity Costume Ball for the Children's Protection Society (Wed, 30 Apr):

Oh well... with whatever miscommunication that occured within HR - it sure caused me quite some time. I found myself rushing home and getting stuck in rush hour traffic. I arrived home at about the same time my colleague arrived at my place. We were car pooling up to Rasa Sayang (that's the venue). Aargh! Again... I found myself rushing about. In about 10 mins, I've tossed everything I need into a backpack (including my SLR camera).

When we finally got there - we headed straight to the toilet where I took about 45mins to get myself dressed into my somewhat Greek outfit. Happily dressed up - we finally graced into the ballroom. It looked like a harem!! ...at least the deco made it look like that ...and guys? I think you would've gotten an eyeful at the pretty girls in Arabian outfits (including the belly dancers who were in sheer outfits) XP

Thu, May 1, Labor Day! I slept like a pig - waking up at about 1pm. I'm replenished in rest tho' I have to note that I only slept at 3:30am since I watched about 3 hrs worth of CardCaptor Sakura after I got home. Feeling superbly energized at night - I couldn't go to sleep early and ended up watching another 3 hrs of CardCaptor Sakura ;)

Bizarro things about my interview:

As you know, last Monday, I had an interview. What I didn't mention was while I was at the interview rooms waiting area, early, and waited for my turn... one of the interviewers who knows me greeted me ever so cheerfully when she noticed me there while she was about to call the next candidate to be interviewed. I bet whomever else was there got chilled to the bone assuming that people doing the interviews are familiar with a fellow interviewee. I would get slightly freaked too if I were in their shoes.

A while later, when I saw my interviewer (Sunny) guiding a prior interviewee out I thought, "Hey, OK! He's guiding someone out!". So I wait a pretty long wait... 10-15 mins to send someone out sure is darned long. Weird... but anyhow when he came back - he was stunned to see me already at the waiting area and said, "I was looking for you! I called you and Lyne (the secretary) to look for you but no one picked up the phones. Sorry to have you wait."... so I just said "Erm yeah... I was waiting here when I saw you guiding someone out *smile*"

On Wed, I was to have another interview. This time I waited an hour or so... but when Sunny walked in - he had that same stunned look he gave me on Monday, as he exclaimed - "What are you doing here?! I thought I've done your interview...". I went "Well, I'm not too sure myself but Seok Eng called me on Monday night to come again today." He then said, "Okay... let's go check with Seok Eng what happened"

And so we later found out that Seok Eng somehow got confused and called me in for an interview instead of just asking me to remember to hand over a copy of all my necessary academic certificates. That's quite a bit of time wasted.