My Chinese New Year this year is even more "un-CNY" than the past 3 CNYs that I had in S'pore. At least when I'm in S'pore, there is still the "qifen". Shops playing CNY songs, Chinatown beautifully decorated with the Chinese Zodiac Animals. Here, it's just like any other day - business as usual (lucky it is a weekend this year! I think if not, we'll be in the office - no point taking leave in a country where we go no place better to go. I'm saving as much leaves as I can then maybe travel to Agra before I leave. But.... it's still an idea, haven't properly planned it yet.. My time here in India will be over very soon.)
Anyway, to create some "qifen", my friends and I went to Chinatown (a Chinese restaurant) near Zara (the Spanish restaurant that we frequent). We ordered - Steamed Pomfret, 5 spice chicken & Mapo Seafood Tofu. It was all below standard. The pomfret is not smooth enough and a little over cooked. The Mapo Tofu, well.. isn't the black mapo that one would usually expect and the 5 spice chicken.... it tastes just like Tandoori Chicken (is it me or does it always taste this way?).
Fortunately, today we had a better meal for lunch. We went to Shangai Club (at Chola Sheraton Hotel) for buffet. The chef is from China and had been in Chennai for about 4months as well. He was delighted to meet us and gave us his name card so that we could special request some food if we wanted to. The buffet was fabulous. We had a wide range of food to choose from -> Chinese - Continental - Indian (I avoided most of them coz easily available elsewhere). I had dumplings, kourou, delicious fried lamb, ham, french bread.... was very filling. Would've taken more if I was not so full. For deserts, there were truffles, cheese cake (this is one of the better cheese cake that I've had here in Chennai), Indian sweets - Mithai (which most of the people I gave to in S'pore hated).. Anyway, the meal was delicious but... for Rs552.... hehe... you won't see me going there often though.
Hmmm....next year CNY, where will I be? :P
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The "bad" part of Chennai
Being back here in Chennai for 2 weeks, I have yet to see a drop of rain from the sky. Although the weather is still cool in the morning but there was never a moment of doubt that it will never rain the whole day. It is good..... but for now.... I've heard horror stories of the hot weather here in Chennai (Mar to May especially) which many people died from the heat wave. At the moment, people are freezing to death in North India. Although I'm in the South but the temperatures here are also quite low (relative to S'pore's) in the morning. However, afternoon, it's a whole different story - best to stay indoors.
These days I've not been able to have a good night sleep. Every morning I'll be woken up by mosquito bites. Before January, it was nearly impossible to find any mosquito especially at the place where we stayed. I was very surprised as I would expect lots of mosquitoes because of the environment. However, honeymoon period over, every morning I wake up with mosquito bites on my wrists, feets and sometimes my face (I wear sweater and long pants so only these are the "vulnerable" areas). Two nights ago, I started my "exercise routine" before I go to sleep. Been on a mosquito killing spree... I smacked at least 10 of those blood sucking pests before I sleep. BUT... every morning I wake up, I can still kill another 5 or 6 (before I open my room door). There's gotta be a more efficient way of getting rid of these pests... They've been bothering me for about a week now and I don't think they'll stop. I suspect the cause was the heavy rains in Chennai before January. Water logging is still a problem although it has not rained for weeks. The river which was swollen before is now very dry.
People Below Poverty Line (BPL)
After being in Chennai for quite some time, I am now able to recognise the usual beggars on the street. The way they beg for money differs. One beggar with her son (or maybe most probably her grandson, he looks to be about 2 to 3yrs old) begs near where I live. Every time I pass by her, she'll drag the poor kid from whatever he was doing and cradle him in her arms. Then she'll make her way towards me and call out "Baby... baby" signalling that the baby needs to eat. As usual, I avoided her...... I know I've said it a few times but I don't know what to do for her. I can't give her money as there are other beggars around as well. If I do give to one, the rest will come running. (I've seen someone gave money to another beggar and this old woman quickly again grab the kid and beg).
There's another beggar near where I work. I see this woman .... (I just realised something... most of the beggars I've met are women, rarely men).... Anyway, this woman beggar is slightly different from the rest. Mainly because of the way she begs. Usually beggars will present themselves "humbly" (in a "kelian" way) but not her. She'll be liked in a pissed off mood and demand money from you shaking her metal cup with some rupee coins inside.
It is quite sad and makes me feel guilty when I can easily spend Rs200 on a meal while they struggle to get Rs10 of food. Whenever I spend a lot on "expensive" food here in Chennai, I would donate some amount of money into Oxfam and other food aid organizations. I also don't know how much this will help them as well because even charities are corrupted. It is very saddening to learn that an organization such as NKF S'pore under T.T. Durai would lavishly spend it on unnecessary expenses. Over here, I'm not sure of the organizations here but I hope they are better as most are managed by international NGOs. There are so many people in the "Below Poverty Line" (BPL) catergory here in India. They depend on the food aid provided by government but not always receive it due to corruption.
Pollution
As it has not rained recently, the amount of dust here in Chennai is quite bad. But, most people still consider Chennai as very clean. They say that Mumbai and Delhi are more polluted. I don't know since I've never been there. My nose is always clogged up.
On a happier note
Since training is over, now I have Saturdays free!! Wheee!! No longer paid like Mc Donald's counter staff..... But then ar.... what to do on a free day? :S ... With this new found freedom, suddenly like nothing to do..... No need to study for exam..... no need to go for lessons.... sleep all day?? :P
These days I've not been able to have a good night sleep. Every morning I'll be woken up by mosquito bites. Before January, it was nearly impossible to find any mosquito especially at the place where we stayed. I was very surprised as I would expect lots of mosquitoes because of the environment. However, honeymoon period over, every morning I wake up with mosquito bites on my wrists, feets and sometimes my face (I wear sweater and long pants so only these are the "vulnerable" areas). Two nights ago, I started my "exercise routine" before I go to sleep. Been on a mosquito killing spree... I smacked at least 10 of those blood sucking pests before I sleep. BUT... every morning I wake up, I can still kill another 5 or 6 (before I open my room door). There's gotta be a more efficient way of getting rid of these pests... They've been bothering me for about a week now and I don't think they'll stop. I suspect the cause was the heavy rains in Chennai before January. Water logging is still a problem although it has not rained for weeks. The river which was swollen before is now very dry.
People Below Poverty Line (BPL)
After being in Chennai for quite some time, I am now able to recognise the usual beggars on the street. The way they beg for money differs. One beggar with her son (or maybe most probably her grandson, he looks to be about 2 to 3yrs old) begs near where I live. Every time I pass by her, she'll drag the poor kid from whatever he was doing and cradle him in her arms. Then she'll make her way towards me and call out "Baby... baby" signalling that the baby needs to eat. As usual, I avoided her...... I know I've said it a few times but I don't know what to do for her. I can't give her money as there are other beggars around as well. If I do give to one, the rest will come running. (I've seen someone gave money to another beggar and this old woman quickly again grab the kid and beg).
There's another beggar near where I work. I see this woman .... (I just realised something... most of the beggars I've met are women, rarely men).... Anyway, this woman beggar is slightly different from the rest. Mainly because of the way she begs. Usually beggars will present themselves "humbly" (in a "kelian" way) but not her. She'll be liked in a pissed off mood and demand money from you shaking her metal cup with some rupee coins inside.
It is quite sad and makes me feel guilty when I can easily spend Rs200 on a meal while they struggle to get Rs10 of food. Whenever I spend a lot on "expensive" food here in Chennai, I would donate some amount of money into Oxfam and other food aid organizations. I also don't know how much this will help them as well because even charities are corrupted. It is very saddening to learn that an organization such as NKF S'pore under T.T. Durai would lavishly spend it on unnecessary expenses. Over here, I'm not sure of the organizations here but I hope they are better as most are managed by international NGOs. There are so many people in the "Below Poverty Line" (BPL) catergory here in India. They depend on the food aid provided by government but not always receive it due to corruption.
Pollution
As it has not rained recently, the amount of dust here in Chennai is quite bad. But, most people still consider Chennai as very clean. They say that Mumbai and Delhi are more polluted. I don't know since I've never been there. My nose is always clogged up.
On a happier note
Since training is over, now I have Saturdays free!! Wheee!! No longer paid like Mc Donald's counter staff..... But then ar.... what to do on a free day? :S ... With this new found freedom, suddenly like nothing to do..... No need to study for exam..... no need to go for lessons.... sleep all day?? :P
Thursday, January 19, 2006
... and so the project allocation is done
From the 24 of us studying TPF at ASDC (a wholy owned subsidiary of TCS), only 4 of us (from sg) were retained to work in ASDC; specifically the SIA project. Yesterday the rest of the 20 went back to TCS to report to the HR there for project allocation. It took them until today before they knew which project they were allocated. 11 have been allocated to Worldspan (a global Centralised Reservations System for airline industry), 3 assigned back to ASDC for SIA and 5 others who are still waiting (most probably get SITA - the "internet" for airline industry).
Anyway, I have been assigned to do AMS (Application Maintenance and Systems) under airline reservations department. Basically my role is more of enhancement and support to the current existing programs. At the moment, my project manager does not have much for me to do except that he expects me to finish reading modules on reservations domain. I never realised that booking a ticket is so complex. I never bothered what a PNR (Passenger Name Record) is. Just let the travel agent settle everything (which shows how complex details are encapsulated from the customer so that customer just buy and fly with comfort).
For the moment, I still don't have an idea when exactly I'll be returning to S'pore as it depends on how fast I can absorb the skills to move on. It seems that I(the four of us) might have to request for more than we are assigned to do. This is to be able to grow faster due to different expectations of us from the rest.
Anyway, I have been assigned to do AMS (Application Maintenance and Systems) under airline reservations department. Basically my role is more of enhancement and support to the current existing programs. At the moment, my project manager does not have much for me to do except that he expects me to finish reading modules on reservations domain. I never realised that booking a ticket is so complex. I never bothered what a PNR (Passenger Name Record) is. Just let the travel agent settle everything (which shows how complex details are encapsulated from the customer so that customer just buy and fly with comfort).
For the moment, I still don't have an idea when exactly I'll be returning to S'pore as it depends on how fast I can absorb the skills to move on. It seems that I(the four of us) might have to request for more than we are assigned to do. This is to be able to grow faster due to different expectations of us from the rest.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Ponggal Holiday
Happy Ponggal! After a long time, I finally get a Saturday off (not counting the time in Singapore). Today is a public holiday but mainly for South India. According to my colleagues, Ponggal is the day farmers celebrate their harvest. The canteen in Tidel Park is decorated with leaves and shoots (It looked like bamboo but not sure if it is). In addition to the decorations, they had invited people dressed up in their traditional farmer clothes performing some sort of dance to celebrate the event. Quite a cultural experience but something is still lacking. I think is because Ponggal is more of a "village event" rather than for the city.
All my colleagues who come from parts of India have gone home. For those who aren't, they are heading over to Pondicherry (the French colony I spoke of previously). I think Ponggal is more like Chinese New Year when family members gather to have dinner... speaking of which, I have missed tuan nian fan for 3 years now..... ^__^ .....
Anyway, next Tuesday my batch mates and I are finally taking the exit test! Instead of feeling stress and pressure, I'm excited and filled with joy because I can't wait to take the test and get on with projects. Mainly because I'm still full of motivation to drive myself up the corporate ladder quickly. But..... of course, I'll still be spending the rest of today, tomorrow and monday to study especially on the sections I missed because I was in Singapore on "extended" holidays.
On a side note.. my new year resolutions... only able to keep to one - read more. Oh ya, I think I'll buy the book again (the one which I gave to SL). I think it is really good. For the moment, I've just started reading 8th Habit which I borrowed from my friend. This is also a good book on self improvement.
All my colleagues who come from parts of India have gone home. For those who aren't, they are heading over to Pondicherry (the French colony I spoke of previously). I think Ponggal is more like Chinese New Year when family members gather to have dinner... speaking of which, I have missed tuan nian fan for 3 years now..... ^__^ .....
Anyway, next Tuesday my batch mates and I are finally taking the exit test! Instead of feeling stress and pressure, I'm excited and filled with joy because I can't wait to take the test and get on with projects. Mainly because I'm still full of motivation to drive myself up the corporate ladder quickly. But..... of course, I'll still be spending the rest of today, tomorrow and monday to study especially on the sections I missed because I was in Singapore on "extended" holidays.
On a side note.. my new year resolutions... only able to keep to one - read more. Oh ya, I think I'll buy the book again (the one which I gave to SL). I think it is really good. For the moment, I've just started reading 8th Habit which I borrowed from my friend. This is also a good book on self improvement.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Chennai.... again....
Am back in Chennai again. Well, Chennai isn't all that bad. Since this is the second time I'm coming to Chennai, the atmosphere feels different. When I got off at the airport, I don't find it messy/dirty/not-habitable anymore. Instead, I felt that it was a nice place to be in and much better than many parts of Chennai. Anyway, maybe it is just a sign that I'm adapting well to the environment here. Abuthen har.. I still HATE the stinking smell along the roads. If you ever see the walking path wet on a sunny day, one can only guess that someone has used it as a public toilet. Just two days ago, I saw a group of people, some who were driving cars, stopped just to pee next to the railway station. There seems to be an unwritten notice that states "Pee Here Only"
Hmmm.. something wrong with Blogger, I can't do any settings on my fonts. This cybercafe is too smart for its own good. The computers are too secure that I can't connect external storage devices such as thumb-drives to copy stuff..and now Blogger restriction...grrrr.....
Anyway, I was just about to tell the story of me & a moped (sounds like "mo-pet"). Yesterday night, Rashi (the Indian girl from S'pore) borrowed the moped from our guest house caretaker so that we could ride it to the nearby TCS office to collect our allowance. It was quite funny because of a container at the side of the moped, I was forced to take the "lady seat" (so far, I've only seen the Indian wifes carrying their stuff or babies sitting like that on the motorcycle/moped while their husband drive them). The caretaker and some of the other servants who saw me was laughing for the same reason I just mentioned I think. There are some things that I would like to comment on this blog about the "moped adventure" but to play safe, I shall not comment on them here. Tell you all next time. :P
Hmmm.. something wrong with Blogger, I can't do any settings on my fonts. This cybercafe is too smart for its own good. The computers are too secure that I can't connect external storage devices such as thumb-drives to copy stuff..and now Blogger restriction...grrrr.....
Anyway, I was just about to tell the story of me & a moped (sounds like "mo-pet"). Yesterday night, Rashi (the Indian girl from S'pore) borrowed the moped from our guest house caretaker so that we could ride it to the nearby TCS office to collect our allowance. It was quite funny because of a container at the side of the moped, I was forced to take the "lady seat" (so far, I've only seen the Indian wifes carrying their stuff or babies sitting like that on the motorcycle/moped while their husband drive them). The caretaker and some of the other servants who saw me was laughing for the same reason I just mentioned I think. There are some things that I would like to comment on this blog about the "moped adventure" but to play safe, I shall not comment on them here. Tell you all next time. :P
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Welcome to 2006!
2006 is here!
This is the first year that I am finally no longer a student of formal education. However, I have extended my education to informal education. New Year is here so I must make some resolutions. Abuthen ar....every year, I am only able to follow the resolutions for 1 to 2 months at most. This is mainly due to unrealistic and absurd resolutions that I set for myself to follow. Therefore, this year I shall have some simple resolutions to work with. My 3 simple resolutions for the New Year:
1. Eat healthier - search for green vegetables and fruits in Chennai. Less of prata, dosa, vada and especially all the kababs with thick gravy. (Note that I put "Chennai" because for the moment, I am indulging myself with all the Char Kuay Tiau and Katong Laksa with thick santan :P)
2. Exercise regularly - well, I've started this when I was in Chennai by doing some simple stretches, pushups and situps every morning I wake up. Now just have to extend it to the weekends and go jog at the beach more often or at least play football.
3. Continue learning - Now that I'm out of NUS, I have just automatically enrolled myself in the University of Life where EQ matters more than IQ. After 2 months of my working experience, I have seen cases where academically smart people don't know how to handle situations maturely or sensitively. At the same time, I have met people who are superb in defusing tension and don't seem to crack under pressure. I will invest some of my time and money to learn the necessary skills to do well.
With this 3 resolutions, I hope to live a healthier and happier life. In addition - A wish for World Peace. Cheesy as it may sound but like what the editors of the magazines I've been reading said - we don't need any more of terrorism and wars to cause havoc with so much natural disasters and deadly diseases to trouble with. Anyway, have a Happy New Year and may all of you be healthy and happy everyday.
This is the first year that I am finally no longer a student of formal education. However, I have extended my education to informal education. New Year is here so I must make some resolutions. Abuthen ar....every year, I am only able to follow the resolutions for 1 to 2 months at most. This is mainly due to unrealistic and absurd resolutions that I set for myself to follow. Therefore, this year I shall have some simple resolutions to work with. My 3 simple resolutions for the New Year:
1. Eat healthier - search for green vegetables and fruits in Chennai. Less of prata, dosa, vada and especially all the kababs with thick gravy. (Note that I put "Chennai" because for the moment, I am indulging myself with all the Char Kuay Tiau and Katong Laksa with thick santan :P)
2. Exercise regularly - well, I've started this when I was in Chennai by doing some simple stretches, pushups and situps every morning I wake up. Now just have to extend it to the weekends and go jog at the beach more often or at least play football.
3. Continue learning - Now that I'm out of NUS, I have just automatically enrolled myself in the University of Life where EQ matters more than IQ. After 2 months of my working experience, I have seen cases where academically smart people don't know how to handle situations maturely or sensitively. At the same time, I have met people who are superb in defusing tension and don't seem to crack under pressure. I will invest some of my time and money to learn the necessary skills to do well.
With this 3 resolutions, I hope to live a healthier and happier life. In addition - A wish for World Peace. Cheesy as it may sound but like what the editors of the magazines I've been reading said - we don't need any more of terrorism and wars to cause havoc with so much natural disasters and deadly diseases to trouble with. Anyway, have a Happy New Year and may all of you be healthy and happy everyday.
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