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.
Monday, December 26, 2005
.....And The Chicken Rice Wish Has Been Fulfilled....
... By Loy Kee Chicken Rice. Hahahaha..... The chicken was delicious and the texture was very "hua4". The sauce was not only sweet but also salty enough to soothe my yearning for delicious food. In addition, I had GREEN VEGETABLES (Xiao kailan) ! This is really a luxury to be having green vegetables after 2 long months.
Today I went on a shopping spree spending more than Rs.3000. The stuff that I bought are mainly health care products for me to bring back to India. I need all these health care products like eye wash to keep my eyes healthy (thick dusts on the streets and poor lighting in office), supplements (need to watch out my diet... everyone is really complaining that I've become skinnier.. gulp), iPod Nano to clean my ears (again.. same reason - too dusty....kidding!). I didn't buy iPod Nano.... yet.... still in the process of looking for a good mp3 player. Recommendations is that I get iPod Nano. Any one care to comment on this? Greenlamb (since you own one :P)?
On a side note: I'm very scared to go into bookshops here in Singapore. Every book I see in MPH/Kino is at least 2 times of the price in India. What I'm doing at the moment is, enter the bookshop, see their recommendations then maybe buy it in India. I'm looking forward to get a few books on management and self-improvement.
Today I went on a shopping spree spending more than Rs.3000. The stuff that I bought are mainly health care products for me to bring back to India. I need all these health care products like eye wash to keep my eyes healthy (thick dusts on the streets and poor lighting in office), supplements (need to watch out my diet... everyone is really complaining that I've become skinnier.. gulp), iPod Nano to clean my ears (again.. same reason - too dusty....kidding!). I didn't buy iPod Nano.... yet.... still in the process of looking for a good mp3 player. Recommendations is that I get iPod Nano. Any one care to comment on this? Greenlamb (since you own one :P)?
On a side note: I'm very scared to go into bookshops here in Singapore. Every book I see in MPH/Kino is at least 2 times of the price in India. What I'm doing at the moment is, enter the bookshop, see their recommendations then maybe buy it in India. I'm looking forward to get a few books on management and self-improvement.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Chennai Week 10 Ended with Chicken Rice Driven Code!
Finally I'm back in S'pore....... home (at least for now)..... The feeling is very nice. Suddenly I can breathe properly again and not worry about the thick dusts on the roads. On reaching West Mall in Bt. Batok, I was overwhelmed to see "familiar sights" of spacious shopping arcades and "crowded" (the crowd in West Mall can't compare with weekends at Spencer plaza, although Orchard might). Christmas shopping crowd, young children running around the mall doing their own shopping with their "wah laos" and "lai dat meh?". I just realised that I've never seen a bunch of kids hang out together as a group in shopping centers without their parents.
Everything looks so clean and so organized here. It is very comfortable to be back here after the "stressful" lifestyle in India. The night before and the day before that I was still rushing to complete my lab assignment. I managed to finish the code in record time. It shocked myself and everyone in class as we were suppose to program 5 options. I completed all 5 while the rest are still working on the 1st option. I scare myself...... Like what I told my friends, this is the power of chicken rice. I was very motivated to complete my codes by yesterday evening because I know I would not be able to go back on Monday to work on it and submit. In my mind was just the wonderful Singapore Chicken Rice, Char Kway Tiau, Bak Kut Teh and all the various delicious non-spicy Chinese food. I have had enough of spicy Indian food especially the non-vegetarian ones. Prata and Chicken curry, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Briyani..... ugh... the week I knew I am coming back to S'pore, I had problems eating the food there in India. I lost all my appetite. According to my friend, Loon - "我瘦了"... Must be because of the diarrhea last week. It seems that a lot of other people are also having diarrhea in Chennai because of the water pollution. Newspaper initially reported that the cause is unknown but yesterday it was reported that the disease is cholera. So.. I think I might've been affected by cholera without knowing it. Good thing nothing bad happened. It seems that a few people died from dehydration due to excess loss of fluids from diarrhea. Some had to be injected with fluids as oral intake is vomitted out. My friend Benny was vommitting that day. I'm not sure if related or not.
Anyway, now that I'm back here in Singapore, I suppose it is time for me to do some shopping! My New Year Shopping list is just being compiled.... Hahahaha... :D
Everything looks so clean and so organized here. It is very comfortable to be back here after the "stressful" lifestyle in India. The night before and the day before that I was still rushing to complete my lab assignment. I managed to finish the code in record time. It shocked myself and everyone in class as we were suppose to program 5 options. I completed all 5 while the rest are still working on the 1st option. I scare myself...... Like what I told my friends, this is the power of chicken rice. I was very motivated to complete my codes by yesterday evening because I know I would not be able to go back on Monday to work on it and submit. In my mind was just the wonderful Singapore Chicken Rice, Char Kway Tiau, Bak Kut Teh and all the various delicious non-spicy Chinese food. I have had enough of spicy Indian food especially the non-vegetarian ones. Prata and Chicken curry, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Briyani..... ugh... the week I knew I am coming back to S'pore, I had problems eating the food there in India. I lost all my appetite. According to my friend, Loon - "我瘦了"... Must be because of the diarrhea last week. It seems that a lot of other people are also having diarrhea in Chennai because of the water pollution. Newspaper initially reported that the cause is unknown but yesterday it was reported that the disease is cholera. So.. I think I might've been affected by cholera without knowing it. Good thing nothing bad happened. It seems that a few people died from dehydration due to excess loss of fluids from diarrhea. Some had to be injected with fluids as oral intake is vomitted out. My friend Benny was vommitting that day. I'm not sure if related or not.
Anyway, now that I'm back here in Singapore, I suppose it is time for me to do some shopping! My New Year Shopping list is just being compiled.... Hahahaha... :D
Sunday, December 18, 2005
My Updates for End of ..... which week is it? 9?
Since yesterday morning, the weather here in Chennai is very cold. This is the coldest recorded temperature ever according to the news report. Temperatures have fallen below 5deg Celcius and snows will fall soon.... wait.. That's J&K (Jammu & Kashmir) and PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir)... Anyway, Chennai is supposedly the hottest city in India (last year temperatures were up to 40degC and many people died of heat wave around March, April). Presently, a new weather system is just about to hit 500km South of here. Yesterday, it was drizzling the whole day and this morning, heavy showers. I like the weather when it is just drizzling, it just feels nice and cool. However, I hate the heavy rains though.
Despite the "nice weather", my friends and I are falling sick - vomitting & diarrhea. Benny had a bad day yesterday as everything that he ate in the morning is vomitted out within minutes. We were trying to figure out what was wrong with him as we had the same food but did not suffer the same fate. We suspected it was the insect repellant that he turned on while he was sleeping. The effect of the poison has caused him to be sick and nauseous. So, warning to all - don't use the chemical insect repellant in a poorly ventilated room. As for myself, I was and am still having diarrhea since last night. I have no idea why or what happened.
My Cinema Experience in Chennai
Anyway, last week I had my first cinema going experience in Sathyam Cinema, Chennai watching Harry Potter! I'll have to say that I am quite surprised by the cinema. The outside of the cinema is covered with huge billboards of Tamil movies such that I could not tell that it is a building. The lobby was dirty and rundown. I was starting to feel disappointed at the "best cinema" in Chennai. BUT my impressions were changed once we entered the cinema. It started to feel more like Golden Village in Tiong Bahru. THEN.... I started to have a bad feeling again when the show started. As soon as the WB logo was screened, people in the hall started to cheer, clap, whistle and making so much sound that I feared my movie experience would be spoilt. It became silent when the first screen of some old caretaker walked up the stairs. I felt relieved BUT as soon as Harry Potter appeared, people were cheering, whistling and clapping again. The same goes for the other 2 main characters. After that, it was silent again. It felt as if we were watching a live drama instead of a movie. The experience was amazing especially when the Quidditch World Cup was being screened. People in the hall were all reacting just as the same as the characters in the movie. At the end of the show, again, the audience gave a round of applause as our heroes go home waiting for the next semester.
The most expensive food that I have paid for so far in Chennai...
Last Wednesday, we went to Asakasa Restaurant to have our dinner. We found the restaurant through an advertisement they placed in the newspaper. This is the first Japanese restaurant that we found here in Chennai. It is located in such a secluded place that none of us would've thought that there would be such a high class restaurant in there. Inside the restaurants, it feels as if we have left India and arrived in Japan. Everything about the place was Japanese - Japanese Ocha, Japanese Okiasama, Japanese Businessmen, Japanese Sake, .... you get the picture...
However, my heart suddenly sank when we got the menu. The prices were freaking expensive. Two Salmon sushi (the standard rich & raw salmon) costs Rs250 which is like S$10!!! I had a Katsudon meal set for Rs500.... Although the food was delicious but it is definitely not worth to go there often. It is only when I started working, I realise that saving money is not an easy task. I need to start planning my finances ......
Singapore next week
I have confirmed my booking for the Jet Airways flight back to Singapore on Dec 25th, Christmas day. I'll be arriving in Singapore at 5pm, I think. Unfortunately because I am skipping class on Monday 26th, I have to make up on 2nd January to finish up my labs as trainings have been extended.
Despite the "nice weather", my friends and I are falling sick - vomitting & diarrhea. Benny had a bad day yesterday as everything that he ate in the morning is vomitted out within minutes. We were trying to figure out what was wrong with him as we had the same food but did not suffer the same fate. We suspected it was the insect repellant that he turned on while he was sleeping. The effect of the poison has caused him to be sick and nauseous. So, warning to all - don't use the chemical insect repellant in a poorly ventilated room. As for myself, I was and am still having diarrhea since last night. I have no idea why or what happened.
My Cinema Experience in Chennai
Anyway, last week I had my first cinema going experience in Sathyam Cinema, Chennai watching Harry Potter! I'll have to say that I am quite surprised by the cinema. The outside of the cinema is covered with huge billboards of Tamil movies such that I could not tell that it is a building. The lobby was dirty and rundown. I was starting to feel disappointed at the "best cinema" in Chennai. BUT my impressions were changed once we entered the cinema. It started to feel more like Golden Village in Tiong Bahru. THEN.... I started to have a bad feeling again when the show started. As soon as the WB logo was screened, people in the hall started to cheer, clap, whistle and making so much sound that I feared my movie experience would be spoilt. It became silent when the first screen of some old caretaker walked up the stairs. I felt relieved BUT as soon as Harry Potter appeared, people were cheering, whistling and clapping again. The same goes for the other 2 main characters. After that, it was silent again. It felt as if we were watching a live drama instead of a movie. The experience was amazing especially when the Quidditch World Cup was being screened. People in the hall were all reacting just as the same as the characters in the movie. At the end of the show, again, the audience gave a round of applause as our heroes go home waiting for the next semester.
The most expensive food that I have paid for so far in Chennai...
Last Wednesday, we went to Asakasa Restaurant to have our dinner. We found the restaurant through an advertisement they placed in the newspaper. This is the first Japanese restaurant that we found here in Chennai. It is located in such a secluded place that none of us would've thought that there would be such a high class restaurant in there. Inside the restaurants, it feels as if we have left India and arrived in Japan. Everything about the place was Japanese - Japanese Ocha, Japanese Okiasama, Japanese Businessmen, Japanese Sake, .... you get the picture...
However, my heart suddenly sank when we got the menu. The prices were freaking expensive. Two Salmon sushi (the standard rich & raw salmon) costs Rs250 which is like S$10!!! I had a Katsudon meal set for Rs500.... Although the food was delicious but it is definitely not worth to go there often. It is only when I started working, I realise that saving money is not an easy task. I need to start planning my finances ......
Singapore next week
I have confirmed my booking for the Jet Airways flight back to Singapore on Dec 25th, Christmas day. I'll be arriving in Singapore at 5pm, I think. Unfortunately because I am skipping class on Monday 26th, I have to make up on 2nd January to finish up my labs as trainings have been extended.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
1 min blog updates
I'm taking out time from lunch to check my mails and blog this very very short update. Maybe I'll expand it later when I get the time but I have only 5mins on my card left so can't blog for long. 1min-Updates for the past week:
1. Cyclone never came (phew) but new cyclone approaching.
2. Watched Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire (I have a lot to say about the cinema going audiences here)
3. Exams postponed, training has been extended (don't ask why)
4. Celebrated two of my Singapore colleagues' B'day in the past week.
5. Booked my flight back to Singapore on Dec 25th (reach at 5pm) and leaving S'pore on 1st Jan by Jet Airways. (The hole in my pocket suddenly feels so deep :( )
6. Had the most expensive food that I paid for - Japanese set meal (Katsu Don) in Chennai ... scary... this is even more expensive than what I had paid for in Billy Bombers. Rs500... pocket really burning hot now...
1. Cyclone never came (phew) but new cyclone approaching.
2. Watched Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire (I have a lot to say about the cinema going audiences here)
3. Exams postponed, training has been extended (don't ask why)
4. Celebrated two of my Singapore colleagues' B'day in the past week.
5. Booked my flight back to Singapore on Dec 25th (reach at 5pm) and leaving S'pore on 1st Jan by Jet Airways. (The hole in my pocket suddenly feels so deep :( )
6. Had the most expensive food that I paid for - Japanese set meal (Katsu Don) in Chennai ... scary... this is even more expensive than what I had paid for in Billy Bombers. Rs500... pocket really burning hot now...
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Exams & Cyclones coming soon
It has already been 8 weeks since I arrived in Chennai?!? Time really flies...... There's a little more than 2 weeks before this intensive training program ends. The main part of TPF theory has ended, we're only left with the labs as well as the final section - TPFDF (whatever that means :S)
There'll be a final exit test on Dec 26th. I suppose my Christmas this year will be spent in my room studying instead of enjoying Christmas TV shows back home in Brunei. Good news is that after training ends, we only need to report back to the main company on January 3rd 2006. This means that I have 7 days off!! Wooohoo!! At the moment am now trying to arrange for my flight to go back to Singapore on 26th Dec midnight. If it is settled then I'll arrive in Singapore on Dec 27th 7am.... but this is not confirmed yet. Don't know if there is still available seats or not. I can only go and arrange for this on Monday. After going back to Singapore, I'll have to reapply visa to return to India as my Visa is single entry.... so mafan. Seem like I will need to set out a plan & lists of to-dos when I get back to Singapore.
Well, putting the good news aside, Chennai is about to be hit by another cyclone - Cyclone Fanooz. *yawn*.... This is getting very very tiring and irritating.... Suddenly out of nowhere a new cyclone just forms and threatens to hit Tamil Nadu. It is becoming like a routine and I'm already expecting certain things to happen when it hits. No surprise that plenty of areas will suffer water logging problems especially near my office. My clothes won't be dry after washing.... Not only that previously, in all the cyclone attacks, at least 2 or 3 people would die from electric shock. The most recent case reported by the newspaper was because of water logging, people dig the roads to let the water flow. They dig it too deep that they hit the power cables below. No problem initially but as cars drive pass it, it damage the cables further. Just so happen a 60yr old man with his grand daughter walk by .... got electrocuted by it. His son saw him fall so he rushed to try and help but ended up he was also killed. It was tragical.
There'll be a final exit test on Dec 26th. I suppose my Christmas this year will be spent in my room studying instead of enjoying Christmas TV shows back home in Brunei. Good news is that after training ends, we only need to report back to the main company on January 3rd 2006. This means that I have 7 days off!! Wooohoo!! At the moment am now trying to arrange for my flight to go back to Singapore on 26th Dec midnight. If it is settled then I'll arrive in Singapore on Dec 27th 7am.... but this is not confirmed yet. Don't know if there is still available seats or not. I can only go and arrange for this on Monday. After going back to Singapore, I'll have to reapply visa to return to India as my Visa is single entry.... so mafan. Seem like I will need to set out a plan & lists of to-dos when I get back to Singapore.
Well, putting the good news aside, Chennai is about to be hit by another cyclone - Cyclone Fanooz. *yawn*.... This is getting very very tiring and irritating.... Suddenly out of nowhere a new cyclone just forms and threatens to hit Tamil Nadu. It is becoming like a routine and I'm already expecting certain things to happen when it hits. No surprise that plenty of areas will suffer water logging problems especially near my office. My clothes won't be dry after washing.... Not only that previously, in all the cyclone attacks, at least 2 or 3 people would die from electric shock. The most recent case reported by the newspaper was because of water logging, people dig the roads to let the water flow. They dig it too deep that they hit the power cables below. No problem initially but as cars drive pass it, it damage the cables further. Just so happen a 60yr old man with his grand daughter walk by .... got electrocuted by it. His son saw him fall so he rushed to try and help but ended up he was also killed. It was tragical.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Week 7 ended? er..... mid of week 8?
I have been so caught up in my labs last week that I did not really have much time to come online... or specifically, to blog. I did manage to sneak out from work to go online on Saturday though. This was mainly because it is very difficult to travel due to the heavy floods. The main entrance to Tidel Park which is situated next to my office is totally flooded. The drains are like mini-rivers and the roads are waist high. We practically had to swim. Fortunately, the night before, my sports shoes were already soaked due to the floods near my place of stay so on Saturday I wore sandals to work. It was very convenient to just pull up my long pants and walk through the floods as compared to my friend who has hush-puppy leather shoes. Poor puppy, it's crying...
Anyway, I guess my friends and I should consider ourselves lucky (or maybe unlucky) as we're like the bringer of rains to Chennai. I mean, what is the probability of 4 waves of heavy rain hitting a city that has been experiencing drought for 3 years until we came. The first wave was a very powerful cyclone, the next two were just heavy monsoon rains and the most recent one, another cyclone. The cyclone that hit recently, well it was not as terrible as the first one. However, due to the waves of rain coming almost every week, Chennai is not prepared to handle it. The floods and water logging problems get worse and worse. People were evacuated from the low-lands to schools and other higher areas. Schools and colleges are closed here. The worst I think is when they released the dam. The river was filled to the brim and the surrounding slums were all flooded. It was a very "unique" sight because the river was usually dry. You can sometimes see the river bed and now it is filled.
Fortunately, this time the cyclone I felt was not as destructive as the first one. But who am I to judge as I am not affected much by this. Everyday I see in the newspaper, there are hundreds of people in need of food and proper shelter because of the rains and floods. For me, I only have my labs to worry about :S.... Just realised that I'm down to my final 3 weeks of training.
Anyway, I guess my friends and I should consider ourselves lucky (or maybe unlucky) as we're like the bringer of rains to Chennai. I mean, what is the probability of 4 waves of heavy rain hitting a city that has been experiencing drought for 3 years until we came. The first wave was a very powerful cyclone, the next two were just heavy monsoon rains and the most recent one, another cyclone. The cyclone that hit recently, well it was not as terrible as the first one. However, due to the waves of rain coming almost every week, Chennai is not prepared to handle it. The floods and water logging problems get worse and worse. People were evacuated from the low-lands to schools and other higher areas. Schools and colleges are closed here. The worst I think is when they released the dam. The river was filled to the brim and the surrounding slums were all flooded. It was a very "unique" sight because the river was usually dry. You can sometimes see the river bed and now it is filled.
Fortunately, this time the cyclone I felt was not as destructive as the first one. But who am I to judge as I am not affected much by this. Everyday I see in the newspaper, there are hundreds of people in need of food and proper shelter because of the rains and floods. For me, I only have my labs to worry about :S.... Just realised that I'm down to my final 3 weeks of training.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
End of my 6th Week in Chennai
Woah... It has already been six weeks since I first set foot on Chennai. I don't know whether it is a good thing or not that I am always counting the number of weeks and using them as my blog titles. Anyway...
Today I'm so happy that we don't need to go to office. This was because our lab coordinator decided that the lab was very simple and that we could do it within one hour. He gave us the chance to choose whether we want to come back today to do the lab or stay back till late last night. Most people chose the later because they wanted to take the weekends off to go home. Another reason I think he allowed that is because this morning there was a "big" cricket match between India and South Africa (I think....). So, everyone "MUST" stay in and watch the match. Did I ever mentiont that cricket is religion here in India? :P
For this post, I'll cut down on what I want to say about my labs and the rain. Think my blog readers will get bored soon with all the mention of frustrating labs and irritating rainy weather here. I think I shall talk about some culture shocks that I have experience here so far. I can't list all of them but I'll just briefly mention some of the more obvious ones in point form below.
1. No proper public toilet & ESPECIALLY NO Tissue!!
This is might seem like a joke but this is the biggest shock and problem. I'm so used to the clean and well-equipped toilets in Singapore. People laugh when they see that Singapore has a World Toilet Organisation but I think it is good that they have such an organization to ensure QC. At least in Brunei and M'sia, even though there is bad public toilets but can still buy tissue from shops easily. Packet tissue is like a foreign item here. I can find them but only in "Guardian Pharmacy" (A shop with guardian's colours but different name and logo) but it is being sold at quite an expensive price. Not worth buying.... When I go back to Singapore, I'll need to stock up more packet tissues before I come over. :S
2. Poor people and their living conditions
I mentioned this briefly previously. Each time I see them I feel quite sad. I don't know what I should do. People will come up to me and the first thing they do is make eye contact. Although they don't say anything, their actions tell you what they want. They'll clasp their hand and then extend it to you. They'll then repeatingly move their hands that they want you to give them food. Some of them are very persistent even if you say no. Most of them in fact, would because we are foreigners. Some of them are really in need of support while there are also some beggars who I think are healthy and strong enough to do something else rather than begging.
On TV, there is this advertisement about the "Kuwait Fund". The advertisement goes along the line of "If you give a hungry man food, you feed him for a day. If you teach him to fish, grow crops, rear animals, educate his children then you have taken care of him for a lifetime." Actually I do think that many people who have access to education has taken it for granted. Experiencing the condition here, it is very easy to notice the poverty gap between the rich and the poor.
3. Political Issues - The power of the fourth state
I follow the local news channel - NDTV 24/7 every morning. This is the only local news channel in English that I get on my TV (I do have BBC and DW-TV for world and sports news as well :P). The first time I got a shock from this news channel was when a reporter was reporting about the flooding problems in Bangalore. She was talking about the bad conditions that people in Bangalore were facing during the floods late last month and how the authorities were slow in taking action. At first when she was reporting it, I sensed that the news was getting abit too personal as her expression was that she was quite angry with the situation. At the end of her report, I quote her: "The politicians are just good at what they are doing. Political posing". Instantaneously, my friends and I were like "What!?! Did she just say what we heard her say?" Then we started to laugh and of course, compared it with our home countries.
Another show that they have on NDTV 24/7 is a puppet show called Double Take. The puppets are designed to look like the ministers. In this show, they'll use the puppets to tell stories and act out how incompetent the minister is in his post. I was like "woah..." then I found out from a friend that this concept was adopted from Germany. They sent 20+ people to train in Germany on this puppetry criticism.
4. Matrimonials in newspaper
This is very interesting. You know in newspapers, we always get classifieds where people sell/buy products/services,etc. Here, there's another section - Matrimonial. One section which writes - Looking for brides and the other Looking for bridegroom. I was laughing when I first saw the section in the newspaper. Advertisements were like "Looking for fair,slim,beautiful girl from good family background". Some were like "The parents of So&So who is in US working now is looking for an alliance with the family of a girl who is etc etc etc". Alliance? The most interesting one I think was "So&So with MBA degree, earning six-figure salary looking for MBBS etc etc". He's only looking for a doctor wife huh? Oh ya, some others have astrology requirements and locations.
In addition to these requirements, people have to send in their "applications". Most of the people in my class talk about "applications" instead of "proposals". So, I suppose one must first send application, get approval stamp then can continue. hahaha..... I suppose it is still a practice here that continues where some parents still arrange the marriage of their children.
5. Girls one side, guys one side
Although it is not an explicitly written rule on the bus but this seems to be the case. It must have been a horrifying experience for those ladies that some weird guy (ie. my friends and I) sit next to them. Even on a packed bus where there are not enough seats, guys would prefer to stand rather than sit next to the women. I don't know if we are offending their culture or not. This one I'll have to check. My cultural sensitivity is getting abit low these days ^_^.... Making plenty of assumptions or thinking that I will be forgiven because I'm a foreigner.
About culture, people here like to address each other as Sir/Madam especially when it comes to people of higher rank. Hierarchy is a very important concept here. However, for those of us from Singapore, we seem to be different. We would address them by their names and treat them more equally. (I'll blog more about this next time... my surfing time is up again)
Today I'm so happy that we don't need to go to office. This was because our lab coordinator decided that the lab was very simple and that we could do it within one hour. He gave us the chance to choose whether we want to come back today to do the lab or stay back till late last night. Most people chose the later because they wanted to take the weekends off to go home. Another reason I think he allowed that is because this morning there was a "big" cricket match between India and South Africa (I think....). So, everyone "MUST" stay in and watch the match. Did I ever mentiont that cricket is religion here in India? :P
For this post, I'll cut down on what I want to say about my labs and the rain. Think my blog readers will get bored soon with all the mention of frustrating labs and irritating rainy weather here. I think I shall talk about some culture shocks that I have experience here so far. I can't list all of them but I'll just briefly mention some of the more obvious ones in point form below.
1. No proper public toilet & ESPECIALLY NO Tissue!!
This is might seem like a joke but this is the biggest shock and problem. I'm so used to the clean and well-equipped toilets in Singapore. People laugh when they see that Singapore has a World Toilet Organisation but I think it is good that they have such an organization to ensure QC. At least in Brunei and M'sia, even though there is bad public toilets but can still buy tissue from shops easily. Packet tissue is like a foreign item here. I can find them but only in "Guardian Pharmacy" (A shop with guardian's colours but different name and logo) but it is being sold at quite an expensive price. Not worth buying.... When I go back to Singapore, I'll need to stock up more packet tissues before I come over. :S
2. Poor people and their living conditions
I mentioned this briefly previously. Each time I see them I feel quite sad. I don't know what I should do. People will come up to me and the first thing they do is make eye contact. Although they don't say anything, their actions tell you what they want. They'll clasp their hand and then extend it to you. They'll then repeatingly move their hands that they want you to give them food. Some of them are very persistent even if you say no. Most of them in fact, would because we are foreigners. Some of them are really in need of support while there are also some beggars who I think are healthy and strong enough to do something else rather than begging.
On TV, there is this advertisement about the "Kuwait Fund". The advertisement goes along the line of "If you give a hungry man food, you feed him for a day. If you teach him to fish, grow crops, rear animals, educate his children then you have taken care of him for a lifetime." Actually I do think that many people who have access to education has taken it for granted. Experiencing the condition here, it is very easy to notice the poverty gap between the rich and the poor.
3. Political Issues - The power of the fourth state
I follow the local news channel - NDTV 24/7 every morning. This is the only local news channel in English that I get on my TV (I do have BBC and DW-TV for world and sports news as well :P). The first time I got a shock from this news channel was when a reporter was reporting about the flooding problems in Bangalore. She was talking about the bad conditions that people in Bangalore were facing during the floods late last month and how the authorities were slow in taking action. At first when she was reporting it, I sensed that the news was getting abit too personal as her expression was that she was quite angry with the situation. At the end of her report, I quote her: "The politicians are just good at what they are doing. Political posing". Instantaneously, my friends and I were like "What!?! Did she just say what we heard her say?" Then we started to laugh and of course, compared it with our home countries.
Another show that they have on NDTV 24/7 is a puppet show called Double Take. The puppets are designed to look like the ministers. In this show, they'll use the puppets to tell stories and act out how incompetent the minister is in his post. I was like "woah..." then I found out from a friend that this concept was adopted from Germany. They sent 20+ people to train in Germany on this puppetry criticism.
4. Matrimonials in newspaper
This is very interesting. You know in newspapers, we always get classifieds where people sell/buy products/services,etc. Here, there's another section - Matrimonial. One section which writes - Looking for brides and the other Looking for bridegroom. I was laughing when I first saw the section in the newspaper. Advertisements were like "Looking for fair,slim,beautiful girl from good family background". Some were like "The parents of So&So who is in US working now is looking for an alliance with the family of a girl who is etc etc etc". Alliance? The most interesting one I think was "So&So with MBA degree, earning six-figure salary looking for MBBS etc etc". He's only looking for a doctor wife huh? Oh ya, some others have astrology requirements and locations.
In addition to these requirements, people have to send in their "applications". Most of the people in my class talk about "applications" instead of "proposals". So, I suppose one must first send application, get approval stamp then can continue. hahaha..... I suppose it is still a practice here that continues where some parents still arrange the marriage of their children.
5. Girls one side, guys one side
Although it is not an explicitly written rule on the bus but this seems to be the case. It must have been a horrifying experience for those ladies that some weird guy (ie. my friends and I) sit next to them. Even on a packed bus where there are not enough seats, guys would prefer to stand rather than sit next to the women. I don't know if we are offending their culture or not. This one I'll have to check. My cultural sensitivity is getting abit low these days ^_^.... Making plenty of assumptions or thinking that I will be forgiven because I'm a foreigner.
About culture, people here like to address each other as Sir/Madam especially when it comes to people of higher rank. Hierarchy is a very important concept here. However, for those of us from Singapore, we seem to be different. We would address them by their names and treat them more equally. (I'll blog more about this next time... my surfing time is up again)
Friday, November 25, 2005
Tedious labs & unpredictable weather
After a whole week of continuous labs we were finally "entitled" to a few days break. The reason it is "entitled" is because our basic assembler training is over. Now comes the advance stuff, TPF -> my bread and butter for the next few years...... The theory classes no longer seem simple and easy as it was one month ago. The concepts taught are quite abstract as in I think it will take me quite some time before I can understand what it all means. Assembler was to be like CS1101 and now TPF is like 1102. Also, next week will be another week of labs or should I say, two weeks of continuous labs.... scary but hey, half the training is over. :P
As for the weather here in Chennai, there is another depression over this region. On a day, it can be sunny and extremely hot. Suddenly without warning, sky gets dark and it will be a heavy downpour. Cyclonic rains are very different from the ones which we have in SEA. You can actually see the rain being blown hard by the wind and umbrella is no protection against such a storm. My friend describes the weather as "Mother nature is having her PMS". Heavy rain here is not good especially for office goers. Unlike the schools and colleges here, we don't get a day off due to the flooding of roads or homes. A few hours rain can easily flood some parts of the road. These would make travelling very inconvenient to and from work. Fortunately an idea struck my head that we could easily take a bus to cross the flooded areas. :D
Few weeks ago, I was already predicting that my leather shoes would be worn out soon. Well, now the sole has started to tear open and I can see my socks from the tip of the shoe. :S My poor leather shoes, badly damaged by the weather here. In addition, twice I was splashed by dirty water due to inconciderate drivers. The first time was not very serious, the second time I was very pissed off. I kept cursing that guy for driving so fast. I mean, the road is already "halfed" because one section of it is flooded but he still drives onto the flooded part and I ended up as the victim. *grrrr*
Anywayway, this weekend should be quite a relaxing weekend. My friends and I are trying to get tickets to watch Harry Potter here but are quite unsuccessful because the normal timings are all fully booked. Think we'll have to try again next week. Oh yes, if any of you do get the chance, I'd recommend to watch the Hindi movie "Taj Mahal". I've not watched the movie yet BUT the trailer and behind the scenes look good. Although I could not understand a word they are saying but the body language speaks for itself - the vibrant colors and the very chio Pakistani-French actress.... It's suppose to be the most expensive movie ever made in Bollywood and they spent 3years filming it. Darn, if only they have English subtitles here.
As for the weather here in Chennai, there is another depression over this region. On a day, it can be sunny and extremely hot. Suddenly without warning, sky gets dark and it will be a heavy downpour. Cyclonic rains are very different from the ones which we have in SEA. You can actually see the rain being blown hard by the wind and umbrella is no protection against such a storm. My friend describes the weather as "Mother nature is having her PMS". Heavy rain here is not good especially for office goers. Unlike the schools and colleges here, we don't get a day off due to the flooding of roads or homes. A few hours rain can easily flood some parts of the road. These would make travelling very inconvenient to and from work. Fortunately an idea struck my head that we could easily take a bus to cross the flooded areas. :D
Few weeks ago, I was already predicting that my leather shoes would be worn out soon. Well, now the sole has started to tear open and I can see my socks from the tip of the shoe. :S My poor leather shoes, badly damaged by the weather here. In addition, twice I was splashed by dirty water due to inconciderate drivers. The first time was not very serious, the second time I was very pissed off. I kept cursing that guy for driving so fast. I mean, the road is already "halfed" because one section of it is flooded but he still drives onto the flooded part and I ended up as the victim. *grrrr*
Anywayway, this weekend should be quite a relaxing weekend. My friends and I are trying to get tickets to watch Harry Potter here but are quite unsuccessful because the normal timings are all fully booked. Think we'll have to try again next week. Oh yes, if any of you do get the chance, I'd recommend to watch the Hindi movie "Taj Mahal". I've not watched the movie yet BUT the trailer and behind the scenes look good. Although I could not understand a word they are saying but the body language speaks for itself - the vibrant colors and the very chio Pakistani-French actress.... It's suppose to be the most expensive movie ever made in Bollywood and they spent 3years filming it. Darn, if only they have English subtitles here.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Summary of Week 5
5 weeks have passed and I am still surviving........ barely...... My feat for the first lab was just luck? Nah...partly because I had experience doing something similar when I was in NUS. Lab2 nearly suffocated me. The lab was suppose to start on Wednesaday afternoon, I slacked the afternoon away not doing it because I was too tired to think (....due to Risk). Note to self - never play Risk the night before a lab session.
I freaked out when I didn't do much by the end of Thursday morning. In the afternoon fortunately, I started to understand more of what I was trying to do and slowly managed to finish on time. However, my code was very bad in terms of efficiency but can't complain much. Actually, my colleagues aren't that strong in programming especially when it comes to assembly. Many of them stayed overnight just to finish up their work. I can tell that they are quite stressed out by it. It doesn't help also that their other friends in TCS are not subjected to the same level of intensive training as they are getting. I just realised that I've been working 7 days straight with no break. Get up at 7, start work from 9am to night 845pm(last train) with a 1 hr lunch break. By the time I finish dinner, it is already 1030pm. Take a shower and sleep.. Next morning repeat the process.....
Other than work.... well.. there's a Sri Ramakrishna Maths Publications company. I told YC previously about that. Today I just saw what is behind this publications company - "Sri Ramakrishna Universal Maths Temple" O_O .... .I was like "WAH LAO eh..." ... Universal Maths Temple? They worship the god of maths? hmmm.. I really got to explore more to see what it is about. Btw, Indians are very religious people. It doesn't matter which religion they belong to, they are very expressive about it? I mean, I switch on tv, at least 2-3 channels preaching hinduism 24/7 and another 2-3 channels preaching christianity 24/7....
ok.. time's up. .gotta go
I freaked out when I didn't do much by the end of Thursday morning. In the afternoon fortunately, I started to understand more of what I was trying to do and slowly managed to finish on time. However, my code was very bad in terms of efficiency but can't complain much. Actually, my colleagues aren't that strong in programming especially when it comes to assembly. Many of them stayed overnight just to finish up their work. I can tell that they are quite stressed out by it. It doesn't help also that their other friends in TCS are not subjected to the same level of intensive training as they are getting. I just realised that I've been working 7 days straight with no break. Get up at 7, start work from 9am to night 845pm(last train) with a 1 hr lunch break. By the time I finish dinner, it is already 1030pm. Take a shower and sleep.. Next morning repeat the process.....
Other than work.... well.. there's a Sri Ramakrishna Maths Publications company. I told YC previously about that. Today I just saw what is behind this publications company - "Sri Ramakrishna Universal Maths Temple" O_O .... .I was like "WAH LAO eh..." ... Universal Maths Temple? They worship the god of maths? hmmm.. I really got to explore more to see what it is about. Btw, Indians are very religious people. It doesn't matter which religion they belong to, they are very expressive about it? I mean, I switch on tv, at least 2-3 channels preaching hinduism 24/7 and another 2-3 channels preaching christianity 24/7....
ok.. time's up. .gotta go
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Long Sunday and more labs for the week
Working on Sunday was bad enough. Playing Risk till 3am the night before is worse. My friends and I went to Spencer Plaza (the super huge shopping complex in Chennai) for shopping on Saturday. We ended up buying Risk together to fill our free time (very hard to get any these days). It was very addictive that we didn't want to stop playing until we finally gave up because we know that the game would not end so soon and we have work the next day.
Good thing that this place we are staying provides morning calls. I am really pampered alot here in Chennai. The caretaker of the place would just give a ring to the phone in my room to wake me up. After I have finish preparing then I'll just give them a ring and ask them to bring breakfast up. Anyway, on Sunday morning, I had to drag myself out of bed. Well, my friends and I actually arrived at office late. Supposed to reach before 9am but we arrived at around 10. We had to 'drink tea' with the HR the next day and I expect our score card has some marks deducted liao.
Sunday was just a lab session very much like my first year in SoC. Really dejavu... Aaron Tan's (my CS1104 lecturer) words keep ringing in my head. At times I could suddenly recall facts that I don't even remember when doing my CS1104 exams :S ... This lab session was supposedly an easy lab because when I saw the question, I had the algorithm roughly planned out in my head. I thought that it would be simple and not as tough as how the rest of my classmates felt. (Actually when the question was given, they were all complaining on how it should be done. I felt like shutting them up for whinning so much at that time.)
....However, when I started work on the lab, I realised that it was not as easy as I first thought that it would be. The way to solve the problem would have been very easy if I was asked to write in Java. Unfortunately, it was assemble language... The horror of the tedious branchings and comparing of registers..... argh... the whole day I spent trying to solve the problem ended up in frustrations. I stared at the computer screen for hours on from 10am till lunch and from 2pm till about 5pm... It was only then I realised WTH!! ... I've forgotten the most fundamental rule of programming ->When you are stuck and tired, just leave the program and not think about it. That's what I did and went home to sleep. The next morning my mind was clearer and I realised the silly mistakes that I made in my code which made my program to run in an unexpected way.
In addition, the funny thing was that on Sunday I thought my friends had finished half the lab assignments. It wasn't the case.. I ended up being the first one (or maybe 2nd to that VIT gold medalist.. not very sure because she seemed to be coding furiously even after I finished mine...) to complete followed by the other 3 of us from Singapore. The others were so shocked and one was frustrated by us. He was frustrated because he started to work on the lab 1 day before my friends and I did. He said something like "What the heck am I working so hard for?"... yah.. poor thing... He stayed overnight on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well trying to finish up the lab. This is one example that hardwork not necessarily equates to success....
Anyway, today they just gave us another lab assignment. My brain was in a deadlock again and I felt super sleepy that I actually took a nap. After that, my friends and I rushed back to our TQ so that we could take a good rest then work on the labs tomorrow. The labs are really tiring. I wonder how long will this 3rd lab take..... Not only that, my brain is becoming more and more like a computer. Java was already making my brain to think in a very systematic way... Assembly language is the ultimate so far... think in numbers... when I no longer look at "The Matrix" in the same way again because I have taken the red pill and understand how to read Hexadecimal operation codes for IBM ESA/390 like 1A 23 means add register 2 and register 3....... goodness... :S
Good thing that this place we are staying provides morning calls. I am really pampered alot here in Chennai. The caretaker of the place would just give a ring to the phone in my room to wake me up. After I have finish preparing then I'll just give them a ring and ask them to bring breakfast up. Anyway, on Sunday morning, I had to drag myself out of bed. Well, my friends and I actually arrived at office late. Supposed to reach before 9am but we arrived at around 10. We had to 'drink tea' with the HR the next day and I expect our score card has some marks deducted liao.
Sunday was just a lab session very much like my first year in SoC. Really dejavu... Aaron Tan's (my CS1104 lecturer) words keep ringing in my head. At times I could suddenly recall facts that I don't even remember when doing my CS1104 exams :S ... This lab session was supposedly an easy lab because when I saw the question, I had the algorithm roughly planned out in my head. I thought that it would be simple and not as tough as how the rest of my classmates felt. (Actually when the question was given, they were all complaining on how it should be done. I felt like shutting them up for whinning so much at that time.)
....However, when I started work on the lab, I realised that it was not as easy as I first thought that it would be. The way to solve the problem would have been very easy if I was asked to write in Java. Unfortunately, it was assemble language... The horror of the tedious branchings and comparing of registers..... argh... the whole day I spent trying to solve the problem ended up in frustrations. I stared at the computer screen for hours on from 10am till lunch and from 2pm till about 5pm... It was only then I realised WTH!! ... I've forgotten the most fundamental rule of programming ->When you are stuck and tired, just leave the program and not think about it. That's what I did and went home to sleep. The next morning my mind was clearer and I realised the silly mistakes that I made in my code which made my program to run in an unexpected way.
In addition, the funny thing was that on Sunday I thought my friends had finished half the lab assignments. It wasn't the case.. I ended up being the first one (or maybe 2nd to that VIT gold medalist.. not very sure because she seemed to be coding furiously even after I finished mine...) to complete followed by the other 3 of us from Singapore. The others were so shocked and one was frustrated by us. He was frustrated because he started to work on the lab 1 day before my friends and I did. He said something like "What the heck am I working so hard for?"... yah.. poor thing... He stayed overnight on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well trying to finish up the lab. This is one example that hardwork not necessarily equates to success....
Anyway, today they just gave us another lab assignment. My brain was in a deadlock again and I felt super sleepy that I actually took a nap. After that, my friends and I rushed back to our TQ so that we could take a good rest then work on the labs tomorrow. The labs are really tiring. I wonder how long will this 3rd lab take..... Not only that, my brain is becoming more and more like a computer. Java was already making my brain to think in a very systematic way... Assembly language is the ultimate so far... think in numbers... when I no longer look at "The Matrix" in the same way again because I have taken the red pill and understand how to read Hexadecimal operation codes for IBM ESA/390 like 1A 23 means add register 2 and register 3....... goodness... :S
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Week 4 ending....
After today, it would mark the end of my fourth week here in Chennai. It has already been 1 month! Wow..... 5 and a 1/2 more months to go before I leave India. Time seem to be passing quite fast now that I have a lot of homework to do. There are lots of assignments and lab work. It feels just like my first year in NUS again. Not only that, the things they are teaching us is very much similiar to what I've learnt before.
All throughout the lessons so far, I was trying hard to recall what was taught by my lecturers in my first year. Concepts taught in 2nd year and 3rd year are rarely used. Now I can follow all the other working ppl who always say that only take the basics out of uni, the rest of the stuff taught is useless. Ironically, the two modules which I was quite weak in my first year - CS1102 (Data structures & Algo) and CS1104 (Computer Organization). A lot of concepts about computer memory access, how computers work and all the binary and hexadecimal numbers are coming back to haunt me. It has turned from my weakness to something that I must conquer else I will have to start looking for another company liao.
Class is starting to become less noisy. I think my classmates have become less enthusiastic about asking redundant questions. This is because the more questions they ask, although make them look impressive but our working hours would be extended until we can complete the sessions. We are on a very tight schedule and must complete by Dec 26th. I think they are having some projects that urgently need people so they want to make sure we grasp all the concepts quickly and can work immediately after that.
AIESEC Chennai's Diwali Night
Yesterday I finally met up with the AIESECers and trainee in Chennai. AIESEC in Chennai had organized a Diwali night for the trainees. I was so happy to meet them. The feeling was like I know these people very well and not strangers. The setting was so familiar. It made me feel quite at home. AIESECers here talk about the same thing - welfare of trainees. The Financial Controller going around getting money from the AIESECers and helping to assign a trainee buddy to the newly arrived trainee, etc. After the normal AIESEC event, trainees have their own trainee party gathering nearby to send off another trainee. It was very very nice to be with people of the same group again.
I met a Taiwan guy who was so happy to see me. His first reaction was like "Do you speak Chinese?". I replied in Mandarin and he was overjoyed. He exclaimed that in his 7months here I'm the 2nd guy from "The Far East" that he met in Chennai. Anyway, other than that I "interviewed" the trainees on their weekend activities. They travel alot during weekends - leave from work on Friday evening, take overnight bus/train and go straight to work on Monday morning. It is very tiring but they say it is worth the trip. I'm looking forward to joining them once my trainings are over. Muahahaha.....
Anyway, think this will be all for my summary of this week although I have more to say but my surfing time is almost up. I'll update again another time. By the way, I have work tomorrow (>_<).... it's a Sunday.... gosh.....
All throughout the lessons so far, I was trying hard to recall what was taught by my lecturers in my first year. Concepts taught in 2nd year and 3rd year are rarely used. Now I can follow all the other working ppl who always say that only take the basics out of uni, the rest of the stuff taught is useless. Ironically, the two modules which I was quite weak in my first year - CS1102 (Data structures & Algo) and CS1104 (Computer Organization). A lot of concepts about computer memory access, how computers work and all the binary and hexadecimal numbers are coming back to haunt me. It has turned from my weakness to something that I must conquer else I will have to start looking for another company liao.
Class is starting to become less noisy. I think my classmates have become less enthusiastic about asking redundant questions. This is because the more questions they ask, although make them look impressive but our working hours would be extended until we can complete the sessions. We are on a very tight schedule and must complete by Dec 26th. I think they are having some projects that urgently need people so they want to make sure we grasp all the concepts quickly and can work immediately after that.
AIESEC Chennai's Diwali Night
Yesterday I finally met up with the AIESECers and trainee in Chennai. AIESEC in Chennai had organized a Diwali night for the trainees. I was so happy to meet them. The feeling was like I know these people very well and not strangers. The setting was so familiar. It made me feel quite at home. AIESECers here talk about the same thing - welfare of trainees. The Financial Controller going around getting money from the AIESECers and helping to assign a trainee buddy to the newly arrived trainee, etc. After the normal AIESEC event, trainees have their own trainee party gathering nearby to send off another trainee. It was very very nice to be with people of the same group again.
I met a Taiwan guy who was so happy to see me. His first reaction was like "Do you speak Chinese?". I replied in Mandarin and he was overjoyed. He exclaimed that in his 7months here I'm the 2nd guy from "The Far East" that he met in Chennai. Anyway, other than that I "interviewed" the trainees on their weekend activities. They travel alot during weekends - leave from work on Friday evening, take overnight bus/train and go straight to work on Monday morning. It is very tiring but they say it is worth the trip. I'm looking forward to joining them once my trainings are over. Muahahaha.....
Anyway, think this will be all for my summary of this week although I have more to say but my surfing time is almost up. I'll update again another time. By the way, I have work tomorrow (>_<).... it's a Sunday.... gosh.....
Thursday, November 10, 2005
IT and India (Chennai)
At almost every corner here in Chennai, one can easily find posters or advertisements about private schools teaching J2EE, .Net, Java, C++, C and the other popular programming languages. Newspaper advertisements also. IT jobs make up a large portion of the classified ads compared to business-related jobs here in Singapore.
The place where I'm working now is at a city/town or whatever you call it (in Tamil, it is Nagar), Thiruvanmiyur has a lot of developments going on. Currently, there are 3 big buildings there. Tidel Park, El-Net Software City (where I work) and Ascendas. There are a few more buildings coming up. The place is supposed to be called "IT-corridor". The roads at the moment are narrow and with certain sections flooded. It makes me wonder how this place will be 10years from now. Clean, good roads, proper shelters and street lights? Only time will tell.... My friend thinks that it won't be as nice as we would expect it to be. The people contracting this development might just drop the project halfway. Who knows?
Anyway, everyday I walk from my office to Tidel Park (about 10mins walk) for lunch. It is quite a hassle but I have no choice because there is a lousy canteen at my office. Tidel Park has a better food court and more variety. Not only that there's also a money changer, a bookshop, a pharmacy and plenty of ATM machines. This place is not as nice as Raffle's City but this is a good place. I can't complain much. :P
The place where I'm working now is at a city/town or whatever you call it (in Tamil, it is Nagar), Thiruvanmiyur has a lot of developments going on. Currently, there are 3 big buildings there. Tidel Park, El-Net Software City (where I work) and Ascendas. There are a few more buildings coming up. The place is supposed to be called "IT-corridor". The roads at the moment are narrow and with certain sections flooded. It makes me wonder how this place will be 10years from now. Clean, good roads, proper shelters and street lights? Only time will tell.... My friend thinks that it won't be as nice as we would expect it to be. The people contracting this development might just drop the project halfway. Who knows?
Anyway, everyday I walk from my office to Tidel Park (about 10mins walk) for lunch. It is quite a hassle but I have no choice because there is a lousy canteen at my office. Tidel Park has a better food court and more variety. Not only that there's also a money changer, a bookshop, a pharmacy and plenty of ATM machines. This place is not as nice as Raffle's City but this is a good place. I can't complain much. :P
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Summary of week 3
My trainings have officially started on Wednesday. Day 1 was just introduction by the HR manager on the purpose of the course and the need to adhere strictly to the timings. We were not allowed to take leaves and our Saturdays were taken away from us. In addition, we were told that Sunday holiday is optional because most of us will still go back to office anyway because we might not be able to complete our homework fast enough. One of my friends calculated the number of hours that we have to work and the pay that we are getting and concluded that we are earning the same amount or even less than Mc Donalds' part time job. Can I have your order? Egg Mc Muffin? Big Breakfast?
My classmates are.... interesting.. as in typical top-class students? They love class participation. They love to try and silence whoever is trying to answer the question and propose their own solution. Most of all, they love to "help complete the sentence of the teacher". All 3 of us from NUS were ... well... typical NUS students - keeping quiet. Hahaha... of course at the end of the day, we were just amazed at how they were so enthusiastic to answer even if what they say have no relevance to the question. -.-"
Some of them just say something extra or ask chiem questions which is of no help to the course or will be better explained next time when we learn more. It is as if they are trying to show that they are very capable and very intelligent which I think I shall not comment on. I think if I find out their grades in high school and uni, I'll have to cover my face and hide in one corner. :P
But.. I'm not intimidated by them. They maybe very smart but I doubt that it would matter a lot. Hahaha.. Don't know lah, 6months down the road see how.... where will I be then?
My classmates are.... interesting.. as in typical top-class students? They love class participation. They love to try and silence whoever is trying to answer the question and propose their own solution. Most of all, they love to "help complete the sentence of the teacher". All 3 of us from NUS were ... well... typical NUS students - keeping quiet. Hahaha... of course at the end of the day, we were just amazed at how they were so enthusiastic to answer even if what they say have no relevance to the question. -.-"
Some of them just say something extra or ask chiem questions which is of no help to the course or will be better explained next time when we learn more. It is as if they are trying to show that they are very capable and very intelligent which I think I shall not comment on. I think if I find out their grades in high school and uni, I'll have to cover my face and hide in one corner. :P
But.. I'm not intimidated by them. They maybe very smart but I doubt that it would matter a lot. Hahaha.. Don't know lah, 6months down the road see how.... where will I be then?
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Happy Diwali
Today is Diwali Holiday. Diwali here feels like Chinese New Year in Brunei. The people have been playing firecrackers non stop since Friday night (after the cyclone). Nothing much to do today except stay in and watch tv.
It is very scary to be walking along the streets during Diwali season. Suddenly someone might just set a firecracker in front of you. Very dangerous. It is worse when I saw a bunch of kids with firecrackers. Who knows one of them might just be "happy" enough to try blowing up a firecracker at Chinese man just for the kick of it?
Unlike S'pore or Brunei, there are no "sales" during Diwali season. I thought it would be similar. Shopping is not the same here. No special Diwali offers. Prices are just the same or even more expensive to take advantage of consumers. Ok lah, that'll be all from me this time. I realise that I have been writing super long essays. This is not good. In A Levels, my GP teacher told me to KISS (Keep it short and simple) my work. In University, my communications lecturer said to KISS (Keep it short stupid!). People hate reading essays. I bow down to all those who finished reading my long winded talk below... Hahahaa
It is very scary to be walking along the streets during Diwali season. Suddenly someone might just set a firecracker in front of you. Very dangerous. It is worse when I saw a bunch of kids with firecrackers. Who knows one of them might just be "happy" enough to try blowing up a firecracker at Chinese man just for the kick of it?
Unlike S'pore or Brunei, there are no "sales" during Diwali season. I thought it would be similar. Shopping is not the same here. No special Diwali offers. Prices are just the same or even more expensive to take advantage of consumers. Ok lah, that'll be all from me this time. I realise that I have been writing super long essays. This is not good. In A Levels, my GP teacher told me to KISS (Keep it short and simple) my work. In University, my communications lecturer said to KISS (Keep it short stupid!). People hate reading essays. I bow down to all those who finished reading my long winded talk below... Hahahaa
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