Greetings from Sungai Petani, Kedah

Wow! It has been a hectic couple of weeks. Work’s crazy but I’ve learnt so much these two months compared to the last two years when I was stuck in Petronas. So really, I’m not complaining *smiles*. Let’s look at my itinerary from here on:

• Will be back from Sungai Petani in a couple of hours
• Tomorrow and the day after will be conducting training in Bangi
• Saturday and Sunday will be at Port Dickson for company’s annual trip *so cheap-o hor, PD only… sigh, though I think I’ll definitely enjoy myself for the Treasure Hunt and Hawaiian night*
• Monday will be back in Bangi for a final day of training

Whar… look at that. And to think I’ve already been assigned to Infineon Malacca Project and the team has started prep work about 3 weeks back *pant pant* Typing this all out is making me tired. Bet reading it made you fall asleep, right? *giggle*

I was in for a nice surprise when I got here. Have never been here before, so I thought, “What kind of an ‘Ulu’ place did my company send me to this time?” *LOL* Honestly, it’s quite nice here – I’ll rate it as ‘around the same par of development’ as Kajang. The only weird thing is my hotel – am staying at Park Avenue that does not have a swimming pool, nor a gym, but they have a bowling alley :P And then, at 6:00 a.m. they switch this annoying pipe music that *boinks* me awake *shake head*.

Colleagues here are very laid back and friendly. A user brought me out for dinner and a Sungai Petani come Alor Setar tour. Pity me cause I’m a ‘jakun’ in Kedah *nyek nyek*. Funny guy… he brought me to see paddy fields and when he deliberately stopped in front of a railway crossing when he should’ve took another turn, I had to ask, “Err… excuse me… but what are you doing?” He SINCERELY thought that born and bred city girl like me have never seen paddy fields and trains before…ahhahahahahahah! *wipe tears from eyes*

Another embarrassing incident was when I was hanging out at the bowling alley and 4 guys approached me. Two were locals, and I think the other two were from Japan. I *poofed* immediately when they started to ask for my room number *so scaryyyy*. The next morning, I went to enquire at the reception area where my taxi was and this Japanese uncle approached me and said, “Why don’t I fetch you to work?” Haihh… needless to say, I *poofed* again and ran to the nearest taxi available. In the cab I was wondering, “Whar… I’m here for less than 24 hours - these Japanese men in Sungai Petani so scary. They’re not even like this in KL” When I stepped into the Sharp office, suddenly I saw the Japanese uncle. *slaps forehead* Turned out, he was the GM from Sharp, Japan who saw me around the previous day and was kind in offering to give me a ride. Sigh… what a big boo boo. Mistook a kind uncle for a pervert. And he HAD to be a GM…. *boo hoo hoo…*

Eh, I better pack up… else I’m going to miss my flight.

I’m going home… home… hoMEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Twas a tiring but fulfilling weekend…

Thank goodness I had plentiful of rest on Saturday :P Sunday morning started off with an amazingly high note after basking in His presence during worship in church. After morning service, I had to quickly grab lunch *gobble gobble gobble* before assembling *rush rush rush* at Banner of God Church at Kota Damansara. It’s a month’s old church birthed from FGA church. It’s missions week *Wheeeee!!!!*

After a short briefing and prayer time we were off to Ulu Langat again. The team received a warm welcome and it was really cute having the kids shout at the top of their lungs, * “Selamat Datang, kakak Juan!!!” (*translation: “Welcome, big sis Juan!”) *giggle* There’s Darren reading passages on ‘spiritual fruits’ from Bible. It was really interesting how the familiar passages sound in Indonesian language :p

After a time of worship, the teaching was Gates of Jericho - the gates were kept shut to keep the Israelites out. To capture the city, the Lord had asked Joshua and his soldiers to march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times while the priests blew the trumpets. Then, they were to sound one long note, the people were to give a loud shout, and city walls will collapse. What an amazing miracle! The people in Jericho must have thought these soldiers were idiots circling their city like musicians :P And so, we got the team act as the walls whilst the giggly kids circle round, sounding their make-believe trumpets. What a riot when the walls collapsed, “Oi! Careful that your ass doesn’t fall on the kids!”

Aww… the kids had so much fun coloring the Jericho fort. They built a game using two pieces of paper - the first piece was a picture of the fort with some holes cut for the second piece to turn around like the soldiers circling the city. The funniest thing that happened was, I was shocked by this chicken that came into the house pecking away at my crayons *LOL*

Then, it’s chow-time. It’s so easy to get a smile from these children, just need to serve them with something sweet. Heh… there he goes serving everyone with his mum’s cheesecake. Err… afraid that he might need to bring them home, perhaps? Naaa… it was very yummy *grin*

Ooo… I want to show off the little toddler that capture my heart *flutter flutter* That’s a quarter of me peeking out at the side. Eh? I remember making a mental note to myself that this trip, I was going to snap some photos of their water source and their toilet. They get 24-hour refreshingly cold, clean water from a source that connects straight to their pipe. And their toilet… had no doors! Ahahahahah! *LOL* We need to stand guard outside for each other. The last time, I was standing guard when suddenly a two year old rushed in before I could catch him and I heard a scream, “AAAAAaaa!”

We managed to get back early so I decided to pop over to Ian’s place for Uncle David’s (Ian’s dad) birthday celebration. Whar… would you just look at the spread on the table? It was a pot-bless and I think everyone outdid themselves (with ‘me’ as the exception, cause I just brought my tummy) kee kee… There goes my diet!!! Never mind… 1 hour of gym today. *wink!* Ahhh… slept with a full stomach last night… has been 2 months since my stomach felt so satisfied going to bed… mmmhhhhhh…

It wouldn’t be a night at Ian’s place if there was no karaoke. Okay, apart from the 'constipated' expression on Ian’s face *giggle*, the atmosphere caught in the picture DOES look kinda dead, right? Hrmph! What to do? I’m the one holding the camera… couldn’t very well capture myself doing the Britney Spears movements …ahahhahaha.

Happy Birthday Uncle David!!! Would you just look at the picture… the Lau family all grinning from ear to ear. So obvious where Ian gets his smiling genes from, right?

Ah, yes… me doing the cake-cutting. Juan, the official cake cutter. For the past three years, I have officially carried the title proudly as the Mess-Free, Perfectly-Portion-Sliced Cake Cutter *ta-daa!*

We sha-la-la-la-laaad until about midnight and were forced to go home cause needed to get to work the next day. Ian was boo-ed when he asked, "Anyone wants coffee?" Hrmph... easy for him to say, he's the only one who doesn't need to work the next day >:P Poor Lavender had a 5:30am shift. Lavender, if you’re reading this… “5:30am shift wor, not scared of ghost meh?” Ga-ahahahahhahaah!

Ahhh… am… dead… tired… but… feeling… extremely… happy… *snoreeeee…*

I remember a year back when everyone decided to go separate ways; we were so bummed cause we weren’t going to see each other every week anymore. Who would’ve thought that our friendships now are so much stronger? Perhaps, now there’s no pressure to bond; we actually take the effort to keep in touch; but most of all, we keep in touch because we just love being with each other. Sigh… strange how things ALWAYS work out in the end, doesn’t it? :D

Leo Ku Concert at Arena of Stars, Genting

There’s a saying – A picture is worth a thousand words ;) *thanks Irene, for the photos* So, here they are…

Stage Setting - impressive, with fireworks and laser displays.

He emerges from an underground platform.

Comic like character with fighter outfit and bright blue hair. Very kawa-iiii.

Romantic number with angel-winged like mike pedestal.

Would you just look at that emotion-filled eyes… *sigh*

Outfit he wore during the encore. Look at those legs!!! *phew-phitttt!!!*

Apart from the great performance he gave, I loved the cheeky rapport he establishment with his audience.

Leo Ku: I trained like crazy for these dance steps. Wasn’t it great?!?
Crowd: YeahhhhhhHH!!!! *cheer cheer*
Leo Ku: My dancing was better than Aaron Kwok, right?!?
Crowd: YeahhhhhhHH!!! *cheer cheer*
Leo Ku: Sighhh…. Bunch of liars :P
*giggle*

Of course, it helped when the crowd was ultra-responsive to everything he said. We cheered! We did the Mexican wave! *LOL* The most heart-felt moment was when he shared, “It took me 11 years to have my first world tour. I have awaited this moment for 11 years… I’m not going to cry tonight. Leo Ku’s a big boy now…” Sigh… who could forget his ‘teary-years’ when he first started out in the music scene..?

After the karaoke-ed encore session, Leo left the stage, backup singers and musicians left the stage, lights came on, exit doors were wide open, most of the crowd just refused to budge and cheered… and cheered... and err, cheered. And cheered somemore! *Wow!* We kind of ‘forced’ him to get back on stage and he said, “Lights are on and Exit doors are opened. Why aren’t you leaving????!!!?” *giggle*

Star-ry star-ry night… mmmmhhhhh….

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

Happy Merdeka Day everyone!
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Yay! That would also mean Happy Merdeka to me too!
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Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! My fast is OVER!!!! Wheeeeee!!!

Ahhh… so, yesterday was a public holiday for us Malaysians celebrating our Day of Independence. I wanted to blog about how much and why I love my country but after my previous extremely long post, I decided to make this one short and sweet ;)

Fast’s over and so, what did I do yesterday? *giggle* Woke up, went to gym, off to brunch. And then *ta-daa!!!* I watched anime the whole afternoon till it was time for dinner *smirk!*

I finally sunk my teeth into HAI BANE REN MEI; a 13 episode anime about Haibare, angelic-like beings. Summary from box - "Rakka becomes the newest Haibare, after she awakens from a strange dream and finds herself hatching from a massive cocoon. With no memories from her previous life, Rakka struggles to adjust to her new surroundings, however burning questions remain in the back of her mind. What is Hibare and what is their purpose? What lies beyond that huge, forbidden town walls? Thus, Rakka begins her wistful journey of self-discovery and wonderment."

At night, I turned on the TV and *gasp!* watched an hour of Love Story in Harvard, Korean serial drama. *LOL!* Ehh… I thought fasting supposed to help kick the addiction? :P Arr… I’ll worry about that later, after I finish watching Naruto’s latest episodes given by Victor. *nyek nyek!* >:-)

Aiya, give me a break, k? 40 days liao without my much-needed entertainment-wor… Oh yeah, what’re the updates on Malaysian Idol 2?? Tell… Tell…

:P

Tough weekend

Admin: Juan, we’ve scheduled you to go for an interview next Monday afternoon.
Me: Interview?
Admin: At Shell, for a HR support post – Payroll and Time module.
Me: Huh? Support? Payroll & Time? But I don’t have experience in these modules.
Admin: Drop by the office first so that Steven (one of my directors) can brief you.

I was happily co-training at RHB on Friday evening thinking of the soon-to-come weekend, when I received a call from my office’s Resource Administrator. Happy weekend thoughts ended as a series of emotions seeped in. I first felt really angry with my company. During my appraisal end of last year while I was still in Petronas, it took a lot of courage for me to tell management how I felt. There were two things that were requested:

• No more Security assignments. For more than three years I’ve been building my resume in a direction that I do not enjoy. I’ve become so marketable, that once I’ve been offered a position to earn US$9k per month. That’s quite a lot of money - but I’ve decided to continue in a junior position in my current company cause I wanted an opportunity to switch to HR functional.
• No more support work. Two years plus in a support environment has caused enough boredom and frustration. Feeling bored cause Security is b-o-r-i-n-g and support is s-l-o-w. Feeling frustrated cause I could see my juniors learning the ropes faster as they move from project to project. Though I learnt much during this support period, I believe I could be so much more in a project – by having the stress to complete an assignment within a given time frame.

The admin had the nerve to tell me that they were considering to slot me in for a Security interview. I swear I nearly screamed at her, “Do you want a on-the-spot RESIGNATION LETTER?!?!?” If I wanted another security assignment, I would’ve just said “Yes” to any of those head-hunters that were bugging me all the time!

Learning that I was going to go for an interview in Shell really sucked – BIG TIME. Shell assignments had this reputation of being a black hole; once a person gets hired, their contract will be renewed endlessly. Juan stuck in a black hole doing support?????!!??? *Aarrrghhhhh!* Please… no more support… I don’t want to waste anymore time waiting around for issues to pop up in my mailbox… I want to be in a project! Support teaches bits and pieces but never the full picture. I want to finally have a HR module under my belt – a module that I could really claim to be an expert in.

The biggest joke of all was, me being marketed by the company to Shell as a Payroll and Time (Leave Management) expert. Where as, I know nuts about these modules. Fine, I know about their full processes. And err, maybe whatever that’s in the SAP help file. But I had no configuration experience whatsoever – you can hardly call that an expert :P So, what was I supposed to do? LIE?!?!?

After the anger subsided, I got over the disappointment of my company's insensitive planning towards my career direction and began to reason with myself. “Wait a minute, Juan. You’re being called to an interview. You’re in control of whether Shell would like to hire you or not. Just flunk the technical interview lar”

*insert evil thoughts*. Sigh…

After much turmoil within self, I came to a conclusion that in everything that I did I need to have a clear conscience. A clear conscience towards self. And a clear conscience towards my employer. And so, I picked up whatever materials I could and studied throughout the weekend preparing for the technical interview. I cannot believe my professionalism… Imagine how my weekend was – preparing my hardest for something that I didn’t want. *sometimes I hate myself*

Missed church on Sunday *sigh*. Missed Orang Asli settlement outreach as well *double sigh*. Really great that my cell group members messaged me, being concerned with my absence. And when I told them about my preparation for an interview, I really didn’t know how to react with their, “Good luck for your interview” messages *headache*. But still, am comforted *hugz*.

It’s Monday afternoon – dreaded interview time. Honestly, I was more shaken going for that ‘briefing’ with Steven than going for the technical interview. After pouring out my grievances, I felt that I had indeed handled the situation the best I could. At that point, I knew that the interview had already been scheduled and there was no turning back regardless of how I felt. So, my only concern was to do well for the interview - if the results were successful, I know that my days with this company would not be long. But at least, I would have a clear conscience that I had given my best.

Let me share this principle that I’ve learnt - I take my job seriously as I feel that in small ways, I represent Christ in the marketplace. This weekend, even though every inch of my self-righteous ego screamed out in disappointment, I had chosen to honor Him by doing what is right. The result?

As a consultant going for an interview, we need to market ourselves, choosing our words wisely to project ourselves as an ‘expert’. Turned out - Jonathan, an ex-colleague was my interviewer *gasp!*. He was my senior when I was with RHB Bank 3 years ago. He took one look at me and knew that the ‘Juan’ he knew wasn’t a Payroll and Time expert. Glancing at my resume, he could see that the only experience I had as a HR consultant was with Alam Flora, which started this year. The other interviewer Sharon, was excited when she browsed through my resume and straight away asked, “Juan, we have an opening for Security. Would you be interested?” *faints*

After the interview Jonathan took me aside and told me, “I really admire you for pursuing the career path that you want. As a friend, I’m telling you that this environment is not suitable for someone that’s starting out. You’ll suffer if you get in. You might still have a chance. But I’m telling you that it’s slim…”

And so, as I had honored Christ, He had honored me. He gave me an ex-colleague to conduct the interview. There was no need for lies - my conscience is clear towards myself. I had given my best by preparing the best I could – my conscience is clear towards my employer *hugs self*. Company’s going to be a bit bummed when they hear about it later, of course they would – cause that’s RM1k per day less profit for them. But in the long run, given the proper growth opportunities, I’m confident that I’ll make up for their losses :D