final payment...

with this invoice and receipt, i've finally paid up the whole sum required for my four year degree course of mechanical engineering in UNITEN. the total tuition fee alone costs about rm 40k in total.

this post is just a reminder for myself on the amount of money invested to be an engineer... i hope i do not waste it... =)

Motorola IVEC 2007 : part 1

ourlast weekend i joined an engineering competition mainly sponsored by motorola (hence the title) for fun. it's held in the international islamic university (iium) in gombak from fri (12/01/07) to (14/01/07). basically, it's a group event and each university is only allowed to send in 2 teams. luckily for me, students of uniten aren't so keen in joining such competitions so i got the chance to represent my uni.

so, all i know about the competition before i left home for iium is the fact that it has three stages and each stage is an elimination round. but to be honest, the fact that the competition is gonna be held in iium interest me more. i've heard so much about this university that it fascinates me - the culture, the belief, the practice... ermm... i might sound a little bit racist here, but i assure you i am not... i am just curious...

so anyway, once i reached iium, the first thing that struck me is how beautiful the university is... i guess it has got the best location for a uni in malaysia with highlands as it's backdrop throughout the university...

ok... back to the competition, i was grouped with chuu liu (my batch, mech eng), pui leng (my batch, electrical eng) and siow yien (junior, electrical eng). i have to add here that we arrived in iium with totally no expectation whatsoever especially since we totally did not prepare ourselves. but when we heard that whoever advances to the second stage (top 10) will receive 500 bucks, it automatically became our target.

anyway, the first stage of the competition was divided into three parts:

- part one: problem solving. we were presented with a problem and then we were given one hour to solve it and present it to the motorola engineers.

- part two: practical test. this is where every member of the group will have to choose a task between c-programming, manual drawing, workshop and circuit lab work. i choose manual drawing as i was the most qualified in our team i guess.

- part three: a multiple choice quiz where every mistake will cost us a -1 point. this quiz covers everything from engineering questions to general knowledge to iq questions.

so, the day actually started well and after i presented our idea in the first part of stage one, i was quietly confident. but when the day went on and i sat for the practical test, my confidence shrunk. i thought i was good in manual drawing... but let's just say i'm totally wrong! that's not the worst part yet... when i sat for the mcq quiz, my confidence was virtually non-existent... at the end of it all, we were quite exhausted so we headed out of the campus to re-energize ourselves with a huge dose of mcdonald's! hahaha...

then, the next day arrived, the moment we were all waiting for... and guess what? after the first stage, we were in the fifth place! we're through to the second round! now the confidence is back and there's an air of anticipation among us... so we were now eagerly looking forward to the second stage...

and for the second stage of the competition, i'll continue with that in the next post... i know there's a possibility that next post to come after a few weeks, but it's almost 3am now and i've got a fully packed day tomorrow... so... good night!

here i am in iium! this is the main building of iium i think... well, it's the first building as we enter the gate and it looks kinda majestic...

the mosque in iium... i was told that it's the center point of the university and i would expect no less actually... but truth be told, it all looks really grand...

feeling blue...

i've been feeling a little bit on the down side the past couple of days. no idea why and although it's become something of a rarity these days, i still hate these mood swings. i can't control it as much as i can't control the sun giving way to the moon... but talking about it, even writing about it here makes me feel weak...

and i hate that feeling...

welcome 2007

i ushered in the new year with great caution and worry... 2007 could be a huge in both extremes - it might turn out to be the year that changed my life for the better or worse... in three months, i will be graduating and with that i will be faced with a list of decisions accompanied by many consequences... come to think of it, all my life, the choices that i had to make were rather straightforward and simple...

after my primary school, i applied for the best high school at the time and i was offered a place... after spm, i decided to challenge myself with stpm, a choice which i learnt to regret at first but i started to appreciate it more as time goes by... i've learnt a great deal from my 2 years spent in form 6... not particularly enriching my knowledge but more on the "real world" - i know, it's a little bit too cliche...

the choices set in front of me after my stpm were trimmed due to my pretty screwed-up result and also partly due to my stubbornness in wanting no less than to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering or chemical engineering... no more UM, USM, UTM and the likes... i was offered a place in Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn to do mech eng actually which i wasn't keen on enrolling - i was advised not to in fact by many ppl... i had to forget about private colleges and overseas education as well due to the financial situation.. therefore, i settled on applying for UNITEN and UTP, both being semi-private therefore affordable...

the choice of enrolling in UNITEN actually was made based on location more than anything else... i would have preferred UTP coz i actually had chemical engineering as my first choice and UNITEN only offered mechanical... but since UNITEN is just 25km away from home and about 5 thousand bucks cheaper per year, the choice is pretty much clear...

so far, i've got not much complaints... none at all actually... but in three months, the first and most obvious decision that i have to make is do i cont my studies or do i plunge head first into the working world? i know myself well enough to make the conclusion that once i start working, i can't sit my ass down to study anymore... but i do not want to blindly give up my pursuit in education that i look back 5 years from now and think to myself "what if?"... no... i do not want to regret any decision that i make now...

so what do i do? i haven't got the faintest idea... not yet anyway...

i'm back!

hey there...

i'm back home after one week in kota kinabalu with shell's gourami business challenge. it was loads of fun! anyway, more about that later...

right now, i'm finally into the last semester of my degree in uniten and it's actually going into it's 4th week now... i hope this last sem of mine will be nothing but smooth...

and finally new year is here... this new year will be kinda different as ly is no longer celebrating it with me... after 6 new year's eve with her, this year is definitely a little bit strange...

hmm... i know this entry is all a one-liner update, but i'm in a rush... i'll be spending new year's eve with my family this year and we'll be going of to port dickson in a couple of hours time... so i've got to start packing now...

i'll be back with more news bout the gourami challenge soon... and for now, i'll just leave you all with a group pic taken during my stay in kk...

industrial training part 1

here's a really belated post about my industrial training and my 3 month stay in penang... i'm not really in the mood to type a long post, therefore i'll let the pics do most of the talking... =)

first and foremost, this is where i work... it used to be agilent technologies alone but they kinda sold their semicon dept to avago technologies and they are currently sharing the same building... the working experience was beneficial i would say... it was valuable not in any technical sense but more in the sense that i was exposed to a real working environment - the "real world" as my supervisor would say...

and this is where i stayed... it cost 500 bucks a month but i shared it with 3 other uniten mates so it's 125 per person... it has 2 rooms, 1 bath, 1 toilet, a comfortable living room and kitchen and it even has a tiny balcony... not too bad and i got quite comfortable living there too... provided some memorable moments...

this here was my room for that 3 months... i slept on the top and as you can see, that's my comp... u didn't think i'd leave my comp at home for three months did you? i can't survive 3 months without my precious... =)

that place really ain't too bad... there's even a river view from my house... hehehe... and from the picture, you can see my ever trusty ride - the classic white proton saga... it's old but reliable (most of the time, anyway)...

hmm... i can't seem to post anymore pictures... i guess there is a limit on the size of each blog... so i'll make this a 2 part blog - second half coming right up!

can't forget (but life goes on...)

the events of nov the 3rd still lingers fresh in my memory. will i ever forget it ever happened? i doubt it... but i pray each night that i will have the courage somewhere in my heart to forgive them... in the meantime, life goes on...

sometime last week, a couple of days after my finals were over (i kinda lost track of time), i received a call from shell... well, good news i guess but i'm not really in the mod to rejoice right now... anyway i'll be flying to kota kinabalu on the 13th of dec to join the shell gourami business challenge... basically they (shell) will be bringing a group of asian undergraduates together to see how well we work together and how well we perform (i dun really know the tasks yet)... if we're good enough, they'll offer us a job... i'm not too optimistic right now but i'll just take it as a break... and if we're gonna be staying at any of the islands in sabah then it could turn out to be a splendid holiday... =)

hmm... my mind is blank... i guess that's it for now...

one more thing - i'm currently on my one month break which will be until the 11th of dec but i'll be rather busy this one month trying to complete my final year project... so i guess there's not much plan for having fun... =(

3rd November 2006

i have said that i will not post again till after my finals. but this is a date that i will remember for the rest of my life. on this day- my life, my family, my belief is changed and i doubt it will ever be the same again.

i would like to say that the change is a positive one. but sadly, there isn't a a worse change that i can think of at the moment. i wish i could pour out my feelings here but i will not. it saddens me to think that this will happen to me and my family.

at the moment, my heart aches as if i have lost a loved one... and i dun think it will ever heal...

another break?

it seems that every time i'm determined to start blogging frequently again, i'll post one entry and then take another long break from blogging... but it's not my fault!
my finals are around the corner... in four days time actually and my exam schedule this sem is simply just killing me... i've got one paper on the 2nd, 2 papers on the 8th and 1 paper on the 9th... i know it's just 4 papers but that 3 back to back papers is a bit too much for me to handle...

so i guess i'll be disappearing for another 2 weeks or so... rotten luck...

football pics...

this was my team during the third-fourth placing match penalties. it was disappointing to lose like this but we've gone beyond all expectations by reaching the semi-finals in the first place... and again, it was fun... =)

need to start somewhere...

at first, i was thinking of blogging about everything that happened in sequence... i mean from the time i stopped blogging till now... since i kinda stopped blogging at the end of my industrial training which was way back in june, that means i've got about 4 months of blogging to catch up and i think it will take me forever to do that. so instead of leaving everything backlogged, i might as well blog about the current happenings and blog about the things that i've missed when i have the time to...

anyway, here it goes...

the past weekend was supposed to be a bloody hectic one for me. i was supposed to have tests on thurs and fri, one programming assignment to hand in on friday, one project presentation on sat which weighs 25% of my total project and a football tournament in seremban on sat as well... packed huh?

well, things started kinda bad for me. i screwed up the paper on thurs - some really silly mistakes and some wrong definitions. then, the exam was postponed as well as the assignment due date (i've just completed the assignment). so, all of a sudden, my friday is free. that gave me some extra time to prepare for my presentation though...

then saturday came... i finished up my presentation slides at about 330am saturday morning and went to bed. i was supposed to print the slides at my dad's office but i was to lazy to go over at that time so i figured i might as well go to bed and wake up earlier to print my slides...

i woke up at 630, went over to my dad's office thinking that everything is going according to plan... i tried to open the gate and then... the key broke! can u believe it? the key broke in the lock! nevermind, i told myself... just stay cool... there must be an extra key at home... but... guess what - there is no extra key!

with that, my dad called one of his colleagues who were kind enough to bring the key over, let me into the office and i printed my slides. in the end, i was still late for the presentation but the lecturers for my session were quite 'selamba' so it was ok.

my presentation went on quite smoothly although i took 5 minutes more than the allocated time... the questions asked by the lecturers weren't to tough so i guess it's not too bad... anyway, after my presentation, it's time to PLAY!

=)

football... my personal drug of life...

i guess i need to start from the beginning about this tournament...

a while back (i forgot when exactly), i registered for this futsal tournament organized by my church in aid of the orang asli building project. i registered for fun actually and also because i haven't played in ages. at first i was thinking that it's gonna be a simple game, nothing serious. but i was shocked on the day of the tournament.

for the game, we just gave our particulars to the organizer and they divided us into our respective teams. this is to give everyone an equal opportunity (in terms of age, i guess). because we do not even know our teammates before that day and also because it's a church tournament, i didn't really have much expectation. but how wrong can i be...

the tournament was truly challenging and fun! there were extremely plenty of talented footballers and some were even state players... we had fun but i was a bit lacking physically as i haven't been playing for so long... anyway, in that tournament, my team won the silver medal! hahaha... my first futsal medal...

as a result of my performance during that tournament (hahaha... time for some self-praise) i was called to practice for the inter-church tournament which is scheduled for 14th october. honestly, i think i did perform pretty well during that futsal tournament, scoring more than a handful of goals... hehehe...

so, i went for the training as scheduled. but, this is the end of the fairy tale... i did not continue scoring freely... i did not play as well as i did during the futsal tournament... reason - we're playing field football... do you know when was the last time i put on my boots to play field football? that was like in 2002!

anyway, i still made it to the final team which is the reason why i rushed to seremban after my presentation last saturday. we made it to the semi in that tournament, losing on penalties in the third-fourth placing match. i guess i played ok in that tournament - the highlight being a sublime back pass... ok... enough self praise...

this whole football thing was good for me i guess. physically, my fitness has improved tremendously. comparing to the four years i've been in uniten, i guess i've never been as fit as this. realistically, i've also learnt that my football skills ain't that good. seriously, i once thought i could play anywhere... but not anymore...

no matter what, i still do enjoy the game and i always will... =)

i just realized something... this blog is getting way too long... i guess i'll stop here and continue on next time... i'll post a couple of pic on the football tournament soon... for now, i've got to prepare for the test tomorrow, the one i was supposed to have last friday...

so, how was my weekend? good or bad? i dunno... all i know for sure is that i enjoyed it... =)

ps: kam came back again... we went out for a drink, played some futsal... had fun... hehehe... i just wanted to mention his name so that he doesn't think that i forgot bout him again... =)

it's been too long...

hi folks... it's been a while since i last wrote anything here... and a hell lot of events have unfolded in that period of time in which i have disappeared...

the routine life of a student has returned but i guess the events of the past 3 or 4 months have changed my life indefinitely. i won't be writing a long post here as i've got a long day tomorrow and i'll need the rest tonight. however, let's just make a list of things which i would like to write about in the next few entries.

1) industrial training experience
2) final year project
3) langkawi trip
4) football
5) last but definitely the most important - ly

i would surely love to be able to post more frequently but with my schedule these days, i cannot guarantee any of that. but i will try to keep this blog alive. it is my personal space after all...

it's the end...

it's officially the end of my training...

=(

or should it be... =)

end of a chapter...

2 hour and 30 minutes more and my industrial training is coming to an end... it means much more than just the end of my training... it also means that i'll be going into my final year of studies...

will i further my studies after that? i don't know.

but if i don't further my studies, this will be my final year of classes. final year as a student. actually, i dun even have one year. i have about 8 months...

i'll try not to think of that now... back to my work... =)

final week

i'm into my final week of my industrial training in penang with agilent tech. more precisely, i've got 5 days left.

the past 3 months have definitely flew by. now that i'll be going back to the life i have been so accustomed with in kl, there is a hint of sadness in my heart. not sad really. it's more of a heavy hearted emotion. i've grown comfortable with life in penang. comfortable in the speed of life, comfortable in what i do everyday.

i think there is more adjustment required than anticipated when i return to kl. back to the hectic life of kl.

last 16 predictions

these are my predictions for those who will make it to the round of sixteen. feel free to place bets on these teams but if you lose any money, dun blame me... =)

actually, i would like to see teams like japan and the usa make it through to the next round as well. but i dun see japan making progress past brazil or australia. and usa definately could not compete with the likes of czech republic and italy. i'll have to wait till the 23rd of june to see how much i'm right (or wrong) with my predictions....

Group A
Germany
Ecuador

Group B
England
Sweden

Group C
Argentina
Holland

Group D
Portugal
Mexico

Group E
Czech Republic
Italy

Group F
Brazil
Australia

Group G
France
South Korea

Group H
Spain
Ukraine

ps: teams in italic i predict to win their respective groups.

lets hear the three lions roar!

one more day to end the 4 year wait. one more day to the greatest cup competition. one more day to the most hyped and anticipated football tournament. one more day to 1 whole month of football. =)

before the world cup kicks off, i just want to state that i'll be backing england all the way! i would've supported malaysia if one day they could make it through. anyway, i know england has their chances magnified by the press and ignorant supporters like me. i know they dun match the silky skills of brazil. but what the heck. football matches are always full of surprises. and you can't deny that this has got to be the most talented english team for some time now. so keeping my fingers crossed, i predict england vs brazil in the final! it could happen, right? by then, england would have to get by argentina, holland, germany or portugal. so i guess if they can beat those teams, they would stand a pretty good chance of making it to the semi or even the final.

ps: i would also like to see brazil, holland and portugal doing well. oh yeah, and definitely japan as well. =)

just for the record

06:06:06 @ 06/06/06

i just wanted to write something at this time and date to keep a record of this moment. some believes it to be the end of the world while some believes it to be the luckiest moment. whichever it is, the day did not start too bright for me and i'm not dead yet, so i guess it's just superstitous beliefs.

anyway, i've been away for some time as my training here at agilent has kept me surprisingly busy. and since i've got no internet connection at my temporary home now, i do not really have access to update my blog. a lot has happened though in the past 2 months but i will find the time to update it. slowly.

back to work.

a new revelation

last weekend was one of the very few weekends that i do not travel home to kl. and since i've got 2 days to burn with nothing particularly important to do, i decided to drive down to spend a couple of nights with my grandma. in making that trip, i ended up visiting my aunt (mum's sis) and my uncle (dad's bro) as well. oh yeah, and i actually bumped into my god-parents as well (haven't seen them in ages)...

well, this might sound normal to most of you but it's quite out of the ordinary for me. perhaps i should mention that i made all this visits on my own. what makes it weirder was the fact that all this bonding stuff was usually left to my sis. i'm always the cool, quiet kid that nobody notices. but i have to say, spending last weekend visiting my relatives was indeed worthwhile. there's a sense of satisfaction which i could not explain.

anyway, right now, i'm spending my working time blogging as my mood sucks. why? thank my supervisor. i dunno if i should discuss the details here. but anyhow, i guess once we start working, we've gotta have ppl skills as well right? gotta learn on ways to deal with ppl - superior or not - gotta just suck it up and get on with life. yup. it's nothing serious really, just felt as if i was wrongly blamed for some mistakes. =)

i want to cont my ramblings but i gtg cont my work... till next time then...

special moment?

01:02:03 04/05/06 (hour:minute:second dd/mm/yy)

these numbers have made it to the front page of the papers, were said to be special, have been circulated through mails and forwarded in sms'. true, they are special in the sense that these sequence will never happen again for the next thousand years. come to think of it, those of us living in this millennia will be going through many more of these 'special moments'. another one will be coming soon in the form of 06:06:06 06/06/06.

anyway, although i do not believe in any astrology or the stars and moon stuff, i do accept that it is not something we come across everyday. so wat were you doing at that very moment? me? i was on the phone with ly... =)