One week at a time

Time slips. Very Fast.
So before more time slips through my fingers, here's a short recap of my previous week.

Movie Marathon.
It started off with a normal Monday night. The usual TV fanfare was on , Desperate Housewives followed by Las Vegas. Decided to watch 'Naruto - the Movie' instead on my 14 inch TV. Played like one of the Naruto episodes where Naruto and his team mates goes off somewhere for an adventure, Naruto attempts to befriend a lonely character who initially hated his guts and brashness, Naruto eventually wins her over with his 'never-say-die', Naruto takes a beating and still fights on, Naruto beats the big baddie with one of his speciality move, all this while his other side cast er .. I mean team mates watch, prance around and fall over the place as usual.

Tuesday night, watched 'LOTR's - The Return of the King'. Had bought the Trilogy VCD earlier at IMM. Called it a night after the Ghostly Oathbreakers decided to rid Minas Tirith off its filth.

It was another two rounds of movies in the weekend. On Saturday, watched 'War of the Worlds' with Vicky at Marina Square. A good watch if one do not expect modern-aged body-snatching aliens and can tolerate annoying little kids with a knack for screeming, arguing and running off at every given opprotunity. A good family drama though, true to the classic tale.

On Sunday it was 'Fantastic Four' with Wee Loong and Patrick. An entertaining popcorn movie with lots of humour and special effects. Love what they did to Ben Grimm. Not a classic but maybe worth a weekday tikcet price($7) instead.

Now Reading
Got a few books on my hands now. Got to stop going to the Library just to make sure I finish my current stash before moving on.
About one fifth through Spore's founding father's 'From the Third World to First'. Also just finished Robert Jordan's 'the Shadow Rising', fourth book in the Wheel of Time Series, and now moving to the fifth, 'the Fires of Heaven'. My new book, Paulo Coelho's 'the Zahir' is still waiting for me.

Time off
My parents and younger sis are now in Bradford, UK while I blog. They'll be visiting London and then Paris next. Well, my parents do deserve the break and trip out of M'sia. This is their first time out of South East Asia. Wish I was there though. But will probably only disrupt their holidaying plans by insisting that we spend more time in Manchester.

I will be going off on a mini trip this weekend though. Heading to Frasers Hill with a few friends just to get away from the bustle of the city. A short refreshing break in the clouds will definitely clear the brain clogs and lower the blood pressure ... I hope. Will blog more about it when I return.

Ta ta ...

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"Arise, airse, Riders of Theoden!

Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!

spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,

a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"

Theoden King of the Mark

Tangerine

Whoa, July is here. That means I'm half way through 2005 and I've not started with any of my resolutions. This blog does not count as it was a spontaneous act. Hmmm to think of it ... did I make any in the first place ? *scratch head* Anyway I just know that 2005 has slipped by too fast for me, better make each day count before I get any older. Not too late to make resolutions I hope ...

Oh yeah, had read this book by Colin Cheong called 'Tangerine' , supposed to be a 'Singapore Literature Prize Winner' in 1996. Chanced upon it at the New Book Section (well it was a 2005 edition) at Jurong Pt Library. It was by the entrance and I was returning a book when I found it there. A very good read. A Simple story, you see the tale through the eyes (and mind) of our main character, Nick, as he travels through Vietnam, experiencing the people and place while discovering himeslf in the process. It is a tale that many including me can relate to. Here are some wonderful excerpts from the book.

On friendship.
" The feeling had begun at Nee's wedding. But it had not been for her nor for fact that she was married. It was for the company that sat around him. They were all friends from college, student councillors who had shared a year so intense they thought it would bind them all forever. But they had been only 17 then and they sat together that night at 28, bound by a common thread so thin it was gettihng hard to see why they were still invited to each other's weddings. No one was unfriendly, no eye or heart was cold, but the distance was showing. They has all moved on,experienced other things as intense or more so, with other people. Few kept in touch regularly and weddings had become a rallying point for most ... "

On experiencing humanity in travels :
"Nick was really sorry he knew no Vietnamese and wished that he could say more than his name, his destination, his country and his age. But a kind of camaradarie had formed among the passengers and he was included. Even though no words were exchanged, Nick felt good about it and realised after a while that he had not felt lonely since leaving Saigon ... He was still a foreigner and an object of curiousity, but he was no longer a stranger to them after 14 hours, four pee stops, two meal stops and a very trying ride. "

Dreaming of Vietnam now ...

'mee hoon kueh' at amk

At first it was just a casual meet-up at Ang Mo Kio Central for a late lunch, but at the last hour, Gek Ju decided to entice us to meet at her house instead by offering to prepare a sumptious meal of 'mee hoon kueh' (you know .... pices of flour cooked with soup, ikan,eggs and vege). So taking up the offer (since her place is only a stone's throw away from AMK central), Loo, Henry and myself, armed with a comb of bananas and box of jackfruit as how should I put it ... 'buah tangan', we trudged over to her flat. At her door we were greeted by Gek Ju's excited daughters, one enthusiastic one terified, by the presence of three old (relative to their age of course) uncles.

After the usual greetings, exchange of news and banter, we were served the promised bowls of hot steaming 'mee hoon kueh'. It tasted better with slices of chili dipped in light sauce and the accompanying side-cast of scrambled eggs and ikan bilis. After the hearty meal, we had our compulsory cups of coffee ( though we had to settle for nescafe 3-in-1), just like what we used to have during our post-lunch sessions. We shared news of our own separate lives, our current jobs, moving on to our favourite subject - our old company and more importantly the interesting and familiar people that fuels our gossips and keeps the(our) thread of common interest alive.

A common background - Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
My first job after graduating from NUS. My first and only job offer. I was taken in as a equipment engineer. Sounded like a job suited for a mechanical engineer , you know ... equipment - machines - mechanical parts, it looked like a logical transition to me. On the first day at work, Norman, my senior engineer took me on the standard plant tour and then after that conveniently threw me a machine manual to keep me busy. So began my introduction to the world of semiconductors, leaded ICs, ball-grid-arrays, pick n place robotic arms, downtime-setup time, coplanarity problems, FMEA - GTR - PCDF - PMA , Ops Meeting, Weekly presentations, office politics, improvement projects, machine troubles, etc...

I left the company in 2003, after spending three years there. I still miss my wacky colleagues, the morning breakfast, pantry breaks, and occasional after-work drinking sessions. Well, got to move on...

in the office

Ode to the Sun

Come watch with me the shaft of fire that glows

In yonder West: the fair, frail palaces,

The fading Alps and archipelagoes,

And great cloud-continents of sunset-seas.

- Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Sonnet--Miracles

Sunset by the boardwalk 18.06.05

An evening walk on the eastern coast,

On wooden boards and sandy shores,

Before we start so none can boast,

A walk so short we had no sores.

Four took the stroll with grit and spirit,

Over 'cliffs' , 'kelongs' and fishing grounds,

Pass a rocky post fit for a wedding pose,

And round shady trees and grassy mounds.

The fiery sun soon clambered down,

From the high throne of the heavenly halls,

Painting the skies in bright golden brown,

As it slowly fades into a reddish ball.

Even before the light goes out,

The pale white moon ascends the skies,

In the dying glows, we headed back,

To seek for ice-cold juice and coconut rice.

The Godfather

No, this post isn't about Mario Puzo's best selling novel or Francis Ford Copolla's film about the Corleone Mafia dynasty, it's about me, yeah, as a Godfather (don't laugh) to my two month old nephew, Joshua. He's a cute lil' fellow, with chubby cheeks and a great crop of hair. Just look at these series of photos that I took of him.

So we, immediate family and close friends, were gathered at St.Francis Xavier Church, Melaka at 11:30am, Sunday, 5th June 2005 to witness and participate in the baptism of our latest family member.

Here's a definition of baptism in our Catholic context ....

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),[4] and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."[5]

And here are some photos ...

Mel and Josh A Family Portrait

After the baptism, we took a few snapshots before going out for a hearty lunch to celebrate the event. Well, now being a Godfather to my nephew, I have an added responsiblity other than being the doting uncle, I have to share in the responsibility of guiding him in the Christian way. Cross my fingers, I will do alright ...