Off to France: Strategy, project management, communication etc.

Off to France tomorrow for the Erasmus Mundus Conference. Thanks to Amy for letting me know about it and encouraging to apply. Surprisingly they've selected my and Hedi's theses paper for one of the workshops and I'd have to deliver it in a 30 min presentation.

Whilst preparing for it, I recalled the summer of 2009, I was in the AIG offices in Milan with the Financial Lines department - I've been there for 3 weeks - it was August and the weather was surprisingly cool. Ferragosto is a quiet period for the Milanese but the team in the office never has a dull moment. and Solaro, Florian, Antonio and a few of the other guys have been super-cool to me. They've put me on the IT system to vet some contracts, taught me a bit about underwriting some of the products i.e. PI (Personal Indemnity, Engineering, A&H. It's a whole different world of insurance compared to my professional experience back home.

Fast forward to the winter of 2009, I'm now in the AIG office in Stockholm. I'm working on the same systems again but it's in a quieter environment (Stockholms' offices are smaller). I'm on my own lap top in a hot desk (used to be owned by one of the staff who's on the Xmas hols) and everyone is quietly hunched over their desks. I'm next to the Financial Lines department again but not working directly with them as I did in Milan but with another department (Underwriting)- more data entry than anything. I feel the atmosphere is more relaxed and calmer but always an underlying TOD.

Despite what's happened to AIG, I still am amazed by my moving through 3 different offices in 3 different countries (paid a visit to La Defense in Paris to speak to Jon Noel, head of OOC too for a day). That's what I call a global company.

I owe my thanks to Ms Ariela Camis de Fonseca(Milan), Muhaini Musa (Malaysia), Aiken Yuen (Hong Kong), Berit Adolfssen (Stockholm),Dawn Cheyrouze (Paris). And for the theses writing, my partner, Hedi Yousefi-Zadeh and our supervisor (now Vice Chancellor of Sundsvall University, Sweden) Anders Soderholm.

Today I fly off to Bordeaux to share this experience.

A wound won't heal if you keep opening it up.

J, this is for you:

It's been 3 weeks now since 'the cut'. It was in anticipation of happiness; the reason for it happening but all it led to was a slice so deep that it really hurts. It really hurts doesn't it? We try to be brave and move on, but it's another thing to keep revisiting it. Wounded flesh takes time to heal - the only way to do it is to really leave it alone. Do other stuff, distract yourself, get busy, anything but get the injury hurt again. It may take a long time, a lifetime, but we need to heal - we owe ourselves that much. I have good news, consolation for you; the body is an amazing creation - it can, and it will.

(and that is for me too)

Ping Pong

Suddenly have an urge to play 'round-the-table' ping pong. Used to do it a lot back in Umea with the Swedes. We were about 7-8 people running around the ping pong table and seeing who'd be final champ. I wasn't bad for a start(must be my Chinese genes). Popped over to Sportsdirect and the bats weren't really expensive (about 2.50GBP). There's a club in Brick Lane that does that (The Young Offender's Institute - might pop by one of these days)

Springs

Spring 2010
16th March,22.50pm, Monday, London, Rolls Road
The weather is starting to get warmer - 10-12 C - is it me or is there less rubbish wind to seep into your coat and then your bones. It's starting to get brighter now - I walk to London Bridge station in broad light instead of the grey light. The dawn breaks at 5.30am now (I am awake by now usually) and I wonder if I should be happy or sad that the day has caught up with me. My coat is too warm now when it was not too long before that I used to chastise myself for not having layered enough. I know its spring when I see the flowers start to bloom on my morning walk - crocuses and daffodils especially. The purple ones look especially vibrant. I remember a conversation with a bunch of Europeans; I hadn't been abroad before and asked which seasons did they love the best. Most them said 'the spring' although I expected them to say the warm summer. Now I understand why; It's the feeling of new beginning, new hope that permeates the air.

Spring 2009
13th April, 9.48pm, Friday, Amsterdam, Stayokay Hostel Vondelpark
Pooped- I spent a total of 65EU and it's only been a day. Met up with Eleanor and Chew Ping this morning at the station and they were happy enough but it's now 8pm and we've just arrived to the pier on the ferry...12.50EU. Struggled to stay awake throughout the float but failed several times.

Met up with Boris after so many years and he still looks the same. He has a baby girl named Lisee now. What a big difference from the hazy crazy trainee days in Malaysia....he's a daddy now. Good to meet up with old friends.

Spring 2008
20th April, 4.50pm, Sunday, Umea Sweden, Fysikgrand 3H-101

Just came back from Skogis with Bimal. This Sunday was one of the more interesting Sundays of my days in Umea. I woke up at 9am which was rather early considering the party at Malin's (birthday)....ate breakfast and then fell back asleep again. Woke up at 11.45am again when Bimal called to tell me that we had an appointment with Anders at 1pm in the business school. Anders had been away for his new job as Vice-Chancellor of Sundsvall University. We had a nice walk to the uni in the new spring weather. Spring finally arrived on Tuesday mid-of-the-month with the sunny days and mysterious evaporation of the snow. The past few days have been blue skies and sunshine and birds singing in the trees

Spring 2007
15th April, 4.45pm, Milan, Parco Sempione
'Ty' in the park. Actually sandwiches, cornflakes to munch on, apples and orange juice. Jas and I are sitting on a blanket in the park. Haven't done this since Ela and her bf and I went to Ulus Parki in Istanbul. It was 2002.

Spring is here; the air is cool and the sun is shining. Green, green, green everywhere. Dark aquamarines, white daisies, purple flowers, birds singing...Italians are starting to come alive; families play ball; couples sunbathing in the grass. Far off, there's bhangra music playing (bhangra??) and drum beats, urgent, ushering the warm weather in celebration. I like best the daisies; dainty delicate things poking through the grass as if to say 'hello'. I used to think they were special since they were rare in Malaysia. Plucked them to press in books, later immortalizing them in my bookmark collection. Now they are everywhere around me; where there's green, there are the daisies. They never stand alone; if they did, it didn't look right. Two or three balanced in the picture and there was always a cluster; never a 'one'.

Ludivico Einaudi - I Giorni (The Days)

It was 12 plus in Rolls Road and here I was baking in the night (consequences of sleeping too much in the afternoon) Was tuned into the BBC Classic channel and this beautiful gem came on. Listening to this in the calm, in the clear and in the night came to me in a revelation that sometimes we are meant to find happiness when we least expect it even if it's only for a while.

Missy Higgins - Where I Stood

Kingmaker

The term is applied generally to a person or group that has great influence in a royal or political succession, without being a viable candidate

Happy Chinese New Year

Food, red, fireworks, food, friends

Stuff on my desk

Books:
Margaret Atwood's "The Year of The Flood"
The Economist's "Headhunters and How to Use Them"
Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
Seibel and Khalisa's "A Woman's Book of Yoga"
Louis de Bernieres' "Birds Without WIngs"
Tash Aw's "Map of the Invisible World"
BBC Good Food's "101 Cakes and Bakes"
Rabiah Amit's "Kek Lapis Sarawak"

Stuff:
3 different ring binded notebooks - 2 big, 1 small
A big-button calculator
A blue plastic file full of papers and name cards
A blue-grey old Nokia 1101
A grey Nokia mobile phone (unknown model)
2 clear plastic file with bank statements, letters and stuff
A 160GB external hard drive
A pink bottle of rose water
A pot of vaseline (100g)
A small vial of Estee Lauder's 'Paradise'
A 400ml of baby oil from Tesco's (30% full now)
A plastic box of cotton buds
A bottle of tea tree oil toner
A pink bottle of rose water
A guitar capo (black)
An egg (musical one with beans in it)
A bottle of T3 Mycin
An empty oversqueezed bottle of Garnier's Skin Natural Long-lasting shine control moisturizer
A silver hole puncher
A small vanity mirror on a grey stand
A glass of water with apple cider vinegar in it
A mug of Christmas Tea with a teaspoon in it

New Romantic - Laura Marling

Christmas and New Year's in Sunny Malaysia

2009 has come and gone. This year had its moments - America's first coloured President,the passing of Michael Jackson, the economic depression in the UK, warmer than usual summer and finising off with sudden continuous snowfall....Pretty eventful.

Rushed back on the plane back home, not without sleeping in Stansted due to the delayed Airasia flight.

Good to be with Mom and Dad and Flo back home. Warm weather, sweaty pants, eat eat eat. Nothing like being anak emas again.

Big Sis Flo 'belanja me eat' Japanese and then took me to a cool Salsa place in Jln Sultan Ismail called Paradize Lodge.

Trusty Angie had planned an exciting Boxing day do and met some nice friends for a sing song session.



Met up with good ole friends for makan makan (Yin Li = Min sin at Jln Alor, Stan and Aretha = Loh Shi Fun, Hui Yee , A again and Amber = Siu Siu seafood, Kajai gang = steamboat,Vini+ChewP = home made cakes)



Shiv and Kal were the only ones who's meet up involved some phyical activity albeit the best kind = ultimate on Padang Astaka.




Then new year's with Angie with bbq and conteng - conteng baju(only she would think of such fab activities).



It was fun to be back - shopping , taking the LRT, eating, sleeping - driving my trusty little box-car, seeing the old Chinese uncles and aunties, ladies in tudung, pak cik-pak cik. Despite all you hear, Malaysia may be screwed up but it's home sweet home.

Promise Me - Beverly Craven

Why don't they make sad pop songs like they used to?

Lea Salonga's cover is not bad too.

November 2009, of Babies and Birthdays

There seems to be a recurring theme this month. A colleague of mine is an impending father sometime next week and a friend of mine announced that she's now an expectant mother.

Last week I attended a friends' birthday celebration and on the very same weekend I visited a mother who had just given birth to a baby girl.

Two dear friends' birthday will occur this week and the next.

September should be THE baby and birthday month but November seems to be the new September. Oh man, can't be going broke twice a year!

Mooncake Festival



I may be out of Malaysia but there’s still Malaysia in me which manifested itself in a few celebrations with friends. A couple of weekends back, J and Y initiated a Mooncake hot-pot and herded a few of us ‘eaters’ around a bubbling cobble laden with fishball, fish,prawn, dumplings, vermicelli, mussels, egg, etc.. It was an evening of eating and laughter, mooncakes, pomelos, funny-hornshaped-chestnut and all the things that makes the mooncake festival. Thank you guys!

Conker season and changing weather



The seasons are changing with the descent of the darkness (we’re losing 24 mins of daylight a day) and drops in temperature (averaging about 9-10 C now).

And in participating in a little British cultural tradition for autumn, B, T and I spent the Sunday in Hampstead Heath – a nice parkland north of London for the HH Conker Championships.

Aahh..the magical conker. Conkers have mystified me since my Beano and Topper reading days. In one of the Topper issues, was a story of a magical conker. Gosh –what the heck is that? - wondered my 9 year old mind…..I only found out last weekend.

The conker game is a traditional British schoolyard game where two parties try to ‘hit’ the opponents conker(horse chestnut). There are 3 tries where the one with the most hits wins but the ultimate victor is the one who manages to knock his opponents conker off its string. B, T and I had a go and lo! And behold! I had the magical winning conker:P

Diwali a.k.a Deepavali Feast



Frisbee freaks and a few friends had a great Deepavali celebration in A’s ‘Palace’. R and A went all the way by preparing the house with lights, Henna, Bollywood songs and best-dressed games (A+ for the effort guys!), everyone brought an assortment of delicious food and drinks and Kal provided the games. We even had a bit of Bollywood dancing (S leading the way). T mentioned that it was a little hard to feel the Deepavali spirit when she first arrived in London but this year we endeavoured to make it special with a bang! It was definitely a night to remember (especially when some of us missed the last train home)

Open Houses - the Malaysian Way

With Raya (aka Eid) month celebrations, went round to a few open houses in London. The concept of the 'open house' is a very Malaysian/Eastern custom - the home of the host is literally 'opened' to friends and family (and friends of friends or family of friends - you get the picture) at any time throughout the whole day. You'd have traditional food and cookies spread on the table buffet style and everyone is talking, eating and laughing - a strong sense of community permeates throughout the home.

This year I was fortunate to attend two at Lena and Richard's in Reading and at Hani's


Thank you ladies for your generous hospitality and warmth.

Open Houses

A Vista in the Kew


Was in and around a few interesting places London again for the past few weekends. Seriously, I wonder how I get into so many activities without my even trying. That's how it is with this city so much so that come Monday morning, I'm absolutely knackered and have difficulty dragging out of bed in the AM.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory


Two weekends back was the London Open House weekend- a spectacular event where 700 private buildings in and around London are opened to the public. In conjunction there were tours, walks and exhibitions to garner further appreciation and education of the architecture and landscapes of London. I managed to book two events i.e. the Tower Bridge Exhibition and the Architectural Tour of the Kew Gardens. But due to the timing, had to give away the former to A and B who had an interesting experience (A's account here) I had a totel blind 'date' to the tour as my appointed 'partner' had to go to York on a sudden emergency. But the company was just as pleasant nevertheless.

A Nice Old Tree

The Architectural Tour of the Kew Gardens consisted of the fundamental buildings in the famous Kew - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kew once belonged to the Royal family but was given to the people by Queen Victoria.It boasts the largest herbarium in the world with 7 million specimens and has the most comprehensive plant collections in the UK.

The Palm House


One of the most fascinating was the Palm House - the oldest and largest Victorian greenhouse to survive to this day with a Tropical atmosphere within. 'Palm House' because it was a status symbol then to have tropical palms growing in the greenhouse! The fact that it was built of curved glass in the shape of an ark attested to the ingenuity and artistry of the architect, Richard Turner. That was back in 1848 and still looks as intricate and imposing today.

Water lilies in the Water Lily House

Went to the Water Lily house too where they housed the giant Amazonian water lily plants and a myriad of water lily species.

The Davies Alpine House


I told a colleague of mine, J, about my visit to the Kew and he had a strange story to add. Back in the 80's, he was doing survey work on the upper floors of the Kew Palace. It was long work, looking under floorboards and measuring, and soon he and his colleague found that it was getting dark. His mate decided to get a Mars bar from the cafe downstairs and J was soon alone in the darkened rooms (it wasn't fixtured as the palace wasn't used on the upper floors. Only the first lower floors were used for the Museum). He carried on the work and in a few minutes heard the thud of footsteps of his mate walking about. He called out 'That was quick one!' but when he looked up, there was nobody there. Puzzled, he looked around but could see no one. It was but a few moments then that he broke out in cold sweat and hurried downstairs. His mate only re-appeared much later and J told him about his experience. Apparently he wasn't the only one to have heard or seen things in the Kew palace.

The Dutch House i.e. Kew Palace



Unfortunately due to having another appointment with a friend, i didn't manage to go to all the other sites e.g. the pagoda, herbarium and different gardens but it was an interesting experience. Think I'll paint a little green on my thumbs.

When September Ends...

Summer has come to past, the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends....

I could only sing this appropriate song this month. It's past mid of it and in case you didn't think it; September is quite eventful - Ramadan, Open House Weekends, final concerts, school term beginnings. But it also means summer's end is nigh, with the light fading quickly (sunsetting earlier 3 mins a day), rainy weather and cold winds. Myself, moved a step into the 30's (aaaargh!)but got nice friends for consolation:)

Here are the highlights of the first weeks of September.

September Babies



The girls of the Shard each had birthdays in September so we celebrated it 'one-leg-kick' (Cantonese slang ) together by watching Pedro Almodovar's latest 'Broken Embraces' which starred Penelope Cruz. It was another good girly night out - had a gift exchange with interesting and beautiful gifts like a piggy bank, bubble gum machine, books on Dreams and an engraved box. After that it was a yummy Carribbean dinner with jerk chicken, ackee and salt fish. Happy Birthday girls!


Imperial War Museum

Paid a visit to the (free) Imperial War Museum in Lambeth North. It was very comprehensive and well-thought with historical representation of the wars of Britain ranging from the Middle East, West Indies, Far East etc. I visited it for the Holocaust exhibition (inspired post-Auschwitz) and was impressed with the perspectives curated on survivor accounts, interviews, photographs and physical items. Jiann wasn't very keen but nevertheless every time I go into a British museum, I never fail to appreciate the respect of knowledge the people here possess and how much effort has been put in to making the exhibits and displays interesting and interactive.


Birthday Party



Had a fab night with friends, flatmates and frisbee kaki chez moi. Thanks to Kai Ling for organizing this. I got very nice presents indeed, very nice. One of them being



a Fender acoustic guitar



Books: "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" by Tracy Quan and "By the Time You Read This" by Lola Jaye



Hairdryer: Per Una by M&S 2000watt

Thank you everyone for such a lovely and memorable birthday. Bless you!:)

p.s. Another very nice book from Jas arrived from Amazon today i.e. A Woman's Book of Yoga by M.Siebel and Hari Kaur Khalsa

The Thames River Festival



The Mayor's Festival on the River Thames is an annual festival held along the popular spots on the Thames with lots of events i.e. theatre, music, dance, a free boat ride on the Thames, stalls - all very happening. Paid me a visit and got on a jembe drumming workshop...what luck!

Thank You for the Music, ABBA tribute concert




Went for my first 'picnic' concert where we spread a blanket (despite the chilly wind) and enjoyed an evening-full of ABBA goldies. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were supposed to be present but only saw Benny onstage who played traditional Swedish folk music. Elaine Paige, Kylie Minogue, Chaka Khan, Jason Donovan, Marti Pello (lead singer of Wet Wet Wet) all belted ABBA schlager but it was glorious as Kal and I danced and sang the 70's on the field.

Krakow - Auschwitz

Took a trip to Krakow for the Bank Holiday weekend. Although I have many friends from Poland, I've yet to visit the country. I found the Poles very helpful and humble.

Krakow, the old capital of Poland, is a charming city on its own. Not as fairytale-like as Prague (though I felt a little deja-vu), the city is a grittier and tougher version of the old East-European city.


One of the main destinations for tourists like myself was the Wielicka Salt Mine about 30 mins away by tour bus from Krakow. Arriving in the city, Alden and I got rained out (bringing the British weather with us) so we took refuge underground - half a km below the surface with a maze of 300km tunnels. It was surreal and reminded me of the Derinkuyu underground city in Turkey but less smelly as the salt had absorbed moisture and odors. Of course with every structure above and below entirely of salt, one could not resist scratching the walls to have a taste. (sorry no pics as most of my photos in the dark are just rubbash)

Coming to Krakow would also mean a pilgrimage to the worst scenes in the history of mankind - the Auschwitz concentration camp. As Mr. Yap has blogged about it you can read our experience here

We also had a free guided tour from Andre from Traveller's Inn Hostel - a very nice chap who brought us around the Podgorze district. Podgorze was the former sanctioned ghetto during WWII by the Nazis coralling all Jewish Poles behind a wall. This was the location where Oskar Schindler set up his enamel and ammunitions factory and risked life and limb to save 'his' 1,200 Jewish workers.


Another interesting Polish phenomenon I've discovered are the 'milk bars' i.e. 'bar mlezcny'. A milk bar is the leftover remnants of the welfare state of Poland which offered subsidized cheap meals for workers with no canteens. Hence the food was very cheap but yummy nevertheless. It's name was derived from the fact that then, most of the food served was dairy and flour based i.e. 'pierogi' (a kind of stuffed dumpling) and pancakes.




Besides the walking, eating, taking photos, tours with the hostel guide and sharing a room with anti-fascist German students (coined-term 'Nazi Fighters'), it was a short, cheap and cheerful and I found myself culturally and educationally satisfied.

Summer Summer...

Haven't been blogging for the past few days....sign of me running around doing stuff and keeping busy before summer ends. Somehow life just kicked in as if the accelerator had been revved.

The highlights of the week were...

1. The PCON Picnic in the Park



Had a nice evening with the team in the park...D made her infamous carrot cake(or rather her daughter did)...extremely yummy and chewy. C's wife also contributed with a beetroot fruit cake thingy. It was good fun and a different setting compared to the boardroom presentations and everyone let loose with a bit of frisbee on the side too


2.MSPME 2006 Reunion



Finally we made it! (at least some of us did) 7 of us from the MSPME 2006-8 batch had a mini reunion in London last weekend. We were of course missing the other 19 who are all over the world or back in their home countries. J and V stayed over mine and we met up with H, N, A, and B for a picnic at Regent's Park. Although the moment have passed, we left a little footprint of the memory here at www.mspme2006.blogspot.com


3. At Hulya's



Had a very nice cooking class and lunch with H who showed me how to make dolma biber (stuffed peppers) which I was missing. Somehow the local Turkish restaurants don't have it on the menu...True to Turkish hospitality, H prepared a feast and it was enjoyed with gusto by myself and her housemate S. Cok guzel! Tessekkur ederim H canim!

4. Ultimate Frisbee Freaks



Got hooked on Ultimate when S introduced me to the Frisbee gang. It's fun, it's addictive, keeps your fitness level up with a fun-bunch of people and cost-free - what more could one ask for? We have a core team of regulars who keep the group running...thank you guys and gals for the sportsmanship and good times!

LOVE STORY (Taylor Swift) meets VIVA LA VIDA (Coldplay) - Piano Cello - by Jon Schmidt

Jon Schmidt's 7 year-old daughter loved Taylor Swift's song 'Love Story' so much that her dad covered this song with a friend.

Thank you Angie for sharing this - love it love it