Coffee Thoughts from a chaotic mind

I just knew it again

tianlye — 2008-01-15T13:37:12+08:00

Which Heroes Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

I just knew it...

tianlye — 2008-01-15T10:11:50+08:00

Which Smallville Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

However, I think I don't have the looks as the smallville one. Maybe the nerdy one. lol

Rei's Birthday Present

tianlye — 2007-11-25T10:30:16+08:00

Went out with Rei yesterday- was supposed to shop for a present. A first we went to Far East Square to help my mum get a mobile phone for my auntie in Malaysia (don't ask me why- she just told me to do it) While we were there, Rei told me that she wish to buy a piece of clothing and I told her "Great, like that I can save quite abit from my 150 dollar budget for your birthday watch!"

"No... Like that I buy the clothes myself and you get me the watch!"

-.-

Girls...

Anyway, after she failed to look for that piece of clothing, we proceed to Bugis to pray and to go the near by Bencoolen to find a watch that she like. After about 30-50 minutes, she set her eyes on this bronze fossil ladies watch. It was priced as 155 I think and we decided to go to Mustafa to see if we can get it cheaper there (I am willing to fork the money but what's the point of handing more money when it comes cheaper? Rei agreed that a watch that expensive require finding more shops instead of purchasing at 1 place)

As this is our first time to Mustafa, we didn't know how to go there except it was pretty much near Sim Lim Towers. We decided to mingle around and find some brochures around which are meant for tourist as the area were meant as a tourist attractions. We managed to find 1 such brochure at Tekka Mall and proceed to the shopping mall on foot.

To our suprises, there is alof of watches at the mall and it was a really huge mall. Rei and I was shocked to find that the watch was not sold at Mustafa! Hence, we decided to just hand down to Vivocity instead.

Vivocity was a weird place, for a mall that big, they only had 1 full directory and everyone was crowding around the area trying to find what they want. I was having a bad headache and whipped out my camera phone, took the portion of the directory where they listed all the watch shops and went off. Rei told me there was a person staring at me while I am doing that. I had the right tools and was in the right situation- why not use the tool as it is meant for- to take pictures and use it?

We went to all the watch shops and it isnt any cheaper. We found the watch at Tangs at the cheapest price possible-135 and purchase the watch accordingly. All should end well except Rei's hand was too thin and the person was unable to adjust the length for her. The person end up have to send her watch to the service centre!

On the bus home, we were lamenting how this is happening everytime for the past 3 years- she is just the smallest creature anyone can find. So guys, a gentle advise- please remember to bring your girlfriend along when you buy anything that is to be wore on them.

Sis's Lunar Birthday

tianlye — 2007-11-18T13:10:12+08:00

Yesterday was Xiao Ming's Lunar Birthday. Wan Li, her boyfriend, came to our house early in the monring at nine. Rei also came that early and the 4 of us went for a double date. We went to East Coast park for cycling after we eaten breakfast at Ghim Moh Hawker Centre. It been quite a while since I went to East Coast Park. I think the last time I was there was when I was still a student and my fitness was better.

The weather was great at first in the morning. We cycled until we reach thecable ski area. East Coast Park had changed alot since I was last there. Now there is a cable ski park for people! We took a short rest and decided to use Wan Li and Xiao Ming's recent joint purchase- the Ixus 75 to take some pictures!

The bollywood fever had caught on to my sister and her boyfriend...

We cycled to the Bedok Jetty and take a short break! The weather was very hot then since it is in the early afternoon(around 12 plus). Across the jetty, we can see alot of ships, I believe if I am not wrong, these ships are carrying containers and waiting to berth at PSA! I am seeing my bonus lying across the sea! Haha. Thejetty is always full of life- there will always be alot of people fishing at the jetty. Maybe I will try that too one fine day!

Rei, me and my bonus at the back...

We decided to move on and came to this tower that is in the middle of a garden like area. I think it is bulit as part of the project to recreate ECP. We cycle upward the tower and the scene is quite breathtaking.

The tower structure

The view below the tower- a garden perhaps?

Rei and I at the top of the tower- the bicycle behind belongs to Xiao Ming and Wan Li

The young couple

Another shot of them- I think they are very compatible

The sky turned dark when we started to head back to the bicycle rental shop and it started to rain when we are halfway there. We went to a power station nearby and seeked shelter. We had lunch at Old Airport Road Hawker and we had 2 games of bowling- me and Rei vs Xiao Ming and Wan Li. Xiao Ming set the foreit of the group that lose will have to wash the dishes for last night. I thought we could win but end up losing. :(

We had alot when we went home during the evening. Mum cook up a feast for Xiao Ming's birthday. The usual practise at home is to have Mee Suan on someone's birthday to symbolise long life. This will be accompanied with meat and 2 eggs! The meal is simple yet carries alot of meaning as everyone needs to be present. Mum fried some chicken wings and cooked tiger prawns for additional food later before we have cake as the finale and the dishes were waiting for me...

A more fulfilling week

tianlye — 2007-11-16T23:43:14+08:00

Work

Work gotten alot better as I understand how the testing is starting to work. Instead of just waiting for Edison to trigger the test cases as he is rather busy verifying the issues that Fritz and I raised, we were taught how to trigger the test cases ourselves. With the trigger being controlled by us, the only factor left that is uncontrolable is when do BHR finish fixing the issues. In a way, I do not waste time in the office doing nothing and waiting for work to come to me.

Fritz gave me an intranet site for me to find out more about how the IT divison's working style. He mentioned to me that he felt that his java knowledge is lacking and I felt that the same thing is happening to me. While I felt I was good in my Java knowledge in poly, it isnt as good as it was

I went with Weixiong to the computer book shop at Funan to search for books on Tuesday, Weixiong is thinking of taking up MSCE while I am just searching for books that can deepen my understanding for Weblogic. Also, all PSA staffs are given 400 for upgrading their knowledge with work and 100 out of this 400 could be used for materials such as books and magazines related to work. For course, I would think it is quite difficult to find one for now. The money would be used mainly as a subsidy from the company rather than the course fee itself. However, the 100 bucks could be easily used on books which I intend to.

If permitted, I might use the money for driving lessons instead. Haha. Hopefully it can.

Been going for course for the last 2 days. The course has improved my understanding of the business domain-how PSA operated and why it needs IT and how IT improves everything. Aaron also mentioned to me during lunch yesterday that it is about time that I go learn about what exactly to my section do.

Meetup with uni friends

Received a call from Kairong this morning- Zhen Zhen wants to meet up and ask Kairong to look for the rest. He contacted me and I decided to call Poh Chew and Xiang Rong as the rest had not seen them from the last outing.

All in all, Kairong, Zhen Zhen , Huifen, Poh Chew, Xiang Rong ,Priscilla and Chee Wee met up

We had Sakae Sushi for dinner and I was rather shocked that the buffet costed 30 after service charge and GST! So I am a miser, fine... but I ate the same stuff with Weixiong except we cannot order red dishes(Permium dishes) for 19 at funan that day!

After dinner, Sin Jin and Cally joined us. We went to Balecony which is supposed to be a pub. Frankly speaking, places like this aren't for me- basically, I don't drink and I went there just to sit and listen. Places like this are meant for younger people who has cash to spend. When the rest found out that Chee Wee and Priscilla are getting married next year, they keep probing them for the proposal and stuffs. I was dragged into the picture and I told the girls that I just asked Rei to buy a flat and ask her to choose between a honeymoon to japan or any other stuffs like dinner etc.

They were so shocked by the fact that I treat the wedding thing as something so casual. They keep telling why don't I ask want to spend money on photos and dinners and stuffs. I just dont think it is worth it. Either do Rei, maybe I should feel lucky that these ladies are not my girlfriends haha...Not that they were wrong- I mean, most girls would want a memorable wedding. MOST.

Rei is quite different from the rest. So am I. Marriage do not stop at wedding. Wedding is just an event that inform others and celebrate the union of two soulmates. However, both Rei and I were not too comfortable with spending alot of money on photography and dinner. While most girls will think that I am being unromantic to even mention getting a flat as a reason to get married, Rei would know that she is special to me by now. Is there a need for a big proposal? I would like to give her one but is the effort worth it? Seeing a smile on her face is worth every single effort but is the money spent or the effort worth it?

What is more important is that Rei and I are happy with our arrangment. While others prefer to spend less on housing and more on the wedding itself, Rei and I feels that it is not worth it to spend so much on a one-time event. We also felt that no one will remember the event besides the two of us and we both feel we won't regret the matter- why spend a 5 figure sum on a wedding when it can be spend on housing and the life after that?

Instead, Rei and I wanted to get a HDB flat in a prime area. To us, being able to reach home early and enjoy our lifes together is more important than to spend alot on the wedding which is a one time thing which only 2 people will ever remember the process. However, housing near work and at a good location can make us happier over time. Would you want to travel to and forth work and home within 30-40 minutes or 1-1.5hrs per trip?

For example, I had made a friend who worked as PSA and he lived in Yishun. Living that far, he had to wake up very early at around 5am. Living in a good area, if I do not take breakfast, I would only need to wake up at 7.10am in order to reach by 8.30am. For me to reach home, I will only take 30 minutes once I gotten onto a bus. Imagine the time saved from living in a good area- I can spent more quality time with my family. a 5 figure amount of money can be better used on housing and other things which are more meaningful. I am not saying the wedding isn't meaningful, rather Rei and I don't feel a need to spend so much on it.

Feeling tired and some questions came to my head. I guess it will be a sleepless night

OT yet again

tianlye — 2007-11-10T16:07:08+08:00

I went to collect my staff pass today at the PSA Pass Centre. "Mr Tan Tian Lye, Tan Tian Lye", I was so blur when the man called out the name- when did my surname changed to Tan? It's Teo! I confirmed with the man at the counter and sign a document. After which, I still wait for a while before another lady called out for my name. She told me to place my index fingers at a biometric fingerprint reader. Wow, that was advanced. Anyway, I gotten my card within seconds after the fingerprint scanning.

I went to work. A strange email popup around 11 plus. Yanling email a group of people- asking us where to go for lunch? I was rather surprised to receive the email. It turned out that Aaron, who was on leave, was emailed by Yanling and told her to ask me and Raymond instead. End up Raymond and I took a ride in Gary's car to vivocity's Kim Gary for lunch with the rest. I am starting to open up to afew more people- hopefully, I will know everyone soon.

The food at Kim Gary was quite nice. I ate some Shanghai noodle and it taste quite good even it is quite plain. I think they did something to the flavoring of the soup base. The other ladies ate noodles too. While the other guys ate rice mostly. Work officially started after lunch- alot of things started coming in after lunch. Fritz and I started working on the test cases late and finish late.

I wish work could be more spread out- I received work at weird interviews. Maybe as I move on, I will learn more.

I only left the office at 7 plus and went to PSA club to met up with Poh Chew and Xiang Rong for dinner.

When I reached PSA Club, I received a call.

Me- "Hello?"

Poh Chew- "Where are you?"

Me-"PSA Club"

PC-"We at Vivo now. How come you at PSA Club?"

Wahahaha, I should have asked them on the phone before going over. I didn't cause PC called me earlier on and tell me they will be at PSA Club for a football game untill 8 plus.

I went to Vivocity and join them and we chat about work at PSA, how we are coping and how are the rest getting on. We finally parted at 9.30pm and we saw Alex from FDS. It turns out PC also knew him from GOH(Guard of Honour) SIngapore is rather small.

I remember a saying which I heard from NS- "Singapore Sway Sway- Singapore small small". It is used to tell people who offended you to warn out cause things might turn against them the next time you meet

On my way home, I saw Say Siong and he become a promoter for Citibank products and ask me to sign a tap and save account with him. After thinking for a while, I thought why not and signed up. After that, I am tired and went home-- It was late already -11.30pm.

Quiet week so far

tianlye — 2007-11-08T12:53:39+08:00

Nothing much to report these days.

Monday:

I found my work progress quite slow. I think I have got to bucked up. I worked till 8.30pm on Monday. I was helping Fritz (my counterpart for Ying Ying's project) with some stuffs. Learnt more about him as we went home. He stayed quite far away from the office and had to stay late. It sort of make me guilty of complaining about OT to Rei the other time. Finally had cheap food for lunch! Wanton Mee for 2 bucks. Did I mentioned before that I have to climb up the cranes? No? Well, I have to. Hopefully I will overcome my fear of height.

Tuesday:

Today is the first day of the OE course. In total, I have to attend 9 days of lessons. I took a bus to Dover MRT and then took the shuttle bus to PSA Vista. There, I met 3 people that were from my department- Sean, Bill and Wan Xiang. Sean and Bill are attending the same course as me. Their office is on the 15th floor. It's their first course too. Hee hee, I was rather lucky- the course started soon after I started work. For the other two, they been waiting for a while. Bill was from NUS and graduated the same time as I did.

During lunch, we went to a nearby Kopitiam for food. I was rather surprised that we were pretty much beside Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market! If the course were to took place at night, I probably met my mum sometimes. Haha. Interestingly, food was cheap in the Kopitiam too- I had fish ball noodles for 2.50!

I met up with Rei at Habourfront MRT station after my lessons ended. She just finished her paper along with Xiao Ming and Wan Li. She went to cut her hair and she look very pretty. According to her, the paper was quite alright. I hope she will score well because she put in alot of effort in it.

I was trying to save some money and decided to eat cheap food at the nearby hawker centre. I went to the extent of telling Rei that I was thinking of eating the 2 bucks Fried Kway Teo the other time (last entry). We went to Marina Square later and decided to buy some drinks from the near by Seven-Elven. I was rather shocked that a 500ml bottle of Pokia green tea cost 2 bucks! It used to cost 1.50 a few months ago! Has inflation changed the value of consumer goods that much? We ended up getting the cheaper Big Gulp instead.

Wednesday:

Nothing much happened on Wednesday. I just found out one of the people that is attending the course with us is a disruptee from NS like me and just recently joined PSA. He is not from IT side but operation. I intend to go down to Vivocity's starhub centre and transfer the maxonline account from my father's name to my name so I could chalk enough points for redemation of stuffs(vouchers, products etc).

Today:

Rather bored now. Nothing much to do. Maybe will read my notes later.

Started Work lor

tianlye — 2007-11-04T09:24:19+08:00

I finally started work on Thurday, 1st Nov 2007. The feeling of finally being to work is good- I been taking too long a break and it is good to start work.

I went to the HR department first thing in the morning. Waited for about 15 minutes before Josephine comes in and brief us on some stuffs. Then it is passed to 2 another people for briefing on the point systems before
Edison came and drive me to my official workplace. As soon as I enter the office, Edison quickly introduced me to my manager and deputy manager- Sin Hai and Simon. I was told that I will work in the EI section.

I was brought to Jenny next. Jenny is the administrative lady in my department- She passed me my login information which was sealed up in an envelope then I was brought to my desk. It was rather empty and my PC was rather old compared to the rest [Everyone else have LCD monitor and new PC- I recongized the casing of the PC which can be found in computer shop these days!] I was told to bring a photo for my staff pass which I need to access the office which is required the taping of the card to access. If not, I would have to wait for someone to open the door for me as I wait for the door to open.

My PC seems rather old and used- there are folders with other people's name inside!. Haiz, hopefully I will get a new PC soon when I really start work. For now, I am attached to Ying Ying, my colleague from another section (Same as Edison)

EI Rollcall:

I am in the EI section and my section consist of the following people:

Aaron (Section Head)
Raymond- very friendly guy who I just realized shared a common friend- Ruiwen from NUS
and another guy which I can't remember the name [Got to make an effort to remember]

Ying Ying Section:

Ying Ying
Edison
Kok Siong

and another guy which I can't remember the name [Got to make an effort to remember]

Raymond was very friendly and tell me some things which he feels is important for me to know. I am glad to find someone to show me the stuffs. Simon treated a few of us during lunch. I was grateful for that as the chicken branyi cost 4 dollars! I was budgeting my food to be around 3 bucks max. I didn't expect it to cost so much!

After lunch, Aaron brief me on the hierarchy structure, what our section do etc. He brought me around, introducing me to the various people in our department- There is alot of people in the department- I think close to 50 and I can't remember more than 10. I think got a lot of catching up to do.

Second Day

I was shocked to find that taking bus 100 to work would take me around 1 hour! I took the bus at 7.40am and only reached the office at 8.30am! I remember that I once took the bus home and when I was around the office, I just timed the journey from the bus stop at the office to home. The journey only took 30 minutes to complete, hence I was rather shocked. It was hoping I would only need 30 minutes to travel. Haiz...

Edison, Aaron and Raymond brought me to Vivocity's Republic for lunch and I was again depressed- isn't there cheap food around? The fish porridge I bought was for 3.80! Raymond told me that every friday we would go out for lunch. I hope we will go somewhere cheap for lunch next week...

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I could only leave the office at 6.30pm. For friday, it is casual friday and employees are allowed to go off at 5.30pm. Ying Ying was rather shocked to see me still around after 6.20pm and told me to knock off quick (same thing for my first day). I quickly wrapped up the remaining work and told her about what I have done and jolted out of the office as I am late for the movie- Saw 4 which I am watching with the FEAR gang- Weixiong, Kelvin, Bingkun, Xiong Wei , Jun jie and Marcus.

Saw 4 was a nice show. It contains the various standard formulas that make the Saw series so successful. Expect alot of gore and blood. Do not eat before watching the show- you have been warned. It was rather lucky that Marcus booked the tickets at Vivocity, which is a stone throw away from the office. However, there was a jam and the bus was crawling to reach the place. I was late but I was finally glad that there were some advertisements showing before the show start- we managed to enter the cinema just as the show was starting. After the movies, we went to have dinner at the nearby hawker centre- the food was cheap- I had fried kway teow at 2 bucks. Yes- the serving was small but it's cheap- I love cheap food now that I am paying for it. Hahaha. We chat about various thing over food and drinks. It was nice to relax with friends. Haha

HCA

I finally went for HCA yet again and was disappointed to find out that the next visit will be the last as the students member will be busy preparing for their exams. Jia You people! I was attached to Marcus(NUS Medicine not FEAR gang) and was surprised to find that were the only two who were going to vist the uncle in Lavendar. According to him, the rest of them were busy. Marcus bought a packet of coffee for the uncle as he said the uncle like the coffee very much. The uncle's house was rather clean and we only swept and mopped the floor and done some befriending. We had our lunch at Army Market. It was known as that because the market has alot of stalls that sells army items.

I had this for lunch:

The kway teow was nice but the serving was as small as the one yesterday but cost me 3 dollars- I guess there is really no cheap foods around anymore. There are alot of greens on the dish and it was nice. Overall, maybe a thumb up?

I haven't met Rei for days- I miss her...

ORD LOH!

tianlye — 2007-10-31T00:32:55+08:00

It feels great to have my pink lady back with me. She is so slim, so tender and loving. I miss her more than anything on the face of the earth. Oh pink lady- how I long for you and you are finally back in my embrace...

Huh? Do you actually think I meant I dump Rei for another girl? NEVER~! I love Rei too much to abandon her for any other girls- sorry ladies, Although single(A status I wish to change soon..) but I am definitely not available. Then who is the pink lady you asked? Well, she is my NRIC! Wahahahaha

As of 30 Oct 2007, Mr Teo Tian Lye has finally ORDed. I am officially an NS Man now. Today's process of getting my pink lady was quite easy- Gathered 2 more signature and I am finally done with my clearance. The only unlucky thing that happened today was that the soles of my new balance shoes came off. Luckily I had my boots in camp and I could just switch to boots instead of wearing the shoes

Today was also the Shift 1 Outing to Tiger Brewery. A Coincidence is it? We took an hour to reach the Brewery at Tuas from camp. A staff took us on a tour inside the brewery showing us the process of making beer. It was interesting to note that some of the other beer brand actually uses the brewery to make their beers. After the boring tour- trust me all shift 1 think so, we had some food at Tiger Tarven which is the bar inside the brewery and we had free flow beer too!

Unfortunately for me, I do not drink beer (or any alcoholic drink for that matter) and settle for sprite instead. Everyone was rowdy but hey, lets just have fun and make merry. I am not complaining.

Finally gotten the hang of taking pictures- I am finally loving my phone to the max. I just love it~! There is a certain technique to taking photos. Will experiment more tml.

Now, before I sleep

ORD LOR!

OMG

tianlye — 2007-10-29T04:04:15+08:00

OMG, it's been quite a while since I last blogged! I promised to blog every week at since. It feel like I have broken the promise! Haha, I am rather surprised that the people do read my blog! For these people, I will try to blog once a week.

ORD LOH~! Well, that's tomorrow! I still got some names left in my clearance form to sign. One very important personnel was away for course the entire week and I see no point to go to camp as the other personnel will not sign until the rest is done. Hence I will be going back today to get all the signature that I could. I was told that I need to wear my number 4 uniform to camp to collect my NRIC as it is considered a working day. Since I left 1 set of uniform in camp, it doesn't really matter. Tml, the shift is having an outing at Tiger Brewery, think it will be a great day tomorrow. It was just concidence that they are having the outing on my ORD Date- Feel so much like it is a prearranged event for my ORD... Haha...

Purchase of the month

I finally gotten my K850i! The phone look cool. It has an X-factor to it. The camera isn't as good as I feel it is. It is a good phone that is full of functions but I believe it will lose it's X-factor- the 5 mega pixel camera if SE don't do something about it. In short, hold your horses, the phone isn't worth it as yet.

I also finally gotten my VF1-S Revoltech! Haha. Finally it reached me . Thanks to Weixiong for helping me pre-order from Lantendo. It's a pretty neat toy that is extremely posable.

Bye for now. Will blog more tml or today!