My Computing Nightmare

What's your worst computing nightmare? A crashed hard disk? A corrupted Config.sys file? A micro-processor gone haywire?? I believed I have a crashed hard disk yesterday at the end of my workshop in Brussels. I got a blue screen dump prior to shutdown and when I tried to restart my machine in the train, I got read error..

This morning I have to bring my laptop to the office so that the IT guy could fix it. It’s not very optimistic but I sincerely pray that they could recovered my data since I have not make any backup at all for all the work that I have done for AmazING. Plus there are a couple more important documents that I have developed sit in the hard disk.

I am anxious but I know my God will supply all my needs and I shall have my data recovered. Keep my fingers crossed...

Going to the City of Tin Tin

Well, when I write going to the city of Tin Tin, I mean going to Brussels. Since Tin Tin is a cartoon created by a Belgian.

I must admit after a few months of non jet-set lifestyle, it is kind of stressful again to get myself travel for work again. I need to go to Brussels to conduct the final workshop for my current project. Instead of traveling very early tomorrow morning, me and my colleague decided to travel this evening, so that we could get a good night rest before the workshop on Wednesday.

Will definitely check out the city tonight, and see what Brussels has to offer J

An Achievement, A Celebration

Tonight I took the whole team for drinks and dinner at Oni, Den Haag. It is a Japanese restaurant, and although as I suspected, it is operated by Chinese but the quality of the sushi, sashimi and even the dessert are quite good. Of course, it is not as authentic as the Japanese ones.

The team has worked very hard in one way or another to get the AmazING done. I thanked God that I have a great team and the team work is excellence. The client is happy with what we have delivered and even place a tentative order. The client is known for very slow decision making, but I know it is God who intervenes in the situation so that I can shin in my workplace with spirit of excellence. It was a fun night, for one, it is an eye opener and taste bud opener trying Japanese food for the first time.

Guys and gals, thanks for your hard work and contribution!!!

Living Water

Can you imagine could you live for one day without water? It was really hard for me to recall when was the last time in my life. I really need to travel back all the way to my childhood to search for that.

Last night when a brother is installing a new sink in our bathroom, for some unknown reasons one of the newly purchased water tabs was broken during the installation. As a result of that we have to implement unexpected water suspension at home. It was past 11pm, no reversed water (as we didn’t expect this at all) and the result is we have to survive a night without tab water. The teeth brushing, drinking and toilet because extremely uncomfortable and inconvenience even just for an overnight.

Thank God that we managed to exchange for a replacement this morning and now the sink is fixed and life is back to normal.

Thought for the day: Imagine when one is lacking of the living water in life, the Bible uses water many times to illustrate life, Jesus is the living water, and water always symbolizing life. I hope that everyone find Jesus as the living water for their life today.

The Joy of Sushi Making

16th February 2008

Well, to be precise, it should be Sushi Making @ Joy’s place. Johannes got a sushi kit for his birthday last year, and since I only been to the sushi workshop once and couldn't’t rely on my own skill to throw a sushi party, we decided to do it at Joy’s place. It was really exciting and enjoyable night, although we were surrounded by really the very young and those young at heart, despite of the generation gap, we all enjoyed ourselves very much from learning, making and eating our own creation of sushi that comes in different sizes.

This is my first time mixing the sushi rice with vinegar and seasons it to taste. Besides the boys, almost everyone has a share in making the sushi, some cutting the ingredients, other making dessert or making omelet, fish filet as the topping of the sushi. There were 12 of us at peak period, everyone was very open and engaging in very open conversation and of course put some of our brains to the limit during the mind games at the later part of the night.

Joy, thank you for hosting the Sushi Party.

Friday night @ Jordaan, Amsterdam

This weekend is loaded with programs, starting with Friday (15th February) evening where I checked out Amsterdam Jordaan with Sabine Hahn, an ex-colleague who has become my friend. We usually met in different country; the last meeting was in New Jersey, USA in July 2007.

Friday night we meet in a small Italian restaurant in Jordaan area and had a lovely catch-up and dinner together with Sabine Polish’s friends Hanna Lenart and her husband. It was a lovely evening, and we already tentatively set our next meeting point, that will be in Rome...only if everything happen according to plan...

Sweet Hearts

For those who tend to forget! It is Valentine's Day today. A day to cherish your sweet hearts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Gloomy Day

Today I woke up and the whole area is covered by a thick layer of mist. It was as if I am in my dream, everything is grey and gloomy. I already knew it from weather forecast, but never expected it to be so thick and it is developing throughout the day. Here is a photo taken from the study room.

Bathroom Renovation

The shower cabin door

The extension of the side wall using this transparent tiles

In preparation for my family visit in March, we decided to renovate our bath room. Although we have a shower facility, there is no proper shower cabin and the water spread everywhere after a good shower. It is not possible to fit a standard shower cabin in due to the original design of the house. Both of us have been using bath tub instead of shower all these while. In anticipation that my family are not use to taking bath in Asia, we decided to renovate our bathroom, starting by installing proper shower cabin using some transparent tiles and a glass door. We have purchased all the raw materials and parts; the renovation is ready to go… The bathroom will soon go through face-lift and will be there awaiting for guests in coming weeks…

A Chinese New Year Feast

Boiling Chinese Fondue

The feast of the night

The guests

Fighting for food...

Saturday 9th February 2008, the 3^rd day of Chinese New Year, we have a big Chinese fondue feast at my sister-in-law’s house, together with 2 friends from UK that were staying with us over the weekend plus some other relatives.

There are 16 of us feasting on a long table with one proper Chinese fondue set and the other side of the table with a rice cooker which serves the same purpose.

Mum as usual over prepared the food and the whole tables are full of raw squids, scallops, fish and other types of meats. Furthermore, there was abundance of vegetables to choose from.

We were all stuffed and there were still lots of uncooked ingredients lying on the table that we have to pack home and think of another way to cook them.

CuRi Forum

Attendees of the day

Presentation on South Africa

Presentation on India

Sunset in Amsterdam, view from my office

Within my company and community, I am the lead of diversity taskforce. Since the shift of labor market two years ago, we have been hiring non-Dutch colleagues extensively that there is a need to create a group to cater for their needs. The group that I have founded is called CuRi Forum which means ‘Culturally Rich’, a melting pot and an international cross road in the Netherlands. Last Friday 8th February 2008, we have our 3^rd CuRi Forum event in the office, where Pension situation is clarified and explained to our foreign colleagues. Furthermore we have two cultural presentations on the country and the work ethnics especially on the differences in Dutch working ethnics. The countries in spot light were South Africa and India. In most situations, we are amazed at the cultural richness of other countries but yet people have made a choice to work in the Netherlands for their personal development, extending their opportunities despite of the weather. This group has now members from 21 countries and it is growing constantly.

Happy Chinese New Year

Well, tomorrow is Chinese New Year again. Wishing all of you who celebrate this festive season a Happy Chinese New Year

恭喜发财

万事如意

主里蒙恩

Shall We Dance?

Since this weekend, Johannes and I started to dance at home. Dancing was one of the thing we talked about doing together for years but never got the time or the will to get it done. This weekend, out of the blue, I learned English Waltz and Cha Cha from Johannes. Besides picking up the steps, the more important part is to coordinate the movement with your partner. The first few rounds was rather stressful but once I got into the rhythm I seems to start closing my eyes and let my legs move naturally according to music and swing in our living room. It is also a very subtle physical exercise that after an hour I started to feel that my legs are really tired and sore. But I like the idea of dancing and hopefully we will practice a few more time before venturing to the actual dance floor