Friday, June 27, 2008
It turned out that this is my 100th post!!!
Yay!!!
but yesterday..
I was annoyed..
Haiz..not another rant plz!!!
It seemed that recently I've been on the down side of life..
and after looking at my friends' blog, I realised that I have no reason to complain cos some of them are even in a worse situation than me..
I'm not going to spoil my 100th with pathetic rants and complaints..
So yeah..
My summer placement as a student engineer in an engineering consultancy company started on Monday..
I was so looking forward to my first day that I could not sleep in the morning..
I woke up at 6am which was definitely rare considering how I always have to rush to uni or when going out with friends..
It was very daunting at first because my supervisor started to give me a very quick lessons on power plants..
I was, at that point, worried that I would have to recall all those thermodynamics that I'd learn..
but well..
It turned out that you wouldn't need all the things you learnt in uni..
You just have to make sure that you know the basic definition and how the concept works..
So, my supervisor went on and on about gas turbine, steam turbine, coal-fired, and wood-fired power plant..
and there was so much information for me to process which made me think about the days to come..
but fortunately..
he was on holiday for the rest of the week..
He had asked me to look into the difference between using bag filter and ESP (Electrostatic Precipitator) for the rest of the week!!
but I finished on Tuesday and apparently, it exceeded their expectation..??
The problem itself is simple because my supervisor had explained to me most of the things..
so I just had to simulate it in a software and confirmed what he said..
but I think I understood why they did not expect me to finish very soon..
I have always thought that you need to be very hard-working when you go to work in order to impress your colleagues and managers..
but the situation is different here..
I remembered how my sister used to tell me that in her company, nobody left the office before 6pm..
Sometimes, they were not actually working on their tasks..
They were actually competing with each other who would go back the latest..
so that they could boast to their colleagues after that..
but here..
nobody really cares what you are doing in the office..
When my supervisor said the working hour is flexible, I had no idea what it meant until the second day when I saw one of my colleagues arrived at almost 11 am..
There is no strict regulation saying that you have to work until 5pm as well..
I was surprised to see the other student intern leaving at 4.30 pm on her first day of work!!
And the funny thing is that my colleagues were actually worried that I overworked..
Comparing what I heard from my nee-san with what I witnessed tells me one thing..
In Asia, we are so crazy about competition that we start to compare ourselves with our colleagues..
Very often, we would hear so and so go home early for these many occasions or slacked during working time..
in the UK, this type of competition is non-existent..
We are still competing but in a totally different way..
In Asia, you compete by trying to expose your colleagues' mistakes to show that you are good etc..
I concluded that based on what my sister told me and from my own working experience during last summer..
In the UK, we embrace competition by using our colleague to push us up instead of doing survival of the fittest..
I very much like this kind of attitude..
It really shows that producing a quality work at the end of the day is what matters the most..
You don't have to boot-lick your boss which is good because boot-lickers are good-for-nothing people who try to cover their inabilities by putting a false impression..
My first week of placement is going to end today..
and my overall impression now: "I would want to work here after I graduate. Going back to Singapore right after I graduate for work might not be a good idea after all. I would work here for a few years if I could and then look for options elsewhere."
I guess what I wrote today explains why the next iPhone inventor would never come from Asia..
PS: Fresh meat left overnight stinks!!!
Friday, June 20, 2008
I suddenly remembered the day when I went to visit the market sale in Tynemouth
There was a stress test booth and the stand attendant asked me if I would like to try it
I sat down and gave it a try
The first question he asked me was "What are the things that you want to do in your life?"
At that moment, I almost slavishly answered, "Study hard, get a decent job, and then settle down."
but I paused
I said to myself, "Is that really what I want to do?"
I found it very strange that I could not answer such a simple question
A question that I should have thought about at some point in my life
I remembered an essay that I read before
"Every individual is a blank slate, to be filled with instructions by the society"
When I think about it now, it is true
The condition of my surrounding has made me think that studying hard in order to get a good job is my sole life purpose
but is it?
Wakaranai
but in the mean time, I will adopt "Everything will work out somehow" policy inspired by Asakura Yoh
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Mark: Ronnie is deaf, isn't he?
Mike: Aye..
Mark: Did he go to see a doctor the other day?
Mike: Yes, he did
Mark: Did he manage to improve his hearing?
Mike: I guess so. He just heard from his brother in America.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Oha minna-san!!!
Another bright sunny day in Newcastle..
Finally the workshop is over and I'm now officially free till 23 June..
I've thought of things to do to keep me occupied until then..
but surely it's not gonna be online on Facebook for the whole day..
Btw, I've uploaded pictures from my recent summer trip..
Check them out if you've got the time..
Tynemouth
Leeds
I'm gonna upload the Alnwick Castle pictures soon..FYI, Alnwick Castle is the castle they used to shoot Harry Potter's movie when they first learned to fly..
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Hoorraayyy!!!
Today I finally finished my last paper and that means..
F R E E D O M ! ! ! ! !
Yes!! Finally my holiday is going to start after months of grueling battles..
but there is one issue that really bothers me and I think I should discuss it here..
During exams, we,students, are stressed like usual...
Because of this stress, we feel that the whole world is against us and everyday feels like a very long day..
but I still feel that this is not a valid reason for us to vent our anger within on our friends!!!
I just cannot believe that after several exams, there are still people who can't change their habit..
Exams are one of the challenges we have to face as part of our university life..
Whether we like it or not, exams will always be there and we have to deal with it..
During this period, there is one friend who could not contain his stress and this affected his attitude towards his friends..
I always believe that if you are having problems in your life, it would be better if you either find someone to listen to your problems or keep it within yourself..
Either way, you should not start taking victims for your problems..
If I were one of the victims, I could not imagine myself forgiving that person easily..
When you become a victim, you lose your dignity..
It is as if people see you as someone who can be easily bullied..
Someone who will not fight back when you treat them badly..
This is bad..
because it would give the impression that you are weak..
Pride and dignity are not everything in this world..
but there are instances where you cannot just neglect them..
To fall victim to someone's problems is humiliating for me..
and for him to forget it so easily after a few pints of booze and act as if nothing has happened should give enough reason for the victim not to forgive him..
but..
he is forgiven..
Can you believe this?
I may be too idealistic..
I may be too demanding that people must live up to my expectations..
but am I wrong to think like that?
If people start treating their friends like punching bags..
then we would not have anyone we could call "Best Friends" or "Buddies"..
The world has definitely changed...
to worse..
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
