Meeting time...

Welcome to the conference room.....muahaha
I had a meeting today....and I was there early. So, feeling bored, I snap some pics of the conference room which can seat 14 people (the conference rooms here come in standard capacity seatings).
I was early....so I had to wait...wait...wait... and I am bored bored bored....so I take take take...
Self portrait of boredom
When are they coming? Anyway, at least I have something to blog on:P

I have a date with Mr Veloo :)

I remembered my promise to pay my good friend from St Nicholas whom I met on the White Cane Day activity , Mr Veloo in the home on the following Friday.
Remember him? I posted on the St Nicholas White Cane Day a couple of entries ago....and this was him then during the day of the event and I quietly took a quick pic of him while he was taking his lunch.
Hehehe....Mr Veloo really loves food; he enjoys eating and food really interests him. In fact, he has a sharp sense of smell as we went through the market during the day as he asked me all the food that were being cooked which dispersed all the aroma in the air at the time....hahaha.....good ol' Mr Veloo:)
Anyway, as promised, I was supposed to meet up with him again on the following Friday; a week after the White Cane Day to see him during his daily schedule and also he promised me a quick tour:)
Thus, I went for a quick lunch after work on Friday and headed straight to St Nicholas Home in Bagan Jermal in Pulau Tikus which is rather near Gurney Drive as well.
It was cloudy and started to drizzle as I made my way there:P But it still did not stop me from fulfilling my promise:)

I arrived there at about 2.30p.m...our scheduled time and drove into the St Nicholas Home compound. Upon entering the gate entrance, I was requested to produce my identity card for recordkeeping purposes at the security post and need to bring along the form to the person I am meeting for the authorization signature.
I then proceeded to the main office and asked to meet Mr Veloo and also Hafiz; the supervisor for the group during the White Cane Day (a pretty young chap my age who is really passionate about his work:)
Saw the guy; Kumar who actually was at the office to make the announcement to call for both of them to meet us.
Hafiz came and was surprised to see me; then Mr Veloo came and we had a warm welcome. Then he proceeded to lead us on the tour; escorted by Hafiz on the way as well.
First stop was the massage center where they taught them how to perform body massage. Pretty interesting and they do learn it in enthusiasm :)

He then led me to the classrooms; which is where they conducted the classes for the basic daily living skills; or rather survival skills for the visually impaired to live a normal life and to earn a living out there.
The skills taught included sewing (tailoring), typing, reading Braille, carpentry, gardening, etc.
It is amazing to hear about carpentry huh? I was equally amazed when I saw how they teach them to hammer the nails; mind you, it's definitely not an easy feat.
The main things taught is to fix the connectors for doors - the simple repairs for them to be able to contribute to the household; it's the same for gardening. They were also given the opportunity to feed the animals such as the fish in the pond.

Next, we went to the co-op shop which is a mini market in the home but the goods were limited. In fact, there was even a reading corner in this little shop.

Then we went to the other direction and headed to the library and audio recording room where I saw tonnes of books in Braille prints. The librarian explained that a normal book could be in 3-4 volumes in Braille due to the 3D prints which makes the compilation of the pages bulky and thus require separation into volumes. She also showed us the audio recording of the news and then we were led into the audio recording room; where they need resources/volunteers to help in recording/translating the books into audio format. At the moment, they are still recording in the traditional medium; cassettes but are looking at the conversion to compact discs.

The next stop was the IT center; where the computers were located and also Hafiz's working area. He also showed us to the Samsung sponsored lab which housed all the new computers.
Then we went to this IT room; where they printed Braille and this guy actually showed me how to do it using the software and also did a comparison between the manual typewriter and also the computer processing. Interesting:)
Then they also showed us on the web surfing/browsing using the computer. Since they are visually impaired, the mouse is of no use to them; they are fully dependent on the keyboard and also the software, JAWS, which is installed to guide them by telling them the motion and also their clicking motion.
It is also helpful when they type using Microsoft Office...I think they mentioned that most of the web applications are not that friendly to the disabled society yet....so sad:(
Guess we took things for granted that we didn't realize others out there who needs these special attention and care.
The last stop was the basket making area and also the music room. I also met up with the other girl; Nicole who is actually very enthusiastic about piano and also computers. I am gonna learn piano from her; hopefully...hehehe :)
It was all in all an enriching experience-filled trip; we should really be thankful for what we have and try to help out those who are less fortunate in any way we can.
Not that we need to watch out for their backs all the time; they do want to be independent as well but I think they do appreciate if the society is actually more friendly and accepting towards them.
We finally left; followed by all the warm wishes from them around 4pm.
Thanks Mr Veloo and Hafiz....take good care and hope we can meet up again as well :)

By the way, to those who are interested, they do have vacancies as well in the home...so, just give them a call :)

Head on accident

Ouch...knocked my head on the way to St Nicholas home, for my follow up promised visit to see my good friend, Mr Veloo.....does hurt....sob*

Knocked my head on...hmmmmm....dun really wanna reveal.....whatever...it hurts :P

My Cube..

Yeay yeay...finally I took some pictures of my little cube in the Kulim office where I was based...hehehe....was there early this morning....

Kinda embarassing now...hehe....really a Disney-infested cube....childish hor:P

That little sand art was what I had from the Family at Work Day last round....hehe, painted little baseball Mickey myself :)

Nothing much to talk about my cube; just a normal little working cube with a bunch of files and cabinets sitting around.

My little whiteboard for the boss to write down his specified and assigned tasks....haha...one tip from buddy, always leave it full of writings so that boss cannot fill in anything:p

Anyway, I prefer to be clean...hehehe:)

That's me....in the office early in the morning; not all the lights were switched on yet:p

Celebrity look-alike

Haha....came across this interesting webpage which matches your face (from photos you uploaded) with the celebrities in their database.

Hmmmm....interesting huh? It is part of the implementation of artificial intelligence loor...not bad but the even more interesting part is that each photo you upload will produce you with different results...

Haha...as for me, I got a couple of matches; guess who do I look like?

<*Smiles mischievously*>

Kim Tae Hee (of Stairway to Heaven and Love in Harvard fame) - Korean actress

Miriam Yeung from Hong Kong :)

Haha...I had more matches; even resembling kids :p

However, frankly speaking, I don't think the matches are so accurate anyway; but for the fun of it, you get a good laugh when they match you to different people...fun ler?:P

Convo (Aug 2005)

Hehe....kinda long overdue to post on my convocation which took place last year but then again, I forgot about it until recently when I stumbled upon the bunch of CDs and saw my convo CD and pics....sighhh....absent-minded princess now :P

Anyway, (as-a-matter-of-factly), I graduated from my university with an honours degree (which basically everyone does as well..hehe) last year; in August.

I already found a job then; pretty soon after my exams and before the convocation ceremony...Thank God for that...I wouldn't want to be part of the statistics of the jobless graduates in Malaysia :p

I had to take leave to make my way back to the main campus in Melaka...bummer; as the hall in Cyberjaya is too small to accommodate a convocation of a crowd. So I had to take leave nevertheless which was fortunate since my company actually allocates 3 days of leave for convocation for the employees; partly due to their mass hiring of fresh graduates as well.

My parents came up to Penang along with my brother; dad actually had to come up to check on the sales market anyway and thus his company sponsored his trip and they stayed in the service apartment which was located near the Free Trade Zone; Krystal Point. Surprisingly, it turned out to be an impressive and pleasant stay. Furthermore, the rates were pretty cheap for the facilities that were provided.

So, while they were in the state, they helped me to do some last minute shopping and packed before we drove down to KL for a night and then travel to Melaka.

Just as my first year, we travelled pretty early to avoid jams and also to ensure reservations of our accommodations although dad had already called earlier to book a room in Straits Meridian Melaka; a pretty nice service apartment as well which was rather near the Melaka Sentral - the new transportation one-stop portal.

It was a trip down memory lane for me as well as we passed those old buildings and also the places I have been to; seems like yesterday when I just came to Melaka for my Alpha registration; now I am actually here to graduate...yeah, just as in the bible; the beginning and the end - Alpha and Omega. Though I was thinking why they chose Melaka instead of Cyberjaya for the ceremony, guess a part of me was also pretty glad they picked this place where it all started...hehe.

Since this is an old and overdue post, I shouldn't delve too much into the details and just leave it to the photos to do the talking :)

I have loads of pics from the convo but I will select a few to post here....

Mum and Dad on the left and uncle and auntie on the right.

Yups, my beloved and favourite uncle came all the way to Melaka to attend my convocation ceremony.

Thanks a bunch, uncle...muackkksss!!

Me and uncle (Ah Pek; that's what I call him; he's dad's eldest bro:)

Big and complete family photo; my family and my cousins....hehehe :)

Happy family!~

The conventional ceremony of throwing our hats up in the air to signify the freedom/independence....ermmm, I mean the graduation after four years of slogging through those late nights and rushing to meet assignment deadlines and those sweaty palms and knots in the stomach for exam blues...bla bla bla....

We are FREE!!
CONGRATS class of 2001...we made it ALIVE...hahaha...we survived those years!!

Hurrah!!~

Self-portrait....I had to wait in a long line for my turn to take this pic which was a temporary photo shoot set in one of the old buildings in the university which was reputed to be haunted even...hehe

Anyway, I am amazed by the effects which this photo turned out to be and guess what, I didn't have much make-up on my face but look at the wonders the art of photography can do to you.

Everything looks perfect; no wonder models and brides often look so impressive and also a picture of perfection...hmmm, I should go for more of these photo shoots...:)

Oh ya, the bann on the shoulders is actually made in the shape of the university logo and comes in 4 different colours for each faculty. I think my faculty has the nicest colour; silver with the navy blue robe...a technological and suave combination although bro said the yellow bann is sharper and looks nicer in photos....:)

My bouquet of flowers from my Ah Pek...hehehe...

That's my convo....can't believe I am no longer in my studying years....hehe...now out in the dog-eats-dog world loor....and...back to work for now:P

DPCS Collage

Hmmm....just made a little collage of myself today and thought I wanted to post it here...so if you are wondering who is this noisy and annoying brat...well, here goes..



My first little attempt in making collages; let me find out more methods in doing this :)
Looking silly and naughty in most of the pics....*embarassed:p

White Cane Day with St Nicholas Penang

I am proud to say that I have spent my time meaningfully last Sunday; for a few hours at least on the Sabbath day:)
Yeah, I volunteered for an event as part of Intel's Involved (community organization) which participates in the community events. This was my first time participating in their event which called for volunteers among the employees in the company - in an effort to support the White Cane Day organized by St Nicholas home in Penang; the home for the visually impaired. I have actually posted an entry on this event with the details in my other blog; therefore I am not going to repeat my story here but rather, tell this story from my own eyes and also how I felt during the duration of the event.
Anyway, I am really glad to have participated as it opened the window of opportunity for me to mingle with the less fortunate; not that it made me feel happier but I think it is great for me to be able to understand and be content with our own situation.
If we take time to think about it, we are blessed with the perfect and complete attributes for a normal human being and thus we should not dwell only on the imperfections all the time and overlook what we already have. Ironically, I just told the same exact words to someone yesterday and this person happened to agree with me on this:D
Yeah, I always feel that people dwell too much on what we don't have rather than be thankful for what we already have. Humans yearn too much and love to compare with each other; creating the 7 deadly sins which include envy, greed, anger, lust, gluttony, pride, sloth - all of which relates to human feelings and their intentions.
Why in the first place do all these sins come to our lives? Well, I should say mainly it stems from the nature of human being who always want to succeed others and will never be content.
I remember my parish priest, Father Mitchell in my home church in Kepong who once said in his sermon during mass with visiting parishioners from another church - the unique part was these parishioners were not like any of us; in fact, they were the less fortunate - they were the deaf/mute and also the disabled (wheel-bound). Father actually said that God created these people for a reason; HE wants to remind us, as the other part of the society to be mindful of what we have and also to appreciate our gifts. At the same time, it is also to strengthen our faith in ourselves and God and to reach out to the others who are different from us but accept them as part of us to be a part of the kingdom of God:)
Back to this White Cane Day, just a little on the info that I found out from the St Nicholas folks; Mr Veloo and also the pamphlets which we were to distribute (haha....my new friend whom I was to lead during the quest on the White Cane Day event). He told me to read it before distributing and I found out that the White Cane is actually symbolic to represent the level of severity of the visual impairment. Relatively, the white cane is used by those who are totally blind and has no signs or path to recovery or partial sight. Thus, they need guided help in carrying their tasks especially in transporting themselves around. It was actually initiated by a British guy who first got blind(can't remember who he was; but he was definitely someone famous) and he painted his walking stick white and thus begun the initialization of the White Cane Day theme for the blind.
I was assigned to lead Mr Veloo and we had a nice conversation all the way; discussing about topics from our hobbies to our daily lives. He was also trying to get me to help out in the scripting for the Braille into a software. I had to turn him down; sadly since this princess is not too good with programming and technical stuffs. However, I did offer to do part time volunteering and also to do any write ups if needed in the home:)
He was an experienced guy and we even talked about religion; with a little insight into his life story as well. He was born into a Hindu family and then at a young age, he was sent to an orphanage where he started to learn about the Christian faith. Then he was baptized and now he is a Catholic although he secretly admitted that he was not such a devout one...hehe:P
Anyway, he also commented that I am an optimistic girl and also that I always dwell on the postive outlook. Furthermore, he mentioned that princess me is a kind-hearted person with a charitable heart.....awwww.....blushing....thanks Mr Veloo....you are an equally kind soul as well :)
I am now even more enthusiastic to volunteer and to help out the others; I am now looking into the deaf/mute, orphans, disabled, old, sick, etc if possible. Found something on online volunteering as well....anyway, I have a date with Mr Veloo this Friday...to visit the St Nicholas home located in Bagan Jermal, Gurney...see ya there....God bless all of you!~