the past two years, including this year...has been really exciting and made me open up to many things. I could say that I was travelling so much! it made me less narrow-minded, i became more sociable, there were more topics that i could talk about, i learnt a new language, met lots of wonderful people, even picked up cooking!!!! (embroidery not yet lar)
i graduated in August 2007, my 1st job was as an Aircraft Design Engineer, there I met wonderful colleagues, even though the working environment was super stressful. working from 9am-9pm everyday, my dark circles became so bad, it became a super default feature, my hair lost its lustre, i was permanently depressed, i became fatter...skin was so awful. but there my technical knowledge increased 100-fold...i was happy to discover that i wasn't THAT dumb. Thanks to Dhinnesh, Chong Seng, Chun Kiat, Guztyne, Zharif, Peter, David, Jafar for helping me out when I had difficulties! ;) of course my aeronautical knowledge came mostly from my coursemates too! - Poli, Cmin, Vun, Kwang, Hah, Furfur, Lili, Chanling, Gheeming, Kok, Vibrate, GS, Hao, KWui, David, JJ, Lun, WenJie, ZY...
After that I had to make one of the most difficult decision in life - to join the sponsor for my undergraduate studies (Petronas) in one of the most coveted divisions...everyone who works with Petronas would love to join that decision, so I was extremely lucky... or to pursue my lifelong dream, to go to Italy with a scholarship from the Italian Embassy. Also, I had to resign from the aircraft design company (which i didn't regret)... in the end i chose to go to Italy, which ended up with my having to pay back Petronas...till now I still wondered how my career would be if I'd joined Petronas...
But going to Italy was the best decision I ever made! (I had doubts when I was there, at times...sometimes I was just really idle there, I tot I could be carving my career instead in Petronas rather than thinking of what vege/meat to buy for the day and to cook what for lunch and dinner...)
the 9 months in Italy was amazing! With the sponsorship from the Italian Embassy, I decided to take up Italian Language and Culture in Perugia (universita' per stranieri di perugia). Although I took elementary Italian course when I was in Uni, but by the time I went to Italy (15th Oct 2007) I was left with 3 words "Grazie, Ciao, Prego"... =( It was the period of my many firsts...
1st time I lugged 4-5 bags with me which weighted more than 40 kgs... 1st time I went to Europe, 1st time talking and being so uninhibited with strangers, 1st time hopping on to a total stranger's car, 1st time sleeping at a total stranger's house, 1st time backpacking alone, 1st time staying in a hostel, 1st time cooking a relatively edible meal, 1st time making tiramisu, 1st italian kiss ;), 1st time having strangers approaching u on the streets, 1st time having a crush on a guy who was 6 years younger than me and 1st time seeing so many cathedrals etc.
I met many wonderful people along the way, especially when I first arrived at Rome's train station, a Malaysian-Japanese lady Junko-san who helped me bring my luggage bags onto the train...she still calls me from time to time. and the 1st night I arrived at Perugia, I was desperate and didn't speak a word of Italian, a Chinese couple accepted me to let me stay for the night. After that there was also Simone, an Italian who gave me a ride from the train station to Roma Ciampino airport (I was adamant not to pay RM100 for a 5 minute ride to the airport!)...
Then the wonderful housemates I had (Nadia, Dora, Milena, Claudia, Zhao Zheyi, Liu Jia), who took the pain to correct my Italian, listen to my stories and taught me to cook! oh and the honorary housemate Francesco!
The wonderful classmates I had - from A2, B1, B2 an C1...there are too many to mention...but some which I still keep in touch with - Loick, Jordan, Domenico, Jiji, Lili, Hussam, Emad, Raghad, Shereen, Alejandro, Angelo, Kasia, Katrina, Michelle, Valeria, Kostantinos, Solmaz, Mehrnaz, Chieko, Chiemi, Kae and more... love all of you loads ;) The different nationalities - Colombia, Mexico, Iran, Sweden, Poland, Philippines, Japan, Ecuador, Israel (I never thought the day would come), Korea etc... Thanks to all for putting up with me, and Domenico who had to suffer eating my kimchi, Kostantinos who sometimes had to eat the food I cook. lol. Of course Mariana who was my yoga partner, traveling partner, shopping partner and a very good listening companion.
Then I had to come back - end of June 2008, at first I wanted to postpone the trip because I wanted to stay a litle bit longer - cos I was reluctant to leave 'someone'...but also because there were still so many things to see - I wanted to visit Athens and Milan...but I didn't have the chance... In the 9 mths I visited many parts of Italy and some parts of Europe:
Italy - Sardegna, Assisi, Capri, Firenze (Florence), Gubbio, Napoli (Naples), Vaticano (Vatican City), Pisa, Pompei, Rome, Sicilia (Sicily), Sorrento and Venezia (Venice)
Republic of San Marino
UK - Liverpool (yes I paid homage to my favourite football team!!! It was great!~)
France - Paris
Germany - Berlin
Spain - Barcelona
I would think that I did pretty well in the 9 months right ;)
But it was all fate - I didn't get to postpone my flight so I came back to Malaysia as scheduled - 30th June. It was pretty funny looking back on how I struggled to bring back all my presents and stuff I got from Italy. After fighting with the flight crew etc, I finally managed to check in 34kgs of stuff and bring like 4 hand carry luggages (Yes being Asian helped too, cos I just pretended not to speak English and Italian at the check-in gate) hahaha. On my flight - I met another person who helped me get to where I am today...the guy who forwarded my resume to his colleague and got me my current job - You know who you are! I thought I gave a horrible impression cos I had so many hand-carries and I banged my head in front of him!
Coming back, I'm in my current company - a great place. An oilfield service provider...great colleagues (except one - hahaha)...you know who lar. But what doesn't kill you will make you stronger, so I've now decided to tolerate and make the best out of it. I had the opportunity to go Houston for a training program - a great great program and it does make me a much improved person, I'm now more knowledgable of the oil and gas industry already! I'm hyped up to improve my work attitude, being punctual to work and also to be more knowledge thirsty... ;) Am really excited about my career ahead (As long as I don't get affected by the current economic crisis)...*crosses fingers - ;)
Also seeing my friends getting married - Shanna, Guztyne, Soon, and just now Teng. Congrats to all of you ;) wish you loads of happiness ahead, I hope that your marriage will everlast and many many children... I had the opportunity to attend Guztyne wedding in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Soon's in Kuching, Sarawak...
Ahhh I'd say that life's been good - Next month I'm heading to Dubai for a training school ;) yes, in the pursuit of my career success... Never to give up, do whatever you are doing now really well, and be optimistic. I've slept in airports, been out in the freezing cold, been 40 hours without sleep, eating biscuit for meals...I'm sure life could only get better ;) If not, I still have a loving family and great friends to support - I must thank the HPC gals for always being there- Jo ooi, Pao, Loke, Heng, Lin, Loh Jo, and Chun (whom I rarely hear from)...i think i got them all lol... then girls from LL House - RinRin (oh yeah, congrats upon your wedding!), CSY, PTC, Furfur, Meiyin, SPY, LT...also the rest of course: Justine, Charng, Li Yuin, Irene, Siew, Janice, Ai Leen, Wun...wah basically most of the Georgians right?
Wow I think I've said enough - suddenly all the creative juices starting to flow... well although my love life has been pretty pathetic, but I'm sure things will get better (once I lose all the fats right? ;)) alright - now you guys have read my 1500 words on my essay of "My past 2 years, now and the future"... hugz! Maybe next time I'll spill a little on my love status - lol
