Another year has passed. Again, i cant believe how fast time flies. I woke up this morning and saw lotsa text messages from my frens, wishing me a very Happy New Year. Yes, i almost forgot. It is Jan 1st 2008 back in Malaysia. Over here, we are 15 hours behind. So i am still enjoying the very last day of year 2007. 12 more hours to go before stepping into 2008.
Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year, People!!!
What the Modern Woman Wants
By Amanda Chong Wei-Zhen
The old woman sat in the backseat of the magenta convertible as it careened down the highway, clutching tightly to the plastic bag on her lap, afraid it may be kidnapped by the wind. She was not used to such speed, with trembling hands she pulled the seatbelt tighter but was careful not to touch the patent leather seats with her callused fingers, her daughter had warned her not to dirty it, 'Fingerprints show very clearly on white, Ma.'
Her daughter, Bee Choo, was driving and talking on her sleek silver mobile phone using big words the old woman could barely understand.
'Finance', 'Liquidation', 'Assets', 'Investments' ... Her voice was crisp and important and had an unfamiliar lilt to it. Her Bee Choo sounded like one of those foreign girls on television. She was speaking in an American accent.
The old lady clucked her tongue in disapproval. 'I absolutely cannot have this. We have to sell!' Her daughter exclaimed agitatedly as she stepped on the accelerator; her perfectly manicured fingernails gripping onto the steering wheel in irritation.
'I can't DEAL with this anymore!' she yelled as she clicked the phone shut and hurled it angrily toward the backseat. The mobile phone hit the old woman on the forehead and nestled soundlessly into her lap. She calmly picked it up and handed it to her daughter.
'Sorry, Ma,' she said, losing the American pretence and switching to Mandarin. 'I have a big client in America. There have been a lot of problems.' The old lady nodded knowingly. Her daughter was big and important.
Bee Choo stared at her mother from the rear view window, wondering what she was thinking. Her mother's wrinkled countenance always carried the same cryptic look.
The phone began to ring again, an artificially cheerful digital tune, which broke the awkward silence. 'Hello, Beatrice! Yes, this is Elaine.' Elaine. The old woman cringed. I didn't name her Elaine. She remembered her daughter telling her, how an English name was very important for 'networking', Chinese ones being easily forgotten.
'Oh no, I can't see you for lunch today. I have to take the ancient relic to the temple for her weird daily prayer ritual.' Ancient Relic. The old woman understood perfectly it was referring to her. Her daughter always assumed that her mother's silence meant she did not comprehend.
'Yes, I know! My car seats will be reeking of joss sticks!' The old woman pursed her lips tightly, her hands gripping her plastic bag in defence. The car curved smoothly into the temple courtyard. It looked almost garish next to the dull sheen of the ageing temple's roof. The old woman got out of the back seat, and made her unhurried way to the main hall.
Her daughter stepped out of the car in her business suit and stilettos and reapplied her lipstick as she made her brisk way to her mother's side.
'Ma, I'll wait outside. I have an important phone call to make,' she said, not bothering to hide her disgust at the pungent fumes of incense.
The old lady hobbled into the temple hall and lit a joss stick, she knelt down solemnly and whispered her now familiar daily prayer to the Gods.
Thank you God of the Sky, you have given my daughter luck all these years. Everything I prayed for, you have given her. She has everything a young woman in this world could possibly want. She has a big house with a swimming pool, a maid to help her, as she is too clumsy to sew or cook.
Her love life has been blessed; she is engaged to a rich and handsome angmoh man. Her company is now the top financial firm and even men listen to what she says. She lives the perfect life. You have given her everything except happiness. I ask that the gods be merciful to her even if she has lost her roots while reaping the harvest of success.
What you see is not true, she is a filial daughter to me. She gives me a room in her big house and provides well for me. She is rude to me only because I affect her happiness. A young woman does not want to be hindered by her old mother. It is my fault.
The old lady prayed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, with her head bowed in reverence she planted the half-burnt joss stick into an urn of smouldering ashes.
She bowed once more. The old woman had been praying for her daughter for thirty-two years. When her stomach was round like a melon, she came to the temple and prayed that it was a son.
Then the time was ripe and the baby slipped out of her womb, bawling and adorable with fat thighs and pink cheeks, but unmistakably, a girl. Her husband had kicked and punched her for producing a useless baby who could not work or carry the family name.
Still, the woman returned to the temple with her new-born girl tied to her waist in a sarong and prayed that her daughter would grow up and have everything she ever wanted. Her husband left her and she prayed that her daughter would never have to depend on a man.
She prayed every day that her daughter would be a great woman, the woman that she, meek and uneducated, could never become. A woman with nengkan; the ability to do anything she set her mind to. A woman who commanded respect in the hearts of men. When she opened her mouth to speak, precious pearls would fall out and men would listen.
She will not be like me, the woman prayed as she watched her daughter grow up and drift away from her, speaking a language she scarcely understood. She watched her daughter transform from a quiet girl, to one who openly defied her, calling her laotu; old-fashioned. She wanted her mother to be 'modern', a word so new there was no Chinese word for it.
Now her daughter was too clever for her and the old woman wondered why she had prayed like that. The gods had been faithful to her persistent prayer, but the wealth and success that poured forth so richly had buried the girl's roots and now she stood, faceless, with no identity, bound to the soil of her ancestors by only a string of origami banknotes.
Her daughter had forgotten her mother's values. Her wants were so ephemeral; that of a modern woman. Power, Wealth, access to the best fashion boutiques, and yet her daughter had not found true happiness. The old woman knew that you could find happiness with much less. When her daughter left the earth everything she had would count for nothing. People would look to her legacy and say that she was a great woman, but she would be forgotten once the wind blows over, like the ashes of burnt paper convertibles and mansions.
The old woman wished she could go back and erase all her big hopes and prayers for her daughter; now she had only one want: That her daughter be happy. She looked out of the temple gate. She saw her daughter speaking on the phone, her brow furrowed with anger and worry. Being at the top is not good, the woman thought, there is only one way to go from there - down.
The old woman carefully unfolded the plastic bag and spread out a packet of beehoon in front of the altar. Her daughter often mocked her for worshipping porcelain Gods. How could she pray to them so faithfully and expect pieces of ceramic to fly to her aid? But her daughter had her own gods too, idols of wealth, success and power that she was enslaved to and worshipped every day of her life.
Every day was a quest for the idols, and the idols she worshipped counted for nothing in eternity. All the wants her daughter had would slowly suck the life out of her and leave her, an empty soulless shell at the altar.
The old lady watched her joss stick. The dull heat had left a teetering grey stem that was on the danger of collapsing. Modern woman nowadays, the old lady sighed in resignation, as she bowed to the east one final time to end her ritual. Modern woman nowadays want so much that they lose their souls and wonder why they cannot find it.
Her joss stick disintegrated into a soft grey powder. She met her daughter outside the temple, the same look of worry and frustration was etched on her daughter's face. An empty expression, as if she was ploughing through the soil of her wants looking for the one thing that would sow the seeds of happiness.
They climbed into the convertible in silence and her daughter drove along the highway, this time not as fast as she had done before.
'Ma,' Bee Choo finally said. 'I don't know how to put this. Mark and I have been talking about it and we plan to move out of the big house. The property market is good now, and we managed to get a buyer willing to pay seven million for it. We decided we'd prefer a cosier penthouse apartment instead. We found a perfect one in Orchard Road. Once we move in to our apartment we plan to get rid of the maid, so we can have more space to ourselves...'
The old woman nodded knowingly. Bee Choo swallowed hard. 'We'd get someone to come in to do the housework and we can eat out - but once the maid is gone, there won't be anyone to look after you. You will be awfully lonely at home and, besides that, the apartment is rather small. There won't be space. We thought about it for a long time, and we decided the best thing for you is if you moved to a Home. There's one near Hougang - it's a Christian home, a very nice one.'
The old woman did not raise an eyebrow. 'I've been there, the matron is willing to take you in. It's beautiful with gardens and lots of old people to keep you company! I hardly have time for you, you'd be happier there.'
'You'd be happier there, really.' Her daughter repeated as if to affirm herself. This time the old woman had no plastic bag of food offerings to cling tightly to; she bit her lip and fastened her seat belt, as if it would protect her from a daughter who did not want her anymore. She sunk deep into the leather seat, letting her shoulders sag, and her fingers trace the white seat.
'Ma?' her daughter asked, searching the rear view window for her mother. 'Is everything okay?' What had to be done, had to be done. 'Yes,' she said firmly, louder than she intended, 'if it will make you happy,' she added more quietly.
'It's for you, Ma! You'll be happier there. You can move there tomorrow, I already got the maid to pack your things.' Elaine said triumphantly, mentally ticking yet another item off her agenda. 'I knew everything would be fine.'
Elaine smiled widely; she felt liberated. Perhaps getting rid of her mother would make her happier. She had thought about it. It seemed the only hindrance in her pursuit of happiness. She was happy now. She had everything a modern woman ever wanted; Money, Status, Career, Love,Power and now, Freedom, without her mother and her old-fashioned ways to weigh her down...
Yes, she was free. Her phone buzzed urgently, she picked it up and read the message, still beaming from ear to ear. 'Stocks 10% increase!'
Yes, things were definitely beginning to look up for her... And while searching for the meaning of life in the luminance of her hand phone screen, the old woman in the backseat became invisible, and she did not see the tears.
My vacation starts today! Yippeee! I have been waiting for this day for so long... I definitely need a break!
Last nite, we had our annual bowling competition for our corporate IT office. There were more people taking part this year, making the competition more interesting. Since our new office is now so close to the bowling center, alot of them went for practice every other day... sharpening their bowling skill to aim for the top prize.
My team, High Rollers - CK, Wei Siang, Jane & Ted.
It was really fun. You can see all the teams striving hard for a strike or at least a spare. A lot of "yeah!" and "come on!" and "way to go!".. *thumbs up*
The Best Male and Female Bowler Award.
Medals for the Best Team.
Best Male Bowler goes to Chee Siong!
Best Female Bowler goes to Jessica!
Best Team - Siew Kim, Jeff, YD (the presenter), Soo and Steven.
Thanks to the committee team for all your hard work in making this event a success! *applause*
Today is Ming Jade's birthday... Happy Birthday Jade! Wish all your dreams will come true.. and your baby boy is healthy always. *muaks*
As i was browsing my picture's folder just now, i realised that i have not blog about my boss from PHX, who came to visit us more than 1 week ago. Haha. I swear to u, it is not on purpose!
Jeff McKibben just joined the company for about 5 months. We only talked once in a conference call, which was setup to introduce himself to the team here. Therefore, i dont really know him that well.
His trip here to KL was a very short one. We had a couple of meetings right after he landed in Malaysia and checked into the One World Hotel. I was amazed that he could still go for dinner with the team @ Shogun, 1U later that nite.
Soo, Siva, JY, Jeff, Jane, PY, Jessica & Simon.
Ted, Jane, PY and Jessica.
He told me the next morning that he did not have any jet lag because he was too tired. Well, that could be a good thing :)
The favourite spot for group picture. Haha.
When my manager broke out the news about YD leaving the company, i was really sad. Altho I have somehow expected this to happen, but i didnt know it will come so soon (even before the year end bonus is announced!). I am sure it was a very hard decision for him since he has worked here for 17 years. There are so many memories..
YD is a very good boss, IMHO. He takes care of all his "children" very well. I could still remember the long "battle" between him and my ex-boss in Seremban when i asked for a transfer to the KL office. But he never gave up on the slighest possibility. I owe him for that, and thank him for bringing me over to RSDC.
So yesterday, we gathered everyone into our conference room for a small award giving ceremony. Ted has taken the initiative to get a nice pewter platter (Batik) from Royal Selangor. It is very expensive... but nice.
YD and our Asia-Pac IT Manager, Ted Braun.
In appreciation of your distinguished career with ON.
Nice closeup shot.
The office people are going to have a farewell dinner for YD on 2nd Jan at Summer Palace Restaurant, Damansara Utama. I wont be around, so i bought him a gift myself. Hopefully he will like it.
YD, u will always be in our heart!
I went to the Gasoline Cafe in Times Square with my mom yesterday. It is just another different HK styled cafe, which i think has been over rated. It has a very unique design, i admit, but that is all. Food is definitely disappointing.
We were seated in an area "inside the pyramid". It was very dark and we basically need to "feel" our way in. Sitting on the floor with a dim light pointing on the table, we had a hard time looking through the menu. My mom mentioned that she needed a torchlight.. haha.
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Another friend of mine walked down the isle. I am so happy for him. Congratulations again Teck Lee! Hope u and your beloved wife live happily ever after!
Whenever we were at any wedding dinner, one question will definitely come up. No matter what happen, without fail. "When is your turn?".
People around us are setting up their own little family, one by one. I just heard that 2 other ex-schoolmates are planning to get hitched next year. I guess that means another 2 "red bombs" coming up. And those are only the ones that we knew of. I can imagine plenty of those that are in progress and to be known soon. -____-
Anyhow, I had a good time in Teck Lee's banquet just now. Of cos, i saw more old frens that i never met for a while. The most shocking discovery is to see the changes of Seng Leng, a guy from the class next door when i was in high school. I couldnt recognise him at all! There was a story behind all the changes, but that was all a history. The most important thing now is that he is healthy and happy as he can be. Im glad everything turned out the way it is now.
In the mid of the event, the bride and groom decided to entertain us with a couple of love songs. Altho they werent in tune most of the time, but it was their wedding, so who cares.. :P
Singing in their own world...
Nothing to shout about the food served in the restaurant. I have a list of other restaurants that are better than this. But of cos, sometimes we will just have to deal with the not so good ones because most of the good restaurants will be fully booked ONE YEAR before the wedding date.
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Simon is my "Java API team member" in Shenzhen who came over for a week to attend the Oracle Hyperion Consultancy session in our office. We have talked with each other a couple of times on the phone and done numerous conference calls together, but i never met him in person. He is a very humble and quiet guy.
It was his last day in KL today so we brought him to a better and nicer restaurant for lunch. Canton-i @ 1U just opened not too long ago at the Ground Floor, opposite TGI Fridays. It is a subsidiary of Dragon-i (famous for its Shanghai Ramen and Shanghainese Dumplings).
Canton-i, a new concept restaurant.
The interior of the restaurant is very nice, with a lil feel of Chinese but also some fusion decorations. Because of its limited space, they put a lot of mirrors to create an illusion of a bigger space. Very smart indeed.
The delicious egg tarts, RM3 for two.
The food there is on the higher end tho. It is somehow expected since they have invested so much money. A normal bowl of noodles costs at least RM10.80.
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This is a small note to justify my absence in the next couple of days in the blogging area.
For the whole of this week, we are having an Oracle Hyperion Consultant in the office to help us solve a couple of identified issues. He will also give us some trainings, tips and tricks in Hyperion. I was looking forward to these sessions, to be honest, but so far, i was really disappointed.
Everything was set and arranged for the initial consultant. Things were fine until the very last minute, the consultant was down with typhus and was admitted to the hospital. I heard his condition was pretty serious, therefore he could not make it to the training sessions. There were lotsa emails flying here and there between my boss and the Oracle folks. At this moment, i could imagine one of the scenes in the Singaporean movie Just Follow Law where the emails were "physically flying" everywhere. *haha*
In the end, the Oracle people managed to find someone and sent an Australian guy (who is currently based in Singapore) here. We were putting our hopes very high, thinking that he could be the one to help us in solving most of our current issues with the limitations of the Hyperion tool. Oh boy, we were so wrong...
First of all, he is not fully prepared. I know we shouldnt blame him for that because he was called in very last minute and he was supposed to attend a seminar/conference somewhere. But he should at least read his presentations before the training. On his first day, i felt like he dont even know what was the content of his slides. And he was basically reading out from the documentations that he had. Ok, we dont have to pay so much for you to come here and read, if u give me the notes, i can do the reading myself!
Second, he is just not technical enuff. I think he should be doing pre-sales than consultancy. Whatever question we asked him, he would be like: "Good question, erm.. i dunno". What!? Are u kidding me??! A consultant should never say dunno. Either you said you will look for the necessary information and let us know asap, or say cannot be done. -___-
In the end, i gave up asking. Waste of money.. Luckily the Hyperion Java API session scheduled for next week is cancelled. We will try to get someone who is better in doing his job.
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