Another adventure

Two weeks ago, I was approached and asked to be "involved" in a new and exciting initiative. I jumped at it. I like taking on new challenges, being involved in new things. Did I enquire about my level of involvement at that time? No. I simply said "Hell yes".

A week later, I start realising how "involved" I was going to be. So lately, time is precious. Really precious. Deep breath, I tell myself, it's okay, I can manage. It's like going back to school, learning new tools, trying to master it so I can teach it proficiently to the new team. Did I get stuck? Oh yes, at times hours were spent trying to figure out little, minute things. Ok great, got past that, moving on..

Today, I dug around further, trying to understand the pieces surrounding the context of this new initiative so I could start moving on to other related tasks. I start realising that what I know so far, is a tiny sand grain in a little section of a beach that goes on for miles and miles.

You know that feeling you get when something actually starts to sink in? Like pins and needles creeping up on you, from head to toe, in what seems like hours?

You know when you feel like you know it all, but realisation sets in that you've barely scratched the surface?

What do you do at this point?

You take it one step at a time, focusing on the present, while knowing there's a bigger purpose in all of this. You also accept that mistakes are okay; they are the best way of learning and getting from Point A to Point Z (while trying to minimise the # of mistakes along the way of course). You put your heart and soul into it, and desire any tangible outcome to be a reflection of your strengths. You steer clear of the naysayers and cling on to the ones that inspire you.

At the end of all this, when you feel you've accomplished what you had set out to do, you take a deep breath...smile, reflect, throw in a vacation by the beach .... and are ready to do it all over again.

Perspective

Life for the past few months has been all about work. It doesn't have to be this way, but it's a combination of it being a personal choice, being passionate about what I do and working with people who inspire me and are great fun to work with.

Things have really picked up at work. Yes working long hours is one thing, but of late, it's been meetings, conference calls one after another, new projects, with not a spare moment to take a deep breath and think anything through thoroughly. 


Amongst all this, I noticed that up till a few weeks ago, I had been approaching work in a way too personal way. I mean that when things don't go perfectly, it really affects me and I take it all to heart even though these are business related things. There were two weeks of consistent sleepless nights because my head kept turning, and neither did I try to stop it. I'd crash on the weekends. One day recently, I was in the office up till 10pm dealing with a few things. I called a dear friend (who might as well be my life coach) right after and broke down. The gist was that I was simply overwhelmed with emotion. One of my main roles includes supporting clients and sales folks in the company. So I tend to hear all the great stuff but also hear the other end of the stick. At that point it feel like the weight of a thousand rocks on my shoulders.

I explained this to her, and yes she sympathised with me, but more importantly, she gave me a reality check. Why was I taking everything to heart? At the end of the day, this is work. Such a simple statement, yet, it really hit me. I thought, "Yes she's right, I'm being utterly ridiculous about this". I won't stop caring, and will always be solution orientated, but I needed to change certain things about the way I approached it.

It's all about perspective isn't it, and sometimes we need to hear this from others to bring us back down to earth. I've made some changes since, and it's been all for the better.

A few weekends ago I was sitting down with a friend reflecting on life. We narrowed down to a specific topic. She was telling me about how four years ago. she had all these worries in life which affected her mentally and physically. Soon after, she received some personal news, one that was earth-shattering. Reflecting back on it now, she sees how her earlier worries were insignificant to the news she received soon after and in the bigger picture of things, she might have seen and dealt with her earlier worries differently. 


I've always had this tiny fear in the back of my mind, that someday, something earth shattering will happen to me, one so significant that nothing else will matter. I will go completely numb and physical and emotional pain will have no impact on me. Once the numbness subsides, I would look back on life, and question certain choices.


At the end of the day, these earth shattering moments are unpredictable, and there's no point harping on the whats ifs and what might happen. It's all about living in the present, making the best of it, and living life with no regrets.

For safekeeping

I wrote this excerpt 3 years ago on Facebook that I want to safe keep on this blog. By the way FB's time line? Yes I love the various designs, but I'm not really feeling it. I like clean simple interfaces, not a clutter of boxes all over my profile.

Slight deviation, but back to this excerpt:

Friends vs. acquaintances
Passion vs. mediocrity
Chemistry vs. commonality
Tenacity vs. irresolution
Consistency vs. irregularity

Always the former, and never the latter


No, there was no plagiarising involved here. I can't remember what spurred the above, but I must have been very inspired that day.

So yes, this is a reminder of how I want to live each day at a time.

On the note of consistency...

September marks the last month of working directly with my former boss, Nico. We will still be working together, though on a less frequent basis. He has been a great mentor over the past year, and I've learnt a lot from him. The one thing I've observed and admire him tremendously for is his consistency with how he perceives himself, and how he communicates the values he stands for to the entire team. All this while providing me with the freedom and independence to develop in my own way. Sounds elementary, but I think it's easier said than done. I've observed quite a few folks in upper management who say one thing, but then it becomes questionable when you see quite the opposite unravel in their day to day interactions. Although we've both moved on to new roles within the company, I know I can always call him out of the blue if I need some advise. This is so important in any company you work with, that you have someone you can trust, be honest with, and know that they'll have your back. Mutual trust and respect. Thank you.

Sicily, reflections on the year, next year

A bunch of us rented a villa in Cefalu, Sicily, and celebrated Courtney's birthday this past weekend. 

The trip was a perfect balance of all sorts. Heat, strong sun and winds on Saturday and Sunday. Torrential downpour on Monday, like the kind of monsoon rain we get in Malaysia, where everything gets knocked over by the winds, perfect for a day in to finish one of Jo Nesbo's novels, while we watched the storm play out like a movie through the glass windows. Strong sun on Tuesday, as if someone up there knew it was mine and Kirstine's last day and wanted to bless us with some last bits of sunshine before heading back to London. Good food, wine, and company.

The beaches were beautiful. Clear, turquoise blue, warm.  

Two years living in London now, and I get it. I get why the British need to escape to a place with lots of sunshine. I never did see it, having been blessed with 28 degree weather in Malaysia for 20 years. But 2 years in London, and yea...

I jumped straight back into work on Thursday morning, and for the first two hours, I hated the world. I got over it...

Today has been a day of reflection. After running 5 miles, I laid horizontally on my favorite park to catch my breath and reflected on the year. This year has been amazing, and Sicily marks the last of my travels in 2011 before I focus on work for the next three months and head back to Malaysia for a month. 

This year was very much about me. Not exactly in a selfish way, but I focused on certain things. Last year, a tumultuous relationship and some career changes threw me off tracks. I'm not religious, but I believe in spirituality. Especially when it comes to bad energy, negativity, and the toll it can take on a person's well being, in many forms. I decided that 2011 was going to be different. And it has been. I remembered all the things I loved, held dear to me, revisited them, and held on to them, ingrained into my everyday life. A bit vague, but then, this IS a public blog.

2012 - I've started thinking about what this year will be about. All I can think about is how I will be 27... Good lord..time to start acting like an adult..hah. No..I've a few things I'd like to do..

I'd like to leave you with a blog I came across today http://www.legalnomads.com/. I discovered Jodi's blog through a recent post by Chris Guillebeau. People like Jodi and Chris Guillebeau inspire me so much. Chris' blog is title The Art of Non Conformity. Kinda sums up how I want my life to be, and the kind of people I want to be surrounded by. 

Challenges

Dad has been in London for a few days now. Whenever he drops by I like quizzing him about his university days in London and when he met mom.

Life could have been very different for me. Mom and Dad lived in London for 6 years, studied, married and worked here. They became permanent residents, and were pretty much set on living here. At the end of the six years they decide to visit Malaysia for a bit. This short visit turned into relocating back to Malaysia for good.

As a Malaysian having been through numerous costly and time consuming visa processes in the US and UK, I sometimes dream about how much easier life would've been had I been born in the UK. 

On Saturday, as dad and I were strolling along the canal by Regents Park, I go "Oh dad why couldn't I have been born here!" 

"Why is that?" dad asks.

"Well I would have one less worry in life."

Dad laughs at me and goes "If that were the case, you would only have had a comfortable life. At least you grew up in Malaysia and experienced a different culture, moved to the States and you're now in London! If you had grown up in the UK, you'd probably have gone to university here and lived here your whole life."

And he's probably right. I don't think I'd have studied in the US, worked there, found my way to London, and have met and experienced the numerous variations of life and personalities along the way.

My cousin, Fernie, wrote a post about how change is good, how it contributes to one's appreciation. Fern was born in the US, and moved about quite a bit: Malaysia, Texas, San Diego, and recently, Hangzhou. Her writing is simply beautiful and those of us who have moved about can certainly relate to. Read it here.

Let me try to tie all the strings together. This blog, although unintentional, is mainly focused on travels that come about due to work and personal interest. I'm a firm believer in traveling as much as possible. Travels tend to throw you out of your comfort zone, and into circumstances that challenge you. She teaches you how to deal with them, and turns you into a stronger, yet versatile person over time. She is invaluable, priceless and teaches you how to persevere in the years ahead of us. 

Thank you Steve..

I first read of Steve Job's departure as CEO this morning, on the way to work.

It was weird. I don't know him, have never known him. But it felt like someone close had departed and i felt more affected than I really should be.

I read further down the New York Times article and it began to make sense. Steve Jobs vision from 30 years ago, now realised, is part of my everyday life. To be honest, the fact is, the results of his vision are ingrained in me. I spend at least 10 hours a day on a Steve Jobs heavily influenced product - iPhone plugged in on the way to work combined with reading the BBC/NYTimes app. At work, I'm on a MacBook all day (which I just moved over from a PC, and it's the best change that's happened - productivity-wise).

This paragraph from the NYTimes article sums it up perfectly:

“Funny how much emotion you can feel about a stranger,” wrote Susan Orlean, the author. “And yet every phone call I make, every time I’m on a computer, he’s part of it.” 

He will always be known for taking risks, not backing down, and realising that in the most innovative yet consumer centric way. Are you kidding? That is an understatement. 

 

Thank you Steve for changing this industry, and challenging the competition.

Overheard today

"We search all our lives for someone to love and then go about for the rest of our life trying to change them and mold them into what we want them to be, trying to contain them. And that's why you lost her..."

Entrepreneurship and friends

Soundtrack (Spotifyit!)

You were born (Cloud Cult)

Armistice (Phoenix)

The last 5 days were spent in Stockholm. Stockholm holds a special place in my heart having spent quite a few weeks there on numerous occasions. Though, the thing is, never in the summer (at this point every Swede I tell this to gasps)!.

Summer here is weird. I use the word weird just because I'm not used to it. The sun sets at 10pm and rises at 2am. It's great, yet it plays tricks on me. Light is an indication that I should be awake.

So yes I work with this company, where colleagues have become friends, not just acquaintances. I started there when we were just 200 employees. Now it's 800. Ever been in a fast paced entrepreneurial setting? Man it's nuts. The amount of roller coaster rides you take is enough to keep you occupied and exhilarated 24/7. Your highs are really high, and the lows are really low. It is here that I've found a close knit of friends. We are no longer in the same office anymore, one is in San Diego, the other in Philly, another in New York, and in Stockholm. Yet, we talk weekly if not daily.  Others have come and gone and it is through the years that you are always drawn back to those you respect and those who have the same core values you have. 

So Stockholm has always been a reminder of this. A lot has happened here which I'll never forget. 

This time around I went to hang out with Sara and Aref. The three of us worked together about 9 months ago. Sara, I've known for 4 years now. Aref and I have known each other since last year. We bonded because we like the same things, and can talk endlessly about them. Now that we're all in different cities, I jumped at the opportunity of this little reunion. And a reunion it was, just like old times.

During the weekday, we worked out of the office where Aref is now, a new start up launched last year by our CEO. I loved it, as it was a nice reminder of the times when our company was at that start up stage back in the US when I was first hired. Plus in those kind of settings, everyone is a multi tasker, and just good in everything! The weekend was spent with Sara's family where it always feels like home, exploring different areas in Stockholm and eating and drinking lots!

I just got into London this evening. Yes I did miss my bed terribly, but sometimes wish I could have my favorite people around me constantly. 


Thank you Aref, Sara, and the Davar family for playing host and for "being". :)

Being efficient in an international company

It is 12.34 AM on Wednesday and I've just shut off my laptop after finishing off some work emails. It hits me that I've been working this routine more often now then I did 4 months ago. I'm at work from 9am-6.30pm, head home, have dinner, chat on the phone and then start working again around 9pm till about midnight. The thing is, I don't mind it.

I kinda have this military style work ethic, which isn't necessarily good. I like to get things done and out of the way immediately. I was telling Sara the other day that I would like to create an efficiency list (someone criticised me for sounding like the antagonist in a George Orwell novel). So in every company, you have people who move at a snails pace, and you have others who get things done within minutes. This efficiency list would contain the names of my "go to people" whenever I need to gather information from different departments.

So going back to this recent work routine I have, I've just been analysing this change and owe it all to my dual role I've just transitioned into.

Firstly, I work with our Mdrive team. My go to tech guy is in Australia, 6 hours ahead of London. I hate long turnaround times, so I make it a point to send emails with questions that have come up during the day by midnight my time. That way I wake up to a nice email back from him and can get on with the day.

Secondly, my Mdrive team consists of members from Sweden and Finland and they start work around 2-3 hours ahead of me. Same concept, I email everything to them the night before and when I get to work at 9, they have already read through my email and have had time to think about it and are prepared to discuss those items with me. Additionally sometimes I work on projects where I need to correspond with other teams in US, so I use the night to get answers from them.

Thirdly, my other role is with the buzz support team. My go to guy is in San Fran, another time zone to work with. :S he starts work around 8am Cali time, 4pm my time. But he's ALWAYS on conference calls for two hours so I can never get hold of him. So I go home and try to catch him online around 10pm my time. The thing is, I've learnt not to send emails to him because he gets hundreds, so I resort to instant messaging him to get an "instant" response. If for some reason I miss him during this time, I have to wait ages before being able to get IM time with him.

So you see, I don't mind this at all because it fits within my personality of getting things done. Nothing more frustrating then being unable to finish off a task just because a piece of information is missing. I also love the international aspect of my job as it demands for interaction with colleagues from all over the globe.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Village

Monday - Thursday was spent at the Zhabagly village in Kazakhstan. I did not want to leave. It was serene, simple and beautiful. I made the mistake of checking work emails on Tuesday night, and oh boy did that send me back to work mode for an hour.

We stayed at Yevgheny and Lynda's charming guesthouse in the village. They are from Ukraine, and moved to Kazakhstan in 1978. We met quite a few backpackers at their guesthouse, from Netherlands, Australia and Sweden.

Again, I loved the village. Mind you that when I say village, try not to think of all the negative connotations that come with that word. The villagers were educated, they had lovely yet simple houses. You could tell that the Kazakhstan government took good care of ensuring good education and infrastructure for the villagers. It also made me more angry at the Malaysian government. They like to boast of being quite a progressive country, but try going to the remote areas....

I have to talk about the horses, cows and sheep. When we arrived on Monday, around 7pm we heard a lot of mooing going on. I walked out of the guesthouse and joined the Dutch tourists on the street. The cows were coming home!

So there are about 2000 residents in this village. Every household has an average of 2-3 cows, some sheep and maybe 1-2 horses. Everyday, around 6:30am they take turns gathering all the cows and sheep from each house to take them high up into the mountains to graze. Then at around 7pm, all the animals come home. It is quite a lovely sight, because you see an entire herd walking together, and the cows split off by themselves one by one and they know which house to go home too!

So since that Monday, mom and I made it a point to sit outside by the porch everyday and watch them come home. One day, we were waiting for about 30 minutes, and my mom goes "aha we are literally waiting for the cows to come home!"

Moving on to Tuesday, we went hiking in the Aksu Canyons. We had Svetlana as our guide, a Russian who moved to Kazakhstan in 1991. You could tell she loved nature. So down she took us, explaining everything in detail and with a lot of patience. Tulips originated from Central Asia (although they are often associated with Netherlands), so we saw quite a few of the original Greig Tulips which are plentiful in the Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve. Mom and dad were really impressive at their age! They managed to get down and up and they were even at the same pace as the forty something Dutch couple we met halfway. 

When we returned from hiking, Svetlana was kind enough to invite us to her home. Actually, mom stealthily devised a plan earlier on so Svetlana would invite us over. There we met the same Dutch couple Svetlana's backyard and learnt that they had built their own RV and had driven all the way to Kazakhstan from Netherlands with their two dogs. 

Now Wednesday was my favorite part. We went horseback riding into the mountains! This was my first time, and so I worried that the horse was going to fling me off its back! But no, my horse, Patron (Russion for Bullet) took great care of me. I began to trust her, and if I did fall, it was because I was a bad rider.

You could tell that the people of Kazakhstan are natural horse people. I'm so certain they train their horses better than the trainers in the Western world. The horses were great, maneuvering their way about the mountains steadily. I had a lot of time to observe my horse, and thought to myself, no wonder handsome strong men are called stallions. :)

Svetlana and Talgat (our ranger) again took good care of us. They were extremely patient trying their best to explain and answer all our inquisitive questions. I was quite amused and proud of my mom when she sat Svetlana down, took out her notepad, and asked Svetlana how to bargain in Russian. We also learnt of the sport Kokpar, a Kazakh version of Central Asian sport where two teams on horses try to catch a sheep's carcass and bring it to their respective goals. This is where horse polo originated from. Reuben plays polo and he had a polo horse, so that was the context it was brought up in.

Horseback riding was awesome and quite a funny experience because of mom and dad....but oh boy, did we pay the next day. Never has my back and butt hurt like this before...

I'm now back at my brother's lovely apartment in Almaty and about to fly back to London in a few hours. We spent the past two days in front of CNN and BBC watching the coverage of Osama's capture and death. I have a lot of opinions about how the days after have panned out, but I'll refrain from going into it.

Kazakhstan was awesome, and thanks to Reuben for organising and hosting us!

Almaty, Kazakhstan

I’ve been in Almaty, Kazakhstan for 2 days now, and it is quite interesting....My brother has been here since February due to his work with the UN, and so mom, dad and myself jumped at the opportunity to visit him and a country we would never otherwise have visited.

Let’s just get straight to the highlights..

1.    English? No..Russian

No one here speaks English. Neither are any of the signs in English. Not even touristy areas have a single word of English anywhere. I realised that Kazakhstan was going to be one visual adventure – absorbing images, sign languages and figuring it out myself. I’ve started to learn phrases, like spasibah, skolka, etc, but you still get very very lost in translation...

       The City

Personally I see Almaty as a cross between Klaipeda and Moscow. It is very spacious and spread out, and you tend to come across incredibly large and majestic looking buildings like in Moscow. It is also reminiscent of the Soviet era, so you also come across mass produced eye sore buildings like the ones I’ve seen in the Baltic states. The youth here exude a kind of attitude I remember seeing while I was in Klaipeda. I don’t quite know how to put it into words yet to explain this observation, but it’s almost like a newfound independence, and they strut around with huge smiles and a swagger in their strides.

3.    The people

Kazakhstan is incredibly diverse. You have Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Russians, Uyghurs, etc, and you have minorities such as Germans, Kurds, and Koreans. These minorities did not migrate straight from their countries, but rather migrated to Russia around 1800s and then emigrated or were deported from Russia to Kazakhstan in the 1900s as a result of the Soviet Union era.

4.    Taxis

I was greeted at the Almaty airport by my brother and dad who then led me to a “taxi” which was an ordinary car with a guy sitting in front with his girlfriend. I learnt that it is quite common, that when you are looking for a taxi, you stick out your hand and wait for any resident to stop. You state your destination, haggle, and get into the car. It’s sort of a way for the locals to make money, and for the foreigner to get a good price. I get the impression that is is really common, and not dangerous.

.     The Green Bazaar

This is probably one of the most organised and cleanest markets I’ve ever seen. There are sections allocated to each type of food, so a section is allocated to dried fruit and nuts, another to fresh fruit and vegetables, and another to butchers selling meat. Each section has rows and rows of vendors selling similar items.

This was also where I experience Kazakh hospitality (or maybe sales, aha) for the first time.

I approached one of the dried fruit and nut vendors, and he was quick to pass me on samples of pistachios, almonds, dried apricots, etc. He amused me by going  “OoozbekistAaaan” pointing to the pistachios from Uzbek, and going  “KItai” pointing to the pistachios from China over and over again. After weighing the pistachios I wanted, I was keen on paying and moving on. But no, he would not let me. He kept handing out samples to my entire family. When I shook my head, he‘d look very very angrily at us and extend his arm again and look terribly offended. How could I refuse? He then invited me behind the counter to take a picture with him. By that time, we had already caused a scene in the market and had every vendor watching us.

      Medeu, Shimbulak, Big Almaty Lake

On Sunday, Reuben’s colleague was kind enough to drive us up to the mountains. Roman is a local and took us to Medeu and Shimbulak, areas known for the winter sports and ski resorts in. We then proceeded to the Big Almaty Lake, a mountain lake surrounded from all sides by the majestic mountains. The lake was still half frozen, although the temperature was mild enough for me to wear shorts. Amazing scenery..It was also really nice having him around to translate certain things for us and tell us more about the history of Almaty. 

We're off to south west of Kazakhstan tomorrow to the Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve for the next 4 days...

By the way, at 8:31am today I felt a very deep rumble around me. I shouted to my brother, was that an earthquake?! Yes it was. It wasn't very strong, and mom and dad actually missed it.  Turns out it a 5.4 magnitude earthquake had hit the southeast of Kazakhstan, about 77km from Almaty. Just read the news, and there has been a total of 5 tremors today! No casualties have been reported. 

Do I have to grow up?

The whole Jeremy Piven incident has made me nostalgic about the days when I was a teenager...

So when I was 13 - 17 years of age, I was madly in love with the local theater scene. I used to watch all kinds of plays with Hana. Hana and I went to high school together, and found each other due to our love for theater. None of our other friends cared for sitting through a 2 hour play.

There was a local production group called The Instant Cafe Theatre, and we made it a point to watch EVERY single show they put on. We fell in love with Jit Murad, Paula Malai Ali, Chae Lian, and many others.

We probably went to about 8 shows a year.. After every single theater performance, we would stay back, wait for the actors to come out so we could talk them to death, take pictures, and get yet ANOTHER autograph specific to the playbill.

Which brings me to a memory I was reminiscing about this evening:

We were 17, and there was a spare moment between the end of a play and when the actors were to come out. I looked over at Hana and said something like "Oh Hana, I want to be 17 years forever. When we grow up, how will we easily justify this silliness?" We looked at each other sadly, realising that our days of being young and acting silly with the actors were coming to an end.

Hana and I had dreams. We also made a bet that whoever made it first to the Actor's Studio gets 50 Malaysian dollars. She made it first.

I have to give major props to Hana. Due to the old folks not wanting to disrupt the status quo in Malaysia, she was asked to pursue medicine. Halfway through her course, she returned to Malaysia and pursued acting. She is now in Boston studying music at Berklee.

Let's not talk about what happened to me...

I'm going to leave you with a picture of Hana and I in our first play together. :)

Group shot with the cast!

Vegas, Friends and Sons

The company I work with was amazing enough to send 800 of us to Las Vegas for the annual kick-off event (April 15-18). I really don't care about recreations of the Eiffel tower, nor care about a large concrete hotel made to feel like you're in Italy. Nor do casinos excite me.

However, Las Vegas was an epic trip of all sorts for the following reasons:

1. People

I'm always excited to see the folks I previously worked with in US.

M, I absolutely adore, and I owe her so much for taking over Joey when I had to leave US. We keep in touch weekly, takes good care of me whenever I am in Philly, and she is the best! A, is the sweetest and one of the most genuine persons around. He is my go to person whenever I'm having a roller coaster day and has helped so much when I had to leave suddenly and was at a loss with what to do with the apartment and mail. Haha, really, thanks A! And there are so many others, the ones who had started when I did, who have now transitioned into new roles, my virtual EU team, the petal teams I worked with in London, the Rik&Maarten Dutch team I had recently gotten to know, my newly found tech team, and the ones I keep an eye out purely out of personal interest,...e.g. the Kuala Lumpur office!

The company event went on for 4 days. There wasn't a moment where we did nothing. It was either, presentations, workshops, trying to catch up as much as possible, meeting new colleagues, and trying to get 4 hours (which is a very decent amount) of sleep each night.

2. Mumford & Sons, and Jeremy Piven (major credit goes to Sara Davar for this)

The night before we were due to fly out to Vegas, I hear from SD that she had the pleasure of sitting next to Ted from M&S on her flight from NYC to Vegas. She was frantic on the phone. I went nuts. She tells me that he is the loveliest most humble person on earth,  and that they chatted for hours. We knew beforehand that they were going to perform at our hotel, but didn't secure tickets. Truthfully speaking, I at least knew about the hype surrounding the band, and did try listening to their music, but the context was never there, so I wasn't really into them. She then tells me that he's put her +2 on the guest list and that we have to go.

Come Friday, I arrived in Vegas, mingled, listened, and at around 10pm, SD grabs me and we venture off to the gig with Brandon.

The guys from M&S are musical geniuses. They are better live than on a studio recording. They soaked up the energy from the crowd, and returned the favor. I became a fan.

After the gig, we went looking for them. After explaining the situation over and over, we finally get to their private area, and Ted comes out to greet us. He invited us in to have some drinks with the band. True enough, SD's comments about Ted were spot on. He didn't even act like a celebrity. He was funny, down to earth and hospitable! I became a bigger fan.

Now, another amazing moment occurs when SD goes "Ruth, did you not see him?". I'm like "Who? Where? What?". She goes "The guy from Entourage!". She knows how much I love Entourage and I had been talking her ear off about the show earlier this year. I turn around expecting to see Adrian Grenier, but even better, it's Jeremy Piven! HooOooly. I go absolutely nuts in my insides, and really had to master everything I had not to show it. It just wasn't the place to act like a screaming fan. Unfortunately he was quite involved with the other band members. Truthfully I didn't trust myself to be calm enough to talk to him sensibly.

Vegas certainly felt like a dream. We didn't have a spare minute to stop for a moment, and think about the days that transpired, that when we returned, a lot of us thought, did Las Vegas just happen?

Dazzling Lights...

I'm off to Las Vegas tomorrow. It's almost midnight, and the excitement has just started to build up. No..I'm not excited about seeing Vegas.. I spent a few days there 4 years ago. It was fun, but I'm not too much a fan of casinos, and concrete surroundings (think Dubai). I do try out gambling when I happen to be in a casino, but then get bored after 5 minutes.

I'm excited because I get to see my American colleagues who have become friends after all these years!! We keep in touch weekly, but it's not the same as seeing their faces. The first few hours will be spent trying to find the familiar faces in a sea of 800 employees, plus the tourists around us. Ahhhhhhh...I promised a friend I'd be his gambling buddy, yea I hate gambling, but it'll be sooo fun!

I was thinking today, every time I step into the US, I go through some kind of experience for the first few minutes. For me, having lived there for 5 years, US represents so many things I admire. Tenacity, ambition, audaciousness. I may be presumptuous here having only lived in UK for 2 years, but UK and Malaysia are similar in some ways - Class, constraint, a held back attitude for fear of disrupting the status quo.

Going back to these few minutes, I honestly feel a kind of heaviness lifted off my shoulders. I soak in my surroundings, take a deep breath, and feel like I'm off to conquer the world.

Anyway...

Next time you hear from me, I might have a tattoo somewhere and a ring on my finger, and trying to dig myself out of some kind of trouble.. ;)

Going Dutch

Amsterdam

Soundtrack - Snow Patrol's Up To Now album

Last time I was in Netherlands was back in 2006 just like the last time I was in Germany before the recent trip to Berlin. 

How I feel towards Netherlands is quite different from Germany. In 2006, we spent an entire month there and Netherlands was in the middle of our 10 week trip, so friendships were already formed and we became closer and closer. In Netherlands, we hung out every second, watched the world cup together, jammed on the keyboard and guitar, biked to nearby towns, to Belgium and into the late hours of the night, studied, snuck into private tennis courts and of course some other things which aren't meant for public domain. We explored Oisterwijk, Den Haag, Tilburg, Delft, Amsterdam and Utrecht. 

For the reasons above, I have an affection for Netherlands, and couldn't help reminisce before and during this trip to Amsterdam. A glimpse into the past:

So random story during this 2011 trip while on my way to a Breda. Along the way I passed a field while on a bus and something went off in my head. It was the very field where Mike and I ended up one day when we decided to skip class (or maybe a tour). It was almost as if the scene was copied from my past and pasted into the present and I could see us on the field, kicking the grass, throwing twigs, and talking about random stuff.

Enough with the past. So this time around, it was pretty hectic. I spent my nights prepping, and the days travelling to meetings. First day was spent travelling to a meeting in Breda, and second day on meetings in Amsterdam with a few hours spent out of our office there. 

Let's spend a moment on the biking scene in Amsterdam. So we all know that everyone here bikes right? Oh my, the cyclists here are serious. In London, they observe traffic lights. In Amsterdam? Haha. Not really. My colleague commented on my observation and goes, "We have two rules here. 1. Always be on the move as long as you 2. don't hit a car or a pedestrian. Stick to that... and you're fine."  

During the evening on my way from the office to the train station, my colleague offered me a ride on his bike, with my suitcase. He dumps my suitcase on this L shape thing on the front of the bike and starts biking with me still standing on the street. I'm like "what about me??" he goes " you're supposed to hop on NOW." I'm thinking how the heck... I stop thinking  and jump on the backseat. He goes "um you're supposed to sit on it with two legs to one side."  really? I was already in panic mode and told him to just go. During the ride, I kept marvelling out loud at his balancing skills with me on the backseat and suitcase on the front. He goes "I'm a Dutch boy you know? We are different from the rest. So you like Dutch boys now eh?" aha, my fear went away. 

Prior to the bike ride, my colleagues took me to a really nice pub by one of the main canals for drinks. There, I was introduced to La chouffe, a pretty awesome Belgian beer, and Bitterballen, a Dutch snack which is a fried meatball filled with minced beef and ragout. Grreat combination!

Some other things I learned and observed...

1. In Netherlands you always introduce yourself on the phone as soon as the person on the other end picks up the phone. So e.g even when you order pizza, you go "hi my name is Jane Doe, I would like ...."

2. They kiss thrice when greeting you. I'm now used to the way Brits kiss once on the cheek, and the way the Spanish and Italians kiss twice but can't help stifling a giggle (simply because I'm not used to it) when my colleagues take the time to go muah, muah, and muah. 

Thank you to my colleagues for a lovely evening by the canals, introducing me to La chouffe and Bitterballs! 

To everyone from the IBI trip, we've all gone our separate ways and some of us still keep in touch. I hope you are all well and thanks for the memories...

Fat Tuesday in Gothenburg

So I'm in Gothenburg at the moment.

It was 3pm, and the team and I were locked in a serious discussion. A guy knocks on the door, and starts talking to my boss in Swedish, "fdhsufhduigfdsi" he says and shuts the door.

We resume our discussion. My boss starts to give his input, as if he were adding on to the discussion and goes "So in Scandinavia, we have this thing called Fettisdagen, otherwise known as Fat Tuesday". He turns to me, the only non-Scandinavian in the room. "This is an excuse to eat FAT FOOD. And to celebrate, the office has bought some fat food for everyone. Let's go into the kitchen!" Whaaat? Fat Tuesday?

I rushed out in excitement, not knowing what to expect. I was really really excited. Fat Tuesday? Fat Tuesday!!

A table full of Semla pastry greeted me. So what is Semla? It looks like a hamburger on that picture, but it's really a bun filled with almond paste, and topped with whipped cream. Nico explained that traditionally, you dip the whole thing in a bowl of milk, and eat the mix with a spoon. I nod respectfully, but then he goes "Gross!".

Fat Tuesday really is Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day in United Kingdom.

It is in fact the first day of Lent and it is wonderful how each country has its own tradition. (Madeira for example, has a tradition of eating fried doughnuts!)

That Semla was filling and delicious, but there's a very good reason why it is eaten once a year!

Berlin

I was in Germany last in 2006 with 40 students from university. We visited Cologne, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg. The memories from that trip were incredible, but when it comes to remembering what the cities looked like, I have to think really hard.

Work brought me to Berlin on Thursday and Friday. I absolutely loved it. When anyone travels, I think there are two main things that enhance a person's experience.

1. The people

2. How different that city is in relation to where you grew up, or where you've traveled to in the past.

It was for the above reasons that I loved it.

Firstly, the people. The administrator at the conference I attended made a positive comment about German hospitality and she was right!

On my way from the Berlin Schoenefeld Airport to Potsdam, I was highly amused when on two different occasions, I was literally growled at by two female workers at two different train stations while trying to get directions in English. They then proceeded to laugh and tried their best to help me out. I realized that the growling probably occurred because they were frustrated that we couldn't converse properly?

Upon arriving at Potsdam, I got lost again, and asked the first person who gave me eye contact for directions. After using a mixture of German/English/sign language, he realized that I wasn't getting it. He then kindly shoved me to the trams, and proceeded to accompany me on my short trip to the hotel! I was then highly amused and very touched when we got off the tram, and while I could clearly see that the hotel was just in front of me across the road, he tried his best to explain how best to cross the road, and that I should use the ramp instead of the stairs with my luggage! I must've looked like the worst lost person he'd ever come across!

On Friday, as I was trying to get from Potsdam to Berlin, I proceeded to stop at this sausage deli for lunch. Now, anyone who knows me, knows how much I love sausages. Oh heavenly. Sausages, sauerkraut and potatoes. Oh my lord! I sat down with my meal and realized that I didn't have any cutlery or napkins needed to devour this thing. The deli was incredibly busy, and I was at a loss. This old man in front of me, in sign language, directed me to the cutlery station, and then to the napkin station on the other end. He then laughed and gave me a thumbs up signaling that I was now ready to eat! What a sweetie pie!

Secondly, the city. Upon leaving the hotel, I had 3 hours to spare before my flight back to London, so I decided to walk around Berlin for a bit. I downloaded all the free apps I could find on Berlin and got a good idea of where I wanted to go.

I decided to focus on the area South of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof where I would be able to walk down Eberstrabe and see the main landmarks - The Reichstag House, the Brandenburg gate, the Holocaust monument - and end up at Potsdamer Platz.

The holocaust monument - Field of Stelae- was incredible. It is an area the size of two football fields filled with 2711 concrete blocks. It is a pretty controversial monument; not many saw the need for it. I as a foreigner, disagree and think it's worth every life that was lost in the war. It's designed in such a way so that as you walk down a row of blocks, the ground slopes downwards, and the blocks get taller. So initially, as you enter a row, a block is the height of your knee, and in the middle, a block is 8 feet high. So the monument is meant to symbolize the fragility of the Jews, and as you walk through the pathways you are meant to feel trapped and uncertain of what's around the corner. I spent a good 20 minutes soaking in the experience and listening to Kreuzberg by Bloc Party on repeat.

My last stop was Potsdamer Platz. It used to be no man's land between East and West Germany, but has now been transformed to becoming Berlin's commercial center. It definitely sounded and looked like the Canary Wharf of Berlin. :) Sure the buildings were great, modern, and of great design, but I was more interested to see the remains of the wall. I get really silly with things that don't exist anymore, and there in front of you, you have a fragment of what's left. And so I stood in front of the 5 pieces of concrete wall, and stared and stared, at the graffiti, and let my imagination run wild.

Shame I didn't have more time on my hands. I would've attempted to experience the afternoon Kaffee and Kuchen culture!

Potsdamer Platz:

Adrenaline and the year 2011

First week of January. What did I do? I made a resolution. Exercise? Diet? Nahh...I've got other priorities...

My resolution: To visit two new countries and 5 new cities.

In 2010, I traveled to four new cities. Naples, Gothenburg, Hong Kong and Zurich. Gothenburg and Hong Kong were surreal experiences and have made me realize how much I want to see & experience new places. I've also sort of realized that I'm addicted. Now, everyone gets an adrenaline rush from different things. I get mine in the days leading up to the flight. I start to fidget, I'm on a high, and I can't stay still. Upon my return, I experience calm, tranquility, I smile a lot more, and my mind is in a good place. Sounds like an addiction? I think so.

Gothenburg and Hong Kong were amazing, simply because there was a local showing me the ropes and immersing me into the local cultures. In Gothenburg, it was my Scandinavian team. In Hong Kong, it was my brother who was living there at that time. Plus mom and dad joined us. Dad speaks Cantonese fluently, and he reads Chinese characters!! Now that was a huge bonus.

I will be blogging shortly on my time in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, and Trysil. Sometimes I tend to think, all these Caucasian countries, they're all the same. Oh my goodness. Scandinavian culture has pleasantly surprised me and is really one of a kind.

So back to 2011. Oslo, Trysil, Berlin. Check, check, check. And Almaty in May. One more to plan. It feels good to be on schedule. :)

Growing up, around ages 12-16, I remember my parents traveling frequently for work and pleasure. I rarely got to go with them because of exams and school. I remember their stories about Europe and America. Whenever they returned, I Ooh-ed and Aah-ed, and then sulked for not being able to go. Now that I'm older it's nice to be able to do it myself and have those stories at the back of my mind. Plus, I really do want to maintain this blog for the reason below:

A conversation between mom and I 3 weeks ago:

Me: Mom, I'm going skiing in a few days in Norway.

Mom: Wowww, Norway is incredibly beautiful! Norway was where Aunty Lan lost her passport, and a kind Norwegian tracked her down!

Me: Where did you go in Norway?

Mom: Umm...what's that city called again? Aiyaya, uhhhhh, can you name me all the cities in Norway?

Me: Oslo, Bergen..

Mom: BERGEN! Soooo beautiful...

Me: Ooh, tell me more!

Mom: The lake, aiyaya, what's the name again...

Haha! :)

In May, we've planned a family trip to Almaty, Kazakhstan. My brother is there at the moment, and so mom, dad and I jumped at the opportunity to visit a new and wildly random city. Who the heck goes to Kazakhstan? Ooh, adrenaline is kicking in...