2016 - Looking Back

In a few minutes what we commonly define as a year will end, and give way to a new one. After a string of more upbeat years prior, 2016 began under grey clouds.

Volcanic clouds of Mt. Merapi, Indonesia

It wasn't long before the sun began to eke its way past the clouds, and shower us with glimpses of light.

Batu Caves on Thaipusam. A monkey sits perched upon a street lamp as it watches the sunset. 

As the dire days continued, it was perhaps a good idea to spare a thought for the less fortunate and remind ourselves that we truly are blessed, and things could be far worse.

My first street-feeding experience with Street Feeders KL

Slowly the year began to build a rhythm of its own, as it March-ed past condensed moments of joy.

My home-made birthday cake courtesy of my cousin Yamuna

Some of my own simple resolutions made at the beginning of the year began to come to fruition, as I picked myself up and set about getting a better grasp of my own fate.

Blast from the past: Meetup with Joe & Michelle after long.

Blast from the past part deux: Caught up with the elusive Guruparan. Also managed to schedule a meetup with Khairun (who I hadn't seen since 2004.. that's VI days!) 

There was also the effort to not lose sight of all that is green. The trails we traversed this year were wetter than before, yet less strenuous on our ailing knees.

Hike with Ison's church mates to a waterfall at Hulu Langat

Spotted a swarm of Rajah Brooke's birdswings by the river at Selangor State Park

The main goal though was to move on to different pastures, and pray that they'll be greener (for I lost all hope that there would ever be any semblance of grass where I was). As the country celebrated the anniversary of its independence (albeit rather muted in nature), I scored a little triumph of my own as I managed to exonerate myself of the painful chores at Aker Solutions..

My new second home

While the joys of the year began to grow, so did the bottled spirits in my collection, and their subsequent potation. This year I finally managed to build on my collection to the point where I'm comfortable hosting cocktail nights - and host I did, some of those wonderful people I met during my time at Aker Solutions a week after Deepavali.

Drink cards for the cocktails I prepared that evening

The PSV (Pimms, Sugar, Vodka)

A few other events worth mentioning: Ran a half-marathon at the KL Marathon this year; Attended Cheng Khang's wedding in October, Samantha & Jason's wedding in December; Took a trip with Alvin to Singapore to meet Kwong Hann in during my short break between the jobs. There weren't much, but I truly cherished those little moments of joy in 2016. 2017 does sound a lot more exciting though, and I guess it's nice to start on that upbeat note. :)

Goodbye 2016. Hello 2017!

Merdeka

Hari Merdeka.. a day when we have celebrated what it means to be Malaysian every year. A day that remembers the euphoria that engulfed the nation once as its independence from British rule was announced, culminating in Tunku Abdul Rahman's shouts of "Merdeka" echoing around Dataran Merdeka.

The perceived importance of the day has certainly changed over the last decade, as Hari Malaysia (September 16) has taken on a more prominent role.. a day that wasn't even a holiday 7 years ago. This year's celebration especially seems to be marred by talk of why Sarawakians and Sabahans should celebrate the day given they weren't part of the nation that gained independence on Hari Merdeka back in 1957.

Troubling thoughts.. divisive thoughts. I still dream of a day when we all identify as Malaysians.. not Malays, not Chinese, not Indians, not Bumiputras, not Johorians, not Sarawakians. We may take pride in our roots and ethnic heritage, but that doesn't give us the right to be bigots.

Selamat Hari Merdeka, Malaysia. May we break these man-made barriers that divide us, and celebrate our similarities and differences. Here's to unity, in diversity.

On a mildly related note, I have finally liberated myself from the clutches of the krAKERn. What is difficult is leaving the amazing people I've been privileged to work with. 6 years.. it feels like a graduation of sorts. Now I'm off to what I hope are greener pastures. Time will tell. Ta!

Week of Much And Many

The week began with Aker Solutions' second wave of mass terminations. It has been that sort of year in the oil and gas industry where such things have become somewhat commonplace. Some of them looked nonchalant, happy to receive compensation as they departed for greener pastures. Some though.. weren't expecting it and it wasn't easy to watch them. It was perhaps the most unproductive Monday I've seen during my work life so far. I also occupied myself at times with GCHQ's Christmas puzzles.

Dinner though was a nice departure from the sombre tones at the office, as I met up with Xin Yi, Chyrene, Jing Yi and Chee How at Ben's@Pavilion. As always, it was nice to reminisce on the good ol' times, and delve a little into the exciting prospects that lie ahead for some of us.

Come Tuesday and things appeared back to normal at work... but the many empty seats around me told me it just wasn't. I kept getting bogged down by this feeling of helplessness and a lack of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Julian's arrival in Malaysia for the holidays that night was perhaps a cue for better things ahead during the week. Perhaps it is becoming a bit of a habit now, as I once again drove over to Julian's place immediately upon his arrival as we talked and laughed through the night (his mom though was so sweet to keep bringing us food and drinks).

Wednesday morning began with aplomb, courtesy of Google's Lightsaber Escape plug-and-play game. Nothing like wielding a lightsaber and slashing past stormtroopers to start the day. Oh.. and of course it was a fitting prelude to the movie itself opening at the cinemas the next day. Getting past my work hours led me to Petaling Jaya, where I was invited for dinner with Alvin, Kwong Hann, Julian and his parents. Here we also managed to squeeze in a little birthday celebration for Kwong Hann and Alvin.

Thursday was a day I was looking forward to for some time. I took the latter half of the day off, so I could catch Star Wars Episode VII on opening day. It was a shame Jon couldn't snake his way out of work commitments, but I'm glad Julian was on hand to take his place and share the experience. It was 10 years ago that I watched Revenge of the Sith with Ben at Times Square's IMAX cinema; this time we decided to return to the same cinema which has since lost its IMAX partnership (although it still is Malaysia's biggest cinema). Oh and what an experience it was! From the moment I heard about Disney's plans to further the saga, I was skeptical at first but I vested my faith in J.J. Abrams. From the excellent X-wing/Tie-fighter battles to the witty lines delivered by an incredible cast (I immediately became a fan of Daisy Ridley and John Boyega), there was very little in the movie that could disappoint. At the end of the movie (and the entire credits sequence), Julian asked me the question to sum it all up - I answered with an '8.9.' Author's note: I figured it's only fitting that I dedicated more words to the Star Wars experience.

The movie was followed by a brief rendezvous with Alvin at KL Sentral, before I went on my way to PJ - specifically MyBurgerLab - where Kwong Hann, Harry, Li Ching, Sarah and I caught up with each other's lives over gourmet burgers. Seeing Sarah after more than 5 years was especially heartening (the last time I saw her, we hugged near the Armour Building at IIT a few hours before I left Chicago), and it was nice to catch up on the years in between that simply flew by.

My Friday at work (a half-day.. heh) was spent in a presentation with the Technical Safety department who were kind to invite me for their knowledge sharing session. Apart from the additional knowledge I gained on the things our Safety Department works on, I found one of the things Zaid (Safety department's HOD) said quite poignant - "We are facing a difficult market scenario. To those who are left with the company in this 'low-project conditions,' this is our best chance to broaden our knowledge and sharpen our skills; after all we never know when it'll be our turn to go and at that time this additional knowledge acquired would come in handy." Zaid plans on hosting these sessions on a regular basis, and I for one am glad that I can look forward to an incline in my learning curve.

Such was the week, which perhaps anti-climatically was followed by one of the most uneventful weekends in recent times. On a sidenote, grandma was admitted to IJN (National Heart Institute) for a few days, and I'm glad she's now discharged and back home with us.

In retrospect, this year has seen more than what is implied in this blog so far. For starters, there was a good dose of travel - a trip to South India with Ben & Gang, a trip to Lombok with colleagues and a return trip to Japan's Kansai region for fall. Perhaps I could get to filling this blog with tales from these trips soon... perhaps.

2014 - Lasting Impressions

A year that went by very quickly.. The biggest highlight of the year has to be the 'Promised Trip' to Japan with Julian and Kwong Hann - something that we were planning for more than 3 years before all the conditions were met - or as they would say "the stars aligned perfectly" for it to finally happen. Then there were the big days for a number of my long-time friends, when they finally tied the knot in holy matrimony; congatulations Hoong Kit and Benjamin. I am honored to have been part of your wonderful ceremonies. My colleague Joon Li also officially tied-the-knot, although the ceremony that social norms deem is only expected sometime in 2015. Not to forget James Lee's maiden visitation to Malaysia, my first marathon and the increased number of outings with colleagues. Of course on the downside there were the multiple major aircraft incidents that hit our nation, along with the end-year monsoons that have flooded the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The drop in global oil prices that has spun the oil and gas industry into a declining spiral deserves a mention, but I cannot classify it as a disaster for I simply see it as a phase that just had to occur.

I guess it's time to chisel away the memories of 2014 into the annals of this blog.. with a handful of images that I felt best encapsulated the memorable moments of the year in my life.

My year at work began with my move to Aker's new office at The Intermark

Met up with Wai Kit (soon to be Dr. Ong) during his short trip back home

James Lee visits KL

My colleagues surprised me at the office with a cake-full of strawberries for my birthday

Paid a visit to the Meiji Shrine on a wet afternoon in Tokyo

Watched a snow-capped Mount Fuji in all its glory from Fuji-Q Highlands.

Went up Tokyo's brand new attraction - Skytree

Walked through the Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama

Walked through the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto

Easily the most important components in my maiden trip to Japan - Tan Kwong Hann and Julian Tan

Visited Osaka Castle

A poignant moment that brought an end to our time in Japan

The loot from the Japan was satisfactory, to say the least

Celebrated Janice's birthday at Neway in One Utama

Scaled Gunung Dato' in Negeri Sembilan with a few adventurous colleagues

My first bottle of Angostura Bitters - Takes our cocktail nights to a whole new dimension

Took a trip to Singapore with my cousin Karun and her friend Swathi

Attended Joon Li's housewarming party

Spent a night concocting a variety of cocktails at Alvin's place

Attended Myra's Raya Open House - another of those things that's becoming an annual tradition

Hanging out with my fellow process engineers at Empire Shopping Mall after Myra's open house

Macarons courtesy of Janice Koh

There was a lot more ping-pong this year; this being one of the random sessions at Ison's place

Fine dining at Sunway College's student-restaurant with TJ - Starter - Salmon with graprefruit salad

The main - Chicken casserole with pommes noisette.. 

Dessert - Chocolate torte with strawberry sauce and vanilla ice-cream

The LEGO Sears Tower finally came out of the box - one of the few things I preserved in mint condition from my days in the US

Took a trip to Sungai Chiling with the colleagues 

A soul I've really grown fond of this year - Bhairav

With my buddy Janice at this year's Family Day dinner in Melaka (the theme was Traffic Light, and that's Nooshin photobombing us lol)

Organized Aker's Family Day again with the Sports Club; really enjoyed the expreience this time round with these guys - Steve, Ali and Azri

Checked out Intermark's new Red Lobster with Harry - Lobster Pizza 

Ran my first marathon - Just had to be the KL Marathon.

Post 42.195km; Pre 'debilitating leg cramps' and 'turtle walks'

Took a morning dip with colleagues at Sungai Tua

Breakfast at Mc Donald's after this year's Terry Fox Run KL.. becoming a bit of a tradition now

Attended Hubert's and Liu Ying's graduation at UPM Serdang

Spent more than a month putting together Ben's wedding gift with Sui-Jon. Totally worth it :)

Cinnamon: Sui-Jon and Miss Shanti at Ben's wedding dinner @ Ciao Ristorante

A rather random trip with colleagues to Kuala Selangor/Sekinchan 

Got free tickets to watch the Alzheimer's Disease Foundation's charity concert in KLCC courtesy of Irene Ho

From the perimeters of the telecommunications tower on Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya 

A little something I put together for my colleague Amy 

A little something my buddy Janice Koh put together for me for Christmas

The wonderful little goodies acquired over the course of the year..

Joined the company's annual treasure hunt at the National Zoo - Team Thunderpaws! (Oh and we nailed the top prize again heh)

Finally managed a visit to the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve

Came across an unexpectedly spectacular view of the Dang Wangi LRT station from the Bukit Nanas trail

Attended Christmas/Rooney's birthday party in Kepong. A nice shot with Rusty the loving Australian Terrier

Yet another year shuffles away into the realms of the past, toward the gates of distant memory. The juncture I stand upon though, is an interesting one - for I cannot foresee much into the coming year, bar a January trip to Hyderabad and Chennai. Take me, o' winds of time; guide me to the path that is meant for me; for I seek not to stray from destiny.