Category: the otnaicus daily

It has been a week since I blogged. Been a busy week at work, having to juggle issues with two projects at one go. First I had to fix a bug that cropped up on the an online forum that I deployed. Second, I had to test a program that I developed to see if the transition to 7% GST this coming July will work flawlessly. And with my current project in Taiwan, I had to rush out some documentations for the design specifications. All in all, a very busy week.

I was supposed to have flown back to Taipei this afternoon but I will be delayed till Wednesday. The reason is in the title. Yes, I’ve gone for an ECG. Went to the doctor’s on Friday because I’ve been having mild chest pains since the previous week. Got me a bit worried and had some ache in the right arm as well. And so the doctor suggested an ECG, which I took at the clinic, and he further suggested taking an ECG on a treadmill. So the earliest appointment I could get is this coming Tuesday morning. Don’t worry, I’m fine for the most part. The initial ECG I took is normal. So we’ll see what the treadmill ECG will turn up.

This trip back to Taipei will definitely feel short. This is because Debbie will be coming up to Taipei, along with a lot of the TV people. Why? Taiwan Emerge, that’s why. I pray that there will be no obstacles to me going for and helping out at the event. I wouldn’t want to miss it because I feel that it’s definitely going to be an experience not to miss out. God, please let me be able to go for this!

It’s going to be a busy time once I get back to Taipei. Pray that I would be calm in times of high stress and hard work. There’s definitely a lot of hard work involved. Hope that the 5 months or so there will go by quickly and smoothly.

Until the next time, cheers…. :Þ

Got back to Singapore on 15 June 2007 night. It has been a good weekend. Back to the usual busyness of a weekend in Singapore. Missed church, missed ministry, missed the friends, and simply just missed being in Singapore.

Had a good time fellowshipping with the TV guys and gals this weekend. Had fun chit chatting, eating and just simply having fun. It has been quite a long time since we hung out after services.

A week in Singapore before I head back to Taipei. This time round it will be a longer trip. How much longer? Twice longer. Four weeks to be exact. The next time I’m back in Singapore would be towards the end of July. But something to look forward to during this trip is Emerge Taiwan 2007! That is definitely going to be a highlight of the trip. I’m going to go in to work early and get out early and head down to the stadium to help out during the night sessions. Definitely going to be a great time!!

That’s all for now. Going off to bed as tomorrow I gotta work! Haha… By the way, thanks for all the birthday wishes. Appreciate it and I’m thankful to God for all the wonderful friends that He has placed in my life. You guys rock!

Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

My first two weeks of long term stay in Taipei is coming to an end. And things are just as busy, if not more, as when I first came. Meetings to attend, documents to write, documents to rewrite, documents yet to be written, supporting my past projects back home… The list just goes on and on and on.

I don’t know whether I’m overwhelmed by all the work that will come. Attended the first weekly project meeting and the first and immediate task that we have to complete is to come up with the detailed design document. This document will set the scope and boundaries of this project so it’s important that we nail it. The time frame: 1 month. The amount of things to do to complete this document: a lot.  The stuff that is on my plate: a lot also. Feel that the work load is still bearable at the moment. But I don’t know how bad it’ll get. I just hope that God will give me the strength to go through this period of time and to change my attitude towards hard work a bit. Hee…

Looking forward to getting back to Singapore. But not looking forward to the next trip back because it’s going to be a longer trip. But I’m sure I’ll get through it. It’s going to be great to be back in church and to see Debbie after a long break.

I guess I’ll catch you guys back in Singapore then. Until then, cheers… Þ

The weekend is here!!! Slacking off a bit tonight because tomorrow is Saturday. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no work to be done. Slacking off tonight means got to do the work tomorrow.

Went apartment viewing yesterday and today. The expectation that I had of a studio apartment and what Taipei has to offer is totally different. When one mentions a studio apartment, a nice and luxurious place comes to mind. But what they have here is more like a single university hostel room with fridge, attached toilet, bed, wardrobe, table, Internet access, TV with cable channels and air-conditioning. Needless to say, I felt a bit disappointed when I saw what they had to offer. Definitely not hotel-level comfort. And definitely not as homely as my own room back in Singapore. I guess I would be experiencing what it would be like if I just rented a room back in Singapore. Definitely going to miss the hotel rooms and my room back in Singapore.

So the result of our apartment “hunt”. Settled on a place today. Near work, but it’s a few bus stops away. There are amenities around, including food, a Watson’s and a couple of video rental places. A short walk in from the main road. I’ll put up pictures after I move in to the place.  Going shopping tomorrow for bedsheets, pillows, bolsters and other necessities that can be charged to the company. Since boss is still here, might as well charge everything under him.

Am I looking forward to shifting there? Yes and no. The reasons are as above. But I guess it’s something that my colleague and I would need to get used to. Plus, free exercise every morning and evening because my room is on the 5th floor and no lifts. So staircase climb every day.

Since it’s the weekend, hope can go do some hardware shopping. Thinking of getting a new mouse although I don’t really need it. And I might want to get a wireless access point for the new place. We’ll see how it goes. Basically, just want to do as much relaxing as I can this weekend.

So I’m off to bed. Got to wake up early for a breakfast appointment. So until the next time, good night and sweet dreams. Cheers… :Þ

A rather tiring day today. Two meetings. With a very big gap in between. But good news is that there are no meetings for the next two days. So it’s just going into office to get work done, which is good, because the documentation work is piling up and the time available to complete them is like never enough.

Did my first presentation today. Well, not a full-blown presentation, but just recapping the minutes of the meeting. And I managed to do it in my barely passable Chinese. And I’ve been arrowed to prepare the slides for the next meeting which is on Friday. And you’re wondering why the documentation work is piling up. Haven’t prepared a presentation in a while so hope I’ll be able to do a good job.

Well, gotta head off and get some work done. Until then, cheers… Þ

The week back in Singapore has been hectic. I didn’t even find the time to blog. Touched down on Friday, 25 May 2007 and the first immediate thing was to go visit Debbie. Saturday was spent in church and Sunday I slept in and attended service online. Was dead tired. Slept a lot on Sunday. And finally helped Debbie do something that I’ve promised her for a while, which was to paint her room, or rather a small segment of the room.

Monday to Wednesday was work. Went shopping with Debbie for a dress on Wednesday for her brother’s wedding dinner. Spent about an hour, maybe more, trying on a lot of dresses. Found a few that suited her fine and settled on one, which is the one you see in the picture.

Thursday to Sunday was Emerge 2007. Took a day off on Friday so that I can be there to help for the services. What can I say? Emerge has definitely gone up another level. The opening night session was broadcast live via satellite (God TV) throughout the world! And I was directing! And the crew performed admirably. It was definitely a first for the TV ministry. How I wish I could watch the broadcast as I directed it. It would be so cool. And that’s me and Debbie in the picture below in front of the dish that did the uplink to the satellite.

It was a pretty hectic week. Tired? Yes. Fulfilling? Absolutely.

Back again in Taipei now, and that’s where I’m blogging from. Going to be here for two weeks and then I’ll be back in Singapore for a week before flying up here again. Next time round, I’ll be here for 4 weeks at a stretch before going back to Singapore for a week. Anxiety did hit me yesterday night. But I’m trying to take it in my stride.

I’m gonna stop here and try to get a bit of work done before I head to bed. So until the next time, cheers… Þ

Just received word that a friend has passed away due to cancer. My condolences go out to his family and his friends. I don’t know him very well, but I know him well enough to know that he has fought a brave fight. Now that he’s back home with the Lord, I hope that his family and friends can be assured that he’s gone on to a much better place.

Until I meet you in heaven my friend….

I’ve got a taste of what life in Taiwan is going to be like when I’m here. It’s only three days and two meetings and I’m feeling drained. Late nights rushing out documents is going to be part and parcel of life.

My eyes have been opened a fair bit this trip. Being able to attend meetings with my boss certainly played a big role. Perhaps I’ve been sheltered from such environments, but you can see politics at full tilt in meetings. One can see two very different types of people at meetings. Those aggressive ones who may be proud and make it known that their covering their backsides, and those that do it subtly. Well, suffice it to say that I’m getting pretty worried and scared about what is expected of us here.

Going into uncharted waters simply is not fun. But yet, I feel that a step of faith is needed for me to be stretched and molded and to grow. Really felt very panicky during and after dinner tonight. Prayer helped, but I can’t help but still feel a bit fearful. Gotta drive the fear away! Gotta give everything to God! Gotta lean on His strength! I shall NOT give up! Sigh… Convincing myself is a tough job. But I know God won’t send me on stony paths without strong shoes, and I take comfort in knowing that.

I’m going to be back here in two weeks (which is after Emerge). And I should be here for up to 3 weeks at a go. So I definitely need all the prayers that I can get, especially during the initial period of the project. Pray that everything goes smoothly and no major changes happen mid-way through the project. Pray that the team and I will have the favour of man in our dealings and relationship with the clients. Pray for wisdom as I tackle my portion of the project. Pray for good time management and smart resource management. Pray that I’ll be able to handle everything in my stride and not panic the second something happens.

Hah! Long list of prayer requests right? It’s my prayer list as well and I will definitely have to pray through that every day. I just hope that when things go on fine, I won’t forget the pillar that I’ve been leaning on when times were not so good.

Okay, back to work… Hope I can finish up stuff quick and get a good night’s rest. No meetings tomorrow, but I’m sure the schedule will somehow be filled up. Oh yes! I’ll be back tomorrow evening! Cheers… :Þ

Yup, I’m here in Taipei. Sharing a hotel room with my colleague (my superior, actually). Still got some work to do before I can go to bed. Just thought I drop a word before I shower and start work.

Flight was alright. Flew Jetstar. Thank God for a book, and plenty of sleep. Time seemed to pass rather fast this time round. And it was only towards the end of the flight that I realized I had some unwatched episodes of Naruto in my notebook. Well, I’ll save it for the trip back to Singapore.

A lot of meetings to attend while I’m here. From what I’ve heard, the meetings can be very “politically” charged; meaning that even during the meetings, office politics are being played out. Have to absolutely try my best to keep awake during the meetings and to look as attentive as I can. We’ll see how bad it can get tomorrow when I attend my first meeting.

I should be back on Friday. Looking forward to the weekend. And so I shall sign off here… Cheers… :Þ

Alright, not as bad as you think it’ll be. Had just been asked on Sunday morning to fly over to Taipei as soon as I can to support my superior in a round of meetings with the company’s clients there. The project manager, who was supposed to go, got very sick at the last moment and I had to pinch hit for him. And so I shall be flying tomorrow and should be back by Friday.

On another track, yesterday’s sermon was beautiful. It talked about having purity of heart. It talked about obeying God and obeying Him all the way and not half way. And the new worship song was just fantastic. The lyrics so touched my heart. The words of the chorus felt as though those were the words I want to say to God right there and then. The chorus:

One life, I lay at Your altar
One love, I have with You
Touch me again
Fill me as You hold
My outstretched hands

One word, You know I will follow
One heart, broken to You
Use me again
Your mercies follow me
For all my days

Simply beautiful right? Yeah, I want to have that connection with God once again!!

Alright, gotta head back to work. Don’t know why blogging in the office has become a ritual. Haha. Until the next time, cheers… Þ