The Cave

In the US head office, we have a research centre, and a plant nearby. The office is the midpoint between the two. We called the research centre The Cave, because it is inside a huge limestone hole, hidden in the mountain.

The temperature inside is very consistent, it is perfect to conduct temperature sensitive testings all year round.

I have a chance to go there a few times this week, I am totally thrilled by the vast freedom and space it has to offer. If it weren't taken already, it would be my perfect hideaway place. It has the few things I loved in life -- a room with complete supply of hardware and tools, a huge library, and many workshops / labs. Most importantly, the serenity.

In fact, like my colleague said, I enjoyed working here, because I have a chance to visit the manufacturing plant, the reseach centre, and the office. It is a complete cycle from idea to manufacturing to installation.

The more I spent time here, the more I enjoyed the working environment, and the culture here. I think I have finally found my dream job. But this dream will come to an end when the one year training contract ends, and I will have to wake up to the cruel reality to go home.

Sometimes I really hope that I don't have to go back. I really hope I could settle here, and continue doing what I love. I wake up everyday eager to go to office, to find out what problems are there for me to solve. I get thrilled by claiming those complicated problems, and splitting my hairs trying to sort them out one by one. I don't get this rush of adneraline, race of heartbeats even when I was dating.

Sometimes when I enjoyed the teamwork here, I would feel sad deep inside, because this would only last for a year. When I leave in a year's time, I may never see these people again. Although we are working in the same company, and we already knew each other, but without these people, the working environment would never be the same again. This is a place where people constantly being reminded of the whole innovation process.

I am very grateful to have a chance to work and share a short period of my life with these amazing people here. I really hope that I don't need to leave.

Continents

How many continents are there in this world?

I was chatting with an old friend yesterday, he is settling well in UK, and have found a dream job that most of us wanted to have. I am very happy for him, because I too was rejected by that company. T_T

We were talking about cars, and exchanging our stories of buying cars. He then said this out of the blue, "You are the only person I knew, who has worked in 4 different continents."

I don't know how many continents there are in this world, I know there are 5 oceans for sure -- and I made a couple of holes in one of them.

It somehow reminded me of a conversation with a new intern. girl in our office the other day, she said, "I have never been outside USA. You have lived in so many countries before, which one would you like the best?" The second half of the question was exactly the same one I asked the German colleague, when I first met him.

So, it kept me thinking... there are in fact many of us, who set our feet in more than one continents. For example, let's see if I could name 10 of them...

The German colleague, he is from Europe, he studied in Africa, come to USA for 4 months to work.

One of my ex-colleague, he is a professor in North Africa, studied in Europe.

My boss in Malaysia, he was born and raised in North America, worked in South America, Europe, and now in Asia.

My client, born and raised in South America, worked in Europe and Asia.

My virtual friend, Malaysian, studied in Taiwan, USA, worked in Singapore.

My class monitor, Malaysian, worked in Asia and Europe.

My ex-colleague, from Myanmar, went to South Africa to work, then Europe, then now in Australia studying PhD. And I believed he travelled more than just that.

My ex-colleague, from Asia, moved to Australia, worked in USA, and various countries in Asia and South America.

My ex-colleague, from Europe, worked in Middle East, USA, Asia, Australia.

My bf, studied in Europe, worked in Central Asia for a short while, Australia / New Zealand, and Asia.

Myself, I set foot on Australia, Europe, Asia, and now in USA.
If there were a chance, I would like to go to more countries, and stay there for some time.

I guess we all have our fair chance of exposure, which made this world smaller, and hopefully we learned that we are just a small creatures in this world, and we should be more humble towards the world.

I think there are 10 of them...

Female and Car Salesman

My experience of buying a 2nd hand car in USA though went reasonably well, with the help of my colleague, but there wasn't without any hickups. And this is one of them, I am prepared to get more at later stage, because I am not familiar with the procedures and administrative stuffs required to buy and sell used cars in USA.

This is one of my experience with Jay Wolfe Toyota car salesman.

I had a simple check on my car the other day, before driving down to Oklahoma, and found out that the coolant in the reservoir was barely touching the minimum line. That was less than 4 days after I collected my car from Jay Wolfe Toyota.

In warm country like Malaysia, the car would probably overheated in no time with such level of coolant. Since I have no experience driving in 4 seasons country, I seek for my colleague's opinion, and he too thought that it is unacceptable.

I have also checked the Toyota car manual, it mentioned that the coolant should be between the max and min line.

So I called up Jay Wolfe Toyota, where I purchased my car, asking why diddn't they fill up the coolant. They said it is their standard procedure to have the coolant filled to that level, and gave me a bunch of other reasons.

I asked if they could arrange someone, or the Toyota assistants to come over fill it up for me. They said they don't have such service, and and said that I do not know anything about cars. Denying their fault for not filling up the coolant.

I being too direct, went straight to ask if Jay Wolfe would like to take any responsibilities, if my car were breaking down due to overheating, on my journey down to OK. No one was willing to make a comment on that, but Jay Wolfe insisted that it is their company standard procedure to have the coolant filled up to that level. They then asked me to drive to Jay Wolfe Honda to get it topped up, if I really wanted to have it filled.

To me, if it is a company's standard procedure, then they must have guts to take the responsibility to overwrite Toyota's car manual, since it is backed up by the company.

Anyway, I drove to Jay Wolfe Honda, only to discover that their coolant is slightly different. Though I don't think it would matter to mix it, but I seriously don't want my coolant tank to turn into black colour (the existing coolant in my car is red, and the Honda offered green).

So I drove all the way, about 30 odd miles up north to Jay Wolfe Toyota, and get them to fill it up for me. The treatment I got wasn't any better, they still talked down on me, and was very defensive.

Again, I made a stupid mistake for being too direct. They said over and over again, that I don't know anything about cars, and it got me ticked, and I just said back "I know cars." And quickly stop, because it sounded as if I am captured in their play down game.

When I met my friend in OK, he said, it is normal for car salesmen to talk the girls down. And I felt bad, because I was only unfamiliar with the rules and regulations in this country for making a car purchase, but that doesn't mean that I have to be bullied this way.

And come to think of it, if it is Jay Wolfe's standard practice to not fill up the coolant, I could only think that it is because they want to save money. Because they wouldn't even dare to bear the responsibility of their own words.

I will write up some quick car maintenance tips for females. I know girls prefer to have a list with boxes to tick, so I will try writing the tips in the simplest manner, with some photos to show which is what... depending how much time I have.

Trip to Oklahoma

Went down to Oklahoma (OK) over the weekend, to attend my friend's graduation in University of Oklahoma (OU). Departing early morning from Kansas, reaching his house at lunch time, non-stop 6 hours drive. The car was behaving well.

My friend had done some good arrangements and took care of me well. I feel ashamed for going there unprepared.

Tried taking some pictures, but most of them were blurry, blame my tiredness.

It was a great weekend, though didn't get to see much of OK. Few reasons:

1. It was the first time I attended an American style graduation. It wasn't like the UK ones. People cheered for the graduates when they got up to the stage, and the atmosphere was fun, celebrating, and lively.

Though the gown quality were rather light, but you get to own it. There were graduates decorated their square hat with things they wanted to say.

Also, the Americans respect the uniqueness of individuals, and their achievements. Because there were many colours of the hoods, and each meaning different things.

Compared to the UK ones, which are more royal touch, it was like a party for the graduates in OU.

2. I got to visit their Engineering Faculty.

It has been a while since I last stepped into a university, getting in touch with the high-end researches. It brought back lots of memories of my research days. It is hard to describe the feelings, it felt almost being brought back alive again.

This is a real example of the force of Tornado visited in 1949, which caused a piece of wood to stuck into an aircraft steel piece.

Looking at the research posters as we walked down the hallway, I also feel sad, that I could never get back to quality research again, as long as I stay in Malaysia.

I also saw a real turbine cut out, and my favourite SR-71 Blackbird -- display model. I have the same flight model at home, it was my 19th birthday present from my colleague classmates, but the pin and the wheel was broken -- it is a piece of junk to everyone else in the family, when I was away.

I was very excited, but couldn't really show much, due to the tiredness, the long drive, and the headache was slowly creeping into me.

3. My friend's research project has some relation with my ex-company, and my previous job. I got all estatic when he showed me his report, and it went multiple fold when I saw his prototype. I totally forgotten about the headache and tiredness, and kept asking questions.

I couldn't recall much when he first started the conversation, but it slowly came back like the water tide, and I eventually remembered all of it when he showed me his prototype and posters.

I know that his aunt and parents were getting pretty bored in the lab, seeing us chatting these nerdy geeky techie stuffs, but I couldn't help myself. It has been a long while since someone talks to me on machine.

Though my bf is also a mechanical engineer, but I guess we have too much of other stuffs to minggle, than talking about these geeky stuffs. Also, he has moved up the ladder, and I kinda dispise the engineering management people -- most of them kinda reluctant to roll up their sleeves, once their stomach grown big enough to put onto the table when they sit down.

4. Met a bunch of new faces, most of them are Malaysian. Had some kick ass home cooked Indian food. Their hospitality and their food made me home sick. Brought some banana cake home too.

I originally planned to leave on Sunday morning, but postponed until 2.30pm, because I was thoroughly enjoying myself there.

That's my weekend in OK, though there wasn't any visits to the town, but it was absolutely worth the trip. I wish we would meet again, and continue our nerdy geeky techie chat.

Bank in

Just realised that I haven't been banking into my happiness bank account since my last birthday.

I am sure there were lots of things happened between then and now. But since I am so free today, I am going to publish two posts, and put both into the happiness bank account.

This second post, is regarding my debit card in USA.

The bank allowed me to choose the design of my debit card, when I opened an account with them. There were nature forests, ocean, animals, etc... One thing that caught my eyes, was the Hello Kitty.

I fought hard to whether or not choosing the Hello Kitty, over something that is more mature, for a person my age.

Eventually, I thought, what the heck, so hence the Hello Kitty card.

Since getting the Hello Kitty debit card, I had received quite a variety of responses:

It brought conversation between me and the other persons.
"Oh, my daughter loves Hello Kitty."

Also, I would get the person who attended me remembered me.
"Oh yes, I remember you, you were with the Hello Kitty!"

Guys would generally give me a smirk. Ladies would generally give me a smile.
This Hello Kitty debit card in fact had made me smile more, because no matter I got a smile or a smirk, I tend to just give it a grin, and most of the time I would have a warm greeting in return.

Rainny day

I guess this is the first thunderstorm I had in Kansas.

I remembered seeing a lightning at night, while driving to Colorado last month. The German colleague was so fascinated by the lightning, as he could hardly see it in Germany. I, on the other hand, took it for granted.

It has been rumbling over the whole night last night, and was pouring every so often since the beginning of the week.

This kind of weather, with the sound of wet tree leafs rubbing off each other in the damp breeze, the sound of rain droplets hitting hard on the tar road, the sound of water flowing on the road... it reminded me of home.

The storm come and go very quickly, leaving behind clear brisk wind blowing. The only thing different, is the smell of wet soil. We often have smell of chill-shocked-sand mixed rotten leafs after the rain, I know it doesn't sound nice, but the aroma is actually refreshing. What Kansas offers, is the smell of Nitrate products, which are often used for the lawns.

On rainny days like this, in Malaysia, I would usually stuck in the traffic jam, for at least 2 hours. I quite enjoy the time in the traffic jam, with my favourite musics, because that's my own private time.

On rainny days like this, it also reminded me of the days in UK. It would drizzle all year round, without thunderstorm. Then you will get the smell of rotten leafs and dog poo, the furnitures in the house would start to have the damp smell, and the carpet would be the worst offence. Cooking curry with my housemate at this time, would be something we would enjoy. Or perhaps some Lincolnshire sausages with bread and mustard. Days like this, would best be spent sitting by the window, with a cup of rich thick hot drink, watching the people rushing home down the streets.

I like rainny days, because that's the time the pedestrian streets are clear, and the whole town is washed clean. You could have the best colour of the town, the silhouette of the city would appear calmer.

Bought a car

Went car shopping with my colleague, and I bought a car today.
Will be sorting out the insurance business on Monday, and drive the car home.

We compared between two dealers, and two different cars make, under the same rank/power.
The 4 years old Corolla that I wanted to see in the second dealer's shop was already taken, and I really loved that Corolla -- It was parked in front of the entrance when we walked in. Too bad...

Eventually, I purchased the other Corolla, which is 2 years old. It costs more than the budget, but the car condition wasn't too bad.

It has been a rather nervous day for both of us. We kinda worked hand in hand a little, as he is not very comfortable with the bargaining, and I am not very good with the cars. We didn't manage to get the price down, but managed to get the cruise control installed for free.
Generally, with him being a local, and knowing the cars well, helped the situation a lot.

For all these to work out today, I am grateful for having a very considerate colleague. May be I need to re-calibrate my sense of judging things, but this colleague surprised me a few times.

My first impression of him, is a cool, macho guy who loves cars, machines and guns, speaks with low voice, short sentences, don't have much expressions. And I thought he would not like to talk much with me, because it takes me longer to form up a sentence, and it probably doesn't make much of sense, and filled with mistakes, which I thought it might wear his patience. (Vinegar's impression: Macho guys tend to have thin patience)

But turns out, he is the only person who noticed that I ordered salads almost everytime we have our weekly departmental lunches at the restaurants. (I did that because I know I couldn't finish the meal course, but I couldn't even finish the salad, and my appetite isn't small. You could imagine the serving size in USA*.) And when it was his turn to suggest a restaurant, he was actually picking a place which serves smaller salad portions, and get everyone to agree going there for the BBQ they served -- serving the carnivals males with good meats, and herbival Vinegar with greens.

He is also surprisingly good in listening / reading between the lines, when even myself is trying hard to telling/knowing what I want. And of course, he is considerate enough to think in my shoes when we went for car shopping today.

* I think the reason the serving size in USA is so huge, is because the kitchen staffs works in metric units. So they just got the measurements larger than what it supposed to be.

Down Syndrome

One of my colleague, who had helped me big times over the past whole month, his wife gave birth to a baby boy two days ago.

He had been looking forward for this day to come, since I first met him in Kansas a month ago. Unfortunately, his baby was diagnosed for Down Syndrome.

I could imagine his shock. He prefered to have some privacies now. I thought I should record it here, because I would like to be reminded that I must give them a helping hand in the future, whenever they need.

Activities so far

The shooting game I mentioned earlier went well. We went for range shooting instead, and tried a few guns. Can't remember all of them, I think we tried a few riffles, caliber and one M16.

The kick for one of the riffle was pretty big, my shoulder went numb after a few shots. They took a video out of it, and I am now a laughing stalk among the colleagues, cause the reaction I got from the kick was pretty large -- whole body reversed.

Anyway, I also went to Denver with the German colleague last Friday. It was a spontaneous decision, as I was very depressed over the workload that week, and he need someone to split the 9 hour driving. So we left Kansas 12 midnight Friday/Saturday.

Just to show you some pictures before and after we crossed the Kansas / Colorado border.

This is when we were still in Kansas. It was early morning, about 6am.

This is what we saw half an hour later, when entering Colorado.

The trip went well, it was really relaxing. There is nothing much than just lots of lots of beautiful sceneries. Where Kansas is empty flat plain land, Denver is hilly filled with mountains.

My colleague was determined to find a place over 3000m above sea level, he was rather disappointed on the first day, when the Long Peak in the Estes Park was closed for the winter. But we eventually found a spot around 3500m the next day when driving cross Boulder.

We chose most of the small roads, so it is pretty difficult to follow the map. It was good that he has a Nokia phone with GPS in it, but the GPS failed when we were deep in the mountains. So it relied solely on his sense of direction -- I, the vehicle navigator, had very little contribution there.

The mountains were very quiet and peaceful, when we got down the car in the middle of the mountain, we could only hear the snow falling. Even our breathing was too loud.

We drove back Sunday afternoon, reach home nearly midnight. It was tiring, but rewarding.

We both took our camera, and I only managed to have his copies yesterday. It is very interesting to see things through his lenses. For example, when I took a picture of the person with the scenery, I tend to put the person in the middle of the picture frame. But when he took a picture of me with the scenery, I was always a complimentary figure of the scenery -- appear at the side, or corner. And I thought it was nicer from his perspective.

Here is another example, when we stood on the same place, taking pictures of the same scenery:

The first one is his, second one mine.




See the difference? It is very interesting to find that there are more than just your way of viewing one scene. It kinda serve a reminder to myself, that I should always try to look from other people's perspective. You'll never know if you would find a better scenery through the other's lenses.

Anyway, it was his last day yesterday at the Kansas headquarter, he returned to Germany office this morning.